Was she a con artist, a genius, or a fool?
Sometimes, the lines between the three blurred.
Rather than having strict boundaries, they sometimes formed a kind of Venn diagram.
Lines can be faint, after all…
Dr. Wi was a perfect example of that.
“Now. Based on all the known information about the Gate Worshippers, I’ve done my best to organize it. How the Gate Worshippers act and conduct their rituals, too.”
“Okay.”
I nodded. Let’s at least hear her out.
Five senior researchers were gathered.
Dr. Ryoo, apparently uninterested, was staring at his Tablet, reviewing his Research Paper.
Dr. Kang quietly gazed at the Chalkboard. Dr. Min seemed busy, absorbed in his own notebook.
“Well, at least we made it to the meeting room.”
“First… If we assume Gate Worship is a form of religion, then we should think about which existing religion it most closely resembles. For starters, there’s the Worship of the Circle.”
“The Circle?”
“It’s about the religions related to the worship of the sun and moon. Sun worship tends to be associated with mainstream cultures, so I thought the Cult of the Moon was more similar.”
“What’s that?”
“Think of it simply. Consider it the antithesis of sun worship. The sun brightens the world, while the Gate seeks to destroy it. The black Gate, the White Sun.”
“Right.”
It was no wonder Dr. Ryoo and Dr. Min weren’t paying attention.
There wasn’t as much to add or comprehend in the conversation as I’d expected.
Still, thinking about the future, it was worth remembering.
“If you look a little deeper into the archetypes of moon worship, you find some fascinating myths and legends. In ancient Egypt, the moon god Konshu was known as the butcher of the gods—slaughtering other deities, extracting their organs, and granting eternal life to the dead Pharaohs.”
I think I understood what she meant…
Beside me, Dr. Kang frowned.
“Are you saying the Gate is related to the Egyptian god Konshu?”
“No. Konshu isn’t a real being, is he? The point is that the archetype in the collective unconscious of the Gate Worshippers originates from such legends.”
Dr. Wi flipped to the next slide.
“One more thing. Do you happen to know who the moon goddess was in ancient Greek mythology?”
“No.”
“The moon goddess who hunted monsters—Goddess Artemis.”
“I see.”
Dr. Kang looked as though he finally understood.
Dr. Wi, with a proud air, grabbed a marker for the whiteboard.
“You understand how symbols in myths can be connected to reality, right? A spherical object opposite the sun. The moon. A god who slaughters other gods and bestows immortality to humans with their corpses, and the Goddess of the Hunt, who chases monsters at night.”
“Aha.”
“Do you understand the symbolism?”
“I do.”
I nodded for the time being.
“So, she’s not a con artist after all.”
Dr. Wi cleared her throat and continued.
“Let’s move on to the next step. You said a ritual Altar was found near the fake Gate, correct? Along with a black Artifact.”
“Yes.”
“I saw some on-site photos. It’s the most basic principle of Magic, an unchanging law, right? Paying a price to alter reality through magic.”
That’s something I’d heard from magicians before the regression.
“Law Zero of Magic.”
Every Magic comes with a price.
Whether that’s the user’s Aether, blood, or some other valuable thing, there’s always a cost.
“So. The Gate Worshippers used the Altar and the black Gate Artifact as mediums, conducting rituals that offered the blood of Monsters or humans as sacrifice. As a result, they borrowed the power of the Gate to bring forth Monsters.”
It was information I already knew, but it was true that Dr. Wi provided a theoretical framework for understanding it.
***
Supernatural Science Research Institute, Containment Zone, Containment Room 5.
A space where the fake Gate and fragments of the Altar were stored.
Someone had attached a Cross to the door of the Containment Room.
“Do you think it’ll work?”
“Like putting a bandage on an explosion.”
In other words, not effective.
Dr. Min stood beside me, arms folded.
“Just as we suspected. Low levels of ionizing radiation, Aether response, specific electromagnetic wave emission. It’s a mana stone.”
“It’s made of Obsidian, right?”
“Yes… Obsidian and black Resin. Looks like it went through quite a bit of processing to form it into a sphere.”
We donned southern protective suits and entered Containment Room 5.
The goal was to reassemble the fake Gate.
Dr. Min carried Resin and an Ultraviolet Lamp.
“You probably know the procedure. We’ll glue the fragments of the fake Gate together with Resin, then use the Ultraviolet Lamp to harden it.”
“Okay.”
A globe-shaped Mold was already prepared.
We struggled as we transferred the fake Gate onto the spherical Mold.
“This is a hassle.”
Dr. Min placed her hand on the fake Gate.
“Honestly. I didn’t believe in Dr. Wi when I first met her.”
“Why not?”
There were 33 fragments of the fake Gate recovered from the site.
I was using one of them.
We needed to assemble the remaining 32 fragments to complete the fake Gate.
“How should I put it… Every group has its minority, right? Even among doctors, psychiatrists are a minority, and among psychiatrists, those who focus on research rather than clinical work are even more niche.”
“I guess it could look that way.”
To paraphrase Dr. Min, she meant that it’s hard to trust a doctor whom her peers don’t trust.
“Understandable, I guess.”
Dr. Min was a good-natured, ordinary person.
Even among the eccentrics at the Supernatural Science Research Institute, she was comparatively normal.
“But after hearing her earlier, I found her argument quite convincing. With things like Magic and Monsters, you can’t just treat them as collections of information. Inevitably, you have to find the patterns somehow.”
I silently checked the fragments of the fake Gate.
“How do you even know where each piece goes?”
Dr. Min frowned beside me.
“Ah, that. I analyzed the fragments with a Blender and organized everything. Just assemble them in the order of the attached numbers.”
Dr. Min showed me the Tablet.
On the screen was a 3D model of the fake Gate’s fragments.
Each piece was numbered, along with its corresponding position.
Like assembling a broken moon.
Resin and ultraviolet light. If anyone doesn’t know, ultraviolet light hardens Resin.
Dr. Min continued her work.
“Fake Gates and all… we sure get up to strange things. It hasn’t even been long since the Gate incident started.”
“True enough.”
Dr. Min let out a sigh.
“What do you think? If we assemble this, will we be able to summon Monsters as we need?”
“It might be possible.”
If the Gate Worshippers managed it, too.
Once the Supernatural Science Research Institute’s magic research team is fully operational, achieving similar results shouldn’t be too difficult.
“Whether that’s a wise choice is the real question.”
“The Gate Worshippers in Mujin City all died within days of opening the fake Gate. Maybe one or two survived, but…”
“So?”
“I don’t think it’s something we can experiment with by trial and error. Of course, necessary research must be done.”
Dr. Min nodded beside me.
And after a long stretch of work, most of the fake Gate’s fragments were finally back in place.
The fake Gate regained its original, complete form.
Except for one final piece.
“Where’s the last one?”
“For research.”
“Yeah, maybe it’s not such a good idea to complete it.”
I’d set it aside.
That particular piece was an Artifact used to control the ‘living armor’ connected to this fake Gate.
Just then.
The fake Gate began to emit a strange vibrating sound.
I pulled Dr. Min back behind me as I retreated.
“Now what’s it doing?”
“How would I know?”
I struck the fake Gate with a nearby Containment Pipe, and it went quiet for a moment.
I squinted, observing the fake Gate.
The fake Gate was filled to the brim with Aether.
A phenomenon I’d never witnessed before.
It was as if it contained the same Aether that living Monsters used…
Before the regression, I hadn’t been able to study a fake Gate this thoroughly, but if this was its state, it might become a medium for supplying magical energy—or even using more advanced Magic.
I tried using my Explorer trait on the fake Gate.
[You have brought the power of the Gate under your control.]
[Explorer stat +20.]
[Enlightenment Stage 3, 280/300 to the Moon.]
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was truly under my control.
But since I could now draw a portion of its power through the fragments of the fake Gate, perhaps it was fair to say so.
Dr. Min checked her Tablet again.
“That’s odd. Doctor, do you know what kind of electromagnetic wave pattern is coming from the fake Gate?”
“What about it?”
“It’s exhibiting characteristics similar to brainwaves.”
I nodded.
Recently, the Gate opened, and Hunters fought against the Monsters emerging from it.
At first glance, it might seem simple, but the Gate is a real, tangible entity.
And since it exists in reality, it has to possess physical properties. Just one layer deeper, and the issue becomes incredibly complex.
If it’s similar to brainwaves…
That means the Gate is mimicking a living organism—specifically, a human.
“Let’s think about a new Containment Room strategy.”
***
Summoned Beasts don’t need to eat or drink often.
That’s because they exist somewhere between being and non-being.
They’re different from simple, living creatures in reality.
As lifeforms maintained by Aether, they rarely need food or drink, and if the Summon is lifted, they might vanish altogether.
They could be summoned again, or, with enough time and effort, even be revived after death.
“Come on, everyone. Over here.”
Still, there were two reasons to raise Summoned Beasts.
First, even if they’re summoned beings, they’re not the same as non-existent things. And the more you raise them, the stronger they get.
The dragon, Ming Ming, was sleeping peacefully.
The Basilisk, Honey Combo, opened one eye to glance at me, but didn’t react much.
Mangkomi came over to my side.
The baby Tentacle Dragon, Mangkomi, was a little bigger than the last time I saw it.
“Was it because I fed it the Ant Monster’s carcass?”
Soon, it’ll be a Monster I can bring into battle.
“Hope you can become a good tank for me.”
It’d be nice if it could withstand gunfire or at least moderate attacks.
With anticipation, I poured Feed into the Tentacle Dragon’s Pet Bowl.
Mangkomi devoured the Feed without hesitation.
“That thing looks weird.”
“Huh?”
Dr. Ryoo scratched his head from behind me.
“It really does look odd—especially with those six eyes.”
“Is this part of your ability, Dr. Lee? Like, you can raise Monsters you’ve researched, as if you’re raising Pokémon?”
“You could say that.”
Dr. Ryoo cocked his head, intrigued.