Chapter 81 - Battle City (1)

A church operated alongside an orphanage under the Vatican.

It was nothing as ornate as the great cathedrals overseas, just a Western-style building divided into a place for Mass and an orphanage. Sister Selena, Ellie's adoptive mother, had originally managed it, but she was currently in Rome on personal business. In her absence, Ellie was looking after it, though she was not yet officially a nun.

And there, a black-haired girl with a cute face but sharp eyes lay sprawled comfortably on the sofa in someone else's home as though it were her own. Namgung Sua asked Ellie,

"So when are you going to have dinner with mister?"

"Huh?"

Ellie was a beautiful woman with black hair and blue eyes. Those blue eyes widened momentarily in surprise.

"Well..."

The mister Sua meant was, of course, Yohan. Ellie was flustered, not opposed to the idea.

"... Yohan is busy, and I wonder if I'd just be getting in his way. I'm also worried he might actually find it bothersome."

"I've watched him work. He's basically half-unemployed. He has plenty of free time."

"Oh, he has free time... You met him!?"

Ellie had been nodding, but now she looked at Sua in surprise. Sua showed her the call history on her phone.

"We met briefly a while ago because something came up. We keep in touch, too."

Yohan had told her she could call anytime if anything in the magic notebook he'd given her was confusing. Naturally, however, Sua often called him simply to chat.

"... I asked him. He thinks you only offered to be polite, Sister Ellie, and that you'd be put on the spot if he actually asked you to dinner."

Sua looked at Ellie, then deliberately turned away and casually added,

"Just call him and ask him to eat with you. I doubt he'll turn you down."

"R-really?"

Perhaps Sua was meddling unnecessarily, but she owed both Yohan and Ellie, so she couldn't pretend not to notice.

Still, for some reason, she felt a little strange about it. It wasn't dislike or irritation... She wasn't sure what it was.

At Sua's urging, Ellie looked at Yohan's number on her phone screen.

"..."

She gazed at it silently, her expression gentle. It was only an invitation to arrange a meal, nothing remotely momentous, yet somehow she felt nervous.

* * *

Following the complete downfall of Chairman Kim's faction, the Madas clan had become Korea's largest magical power. Its head, the blond, blue-eyed vampire Ioannis, smiled as he read through the information gathered in the investigation.

The information he wanted had finally been compiled.

His investigation into Namgung Su had revealed that Namgung Sua was alive.

According to his disciple, Chairman Kim, Namgung Sua had been kidnapped and brought to the building where the dinner gathering was held. That much was fact.

And while everyone else in the building had died, only the girl named Sua had escaped alive.

'... What was different about her?'

Ioannis reached out and placed a finger on a photograph of a composed-looking, black-haired man in a white coat, pictured alongside Namgung Sua.

Naturally, he hadn't singled him out because he found him attractive. This wasn't his type to begin with. He preferred pretty boys who stirred his protective instincts. Anyway, that wasn't the point.

The man's name was Kim Yohan.

Looking at the recent incidents—the kidnapping of Namgung Sua, the campground incident Edward had presumably caused, and the secret workshop disguised as a weekend ranch where Chairman Kim's downfall had begun—they were all connected to Kim Yohan.

Well, those were supporting evidence. The conclusive evidence had come from elsewhere.

Alphonse, heir to the Paracelsian School.

Ioannis had considered him a useful hunting dog, but he hadn't expected him to fetch such valuable information. Was this what it meant to be the heir to a prestigious school? His ability to detect magical power, in particular, surpassed Ioannis's own. He was probably among the best in Europe.

Thanks to him, Ioannis had picked up Yohan's trail on the day rain had poured down in complete defiance of the forecast.

A deserted street amid failed businesses. It seemed Yohan had cleaned up after himself as best he could, but traces of battle remained here and there.

Ioannis's blue eyes flashed as he picked up Yohan's photograph and studied it.

"I've found you, master of <Mysteries of the Worm>."

At last, the real fight was beginning.

* * *

Yohan's secret workshop.

After checking the Hand of Glory I'd left curing in salt, I leaned back in my chair and let out a weary breath.

"Haa..."

I'd been worn out lately, throwing myself into breathing practice and shooting lessons.

... Still.

I took the Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol out of my coat.

The only ammunition I had was the seventeen rounds currently in its magazine, but I'd obtained the gun legally through Sion.

I did have the Walther I'd taken after killing Gaeun when she broke into my studio apartment, but wasn't it better to have a legal firearm authorized by a government agency?

Apparently, if the police caught me carrying it, they'd let it slide if I showed them the "Special Response Section Civilian Collaborator" ID Sion had given me along with the gun case. That made this one much more convenient to use.

... Well, obviously, having a permit to carry a gun didn't mean I could happily go "Bang, bang!" out in the street whenever I pleased.

"..."

Anyway, after everything that had happened recently, I'd decided to take today off.

If I were a Saiyan from a warrior race, I'd have no problem living on "Meat! Training! Meat! Training! Meat!" Unfortunately, I wasn't, so I had to manage my stress like this from time to time.

THUD—CLACK! THUD—CLACK! THUD—CLACK!

Grizzly was also fucking up the refrigerator for the first time in a while.

"Gya-gya! Gya-gyaa!"

As Grizzly's arms moved, the empty refrigerator shook, its door opening and closing.

"Gyaaaaa!"

Buying a refrigerator and bringing it into the secret workshop was a chore in itself, so I hoped this one would last as long as possible.

THUD—CLACK! THUD—CLACK! THUD—CLACK!

Listening to the refrigerator door open and close, I turned on the computer. For the first time in a while, I opened Steam and moved my mouse around to see what new games were out.

RRR... RRR...

I didn't play games often, but I liked them quite a bit. They were fun, weren't they?

Back when I lived at the orphanage, someone who'd grown up there had apparently done fairly well after leaving. Saying they'd always wanted to play the latest consoles as a child but never had the chance, they donated a large number of PlayStations and Nintendos.

All the other kids flocked to those. Unable to join them, I played old games secretly installed on the orphanage's battered computer, like Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms and strip Tetris. They were pretty entertaining, and I liked them.

A faint smile came to my lips.

Thinking back, that Tetris game was surprisingly hard for an elementary school kid. Was it shoes? Having them start by taking off their socks was shameless. I was too busy playing to even watch them strip.

RRR... RRR...

I browsed the latest games displayed on the site. Being busy, though, I usually just looked around like this and closed it soon afterward instead of buying anything and playing it.

"... Hmm?"

Then I noticed that a game I'd thought looked fun back before... before I picked up the grimoire, when I was just an ordinary philosophy student who'd chosen the wrong major, was almost ready for release.

"... Two weeks from now? It's available for preorder."

It cost forty-nine thousand won. Expensive, but that was about what all the big games cost these days.

As a college student, I would've either passed on it or waited about a year for a Christmas sale... Now, though, it wasn't beyond my means.

It felt a bit silly to think this over a single game, but having money to spend on a hobby made me feel like I'd done pretty well for myself. And so, without thinking, I said,

"Should I buy it?"

Just then, cute laughter came from beside me.

"Pff-hee-hee!"

"Pff-heh-heh!"

I turned my head slightly to find two gnomes toddling over, laughing at me.

"Master's a dummy!"

"Hee-hee! What a fool, gnome!"

I blinked involuntarily. I was simply curious.

"Gnomes, why am I a fool?"

One gnome answered confidently.

"If you preorder, you have to wait two weeks! But if you buy it in two weeks, you can play right away, gnome!"

The other chimed in.

"That's right! That's right! Gnomes are smart! Master's a dummy!"

"Huh..."

I got up from my chair and patted both gnomes on the head.

"You're amazing, gnomes."

"Gnooome!"

Seeing that, the other gnomes crowded around with their arms raised.

"Me too! Pet me too, gnome!"

After a few more pats, the gnomes went back to playing together or doing chores. I sat down again and closed the game site.

An incredulous smile tugged at my lips.

Come to think of it, I didn't have time to play games. Even if I did, I doubted I'd be able to concentrate properly.

CLICK. CLICK.

I moved the mouse and opened [Mephisto Market]. If I was going to relax by browsing the internet anyway, I might as well pick up some bits of information.

My eyes narrowed.

'LoveLovePrettyBoys.'

This magician mostly wrote meaningless shitposts, but their advice had helped me this time. Maybe they'd posted other useful tips. I decided to look through their posts.

[Author: LoveLovePrettyBoys]

There was a recent post.

[Shall we debate one of our greatest Greek conundrums?]

'A conundrum? What is it?'

I immediately regretted clicking on it.

[Between the Trojan War heroes Achilles and Patroclus, who do you think was the top and who was the bottom? Every time I think about this, I'm so curious I can't sleep.

Some people say Achilles was the top because he was the big name and the more skilled one. I disagree.

First of all, Patroclus was older than Achilles, and in Greece, the older man guiding the pretty boy is the traditional way.

Also, Achilles was cold to everyone else, but endlessly lovey-dovey and sweet to Patroclus.

To borrow Plato's words, Achilles's rage after Patroclus's death as described by Homer is the rage of a woman or boy who has lost the man they love. And above all!

Achilles was such a beautiful boy that he could dress as a girl among princesses without being found out, so it makes a prettier picture that way.]

"..."

Why on earth did I have to read this? Didn't this place have a moderator?

I cautiously glanced at the comments.

[Dress: Weren't they just friends?]

[Gunpowder Alchemist – This guy's posting weird stuff again.]

[TyrantKaiser - I want to say I won't let you get away with posting this crap again... but there's nothing I can do. I'm a loser. Please, I'm begging you, stop posting this stuff!]

There were also magicians debating it in earnest, but I didn't particularly want to read any more.

I left the post. Since I'd already started, I looked through the other posts by LoveLovePrettyBoys.

"..."

Then, while reading one of them, my eyes widened and I focused.

[Author: LoveLovePrettyBoys]

[Wrinkly baby disciple acquired!

My wrinkly disciple was shrieking and hissing, trying to keep his pride!

Then the Special Response Section kittens beat him up.

He ran away bawling, his pink little paw beans going pat-pat-pat.

I rescued him, brought him home, and stuck a Churu treat in his mouth.

He must've been tired, because now he's snoozing with his tummy up!]

It was just another run-of-the-mill shitpost template, no different from the rest, but...

'Special Response Section.'

Those words set my mind working.

The posting date was the day after I'd summoned Paimon in Chairman Kim's building—the day Sion had told me they'd lost Chairman Kim because an accomplice had appeared out of nowhere.

'... Could this be a coincidence?'

A magician skilled enough to shake off the Special Response Section.

And [Mephisto Market] only invited verified magicians. Unless, like me, someone stole an invitation.

"..."

Right. This wasn't proof, only speculation for now... But if this person really was Chairman Kim's accomplice, there was only one thing to do.

My calm black eyes narrowed, burning as I stared at the post. My voice rang out with resolve.

"I'll kill you, LoveLovePrettyBoys."

As soon as I said it, the absurdity made my face relax, and I sighed.

"... Couldn't you pick a decent username?"

Anyway, just as I was about to dig further through LoveLovePrettyBoys' posts...

"... Gyaa?"

The refrigerator suddenly stopped banging.

Grizzly's outline bristled like a cat raising its fur.

"Gyaa!"

It reached out, grabbed me, and stuffed me straight into the empty refrigerator.

SLAM!

The door closed.

"What!?"

Had it disliked today's meat? Was it because I hadn't played with it much lately?

'Gya-gya! Gya-gya-gya-gya-gya!'

Did that mean, 'From today on, Master's home is the refrigerator!'?

It had happened so fast that I was still folded up inside the refrigerator, unable to grasp the situation, when the refrigerator—no, the entire building—shook.

KABOOOOOOOM!

An explosive roar erupted, shaking everything.

Winter was nice. The sun set early, allowing them to act as early as five o'clock.

On the rooftop of the building across from Yohan's secret workshop...

WHOOOSH!

The vampire who had fired a portable RPG-7 antitank rocket lowered the launcher. Standing beside him, Ioannis watched the burning workshop, his blue eyes flashing.

"The fight has already begun, young Yohan."

Then a refrigerator leaped out of the burning building and landed on the ground.

THUUUD!

A twisted smile exposed the fangs at Ioannis's lips.

"... This is going to be a long fight."

It seemed his opponent had no intention of going down easily, either.

"Contact the people on standby."

‧

‧

‧

Dizzy and coughing, I opened the refrigerator door.

THUD.

"Cough! Haaack!"

The outside air smelled thickly of smoke.

SWISH!

Immediately, I saw vampires in front of me, baring their fangs and aiming guns at me. Long fangs didn't necessarily make someone a vampire, but they certainly looked like vampires.

I barely suppressed the urge to climb back inside the refrigerator and shut the door.

"...!"

I ran forward. My head was spinning, but I ran.

One thing was certain: I was under attack. In that case, what I needed now wasn't defense...

It was offense.

"Gaaa!"

"Huh?"

Grizzly swung its arm, severing the vampires' heads and sending them tumbling through the air.

We would kill the enemy and carve out a way to survive.

"Grizzly, eat as you go! Heal up!"

"Gyaa!"

Grizzly grabbed a headless vampire corpse and followed me.

Like a pretty girl in a romantic comedy running late with toast in her mouth, Grizzly moved along carrying the vampire corpse.

It chomped and chomped and chomped—and devoured the corpse in just three bites for its master!

I called Lee Munryong. He answered immediately.

"Get over here right now!"

"Where?"

It was good that he wasn't wasting time asking what was happening, but since I'd keep moving, meeting at a specific location wouldn't work.

The vampires unleashed gunfire behind me.

RATATATATAT!

So I answered as I ran.

"Wherever it's loudest!"