The existence of Reptilians was, for all intents and purposes, already proven. Most people dismissed it as a mere conspiracy theory, but the lizards from outer space had long since blended into everyday life. If one dug deep enough, a few famous politicians would probably turn out to be Reptilians.
It wasn’t simple conjecture. They were, in fact, being weeded out.
The Bureau didn’t exist for nothing. They periodically inspected politicians and other celebrities, then dealt with things that were not human while pretending to be. Reptilians were no exception to that scope.
Perhaps that was why, recently, they were said to be wearing the skins of ordinary people rather than celebrities… but honestly, there was no real reason to care all that much. Contrary to their fame, they were not especially powerful creatures.
Their physical abilities were quite impressive, but that was all. Their mimicry ability was troublesome, but it did not allow for a perfect disguise. If one wanted to see through it, one could. Their physical abilities, too, were not overwhelmingly remarkable compared to other Mysteries. In terms of destructive power alone, the Eight-Foot Spirit would be superior.
No matter how one looked at them, they were not creatures capable of ruling an entire planet. Even if they rose up, they would probably be suppressed by the Bureau or some other organization.
But if this were a world where no Mysteries other than Reptilians existed, then the story changed.
He had described them somewhat comically, but Reptilians’ survivability was quite excellent.
Bullets? Because of their hard scales, bullets did not penetrate well. To do so, one had to aim for the abdomen, but because they knew their own weakness, Reptilians rarely exposed their bellies. Some even wore protective gear only over that area.
Bombs? They fundamentally possessed heat-resistant and blast-resistant traits, so all explosions did was slightly disrupt their sense of balance. Strangely, even their abdomens were immune to explosions.
Poison? Likewise, they were immune.
A monster that was virtually impossible to kill with modern weapons. That was a Reptilian.
If one poured in an enormous amount of firepower, one could somehow kill them, but if they pushed with sheer numbers, even that became difficult.
There were limits to using nukes as well. There was a reason anomalies were called anomalies.
Well, of course, none of that applied to mages. No one here grew tense upon hearing the word Reptilian.
“Maybe because it’s an apocalypse, there were traces of several nuclear detonations. The demons said there’s no radiation, but just in case, it would be better to wear gas masks.”
Rustle.
Eunha handed Ian and Yuna the gas masks she had prepared in advance.
Gas masks manufactured by the Cartel.
They were top-grade items that filtered out almost every kind of poison and even blocked radiation perfectly. Their flaw was that they were rather expensive, but considering their performance, that was not exactly bad.
Ian accepted the gas mask she handed him and tapped the filter.
“Roughly how long does the canister last?”
“One month. The countdown starts the moment you press the button on the side.”
One month.
For a gas mask, that was an extremely short time. However, they were not going to live inside the mirror world for the rest of their lives, so it did not particularly matter.
“So… would you be able to come with me? I think we’ll be able to move more safely if we act together.”
While he was thinking, Eunha asked in a cautious voice. Ian’s gaze shifted back to her.
“Of course, if it’s too much for you, it’s all right to refuse. This matter is purely my own desire. There’s no need for you to force yourself to go along with my selfishness.”
There was not the slightest distortion mixed into Eunha’s voice as she said that. It probably meant she would not resent him even if he refused her proposal.
“……”
Ian silently stared at her for a moment, then smiled bitterly as he adjusted the straps of the gas mask.
“I have no intention of refusing. Let’s go together.”
“Ah… thank you, Mr. Ian. I’ll be sure to repay you for this later.”
Eunha smiled faintly and gathered up her own gas mask. Sensing the mood that they were about to set out, Yuna gripped her staff tightly and tapped Ian on the shoulder.
“I-Ian. Before we go, teach me how to w-wear the gas mask…”
“Sure. Turn around.”
The group quickly gathered the necessary luggage and each put on their gas mask.
“Phew……”
Slightly blurred vision and uncomfortable breathing.
Fortunately, the lenses did not fog up each time he exhaled, but the distinctive heat of his breath was fully transmitted. It was not a particularly pleasant sensation.
“We’re ready.”
Eunha spoke. Holding a cross in one hand and a grimoire in the other, she looked back at Ian and Yuna.
“May we enter?”
“Yes.”
“N-no problem…!”
The two answered. Eunha nodded and activated the button on the filter canister.
Click, pshhhh…!
Along with the sound of something locking into place inside the canister, pure white smoke spewed out. The safety mechanism that had blocked the internal airflow had been released.
Ian followed her and pressed the button, releasing the device in the canister, then deeply inhaled the pure white smoke seeping into the gas mask.
The white, odorless smoke entered his respiratory tract, rode his red blood cells, and rapidly circulated through his entire body. Perhaps because of that, his head felt a little clearer.
“I’ll go in first. After I enter, please come in one by one after five seconds.”
“Understood. What is the scenery like immediately upon entering?”
“The demons said it was a café. Though it isn’t a café in business, but a ruined building that has already collapsed. There are no survivors either.”
“Then if it isn’t a café when we enter, we can assume something has gone wrong.”
“That’s right.”
Eunha nodded.
“But every demon we’ve sent to scout so far opened their eyes in the café, so unless something extraordinary happens, there shouldn’t be any abnormalities. If, and I really mean if, something like that happens…”
“We’ll send a signal or cause a commotion. Large-scale magic is easy enough to use.”
“I can do that too. I just need to summon the great demon I contracted with. What about you, Miss Yuna?”
Her gaze turned toward Yuna. Yuna, who had been listening blankly to the conversation, flinched in surprise when their eyes landed on her and trembled her shoulders.
“M-me?”
“Yes. Is there something big you can do? Something large enough to announce, ‘I’m here!’”
“Uh, um… hmm……”
Yuna thought for a long while, then seemed to come up with something and answered in a bright voice.
“I-I think I can weaken a building’s walls and make it collapse…! I’ll make the b-biggest thing I can collapse!”
“That’s a definite method. Then please do that.”
“O-okay!”
Yuna nodded. Eunha exhaled a long breath and turned toward the mirror.
“Then I’ll go in.”
There was no hesitation. She immediately stepped toward the broken mirror.
“Asmodel, Manuel, Hamael, Zuriel. Servants of the Lord and angels of the imperial palace, please protect me.”
Woooong.
At the same time she recited the spell, golden light flowed from the tips of Eunha’s hair. Four feathers fluttered down from the ceiling, and she passed through the mirror while remaining calm. The broken mirror swallowed her without the slightest resistance.
“H-huaa…! She really went in…”
“I’ll go next. You come last.”
“O-okay!”
Yuna gripped her staff tightly and nodded. Exactly five seconds later, Ian walked toward the mirror with the grimoire in hand.
“……”
When he placed his palm on the mirror, the shattered surface rippled as though waves were spreading across it. The mirror shards split into countless pieces wriggled in every direction, and after looking down at them briefly, Ian took one step forward.
With a shoop, his arm was sucked into the mirror.
A pulling force he could have resisted if he wished. However, Ian did not bother resisting and calmly entrusted himself to the force dragging him in. As if tugging on a lover’s wrist, the world inside the mirror smoothly swallowed Ian down its throat. In an instant, he vanished inside the mirror.
‘…Beautiful.’
What appeared as soon as he crossed the mirror was a passage made of shattered mirror fragments. Light scattered, filling every direction with a dazzling white radiance. Every single mirror shard reflected Ian’s face in full.
Even among anomalies, it seemed there were entities that possessed beauty. Just as the statues carved by Pygmalion all had lovely and beautiful forms, this place, too, was utterly beautiful. Should he say it felt as though he had been left alone in a garden of mirrors?
Any human liked beautiful things. Ian briefly forgot that this was an area created by a Mystery and simply admired the scenery.
As he did, his body began to fall downward. Like a falling sheet of paper, his slowly descending body touched the mirror fragments covering the floor.
At that moment.
Kwaaaaang!!
With a tremendous roar, the mirror shard Ian had stepped on collapsed. Beneath it, the ruined city center of Seoul was revealed.
Yes, the city center.
It was not a café.
“Huh?”
Ian’s face went slack with bewilderment.
What entered his eyes was a blue sky, a blazing sun, high clouds, and an ashen city.
It was a scene with an extremely dreamlike feeling, but the problem was that his field of vision was an aerial view. Not only that, he was growing closer to the city in real time. A pigeon flying alongside him tilted its head and looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, “Why is a wingless bastard doing this here?”
Ian briefly exchanged glances with that pigeon, then felt the acceleration and wind wrapping around his entire body and moved his lips.
“Ah, fuck.”
His judgment was quick.
He was falling.
Shuaaaaaaak!!
The pouring sunlight. The clouds moving on the wind. The wind howling as if tearing his ears apart, and his flapping coat.
Feeling all of it firsthand, Ian shouted.
“I’m fucked!!”
[Hum.]
[Humm!!]
[H-hum!]
Recognizing his urgency, the grimoires were summoned at the same time and fell together with Ian.