Chapter 165: Forbidden Knowledge Wing
Leonard and Alison stared directly into each other's eyes, neither of them backing down, the tension between them sharp and controlled, like two blades pressed edge to edge without either side pushing first.
After a few seconds, Alison let out a quiet sigh, her shoulders relaxing ever so slightly as if the entire situation bored her more than it concerned her.
"Just Miss Chao is enough."
Leonard nodded once, acknowledging it without breaking eye contact.
"Very well. I have two questions for you. I hope you are willing to answer them."
Alison raised an eyebrow, a faint, curious smile appearing on her lips.
"Oh?"
Leonard's gaze hardened just slightly as he spoke.
"Are you part of the Chaos System?"
The reaction was immediate.
The temperature, or whatever passed for temperature within this section of the Library, dropped sharply, the shift so sudden it felt artificial, like reality itself tightening in response to the words.
Behind Leonard, every single Resh-1 operator reacted at once.
No orders were given, yet their auras ignited in perfect synchronization. Some manifested controlled thaumaturgic patterns, complex sigils stabilizing instantly around their bodies, while others released a wave of psionic pressure that spread outward like an invisible net. Their stances shifted by barely a few centimeters, but the formation locked in completely, every angle covered, every vector anticipated.
They were ready.
Not tense.
Not nervous.
Just ready.
If Alison moved, even slightly, violence would erupt without hesitation.
Alison remained perfectly still.
She didn't glance at the operators.
She didn't react to the pressure.
She didn't even acknowledge the shift in the atmosphere.
Her eyes stayed on Leonard, studying him calmly, as if she was far more interested in his intent than the threat surrounding her.
For a brief moment, silence settled between them, but it wasn't empty. It was deliberate, heavy with calculation, as if both sides were waiting to see who would tip the balance first.
Then Alison spoke.
"No. I am neutral."
Her voice was steady, neither defensive nor provocative, simply stating a fact as she saw it.
Leonard didn't immediately respond. His eyes remained locked onto hers, analyzing, verifying, measuring the truth behind the words rather than the words themselves. Behind him, Resh-1 held their positions without moving, their presence still pressing against the space like a loaded weapon waiting for a trigger.
After a second, Leonard's expression didn't change, but something in his posture relaxed just enough to be noticed by those trained to see it.
"Then that leads to my second question…"
Leonard spoke without hesitation, his tone calm but sharp.
"Why did you help us?"
Alison paused.
Not out of fear.
Out of thought.
Her eyes shifted slightly, as if replaying something in her mind, then she answered with the same composed tone.
"I overheard your conversation with the Archivists. I also want to kill the Black Moon."
Leonard's eyes narrowed just a fraction.
"You did?"
Alison began to respond.
"Yes, I-"
She never finished.
Leonard moved.
There was no warning, no visible buildup. One moment he was standing in front of her, the next he had already crossed the distance between them. The air cracked from the sudden acceleration as his hand shot forward, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the ground with enough force to shake the floor beneath them.
The impact echoed between the shelves.
Before the sound even settled, multiple Resh-1 operators were already at his side, appearing as if they had always been there, their presence locking the area down completely, ready to act at the slightest signal.
Leonard leaned down slightly, his grip tightening around her neck, his eyes cold and unwavering.
"You're lying."
His voice dropped.
"You didn't hear us."
Alison grimaced, her hand instinctively gripping his wrist as she struggled against the pressure crushing her airway.
"H-how so…?"
Leonard didn't look at her.
He turned his head slightly toward Graves, who stood just at his side, unmoving, watching.
Graves answered without hesitation.
"If you were there, I would have registered your presence. I didn't."
Silence followed.
Leonard slowly turned his head back toward Alison.
She was still smiling.
Even like this.
Even pinned to the ground, her breathing strained, her neck held in a grip that could snap it in an instant.
She was smiling.
"You've got some very capable dogs," she said, her voice strained but amused.
Leonard's grip tightened.
Not enough to kill.
Enough to remind her how close she was.
"I'll ask you one more time," he said, his voice flat, controlled, dangerous. "Why did you intervene to help us?"
Alison looked at him, her breathing uneven now, her fingers tightening slightly around his wrist, not trying to break free, just… enduring.
For a second, she didn't answer.
Then-
"Midnight," she forced out. "She asked me to help you."
A breath.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Leonard didn't respond immediately.
He stared at her, judging, analyzing, weighing every word, every micro-reaction, every detail in her expression.
Then, he released her.
His hand let go of her throat as he stood up and stepped back without another word.
Alison rolled slightly onto her side, drawing in a sharp breath as air finally filled her lungs again. She coughed once, then again, bringing a hand to her neck where faint marks had already begun to appear.
"She told me you were cold," Alison said after a moment, her voice steadier now, though still recovering. "But not this hostile."
Leonard looked down at her, expression unchanged.
"Let's just say I have my reasons to consider you an enemy."
Alison slowly pushed herself up, brushing off her coat as she straightened, her eyes returning to him with that same calm, unreadable gaze.
"How so?"
Leonard answered without hesitation, his tone calm but carrying a sharp edge beneath it.
"In one of the canons, the Black Queen derives her powers from the Black Moon. What tells me that isn't the case here as well?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The air didn't just grow colder this time, it froze.
Alison's gaze changed.
The faint amusement vanished, replaced by something far sharper, far more distant. When she looked at him now, there was no hint of playfulness left, only a cold, unwavering clarity.
"Because I said so," she replied.
Her voice was steady, but there was steel behind it now.
"And while you may be able to defeat me, and quite easily, it seems, that does not mean I will submit to your assumptions, nor that I will care about them a single bit."
No one moved.
Resh-1 remained perfectly still behind Leonard, their presence silent but absolute, watching, waiting, ready to act if needed.
Leonard said nothing.
He simply looked at her.
Studied her.
Measured her again, this time without interruption, without pressure, without immediate hostility, just a long, silent evaluation.
Alison didn't look away.
Didn't react.
Didn't push further.
And after a few seconds, the sharpness in her expression faded, her face returning to that same unreadable calm as if nothing had happened at all.
There was a brief silence.
Then Alison spoke.
"Any other questions?"
Leonard didn't hesitate.
"None," he replied calmly. "Unless you have a way to deal with the Black Moon."
Alison let out a quiet sigh, clearly unimpressed.
"Gosh… you're incredibly impatient."
She turned slightly, already losing interest in standing still.
"Walk with me, would you?"
And without waiting for an answer, she began to move.
Just like that.
No glance back.
No concern.
As if she already knew they would follow.
Leonard remained still for a fraction of a second, then exchanged a brief look with Graves.
No words were needed.
Then they moved.
Resh-1 followed immediately, the formation adjusting seamlessly around them, maintaining spacing, awareness, and control without a single command being spoken.
They left the aisle behind.
The shift in the environment was gradual at first.
Then noticeable.
Then impossible to ignore.
The Library around them changed.
The noise faded.
The distant whispers, the quiet page-turning, the soft movements of Wanderers, all of it diminished until only the sound of their own footsteps remained.
They entered a long corridor.
It stretched endlessly ahead, lined on both sides with branching aisles and layered structures, multiple levels rising upward in stacked formations of shelves and narrow walkways.
But unlike the rest of the Library, this place felt… empty.
Not abandoned.
Not broken.
Just quiet.
Too quiet.
The lighting was dimmer here, the warm glow of suspended lamps replaced by a faint, cold illumination that barely reached the edges of the corridor.
Shadows stretched longer.
Deeper.
And near the ground, a thin layer of mist clung to the floor, drifting slowly around their feet as they walked.
It wasn't thick enough to block vision.
But it was there.
Constant.
Unmoving.
Like it belonged.
Alison continued forward without slowing, her silhouette cutting cleanly through the dim light, her posture relaxed, completely at ease in a place that felt wrong to anyone else.
Leonard's eyes moved once across the corridor.
Analyzing.
Measuring.
Noting the change.
This wasn't just another section of the Library.
And whatever she was about to show them, it wasn't meant for everyone.
They walked.
And kept walking.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
Time stretched strangely in this part of the Library, the corridor repeating itself in a way that made distance feel unreliable, yet their pace never slowed, never faltered.
The environment didn't change.
Not really.
The same dim lighting.
The same layered shelves rising on both sides.
The same narrow walkways above.
The same thin mist clinging to the ground, drifting lazily around their feet without ever dispersing.
No Wanderers.
No movement.
No sound beyond their own footsteps.
Even Resh-1, despite their presence, seemed quieter here, their usual subtle movements dampened by the weight of the place.
After what felt like more than an hour, Leonard finally spoke.
"What is this area?"
Alison didn't look at him.
"This," she said calmly, continuing to walk ahead, "is the Forbidden Knowledge Wing."
A brief pause.
"A restricted zone. Wanderers are not allowed here."
Leonard glanced at her back, unimpressed.
"You don't seem particularly concerned about that rule."
Alison gave a small, almost amused exhale.
"Yes," she replied. "But at least I do it discreetly."
Then, after a short pause, her tone shifted slightly.
"And frankly, you people from the Foundation are a special case."
Leonard's eyes narrowed.
"How so?"
Alison answered immediately.
"You break at least six out of the ten Library rules on a regular basis. Repeatedly."
Her voice remained calm, but there was a clear edge of criticism now.
"You steal knowledge, then come back later like nothing happened and ask for more knowledge that is, by the way, restricted and forbidden in a zone you constantly infiltrate."
A faint scoff escaped her.
"If that isn't a slap in the face to the Archivists, I don't know what is. Honestly, I understand their frustration."
Leonard's expression didn't change, but his gaze sharpened slightly.
"What do you mean by 'repeatedly'?"
A short pause.
"You're telling me my subordinates have entered the Forbidden Knowledge Wing multiple times?"
Alison slowed just a fraction.
Then stopped.
She turned her head slightly, looking at him with something that almost resembled surprise.
"…Wait," she said. "You didn't know?"
Leonard didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Alison watched him for a second longer, then continued walking, her voice returning to its usual calm.
"A few weeks ago, I ran into an old man here. He was with an assistant."
She shrugged lightly.
"We shared a cup of tea before going our separate ways."
Leonard's brows furrowed.
"???"
Graves leaned slightly toward him, lowering his voice just enough for only Leonard to hear.
"I believe she's referring to O5-13 and his aide."
Leonard's jaw tightened.
His hands clenched briefly at his sides.
"…The O5s again," he muttered under his breath. "I'm going to have a serious conversation with them once I'm back."
Alison, walking a few steps ahead, hadn't heard the exchange.
She glanced back at him, her expression mildly curious.
"Wait," she said. "You really weren't aware of this?"
Leonard remained silent.
Alison studied him for a moment.
Then she smirked.
"What a shitty leader," she said mockingly. "Your subordinates run operations behind your back and you don't even know about it."
A soft click of her tongue.
"Tsk. Tsk. I'm disappointed in the Administrator."
Leonard took the jab without responding.
Keeping one thousand very friendly words to himself.
Alison watched him for another second, then turned fully on her heels, facing forward again.
"Anyway," she said casually, as if the topic had already lost all importance, "we're close."
She resumed walking.
"Let's keep going."
Silence settled over the group once more as they continued deeper into the corridor, their footsteps echoing faintly against the layered structure of the Forbidden Wing.
After a while, Alison spoke again.
"What do you know about the Black Queen?"
Leonard glanced at her briefly.
"The group?"
"Yes," Alison replied without slowing down.
Leonard's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Why should I answer you?"
Alison clicked her tongue softly, then bit her lower lip for a second, clearly weighing her options.
Then she spoke.
"If you help me, I'll give you the location of a major multi-group Neo-Sarkic base."
Leonard answered instantly.
"Three."
Alison's jaw tightened.
"…Two."
"Deal."
Alison exhaled slowly, clearly feeling like she had just been cheated out of something, but she didn't argue.
"So?" she asked.
Leonard took a moment to think, his eyes drifting slightly as he organized the information in his head.
"From what I know," he began, "the Black Queen is both an individual and an organization."
He kept walking as he spoke, voice calm, precise.
"Operating from the Library, you are all different versions of Alison Chao, each originating from separate universes. You cooperate with each other to achieve shared objectives."
A brief pause.
"To locate that person… and to destroy the Foundation."
The air shifted slightly at the last part.
Then Leonard continued.
"As for that per-"
"Stop."
Alison cut him off immediately.
Her voice dropped.
Cold.
Sharp.
She turned her head toward him, her eyes no longer calm, no longer unreadable but lethal.
"That's enough."
Leonard didn't look away.
"If you want, I can help you meet him," he said evenly. "It's very easy."
Alison stared at him.
Her gaze didn't waver.
Didn't soften.
For a moment, it felt like the entire corridor had gone still again.
Then she exhaled quietly.
The tension vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
She turned her head forward.
"I will meet him when I decide to," she said calmly. "For now, it is not the right time."
And she kept walking.
Leonard shrugged slightly, as if the exchange didn't matter that much to him, and followed her without another word.
Eventually, they arrived.
From the outside, it looked no different from the others, just another aisle among thousands, lined with endless shelves stretching upward into shadow. Nothing marked it. Nothing distinguished it.
Alison turned into it without a word.
They followed.
The atmosphere grew quieter the deeper they went, the faint mist curling more densely around their feet. Alison slowed, then stopped in front of a section of shelves and began scanning the spines, her fingers brushing lightly across them as if she was searching for something very specific.
She didn't rush.
She didn't hesitate.
She searched.
Minutes passed.
No one spoke.
Then, her hand stopped.
She pulled a book free from the shelf.
Alison stepped down from the ladder she had climbed halfway up, landing lightly on the ground before turning toward Leonard. She raised the book slightly in her hands.
"This," she said calmly, "is the key to killing that bastard."
Leonard stepped closer.
She handed him the book without resistance.
He took it and examined the cover. Most of the inscriptions had faded or been erased entirely, leaving only fragments of symbols that barely held meaning anymore. The material itself felt… wrong. Not old, not new, just displaced.
He opened it.
His eyes moved quickly across the pages, scanning lines, diagrams, fragments of text that twisted between logic and abstraction. The deeper he read, the more structured it became, patterns emerging from what first looked like nonsense.
After a moment, he paused.
"Conceptual engineering?" he said.
Alison nodded.
"Yes."
Her gaze remained fixed on him.
"That will be the key to our success."
Leonard read a few more pages, confirming, analyzing, locking the information into place. Then he closed the book and slid it carefully inside his coat, securing it without breaking his rhythm.
He looked back at her.
"What's the plan?"
Alison answered without slowing.
"Not now. Follow me."
She turned on her heels and started walking.
Leonard exhaled quietly, a trace of irritation finally surfacing, but he didn't argue. He moved after her, and the rest of Resh-1 followed immediately behind, the formation tightening as they advanced deeper into the Forbidden Wing.
They walked for several more kilometers.
The corridor stretched on, unchanged, the same dim lighting, the same layered structures, the same mist clinging low to the ground. Time became difficult to measure again, distance even more so.
Then, Graves moved closer to Leonard, just enough to speak without breaking formation.
"I've detected a group," he said quietly. "Humans. Mostly. Highly anomalous signatures. A few kilometers ahead."
Leonard's eyes shifted slightly.
"Their posture?"
"They're clustered inside an aisle," Graves replied. "Stationary. As if they're waiting."
Leonard didn't respond immediately.
Ahead of them, Alison slowed.
She turned her head, catching the subtle shift between Leonard and Graves, then let out a small sigh.
"I assume you've already detected them."
She didn't wait for confirmation.
"I should clarify," she continued, "that group is non-hostile."
A brief pause.
"…I think."
Leonard's gaze hardened slightly.
"And they're the ones who will help us kill the Black Moon," Alison added.
Leonard's expression didn't change, but his tone did.
"A third party?"
"Yes."
He studied her for a second.
"Can we trust them?"
Alison answered without hesitation.
"Absolutely not."
Leonard frowned slightly, genuine confusion slipping through.
"Then why cooperate with them?"
Alison sighed again, clearly tired of explaining what she considered obvious.
"Because we don't have a choice," she said. "We need them to execute the plan."
They kept walking.
The silence returned, heavier this time, layered with tension and expectation.
After a short distance, Alison stopped.
She turned toward Leonard fully.
"Administrator," she said, her tone more serious now, "I have a request."
Leonard stopped as well, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What is it?"
Alison met his gaze directly.
"When you see the second group… please don't try to kill them immediately. Let me speak first."
Leonard's brows furrowed.
Something clicked.
A warning.
A detail out of place.
He looked at her carefully before answering.
"I won't promise anything," he said calmly. "But I know how to be reasonable."
Alison exhaled, as if that was the best answer she was going to get.
"Good enough."
She turned and resumed walking.
A few seconds later, they reached the next intersection.
Alison stepped into another aisle, one that was no longer empty.
It was filled.
People.
Figures.
A group gathered together, exactly as Graves had described.
The moment Leonard turned into the aisle, he froze.
For half a second, his mind processed what he was seeing.
Then his expression changed completely.
Raw.
Immediate.
Explosive.
"You son of a bitch!"
---
Several hours later, Leonard stepped out of the aisle.
His expression was completely impassive.
No anger.
No surprise.
Nothing.
Resh-1 followed behind him in perfect silence, their formation intact, their presence as controlled as ever. No one spoke. No one questioned. Whatever had happened inside remained unspoken.
They walked.
Hundreds of meters passed beneath their feet as they moved through the dim corridors of the Library, the atmosphere slowly returning to something more familiar, less suffocating.
Then Leonard finally spoke.
"I didn't expect that."
His voice was calm, but there was weight behind it.
He turned his head slightly toward the two brothers.
"Daniel. Damien."
Both of them stepped forward immediately.
"How do we get out?"
Daniel didn't waste time answering.
He moved ahead and began forming a ritual, his hands moving with practiced precision as symbols formed in the air, layering over one another in a controlled pattern. The space in front of him reacted instantly, the air distorting as a circular gateway began to take shape.
The portal stabilized.
A faint glow spread across its surface, the interior shifting like liquid reality.
Daniel stepped back.
Leonard moved first.
Without hesitation, he walked forward and stepped through.
The rest followed immediately.
One by one.
Clean.
Fast.
No delays.
No words.
And the moment the last operator crossed, the portal snapped shut behind them.
Silence settled over the corridor once again.
Alison stood alone.
For a few seconds, she didn't move, her gaze lingering on the empty space where the portal had been, as if confirming that no trace of them remained.
Then she spoke.
"They're gone. No need to hide."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, a shadow moved.
From the ceiling, something slipped out of the darkness, descending vertically as if gravity didn't apply to it. It didn't fall. It didn't drop. It simply lowered itself down until it came to a stop beside her.
Alison didn't look surprised.
"I've fulfilled your request, Rounderpede."
The head archivist didn't answer immediately.
It remained still, its attention fixed on the exact point where the portal had closed, as if it was still observing something long after it had disappeared.
Alison crossed her arms slightly, shifting her weight.
"Anyway," she continued, her tone casual, "that's a risky gamble you're making."
There was a brief pause.
Then Rounderpede spoke.
"You do not need to concern yourself with my actions."
Its voice was low, layered, steady.
"Do your part, and everything will proceed as intended."
Without another word, its form began to rise again, retreating the same way it had come. It moved upward into the ceiling, merging back into the shadows until it vanished completely.
Alison followed the movement with her eyes until it was gone.
Then she let out a long sigh.
"Gosh… I can already feel the mess coming."
Her hand lifted slowly, brushing against her neck, fingertips tracing the faint marks left behind by Leonard's grip. She paused there for a second, feeling the residual pressure as if it hadn't fully faded yet.
She exhaled again.
"That's what you call a cute and shy boy?" she muttered under her breath. "Elise, I swear you have a problem."
Then she turned.
Without another word, she walked away, her silhouette blending into the dim corridors until she disappeared completely into the depths of the Library.