Chapter 9 - Who Are We? Magicians

TICK, TOCK...

Only the ticking second hand of the colonel’s analog wristwatch echoed through the conference room. Everyone who had listened to the briefing kept their mouths firmly shut.

They must have felt that things were worse than they’d expected. Every face looked pale or positively white. Amalgam—the term for that fucking three-legged monster—had given me one more reason to dread going to the dentist.

Yet someone bravely raised a hand and asked the first question: the monk in monastic robes, who looked to be in his late forties. After raising his hand and receiving permission to speak, he turned our way—more precisely, toward those of us who had been identified as magicians—and spoke, his long eyebrows curving.

“My Dharma name is Cheong-hwi. I believe that seeking to illuminate the world with clarity and light is itself a way of illuminating oneself. There seems to be a more pressing matter than reciting sutras or mantras, so allow this humble monk to speak first.”

Having said that, Cheong-hwi turned to the colonel and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“You said that sealing off Seoul was your highest priority, but that bizarre creature you call an Amalgam attacked someone just this morning. Wouldn’t sealing the city now only intensify resistance among the refugees still inside Seoul and breed distrust of the authorities?”

The colonel frowned at that. A sly-looking man with distinctive glasses and a cross necklace, who had been waiting for his opening, set his Bible on the table and spoke.

“The damned monk isn’t wrong. Christianity’s reputation may have suffered because of those heretical bastards, but we never just abandon people.”

Then he introduced himself with an air of swagger.

“Pastor Park Yo-han, Presbyterian Church. I’ve served as a military chaplain, too, so I know what you military bastards are dealing with. But I have my doubts about whether that cordon is necessary.”

Pressed by the monk and the pastor, the colonel remained silent for a while, still frowning. Then he turned his back as though their questions meant nothing, switched off the projector, and raised the white screen. He answered without turning around.

“The Armed Forces has determined that disclosing more information than necessary could cause severe panic should it reach the public through you civilian advisers.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. You have to tell us something before we can decide whether to help. Don’t you know that laying your cards on the table and asking honestly is the first step toward trust?”

The colonel remained utterly unmoved by Pastor Park Yo-han’s grumbling. He merely signaled with his eyes to the officers who had brought the magicians in and spoke.

“Those who escorted the Operators here, please show them through. We need to establish precisely what their magic does, systematize it, and classify it.”

The military was rigid. Cold even toward civilians. Normally they would have been cautious about drawing complaints, but with the situation so urgent, they were openly ignoring us.

Cheong-hwi, who had noticed as much, merely chuckled amiably. Pastor Park Yo-han stroked the cover of his Bible and clicked his tongue.

“The same bastards who insist that anyone who talks too much must have shady backing always think keeping quiet makes them clean.”

With Pastor Park Yo-han’s grumbling as their send-off, the colonel and the command staff flowed out of the room like the ebbing tide. All that remained were the title of Operator, the magicians who had become Operators, and the officers who presumably knew something. Three officers stayed behind to the end, including our very own First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi.

The first to step forward was a captain named Kim Ho-un. With slightly protruding lips and unusually pronounced cheekbones, he looked like a field-hardened officer who had been through a lot. Without his rank insignia, I would have taken him for a command sergeant major somewhere.

At any rate, Captain Kim Ho-un fiddled with the projector again, lowered the screen, and put up another PowerPoint while muttering to himself.

“What am I supposed to do if you tell me to handle this, then switch off the projector and raise the screen?”

Captain Kim Ho-un cleared his throat a few times, then began giving us instructions that were more like a presentation, tapping the screen with his hand. The PowerPoint was titled [Overview of Localized Penetrative Alteration Activity]. And so we magicians suddenly found ourselves learning about the concept of magic—something we had never imagined could exist in this world.

* * *

Captain Kim Ho-un’s presentation caused quite a stir among the Operators—meaning, roughly speaking, us magicians. Pastor Park Yo-han in particular adjusted his glasses, his eyes visibly sparkling.

“So. People with faith can perform distinctive miracles?”

“At present, we suspect that people with faith—those who are reasonably devoted to their religion—may use distinctive magic corresponding to their religious teachings.”

The Armed Forces called this faith magic, or doctrinal magic. Apparently, their hypothesis was that doctrinal magic manifested among devout believers, though not every believer could use it, and that it manifested in different forms depending on the religious teachings involved.

At this, the skinheaded fellow with a prayer-bead necklace sitting beside Cheong-hwi expressed his surprise in a thin voice.

“Aha. If that’s how you see it, you’re saying there’s another common branch of that penetrative whatsit?”

“Yes. That would be the magic learned by those fellows over there who have no religion. They’re active-duty service members or mobilized reservists who awakened through magical characters.”

Captain Kim Ho-un gestured toward us as he spoke. Suddenly, the soldiers in combat uniforms found themselves under the religious figures’ scrutiny.

With an indifferent expression, Captain Kim Ho-un tapped the screen to draw everyone’s attention back, then continued.

“For now, magic that manifested by chance in the fog while someone was following religious precepts and teachings, as represented by doctrine, is classified as doctrinal. Those who awakened through geometric characters discovered in the fog are classified as alteration-type.”

“How exactly do the two differ?”

The priest with the sharply side-parted hair, who had been silently straightening the collar of his cassock, spoke for the first time. He was young, but his eyes had a slightly yellowish tinge. He seemed to have jaundice.

Captain Kim Ho-un displayed a chart laid out in the military’s distinctive administrative-document format and replied.

“Doctrinal users employ denomination-specific magic believed to originate in religious precepts and teachings. The three currently confirmed are Buddhism, Catholicism, and Protestantism, commonly called Christianity—the most prevalent religions in this country.”

Captain Kim Ho-un then told us about the magic the Armed Forces had identified through military chaplains over the past two months.

1. Protestantism. Their magic was [Fatalistic Conviction]. The more strictly they observed their religious precepts, the more they were blessed with inexplicable good fortune that could only be described as miraculous. For example, someone who seemed certain to be crushed beneath a collapsing building might find the debris miraculously piling up in such a way that it left enough space and a path for them to walk out unharmed.

2. Catholicism. Their magic was [Reception of the Eucharist]. After celebrating Mass and receiving the Eucharist, they could resist fusion when attacked by an Amalgam for a certain period, and even repel it instead. The duration was believed to vary from priest to priest, but they said it wasn’t something they could recklessly put to the test.

3. Buddhism. Their magic was [Mantra Recitation]. Reciting scriptures such as Buddhist sutras and mantras could suppress instinctive fear, including the instinctive fear felt by those nearby. The effect became stronger when the recitation was in Sanskrit. However, there were few Sanskrit scriptures in the country, so the government was currently doing everything it could to acquire Sanskrit scriptures and all manner of Buddhist sutras from places such as India, China, and Japan.

Having explained that much, Captain Kim Ho-un advanced the slide and spoke.

“Based on these cases, we predict that doctrinal magic would produce different effects for believers of other religions. But as you know, our progress with religions outside these established faiths has been rather limited.”

That was when Captain Kim Ho-un slipped a glance at the foreigner in a turban. Noticing his gaze, the foreigner promptly waved his hands in denial.

“I’m not an imam. I read the Quran and follow Sharia, but I eat gochujang, Korean pork belly, and soju.”

On closer inspection, he was an honorary Korean in a turban.

That was when the skinheaded fellow with the prayer-bead necklace made his distinctive thin voice ring through the room.

“What about shamanism? Our own people’s native faith, with the spirit of the Korean nation in it—isn’t that an established religion?”

“Please don’t get so angry, Madam Geulmun. I’m sure the soldiers were only referring to the chaplains they have in the military.”

As Cheong-hwi soothed the huffing skinheaded fellow, I realized a shocking truth and turned my head. My eyes met those of a soldier who happened to be staring just as wide-eyed as I was.

Madam?

Noticing the disturbance among us soldiers, Madam Geulmun turned our way and glared.

“These brats. These brats use magic too? Hmph! Absolutely not. They’re strange and sinister beyond measure. Doctrinal magic, you call it? If that’s what we practice, those brats are using sorcery. Sorcery!”

“I’m still explaining. Please don’t be like that; the soldiers learned it by chance, too. I’ll explain the alteration-type magic they use as well.”

In a voice steeped in exhaustion, Captain Kim Ho-un now explained our side of things.

“Alteration-type magic refers to cases in which a certain effect is conferred on a particular part of the body.”

The military had currently identified three broad types of alteration magic.

First, the eyes. You became able to see things humans normally couldn’t see. Whether that meant seeing through walls, distinguishing heat as with infrared vision, or seeing the future like me, seeing something an ordinary human couldn’t meant you had awakened eye-type alteration magic.

Second, the ears. You could hear the voices inside other people’s minds. Of course, you had to concentrate like crazy, and there was no guarantee you would hear the person you wanted. It seemed to be more or less luck of the draw.

Third, the heart. Apparently, your metabolism became far more efficient than before. For example, you could sprint flat out for thirty seconds and barely feel out of breath. There was a backlash, of course.

“We believe there may be others, but these are the only three branches the military has identified so far.”

Only then did I realize where the term localized penetrative alteration activity had come from.

“So alteration-type magic was discovered first. While you were grinding soldiers into the dirt.”

If doctrinal magic had come first, they would have used a more religious term. Or an academic one. Having asked my question on that basis, I saw Captain Kim Ho-un raise his eyebrows.

“Hmm. Glad you’re quick on the uptake. Just what I’d expect from someone who awakened the eye branch of alteration magic.”

Eyes. The people who caught his meaning began looking at me differently. The religious figures and the soldiers who had been just as bewildered as I was all gave me strange looks that were difficult to describe.

Captain Kim Ho-un had to tap the screen again to regain everyone’s attention.

“In any case, you’ve been gathered here to share knowledge as Operators and establish a framework for cooperation in preparation for the fog’s return. Our objective is to help one another develop, maintain the cordon alongside the Armed Forces, and repeatedly conduct reconnaissance into Seoul to acquire more knowledge, ultimately finding a clue to resolving this crisis.”

“This humble monk is concerned about that cordon. You seem to regard Seoul not as a place to reclaim, but as a place to eliminate.”

Captain Kim Ho-un narrowed his eyes at that, then sighed.

“We can’t tell you yet why Seoul was sealed off or give you a detailed timeline. We didn’t want to watch the footage either, but we had to because we’re soldiers. Please don’t press us too hard.”

“I hear there are more types of monsters, too.”

This time, I landed the follow-up blow.

First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi looked helplessly toward the other officers, dismay in his eyes. Perhaps the other magicians had never heard this before; their gazes shifted between me and the officers. Captain Kim Ho-un alone glared daggers at Shin Han-gi before answering with a succession of heavy sighs.

“I really don’t want to say this, but since you are Operators, I’ll tell you. The Armed Forces has currently identified three species, including the Amalgam, for which we have established specific countertactics.”

Captain Kim Ho-un mouthed, “Come see me later,” at First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi, then chewed his lower lip before continuing.

“There are eleven unidentified species whose existence the Armed Forces suspects based on circumstantial evidence. That is all.”

* * *

As soon as we returned to the break room, First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi gave me a resentful look, then slumped his shoulders and left. The driver who had remained in the break room tactfully made two cups of coffee and handed them to him.

“Take these with you, sir. Have a drink while you talk.”

“Right. Thanks. Look after the Operator.”

The driver saluted and stood stiffly at attention until the lieutenant had left. Once we were alone in the break room, he rushed over to me and spoke almost pleadingly.

“O-Operator, sir.”

“Yes?”

“My... my mom went to Seoul to visit my older sister.”

“...”

“Please find her later. Han. Suk. Ja. Her name’s Han Suk-ja, and she’s got tightly permed hair and a strong accent...”

I could only listen quietly, picturing the ordinary-looking middle-aged woman the driver described. Then I smiled and reassured him.

“Don’t worry.”

“Sir!”

“If I find Ms. Han Suk-ja, I’ll probably fucking die right alongside her, so at least she won’t be lonely.”

“...”