Chapter 43: March Through the Heat

“Destroyed it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“I just wanted to make sure. That’s a relief.”

Could he trust Mac?

Even while doubting him, Juju nodded.

Mac looked curious about what exactly was such a relief, but Juju kept his mouth shut and hurried after Colonel Shan, who was already walking ahead.

If, as Mac said, the advance team had destroyed the first core and fallen into the double Gate, then the second core that regenerated would be underground.

The follow-up team, Colonel Shan’s group, had smashed through the entire maze the moment they connected to the Mirror Maze.

Juju had clearly seen with his own eyes the purple core beyond the mirror labyrinth shatter into pieces.

If a second core had formed when they newly connected to the Gate, then there were currently two cores inside this Gate.

Juju silently prayed that Mac wasn’t lying.

Two cores weren’t much of a problem.

That was the whole reason this Gate was classified as a double Gate.

The problem started when there were three or more cores.

When that happened… something truly terrible occurred.

Ah.

‘I’ll think about that when the time comes.’

Juju stopped thinking about it.

The forest grew thicker the farther east they went.

That meant they had chosen the right direction.

If it weren’t east, they would have gone the wrong way entirely.

The closer one got to a Gate’s origin, the more violently monsters appeared, and the richer the land became.

“It smells like Banflies.”

Juju, who had been walking silently through the stifling heat, spoke in a low voice.

A sweeter scent of pollen had begun drifting through the air.

Seeing the confused expressions of the espers looking at him, Juju sighed lightly.

“…Banflies are F-class monsters. Individually they aren’t very dangerous, but they always live in swarms. Every time they flap their wings, they release powder that causes hallucinations. If you’re not careful, it can become a serious problem.”

“How do you know that?”

Lieutenant Colonel Mile asked.

“I’ve never heard of a monster like that.”

Colonel Shan also stopped and turned to look at Juju.

That reaction was understandable.

Juju nodded and explained calmly.

“They’re monsters that commonly appear in double Gates. Since you’re not familiar with double Gates, it’s natural you wouldn’t know.”

“That makes sense.”

Mile rubbed his chin and nodded.

“I think it would be best if Ian keeps generating wind outward from our side. Banfly hallucinogens are basically powder, so if we don’t inhale them, we’ll be fine.”

“Ian.”

At Shan’s call, a gentle wind began blowing.

In the past, Ian would have trembled every time he used his ability, calculating how much closer it brought him to death.

But Ian had long escaped that fear.

And it was all thanks to Juju.

The moment the order was given, Ian obeyed immediately.

Watching that, Maximilian once again felt the true weight of Colonel Shan’s authority.

Normally, espers didn’t readily obey orders to use their abilities.

The reason was simple.

Using abilities brought them closer to death.

The ideal form of Gate suppression was to minimize ability use, rely on guns to kill monsters, and retreat.

Of course, ammunition was never supplied in abundance, so it had to be used sparingly.

Mac absentmindedly touched his long rifle as the wind brushed past him.

The breeze controlled by Private Ian was cool, easing the oppressive midday heat.

People were naturally sensitive about matters involving their own lives.

Not only that, espers were independent by nature and highly valued their abilities.

It wasn’t unusual for several units to collapse in a single day.

But Colonel Shan’s company was different.

This company of powerful espers seemed like they would carry sacks of grain into a fire itself if Shan ordered it.

Soon, a massive Banfly nest came into view.

“Halt.”

Colonel Shan spoke expressionlessly while giving a hand signal.

The entire unit stopped.

“What happens if we destroy the nest?”

“Ah… are you asking me?”

“Yes.”

Feeling Shan’s cool gaze on him, Juju blinked.

It felt… surprisingly good.

Every time he was acknowledged, it made him feel like someone useful.

“If you destroy the nest, all the Banflies inside will rush out. So if possible, it’s better to block the entrance first and then destroy it. That small protruding part there is the entrance, and there’s probably another one behind it. Banflies can compress their bodies to about one-seventieth their size, so they like to crowd together tightly inside their nests. There are probably far more Banflies inside than you’d expect.”

He continued:

“Otherwise, you could lure them out one by one and eliminate them.”

“Lure them out one by one? Is that possible?”

“Yes. With a smoker- ah, but we don’t have one here. In that case, if you burn leaves and blow the smoke into the entrance, they’ll stumble out one by one.”

Juju was looking around for burnable leaves and about to explain smokers when…

CRACK. CRUNCH.

A horrifying sound echoed.

When he turned his head, the enormous Banfly nest had completely vanished.

Only traces of where it once stood remained.

‘Wow… as expected of an S-class esper…’

“Let’s move.”

Colonel Shan resumed walking with the same blunt expression.

Juju stared blankly at the completely flattened Banfly nest before hurrying after him.

Since the Banflies were gone, Ian’s wind was no longer necessary.

The suffocating heat returned immediately.

Even though the front line was clearing the path, walking in this oppressive heat for over an hour was brutal.

Their uniforms stuck to their bodies, and sweat soaked their foreheads, backs, armpits, and every fold of skin.

Naturally, the soldiers began to notice something unexpected.

Juju actually had good stamina and seemed accustomed to long marches.

Sure enough, Lieutenant Colonel Miles approached him with a grin.

Annoyingly, Miles hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat.

After all, he was a fire-element esper.

“Not bad. I thought you’d collapse right away.”

“This is the basics.”

Juju said it casually, but internally he felt like he was dying.

He hadn’t done proper training for months.

Even before his time travel, he had always dumped work onto the espers and just handled watch duty.

Honestly, it would be great if someone carried him.

No, better yet, if a water or ice esper could do something about this damn heat.

But Mac was watching with wide-open eyes.

He couldn’t recklessly use abilities.

Juju clicked his tongue inwardly.

His pride wouldn’t let him show weakness.

“Want me to set the place on fire? If we burn everything down, maybe it’ll get better.”

Miles said playfully.

The forest had grown so dense that it was practically packed with trees and vegetation.

Soldiers with cutting abilities, including Colonel Shan, were carving a path forward.

The grass was so tall it towered above a person’s height.

“No.”

Juju had no intention of falling into a third Gate.

If they burned the Gate, there was no telling how the entire structure might warp.

Miles shrugged at Juju’s cold tone.

“My patience is wearing thin.”

“Same here. But this Gate is really huge. Unless there’s a fracture, Gates usually aren’t this big.”

“Hm? Isn’t it because it’s a double Gate?”

“No… it’s just… hmm.”

‘What if this isn’t actually Rare grade… but Unique grade? But have I ever seen a Unique Gate with so few monsters?’

Something nagged at his memory.

More than that, the endless green was starting to make his eyes ache.

Then the person walking at the front, Colonel Shan, suddenly stopped.

“Halt.”

At Shan’s command, the entire unit stopped.

Juju rolled his eyes forward to see what Shan was looking at.

“Juju?”

“Yes, Colonel.”

Juju quickly stepped up beside him.

The reason for the stop became obvious.

As the thick bushes were cut away, an enormous cliff appeared.

It was wide and deep.

Shan stared silently into the abyss before turning to Juju.

“Is the core down there?”

“Yes… it seems like it.”

Juju frowned slightly and tilted his head before answering.

“Are you going to go down and destroy the core now?”

“Maybe. But more importantly…”

Shan narrowed his eyes into the dark crevasse.

“There’s a body down there. Probably one of the missing soldiers.”

“What?”

A body?

Juju’s gaze dropped toward the crevasse again.

At that moment, Shan called out:

“Second Lieutenant Maximilian.”

“Yes, Colonel.”

Mac stepped forward.

With a cold expression, Shan pointed toward the dark crevasse.

“There’s a corpse down there. Most likely one of the missing men, excluding you. What do you think?”