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Chapter 119: Bible (3)
It was a dull afternoon at the academy library, with Arin wandering around in search of class materials.
Suddenly, she spotted a familiar face among the shelves.
“Luna?”
Though it was indeed Luna, Arin couldn’t help but notice the thick hardcover book she held in her hands.
It was hefty, resembling a to more suitable for scholars than students, yet sohow, it seed to suit Luna perfectly.
Approaching cautiously so as not to disturb her, Arin greeted,
“Hey, Luna.”
Luna wasn’t surprised by the sudden greeting, as she had already sensed Arin’s presence.
“S-sorry! Did you get interrupted while reading?”
“No, it’s okay. I wasn’t really focused; I’ve read this book a few tis already.”
Arin couldn’t believe her ears for a mont.
“This is the book you read?”
“Yes. I rember seeing it about three tis. It’s been a while since I read it, so I was reading it again, but it’s not as interesting as it used to be.”
Luna replied, returning the book to its place.
“Oh, you enjoy reading?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty much all I could do during my ti in the society.”
“But still, the book you were reading earlier looked quite difficult…”
At first glance, it was a book that only academic researchers would read.
“It did? I’ve read everything here at least once.”
If it were any other student, Arin might have dismissed such a claim as boastful, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so with Luna.
“Everything here?”
“Yeah, we had plenty of books in the society. All we could do was read and practice magic… anyway that’s it”
“Wow, that’s impressive…”
Arin wondered if Luna seed so uninterested because there were no books on Cyan.
Luna appeared bored, as if she had lost interest in everything.
“How about requesting a book you want to read?”
“Requesting?”
“Yeah! You can write down the book you want and ask the librarian. They’ll get it for you. Don’t you want to read sothing new?”
“Well, it seems like it would be hard. Even if I request it, the academy probably won’t be able to get it for .”
“Really? What’s the na of the book?”
“It’s Hezekeah…”
[PR/N: hezekeah ans “Yahweh strengthens” in hebrew, like jesus is my strength.]
The title sounded more like a person’s na than a book.
Although Arin felt like she had heard it sowhere before, she couldn’t quite recall.
“It sounds like a rather enigmatic book from just the na.”
“It’s not that strange. The author is just… unique,” Luna replied cryptically.
“Unique? Who wrote it?”
“Not a person…”
Arin pondered silently.
What could that possibly an?
“Non-human?”
“Yes. It’s more like a magical textbook written by beings slightly above us…”
Supernatural entities authored the book.
If we were to call it such, there’s only one book she knows of that fits that description.
“Um, are you talking about the Scriptures?”
Luna nodded cautiously.
* * *
In one of the historical tos commonly found in the academy, there’s a passage on the first page:
“Resembling the external appearance of the gods but lacking their omnipotent abilities, humans are considered the weakest of all races.”
In this harsh continent, they are so fragile that their disappearance would not be surprising.
For humans, the paramount tool for survival is magic.
Unable to survive in the wilds of nature with just their bare bodies, humans were forced to pursue relentless knowledge and growth.
Their struggle for survival eventually led to the developnt of their own unique system of magic, akin to the teachings of the gods, and even now, they continue to grow for their own existence.
However, as re creations, humans are inherently limited.
Magic itself is nothing more than a borrowing of the power of the creator, the gods, and thus, there are limitations to what they can achieve.
To complent these limitations of humans, the god of light, Lundel, is said to have bestowed upon them one book.
That book is none other than the Scriptures of Hezekeah.
If soone among humans were to understand and use this Scripture correctly, it is said that at that mont, the dark fog threatening human existence would dissipate, leaving only the true light of salvation.
Therefore, beings of darkness should beware of it.
Though now considered a forgotten legend or an artifact of a bygone era, before Silica’s eyes lay the very Scripture itself.
[PR/N: Bible is also known as Scripture, Holy Book, Holy Writ. Good Book. Polyglot.]
“Ha…”
A montary daze left Silica unable to react.
It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long ti.
Was it arrogance?
Or was it ignorance?
For soone like her, who knew all too well that hesitation ant death, why was she now facing this situation?
“I must admit, I’m quite surprised. I knew Lady Silica was hiding her attributes, but I never expected you to conceal your rank as well.”
The Boris who had been lying on the ground monts ago had disappeared.
Instead, all that remains is Boris, who is looking down at Silica with a triumphant expression that has been around for so ti.
In one hand, he held the Bible that was shining brightly.
“Shall I help you up?”
Boris extended his hand to the still-seated Silica.
Upon this, Silica hastily retreated backward.
In that mont, a sudden *splurt!* was heard, and a fountain of crimson blood erupted in front of her.
“Ah!”
Simultaneously, screams echoed around as one by one, the comrades began to collapse.
Silica, too, lost all of her strength and fell down.
“W-what’s happening?”
A searing pain, vibrating through her bones, as if the scarlet sword had pierced through flesh and reached the very marrow.
It was a familiar agony to assassins accustod to wielding swords, but in this context, it was incomprehensible.
Why?
How?
She hadn’t been struck by the blade, nor had she been attacked invisibly.
She had only dealt with the marionettes he summoned, so why this situation?
“It seems the curse has been triggered.”
Boris remarked as if expecting this.
Realizing sothing, Silica turned her gaze to the marionettes her comrades had been dealing with.
“Didn’t I ask for retribution? Love for love, pain for pain… My dolls rely executed that.”
The destroyed dolls, now in a state beyond repair, seed to have inflicted the sa damage on the comrades, as if receiving back the harm they had caused.
“What… What have you done?”
“The [Doll Curse]. It’s a magic that curses summoned marionettes to return a portion of the harm inflicted on the target.
Such magic was unheard of to her.
Even as soone who was not an amateur who had just started learning magic, this fantastical concept of magic was beyond belief.
Boris, as if pointing out what the problem was, continued,
“Black magic is ultimately a hoax concocted by so narrow-minded individuals. Unable to perform it themselves, they draw the line for others not to do it either.”
Boris then demonstrated his fluctuating mana as if to reassure her.
“What I did is ultimately no different from that kind of magic.”
“Is this the magic of the Scriptures?”
Divine magic unreachable for the feeble humans.
What kind of change would the countless magics contained within that white book bring to this continent?
One thing was certain: the change wouldn’t be positive for them.
“Lundel, the god of light, may have high regard for humans as the first race to reach the realm of the gods, but I don’t quite agree with that notion. The power of the gods is still too much for humans to handle. Don’t you agree, Silica?”
Her gaze deepened upon hearing his words.
“Then, let ask. Why are you protecting Cyan Vert?”
“I guess that’s not written in that great Bible, right?”
Boris wasn’t going to get a straightforward answer from her.
“Let rephrase the question. Is Cyan Vert truly the wielder of the Demonic Sword?”
“…!”
This ti, she couldn’t say a word.
“In truth, I had my doubts. I heard that the essence of the Demonic Sword is to possess the owner’s body, yet I saw no sign of that in the boy.”
Silica’s true thoughts, unseen even to the possessor of the Scriptures.
It felt like peering into an endless fog.
“I was rather perplexed, to be honest. There seed to be no connection between us, yet he treated as if I were so enemy from a past life. As if he knew sothing about …”
For the first ti, a sense of discomfort emanated from his previously composed voice.
“Who are you, exactly? And Cyan Vert…”
Silica remained silent, not because she couldn’t speak but because she couldn’t grasp what to say.
However, her pondering didn’t last long.
After a brief silence, her first words were simple.
“Heh!”
It was a laugh, as if the question itself was ridiculously petty.
Then, she continued.
“That boy is just perfect. Even more so than you think…”
Thinking of her audacious disciple, a smile naturally ford on her lips.
“If that boy had any flaws, he would have fallen into the hands of soone like you, exploited and discarded like a puppet. But now, there’s no chance of that happening.”
As if the injury she had suffered earlier was not a big deal, she even brushed off her knees and stood up.
“However, it’s out of the question now.”
“….!?”
“To think a re underling like you would dare to challenge a child who even the vilest demonic sword can’t match… It’s absurd, isn’t it?”
For a mont, Boris, feeling a sense of unease, flinched.
“That child is destined to change many things….”
Having risen to his feet, Silica adjusted her posture once more.
But it wasn’t the stance of an assassin aiming to kill her opponent.
– Ooooooom
“As I speak, it almost sounds like a farewell, doesn’t it? But nothing will change. I will end you here today, and my beloved student will await my return.”
It wasn’t an assassin’s stance but a posture to cast magic.
She emanated the harmonious glow of murderous intent and mana from her body.
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