Chapter 8 : Polarization (1)

“Teacher Do-hwa! I have a question!”

Teacher Do-hwa had just informed the three of their mission when Su-rim, the class president, spoke up first.
At Su-rim’s cheerful voice, the teacher, seemingly in a good mood, replied in a gentle tone.

“Yes, Su-rim? Go ahead.”
“This mission… we’re all going, right?”

Do-hwa smiled warmly at Su-rim’s question.

“Of course. This is your A-rank promotion evaluation. I’ll be the supervisor.”
“Yay! I love you, Teacher!!”
“Now, now, don’t get too excited yet. The promotion requirements are quite demanding.”
“Wow~ Su-rim’s all grown up now~”

Su-rim cheered with delight, the teacher playfully scolded her, and Ha-neul teased from the side. It seemed like a familiar scene for them all.
Seo-hyun, unable to contain his curiosity, finally asked Teacher Do-hwa.

“Teacher, what exactly are we supposed to do there?”
“I’ll explain now. Su-rim, you don’t know the details either, so listen carefully.”

Both Seo-hyun and Su-rim nodded, while Ha-neul, who already had experience with several missions, simply observed. As this was their first time hearing about it, the two straightened their posture to focus on the teacher’s explanation. Watching their serious faces, Teacher Do-hwa began.

“The place we’re going is beyond the barbed-wire fence, the old North Korean territory. It’s a place where the inner space of a Gate has spilled out due to being left unattended for too long.”

It was a phenomenon perhaps best described as otherworldly spatial erosion. If a Gate’s core isn’t destroyed and is left unattended for a long period, it spreads its internal environment to the surroundings.

Most are similar to Earth’s environment, but some are distinctly different. They each have their own unique laws, and these are preemptively investigated by specialized exploratory teams.

Afterward, B-rank or higher Guardians and Hunters unleash their firepower to finish the job. This is the gist of a purification operation.

“So, we gradually purify the contaminated areas and expand the land habitable for humans. If there aren’t any strange laws in place, we just destroy everything in sight. It’s relatively easy among large-scale operations.”

Seo-hyun felt relieved at the teacher’s explanation. If participation was restricted by rank, it meant the chances of an accident were lower. This, in turn, meant he had fewer things to worry about.

Even though he had returned to his homeland, his past tendencies persisted. In order to survive in that ‘other’ place, he’d had to lighten his burdens as much as possible. Therefore, Seo-hyun didn’t want to add any unnecessary factors.

Especially now, in a human body susceptible to death.

*

The returnees finished their homeroom meeting with Teacher Do-hwa.

After seeing Su-rim off to her next class, Seo-hyun started walking toward the main gate. Looking ahead, he saw Kim Ha-neul walking towards the gate while staring at his phone. The scabbard of the longsword, strapped securely to the back of his uniform, reflected the sunlight, glinting sharply.

‘He’s at it again.’

Seo-hyun frowned, feeling uneasy. Whether Ha-neul was aware of Seo-hyun’s gaze or not, that cursed sword of his was constantly sending information to another world. Seo-hyun wanted to confront him right there, to uncover his hidden motives, but a direct approach risked alerting the entity on the other side.

Seo-hyun decided to tail him. He was more than capable of tailing someone. He had seen transparent monsters in that other world. They had physical forms, yet they existed as if they didn’t, deceiving and devouring people. Their bizarre techniques had impressed even him back then.

So, he dissected them. He studied them. He implanted them into the bewilderingly knowledgeable brains of the otherworldly entities to understand the mechanics of their invisibility.

Recalling those creatures, he took out an opaque crystal and gazed into it. A part of the abyss writhing within the crystal cast spells as if it were his own limb.

A strange wave washed over him, making him feel detached from the world.
The sensations of his body, which interacted with the world, became blurry.

An n’ghft devoid of light enveloped him.
The ground and the ■■ were indistinguishable.
…….

“Oh, dear.”

He stopped the spell. He felt that something unpleasant would have happened if he continued. Severing his connection to the world in a human body was undoubtedly too much of a strain. He’d wondered why those creatures had so many sensory organs of unknown purpose when he dissected them. Now, he understood.

It seemed that reckless magical experimentation needed to be avoided in this body.

He concealed himself just enough to maintain his senses and began tailing Ha-neul.

The thrill of following someone so openly, yet undetected, sent shivers down his spine. The thrill and strange anticipation quickened his heartbeat.

Pressing a hand to his thumping heart, he followed Ha-neul onto the intercity bus.

He sat quietly in the back, gazing out the window. Time flowed like a panorama, the cityscape gradually fading as the scenery shifted to the outskirts, where the scent of grass almost seemed palpable.

The two got off the bus in a suburban area where farmland and residential houses coexisted.

Ha-neul walked along the walls of houses in the sparsely populated neighborhood.

Seo-hyun followed quietly, holding his breath.

After passing several corners, Seo-hyun finally saw Ha-neul enter a house.

He observed the house. Built with bright red bricks, it looked old but well-maintained, with a neat appearance. Colorful flowers in a small garden in front of the house flaunted their vibrant hues, demanding attention. A pleasant sight.

Leaning against the wall, Seo-hyun kept watch on the house Ha-neul had entered. Now, all he had to do was wait, eyes closed, for the moment Ha-neul removed the sword from his body.

*

“…….”

Seo-hyun rummaged through the magical grimoire in his mind, only to realize that the surroundings had grown dark. Checking his smartphone, he saw it was already 7 PM. The simple alarm spell he’d created only conveyed the sense that Ha-neul still carried the sword.

…He hadn’t taken the sword off even once.

It wasn’t entirely unbelievable. He’d heard that some swordsmen, as part of their mind-body cultivation towards sword mastery, never removed their swords.

Ha-neul would have to bathe eventually. Seo-hyun had the patience to wait. However…

He had a rabbit-like younger sister waiting for him at home. Especially now, with her hair grown longer over the past three weeks, she was even more adorable. Thinking of her made him feel like this time was being wasted.

…Although there was a risk of being discovered, he decided to take a more proactive approach.

“ahmgn’ghft kadishtuor”

With the incantation, he dropped a seed, a trigger, onto the ground. The seed, emitting a bright red light, embedded itself deep into the cement floor. With a crackling sound, red crystals bloomed like spider lilies. Each one shone brightly, resonating with the others. Flashing. Blinking.

An exchange of information began, surrounding the target house.

Soil, clay, wood, brick, lime, plastic, asphalt
Ants, mosquitoes, spiders, cockroaches, cats, dogs, humans, Kim Ha-neul,
Sword.

He attempted to intercept the information flowing through the spatial grain. Blinding the enemy’s eyes. Ascertaining the information’s destination. Not far to the east. He saw a location that appeared to be a high school. Perhaps the school Ha-neul attended three years ago? At the end of the flowing information stream, he found a concealed Gate.

“Found it.”
“Found it.”

As Kim Ha-neul’s voice overlapped with Seo-hyun’s, a merciless slash flew towards Seo-hyun’s neck.