Mage Hunter (3)
If things had gone according to plan, I should have been in the middle of contract negotiations with Han-seong Electronics right now. But the mage hunter's attack threw everything off, and in the end, I wasted time without even managing to kill the bastard.
"Around here."
The taxi pulled up near the site of the overturned vehicle. Location-wise, it was somewhere between downtown and the industrial zone. Since it was a busy area with lots of foot traffic, I figured plenty of civilians had gotten caught up in the incident.
"I did try to be careful, you know."
I hadn't gone out of my way to look after them like Kim Gwa-jang had, but I hadn't ignored the civilian casualties either. I avoided using wide-area magic, steered clear of spots where people might be hiding as much as possible, and when I deployed my barrier, I even chased them all out. I think I showed as much goodwill as a total stranger could reasonably offer.
"Heave-ho."
A transparent membrane separated the real world from the inside of the barrier. I leaked some deep-sea energy to poke a small hole in it and slipped through the gap.
There were about three hundred presences around me. Half seemed to be mages, the other half civilians dragged into the mess.
"Hurry up and clear the building debris!"
"Heal over here, please!"
"Now, look this way—Red Sun."
The mages were diligently cleaning up. The chancellor and professors must have already returned to Ma Tower, so no one noticed my intrusion.
Let's grab Kim Gwa-jang quick and get out.
"Hm..."
Off in the distance, I spotted the overturned taxi. Kim Gwa-jang should have been there originally, but the mages' arrival must have forced a relocation. Do-cheol should be with him too, so I'll call the guy to confirm his position.
"Whoa...!"
"..."
"You're not startled...? How boring..."
Just as I was about to summon Do-cheol, Kim Gwa-jang suddenly appeared behind me. There had been nothing there moments ago. Was this one of his abilities? I'd heard witch powers couldn't be detected by normal means.
"No trouble, I hope?"
"Our eyes met, but... he seemed fine..."
I hadn't sensed Kim Gwa-jang, so he couldn't be a professor. If they'd locked eyes, it must have been with the dean, who apparently let it slide. Professors were whatever, but the dean? I could kinda respect the guy.
"Then let's head out."
"Sure..."
With Kim Gwa-jang safe, we had no more business here. I cast a perception-distortion spell on him too, and we slipped out of the barrier together.
"..."
As we walked toward the motel, I called Han-seong Electronics. I was supposed to have a meeting today, but circumstances had prevented it. Luckily, they were understanding—their rep had gotten caught in the chaos and couldn't make it to work either.
"Meeting's pushed back three days."
"Three days...? Of all the..."
When I relayed the new schedule to Kim Gwa-jang, he suddenly muttered something ominous. Of all the...? What kind of unlucky word choice was that?
"Something happening that day?"
"Well... it's a bit hard to explain..."
Sensing something off, I pressed, and Kim Gwa-jang made a troubled face. Then, as if he'd made up his mind, he held out his palm.
A coin rested there—not made of special materials or infused with mana, just a plain old coin.
"Yup."
"???"
Kim Gwa-jang gave it a push of will, and the coin floated into the air. Without using telekinesis?
"Borrowing a spirit's power... like a poltergeist, I guess..."
"You mean a ghost?"
"A little different... much nicer..."
Kim Gwa-jang's explanation was tricky. I got that it was witch power that didn't rely on mana, but spirits were vague—different from ghosts, which fell under anomalies. Spirits were... if I had to describe them, more like pure energy akin to mana.
"Just think of it as a convenient force..."
"Something you can use in all sorts of ways, right?"
"Exactly..."
It was a skimpy explanation, but what could you do if there was no better way to put it? Anyway, back to the point.
Kim Gwa-jang simply explained why three days from now felt ominous.
"Three days from now, there's gonna be a massive terrorist attack..."
"Pardon?"
Three days from now, a large-scale terror attack was planned for Ansan City. More precisely, Ma Tower above it was the target... but the blast radius alone would turn the city into a wasteland. That's how big it was supposed to be.
"Reliable intel?"
"Straight from the source... pretty much certain...?"
"The source?"
I gave him a puzzled look, and Kim Gwa-jang pulled some powder from his pocket. He sprinkled it on his palm, and it clung to something invisible, revealing its shape. A tiny person...? Female, and visually...
"That woman from earlier?"
"Rozha... Rozabella..."
It looked like a miniature version of the woman I'd fought and cubed earlier. She wriggled cutely.
[Shrug shrug!]
She reacted to her name, so she had some intelligence, but not much.
"Aww, so cute..."
Her reactions were totally childlike. Anyway, reading her memories directly made the info highly credible. So the terror attack was real...
"No details on the method?"
"Nope... only the black guy knew..."
"Heh, figures."
Unfortunately, no info beyond the date. No location or specifics.
"What now?"
"Just run?"
"Not a bad idea."
Honestly, fleeing wasn't terrible. I had no deep attachment to Ansan worth dying for. Plus, the target—Ma Tower—was closer to an enemy than anything.
"Hm..."
I pondered all the way back to the motel but failed to reach a conclusion. Part of me wanted to bolt to Incheon, but pretending it didn't nag at me would be a lie. Guess I'd mull it over the next three days.
That night, right after dinner with Kim Gwa-jang, I sat by the motel window, gazing outside. Ma Tower floated in the sky.
Thousands of mages lived there, guarding Ansan's safety.
"Hm..."
I didn't like Ma Tower much, but most folks probably felt differently. I wasn't exactly a saint, but I figured I could offer minimal help.
"Be back soon."
[....]
I patted the stone slab rolling on the bed and leaped out the window. Then I activated my magic. No flight spell per se, so butterfly wings sprouted from my back, carrying me high into the sky.
"..."
Now very close to Ma Tower. It looked tougher after the recent attack, but leaking deep-sea energy rendered that moot. The mana destabilized, punching a hole in the barrier instantly.
I squeezed through and hovered in the air for a bit.
"Ho ho?"
"..."
About five minutes later, I went from near Ma Tower's airspace to a luxurious room. Faint traces of mana lingered—not witch power, but peak spatial teleportation magic.
"Welcome to Ma Tower... Should I say that?"
"If you're welcoming me."
"Then no issue. Welcome to Ma Tower."
The dean of Ma Tower sat across the table. He looked like a kindly old gentleman, but he was unmistakably a monster. Even my demon eyes saw nothing—no mana at all. Without Shin-nim's power, I wouldn't last a second.
"So, why'd you come? I withdrew the warrant as requested."
"Got something specific to tell you."
Seeing the chancellor had made me waver. With him around, Ma Tower could handle the terror fine. Still, better to warn them properly. Less damage the better—and hey, they'd be the ones suffering, not me.
"Terror attack in a few days. Big one."
"...How big?"
Definitely a tough guy—no demands for proof, straight to scale. I liked that from an info source's perspective.
"Remember the ominous guy I was facing off with?"
"Yes, quite the sinister fellow."
"His plan."
"...Not to be taken lightly."
The man sighed deeply and shook his head. I chuckled at the sight. Felt good seeing someone else spin out for once. The pressure was someone else's problem—my mind was clear. Please, let stuff like this happen outside Incheon from now on.
"Told you everything. Time to go."
"Safe travels. We'll repay this favor someday."
"Haha, I'll hold you to it."
With that, I grabbed Shin-nim's hand. A small fry like me using teleportation would get traced instantly, so I needed her help. Her tentacle pulled me, and next thing I knew, I was in her embrace back at the slab.
"So stuffy..."
[Heehee.]
Bound tight in tentacles—she had no intention of letting go. This'd be a long night.
[Hubby hubby, my awesome hubby~]
"Urk, ugh... guh...!"
And so the noisy night passed. Time flew, and it was now the third day, afternoon. Per plan, final meeting with Han-seong Electronics, then back to Incheon.
Yeah, right.
Big data from recent events pegged the screw-up odds at 120%. Better prep for battle.