#081. **Curiosa (1)**
—
Ray immediately turned around.
A pure white mask, reminiscent of a ghost.
A black cloth flowed from the back of the mask, shrouding the entire body.
The moment Ray captured the figure in his retina, he pulled Veronica’s wrist and stepped back.
The ghost mask paid no mind to Ray’s reaction and continued gazing up at the sky.
“I should have caught it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
A strange voice—impossible to determine if it belonged to a man or a woman, a child or an adult.
Who could it be?
And how had it gotten so close?
There were only two people in the clearing—he and Veronica.
“If I had charged in, I’d have ended up as nothing more than a shattered ice sculpture.”
The ghost mask continued speaking to itself.
Its eyes bore two black circles, its mouth a single black line—crudely drawn, as if by a child.
There seemed to be no holes, yet somehow, it could see.
“Oh, right. This problem is just as important.”
The ghost mask finally turned its gaze to Ray.
“No matter how I look at it, I just can’t understand. You’re not a homunculus, yet you’re in such an emotionless state. Kid, what exactly are you?”
The ghost mask strode forward menacingly, closing the distance.
Ray and Veronica instinctively stepped back.
“Not to mention, you even manipulated someone’s emotions.”
“……”
“That’s something only my father—no, the Doctor—should be capable of.”
What did they mean?
Doctor? Homunculus?
And why did it sound as if he knew all of his secrets?
A powerful curiosity stirred within Ray as he examined the ghost mask’s **vessel**.
“Oh…? Now your emotions are…”
‘…The emotional balance is abnormal.’
The ghost mask’s vessel was entirely filled with light purple mana, like lavender.
An unnatural phenomenon that could never occur in nature.
It was precisely the same as when Ray had artificially implanted emotions into Skyle.
And when he induced natural emotions, filling the entire vessel with golden mana.
Yes.
It was exactly the same.
“And you even have that ring. Just what is going on here?”
Suddenly, the mask began to rotate.
Flipping upside down.
“Wh-What? The face is turning… like a dartboard….”
The eerie sight, as if the being had no neck bones, nearly made Veronica faint.
Ray, too, remained on guard.
But more than the grotesque transformation, something else alarmed him.
‘Four circles.’
The ghost mask had **four circles**.
*”A typical mage remains at the 1st Circle their entire life. Only those with luck and skill reach the 2nd Circle.”*
Ray recalled Michael’s words.
The average **graduating mage tower student** was **1st Circle**.
The **mage tower professors** averaged **3rd Circle**.
*”Beyond that… I’ve heard the Tower Master is at the 4th Circle. Though I’ve never seen him in person, given how busy he was.”*
Until now, the strongest opponent Ray had fought was Walter.
A **2nd Circle mage**, and even then, Ray had needed elaborate preparations, including magic circles, to defeat him.
But **4th Circle**?
‘No chance of victory.’
If the ghost mask wanted, neither he nor Veronica would leave this place alive.
Yet, oddly enough, he **felt no fear**.
Because the moment he identified the **emotion** behind the purple mana, a strategy came to mind.
*Thud.*
As they retreated, their backs hit something—
A **mercenary vehicle**.
There was nowhere left to back away.
Ray whispered.
“If a fight breaks out, run straight to our car. Drive away from here.”
“…Okay. Got it.”
The ghost mask stopped rotating and looked down at them.
“Kid, answer my question. First, how do you have Walter’s ring?”
Walter.
At the mention of that name, Ray realized—this ghost mask was connected to **Murcred**.
‘The ring must have some special enchantment.’
Since arriving at **Sector 48**, he had never revealed the ring to anyone.
There was no way the ghost mask had seen it with his own eyes.
Which meant he had detected its presence through **some other method**.
“Kid, are you pretending to be mute? If you don’t open your mouth, something terrible will happen.”
“……”
“I said—answer me. Now. Or else.”
“……”
The ghost mask fell silent for a moment.
And then—
“Answer. Answer. Answer. Answer. Answer. Answer. Answer. Speak. Now. Before I tear you apart.”
The voice suddenly **boiled over with rage**.
Each word came with a **shudder**, as if he was intoxicated.
The first thing Ray thought of was **mana addiction**.
Both **Kedrick** and **Walter** had shown similar emotional instability when suffering from it.
“If you don’t answer me right now—”
“Kill me.”
“…What?”
The unexpected response stunned the ghost mask into silence.
But only for a moment.
“You don’t seem to understand your position here.”
A **suffocating killing intent** erupted from the ghost mask, swallowing the entire area.
So dense, it was difficult to even breathe.
Behind him, Ray felt Veronica clutching his cloak tightly, her face pale.
And then—
*Tap.*
Ray’s hand reached back and clasped Veronica’s.
“……”
Her breathing steadied.
Despite the overwhelming **killing intent**, Ray spoke **without hesitation**.
“I understand my position perfectly. I’m the only person who can answer all your questions. That’s my position.”
“……”
“So go ahead. Kill me. The moment you do, you’ll never get your answers.”
His voice was unwavering.
The **emotion behind the purple mana** was **curiosity**.
Curiosity—
The desire to explore the unknown, to seek answers.
It was the same emotion that drove people to ask questions or experience new things.
‘If their vessel is filled with this much curiosity…’
Ray was certain.
The ghost mask was **desperate for answers**, to the point of madness.
Just like **Skyle**, who had been consumed by golden greed and unconsciously hoarded valuables—
This being **couldn’t harm him**.
At least, **not while he held the answers he sought**.
“What’s wrong? Can’t kill me? You’re scared of never finding out, aren’t you?”
The ghost mask **trembled**.
Then, a deafening **roar** shook the clearing.
*”HOW DARE YOU—!!!”*
A massive storm erupted around them.
Nearby vehicles **lifted into the air**, compressing into **crushed metal spheres** at a single focal point.
*CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!*
The **killing intent** thickened.
But—
“It’s not a bluff.”
The boy remained unfazed.
“You were acting like you were reading my emotions earlier. Do you think I’m just bluffing?”
“……”
Silence.
Then, the killing intent **subsided**.
The crushed **remains of the vehicles** rained onto the ground.
“You… you…!”
Heavy, ragged breaths.
Quivering shoulders.
But that was all.
Seeing the ghost mask hesitate, Ray knew—his gamble had paid off.
His **emotional state was extremely unstable**.
A **single provocation** had elicited such a violent reaction.
Which meant the next move was obvious.
“I’ll ask the questions. You’ll answer.”
“You dare question **me**?”
“If you don’t like it, you can kill me.”
*GRRRT!*
The sound of gritted teeth.
The ghost mask’s **vessel** surged with **rage**.
Just as it was about to surpass curiosity—
“You should answer. Because for every answer you give me, I’ll give you one in return.”
“….”
The anger subsided.
It calmed down a little.
Curiosa seemed to think for a moment before speaking.
“Are you proposing a question exchange?”
“Exactly.”
“Unbelievable. Fine, whatever. I don’t know what you’re curious about, but if I answer one, you—”
“The exchange rate is four to one.”
“I like how quickly you grasp the situation. Fine. If I answer one, you answer fo—”
“The other way around.”
“You son of a—”
Curiosa’s anger erupted again like a volcano.
“If you don’t like the ratio, I’ll adjust it slightly. Three to one. I won’t go any lower.”
“…….”
It subsided again.
Curiosa, silent for a moment as if assessing the situation, exhaled roughly and spoke.
“Haaah… Fine. Kid, what do you want to know?”
Three to one.
It was a satisfying exchange rate for Ray.
His expected ratio was either one-to-one or two-to-one, but he had deliberately started high to test the waters.
“First, take ten steps back. No closer than that.”
Curiosa complied, albeit begrudgingly.
Ray briefly checked Veronica’s condition before turning back to Curiosa.
‘This is an opportunity to gain information.’
He hadn’t expected this situation, but it was clearly a chance.
A chance to gather intel on Murcred, no less.
As long as he held the initiative in the conversation, not the other party.
“First question. Reveal your identity.”
“Curiosa. The ring of Walter you have. He is an officer of the Murcred, to which I belong.”
Before Ray could even warn against lying, an answer came immediately.
Curiosa shrugged.
“Let’s not waste each other’s time. Lies won’t work between us. If you can read emotions, detecting falsehoods is easy.”
Ray was silent for a moment before speaking.
“My real name is Zephyr.”
“You little bastard. I just told you that lying is a waste of time.”
Curiosa had indeed seen through the lie.
‘He’s detecting the tremors of emotion within my vessel.’
Though minuscule to the point of being nearly imperceptible, emotions were present in the boy’s vessel.
The residual emotions he had stirred up while using magic.
And whenever someone lies, their vessel’s emotions tremble.
It was an involuntary physiological response, just like any other.
“My real name is Rotson.”
“…….”
“My real name is Humphrey.”
“…….”
“My real name is Pale.”
“Kid, this is my final warning. You don’t want to keep testing me.”
It seemed he had confirmed enough.
Ray mulled over the name Curiosa had revealed.
‘Curiosa.’
One of the names from the photo he had found in Walter’s basement.
And just now, he had mentioned being an executive of Murcred.
Did all the children in that photo become Murcred executives?
Ray organized the information in his mind and continued.
“Good, no worries about lies between us. Second question. Where did you suddenly appear from? Have you been watching me all along?”
“I hid in John’s shadow. I observed every moment John met with you. At the end, I jumped to another corpse’s shadow.”
“Third question. Why were you hiding in John’s shadow?”
“I was following the organization’s orders, tracking Blue.”
“Blue?”
“Your questions are over. You’re getting ahead of yourself, kid.”
The exchange ratio was three to one.
Ray nodded.
“Alright. Ask your question.”
“What should I start with? There’s so much I want to know. Hmmm… Ah, yes. This one is good.”
Spinning in circles, Curiosa suddenly stopped and asked.
“How do you have Walter’s ring?”
It was a question he had already been aware of through Curiosa’s muttering.
But Ray hesitated.
‘Walter’s death is practically my doing. And Curiosa and Walter are both executives of the same organization.’
In other words, they were comrades.
If he spoke the truth, how would Curiosa react?
In a normal case, he would explode with rage and vow revenge for his comrade.
The sum of his anger would far exceed his curiosity.
But recalling one crucial fact, Ray steadied his breath and opened his mouth.
“I killed him.”
