12
Chapter 12
A fragrant cheap coffee scent greets me.
Sitting in the second-floor reading room, sipping on instant coffee and enjoying crushing the paper cup, I inadvertently looked out the window.
Armored vehicles and soldiers vigorously coming and going, while civilians glancing with anxious eyes quickened their steps—this street corner had now become a common sight.
And as it became a common sight, the voices of dissatisfaction and anxiety grew louder.
I stretched and yawned widely as I turned on my phone.
January 10th, 10:47 AM.
Almost four days had passed since that nightmarish mobilization order.
South Korea was becoming a place where the distinction between weekdays and weekends was meaningless, but in some aspects, everyday life was still being maintained.
The indifferent sound of card payments coming from the first floor was a prime example.
"Boss, paying for the coffee here."
"Yes..."
Requisitioned by the military to be used as a laboratory for civilian operators, this cafe had become somewhat famous among the soldiers.
Most of the fame came from the valiant shop owner. While everyone else was busy fleeing, he stayed behind, agonizing over being looted, which allowed him to at least earn the price of some instant coffee.
However, the only ones enjoying everyday life were us mages called operators; South Korea, seen beyond my phone screen, was quite different.
[Bombardment Begins in Seoul? Military Authorities Dismiss It as Urban Gas Pipe Leak Due to Riots... Experts Harshly Criticize It as a Lame Excuse.]
[Bizarre Silence, What is Happening in Seoul Right Now?]
[Shocking Order Issued for Namtaeryeong and Gyeongsu-daero... The Shoot to Kill Order for Unauthorized Approaches Causes an Uproar, Has the Military Forgotten Its Duty?]
[President Evacuated to Incheon City Hall, Hints at Possibility of Wartime Economy Transition... Signs of Attempting Limited Rationing Primarily in Southern Gyeonggi-do. Gyeonggi-do Residents' Exodus Accelerates...]
Look at how brutal the news is.
It's obvious that my humanity would be ruined if I kept looking at things like this. I decided to turn my phone off again and just stare at the Magic Special Lecture booklet.
Even if a person only looks at joyous and happy things, life is still short.
Of course, I didn't have the confidence to turn the pages of the Magic Special Lecture booklet, so I just kept staring blankly at the same page.
Once I conjectured that Dogma-type magic refines the mind and body through continuous, repetitive actions and adherence to commandments to establish an unwavering faith within oneself, it became easy to grasp.
It had nothing to do with being devout. The depth of faith was what mattered.
And that faith wasn't simply at the level of believing something to be a certain way. It was literally closer to how one perceives and recognizes the world. The fact that the magic of Catholic and Protestant Priests differed from each other was an important turning point.
Catholicism believes that by receiving the flesh and blood of God into the human body through the Eucharist, they share in that divinity and are guaranteed salvation. Roughly speaking, that's what I studied. The core of their salvation lies closer to the Eucharist.
Protestantism also holds the Eucharist as extremely important, but they have a Puritan perspective of determinism. It is a determinism stating that those who will be saved are already decided, but since no one knows who, one must simply prove and convince themselves that they are the ones who will be saved.
From here, Korean Protestantism developed towards justification by faith, connecting faith directly to salvation, which I suspect leads to Soteriological Certainty.
There is somewhat of a doctrinal and ideological background to why they shout Jesus Heaven, Unbelief Hell and prattle on about Satan and demons, or telling people they're going to hell, to those who say they don't believe. According to their logic, the moment one refuses the faith, they have no choice but to consider them already destined for damnation.
Would such faith arise simply from a person lightly believing?
From the perspective of us ordinary people, one would need to be a total lunatic, a fanatic with whom communication is absolutely impossible, or possess a strong mindset that remains unpersuaded in some corner of their heart no matter what anyone says.
For example, if someone shouted Jesus Heaven, Unbelief Hell at me, I'd get angry and ask if all our ancestors were in hell; so while it's loosely called faith, it was actually closer to the concept of a [worldview] through which one recognizes the world.
Then what would happen if someone truly believed in something like Cthulhu, or was a schizophrenic whose mind was completely shattered?
I was able to come up with an interesting answer to that interesting hypothesis.
Their flesh would collapse, or they would lose their magic. Because the damn Cthulhu's setting is that just looking at it drives you mad and shatters your intellect and ego, anyone who truly believes in that sort of thing would melt their own reason and ego like a sea squirt to prove Cthulhu's majestic effect.
And since the concept of faith can only exist within an intellect, they cannot bear the contradiction themselves.
It might be possible if they rationalized the setting that they wouldn't go mad even if they saw Cthulhu, or if they tried to commune with a god while possessing an artifact with actual powerful magical effects. However, the moment they compromised, the Dogma-type magic would gradually weaken.
Ultimately, as long as Cthulhu doesn't actually exist, believing in Cthulhu for Dogma-type magic would only end in one of two ways: it would either weaken or collapse from self-contradiction.
Setting aside whether a schizophrenic could even awaken magic, if a schizophrenic were in a situation where they recognized they were insane, they would be able to use Dogma-type magic through desperate effort.
However, because the world perceived by a schizophrenic is unstable and turbid, it is not steadfast. Their faith ends up either being cured if they go to a psychiatric hospital, or devolving into paranoia where they can't even believe their own words.
I could establish the hypothesis that even if they became Mages, they wouldn't be able to properly use effective magic in a crisis situation.
"This is very interesting."
"Baek Jemin, stop your bullshit and let's go. You're the only one here staring at that thing so seriously."
Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun, who had subtly started speaking to me informally at some point, patted my shoulder and said.
Unable to hide my indignation at Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun's thoughtless remark, I protested.
"No, isn't this fun? I mean, we can use magic, doesn't that just excite you?"
"Excited, my ass. Let me tell you now, I prefer warriors over spellcasters. Whenever I play games or something, I always pick a heavy-armored warrior."
"Wow... no, just... wow..."
As I had no words and could only let out a sigh, the buzz-cut Corporal Park Se-hyeok grumbled again.
"If you studied that hard, you would've gone to Seoul University."
"...."
"So let's stop studying magic and just eat, Baek Jemin."
"Phew. We became Mages, yet here you are whining about being spellcasters."
Letting out a deep sigh, I packed my things.
Before we knew it, the four of us had become a bizarre community of shared fate.
Shin Na-in, busy listening to hymns with his Earphones plugged in; Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun, who preferred heavy-armored warriors and just fiddled with his phone; Corporal Park Se-hyeok, who only mumbled complaints; and me, Baek Jemin, who was genuinely researching magic and letting my imagination run wild.
If religious folks stick together in their own cliques, it's only natural that we would band together too.
Like that, we spent our time having a relaxed meal at the dining hall, enjoying our leisurely daily life.
"Everyone else says the world is doomed, so carrying on like this just feels strange."
"If you're incompetent, it's obvious you'll be ruined, so what..."
Slurp, smack.
Tasting the spicy hangover soup, I discreetly frowned.
Seeing as he was spouting such ominous words, it seemed something was bound to happen.
And tragic premonitions never miss their mark.
January 10th, 2:51 PM.
Lying down in our quarters, just staring blankly at the Magic Special Lecture Booklet, we began to hear urgent footsteps approaching.
"Here we go again, getting run ragged."
It was the exact moment Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun spoke nonchalantly.
Clang!
First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi and our sensible Driver looked at us with pale faces and shouted.
"Everyone to the conference room. This is an emergency."
"Emergency?"
"Hurry. The broadcast will start soon. Quickly!"
It was my first time seeing First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi urge us like this, so I quickly tied my Combat Boots laces over my Combat Uniform and followed him out.
As I passed through the hallway with the First Lieutenant, I saw Soldiers grouping up in twos and threes, running around out of breath.
In the spacious areas of Suwon City Hall, the sight of fully equipped Soldiers running outside under the command of their officers was clearly visible.
The four of us, First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi, and the Driver were practically jogging.
It was then that the broadcast came through.
[All personnel to combat readiness. All personnel to combat readiness. Civil servants and military personnel must receive their equipment immediately.]
By this point, I could slowly tell that something had gone seriously wrong.
I saw the Dogma-type Mages also being guided by Captain Kim Ho-un to the usual conference room.
As we entered the conference room, the Colonel without his name tag was waiting for us once again.
However, the difference was that most of the officers who used to stand by his side had vanished, leaving only the Colonel standing there awkwardly.
The Colonel hastily adjusted the volume on his Radio, but he couldn't hide all the leaking sounds.
[.....This is the infiltration team... Substation secured failed...]
[...Failed to persuade the local Railway Corporation agents...]
The Colonel licked his dry lips, and once he confirmed that all the Dogma-type Mages and the Alteration-type quartet had gathered, he motioned with his chin toward Captain Kim Ho-un and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi with a slightly trembling voice.
Captain Kim Ho-un and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi closed the door and positioned themselves nearby like guards.
Only then did the Colonel open his mouth.
"At around 11:00 AM local time on January 10th, contact was lost with the military units remaining at Yongsan Station and the Southern Terminal inside Seoul. Their main objective was to prevent evacuation attempts using public transportation or trains, and this loss of contact is presumed to be due to the aforementioned riots inside Seoul. Currently, the military command judges that the unit has temporarily collapsed and has reinforced the Blockade Line, but..."
"Preventing evacuation attempts? I hope this humble Monk misheard."
At those words, the Colonel gave First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi a look.
First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi approached Monk Cheong-hwi and whispered quietly in his ear, and only then did Monk Cheong-hwi put his hands together in prayer with a displeased expression.
"Amitabha..."
"I will continue. The military attempted to redeploy to the outskirts of Seoul immediately after the mobilization order was declared on January 6th, but there were quite a few stragglers in the process. Over the past four days, to stop the indiscriminate surge of refugees from inside Seoul, we established a defense line centered around southern Gyeonggi and the Gyeongin area, repeatedly executing kill orders against potential threats attempting to breach the Blockade Line. The Namtaeryeong area and Gyeongsu-daero were key strongholds."
"Kill orders? Potential threats? Hey, you crazy bastards! Is that how you phrase shooting people to death!"
Pastor Park Yo-han shouted with his veins bulging, but this time the Colonel didn't hesitate.
"During this process, as soon as it was confirmed that the final interception unit remaining inside Seoul had collapsed, the military forces even attempted precision strikes to secure and neutralize the substations near the tracks in cooperation with the Railway Corporation, but failed. According to a unilateral declaration by the refugees who seized the station and trains, they will attempt to evacuate using the subway and surface railways, pleading with us not to stop them."
It was then that the Colonel spoke coldly.
"However, according to the last communication with the military units at Yongsan Station and the Southern Terminal, there are Amalgams mixed among the refugees. As Tofu-type Fusion Mimic Beasts began to rampage in earnest within Seoul, the terrified people attempted to seize the trains, and the military is preparing to stop them by utilizing drones for precision strikes and blowing up the stations, tracks, and bridges, but..."
Who could say anything? In a situation like this?
The Colonel checked his wrist's Analog Watch and barely parted his parched lips.
"Due to the failure to negotiate with the Railway Corporation Engineers, the heavy fog with visibility under 50m, and the failure to secure the substations due to the appearance of Amalgams, the military will attempt to blow up all subway tracks starting at 3:00 PM today. The first train is expected to depart from Yongsan Station at approximately 3:11 PM, and the military's objective is to stop these escaping trains inside the Blockade Line to prevent the spread of the Amalgams."
The explanation was overwhelming.
"Considering it's a high-speed run to break through the Blockade Line, even taking the fog and other obstacles into account, the time remaining until the train departing Yongsan Station at 3:11 arrives at Suwon Station is roughly 24 to 30 minutes. Considering Suwon Station is a transportation hub in southern Gyeonggi, if we fail to stop them there, the safety of the entire southern Gyeonggi area cannot be guaranteed."
Beep.
As the Analog Watch alarm went off, the Colonel put his hands behind his back and stared at us with bloodshot eyes.
"From now on, all Operators must prepare to intercept them at Suwon Station in anticipation of a Blockade Line breach. We will stop them, even if it means killing everyone on board."
***
"Hurry! Everyone get on!"
"Where are you stationed! Get your head in the game!"
"Just... just let them on. We need to depart right now!"
The front of Suwon City Hall had become a haven for all sorts of military vehicles.
The officers were making a racket, and the Soldiers, perhaps realizing the urgency of the situation, followed orders despite their palpable anxiety.
They were busy loading Officers and Soldiers onto Armored Vehicles, 2.5-ton Trucks, and even hastily requisitioned vans.
We Mages were no exception.
The Mages boarded the 2.5-ton Truck where our sensible Driver had taken his seat, and First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi, acting as the Escort, hopped in and banged heavily on the door.
"Move out!"
With First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi's shout, the Military Truck carrying us Mages was granted priority passage.
Other Escorts who had initially tried to cut ahead received word via radio and yielded the road, muttering to the Drivers with conflicted expressions.
However, the hearts of us Mages were unimaginably heavy.
The faces of the established religious figures openly revealed their complicated feelings; only Bosal Geulmun nodded coldly.
"They aren't human anymore. They're wretches who can't go to heaven, reincarnate, or even hell, so putting them down is the right thing to do."
I wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or offering words of comfort.
All I could hear was First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi's shouting voice.
"Firearms will be issued to you on-site. We are moving the guns and ammo right now, and everyone must be in a frenzy trying to block those tracks!"
At those words, I couldn't help but look back at the quartet of Alteration-type Mages with evident concern.
"Even if I can see 10 seconds into the future, honestly, will seeing 10 seconds ahead really help me deal with all those Monsters?"
"Haha, well that's..."
Only Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun replied with a forced, awkward laugh.
I looked up past Suwon, staring at the fog creeping out from the alleys between the urban concrete, and stroked the Magic Special Lecture Booklet tucked inside my clothes.
The fog was a dangerous and fucked up place, but at the same time, it was the only place that would teach me the magic I needed to survive.
To think the day would come when I, who used to run away from tutoring, would consider it a blessing to jump into the fog for life-or-death lessons.
"Haa... fuck."
So this is why adults nag you so much to study.
END