~Chapter 39~
The angel from the painting swooped freely around the gallery.
It didn’t just fly across walls—it actually entered other paintings, and even spread the same kind of error to them.
In other words…
“Aaaaah!”
Every artwork the angel touched started moving.
Right now, the angel had jumped into Dancer by Berna. It shattered the mirror inside the painting and flew away.
“Kyaaah!”
The dancer let out a sharp scream and jumped out of the frame.
Once free, she bumped into a statue of a noble knight standing nearby.
And suddenly—like it was alive—the statue twitched, then struck a graceful ballet pose.
“Nooo, they’re ruining the entire collection!”
I wanted to just sit down and cry. How much did all this stuff cost?!
Even using magic was risky—I didn’t want to damage any of the priceless artwork.
Meanwhile, the paint angel laughed playfully and flew around like a little whirlwind.
Just like the mushroom from the last rift, it was tireless and chaotic. Why do all these rift monsters love causing trouble?
The whole place was in chaos. Paintings jumped into other paintings. Statues changed poses.
One painting, still in its frame, dragged itself around like it had legs. The colors on the canvas were staining together like dirty water.
‘Wherever the angel goes, the chaos spreads. That must mean the angel is the core of this rift.’
Rift disturbances tend to spread outward from their center.
So maybe, if I can return the angel to its original painting, I can fix this. Just like I did with the twisted well during the first rift.
But there’s a problem.
‘To absorb the twisted mana, I need to get close.’
But the paint angel didn’t let anyone near. Every time I almost caught it, it darted away again—almost like it was teasing me.
“That annoying two-dimensional ball of paint!”
I was getting seriously irritated—when suddenly, someone came up behind me.
“Hey! Mage!”
“Eek!”
That loud voice scared the life out of me.
It was Felix Guffero, along with his three usual investigators.
“You’re still here?!”
“What are you even doing? Can’t even catch that thing?”
He looked at me with utter contempt.
“I am trying to catch it! If you think it’s so easy, go ahead and try!”
“Don’t order me around!”
“P-Please calm down, Captain!”
“Lady Relshiz, that’s the angel from the missing painting, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Unbelievable…”
All the investigators stared at the living paintings and sculptures, totally stunned. It wasn’t something you saw every day.
“How are we supposed to catch something like that?”
“What do you mean, how? Just grab it with your hands!”
Before I could even answer, Felix charged forward with ridiculous speed.
I’d been struggling the whole time, but he closed the gap between himself and the angel almost instantly. His long arm reached out sharply.
“Ha! Gotcha—!”
Wham.
His hand hit the hallway wall hard.
But of course, he didn’t catch anything. You can’t grab a painting on a wall with your bare hands.
“What the—?! Damn it!”
“See? You can’t just catch it like that.”
Felix growled and stomped his foot in frustration. Serves him right.
Meanwhile, the paint angel flew even higher into the air, out of reach.
I stopped running for now. Chasing it blindly was a waste of energy.
The other investigators seemed to have the same thought, and gathered around me.
“Lady Relshiz, do you have any ideas?”
“Ideas…”
I looked around at the mess in the gallery.
“Do you have any weapons?”
“All three of us have magic-assisted guns. Except the captain.”
“Wait—he doesn’t carry his issued gear?”
“Well… he hates anything magic-related, so…”
So Felix Guffero didn’t even carry standard-issue weapons because they were magically enhanced. Typical.
“Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll modify your guns so they can absorb mana. Then you’ll shoot at the living paintings to stop them. Felix and I will focus on capturing the angel.”
“Who said I agreed to that?”
Felix had been standing far away like a sulking cat, and now he was grumbling again.
“Didn’t you say you were here to work? If you don’t help, all these pieces will be ruined and this gallery will be finished!”
“…”
He didn’t say he would help, but he also didn’t say no.
“So, will you help or not?”
“…Tch. Fine. What do you need me to do?”
“Go bring the original canvas that the angel came from.”
“This is a one-time favor.”
He growled but dashed toward the exhibit hall.
I got to work.
‘Step one: seal the exits.’
I used magic to block the paintings from escaping outside. I used a certain annoying genius’s signature magic.
‘I remember how the spell works. I don’t have to copy it perfectly.’
I pulled out my stick and swung it.
The air immediately turned cold. My breath came out in white clouds.
I poured a bunch of mana into the spell I had crafted.
In an instant, a massive wall of ice shot up—an “ice prison” inspired by Aska—blocking off all the exits.
Now, even if the paintings tried to flee, they couldn’t escape.
“That’s done. Please begin!”
The investigators—officially trained sharpshooters—began firing skillfully.
Bang. Bang.
As the gunshots echoed, the chaos began to die down.
The knight statue that had been spinning like a ballerina returned to its noble posture. The dancer who had run away went back to her frame.
But the angel still refused to be caught.
It flew too fast for even the investigators to land a good shot.
Maybe it knew it was the target—because now, it had flown up to the ceiling.
“Lady Relshiz, the angel’s been hit a few times, but it’s still going strong!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
That meant the bullets alone weren’t enough to cleanse the twisted mana.
‘Then I’ll have to get close and absorb it directly.’
Just then, the paint angel stopped—right above me—hanging from the ceiling.
It giggled mischievously, then tapped the connection hook of a chandelier.
Creak. Clink.
Ominous sounds echoed through the air.
‘Wait… is it going to fall?!’
Before I could react, someone pulled me backward—hard.
The chandelier came crashing down right after.
Crash!
I tumbled to the floor, heart pounding.
“Aagh!”
“What are you doing just standing there?! Did you forget how to use magic?!”
It was Felix. He had come back from the exhibit room—and he had the painting in his hand.
I stared blankly between the shattered chandelier and Felix. Did he just… save me?
I was so surprised I couldn’t speak.
“So, what now?”
“Uh…”
He didn’t even seem to realize he’d just saved me. His face was totally casual.
I snapped out of it and gave instructions.
“Go to the end of the hallway. When the angel flies that way, hold the canvas in place. Don’t let it get away.”
He grinned in that usual cocky way of his.
“Mage, in my dictionary, there’s no such thing as ‘failure.’”
Felix moved toward the hallway as ordered.
The investigators helped herd the angel with precision shots, narrowing its escape routes.
Bang. Bang.
With every shot, the angel’s options disappeared—until there was only one path left: the hallway where Felix stood waiting.
The angel, not realizing the trap, flew straight toward the wall.
“Now!”
At my signal, Felix pressed the canvas against the wall.
The speeding angel couldn’t stop in time—and flew straight into the painting.
“Captain! Lady Relshiz! Did it work?!”
Behind me, the investigators shouted.
In Felix’s hands, the canvas now showed the angel flapping around, looking confused and trapped.
I took a deep breath… and smiled.
“Take a nap forever, you little rascal.”
Then I absorbed the tangled mana completely.
