Chapter 12 - The Deuce-and-a-Half Carries the Spell-Slingers

The pleasant aroma of cheap coffee greeted me.

Sitting in the second-floor study room, sipping instant coffee mix and enjoying crumpling my paper cup, I idly looked out the window.

Armored vehicles and soldiers moving briskly back and forth, civilians hurrying along the street and stealing anxious glances at them—it had all become a familiar sight.

And the more familiar it became, the louder the complaints and fears grew.

I gave a long, lazy yawn and switched on my phone.

January 10, 10:47 a.m.

Four days had already passed since that nightmare of a mobilization order.

The Republic of Korea was turning into a place where weekends and weekdays no longer meant anything, but some parts of life still went on as usual.

The casual sounds of card payments downstairs were a prime example.

"Hey, I'd like to pay for this coffee."

"Sure..."

This café, requisitioned by the military as a research space for civilian Operators, had become fairly well known among the soldiers.

Most of that fame centered on its valiant owner. While everyone else was busy fleeing, the owner had stayed put, fretting over the possibility of looting, and now at least got paid for the instant coffee.

But we magicians, called Operators, were the only ones enjoying ordinary life. The Republic of Korea I saw through my phone screen was a very different place.

[Has Shelling Begun in Seoul? Military Dismisses Reports as Gas-Line Leaks Caused by Civil Unrest... Experts Slam Explanation as a Lame Excuse.]

[An Eerie Silence: What Is Happening in Seoul?]

[Shocking Orders Issued at Namtaeryeong and Gyeongsu-daero... Uproar over 'Shoot and Kill Anything Approaching Without Authorization.' Has the Military Forgotten Its Duty?]

[President, Evacuated to Government Offices in Incheon, Hints at Possible Shift to Wartime Economy... Signs of Limited Rationing to Be Introduced First in Southern Gyeonggi. Exodus of Gyeonggi Residents Accelerates...]

Look at those brutal headlines.

If I kept looking at nothing but this stuff, my personality would be shot to hell. I switched my phone off again and decided to look only at the Magic Crash Course booklet.

Life was too short even if you spent it looking only at happy, joyful things.

Of course, I didn't have the nerve to turn the page, so I just kept staring holes into the same one.

Once I hypothesized that doctrinal magic involved honing the body and mind through sustained, repetitive actions and observance of religious precepts, building an unshakable belief within oneself, it became easier to find my bearings.

It had nothing to do with devoutness. What mattered was the depth of belief.

And that belief wasn't simply a matter of thinking something would happen. It was closer to how you literally perceived and understood the world. The fact that Catholic and Protestant clergy had different magic had been a crucial turning point.

Catholics believed that by receiving God's flesh and blood into their human bodies through Communion, they shared in his divinity and were assured salvation. That was roughly what I'd learned, anyway. Communion was central to their salvation.

Communion was just as important to Protestants, but they also had a Puritan, fatalistic perspective. Those destined for salvation had already been chosen, but since no one knew who they were, you were simply supposed to prove to yourself that you were among them and become certain of it.

That doctrine and way of thinking were, to some extent, behind their shouts of "Jesus means heaven, unbelief means hell" and the crap they spewed at nonbelievers about being Satan's demons or bastards bound for hell. By their logic, the moment you rejected the faith, they had no choice but to consider you already destined not to be saved.

Could that sort of belief arise just because someone casually believed something?

From the perspective of ordinary people like us, you'd have to be a complete fucking lunatic, a fanatic beyond all reason, or possess a conviction so strong that some corner of your heart could never be persuaded, no matter what anyone said.

For instance, if someone shouted "Jesus means heaven, unbelief means hell" at me, I'd get furious and ask whether they meant all my ancestors were in hell. We casually called it belief, but in practice it was closer to the concept of a [worldview] through which you understood the world.

Then what would happen to someone who sincerely believed in something like Cthulhu, or a mentally broken person with schizophrenia?

I could offer an interesting answer to that interesting hypothetical.

Their body would collapse, or they would lose their magic. The lore said that just looking at fucking Cthulhu drove you insane and destroyed your intellect and sense of self. Any bastard who genuinely believed that shit would dissolve their own reason and identity like a sea squirt to demonstrate Cthulhu's magnificent effects.

And since belief could exist only in an intelligent mind, they wouldn't be able to bear that contradiction themselves.

It might be possible if they shoehorned in their own lore saying that seeing Cthulhu wouldn't drive them insane, or tried communing with him while carrying an artifact that actually possessed powerful magical effects. But the moment they compromised, their doctrinal magic would gradually weaken.

Ultimately, unless Cthulhu actually existed, doctrinal magic based on believing in him had only two possible outcomes: it would weaken, or it would collapse under its own contradictions.

Leaving aside whether someone with schizophrenia could awaken magic at all, if they recognized that they were insane, they could use doctrinal magic through desperate effort.

But the world they perceived was unstable and muddled, not solid. Their beliefs would either improve with treatment at a psychiatric hospital or end in paranoid delusions that left them unable to trust even their own words.

I could thus hypothesize that even if they became magicians, they wouldn't be able to properly use effective magic in a crisis.

"Very interesting."

"Je-min, quit fucking around and let's go. You're the only person here seriously staring at that thing."

Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun, who had somehow quietly dropped the formalities with me, said this as he tapped my shoulder.

Unable to hide my indignation at his ignorant remark, I protested.

"Come on, isn't this interesting? We can use magic! Doesn't that get you excited?"

"Excited, my ass. I might as well tell you now: I prefer warriors to spell-slingers. Whenever I played a game, I always went with a heavily armored warrior."

"Wow... I mean, wow..."

I was so speechless that all I could do was sigh, and buzz-cut Corporal Park Se-hyeok started grumbling again.

"If you'd studied like that, you'd have gotten into Seoul National University."

"..."

"So quit studying magic and let's get something to eat, Je-min."

"Good grief. You've become a magician, and you're still going on about spell-slingers."

I let out a deep sigh and packed up my things.

Somewhere along the way, the four of us had become a strange little community bound by fate.

Shin Na-in, busy listening to hymns with his earphones in; Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun, who preferred heavily armored warriors and did nothing but fiddle with his phone; Corporal Park Se-hyeok, who did nothing but grumble; and me, Baek Je-min, sincerely researching magic and letting my imagination take flight.

If the religious types banded together with their own kind, then so would we.

And so we spent our relaxed, ordinary days leisurely eating in the cafeteria.

"Everyone else says they're screwed, but we're living like this. Feels a bit different."

"Well, of course you're screwed if you don't have any abilities..."

SLURP. SMACK.

Tasting the spicy hangover soup, I quietly frowned.

With them saying such ominous things, something was bound to happen.

And a premonition of tragedy never missed its mark.

January 10, 2:51 p.m.

We were sprawled out in our quarters, with me staring at the Magic Crash Course booklet, when hurried footsteps began to reach our ears.

"More busting our asses, huh."

Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun had just said that indifferently when it happened.

CLATTER!

First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi and our thoughtful driver looked at us, their faces pale white, and practically shouted.

"Everyone to the conference room. It's an emergency."

"An emergency?"

"It's urgent. There'll be an announcement soon. Hurry!"

I'd never seen First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi hurry us along like that. I threw on my fatigues, quickly tied my combat boots, and followed him out.

As we moved down the hallway with the lieutenant, I saw soldiers rushing around in little groups, breathless.

Across the broad spaces of Suwon City Hall, soldiers organized into units could already be seen running outside under their officers' direction.

The four of us, First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi, and the driver were walking so fast we were practically running.

That was when the announcement came.

["All personnel to combat readiness. All personnel to combat readiness. Civil servants and civilian military employees are to report for equipment issue immediately."]

By now, I was starting to realize something had gone seriously wrong.

I could see the doctrinal magicians heading toward our usual conference room under Captain Kim Ho-un's guidance.

When we entered, the colonel with his name tag removed was waiting for us again.

The difference this time was that most of the officers who'd stood beside him were nowhere to be seen. He stood there alone.

The colonel hurriedly adjusted his radio's volume, but couldn't conceal all the sounds leaking out.

["... This is the infiltration team... Failed to secure the substation..."]

["... We've failed to persuade the local railway corporation personnel..."]

The colonel ran his tongue over his dry lips. Once he'd confirmed that all the doctrinal magicians and our alteration-type quartet were present, he jerked his chin toward Captain Kim Ho-un and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi.

The two closed the door, then stationed themselves nearby like guards.

Only then did the colonel begin, his voice trembling slightly.

"At approximately eleven a.m. local time on January 10, we lost contact with the military units remaining at Yongsan Station and the Nambu Bus Terminal inside Seoul. Their primary objective was to prevent evacuation attempts using public transport or trains. We believe the loss of contact resulted from the aforementioned civil unrest within Seoul. Military command currently considers those units to have provisionally disintegrated and has reinforced the cordon, but..."

"Prevent evacuation attempts? I hope I haven't misheard you."

At that, the colonel signaled First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi with his eyes.

Shin approached the monk Cheong-hwi and whispered quietly in his ear. Only then did Cheong-hwi put his palms together and begin praying, looking displeased.

"Namo Amitabha..."

"I'll continue. Immediately after the mobilization order was proclaimed on January 6, the military attempted to redeploy to Seoul's outskirts, but a considerable number were left behind in the process. Over the past four days, to prevent refugees within Seoul from pouring out indiscriminately, we established blocking lines primarily in southern Gyeonggi and the Seoul–Incheon area, repeatedly taking lethal action against potential threats attempting to break through the cordon. The Namtaeryeong area and Gyeongsu-daero were key positions."

"Lethal action? Potential threats? You crazy fuckers! Is that how you talk about shooting people dead?!"

Pastor Park Yo-han shouted, veins bulging, but this time the colonel didn't hesitate.

"During this process, as soon as we confirmed the collapse of the last blocking units remaining within Seoul, military units attempted to secure the railway corporation facilities and substations near the tracks, even attempting precision shelling to disable them, but failed. According to a unilateral declaration from the refugees who seized the stations and trains, they intend to attempt evacuation using subway and aboveground rail services, and are appealing to us not to stop them."

That was when the colonel's tone turned icy.

"However, according to our final communications with the units at Yongsan Station and the Nambu Bus Terminal, there are Amalgams mixed in among the refugees. As head-type fusion mimic beasts began appearing in force throughout Seoul, terrified people attempted to seize trains. To stop them, the military is preparing drone-guided precision shelling and the demolition of stations, tracks, and bridges, but..."

Who could speak? Who would dare, in a situation like this?

The colonel checked the analog watch on his wrist and struggled to part his parched lips.

"Due to our failure to negotiate with the railway corporation's train drivers, our failure to secure substations because of dense fog reducing visibility to fifty meters or less and the appearance of Amalgams, and other factors, the military will attempt to demolish all subway tracks as of the current time, three p.m. The first train is expected to depart Yongsan Station at approximately 3:11. Our objective is to stop these escape trains inside the cordon and prevent the spread of Amalgams."

The explanation was overwhelming.

"Given that they will be traveling at high speed to break through the cordon, even accounting for fog and other obstacles, a train leaving Yongsan Station at 3:11 will reach Suwon Station in approximately twenty-four to thirty minutes. Since Suwon Station is a vital transportation hub for southern Gyeonggi, if we fail to stop them there, we can no longer guarantee the safety of the entire region."

BEEP-BEEP.

As his analog watch's alarm sounded, the colonel clasped his hands behind his back and looked at us with bloodshot eyes.

"All Operators are to prepare to intercept them at Suwon Station immediately, in anticipation of a breach of the cordon. We stop them, even if we have to shoot every last one of them dead."

* * *

"Hurry! Everyone aboard!"

"What unit are you with?! Get your head straight!"

"Just... just get them aboard. We need to get moving first!"

The area outside Suwon City Hall was a mecca for military vehicles of every kind.

Officers shouted noisily. The soldiers, perhaps realizing how urgent the situation was, were rattled but followed orders anyway.

Everyone was busy loading officers and soldiers into armored vehicles, deuce-and-a-half military trucks, and even hastily requisitioned vans.

We magicians were no exception.

We climbed onto the deuce-and-a-half with our considerate driver at the wheel. First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi took the front passenger seat as the vehicle commander and pounded on the door.

"Move out!"

At his shout, the military truck carrying us magicians was granted top priority on the road.

The commanders of other vehicles who'd been trying to pull ahead received word over their radios. With strange looks on their faces, they said something to their drivers and made way.

But our hearts were unbearably heavy.

The established religious practitioners' conflicting feelings were written all over their faces. Only Madam Geulmun nodded coldly.

"Those things aren't human anymore. They can't go to heaven or hell, or be reincarnated. Ending them is the right thing to do."

I couldn't tell whether he was talking to himself or offering comfort.

All I could hear now was First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi shouting.

"You'll be issued firearms as soon as we reach the site. They'll be scrambling to move the guns and ammunition over there and block the tracks right now!"

At that, I couldn't help turning toward our alteration-type quartet and voicing my concern.

"Sure, I can see ten seconds into the future, but honestly, will seeing things ten seconds early let me handle all those monsters?"

"Haha, well, that's..."

Only Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun answered, with an awkward laugh.

I raised my head and gazed at the fog creeping outward beyond Suwon, beyond the city's concrete alleys, stroking the Magic Crash Course booklet tucked inside my clothes.

The fog was a dangerous, fucked-up place, but it was also the only place that could teach me the magic I needed to survive.

To think the world had come to this: I, who used to run away to avoid tutoring, now considered it a blessing to plunge into the fog for lessons with my life on the line.

"Hah... fuck."

So this was why adults nagged you so relentlessly to study.