Chapter 87: The Reader’s Heart (3)

Light flowed out of my sword and covered the black dragon.

[Sympathy refuses to be absorbed!]

But the energy around the black dragon resisted me fiercely. The black, poisonous energy spilled outward like sewage during the rainy season or a black panther suddenly jolted out of a peaceful sleep.

[Sympathy is bewildered.]

[Sympathy rebukes her sister.]

[Sympathy demands to know if she betrayed Lefanta Aegim.]

[The Goddess of Protection pacifies her sister.]

The light of my holy sword and the black energy of the dragon blended together chaotically.

[Sympathy demands that you show her that you’re qualified to be her new master.]

Neither the white light or dark energy were ready to back down.

[A Constellation is a formidable power.]

[Their power should never be given to those who aren’t qualified.]

[Sympathy has not recognized you as her new master.]

I quietly looked at the sword embedded in the black dragon’s chest. “Yes, you have a point, but how am I supposed to prove that I’m qualified?”

The black poisonous energy continued to leak out from the black dragon’s corpse. The energy, more venomous than it had ever been, took on the form of an angel who was seemingly made from dark water.

[Sympathy says she is the fragment of the goddess’s sympathy.]

[If you have proven that you can be someone’s idol... it is time you must prove that you can sympathize with someone.]

The expressionless angel spread her wings. Even those were turbid and dripping with dark fluid.

[Sympathy demands that you temporarily relinquish control of your body and mind to her.]

“Why should I do that?” I asked.

[Sympathy explains that she must peer into your memories.]

The light emitted by the holy sword shone a little brighter.

[The Goddess of Protection cannot agree with Sympathy’s statement.]

[The Goddess of Protection believes that Sympathy will naturally understand that you are qualified to be their new master if they travel together, so there is no reason to take unnecessary risks.]

“No, it’s okay.” I put away my sword. “I can’t have a sword on my waist that doesn’t trust me, even if it’s the finest sword in the world. It’ll put me on edge. Come! Come and steal my memories or whatever until you’re satisfied.”

I spread my arms.

[Sympathy tests your sympathy.]

The angel’s huge wings covered me like a mother bird embracing her baby. In the darkness, scenes from my past played before me like dreams.

“You’re kind, Mister.”

The garden, consumed by flames.

“Hold on a little longer. Hold on....”

“You pitiful things...”

A paradise engulfed in smoke.

“The world has no meaning.”

A snowy field where a certain red peony bloomed.

“My disciple.”

The garden, the paradise, and the snow were as gone as quickly as they had appeared.

Sympathy hurriedly furled her wings, letting the light back in. She looked at me. The fragment of a Constellation still looked emotionless, but her black eyes peered out from underneath her eyebrows with a bewilderment which she couldn’t hide.

—You...

“I’m not perfect,” I said. “I’m weak to acts of goodwill. That is what I hope to receive, and I do go out of my way a little to get it. I really like compliments, so I work to look like a good person. That might be my weakness. I’m not perfect.”

The Constellation fragment closed her mouth.

“And so is your former master. I don’t know what grandiose mission Lefanta Aegim thinks he’s killing Constellations for. Maybe it’s a truly noble mission, but even so, I will hold him accountable for his wrongdoings.” I raised my sword and pointed it at the black angel. “If you think your former master was perfect and never did anything wrong, then don’t come with me. I don’t need a sword like that either.”

The black angel slowly opened her mouth.

—Are you going to kill Lefanta Aegim?

“Yes, if he deserves to die.”

—Can you promise that your personal feelings won’t affect your judgment?

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “My teacher is dead, and this world is ruined. Too many people are hurt and dead, so I don’t know. But I promise you that I’ll do my best not to let it happen. So if you think I’m going down the wrong path, do your best to set me on the right one. I’ll do my best, and you do yours. That’s what it means to be together, I think.”

The black angel’s wings slowly fell apart.

—Those whom I cut feel pain, but they’re never wounded or die. My ability is woundless pain.

The angel collapsed entirely, returning to black fluid.

—My new master, I vow to serve you to the best of my ability.

The black fluid poured into the holy sword I held; the sword drank down the swirling flood like a thirsty fox in the desert.

[The Goddess of Protection’s presence has become stronger.]

—Oh, oh...

The black dragon, the divine beast who used to be the Constellation of this world, moaned as even the sword embedded in his chest melted down and was absorbed into my sword.

—Oh...

The black dragon had been killed long ago, so he didn’t have anything to express. He simply moaned like an old man who had grown tired of life.

—Ohhhhhh, ohhhh...

The remnants of his horns crumbled away, and his scales melted like candle wax. The entire dragon was reduced into a puddle of black fluid.

The divine beast that had reigned over an entire world had met his end.

And then it was the winter’s turn to meet its demise. The perpetual snow covering the mountain collapsed like an avalanche. I was on the top of the mountain, so I could see all of the snow pouring down into the world.

“Winter is the season of death.” The Indoor Librarian watched the snow go with me. “You’ve ended this lonely season.”

The white avalanche rolled over the white world, but where it passed was no longer white. The new color of this world’s flesh was brown. After the long winter finally ended, the bare ground was revealed.

Why did the spring wind smell so different from the winter wind? Did Teacher know where the scent of spring came from?

“...Sir,” I said.

“Go ahead.”

“I have the stage clear reward that allows me to see people’s liked genres, plot points, characters, etcetera.”

“I know.”

The Indoor Librarian let out a short breath. Our breath was no longer frozen white.

“I’m in charge of the twenty-first to thirtieth floors. The reward you received is what I prepared, so I know about it, of course.”

“You have the Constellation Murderer as your liked character.”

“I’m sure I do.”

“Why do you like him? Lefanta Aegim goes around and kills Constellations. I would have understood if you didn’t like him, but I’m not sure why you’d have any reason to like him.”

The Indoor Librarian closed his right eye. “Since it’s you, I’ll tell you. There’s this dream I’ve had for a long time.”

“A dream?”

“Yes! It’s to appear in the novel I like!” The Constellation’s eyes sparkled innocently.

“...Isn’t it something you can do right now?” I asked, puzzled. “You can freely travel from apocalyptic book to apocalyptic book.”

“Haha—you really don’t understand readers, do you? Intervening and showing up in a novel are a little different. Actually, they’re two entirely different matters.” The Indoor Librarian covered his mouth with his sleeves and laughed. “From the perspective of an apocalyptic book, I’m an alien substance that shouldn’t exist in that world, just like the Constellation Murderer that killed the dragon in this world.

“That isn’t what I want to be in a novel. No, not at all. I want to appear as a proper character, like someone who has been in that world with the other characters from the very beginning! This is my dream as the reader of all life!”

I still didn’t understand him.

The Indoor Librarian noted my reaction and smiled. “Then I’ll ask you something, Gong-Ja. Why didn’t you kill the Heavenly Demon? The Heavenly Demon attained the level of Mind Kill at her last moment. If you had made her part of your monster legion, she would have been as reliable as any army, even though she wouldn’t be able to keep her power from before her death. She cared for you deeply, so she would have remained a faithful ally and a great teacher. So why didn’t you kill the Heavenly Demon?”

“...I...”

“Shh.” The Indoor Librarian raised his index finger and pressed it against my lips. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it. I already understand why.”

I could feel the pressure of his finger on my lips.

“You didn’t want to meddle with the end your teacher reached. I feel the same way—I don’t want to intervene in the ends that the worlds met. We share the same heart...”

The world had already melted up to the horizon. The sun shone on the lake that the thawing ice had revealed.

“I refuse to intervene in a story, which leaves me only one way to become a character.”

“... What is it?” I asked.

“It’s simple if you think about it the other way around: instead of searching for a character in a novel, the character can come look for me.

“Lefanta Aegim, the Constellation Murderer, constantly travels from world to world to kill Constellations,” he whispered. The Indoor Librarian smiled. “He’s bound to visit my Great Library of All Life one day to kill me.”

He took a book out of his pocket. It looked more worn out than the other apocalyptic books, suggesting that he had taken it out and read it hundreds of times. The book's leather cover was worn and torn like the notebook of an old writer.

The title,

The Epic of Lefanta Aegim

, was embossed in gold on the cover.

“He’ll continue his story and stand before me someday by his own volition. On that day, I’ll finally appear in the story of

The Epic of Lefanta Aegim

. That is the day I’m waiting for.”

“Even if the story will end with your death?”

“Of course.” The Indoor Librarian looked down at the now snow-free ground and smiled widely. His sleeves fluttered like a dancing crane. “He’s the protagonist. Isn’t that the best epilogue I can ask for?”

***

Before returning to the library, I stopped to see the Heavenly Demon Cult followers. I really wanted to make sure that Teacher’s funeral was going well.

“Ah, Young Heaven.”

“Welcome!”

“Welcome, Young Heaven.”

The followers offered me their

bao quan

salute as soon as they saw me. However, I felt like they were disconcerted for some reason. It wasn’t just one or two people—all of them were.

I tilted my head. “Is the funeral already over?”

“N-no, Young Heaven. Umm, we haven’t started the funeral...”

“Is something wrong?”

The followers exchanged glances.

“Well...”

“Lady Heavenly Demon’s body has disappeared,” the Blood Demon King explained. He was one of the Four Demon Kings; Teacher often called him Blood Demon Senior Captain.

“What?”

“It’ll be faster to show you, Young Heaven.”

I quickly followed the Blood Demon King to where I had laid Teacher’s body and was bewildered by what I saw.

“All of the snow suddenly began to melt, and Lady Heavenly Demon’s body disappeared as well... I’m sorry. It happened so quickly that we didn’t have time to do anything about it.”

The snow was gone, but her body was nowhere to be seen. It was nowhere to be found, no matter where I looked.

“We think that because Lady Heavenly Demon’s vital energy was so pure, she naturally dissolved into nature after her death...”

Crimson peonies in full bloom swayed where her arms, feet, and hair had rested.

—This is incredible,

the Guardian muttered.

The Constellation of this world left behind nothing but a curse after he died, but your teacher left behind flowers. Your teacher is better than the so-called Constellation of this world.

I approached the flower garden and bent down. I stroked the peony petals with my fingertips, feeling their red petals rubbing against my index finger.

It was the first spring to bloom in this world.

“Of course, we’re still preparing for the funeral,” the Blood Demon King said from behind me. “Young Heaven, please attend—”

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s okay. Please don’t hold the funeral.”

“Pardon?”

“This’ll be enough.” I stood up and turned to the cultists. “I became the Young Heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult because I’m her heir, but I’m sure there are still some who can’t accept it. The principle of this cult is that the strongest takes all, so it’s only natural for the strongest person to rise to the highest position.

“Let’s make our fight her funeral. It’s customary to offer precious items during a funeral, and our sword is what we value the most. So, let’s offer our swords to Teacher.” I laughed. “Bring it on.”

Spring arrived. Like all living people, the next chapter of my story would come. It would start on a slightly higher stage than where I was now.