Chapter 28 – Knowledge Is Love, Light And Insight (2)

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“Sorry, sorry······.”  

“Ugh.”  

“Take a rest, both of you.”  

Yu Hae and Shuji had encountered an opponent they couldn’t defeat.  

Of course, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.  

It was just surprising how strong they were.  

“Hey, you.”  

“Are you referring to me, guest?”  

“Yeah. You. You, the witch.”  

The guest was referring to me.  

“Do you have something you like? Let me say this first—I like Tia.”  

I was asked if there was something I liked.  

It was a question from a guest whose name sounded masculine but was actually a woman.  

Her name was Wolf.  

Her voice carried a compulsive desire to figure something out.  

Sharp yet unstable, her gaze didn’t waver as she stared at me. Not wanting to disappoint her expectations, I told her the truth.  

“I like butterflies.”  

At that moment, the library fell into complete silence.  

With Yu Hae and Shuji unconscious and Wolf pointing what looked like a heavy weapon at me, no one spoke.  

So it was quiet.  

I let only my voice and the faint flicker of the lights fill the space.  

‘No response. Did she not hear me?’  

I repeated myself, as if to confirm.  

“I like butterflies more than anything else.”  

She furrowed her brow and asked again.  

“Why?”  

Fortunately, she had heard me.  

What a relief.  

For a moment, I thought I had unconsciously used the butterflies inside her to destroy her hearing, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.  

I let out a short sigh and slowly moved my fingertips, interlocking them.  

Like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings—light, yet deliberate.  

“Because they don’t betray.”  

At those words, Wolf’s expression twisted instantly.  

It was as if she had swallowed a sharp chisel meticulously carving away at her nerves.  

Her gaze was filled with distrust and contempt toward me.  

“Give Tia back.”  

Her voice felt heavy, sinking into the library floor.  

It was a statement laden with raw emotion.  

I smiled.  

“If you mean Tia, then you must be referring to the person with whom you’ve developed a certain relationship. You’re asking me to return her, is that it?”  

“How much do you know?”  

I didn’t answer.  

I simply savored the feeling of tearing apart her shallow emotions, slowly and deeply.  

I knew her past, the things she cherished, and how futile all of it was.  

So there was no need to say anything.  

Everything was already written on her face, in the tension of her jaw, and in her clenched fists.  

I took a leisurely breath and curled the corner of my lips.  

“Do you know why butterflies are so wonderful?”  

Wolf frowned irritably.  

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”  

I reached out and gently swept my hand through the air.  

Even if the butterflies flying in the void weren’t visible, I could feel their presence.  

“Because they soar through the sky with such delicate wings, cutting through the air freely.”  

“That’s what makes them good?”  

Wolf shook her head in disbelief.  

But her eyes held more than simple defiance—there was something deeper, something simmering beneath the surface.  

Enjoying her reaction, I added,  

“It’s because they have ‘freedom.’”  

“Freedom… you say?”  

“Exactly.”  

I curled and uncurled my fingertips as I explained slowly.  

“Humans tear each other apart and even destroy themselves. They’re filled with endless greed and lies.  

They deceive each other, call it love, package it as trust, and then stab the ones closest to them in the back.  

They’re despicable, shallow, and utterly futile. Disgusting.”  

A vein bulged on Wolf’s forehead, and her breathing grew ragged.  

I found her reaction delightful, so I continued without stopping.  

“Butterflies, on the other hand, are different.”  

I stared at her intently as I added,  

“Butterflies simply ride the wind. Without any desire, they traverse the world with pure instinct and beauty.  

They’re not bound by anything, not tainted, and they fly only where they wish to go.  

And they’re always ready to end their lives at any moment. Isn’t that sublime and wondrous? Isn’t it beautiful?”  

I love butterflies.  

Because they’re not human—no, precisely because they’re not human, they’re even more beautiful.  

What those weary of humanity need is not the happiness created by humans, but the observation of everything else beyond them.  

That’s how we find happiness.  

Butterflies don’t possess lies, friendship, begging, or shamelessness, making them excellent subjects for observation—and friends!  

Because they’re utterly, absolutely different from humans!  

“······.”  

Wolf’s lips twitched as if she wanted to refute me, but she bit her lip instead, holding back her words.  

I watched her chew on her emotions, swallowing her anger, and imagined the sound of butterfly wings fluttering.  

And I smiled.  

“In the end, you cry out for justice and talk about vigilantes, but powerless justice is nothing but arrogance and deceit.”  

At that moment, Wolf’s eyes turned bloodshot.  

Her gaze was a mix of anger, sorrow, and hatred.  

Then she lunged at me.  

“Give Tia back, you crazy bitch!!!”  

With a single, clear shout, her fist flew toward me.  

Her weapon, which she had likely used up and broken in her fight with Yu Hae and Shuji, was tossed aside…  

‘Fast and rough.’ 

Her muscles were taut with rage, and her movements resembled those of a wild beast.  

She was incredibly quick.  

But to me, every movement was clear.  

The absurdly simple trajectory could be dodged by just turning my body.  

An attack driven by emotion, predictable in its rage, could be caught with a single hand.  

I lightly stepped aside, avoiding her fist.  

*Swish—*  

“Too slow, guest.”  

As I clasped my hands behind my back and effortlessly dodged, Wolf was stunned.  

Her fist sliced through the air, but I took a step back and looked at her.  

“Humans become endlessly foolish when consumed by emotion. I don’t think that’s what powerful justice looks like, guest.”  

“Shut up!”  

Wolf twisted her body and attempted a kick.  

Her boot swung toward me.  

*Whoosh—*  

‘Still slow.’  

Just before it reached me, I tilted my waist slightly to avoid it.  

“Wha—!?”  

Her leg cut through the air, and she lost her balance.  

Seizing the moment, I lightly grabbed her ankle and twisted it.  

*Crack!*  

“Ah…!?”  

Her body contorted under the momentary pressure.  

“As I said, you’re weak. Very weak. This isn’t powerful justice.”  

I leisurely released her and laughed.  

“Humans are truly laughable. They lose control of their emotions, lash out blindly, and ultimately drive themselves to ruin. To call that justice is nothing but deceit, guest.”  

I took a slow step forward.  

“—Ugh!”  

Wolf gritted her teeth and forced herself back up.  

“No matter what you say, I’ll tear you apart, you crazy bitch!”  

I slowly shook my head.  

“Is that so? But no matter how much you struggle, you already know the truth, don’t you?”  

I spread my arms wide, gesturing to the bookshelves and stacks around me.  

*Creak—*  

Suddenly, an incredibly bright golden light began to pour in from both sides.  

First floor.  

*Thud*  

Second floor.  

*Thud*  

Third floor.  

*Thud*  

The cascading golden light startled her.  

“The guest you loved has already become part of the butterflies. She’s now a part of this place. Like the beautifully fluttering wings of a butterfly, she’s no longer trapped in the heavy, filthy, foolish human body. And honestly, do you think it’s possible for her to come back to life, guest?”  

At that moment, Wolf’s expression twisted.  

Her emotions went beyond anger—it was despair.  

I smiled quietly and continued.  

“Do you know why butterflies are so wonderful? They don’t lie like humans do. They have no greed, no betrayal. They simply flutter their wings freely, crossing the sky. They fly only where they want to go.”  

Wolf panted heavily, gritting her teeth.  

“No matter what you say!”  

She tried to attack again.  

*Whoosh—*  

Her fist flew toward me once more.  

“My, my.”  

I caught it with my fingertips.  

*Thud—*  

“H-how!?”  

“I’ll twist it, guest.”  

*Crunch!*  

I twisted her wrist and pinned her to the floor.  

She screamed at the pressure on her pinned body.  

“No matter how much you struggle, it’s useless. Humans are beings who create nothing but suffering, and Tia was no different. Because she was human, she suffered, caused suffering, and was weak. But now, she’s different. She no longer has to suffer.”  

I reached out and lightly clenched my fist in the air.  

The butterflies adorning the room began to gather one by one.  

Wolf’s eyes shook violently.  

“See? Isn’t it beautiful? She’s free now. ‘Liberated.’”  

Wolf’s entire body trembled.  

“······You crazy bitch.”  

“Thank you, guest.”  

I smiled lightly and released her wrist.  

“So, never trust humans. Don’t rely on emotions created by humans—they’ll betray you eventually. But butterflies are different. Butterflies simply exist. You’ll never understand how beautiful and sublime that is, guest.”  

Wolf glared at me, panting heavily.  

But I had already seen beyond her anger—the edge of her despair.  

Now, she was afraid.  

Of me, and of the butterflies.  

So I slowly walked away.  

*Flutter, flutter~!*  

The butterflies fluttered around me as I left.  

“Wh-what are you—!?”  

She sat on the floor, glaring at my back.  

“Now, let me ask you one more time.”  

I turned only my head at the door, looking at her with my glowing red eyes.  

“Do you really trust humans?”