46 – Nyamyah

I gazed at the pulsating black heart, lost in thought for a moment.

‘No matter how I look at it, it seems to be the same heart as the one I saw in the North.’

The black heart that the dark mage who fled from Lorraine possessed.

Of course, due to viewing it from afar, it was somewhat ambiguous to definitively state that it was the same item as the one he held, but

‘Considering that the experiment hasn’t ended yet, and that mass-producing such an item is realistically impossible…’

It would be right to see it as the same item.

What was incomprehensible, however, was why such a precious artificial sun was stored in a place like this.

This question was resolved through Riana’s speculation.

“From my experience, when something someone desperately wants is placed in such a closed-off and illegal location, it’s usually with the intention of attracting the person who desires that item.”

“Attract?”

“Yes. Should I say it’s for the purpose of forcibly drawing them into the shadows, making it impossible for them to escape… In this case, I think it’s to draw them into the shared interests created by the dark mages and the cult.”

… One who desperately desires an artificial sun.

As this assumption surfaced, a long-standing, tenacious bad relationship came to mind.

‘Elysia.’

If the dark mage placed the artificial sun here to entice Elysia, what on earth does he want that he would…

Just as my thoughts were coming to an end, Daisy, in my arms, suddenly thrust her face forward, drooling, and spoke to me.

“Nyamyah.”

Could it be that she wants to eat it?

I firmly pressed her head with my palm, meaning that it was really not allowed this time.

“Myayayangyayang.”

She fussed and struggled to get out of my arms, as if she desperately wanted to eat it.

As I sighed, thinking about who she resembled in being so stubborn, the dark mage slowly walked towards us from afar and spoke.

“No way, you opened this? Hah… unbelievable. Just what are you? Even if you used some trickery, opening Phillips’ seal shouldn’t be this easy.”

He kept muttering astonished exclamations, seemingly unable to believe Siren had breached the door.

Then, with a hollow laugh, he lifted a black lantern that hadn’t been there before.

‘So, *that’s* why he was a bit late – he was carrying *that* thing.’

Well, having witnessed someone capable of unlocking Phillips’ seal, it wouldn’t make sense for him to enter without any preparations.

I watched the black lantern warily, my eyes narrowed. He chuckled deeply, then spoke to me.

“Seeing as where we are, I’ll give you a chance. Hand it over, and I’ll spare your life.”

He wiggled his fingers towards the black heart.

In response, I flipped him the bird and reached inside my coat for my precious hammer.

“Mmyamnyamnyam.”

Suddenly, Daisy darted forward and snatched the black heart right out of my hands.

Since Daisy’s mouth was so small, the act of biting it wasn’t a huge issue in itself.

The problem was that the instant her teeth sunk in, the black heart seemed to be absorbed, sucked right into Daisy.

“Bbyak.”

Daisy finally swallowed the black heart whole. She patted her bulging belly with a very satisfied look, and turned to face us.

“Myang.”

“……”

A chilling silence hung in the air.

The one wearing the most bewildered expression was the dark mage. He must never have imagined someone would devour the artificial sun, because he stood there slack-jawed, staring at Daisy.

“Crazy…”

Everyone was processing what happened, unable to react, as something that should never have occurred, *did* occurred.

Next to me, Siren looked at Daisy with a hint of disdain and quietly said,

“Daisy became Piggy now.”

“Myak!?”

“Piggy.”

The joke snapped me out of my daze, and I started running a cost-benefit analysis.

‘Not too bad? No, it might actually be good. At least the chance of the black heart being taken is gone.’

The proofs of connection between the Northern and Black Magic association, already collected by Liana, are already prepared, so there aren’t any other problems.

Above all, considering what happened last time, there’s a high chance Daisy will jump from a low-level spirit to a mid-level one in one go, so it’s not bad at all.

So thinking it’s all good, I smirked and decided to make a gradual escape.

“Well, no need to truly decide a victor, I suppose.”

Cause as much chaos as possible, then a swift escape.

Having decided as much, I began channeling Mana and Daisy’s power into the hammer to unleash ‘Point-Blank Detonation’.

Feeling an immense surge of power, unlike anything I’d ever experienced, I let out a dry laugh.

‘It gets this strong?’

I was merely gathering power, and already, things nearby were beyond just burning.

Witnessing the power of an intense sun, melting everything around me save for my allies, I realized I was several times stronger than before.

Feeling the surging, immense power of this sun, I raised the hammer, wondering what kind of force would be unleashed if I were to condense all this into ‘Point-Blank Detonation’.

“…You maggot!”

The black mage must have sensed my impending attack, as he frantically opened the glass front of the lamp.

Then, drawing out a writhing, immense malice from within, he shouted at me.

“Even if you try your best, you’re just human, there’s no way you can beat this…!”

There was no need to listen to him prattle on.

I rushed forward as he spoke, bringing the hammer down to unleash ‘Point-Blank Detonation’.

KWAhhh!

The force was overwhelmingly intense, and the world turned blindingly white as a ferocious roar ripped through the area.

I thought to myself that even I would struggle to withstand this power, and a faint smile crept onto my lips.

‘Not bad.’

Initially, I was caught off guard, but now I felt grateful that Daisy had consumed the artificial sun, and I took a light, steadying breath, surveying the surroundings.

Everything had melted away, leaving no trace.

I stared at the white ash that was once the black mage, and just as I was delivering a finishing blow out of habit, a voice came from behind.

“Time to run!”

I nodded at the words and quickly slipped out the door.

* * * * *

Following the instructions in the letter, Elysia had arrived at the ‘Clock Tower’.

Being in the center of the city, getting there hadn’t been easy.

However, thankfully, by covering herself head-to-toe in rags no better than garbage, she received scorn, but no suspicion, and managed to arrive undetected.

‘Now, if I just go inside…’

With everything in ruins, she had no other choice but to entrust her fate to the uncertain element of the artificial sun.

There was no room for hesitation, nor cause for contemplation.

I hesitated a moment, inexplicably reluctant, yet.

“Have you found the Grand Duchess?”

“Not yet!”

“Move faster, faster!”

There was no time for wavering. I bit my lip hard and stepped inside the clock tower.

Inside, I found countless clocks, stacked upon each other in every imaginable style.

Why they were piled here in the tower was a mystery, but it wasn’t important right now. I glanced around.

“You’ve come.”

A man in a black robe descended from above, calling out to me.

“So, you’ve made your decision.”

I simply stared at him, silent. He snapped his fingers, conjuring a contract in the air.

“Then let’s begin with the contract.”

The word ‘contract’ gave me pause.

It felt as if it were meant to bind me forcibly. I felt the need to investigate further first.

Composing my expression, I shook my head.

“Before that, I want to see the artificial sun. I must confirm that it can truly bring warmth to the North.”

He chuckled, a dry sound.

“That’s not difficult. Follow me, then.”

He snapped his fingers once more, revealing a hidden staircase leading downwards, to the basement.

Without a word, he told me to follow and began to descend.

It was an excessively suspicious place, but with investigators swarming, there was nowhere else to flee. I followed him down.

The place we reached was a lavish, antique auction house.

Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, in truth, save for the fact that.

Unlike the well-maintained corridors, everything seemed shattered, as if a terrorist attack had taken place, and what’s more.

Countless people were bound and sprawled on the floor, a rather peculiar sight.

‘What does this mean?’

Why had he brought me here in the first place? I called out to him, demanding an explanation.

“…Surely not. There’s no way someone could break Philips’ barrier. It’s just a baseless worry.”

His expression hardened, and he muttered incomprehensible words, seemingly troubled, as he quickened his pace.

It seemed wise to follow him and figure out what was happening, so I did, and what I saw was.

“…Ashes?”

It was an unidentifiable place, where everything had burned and melted away.

Likely torched after some kind of bombing, the scene was severely ravaged, utterly blackened. Just as I was wrestling with the question of what happened,

The man who’d been standing before me suddenly unleashed a shriek, a torrent of curses.

“That lunatic b*stard!”

I couldn’t even begin to grasp what was happening. I stumbled backward, taking a step back.

Abruptly, he whirled around, glanced behind him, then bolted past me, fleeing in some unknown direction.

I urgently called out after him, desperate to clarify the contract, as he rapidly retreated.

“…Wait, what about the contract?”

He didn’t so much as acknowledge me, offering no response, simply vanishing.