There’s a phrase often used in America:
“You were at the wrong time, in the wrong place.”
It had several meanings.
[ Danger has a way of approaching, whether you want it or not. Just like a sudden gust of wind, it appears without warning and sweeps everything away. ]
That’s what danger is.
It manifests like a disaster without regard for the will of those it’s affecting.
And naturally, the more fragile you are, the more fiercely danger approaches, potentially taking your life.
That’s simply the way of the world.
[ Therefore, I will ensure you do not step into this matter. Because that’s what danger inherently is. ]
“But….”
[ No. ]
The Grimoire firmly prevented Iserin from spying on Jinseong.
[ Secrets are always connected to danger. Thus, approaching a secret must be done with utmost caution. Otherwise, while trying to pry into a secret, you could encounter threats that leap out of it and bite you. That’s the duality of secrets and their potential dangers. ]
A secret can also be referred to as someone’s flaws and weaknesses.
And nobody, no creature ever wishes for their flaws and weaknesses to be exposed.
They don’t want them to be revealed, and if they are, the logical response would be to eliminate anyone who learns about them.
And at this moment, Iserin did not possess the ability to handle the risk of those secrets.
[ Contractor. There’s no need to rush. Your acceptance of my powers is very steep. I’m not saying this to comfort you; it genuinely surpasses other contractors of transcendent beings. Thus, before long, you will be able to wield secrets at will. It won’t just stop at dodging the dangers of secrets; you’ll gain the power to unfold the strength contained within them to protect yourself. ]
The powers granted to Iserin by the Grimoire are formidable.
The concept of ‘secrets’ appears trivial at first but later balloons into something unimaginably vast.
At first, the secrets Iserin could see upon receiving the Grimoire’s powers were quite minimal.
Promises exchanged between a young boy and girl playing house in a playground.
A passing puppy burying a bone.
Information about a person receiving affection from a stray cat while stealthily eating food.
It was merely at that level.
But what about now with Iserin?
She could see the secrets of strong capable persons acknowledged in society.
She could pierce through the black secrets of a wealthy individual amassing fortune through power and influence.
She could uncover a politician’s massive slush fund funneled to secret accounts.
She could learn the whereabouts of valuables buried by once-infamous gangsters.
The power that once only allowed her to glimpse trivial secrets had now evolved to a point where she could wield it for wealth and power.
And the speed of this power’s evolution was akin to a snowball rolling down a mountain, gradually growing larger and larger.
She could even discover visions that capable persons were hiding away.
By then, Iserin would be more than capable of protecting herself.
At the very least, she would get close enough to uncover Park Jinseong’s secret, which she currently craved.
“I’m curious….”
Hearing the Grimoire’s explanation, Iserin gave up peeking at Jinseong.
Yet, perhaps out of lingering regret, she drooped her shoulders in dismay, turning her body to bury her face into the camel’s body and shaking it this way and that.
As if to tickle it in a mischievous manner.
The demon smiled, seemingly pleased with Iserin’s cute antics, swishing its tail to tickle her body in return. As Iserin squirmed, startled by the tickle, she twisted her body and eventually climbed onto the Grimoire’s hump, pressing herself against it.
She raised her hands to lightly slap the Grimoire’s neck area.
Though there was no force behind her gestures, making only a slapping noise without inflicting any real harm.
Receiving Iserin’s playful antics, the Grimoire moved its tail to gently pet Iserin’s head.
While doing so, it cast its gaze towards where Iserin’s ‘curiosity’ resided.
Toward Park Jinseong, her brother, who had returned with a curious smell.
‘He is not visible.’
The Grimoire’s eyes were originally meant to pierce through all secrets.
No matter how remote the location, whether underground or deep under the sea, if it was a ‘secret,’ there was no escaping the Grimoire’s gaze.
At least, that’s how it should have been.
But, the Grimoire couldn’t fully exert its powers as a transcendent being.
That was the rule.
The Grimoire had to use a contractor to exert its powers, and that strength was like a mere speck of dust compared to its original abilities.
Thus, the Grimoire could not penetrate Jinseong’s room.
If Iserin possessed a strong enough power, she could have easily seen it. However, for the Grimoire now, Jinseong’s room was simply concealed behind a veil of darkness that roamed aimlessly.
And not just any darkness; it had the quality of crackling like noise, behaving almost as if it were alive, resembling a collective of multiple entities rather than a mere void.
It didn’t seem efficient in utilizing energy, appearing very crude and unrefined in form.
Even the Grimoire had never seen this type of magic.
No, it wasn’t completely unfamiliar.
There were similarities to some magic it had seen in ancient Phoenicia.
The remnants of night magic employed by shamans who worshipped the Moon Goddess, Tanit, revered in Phoenicia and Pontus, could be faintly detected.
However, even the Grimoire could only just barely make out those remnants.
There were no traces of the moon disk or the triangular device pattern supporting the moon disk, nor even the essential lunar energy that could be deemed central to the night magic.
No.
It wasn’t just a lack of lunar energy.
Although it was night magic, it did not properly utilize the symbols of the night and seemed solely focused on concealment and the fear hidden within.
If a shaman from ancient Phoenicia were shown this as night magic, they would likely become infuriated.
While concealment was indeed present, it was teeming with an endless void of darkness, which held unknown entities at its depths. Staring into that darkness gave one a feeling of almost being sucked in, creating an uneasy sensation as if locking eyes with something within.
Yes.
That was not the darkness of night; it was akin to the darkness of the underworld or the darkness that hung over a beast’s den.
‘Moreover, there are no signs of those beings.’
Even stranger was that within that magic, the Grimoire found no traces of the transcendent beings it was well-acquainted with.
The Moon Goddess, Tanit, was tied to the transcendent beings.
To be precise, there were shamans who linked the idol ‘Tanit’ with actual existing transcendent beings.
The most famous of these was the transcendent being known as Astarte (Ἀστάρτη).
She possessed powers of fertility and abundance and had long been active in Phoenicia and various regions, creating many contractors. Because of this, she was worshipped by many humans and left behind countless legends and names.
She had many names, including Ashtoreth, Ashtaroth, and was, at various times, revered as a goddess or regarded as an evil being.
‘Tanit has been equated with Astarte by some.’
The transcendent being Tanit does not exist.
Therefore, people used the deeds of the actual existing Astarte, who created many legends, to substantiate the existence of the idol Tanit.
Thus, Tanit and Astarte were intricately intertwined, identifiable to the extent that one could confirm their traces within a single rite or magic.
Yet, now, the veil set before Jinseong’s room showed none of this.
It was as if a beautiful masterpiece had been torn and haphazardly arranged, creating a completely different mosaic.
Of course, such magic could not be created by an ordinary shaman, but by one whose skills could easily be described as transcending the realm of normalcy.
Thus, the questions only multiplied.
This human named Jinseong had no teacher, did not seem to be taking full advantage of his wealthy contractor’s power, and did not appear to be scouring the world in desperation to obtain magic, nor did he seem to have an impressive network capable of acquiring such knowledge.
So how did he know about magic?
And what in the world is Jinseong’s true identity, given that he possesses such magic?
His existence was nothing short of a mystery.
Particularly because the essence of Jinseong, as seen through the Grimoire’s eyes, was that of an unidentifiable being mimicking a human, the questions were bound to increase.
However, Jinseong, while being valuable to his contractor, was not someone that would harm her—therefore, the Grimoire wasn’t overly wary.
But….
While Jinseong may not pose a threat to Iserin, what he was involved in would undoubtedly be highly risky and lethal to her.
Such a being could not be trifling in their undertakings.
