The Villainess has Shattered

Scene 7

Opening the door of the advanced section, Odette walked through, passing several arrays of books.

"Thermal magic... gravitational... here is the temporal and spatial section of magic." Odette says this as she stops in front of the bookshelf.

She pondered what she actually needed. She scans each book with her finger and internally reads the names before grabbing what books relate to spatial magic and history.

Quietly, she carried her books to a table and began reading, ignoring the uncomfortable looks she received from onlookers. Most of the people who had access to this library were scholars or students who intended to work with the Sopher household. It wouldn't be surprising that they know about Odette, so seeing her in here was a shock for several reasons.

Sunlight that seeped through the library's windows like a golden ray slowly emitted a red-orange hue while shadows shifted as Odette read. Time passed, and soon evening came, and students left until only Odette was left in the room.

Odette closed the final book near her and let out a big sigh. Odette grabbed a piece of paper, a complimentary pen, and one of the complimentary pens so she could seek through her thoughts.

'There are some spells to create a type of pocket dimensions... obviously, that's why magic bags exist.

Hmmm... there's a spell to open personalised magic bags in case the owner dies or is unavailable to open them themselves...

This requires causing a tear in the bag's internal dimension, and due to the dimension's fragility, it proceeds to unravel and release its contents, leaving a normal bag.

Fascinating...'

Odette continued to brainstorm her thoughts.

'Let's say this world is a magic bag. Would that mean someone is trying to tear a hole in it? Is that the rift?

That shouldn't be possible! The ability to tear holes in personalised magic bags requires a lot of ether for a mage, so it's expensive. That's why only noble families even bother to buy them and try to open them.

To tear a hole in this world would require an extreme amount of power that I don't think I can muster.

Who would even do that? Who can even do that?'

Odette's thoughts spiralled as she wrote on the paper, occasionally crossing off theories.

"This feels impossible!" Odette complained.

"Oh really. Do you need help?" A voice called as footsteps could be heard descending from the stares.

Casting her gaze upwards, Odette watched as a man ventured down the stares towards her. His hair was a pastel blue like the sky that flowed down his back; this was perfectly juxtaposed with his yellow eyes, which seemed like they cast a glow.

His cloud-coloured outfit was reminiscent of horter, more stylized clerical clothing with accents of gold embroidery. Because of the plain base, the realistic eye design in the centre of his chest stood out with its yellow iris.

Despite her kind demeanour and soft gaze, Odette felt incredibly uncomfortable near him.

"So you were still here; I knew I sensed a presence." Odette said as she began packing her stuff.
"I don't need your assistance, Sir Ira."

"You know me?" The man was questioned, yet his smiling expression never changed.

"It would be quite embarrassing if a Sopher didn't remember the eventual leader of House Luciel." Odette rebutted.

Upon hearing this, Ira clapped his hands joyfully, like he was watching a child get an answer right.

"My my, it seems Lady Odette remembers me. It's great to see someone I helped get into this university. If I remember correctly, you were one of the of the attendees at the food bank at 8 years ago that my family hosted here in the capital." Ira reminisced, talking about the past like they were old friends.

After a while, he finally began to finish his sentence.

"To think you turned out to be Duke Sopher's daughter. The world is so full of surprises."

"Are you done?" Odette asked. She would have left if she did not remember something.

"Oh, look at me getting ahead of myself. I saw you were looking at spatial magic. I didn't know you were so into magic; I thought you'd be part of the arts."

"Let's just cut to the chase. You know about the rifts. Explain what you know."

"I am not sure what you are referring to."

"Cut the act. And stop looking at me like that." Odette interrupted as she stared straight at his chest. Ira just chuckled at that. Skin began to cover the design on his chest like shutting an eye, closing until what was left was an eye-shaped hole in his clothes that revealed his chest underneath.

His smile remained the same, yet his yellow eyes began to glow, and his pupils had taken the shape of a white 'X', leaving an oddly sinister vibe.

"Miss Odette, how do you know about the rift phenomenon and my family's involvement? Please answer honestly; you must know you can lie in my presence." His voice was soft and oddly comforting, despite his words's true intent. An aura of ether coated him slightly, causing his clothes to rustle.

In response to this, Odette closed her eyes before opening them once again. Her abyssal eyes appeared to have white cracks breaching through.

"Kash, let me know."

"Your soul... lacks any fluctuations," he expressed, his face appearing both shocked and in deep thought.
"That gilded ram spoke out about it. If he felt comfortable informing you, he must not know any critical information."

"True. Now it's my turn." Odette stepped forward, the cracks in her eyes spreading the edge of her pupils as her ether permeated the air.
"What do you know about it?"

"I see no reason to inform you."

"I don't particularly care. You like souls, don't you? You may take a proper look." Odette grasped his collar, forcing eye contact, and commanded.
"What do you know?"

Something in Ira shifted; the skin on his chest seemed to be forcefully opened, revealing the eye in a panicked state. Ether began to swirl in Ira like a shield as the eye stared at Odette, attempting to gaze into her soul properly.

It saw an empty space with a blackened sphere covered in white cracks leaking what appeared to be black ink or water. There seemed to be something forming inside; unconsciously, he attempted to gaze deeper to see.

"Fine..." Ira quickly yielded; though a calm expression remained, there were cracks of a smile as sweat arose around his back.

Trying to gaze deeper was clearly a risk that every speck of ether he had in him yelled at him to stop, yet seeing such a different soul was so-

"Maginificent! You have such a unique soul." The man exclaimed. His voice became excited as you began to rant about Odette's soul.

"Your soul is like a cracked vase! It wasn't like this 8 years ago; I would have remembered if it was. What kind of life did you live? I wish I could look at it more."

"I'm well aware of what it looks like. This is a payment for any information. I'll find someone whose soul will make you never want to look away." Odette offered. Letting him take a glimpse into the very culmination of her being was the only thing she could offer.

Money, power, and fame were all useless offers, as he possessed all of them. The benevolent Luciel's were loved by all, especially the commoners. They possessed their book, which contained the family's secrets and wisdom. They gained donations from many nobles and even the royal family to maintain a charitable appearance.

The man, Ira Luciel, had one thing he found truly interesting, and that was people. He liked to observe them. The good, the bad, the misunderstood, the misfortunate. All of them, or more accurately, their souls. They were fun to watch. Fun to hold and possess, but seeing the most unique ones was what he wanted. To see and study them was unfortunately or fortunately in this case, a desire of his.

He contemplated the offer before opening his mouth, returning to his usual calm expression.

"Feel free to ask."

A quiet smile appeared on Odette's face before she launched her question.
"What is this rift?"

"Isn't it obvious? A rift is a tear in world reality. It's basically like the magic transport gates we have except between worlds, we think." Ira replied.

"Why is it here and where is it?" Odette further inquired; her guess was correct about what it literally was, but its intentions still remained a mystery to her.

"I don't know where, but I know why it could be here. It is simply to build a connection between our worlds in some way, shape, or another."

"Why do you know this?" This information was something that one couldn't come to a conclusion naturally about, so Odette suspected that something must have triggered this thought.

At this question, a smile appeared on Ira's face.

"Lady Odette, do you know the story about the Demon King of Calamity?"