Chapter 117: Behind the Mask

After destroying that strange glass orb—whatever it was—Magnus and Seraline began to notice changes. The first was the return of sound. Not the usual forest noises, though. Any creatures that had lived within a half kilometer of the battle were either collateral damage or had fled the moment they sensed the tremors. Instead, the sounds were more unsettling: trees on the verge of snapping, creaking as they swayed, and parts of the ground giving way under the strain of the fight.

Then came the return of their sense of smell. During the battle, they hadn't been able to smell much of anything, especially not the creature. But now, the scents rushed in all at once, and the most overpowering one was foul beyond words.

"Ugh—" Magnus gagged, his nose hit by the worst stench he'd ever experienced. Even the rancid air during the rescue of Celia, surrounded by corpses, hadn't been this bad. It was as if every rotten odor imaginable had merged into one, forming a stench so thick you could almost taste it. Seraline reacted even worse. Her enhanced senses were still active, and she threw up on the spot. Magnus tried to cover his mouth and nose, but quickly regretted it—the source of the smell was the creature's flesh, and he was covered in it.

Fuck... this thing couldn't just be creepy; it had to smell horrible too?

The changes weren't over, though, and the next one took both of them by surprise. Slowly, the path beneath their feet seemed to fade, becoming translucent. At the same time, a forest floor started to overlay it, like one was being swapped for the other. The trees around them stayed where they were, but everything else shifted. Before they knew it, they weren't standing on a path anymore, but in a small, devastated glade in the forest.

The battle had utterly destroyed it.

The sky above them had changed too. Instead of the dark night shrouded in thick clouds, it now seemed close to sunset. The sun's orange hues stretched across the horizon, casting an eerie glow over the scene. As Magnus and Seraline pulled themselves together, trying to make sense of what had happened, they realized why the stench had been so overpowering. The creature's shadowy covering had lifted, revealing what they were truly coated in. It was blood and flesh, just like they'd assumed, but something about it was wrong. The blood appeared old, its colors too varied and unnatural, more like sludge than something capable of keeping a creature even remotely alive.

The flesh was no better. Some patches were soft, others tough. Scales appeared where none should be, alongside patches of old, matted fur. Some of the fur even seemed like it had come from inside the creature, not just the surface of its skin. Scattered among the creature's remains were mutated body parts—like the legs of deer or the fins of various fish—that made something click in Magnus's mind.

"This thing... was some kind of chimera?" He muttered, his voice laced with disgust. Seraline nodded as she searched for something to wipe her mouth.

"Probably. I've never heard of a mana beast like this before, but it's likely an avatar-type with assimilation abilities." Avatar-based mana beasts hid their core or main forms and used puppet bodies for hunting. Golems were a common example; no matter how many times their physical form was destroyed, they could rebuild themselves with the materials around them as long as their core remained intact.

"That explains why it was so heavy and fast," Magnus added.

"It was a bunch of condensed bodies all mashed together and controlled." They had almost been added to that gruesome collection. Seraline also noted that it likely used a mix of illusion magic and something that either distorted their senses or manipulated what was perceivable.

"That thing killed the horses, so we'll have to travel on foot," Seraline said, finally finding something to wipe away the last of the vomit from her mouth.

"We might not have to go on foot the whole way," Magnus countered, earning a puzzled look from her.

"Well, from what I've seen, the mana beast only assimilates organic matter. Even if it ate the horses and our gear, once it exploded, our stuff should've been thrown somewhere around here. And even if it's not, I memorized the map, and there are a few villages between where we were when that thing started hunting us and Freyborn. As long as we can find the path again, we can stop at one to get new horses." Seraline stared at him in disbelief. He memorized the map of the entire region? And after only looking at it twice, for just a few minutes?

Shaking off her surprise, she nodded.

"In that case, I'll search for the gear. You can float, so finding the path should be easier for you."

"Are you sure? What about your leg and your head?" Magnus glanced at the dried blood on her face. The wound had closed, but she still looked rough, and her leg wasn't much better. She was clearly leaning on her spear for support.

"I'll be fine as long as I take it slow. We knights heal fast." Seraline's tone was fairly confident, though her condition suggested otherwise. Still, Magnus didn't argue. She knew her body's limits better than anyone, and with her sense of duty, he trusted she wouldn't push herself to the point of risking a permanent injury, especially while they were still on assignment. So, with that, they split up—Seraline heading into the forest to search for their gear, while Magnus prepared to find the path. But as he walked, he kept stepping on pieces of flesh scattered across the ground.

He paused, taking in the carnage. They'd made a real mess of the place. If left like this, the decaying flesh could cause serious environmental problems before it finally broke down.

Damn you, Mom, for raising me to clean up after myself.

Out in the forest, even with her injured leg, it didn't take Seraline long to find some of the satchels from the horses. The explosion hadn't been that strong, so they weren't sent far. Still, some of the satchels had been directly destroyed when the creature devoured the horses. She did her best to salvage what she could, wrapping the remaining satchels carrying anything useful around her torso, and scavenging for anything not completely broken.

I'm surprised this much survived. Too bad I couldn't find any spare uniforms.

After a few more minutes of searching, Seraline started heading back to where she left Magnus. As she walked, she noticed smoke rising from the direction she was heading. Her first thought was that something might be wrong, but as she got closer, she realized the smoke was coming from a large, burning pile of flesh. Not only that, but the ground had been leveled out and soaked with water to prevent the fire from spreading. Uprooted trees, too damaged to recover, had been set aside, making room for new ones.

Seraline spotted Magnus sitting nearby and approached him with a questioning look.

"You're burning the creature's body?"

"Yeah," Magnus replied, "I didn't want to leave its parts just lying around. Once it's all burned, the nutrients from the ashes should spread naturally through the wind into the soil. Hopefully, that'll help things start growing here again."

"I didn't picture you as someone who cared about nature that much," Seraline remarked, glancing around.

"I don't, not really," Magnus admitted, "but I was taught that if you make a mess, you clean it up—no matter where you are or what it is."

"Sounds like you were raised by good people," Seraline commented. Magnus fell silent for a moment, memories of his parents flickering through his mind. He sighed softly and stood up from the rock he'd been sitting on.

"Yeah, well, no point in sticking around here. I found the path—it's not far from here, so it looks like we weren't lured too far off course. And the river's close by, so we can set up camp there as we planned... and wash all of this off us." Magnus gestured to both of them, grimacing at the reminder of the smell. Neither of them wanted to deal with the stench any longer than necessary, so the river was the next stop.

The path was only about two kilometers from where they were, and with the river nearby, Magnus and Seraline arrived just as the sun dipped below the horizon—no illusions this time. They were faster than horses on foot, just not for long enough distances to make them more efficient. As they reached the riverbank, they saw the river itself was a few hundred meters wide. The water wasn't rushing too fast, but the sound of it running was still loud enough to echo through the surrounding forest.

"Finally, we can wash off this horrible smell," Magnus sighed in relief as soon as he spotted the river. There were some odors you could get used to over time, but not this one. As they traveled, it seemed to come in waves—one minute, you'd think your nose had blocked it out, and the next, it would hit you all over again. It was nauseating.

"So, do you want to wash first or-" Magnus cut himself off when he glanced over to see Seraline already dropping the satchels she had been carrying and lifting her shirt.

His head snapped back in the opposite direction as he blurted out, "Jeez, Seraline! I know you weren't raised like a noble lady, but at least go behind a tree or something."

Seraline gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" Magnus cautiously turned back, stealing a glance, only to see that she was still wearing something under the shirt—some kind of wrap, like thick bandages, wound tightly around her chest.

"Oh..." He let out a sigh. Now that he thought about it, it made sense. With the way Seraline fought, there was no way she wouldn't wear something under her clothes. Going without something would be inconvenient and probably uncomfortable too.

Though, honestly, with how she's acting, she probably wouldn't care either way.

Without hesitation, Seraline tossed her shirt aside, quickly followed by her pants. Like her top, she had something on underneath, but Magnus still felt a bit awkward just standing there.

Feeling his gaze on her, Seraline glanced over and asked, "Aren't you going to take off your clothes too, Magnus?"

Snapping out of it, Magnus stammered, "Huh? Oh, yeah, I-"

But then he stopped, freezing in place as her words replayed in his mind. Slowly, he looked up at her, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Wh-What did you just call me?"

"Magnus. I remembered it right, didn't I?" Seraline responded calmly. He stood there for a moment, his mind racing. He considered denying it, but that felt pointless. She clearly knew. So instead, he asked the first question that came to mind.

"How... did you figure it out?" He muttered, his voice low and slightly dazed.

"I didn't at first," Seraline explained.

"But as you started talking more with me and everyone else, your mannerisms and speech patterns kept slipping. But I only realized for sure during the fight—your persona completely dropped." Magnus let out a sigh. She was right. He hadn't been able to maintain the aloof, stoic 'Cain' while battling that creature. Of course, she noticed the sudden shift in character.

"There's also the fact that during the Live Examination, every time Cain was on the field, you disappeared. Then there were other things—like only being able to contact Cain through you, how Luden treats you, and the fact there's no noble family in the kingdom with the name Wright. It wasn't hard to put it together after that." Magnus blinked, surprised at how much she'd pieced together.

"Huh. Yeah, I guess looking back, I wasn't hiding it that well." He shrugged, then reached up and took off his mask, revealing his face.

"Still, I didn't know you were paying that much attention to me... or to Cain."

"I always pay attention to people who catch my interest," Seraline said simply, turning toward the river. Magnus stared after her for a moment.

Right, she did seem a bit interested in me when we talked during the Live Examination... Actually, now that I think about it, she's always seemed curious about me when we talked. But why? To her, I should've just been the average student, Magnus, nothing like Cain—who everyone believes is a Pseudo-Master level mage.

He wanted to ask why she had bothered paying attention to him at all, but decided to save that for later. He really wouldn't be able to think clearly until he was clean. So, he joined Seraline at the river and began scrubbing the creature's remains off himself. They didn't have soap, but Seraline's family had packed a bottle of something similar to an all-purpose cleaner, so they used that instead.

Night had long since fallen, but without an illusion or the dense forest canopy blocking the sky, the stars and moon provided plenty of light for them to see while cleaning themselves.

"I guess our clothes will have to dry overnight. Did you find any clean spares?" Magnus asked, glancing over. Seraline shook her head as she ran her hands through her long, maroon hair.

"No, but it's not too chilly tonight, so we'll be fine," she replied. Neither of them was particularly concerned about the temperature. Even an Apprentice-level knight could survive in harsh conditions, completely naked if needed, thanks to their aura. As for Magnus, with his elementrix and practically infinite mana, regulating his body temperature was simple and didn't take much visualization effort on his part.

By the time they finished, Magnus felt much better. They'd both had to spot clean to avoid soaking their remaining dry clothes, but even so, their skin gleamed from the water, reflecting the moonlight above. As Magnus looked over at Seraline, a brief flash of amazement crossed his eyes.

Despite how she'd been raised, Seraline had always been gifted in the looks department, though that could be said for a lot of the students at Takerth. But that wasn't what caught his attention. What truly amazed him was her physique. Normally hidden beneath her long-sleeved uniform, he saw that her body was fully defined. She wasn't hulking or anything, but the way her muscles flexed beneath her skin when she moved, the clear tone of her stomach—it was obvious that her training had been as much physical as it was focused on spearmanship or honing her aura.

Realizing he was staring, Magnus quickly looked away, deciding to climb out of the river first. As such, he didn't notice Seraline stealing a glance at him in return as he turned his back.

Although she wasn't the most social person, Seraline wasn't foolish. She knew better than to put her trust in a stranger, let alone go on an assignment with one, and end up risking her life on their gamble of a plan. There was only one reason she had done any of that, and it was related to one of the gifts of being a knight. One of which was a sixth sense that defied normalcy. It wasn't exactly a lie detector, but it allowed a knight to sense a person's general intentions if they were strong enough.

It's strange... from the moment I met him to even now when he was looking at me, his intentions have never really changed.

Sure, they got muddled sometimes, but all she ever sensed from Magnus was curiosity, intrigue, and amazement. It was so direct, it almost felt... pure in a way. It didn't matter when—whether he wore his mask, which obscured her ability to detect things from him clearly, or during their fight with the creature—it still felt like those were the emotions that seemed to drive him forward, even if he himself didn't fully understand why he was taking the next step.

"Magnus," Seraline called out just as he stepped onto the riverbank.

"Hm?" He turned to look at her, his eyes curious, as she asked him something unexpected.

"Are you happy?" It was a random question, and definitely not one Magnus expected from Seraline of all people. But she looked serious when she asked, so he decided to give it real thought.

Was he happy?

He couldn't lie to himself. He missed his family, his parents, and, of course, Wendy. As bad as parts of his life had been, he even missed Earth—his home. But those feelings didn't define all of his time here.

"Well, I've been through a lot since I came here. Good and bad. I've almost died more times than I can count, and I probably have more people who want me dead than I ever thought possible. It's hectic, to say the least..." Magnus said, his voice trailing off.

"But despite all that, I can't say I hate this place." How could he, when this world was so vast, with so much left for him to explore? When every mystery and danger that pressed up against him allowed him to glimpse just a little further into the unknown? That was one of the reasons he agreed to work with Eveline. She was crazy, but he understood her—that drive to learn, to uncover everything she could about the world. He had felt that very same desire the day he arrived here, in this strange world.

In the end, Seraline didn't get a direct answer, but she didn't need one. As Magnus gazed up at the night sky, his eyes reflecting the endless stars and constellations above, she saw it.

He was smiling.