Chapter 127: The Smile of a Monster

Time to Hunt[4]

Chapter 127: The Smile of a Monster

Blah, blah, blah...

"...Then I took a look at the tire, and it was completely flat. Of course, they brought a replacement right away, but my mood was already ruined."

I smiled.

Or at least, I hoped the expression on my face still resembled a smile.

What kind of torture was this?!

It had been thirty-seven minutes since I’d sat down with Marven in the VIP section. The last time I’d checked my phone, it had been thirty-six. I had no idea how he’d managed to say so much in that single minute.

This son of a bitch wouldn’t shut up for even a moment.

First, he’d talked about a show he’d watched. Then football, some wine he’d tried at a restaurant, his car’s flat tire... I’d long since stopped trying to follow how the topics connected. While I was still searching for an appropriate response to one, he would already be talking about something else.

Had he really been picking up girls with these stupid conversations all this time?

Or had they been smiling and waiting for it to end, just like me?

I resisted the urge to lean against the back of the couch. Overlooking the crowd below, this section sat a few steps above the main floor. The music was more bearable here, and the wide couches arranged around low tables were quite comfortable.

I could have liked this place if Marven had stopped talking.

"Layla, are you listening to me?"

I turned my gaze toward him.

Layla. Right. That was my name tonight.

"Yes."

"Good."

Hearing my answer was enough for him. He didn’t even ask what I thought.

He stood up and set his glass on the table. For a moment, I thought he was finally going somewhere.

Then he sat down beside me, even closer than before.

As the cushion sank beneath his weight, I shifted my leg a few centimeters away. Marven was busy with his phone, so he either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

"Look, let me show you something."

He turned the screen toward me.

"This is from an Overlap up north."

I glanced at the photo without much interest.

Then I actually focused on the screen.

An enormous tower stood in the middle of a vast white landscape. The structures surrounding its base looked so small that I’d initially mistaken them for rocks. Its dark walls rose into the clouds, and I could barely make out its upper section against the pale sky.

It had to be thousands of meters tall.

"What is it?" I asked, keeping that sweet curiosity in my voice.

This time, I really was curious.

"A remnant of an Overlap. It still exists in this world, even though it’s been cleared."

I raised my eyebrows slightly.

"Is something like that possible?"

Marven laughed. He angled the phone toward himself to look at the photo, then showed it to me again.

"Haha, of course not. At least, not the way they tell it."

"What do you mean?"

"The Overlap was never actually conquered. It managed to merge with this world. The government assumes it’s harmless, so they’ve chosen to keep what happened a secret."

I stared at the tower for a while.

Ashenfall came to mind. I remembered stepping through the mirror with Rose and seeing those strange objects in the sky.

I couldn’t tell whether Marven was telling the truth just by looking at this photo. But I couldn’t dismiss what he was saying as complete nonsense, either.

"Wow..." I said. "I never imagined things like that could happen."

I turned toward him.

"You really know a lot, Marven."

Getting the reaction I’d expected wasn’t difficult. He drew his shoulders back a little, letting the hand holding his phone rest on his knee.

"Well, my family owns one of the biggest trading companies dealing with Overlaps and Guardians. My older brother’s a famous Guardian, too."

I widened my eyes.

"What? I had no idea you were someone so important!"

My voice grew quieter toward the end. I looked down at my hands, as though I’d suddenly realized I’d said something wrong.

"Is it really all right for me to speak so casually with you?"

"Relax. I like it when you talk to me like this."

"But..."

He placed his hand over mine.

Disgust rose inside me, and I nearly pulled my fingers away. I stopped myself just in time.

Enduring the weight of his hand, I lifted my gaze to his face.

"All right... Marven."

I deliberately paused for a moment before saying his name.

The satisfaction on his face grew. When he released my hand, I reached for my glass to hide my relief. He picked up his whiskey and downed the rest in one gulp.

"Is it getting a little hot in here?"

He undid a few more buttons on his shirt.

His gaze dropped to my legs.

What would happen if I gouged his eyes out right now?

I didn’t need much time to think about the answer.

I probably wouldn’t make it out of here alive.

I brought my glass to my lips and pretended to take a small sip. As I made the liquid disappear, I considered how to ask the question on my mind.

I needed to know what Marven was carrying.

"Marven, I was wondering..."

I lowered my glass and turned toward him.

"Do you have any artifacts on you?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

That tiny change was enough to make me straighten my back.

"I’ve never seen a real one before," I quickly added. "I’ve never even met a Guardian. I was just curious, but—"

I let the sentence trail off and looked away.

After studying my face for a few seconds, Marven laughed.

"Ahaha, why are you so nervous?"

He reached for his neck and pulled out the thin silver chain tucked beneath his shirt, revealing what hung from it.

A bluish-black stone.

At first glance, it looked like a dark pendant small enough to fit in his palm. Its surface was uneven. When the light above the table struck it, some parts took on a blue tint while the rest remained pitch-black.

I leaned forward a little.

"What is it?"

Marven turned the stone between his fingers.

"Guess."

"An artifact?"

"Close. But no."

"No?"

I looked at the stone again.

There was no writing I could read or any symbol I recognized. All I could make out were thin lines that seemed to run through its dark surface.

I couldn’t think of another guess.

"Um... then what is it?"

Marven didn’t answer.

A second passed.

Then another.

I lifted my gaze from the stone to his face.

His smile had disappeared.

He was sitting right beside me, but the man who had been talking nonstop had suddenly gone completely silent. His eyes were fixed on my face. The hand holding the stone remained motionless in the air.

What happened?

My throat went dry.

Say something, you son of a bitch. Why have you suddenly gone quiet?

The music downstairs continued. Someone at a nearby table laughed. Yet the silence between us had become so pronounced that I felt as though I was breathing too loudly.

Had he figured it out?

Had asking about artifacts sounded suspicious? Had he caught something in my expression?

I slid my foot back beneath the couch. There was enough room for me to throw myself to the side if necessary. I focused on Umbrella without taking my eyes off him.

The corners of Marven’s lips twitched.

Then they slowly began to rise.

As his smile widened, the knot in my stomach tightened. I recognized the self-satisfied expression he’d worn earlier. This was different. His eyes moved over my face, waiting to see how I would react to what he was about to say.

He raised the stone between us.

"This is the heart of a Guardian who’s dead now."

My fingers froze around my glass.

I looked at the necklace again.

At the thing I’d just leaned closer to examine with curiosity...

He wore something he claimed was a person’s heart around his neck. Beneath his shirt, close enough to touch his skin.

And he was enjoying the expression on my face as he told me.

I knew what the articles about him said. I hadn’t forgotten why I was here, either. Yet after thirty-seven minutes of listening to his chatter, I’d reduced the man in front of me to a disgusting pervert I simply wanted to shut up.

Now, looking at his face, I truly understood.

I was sitting beside a monster wrapped in human skin.