The Poisonous Veil
The morning after the storm's eve, at 7 a.m., the entire Z-Team assembled downstairs at the inn. Despite the wild drinking party the night before, everyone looked surprisingly fine. Alice, who hadn't touched a drop, was of course unscathed, but even Juwon and Beowulf were perfectly steady.
"Liquor like that can't defile the goddess's grace."
I was shocked that Ryan, of all people, was totally sober. When I asked, he explained that Philia priests all had basic healing abilities as standard, so they recovered quickly. No surprise there.
As for me, what can I say? I'd always held my liquor well, and with the Demonic Body helping out, a short rest was all it took to shake off the buzz.
Anyway, no one on the team seemed to be suffering from hangovers—at least not visibly. I'd been confident about that, which is why I'd let loose. Who'd be dumb enough to chug without a plan?
"...Urk."
"And here's the idiot."
Kairon was staggering around with a face like death warmed over. Beowulf handed him a cup of warm water. He'd puked the second the booze hit his stomach, so he must've been seriously wasted.
We wolfed down a simple breakfast and left the village. The villagers saw us off, and Alice—somehow already buddies with the kids—got a flame-shaped keychain from them.
We headed to camp under the morning sun.
Upon arrival, I checked the time: 1 hour and 30 minutes until the operation kicked off. Still some time left.
The combat teams who'd camped here overnight were mostly up already. A few were even training in the open field on the camp's outskirts first thing in the morning.
I sidled up and poked fun at them. We'd sparred a few times, and I'd won easily every round. For some reason after that, people started avoiding me whenever I approached. I ignored Alice's stare that screamed, You really have no idea why?
Time passed, and the operation resumed before long.
Like yesterday, everyone gathered in the central plaza. Looking around, not just us—other teams seemed a bit more relaxed too. They'd all gotten a feel for things by now.
"Alright then..."
Operation Inferno, Phase 2 begins. Five days until next Monday—class day. We'd wrap it up before then.
Five days passed like that.
And still, no sign of the high-rank demon beast—not even a glimpse.
In the end, I had no choice but to contact Reina.
An angel? Reina accepted my request without a single complaint! She was already swamped handling all my paperwork, too.
Reina, my aide assigned by the academy. Staring at her feels like looking at a robot sometimes. Always expressionless, few words, just cranks through work flawlessly. Even when I ask what she wants as thanks, she just says it's fine. It bugs me, feeling like I'm just taking and taking.
"...She'll be okay, right?"
My conscience twinged unexpectedly. Should I have just canceled classes and made up for it later? Too late now—I'd already asked.
Fine, I'd make it up to her big time later.
Whatever, deal with that later... It's about time it shows up.
Over the past five days, all deployed teams—including ours—had pushed forward, wiping out demon beasts. We'd cleared half the normal zones and purified a good chunk of the scorched areas.
The scorched zones weren't much different from the normal ones. Aside from trees crumbling to ash, the sky dimmed, and demon beasts swarming nonstop.
Now, aside from Kargas Volcano itself, demon beasts were nowhere in sight nearby. Once we planted and linked the crosses for purification, the whole volcanic zone—except right at the volcano—would be a clean slate.
Still, I'd been on edge the whole time. We'd advanced fast at first, but progress had slowed. Sudden cliffs forced detours, eating up time. At least as purified areas grew and the uncharted shrank, our pace picked up a bit. Small mercies.
"Monk, above!"
"Thanks, Kairon!"
The team had improved a ton too. More like, we'd gotten used to each other's styles. No one ordered it, but a formation naturally formed around Ryan and Alice to handle the demon beasts—covering backs, supporting fronts, swatting side attacks. Link-ups were seamless.
Alice, surprisingly, had made the biggest leap.
"Kyaa!"
A demon beast ambushed from the trees; she summoned a wind spirit and blasted it away. Then bound it with a water spirit. Days of real combat had paid off—she now defaulted to spirits instead of panicking. Well trained.
I grinned at her solid performance, piercing the bound demon beast's skull with a tentacle and glancing her way.
"Looking pretty solid now, huh? See? Nothing beats real combat."
Alice's hollow eyes turned to me. Dark circles hung heavy under them.
"Professor... I'm exhausted... I don't mind the rest, but the mental drain is killer... Ah, my head hurts..."
"Still way better than before, though. You feel it too, right?"
"...Can't deny that..."
She smiled weakly. She'd know best how much she'd changed. She got it now—real combat was king for growth. Before, she'd summon spirits and just run; now she could direct them. Made the spirits more efficient, extending summon durations naturally. And her reaction time, judgment, adaptability—all leaps and bounds. Night-and-day from her academy days.
With this experience, we can ramp up the intensity next. What should we try...?
Why the chills...?
Alice shivered, but I ignored it.
Fall back!
"Fall back!"
"Gah! Again with this?!"
Mid-march, scalding water burst from the ground. Kargas Volcano's geysers.
These slowed us down a lot. Hunters got hit hardest.
No warning, just massive jets shooting dozens of meters high. Touch it, and you'd burn—or die. Add falling rocks, landslides, toxic gas vents everywhere. Demon beasts were bad enough; these turned it into a meat grinder. Casualties mounted over time.
Teams B and D lost over half and merged with C-Team. Combat lines thinned noticeably.
And sometimes, pushing like this led to unexpected run-ins.
"Fancy meeting you again. We keep crossing paths."
"Good to see you. Things going well?"
"Smooth sailing. Glad Z-Team's holding steady too."
We ran into four high-tech geared fighters. Blonde hunk in a white suit, white short-haired swordswoman, black-robed guy, cat-eared beastkin male. A-Team.
Teams bumping into each other wasn't rare. As purified zones expanded and uncharted shrank, paths converged naturally. Sometimes they'd even team up.
Of course, running into A-Team so often had a reason. Other teams were bleeding members to injuries or mergers. Full-strength A-Team was unavoidable.
Meaning no casualties on their end.
They're all strong. At least our level, maybe more.
A-Team was elite through and through. All A-Rank heroes from Novapolis, they said. Especially their leader, the blonde Ricardo—didn't seem a step behind Beowulf.
Too busy at camp to ask for a spar, but before we leave, definitely.
We'd already gone three rounds each with our team.
"Working hard again. Never seen you rest at camp."
"Gotta hustle for the agency's rep. Can't let the image slip."
"True... your company, 'NovaLabel'? Isn't that Starlight's agency?"
Ricardo and Beowulf chatted, while others mingled.
"Serena sis!"
"Hey, Alice. Here."
Exhausted Alice dove into the white-haired swordswoman's arms. Serena stroked her hair. Since their first meet, Alice had latched onto her—probably the rare female in the expedition drawing her in. I'd seen them talk alone at camp plenty.
-Your spirit handling's impressive. Sharp water jets for such a scared face. Spirit summoners are rare.
-Oh... thank you.
On the battlefield, Serena was like a reliable big sis to Alice. Teaching basics during breaks, handing out candy when she was beat.
-Professor! Check this out—Serena showed me how to handle mana!
-Really? Wanna spar with me later?
-Eek! No way!
-Joking.
Remembering that, I chuckled. Growing through strong allies and real fights—the ideal path. Very satisfying.
Ricardo, eyeing us, made an offer.
"Same destination? Travel together?"
"No reason not to. Sounds good."
And so ten of us headed for the volcano. C-Team joined mid-way, swelling us past twenty.
Finally.
All combat teams reached the one unpurified spot: near Kargas Volcano.
A halt order hit everyone at once.
"Cough! Damn, filter's no good!"
"Gas masks aren't holding! Can't advance!"
"Hah, what the hell is that?"
"Like staring into the Path of Hell..."
Juwon nailed it—the scene was pure hellscape. Thick toxic gas, red-black haze encircling the volcano like a fence.
I sniffed close up.
...Burning plastic, rotting corpses, molten metal—mixed equal parts?
Disgustingly sticky, clinging to my nostrils. Not normal gas—viscous. Could anything live in that? Not by my logic.
Beowulf, at the front, slammed his greatsword into the ground and clicked his tongue. He radioed HQ. After admin checks, it was settled.
Retreat order.
No choice. Pushing through was suicide.
Operation on hold until a gas countermeasure.
That night, Seongjin stood on the balcony of the resort where they'd stayed the first night, glaring at distant Kargas Volcano.
Demonic Body lv.3 Growth Progress:
82.7%
So close, and now this block.
The peak was in sight. A high-rank demon beast surely waited beyond. Just a bit farther for the core.
But turning back now? Tsk.
"Seongjin, deep in thought?"
Beowulf approached unnoticed.
"That gas. Been like that since ten years ago?"
"Who knows... No one's gone in since. Hard to say."
"You knew it was there?"
"Guess not. Too cloudy and smoky for aerial scans, apparently. Demon beasts blocked entry. I didn't know it was this bad up close either."
"Hoo..."
Seongjin sighed deeply. Waiting on some unknown countermeasure? Frustrating on every level.
He inhaled the cold night air, suppressing his emotions.
The resort's deepest basement corner. Beyond the air conditioning room in the absolute lowest level lay an abandoned space uncharted on any blueprint.
Humidity dripped down walls; even machine hums didn't reach this sealed void. Pitch black.
A man stood there. Fluorescent vest, uniform, thigh radio, cap. Typical guard.
Nothing special—except what he did next.
He reached into empty air. Space tore, a circle forming. He pulled something out: velvet-wrapped mystery object.
He unwrapped it, placing it on the floor.
Moments later.
Rrrrrumble...
Eerie noise—like air being devoured. Filled the space, like wings of ten thousand insects beyond.
He looked down. Floor torn open. Small purple fissure widening slowly.
Rift. Demon beast spawn point. Why, how, what's beyond? Total mystery.
Now, one cracked the building floor.
Rifts never formed near cities—a hard truth from years of watching. Why city folk lived worry-free.
Alien. Warped. Defied world rules. Spawned exceptions effortlessly.
Fingernail-sized rift grew, slow but sure.
"...All for Him."
The man who'd seen it smiled.