"Hey, where are we?" "Nowhere." "This place doesn't have a name." "Isn't that inconvenient?" "If necessary, you may simply call it by any name you wish." "One person called this the Labyrinth Library." "Any other names?" "Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian." "Don't you get lonely out here?" "Six months have passed since I received a letter informing me of my grandfather's death." "He'd been shot by a burglar who'd broken into the house." "A somewhat peculiar way to die for a man with an earldom to his name." "Though some found it rather fitting." "My grandfather was a collector of rare books." "He was what you might call a bibliomaniac." "His obsession with books was so intense he once spent half of his wealth on a single rare book." "His behavior caused the family to despise, shun, and fear him." "Well, they were actually more afraid of his collection of books." "They believed that among his library were dark and accursed books which granted knowledge of the forbidden." "I must admit that I wasn't particularly intimate with him." "Quite frankly, I was surprised when I received this letter." "But I was also grateful." "For it filled me with hope." "A faint hope that I would finally find what I had long been searching for..." "Guess not." "What is the meaning of this?" "All the books in the mansion are collected here?" "A doll?" "Why is it here..." "Who are you?" "Forgive me." "My name is Hugh Anthony Disward." "You can call me Huey." "I am the grandson of Wesley Disward, the former owner of this house." "Wes's?" "You knew my grandfather?" "Why would Wes's grandson come here now?" "I'm looking for something." "Looking for something?" "Perhaps you know something about the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian." "How do you know that name...?" "It was in my grandfather's will." "To inherit this mansion and all it contains," "I must take over responsibility for the Bibliotheca." "There was also one other part that concerned me." "Here, you see where he says to look after Dalian for him?" "He's probably referring to a pet of some kind..." "P-Pet?" "!" "The poor thing..." "It must be starving." "And I'll need to clean up any mess it's made." "Why you stupid grandson!" "Ouch..." "Dalian happens to be my name!" "Episode 1 "Turn-up Book"" "You were a soldier?" "No, just a pilot." "Anyway, just so we're clear." "Dalian, were you truly a friend of my grandfather's?" "Yes, he was a fine human." "I see..." "So he wasn't completely alone." "Where is the sugar?" "Oh, you take sugar with your tea?" "The sugar is not for my tea, you dunce." "It is a long-standing custom to sprinkle sugar on buns." "Just so you know, that's my lunch you're eating." "I recall that you were expressing concern about how Dalian must be starving." "That's true..." "Feel free to call me Huey." "Dantalian is the name of a demon." "The demon of knowledge, who holds countless books." "The idea of a library that bears his name sounded promising at first..." "So you were disappointed?" "There was nothing remarkable about the books in the cellar." "Certainly, there were many volumes that would fetch a high price, but they are still nothing more than books." "The collection wasn't worthy of having a demon as a namesake." "You have an eye for books, as Wes's grandson should." "But..." "You know nothing at all." "What do you mean?" "Have you heard of The World in The Gourd?" "The World in the Gourd?" "I believe that it's an ancient tale from the Far East about a man who wandered into a gourd and discovered a new world." "You are more knowledgeable than I would have expected." "I commend you." "Thanks awfully." "So why did you mention that story?" "If a gourd is capable of housing a completely different world, could the same not apply to a library of infinite knowledge?" "A library with the all the knowledge of demons..." "And that would be the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian?" "That's a fascinating story." "My grandfather was a sucker for fairy tales." "Imbecile!" "I was a fool to place my hopes in you." "An utter fool..." "Where did you find that key?" "You recognize it?" "Don't worry." "I assume that my escort has arrived." "I must express my gratitude for accepting the invitation of my master, Mr. Henry Conrad, despite how tired you must be from your long journey, Lord Disward." "I must also show my appreciation to Mr. Conrad for allowing a visit on such short notice." "I am coming with you." "Dalian?" "!" "I am coming with you to Conrad's house." "What are you planning?" "I would ask you the same question." "Conrad is the man who killed Wes." "You're saying that he disguised himself as a burglar to steal one of my grandfather's books." "You knew?" "I've heard rumors." "The rivalry between my grandfather and Mr. Conrad was rather notorious." "But there is no proof." "So I plan to snoop around." "There is proof." "The moon is full tonight." "If Conrad truly stole that book, he is about to see that which should never be seen." "Our guests have arrived!" "Is anyone here?" "!" "I am very sorry." "Please wait one moment." "Yes..." "It may be too late." "Dalian!" "This is.." "We must find his study." "The origin of this aberration will most likely be found in Conrad's study." "What do you mean?" "Up ahead!" "You carry dangerous weapons on your person?" "You intended to avenge Wes with that gun?" "I have no reason to avenge him." "This is a good-luck charm of sorts." "It appears that Conrad was the one who took that book." "It looks like a elephant barreled through this room." "Yes, so it would seem." "So it would seem...?" "There aren't any elephants around here." "You were the one who mentioned them." "Besides..." "Elephants are not the only creatures we have to worry about." "What's going on?" "A knife thrower, an elephant, now a lion..." "There may also be a giant snake and clown lurking around." "That would make this..." "Yes, a circus." "Have you heard of the Harlequinade?" "Harlequinade...?" "As in a turn-up book." "Did you ever read one as a child?" "I owned a few pop-up books..." "Wait, how is this relevant?" "I am giving you an explanation of the Phantom Book Conrad took." "Phantom Book?" "Look." "This is the true identity of the lion you killed." "Paint?" "There are mystical books in this world that were never meant to exist." "Phantom books?" "If the reader is able to comprehend the Phantom Book, he will receive immeasurable blessings." "However, in the hands of someone who is unfit, the book will cross into this world breaking down the laws of reason and causality." "Because of the danger they pose, the Phantom Books are sealed by the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian." "Yes." "Wes learned of the Harlequinade and the curse it brought upon its owner, so he tried to seal it away." "However..." "Conrad stole the book." "The magic in Phantom Books waxes and wanes with the moon." "An illegitimate reader like Conrad could never control such power." "It appears that I don't have time to be skeptical." "The study is probably back there." "Why is that thing here!" "?" "Did you not know?" "Freak shows are standard fare for circuses." "And the star of the show is always, most decidedly, a dragon." "You might want to mention how those are always fake." "There is nothing surprising about finding a real dragon inside a picture book." "We have been cornered." "So it would seem." "Dalian, how fast can you run?" "What do you mean?" "I'll draw its attention away." "Use that chance to run to the study..." "You intend to act as a decoy?" "!" "You know how to seal Phantom Books, right?" "Noblesse oblige is pure bullshit, as far as I'm concerned, but if my grandfather's book is responsible for this mess," "I have to do something." "And we can't allow that monster to get outside." "Take out the key, human." "Dalian...?" "Hugh Anthony Disward!" "I acknowledge you as my Keykeeper!" "If you are truly worthy of the position, read aloud the pledge." "The pledge...?" "I ask of thee..." "Art thou mankind?" "Nay, I am the world." "The world inside the gourd." "Labyrinth of bookcases, warden of 900,000 and 666 sealed Phantom Books..." "Open the gates to wisdom!" "Liber de Nymphis, authored by the alchemist Paracelsus." "A Phantom Book which was never meant to exist in this world." "A genuine grimoire." "Now read the book!" "Sheol." "A dark and silent abyss where the souls of the dead wander." "My foray into the abyss began with the innocence of a child chasing after a butterfly." "Eternal pain." "Each breath brings with it smothering despair." "What words might I offer if I were to come across my mother and father?" "So long it has been since I bound across the earth, amassing a wealth of knowledge." "The intellect of a demon." "The ultimate equation which barred my path." "And the solution." "I continued to search." "For a simple and universal answer." "Joy." "The joy of life." "The consummate joy of man that shall never fade." "However, the irregular wingbeats of the butterfly give rise to an infinite array of realities." "The laws of life sneer at human wisdom, and escape from our grasp." "Crises of all kinds are averted, yet poverty never goes away." "Humans devour each other, succumb to disease, and cry out in agony as they die." "Oh, Sheol." "Merciless god of the underworld." "Death incarnate." "Hear my voice!" "Hear the grievous sobs of a mourning child!" "The carcass of the butterfly you have ensnared may pale or tear apart, yet still, there are those who would defy death for a single scale." "Behold!" "As the ferocious worms take flight into the sky again." "Crushed dreams..." "Lingering rays of sunset transformed into brilliant light..." "Curl your lips into a smile." "Spread your wings with fervor!" "Take flight!" "Butterfly of despair!" "Come, Huey." "It is time for us to seal Conrad's Phantom Book." "Together." "You're right." "Turn-up books first appeared in the middle of the 18th century." "Some say that Robert Sayer's Harlequin Turn-Ups were the very first." "However, judging from the printing, this book is early 18th century." "It is entirely possible that the first turn-up book was trying to imitate this." "A literal pop-up book, huh..." "Books and humans are drawn to one another." "In the right hands, a Phantom Book can function as an ordinary book." "But Mr. Conrad's foolish pride led him to a gruesome end." "Some things are not meant to be known." "So you were the world in the gourd Dalian." "Phantom Books, huh?" "My grandfather left me an inheritance that's out of this world." "I am hungry." "I said that I am hungry, Huey." "Right." "First, we'll need to find a carriage." "It'll be morning by the time we get home." "I'll have to prepare some sugar-coated buns for breakfast." "I suppose that I will have to accompany you." "To Be Continued" "Humans like you make me sick, Huey." "I was a fool to acknowledge you as my keeper." "Wh-What's got you so upset, Dalian?" "Men will allow themselves to be tricked by any woman who pays the slightest attention to them." "Episode 2: "Book of Fetus"" "Next time:" "Book of Fetus."