Chapter 36 - Guillotine Match

When word spread that monk Cheong-hwi was missing, most people barely reacted. Lee Se-jun merely gave a long yawn and shrugged.

"I heard they're serving stir-fried sausages this morning. Maybe he headed over there first? I don't think there's any need to make a fuss."

"Then maybe he's in his room?"

"If he's not in the dining hall, he's probably praying. It doesn't seem that serious."

But Cheong-hwi wasn't in the dining hall either. It was teeming only with tired-looking soldiers carrying trays and duty soldiers helping serve the food. Well, if he missed a meal, that was his problem. This wasn't the time for me to worry about a monk.

I'd stayed up all night without eating, from yesterday evening until this morning. Getting my food came first.

I took my tray to a seat and smiled in satisfaction at the stir-fried sausages, cubed radish kimchi, and beef-and-radish soup. It was time to bring out the privilege that I alone enjoyed here: Richam.

"One spoonful of Richam. Nice."

"Je-min, one spoonful for me too. I'm a Supreme Mage."

"Sure. One spoonful for our fellow Supreme Mage Hamza."

The side dishes were on the salty side today, so I decided to save my Spam.

Aphorism's Hamza was a convert bastard who kept a low profile and avoided everyone so he could coast along on his own. But the Supreme Mages' Hamza was different. I could share my precious Richam with Supreme Mage Hamza, who was cultivating himself as he waited for the perfect opportunity to be useful.

I'd broken my spoonful of Richam into little pieces, mixed it into my rice, and started chewing when a commotion broke out elsewhere. The dining hall door flew open, and a soldier in a helmet bellowed.

"Fall in! Everyone, fall in!"

"Even those of us who aren't on the five-minute standby team?"

"Didn't you hear me? Everyone, fall in!"

Utensils clattered down, irritation settling over the soldiers' faces.

We Supreme Mages could only click our tongues at the sight. Thank goodness I was officially a civilian. Pastor Park Yo-han clicked his tongue too, then slurped his soup.

"Those youngsters have it rough."

"That's what being young is for. Getting worked to the bone."

"Je-min, you're a young pup yourself, damn it. What are you talking about?"

"These days, twenty-eight doesn't even count as being in your twenties. People call me 'young thirty.'"

"If your age starts with a two, you're young!"

I'd thought I was young too, but fresh-faced college freshmen in their early twenties only ever called me an old guy.

Feeling bitter, I pointlessly spooned up some radish kimchi brine and drank it. Instead, I turned my attention to my anticipation for Stage Two hand magic and the experiments I could run.

Hand Branch, Stage Two.

This was completely different from the magic I'd had before. According to what I'd learned, Stage Two of the hand branch was closer to alchemy using blood from the left hand. It wasn't exactly a damage-dealing skill for defeating monsters; it served a role like the runes you so often saw.

Write a word meaning "sharp" in left-hand blood, and something would become sharper. Tell it to become salty, and salty it would become.

For example, if I had no salt, I could write "salty" on a bowl of rice and make it taste as though I'd sprinkled salt over it.

Just look at those endless possibilities.

How could I possibly stop learning magic?

But even we couldn't escape the commotion.

March 21, 2028, 8:42 a.m.

I'd finished breakfast and was just about to start experimenting with Hand, Stage Two when Captain Kim Ho-un and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi came to find us in light combat gear. Their faces were rigid.

"Civilian Operator monk Cheong-hwi has disappeared. We ask for your cooperation."

* * *

Every once in a while, I wondered what the Republic of Korea's special forces were doing amid this whole disaster. I knew special forces were secretive by nature, but with monsters running rampant, I wondered whether there was anything they could do.

Now, checking the time one last time before switching off my phone, I found out.

March 21, 2028, 9:20 a.m.

A group on an entirely different level from ordinary soldiers appeared at the Suwon City Hall CP. I'd barely registered the thunder of a helicopter before heavily armed men took up positions throughout the city hall corridors.

Sunglasses or goggles covered their eyes. They wore the balaclavas I'd often seen in FPS games, and unlike ordinary soldiers' weapons, their guns had attachments plastered all over the rails.

Anyone could tell at a glance. Special forces, dressed in black.

I didn't know much about special forces, so I couldn't tell which part of the armed forces they belonged to, but the speed and skill with which they searched the entire city hall were anything but ordinary. A few had shotguns slung on them, and every one kept their index finger near the trigger.

The announcement over the speakers was just as chilling.

["Effective immediately, all personnel assigned to Suwon City Hall Headquarters are prohibited from moving without authorization. Everyone is to remain in position with their superior officer or senior soldier and wait until the inspection is complete."]

After hearing the announcement, Captain Kim Ho-un and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi gathered the mages in one place and kept us waiting.

At some point, all sorts of mages besides our Supreme Mages had gathered at Suwon City Hall. Most people probably imagined a bearded old man in robes when they thought of a mage, but every mage here had a familiar, distinctly Korean look.

A middle-aged woman with a curly perm. A man in a battered padded jacket and a low-pulled beanie who looked like he loved makgeolli. A long-faced young man busy applying eye makeup with a hand mirror...

Excluding the missing Cheong-hwi, there were twenty of us, including the five remaining Supreme Mages.

Looking over the mages of southern Gyeonggi assembled at Suwon City Hall, I felt a little swell of grandeur in my chest. How could I not, when every one of them had awakened the power of magic?

The dream of the Republic of Korea as a magical powerhouse was becoming reality.

Yet even faced with this magnificent sight, Lee Se-jun looked disappointed.

"Se-jun, what's with that face? Don't they all look dependable?"

"No, it's just..."

They might not have had the impact of the Taegeuk Cape Brigade, but they were plenty impressive.

Honestly, I believed the Taegeuk Cape Brigade had been wiped out because their hearts were far too soft for this brutal situation.

To be called a person of faith in the Republic of Korea in 2028, you had to at least be like Shin Na-in: capable of shouting "heretic's bastard" at a monster imitating a baby and shooting it dead.

In that sense, the curly-haired woman who looked like she'd take a dyed little dog named Poppy for walks, or the beanie-wearing man who looked like he loved makgeolli, inspired confidence at first sight.

"They look like they'd beat monsters down without much trouble. What are you so unhappy about?"

"Ah, shit... Je-min, what I mean is... that's not what I'm unhappy about..."

But whatever his grievance was, Se-jun kept trailing off. Just then, Shin Na-in removed his earphones and spoke in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Se-jun is currently lamenting that, when even people like those can use magic, there isn't a girl pretty enough to grace the cover of Maxim or an S-rank beauty—the finest in the province—here."

"..."

Clearly, the adult material I'd ordered through First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi was going to bring me considerable wealth and opportunity.

As I smiled in understanding at that thought, Se-jun shook his head.

"It's not for the reason you're thinking. I was considering the possibilities of magic."

"Se-jun, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Be fruitful and multiply. The Lord himself..."

Na-in's expression abruptly turned cold in the middle of his calm sermon. I was startled by a contempt he hadn't shown even toward the teratomas.

What on earth had that lunatic noticed to make him look so deadly serious?

Faced with that cold, piercing gaze, Se-jun seemed to bristle too, raising his voice a little.

"Shin Na-in. Magic actually exists and works, so why can't I hope? Is it right for you to look down on my wishes like that? Am I asking for so much? It could exist..."

"..."

"There might be magic that turns you into a pretty girl!!!"

...

I pulled up my poncho hood and tightened the drawstring to hide my face.

While Na-in and Se-jun bickered, the black-clad special forces approached us. Around then, Captain Kim Ho-un spoke between heavy sighs.

"Quiet. The inspection team is coming."

The inspection consisted of stepping forward one at a time, raising both arms, turning in a circle, and jumping in place ten times.

At a glance, the all-black special forces' inspection looked slapdash and halfhearted. Except that, behind the goggles that concealed their eyes, their sharp gazes never stopped watching our hands.

But how could such a simple search possibly count as an inspection? Especially when dealing with mages.

I didn't seem to be the only one thinking that. Most of the civilian Operators looked unimpressed. Some of them must have encountered monsters in person, or even fought them.

Their thresholds for fear and tension had been forcibly raised. Even under the oppressive presence of the special forces, they were holding up better than ordinary people would.

One thing worth noting, though, was that not a single member of the special forces ever opened their mouth. Surely they knew that was useless against ear-branch mages.

Only the clatter of firearms broke the silence. What felt like several dozen minutes passed.

One black-clad operator lowered his muzzle and turned his head directly toward our Supreme Mages.

"..."

The special forces looked as though they had plenty to say, but were visibly holding it in. Then they turned sharply and went on their way.

At the same time, a radio connection crackled to life. Captain Kim Ho-un and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi deliberately adjusted the volume and listened. Before long, both let out deep sighs and turned toward us.

"We'll escort you to the conference room. Let's stay within sight of those men in black."

As he spoke, Captain Kim Ho-un stole a glance through the window.

The sky was clear, without a trace of fog.

Suwon's concrete buildings glittered beneath it, but no one knew whether the glints came from solar panels or the scope lenses of someone aiming at us from far away.

Under a heavy weight of pressure, the twenty assembled mages began walking after Captain Kim Ho-un and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi.

The black-clad special forces stationed throughout city hall watched us without pause, keeping us in their sights. They weren't pointing their muzzles at us, but they looked ready to shoot the moment an order came.

I moved beside Hamza and asked cautiously,

"Hamza. Do you think they'll really shoot? What happens if we run?"

"No. Don't do it."

Hamza shook his head, his face deathly pale. Then his dry lips worked as he added,

"But running might be better."

* * *

March 21, 2028, 10:52 a.m.

These were the first words the colonel with his name tag removed spoke in the conference room, where twenty civilian Operators stood in a line.

Outside, instead of the usual soldiers, black-clad operators maintained an airtight guard. The men in black inside were also ready to pull their triggers.

The colonel stated the essence of the situation simply and clearly.

"We believe the monk with the Dharma name Cheong-hwi, who was cooperating with the Joint Alteration Operations Group of Reality Survival Command under the ROK–U.S. Joint Command, has changed sides."

Changed sides.

I wondered whether that phrase even fit the Republic of Korea's current war between humans and monsters. This wasn't a fight where you could pick a side. Wasn't it humanity versus monsters, a war where the whole world would turn into hell if Korea fell?

The others seemed to feel similarly, twisting their brows or folding their arms as they listened.

Only Shin Na-in, who had awakened Ear Branch, Stage Two and Eye Branch, Stage One, gave a calm shrug. His expression said the inevitable had finally arrived.

"The reason our forces are currently defending Suwon and Suwon Station as strongholds is that they are a major transportation hub and difficult to seal off. We once came close to a breach following a collision involving evacuation trains. Those fears have now become reality. Despite stationary trains, successive demolitions, and route denial through chemical, biological, and radiological warfare, the monk Cheong-hwi appears to have escaped through an underground passage."

"But he was here during the ritual. Baek Je-min here was the last person to see him. That sham monk was with Je-min until at least 6:34. How could he..."

"Mr. Baek Je-min. Please explain your conversations with monk Cheong-hwi and the ritual you say you performed."

Based on Pastor Park Yo-han's testimony and the accounts of those around us, I'd become a crucial witness.

As calmly as possible, I left out the occult aspects and stuck to the essentials. Cheong-hwi had helped me perform a ritual to advance my alteration-type magic, and immediately after it ended, he'd vanished without a trace.

It seemed clear that Cheong-hwi possessed magic besides doctrinal magic. Otherwise, how could he have escaped undetected in such a short time?

I couldn't even tell whether what I'd seen had been an illusion.

Of course, the colonel didn't believe all of it.

"... What a coincidence. Yes. Quite a coincidence, Mr. Baek Je-min."

The circumstances would look suspicious to anyone.

I could sense that the men in black wanted to shoot me dead right then and there, but I felt no particular need to use magic. Because I was certain they could never kill me.

Indeed, the colonel narrowed his eyes and glared at me, but however suspicious he was, he didn't dare threaten to kill me or pressure me that way.

Because I was a rare talent: someone with the most diverse abilities in southern Gyeonggi, and the enthusiasm to plunge into the fog at any time.

The colonel wanted to keep his soldiers alive, and I wanted stronger, more varied magic. We had naturally become bound to a common fate. The can each of Spam and Richam provided every week was proof of that bond.

They were too short on personnel to arrest or kill me over one suspicious circumstance. The moment they cut me loose, there would be one more death.

That was why the colonel couldn't press me any further. All he could do was appeal to me. He stared at me with bloodshot eyes for a dozen or so seconds, then sighed and wet his lips with his tongue.

"At present, the ROK–U.S. Joint Command, in anticipation of a change in the seasonal winds... is discussing an extremely limited, localized tactical nuclear strike, due to the repeatedly deteriorating situation and rising casualties at the first cordon. Approximately three months have passed since the fog outbreak and the abandonment of Seoul. Armed Forces casualties to date have reached 13,631. We cannot readily absorb further losses."

The colonel paused briefly. When he cautiously resumed, all of us frowned.

"As the main cause of these increasing casualties and the continuous influx of refugees to the first cordon... the Armed Forces have identified survivor groups within Seoul. In particular, practitioners of localized penetrative alteration activity."

"There are survivors? In there? Not monsters?"

It was the makgeolli-looking man in the beanie.

Everyone else reacted much the same way. Just one Amalgam or predatory spine was enough to drive you mad with disgust. Hearing that people were still alive in Seoul, where millions of those things must have run rampant, made that a perfectly normal reaction.

Even we Supreme Mages wouldn't have believed there had been survivors if we hadn't explored the outskirts of Seoul ourselves.

We had gone there, true, but it was now roughly three months since the disaster began. Expecting anyone to have survived in there for three months was the madman's position.

Yet the colonel was now denying that obvious common sense.

"Monsters were not the only decisive factor in the collapse of the military units in Yongin that were preventing evacuation. There were reports of numerous practitioners of localized penetrative alteration activity among the local survivors. The Armed Forces concealed this to maintain the morale of our troops. Please understand that it was indispensable."

At last, the truth surrounding the first cordon—the Seoul cordon—was revealed in detail.

"The Armed Forces believe that the practitioners of localized penetrative alteration activity leading the survivor groups within Seoul intend to break through the cordon and escape. Repeated exploration and reconnaissance using U.S. special forces and anti-fog reconnaissance drones have revealed that they are deeply hostile toward the Armed Forces and the current government. We have also detected indications that they are deliberately guiding monsters toward the cordon in order to breach it.

"They are concentrating on evacuating the refugees who have survived in Seoul... And, naturally..."

The colonel's lips looked unusually parched. He licked them for a long while, then, seemingly unable to bear his thirst, cleared his throat and raised a hand.

Ultimately, he couldn't continue. Captain Kim Ho-un stepped forward in his place, his prominent cheekbones twitching.

"Thanks to the courage with which you and the Republic of Korea have held out until the seasonal winds change, China is also leaning toward deploying volunteer forces. A deployment proposal is expected to be discussed soon through a UN Security Council vote. The estimated time until the deployment of foreign volunteers or UN forces is approximately two months."

Captain Kim Ho-un opened his mouth and worked his tongue, easing his tension before continuing.

"As the Seoul survivor groups' attempts to break through are expected to become most intense, you will also be redeployed to defend the first cordon."

A fight between ten million and forty million people.

Every mage began murmuring and whispering.

"Does that make any sense?"

"Can't we just win them over? The Ear Branch, Stage Two mages could put in a little legwork."

Se-jun apparently thought the same thing. He looked at Na-in and said,

"Couldn't this all end amicably if Na-in put in a little work?"

"Not a chance."

Before Na-in could answer, I remembered the journal I'd seen in the hospital where we'd encountered the teratomas. The journal whose writer had sworn revenge, even if it meant helping monsters break through the cordon.

Outside Seoul was still safe, for now. Even after more than ten thousand Armed Forces casualties, the cordon was holding.

Because they shot dead everything trying to get out. I still vividly remembered that valiant sight: flamethrowers firing without hesitation into groups of refugees while artillery continued to pound Seoul's outskirts.

Even if someone inside Seoul miraculously found communications facilities or restored equipment and asked those outside to stop the shelling, they ignored the request and kept firing.

Civilians who approached transport vehicles visiting the outskirts to awaken mages were also shot dead, because they couldn't be distinguished from monsters.

Until the breakout attempt using forcibly seized trains, the final objective of the military units said to have remained in Yongsan and at Nambu Bus Terminal had been to prevent evacuation.

Under those circumstances, how could the survivors in Seoul not have gone berserk?

"But we can't let forty million citizens die!"

Se-jun's objection was true.

Still, I was curious what reaction he'd get if he said the same thing to survivors trapped in Seoul and subjected to shelling.

Sure. I'll die under artillery fire for the sake of forty million people. I won't escape. I'll just die.

Would they answer like that?

Pastor Park Yo-han sighed while pretending to clean his glasses. Na-in shrugged, the corners of his mouth twitching. Hamza only prayed quietly, as though observing a moment of silence. Seeing through both sides' positions, Pastor Park quoted the Bible.

"Love your enemies. If they strike your left cheek, offer them your right as well. He said it because it's difficult to follow."

Pastor Park put his glasses back on and quietly closed his eyes.

Na-in gently closed his own as though reflecting on those words, then looked at Se-jun again and inserted his earphones.

"I'm sure some of them can be negotiated with. But sorting them out one by one isn't our military's style. The servants of the Antichrist—the pope—were the ones who spouted it, but there is a foolproof method."

"Hmm..."

"Kill them all. Kill every last one, and God will save the innocent. Amen!"

Rather than the scale of those numbers or the horror of this tragedy, I focused on something else.

Sad? Tragic?

Unfortunately, those thoughts never came to me.

"Our policy is to shoot them all dead."

Right now, I felt a thrill.

Magic versus magic.

At the fact that mages could fight each other!