"But didn't you say the information about the key is itself a cur—"
Jenkins hadn't expected Old Daddy to be so decisive.
"It's just the most basic information on how to use it. For an ordinary person, it would be enough to kill them with its curse, but for you, it shouldn't be a major problem. Rember, the key's purpose is to be inserted into a keyhole and turned."
Chocolate had intended to stop then, but upon hearing Old Daddy's words, it decided to let Jenkins hear everything first. As a result, the monsters from the Shadow Realm that had surrounded Jenkins and Old Daddy suddenly slowed, as if a slow-motion button had been pressed. Of course, to the two n cornered by them, it looked like a sign the monsters were about to attack.
"Because this key has no keyhole, I used myself as the keyhole. Insert..."
Old Daddy pressed a hand to his own heart.
"Turn left: regression, power suppression."
Though they were just a few simple words, Jenkins's heart suddenly stopped, and it was at least two seconds before it started beating again. This was only thanks to the constant counteracting effects of his World Tree Seedling and Tree Soul. It was a testant to the key's terrifying curse, nearly on par with the ti his heart turned to tal when he entered the black tower.
"Turn right: evolution, power enhancent."
He looked at Jenkins, his expression grave.
"Do you have that?"
"I wanted to ask, what if—"
"Knowing the basics is enough. It's not like I'm guaranteed to die yet!"
With that, he moved to remove the key, while Jenkins reached out, preparing to knock the old man unconscious. Just then, the monsters that had crawled out from the shadows suddenly turned on each other, attacking their own kind.
As the powers of shadow churned together, creating a flickering dance of light and darkness that obscured their vision, a rift to the Shadow Realm opened at the Dancer's feet, just as it had for Jenkins monts ago.
But she didn't fall. Instead, she hovered there until Chocolate personally stepped on her, forcing the reluctant Dancer into the Shadow Realm. After that, Chocolate would cast her out of the material world. She would surely return, of course, but when that might be was anyone's guess.
As for Old Daddy and Jenkins, the shadow energy around them had reached an almost impossible concentration. Amidst the infighting, a few horrifying monsters charged at them, but they were dispatched with ease.
Just as the two were trying to figure out what was happening, it was as if a switch had been flipped. A powerful suction erupted from the curtains of the Shadow Realm, pulling all the surviving monsters and strange spirits back in, even taking a great deal of rainwater with it. The backlash of wind forced them to shut their eyes, and from within the reopened veil of shadow, the roar of so colossal creature seed to echo.
A few minutes later, the street was once again quiet, its spotless surface continuing to be washed by the rain. Jenkins and Old Daddy stood drenched and disheveled, looking at each other.
"What just happened?"
"Sothing's definitely wrong. This isn't normal. It's almost like..."
Though Jenkins could be slow on the uptake in so respects, his mind was exceptionally sharp in situations like this, his intuition keen.
"It's as if soone deliberately..."
"You're welco."
A girl's voice drifted down from above. Old Daddy and Jenkins tilted their heads back against the rain and saw a black-haired girl in a black and white chiffon dress standing atop a small, decorative stone statue on the roof of a second-story shop.
She was only slightly taller than Alexia, holding a black oil-paper umbrella and wearing a pair of shiny little black leather shoes. Her long, black hair was unbound, swaying freely behind her. From his angle, Jenkins could just make out a fish-shaped hairpin clipped in her hair. It was an unusual style, but it perfectly suited the cute temperant of a girl who couldn't be very old...
"It's her?"
Jenkins said, startled. He had seen this young-looking girl before and even had the honor of dancing with her. At the ti, she had been wearing the exact sa clothes—even her hair accessory and shoes were identical, minus the umbrella.
"No need to thank . I assu you're also on your way to the Sage's Church for the negotiations. It just so happens I know a thing or two about the Shadow Realm, so I thought I'd lend a hand."
The young-looking girl's Fidektri was flawless, and she even had a slight Nolan accent, suggesting she was a local.
She spoke with a deliberately mature tone, but her voice was exceptionally soft, giving the impression of a child pretending to be a grown-up. Combined with her short stature, it was almost comical.
This was different from Alexia. Although Alexia was also short, her sense of style was quite mature, and she spoke with a natural, steady composure, so no one ever mistook her for being young.
"Thank you for your help, miss. May I ask which order you belong to?"
Old Daddy spoke up. He was certain she wasn't a mber of any of the Orthodox Churches. While he didn't know every Enchanter from the Righteous God churches, he knew nearly all of their demigods. The power she had just displayed was undoubtedly that of a true demigod, possibly even beyond the eighth level.
Considering her youthful appearance and a childlike air she couldn't fake, she had to be a mber of so unknown cult of a pseudo-god.
"That's not important. You two should be careful on your way. The city isn't very safe today."
The girl spoke, then turned and leaped off the other side of the building, not giving Old Daddy another chance to speak.
"Jenkins, what are you thinking about?"
Old Daddy sighed, then noticed his apprentice's thoughtful expression.
"You're not stunned by her power, are you? It happens sotis—a powerful person nobody's ever heard of just appears out of nowhere. The pseudo-god cults can produce so truly outstanding Enchanters. We can't underestimate them just because they don't believe in the Righteous Gods."
"No, Old Daddy, it's not that. I think I know her."
Jenkins recounted their encounter at the ball, which confird that the girl had, like Enchanters from all over the world, recently co to Nolan because of the end of the Epoch.
"So, you were thinking that she's deliberately approaching you? That she might have even been following you since St. George Avenue?"
"No, of course not."
His Eye of Reality hadn't detected any unusual aura.
"It's just that the girl gives a very familiar feeling. No, incredibly familiar. The feeling she gives ... it's like sothing I see every day, sothing right under my nose, but that I've never consciously thought about..."
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