Chapter 85 - Top Secret Clearance

The bunker door opened, and stars came pouring in.

It was such an overwhelming meteor shower that, had I been here as a soldier, my heart might have stopped. One star was the bare minimum. I almost felt sorry for Captain Kim Ho-un, the lone man wearing diamonds amid all those glittering stars.

One notable detail was that every one of them had concealed his face behind a raised mask and sunglasses.

The man with four stars in a vertical row was the first to remove his mask and push up his sunglasses. He was a white Westerner with graying blond hair and a sturdy, resolute face.

The middle-aged white man looked over us Supreme Mages, hovering awkwardly because we couldn't quite settle into our seats but weren't sure whether to stand either. He chuckled, then turned to Captain Kim Ho-un.

"I told 'em—feed these folks and hose 'em down first, then bring 'em in."

I'd wondered why Captain Kim was here. Apparently, he was our interpreter.

His eyes looked flustered above his prominent cheekbones as he turned to us.

"Uh, the general says he should have had you fed and washed before meeting you."

All of us Supreme Mages stole glances at one another.

For a general, he seemed more easygoing than I'd expected, complete with a playful expression. This was where Shin Na-in's ear magic shone. Having grasped the meaning more directly than the flustered captain, he offered an additional explanation.

"He's saying they could've just blasted us with a fire hose."

"So Captain Kim here was preserving the American general's dignity."

Pastor Park Yo-han nodded with a warm smile.

Captain Kim frowned slightly and began watching the generals' reactions. In particular, he seemed unsure whether to tell General McKinsey.

But between Should I? and Am I allowed to?, his hesitation concerned the former.

If you're wondering whether you should do it, do it. A useful way of thinking the military teaches men.

A moment later, Captain Kim jabbered something, and General McKinsey's eyebrows twisted.

That was when the two-star general beside him lowered his mask and removed his sunglasses.

He was Korean. Apparently hot, he took off his cap and fanned himself with his hand, revealing a tidy crew cut. His forehead had grown a little wider, but not enough to call him bald.

After putting his cap back on, the Korean major general took a handkerchief from an inside pocket and wiped his eyes and face.

Then he pulled out the pentagram necklace concealed inside his shirt and addressed Captain Kim in a businesslike tone.

"Captain Kim. You've confirmed that we aren't protected without this symbol, correct? Give General McKinsey a necklace."

"Yes, sir!"

Captain Kim handed General McKinsey a pentagram necklace he had prepared beforehand.

Curious just how effective those pentagram necklaces really were, I asked Shin Na-in again.

"Hey, Psycho. How is it? Can't hear them?"

"It's diminished significantly. Now it sounds like whispering from far away, with the words slurred together. It's difficult to make out."

General McKinsey reluctantly put on the necklace he had been given.

He pursed his lips and looked around at the other generals. One by one, they too lowered their masks and removed their sunglasses, revealing their faces.

This time, instead of Captain Kim, the tidy, businesslike Korean major general with two stars looked us over and spoke.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aphorism civilian Operators. My name is Jeon Min-ho, and I command the Joint Alteration Operations Group under Reality Survival Command. You can think of me as the person you'll be dealing with most directly."

Major General Jeon Min-ho indicated the other generals with his eyes as they uncovered their faces, introducing them himself.

"The gentleman with the scar beside his mouth is Lieutenant General Royce Candler, the second commander of Reality Survival Command."

Lieutenant General Royce Candler was a bald black man with a kindly gleam in his eyes.

Perhaps realizing that his scar had been mentioned, he touched it with his left hand, then gave us an embarrassed smile and waved his hand dismissively. It seemed he had spent a long time fighting people's prejudices.

"This is Brigadier General Thatcher Engel, chief of staff of the Joint Alteration Operations Group."

Brigadier General Thatcher Engel was a black-haired white man with an exemplary, impeccably military bearing. He was the very stereotype of a soldier—except for his slightly drooping eyelids, which made him look sleepy.

He apparently knew that about himself. Noticing our gazes, he snapped off a vigorous, energetic salute.

With the introductions finished, Major General Jeon surveyed the bunker, sighed, and beckoned to Captain Kim.

"Captain Kim. I understand you came in a hurry. Just bring chairs for the general and everyone else. Keep the troops from coming in. You know we need to maintain confidentiality, right?"

"Y-yes, sir!"

While Captain Kim hurried out of the bunker, General McKinsey strode over and extended his hand.

After seeing that, none of us felt inclined to sit there awkwardly. We Supreme Mages scrambled to our feet, and Pastor Park was the first to take his hand.

"Goodness, I never thought I'd get to shake a general's hand."

As the pastor spoke in a deeply moved voice, General McKinsey pumped his hand vigorously. He only released him after finishing with shoulder pats hard enough to thud.

He was so rough that tears welled in the pastor's previously touched eyes.

"Oh dear..."

His expression made it painfully obvious that he wanted to swear a blue streak, but given who he was dealing with, all he could do was swallow it.

Lee Se-jun was next.

He showed some quick thinking and snapped into a crisp salute. General McKinsey blinked, his hand still extended, then smiled and returned the salute just as sharply.

Of course, there were no exceptions.

The instant Se-jun lowered his salute, General McKinsey mercilessly shook his hand. He even used simple, clear words for those of us who couldn't speak English properly as he pumped away.

"Good job. Well done!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Se-jun was a heart mage, so it probably didn't hurt him. I was different.

The moment General McKinsey stood before me, I saluted.

A salute I would never lower.

"Loyalty!"

General McKinsey smiled and spouted something.

Had it worked?

"Good posture. But you're no soldier—you're a civilian, right?"

I did manage to avoid the handshake.

Instead, a hand even rougher and more brutal than the one that had patted the pastor battered my shoulders and back. It was an expression of affection as intense as Mom smacking you on the back.

I'd hoped for cute little pats, but the general's hand packed a vicious sting.

SMACK!

"Agh!"

General McKinsey burst out laughing and moved on to Shin Na-in and Hamza.

Na-in chose to grit his teeth and endure it, while Hamza responded by hopping around. Every pump of the handshake sent him jumping and making an enormous fuss.

"It hurts! It hurts! Agh!"

"Oh, sorry."

Even General McKinsey couldn't withstand Hamza's theatrics and backed off.

That bastard Hamza really was smart. Meanwhile, Na-in had his eyes squeezed shut, his lips trembling.

Then something occurred to me. I approached the still-complaining Hamza and quietly asked,

"Come to think of it, I bet your English is fucking great too. Why aren't you using it?"

"Je-min, people like cats and dogs because they can't speak human language. And safety isn't being able to survive a walk through danger. It's not going near danger in the first place."

"Oh."

Thankfully, instead of messing with us like General McKinsey, the other generals offered polite handshakes.

Lieutenant General Royce had apparently learned some Korean despite being a black American, and even struck up a friendly conversation as we shook hands.

"I received the report. Mr. Baek. You like Spam?"

"Oh? Yes, I do."

"I like kimchi too. Kimchi and Spam. Look forward to it."

The sleepy-looking, black-haired Brigadier General Thatcher smiled and offered his hand without a word.

Between his limited Korean and his naturally quiet disposition, he didn't voice his praise. Instead, he gave me a brief, firm handshake, nodded slowly, and moved on.

The last person to shake my hand was the tidy, businesslike Major General Jeon Min-ho.

Only when he took my hand did he finally speak in a faintly trembling voice steeped in exhaustion.

"I'm sorry we can't offer only good news to the people who stepped forward before anyone else. And thank you."

He clasped my hand in both of his and shook it.

"The ROK–U.S. Joint Command and Reality Survival Command have extremely high hopes for Aphorism's experience and the information you've acquired. I believe the people gathered here today demonstrate that. We earnestly ask for your cooperation."

* * *

Captain Kim returned quickly.

Unable to delegate to anyone, he went back and forth on his own, hauling in a folding table, chairs, drinks, and even paper cups. It was painful to watch, but we couldn't stop him.

Once everything was ready, we Supreme Mages began reporting the information we'd gathered.

The American generals in particular pressed us for minute details through Captain Kim and Major General Jeon, making the explanations drag on. In brief, though, it came down to this:

1. Knowledge of the alteration-type magic system: the existence of upright and inverted forms, and fragmentary information suggesting that five branches with five stages each marked the limit of attainment.

2. The existence of the Society of 66, the sorcery phones they used, and their influence on groups of survivors.

3. The countless previously unknown monsters we'd encountered.

But the fiercest reaction came from the fourth item: the truth about the fog.

As soon as he heard our testimony, Major General Jeon was so shaken that his composed expression crumpled.

"The fog is friendly toward humanity? In other words, you're saying it suppresses the monsters?"

In response, Pastor Park spoke far more calmly than usual.

"I understand how you feel. I can't swear on my Lord's name, but I can stake the name Park Yo-han and my entire life on it. You must have seen us go up onto Olympic Bridge. That's when we found out too. I guarantee it. Without the fog, the monsters get stronger."

Even Se-jun, who usually gave the pastor dirty looks, joined in this time.

"You gentlemen with the stars must have seen the monsters floating over Seoul too, right? Several fighter jets went down. The monster that brought them down was one we'd never seen in the fog. We call it a sky-centipede for convenience, but even after eleven days in Seoul, we'd never seen it inside the fog."

"Se-jun is correct. The monsters that appeared without the fog were definitely more dangerous. Besides, other holy warriors can surely confirm that the holy-war arts are easier to use within the fog."

"There are holy-war arts as well?"

Na-in's bullshit had confused Major General Jeon, so I intervened.

"That guy is, uh, a really devout Christian nutjob. He can't accept magic as magic, so he keeps going on about holy-war arts."

"Hmm. I'll bear that in mind."

In any event, once they had secured the additional testimony, the generals launched into a flurry of discussion.

Captain Kim, serving as interpreter, kept glancing at us with a deathly pale face as he listened.

The generals argued noisily across the folding table, while we Supreme Mages merely exchanged uneasy glances and waited for their conclusion. Even the previously playful General McKinsey repeatedly stroked his clean-shaven chin, deep in serious thought.

After roughly ten minutes, Major General Jeon turned toward us with a complicated look in his eyes and slowly spoke.

"Let me summarize your report. Aphorism civilian Operators: despite knowing that the Armed Forces personnel deployed alongside you had gone missing, you decided to continue the operation rather than retreat. You then contacted Seoul locals, or used a communication medium called a sorcery phone to contact people known as the Society of 66."

"Yes. Uh, Go Ryeo-ha, who came with us, has a sorcery phone too. Je-min should have one as well."

"The rescued local and Mr. Baek Je-min should both have sorcery phones... Understood."

It was strange seeing the usually cowering Hamza answer so calmly.

But I had an odd feeling that we'd overlooked the most important part. That was when an awful realization hit me.

Why had we left Ryeo-ha's sorcery phone intact?

Monk Cheong-hwi telling me to throw away the phone I'd picked up at Jangji Station, yet leaving Ryeo-ha's phone alone, was an obvious contradiction.

The problem was that I couldn't dodge giving testimony now.

My chance to gloss over things without mentioning the truth about the Han River was gone. I could deliberately choose to tell them, or keep quiet and only say I'd thrown away the sorcery phone because I'd been told to.

But if I chose the latter, I couldn't avoid being asked why I'd simply obeyed.

The surest option was to report what I'd witnessed. That would make it easier to dispel needless suspicions, provide the military with reasonable information, and secure my freedom and rights. I could feel a subtle nudge disguised as a rational choice.

It was as though they wanted me to tell.

I felt a faint, unsettling suspicion that the Society of 66 was steering my actions. Even so, with all those eyes on me, I couldn't hide it any longer.

"I threw the sorcery phone I found into the Han River."

"Why? Baek Je-min, why would you throw it away!"

As the pastor made a fuss, eyes wide, I had to explain what had happened.

Cruncher—the human starfish—pursuing us, and the protective symbols breaking one after another. Monk Cheong-hwi's message arriving through the sorcery phone. The monsters swarming after its light when I threw it away, and the deep sea that held all those countless creatures.

The countless monsters rolling their eyes and swimming after the single beam from the sorcery phone as it sank into the lightless aphotic zone.

And that enormous eel-like thing, sensing the light and pulsating near the wreckage of a crashed fighter jet.

"When I threw the sorcery phone, light came out of the screen, and the Han River's true appearance showed itself, and I could see this chillingly clear, lightless deep sea shining brightly in the phone's light, and there were monsters..."

I'd intended to organize my thoughts and explain it neatly, but the words tangled of their own accord.

What I'd seen rose vividly in my mind, yet I couldn't refine it into speech or language.

Frustrated, I asked Captain Kim for paper and a pen. Even after he gave me a sticky note and a pen, the result was the same.

[When I threw the sorcery phone, monsters swam in the glittering deep sea and a transparent eel writhed...]

Only after writing that trailing sentence did I realize it.

The truth beneath the surface had shown me something far too overwhelming.

So overwhelming that merely bringing it to mind pressed down on my body as though I were being crushed in a press.

Even now, with the image so clear and my reason and determination to write fully intact, my tongue loosened of its own accord and my hand drifted out of control.

Several kilometers below, at the far edge of that empty, transparent deep sea whose entirety a single point of light could illuminate, the enormous eel-like thing waiting there was pulsating again.

Was I imagining it? Had it actually done that in my memory?

Instinct told me no.

This was somehow different from imagination or memory.

The enormous eel pulsating in response to a single point of light...

A chilling realization swept over me.

Light.

Had it really been the light?

"Je-min? Mr. Baek Je-min?"

Without hesitation, I flung the pen away. I crumpled and tore up the sticky note in one motion, desperately thinking only happy thoughts.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

I become an archmage and everyone praises me.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

I grasp magic's omnipotence and become a one-man army who can swat away nuclear bombs.

Happy thoughts...

Once I reach the top as an archmage, should I rule the world too?

I could even write praise for me into the constitution.

Whenever people see me, they'd be legally required to smile, clap, and cheer.

"Long live Archmage Baek Je-min!"

They're going to smile at some point anyway. Wouldn't smiling in praise of the archmage be good for everyone?

Archmage Baek Je-min's vision for guaranteeing humanity a bright and lively future was now crystal clear.

Then a powerful grip clamped onto the back of my neck.

"Je-min, you seem to really enjoy kneading people. Mind if I have a go?"

Se-jun had seized the back of my neck.

I felt a different kind of chill.

"Lee Se-jun, you fucking bastard. Get your hand off me!"

"Let's hear why you're suddenly acting like this first. Can't you see you've startled everyone?"

Only then did I notice the generals' wary eyes and the Supreme Mages looking at me with pitiful expressions that said, There he goes again.

"Did Mr. Baek Je-min's mental health deteriorate significantly in Seoul?"

"Baek Je-min's always been like that. He's the sort who jumped into this to learn magic, so please understand."

"Je-min, that was dangerous. You did well."

"No. Je-min was already someone who shot his own left hand at Suwon Station, to use the holy-war arts. His qualities as a holy warrior are outstanding, but his temperament is somewhat... removed from what one needs to lead an ordinary life."

When Na-in answered Major General Jeon's question, murmurs rippled among the generals.

Perhaps because this was an informal meeting, I even heard interjections like "Holy shit" and "Fucking..."

The commotion continued for a while. Once Se-jun released my neck and returned to his place, Major General Jeon spoke calmly.

"I'll be frank with you."

He looked around at us Supreme Mages, then beckoned to Captain Kim.

The captain hurried over with a stack of papers and handed one to each of us. They were even messier than the forms the military normally used.

The entire page was packed with text and all manner of symbols, leaving almost no blank space and making it difficult to take in at a glance.

"If Mr. Baek Je-min hadn't mentioned the anomalous phenomena in the Han River, we would have presumed you were spies who had defected to the other side... to the Society of 66, which we believe is established inside Seoul."

"Well, honestly. We risked our lives getting out, and you treat us as spies?"

Frank words tend to draw honest reactions.

Hearing that they had openly suspected us, Pastor Park folded his arms and grumbled.

Major General Jeon bowed his head to him in apology.

"There have been several actual cases of defection. Please understand that we had to be cautious."

Major General Jeon Min-ho.

This wasn't a man who'd only apologized once or twice.

Apparently, even in circumstances like these, he was still an asshole to fellow soldiers and scrupulously polite to civilians.

The pastor couldn't hide his sulky expression, but neither could he complain further. He shifted his shoulders for no reason, then unfolded his arms.

"Then let's hear it. After everything we've brought you, are you still going to tell us you have to hide information because it's classified?"

"No. Technically, everything you've just told us would qualify as Top Secret. This meeting was also a procedure to determine whether Aphorism's civilian Operators could be granted access to the classified information the Joint Command and Reality Survival Command possess concerning this crisis."

I looked disinterestedly at Major General Jeon as he drew things out, then whispered to Se-jun, who seemed likely to know something.

The bastard happened to be on my left, which irritated the hell out of me, but he made a passable substitute for ChatGPT.

"Se-jun. How serious is Top Secret?"

"Hmm. To put it at your level, Je-min: a secret that could ruin the country."

"What secret wouldn't ruin the country if it leaked?"

"To make it even simpler, my wanting to transform into a pretty girl would be restricted information. A leak would be devastating, but not enough to destroy the country."

How the fuck was this cocksucker so goddamn good at analogies?

Meanwhile, the generals finished their hushed discussion. General McKinsey turned to us with a satisfied smile, and Major General Jeon spoke.

"Our reasons for determining that you haven't defected are as follows."

First: They had shown no hostility despite meeting the ROK–U.S. Joint Command personnel most crucial to maintaining the current cordon.

Second: They had attempted no magic on the unprotected Marshal McKinsey other than the ear magic Shin Na-in was known to possess.

Third: The honesty and detail of their report.

Fourth: Their provision of reconnaissance information concerning the Han River.

Fifth: Their history of cooperating with the military to respond to various situations, and the way they had done so.

After laying out all those reasons, Major General Jeon looked at each of the Supreme Mages.

Me, Shin Na-in, Lee Se-jun, the pastor, and Hamza.

"I'm sure you have many questions, but I'll begin with the most important point. From here on, this really is important classified information, as young Mr. Lee Se-jun said earlier. Effective immediately, you will be treated as holders of Top Secret clearance. If you are confirmed to have disclosed the relevant facts, we may have no choice but to detain you or take hostile action."

"Stop dragging it out and tell us already."

As the pastor urged him on, tapping his foot against the floor, Major General Jeon could hesitate no longer.

Commander of the Joint Alteration Operations Group under Reality Survival Command.

The man with that ostentatious title, Major General Jeon Min-ho, spoke.

"An individual believed to have come from the Society of 66 was involved in establishing the Anomalous Incident Initial Response Team, the predecessor whose functions Reality Survival Command inherited. A prophet, or seer. He passed on magic script and some related knowledge. But when military research revealed that this knowledge was closer to a systematized doctrine than one individual's exclusive knowledge, we attempted to take him into custody. He disappeared."

"...?"

"By focusing on their obsession with the number sixty-six, Reality Survival Command discovered that the magic script and knowledge secured by the military were originally part of the society's lore, known as the Sixty-Six Scriptures. To research it, we had been carefully deciphering it in cooperation with doctrinal mages who were well versed in mysticism and willing to assist the military."

Had been.

Everyone tensed at that ominous past tense.

"However, we believe the Society of 66 contacted those doctrinal mages. All six mages involved in the deciphering defected, stealing or destroying the Sixty-Six Scriptures held by Reality Survival Command."

"Then..."

At the pastor's faintly trembling question, Major General Jeon sighed and nodded.

"The monk whose Dharma name is Cheong-hwi was one of those six."