Demons Beside You

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

It was Chen Zhao’s first time visiting the Witch Society.

It was hard to imagine that there would be such a quiet mansion in a city like New York.

The outer walls of the mansion were covered in untrimmed vines.

Inside, the path was dark but not scary.

Charlotte brought Chen Zhao all the way in.

Chen Zhao could feel the gazes of people hidden in the darkness, but nobody appeared before him until the end.

Charlotte led Chen Zhao to a small domed house, whose surroundings and top were also covered in vines.

“This small building is the Witch Society’s library? Are you kidding me?”

“Go in and you’ll see.” Chen Zhao entered the house.

He realized that the room had a vertical hole at the center.

It was so deep that he could not see the bottom. A spiral staircase extended all the way down.

It was an inverted tower.

Chen Zhao walked down the stairs, while Charlotte followed behind him.

“Can I read all the books here?”

“You can read anything that you can open, and you can record the contents however you like, but you can’t bring any books out.”

Chen Zhao nodded and asked again, “Are there books that cannot be opened?”

“This magic library has been enchanted with many spells. Magic has seeped into every magic book here, so many cannot be opened unless you destroy the entire book.”

Following the winding stairs, Chen Zhao reached the bottom of the library, which he realized was enormous.

The circular room had a diameter of a basketball court.

Dozens of shelves surrounded the whole basement.

Charlotte snapped her fingers and all the lights were turned on.

“Mr. Chen, take your time. I won’t be following you around.”

Charlotte stopped following Chen Zhao. She took a magic book from one of the shelves and sat on the floor, starting to read.

All the shelves were labeled.

Curses, Toxicology, Nature, Strengthening, Summoning, Elementology, Deathspeaking, Divination…

Chen Zhao grabbed a random book and opened it.

Toxicology… Okay, not my thing.

Suddenly, Chen Zhao stopped before a shelf. Mysterious Happenings and Items.

Chen Zhao was very curious about mysterious things.

Chen Zhao took the book and flipped through it.

The book recorded many magic items, including demonic badges.

Suddenly, Chen Zhao’s hand stopped.

Keys! The keys of mystery, the keys of the unknown.

In the text:

There are many records about the keys.

The only thing that can be confirmed now is that there are 13 keys in total.

The keys have appeared in every era.

They have been passed down from ancient civilizations.

There have been people who spent much of their time collecting the keys, and some successfully opened the third door with them.

This is the human’s limit.

If you can open this book, and have a key with you, try to open the first door.

If you want to learn more, go collect more keys and open more doors.

Perhaps, you will find the final answer.

Open the first door? What door?

Chen Zhao had received the first golden key from Winnip, and the second key from the Grandfather.

He had gotten the third one from Murphy’s mother, and the fourth one had been part of Pamela’s collection.

But until now, Chen Zhao had no idea what the keys were supposed to unlock.

He had come across two books that mentioned the keys so far. None of them talked about what the keys could open.

Chen Zhao took out one of the keys. It was not his first time staring blankly at one.

But he still did not know how to use it.

Thud, thud—

Just then, Chen Zhao heard a series of footsteps.

Lifting his head, he saw a woman walk toward him.

The woman had a white robe and her hair hung loosely over her shoulders.

She should be a witch here.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” Chen Zhao replied.

“Are you reading a magic book?”

“Uh…” This should be obvious.

“Is there anything you don’t understand? Perhaps I can explain it to you.”

Chen Zhao had an idea. Maybe the woman knew what the keys were for.

“Do you know what these keys are for?”

“The keys of the unknown. The keys of mystery,” the woman said.

Chen Zhao rolled his eyes. That was written in the book.

“The keys are used to unlock the human body’s potentials,” the woman said.

Thinking, Chen Zhao asked again, “How?”

“Dunno. I don’t have a key. I only remember that from a book. Maybe you’ll find the answer if you find the book.”

“Where’s that book?”

“Think it’s below here.”

“Below here?”

“Yes, below this place.”

“Below the library?”

“Don’t you know that there’s a secret library below this place?”

Chen Zhao frowned. “Then why did you tell me?”

“You asked, so I answered.” The woman smiled. “Goodbye.”

The woman turned and left. Chen Zhao saw her walk behind a shelf.

When Chen Zhao walked there, the woman was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you looking for something?” Charlotte was behind Chen Zhao.

“There was a witch just now. I followed her but she disappeared.”

“That’s normal. You’re not the only person who can come here,” Charlotte said.

“Is there another library on the lower level?”

“Yes.”

“Is it not open?”

“Do you want to go? I can bring you there, but you have to open it yourself.”

Chen Zhao thought about it and looked at Charlotte. “Oh, Miss Charlotte, by the way, you haven’t given me my pay for yesterday.”

Charlotte hesitated for a while. She lifted her head to look at Chen Zhao. Suddenly, a strange smile appeared on her face.

“You’re indeed fake.” Chen Zhao walked forward and grabbed “Charlotte,” but immediately she melted like a candle.

“Chen, what are you doing?” Charlotte’s voice sounded behind Chen Zhao again.

Chen Zhao turned to look at her with some reluctance.

“Are you real or fake?”

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s something wrong with the library. I saw a woman in a white robe who told me there’s a secret library below this place. Then, I met a fake you who wanted to bring me to that library so that I could open it.”

“Is there another library here? I had no idea. Maybe I should go and ask the Mage.”

Charlotte had been here many times, but she had not noticed anything unusual.

Why would Chen Zhao encounter such a strange event the first time here?