Into the Monochrome
It was a sight unlike any other. In all my time since being reborn into this world, through everything I had seen, heard, or read, I had never encountered anything like it.
A single, long line was drawn right through the middle of the lush green forest. It stretched so far that the naked eye couldn't possibly trace where it ended. This boundary line possessed such a stark, undeniable presence that it would have been harder to miss than to notice.
Outside the boundary, the forest where we stood retained its usual vibrant, lush colors. But inside the line, everything was draped in a dead, ashen gray. It was as if a corner of the world had been completely inverted. To put it in modern terms, the boundary marked the exact threshold of a black-and-white film.
We had no choice but to halt before it. When Sirien, driven by curiosity, began to reach her hand toward it, I quickly stopped her.
"Don't touch it yet. We don't know what might happen."
"Right. Good point."
Stepping straight in felt deeply unsettling, but trying to bypass it was out of the question because the line stretched too far. We had no idea where we would end up if we tried to skirt along its edge. Coincidentally, this path cut straight toward the northeast of the Empire—directly toward the Eloran Marquisate, our first destination. Veering off this path meant choosing a much longer, more treacherous route.
Our pursuers might not be in sight yet, but someone was surely tracking us even now. What should we do? Should we go in? Sirien looked on with a mix of fascination and poorly concealed anxiety. I gave her fidgeting back a reassuring tap.
"Ah! You startled me."
"What's there to worry about? We just have to figure it out step by step."
I had no intention of throwing myself in blindly. After all, there was always that classic cliché—trap magic that sucks you in the moment you touch it. It was actually one of the events the original heroine had experienced. Was it in an ancient dungeon back then? There was no guarantee a similar trap didn't exist here.
First, I picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it across. The stone sailed through the boundary without any resistance, instantly losing its color. Thud. Clack-clack-clack. It didn't seem like the laws of physics had warped, nor did the stone appear damaged in any way.
Time to test it a bit closer. I picked up a fallen branch from nearby, unwilling to risk using one of our precious swords for an experiment. After gesturing for Sirien to step back, I thrust the branch across the line.
"W-Wow...!" Sirien gasped in pure wonder.
The disaster I had feared didn't manifest. At the very least, there was no sinister trap designed to swallow people whole or corrode their flesh upon contact. The portion of the branch that crossed the threshold simply turned black and white, starting precisely at the boundary line. When I pushed the branch further in, more of it lost its color; when I pulled it back, the vibrant wood tones returned.
Could such a powerful boundary line really have no physical effect? Even to someone like me who knew next to nothing about magic, it seemed like an incredible phenomenon. I couldn't begin to fathom the mechanics behind it. Gathering my courage, I thrust my arm across the line. My skin and sleeve instantly drained of color, but I felt absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
"Oh! Are you okay?"
"It seems perfectly fine for now. Just stay there a moment."
There was no telling what kind of space lay beyond this threshold. It was only right that I go in before Sirien, so I took a decisive step forward and crossed over.
Once inside, the world looked no different from the forest we had been traveling through. The landscape that had appeared ashen and dead from the outside was now filled with its natural, vibrant colors. Conversely, when I looked back at where I had come from, Sirien's figure was draped in monochrome.
Had I been worrying for nothing? It seemed we could cross back out just as freely. When I stepped back to her side, the monochrome filter inverted once again. It appeared that this line acted as a lens, causing those on either side to view the other in grayscale.
Good. I made up my mind.
"Let's go in. If we keep moving forward, we'll eventually find the other side of this boundary. We just need to cross through before anything happens."
Even without this suspicious boundary, the forest was already dangerous enough. I wasn't about to lose sleep over adding one or two more hazards to the list.
"Ugh, the smell... It's gotten much stronger," Sirien muttered, pinching her nose.
As it turned out, there was no real difference between the inside and outside of the boundary. Both sides were equally perilous. Even within this monochrome realm, monsters aiming for our lives lurked around every corner.
Naturally, our optimistic hopes were shattered. Any lingering expectation that this boundary line might act as a protective barrier to ward off external threats—just as the cabin had—was thoroughly crushed.
And when we crossed paths with the creature we feared most—the giant we had encountered in the fog—any remaining hope evaporated completely.
How had it detected us? It was impossible to tell. Perhaps it had been sleeping nearby. All that mattered was that by the time we spotted the beast, it was already charging toward us in a furious rage.
—Kuaaaaaah!
A violent gale swept past us. It wasn't a natural wind, but sheer wind pressure—the shockwave of a massive boulder hurled by the giant. The mad beast's throwing arm was nothing short of a siege catapult. An ancient tree took the direct hit and shattered like glass. The devastating aftershock of the impact swept over us without mercy, raining sharp splinters, upturned earth, and dead leaves upon our heads.
"Kyaah!"
"Ngh!"
I quickly pulled Sirien into my arms and spun around to shield her. The giant's accuracy was abysmal, and the boulder had landed a fair distance away, but the flying debris still pelted my back with stinging force. Thank goodness my coat was made of durable leather; otherwise, I would have been covered in nasty lacerations.
Regardless, we had to keep running. Our only saving grace was that this part of the forest was densely packed with massive, ancient trees. Even with the giant's monstrous strength, it couldn't simply plow through trunks of that size without slowing down.
It felt as though we had been fleeing for an eternity, but in reality, only a brief moment had passed. The sheer adrenaline was warping my perception of time. Yet, my mind remained cold and analytical.
Five minutes, at most. No matter how fast we ran, we would be overtaken within five minutes. I had seen what happened to the massive beast the giant had hunted before. No matter how sluggish the monster's movements appeared, the sheer stride of its massive legs covered ground at an impossible rate.
Fleeing was futile.
Make a choice. No, don't hesitate. Decide.
I already knew the answer.
I skidded to a halt and pivoted. The beast was already right on our heels.
"Sirien, keep running. Don't stop."
"Rajen?"
"Use your axe to mark the trees as you go! I'll follow the trail! If I'm not back in an hour, don't wait for me—just keep going!"
"No! Rajen, Rajen! Don't leave me behind!"
Sirien screamed my name, refusing to budge. It was the first time in recent memory that she had outright disobeyed me. But the gears of battle were already in motion; she would have no choice but to run soon.
By drawing attention to myself and shouting, I successfully made the giant lock its gaze onto me. A massive, heavy foot came sweeping toward me in a brutal kick.
I threw myself into a low slide, dodging the blow by a hair's breadth. The colossal sole of its foot roared directly over my head, tearing up the earth, gravel, and thick tree roots in its path and sending them flying like shrapnel. A violent draft followed the wake of the kick. I dug my fingers into the dirt to keep from being blown away, scrambling back to my feet the instant the wind subsided.
It was terrifying power. I didn't need to test it to know—a single direct hit meant instant death. I would be crushed into an unrecognizable slurry of flesh and bone, left to rot in the dirt. I had stepped into this forest prepared to risk my life, but I had no intention of actually dying.
"Let's see if this blade can bite through that hide of yours!"
I wasn't in the habit of talking to myself, but this was a special occasion. I needed to be as loud and obnoxious as possible to draw the beast's full attention so Sirien could escape. The only saving grace of this giant's presence was that its terrifying aura had cleared the area of all other beasts and monsters. At the very least, Sirien wouldn't run into any other threats while fleeing. I could focus entirely on the monster before me.
First, a test strike.
My blade clashed against the giant's ankle. It didn't penetrate. Unsurprising, really—there was no way the hide supporting that colossal weight would be soft. Still, it wasn't completely impervious. In some of the fantasy novels I'd read, giants had skin as hard as steel that deflected blades entirely, but this beast wasn't quite at that level. If I channeled enough strength and aligned the angle perfectly, I could pierce it.
—Guaaaaaaaah!
The roar that tore from its maw was far from human speech, but its meaning was crystal clear. I was a nuisance. To this titan, I was nothing more than an annoying insect buzzing around its head. Thinking of a persistent mosquito whining in one's ear during a sweltering summer, I could almost sympathize with its irritation.
I threw myself aside, dodging a massive fist that slammed into the earth. As the dizzying shockwave washed over me, I lunged forward and drove my blade straight into the back of its ankle—aiming precisely for the Achilles tendon.
The strike didn't bite deep, but it was a vital spot nonetheless. The reaction was instantaneous. The giant let out a pained shriek, stumbling slightly.
If I keep targeting its feet like this and then make a break for it, I might actually survive...
Just as the hopeful thought crossed my mind, a colossal shadow suddenly engulfed me.
The beast had thrown its entire body forward, intending to flatten me beneath its massive bulk.
Dodging... was out of the question. The giant was simply too massive. No matter which way I lunged, there was no escaping the crushing weight of its descent.
"...Sirien."