Magister Insanity

It felt as if someone had struck a devastating blow to my gut.

"W-What the hell is this?"

Could I have misread it? A flicker of hope sparked, but the moment I reread the scriptures, that illusion shattered.

'Curses! Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse.'

"Hey…? What's wrong? Why are you staring at that thing like that?"

I stiffened.

Only then did I remember Minho and Ezra standing there, looked at me with unreadable expressions.

What should I do? Reveal what I'd discovered… or keep it to myself?

No. That would be disastrous. Things would spiral out of control. There was only one option.

Hesitantly, I lied through my teeth.

"It's nothing. I just thought I could read it…"

Minho shrugged as if that was the expected result.

"Someone like me, who knows four languages besides my native one, couldn't make sense of a single letter. Honestly, I'd be surprised if you could understand anything from there."

Ezra shot him a knowing look before speaking.

"Are you saying that because your pride as a translator is on the line? I didn't take you for the prideful type."

"Naturally, I take pride in my profession," Minho replied smoothly. "Mastering four different languages is no small feat, and the process demanded more precious time than I'd like to admit."

"It's okay to lose sometimes. No one's going to judge."

Watching them bicker, I forced a smile, careful not to seem out of place. Meanwhile, a flurry of thoughts raced through my mind, both troubling and trivial. Getting out of this temple safely was the top priority. But I had to do it in a way that wouldn't arouse suspicion, a way that would keep them calm and unaware of the danger.

If I acted too forcefully, it would only raise alarm and invite unnecessary panic. The smarter approach was subtle: planting a gentle suggestion, guiding them along without revealing too much.

After a moment of thought, a plausible excuse formed in my mind.

"Well… there's really nothing here. Looks like we'll just have to leave, right? And judging by that pile of bones outside… who knows what kind of creepy things might be lurking around."

That seemed to have worked, because Minho's eyes lit up with a mix of relief and curiosity.

"Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't stick around any longer than we have to. Who knows what's out there waiting for us?"

Ezra, however, lingered a moment, narrowing his gaze toward the ancient scripture.

"Are you sure there's nothing else worth checking here?"

I forced a laugh, keeping it light.

"Come on now, do you see anything else worth looking at? Honestly, my anxiety is through the roof just being here. This place is creepy enough as it is. For the sake of our sanity, it's probably best if we just get out of here."

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't push further. Good. I needed them to focus on leaving, not questioning my reaction.

We started making our way toward the temple exit. The sound of our footsteps echoed ominously through the stone marble corridor.

Thunk! After only a few strides, an invisible force slammed into us, throwing us backward.

What the…?

I thrust my hand forward into the air. Something met my palm. My hand recoiled as if struck by an unseen wall.

An invisible barrier blocked our path.

"Huh? What's going on? Why can't we leave?"

Minho panicked, throwing his weight against it with all his strength. Already weakened, he was powerless. Within moments, the wall hurled him back, collapsing into a pitiful heap on the floor.

No matter what we tried, we couldn't escape.

Ezra's eyes widened, and he instinctively took a step back.

"This… this isn't normal. It's like some kind of… bloody trap!"

I sweated nervously, trying to calm my racing heart. My mind raced through possibilities, but none made sense. The scriptures hadn't mentioned anything like this.

'Wait.'

A terrifying thought struck. Memories of the scriptures resurfaced, and the first line replayed itself in my mind:

「To those who enter, abandon all hope of return.」

My eyes trembled violently.

Was that what it meant? We literally cannot leave.

Damn it… this was the worst-case scenario.

Minho curled into a tight ball on the floor, wrapping his arms around himself. He muttered over and over with a trembling voice.

"I knew… I fu*king knew it. Coming here was a mistake. Now we're going to die in this place. We're all going to die… we're going to die... I don't want to die."

This so-called adult had a fragile mind. Or rather, it had deteriorated to this state. Ezra, however, showed no sign of being fazed by the revelation.

In fact, he didn't react at all. His face remained neutral, betraying nothing except the cold, calculating glint that flickered in his eyes.

After a long minute, the white-haired boy finally let out a quiet sigh.

"It can't be helped. Looks like we'll have to take the bad route."

He muttered this while glancing down at the despairing Minho, his voice stern as he addressed him.

"Get up. Look at me and listen me, there's a way for us to survive but your assistance is required."

Confused, the crazed man paused his mumbling and looked up at him. I raised an eyebrow as well.

"H-How?" Minho's voice trembled with desperation.

Despite the urgency, Ezra remained silent.

"Why aren't you answering? If you know something, just say it already!"

The white-haired boy sighed again. Slowly, as if steeling himself, he spoke. A cold premonition twisted in my stomach.

"I'll confess… I haven't been completely honest with you. First, I can read the scriptures on that stone slab. And second… the answer might be there as well."

"W-What? A-Are you serious? I absolutely won't forgive you if you're joking!"

"Do not worry. I am completely serious. At first, I didn't say anything because I didn't understand anything from these scriptures and questioned their legitimacy. But things are now different. I can only see one way to how this ends."

He then retrieved a object of a familiar shape, tucked in at the back of his pants, concealed by his shirt.

It was a firearm! A gun!

Not just any gun, it was the same Glock 20 pistol that the sea corpse eater was supposed to have swallowed whole, along with the ruined bus from the public transport route!

Ezra's eyes softened for a fraction of a second, showing a flicker of sympathy passing through them. Then, just as quickly, they hardened.

"Forgive me, old man… but there's no other way. One of us has to be the sacrifice. One of us has to die. And it's you. You're already halfway there. It's unfortunate, but this is the path our story has taken. Goodbye."

Minho's eyes widened.

"No… no, please! Don't—"

"Stay still. Struggling will only make it worse. One clean shot to the head. It'll be over in an instant… you'll barely feel a thing."

It all happened too fast to fully process. Ezra raised the gun, taking aim with deliberate calmness. Minho scrambled to his feet and turned around, attempting to flee. But he was too exhausted and weak. Too slow compared to the pull of the trigger. A moment later, a sharp, slicing sound tore through the air. The bullet struck the back of the translator's head, exiting through the front, leaving a chilling, gaping hole the size of a tennis ball.

Pitilessly, his lifeless body slumped to the floor with a heavy 'thud,' splattering crimson fluid and fragments of brain matter across the snow and staining the tiles. He didn't even have a chance to utter out a scream or panicked cry.

And just like that, he was gone.

Frozen and helpless, I could only watch as blood gushed from the gaping hole, brain matter spilling in clumps and blood trickling like dark rivulets over his face. His bloodshot eyes were staring into nothingness, losing all sparks of life.

'He's dead. He's really dead.'

I blinked.

Everything — from the instant he tried to run, to the shot, to the final collapse — was burned into my mind, replaying endlessly with terrifying clarity. The scene was perfect in its horror, impossible to unsee nor remember.

This was… this was too much.

If not the exit was blocked by an invisible wall, I would have probably freaked out and ran away by now.

Then, it suddenly hit me.

Such a decisive intent to kill couldn't have come easy. The way Ezra had killed Minho was just too clean and calculated, as though he had been preparing for such a scenario prior. Just when had he been planning to eliminate him. Come to think of it, the others had died suspiciously as well.

Everything felt too planned.

Realizing the full scope of the truth, my eyes narrowed as I glanced his way. Then, I muttered out.

"So it was you. This entire time... it was you who killed them. They're all died because of you."