Chapter 91

A Chilling Truth

Walking through the fog was like wading into deep water.

With every step, it felt as though the surface level rose higher around me.

Cold, damp pressure pressed against my chest and neck, making me unconsciously hold my breath.

It was like pushing through muddy water churned cloudy by a loach thrashing around beneath the surface.

I reached out and switched on the low-power flashlight mounted to my customized AR-15.

Even a trivial action like that filled me with pride.

After more than a week of being chewed out by Instructor Song Smith, my handling of firearm attachments had improved dramatically.

These were things an ordinary rifleman would rarely ever touch.

Click.

I'd learned during the Seoul expedition that excessively bright lights were useless in fog.

All they did was illuminate the drifting particles.

The fog itself acted as a natural barrier, preventing light from penetrating far.

That was why the low-power setting existed.

Its purpose was to illuminate the ground around our feet and warn us of possible ambushes.

The monsters' ecology grew more intelligent by the day.

Something was needed to keep our attention focused even on areas we naturally overlooked.

At the same time, I switched the fire selector.

Click.

Full auto.

As always, I took point.

Nobody was more suitable.

I could adapt to changing situations and, if necessary, halt monsters using Eye-Type Stage Two.

However, there was some division of labor regarding detection and tracking.

The price of Eye Magic was pain.

A nauseating torment inflicted upon both eyes and brain.

The stronger the ability, the harsher the backlash.

The best strategy was to carefully distribute the total amount of pain I could endure.

Therefore, responsibility for locating and identifying monsters within the gray fog fell entirely upon Shin Nain.

That was one reason I tolerated Shin Nain despite his identity as a religious fanatic.

Standing in the center of the three-man Zizon Mage formation, he periodically raised a hand and stopped us like a human sonar system.

Whenever the poncho behind me fluttered more than necessary, Lee Sejun and I would immediately drop to one knee, scanning the surroundings with our fingers resting on our triggers.

And every time, an ominous silence followed.

Wind drifted through broken windows of abandoned buildings.

Poorly closed doors creaked against worn hinges.

Only Shin Nain remained standing straight, like an antenna.

In a faint voice, he sang a hymn.

"Joy to the world, the Lord has come~ Let every nation receive Him~"

It was an unsettling stillness.

The village submerged beneath the fog felt even quieter than a town drowned beneath a reservoir.

People had lived here only days ago.

Even the sound of insects had vanished.

The thing that bothered me most was the crying baby.

Honestly, it would've been better if it had screamed loud enough to rupture eardrums.

At some point, the cries suddenly stopped.

The sobbing woman's voice also disappeared into the fog.

Only vague outlines remained among the swaying branches.

My breath circulated inside the gas mask, mixing with sweat before settling against my skin.

I resisted the urge to pull the trigger.

Instead, I activated Eye-Type Stage One.

Ten-second foresight.

Nothing.

No red footprints.

No disturbances in the fog.

Ten seconds later, there was still no attack.

I considered enhancing Eye-Type Stage One using Tongue-Type Stage One, but Shin Nain's detection abilities were far superior.

So I held back.

Instead, I recalled how the Teratomas attacked.

The monster that imitated babies.

Teratoma.

Creatures that exploited humanity's instinct to protect children.

They lured victims with infant cries and cute appearances while bombarding them with mental attacks.

That was everything the Zizon Mages knew about their ecology.

The cries had echoed earlier.

That meant we'd definitely entered their effective range.

Gulp.

I swallowed.

Hoooo...

These bastards.

Had they figured out their mental attacks didn't work on us?

Meanwhile, Shin Nain continued singing.

"Let every heart prepare Him room~"

Watching the red dot in my optic exactly as Instructor Song had drilled into me, I found it irritating.

A simple thought surfaced.

Is this bastard actually doing his job?

Then Shin Nain stopped singing.

In a small but clear voice audible only to Lee Sejun and me, he said:

"It's similar to the bloated-belly case."

"You can tell that with Ear-Type Stage Three?"

"How?"

Both of us couldn't help asking.

A metallic click answered.

Clack.

Shin Nain shouldered his rifle and stared into the fog.

"In an environment this extreme, anyone maintaining proper awareness would react to hearing a hymn. They'd become anxious, startled, hopeful—something. But the woman we heard remained trapped inside whatever she'd been thinking before. The pain is too severe. Maintaining awareness is difficult. She's effectively dead—or in a state where death would be mercy."

"So she didn't just fail to hear you?"

"In a place this unnaturally quiet, anyone incapable of hearing my hymn is already close to death."

His answer came instantly.

It made sense.

Lee Sejun and I rose again.

No more rescue fantasies.

No more hopes of survivors.

Find them all.

Kill them all.

That became our mission.

***

We crossed irrigation channels and partially planted rice fields before reaching a narrow two-lane road.

A low guardrail and retaining wall ran along one side.

Abandoned greenhouses lined the other.

There were also the usual illegal piles of garbage and firewood common in rural areas.

Moving around one such pile, I approached the guardrail and finally noticed a small stream flowing quietly below.

I stared for a moment.

Ordinary water.

Nothing more.

Lee Sejun approached with his machine gun.

"Find something?"

"No."

"Isn't that the problem?"

"Exactly."

We regrouped with Shin Nain.

Maybe our behavior had become too relaxed.

But after surviving Seoul, the atmosphere here felt deeply wrong.

There were definitely monsters.

Almost certainly Teratomas.

And apparently one monster using a human host, similar to the bloated-belly case.

Yet Shin Nain—normally unmatched in detection—seemed strangely ineffective.

As we approached, he kept turning his rifle toward faint silhouettes of mountains and stepping backward.

Visibility: 150 meters.

The three of us stood surrounded by mountains and trees enclosing the road.

Lee Sejun and I couldn't help asking:

"Shithead. Did your powers wear off?"

"Where are the Teratomas?"

Honestly, I'd expected us to rush in, blast everything apart, and finish the job.

Instead, it was eerily quiet.

So quiet that the fog almost felt natural.

Yet Shin Nain ignored our mockery.

Instead, he turned sharply and lowered his rifle.

"Inside a building."

Only then did I notice the horror in his eyes through the gas-mask lenses.

"We've been surrounded."

No further explanation was needed.

I rolled my tongue inside my mouth.

Tongue-Type Stage One enhancing Eye-Type Stage One.

Evade. Fatal wound. Route. Five minutes. Me.

As the fragmented words merged upon my tongue, my taste buds split apart.

The familiar metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

The moment the fog began parting before me, I moved.

And with a blood-soaked tongue, I led the Zizon Mages.

"I'll take point."

I ran.

Shin Nain followed.

Lee Sejun followed him.

Then the entire village erupted.

Like a maternity ward.

Waaah... Waaah... Waaah...

Babies crying everywhere.

Finding a house with an intact gate, unbroken windows, standing walls, and attached doors suddenly became strangely difficult.

And beneath the shadows of ruined houses, strands of hair fluttered.

We knew what that meant.

Monster.

At that exact moment, every crying infant joined together.

WAAAH!

Time was up.

There was nowhere left to run.

I pulled my rifle into position.

While doing so, I rolled my tongue again.

Target. Kill. Monster. Five minutes. Route.

Heat surged behind my eyes.

The backlash was weaker than before, but it hadn't vanished.

I stepped forward through the stinging sensation.

Toward the ruined house.

Poncho flapping.

Steady pace.

No running.

I passed through the open gate and stopped before a broken door.

Raising the rifle.

Aiming at the doorknob.

Bang! Bang!

A spent casing bounced away.

I saw Shin Nain move toward a window.

Lee Sejun covered the road with his machine gun.

The fact that these bastards synchronized so well somehow made them even more annoying.

Grinding my teeth, I kicked the door open.

CRASH!

The fog parted.

Red footprints covered the floor.

And beyond the shattered doorway stood a toddling two-year-old child.

"Da... da..."

Chubby cheeks.

Wet eyes.

Thumb in its mouth.

A perfectly ordinary baby.

I aimed.

In the future ten seconds ahead, the red footprints stood directly before me.

BANG!

The infant shell exploded.

Inside were teeth.

Eyeballs.

Hair.

A grotesque tangle of human remains.

I didn't use a grenade.

Not because I held hope.

Because we needed this position.

Instead, I desperately repeated Instructor Song's lessons.

Watching the red footprints dart around.

Watching the boundary between fog and clarity shift.

Step heel first.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Take wide corners.

Expose as little of your body as possible.

Crunch. Crunch...

Glass shattered beneath my boots.

I grabbed a creaking doorknob.

Then instinct struck.

The moment I opened it, I released it and flattened myself against the wall.

The backpack dug painfully into my shoulders.

Vision mattered more.

SPLAT!

Something launched through the doorway.

A Teratoma.

A mass of meaningless flesh wearing an infant's skin like a dumpling wrapper.

Its pale eyes rolled toward me from within a shriveled abdomen.

I fired again.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Windows shattered simultaneously.

Gunfire erupted everywhere.

When I entered the living room, the shredded Teratomas were already twitching in their death throes.

Shin Nain climbed through the broken window.

Neither of us spoke.

We didn't need to.

He covered outside.

I switched my rifle to safe and dragged furniture toward the windows.

Moments later, Lee Sejun arrived.

He dropped his overheated machine gun onto a couch and tore a door from its hinges to block the entrance hallway.

Instinctively, all of us understood.

The barricade wasn't enough.

But it was the best we could do.

I reset my sling, switched back to full auto, and let my tongue peek out slightly.

Eye-Type Stage Two.

Ready.

If necessary, I'd unleash a fully enhanced Cognitive Distortion.

Moist fog seeped through gaps in the makeshift barricade.

Goosebumps rose along my skin.

But my attention remained fixed on the shapes emerging from the fog.

Within one hundred meters.

Shambling closer.

Familiar.

Grotesque.

I forgot to blink.

Waaah... Waaah... Waaah...

The babies still cried.

But now other sounds emerged beneath them.

Whimpers.

Dogs whining.

Wild boars wheezing.

Even antlered animals—deer, perhaps—joined the procession.

The infant cries were coming from them.

The beasts' fur had been replaced.

Human hair.

Human teeth.

Human eyes.

Human noses.

Tiny hand-like growths protruded and flailed helplessly.

Parasites.

The Teratomas weren't using hosts for reproduction.

They were using them as transport.

The possessed animals naturally surrounded the house.

Some might call that intelligence.

I called it instinct.

The instinct of parasites seeking a nest.

Teratomas understood they were vulnerable to gunfire.

So they borrowed animal bodies and overwhelming numbers.

Perhaps this had always been their ecology.

Thinking of them as a human-shaped version of cordyceps somehow made them feel strangely familiar.

Then I heard breathing behind me.

Hoooo...

Lee Sejun.

His respirator made it sound harsher.

After checking his ammunition belt, he snapped the machine gun closed.

Clack.

"So that's how they broke through the containment line."

Exactly.

Shin Nain nodded.

"Mr. Jemin. Mr. Sejun. I think we should fortify the building using Right Hand's Blood and hold out."

"Sigh..."

I couldn't help groaning.

This was exactly why I could never fully like Shin Nain.

Fortify the position?

Wait for support?

Let ourselves be buried beneath numbers?

If that was our plan, we might as well surrender the title of Zizon Mage.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Shithead."

I clicked my tongue.

"What's the motto of the Zizon Mages?"

Before our faith breaks, it ends.

Before fear conquers us, we become fear.

I spoke to Shin Nain—the religious lunatic who still lacked a proper Zizon mindset.

"Change your perspective."

I set my rifle down briefly and drew my combat knife.

My right hand was already covered in hardened scars from countless cuts.

But my left hand suffered from using a magic staff.

It wasn't fair to let only my right hand do all the work.

Slash.

Blood welled up.

I clenched my fist.

Then raised the bloody hand to my gas-mask filter and mimicked a kiss.

Mmm.

That disgusting metallic smell.

Proof my magic was activating.

As I smeared Right Hand's Blood across my gas mask, I looked at the slightly pale Shin Nain.

"We don't need to go looking anymore."

The moment I picked my rifle back up—

The attack began.

Animals charged.

At the same time, Lee Sejun's machine gun roared.

While I lectured Shin Nain, he'd already braced the K15 against the windowsill and pinned the barrel down with his off-hand.

The recoil vanished.

THUDDUDDUDDUDDUDDUDD!

Shell casings poured out.

Teratomas burst apart.

The unfortunate animals died alongside them.

I ignored their screams.

I covered the front entrance and reminded myself:

Baek Jemin had grown up eating thousands upon thousands of chickens.

If I started crying because a few animals were screaming now, those roasted chickens would have every right to complain.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

As shell casings rolled across the floor, I shouted:

"Breakthrough!"

I deliberately avoided using Ear Magic.

Shin Nain would have lost his mind.

But I knew the magic words needed to persuade him.

"It's a chance for martyrdom."

One of the three modified Zizon Mages ignited.

The ordinary man who had spent the entire operation being reasonable and logical disappeared.

The true Zizon Mage had awakened once more.

BANG! BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!

1

As muzzle flashes drove back the fog, the man who had rediscovered his calling wept openly and confessed:

"Almighty Lord God, forgive my weakness."

I glanced back instinctively.

Through the gas mask lenses, Shin Nain was firing while tears streamed down his face.

And somehow, every time the bolt cycled, he looked even more devout.

"I repent for trying to hide like a coward before the Devil. Amen!"

Naturally, there was also someone calmly spraying machine-gun fire one-handed as if he were out for a casual stroll.

As brass casings rattled across the floor, Lee Sejun voiced concern over my rapid decision-making.

"Mr. Jemin, are you seriously turning him crazy again now that he was finally acting normal?"

"If Shin Nain stays sane, he becomes a handsome, intelligent, considerate social butterfly who shoots well."

"Holy shit. Absolutely not!"

From that point onward, the three modified Zizon Mages displayed astonishing teamwork and began pushing the monsters back.

Lee Sejun anchored the line, shredding enemies with the machine gun braced against the windowsill.

Shin Nain covered his flanks and rear.

And I, Baek Jemin, stepped out through the front entrance with my gas mask and left sleeve stained by Right Hand's Blood.

The adrenaline had dulled it for a while, but the pain from the cut on my right hand was beginning to flare up again.

My left hand still throbbed from the aftereffects as well.

The pain crossed the threshold.

And at that exact moment, it met the dense fog.

That wasn't all.

Eye-Type Stage Three.

Tongue-Type Stage Two.

Ear-Type Stage One.

Hand-Type Stage Two.

The poncho enhanced by occult knowledge from the Society.

A customized AR-15.

The marksmanship I'd earned through more than a week of drills and Instructor Song's relentless abuse.

Then tell me—

If I'd prepared this much, wasn't it natural to want to use it?

If I'd learned it and earned it, shouldn't I spend it?

If I died while challenging magic, so be it.

If there was even a chance of touching omnipotence, I'd crawl into the fog before the nuclear bombs fell.

The moment I reached my limits while pursuing magic—

I'd die without regrets.

At that moment, the three of us abandoned any pretense of rationality and became one again.

We were madness opposing madness.

Absurdity opposing absurdity.

If hell had seeped into the world—

We would go deeper.

Clack.

I raised my rifle.

A parasitized dog whined as it charged.

Bang!

[Desire Explosion] — Sleep.

The dog's head burst apart.

The Teratomas clinging to it scattered.

Tumor-like growths sprouting from its fur crawled toward me while imitating human infants.

"Buh... buh..."

Bang!

One casing rolled across the ground.

The monster collapsed.

I strode forward and applied everything I'd learned.

More importantly, if the Teratomas had overcome their limitations by parasitizing animals, then perhaps they could also be enslaved by those animals' instincts.

I rolled my tongue around my mouth.

Tongue-Type Stage Two.

The moment my taste buds split once again, the charging animals staggered.

The Teratomas tried to force nerve signals through pain and manipulation.

It didn't matter.

Waaah...

The monsters continued producing infant cries.

But the exhausted animals couldn't resist the magical drowsiness.

One after another, they collapsed.

Only then could Shin Nain and Lee Sejun emerge.

Chk-chk!

Lee Sejun immediately reloaded.

Shin Nain covered him while shooting down any beasts still standing.

Bang! Bang!

As the animals dropped, chunks of Teratoma flesh tore free.

Naturally, flesh ripped apart from a living body couldn't survive.

I put down the suffering beasts.

And the detached Teratomas along with them.

Gunfire echoed endlessly.

Barrels glowed red.

Gun smoke mixed with fog.

Brass rolled across cracked asphalt.

And every shot burst another mass of flesh apart.

Yet some survived.

SQUEEEEAL!

I turned toward the noise.

A giant boar.

Covered in Teratomas.

Its tusks had swollen grotesquely.

Its entire face was buried beneath infant-like growths until its original eyes were impossible to locate.

THUDDUDDUDDUD!

Lee Sejun's machine gun tore into it.

Half the beast exploded.

Yet tiny webbed infant hands created by the Teratomas linked together and crudely stitched the wounds closed.

The boar screamed and charged.

Limping.

And now the pig noises had vanished entirely.

Only infant cries remained.

Then even those changed.

Heehee...

Kya-ha...

The laughter of Teratomas overlapped.

Shin Nain immediately dragged Lee Sejun aside and opened fire.

But the monsters weren't targeting either of them.

"Mr. Jemin!"

Someone shouted.

But my mind was filled with nothing but dopamine.

Was this how a matador felt before a charging bull?

The boar rushed toward me.

Covered in human hair.

Human teeth.

Human eyes.

Human snot.

Yet my movements remained precise.

Tap.

I dropped to one knee.

Raised my bloodstained left sleeve like a shield.

Rested my rifle on top of it.

Clack.

Metal locked into place.

The boar opened its twisted jaws.

Teratomas filled its mouth.

Its tongue.

Its palate.

Its teeth.

Everywhere.

Each growth bore the face of an innocent infant reaching toward me with tiny hands.

A choir of crying babies echoed from within the boar's mouth.

I answered with gunfire.

Bang!

The recoil nearly tore my shoulder apart.

At that exact moment—

I bit down on my tongue.

Crunch.

The boar began falling.

The tumors held it upright.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Teratomas devoured one another to replace the ones I'd destroyed.

Still laughing.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!

I wasn't the only one shooting.

Shin Nain and Lee Sejun had joined in.

But against a creature with such absurd durability, it wasn't enough.

Pain spread through me.

Sharp.

Burning.

Tears streamed from my eyes.

And I spoke with joy.

Because only I am precious.

Only my pain is absolute.

While I suffer—

Even time itself shall suffer.

Eye-Type Stage Two.

[Cognitive Distortion].

100%.

The wind stopped.

Sound vanished.

Even the drifting fog solidified like bricks.

Only I remained normal.

The gun smoke emerging from my barrel drifted lazily.

I rolled my aching arm once and stood.

Switched my rifle to semi-auto.

Reloaded.

Then looked around.

The sight was absurd.

Spent shell casings floated through the air like clouds.

Much lower than actual clouds.

But floating nonetheless.

I tapped one with my finger.

It slowly drifted in a new direction.

If the world moved at 0x speed and I moved at 1x, then the casing I'd flicked moved at perhaps 0.1x.

This was it.

I gathered the floating brass one by one and coated them with Right Hand's Blood.

Fresh pain surged through my palm.

Then I remembered childhood marble games.

Flick.

Flick.

Flick.

Bloodstained shell casings drifted through the frozen world.

Not as many as the bullets I'd fired.

But the mere fact that something else moved alongside me sent a rush of exhilaration through my body.

I couldn't stop smiling.

This—

This was why I crawled into the fog.

Why I entered Seoul despite nuclear threats and monster hordes.

After finishing my little game, I finally turned my attention back to the charging boar and the Teratomas covering it.

The monsters seemed to understand the situation.

Not as fast as humans.

Faster.

Pale eyes rolled wildly.

Masses of flesh writhed.

Webbed infant hands flailed desperately.

Tears streamed down my face as agony spread throughout my body.

Yet I continued smiling.

With this...

I'd sweep up all the experience.

I blinked.

Then—

PA-PA-PA-PA-PA-PA-PAK!

The sound of experience pouring in rang clearly through my ears.

If I used it as an alarm tone, I could probably achieve miracle mornings.

When I opened my eyes again, only blood remained.

The monsters had vanished.

I dropped to my knees.

Needles seemed to stab continuously into my shoulders and arms.

But even pain couldn't overcome my smile.

Then something heavy climbed onto my back.

Annoyance surfaced immediately.

This fucking Sejun again...?

"Sejun, seriously, get off—"

Waaah.

Every hair on my neck stood up.

The joy vanished instantly.

My heart froze.

My blood felt flash-frozen.

I was just about to bite my tongue again when—

KIIIIIIIIING—

A sound pierced straight through my mind.

Not clear.

Sharp.

Not clean.

Like an eraser.

A sound that forcibly scrubbed my brain clean.

When it ended, the weight vanished.

I scrambled to my feet.

Only a handful of black ash remained behind me.

As I stood there in shock—

"Goryeoha's enchantment definitely works."

"Tch. Seems useless if you're not careless."

Lee Sejun was pouring water over his overheated machine-gun barrel.

Shin Nain checked his remaining ammunition.

"Did you see what happened?"

"One of the Hebrew inscriptions on your back turned red. Seems like it has limited charges. Maybe red symbolizes corruption."

"The hell were you two doing?"

Lee Sejun dusted off his hands.

"When you're killing hundreds of monsters, one might slip through."

"Shoot it then!"

"I was tempted to shoot through you too, but I restrained myself."

More importantly, Shin Nain immediately seized the opportunity to evangelize.

"Mr. Jemin. Surely you understand now. The Lord's protection."

A Teratoma had slipped onto my back.

The Ancient Hebrew enchantment had saved me.

Therefore God was real.

Therefore I should come to church.

Naturally, my response was immediate.

"If God really wanted to save me, He would've kept me out of the military."

"...What does that mean?"

"I prayed for a draft exemption during my physical exam. Didn't work. After that, I stopped fully trusting Jesus."

If He wasn't interested in recruiting a talent like Baek Jemin, why should I bother attending church?

While Shin Nain stared at me in disbelief, Lee Sejun clicked his tongue.

"The fog's clearing. But... I think there's still one left."

We looked around at the scattered monster corpses.

Then naturally turned toward Shin Nain.

"Let's go."

"Time to kill the last one."

***

Once upon a time.

The old people of this village probably spread mats beside the road and played cards while drinking soju.

We walked past scattered playing cards beside a stream flowing beyond the guardrail.

Once upon a time.

The village dogs probably barked at strangers while wagging their tails furiously.

We passed empty doghouses and abandoned chains.

Once upon a time.

Someone here probably believed that enduring hardship would eventually lead to a better future.

We passed bloodstains.

A broken baseball bat.

The remnants of a desperate resistance.

Once upon a time.

There was a woman who remained behind while everyone else evacuated.

A woman waiting for her unborn child.

"Please... no... no..."

A mass of flesh sobbed before us.

Clutching a grotesquely swollen abdomen that expanded and contracted as though breathing.

Its human lips were already gone.

The mutation surpassed even the bloated-belly monster.

No.

It wasn't a mutation.

The truth was obvious at first glance.

The flesh mass didn't recognize us.

Didn't recognize our weapons.

Its body had already completely collapsed and separated into Teratomas.

A colony.

A swarm.

A collective of monsters endlessly imitating a pregnant woman.

The human consciousness trapped within a monster's body desperately clung to memories of being human.

But something far worse drew our attention.

Every time the swollen abdomen rose and fell, a symbol became visible.

A symbol that should have induced vomiting.

Now glowing blood-red.

Lee Sejun unconsciously lowered his machine gun.

"Heart-Type magic glyphs?"

A terrible realization washed over us.

Shin Nain seemed to reach the same conclusion.

"Mr. Jemin."

He slowly turned his head.

"Hasn't this happened before?"

I answered by raising my rifle.

This time, it was my turn.

I pulled the trigger.

Again.

And again.

The woman screamed as her body burst apart.

The colony desperately gathered its scattered pieces.

Trying to imitate a human body one last time.

Trying to recreate what it had once been.

But it was over.

That was the only thought in my mind.

I poured bullets into it without pause.

The pregnant abdomen swelled grotesquely.

Then burst.

Releasing fog.

When I finally lowered my rifle—

The fog was gone.

Only blood and monster corpses remained.

And instinctively, I knew.

A burning heat pierced my heart.

Heart Magic learned.

Yet I couldn't celebrate.

Because the truth we'd just uncovered was far more terrifying.

The Hand-Type magic sigil we'd found beneath Suwon Station.

And now—

The Heart-Type magic sigil found here.

Both had been discovered inside monsters.

Even the slow-witted Lee Sejun tilted his head.

Something was wrong.

Only Shin Nain and I truly understood.

We looked at each other in silence.

Faced with a horrifying truth.

The monsters are learning from humans.

And—

They are trying to steal human magic.