Target (2)
I sliced open my palm once more and cast the spell.
"May all things be swept away with the waves."
⟨ Wave Surge ⟩
Water kept gushing from the fire hydrant. This time, I expanded the spell's range to draw in every drop of groundwater as well.
Their defensive magic seemed pretty solid. Let's see if this could break through it.
"Surge forth!"
⟨ Tidal Assault ⟩
"This crazy wizard?!"
In an instant, massive jets of water shot up into the sky. They toppled forward like falling dominoes, soon splintering into multiple waves that came crashing down.
"Fuck!"
"Kyaaah!"
The guy glanced back and forth between the hostage in his hand and the oncoming waves, then tossed the hostage aside and bolted desperately backward.
Well, no need to drench him now.
"Part!"
⟨ Cleave Wave ⟩
"Spare m—?"
I split the wave in two: half enveloped the part-timer, while the other half targeted the cultist. Smaller now, but faster—like a predator charging across the plains.
"Inugami! Hunt the one who slew you to the ends of the earth!"
⟨ Vengeful Hound Summon ⟩
"Krrrngh!"
Then, a fairly large yokai appeared. Dog head on a human body, built like a bear. It bellowed savagely, facing down the wave—and incredibly, as the water hit it, the surge got sucked into its maw until it vanished completely.
"Succeed in the hunt, and you'll feast! Wild dogs, attack!"
⟨ Pack Hunt ⟩
"Awoooo!"
"Krraaangh!"
The massive Inugami yokai called into being, along with smaller wild dog yokai, charged forward. Using wave magic again would be tricky now that they'd countered it. Anything stronger would level the whole block.
Summoning magic's iffy here too.
Unfortunately, civilians were everywhere. If it were unavoidable like before, fine—but summoning deep-sea horrors and driving a bunch of people insane? Nah.
"Mind if I borrow this?"
"Huh? Wait, no! My sword!"
So I borrowed Yu-hwa's talisman sword for a bit. Still dangling limply in midair like she was asleep, I just plucked the sword from her side.
The hilt fit perfectly in my hand.
"Hm?"
Something felt off. The moment I gripped it, a burning sensation flared in my palm, and I swear I heard faint voices.
But they faded quickly. All I heard now was Shin-nim's voice. Must've been my imagination. Sword in hand, I dropped down toward the building's base.
"Krrooaaargh!!"
"First time swinging a sword around..."
A wild dog yokai lunged for my throat. I wanted to cleave it in one stroke, but sadly, I had zero swordsmanship knowledge. Just gripped it like a bat and swung hard.
"Home run."
"Kyaaang!?"
Maybe I'd forgotten since I always fought with magic, but my body was that of a monstrous deep-sea entity. Superhuman physical prowess and reflexes that could outmatch even the murderously specialized killer yokai.
"Die, all of you!"
"Awoook?!"
"Kieeeek!!"
The wild dog yokai, with strength like real feral dogs, weren't even opponents. Only the massive monster Inugami could match me in a contest of raw power.
"Grrrrr...!"
"Fuck!"
As I massacred the wild dogs one-sidedly, the Inugami ambushed from behind, savagely baring its fangs to chomp my upper body. I rolled aside to dodge desperately, blocked its slashing forepaw with my sword, and we grappled in a test of strength.
"You know dogs that bite people get turned into dog meat stew on the spot, right...?"
"Awoooo!!"
Slightly, but I was losing the power struggle. It didn't look that strong, but maybe wizards weren't meant to wield swords. I'd gotten cocky and now I was in deep shit. At this rate, my torso was gonna get munched.
But I've got a way.
I'd learned it watching the Cheon-do Association's martial artists fight before: reinforcing the body with mana.
Even if the efficiency sucks balls.
Body reinforcement spells were worlds apart from just pouring raw mana into yourself. Like the difference between penicillin and chowing down on moldy bread.
But dump in enough, and you'd see results.
"Hraaaaaah!!"
"Kiiiiiiek!?"
Crackle-crackle!
I poured every ounce of my mana into reinforcing my body and hurled the Inugami away with full power. It flew into the air, and I slashed at it with everything I had. A slashing wave erupted, cleaving the beast—and rocketing straight toward the wizard.
"W-Wait, I surrender—!"
Splat!!!
Whoops. If you're gonna surrender, say it sooner.
I didn't pray for the nameless Cheon-do Association cultist who'd been bisected. Just spat on him and wished him a one-way trip to hell.
Sent that bastard straight to hell.
Good job.
Perfect.
Whether true or not, lucky break. No civilian casualties, captured the attackers properly. And most importantly, rescued Yu-hwa in time.
Fuck.
Maybe because I'd just seen a whole family massacred last night, but my mood was sour. Without Shin-nim's mental care, I might not have made it to work today. Then I wouldn't have checked on Yu-hwa...
Let's go home and spruce up the newlywed pad.
Yessir~
Shin-nim's giving me big thumbs-up stamps. Having a good wife is the best investment. Beyond pie-in-the-sky luck—this is gold bars falling in your sleep.
"Anyway."
"Y-Yeah?"
Shaking off the random thoughts, I grabbed the head of Yu-hwa—who was still floating limply like a ragdoll— with both hands, pressed my forehead to hers, and glared.
"Explain everything from start to finish. What the hell happened."
"Uh... um..."
Yu-hwa desperately avoided my eyes, subtly trying to squirm away—but floating in midair, her feet couldn't touch the ground.
"No bullshit. Come quietly."
"Uwaaaang..."
The shamans would swarm for cleanup soon, so I dragged Yu-hwa by the collar out of the barrier. Didn't forget the perception distortion this time either.
Everything wrapped up in 30 minutes. With an hour till lunch, we had plenty of time. We sat in a café sipping drinks: iced Americano for me, green tea latte for her.
"Spill it. I've muffled your voice with magic."
Phew-wip~
I tapped the little seahorse on the table. Its name was Mediator, one of the deep sea's rare utility entities. It controlled radio waves, brainwashing, sound waves, light, radiation—all sorts of miscellaneous stuff. Even the perception distortion came from its powers.
"Scream all you want; no one hears."
"Can I test it?"
"Go ahead."
"Ahem...! Aaaaaaaah!"
Yu-hwa screamed at the top of her lungs, but no one in the café reacted. Amazed, she poked at the seahorse. I nudged her foot with mine, pressing.
"Talk already. You know I hate waiting."
"Ugh... Fine, I'll talk! Happy now?!"
She crossed her arms with a sassy pout, then leaned in conspiratorially—even though no one could hear—and whispered.
"Truth is, I'm cursed."
"What kind?"
"Curse of Misfortune, Curse of Severed Bonds, and Curse of the Marked."
"???"
The first one made sense. Curse of Misfortune meant constant bad luck, which she'd mentioned before.
She said she'd dealt with anomalies since she was a kid.
Obviously, the odds of a normal person encountering anomalies were abysmal. Even with Cheon-do Association rampages lately, on a national or global scale, it was still vanishingly rare.
Her recent elevator and office terror incidents? Yeah, I could buy she was unlucky.
"'Curse of Severed Bonds'? Come on."
"It's real."
"But you get along fine with everyone at work."
The second one baffled me. She'd adapted great to office life. Hell, I was friendly with her. If not for the age gap, we'd be besties.
"Grandma helped me overcome it somewhat."
"Hmm..."
According to Yu-hwa, regular rituals and talismans kept it in check. Not perfectly—slacken off, and relationships grew awkward.
"So that's why you have no f—"
"Shh! Quiet!"
No wonder she always dragged me out for drinks, saying she had no one else. Her sunny personality hid that pain.
Guess I gotta drink with her more often.
"What's the Curse of the Marked?"
"That's..."
This was the big one. The name alone felt ominous and twisted.
I can guess.
The shaman had warned me: a Saga-level entity was after her. And today's Cheon-do crew worshipped Gung-gi—a Saga yokai. They'd tried kidnapping her...
"I'm a target for that cult."
"..."
"A monstrous horror wants me. It went quiet for a while, so I thought it'd given up, but..."
Yu-hwa gritted her teeth, pissed from her run-in with Gung-gi. But anxious too.
"I think I have to quit the company."
"..."
"People around me could get attacked. Department Head Nam, Manager Kim, even you, sir..."
Spot on. I'd been ambushed by Gung-gi cultists before too. Lucky I handled it, or Nam Bu-jang and Kim Gwa-jang might've been next.
"Thanks for today."
"..."
"I'll quit, but... we can still keep in touch sometimes, right?"
Yu-hwa looked deflated, weak, peeking at me worriedly. I stared for a moment, then chuckled.
"Nope."
"Eek...!"
Tears welled up at my refusal. One more tease and she'd really cry, so I added quickly.
"Can't approve your resignation."
"...Huh?"
"Work's piled sky-high. You bail, and our department's fucked."
She looked confused, like maybe I hadn't grasped her words. But Yu-hwa, you only know half the story.
I know better than you...
The Cheon-do Association hunting you? I smashed one of their arms already.
So where you gonna run? Let's suffer through work hell together.