Countless questions ran through my head at mach speed.
'How is this happening?'
'Why is this happening?'
'Why is it happening right now?'
'How is this possible?'
I scrolled through dozens of blazing hot articles, trying to find even one that painted a story of it not being true.
I scrolled through dozens of fresh off the press articles, trying to find even one that could ease the distress I was experiencing.
[Dog & Dragon Duo State They Are Here to Locate "Enki"! What This Means | WTM]
The dragon and the dog girl were real, and they had come right from the side of the Protagonist's cold corpse to hunt me down.
"What the fuck is going on?!"
Slamming my fist down onto the Librarian's desk, I let out a heavy, trembling exhale, barely clocking how she had reactively jumped out of her seat and stiffened.
"Ahhh! C-calm down, Enki!"
"How can I calm down? Are you seeing this right now? They could have only come here for me, and they even said as much right here...! They're going to fucking kill me!"
"Th-they won't! Fret not! Fret not I say! Certainly, it will not happen! I declare it!"
"What do I do, goddamnit, what the hell is even this situation... Tch, fuck...!" Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Grabbing my head with both hands, I walked briskly around in circles, panicked.
'How'd they even get here, their world is so far away... Ah, right, magic. Magic, magic, magic. It's always magic. Dragons are too good at it, that's why-- that's why they were able to get here...'
I soon began to have my phone bombarded with notifications.
Sparing a brief glance at the bubbles as they rapidly appeared and instantly got swallowed by the ones that followed, I didn't even have to open or read them to know what they were about.
By this time, I had no doubt that the news of those two would be being broadcasted on television and phone screens across the globe.
Naturally, that meant their self-proclaimed mission would also swiftly be known.
No one else but me would know for sure what they were talking about, and I'm sure for the few who shared my name it was quite scary, but it was probably even worse for the people who knew me.
Not only had I gone missing for almost eight months, but out of the blue, this happens.
"...I can't go back."
Taking a deep breath, swallowing down a good portion of the concern that swamped me, I managed to gain a few moments of clarity.
With that time, I came to the swift conclusion that returning to living on Earth was impossible.
A normal life was already impossible from the beginning, but now, things really had crossed the point of no return.
"The Event Horizon... Hah. There's not gonna be an apocalypse all of a sudden, is there...?"
It was only a joke, but when I said it out loud, I immediately regretted it.
Anyway, now that there were people actively coming to hunt me down on Earth, I couldn't take the risk of living with my family. Not only would it be putting them in danger, but I'd also be stuck in one place, and so long as I lived like that, they'd find me in no time.
Fortunately, I could at least use the Library as my safe haven, and the rest of the time I'd either be taking on a Contract or in the Tower anyway, so...
At that moment, I belatedly realised something.
"The Tower... If I'm in the Tower, will they not be able to chase me...?"
'Would that even work...?'
Part of me thought that it wouldn't be possible because you needed to be Awakened to enter the Tower. I guess that meant I was technically counted as an Awakened, since I could get in even without any magic power, but did it work the other way around?
That is, if someone who possessed magic energy but wasn't Awakened tried to enter, could they?
"I guess I can only wait and see..."
On the bright side, I was confident they wouldn't be able to chase me even to the Library due to the fact it was created and protected with World Stability―a force infinitely greater than even magic.
And then, if they tried chasing me to other Illusory Worlds, it would take far too much magic energy for them to keep it up consistently.
'They can only target me while I'm on Earth. Fortunately, I shouldn't have to spend much time there, if any.'
I guess if I wanted a shower I'd need to go back, but... I also couldn't really just show up at home after so long without saying anything, so I'd probably have to find another way to keep clean... or just leave it.
'Good thing the Library has a toilet.'
I only found it one time while exploring down the vast aisles, but it was definitely there.
"Fuuuh... I guess that's just what I'll do then. It's a pain, but... I can't disturb everyone's lives even more. If I saw them again now, it'd only put them in danger."
It felt bad to do, but it was what needed to be done. At least that way everyone would be safe.
"―Ah! Enki, emergency!"
All of a sudden, the Librarian exclaimed. Having successfully cooled myself, I walked over, giving her the entirety of my attention.
"What's up? Red Contract?"
Nodding enthusiastically, she swiped her arm and materialised a crimson scroll out of thin air, unfurling it to make a transparent screen appear before me.
[The Villainous Empress Will Fall]
Protagonist: Liam Tichá | Avenger
Tags: #Fantasy #Action #Drama #MaleProtagonist #DeterminedProtagonist #NobleProtagonist #Revenge #Nobles #SwordsAndMagic
Scanning over the details briefly, my eyes were caught on a few specifics.
Particularly, the name...
'Why is it so familiar...?'
Searching through all my Contract-related memories, it didn't take long before I too exclaimed.
A faint recollection of the distant past shined through, and with the Tichá family name grabbing ahold of the main point of my attention, I belatedly realised.
This was the name of the first Beloved's younger brother.
"Back to Drakon-Rasa, huh..."
The image of a certain cool noble flashing in my mind, the corner of my lips slowly curled up.