Regret and Resolve
[Connection failed. This unique ID has been purged.]
“What’s wrong, Enas? What happened?”
When Sirna asked, Enas murmured with a stricken look on her face.
“It says the unique ID has been purged… He must have changed his Distance number.”
“…”
Sirna let out a long sigh and sank heavily to the ground. Kozarik spoke with clear irritation.
“Goddamn it.”
Belin, looking as if she had no idea what to do, simply hugged her knees and muttered to herself.
“Maybe… this is our punishment…”
Hearing that, Enas looked at her in confusion.
“Belin, what did you just say?”
“Nothing… I didn’t say anything.”
With that, Belin edged farther into the corner of the cave. She fiddled with her Distance for a long while, then finally closed her eyes and did nothing more.
“We have to dig up whatever information we can.”
While everyone else sat crushed by despair, Enas said that and began searching through her Distance. In their current situation, the only place still connected to a functioning network was Interrunner. She logged into the site and scoured every scrap of monster-related information she could find. Searching under keywords like Red Gate and monster, she eventually landed on a single post.
1. Debringer: Possesses the ability to detect humans… 2. Liarde: Mantis-type mutant…
A post written by someone using the nickname LEO, detailing fifty species of monsters. It had racked up over five thousand recommendations and been pinned as a popular thread, yet she had never properly read it until now. Before diving into the content itself, she checked the comments one by one to verify whether the information was even real.
Is this even possible?
An anonymous post on an online community. Checking the comments before the body itself was only natural—she had assumed the information couldn’t possibly be reliable. Wasn’t that obvious? Even active Gatekeepers struggled to learn the traits of certain monsters, yet someone on a site like this supposedly knew them all. Still, after reading the comments, Enas decided the information had enough credibility to be worth a full read.
“If a monster shows up outside, tell me right away.”
Enas said it, but Sirna only shook her head.
“And what would that change? The second they find us, we’re all dead. There’s nowhere left to run from here…”
Everyone was drowning in despair. Enas stopped talking to them and focused entirely on her Distance. Kozarik walked over, let out a hollow laugh, and spoke.
“Enas, have you lost your mind? In the middle of all this you’re browsing a community the Empire banned? What the hell are you doing? If you’re still Imperial, you shouldn’t even be setting foot on a site like that—”
“Be quiet. I’m looking for information. Do you have a better idea?”
Enas glared at him. Kozarik sighed and walked away.
“Waste of time. Even if there’s info on some community, what good is it? Better to just fight like hell and die.”
She ignored him and began reading the post carefully. Before long her pupils dilated and she gasped without meaning to.
This… this is insane…
There were only fifty species listed, and even those were described with brief traits and countermeasures—yet the quality of the information was staggering.
Long-range teleportation-type monster. Maximum teleport distance: 1 meter. Immediately before teleporting it has a slight tendency to twitch its mouth—watch for that to predict the timing. Cannot teleport into the air; movement is restricted to the same Y-axis. In other words, if you climb high or drop into a tunnel, it cannot follow. Countermeasure: Attack power is relatively weak, so just watch the teleports. It usually tries to appear behind its target. Assume it will go behind you and prepare accordingly. Minimum teleport cooldown: 20 seconds. The moment it teleports once, slash the lower abdomen with a blade. Threat level: Low
Palico was a monster Enas already knew. It was a standard species, not a mutant.
Perfect information. No fluff at all.
From traits to countermeasures. Details even Enas—who had fought them herself—had never noticed were packed into a short entry. After reading that, she scrolled back to the top and began carefully checking the appearance and traits of every monster, praying that a countermeasure for the mutant minotaur they had encountered would appear.
By the time she reached number 45, Enas nearly screamed.
It’s here… it’s actually here…?
Distinctive trait: two heads. One head uses ultrasonic waves; the other fires flame magic. Normally the heads alternate skills, but if combat drags on both heads will use their abilities simultaneously.
Countermeasure: Its raw power is extremely high—fighting it head-on is suicide. Arms and legs are as hard as steel, so forget trading blows with a sword. Keep your distance early on. The first time it fires an ultrasonic blast it freezes for a fraction of a second—throw a dagger into its open mouth at that exact moment and the ultrasonic ability will be canceled. Inflict meaningful damage to the face and that head cannot use ultrasonics for roughly fifty seconds, leaving it completely exposed. Use that window to drive a blade into the magic stone in its chest. While you charge, the other head will spit fireballs—sprint even faster and take the hit. Minotaur fireballs deal more damage the farther they travel; at close range you’ll get burned but you won’t die. If you panic and run, that is when you die. You can’t outrun it anyway. Trust me and take the hit up close.
A guide of fewer than five hundred characters. Yet Enas found hope in it. She scrambled over to her companions and spoke.
“Everyone… I think I found a way to fight it.”
“What? For real? Where? How?”
When Kozarik asked, Enas held out her Distance and explained.
“There’s someone on the Interrunner board who posted detailed information on monsters. At first I thought it was fake, but looking closer the data is actually reliable. If we follow this exactly—”
The moment she said it, the man who had been silent until now—Lek—shot to his feet and shouted at her.
“Enas, have you lost your fucking mind? Are you seriously out of your head? You want us to bet our lives on some community post? What’s wrong with you?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Lek stormed up and shoved her.
“I’ve never liked you. Defending Leos, then getting caught trying to contact him in secret—I kept my mouth shut for you back then, remember? That’s when I decided you were missing a few screws.”
“…”
The air around them turned ice-cold in an instant.
“What’s this, Enas? Even after Belin caused that whole mess you still tried to contact him in secret? Wow… that’s something else.”
“…”
Kozarik laughed in disbelief.
“Incredible. Truly incredible. With brains like that, of course you’re reading shit people dump on a community board. In a situation this fucked.”
Enas was silent for a moment, then forced the words out.
“Lek told me that if I contacted him he’d expose everything… so in the end… I never did.”
“That’s not the point. Are you trying to make it sound like I threatened you? I was helping you. If you’d called that bastard, what do you think he would’ve said? He would’ve brainwashed you.”
As Lek kept pressing her, Enas bit her lip and swallowed the words she had been about to say.
LEO… LEO… Leo… Leos…
There was only one person Enas knew who understood monsters this thoroughly. Was the similarity between the nickname and his name pure coincidence?
She had actually been about to suggest that LEO might be Leos, and that they should at least try following the method once. But she forced herself to swallow those words.
First, the other disciples still harbored far too much hatred toward Leos. And more importantly…
Director Leos would never use something like a community board…
Leos had never used his Distance for anything beyond basic contact. He barely even sent ordinary text messages. Rationally speaking, there was no way he had written that post. And yet… no matter how she looked at it, LEO’s way of speaking overlapped with his. Was that just her imagination?
More important than who LEO was, however, was the simple fact that right now his writing was the only thing they could trust.
While Enas was thinking that, Lek suddenly shouted.
“M-Monster! It’s getting close! Kozarik! Get ready to fight!”
The nearby detection devices began to wail. Lek and several others sprinted forward, trying to secure as much open space as possible.
Can I do this…?
Enas drew a dagger from her coat and stared at it blankly. Etched into the blade, small enough that only she would notice, was an engraving.
For Enas, who will become an outstanding Gatekeeper
The dagger Leos had given her after she finished endless training and entered the Gatekeeper corps as the top graduate.
She clenched it tightly and rose to her feet.
Leos… no, Director Leos… If I survive this… may I go find you? May I tell you, even if it’s late, that I never believed you did those things?
All those agonizing days spent torn between her comrades and her director, drowning in regret—she hardened her heart and made her decision. Whatever the outcome, if she lived she would go to him. Wherever he was. She wanted to hear the truth from his own mouth.
Thud.
She set down her Distance and every heavy piece of gear, keeping only her blade, and stood. On the screen of the Distance lying on the ground, the Interrunner site was still open—specifically the post list of the Leos Gallery.
[Title: What does everyone think about today’s article…? I just can’t understand it… Would Leos really have a reason to do something like that…?]
[Title: Today… I heard Leos’s trial is happening. Does anyone know where to go if you want to observe?]
[Title: The verdict came out… What happens if Leos appeals?]
[Title: If I write a petition, could it actually help in any meaningful way?]
[Title: If I write a petition, can other people see the name on it?]
[Title: How do you send a letter to an inmate? Can it be anonymous?]
[Title: Where can I check the release date? Can he still use a Distance while incarcerated?]
. . .