Seoul Station Incident Handling Request - Part 1
A black mage's daily life was ordinary. No, it wasn't much different from that of any regular person. Commute to work, handle the job, clock out and head home—that was the sum total of it. The only special event now and then was getting dragged out due to a sudden gate popping up nearby, preparing for the possibility of monsters pouring out. Even that ended with us getting deployed afterward to clean up the aftermath.
This routine repeating day in and day out was what life looked like for black mages in the modern era.
"We confronted that government department last time, and they sent out an apology letter. They said they'd improve the paperwork so this doesn't happen again and make information more transparent?"
I took the documents An So-mi handed me, read them over, and nodded.
But seeing my reaction, she asked with a frantic expression, "Is that all you've got to say?"
"What more reaction do you expect from me?"
"...It's thanks to you, Seong-chan, that the government's changing their dealings. This is a pretty big deal!"
I could see her point, like An So-mi said, but my feeling was, so what?
Watching me, Go Yu-jin chimed in. "I told you, expecting a reaction from Seong-chan is a lost cause. Just give up."
"Aigoo, how can someone be this emotionally numb?"
Go Yu-jin met my eyes for a moment, then quickly looked away. Her ears had turned a faint red—she was probably lost in some stray thought again.
"No more work? Then let's head out."
An So-mi finally gave up, taking back the papers to file them away. Go Yu-jin wrapped up her tasks too, and we prepared to end the day.
"By the way, what was left in that gate we cleared today that they're sending out a search team?"
Go Yu-jin fielded my question. I'd remembered her talking with the government reps earlier.
"It's one of those 'boring-type' gates with about a week until closure. They figure it'll be good for some gate ecosystem research?" she said casually.
"Ecosystem research? Isn't it already settled that gates are fragments of collapsed worlds?"
Numerous countries and organizations had investigated gates, concluding they were gateways where countless shattered civilizations collided with our world. Deep research continued into how and why these collisions manifested as gates, but even with hundreds of sages—top awakeners—poring over it, there were no real breakthroughs. It was truly unknown territory.
"Not that kind of ecosystem survey. More like investigating the natural environment inside the gate—insects, plants, minerals, that sort of thing."
"Ah. Looking for new materials, then."
Go Yu-jin nodded at my words, but An So-mi cut in. "We've got more than enough new materials from monster byproducts already, and they never run dry. What more are they after?"
She wasn't wrong, so I pondered briefly before concluding, "Maybe tracing the source of mana."
The two women looked puzzled at my sudden remark.
Little was known about mana itself. It was clearly a powerful energy that could transform into any property, shaped by human will and attuned to individual aptitudes. Some called it the power of the mind; others, a force requiring superdimensional understanding. But the bottom line? No one knew what it really was.
For some monsters, mana acted like poison; others absorbed it greedily, wielding it like extra limbs. The crucial fact, though, was that mana dwelling in living beings vanished clean upon death.
'That's why the mental energy theory held sway...'
No other explanation fit so neatly.
Anyway, the two women dismissed it as unlikely.
"Done!"
An So-mi's bright shout rang out as she shot to her feet. Go Yu-jin finished filing her papers and stood too.
"What are you two up to tonight?"
"Gym!"
Hearing An So-mi's answer, Go Yu-jin turned to me. "Thinking of hitting the library."
"What for?"
"The Necronomicon. I put in a rental request."
They both recoiled at my words.
"...The old-timers actually approved it?"
An So-mi's question brought to mind the first-gen black mages dubbed "old-timers."
"Han Sang-gil gave permission."
"...That old-timer, of all people?"
I shrugged lightly. At my suggestion to clock out, they left the office with pleased expressions.
Right on cue, the phone rang. An So-mi shook her head at Go Yu-jin. I did the same, but Go Yu-jin gave an awkward smile and picked it up.
An So-mi and I sighed in resignation, but Go Yu-jin's face grew increasingly grave, making us wonder what was up.
"...Since when?"
Her tone was deadly serious. After listening for a while, she said, "I'll be right there," and hung up.
"Sorry. Emergency commission, but I can handle it alone. You two go home."
"What kind of job has you looking that serious?"
"Awakener rampage at Seoul Station."
"Seoul Station has major guilds nearby. Why us?"
"The rampaging awakener's a black mage."
Handling a black mage meant overwhelming them with superior black magic or sheer brute force. The latter always killed; the former let skilled black mages subdue lower-grade ones without lethality.
In that regard, our guild's Go Yu-jin was highly trusted by the government. Unlike typical black mages, she was physical-oriented and relatively benign, minimizing collateral damage.
'Sounds like a headache...'
But the commission implied two possibilities: an uncontainable black mage, or involvement from someone prominent.
"I'll come along. It's on the way home anyway."
"It's a 10-minute detour?"
I met An So-mi's snarky gaze and asked, "Drinks?"
"Pass. See you tomorrow!"
She bolted out like we'd chase her. Quick instincts.
Left alone with Go Yu-jin, we headed out and reached Seoul Station in under five minutes—then I understood the government's call.
"Curse sorcerer."
Black magic branches boiled down to four: curse sorcerers like the one rampaging ahead; summoners, destruction sorcerers, and flesh manipulators. Go Yu-jin was half flesh manipulator, half summoner. I leaned toward curses and destruction—though I could do it all, those were my preferences.
Anyway, this berserk black mage had blanketed Seoul Station in darkness with a wide-area curse, countless presences lurking within—victims ensnared, it seemed.
Wondering the motive, a government rep spotted us and rushed over, briefing Go Yu-jin.
"Mana surge thirty minutes ago. Used Darkness to shroud the area, then likely blood magic to induce frenzy."
I frowned at "blood magic."
'Not self-inflicted... nasty stuff.'
Blood magic had two paths: your own blood for immense power—"true blood"—devouring the caster's life; or others' blood as sacrifice.
Whatever was happening in that dark, Go Yu-jin grasped the situation and replied.
"The darkness expansion is contained, right?"
"Yes, White Tower mages deployed a barrier with five casters."
"Purification?"
"Requested from Saint Guild, but no ETA."
"Sigh, if we had Chantara, it'd be easy..."
They looked grim. But it wasn't hard.
I raised my hand slightly; Go Yu-jin shook her head at me.
"Go home. I'll handle this."
"No—dispel the spell, reverse the blood magic to burden the caster, and it's done."
They stared blankly, then Go Yu-jin asked, "That possible?"
"Presences feel intact—no massive blood loss. Just induced frenzy. Easy to redirect the load to the caster. Darkness reverses and scatters."
"...That simple?"
I nodded calmly.
By the late war's end three years ago, black mages without that skill rarely survived. Necessity born.
Go Yu-jin stepped back reluctantly. "Do it."
"I-Is that okay?" The rep panicked.
Most bureaucrats were awakeners; even the president was a war hero. His government was hardline, backed by many.
"We'll wrap it quick and meet the culprit."
I emanated mana, threading mine into the pre-woven Darkness pattern.
Reading patterns meant dispersing mana like silk, infiltrating without imposing will—letting the enemy's pull you in. Tricky without experience.
But natural for me. I quickly discerned it.
'Basic pattern—novice, fresh off apprenticeship?'
Black magic had circles; this was roughly Circle 4. I overlaid Circle 5 mana, crushing and unraveling it, scattering to the air. The thick gloom vanished in an instant.
But the revealed scene stunned everyone.
"...W-What the hell?"
The wanderers were all naked, shambling like zombies. Some trailed sticky fluids from groins, lost in ecstasy—far from normal.
'Vile act...'
I traced the mana's origin, slipped the barrier effortlessly, and told Go Yu-jin, "Let's grab the perp."
"O-Okay."
Her face and ears flushed crimson.
'Not prudish, but... this embarrassing?'
Just pleasure-zombified folks scattered about.