Jenkins had initially thought today's incident was a problem with Papa Oliver's key, that perhaps the old man could no longer suppress the power of the Key of Evolution. But from the looks of it now, the fairy was the cause of it all.
Miss Stevel brought news from Papa Oliver. Although he had tried to tell Jenkins about the key's curse, the trouble this ti wasn't that the key had completely lost control.
"The partial loss of control over the key's power allowed a Cursed Item with similar abilities to detect its presence. Papa Oliver must have told you about the like-devours-like principle. The fairy you ntioned wants to seize that key. Although Papa Oliver would be freed from the curse if it succeeded, it would also give birth to an even more terrifying Cursed Item. Before we arrived, he was fighting it. This place is sealed off, preventing anyone from entering or leaving, a asure employed by both Papa Oliver and the fairy."
Jenkins opened his mouth, wanting to tell his senior the truth the Silver Dragon Lord had shared with him: that once the key left its holder, the holder would soon die.
He believed Papa Oliver must have known this, but since he hadn't told Miss Stevel, he must have had his reservations. And so, Jenkins said nothing.
"Does that fairy have a Cursed Item designation?"
He asked softly, his feelings a complicated tangle. The original plan had been to postpone dealing with Papa Oliver's situation until everything else was resolved, but he had never imagined the cataclysm at the end of the Epoch would directly affect Cursed Items.
"A-01-1-4820, the 'Cataclysmic Evolver.' An extrely troubleso entity. It's a Cursed Item that only appears at the end of an Epoch.
It cannot be eliminated, defeated, or killed. It can transfer itself through any physical or non-physical dium, and once it appears, it essentially runs rampant. I heard you encountered the 'Rain Man,' but in truth, the evolutionary enhancent effect the 'Cataclysmic Evolver' has on surrounding Cursed Items is even more potent.
Its left and right eyes shoot beams of light representing the concepts of 'evolution' and 'devolution,' respectively. Unless you avoid a direct hit, there is no way to block them. Only a handful of thods can temporarily trap the 'Cataclysmic Evolver,' like what's happening now, but it won't hold for long.
You can think of that blue-skinned fairy as a mobile cataclysm. In past Epochs, every single one of its appearances has been a disaster significant enough for humanity to record for thousands of years."
"Is it that powerful?"
Jenkins hadn't felt it was that strong just a mont ago.
"Yes. The rune you ntioned isn't in the information Papa Oliver gave . This is likely an effect produced by the combined power of his key and the blue fairy. Describe what the rune looks like."
Jenkins then retrieved paper and a pen from under the counter to sketch the rune. It proved incredibly difficult; his hand was completely uncontrollable as he tried to draw it. When he used the Book of mories to display the rune from his mory, the image was also blurry, as if the ink had been diluted, but thankfully the general shape was still discernible.
Miss Stevel recognized the rune. It was a character from the earliest runic system known to humankind. Described in modern terms, its aning was roughly "Evolution and Devolution," "Ascension and Corruption," and "Advancent and Retreat." The anings of ancient runes were typically very complex, unlike in modern runology, where a single rune represents only one aning.
"Did Papa Oliver say how to deal with that fairy?"
"Papa Oliver told us to leave and find the Church. He said the two of us can't handle it alone, but the Church has its ways."
As Miss Stevel spoke, she glanced around, wary of a surprise attack from the fairy. But even as they discussed leaving to get reinforcents, the "Cataclysmic Evolver" remained nowhere to be seen.
"How did that thing disappear earlier?"
Miss Stevel asked again. Jenkins thought for a mont.
"I only rember being turned into a mouse, and then nothing after that. Maybe Chocolate scared it away."
He joked, then asked another question.
"It's good that it's not here. To be honest, once those two beams of light appeared, even I could barely handle it. Let's go now while we have the chance. Did Papa Oliver say how to get out?"
"Papa Oliver gave the thod to undo his seal on the antique shop. He said you could probably undo the 'Cataclysmic Evolver's' seal."
With that, Miss Stevel and Jenkins walked to the shop's front door. She produced a silver needle and inserted it into the keyhole. The yellow spiritual light diffusing across the walls imdiately weakened.
"Papa Oliver was worried you wouldn't be willing to leave."
"If I hadn't been turned into a mouse, I probably wouldn't have. I would have insisted on rescuing him and Old Jack before going anywhere. But now that I know we're really no match for it, I'm not going to be foolish."
Jenkins said, cautiously watching his back for a sneak attack. Then, in front of Miss Stevel, he took out the "Key of the Door." A force still tried to knock it from his grasp, but it was much weaker this ti.
Jenkins successfully pressed it against the door. As he turned his wrist, a soft click reached their ears. The door swung open, but the blue fairy still hadn't appeared.
Jenkins stepped aside to let Miss Stevel exit first. The cat, which had been following them, saw Jenkins blocking the only way out and hesitated, squatting on the antique shop's floor and looking at him pitifully.
"Don't give that look. We'll deal with you when we get ho tonight."
This ant Jenkins wouldn't take the opportunity to get revenge during the day. Having received this promise, Chocolate imdiately tucked its tail and scurried past him.
Jenkins turned to look back at the empty antique shop, confirming that the fairy hadn't followed them after all. Only then did he slowly close the heavy door.
Sothing was wrong on the street. A mont ago, on the second floor of the shop, Jenkins had caused the building to vibrate, but the effect had likely been nullified by the two forces sealing the building, so no one had noticed anything amiss. But now, the fog on the street was simply too thick.
"It's about 9:20 in the morning now. The fog wasn't this thick at this ti yesterday, was it?"
Miss Stevel asked. Jenkins shook his head.
"I haven't seen fog this dense at this ti of day for at least a week. Sothing else might be wrong. Let's head to the church first... Are you coming with ?"
Right now, Miss Stevel was on a "secret mission," so it was best for her to avoid the church.
"Yesterday, when the Believers of Lies reported Horas Luther's death to the Church, they sohow ran into again. They asked to et on Friday afternoon—that's tomorrow. I won't go near the church today, just to avoid being seen by that elusive group..."
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