#172

I gasped.

‘Is the House Lizard the culprit behind all of this?’

And Reyes was being controlled by that thing too?

The House Lizard shook its head.

“No. I harbor no ill will toward you. Do not be afraid. I exist to help you.”

The House Lizard walked beside Pandemonium, keeping pace.

Normally, it would be distracting to have someone suddenly walking right next to you, but Pandemonium didn’t even glance sideways.

‘…Wait, can he not see it?’

“What did you do to Pandemonium?”

“I have done nothing. Pandemonium is simply ignoring my very existence. In order to avoid hearing the Ultimate Answer.”

‘So there was a countermeasure for the contamination.’

Like an ad-blocker, it seemed he had received a trait from the War God that prevented him from perceiving the House Lizard’s existence.

‘…But the House Lizard isn’t a ghost.’

If you completely erase something with a physical entity from your perception, doesn’t that mean you lose any way to respond to it?

What if the House Lizard suddenly pulls out a knife and stabs him?

The fact that the War God is brainless shows even in things like this, doesn’t it?

That idiot would be the type to delete the System32 folder first because he’s running out of storage.

“For your information, I am not the one who brought you here.”

“…Then who was it?”

“Atanasanatagaskides, Reyes Floren. A Distortion placed upon Pandemonium by a player chosen by the Distorted One has been activated.”

“And you didn’t instigate that?”

“I did not.”

‘Then why the hell did it suddenly appear in the Main Hall? Appearing at this timing makes it look like the culprit to anyone.’

“Because a clone of mine remains here. Our conversation was cut off in the middle, was it not? I came seeking you after sensing your arrival at the Main Hall.”

‘Damn it, stop answering the things I only think. It’s creepy.’

“Then you may simply refrain from asking questions in your mind.”

‘That’s actually kind of annoying.’

I couldn’t trust it, but since it had the gimmick of providing answers, I decided to throw a question at it for now.

“Tell me why you tried to contaminate the world.”

“I merely explained the Ultimate Answer in simple terms so that anyone could understand it.”

“…And because of that, the people who heard that truth fell into unconsciousness. Like that! Do you see those people lying there like corpses, unable to do anything? Put them back the way they were.”

“In what manner?”

“Fuck, you’re the one who should be thinking of that!”

“No, what I asked was not about the method. What exactly is the ‘original state’?”

“What?”

“Do you believe it is normal for a game to progress? Or for a System to exist?”

“Stop playing word games.”

“Hmm, I see. It seems my explanation was insufficient. Shall we discuss something else first?”

The House Lizard continued in a calm voice.

“Do you believe a person can go insane simply by understanding a certain fact?”

“They probably did, which is why they ended up like that.”

“No, think about it logically. Is it truly possible for a person to go mad simply because they know something? Of course, it is possible for someone with a genetic predisposition to hear a horrific fact and develop schizophrenia due to extreme stress. But such occurrences are very rare.”

‘Logically, my ass.’

There’s no way common sense works in the Dark Realm.

“In the first place, most people wouldn’t think much of it, even if they learned some profound truth. For example, we are not creatures made by a god. There is no ladder of life, and there is no kind, parent-like creator waiting above for us to improve. There is no reason or purpose for our birth. The Earth is not the center of the universe.

To some, such truths would have been a world-shattering shock. But have you ever heard of someone falling into a coma because the things they believed in their whole life were denied? No matter how shocking the event, simply knowing something cannot put a person into a vegetative state.”

“Fuck, then what happened to those people?”

“I will ask you in reverse. Why did you decide that the common sense of Earth does not apply to the Dark Realm?”

‘Because….’

Because there are Miracles.

Miracles, divine power—powers that cannot be explained by science actually exist.

“Precisely.”

“…What do you mean, ‘precisely’?”

“This is the best explanation I can provide in a place where censorship exists. Think about it carefully.”

‘Think about it?’

“However, no matter how long you ponder, you will never understand. Because you are currently under the influence of the System.”

“…Does that mean the System is messing with my head?”

“No, the System has a much simpler method than that.”

“What method?”

“That, too….”

“You can’t say it because of the censorship. Fine, forget it.”

I’m not curious.

Even if I found out, I’d just end up ‘contaminated’ anyway.

For a reason I can never understand.

At that moment, Pandemonium walked up the stairs, then turned 180 degrees and walked back down.

I wondered if my brain had lagged for a second, but I soon realized that the scenery had changed slightly.

‘Distortion?’

“Correct. Atanasanatagaskides has stitched the space together using Distortion. If you had continued to go up or down, you would have ended up circling the same place.”

‘…In the scheduled message, Reyes said he was waiting on the 4th basement floor.’

What did Reyes prepare?

A trap that triggers as soon as I enter? One that kills people?

No, something like that wouldn’t cause a great enough disappointment….

Pandemonium stopped walking.

A pungent scent of flowers filled the air.

“This is my study.”

‘…This isn’t your study, you moron.’

Pandemonium set me down and naturally pulled over a chair between the bookshelves and sat down.

He truly seemed to perceive this as his own study.

I fiddled with my now-free wrists and thought.

‘Even if we’re caught in a Distortion, if I point out the contradiction, he might notice the incongruity.’

“Pandemonium. Is this really your house? Think about it again.”

“Oh. Seeing as you’ve stopped crying, I guess coming to the study was a good idea after all. Look at how absorbed you are in the books.”

“…Do you remember how we got here?”

“You can have all the books here, Hyung. I don’t read them anyway.”

‘Fuck, this guy is still in ‘In One Ear, Out the Other’ mode.’

I really want to hit him.

“Even if you hit him, only your fist will hurt. Pandemonium’s durability is 775.”

“Fuck.”

The difference is more than 30 times?

I gave up on hitting Pandemonium.

With that kind of difference, it wouldn’t even tickle.

‘He should have put the stats he used for durability into mental strength instead.’

Getting caught in a Distortion and all.

Dumbass.

‘What on earth is Reyes….’

An undeniable floral scent was wafting from inside the bookshelves.

As if inviting me to come find it.

‘…I am absolutely not going into those bookshelves.’

I walked toward the stairs.

But before I could even step on the stairs, my body stopped.

“I didn’t say you could leave. Play inside here.”

“Hey. You fucking psycho. Can’t you feel that the current situation is weird?”

“Hmm. Hyung, you just cursed, didn’t you? Just looking at your face, it seems like you’re cursing.”

“You piece of shit, please just turn off that trait! Please!”

“Do it as much as you want while it’s just the two of us. It’ll get annoying if you do that in front of other people.”

“You crazy bastard, this isn’t your house!”

“If you want to see the outside, I’ll guide you after dinner. For now, stay put.”

“That’s why I’m asking why I have to stay put! Hey!”

“Hmm. So this is what a skylark sounds like. It’s way louder than I thought. Why do people say this is good? You know, when people say someone who sings well has a voice like a skylark. Is this really pleasant to hear?”

“Sigh…. It’s probably a nightingale, you idiot.”

“Hmm. Looking at it, I guess it’s not so bad.”

How do I break this moron’s Distortion?

‘…There don’t seem to be any sharp objects in the bookshelves.’

I stared down at my right hand.

Even if I could cut off a finger or so, cutting off my own arm alone seems like a bit much.

What if the Distortion doesn’t break even with an arm?

Then it’s just a dog’s death.

Athanas also said that losing a single finger brought no change….

“The method to break Pandemonium’s Distortion is simple.”

The House Lizard suddenly cut in with an answer.

‘Fuck, you scared me.’

“What is it?”

“You can use the item that Reyes Floren left behind.”

“…What are you talking about? An item?”

“The name of the item inside there is ‘FabiosRedHeartRedHeart,’ and its effect is to delegate some authority while the player Atanasanatagaskides is unconscious.”

‘The item name, for fuck’s sake….’

“That partial authority includes all authority over the ‘Servant of the Twisted One.’ Furthermore, since this item itself is a Sacred Relic of the Distorted One, the user can utilize the Divine Power of Distortion upon wearing it. Therefore, it is possible to break the Distortion currently cast upon the player Pandemonium.”

“…Liar.”

“I do not tell you lies.”

“Then there must be some other clause. A Curse, or a restriction.”

“That item has a restriction that only the player ‘Happy Cult Evangelist’ can use it. There are no other restrictions or Curses.”

I furrowed my brow.

‘It’s a trap.’

There’s no way Reyes left something that useful.

Athanasuki might have wanted to give it to me, but there’s no way the helper of the ‘Distorted One’ would have allowed the creation of such an item.

‘Surely, the moment I put it on, something will happen that will leave me greatly disappointed.’

“There is certainly a high possibility of that.”

“…As I thought, there’s some trap in that item, right?”

“No, I simply agreed that your speculation is reasonable. Because the essence of the Distorted One is disappointment. I can explain the location of the item and its abilities. However, I cannot know how the Distorted One will extract disappointment by you obtaining it.”

“Fuck, you said you’d answer anything!”

“I am not an omniscient being. If an omniscient being existed, it would mean you have no free will.”

“…What’s the possibility that the Distorted One used Divine Power to fake the item’s description window?”

“I am not affected by Distortion. Therefore, the possibility that there is a problem with the item itself is low.”

Is that true?

No, in the first place, how can I trust the words of this House Lizard?

I don’t even know this crazy thing’s goal.

“My goal is to be of help to you.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe you.”

“Hyung, you talk to yourself a lot. Are you doing that so I can hear the bird sounds? Thanks.”

“Fuck, why don’t you go outside and look for a line of ants? The War God must be bored.”

“Listening to the bird sounds while staying still is definitely healing.”

“Fuck….”

I let out a long sigh.

“…Atanasanatagaskides.”

[SYSTEM: Atanasanatagaskides cannot receive messages at this time.]

[SYSTEM: Atanasanatagaskides has sent you an automated response.]

>> I won’t be reachable for a while! Bye!

I glared uselessly at the system window.

‘What on earth does he want?’

Thump.

Hearing the sound of something falling, I turned my head to see a book lying on the floor.

I ignored it.

Thump, thump, flutter.

Books fell from the bookshelves one after another.

[Fabio, aren’t you going to take the gift? Reyes prepared it!]

In the book that opened on its own, those words were written in very large letters.

[I’ll tell you the location.]

[Follow the books!]

I furrowed my brow sharply.

‘I’m not following.’

I’m getting out of here.

I stole a glance at Pandemonium.

With his eyes closed, he looked as if he were dozing off for a moment.

‘If I leave quietly….’

“Ack.”

“…Hyung. You really don’t listen.”