The Memorial Rite (4): The Girl's Voice
The girl's voice carried a chill that seemed ready to freeze over at any moment. Overwhelmed by that presence, the black mage fell silent. The girl pulled out a sheet of paper covered in drawings and tossed it toward him. It bore the partial form of a magic circle, as though someone had started writing it and then stopped. Amid the ashes, debris, and the lone remaining ring at the scene, she had desperately gathered what traces she could and barely managed to restore this fragment. Normally, even that would have been impossible, but her magical talent allowed her to perceive even the smallest, faintest traces of particles.
"Th-this is…"
"Do you recognize this magic circle?"
"…I do. *Cough*…!"
At his answer, Baek Seoyeon's fist clenched reflexively. Besides cleaning up the trash, today's visit had another purpose: to confirm the doubts that had been plaguing her.
"This is… military magic… Archduke's Flame… *Cough*…!"
But the very next moment, the black mage's words brought her thoughts to a sudden halt.
"Military… magic?"
"*Cough*…! That's right… It's hard to tell for sure, but… it's very similar to the ones I've seen before… *Cough*!"
Seoyeon could no longer tolerate the trash's lies. She immediately summoned a thick spear of light from the air and drove it into his hand. The shameless black mage screamed and thrashed like a writhing shrimp.
"Aaaagh…! Aagh! Aaaagh!"
"You filthy criminal scum!! How dare you try to deceive me with such nonsense! This magic circle was found at the scene where you killed your victims!! How dare you try to pin your own crimes on someone else!!"
"I-I'm not lying!! I saw the traces left on my comrades… *Cough*!! I know this!! This… isn't magic we use!! Aaaagh!!"
Seoyeon's fierce momentum began to waver as she sensed the sincerity in his words.
"Haa… haa… *Cough, cough*…!!"
Baek Seoyeon pressed an ice spear against the neck of the black mage, who was violently coughing up blood.
"Tell me everything you know about this magic."
"Hurk… *Cough*!! Believe me… Archduke's Flame is… military magic issued only to the national army… It's originally a locked spell, so *Cough*! Even if outsiders recognize the circle, they can't use it…"
The former leader of the death squad, who once ruled the back alleys of the night, poured out desperate excuses like a child who had done wrong.
"Besides, it takes a long time to inscribe… *Cough*! It doesn't suit assassins like us… *Cough, cough*!!"
"You're not lying, are you?"
"A-at this point, what would I gain by lying? Please believe me… *Cough*…! Especially if you're the young lady of Paecheon… you must have a way to cross-verify… *Cough*!"
Seoyeon could find no obvious falsehoods in his words. After a brief pause, she asked him one final question.
"…Its purpose?"
"*Cough*…! To inflict the maximum pain and death upon the victim… It's a torture spell."
"What…"
Her vision darkened for an instant at his words. She barely managed to stay on her feet through sheer willpower as her legs trembled. Seoyeon stood there in silence for a long time. The criminal, still coughing, only glanced at her like a cowed dog. The girl lowered her head deeply and turned toward the passage. A glimmer of hope appeared on the black mage's face at this unexpected stroke of luck.
*Thud!*
But the expression that had anticipated the joy of survival twisted in agony as a heavy pain struck his chest. Barely managing to lower his head, he saw a large magical spear embedded precisely in his heart.
"*Cough*…! *Gurgle*…! Wh-why…!"
"…Even so, the fact that you tried to kill him doesn't change."
"*Gurgle*…"
With a final lament, the black mage died. The girl staggered down the frozen passage. Before she could even reach the exit, she collapsed to the ground.
"Ah…"
The groan that escaped her lips in confusion soon turned into a wail filled with grief and sorrow, echoing through the corridor.
"Ah… ugh… aah… *sob*…"
Clutching the scorched ring tightly with both hands, she thought of the boy who had died in agony. She could not even begin to imagine what he must have felt. Without even the chance to confess his wrongs, he had left her side in an instant.
After crying out for a long time, she finally pulled herself together, and her thoughts began to race once more. According to the military documents she had seen, the boy had been attacked and killed by a group of wandering looters, and the army had arrived late to eliminate them. But that account did not match the truth she knew at all. Why had they falsified the records?
The one who had subjugated the black mage and recorded his death was the 66th Brigade, which had happened to pass through the area at the time. The 66th Brigade. Its commander was Sa Jaehyuk of the Black Lotus. Everything she knew about him was negative. A thug who had seemed reformed but ultimately could not abandon his true nature. A fallen student council president. And if it interfered with operations, he would even…
"…kill civilians with that violent temperament."
Seoyeon's eyes trembled violently as the memory surfaced. She also knew that the Black Lotus and Red Fire maintained a close relationship. Could all of this be coincidence? Was it really a coincidence that someone closely tied to them had arrived in the boy's hometown, the very place targeted by Red Fire? Was it really a coincidence that traces of military magic had been found on his corpse?
"…"
Seoyeon bit down on her lip and continued down the frozen passage on unsteady legs. In any case, what she had to do was clear. And one thing was certain: he had died a miserable death in pain and loneliness, and it was all her fault.
Now the girl was no longer weak. The power dynamic had been completely reversed, and she was now more beautiful and powerful than anyone. Her innate talent had instantly grasped the principles of magic, and those who wished to follow her swirled around her like clouds. But in the end, it had only been the life of an empty shell.
*
Seasons passed, and the cruel spring returned to her once more. Young mages who had just begun to bloom submitted their academy applications whether they were ready or not. Upperclassmen busily activated their information networks to find those with outstanding talent and ambition who shared their goals. Baek Seoyeon was no exception. She muttered to herself while flipping through the preliminary list she had obtained through the administration office.
"Yoo Jin-hyeon… was it?"
A male student who had received a recommendation from the Black Lotus for the first time in eighteen years. His place of origin was the southern frontier. Aside from the lack of a photograph attached to the application, his personal details were nothing special. However, beside the list was a confidential file on him that Seoyeon had separately obtained. This was a measure she had taken through her Paecheon connections in the military after sensing a strange intuition, and in the end, her intuition had been correct.
His true identity was a former soldier from the 66th Brigade. Furthermore, he had enlisted two years ago. One peculiar point was that, despite his short military service, he had amassed an astonishing record of slaughtering countless demons, magical beasts, and bandits. His repeatedly noted brutality and cruelty from his superiors were also noteworthy. But the most important point was something else.
The timing of his enlistment was several months before the boy's death. In other words, there was a strong possibility he had been at the scene. Or… he might have done it himself.
*Grind…*
Seoyeon gritted her teeth and tried to calm herself. Since she had no way to reach Sa Jaehyuk, the best option was to make him spill the truth about the incident. But even though she always wore a smiling mask, she could not muster the confidence to carry it out. She would try, but the mere thought that he might be involved made rage boil in her chest.
***
Though she had to wander a few more steps beyond the location her biological brother had mentioned, she eventually found the storage site by mobilizing her and her collaborator Choi I-re's information networks. There, just as he had said, were all the documents and detailed evidence stored away. From the details of Red Fire's cooperation with demons to evidence that they had been researching the forbidden Interference Magic. Even more shocking was the fact that they had conducted illegal human experiments for their research.
The recent outbreak of mutants in the capital's B-143 district was the result of failed experiments that had accidentally escaped from a laboratory belonging to their company, Hogyung Industries. The incident had also been reported to the Cradle. However, the client was not Hogyung Industries but the local police station responsible for security in the district. After all, they could not have submitted the request themselves. Doing so risked exposing their connection to the illegal experiments. But the escaped mutants had eventually caught the police's attention, and unaware of the full story, they had requested the Cradle's assistance to stabilize the area.
And the one at the Cradle who had received the case was… the group centered around the masked male student, the Black Lotus's recommended entrant. As her thoughts reached that point, her suspicions deepened further.
"Th-this is…"
Choi I-re, the female student accompanying her, also could not hide her shock as she examined the documents.
"Even though it was you who said it, Seoyeon, I could hardly believe it… but they really did something like this…"
"…I-re. Where are the two of them right now?"
Understanding who Seoyeon meant by "the two," I-re nodded.
"They left the Cradle two days ago for a mentoring group field activity. Officially it's a tour of Hogyung Industries, but given the circumstances, they probably went to Red Fire's private property."
"…Perfect."
The Cradle was protected by special laws and could not invoke emergency clauses. It was an opportunity that had fallen from the heavens. Seoyeon closed her eyes tightly and organized her thoughts. If there were anyone in the current Cradle who bothered her the most, it was those two.
First, Yoo Jin-hyeon. It went without saying that he was the prime suspect in the murder. Moreover, Baek Seoyeon had felt a strange sense of déjà vu every time she faced him, an emotion that only made him more unpleasant. Not just his way of speaking, but even his smallest gestures.
And Yeon Minha. The very person who had constantly interfered with her efforts to build her own faction within the Cradle. At the same time, she possessed an extraordinary level of brutality and arrogance. Thinking about how hard she herself had worked for years to hide that personality, it often felt as though she were looking into a mirror reflecting her own inner self. Furthermore, it was also the type of personality the dead boy had hated the most. On top of that, she was the successor of the family that had directly caused his death, so her disgust now needed no further explanation.
Yeon Minha's suddenly improved condition recently had also fueled her suspicions. Perhaps, through cooperation with demons, they had finally found a way to overcome the Spirit Mage's Curse using Interference Magic. And the foundation for that had been the countless innocent victims sacrificed through treason and illegal experiments.
Whether it was personal grudge or something else, there was not a single reason to leave them be.
"…I-re. How many of your family's private soldiers can you mobilize right now?"
"…What? But…"
"You saw it too. If we delay any longer, there might be more victims. Who knows what other schemes they'll cook up with those filthy demons."
Though startled at first, Choi I-re soon understood her meaning and nodded. As successors of their respective noble families, they also had the authority to mobilize their families' and companies' private soldiers. According to the obtained documents, Red Fire's headquarters was only maintaining a routine level of security. It would be impossible for them to withstand a surprise attack from two families.
"Mobilize every soldier you can. I'll do the same on my end."
"Understood."
"Right now. We have to hurry. If the Intelligence Bureau catches wind of our movements, we don't know what kind of interference might come. Since we have clear evidence in our hands, taking action first and reporting later won't be a problem."
Baek Seoyeon hurried her steps. On her face, flickering in the darkness, multiple emotions rose at once and tangled together in a complicated mess. Sorrow and anger. Regret and lament. And the intense self-loathing that overshadowed them all.
"Red Fire… is finished now."