Chapter 326
Chapter 326
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 326
Chapter Title: What Happened in Busan That Day
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The unprecedented disaster that struck Busan ended as a one-night commotion, but its scars have yet to heal.
A 3km radius centered on [Cure Medical Care] has been completely turned into a desert.
Professor from Busan University’s Department of Magical Geology and Feng Shui: This is a magical issue, you see? We can’t restore it with conventional methods. No way.
* * *
Not to mention Songjeong Beach, the nearby Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches are also suffering from hazardous debris and trash washing in with the waves.
Busan Metropolitan City official: No matter how much we clean, it never ends. The stench is unbearable... Manpower and budget have their limits...
* * *
Busan Metropolitan Mayor Eo Moon-hyung has declared Kim Shin-hwa—the figure blamed for causing this incident—a “public enemy.”
Busan Metropolitan Mayor: The perpetrator of this heaven-defying atrocity, Kim Shin-hwa... I stake my term in office on bringing him to justice...
* * *
The “disaster” that occurred in Gijang County, Busan.
There’s plenty of talk about its aftermath and the follow-up measures, but few people know the specifics of what happened at the time.
That’s how most surreal disasters have played out worldwide since the Great Collapse.
The direct witnesses are usually killed or go missing.
Even those who barely survive end up rejecting their own experiences, their minds shattering completely.
Sometimes intact information survives, but it’s often concealed by government agencies under the pretext of national security—or monopolized by corporations because it’s worth money.
The Busan incident is being “handled” in much the same way.
“Gafurum, about this article. You haven’t submitted it yet, right?”
“No, it’s basically done. Just a few loose ends, and I’ll have a near-perfect reconstruction of what happened in Busan that day.”
“Oh, you’ve worked so hard. Gafurum, really, uh, what should I do?”
Deputy Editor Choi, ever the softie, rolls his eyes around as he starts comforting me. When there’s nothing to be comforted about yet?
Whenever Deputy Editor Choi jumps into preemptive consolations like this, it’s always the same story.
“Huh? Editor, no way, right?”
“Oh, come on... There was that giant mushroom or mold thing in Ilsan, wasn’t there? How about that one?”
“Ugh, Editor, no! I’m done with it! Do you know how many interviews I lined up?”
“Oh, but~ the desk says they want something else.”
“Seriously? For real? Actually?”
“Oh, yeah, for real.”
“Wow—what now? It’s not the desk, right? Where’s this pressure coming from?”
“Oh, no such thing.”
Deputy Editor Choi, who’d been hemming and hawing while glancing around, sidles up and whispers.
“Oh, looks like someone sneezed somewhere. You know, when someone talks about you, you sneeze, right?”
“Aaah, got it! The Management Bureau, huh? Who from the Bureau? No way, Yang—?”
“Oh, Reporter Gafurum! Let me live a little. That Ilsan giant mushroom’s no joke either. Something about the Black King? Tied to the Three-Headed Society or whatever? Oh, dig into that. Hey—yakuza making hallucinogens from mushrooms? Huh? Distributing them? Big crime syndicate?”
Give up?
On all the material I gathered?
This massive trove of interviews?
For real?
* * *
Gafurum: Could you tell me a bit more detail?
Eyewitness: Aaah— a massive storm! Monsters poured out through the storm. Ale came to bring wrath upon this world! And a giant snake! A snake, but also a fish, a fish but a bird—a monster appeared! And one with four heads!
Gafurum: So more monsters came out?
Eyewitness: Not just any monsters! They kept coming nonstop! But the ones that emerged then were even more special.
* * *
Interview
Hwang In-cheol (68, Bounty Hunter “Kid the Gunman”)
Q. You were tracking Kim Shin-hwa, correct? Why did you stop?
A. I’m a hunter. Hunters chase prey, not typhoons or earthquakes. That’s what Kim Shin-hwa was. Beyond what I could handle. I heard recently another guy’s on his trail. But I’m out.
Q. What did you witness in Busan?
A. A massive storm. Monsters pouring out endlessly. A giant hand. And Kim Shin-hwa.
Q. What did Kim Shin-hwa do?
A. Kim Shin-hwa used the [Golden Hairpin] to open a door to the Abyss.
Q. What is the Golden Hairpin?
A. That’s...
* * *
Gafurum: A door opened? What kind of door?
Eyewitness: It was Kim Shin-hwa! That monster Kim Shin-hwa! That thing with four eyes opened a door to the Abyss! That’s why monsters from the deep Abyss came pouring out!
* * *
Interview
Jang Hyun-deok (22, Trucker)
Q. You know what the Golden Hairpin is?
A. That’s right. But how do I know?
Q. I got your contact through the taxi union. Could I hear about the Golden Hairpin?
A. It’s tied to a legend from Busan. Ever heard of the Hairpin Cave legend in Sajik-dong?
Q. Could you explain?
A. During the Imjin War, it’s where people hid. (Omitted) Homesick women stabbed the rock with hairpins, punching holes through it, and beyond those holes, they could see their hometowns.
Q. I get that hairpins feature in the legend. What’s its connection to the Golden Hairpin?
A. A mage I know said that Golden Hairpin has the power to pierce this land’s boundaries and open a hole to the Abyss.
Q. Do you know why Kim Shin-hwa opened a door to the Abyss?
A. That’s...
* * *
“What are we gonna do about it?”
Yang Seo-ho frowns and shoots back.
I pondered where to start as I replied.
“Beating those visible hands won’t do a damn thing.”
“Why?”
The visible hands are mere illusions.
“These horrific hands have a weed-like structure. The core’s hidden in the underground ruins. Gotta pull the roots.”
“Then just go to the core and smash it?”
Yang Seo-ho says that while raising his fist.
Sure, you could punch the ground a few times and reach the depths.
But that alone won’t cut it.
“Hmm, under Cure Medical Care, there’s this massive relic tied to the [Fount of Life]—and it’s magically linked to ruins in Sokcho and Buyeo? Those ruins act as spiritual reflectors for the power of the [Great Fount] in the Abyss. The [Fount of Life] draws in their echoes through magical cores scattered in three locations. So physical access is...”
“Short version.”
“...Going down and smashing won’t kill it.”
“So?”
I made contact with the [Mirror of Wisdom] embedded in the Golden Hairpin—and gleaned some info.
Based on that, here’s my conclusion.
“I’m gonna make a hole to the Abyss.”
“A hole.”
“Yeah. A hole. Think of it like draining a flooded basement. Sure, the pressure might cause some backflow at first—but I can push it back.”
“With magic?”
“Yeah, with magic.”
Precisely, it’s not magic.
I have the Seal Stone Scripture that can seal the [Great Fount].
It doesn’t detail sealing the [Fount of Life], but opening a passage to the Abyss will spike the spiritual bond between the [Fount of Life], the [Great Fount], and the other incarnation, the [Fount of Corruption].
I glossed over that and wrapped up.
“At that moment, we shove the whole mess back into the Abyss.”
Yang Seo-ho fiddles with his hair, grimacing for a moment.
“I get my role. While you open the door, I beat the backflow bastards?”
“No. Someone else’ll handle that.”
“Someone else?”
“Yeah. Red’s back.”
* * *
“Everyone, over there! Right there!”
Jang Hyun-deok waves his arms wildly, shouting.
Aboard Red, Jang Hyun-deok and Park Gwang-rim guided the people they met on the Donghae Expressway to Gijang County.
“Whew, we did it. Right, Gwang-rim? Hyunji?”
“Hyunji?”
Park Gwang-rim pulled another Nirvana from her pocket, swallowed it, and asked Jang Hyun-deok.
Jang Hyun-deok had been chatting with that “Hyunji” the whole flight.
“But Hyunji? Hyunji? Why’d you go quiet? Hyunji?”
Was it because they got close to Kim Shin-hwa that this Hyunji shut up? Or are the symptoms easing?
“Hyun-deok—”
“Whoa! Gwang-rim, look at that! That!”
Jang Hyun-deok points to the southern sky.
“Th-that’s...”
“It’s the wizard! Everyone! Look! He’s here! We were right, huh? Feast your eyes on this!”
Jang Hyun-deok yells that to the people following behind.
Just as he said, something incredible was unfolding in Gijang County.
A massive storm. Horrifically beautiful hands. Monsters pouring out endlessly.
And—
“Kim Shin-haaaaa!”
Atop a monster that was an octopus, a crab, and a shark all at once—Yong-su, the sole survivor of In-su Village, screams.
Trailing them: ninjas, yakuza, cultists, and a few bounty hunters.
* * *
The Golden Hairpin was incomplete.
It needed more gold infused with deep-sea curses, but Yang Seo-ho had blown it up with a bomb.
Impossible to procure easily.
But back in In-su Village, I’d stolen that gold by the ton. Sure, most went to the Gold King—
“I held some back. Thanks, Dol-dol.”
Grrr rumble—
Dol-dol grumbles in dissatisfaction at having its gold stash taken.
“You rascal. So cute.”
I scratched Dol-dol’s head (or is it its upper shell?) with my left hand, embedded with the magic stone, then said.
“Go play with Achilles for a bit.”
Grrr rumble!
Dol-dol starts bounding around excitedly—and
Kiri-ririk! Kigi-gigik!
[S-Rank Magical Artifact ‘Beacon Staff’’s unique function, ‘Binding of Fire’s Kin,’ activates.
// Binding of Fire’s Kin: Grants the owner the ability to summon and control ‘living flames’’ kin.]
Achilles activates the [Beacon Staff], summoning fire vampires.
“Hm, nice.”
“Hurry up.”
Yang Seo-ho’s urging. He’s been guarding me while I prep the Golden Hairpin.
Guess he’s annoyed I’m taking too long.
“Oh, sis. Just a sec.”
Vroooom!
A rock hurled by Yang Seo-ho flies at me at blinding speed.
“Gah!”
I hastily tried to erect a defensive spell—but
Boom!
Yang Seo-ho immediately chucked another rock, smashing the incoming one.
“Mistake.”
“What mistake!”
“Next time, no mistake—I’ll kill you. Hurry.”
“Ah, yes. Got it.”
With that, I spread mana in all directions.
A massive magic circle blankets the sky.
No, at this scale, it’s beyond a magic circle. A gigantic mandala engulfs Gijang County’s sky.
“That’s right, Akiyama. This is what you wanted, huh?”
Rumble crash!!
I gathered the raging typhoon’s power—and soared into the sky with the Golden Hairpin.
“Kim Shin-haaaaa!!”
“That guy!”
“Arghhh!”
“Mr. Kim Shin-hwa!”
“Yahoo! Wizard!”
“Gyaargh!”
Yeah, some friends, some not—but this time, let’s trust them and cause some chaos.
I raised the floating Golden Hairpin and shouted.
“Alright, everyone, look here! No tricks, no hidden mechanisms—just a plain old Golden Hairpin!”
Rumble!
With this, I’ll make the [Fount of Life] vanish like magic.
“Perfect. Let’s nail it in one take, no NG!”
Shiiiiek!
I plummeted with the hairpin—which had soared to the heavens—into the hole torn open in the ground.