Oh my stars!
I prided myself on my courage, but a shiver ran down my spine as I looked at the voice’s owner.
The first thing I noticed was her pitch-black hair.
No matter how dark someone’s hair was, it should reflect some light, but this hair seemed to absorb it all.
It was also unbelievably long. At a glance, it looked to be several meters at least. It flowed down the figure’s body and spread out on the slightly pooled water like seaweed.
Her bangs were so disorganized that I couldn’t even see her face properly, but her frame seemed rather small.
It didn’t feel right to judge by appearances, but even so, I could only see a kid.
“It’s been close to forty years since I last had a guest...”
Her voice was slow and devoid of hostility, but my instincts had been screaming in warning since I encountered this magician.
I feel like I might be fucked...I wiped my sweaty palms on my clothes.
The powerful presence emanating from the magician was different from the pressure of absolute beings like the Lord of Blood and Iron or Asad, nor was it like the awe I’d felt when facing divine beings like the demon lords.
I bowed my head to show respect.
“My name is Luan Bednicker.”
“I know that the blood of Bednicker flows through that flesh,” the magician responded in an indifferent voice. “What I want to know is this: How did you solve all of those problems? They were not the kind you could solve with mere wit.”
The wording itself wasn’t awkward, but her tone felt strangely unnatural, like she hadn’t had a proper conversation in a long time.
I guess she did say it’s been forty years since her last guest...
I had a feeling that the last visitor might have been the Lord of Blood and Iron.
In any case, her attitude wasn’t threatening and she didn’t seem to be trying to intimidate me, but I didn’t intend to let my guard down.
I gathered my thoughts and slowly answered, “I’ve always been interested in the forgotten age and unrecorded history.”
“Hmm.” The magician tilted her head. “When that darn Dellark mentioned a kid I’d never heard of, I thought he’d finally gone senile... Well, I suppose you meet the bare minimum in competency.”
“...”
I had met a few people who spoke the Lord of Blood and Iron’s name casually, but this was the first time I’d heard someone speak ill of him so openly.
“Excuse me, but... are you the librarian of the underground library?” I asked cautiously.
“That is one of my duties,” the magician responded in a flat voice. She sat down on a mountain of books and stretched out a hand.
A book floating on the water flung into her pale hand, and she began to flip through it.
“I heard you were the one who requested entry to the library.”
“Yes.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Information about the demon lords.”
It seemed the magician hadn’t heard about that from the Lord of Blood and Iron because her gaze, which had been fixed on the book, turned to me.
“The demon lords.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think they are beings the likes of your skill should be discussing.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
When I didn’t answer and remained silent, the magician continued, “Are you saying that despite your age, you still are of a Great House’s bloodline?”
That wasn’t it.
What had happened at the training camp had made me sick of demons and cults, but...
I was trying to get information about the demon lords because of Eldest Senior Brother.
“There is nothing more dangerous than premature knowledge... but you did indeed solve the problems I prepared and earn a total of 35 points. You may borrow 35 points worth of books.”
Ah, I see.So that’s how it works.
It seemed that she hadn’t prepared those difficult problems just to mess with intruders.
Of course, considering how she had threatened to take my eyeballs and fingers every time I got a question wrong, I couldn’t say she had a good personality.
“How many books can I borrow with 35 points?”
“That depends on what books you are looking for. The value of each book varies greatly,” she explained, stretching out a hand dramatically. “This is a tomb of forbidden texts. The books you seek about the demon lords are, of course, also kept here, but their danger is particularly high, even among forbidden texts. Even the least valuable book will cost at least 10 points.”
“...”
“Child, if you have inherited the blood of Bednicker, you must be a martial artist. With the points you have earned, you could easily borrow lost refinement techniques or martial arts manuals containing formidable power. Do you still desire books about the demon lords?”
“I do.”
Any martial artist would be tempted, but I nodded without hesitation.
“Hmm... very well. Which demon lord are you looking for?”
“The Demon Lord of Black and White.”
“And what information do you seek?”
“Everything.”
“Insufficient,” she immediately replied.
“Excuse me?”
“Child, it seems you haven’t heard anything about this place.”
The moment the magician waved her hand, strange lights began to float around us.
They looked like ordinary fireflies, but they also reminded me of the will-o’-the-wisps I had seen on Spirit Mountain.
Regardless, the unidentified lights illuminated the surroundings... and I was finally able to see the true nature of this space.
“The number of books kept here is 230,000.”
“Oh...”
I realized at once that this underground space was much larger than I had thought.
The bluish streaks of light that gently fell on the shallow water were like moonlight on a lake at night.
“Not a small number, is it? Among them, there are well over 1,000 books about the Demon Lord of Black and White. Even at a minimum of 10 points each, you would need 10,000 points to borrow them all, and you only have 35. Woefully insufficient.”
“Hmm.”
This place held far more books than I had imagined.
I had to organize my thoughts. What information about Eldest Senior Brother, the Demon Lord of Black and White, should I ask for first?
Appearance? Personality? Characteristics? The martial arts he’d mastered? The weapons he used...?
Ironically, I probably knew more about Eldest Senior Brother than anyone else in this world...
But that didn’t mean I could ignore the information here.
I knew the Unrivaled Sword Under the Heavens Haru, the First Disciple of Baek Nogwang—not the Demon Lord of Black and White.
* * * * *
* * * * *
I needed time to think, so I changed the subject slightly. “Great magician, do you happen to know a lot about divine beasts?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I asked the Lord of Blood and Iron for advice on divine-beast contracts. He mentioned five divine beasts, and I chose the Serpent.”
“Why did you choose the Serpent?”
“...I thought it would suit me best.”
In response to my vague words, the magician fell silent.
I continued after a short pause, “I heard you know about the Serpent. Could you possibly arrange a contract for me?”
The magician let out a dark chuckle. “...Kekeke.”
I clenched my fist discreetly. Unlike the languid, transcendental atmosphere she had shown so far, her laughter now held clear malice.
“Is that what Dellark told you?”
“Yes.”
“What else did he say?”
I thought carefully about my conversation with the Lord of Blood and Iron. “I heard that no one has made a contract with the Serpent since Dark Fairy Kuset.”
“That’s right. I have no intention of making a contract with anyone.”
...What did she mean by “I”?
But then it hit me.
“You mean...”
“It seems Dellark didn’t tell you anything about me.”
The corners of her mouth stretched into a crescent moon, and her hair, which had been floating like seaweed, abruptly surged as if it had a will of its own.
Swoosh! Slither slither!
Her hair transformed into dozens of snakes. Not figuratively but literally.
The snakes surrounded me, flicking their long tongues.
It was obviously a dangerous situation, but... I instead had an absurd thought.
Ever since the Gem Mountains, I can’t seem to rid myself of snakes.
“My name is Lise Ladygoth Oll Haimudd. I am the Serpent Dragon who swims in the deepest darkness, the Sorcerer of Dark Heavens whom even the Seven Colors that crossed the skies could not taint.”
“...”
I had heard the name Lise Ladygoth before, but what caught my attention more than that was this being’s middle name.
Oll.
As far as I knew, only one race on this vast Continent was allowed that middle name—a race that had disappeared from the continent. The ancestors of House Bednicker.
“Dark fairy...”
So the magician in front of me... was both a magician, a divine beast, and a dark fairy?
What kind of mutt—
Lise Ladygoth interrupted my thoughts.
“Enough about the contract. Ask me about the demon lords again,” she said, sounding like she was dealing with an annoying, uninvited guest.
I had wanted to delve deeper into the contract, but my primary goal was the demon lord, not the divine beast.
“Instead of borrowing the books, could you perhaps enlighten me with the information?” I requested.
“What do you mean?”
“I have heard that the duty of a true librarian begins with reading all the books in the library they manage. And I’m certain that you have read every single book here.”
“On what grounds?”
I decided to hide my true feelings: that she must have read a ton of books because she seemed to have nothing better to do.
Instead, I replied, “It was none other than the Lord of Blood and Iron who called you the ‘librarian of the underground library’. You may be aware, but he has strict standards. He will not acknowledge anyone, no matter who they are, who does not meet his standards. And yet, he called you a librarian without a moment’s hesitation.”
“You trust Dellark’s judgment?”
“As far as I know, he is the fairest man in Bednicker.” Since what I was going to say next could be taken the wrong way, I continued cautiously, “...So, could you perhaps do me the honor of summarizing the information from the books I require and sharing it with me?”
Lise Ladygoth, after a brief silence, chuckled. “You have a silver tongue. Everyone else who came here prior was obsessed with the forbidden texts...”
“...”
“To think you’d respect the profession of a librarian... That’s not very Bednicker-like. How amusing.”
Swoosh...
The black snakes that had been staring at me turned back into hair and settled atop the water.
The pressure I had felt disappeared without a trace. Only at this point did I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Very well. Then I shall tell you about the Demon Lord of Black and White based on my own discretion and prejudice. Exactly 35 points’ worth of information.”
“May I ask for more details if I have any questions while you speak?”
“Go ahead,” Lise Ladygoth said in a languid voice. “First of all... the Demon Lord of Black and White is the most unique demon lord. No one has ever seen his face because of the jet-black armor that covers his entire body, but in terms of form and physique, he is the closest to human.”
Armor? I hadn’t seen any when I’d encountered him in Hell. I wondered if he usually wore something like that.
“Even in Hell, he doesn’t form factions and doesn’t hold territory. He’s known to move alone. Also, there is no longer a faction within the cult that worships the Demon Lord of Black and White, though he does have a faction outside the cult.”
Slightly surprised, I asked, “Does that mean... he’s become a completely separate force from the cult?”
“Not necessarily. Interaction between them has lessened, but there is still a connection. He does seem to follow the orders of the cult leader to some extent, and he does still have some followers within the cult... He just is not as proactive as the others.”
“Hmm...”
“The followers of the Demon Lord of Black and White are the least numerous and the most secretive. They’re harder to find than even ordinary cult members, and their relationship with their demon lord is one-sided. It is said that not even a high priest can communicate with him directly.”
A stream of valuable and important information poured out, beyond even what I’d expected.
So there are cultists that follow him, even if their numbers are small.
To me, he was still my eldest senior brother. It was a very complicated feeling, knowing that there was an organization that worshipped him as a god.
...I'd like to meet them at least once.
Of course, it would be nearly impossible to find a follower of the Demon Lord of Black and White when even ordinary cult members were hard to find... but somehow, I felt confident that I would run into them at least once before I faced Eldest Senior Brother head-on.
Even though it’s a hunch with absolutely no basis.
I recalled Tangtata, whom I had seen in hell, and asked, “What is his relationship with the other demon lords like?”
“Neither good nor bad. That is how demon lords generally are.”
“Then do you happen to know the Demon Lord of Black and White’s objective?”
“Nothing has been revealed yet.”
“Hmm...”
“Lastly, the current whereabouts of the Demon Lord of Black and White...”
I was stunned.
She’s going to tell me that too?
The magician’s next words came as a greater shock than anything she had said before.
“The Demon Lord of Black and White is currently on Spirit Mountain.”