I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 208: Green Mist

Theo’s breath hitches.

A dungeon. No way!

He suddenly gets up, startling his teammates.

Before anyone can ask what’s wrong, Theo turns to Julian, his expression sharp and serious.

"Jules, do you have a way of detecting mana out here?" Theo asks. "I mean with your gadget. The one that screamed about one hundred percent purity."

His tone is urgent. No room for jokes. No room for delay.

Julian blinks, confused, but nods anyway. "Yeah. It’s called Arcatherm. It’s a simple device used to detect heartstone purity, but apparently it also reads Teacher Theo’s mana."

Theo nods immediately, like he already expected that answer.

"Okay. Do you have it here? In your lab?" Theo presses.

"The lite version," Julian answers.

"It should be good enough," Theo says. "Let’s go."

Everyone moves at once, following Julian toward his lab.

"Thea," Arthur asks as they walk, keeping his voice calm even though his eyes are searching Theo’s face. "What’s wrong?"

"Both Maeve and I felt something," Theo answers. "I can’t really describe it. But it clouded our brains. We couldn’t think properly."

The hallway feels quieter as he speaks. No one interrupts.

Theo continues, laying out his reasoning, piece by piece, as if he needs them to understand this fully.

Julian opens the door to his lab and moves toward his equipment.

"So you want to check if Arcatherm can detect this mana leak?" Julian asks, already powering the device and pulling up data on his monitors.

"And trace it back to the source," Theo adds. "To the dungeon."

He takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly.

"I really hope it’s a dungeon. If it is, we can clear it. But if it’s not..." He shakes his head. "Then we still need to stop it. Fast."

Liam frowns. "What makes this mana so dangerous, Thea? How is it different from normal mana?"

Theo doesn’t answer right away.

Maeve does.

"Because it affects the mind," she whispers.

Theo nods. "Yes. Maeve is right."

He looks at all of them. One by one.

"Our mind is our most dangerous weapon. Especially when wielding magic. And this mana interferes with it. It dulls it. Clouds it."

His voice lowers.

"If this mana spreads, people with resonance, even those who haven’t learned magic yet, will still be affected."

The room feels heavier.

Theo finishes quietly, but firmly.

"Remember this. Any magic that can affect the mind is always dangerous."

"And we don’t know what other effects this mana has besides clouding the mind." He adds.

Julian’s fingers are already flying across the keyboard, his focus snapping into place like a switch being flipped.

After a few minutes, his expression changes.

"Thea is right," he says quietly. "Look at this."

He clicks a few commands, and an image expands across the large screen on one side of the lab.

"This is a map of Solarys," Julian explains.

He points at the display. "This is Solarys about thirty minutes ago."

He clicks the remote again. "This is Solarys ten minutes ago."

Another click. "And this... is Solarys now."

The first map looks normal. Clean. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The second map shows the same area of the city covered in a mist. A muted green cloud, spreading unevenly, like something alive but unseen.

The third map returns to normal. Just like the first.

"What is that muted green cloud?" Liam asks slowly.

"And it disappeared," Maeve adds, her brows knitting together.

"Jules, can you trace where that green cloud is coming from?" Theo asks.

"You’re thinking that green cloud is the leaking mana?" Julian asks, disbelief creeping into his voice.

"If that’s true, why is it colored?" Arthur asks. "Is it because the concentration is thick?"

Theo shakes his head.

"Mana is colorless. Most magi can’t see it at all. They can detect it, they can feel it, but not see it."

He continues, voice steady. "That said, some sensitive magi, mostly those aligned with Light, can vaguely perceive mana. It usually appears like a thin, goldish-white mist."

"But never another color."

His expression hardens.

"This muted green..." Theo exhales slowly. "I don’t know. I don’t know what it means."

Julian’s fingers clack rapidly against the keyboard again, his attention fully absorbed by the data.

No one interrupts him.

They wait in silence, the hum of machines suddenly too loud.

Arthur’s phone vibrates.

He glances at the screen, then steps out of the lab to take the call.

As the door clicks shut behind him, Julian finally speaks.

"Okay. I tried tracing the green cloud," he says. "But its energy signature doesn’t match heartstone energy exactly."

His fingers move again. "That makes it hard to track. I don’t even fully know what I’m tracking."

He pauses, then raises one finger.

"But I managed to isolate it to one area. Roughly centered around here."

He circles a location far from the city’s center.

The lab door clicks open.

Arthur steps back inside, his face grim.

"Guys, we need to gear up," he says. "Captain Chambers just called. He’s on his way here. He sounded urgent. I didn’t ask much, but..." He exhales. "He sounded desperate."

"Did he say where we’re going?" Theo asks, a heavy feeling settling in his chest.

Arthur nods. "St. Lucas."

The other four stiffen instantly, exchanging looks.

"Why?" Arthur frowns.

They step aside from the screen, giving him a clear view of the circled area on Julian’s map.

The label is unmistakable.

St. Lucas.

------------------------------

Captain Chambers is inside a helicopter, heading toward Rhaenas HQ.

The flight will take less than ten minutes, but to him, every second feels stretched thin.

A voice crackles through his headset, but he barely registers it.

"Captain!"

His eyes snap into focus. "What?"

"Sir, we just received reports that many citizens are behaving... strangely."

"Huh?" Captain Chambers blinks. "Behaving strangely? What does that mean, and why are you telling me this now?" His jaw tightens. He already has too much to deal with.

"Sir, because they don’t know what to do."

"Who?" Captain Chambers snaps, patience wearing dangerously thin.

"The paramedics on the field, sir. The ones responding to calls about people acting... wrong."

"Kerr," Captain Chambers growls, "I am heading to Rhaenas HQ and then straight to St. Lucas. I left you in charge so you could handle these things. Now deal with it and stop interrupting me!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Yes, sir," Kerr replies, his voice drained of energy.

As the transmission cuts off, the helicopter touches down on the rooftop of Rhaenas HQ.

Captain Chambers looks out.

Five figures are already there.

Geared up.

Ready.