Chapter 134 |
"Ah, so you've heard that much."
When Yeon-woo relayed what Seome had told him, the Guest Without Taste nodded.
"Then you seem to know the basics."
"It must have been quite basic."
"I wonder what I should tell you, then...."
"Anything you know is fine."
"Haha."
The vampire couldn't quite suppress a laugh.
"Explaining this to you gives me the strangest feeling."
"No, let's return to the main topic."
The eyes disguised in black rolled.
"The #12 card holder. I know of that human as well. That massive scale of his was distinctive--the one that measures the sins and merits of living concepts."
"A scale?"
Yeon-woo blinked behind his glasses.
"If my memory isn't mistaken, #12 should be 'The Hanged Man.'"
"That's correct. His gaze, contemplating the universe, sometimes reaches even me--that's how wide his field of vision is. Perhaps because of it, I've occasionally seen him struggle to keep his feet planted on this narrow earth."
"Is that an abstract metaphor? Or...."
"It could be an abstract metaphor, but the fascinating thing about Arcana members is that they can literally become such a thing. It would be difficult to comprehend by human common sense."
An urging to abandon human common sense, then. He grew uneasy. The Drenched One came to mind, constantly watching for an opportunity to drag him to the water's edge.
"Even in the middle of all this, you're trying to manipulate me."
"Can't blame a man for trying, can you?"
The shrugging vampire redirected the conversation.
"I understand your point of confusion. A scale doesn't suit The Hanged Man."
"I was taught that #12 is a card that recommends voluntary stillness. To refrain from acting, to remain and wait, to see the situation from a different angle, and to set aside present comforts for something greater."
"It can also be interpreted as meaning that no amount of struggle will change the situation for now. That would be the upright reading, but you already know all this."
Having said that, the vampire stared directly at Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo spoke.
"Say it in words."
"Didn't you say you'd studied?"
"It was mostly self-taught."
"Mostly?"
Why was he getting nitpicked right now?
"Am I being scolded?"
"Oh, as if I would handle my noble lord so roughly."
And yet the gaze watching Yeon-woo was remarkably consistent.
"I merely find it a shame."
A shame about what?
"It seems to be a tradition among the guests who visit this hotel--none of them speak at length."
"Less a tradition and more that only twisted people end up here."
"Self-awareness has been achieved, I see."
"Naturally, one must manage at least that."
Watching the vampire shrug, Yeon-woo was certain the man wouldn't give a straight answer. Tapping the back of his empty hand as if checking a watch, Yeon-woo soon nodded.
"I don't understand why The Hanged Man--a symbol of free thought--would be holding a scale. If anything, the one who should be holding a scale is... #11, 'Justice,' as I know it."
The card depicting a figure seated with a sword in one hand and a scale in the other.
"But it's also curious that this scale measures sins and merits rather than good and evil."
"Good observation. The two are not opposing concepts."
Even within meritorious deeds, sin could exist, and even within sin, merit could be found. The vampire readily acknowledged the point.
"Even before a member dies, if someone with a closer matching fate appears, the card transfers to the new person. You understand this?"
"I remember."
"Along those same lines, depending on a card holder's capabilities, they can also exert influence over other holders. The scale that #12 carries is one such example."
He added.
"He seized it from #11."
"......"
Yeon-woo removed his glasses and pressed his temple. Not a single normal person.
"...Seized? But #12's scale appears to function differently from Justice's."
"It would be more accurate to say he tore off a portion rather than taking the whole thing. And that's precisely what makes the man interesting. He's not a mere observer--he's a human who knows when to act."
"Meaning?"
"A fine hunter."
A sentiment befitting a nobleman of several centuries past.
"He hangs upside down, contemplating the universe for a very long time, and only moves when the moment arrives for him to intervene and orchestrate fate. At the most optimal timing, with the most optimal materials."
"He doesn't prepare the materials himself."
"There are several reasons. The backlash is lighter that way, and above all, it would suit his temperament... Still, having such a wide perspective and yet still possessing the will to tend to this small planet--I find that deformity rather remarkable."
"......"
Yeon-woo rolled his eyes and spoke.
"...He sounds like a good person."
"Oh? Taken a liking to him?"
"Yes."
"That would be your taste."
"And how would you know my taste?"
"How could I not?"
The old vampire lazily stroked his chin.
"A newborn spirit's tastes are predictable without even looking."
"Did you just call me a spirit?"
"I believe the local term here was 'indigenous Dokkaebi,' but returning to the main topic...."
The vampire drew blood from his own hand and shaped it into a card, then continued.
"The card selects its holder--it can represent them, but it cannot define them. That is precisely the point many lumps of flesh--pardon, humans--misunderstand."
"You were going to say 'lumps of flesh.'"
"At least I didn't say 'blood pouches.' Don't be too angry, Teacher."
"I've never taken you as a pupil."
"How cruel of you."
To which Yeon-woo put his glasses back on and spoke in a sigh.
"In other words, a card is ultimately just a card."
"Of course. They personally select and serve their masters, but they cannot influence them. Not unless the holder wishes it."
"Which is why the holder doesn't necessarily follow the card's fate completely."
"These artifacts are simply designed to seek out the being who can most fully accept them. To put it more bluntly, they're looking for a container that can withstand them."
"Is there a reason for that?"
"Otherwise they'd be cursed."
Yeon-woo mulled over those words, then asked.
"This isn't a metaphor either?"
"This one was a metaphor."
The vampire flicked his hand, and the card of blood crumbled to ash and vanished.
"Though from a human perspective, the difference wouldn't be all that significant. If these artifacts had chosen their masters arbitrarily, without criteria, the world would be in a far more entertaining state by now."
"I don't think I'd have found it entertaining either."
What exhausting talk just to listen to.
"......"
Yeon-woo blinked slowly and asked.
"Then what kind of person was 'The Devil'?"
"I thought you'd heard the story from those morsels."
"Have you seen him yourself?"
This time it was the Guest Without Taste who fell silent. He answered only after a considerable pause.
"...Yes, I have."
"I'm curious about the person you saw."
"A Mechanical Puppet with no fixed biological body, whose true form was known to not a single soul in the entire world. He was an exquisite Puppeteer and a blood mage of unprecedented caliber."
For having hesitated, his tone was level, slightly dry, yet smooth. As though he'd been waiting for Yeon-woo to ask about the man.
Yeon-woo thought for a moment, then spoke.
"And you're saying I now hold the card that someone like that carried?"
"That is my assessment."
"The card that represented the identity of a senior operative of a world-class cult-terror organization? Me--a law-abiding citizen who used to grow cells in a lab?"
"And yet I thought it was a card that rather suited you."
"I don't want to hear it."
Don't talk nonsense.
"Is there any other information?"
"One of his officially recorded alternate personas was a knight affiliated with the Order of Azure you mentioned. Beyond that, whatever other puppet games he played--even I cannot say."
"You two must have been close."
"Oh, we weren't. I simply knew him and had exchanges."
"That's...."
Yeon-woo regarded him with a transparent gaze. Without any particular intent, he said:
"Usually called a friend."
"......"
The vampire met that gaze, then parted his lips in a taxidermied smile.
"...Do you know about the #15 card as well?"
"Irresistible temptation and bondage."
"And the reversed meaning?"
"Freedom gained by breaking the chains, as I understand it."
"Then why are you still here?"
Yeon-woo's brow furrowed faintly, and the vampire continued.
"He was the most peculiar human I have ever seen. He possessed an aberrant affinity for labyrinths--entities that instinctively reject humans--and so humans called him the worst 'Devil' in history."
"What are you trying to say?"
"In the midst of The Foundation's attempt to transform their entire headquarters into a massive labyrinth using their members as offerings, he self-destructed and went missing. Humans say he's dead. Whether that remains true now, I can't be certain."
"I still don't understand."
"His primary stage was a hotel, and he simultaneously served as its General Manager. His conduct was so outlandish that at first, few even recognized him as human."
"Wait."
He did understand, in fact.
"You're mistaken."
Which was why he had no choice but to say this.
"I'll admit the parallels look numerous, but I am not that person."
"Hmm, did you perhaps lose some memories during the labyrinth-ification process?"
"I'm telling you, no."
"The connection seems rather difficult to deny."
"I was an ordinary researcher."
"That man was an excellent researcher too. Thank you for the self-introduction."
"This man, honestly."
The words weren't getting through. This senile vampire had already gotten drunk on his own grand narrative and wasn't listening to Yeon-woo's modest truth, not even with the back of his ears.
"Can't you see me right here, slaving away at this miserable job without even overtime pay?"
Yeon-woo protested.
"I may look like this, but I lived a perfectly normal life until age forty-five."
"Oh."
"If I think about it, I'd be fifty by now--"
Before he could even finish, the vampire swept close and seized both his shoulders.
"--It is you, after all."
He smiled, fangs bared.
"Not even an Overwrite. It really was you."
"......"
"You always did have a heartless streak."
A massive shadow cast over him.
"Yes, yes. So this was your face... You must have been hiding it so desperately because you look this young. To think I'm the first to see the bare face of that illustrious devil--what an immense honor."
"No."
"I'd read it as upright, but was it reversed all along? Deceiving the world wasn't enough, you had to deceive even the labyrinth--vintage Velmareth indeed. I heard it failed, but it actually succeeded? Or is it only now that--"
"I believe I said no."
Yeon-woo exhaled something too hollow to be a scoff.
"You have no intention of listening to me."
"It would be wise to keep in mind that I won't be the only one who thinks so."
"And you'd be wise to learn how to respect people."
He'd file a defamation suit soon enough.
Pushing aside the vampire's hands, Yeon-woo stood. The Guest Without Taste, as if he'd never seized those shoulders, returned to his usual demeanor and asked with a smile.
"Leaving already?"
"My crow looks anxious."
"Rather than going straight there."
"It's to my advantage, besides...."
Brushing off his shoulder, Yeon-woo looked down at the seated man.
"I'd rather not add more disobedient guests to my roster."
"I hardly know where to put myself from the remorse."
"I'd hoped to buy some time, and instead I had to listen to this nonsense."
"Calling it nonsense--wasn't it rather convenient news for you as well?"
"Which is exactly why I'm trying to figure out what to do about it."
Worry piled upon worry.
"If all else fails, I'll just ignore it."
"What a dreadful personality."
"Never claimed it was good."
Yeon-woo soon broke into a wry grin.
"I simply try my best."
At whatever comes.
***
"Sunbae-nim, if you're up for it, maybe we could grab some food around now...."
Rawi looked at the vacant room.
"...Sunbae-nim?"
Rawi's face went white.
Seome had vanished.