Fantasy Writers 1860

Chapter 104. Is it over...?

"—Therefore you must believe and acknowledge that there exist things without parts, which are the minimum of nature. Nature, the creator of all things, is always inclined to force everything to be broken down into the smallest—"

As he chanted, the parts of the stone man's body that had just been hit by the "low-level spell" began to glow strangely. First, the joints, then the chest and abdomen, and finally even the face was covered with dense specks of light.

"What is this?" The stone man's voice wavered for the first time.

"Atomic Discrete!" The hooded man gently closed the phantom book in his hand.

The glowing light on the stone figure rapidly coalesced, and its body began to disintegrate from the inside out. Pieces of rock crumbled away, as if weathered over millions of years, turning into dust and scattering into the air. It tried to pat the glowing parts with its hands, but its palms turned to dust at the slightest touch.

"Ah—!" The stone man let out his final scream, and his massive body, nearly two meters tall, disintegrated into a pile of gray gravel in just a few seconds, scattering on the ground.

"It's finally resolved!" The hooded woman emerged from the shadows. Although her face was not visible, one could sense a sense of relief from her tone.

Richie and the other officers were completely stunned, guns still raised, unable to process what had happened for a long time. Dorian, who had witnessed the Phantom Book's supernatural abilities, asked the two hooded figures, "—Is it over?"

"Yes!" The hooded woman came closer and looked Dorian up and down. "You don't seem surprised at all, unlike them." She then pointed to Richie and the others who were still in shock.

"Because I'm from the Academy of Literature and Art," Dorian replied.

"Oh, so you're a colleague from the Taiwan Creative Content Agency. We've been in touch quite a bit lately, and there are a lot of things we can work on together."

I did hear Lily mention before that she had collaborated with Iris's relevant departments to investigate a case of smuggling phantom books. The source of this smuggling case was the mysterious murder of a bibliophile in Lugodurum, Iris, whose collection of phantom books began to circulate everywhere after his death.

Upon hearing Dorian say that he was from the Academy of Literature, the hooded woman seemed to become instantly familiar with him.

"There are too many arrogant people like me who steal a couple of magic books and call themselves magic book users! Magic book users? They haven't even read a book yet, but they dare to call themselves magic book users—like that guy just now, he got a general magic book like 'The Metamorphosis,' but all he knew was to turn himself into a stone man—" The hooded woman casually observed something around her while chatting with the acquaintance she had just formed.

"So the power of the Metamorphosis book isn't just about turning people into stone?" Dorian asked with some curiosity.

This was also the first time he had ever seen such a magical book.

"Of course not. The pure concept contained in the fantasy book 'The Metamorphosis' is 'the transformation of form.' Turning oneself into a stone is just the most basic understanding."

"Otherwise, why would I say that none of them have even read the book? Anyone who has actually read this book is better than him turning himself into a stone statue. The reason we haven't caught him before isn't because he's so strong, but simply because he's very good at hiding—"

As expected, the power of the Phantom Book is related to the user's understanding. If the user has no understanding, they can only exert the most superficial power of the Phantom Book.

"So, the illusionary book you just used was—"

"Dererumnatura, a philosophical poem by the ancient philosopher Lucretius," the hooded woman said. "It's not exactly a secret, but almost every book management organization has a copy."

"This is a collector's edition of a magical book. Its most practical ability is the [Atomic Discreteness], which is manifested through the recitation of the law. It can directly target the essence of matter and dismantle all tangible, material defenses."

In this long philosophical poem from ancient Rome, the poet argues for the reality of atoms and void, combining atomism with sensation, and proposing the theory that possibility indicates nature and impossibility indicates void.

From the perspective of those who lived in the middle and lower reaches of history, most of the specific theories mentioned in this book seem absurd and laughable. However, in the era in which this book was written, its ideas were undoubtedly advanced.

Although it inevitably contains idealist viewpoints, it also includes materialist ideas, inheriting and developing atomic theory and atheism.

"We deliberately feigned weakness just now, without even using the Illusion Book, just to further amplify his already inflated arrogance, so that he wouldn't notice the regular markings that my brother and I placed all over his body under the guise of low-level spells."

"Finally, activate all the imprints with 'Theory of Materiality' to finish off the opponent!" The hooded woman explained her tactics to Dorian with a hint of pride.

Even though her face was obscured by the hood, Dorian could imagine from her voice that she must be looking smug.

So that hooded man was her brother. Iris's side organizes the whole family into an action team like this.

"Speaking of which, why do you guys always wear hoods? I haven't even seen what you look like yet. If it's convenient, could you—"

"I'm sorry, it won't work," the hooded woman shook her head, her wide robe swaying as she did so. "This is the rule of our secret gathering at the Shrine of Our Ancestors. Those of us who carry out these ceremonies must—"

"The stolen copy of 'The Metamorphosis' has not been found."

Just then, the hooded man who had been searching for something among the pile of shattered gravel suddenly spoke in a serious tone.

"What?" the hooded woman asked in shock.

"I haven't found the stolen copy of 'The Metamorphosis'—" the hooded man sighed, repeating his conclusion, "I've searched here for a long time, but I haven't found it—"

"This shouldn't be! If it weren't for the power of this magical book, how could he have turned into a stone man?" The hooded woman's voice trembled slightly, as if she had thought of some other possibility.

Soon, her suspicions came true.

"You don't think you're the only ones who can make others complacent, do you?" A gloomy voice came from above the crowd.

A dark figure appeared on the roof of a building.

He was a thin, middle-aged man with a scar running from his forehead to his chin and a sinister look in his eyes.

"Hahaha! That's brilliant!" he laughed. "You so-called officials in uniforms are the real megalomaniacs! You think you have the final say on the interpretation of the Phantom Book, and you're all self-righteously protecting this dangerous power for the people. You keep talking about freedom of knowledge, but in reality, you're still practicing your dictatorship!"

"You're not even as good as Britannia; at least they openly admit they're running a tyranny of knowledge! At least they're not as hypocritical as you!"

He stood on the rooftop, looking down at the two executors of the secret meeting at the Pantheon and Dorian, clutching a simply bound book tightly in his hand.

He opened the book, and in the night, the pages danced and jumped around without any wind.

The book's cover prominently displays:

Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men