The Evil God's Gaze

A human tumbled out from beyond the Gate. But I wasn't particularly surprised. She wasn't the first stranger of her kind I'd seen. It had been a very long time since those extra-dimensional colors first bled into existence—so long that I had eventually given up carving tally marks into the wall. Naturally, I had witnessed countless things. I had seen animals charging madly into the Gates more times than I could count, and it wasn't uncommon to see cultists leaping into them en masse.

The reverse was also true. It was already clear that some unknown energy was flowing out from inside the Gates. Occasionally, armed men would poke their heads out. Thus, the girl's appearance—at least in that first moment—didn't mean much to me. The fact that she was a young girl in priestess robes rather than a strapping young man piqued my curiosity slightly, but that was all.

"Tsk... I wonder how long she'll last this time." I clicked my tongue, thinking to myself. It wouldn't be long. The girl's appearance, captured by my celestial observer, proved as much. Distinctive golden hair and ruby-red eyes. A priestess robe entirely unfit for survival. A frail body, and an ignorance so profound she didn't even know how to wear a gas mask. Even if she held out, three days would probably be her limit. Ah, well, if she got kidnapped by a gang, she might live a bit longer. Though I didn't know if you could truly call that living.

I cast a brief, pitying look at the girl. Before long, I adjusted the controls of the observer. I had no interest in watching a young girl get brutally hunted down. The world was already overflowing with cruelty, and I had no desire to add another tragedy to eyes that had already seen far too much. Instead, I redirected my gaze toward the individuals I had been keeping an eye on lately. I passed the time by voyeuristically watching a talented young boy climb the ranks of his syndicate, or observing my former boss agonizing over how to keep his organization ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠afloat. I tried to convince myself that my own situation was at least slightly better. Another meaningless day passed.

◇◇◇

The next day. Having fallen asleep right in front of the observer, I woke up and moved my hands in a daze. My mind was foggy, but my hands moved with practiced ease. Like mindlessly scrolling through a sea of short-form videos in the past, I wandered the reconstructed Earth in search of even the slightest bit of entertainment. I soon realized that, unfortunately, there wouldn't be any interesting events today. In truth, most days were like this. Since humanity's numbers had dwindled so drastically, the frequency of events had plummeted as well. It was an environment entirely unsuited for experiencing anything 'new.' It was always the same old conflicts, abuse, and torture. A monotonous, extreme diet that grew sickening after just a few bites.

"Hmm... nothing much to watch." Well, it couldn't be helped. I'd just have to find some female survivor pleasuring herself. Craving a hit of dopamine, I began manipulating the observer. At the same time, I glanced sideways at Wilson, sitting next to me. My eyes swept over her hand-crafted body, lingering a bit longer on her lower half. I recalled the soft cotton stuffing and the... object I had inserted inside. ...I cleaned it thoroughly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after using it last time, so it should be fine. Just as I was about to indulge in some cheap, instant pleasure—

Our eyes met, and Wilson whispered. Her ketchup-painted mouth remained firmly shut, but her voice echoed clearly inside my head.

Only then did I remember the girl from yesterday. The girl who had tumbled out from beyond the Gate. The girl whose sheer, visible naivety had forced me to look away. What had happened to her? Had she gone back inside the Gate? Or was she trying her best to survive in her own way? Or perhaps... had she already been reduced to a heap of raw meat? ...Ah, damn it. Now I was curious. If I hadn't thought of her, it would have been fine, but once the thought took root, there was no turning back. My brain was screaming for dopamine to fill the void. Even though I knew I might regret it, I shifted my gaze. I thoroughly searched the area around the Gate where the girl had emerged yesterday.

I found her not too far away. She was collapsed face-first on the ground. For a second, I thought she was dead, but her chest was rising and falling ever so slightly. Feeling a small wave of relief, I watched the sleeping girl. Just then, she pushed herself up. Forcing her body to move, she knelt. She clasped her hands together devoutly and cast her gaze toward the heavens. Though her face was etched with exhaustion from sleeping on the hard ground, her prayer felt incredibly sacred. It helped that her gaze happened to align perfectly with my angle of observation. I felt the illusion that our eyes had actually met.

"Ha. A prayer." Watching her pray with such sincerity stirred a strange emotion within me. I, too, had a time like that. A time when I prayed to every god I knew to make the loneliness stop. Of course, nothing changed, and only the hand-crafted Wilson was there to soothe my solitude... but back then, I think I was truly desperate. Though those moments are now nothing but a faded memory.

"...Well, it's not like she has zero chance of survival." Thanks to that sense of kinship, I developed a slight interest in the girl. Pity, curiosity—with those jumbled emotions, I began panning the observer. I checked the terrain around her. Fortunately, I spotted a puddle of water not too far away. To the naked eye, it looked reasonably clean. There had been a massive downpour a few days ago, so it must have formed then.

"If she drinks that, it probably won't kill her. Africa mostly escaped the radiation, after all. Right, Wilson?" Nod. But even if the puddle was nearby, I had no way of letting her know. In truth, all the information I possessed was like that. I could only hold onto a sliver of hope, noting that her chances of survival weren't absolute zero.

"If that prayer of hers actually reaches someone... she might make it to tomorrow." I muttered, feeling a familiar sense of helplessness. At the same time, I turned the observer's screen away. I lacked the courage to see how her story would end, or if her prayers would be betrayed once again. Instead, I entered some keywords into the observer's search system.

The observer panned away to find the most suitable scene. Meanwhile, I reached out toward Wilson. "So now—get over here!" I spent the rest of the day comforting myself.

◇◇◇

Another day passed. I got out of bed and stretched lightly. After thawing a ready-to-eat meal for breakfast, I headed to the observer. As soon as I sat down, I searched for the girl from yesterday. Even though I had a gut feeling I would regret it, I couldn't stop myself. Afraid to see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the results immediately, I tried to close my eyes. I planned to keep them shut and only open them slowly once the observer had focused. But the observer's search was faster than I anticipated. Consequently, right before my eyes closed completely, I caught a glimpse of the girl through a squint. She was lying by the puddle, looking slightly better.

"...She actually found it?!" My eyes, which had been about to close, snapped wide open. At some point, the girl had sat up and knelt. She was praying again. Yesterday, the sight had filled me with pity, but today, it made me tilt my head in confusion. "What? Did it actually work?" It was bizarre. Yesterday, the spot where she had been lying was in the exact opposite direction of this puddle. The probability of her finding it by pure chance was far too low. Unless she was shooting some kind of search radar from the tips of her clasped hands, it made no sense... Intrigued, I stared at her. She was still praying. Strangely enough, her gaze aligned with my angle of observation once again. The girl's ruby-red eyes were captured right in the center of the observer's screen.

"..." I stared at her for a moment before moving my hands again. Now that her drinking water was sorted out, she would need food. I scanned the surroundings with the observer once more. Fortunately, there was an animal carcass not too far away. It looked like an African buffalo, and except for its legs being twisted in an unnatural direction, it had died in a relatively pristine state.

"Did it die of dehydration?" This was a common sight near Gates. Perhaps the Gate's wavelengths stimulated the animals, because entire herds would suddenly go into a wild frenzy. If they broke a leg, they were as good as dead. At any rate, she could eat that if she just roasted it. Of course, it seemed highly unlikely she would find it. Although the physical distance was short, a rocky hill blocked her line of sight. It was a source of food that could never be found unless viewed from above, like I was doing. Yet, for some reason, an inexplicable sense of anticipation welled up in my chest. Before I knew it, my eyes were darting back and forth between the animal carcass and the praying girl.

"...Nah. No way. There's no way that could happen." A moment later, I shook my head deliberately. I hated expecting something only to be disappointed. It was better not to expect anything at all. Shaking off my excitement, I manipulated the observer. I focused on the people I usually watched. I wondered what kind of achievements the martial genius Yeomyeong had racked up this time, or how many strands of hair that eccentric old man Edward had lost. I forced my attention elsewhere.

◇◇◇

The next day. Out of habit, I checked on the girl. I found her right next to the buffalo carcass, sitting by a campfire. Beside her were a few sharp stones she seemed to have used as knives. Though she looked exhausted, likely due to the uncomfortable sleeping conditions, she was visibly more energetic than yesterday. Her stomach even looked a little rounder.

"...Seriously?" Soon after, the girl began to pray. Once again, her gaze was locked with mine. Thump. Meeting her ruby-red eyes made my heart leap. Trembling with excitement, my mind raced. Water. Food. What next? Shelter, obviously. I searched for a nearby cave—perhaps an abandoned burrow dug by some beast.

Before long, I found a suitable hollow. The distance was quite far—even further than the distance from the Gate to her current spot. Common sense dictated that she could never find it. But if my theory was correct, she would find this place too. With trembling hands, I manipulated the observer, staring back and forth between the location of the burrow and the praying girl. Shortly after, the girl stood up. She stopped praying and began to move. And her direction— "It's real. She can actually see it." —aligned perfectly with the burrow I had found.

◇◇◇

Right after realizing the girl could sense my gaze, I quickly conducted a few experiments. I had confirmed she could perceive my signals. But what were the limits? I tried moving my gaze, speaking, and even clasping my own hands in prayer. I tried every method I could think of. In the end, I reached a conclusion. The girl could feel where I was looking. More precisely, she seemed to sense where the observer was focused. She could comprehensively grasp what screens were being displayed on the countless monitors connected to the observer—whether they were merged, split, zoomed in, or zoomed out.

Goosebumps broke out all over my body the moment I realized this. I had no idea how such a thing was even possible, nor why she could only sense my gaze and not my voice. But the reason didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that there was finally someone I could 'communicate' with, even if only in fragments. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst. The countless hours spent alone on the Moon. The days of solitude I had let drift by, refusing to even count them. Beyond the mute years of being able to watch infinitely but never speak... Finally. At long last! Someone who recognized my existence had appeared!!

"Ha, ahahaha, huhahaha!!" I laughed in sheer ecstasy. Was this how Zhuge Liang felt when he met Liu Bei? Was this how Peter felt when he encountered Jesus! In this moment, everything became infinitely joyous. At the same time, that girl—the girl who might become my sole confidant—began to feel utterly precious to me.

The girl, Seraphina, gritted her teeth and took a step forward. Her legs were still trembling. She couldn't help it. This world, by its very existence, was terrifying. The Gates—disastrous phenomena that suddenly appeared where mana gathered. They materialized without warning, spewing monsters alongside an ominous light. Beasts with distorted skin, presumed to be a subspecies of the Bicorn, possessing two horns but unmatched in size and ferocity. Manticore variants that had fallen, losing even the human faces they were once permitted. Black-and-white swarms with massive, patterned bodies and countless heads and legs, multiplying and rampaging on their own. Incarnations of destruction that overturned carriages with the massive tentacles dangling beneath their faces. The monsters were so diverse in type and characteristics that they had yet to be fully understood. Cursed creatures never before seen on the Continent were crawling out from beyond the Gates.

However, the true terror of these monsters lay beyond their hideous appearances. 'They say even mana doesn't work on those monsters.' Magic was useless against them, and even the physical reinforcement of knights vanished when they drew near. Furthermore, they inflicted severe lethargy and exhaustion on any mana user in their vicinity. At the convent, they had explained that this was due to the nature of the monsters. Because there was no mana inside their bodies, the natural tendency of mana to flow from high to low concentrations caused a rapid osmotic pressure effect.

The same principle applied to the Gates. Near a Gate, mana lost its form and crumbled, greedily devoured. This was how the term Force Field came to be. Of course, she had heard that the Force Field wasn't absolute. Since the underlying principle was osmosis, the monsters would eventually absorb mana over time. Magic could still affect monsters that wandered far from the Gates. She had even heard that the spells of the Magic Tower Masters or the Popes, though weakened, could still inflict meaningful damage. But to Seraphina, who possessed nowhere near that level of mana, such stories were meaningless... and above all, the malice of the Gates did not end there.

An inexplicable curse. An otherworldly light that destroyed the flesh of any living thing that approached. Those who drew near that fluorescent glow died from the inside out. Some got off with mere vomiting or headaches, but countless others collapsed from necrosis or internal bleeding. The areas surrounding an active Gate slowly died, transforming into demonic realms where humans could not set foot. In the end, hadn't even the Continent failed to completely eradicate the monsters? No, humanity might have had its entire living space stolen by them. That would have certainly been the case if not for the appearance of Hunters—those who fought the monsters without relying on mana.

'How long can I survive here?' These facts, the knowledge she had been taught while growing up in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the convent, filled Seraphina with anxiety. How much longer could she survive in this ruined world? Especially now, when she had drawn the attention of this cursed world's sole god. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of what the future held. If not for the necklace she felt against her chest, she might have collapsed in despair long ago.

"But... even so...!" She couldn't give up. Seraphina clutched her necklace, steeling her resolve. She had to survive. Even if she was destined to die, she could not abandon her own life. That was the bare minimum of respect she owed to her mentor, who had broken the rules to save her. Suppressing her tremors, Seraphina took another step forward, praying that the evil god of this other world, watching her from high above, would grant her just a little more mercy.