11. Proof (3)
It was a very long time ago. I once took on a few disciples.
So long ago that their faces and names had long since been buried in the compost of my memories, fading into obscurity—but one thing was certain: those recollections weren't pleasant ones.
My first disciple was human. A boy in his late teens had climbed up from the village at the foot of the Mist Forest, begging me to teach him magic.
I readily agreed to instruct the boy. He had clear eyes. Like me in my youth, he burned with curiosity for the unknown and a thirst for knowledge. In a word, he resembled me.
For what was quite a long time by human standards, he diligently climbed the mountain, learning magic from me with enthusiasm. He was bright and hardworking. Even if he didn't grasp ten things from one lesson, he at least understood two—a fine disciple.
But even after all this time, one incident remains vividly etched in my mind.
It happened when I had gone down to the village for food supplies. There was my disciple, on his knees before some grotesque amalgamation of colorful infield flies, eyes, and teeth. It was enormous—twice the height of an adult man.
Blood oozed from the massive lump of flesh, pooling on the ground and seeping into the soil near the boy's hips.
Inside that lump of flesh, I even spotted what looked like his parents' clothing.
The boy sensed my presence and turned his head. His appearance was horrific. His eyeballs were gone.
In their place was only empty void. Within that hollow space, severed optic nerves writhed about. It was as if they were glaring at me. Those nerves held no emotion.
Terror.
That was the emotion. An overwhelming terror gripped me too—one that made me want to collapse right there and sob like a child.
Even after eons had passed, I couldn't forget that gaze. I could still recall it in vivid detail, as if it had just happened.
Those optic nerves seemed to be telling me:
'Run away...'
With those words, my disciple was instantly absorbed into the lump of flesh. I squeezed my eyes shut and bolted backward in blind flight.
I never learned the creature's ultimate fate. But with an entire village vanished, there were likely no survivors.
I tried to forget it, but for a while, I lived in the clutches of fear, trembling uncontrollably.
After that, I withdrew into true seclusion. I erected powerful protective barriers around the Mist Forest and grew wary of anyone ascending the mountain.
I never took another human disciple after the boy.
An incredibly long time passed after that. Time so vast it couldn't be measured in numbers.
It's said that harboring mana in one's body for extended periods can unintentionally grant strange abilities.
Like faint glimpses of the future.
Though ages had passed since then, for some reason, I now felt a profound sense of déjà vu.
The feeling that it was happening again.
Clunk—
The truck pushed through the mana as it advanced. The hunters riding with us each held one of the detection devices the lieutenant had brought.
Beep-beep— Beep-beep—
The devices blared noisily every time we passed an alley, but the truck didn't stop. The two soldiers were rigid with fear.
"Urgh... urgh..."
The professor, who had chosen to press on with us, seemed to regret his decision. Hunched over, he gnawed relentlessly at his nails. He could barely hold himself together from the anxiety.
I turned to look beside me. Chen Zuiyuan appeared calm but was beaded with cold sweat. It would have been weirder if he wasn't tense.
"......Hoo."
With visible effort, he wiped the sweat and pulled a small cross from his chest. Closing his eyes, he began to pray.
"Lord Jesus Christ, your lamb stands ready to face the trials. Guide me with your hand, I beseech you."
The truck's clunking, the professor biting his nails, the detectors beeping.
Amid it all, Chen Zuiyuan's prayer echoed softly. Clasping his hands, he concluded:
"Amen."
I leaned toward him and spoke while keeping my head down.
"What do you plan to do once we arrive?"
We were heading to the LNG facility. And if my premonition was right, the area around it was dangerous. Extremely so. A fear like that from back then was squeezing my heart.
I could dismiss it as mere trauma-induced illusion from my memories, but somehow, I didn't think I was wrong.
"I can feel it."
Hearing my question, he clutched his chest and uttered the unexpected. He was in pain.
"Something that will prove my claims is out there beyond."
Chen Zuiyuan turned his head. He stared at the spot blocked by the building. His pupils trembled ever so slightly.
"...We must go there."
He muttered like someone entranced, and the hunters in front of him noticed something off.
The detection devices beeped incessantly, but they only glared at Chen Zuiyuan.
They looked like tigers poised to pounce on prey.
And if I wasn't mistaken, Chen Zuiyuan, I, and the two hunters had all sensed the same thing.
Something beyond that building.
The lump of flesh came to mind. I snapped at Chen Zuiyuan in warning.
"You'll die."
A short but intense warning. It was the most I could say.
Chen Zuiyuan didn't even turn at my words. He gave a hollow laugh.
"I know."
"It's too dangerous."
The hunter team shot me supportive glances. They had no desire to face whatever lay beyond either.
"I'm not long for this world anyway. How much time do you think someone corrupted by spatial mana like me has left, Professor?"
"......"
I had no words. The fate of humans tainted by spatial mana. I knew that ending all too well. I dredged up the painful memory.
"You'll die in agony, begging to take back your choice."
Chen Zuiyuan closed his eyes. He seemed resigned. Clutching his cross, he spoke.
"Even if I die, if my death proves my theory and claims, that's enough."
It was regrettable, but I couldn't let him die. I didn't want to witness the same scene again.
The hunters felt the same. Confirming the conversation was over, they moved.
Clunk!
The takedown was instantaneous. Elite hunters though they were, he was fifty-six. He couldn't overcome two active gate-raiding hunters.
Screeech!
The truck halted just as the restraint ended. Visibility was blurred by thick mana, but we'd clearly reached our destination.
"Wh-what's going on?"
The lieutenant, jumping off the truck, rushed over at the sudden commotion. He couldn't hide his shock at the subdued Chen Zuiyuan.
"He's been tempted."
One hunter, pinning him and cuffing his wrists, stated firmly. The lieutenant, not understanding, asked back.
"T-tempted?"
The hunter sighed deeply and explained.
"Among those who've long interacted with spatial mana, some occasionally seek to assimilate with it. The accumulated mana drives them to death."
Chen Zuiyuan lay crushed under the hunters' feet, still fixated on one spot. The two soldiers disembarked, gripping their rifles and flanking the lieutenant.
The hunter checked his detector and told the lieutenant:
"Radio in to halt the recon. The mana's too dense today. Scouting in this state could get you killed."
"Y-yes, understood."
Soon, the lieutenant activated his radio, requesting the operation be aborted.
In the meantime, the mana thickened further. The hunters, scanning around, conversed.
"The mana's especially thick today. This is gate-interior level, isn't it?"
"Thickest since the Incheon incident. Stay sharp."
The situation was deteriorating rapidly.
The hunters looked uneasy, but confidence gleamed in their eyes. They believed they could handle anything that emerged.
The fact they hadn't asked for help from me—a known mage—spoke volumes about their trust in their skills.
Then it happened.
"Left flank!"
The man restraining Chen Zuiyuan whipped his head left and shouted. The sergeant instantly aimed his rifle that way.
Beep-beep beep-beep!
The detectors went wild without pause. Louder than before. Tension surged through me too. I readied my magic.
Not spatial magic, but this was near the sea—plenty of water elements around. I could manage elemental spells to block monsters.
"Slime confirmed!"
The same type as before crawled from the left. Rifles roared instantly, six bullets flying. No malfunctions this time.
"Function ceased!"
The sergeant smoothly neutralized the slime and eased off the trigger. But the detectors kept blaring.
A hunter staring into empty air glared at his device. He soon lifted his head with a despairing expression.
"Left, right, front... all at once. And not slimes."
Monsters soon entered our view. Their forms varied: some stacked like concrete blocks, others triangular and purple.
But our eyes were drawn elsewhere.
Dead ahead.
"Th-that thing."
The hunters' voices trembled. Confidence vanished from their eyes in an instant.
A massive something with slender purple arms and torso twisted its spiral arm, tearing through space to emerge.
A Gate. Just as we'd entered through one, a monster now revealed itself in our world via a Gate.
"How is a gate-interior-only monster...!"
"Battle stations, everyone! No panic! We can take 'em!"
The hunters shook off despair, directing everyone into formation.
I quietly observed the silhouette emerging from the rift.
Elongated head, clumped lower body, purple arms studded with what looked like mouths. A form radiating insatiable hunger to devour all.
Kreeeak—
Its gaze shifted downward. It had spotted us.
"Fire at will!!"
A hunter signaled, and they all unleashed a barrage from their rifles.
Rat-tat-tat!
Heavy gunfire echoed as humanity's weapons assailed the interdimensional beast.
Thud-thud!
Hit by bullets, it staggered, reforming its flesh. Fresh from the Gate, its regeneration was sluggish.
"Pour it on!"
The hunters seized the opening, firing nonstop. But limits came soon—one by one, guns clicked empty.
Kraaaah!
That's when I unleashed water-element magic.
"Aguar Donia!"
A dragon of water surged toward the tattered monster. The bomb detonated with a deafening roar.
"Hah... hah."
The monster frenzy ended surprisingly quickly. Fresh arrivals couldn't withstand human weaponry.
"Hoo... hoo."
Everyone panted, reloading magazines. The private collapsed from released tension.
But why?
Beep-beep-beep-beep!
Why were the detectors still screaming?
"We need to run. Right now!"
One hunter urged desperately. The lieutenant and soldiers nodded. The professor with us had already fainted.
"...That Chinese professor."
But in the chaos of combat, we'd overlooked something.
In the brief lull of restraint, Chen Zuiyuan had vanished somewhere.
The hunters and I knew roughly where.
We'd all sensed the same thing as him.
"Will you go?"
They asked me. Memories of the distant past flashed by. A horror I never wanted to face again.
And that's precisely why.
"I have to."
I couldn't hesitate.