Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Strange Companion
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Mage and Heresy Inquisitor.
Ordinary people would never know those words, yet they had spilled from the man's mouth.
Ian narrowed his eyes and pressed the gun barrel harder against the man's forehead.
“……You’re no ordinary person.”
“Do you think a normal civilian could stay sane in a place like this? Naive for a mage. You don’t seem very experienced.”
“Management Bureau agent?”
Ian ignored the man’s words and leaned in closer, muttering.
“There’s a hint of gunpowder in the smell coming off you. That means you handle guns, and the only place that uses them regularly is the Management Bureau. The police don’t fire that often. And that suit hanging on the rack. It’s no ordinary fabric. Woven with some special thread. I’ve seen something like it before.”
“……Oh.”
“Management Bureau Response Teams don’t operate solo. The fact that you’re trapped here alone means you’re not Response Team. Which points to reconnaissance or basic scouting that went wrong. No injuries, yet admitted as a patient—cough, ugh…… how’d that happen?”
“Carbon from my throat did the trick. Am I hurt?”
“Answer the damn question.”
Click.
Ian gripped the revolver’s hammer with his thumb and cocked it. The man stared at the motion for a moment, then raised both hands and replied.
“You’re right on all counts. Management Bureau Reconnaissance Division Team 5. Park Hee-su. My team went out on scouting missions one by one, and they all died. I’m the last survivor.”
“…….”
“I was admitted as a patient because of a preexisting condition. This damn hospital checked my regular illness and forced me in.”
“Preexisting condition?”
“Nothing major. And I’m not telling you. I’m not stupid enough to share my medical history with a mage whose magic I don’t even know.”
Park Hee-su gave a faint smile and wiggled his fingers. Ian glared down at him coldly for a moment before holstering his gun. A clear red imprint of the barrel remained on the man’s forehead.
“Do you know the name Park Sang-cheol?”
“My colleague who wrote the rulebook. Looks like you read it too. Was it helpful?”
“Yeah. Though the odds of him being alive…….”
“Zero. I confirmed his body already. Probably broken down as a ‘donor’ by now.”
Park Hee-su gave a bitter smile for an instant before resuming his relaxed expression.
“So? What brings our esteemed mage and Vatican inquisitor to find me? Escape, I assume?”
“The sooner we talk, the better. You’re right. We need to cooperate.”
Ian perched on the windowsill and spun the revolver’s cylinder as he spoke. Cecilia stood guard nearby.
Now that she knew the man was a Management Bureau agent rather than a civilian, she apparently saw no issue with Ian’s aggressive approach and didn’t interfere.
“Cooperate, huh? You mean the discharge process?”
Park Hee-su asked with a serious look. Ian nodded.
“Who’s your attending physician?”
“Neurosurgeon. You’d probably need his approval to discharge…….”
He tapped his temple with his finger and shook his head.
“With my condition, full recovery’s off the table. Escape won’t be easy.”
“…….”
“But it’s not impossible.”
Park Hee-su rolled up his sleeve and sat cross-legged.
“Get me a coin. I’ll use my ability with it.”
“……Ordering me around without any explanation.”
“I wasn’t gonna tell a mage my ability…… Hm. Nah, this much is fine. My power is coin flipping. Cool, right?”
Ian didn’t respond and just toyed with his revolver. Park Hee-su scratched his head awkwardly.
“When I flip a coin, heads brings me luck, tails brings misfortune. My condition right now is fallout from some bad luck.”
“……Hm.”
“But it consumes the coin as payment. Like a million won vanishing from my account…… Anyway, all I’ve got left is a 10-won coin. Need at least 500 won to activate it.”
“Finicky power.”
Cecilia, who had been listening quietly, grumbled.
“Heads heals your condition?”
“It brings the luck I want, so yeah, probably.”
“And tails?”
“Haha. Odds of tails are 20% based on my analysis so far. Barely ever happens.”
“20% isn’t low. What happens if it does?”
Cecilia asked calmly, and Park Hee-su pondered before answering.
“Dunno. We’re screwed, basically. Already in a bad streak.”
Ian frowned at the straightforward reply. He stood from the windowsill and let out a long breath.
“……One question. Any other sane patients in this hospital?”
“Dunno. But the higher you go, the less it feels like a ‘hospital.’ This is the line. Safest spot’s up to the 25th floor.”
“You’ve been up?”
“One of my team scouted solo. Solid intel, trust it.”
Ian mulled it over, staring at the confident Park Hee-su.
The claim that it gets more dangerous higher up rang true. The number 66 alone felt ominous, and the metallic tang of blood had thickened as they ascended, along with an indescribable stench of filth.
But it wasn’t certain. Just speculation. A hypothesis.
He considered verifying it himself but decided against the risk. No downside to believing it either.
Ian nodded vaguely and addressed Park Hee-su.
“Does coin size matter? Or value?”
“Both. Minimum 500-won size and value.”
“Bills won’t work? Foreign currency okay?”
“Yeah.”
Ian hummed in acknowledgment and checked his wallet. Nothing but cards. No coins or bills.
Should’ve carried cash more often. He clicked his tongue lightly, pocketed the wallet, and turned to Cecilia.
“……Cecilia, got any coins on you?”
“Uh…… Got a 2-euro coin.”
She pulled a coin engraved with a European map from her pocket.
2 euros. Worth over 2,000 won.
Park Hee-su’s eyes lit up at the euro-exclusive coin.
“As expected of a Vatican Heresy Inquisitor. Fancy money. Hand it over. I’ll flip us a jackpot.”
“……Your mouth’s the worst part. I’ll give it, but…….”
Cecilia handed over the coin with a reluctant expression. Park Hee-su gazed at the gold-center, silver-edged coin, then carefully pinched it between thumb and forefinger. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
“Please, luck. Real luck. Dying here would be such a lame way to go……!”
“…….”
“Mage! Inquisitor! Watch over me!”
Park Hee-su snapped his eyes open and flicked the coin with a sharp ping. It soared with a clear chime. He snatched it midair, whipped around to Cecilia.
“Heads and tails look different how?”
“……Heads is just the design. Tails has the number and Europe map.”
“Alright. Here goes!”
Park Hee-su yelled, then opened his hand gripping the coin. Ian and Cecilia peered at the face-up side. They both frowned instantly.
“Ah.”
No doubt about it.
In Park Hee-su’s scarred palm.
The crisp number 2 and Europe map smiled up at them.
“Shit.”
Rrrumble!!
The moment Park Hee-su cursed, the room door burst open as a horde of nurses rushed in. They shouted in unison.
“Emergency patient! Emergency patient! Straight to the OR now! Nurse Kim! Call all doctors to OR 3!”
Nothing good about those words. Ian cursed under his breath and discreetly swapped grimoires. He grabbed the nurses one by one, activating his magic.
Crack!
The nurses couldn’t resist the re-creation magic and crumbled into chunks of flesh on the floor. Unplanned material gain, but Ian glared at Park Hee-su instead of celebrating.
“Now what? Touching the nurses sealed our fate. They’ll keep coming.”
“……Wasn’t that you? I didn’t do jack.”
“Less bullshit, more escape plans. Before they drag us to the table.”
Ian growled, and Park Hee-su dropped the jokes, stripping off his gown to don his suit. Tying his tie deftly, he looked at the battle-ready Ian and Cecilia, lips twitching.
“No choice now. We wreck this hospital with everything we’ve got. Escape via emergency exit to the basement, steal a car, and head to the anomaly boundary!”
“You sure that plan works?”
“It’s a Management Bureau manual tactic for spatial anomalies with no clear exit! Conditions are tricky, needs luck and muscle—barely anyone tries it. But with a mage and inquisitor? Doable!”
“How’re you sure there’s a car?”
“Don’t worry, there’s ways!”
He flipped up the bed mattress, retrieving a hidden shotgun and shells. He loaded it expertly, stuffed his cigarette pack from the drawer into his pocket.
“Let’s go! Temporary alliance!”
“……Mouthy for someone who drew the short straw.”
“Dangerous combo alert!”
Park Hee-su ignored Ian, racked the shotgun’s pump, and grinned. Ian sighed deeply and lit a cigarette.
A glance out the window showed dazed patients in the courtyard charging toward them.
Crunch.
Ian bit through the cigarette filter.