The lantern light flickered alone in the silent room, and from the darkness, a shadow began to approach.
A woman appeared, dressed in a white shirt, neat purple clothes, her black hair tied up, and her violet eyes shimmering in the dim room.
She walked toward them. At that moment, she was exchanging a few words with Nathan. The conversation was about why she was here.
Her name was Aurora De Victoria. A Adjudicator, Numero Seven–inkbinder, Her investigating strange occurrences at night and several mysterious events that had befallen the city in recent days.
She worked in the shadows, operating under the authority of the church that managed it all. The people of Monity had experienced bizarre incidents these past few days, and she was assigned to investigate, beginning her first steps through observation.
Her eyes were focused on Lucian, who remained motionless, unresponsive, and unconscious. Seeing someone affected by something unnatural only heightened her curiosity.
She tried to identify what exactly was wrong, but found nothing unusual on Lucian's body. Her gaze then shifted to Nathan. Seeing that, she stepped closer and covered Lucian again with his cloak.
Aurora searched through her work desk but couldn't find what she was looking for. Eventually, she was forced to search the slightly dim corners of the room. On top of a cabinet, she found the book she needed. She tore out a blank page.
She wrote an incantation on the torn paper. Its effect emerged immediately. A green aura enveloped Lucian's body. At the same time, her expression grew serious, realizing that this spell didn't behave as expected. Her eyes closed briefly, her mind racing with thoughts of something truly strange occurring.
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind burst from Lucian's body, throwing the entire room into chaos. Valuable items arranged neatly on the shelves were flung everywhere. The wind pushed both of them back.
Aurora could only watch as her artifacts and precious belongings scattered. Something was clearly wrong. Her eyes returned to Lucian's face, noticing a slight movement in his eyes.
His consciousness had returned. He opened his eyes, seeing a glimmer of light in the surrounding darkness. Now awake, he took in the messy state of the room, slightly confused. But what caught him off guard was a woman staring at him with sharp eyes.
Lucian didn't know what to do. To avoid her gaze, he looked away.
The sound of something falling broke the silence. Nathan brushed off the dust from his cloak as he stood. When he turned to Lucian, a smile broke across his face, relieved to see his friend safe and the strange phenomenon gone.
As he approached to speak, Aurora stopped him.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" he asked, confused.
"It's nothing," she replied, a bit uncertain.
"Huh, you scared me," he muttered and walked over to Lucian, asking how he felt.
In this world, strange occurrences happened often. In his mind, Lucian still recalled the blood pouring from his mouth. His eyes shot open, and a slight jolt brought him back from his thoughts.
"Hey Fenn, are you alright?" Nathan asked, his face showing concern.
"Oh—yeah, I'm fine, just a little dizzy."
His body slumped, resting against a table. He exhaled deeply, wondering whether his body would truly be fine moving forward.
He glanced at Aurora, who was busy picking up the valuables scattered across the room. Not knowing who she was, he turned to Nathan.
"Is she your friend?" Lucian asked, confused.
"Something like that," Nathan replied casually, then stood.
In truth, Aurora was an undercover investigator in the city of Monity. Nathan would occasionally visit her for small favors. But Lucian didn't understand what was really going on between them, so he decided to stop asking.
"This place is kind of weird," he muttered while looking at the lantern light glowing faintly in the room.
"Well, makes sense. This is your first time here," Nathan replied softly.
As the two continued chatting, a voice called out for Nathan.
They immediately stopped talking. Nathan walked toward the source of the voice, with Lucian following out of curiosity, suspecting something unexpected was about to unfold.
Upon arrival, Aurora showed them the same page she had used earlier to write the spell. Strangely, the page now bore ancient writings.
Unable to read it, they stared at it in confusion. The symbols were strange and incomprehensible.
"When did those words appear?" Nathan asked with a serious expression.
This was something they had never seen before. Aurora couldn't answer, her mind clouded with anxiety.
Strangely, when Lucian touched the page, a monstrous head covered in countless eyes appeared right before his face.
Their conversation stopped. All their attention turned to the creature that had suddenly manifested. Their expressions were filled with shock and disbelief, their mouths agape.
Lucian jumped back to avoid it. But of course, the monster pursued him, drawing closer no matter how far he moved.
Worried, his eyes searched for something. He spotted a book, tore out a page, and quickly began writing an incantation. "In the shadows of the dark night, where light is a mere whisper. I summon the hidden power to defeat this monster," Lucian chanted in his mind.
But the many-eyed monster wasn't going to let him complete it. It hurled nearby objects to disrupt his focus.
Even so, he managed to finish the spell and directed it at the creature. He closed his eyes, hoping it would work. When he opened them again, the monster was gone.
Relieved, he wiped the sweat from his brow. On the other side, the others looked stunned. They couldn't believe Lucian had actually made the monster disappear.
"Huh… Turns out you're pretty capable, Fenn," Nathan smiled, patting his friend on the shoulder.
Lucian saw Aurora smile and responded with a nod.
"Tch, that monster caused nothing but trouble. Just popped up and wrecked my secret room."
After saying that, Aurora noticed one of her books was destroyed and a page was missing. Still, she let it go. Books could be replaced. Lives could not.
She turned to Nathan. Since he had helped her so much, this time she asked him to help clean up the room. Nathan had no choice but to comply.
Hearing them from behind, Lucian also began helping to tidy up. One by one, everything was put back in its place—spellbooks, small tools, chests, and more.
Lucian wiped the sweat from his forehead, breathing heavily from exhaustion. Then he asked Nathan if they would continue their journey.
Hearing that, Nathan shook his head. He no longer wished to continue. For now, he just wanted to relax. Lucian nodded silently in agreement.
He stared at the ceiling, which looked brittle, the walls unmaintained, and the room infested with small creatures. No wonder—it wasn't meant to be lived in. Aurora used the place because of its peace and solitude.
"Hey Nathan, can we leave this place?" Lucian asked quietly, clearly uncomfortable.
The longer he stayed, the more restless he felt. The room's air was growing thin. Soon after, both of them stepped outside, followed by Aurora carrying two books.
She exhaled deeply, her body finally feeling at ease, and smiled in relief.
"Huh, this room definitely needs more ventilation," she muttered, a subtle jab.
"I have something to discuss," Aurora said, stopping in her tracks with a deadly serious look.
Seeing her expression, Nathan immediately understood. Something important was about to be revealed. He glanced at Lucian, who hadn't yet been informed. Lucian nodded, his eyes signaling Aurora to speak.
Suddenly, a curse emerged from Lucian's body, triggered by a torn page from her damaged book. When he was told this, his eyes widened in surprise, but strangely, he didn't react.
Seeing Lucian's calm face only made them more curious.
"You already knew?" Aurora asked, clearly puzzled.
"No, just let it be," he replied bluntly, leaving both of them even more confused.
"Hey Fenn. Are you sure you're alright?" Nathan asked, clearly uneasy after that strange response.
Lucian answered as if it was nothing, insisting it wouldn't be a burden on his body. Meanwhile, Aurora began explaining everything in detail.
She hadn't known at first, but upon finding the page and deciphering its contents, she confirmed that the curse had only just been released and was now residing in that book.
Hearing this piqued Lucian's curiosity. He then asked how the curse would attack its target.
Without hesitation, Aurora gladly explained, walking him through every detail of how the curse functioned and where it had come from.