She answered without the slightest hesitation.
"???"
Then what was all that confident talk just now?
Was she just…bluffing?
"Hey! What's with that look in your eyes?"
Akasha sat up straight, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"I may not know his exact location, but based on all the clues I've gathered—and after consulting some of the old folks in the clan—I can basically confirm one thing: he's inside a book right now."
"A book?"
"Yep. A self-contained space, immune to divination and perception—a self-sustaining book world."
Edward's first thought was Groselle's Travels. But that book was currently in his own hands—and it had been created by none other than the former Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt.
So he asked, cautiously:
"Isn't something like that only achievable by a Sequence 0 of the Spectator pathway?"
"Not necessarily."
Akasha crossed her arms.
"Creating a complex and almost real book world might require a Sequence 0, yes. But a simpler version? Not always."
She paused, then explained:
"So-called book worlds are often linked to the Sea of Collective Subconscious—they're a kind of projection of reality. What a high-sequence Spectator does is extract and isolate a portion of the Sea of Collective Subconscious, turning it into a self-contained 'world.'"
At that, Edward immediately thought of the Psychology Alchemists' headquarters—Garden of Eden.
Could Klein's disappearance be connected to them?
No…It might also be the work of 0-08.
His head started to ache.
Damn it, why is it always that thing?
"So then…how do we find this book?"
Akasha threw up her hands.
"How would I know?"
Edward dropped his head in thought.
Book world…a book…Groselle's Travels…novel…hmm?
Suddenly, he remembered what Arrodes had said—one of the things that set Fors apart from the other missing persons was that she was the only author among them.
A book world, and an author...could there be a connection?
Could it be that one of Fors' novels had, by some coincidence, turned into a mystical item—and dragged a bunch of people, including herself, into it?
Wait—
Now that he thought about it, Fors' breakout hit was called Stormwind Mountain Villa!
But no…the town they were in was surrounded by snowstorms. A snowstorm and a stormwind mountain villa weren't quite the same…
Could it be that after Stormwind Mountain Villa became a hit, she tried to ride her own coattails with a follow-up novel?
Ding.
He flicked a coin for divination—only for it to fail.
Edward was stunned.
What? How could such a simple divination fail?
Is it because Fors is inside a book world that blocks all divinations related to her?
Tsk. No choice then—he'd just ask her directly.
"I need to use the washroom."
Akasha waved her hand.
"Out the door, turn right, walk straight."
Edward stepped outside and cast a Disillusionment spell on himself right away.
He didn't want any misunderstandings in this house full of women.
He kept walking until he reached the end of the hall, then slid the door open with a swoosh—
—and immediately froze.
In front of him was a large hot spring bath, filled with more than a dozen girls giggling and splashing around.
All he saw was a sea of glistening white. His retinas almost burned.
The girls turned to the sound of the sliding door—but saw nothing, thanks to the disillusionment spell.
"BAHAHAHAHA!"
Behind him came Akasha's uncontrollable laughter.
Edward yanked the door shut in a panic and spun around.
"You—!"
She waved it off with a smirk:
"No need to thank me! We're bros, aren't we? Share the blessings!"
"…..."
Is this vampire woman brain-damaged?!
Akasha pointed lazily to the side.
"The real washroom's over there."
Edward hurried off.
"Thanks. Send my regards to your family."
"Oh, they're most grateful!…in a decomposing sort of way."
…
This time, he double-checked that it was the correct washroom.
He knocked to make sure it was empty, then entered and relaxed
Taking a breath, he began praying to Mr. Fool:
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;
The Mysterious Ruler above the Grey Fog;
The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck—
I wish to trouble you with a question for Miss Magician.
Has she ever written a novel related to snowstorms?"
He hesitated, then added:
"Also, I've discovered that Klein's disappearance may be related to a high-sequence Spectator pathway Beyonder—or a mystical item. Please have him be extremely careful."
———
[Inside the Book World—The Snowy Town]
Klein and Fors were working together with increasing fluency.
Each time Klein confirmed a direction via divination, Fors would immediately grab him and activate "Door Opening," phasing them through walls.
Most of the monsters were still out patrolling the town, so their plan was proceeding relatively smoothly.
If they ever ran into monsters in both adjacent buildings, they would retreat to a previous safehouse and choose another route.
The journey was longer, but they were steadily closing in on the church.
"Left!"
The two of them became incorporeal again and passed through the wall into the next house.
"Ahead."
Fors took a breath and activated "Door Opening" again.
"Left."
"Hold on."
Fors raised her hand, face weary.
"My spirituality's draining too fast. I need a short break."
"Okay."
Klein's own spirituality wasn't much better.
He collapsed onto a nearby sofa, using the time to recover.
Creak.
Suddenly, the door to the house swung open.
Klein shot up from the couch, summoning a paper dagger mid-air.
But just as he was about to throw it—
—he froze.
Standing in the doorway…was a child, about five or six years old.
A pair of innocent, confused eyes stared blankly at the two of them, as if asking why there were suddenly two strangers in the house.
"Don't be fooled by its appearance!"
Fors didn't hesitate at all. She poured what little spirituality she had left into casting Burning and Electric Shock in quick succession.
The next second, the seemingly harmless child's body violently swelled and transformed into a scaly, giant insectoid creature. Its sharp mandibles split apart, launching a flurry of barbed spikes.
Klein narrowly dodged. There was no time to curse—he immediately flung several paper daggers. Though they pierced the monster's head cleanly, none were fatal.
Rolling to the side to evade another strike, he snapped his fingers to launch an Air Bullet, then sprinted toward the creature.
"Fors!"
"Electrocute it!"
Blue lightning arced across the monster's body, stunning it—but only for two or three seconds.
Still, it was enough for Klein to close the distance.
The cylinder of his revolver spun rapidly, and several orange-yellow exorcism bullets lit up the air.
In a blaze of fire, the monster's head was blown into pieces.
Bang.
The headless creature collapsed, spilling pungent green blood that quickly soaked into the floor.
Both of them wore grim expressions. There was no time to catch their breath. Fors braced herself and activated "Door Opening" again, leaving the scene.
But it was already too late.
The thunderous gunshots and the stench of blood had drawn in all the nearby monsters.
They howled and roared, converging from all directions. Under the hazy moonlight, they surged together like a beast tide.
Everything in their path—whether walls or homes—was flattened.
"Charge through them!"
Klein made a snap decision. He grabbed Fors by the wrist and sprinted with all his might toward the church.
The beast tide thundered behind them, gaining ground.
500 meters.
400 meters.
300 meters.
200 meters.
The church loomed ever closer—and so did the beasts.
Fors could already feel the scorching, foul-smelling breath behind her, hot enough to lift her hair and brush against her skin.
That meant the monsters were just inches away.
"It's over!"
She could already picture them both being torn apart in the next second. She shouted quickly:
"Leave me! Use Flaming Jump and escape!"
Klein said nothing. He simply pulled out his Sun Brooch, gripped it tightly, and channelled his spirituality into it.
A holy beam of light descended from the sky and slammed into the oncoming tide.
Unfortunately…the effect was minimal.
Just then, Klein heard a prayer in his ear.
Seriously? I'm barely surviving and someone's praying to me right now?!
Dong, dong, dong, dong—
Suddenly, the church bell rang, echoing through the entire town.
The beast tide halted.
All the monsters suddenly became restless, as if sensing something terrifying.
They froze, clearly afraid.
"Get over here!"
Up in the church bell tower, a girl wearing a grayish-brown trench coat and a hood waved at them frantically.
"Go!"
The two of them pushed themselves to their limits for one final sprint.
As they reached the heavy black church doors, they creaked open with a hum, welcoming them in.
It was a relatively small church. Judging by the number of seats, it could only accommodate thirty to fifty people for prayer.
Inside, the walls were cracked and peeling, and the wooden benches were full of splinters and fractures, showing the wear of age.
The Evernight Goddess' sacred emblem hung on the wall opposite the entrance, tilted and half-broken.
Dozens of candles flickered from all directions, their warm light driving away the gloom.
Once their eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Klein and Fors were startled to see more than ten people already sitting scattered throughout the chapel.
Strangely, aside from their frightened expressions, they all seemed to carry a hint of…hope—
Hope that was directed at Klein.
Only the person seated beneath the Goddess' symbol—a man dressed like a priest—remained silent, head down as he scribbled something into a thick black tome.
"You're back?"
The one who spoke was the hooded girl from the bell tower.
But the moment she opened her mouth, Klein's heart dropped—something felt terribly off.
She continued:
"Did you find a way out? Is she a survivor you rescued out there?"
Feeling Fors' astonishment beside him, Klein pursed his cracked lips and rasped out in a hoarse voice:
"You…you all know me?"
"Of course!"
The girl replied matter-of-factly:
"Did you forget? You're the one who brought us all here to hide!"
Klein froze.
———
[Back in Backlund—Akasha's private hot spring washroom]
Edward waited five minutes, but still received no reply from Klein.
Eventually, he flushed, washed his hands, and stepped out of the room.
Back in the lounge, Akasha was lounging on the sofa, legs crossed.
She glanced at him and mumbled:
"That was a weird amount of time to spend in the washroom."
"Huh?"
"If it was a number two, you were too fast. If it was a number one, I've got an exclusive secret method—want to hear it?"
Edward's face immediately darkened.
"I just went in there to think through some problems, that's all."
She gave a sudden "Ohhh" of realisation and nodded.
"Ah, I see. The toilet inspires your thoughts and creativity!"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.