Chapter 767: Gate [7]

"Why are you suddenly sending more people inside?"

Kyle watched the men approaching the boundary before turning towards Secretary Kim.

They had arrived with the latest vehicles and barely spoken to anyone before collecting their equipment, which made the way the Secretary was calmly checking his phone even more irritating.

This was out of order!

"There are procedures that we need to follow. This isn’t some⎯"

"We’re not that dumb, Kyle. These are scouts, and not the main squad."

The Secretary put his phone away and looked towards the Gate. Beyond the temporary barriers, several reporters were trying to get closer while Guild personnel repeatedly directed them back towards their vehicles.

"There’s no need to get worked up. They’re the second batch of scouts, and their instructions are to establish what happened to the first."

A first batch was sent before the Secretary arrived. They mainly comprised death row inmates.

"We’re sending another, more elite batch to make sure it’s all good inside."

"That’s supposed to reassure me?"

"They’re professionals. We aren’t sending in the usual death row inmates with a camera and hoping something useful comes back."

Kyle’s eyes moved towards the men again. One was checking a device against the readings on a nearby monitor while another inspected the equipment secured around his wrist. Unlike Claude’s team, none of them seemed particularly interested in making conversation.

"They know their place."

The Secretary gave Kyle a meaningful look.

"The actual rescue squad is already being assembled. By the time they arrive, we should have a better understanding of what they’re entering."

"And what happens if these people don’t return?"

"Then we’ll just send you in."

The Secretary’s answer came without hesitation, and Kyle found himself looking back at the Gate. His teeth clenched at the sight before him.

’Why are you still not out yet? Stop playing around, damn it...’

A few minutes ago, he had been pleased with the development.

Now, watching more people prepare to enter, as well as all the reporters, he wasn’t entirely sure how pleased he should be.

’...Damn it. I can just tell...’

No doubt about it...

That twisted fuck was trying to break them.

He still couldn’t feel Seth properly. Still, he could tell that he was still fine.

The Secretary followed his gaze before looking at him again.

"You seem unusually concerned about a scouting operation."

"I’m concerned about the situation. This is a pretty high-ranking gate."

"Then you’ll appreciate why we need more information before committing anyone else."

Kyle pressed his lips together.

Every answer was reasonable enough that arguing would only make his own position look stranger, especially when he couldn’t explain why he wanted everyone to wait.

The first scout stepped through the boundary.

His outline blurred before disappearing, and the others followed after checking the device in the technician’s hands.

The Secretary stayed beside the equipment, watching the readings while Kyle took a slow breath.

Zoey had been quiet throughout the exchange.

When he turned towards her, she was looking directly at him, her attention briefly lowering towards the pocket where he’d put his phone. Her lips parted as though she was about to ask something, but she eventually closed them.

A complicated expression crossed her face before she looked back towards the Gate.

Kyle looked away a moment after.

***

I watched the new group appear on one of the smaller feeds and slowly shook my head.

"...More guests."

They didn’t immediately start moving.

The man at the front raised his hand while the others checked behind them, making sure there were no traps or any sort of anomalies that would ambush them.

Considerably more careful than the last group.

’Well, you’re in luck. I don’t have any more SP to use.’

The teachers had also been killed.

Fun was over.

I shifted closer to the monitor and enlarged the feed, watching as one of them compared the corridor against a photograph. Another remained near the entrance with his attention divided between the room ahead and the passage behind them.

"You’re making this difficult. I haven’t even finished cleaning up after the last ones."

Thankfully, I had already dealt with anything that would’ve caused an immediate problem. The blood was gone, the broken furniture had been replaced, and there wasn’t a severed head waiting to greet them when they looked into the classroom.

I turned slightly and checked the row of gaming pods behind my chair.

Claude lay inside the nearest one with his head turned to the side. His breathing was steady, although the crease between his brows hadn’t disappeared. The others were in much the same condition, completely unconscious despite how tightly some of their hands remained clenched.

Naturally, I didn’t kill them.

Scaring the Guild’s prized recruits was one thing. Explaining why six of them had died inside a Gate shortly before I conveniently walked out was an entirely different problem.

I didn’t like them, but I wasn’t one to kill meaninglessly.

That was no fun.

I wanted them to be alive and suffer every time they saw me.

Much funner.

Yup~ Yup~

"Hoo."

No, you’re better than this, Seth.

I took another deep breath.

"I’m a changed man."

The lunatic me was gone. No, I was still a lunatic.

But a peaceful lunatic.

A non-killer lunatic.

A...

"Stuck lunatic."

Right, I was still stuck.

"...Really, you should thank me."

I looked at Claude while his fingers tightened faintly against the padding.

"Most people would’ve charged you for that sort of experience."

He didn’t answer, which was probably for the best. I wasn’t particularly interested in hearing his opinion just yet.

My attention returned to the monitors as the scouts reached the first classroom.

The man at the front stopped beside the window rather than immediately opening the door. He angled his light across the glass, shifted to avoid the reflection, and waited until another member had checked the corridor before trying the handle.

There was a small pause when it turned.

All four of them watched the opening, but nothing came through it. After several seconds, the leader pushed the door wider and moved far enough aside for the man behind him to look inside.

⎯It’s empty. Same arrangement as the photographs.

I rested my cheek against my hand.

It was rather interesting to see how these scouts operated.

The desks in the classroom stood in their usual rows, with exercise books open beneath the classroom lights. The scouts examined them without disturbing the furniture, and one crouched to look beneath a chair while another remained at the doorway.

They were taking their time.

That would’ve annoyed me under normal circumstances, but I was having quite a bit of fun watching them.

One of the men stopped beside the podium.

He lowered his light towards the wood and ran his finger along its edge, checking the underside before looking at the floor beneath it.

My gaze briefly moved towards Claude.

He probably wouldn’t appreciate how little evidence remained of what he had gone through.

’Spent a few SP for it, but worth it.’

That was also why I was so poor.

⎯I don’t detect any vital signs. There’s no one here.

"The first team may have been moved elsewhere. Keep checking."

They continued through the room, the faint sound of their footsteps reaching me through the speakers. Whenever a floorboard creaked, somebody paused to identify where the sound had come from before moving again.

I left the volume alone.

There was no reason to send a teacher after them, and having something laugh beneath a desk would probably make them retreat before I got what I needed.

Besides, I wasn’t the only one watching them.

My eyes moved between the feeds, checking the doorway, the empty gaps beside the desks, and the patches of window where the men’s reflections appeared whenever their lights passed over the glass.

For a while, nothing stood out.

The man near the podium photographed the register. Another checked Desk 27, following the carved number with his light before looking towards the empty chair behind it.

The guard at the doorway watched them both without speaking.

I straightened slightly, my hand leaving my cheek.

"...Hm?"

I replayed the last few seconds on a smaller window without taking my attention off the live feed.

"One, two, three, four..."

I paused as my lips slowly pulled into a smile.

"Five."

There was an extra person in the room.

"Gotcha!"