Beyond the Eternity

The Demonic Werewolf, Han Minjae, stared at me as though questioning his entire reality.

「 ...What did you just say? 」

"Are you deaf? I said I'll let you go when I'm done with your body."

His eyes flared with fury. 「 You bastard! That wasn't part of the deal! You tricked me! 」

Feigning offense, I placed a hand on my chest, gasping dramatically. "How could you say such a horrible thing? Are you trying to paint me as some kind of manipulative villain?"
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「 You...!! 」

Before he could finish that thought, I cut him off with a mocking smile.

"Of course, I had no intention of letting you go. Did you really think I'd free you after all the trouble you caused us? How pitifully naive."

"If you want to strike a deal with someone, you have to make sure to sign a proper contract. You don't even know something so basic, despite abandoning your humanity and becoming a demon? Tch, what a rookie mistake."

"Learn from this, okay? Now, call me senior-nim~."

「 Fuck you! 」

Han Minjae's face twisted with rage, but he could do nothing but glare at me in silence and curse using his thoughts.

... Maybe I teased him a little too much.

Sighing, I stepped closer, grabbing the struggling werewolf by the scruff of his neck. He began thrashing violently in my grip, snarling.

「 Unhand me at once, you bastard! Die! Die! Die! Die a hundred times! Die a million times!! 」

"Stop struggling, you stupid mutt."

「 Die! 」

"Ugh, you're seriously becoming annoying. If you don't stop, I'll have to use force."

「 Die! 」

The werewolf snapped his jaws, trying to bite me, but my grip remained firm on his scruff.

"Hey, I'm warning you. Do that again, and I'll hit you."

「 Die! Die! Die! 」

Han Minjae continued to flail like an untamed beast. Eventually, I reached my limit and raised my fist.

"I warned you."

... And then, swung it down.

Pow! Pow!

「 Arrrgh! 」

With two solid punches, Han Minjae stopped struggling. Now he was wailing like a beaten dog.

This guy... Why was he whimpering with just a few hits. Where had that fierce spirit gone, the one he had moments ago?

"Ah!"

A sudden thought crossed my mind.

"Now that I think about it, I only need your body, not anything else. Yes?"

「 Wh-What are... you saying? 」

"I mean, I only need your body. I don't need you to move, struggle, or even think. In fact, hearing your thoughts has become utterly unpleasant, so I'll just shut you down permanently."

「 Wait...! What are you... 」

Han Minjae's eyes widened, and his thoughts grew frantic, but I quickly activated «Drafting» and silenced him with a simple command:

"Mind Break."

「 ...!! 」

The moment those words left my lips, a faint crackling filled the air, and the light drained from Han Minjae's eyes, leaving them hollow and lifeless. His face lost all color, and his body stiffened. His consciousness faded away slowly, until he stopped moving altogether.

He looked like he was dead, but he wasn't.

He was no longer able to move, struggle, or even think.

If the command had worked, then his mind had shattered completely, rendering him no different from a vegetable.

Death would have been the kinder option.

'Hmm. What was that just now? Was it just my imagination?'

I tilted my head as I had noticed something strange

Just a few seconds ago, unlike with the other test subjects, there was a noticeable time lag between the command and its effect of 'Drafting.'

There was resistance. Although it only lasted for a few seconds.

I should've anticipated this much from one of Fenrir's Reincarnation Bodies.

"Ughh."

I sighed and shook my head.

Look at what this damn guy made me do. If only he had listened, he wouldn't have ended up like this.

'Well, at least now I can check what I need without his bloody noise. Should've done this from the start.'

No, that was wrong. If I had done this from the start, I wouldn't have been able to get those precious digital figures. Even if he had refused to hand them over willingly, I would have just used Drafting to force him to give them to me.

Ultimately, I was going to get those coins one way or another.

'Now It's time for the experiment.'

Dragging the unconscious Demonic Werewolf across the ground, I reached the cleared table and tossed him onto it with a single hand.

Recalling the horrors he inflicted on Jung Yunhee and Lee Suhye, I had no intention of being gentle.

On the contrary to what others might assume, I had no plans to dissect him or examine his physiology like some mad scientist. There was no need for such messiness. My skills allowed me to extract far more precise information than any scalpel ever could.

I adjusted his body so his empty eyes faced upwards, then proceeded to activate one of my skills.

Skill: Hawkeye Spirit Vision

This was the result of the [Fusion] of two skills: [Eagle Eye] and [Spirit Vision], which I'd purchased from the Exclusive Shop.

Spirit Vision was a common skill for Spiritualists and Priests, allowing them to perceive the non-physical aspects of the body. Combined with the enhanced perception of Eagle Eye, the result was an [A++] skill capable of discerning both the physical and spiritual state of the target with exceptional clarity.

Furthermore, the skill also allowed the user to obtain information of all objects and living organisms within a 50m radius.

A 'Jackpot' in all aspects.

[The skill, Hawkeye Spirit Vision, has activated.]

Vzzz!

A faint buzz accompanied the activation of the skill, and a surge of spirit energy coursed through my eyes. My vision sharpened as if honed to a razor's edge.

The surface layers of Han Minjae's body seemed to melt away, stripped bare by my gaze.

Then, his Soul appeared in full view.

'This skill is truly incredible. It took me some time to get used to, but now... now it feels like second nature.'

I focused intently, carefully analyzing Han Minjae's Soul Body.

His soul appeared as a humanoid structure, pure white and featureless.

It lacked defining characteristics, and stood as an abstract representation of his essence.

"Soul," "Body," and "Magic Circuits."

These were the three fundamental components that constituted any living being.

... Well, according to the logic of Song of Nightmares, of course.

Upon closer inspection, faint glowing lines intertwined across both his Soul and Body, forming an elaborate network. Tiny components pulsed rhythmically, moving in perfect synchronization, like an advanced electrical system.

Those were the 'Magic Circuits.'

They were invisible to the naked eye, so either 'Spirit Vision' or a similar 'Magic Eye' skill was required to see them.

The purpose of this experiment was simple: to observe his Magic Circuits in detail, analyze their structure, and then compare it with mine.

As I studied him further, I noticed subtle irregularities in the circuits.

Faint distortions coursed through the intricate web of glowing lines, interrupting the otherwise smooth flow of energy. Following these disruptions, my attention turned to the core of the problem.

His Aether Sea, the reservoir of magic energy or simply called the energy storage unit.

Immense concentrations of demonic power had intertwined with his magic power, corrupting it into a swirling mass of reddish-black energy.

Han Minjae's demonic transformation into an outside species had caused this corruption, And the corruption was the root of the instability.

It warped the flow of energy, causing turbulence within the circuits and destabilizing the nodes.

'So that's it... The demonic transformation may have amplified his strength, but it came at the steep price of destabilizing his foundation, huh?'

Was this the inevitable consequence of having one's physiology forcibly altered?

If only Han Minjae had understood the consequences of becoming a Demonic Werewolf, the truth would've driven him to despair. But, of course, that was assuming his mind hadn't been reduced to nothing but a vegetable.

Now, however, I faced a new dilemma.

'So what now? How am I supposed to compare notes with something like this?'

'I didn't expect his Demonic Transformation to utterly ruin his Magic Circuits and energy flow.'

'Even if my own circuits had faults, they wouldn't be this catastrophic. This... is as bad as it gets, right?'

Of course, it would be a complete disaster if my magic circuits were in worse shape than Han Minjae's in this state. But I couldn't bring myself to believe I was really that unlucky.

No one could be that unlucky.

No one should be that unlucky.

It was impossible to be that unlucky.

I sighed.

'My morality won't allow me to kidnap another person and experiment on them. Maybe it won't hurt to take a peek at one of the survivors' magic circuits.'

'Or maybe I should look at Soo Jinyoung's body, but unfortunately, she has that automatic defense system known as the Dragon Demon Eyes.'

'So, Soo Jinyoung is out of the question. Maybe I can check one of the party members or even Miyuki, since she has the most magic potential of anyone.'

I smiled wearily.

'On second thought, that might not be the best idea for my own sanity. In any case, I'll have to take a look at mine first before I can make any judgments.'

For a full-body scan and analysis, a mirror would be necessary. Fortunately, I had brought one down here some time ago, anticipating that I might need it at some point.

I headed toward where the mirror was held on the wall. A few seconds later, I appeared in front of the mirror and momentarily glanced at my reflection.

My eyes were a bit cloudy, but they still retained their green brightness. The forming dark circles beneath them were hard to miss.

My hair was slightly disheveled, several strands falling in front of my eyes, and my cheeks had a faint flush. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a small streak of blood from the Demon Wolf smeared across my right cheek.

Perhaps I had punched him too hard, but I hadn't noticed his blood splattering onto my face.

I wiped the blood away with the back of my hand and focused on the reflection staring back at me.

My eyes narrowed.

Though I had seen this face countless times in various mirrors, from childhood to adulthood, the uncomfortable, almost foreign feeling of looking at a stranger staring back at me lingered.

I shook my head, dismissing that strange feeling

'Let's take a look at what's inside me.'

Subconsciously, I gulped, bracing for the worst possible scenario. Then, without hesitation, I activated [Hawkeye Spirit Vision].

[The skill, Hawkeye Spirit Vision, has activated.]

Then, in the next moment—

[The exclusive skill, 「Black Box」, has been activated.]

[The 「Black Box」 has detected the Hawkeye Spirit Vision.]

A painful spark covered my eyes and I staggered away from the mirror.

It was a tremendous resistance that almost ripped out my own eyes from their sockets.

[The 「Black Box」 has nullified the Hawkeye Spirit Vision.]

Floating infront of my blurry vision, I barely registered the system message.

The Black Box. Again?

'Ah, that's right, I forgot the Black Box can block investigation skills.'

If it could casually block Soo Jinyoung's Dragon Demon Eyes, then what was stopping it from blocking Hawkeye Spirit Vision?

'Does this mean that I can never even observe my own Magic Circuits?'

If the Black Box could block Hawkeye Spirit Vision, then I'd never be able to figure out what was really wrong with my body. I couldn't even ask Soo Jinyoung for help, and Aurora was out of the question.

I clicked my tongue frustratedly.

Just like that, all my progress had been reduced to zero. All because of this stubborn Black Box.

The Black Box.

Wait a minute... the Black Box?

'Hold on, the Black Box can block any skill that attempts to harm my body or extract my data...'

It could block Soo Jinyoung's SSS Dragon Demon Eyes, so it would also block any mental influences like Fear or Malice, along with Curses and Authorities.

But what did all of those things have in common?

Skills use mana. Martial Arts use mana. Mysteries use mana. Even Authorities use mana.

They were all phenomena caused by the manipulation of mana.

'In that case, was it possible...'

...That what was preventing me from learning skills, martial arts, and magic wasn't some cursed constitution or faulty magic circuits, but...

"...The Black Box?"

The moment I reached that conclusion, another message appeared before me.

This time, it was different from the usual mechanical message.

[The 「 Black Box 」is looking at you.]

[The 「 Black Box 」smiles and greets its master.]