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[ Like a Snake’s Tongue. ]

The demon remarked this about Jinseong.

Iserin tried to retort the callous words of the Grimoire, her mouth moving but no sound came out. Perhaps the image of Jinseong from earlier weighed heavily on her mind, leaving her unable to speak and sealed in silence.

[ The ability to beguile a person is no ordinary skill. If it were the medieval times, it would have been do or die. ]

The Grimoire recalled the period when witch hunts ravaged society—a time when women were branded as witches and men were labeled as offspring of Satan, often subjected to proof of guilt by being tied to a stake.

[ Had there been such a silver-tongued individual back then, they would either be tied to a stake as Satan’s child or condemn others to the same fate. ]

It was almost akin to curse words.

Yet, Iserin did not argue against it.

Instead, she recalled how Jinseong had enthralled Ella with his surprising skill, switching his tone to charm the Great Witch, and only puffed her cheeks in response. But shortly after, her curiosity ignited; what had Jinseong been up to in Japan that had transformed him into such a smooth talker?

Iserin glanced at the demon and quickly averted her gaze.

Her eyes fell upon Ella, who sat nearby, worrying over Iarin, who was snoring—her nose twitching as she slept.

Iserin considered speaking to Ella but decided against it. What could she say to someone she wasn’t particularly close with?

Time passed in silence before Iarin’s loud snore abruptly halted, and her eyes shot open.

“Rabbit!”

Iarin had been calling out Ella’s nickname before falling asleep thanks to Jinseong. Upon waking, she bolted upright, shouting for her “rabbit.” Turning her body to get out of bed, she met Ella’s round, wide eyes staring back at her.

“Rabbit?”

Iarin asked, her gaze filled with countless questions.

What happened? Why was Ella here? Is she okay? What on earth was going on?

But instead of answering, Ella rushed to embrace Iarin.

“I was worried about you!”

Iarin was taken aback by Ella’s sudden affection and half-wet voice, yet she could roughly piece together the situation by observing Iserin’s gestures.

Iarin gently patted Ella’s back.

The scene radiated warmth.

“Anyway, I’m so glad you’re safe, Rabbit!”

Iarin beamed, holding Ella’s hand tightly.

Ella hesitated to break free but caught a glimpse of Iarin’s cheerful face and sighed deeply.

“This time, I’m just going along with it.”

Thus, still holding hands, they both headed toward the door.

“Huh?”

Iarin was left speechless upon spotting the silver flame outside.

“What, what’s that?”

Iarin, who was naturally inclined to lead Ella outside, stood frozen in surprise.

A silver flame.

It looked like a flame formed by melting mercury into a vapor and shaping that vapor into this form.

The flame flickered about like a mirage, rising without any visible fuel, reaching from the ground up to the ceiling. It appeared almost like strands of seaweed made of metal, gliding through the current, or slender silver caterpillars writhing and dancing.

The flame was oddly translucent, allowing them to faintly see beyond the door.

Outside, a sheet of paper with writing was visible. Iarin squinted hard, struggling with the twisted letters that seemed jumbled and shaky.

“Do… Not… Go… Outside… O… Brother.”

Iarin, having trouble believing her own words, read them again with widened eyes.

“Do Not Go Outside. Brother.”

Do not go outside.

Where to?

Where am I right now?

Iarin’s mind raced with questions.

Then she realized.

She was trapped in this room.

Trapped not by anyone but by her brother.

“This can’t be happening!”

Iarin shouted, as if refusing to accept reality.

“This insane brother of mine!”

Being confined in a room was a dreadful ordeal.

Itching to roam outside freely but entirely forbidden.

How could she accept this?

In a flash, Iarin dashed to her bed, grabbing her smartphone and immediately calling Jinseong.

Ring, ring.

Was Jinseong purposely ignoring her? All she heard was the dialing tone.

Yet, she refused to give up, texting him to let her out right away.

『 Hang in there until the guardian arrives. 』

The reply was nothing but a cold message.

Iarin despaired at the thought that she would have to endure confinement in a room that felt too small.

* * *

“Oh my? The little monster is up to some tricks~?”

The diviner ground his teeth as things became complicated.

Before him hung what appeared to be dozens of mirrors on the wall.

Each mirror displayed different scenes; one showed the hotel hallway, while another displayed an absurdly large stack of packages in front of a door.

Indeed. The diviner was spying on the hotel through the mirrors.

The top mirror showed the surrounding scenery of a hotel while the middle one reflected the house where Ella had recently stayed. The bottom mirror revealed the hotel’s interior.

Like observing from a CCTV, he was monitoring the hotel through the mirrors.

Moreover, the quality was indistinguishable from what the naked eye could see.

The clarity increased toward the bottom, as the top mirror barely allowed him to read the license plates of passing cars, while the bottom mirror presented even the pores of passing people along with miniature letters and tiny symbols on the packages.

“This is a real headache.”

“Huh. To think this involves the Great Witch. I have no clue what he’s up to.”

“At least it’s a relief that it’s that nasty old hag, right? Heh.”

The exaggerated piles of packages reached almost to the ceiling, occupying just enough space for one person to barely walk through the corridor. Each box bore flower designs, a motif famous in Germany.

These were patterns used by a vain and foul-tempered Great Witch.

“I’ve never seen anyone receive gifts from that Great Witch.”

“Ha, looks like she’s donned a pretty disguise! Has she been playing the role of a dove or something?”

“Oh my! Doves are made by people. How could a monster impersonating a person do that?”

The diviner murmured mockingly about Jinseong.

Yet, their faces were painted with irritation.

The reason was the view they were observing in another mirror.

“By the way.”

“Isn’t that a flame barrier? Looks magical!”

“Hahaha! That’s not magic! It’s fire-type magic!”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Of course it is!”

“Did they imbue it with the properties of metal?”

“It looks like the symbol of metal was inverted.”

“Metal shines and possesses an allure, but that’s not the case here.”

“Far from alluring, it repels and blocks.”

“Since it doesn’t sparkle, it can’t even serve as a mirror.”

“The reflections are distorted, so it doesn’t have the properties of a mirror.”

“It seems they built it to shield themselves and block the pretty ones too?”

“Sounds like an artifact.”

“I’m telling you, it feels more like magic than a ritual!”

“Ha, whether it’s magic or a ritual, it’s clear that something mischievous is going on!”

“Definitely magical, though?”

The scattered voices of the diviner arose from countless mirrors.

The clamor reminded one of a lively marketplace.

“Shut up, you bunch of idiots!”

The diviner, arms crossed, yelled at the others echoing in the mirrors surrounding him. As they heard his outburst, the mirrored diviners nodded in understanding, slowly fading away.

“You think I’ll back down just because of that?”

In a room piled high with mirrors, the diviner muttered with a bitter tone.

His lips were stained with fresh and darkened blood, and from his eyes, blood tears streamed down, the result of overexerting his magic.

Despite lathering his skin with cosmetics meant to rejuvenate, his hands felt rough, and his nails were shriveled with dark stripes running down them.

It was a clear sign of danger.

A warning that further use of magic would have repercussions.

“While blocking me from going outside is clever, do you think that will truly stop me? Hmm?”

There was no way a ritual observing other places via mirrors could come with zero costs.

Moreover, with dozens of such spells in play, the diviner was literally draining his own life force.

But he did not care.

He was determined to capture Ella and gain merit.

He wanted to become a hero.

* * *

But when things start to go awry, they tend to spiral out of control.

Time flowed endlessly, and yet no gaps appeared.

The pretty ones and the offering-to-be victims remained firmly trapped, the silver flames effectively locking anyone inside from exiting.

Meanwhile, the pretty one, who had been flailing about, appeared glued to the game Jinseong had brought, not even approaching the door.

“Our pretties. P-retty-pretties!”

Boom!

The diviner slammed his fist onto the table in a fit of rage.

He resembled someone driven to madness.

“Why! Not a single one! Not even this dull-witted girl! Hmm? Why won’t anyone come out! Break through and get out!!!”

The diviner threw a hysterical fit, tossing everything off the desk and pounding on it, the chair wobbling as he lost control to his fury.

As it escalated, he began to hyperventilate, his face turning pale before finally covering his mouth with a plastic bag, managing to regain his breath.

A diviner from within the mirrors observed quietly.

“Let’s change that.”

“Ha, ha.”

Hearing the concerned voice, the diviner glanced at the mirror, placed a hand on his chest to calm himself, and replied.

“Yeah. Hoo—ah, I might just collapse if I keep this body.”

The diviner stumbled slightly, not fully recovered from his dizziness, before leaning forward toward a mirror on the wall, as if to clasp hands with his reflection.

Clang.

The mirror swiveled in place before smashing to the ground, shattering into pieces. The diviner stared at the shards for a moment, then kicked them haphazardly into a corner and roughly scratched his head, perching himself on the desk.

“Dammit.”

Tsk.

He spat out blood from his gums.

A vile, metallic taste lingered on his tongue, but he disregarded it as he pulled out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth.

Then, igniting it with a Zippo lighter, he took a deep drag.

Huff.

Hoo—

The smoke filled his lungs, and he reveled in the calming sensation as it coursed through his body.

Simultaneously, the rage-fueled excitement that clouded his mind began to settle, while the pulsating pain in his eyes resumed a normal pace.

The pressure that had been surging previously eased, and the blood tears flowing from him ceased at last. The scabs covering his lips cleared up entirely.

The diviner, upon confirming his recovery, flicked the lit cigarette away.

Then he began fiddling with the divine objects nearby.

“Just a single step outside the door.”

He muttered like a hunter waiting for prey to fall into his trap.

He watched the mirror intently, eyes deeply focused.

To open the door.

To step beyond the threshold.

He continued to wait, hoping for someone to appear.

Like a hunter with his sights aimed, he glared unrelentingly at that spot.

 

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