Chapter 8
âItâs really amazing, you know. I used my hand to avoid being noticed by the tellers, but how did you manage to find me there?â
The being in front of me.
In other words, the author whose identity I couldnât figure out.
Letâs call him the black man for now.
The black man seemed surprised that I spoke to him.
I thought about staying here longer, but I realized that I shouldnât do that when I felt the sensation earlier.
âItâs dangerous to linger here.â
Did he read my expression?
The black manâs gaze changed.
I couldnât see his pupils, but I could feel his eyes on me.
âHo. Youâre quick-witted.â
ââŠWhat do you want?â
âI was just curious and asked. I donât intend to harm you. Not right now, anyway.â
Not right now, huh.
That meant that his attitude would change depending on how I acted from now on.
âThis is bad.â
I ran away from this place, but it turned out to be a tigerâs den.
âSo you wonât answer my question? How did you recognize me?â
The black manâs words might sound strange to others.
It would seem like he was a lunatic if he asked how I recognized him when he was right in front of me.
But I knew what he meant by that question.
âEven though weâre face to face, I canât recognize who he is.â
He had a ânormalâ face with eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
But it was strangely impossible to describe his appearance in detail.
I didnât even know what race he was.
It was hard to even notice that such a being existed, even though we were looking at each other.
No one noticed him in the banquet hall where the tellers were bustling.
Except for me.
Thatâs why the black man asked me.
How did I recognize him?
âHe wouldnât believe me if I said it was a coincidence, would he?â
What I found was not the black man, but the book floating above his head.
At first, I wondered why there was a book floating in the air.
But as I focused on the book, I could see the black manâs figure faintly, and I realized that he was not invited to the banquet.
âSo I succeeded in getting out of there with an excuse.â
But now he was interested in me.
It would be easy to run away if he was just a normal person, but he was clearly an extraordinary being.
First of all.
âIâve never seen a book thatâs black before.â
The black book floating above the manâs head.
Iâm not saying that Iâve seen a lot of books, but I knew that it was far from what I could normally see.
I never thought that there would be other colors besides bronze, silver and gold books.
âBut black means.â
The man in front of me was not a normal being.
He was not human, teller or any other race.
He was something higher than that, something beyond the category of life.
âStar Spiritâ
Suddenly, I remembered what Sasaramdor said on the space train.
âCome to think of it, he said that this induction ceremony was held around the same time as the invitation ceremony for the star spirits.â
That meant that there were star spirits somewhere in this celestial corporation who were invited.
The black man in front of me was a star spirit who escaped from there and sneaked into this side.
âFirst of all, letâs confirm his identity.â
Reading the book that I couldnât do because of the urgent situation.
It seemed like the black book was the priority right now.
But something unexpected happened here.
âI canât open the book?â
I succeeded in getting the book.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldnât turn the cover of the book.
It was as if the book itself was sealed with iron chains and wouldnât budge at all.
It was the same no matter how many times I tried.
I had a vague idea of why this happened.
âThe difference in level⊠is it?â
The difference in level.
In this mixed world, those with lower levels couldnât do things that were beyond their status.
The story itself had a mysterious power that didnât allow it.
âI canât even read the book casually. I didnât know there was such a limit.â
More importantly, it was quite a shock to see the limit of my ability at this crucial moment.
I couldnât even get a chance to know his identity even if I wanted to.
What kind of reaction should I show in this situation?
Should I apologize first?
âWill you not answer my question?â
The pressure from the black man grew stronger.
He seemed determined to do something if I didnât answer until the end.
It was a matter of life and death.
âMy⊠special skill.â
âSpecial skill?â
He seemed surprised by my answer.
The pressure from him disappeared as if the fog had cleared.
But that didnât mean he completely gave up his hostility.
He just stepped back a bit.
I felt that if I went against his will even a little bit, the terrifying black mist would strangle my life.
I continued to speak, feeling the cold sweat running down my spine.
âI just saw it. I have good eyesight, so I can see things that others canât. It was the same for you. At first, I wasnât sure, but when I saw the reactions around me, it seemed like no one noticed you, so I approached you with that as an excuse.â
âHmm. You just saw it.â
He didnât seem to believe me easily, but it wasnât a lie.
I just saw him through the book.
I waited anxiously for his next reaction.
But I didnât feel the same sense of crisis as before, thanks to my honesty.
I didnât know if he was friendly or hostile, but he was definitely interested in me.
âThatâs hard to believe.â
âIt may not be believable, but itâs true. I guess Iâm different from the normal tellers.â
âAh. I know that from the reaction of the banquet hall. Youâre a teller who just became an employee, right? Thatâs amazing. Iâve never heard of anyone who gained a form so quickly.â
He seemed to have more than basic knowledge about tellers.
ââŠAnyway, Iâm sorry for talking to you to get out of the situation earlier.â
âHmm. Is that so?â
The black man pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands as if he had thought of something fun.
âWell, since we met like this, it must be fate. How about a bet?â
âA bet?â
What kind of bet?
I wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.
I didnât notice it at the banquet hall, but when I kept looking at his black book in this quiet hallway, I felt like my soul would be sucked in.
To be honest, I was nervous.
âI wonât stop you if you donât want to do it. But if you refuse, youâll have to pay the price for ruining my little amusement.â
ââŠLetâs make a bet.â
I had no choice but to accept his challenge when he threatened me so powerlessly.
He was a star spirit.
I didnât know exactly who he was, but I could tell from the book he had that he was not an ordinary star spirit.
But who was he really?
He was not his main body, but an avatar.
In other words, a projection.
That made it hard to guess his true identity.
âWell. Since you agreed, I donât need to say much. The bet is simple.â
The black man pointed at himself with his finger and smiled wickedly.
âYou just have to guess who I am.â
ââŠâ
He asked me to guess who he was out of the blue.
He had a very bad hobby.
âThere has to be a reward for the bet. If you win this bet, Iâll give you a gift worthy of it.â
âWhat if Iâm wrong?â
âIf youâre wrong⊠Youâll have to take responsibility for interfering with my little amusement.â
âDamn it.â
He was basically saying that he was sure I wouldnât be able to guess who he was.
I was a newbie who had just joined the Celestial Corporation. How could I have any prior knowledge to guess who he was among the countless star spirits?
âWell. That would be true if I were a normal teller.â
I calmed down my racing heart and analyzed the situation calmly.
First of all, his identity was a star spirit.
But I didnât know exactly who he was or what kind of star spirit he was.
There were no clues either.
âNo. There are clues.â
I recalled the contents of the books I had read at the banquet hall.
âThe Star Spirit Invitation Ceremony. Many of the star spirits who gathered here were from famous star clusters.â
Star clusters were organizations formed by star spirits.
And among these star clusters, there were huge organizations called great star clusters.
There were five great star clusters that were officially invited to this star spirit invitation ceremony.
âEdenâs Heavenly Paradise, Asgardâs Eisens?ldner, Hermopolisâ Solar Garden, Olympusâ Pantheon, and Pandemonium.
There were others from various places, but these are all the biggest ones.â
The places where the main characters of the âmythsâ that topped all stories existed.
I had to choose which one of them the being in front of me belonged to.
âHeâs not his main body, but an avatar that canât even open a book. That means heâs a star spirit belonging to one of the great star clusters I mentioned.â
It became easier to narrow down his identity when I narrowed down the examples.
But I couldnât help but feel more tense.
The more I tried to analyze the black man in front of me, the more I felt like I was glimpsing his enormity hidden in the darkness.
Maybe it would have been easier if I didnât know.
âThis restless energy that makes me feel suffocated just by being near him. The book with a color that is nothing but ominous. Anyone whoâs not an idiot would know which one of the five examples he belongs to.â
Pandemonium.
He was a star spirit from the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.
That meant he was one of the star spirits belonging to this place among the seven star spirits.
If I looked at his aura alone, he was definitely one of the first generation star spirits.
I had felt the aura of a first generation star spirit in my previous life, but it wasnât like this.
âThere are seven first generation star spirits in Pandemonium. So even if I narrow it down as much as possible, there are still seven choices? This is driving me crazy.â
I couldnât find any clue about which one of the seven star spirits from this place visited here in the bookâs information.
In other words, this was my limit for guessing right now.
It was good that I narrowed down thousands or tens of thousands of star spirits to seven examples.
But that wasnât enough. It wasnât just seven, it was still seven.
I wondered if there were any more clues.
Then my eyes suddenly turned to the black book that was given to me.
âWait a minute, thisâŠâ
This black book.
The cover was so black that I didnât notice it at first, but there was a picture engraved on it.
The picture on the cover was a snake.
A snake with three heads.
âA snake with three heads? Could this beâŠâ
I could think of one being that pierced through my mind.
âI know your identity.â
âHmm? Is that true?â
He seemed surprised by my answer.
He reacted with disbelief for someone who suggested the bet.
I nodded my head.
This was a bet that involved my life.
I had no intention of lying about this.
I took a breath and revealed his identity.
âYou are⊠Satan, from Pandemonium, arenât you?â
Satan.
Actually, this wasnât his real name either.
This word Satan meant âadversaryâ in Hebrew.
Sometimes he was the serpent that corrupted.
Sometimes he was the red dragon that burned to death.
He was the one who was closest to the brightest light, and in the end, he fell to the darkest place.
His real name wasâŠ
Clap clap clap.
At that moment, a clap sound rang in my ears and woke me up.
The black man, or rather Satanâs avatar, clapped his hands as if he couldnât contain his joy.
âCorrect! Correct! I canât believe you really guessed my identity. This bet is your victory.â
I felt more relief than joy that I had won the bet.
He was still in a state of excitement and said in a high-pitched voice.
âI was surprised. I didnât think you would really guess it. It was half a joke, you know.â
âA joke?â
âI canât really hold you responsible for this kind of thing, can I? This is the Celestial Corporation. The home base of the tellers you belong to. And I came here as an invited guest. Rather, it would be strange if you guys held me responsible for sneaking in here for fun.â
ââŠâ
He said that, but I didnât believe him completely.
Who in the world would hold him accountable?
No.
There were beings who could do that. And they were close by.
âAs soon as I show my power, those annoying guardians of light will chase after me. Theyâll say they caught a big fish. I donât want to see them happy.â
Eden, the old enemy of Pandemoniumâs great star cluster.
And Heavenly Paradise, where only the best of them gathered.
They couldnât act recklessly as long as they were here.
But I knew.
He said it jokingly, but he would have given me a punishment worthy of the bet in some way if I had really lost this bet.
Thatâs why I did my best for the bet rather than trusting the power of this company.
âBecause he was a star spirit who kept his word for sure.â
I felt that for sure at the end of the world.
Anyway, the bet ended with my victory.
That was a relief.
âHmm. It started as a joke, but I lost anyway. I have to keep my promise no matter what. The winner deserves a reward.â
Satanâs avatar said that and reached out his hand to me.
âYouâll open your library soon and show your story, right? Then, let me do this. Iâll be your generous patron for your library.â
And that was, for me, an offer that was hard to imagine even in my dreams.