One-way traffic

After witnessing all of this, Accelerator couldn't help but show a somewhat surprised expression on his face.

"Do you have to do this every time you walk through here?"

"I certainly don't need it myself, but I'm mainly worried you might get lost in here."

"I no longer think of this place as a library; calling it a maze would be more appropriate."

"Most people who have been here have the same thoughts as you."

Although somewhat surprised that going to the library was as troublesome as navigating a maze, Accelerator still followed Patchouli into the maze.

"So, what was the purpose of bringing me to such a remote place?"

As he followed behind the girl, he casually put his hands in his pockets.

"I don't believe you can solve my needs with the knowledge in these books."

"...Oh? You're the first person in history to dare say that."

"It's just stating the facts. After all, I don't think the guys I'm looking for are things that can be explained by the knowledge here."

If those black and red monsters truly belong to DO Apis, then relying on the books here, or even a collection of books from all over the world, would likely yield no results.

Patchouli remained unmoved.

The two walked together to the deepest part of the library.

What appeared before me was a door that looked large and somewhat old.

"Don't tell me this place is a prison cell that hasn't been touched in decades."

"My library would never have a place like that, but it's true that I haven't been here for a long time."

Patchouli didn't use a key; instead, she simply tapped the doorknob, and the iron door opened instantly.

However, once the door opened, what met our eyes was a blinding light.

It is sunlight from the outside world.

"...What happened?"

Accelerator narrowed his eyes slightly and walked into the room.

This is a very spacious room with a dome-shaped roof.

The most amazing thing is that the entire roof of the room is made of a special type of glass, while sunlight is still streaming in from outside.

"This isn't underground? Then where is this sunlight coming from?"

"Have you forgotten? Isn't there another human in this house who can manipulate space?"

Patchouli spoke as she walked deeper into the room.

The whole room looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages.

Moss even grew on the ground, and there were huge bookshelves covered in dust on both sides. The room was divided into two floors, with the number of bookshelves on the upper floor being almost twice that of the lower floor.

And in the very center is a huge telescope.

It looks like it was used for astronomical observation, and it was also covered in moss and dust.

"This is the astronomical observation room that Remy prepared for me back then."

"Judging from this, it must have been at least a decade or more since any humans have entered here."

"There are quite a few microorganisms, well, people who come here usually just get infected with a whole host of diseases."

"...Can I assume that you are deliberately trying to kill me?"

Accelerator curled his lip in displeasure. That's what he said, but even if something like a nuclear radiation leak occurred, it wouldn't be a big deal for his abilities, let alone a mere microorganism or virus.

"If that's the case, you certainly didn't bring me here just to see the stars, did you?"

"If you want to observe celestial bodies, I have a much lighter telescope in my room, which is why I said I haven't used this room in a long time; this telescope is just too bulky."

As the girl spoke, she arrived at the stairwell on the second floor.

pat.

The moment you step on it, dust flies up in the sunlight.

But the girl didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

"The books stored in this library come from all over the world."

As she spoke, she walked up the steps to the second floor.

"There are books I've collected in the past, as well as books I've written myself. Similarly, most of the books from outside Gensokyo have also been collected."

"Thanks to Sakuya for opening up the basement of this library, I was able to store so many books here without restraint... but this has also led to a more troublesome matter."

"That is, even those books that are very important to me, I have a hard time remembering exactly where they are."

Amazingly, although the girl kept walking up the stairs, her fingers and the soles of her shoes remained completely free of dust.

A series of footprints covered the dust on the stairs, which could be said to completely violate the general laws of physics.

"My identity is that of a mage of the Seven Luminaries."

"You already mentioned this when you introduced yourself, didn't you?"

"This is not just being verbose. In other words, it's almost at the level of a top-level mage. The knowledge in my mind is no less than that of this library."

Accelerator was starting to have some trouble figuring out what the other person was trying to say.

From the beginning, it should have been me asking her questions, but now the situation has completely changed, and Patchouli is now unilaterally telling me her own stories.

The first one was already starting to feel a little anxious.

However, he did not interrupt the other person.

"I have witnessed strange phenomena from all over the world and possess the most advanced level of knowledge."

"So, whether it's the shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine, the black and white magician, or the boundary youkai that moves through gaps, I know a little about them and have some understanding of their affairs."

Before she knew it, she had gone straight to the second floor.

"I am familiar with and knowledgeable about most of the forces in this world. Even for forces I have never seen, I can still make connections based on my knowledge."

She slowly turned around.

Accelerator seemed to have noticed something and looked up as well.

Their gazes were directed in opposite directions: one upwards, the other downwards.

They just stared at each other like that.

"That's right, I know everything. No matter what the situation, I can easily make a conclusion with just one glance, so I don't have any fear of anything."

"Yes...that's right, that's exactly it."

"…until."

At that moment, her tone changed.

It became incredibly heavy.

“Until I saw you.”

"...What exactly are you trying to say?"

This bizarre topic immediately made the first person frown.

He even suspected that the other party had lured him here to sabotage him.

“I have knowledge of everything, whether I have seen it or not, so the moment I saw your ability, I was indeed able to see the power you were using.”

"...But I simply couldn't believe the reality of that power."

It seemed that Accelerator had vaguely sensed something.

He began to understand what Patchouli meant by the power she spoke of.

"That's right, you should know that very well."

The girl looked at him intently and spoke quietly.

"Those wings that emerged from behind you, I'm afraid I know something about them."

"—!!"

This is truly an unprecedented development.

He had simply assumed that the other party was trying to talk to him about some vague principles, but Accelerator never expected that Patchouli would bring up such a sensational topic.

Do you know what you're saying?

"If you don't believe me, then come and see for yourself."

"What do you mean by 'see it with my own eyes'? Do you expect your ideas to materialize and be shown to me in real life...?"

Before Accelerator could finish speaking, Patchouli placed her hand on the bookshelf behind her.

Something like a brand lingered around the surface of the bookshelf.

Immediately, a not-so-thick book was revealed from within.

"What…?"

The first person to react was Accelerator himself.

He couldn't help but look at the book.

The book was entirely black, red, and white, and it was even somewhat decayed.

"You do indeed have a significant reaction to it."

Patchouli took the book and looked down at Accelerator.

A simple magic circle flashed beneath her feet, and in the next instant, the magical girl was back beside the First One.

The first person's gaze, however, remained fixed on the cover of the book.

It presents a font that is very difficult to describe.

It doesn't seem like something a human could read, much less something a human could understand.

but.

This is the kind of book that only confuses people.

One-way, however, opened its mouth unconsciously.

He got it.

He understood the language.

It was a strange language that felt familiar to him, a language he himself had spoken more than once.

"The moment your wings appeared, I thought about what they were most closely related to."

"...Where did you get this book?"

"I don't remember, it was probably a long time ago... Anyway, the mystery of this book is something even I can't understand. The reason I can understand it is only by relying on the power of magic to force my way through it, and in the end, I can only have a superficial understanding."

Accelerator shrugged and took the book directly from Patchouli's hand.

"Why are you trying to do this? This shouldn't be any of your business."

"Don't underestimate a scholar's thirst for knowledge."

"Tch." The first person clicked his tongue in displeasure and then opened the book directly.

The whole book has a decaying and broken appearance.

Surprisingly, when the book is opened, the pages inside are remarkably clear.

Words that were completely incomprehensible to Patchouli were easily understood by Accelerator.

The contents written on it.

"Power developed based on the multiverse theory, if developed after infinite time, will inevitably be an individual with a single soul."

He unconsciously read the contents of the book aloud.

"The power to manipulate the direction of all things is not simply to reverse-observe a single phenomenon and achieve results that are infinitely close to the truth... Its essence can only be manifested by integrating external objects together."

"If one truly awakens the essence of its power, the ultimate result will inevitably be reaching the bottom of the abyss, but this is only the beginning. Its ultimate goal will transcend the distant abyss and reach a realm that is even more transcendent than true infinity."