25
Chapter 25
Sometimes, we seek God in the face of truly harsh trials and hardships.
I, Baek Jemin, who seems to live however I please, was pushed by my parents to visit a shaman. It was only natural to wander everywhere, chasing the vague hope that there might be some answer to my life.
I'm the kind of person who would have believed in Allah if there had been a mosque at the training center.
From what Hamza says, it seems you're forgiven as long as you pray diligently, even if you're grilling pork belly. Father Jeong Yong-hwan and Bosal Geulmun probably had a far greater sense of mission than I do.
I believe we all deserve respect simply for the fact that we didn't run away and fought back against these horrific monsters.
That's why I aimed my gun at the Priest monster, who was flailing on the ground, bleeding and blending into the yellow smog. My hands, sliced and bitten, stung and throbbed with a burning heat, but...
I could endure it if it was for someone who had saved my life, even for a very short time.
I unconsciously recalled a line from a prayer I heard at the training center.
Our Father in heaven...
Please don't leave any leftovers, and scrape every last bit of the scorched rice.
Bang!
As the shell casing rolled away, the Priest monster's struggling finally ceased. I lowered the barrel, where acrid smoke was drifting, and looked at the Priest's corpse with a heavy heart.
If the Father in heaven is taking him, wouldn't it be right to take the whole body rather than just a spoonful of the head?
I don't know what kind of cleric Father Jeong Yong-hwan was to meet such an end, but at least I couldn't help but sincerely mourn his death. He was a human who did his best and felt all the joys and sorrows of life.
Just then, Lee Se-jun adjusted his grip on his weapon and stepped beside me to witness the Priest's end. Lee Se-jun had offered to recover Bosal Geulmun, but it seemed the body couldn't be found after being blown apart by two grenades.
"Why is it that the kind and good people are always the first to meet such a miserable death?"
"It's a tragedy. But there's one thing you should be grateful for, Se-jun."
"Grateful for what?"
"I, Baek Jemin, am still alive."
Lee Se-jun fell silent at those words.
Assuming he was feeling deep emotion and a thrill, I gave him a moment to soak it in. Instead, I simply prayed in my heart for the vanished Bosal Geulmun and the Priest.
*Huff—.*
The moment a heavy breath escaped the gas mask, other footsteps finally echoed from the top of the platform stairs. First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong and his soldiers, who had been hesitant to approach, were coming down.
"Operator, are you alright!"
First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong and the soldiers, emerging through the mist, had managed to prepare themselves in the meantime.
Several soldiers, including the Lieutenant, had action cams or lights attached to their helmets over their gas masks, quickly scanning the surroundings for threats, while others took positions from the stairs to the entrance, keeping their weapons shouldered and aimed.
Beside them was Shin Na-in; though his face looked a bit pale, he had regained his composed gaze.
Shin Na-in made a gesture of tapping his ear, pulled the hood of his poncho over his head, and approached us.
"Impressive. The sounds of scratching chalk have disappeared. How did you take them down?"
"Well, we all just played our parts. Lee Se-jun's grenade form is great, so he took one out for free."
I was glad I had discovered Lee Se-jun's value.
While he wasn't as exceptional at detection as I am, seeing 10 seconds into the future, or as Shin Na-in is, hearing the sounds of instinct, his physical strength was solid. Moreover, his grenades didn't fly in a parabola but slammed down in a straight line; with that control, he was a natural for baseball.
What do I mean by a natural for baseball? I mean he's a top-tier talent when it comes to handling throwing weapons like grenades.
Of course, part of me was glad I hadn't learned the Heart Line. Since I awakened the Eye and Hand Lines, it would have felt a bit unfair if I'd learned "throwing things really hard and far" through magic.
However, rather than the downside of his magic being plain and not feeling like magic at all, Lee Se-jun seemed relieved that it actually helped, letting out a deep sigh as he fiddled with his selector switch.
"Maybe it'll be better if I stay in the back and take orders to throw grenades instead of leading. I'll pack grenades instead of magazines."
When I asked why Lee Se-jun, who could sprint for 30 seconds without tiring, had received a subtle power-up, the answer was simple and clear.
Lee Se-jun said that while hiding inside the tunnel, he had opened the Magic Special Lecture booklet amidst the mist.
In the process, he had swallowed some vomit but managed to awaken the second stage of the Heart Line magic. He even explained that it wasn't just about throwing things really hard and far, but a different kind of magic.
"Should I call the second stage of the Heart Line an overall sensory enhancement? My hands move exactly as I think, and I feel like my strength is being properly channeled..."
"It seems the Heart Line is strictly for physical enhancement."
Shin Na-in looked intrigued by that and rubbed his chest.
I tried to add a few more words, but my eyes met First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong's, who was glancing around with his weapon shouldered. It seemed the Lieutenant wanted to leave this platform—with its eerie mist, browned bloodstains, shattered ceiling, and crushed trains—as quickly as possible.
The edges of First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong's eyes were slightly bloodshot, and they were trembling ever so slightly.
"Let's finish searching this area first. Our Lieutenant looks like he's about to die."
"Th... thank you!"
When it comes to detection and search missions, Shin Na-in is far superior to Lee Se-jun.
He was a crazy religious fanatic, sure, but he could confirm things beyond my field of vision, and his mental fortitude made him a highly reliable comrade. Still, I'm far too honest a person to call him a good ally just to be polite.
"Mr. Shin Na-in, let's pair up for detection again this time. I only called you a piece of shit because I was unintentionally honest in a desperate situation, so let's just move past it."
"Mr. Baek Jemin. Do you realize you've been calling me a piece of shit ever since we arrived at Suwon Station and I stepped out of the car?"
Fortunately, the search of the Suwon Station Underground second-floor platform began before he could pry any further. First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong brought Squad 2—twenty soldiers—secured the perimeter near the platform entrance, and hauled cables to set up the searchlights first.
The soldiers swept their surroundings using the searchlights that brightly illuminated the underground, replacing the flickering lights. Meanwhile, the soldiers equipped with action cams turned their heads in tandem with the searchlights to record everything on video.
The soldiers with lights were divided into five-man squads to guard the vicinity of the tracks. Wary of ambushes and attacks, they avoided the far ends and instead maintained a standoff distance, with two soldiers aiming downrange and three covering their immediate surroundings.
Only after a few soldiers recovered the crashed drone near the stairs did First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong request a detailed report.
"I'd like a detailed explanation of the monsters you Operators encountered."
When I silently pointed my index finger at the ceiling, a searchlight and First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong's gaze immediately followed.
A withered mesh of blood vessels was plastered to the ceiling, still oozing a faint crimson light as it died. That alien lifeform was crumbling into bloody powder, forever denied the chance to feed and reproduce.
Squelch.
First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong gasped, startled by the bloody powder falling in front of him, and stumbled backward.
Huff, huff, huff...
His ragged breathing revealed just how panicked First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong was. Only then did I provide a more detailed explanation, guiding him to the Priest's corpse trapped within the slowly fading mist.
"It used the Operators' corpses like puppets. Um, you know those claw machines, right? It manipulated them like a crane. It used the corpses to sing a bizarre song, and hearing it induces extreme vertigo and vomiting, just like when you see a Magic Rune."
"D-do you think that monster is the same one that disabled the drone with sound?"
"Probably."
Lee Se-jun, Shin Na-in, and I took turns explaining the monster we had encountered.
Its main body was the mesh of blood vessels plastered to the ceiling. It controlled headless human corpses like puppets, but once disconnected from the mesh, the puppet bodies were incapacitated, though not completely dead. However, the fact that only the two Operators eaten by the Amalgam were used as this monster's puppets suggested there might be some underlying cause and effect.
As for how it fed and reproduced, the sight I had witnessed served as circumstantial evidence.
When the three of us guided First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong slightly away from the center of the platform, we spotted combat uniforms and torn civilian clothes that had previously been obscured by the mist and debris.
Looking at the items scattered haphazardly across the floor, I voiced my hypothesis.
"Judging by its stealthy dive-bombing attacks from the ceiling, and how its blood vessels pierced my flesh to fuse with my own veins, I suspect it fuses with its prey on a vascular level to prevent them from escaping. Then, it weaves a net of blood vessels to snare them, drags them up to the ceiling, and melts their flesh to consume it. When I was hiding under that crushed train over there, it spread a mesh so dense that the entire train looked like a giant hunk of meat."
"Excuse me?"
"What?"
First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong, Lee Se-jun, and Shin Na-in all stared at me with wide eyes, making me wonder if I had said something wrong.
"I said, this monster's blood vessels pierced my flesh like tentacles and tried to fuse with my own veins..."
"Aaaargh!!!"
First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong recoiled in absolute terror and hurriedly tried to adjust his grip on his rifle.
But he was so startled that he fumbled his weapon, stumbling backward in a panic and landing flat on his ass. His breathing, rasping through the gas mask, grew even heavier, and he looked at me as if I were the monster.
Lee Se-jun, his face turning pale, subtly shifted further behind First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong. Shin Na-in was the only one who offered an ambiguous smile and nodded in understanding.
"As expected of someone protected by the Lord. Such unwavering righteousness, completely unafraid of the devil's influence. Even though you're a non-believer, I must learn from your example."
A moment later, only after Shin Na-in vouched for me, was First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong able to catch his breath and finally resume the operation.
However, I couldn't avoid a stern warning.
"Mr. Baek Jemin, you might be fine right now, but you're definitely going to be placed under observation for a while. But first, let's finish clearing out Suwon Station Underground."
"What's the big deal about that..."
I was about to argue, but I instinctively clamped my mouth shut.
If someone who had been intimately tangled up with an Amalgam claimed they were perfectly fine, even I would probably shoot first and ask questions later.
And so, the joint operation between us Supreme Mages and the soldiers began.
Most of the monsters had been dead for a while, but a few Amalgams and Predatory Spines were still lurking in enclosed spaces or hidden within the crushed trains.
However, with Shin Na-in keeping everyone's morale up, the sweep was completed quickly.
"Let's march, Jesus's little army~. Keep Jesus! At the forefront!!!"
Shin Na-in sang hymns in a sluggish, drawling voice, but the moment he detected a monster, he shifted to an intense, sharp tone to signal us. As combat with the monsters grew imminent, he cut off his singing entirely, allowing the soldiers to aim first. His ability to hear the voices in people's hearts didn't seem to be a lie; his support was flawlessly precise.
Whenever Shin Na-in stopped singing and pointed, I would raise my right hand—the one I had sliced open—to prepare my Vision Line Stage 2. Because I had slathered it in harsh disinfectant and wrapped it in bandages, the sharp pain throbbed nicely. I intuitively knew that even the slightest impact would instantly trigger my magic.
Eventually, when an Amalgam couldn't take the bait any longer and reacted to the noise, entering my field of vision, I clenched my right fist and pressed down hard on my wound before it could flee in terror. Just hard enough to pop a few blood vessels, but not enough to completely break the scab.
With the lingering aftermath of my injured left hand and the sharp pain from the disinfectant on my right, this was more than enough.
The Amalgam, a fusion of five people, froze in its tracks, instantly exposed to the soldiers' crossfire.
Ratatat...
The Amalgams, capable of moving at the speed of a sprinting human, tried to nullify our crossfire by splitting up and scattering. However, once we figured out how to stun them before they split, shooting their weak points in the head to make them leak bodily fluids and die, hunting them down became a breeze even for a standard infantry squad.
And as Shin Na-in's detection abilities developed, it became much easier to locate areas where Predatory Spines were hiding.
"The Amalgams sound like screams in different melodies overlapping rhythmlessly, while the scratching chalk sound seems to be the Predatory Spines. There's a Predatory Spine hiding in the gap between the twisted seats of that crushed train over there."
"So there's a Predatory Spine deep inside there."
Lee Se-jun glared ahead, rolling a Grenade with the pin still intact in his palm.
Whenever a Predatory Spine's hiding spot was discovered, we kept our distance, and Lee Se-jun would receive a Grenade, pull the pin, cook it, and throw it far away to suppress it with the explosion. This way, we wouldn't fall victim to their death throes.
Both the military and we knew this well. This wasn't a war against humans, but a fight against monsters that hunted them. As such, we had to give it our all to smash their desperate tactics and ecology.
February 5, 2028, 5:43 PM.
It was the time when the first sweep of the Suwon Station Underground second-floor platform was completed. I looked around as I tucked away my phone with its cracked screen.
The mist was finally clearing.
Only after seeing the mist slowly fade could our trio, First Lieutenant Baek Han-seong, and the soldiers finally remove their Gas Masks and breathe. Dew formed from sweat and breath rolled down the rubber inside the masks and dripped onto our chins, while Major Jang Sin-myeong's CBRN team entered soon after and began burning the corpses.
They were fully equipped with fire extinguishers to prepare for the risk of fire.
Looking at the corpses emitting a foul odor as they burned, I took out my Canteen again. Shin Na-in tilted his Canteen to wash his face, Lee Se-jun let out a deep sigh, and I started drinking the rest of my water.
If this was the Secondary Blockade Line...
I could only imagine what the situation was like at the Primary Blockade Line, the front line known as the Seoul Blockade Line.
***
February 12, 2028, 12:01 AM.
After returning from Suwon Station, what awaited me was a rather intense investigation.
Blindfolded and bound, I was sent to some medical facility where I underwent every annoying test I had avoided, like MRIs and CT scans. To top it off, my innocence was only proven after being verified by some nameless Shaman.
I am human.
Administratively speaking, at least.
Only then was I able to return to the Suwon City Hall CP, and I immediately had a one-on-one meeting with the Colonel whose nameplate had been removed. Putting First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi, whom I at least had some acquaintance and familiarity with, as my guide was probably a consideration for me.
First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi gave me a troubled smile in front of the conference room door.
"It's good news, so don't be nervous."
When I stepped inside the conference room, only the Colonel was there.
Noticing my arrival, the Colonel took off his hat, rubbed his sparsely grown white hair, and let out a deep sigh. First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi saluted silently and closed the door.
It was then that the Colonel approached, pulled a box from his coat, and handed it to me.
"Civilian Operator Baek Jemin. First, I apologize for the excessive caution. Due to a paranoid level of vigilance, the military prioritized verifying you over commending your merits. I am sorry that this delayed you from receiving your rightful rewards."
"Is this really the military?"
The thought that the military I knew was never like this crossed my mind a beat too late.
The Colonel let out a snort of laughter, slapping his thigh.
"Is it so surprising that the military has changed when the world has ended and nukes are aiming for us?"
"Yes."
"Hah, good grief."
The Colonel lightly bumped the box against my chest, forcing it into my hands, then crossed his arms behind his back and turned away.
"The mission to recapture Suwon Station Underground was a success, earning you 40 Military Notes. With the low casualty bonus, that's another 10 Military Notes. That makes 50 in total. Also, I omitted some of the report regarding your Hand Line magic. I only reported the form and classification of the Magic Rune. If you just look at its appearance, it looks like a regular mark, but once you realize it's a Magic Rune, it has a bizarre shape that makes you want to throw up. Thanks to that, the administrative soldiers are having a hell of a time."
"What do you mean omitted?"
At those words, the Colonel looked back at me with a bitter smile.
It was a smile deeply etched with fatigue, regret, sighs, and the cynical acceptance of the times.
"If what you said is true, Mr. Baek Jemin, the first stage of the Hand Line magic allows the blood shed from your right hand to inflict damage on monsters, correct? Desperate people will do anything. Just as the military has changed, there is no shortage of those who wish to explore the Alteration-type Magic system, whether for survival or for greater power."
The Colonel winked one eye and let out a hearty laugh.
"A week ago, thanks to you, Mr. Baek Jemin, the mission ended without a single casualty. It's a miracle. This is the first mission where not a single person died against those fucking monster bastards. So, I want you to live a long, long time, and stay healthy. If someone absolutely has to be dragged away like a lab rat, it can't be the person who can save my soldiers."
Saying that, the Colonel waved his hand in greeting like a neighborhood Mister.
"I told the Mess Officer and Supply Officer to set aside whatever you want, whether it's Spam or Richam. I'll look out for your convenience, so let's work well together."
Haha...
I smiled at his words and raised my hand, showing him my right hand that hadn't fully healed yet. The Colonel misinterpreted the gesture.
"Oh? A high-five?"
Snap.
I folded the other three fingers and raised only my index and middle fingers. Seeing me form a V sign, the Colonel beamed.
"Hahaha, you want to take a picture with me, Mr. Baek Jemin?"
"Make it 20 more Military Notes."
"...."
"I'll do my best, so how about you cough up some more Military Notes."
I had realized a whole lot during this operation at Suwon Station.
I couldn't just wreck my left hand and then wreck my right hand every single time. My staff's durability would run out first. Therefore, a truly outstanding Mage doesn't rely solely on magic.
Just look at the original, the Grey Mage. Looking back, that old man swung his sword way more than he shot lightning.
In other words.
I need gear too!
***
It was when I was cracking open and eating some Spam and Richam together in the mess hall.
Pastor Park Yo-han dropped a heavy stack of books on the seat next to me and sat down.
"Hey, you crazy bastard of Aphorism who just received 70 Military Notes."
"Aphorism...?"
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar yet vaguely familiar name.
"Do you already have dementia? Our group's name is Aphorism."
"Pastor, no matter how I think about it, that name sounds like total shit."
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me right now?"
After a brief squabble, Pastor Park Yo-han adjusted his glasses and tapped the books.
"Mr. Baek Jemin, I heard you learned the Hand Line? Shin Na-in and Lee Se-jun told me that the people of Aphorism need to know about it."
"Yeah, well."
I originally thought about kicking away the ladder and making sure no one else could learn it, but I changed my mind at the thought that I might have to face an entire horde of monsters all by myself. It would be so much better if another Mage from Aphorism learned the Hand Line so I wouldn't have to bleed all over the place alone.
However, what the Pastor was concerned about was something else entirely.
"I went to Pyeongtaek this time. I met with those mystic Heretic bastards and had to learn some truly disgusting and forbidden knowledge. But as the person in charge of Aphorism's intellect, I had no choice."
"Ah, Father. Our dear Father!"
I suddenly found myself imagining an alternate worldline where Father Jeong Yong-hwan had taken the Pastor's place. Ah, Father. Why did you leave us so soon?
"Why look for Heretics who believe in the Antichrist Pope? Anyway!"
"Yes, sir."
"The magic lines discovered so far, including the Hand Line you found, Mr. Baek Jemin, are the Eye, Ear, Hand, and Heart. That's four. According to the Yankee Heretics over in Pyeongtaek, they're divided into two factions fighting over whether these four lines are based on the four elements, or if there are more lines in the multi-line theory."
"If it's the four elements theory... you mean water, fire, wind, and earth?"
"Yeah. There's also the four humors theory, and while the number 4 is sometimes considered ominous in the East because it sounds similar to the word for death, it's not entirely unlucky since the four directions exist."
It was then that the Pastor suddenly lowered his voice, glancing around before whispering.
"But the Stage 1 magic of the Hand Line you learned. Using blood shed from the right hand to defeat monsters. This has some rather profound implications from an Incantation perspective."
The feeling of his breath on my face was half disgusting and half intriguing.
However, unable to overcome my curiosity about magic, I held it in and furrowed my brow.
"The right hand usually symbolizes the Lord's power and order. And your left hand, which you used to shoot guns, burn things with barrels, bite with your teeth, and do all sorts of crazy shit, is generally considered ominous or to have some sort of Incantation-like vibe to it."
"...."
"Isn't it a little too coincidental to just be random chance?"
I couldn't help but frown deeply at those words.
I guess I'll have to humor the Pastor and study until I'm fully healed....
End