Chương 60: Chapter 16 Beyond the Gate: The Crimson-Eyed Witch(Part 1)

Riding the strange horse-like creature, we followed her deeper into the Gate. Now that I thought about it, we had little choice. She claimed she knew the way forward, and none of us knew where the next Gate actually was. The landscape flowed silently past us. No wind. No sound. The scenery felt detached from reality, like drifting through the vacuum of space.

"First! How much farther!?" I shouted over the speed, expecting my voice to be swallowed by the distance. Instead, it echoed loudly across the silent world. Come to think of it, there was no wind despite our movement. With nothing to drown out sound, there had never been any need to yell.

"Shouldn't be much farther now. Look." Ahead of us stood another Gate. According to her, this was where the real challenge began. I had skimmed through countless overseas videos. Beyond this point, there were monsters other than the Observer-types and Artillery-types. Unfortunately, information remained scarce. No one really understood how those creatures behaved. Up to the Fifth Gate, we'd traveled back and forth many times. The Observer-types attacked, but they weren't particularly fast.

The Artillery-types rarely approached unless provoked. Of course, their cannon fire could still blow limbs off with frightening ease, and even a light touch from an Observer's spear could sever fingers.

"Everyone. According to First, this is where things get serious. Stay sharp." After dismounting near the Gate, I looked around at the team. The tension on their faces was obvious. Only she seemed different. If anything, she looked impatient. Like a child waiting for a festival to begin. There was one thing I should probably ask. Throughout our expedition, everyone had taken bathroom breaks whenever necessary. Everyone except her.

"Uh... First. Do you need a restroom break or anything?"

"No? You can't get rid of something that doesn't exist. More importantly, let's hurry. Ah, I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to this. Don't worry about me. Worry about protecting yourselves."

"I see." Despite eating and drinking alongside us, she apparently had no need for such things. The idea was bizarre. Still, there was little point dwelling on it. Past this point, there would likely be situations where someone as powerful as her would end up protecting us instead. As I prepared to step through the Gate, Dr. Takatsuki suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, Chloe. You're still going to keep your promise, right?"

"Of course. Once we're out, tell Chiyoda or Mochida."

"What promise?"

"My detailed examination." She grinned mischievously while pinching the hem of her clothing. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Maybe they'll strip me completely naked." The image that instantly formed in my mind was far too vivid. I immediately wanted to erase it. We'd been operating without rest for days. Inside a place where death was a constant possibility. Maybe survival instincts were simply making everyone more aware of such thoughts. The visible portions of my subordinates' faces seemed slightly red as well.

"You won't need to remove your clothes," Dr. Takatsuki said calmly.

"I've already completed the physical examination. Whether it's a CT scan or an MRI, there won't be any need for that."

"Oh? Then the matter is settled. Let's go." Without waiting for a response, she stepped through the Gate. The entrance Gate required physical contact to enter together, but after passing through, that connection was unnecessary. Current analysis suggested that although multiple entrances existed, they all led into the same enormous internal space. Occasionally, explorers even encountered people who had entered through entirely different Gates.

There was also speculation that entering while holding hands created some kind of temporary link. The Gates still contained countless mysteries. Fortunately, investigating them wasn't my job.

"Let's move. Losing sight of our target would be a problem."

"Roger!" After a brief sensation of weightlessness, the world changed. Unlike the stone labyrinths of the earlier floors, this area resembled a vast wasteland. The darkness remained, but there was no ceiling. Countless lights floated overhead. Debris and wreckage lay scattered everywhere. Some pieces had piled together into formations resembling mountain ranges.

"Contact! Open fire!"

"Would you mind not getting in my way?"

"... What?" The moment we emerged, we found ourselves facing a massive horde of monsters. I immediately ordered the gunners to engage. She moved before they could. At some point, she'd already produced her pipe. Using it like a wand, she walked directly into the crowd.

"Scatter. Explode. Disappear and return to nothing. Ah, and you over there—don't shoot. If you're going to fire, fire yourself instead." She simply spoke. Nothing more. She strolled elegantly through the monsters while lazily waving her pipe. And the monsters died. Some burst apart like fireworks. Others twisted violently before collapsing. Even Artillery-types raised their own distorted arms and blew their heads apart.

"Ah... yes. This feels much better. Captain, we're not worried about time, are we?" Her crimson eyes gleamed with excitement. Not literally. Yet somehow they looked more alive than before. She licked her lips while scanning the battlefield. Predator? No. That word implied hunger. Whatever she was, it felt different. She smiled beautifully. She held no hostility toward us. And somehow that made her even harder to understand.

"We have time. But escaping remains the priority."

"Oh... that's disappointing." She looked genuinely saddened. Then she nodded to herself.

"Very well. Then may I at least clean up the trash along the way? I'll be quick."

"... As long as it isn't dangerous." She laughed.

"Dangerous? No one here is safer than I am. You're the ones who need to be careful." An Observer-type suddenly leapt from behind the Gate. Before its feet touched the ground, it burned to ash. An absurd level of power. Everything she'd shown us suggested she wasn't hostile. Yet leaving someone like this entirely unchecked felt impossible. The Public Security Bureau's concerns suddenly made a lot more sense. Not because she was irrational. Not because she was unstable. But because no one could possibly control her.

"Do you smoke?" I asked.

"Hmm... not right now. Let's all smoke together once we're outside, shall we?"

"I don't smoke."

"How unfortunate." The cigarette offer failed. The supposed trump card accomplished nothing. Yet she showed no signs of annoyance. Her attention remained fixed entirely on the monsters. Thankfully.

"A pity. Then I'll offer you candy instead. Sweet candy. Roll it around your tongue. Crush it. Let it melt away like a dream. Which direction shall we go?"

"Lieutenant?"

"No matching records. We'll have to search manually." The lieutenant frowned. Truthfully, we still understood very little about the Scriptor class. Aside from possessing memory that bordered on perfect recall, its capabilities remained largely unexplored. His weapon was still an ordinary firearm. The item he'd obtained from a box had been nothing more than a pair of one-handed scissors. Which made his assignment here somewhat strange. Officially, he was responsible for medical support and documentation.

Unofficially, higher authorities feared that cameras might alert First to surveillance efforts. So they had chosen human memory instead.

"Hehehe. Recorder. Your true role comes later. Much later. Beyond tomorrow, beyond the future beyond tomorrow. That's where your power will bloom."

"Huh?" Without warning, she produced a spear. An Observer-type spear. Then she handed it to him. The entire team froze. That should have been impossible. Monsters disappeared completely upon death. Their weapons vanished with them. That was common knowledge. So why was this spear still here?

"Chloe... isn't that a monster weapon?"

"Of course it is."

"Then how—""If you defeat something, you take its spoils. Isn't that obvious?"

"We thought the crystals were the rewards." She shook her head.

"No. Crystals are rewards from Soths. Every monster drops those. This spear is different. It's the monster's own trophy. If you've defeated it, then you've earned the right to claim it. Put it into your ring, and it's yours." A wave of realization hit me. Nobody had ever tried. People took photographs of dead monsters. Some got close enough to examine them. But after hearing stories about melting flesh and unknown contamination risks, direct contact had been avoided whenever possible.

Which meant no one had discovered this. Another report for headquarters. Another piece of knowledge she'd never thought important enough to mention. Just like the horses. Things that were obvious to her simply weren't obvious to anyone else.

"Lieutenant," she said softly.

"Record the world around you. Edit the world around you. Manage what exists within it. Your power is small right now. But every class can fight." She turned and began walking deeper into the wasteland.

"Come. If there isn't a road, then we'll make one."