Ch.128Chapter 128 – Paris (1)

“What kind of strange request did you get that involves a prophecy book? Is someone asking you to find an antique? Or is it some kind of artifact?”

Yujin’s reaction to Shin Jaehyuk’s odd request was skeptical. Fair enough. In a world where monsters were appearing everywhere, being asked to find a prophecy book seemed absurd.

“Something like that. I don’t know the details… So, any ideas?”

Understanding that this must be a commission from some wealthy occult enthusiast, Yujin let out a groan. A prophecy book displayed in an art gallery? She couldn’t make any sense of it…

‘This is too difficult. That’s probably why they requested someone of senior rank…’

Yujin examined the list of potential authors of the prophecy book and offered her immediate guess.

“Are you talking about Nostradamus’s prophecy book? When people think of prophets, Nostradamus is the most famous one.”

“I thought so too, but when I checked, it wasn’t him.”

“Hmm… Then I can’t think of anyone else who would have written a prophecy book. These candidates are all fictional characters anyway, or at least their existence is uncertain…”

To be precise, they were real historical figures, but the tales and legends surrounding them were so outlandish that they were often considered fabrications by later generations. There was so little historical evidence supporting their stories that even conspiracy theorists dismissed them as fairy tales.

“Among them, Leonardo da Vinci is the only one with significant historical documentation… While he was a great artist and inventor, I’ve never heard him described as a prophet.”

Clicking her mouse, Yujin sighed. Despite the absurd content, the request was difficult. When someone like Yujin, who could solve most requests through hacking, said something was difficult, it meant the problem-solving process would be extremely cumbersome. It meant she’d have to investigate each candidate’s works and achievements one by one.

In the midst of narrowing down the candidates through research, the caffeine-soaked and exhausted Yujin sent a link. It was a news article from a few years ago, the year when the first Gate opened.

“Louvre Museum Hires Linguists to Decipher Leonardo da Vinci’s Secret Notebook”

On the 6th, the Louvre Museum announced that it had acquired a new secret notebook from Western art history master Leonardo da Vinci (…) Some curators expressed concerns about the possibility of forgery as the acquisition source was not disclosed (…) The Louvre Museum has hired linguists and cryptography experts to decipher the notebook written in what is believed to be a new language created by da Vinci (…) The art world’s curiosity is mounting about what revolutionary ideas Leonardo da Vinci wanted to hide from competitors so badly that he created a secret script. (…)

‘Oh, this. It was quite a sensation at the time… Though it was quickly buried because of the Gates.’

Jaehyuk remembered reading this article. Back then, he was just a hikikomori who enjoyed reading news as a hobby. So much time had passed since then.

Feeling a strange sense of nostalgia, Jaehyuk reflected on his growth, his achievement of defeating two of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the satisfaction of protecting humanity in Eden. Regardless of Jaehyuk’s reminiscing, Yujin continued to send various pieces of information.

“This is the most recent news related to these names. It’s kept at the Louvre Museum. A museum is a kind of exhibition hall, so it matches the request conditions, right?”

“We’ll see when we check it out.”

Jaehyuk examined the photos posted on the museum’s website closely. Under the artifact name “Leonardo’s Secret Notebook” was a brief description. It explained that Leonardo da Vinci used various methods to record his ideas in notebooks to prevent others from understanding them, such as using mirror writing. In this notebook’s case, it was written entirely in a cipher created by da Vinci himself. Despite inviting renowned linguists and semioticians to decode the cipher, they failed due to insufficient reference materials.

However, the moment Jaehyuk’s eyes fell on the notebook’s cover in the photo, he succeeded in interpreting the cipher that no scholar had been able to decipher.

-Seeker of truth who seeks the sage, open the book.

‘This is it… the prophecy book.’

Reading the Eden language on the cover, Jaehyuk trembled. Satan’s words had proven true. Leonardo da Vinci, that historical artist, was indeed a figure known as a sage.

“This is it… this is what I’ve been looking for. I’m certain.”

Finally freed from the tedious repetitive work, Yujin exclaimed in relief.

“Really? Ah… I’m glad I didn’t have to stay up all night. So is the request complete now?”

“Yes. It would have taken me much longer alone. Thanks. Sorry, but I’ll pay you later. It’s really urgent…”

“That’s fine. It’s not like I need the money right away. If you’re grateful, do me a favor sometime. I can’t think of anything right now… maybe later.”

“Gladly. As if I’d refuse a request from you. Just let me know whenever. By the way, that’s the Louvre Museum, right? I should look for tickets to Paris…”

Hearing Jaehyuk’s muttering, Yujin was shocked. That hikikomori voluntarily going abroad? Jaehyuk had recently been to the United States and North Korea, and even visited Eden, but Yujin had no way of knowing that. She was simply amazed that the homebody finally had the motivation to go out.

This was also seen as an opportunity. Her eyes sparkled as she casually asked:

“Are you going on a business trip to Paris? Do you even speak French?”

“No… but it’s a Western country, so I should manage somehow with English.”

“I know your English is at an elementary school level. You’ll be lucky if you don’t get scammed.”

“…”

Yujin’s expression brightened slightly. With a somehow triumphant voice, she insisted:

“Take me with you! Paris is still one of the few functioning tourist destinations, right? The city of romance! I’ve always wanted to visit!”

“I’m going there to work, not for tourism…”

“Come on, I’ll be your interpreter! French is my specialty! You’re finally going abroad after so long—do you really want to just work and come back? It’ll be fun to go sightseeing with me.”

“But it could be dangerous.”

Jaehyuk hesitated. Due to Gates opening around the world, most tourism industries had collapsed. With people busy trying to survive, few families had the luxury to travel to foreign countries.

In fact, there were occasional incidents of ordinary people being attacked by monsters hiding near tourist attractions. Tourist spots were typically places where people gathered, making them popular hunting grounds for demons.

But Yujin, unaware that Jaehyuk was an awakened one, confidently offered to be his bodyguard.

“Dangerous? I’m an awakened one! If anything happens, I’ll protect you! I’ve received mandatory training from the Association, so I can handle imps easily!”

“Hmm… still…”

“Fine! Then I’ll use that favor you just promised me right now!”

When Jaehyuk couldn’t hide his reluctance, Yujin delivered her ultimatum. With her putting it that way, Jaehyuk had no choice. Though slightly uneasy, he finally agreed to her company, thinking that nothing bad would happen.

“Sigh… you’re so stubborn. We’re only staying for one day, okay? We can’t stay long.”

‘After all, I’m just going to check the prophecy book at the Louvre and come back… What could possibly go wrong?’

***

In the early dawn, just before sunrise, faint sunlight was warming the air in a coastal village in England. An unnamed village reached by heading southeast from London. Facing France across the Dover Strait about 50km away, the village was enveloped in sea fog, resting in its usual tranquility.

Soon, fishermen would wake up to organize their nets, and the fog would gently subside.

But that day was different from usual. The fog wasn’t subsiding. Far from it, it was rising—as if to engulf the entire village.

The sleeping villagers didn’t notice the anomaly. The deeply slumbering village was soon covered in a thick fog that made it impossible to see even a foot ahead. A damp fog with a fishy smell.

A shadow was moving within that reddish fog. As if with a clear purpose, there was no hesitation in its movements. Feet moving secretly but swiftly headed toward the dock. Those footsteps somehow seemed urgent.

At the dock where the silhouette in the fog arrived, there were several fishing boats, as expected of a coastal village. However, the black figure showed no interest in any of them and leapt into the air. Its body instantly split into dozens of pieces of flesh, and a pair of bat wings sprouted from each chunk of meat. A swarm of dozens of bats flew toward the land 50km across the sea, drying their wing membranes in the sunlight.

Half an hour later, a second stranger arrived at the remote coastal village. Unlike the first visitor, this entrance was noisy. Despite the brilliantly clear sky, a thunderous sound roared and lightning flashed.

When the lightning faded, someone was already standing at the blackened strike point.

It was Europe’s most famous superhuman. The guardian of England, the ruler of the sky. A high school girl whose ability to handle one billion volts of lightning with a mere human body was so superhuman that she was called by the name of a god rather than a human.

Zeus, Euphemia, flicked her lightning-like blonde hair and looked around with an irritated gaze. Her golden eyes scanned the surroundings for traces of someone.

The traces were lurking everywhere. Red fog. That was evidence that the creature she was tracking had been here. However, after thoroughly searching the village without finding it, Zeus burst into anger.

“Arrrgh!! After staying up all night tracking it!”

Crackling sparks released with her irritation burned the air. Zeus took out a smartphone from a rubber pouch. It was a pouch designed to prevent her smartphone from breaking during her regular use of her ability.

Zeus contacted the person who had asked her to track the creature. The head of the British Hunter Association answered the call.

-Zeus! I’ve been anxiously waiting for your call. Please, how did the capture operation go…

“Tch, I lost it. Running 60 miles from London in one night—how can it be so fast!”

The irritation from lack of sleep seeped into her voice. The British Association head, startled by the high school girl who was the most important person in his country, stammered an excuse.

-Ah, well, considering it’s a boss that emerged from an A-rank Gate…

“Yeah, conversely, it’s ‘just’ an A-rank, so why am I cleaning up after you guys! Ugh, never mind.”

Euphemia knew from the information she’d received beforehand. How slippery this boss monster was, spreading fog like spores.

‘They said it’s skilled at hiding and escaping, enough to fool the heat-sensing auto-turrets set up in front of the Gate. Now that I’ve chased it myself, I understand. Its ability to conceal its presence, erasing traces with fog… Is this monster some kind of assassin?’

Though its behavior pattern was unprecedented, a monster was still a monster. The boss monster that had escaped the military’s surveillance and was released into the heart of London did what monsters do. That is, it committed murder.

Every night, it spread fog in alleys to conceal itself and targeted unfortunate victims. When the number of victims exceeded 100, the media finally detected its existence and named it Jack the Ripper.

‘They say it’s called the murderer Jack because of its habit of targeting one person at a time in deserted places, rather than attacking crowded areas and killing many at once like ordinary monsters?’

If it hadn’t been nocturnal and quiet during the day, the victims would have numbered over three hundred by now. As the situation escalated, the British Association head asked Euphemia to capture this boss. There was a reason why he specifically requested capture rather than elimination.

-Combining its intelligence and the testimonies that it’s humanoid, it might be a boss capable of communication… We’ve already confirmed that beings known as the Four Heavenly Kings can speak. How much manpower we’d have to burn through to find its traces again… Anyway, I’ll send a helicopter for your return, so please send your location.

“Why bother? I can fly back.”

-You, you must be tired, so we should transport you comfortably. Please, just…

The British Association head didn’t mention that the thunderous noise generated during Euphemia’s movement caused complaints from nearby residents.

Shortly after, the British Association head checked Euphemia’s location via GPS and drew in a sharp breath.

-Hmm… This is near the Dover Strait. This complicates things…

“What’s wrong, old man? You’re not saying you can’t send a helicopter, are you?”

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. The disaster of one of the world’s seven superhumans venting her frustration on him was avoided. But from the Association head’s perspective, it was even more terrible.

-If we trace the creature’s escape route on a map, the direction is consistent. As if it has a clear destination…

He connected the coordinates Euphemia sent with London and extended the line. The line starting from London passed through the coastal village, crossed the Dover Strait, and crossed the border. At the point where the pen tip stopped was the capital of France. The Association head broke out in a cold sweat as he carefully spoke.

-Would you… be interested in taking a business trip?