I felt suffocated.
Staring at the poster, it felt as though my vision was spinning.
If I was uncertain before, I was certain of it now.
This poster…
No, this gate.
It was the conductor setting up the stage for me.
For the moment that I played my ‘perfect’ piece. The one that I promised I’d play.
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
My heart felt like it was racing at a speed it had never raced before as warm droplets streaked down the side of my face.
I could feel my very own breathing growing heavier and heavier by the second.
And yet—
The only thing I could do was force down all the negative feelings.
I couldn’t allow myself to crumble.
Not here.
“There’s also a date printed near the bottom of the poster. We couldn’t make it out clearly, but it seems to indicate something scheduled for one month and ten days from now.”
I called up the system and checked the quest date.
Exactly the same…
“H-ha.”
“Although nothing is confirmed, the poster suggests that this gate is expected to open on the date indicated. That means that we’re in the clear for now. This is only a guess for now, and with the upcoming scout reports, we’ll be able to tell more.”
There was a visible sigh of relief coming from the faces of a few as the tension eased.
But that wasn’t for long.
“Now, let’s get onto the second part.”
The Section Chief tapped his phone, and the projection switched.
An image appeared on the screen: a man wearing a jester mask, seated at a piano. Behind him stood a sickly, elongated creature, silently watching, its gaze fixed on the keys as he continued to play.
I didn’t even need to look deeply to know who it was.
That was…
Me.
“Meet VILE – 2013, The Jester.”
The Section Chief’s voice grew grim as he spoke.
“Not much is known about this figure. He first appeared during the recent <A>-ranked Gate we managed to clear. Honestly, we wouldn’t have been able to handle that Gate without the Jester’s help.”
As the Section Chief said these words, his gaze landed on the first row, where a certain figure stood up.
The moment I caught sight of her, my body stiffened.
‘It’s… her.’
With short brown hair and deep hazel eyes, she seemed a bit shorter than I remembered. Her features were unremarkable, almost plain, but her presence was suffocating. She stopped in front of the Section Chief, then slowly turned to face us.
The moment she did, I felt every hair on my body rise.
I didn’t feel this before, but I could feel it now.
She…
She was incredibly powerful.
…And her eyes. Something about her eyes felt off.
“I first encountered VILE – 2013 during the gate incident. At first, I believed VILE – 2013 to be a human who had somehow managed to infiltrate the gate; however, after checking the replays, no human had entered the gate. In that regard, the Jester was classified as an anomaly.”
An anomaly…
I looked at my hands.
Didn’t think so.
“I didn’t get a full glimpse of the anomaly’s power, but from what I observed, it’s incredibly strong. Without VILE – 2013’s help, clearing the gate would’ve been impossible. I suspect the gate’s rising rank is directly connected to its presence.”
Clara’s tone turned tenser.
“I previously reported the situation to the Guild, and we’ve been trying to investigate more on VILE – 2013. However, as if it vanished out of thin air, we weren’t able to find anything about it. That is until…”
Pausing, she turned around to look at the image projected on the wall.
“…That is, until VILE – 2013 made its second appearance. This time, the anomaly showed up in a lower-ranked gate. Just as previously observed, the gate rank increased, and VILE – 2013 single-handedly cleared the gate. To attest to this, we have several witnesses.”
Clara’s gaze fell towards a certain section, and it was there that Zoey slowly stood up from her seat and walked up towards Clara.
She stood next to her, her blonde hair swaying slightly as she presented her side of her story.
I tried my best to listen, but I couldn’t. A constant ringing sound echoed inside my head as all noise entered one ear and left the other.
A creeping sense of dread was slowly rising from the depths of my stomach as I swallowed nervously, trying my best to remain composed.
“Out of everything we’ve observed, two key points stand out. First, VILE – 2013 appears to increase the rank of any gate it enters. Second, it actively tries to clear the gate once inside. As for the reason behind this behaviour, we’re not certain, but we believe it may be tied to how it grows or evolves.”
Bringing me out of my thoughts were the last words, and the sense of crisis only heightened.
‘Increase the rank of any gate it enters…’
I was practically sweating at this point.
I… had just entered a gate, and its rank increased. While that might get dismissed since it had occurred in the past, there was a limit to it.
If I somehow entered a gate and its rank increased again, then I’d give away my identity!
‘No, I can’t let that happen. I need to find a way to be able to enter gates without increasing the rank, or just quit.’
It was never too late for me to quit.
This was just a trial period for me.
“Aside from everything that we’ve mentioned so far, there is nothing else that we know. We’ve tried to look at the BAU’s database, but there’s nothing else from them. It appears that the anomaly operates within this island. If anybody has some information to tell us, please contact the Section Chief. Compensation will be given to anyone who can find anything.”
The conference seemed to end there as Clara turned towards the Section Chief, who stepped forward.
He began to rumble about a few other things that we needed to be careful of. This lasted for the next dozen minutes before finally finishing.
“That’s it from all of us. Guild events will be suspended for the next couple of days to weeks as we prepare to learn more about the upcoming gate. Prepare yourself for a busy month.”
A helpless smile formed on the Section Chief’s face.
“…We’ll be having a lot of visitors soon. It’s best if all of you prep yourselves for that.”
And with that, the Section Chief turned off the projector and dismissed everyone.
Even as everyone stood and began to move, I stayed in my seat, my hands damp with sweat. The ringing sound in my head grew even more pronounced as the noise around me died down.
All I could hear was the sound of my own breath and heartbeat.
Everything around me seemed hazy as I slowly stood up from my seat and headed towards my office in the calmest way possible.
All my emotions seemed to seal in that moment as the fear and anxiety that I was previously experiencing faded.
I only had one goal at the moment.
Reach my office and boot up my laptop. I needed to ask several questions of the system.
I locked eyes on my office in the distance, and just as I reached the door to open it, a hand suddenly shot out, blocking my path.
“Wait a moment.”
I looked down, sensing a pair of amber eyes locked onto me. The air around me felt still under her gaze… like she was pinning me in place with just a look.
And then—
“You…”
Her voice reached my ears.
“…Have we met before?”