Chapter 82

Chapter 82, Conclusion

I had gotten myself tangled up in something troublesome again, just like with the exhibition.

Still, this situation was much better.

Unlike back then, I could escape from this at any time simply by throwing the book away or shoving it into some forgotten corner.

If I just forgot about the book and comfortably enjoyed the rest of my life, I would probably never get dragged into another complicated incident like what happened at the exhibition.

The Inner World where I currently lived was a place where intruders couldn't enter.

As long as I stayed here, I could live without getting caught up in incidents or accidents.

And yet, for some reason, at least when it came to this matter, I didn't want to run away like that.

I didn't know whether that was because of the courage amplified by the Runestone or simply because of my original personality.

One thing was certain.

I wasn't going to run away.

I lifted the dark red book and thought.

A Mystery filled with knowledge about demons that mentally influenced those who read it.

At a glance, it seemed obviously related to the Demon Worshipers.

And it was probably connected to the Mystery Protection Association as well.

I didn't believe that the Spitting Mimic just happened to spit out both an invitation to the exhibition and the dark red book by some miraculous coincidence.

What were the chances that an invitation and the book had both happened to be sitting near the Swallowing Mimic?

Based on those details, one assumption began forming deep inside my mind.

The Mystery Protection Association and the Demon Worshipers were connected somehow.

At the moment, it was still closer to delusion than certainty, a belief based only on intuition without clear evidence.

Even so, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was true.

And if the Mystery Protection Association and the Demon Worshipers really were connected, that suggested another possibility.

The incident at the exhibition.

There was a possibility that it hadn't actually been an attack.

“Maybe...”

Maybe, just as we'd already mentioned several times, the entire exhibition incident had been deliberately arranged by the Mystery Protection Association.

For convenience, I had been calling it an attack, but the incident had actually started when all of the Association members who should have restrained the visitors and protected the exhibits disappeared.

Once the visitors realized that every Association member was gone, they each began causing disturbances.

Then, amidst that chaos, someone took the Eye of Ra.

The reason I had assumed it was an attack was because I couldn't think of any reason the Association members would leave their posts voluntarily.

I had thought they must have been expelled from False Utopia because someone attacked them.

But what if that wasn't the case?

What if the Association members had left voluntarily for some purpose?

What if they had known chaos would break out once they disappeared, and had vanished precisely because they wanted that to happen?

Then that would also mean they had wanted the Eye of Ra to disappear.

And suddenly, everything fit.

Displaying a 900-series Mystery that would provoke everyone's greed.

Leaving it without any proper defenses.

And the fact that despite supposedly being attacked badly enough for every Association member to be expelled, there hadn't been even the slightest disturbance while I was still calmly touring the exhibition.

All of it became understandable.

All of it could be explained.

Now the remaining problem was something Eriel and I had already brought up once.

Why would the Association do something like that?

“I can investigate that now.”

I rose from my seat, sharpening my previously relaxed focus.

If my guess was correct, then every visitor had simply been dancing in the palm of the Association's hand.

Naturally, that included me.

Arlin and Bias too.

That was extremely irritating.

Until now, I had always fought back against people who touched either me or something belonging to me.

I fought the Company because they interfered with my home.

I fought the Order partly for the divine power fragments, but also because their actions had harmed people around me.

And this time, the Mystery Protection Association had interfered with me.

Of course, this was still based on a vague theory, so I could be wrong.

That meant before confronting the Mystery Protection Association, I needed to confirm whether my theory was actually correct.

Several possible ways to verify it came to mind.

I chose the most certain one.

Return to False Utopia, wear the brooch, and meet the President of the Association.

If I talked with the President directly, I would probably find some clue.

It could be extremely dangerous.

Even so, I decided to try.

The Runestone gave me courage, and the numerous Mysteries I possessed gave me a foundation for that confidence.

In the end, I headed toward the center of the library and used the authority Eriel had granted me.

The authority to summon all of my companions.

Less than an hour later, everyone had gathered at the center of the library.

Arlin and Bias, who had only just been recovering from their fatigue, were there too.

Lee Yeonhee had been called away from her training.

Eriel had been summoned while inspecting the Inner World.

Including me, all six members of our group were gathered in one place.

I briefly thanked them for coming, then immediately got to the point.

I explained that Arlin, Bias, and I had gone to the exhibition.

I told them about what happened there.

Then I explained my theory as well.

Eriel and Hwa-ryeon had already heard some of the story, so they only widened their eyes slightly in surprise.

Lee Yeonhee was different.

She hadn't heard anything about it.

She immediately ran toward me, examining every part of my body while pouring divine power into me.

Her recent training must have been effective, because her control over divine power had improved so much that comparing it to before almost felt unfair.

Even the brightness was on another level.

As the divine power flowed into me, I felt vitality stir throughout my entire body.

Even so, I calmed her down.

“Something like that happened while I was staying at home...”

She seemed slightly dejected.

Hwa-ryeon had gotten angry when she heard about it.

Lee Yeonhee reacted differently.

She was angry too, but the anger was directed at herself.

It seemed she hated the fact that I had gone through something dangerous while she hadn't been there to help.

That reaction actually made me feel even more sorry.

As I thought about what to say to her, her attitude gradually started changing.

The anger that had been aimed at herself began shifting toward the Association that had put me in danger.

Her wings flapped violently.

Dozens of fragments of light broke away from them, transforming into feathers that drifted softly downward.

Then, the moment the feathers touched the ground, they exploded.

Bright flashes erupted everywhere.

The ground trembled as explosions rang out one after another.

My eyes widened.

Lee Yeonhee made a startled expression as if she'd just realized what she'd done.

I turned a bewildered gaze toward Eriel, who had apparently been helping with her training.

My eyes strongly demanded an explanation.

Eriel opened her mouth.

“Lee Yeonhee has developed enough to use divine power offensively now. The power is still weaker than a cold weapon, but she'll improve before long.”

“...Wait. Wasn't divine power supposed to be a power used to transfer your own life force?”

I was so confused that I momentarily forgot the situation and asked.

Eriel answered kindly.

“That's right. But once a human transcends their limits and becomes an angel, especially once they reach around the level of a Throne, they can use divine power in other ways too.”

“How?”

“Someone who awakens divine power can place their own life force into that divine power. And life force is also a form of energy. Similar to the concept of innate qi.”

“Right.”

“What Lee Yeonhee did was fill feather-shaped divine power with the energy called life force, then release all of that energy at once.”

After hearing the explanation, I understood.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say I accepted it.

Either way, our group's combat strength had increased, so it was good news.

A lot of questions about Lee Yeonhee and Eriel came to mind, but I held them back.

This wasn't the right time for them.

Right now, we needed to talk about the Mystery Protection Association.

I continued explaining my theory.

There was a possibility that the chaos today had been deliberately arranged by the Association, and that the Demon Worshipers might have been their collaborators or the force behind it.

Everyone reacted differently.

Lee Yeonhee wore an angry expression while controlling the divine power that looked ready to explode again.

“Now that I think about it carefully, that theory does seem quite likely. Yuhyeon's deduction explains everything that happened so far. I think I may even understand a little of why they did it.”

Arlin nodded in admiration.

Hwa-ryeon silently stroked her sword.

Eriel's expression had turned slightly cold.

Bias was holding Lucy in her arms with an expression I had never seen before.

There was no emotion on her face at all.

She wore an icy, emotionless expression.

Then she noticed me looking at her and immediately returned to her usual cheerful smile, meeting my eyes.

“...”

My heart beat slightly faster.

After finishing my explanation, I asked everyone what we should do.

The decision was unanimous.

We would confront the Association.

Apparently, they didn't particularly care even if my deduction turned out to be wrong.

If the Association had deliberately caused this incident, then they were malicious.

If they hadn't, then they were terrifyingly incompetent.

Either way, the fact remained that I had suffered because of them.

To my companions, that alone was enough reason to curse the Association.

And apparently, enough reason to oppose them as well.