IBTMG 09

Chapter 09 He’s Seriously So Lightweight

The reason I chose this “Night of School” episode as the point where Yunibel first meets me was because the enemies appearing here all have a very clear weakness.

The shadows endlessly created by the Void may look terrifying at first glance, but in truth, they aren’t particularly powerful.

Unlike other monsters, they possess no deadly means of attack. All they can really do is wriggle around like giant worms.

Though that doesn’t mean they’re harmless.

If those shadows were truly harmless, then Eun-hye Yoo wouldn’t have suffered such severe psychological trauma after being caught by one in the original story that she ended up resigning from her teaching job.

The shadows created by the Void feed on the human mind.

The instant they catch someone, they flood the victim’s consciousness with nightmare-like hallucinations, feeding on the negative emotions that follow.

If enough time passes, the human brain can no longer endure the overwhelming fear and essentially blows its own fuse.

In simple terms, the body remains alive…

…but the mind dies, leaving behind nothing more than a living vegetable.

“Hold it.”

I grabbed Yunibel by the shoulder before she could step forward and carefully examined the floor.

At first glance, it looked no different from the surrounding tiles.

But it was only an illusion created by the shadows.

The moment someone stepped on it, the floor would collapse beneath them.

A trap.

A corrupted space was, in essence, a dungeon.

Every corrupted zone had a monster at its core—the final boss—and naturally, obstacles stood in the way of reaching it.

In the case of the Void, those obstacles were known as Remnants.

A Remnant was a fragment of the memories belonging to minds the Void had already consumed. Random pieces of those memories would take shape, and each behaved differently depending on the memory it inherited.

Most wandered around aimlessly, mindlessly muttering “Grrrk…” like idiots.

Others, however, actively sought to eliminate intruders.

The one responsible for the trap before us belonged to the latter group.

A Leader.

A commander-type shadow that directed the others using fragments of the memories it retained from life.

That said, its abilities had obvious limits. At best, it could dig traps like this one or guide nearby shadows to specific locations.

It’s probably waiting right underneath…

I could already picture it hiding beneath the trap with a cluster of shadows gathered around it.

“We’ll take the long way.”

“Okay.”

I led the puzzled-looking Yunibel around the trap.

After retracing our steps, we found that the shadows blocking our path had disappeared.

Apparently, the Leader had withdrawn them in order to prepare the trap.

“…Why aren’t those things here anymore?”

“They hate light by nature. They may seem like they’re moving around at random, but they actually follow certain patterns. If I’m right, the staircase should be clear.”

For a brief moment, I considered explaining the existence of Leaders.

But knowing that much about the enemy would seem suspicious, and the explanation would only be a hassle.

So I brushed it off with a vague answer.

“I see.”

Fortunately, Yunibel accepted my explanation without the slightest hint of suspicion.

She had agreed without hesitation when I suggested turning back earlier, and now she was doing the same thing again.

Was she simply that innocent?

Or did she trust me that much?

Putting the magical girl aside, I was beginning to worry about her purely as her teacher.

Taking Yunibel’s hand, I climbed the empty staircase.

The Leader had been lurking on the third floor.

The rooftop was on the fifth.

If we could get past this floor, we’d finally reach the Void.

Though it won’t be easy.

Unlike the lower floors, which had been swarming with shadows, the fourth floor was relatively untouched.

If not for the shadowy tendrils writhing across the walls, it would’ve looked almost identical to the school during the day.

“Is there something up ahead?”

The cautious voice behind me came from Unibel, who was pressed against the wall.

Only then did I realise I was blocking her view, so I stepped aside.

“…There’s something really dangerous up ahead.”

That was Unibel’s first impression after seeing what lay before us.

She was right.

Standing directly in front of us was a Remnant unlike any we had encountered so far.

“Krrrk.”

It let out a mechanical cry.

Even that was different from the other Remnants.

Harvester.

According to the dictionary, a harvester is simply a machine used for gathering crops.

But the word carries another meaning as well.

The Angel of Death.

The one who guides lost lambs back to where they truly belong.

The final gatekeeper.

The Harvester.

“…Should we go around it?”

Unibel’s eyes trembled the moment she recognised the Harvester.

I couldn’t blame her.

The creature’s sheer presence was overwhelming.

It occupied more than half the width of the corridor.

Its appearance resembled the Grim Reaper from a horror film.

And in its hands rested a gigantic axe forged entirely from shadows.

Even I, who already knew what it was, instinctively flinched at the terrifying sight.

At the same time, Unibel’s reaction surprised me.

I thought she’d be much more frightened.

She was clearly more tense than usual, but that was all.

Faced with a Harvester that would have sent an ordinary person fleeing in terror, she remained remarkably composed.

The heroine really is the heroine.

I couldn’t help admiring her.

“This won’t be easy,” I said. “Just looking at it, you can tell it’s determined not to let anyone pass.”

“I thought so…”

The Harvester stood directly in front of the staircase leading to the rooftop.

From the fourth floor, that staircase was the only route upward.

If we wanted to continue, we had no choice but to defeat it.

“Still, there is one piece of good news.”

“What is it?”

“You can use your magic here without worrying.”

Unibel’s eyes sparkled the instant she heard those words.

The shadows that had been suppressing her until now were gone.

That was thanks to the Harvester’s nature of indiscriminately absorbing every nearby shadow to increase its own size.

“Then it’s finally my turn to shine!”

A pink magic circle flared beneath Unibel’s feet before disappearing in an instant.

She kicked off the floor, becoming a streak of shooting light as she charged straight toward the Harvester.

So… what’s the plan?

The battle between Unibel and the Harvester had begun.

Their strength was almost perfectly balanced.

The Harvester’s axe couldn’t keep up with Unibel’s speed.

Unibel’s flames couldn’t penetrate the Harvester’s thick body of shadows.

Exactly as I had expected.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion tore through the corridor, sending chunks of concrete flying in every direction.

But Unibel was already gone.

Leaving only an afterimage behind, she leapt high into the air and delivered a flaming kick to the Harvester’s shoulder.

The massive creature didn’t even budge.

Just as I thought. She can’t do this alone.

Things had unfolded differently in the original story.

Back then, Unibel hadn’t had the luxury of time.

She failed to avoid the trap on the third floor and wasted precious minutes fighting the Leader.

More importantly, Yoo Eun-hye had been seriously injured.

Pressed by the need to defeat the monster before it was too late, Unibel had chosen to flee.

She ignored the slower Harvester and decided to eliminate the Void—the true body—first.

Given the circumstances, it had been the best choice she could make.

But in hindsight…

It was a terrible mistake.

The Harvester had pursued her to protect its master.

Caught between the Void in front and the Harvester behind, she found herself trapped in a deadly pincer attack.

That’s why we absolutely had to defeat the Harvester here.

The only problem is figuring out how.

The Harvester had no obvious weakness.

It possessed one of the rare forms of light resistance among the shadows.

Its senses were exceptionally sharp.

And even Unibel’s strongest magic barely left a scratch on its monstrous defence.

It truly deserved its title as the Final Gatekeeper.

“That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to beat.”

Of everything I’d prepared for this episode, the Harvester had been the problem I’d spent the longest thinking about.

Even in the original story, it had never been defeated.

So how could we kill it?

After countless hours searching for an answer, I’d finally arrived at my own conclusion.

My gaze shifted toward the shadowy tentacles writhing along the walls.

Something about them had always bothered me.

If the Harvester absorbed every nearby shadow…

Why were these things still intact?

Most shadows resembled shapeless blobs of slime.

Only the special ones—the Remnants—possessed distinct forms.

So what purpose did these tentacles serve?

The answer wasn’t difficult to find.

Observer.

A Remnant that gathers information through its highly developed senses and transmits it to other Remnants.

The eyes and ears of shadows that otherwise cannot perceive the world.

That explained how the Harvester was able to keep track of Unibel.

I reached out and grabbed one of the shadow tentacles.

As expected, it merely struggled helplessly.

It made no attempt to attack.

If I tore every one of these tentacles off the walls…

The Harvester would effectively become blind.

…Wait a second.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

My hand stopped before snapping the tentacle.

Could this work too?

If my theory was correct…

I might be able to destroy that indestructible Harvester in a single move.

“Magical Girl!”

“Yes! What is it?”

“I’ve got an idea! Can you lure it toward me?”

“I’ll try!”

Leaving her determined reply behind, I broke into a run.

The fourth floor was laid out like this:

The staircase to the rooftop.

The Harvester blocking the entrance.

And surrounding the Harvester…

Observers densely covering the walls.

Every ordinary shadow on the other floors had already been absorbed by the Harvester.

But what about the Observers?

They were still shadows.

Their appearance differed from ordinary shadows, but their essence remained the same.

…The placement is strange too.

Around the staircase where the Harvester stood, there weren’t any Observers attached to the walls.

At first, I’d assumed it was simply to keep them from getting in its way.

But what if…

They were deliberately avoiding the Harvester’s absorption range?

What would happen if I disrupted that arrangement and slammed the Harvester into a wall packed with Observers?

As I ran, I scanned the corridor.

Just as expected, the farther I moved from the staircase, the more Observers appeared.

The greatest concentration lay at the very end of the corridor.

Walls.

Floor.

Ceiling.

Every surface was crawling with them.

I looked back.

Unibel was skilfully keeping the Harvester’s attention as she lured it after her.

“Now! Run at full speed!”

“…Okay!”

Unexpectedly, Unibel came to a complete stop.

For a split second I was confused.

I’d told her to run.

Instead…

She stood perfectly still.

“Krrrk!”

The Harvester swung its enormous axe without hesitation.

The destructive roar echoed through the hallway.

Unlike before, Unibel made no attempt to dodge.

“Excuse me for a moment!”

Calmly watching the axe’s trajectory, she planted one foot on the flat of the massive blade and vaulted upward.

Just before colliding with the low ceiling, she twisted her body with feline grace.

She completed a full spin in midair.

Then kicked off the ceiling itself and shot over the Harvester like a cannonball.

It was astonishing.

I already knew that transforming into a magical girl dramatically enhanced physical abilities.

But I never imagined she could pull off something like that.

“Hya!”

Her cheerful cry rang out.

The Harvester’s massive body lurched violently.

I couldn’t see clearly through the darkness surrounding it, but she’d apparently gathered magical power into a single punch.

“Krrrk?”

Thrown off balance by the surprise attack, the Harvester staggered.

Unibel floated weightlessly behind it.

Wait…

Don’t tell me—

The instant I understood what was happening, I threw myself sideways.

BOOM!

Only seconds later, the Harvester crashed into the wall beside me despite having been dozens of metres away.

Squirm.

As though they had been waiting for this exact moment, the Observers covering the walls, floor, and ceiling all writhed at once.

Like a tidal wave, they surged toward the fallen Harvester, screaming as they were sucked into its body.

“…That’s not what I expected.”

Originally, my plan had been to make the Harvester absorb the Observers, causing it to grow so large that it would become trapped inside the narrow corridor.

Everything had gone according to plan…

Until now.

The Harvester was indeed absorbing them.

But instead of growing larger…

Its body was shrinking.

I see.

Only then did I realise the truth.

Unlike mindless shadows, Remnants possessed their own will.

Naturally…

They resisted being absorbed.

The gigantic Harvester that had filled half the corridor steadily shrank until it was only slightly taller than an ordinary person.

“Krrrk?”