Chapter 37: Six Bodies

“…The weather’s nice.”

“Yes, sir.”

From the back seat, Michael and Lieutenant Colonel Miles began exchanging lines in deliberately stiff voices.

With a sigh, Lee Juju withdrew his hand and turned back toward the window.

For a brief moment, Colonel Shan’s hand twitched.

But instead of reaching out to reclaim the hand that had left, he kept his gaze fixed forward.

****

The Center wasn’t a wooden structure but a modern facility built of gray cement.

Just before the espers stepped out, the shadows beneath the vehicles stirred subtly and climbed up over the two cars.

When the unit disembarked, every pair of eyes was black.

It was Sierra’s deft handiwork.

The idea of layering shadow over their irises had been Lieutenant Colonel Miles’ suggestion.

As if already informed that two military vehicles had passed through the gates, a man who appeared to be a general stepped forward, followed by two officers.

“Welcome. Brigadier General William.”

“Sir.”

Colonel Shan and Lieutenant Colonel Miles offered brief salutes on behalf of the unit.

Brigadier General William, a gray-haired esper, had black eyes, just like the officers behind him.

Seeing that, Lee Juju frowned faintly and slowly closed and reopened his eyes.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but feel regret.

If he had simply stayed at the base as Shan had advised, he might have felt anxious, but he wouldn’t be feeling this bitter sorrow.

A faint taste of iron lingered in his mouth.

The general gave a brief explanation of the Gate operation.

“We’ve yet to determine the Gate’s type. In truth, all the personnel who entered have failed to return. You were meant to conduct a joint operation with them… however, our Center cannot afford further losses. I trust you understand.”

“How many casualties?”

“Ten, Colonel.”

“….”

‘Ten dead,’ Lee Juju thought.

He felt his fingertips grow cold but stood expressionless like the other espers, listening.

In a grave tone, the general issued the mission.

“Rescue any survivors and close the Gate.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shan answered without expression.

One of the officers who had followed the general remained behind to guide them.

Unlike before, a Center officer drove the lead vehicle toward the Gate.

Upon arrival, the officer saluted sharply.

“Best of luck, Colonel.”

He looked as though he were seeing them off to their deaths.

Shan accepted the salute silently.

‘What kind of Gate is it?’

Lee Juju stared at the massive, swirling black void.

It had been a long time since he had entered a Gate.

Tension began to seep through his body.

****

Tension was akin to adrenaline.

It sharpened the mind and elevated the mood.

Moderate tension is helpful.

Recalling his old seniors’ advice, Lee Juju stepped inside the Gate.

This time, he wasn’t alone, he was with espers.

When he had once awakened inside a Gate without any, his entire body had trembled with fear.

Now, he felt nothing.

A nationally certified S-class guide indeed.

So-called “dungeons”, Gates and Rifts, were notorious for their variety.

Each new manifestation often seemed entirely different in structure and monsters.

If no esper entered within a certain time after a Gate formed, it would infect the surrounding area and become a Rift, a nest of monsters.

The problem was that no one knew what that “certain time” meant.

One second? One day? A month? A year?

No one knew.

But once an esper entered, the Gate would remain a Gate.

Since closing a Gate was far easier than sealing a Rift, it was mandatory that the nearest esper enter immediately upon discovery.

The method was simple in theory:

1. Esper and guide enter the Gate.
2. Slay monsters while searching for the core.
3. Destroy the core.

In practice, it was anything but simple.

A single misstep could cost a life.

Before crossing into this timeline, he’d gone five years without incident.

Silently, Lee Juju followed behind Colonel Shan.

Fifteen of them would have to close this Gate alone.

He doubted the Center would provide backup.

The unit, including Shan, heightened their senses to a razor’s edge.

Not because of themselves…

But because their guide was with them.

That was also why two top-ranking officers had entered.

They had heard that raised voices had come from the colonel’s office the day Lee Juju insisted on adding his name to the list.

A few members glanced at him discreetly.

Once all espers entered, the Gate sealed temporarily behind them.

It had already devoured ten espers and entered a “permanent access” state, but fifteen at once seemed to push it into overload.

If unlucky, half of them could be ejected.

Everyone remained tense, scanning their surroundings.

“This one’s tricky.”

“We locate the advance team first.”

As Miles surveyed the area, Shan reiterated the mission.

Then the interior space shifted violently.

Lee Juju narrowed his eyes.

This moment, when the Gate set its structure, was the golden window.

With luck, the core might even be exposed.

‘Huh?’

A form he knew all too well emerged.

Impossible to mistake.

He had cleared similar Gates multiple times for promotion points.

Often found in dense forests or rocky terrain…

The “Mirror Labyrinth.”

The Gate rippled, erecting mirrored walls that reflected the unit.

The walls moved, constructing a maze.

Through shifting gaps, a violet flash gleamed at the far end.

Lee Juju saw it, and surely the others did too.

A purple amethyst-like crystal.

The core.

Gate ranks were Normal, Rare, Unique, Legendary, Epic.

Purple meant Rare.

In other words…

Not particularly dangerous.

If cleared properly.

Before Lee Juju could speak, the labyrinth shattered.

As mirrors exploded one after another, Miles cast a shield of flame, preventing shards from reaching them.

“Too easy.”

Miles clicked his tongue.

Lee Juju stared blankly as Shan obliterated the maze.

It didn’t seem like the first time he’d done something like this.

To be fair, brute destruction was often the standard method.

With a faint, wry smile, Lee Juju watched the purple core shatter.

Not only the core, the entire labyrinth was collapsing.

Mirrors cracked from below, above, and sideways as though stones had been hurled through them.

They attempted to regenerate, but Shan’s power overwhelmed them.

Soon, every mirror lay broken.

“Center espers.”

From the darkness beyond the shattered mirrors, bodies appeared.

The unit moved in formation, retrieving them.

Michael examined each carefully, checking pulse, breath, pupils.

All dead.

The moment Michael declared it, Shan ordered:

“Retrieve them.”

“Yes, sir!”

Three members began transporting the corpses.

Lee Juju silently counted.

One. Two. Three. Four…

Lieutenant Colonel Miles spoke casually.

“Colonel.”

“Yes?”

“Wasn’t the advance team ten strong?”

“…They must have been devoured.”

“Seems likely.”

Six bodies.

Shan scanned the area.

But there wasn’t a single trace of monsters.

No-monster type Gate?

His eyes narrowed.

Perhaps survivors remained.

With the core destroyed, any living personnel should soon appear.

Consciously, Shan checked Lee Juju’s position.

It had become habit.

After the one time he had allowed Lee Juju outside the base and he’d been attacked, Shan had developed the reflex of keeping him within his boundary.

And confirming, again and again, that he was safe.