Chapter 193

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"Interesting."

The moment Eren activated his Clairvoyance, his spirit was abruptly pulled into another dimension by an unknown force.

A distorted, surreal world.

Here, the New York Museum of Modern Art, which in reality was only the size of a single building, had expanded a thousandfold, transforming into a vast, towering palace.

Within this space, Eren sensed a variety of strange energies.

Some were as faint as floating specks of dust, while others were as vast as the stars in the sky—immense yet elusive, radiating an overwhelming yet distant presence.

Among these powerful auras—

Some were utterly vile, brimming with corruption and chaos. Even with his current abilities, merely sensing these auras made Eren shudder.

Yet, alongside these dark, decayed energies, there was another presence—as radiant as the sun, grand and noble beyond comprehension.

From his perception alone—

This solar-like presence was even more terrifying and dangerous than the malevolent force beside it.

Merely sensing its existence—

Eren felt as though his very soul was burning, seared by an invisible fire.

And this…

Wasn't even the most dangerous presence here.

Hiss…

Quickly retracting his expanded senses, Eren warily glanced toward the shadowed depths of the museum's endless corridors.

"What the hell is stored in this museum?"

Even though he hadn't seen anything directly—

The fact that he could sense such a horrifying presence from such a distance made it clear:

Whatever lay hidden within the depths of this museum…

Was far worse than he had imagined.

After this sudden shock, Eren realized that this museum was far more dangerous than it appeared.

A magician never performs without preparation.

And until he fully understood the true nature of this dimension, Eren wasn't about to risk blindly exploring an obviously perilous place.

Still…

If this place housed so many terrifying entities…

How has it remained intact all these years?

And more importantly—

Why is this museum still freely open to thousands of visitors every day?

Wait!

Ordinary people!

At that thought, Eren suddenly realized something.

Before he activated Clairvoyance, the museum had only seemed slightly eerie—but not dangerous.

Yet the moment he opened his spiritual sight—his consciousness had been forcibly pulled into another dimension, where the real horrors lurked.

Realizing this crucial detail—

Eren immediately tried to withdraw his clairvoyance.

But just as he was about to close his vision—

A dim beam of light suddenly illuminated the space behind him.

And at that moment, a voice—tired yet surprised—echoed in his ears.

"Huh? Who are you? How did you get in here?"

(Not good!)

The moment he heard the voice, Eren's heart sank.

Before he could fully retract his spiritual sight—

A thin figure dressed in a night security guard's uniform, holding a flashlight, stepped into view.

However—

The figure before him wasn't a grotesque monster.

It was just a tired-looking middle-aged man.

No strange aura.

No supernatural presence.

He appeared to be a perfectly ordinary human being.

Yet the instant this "ordinary" security guard appeared—

The countless eerie eyes staring at Eren from the paintings around him suddenly turned away, as if avoiding his gaze.

Eren carefully observed the mysterious security guard, while the man, in turn, studied him.

"Huh?"

The security guard's tired face lit up with amusement.

"Well, would you look at that? A handsome young man!"

Then—

Without warning, the security guard swung his flashlight sideways, casting its dim beam onto a large Eastern-style ink painting on the wall.

"Oi, tell me—did one of you ladies drag this kid in again?"

"Tsk, I know you all get lonely, but you can't just go pulling random guys in here!"

"That just makes more work for me!"

The guard grumbled, shaking his head in annoyance.

Then, smirking slightly, he added—

"Ahem. If you ladies are that desperate for a man… why not come to me instead?"

"I promise I'll last way longer than these innocent little boys—"

Before he could finish—

"Tsk—"

A chorus of disdainful scoffs echoed from the paintings lining the museum's walls.

In the ink painting illuminated by the flashlight—

Several piercing gazes swept over the security guard's lower half in contempt.

Following the dim light—

Eren finally got a good look at the artwork.

It was a breathtakingly detailed painting—

A grand scene of stunning women dancing in a lavish palace.

Each figure was exquisitely beautiful, draped in sheer silken robes that barely concealed their graceful, alluring forms.

Every movement, every expression exuded a tantalizing allure—

Enough to awaken the deepest desires in any man.

And then—

As if sensing Eren's gaze—

The painted women turned to him—

Smiling seductively.

For an instant—

A hundred blossoms bloomed.

A thousand flowers flourished.

A faint, intoxicating fragrance filled the air.

At the same time—

A silent psychic attack rippled outward—

An insidious charm spell, meant to corrupt the minds of ordinary men, overwhelming them with lust-driven madness.

But just then—

The security guard stepped in front of Eren, raising his flashlight.

The dim light emitted from the beam silently dispelled the incoming psychic attack.

"Hmph. Enough. I'm still here, you know."

Clearly irritated by the women's little "tricks," the thin guard casually adjusted his grip—

And in an instant—

A blazing, piercing light burst forth from the flashlight.

Unlike the dim glow from before—

This light was blinding.

And the moment it illuminated the painting—

The once-alluring dancers morphed into grotesque, rotting corpses.

Their once-radiant smiles twisted into ghastly, hollow grimaces.

Their skeletal frames, once draped in flowing silk, now crawled with writhing maggots.

The sweet fragrance?

Instantly replaced by a nauseating stench of decay.

Under the relentless scorching light—

The painted figures began to scream in agony.

Their pale bones blackened, as if burned by an invisible fire.

The writhing maggots that infested them?

Reduced to nothing but charred ashes.

"Enough!"

From the depths of the painting—

A chilling blue light erupted—

As if freezing even the sun's flames.

Simultaneously—

From deep within the artwork—

A figure clad in crimson robes, radiating overwhelming murderous intent, suddenly emerged.

Standing at the very heart of the grand painting.

Watching them.

Waiting.

The crimson-robed figure swept an icy gaze over Eren and the so-called security guard. Then, with a voice laced with immense killing intent, she spoke coldly:

"Put away that disgusting light. He wasn't brought in by us."

"Not by you? Then who?"

Hearing the woman's chilling voice, the thin man frowned slightly but still retracted the searing beam of light that had been scorching the painting.

Instead, he switched back to the dimmer, purifying glow he had used earlier.

Although he hadn't interacted with the crimson-robed woman from the Hundred Beauties Painting many times, he knew her well enough—

She was too proud to lie.

Which meant—

The young man standing behind him wasn't dragged into this realm because the painted women were "lonely."

But if not them…

Then who the hell brought him in?

The gallery had plenty of strange paintings, but only a few had the ability to pull someone from reality into this space.

Even the "big ones" sealed in the museum's depths didn't have such power—

Otherwise, they'd have broken free and stormed into the real world long ago.

The crimson-robed woman didn't bother answering the thin man's question.

The moment the blinding light faded, she vanished, reappearing deep within the painting—within the pavilion of the painted realm.

Seeing this—

The thin man, though annoyed, wasn't angry.

With a sigh, he muttered to himself—

"Whatever. Let's just send this kid back before the eerie energy here messes him up… Wouldn't want him getting you-know-what at such a young age."

"…Wait."

Eren caught that last part.

He recalled the disdainful glances the painted women had cast toward the security guard's lower half.

Then, taking a second look at the tired, pale man in front of him—his worn-out expression, his thin frame—

A realization hit him.

"…Oh."

The thin guard's face immediately darkened.

"…The hell is that look for?"

His expression turned downright murderous as he glared at Eren.

Deep down, he thought—

(If I had known this kid was such a smartass, I would've let him suffer at the hands of those man-eating vixens before saving him!)

"Hmph!"

Scoffing, the museum's night watchman, Stiller, decided to send Eren back immediately before he got even more irritated.

But—

Just as he was about to act—

Eren suddenly spoke.

"You stepped in to save me just now, didn't you?"

"Though, honestly, even if you hadn't, I would've been fine."

"But still… thanks."

Then—

With a snap of his fingers—

A golden talisman inscribed with a solar emblem appeared in Eren's palm.

He slapped it into Stiller's hand.

"So, this is for you, Mr. 'You-Know-What' Security Guard.'"

The item Eren handed over was a Solar Talisman, something he had won from a lucky draw some time ago.

Infused with solar energy, it had powerful exorcism and purification properties.

If activated, it could release a burst of sunlight, dealing heavy damage to spiritual entities.

However—

Its effects were somewhat redundant compared to Eren's Angelic Staff.

And even at full power, it was far weaker than the Angelic Staff's purification abilities.

As a result—

Eren had never bothered using it.

The only reason he still had it was because he had forgotten to leave it behind after dealing with a certain evil god's corruption.

Now that Fate itself seemed to favor him once again—

The talisman had become even more unnecessary.

So, why not just give it away?

With the talisman now in Stiller's hand—

Eren grinned.

"See ya, Mr. Low Energy Security Guard."

Then—

Having already suppressed his own spiritual presence—

Eren deactivated Clairvoyance.

The moment his vision returned to normal—

His spirit distorted for an instant—

And then—

He vanished from the strange museum realm.

"…Well, damn."

Stiller raised an eyebrow.

Seeing Eren disappear before his eyes, he immediately realized—

That kid was not normal.

"…A magician?"

"…Or a psychic?"

After a brief pause, he shrugged.

"Eh, whatever. Not my problem."

Casually stuffing the talisman into his pocket, he shook his head and prepared to continue his patrol.

Lately…

Something strange had been happening in the museum.

The "collections" had been far too active.

Whereas before, two patrols per night had been enough to keep them in check—

Now, he had to patrol three or four times just to settle them down.

If it weren't for this ridiculous increase in workload, and the constant exposure to the eerie atmosphere, he wouldn't look so exhausted all the time.

"Nope. I can't keep doing this."

He muttered to himself.

"Tomorrow—no, tonight—I need to go visit the Pharaoh and soak up some sunlight."

"I'd rather not actually end up you-know-what…"

But just as Stiller took another step—

(End of Chapter)

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