Chapter 346: It’s Simple, Dear Comrade.
Chapter 346: It’s Simple, Dear Comrade.
The Mage Council’s behavior was suspicious, but I didn't have time to dwell on it.
In exchange for information I couldn't even verify as accurate, I had been forced to reveal one of the cards in my hand. To protect that card, I raced toward our current residence.
I had been a bit naive.
To think they would act perfectly normal, lure me in, and then spring a trap.
Usually, those specializing in mental manipulation just use their puppets as combat pawns; they rarely go through the tedious trouble of setting traps like this.
Judging by how The Council members continued to earnestly claim they were acting to suppress a Public Enemy, they were likely under a subtle form of influence—one that nudged their thoughts or made them believe false information was the truth.
A subtle type of mental manipulation, then.
Since it doesn't override the target's entire personality, there are limits to what can be controlled, and unexpected variables often arise. However, if executed correctly, it’s a more than sufficient method to bring down an entire organization.
Based on what I’d just experienced, that was my current assessment, but…
One doubt remained.
Are they really under mental manipulation?
These were Council-level mages—at minimum high B-Rank, and on average, mid A-Rank or higher.
And not a single one of them noticed their own behavior was strange?
Not one?
Especially when these were mages, experts in such matters?
Of course, making the impossible a reality is the hallmark of a Public Enemy and an Enemy from the Otherworld. It was possible that even Council-level mages couldn't perceive the distortion in their own actions.
I was 99.9 percent sure that was the case.
And yet, there was one thought I couldn't scrub from my mind.
The worry that if everything the mages said was true, then my actions were the ones that were wrong.
I couldn't shake that tiny seed of doubt.
With that possibility weighing on my mind, I hurried on.
* * *
Contrary to my expectation that the Mage Council would launch an immediate attack, we made it back to Dr. Baek Si-hyun’s laboratory without any interference.
Most of the mages we encountered were startled to see us, but their reactions were mostly limited to surprise at my presence, shock at the sight of Baek Si-hyun’s charred hands, or alarm at nearly being trampled by us as we sprinted past.
There was no sign that The Council had spread information about me. It was as if the fact that I had returned and needed to be captured was itself a secret.
I wondered why they felt the need to be so secretive.
But I was sick of this clandestine detective game. I’d leave it to someone else.
With that thought, I opened the lab door for Baek Si-hyun, whose hands had yet to regenerate.
Bang!
Fast and hard.
I had already sensed through my perception that no one was in the room.
This meant one of two things:
Either the three of them, including the tentacle, had left the lab together for some reason, or a special team sent by The Council had taken control of the interior and was masking their presence.
I stormed inside immediately.
At the very least, I could tell the second theory was wrong.
“It’s empty.”
There were no signs of a struggle or an intruder. The room was a mess, exactly as we had left it, but there was no sense of foreign interference.
The only difference was that the three who should have been there were gone.
“Did they go to get food or something?”
Scratch, scratch.
The tension bled out of me, and I suddenly felt an itch on my stomach. Normally, I’d call them on my phone, but the reception was dead.
Just as I was about to sit on the bed—
“Um? Master?”
“What is it?”
Baek Si-hyun called out to me. Reddish flesh was beginning to sprout beneath her charred skin as her arms started to restore themselves. I naturally turned my gaze toward her.
She was holding a small note in her one good hand.
“I think everyone’s been kidnapped!”
“…What?”
“It says so on the note!”
Dumbfounded, I froze for a moment. Baek Si-hyun scurried over and handed me the paper. I read the words written on the white sheet, printed as neatly as if they’d come from a computer.
[The rest of your party is currently with me. Please come to Warehouse 2 on the third basement floor of the Archives with whoever remains.]
It was a single note written in a remarkably polite tone. No matter how I read it, it screamed "kidnapping."
“What the hell was Un-ho doing?!”
I let out a furious roar and threw the note into the air. The fact that I didn't tear it to shreds was likely the last shred of my sanity.
* * *
It felt like I’d spent the entire day running.
From the main building to Research Wing 2, to Annex 9, back to Research Wing 2, and then back to the main building to ask where the hell the Archives were.
When I finally reached the Archives, I found the building had no basement. After beating and interrogating a nearby mage, I learned the truth.
This place was the "New" Archives, which also served as a library. The one with a basement was the "Old" Archives, now renamed the Preservation Records Hall.
To top it off, they kindly informed me that the New and Old Archives were on opposite ends of the campus.
“You goddamn kidnapper!”
I screamed as I sprinted across the Geneva Branch grounds.
After turning the entire facility upside down, I finally arrived at the Old Archives—the Preservation Records Hall. The place looked ancient in every sense of the word.
It was a plain, rectangular building with no standout features. The red brick walls were smothered in untended ivy, and the barred windows were covered by thick curtains that let no light escape.
The design was gloomy enough as it was, but seeing the rust on the drainpipes and window bars, and the faded paint on the entrance…
“…This looks exactly like the intro to a horror movie.”
Of course, the sun was still up, and if I turned around, I could see mages walking about here and there.
However, not a single person was coming near this area.
I stood in front of the building for a moment, hoping to catch some information, but no one approached, and no one went inside.
It was as if this place alone was isolated from the rest of the world…
Well, that was an exaggeration. I’d just seen an elderly man who looked like a janitor come out of the creaking front gate. It was probably just a building that no one had a reason to visit.
The visuals were eerie, but regardless.
Baek Si-hyun and I entered the decrepit building, which smelled of mold the moment we stepped inside. Unlike Baek Si-hyun, who looked around as if she were on a sightseeing tour, I focused all my senses as I moved forward.
B1.
B2. And finally, B3.
All the way to Warehouse 2 at the end of the hallway.
I didn't sense anyone else moving inside the building, nor did I encounter any traps. We reached the location designated by the kidnapper without incident.
Standing before the door, I used my senses to probe the interior.
Something was interfering with my perception, so all I could tell was that there were four or five presences inside and they were chatting.
Nothing for it.
I steeled myself to breach and gave Baek Si-hyun her instructions.
If things went south, she was to leave me and the others and escape. Her skin was growing back, but her internals were likely still a wreck, so she wasn't to fight. If I was captured and she didn't hear from me by tomorrow, she wasn't to try and rescue me; she was to find a way to contact the outside and report the situation to the Management Bureau.
Baek Si-hyun nodded without a word of protest. I trusted that she would follow my orders to the letter.
“Whew.”
I composed myself.
Bang!
I kicked the heavy iron door open. Dust kicked up from the impact, obscuring my vision.
“You Council bastards! Even martial artists don't touch disciples! You call yourselves human after kidnapping them?!”
I let out a thunderous roar to announce my arrival.
However, contrary to my expectations, the warehouse was brightly lit by lightbulbs. No one moved to attack; only the echo of my own voice returned to me.
…What the hell?
As I stood there bewildered, the dust slowly settled.
Soon, I was faced with an even more unexpected sight.
A few beds and desks were tucked into the corners. In the center stood a dining table.
Four entities were huddled around that table. Each held a teacup and was munching on cookies.
Two of them looked at me with confused expressions.
“…You’re early, sir?”
Un-ho spoke up casually. Beside him, Han A-bin stared at me, crumbs from a scone falling from her mouth as if she had no idea what was happening.
In this nonsensical situation, the expressionless tentacle seemed simply delighted, swaying its ends back and forth and dipping them in and out of its teacup.
And the last one.
The kidnapper himself, the one who had caused all this, stared at me with a stoic face.
My brain, already overloaded from the past few days, failed to process the scene. I froze in place.
“Oh, can I have some snacks too?”
Baek Si-hyun, who had been peeking from behind the door, walked past me and took a seat at the table.
“Help yourself.”
The host of this tea party, Macbeth, welcomed her with the expression of a grandfather greeting his granddaughter.
* * *
Eventually, I gave up on thinking and joined the tea party.
When it was over, the disciples, Un-ho, and the tentacle left the table. Only I—my brain so fried that smoke might as well have been coming out of my ears—and Macbeth, who was smugly puffing on a pipe, remained.
How much time passed?
“Ah…”
“You finally open your mouth. What will your first words be?”
Macbeth spoke calmly, as if he’d been waiting for me.
In response, I—
“What the hell is going on?!”
I screamed at the top of my lungs, venting my fury.
“I invited you to tea to help you organize your thoughts, as I assumed they would be cluttered. Is there a problem?”
Macbeth didn't flinch at my outburst; he simply exhaled a cloud of smoke.
“Does this look like a tea invitation to you?!”
I ended up throwing the note at Macbeth’s head. He caught it with one hand, scanned it slowly, and spoke.
“It is a polite tone, even upon second reading. Is there an issue?”
“…No, just because it’s polite doesn't mean… forget it. I’m not even going to try.”
I was exhausted. Usually, I was the one lecturing others. How did it come to this?
I pulled a metal rod from my pocket and bit down on it to soothe my frayed nerves. Then, I pulled out a thermos, spiked my portion of black tea with a suspicious amount of Liquid X, and downed it in one go.
“Just get to the explanation. I’m dying here.”
I slumped over and demanded answers.
“Hmm. Before that, I would like to hear your theories on the current situation.”
“Please. Just tell me, Commander Macbeth. If I have to do a Q&A right now, my head is actually going to explode.”
I was practically begging. Not that I cared.
“Hmm. But if I don't know what information you possess, the explanation will become complicated. So, what did you hear from The Council members, and what did you discover on your own…?”
“Save me, Professor… Macbeth.”
Seriously. I didn't even have the energy for banter anymore.
“…Professor. It has been a long time since I’ve heard that title.”
He seemed to perk up at that. Come to think of it, I heard he wanted to be a teacher in the past… I couldn't quite remember.
“Very well. Let us proceed step by step as we talk. Have you heard what the tentacle eats?”
“They said it was ‘desires.’ I find it hard to believe, though.”
I figured it was just more fake information from The Council.
But—
“That is correct. Desires. Something every human possesses. It has been confirmed that it consumes them.”
“…Noooooo.”
Since even Macbeth was asserting it was desires, all I could do was groan.
“Why do you think otherwise?”
“If it were desires, like you say, it would have eaten everything and leveled the Geneva Branch by now. Oh, is it not eating? Un-ho said it wasn't.”
It seemed we were doing a Q&A after all. Whatever. Just give me the info.
“No, it is eating quite diligently even now. That is precisely why The Council is working so hard to control information.”
…Huh?
What? What does that mean?
“Wait, it’s eating? Then how strong is the Main Body right now?”
“Hmm. If you could pin down its location, even your disciple—ah, yes, Han A-bin, was it? Even she could win in a head-on fight.”
“…?”
If I were a tentacle, my body would have curled into a question mark.
“Not Baek Si-hyun, but Han A-bin?”
“Yes. The pink Magical Girl with healing abilities. I am referring to her.”
…But she’s incredibly weak?
“You’re telling me it’s eating something as broad as ‘desires’ and gaining massive power, but it’s only at that level?”
Did you get hit with Mental Domination too, Macbeth? Or are you going senile?
I wanted to snark, but I didn't have a single ounce of energy left for it.
“Hmm. Why do you assume it uses the desires it consumes to increase its own strength?”
God, I hate these questions.
“Because every tentacle I’ve faced in my stories has been like that.”
“A fallacy of generalization. Just because it has been so until now does not guarantee it will remain so in the future.”
“…Then what else would it use them for?”
I had no idea. Does it eat desires and then write up profiles on everyone?
“Desires are things people wish to come true. Many entities receive them. If you look at ancient tales: gods, the dead, one’s past self, relics, future beings, supernatural entities. And they all use the factor of ‘desire’ to manifest those wishes into reality.”
What is he talking about?
“Keep it simple, please. My brain isn't working.”
I felt like smoke was coming out of my mouth even though I wasn't smoking. I had the metal rod in my mouth, but that wasn't a cigarette.
“To put it simply, it is a tentacle that grants desires. It consumes the desires of others and uses them as seeds to bear fruit.”
“…Isn't that a good thing?”
If it were true, that is. Macbeth smiled at my mutterings and continued.
“There are many legends of wish-granting. The most famous would be… yes, the Genie of the Lamp. It serves a specific individual as its master, and the Djinn race to which it belongs are Sentient Beings. Thus, even if a wish is vague, they can discern what the person truly wants and grant it accurately.”
“…That sounds like a good thing.”
I still didn't think it was desires.
“Then let us look at the opposite example. This one originates from a British short story: The Monkey’s Paw. Its identity as a wish-granter is the same. However, this entity does not grant the master’s wish in a benevolent way. It fulfills the desire in a twisted manner. A wish for money might be granted by having a loved one die so the wisher receives the insurance payout.”
…I get the gist of it.
“So, is that tentacle one of those? Does it distort the desire when it fulfills it?”
If so, I could see where this was going.
“No. The tentacle consumes the desire and fulfills that exact desire with precision.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
My trust in him was growing. Was it because it was Macbeth speaking, unlike The Council members?
Macbeth let out a slightly bitter smile and spoke.
“First, it does not discriminate when it comes to masters. And second, it does not fulfill every desire it consumes. Power is required to grant a wish, but this tentacle does not possess that much power. Therefore, it fulfills only a few desires and uses the rest as fuel to grant those specific ones. In other words, the selective nature of the wishes it grants is the greatest problem.”
“…That doesn't sound like a huge problem.”
Couldn't we just shove it in a corner somewhere?
As that thought crossed my mind—
“‘While I’m gone,’ ‘Public Enemy level,’ ‘Hope only The Society HQ blows up.’”
Suddenly, Macbeth uttered phrases that didn't fit his speech pattern at all.
…Wait, those sounded familiar.
“Do they not sound familiar? They are certainly sentences you have uttered.”
Ah, I remembered. It was the day the mages gathered to exile me…
Wait a minute.
Something was wrong.
…While I’m gone?
…Public Enemy level?
…Only The Society HQ?
…Huh?
“It seems you’ve realized.”
“…Professor, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I don't want to know.