30
Chapter 30
The convoy of trucks carrying the mage candidates was headed toward Songpa-daero.
It was one of the most devastated outskirts of Seoul, where even the reinforced concrete buildings were said to be nearly completely destroyed. Consequently, it was determined that the monster population was the lowest there, so it was chosen as the entry route into Seoul.
However, the interior of Seoul was covered in such thick fog that aerial forces couldn't properly enter, making it a death zone.
The sound of helicopter rotors that had been echoing until just now slowly faded, replaced by the voice of the Escort ringing out.
"Rest assured, there are drones sent out for advance reconnaissance. They will report back."
I didn't know if those words were true or not.
Before long, however, a sound like giant hornets buzzing could be heard from all over the sky; I thought at least he wasn't lying. If it wasn't drones, it would be monsters buzzing around like hornets.
Silence descended for a while.
Cough, cough. The sound of someone coughing. The sound of someone clearing their throat for no reason. The sound of people quietly praying, each following their own faith or religion.
In the meantime, Min Hyeong-jun, the Deacon who was the leader of the Taegeuk Cloak Squad, looked at us and let out a bitter smile.
"Are you the one who believes in God, Shin Na-in?"
"Yes, Deacon."
"Young people these days usually only come to church to meet women, so it's rare to see someone with such deep faith. Normally, they wouldn't want to come to a dreadful place like this."
"Not at all. Starting a family is also God's will to be fruitful and multiply, isn't it?"
"Hoh. Your faith is truly extraordinary, Shin Na-in."
At those words, the uncles and aunties belonging to the Taegeuk Cloak Squad began to whisper among themselves and joined the conversation.
"Na-in, you have such a handsome face. Would you consider meeting my daughter?"
"Oh my~. That would be nice. If I had a daughter, I would have set you up too!"
"Does Na-in drink?"
This feeling... it's familiar.
I vividly remember that day when I followed a senior to a drinking gathering because he begged me to fill an empty seat after people bailed on a department mixer. I just sat in the corner, eating snacks the whole time. I only realized I hadn't spoken a single word to anyone after I got home.
Shin Na-in seemed familiar with this kind of attention, taking off his gas mask and chatting away happily, but Lee Se-jun approached me with a hesitant expression and sat down next to me.
"Jemin. Isn't that guy Shin Na-in a bit annoying?"
"What's with the sudden realization?"
If you find someone annoying for no reason, you just simply hate them.
Trying to force a reason is extremely cowardly. I, Baek Jemin, a man who knows how to live without breaking the law, do not try to find petty reasons to hate someone.
Making up some pseudo-intellectual reason for irrational emotions is not something a real man does.
It's just that there's now one more reason to hate Shin Na-in, the bible-thumping hothead who was already annoying to begin with.
"Sejun, when you hate someone, you just want to criticize them for any reason. If Shin Na-in hadn't talked to the church people like that, you would have probably sneered, 'That punk is a guy who gets rejected by church people too.'"
"....Jemin, you think much deeper than your impression suggests."
"So, Sejun, instead of trying to find a cowardly and petty reason, just say you hate him."
"I, I actually hate you, Jemin."
See. There is absolutely no reason to hate me, but a person's impression is truly a terrifying thing.
I decided to make Lee Se-jun a more rational and reasonable person.
Smack!
"Argh! What was that!? Why did you suddenly smack my back!"
"Now you have a reason to hate me, so from now on, let's just smack each other's backs when we hate someone."
"...."
Ultimately, it was true that thanks to the bible-thumping hothead lunatic Shin Na-in, our relationship with the Taegeuk Cloak Squad became much smoother.
I thought they were total lunatics, swinging the Taegeukgi like a cloak and drawing crosses densely near the trigrams, but their chattering and fussing just made them seem like your typical church uncles and aunties.
I wondered if it was really okay for them to be chatting like this while pushing through the thick fog, though.
However, Lee Se-jun and I, as well as the Driver and Escort in the vehicle over there, probably knew it vaguely. The reason the Taegeuk Cloak Squad members were chatting away right now was to forget their fear and tension.
The damp, cold fog boasted a heavy humidity, creating the illusion of sinking into a dark deep sea. It was to the point where I felt like if I stopped breathing even for a moment, I would just spew bubbles and die.
I don't know what kind of things the uncles and aunties of the Taegeuk Cloak Squad had been through. Still, I figured it couldn't be worse than what our Alteration-type trio experienced at the Suwon Station Underground.
Of course, the fact that they volunteered to come to a place like this was undeniable. At least their patriotism or religious faith must be real, right?
It's truly ridiculous.
When the world—meaning South Korea—was perfectly fine, they were people who only seemed ridiculous and showed nothing but flaws. But now that monsters have popped up, I'm trying to find the good in people like them.
It was then that the truck came to a halt.
"Disembark! Visibility in the fog is under 100 meters. Let's check it out."
As the Escort stepped down, we followed suit. The headlights of the armored vehicle and the truck, leading and bringing up the rear respectively, illuminated the ash and dust floating in the dense fog.
The soldiers kept their distance, both guarding and monitoring the mage candidates, while we and the Taegeuk Cloak Squad prepared to open our Magic Special Lecture booklets in between.
"The precautions are the same. Open them, and report if you are fine."
The Escort's words became extremely short too. It seemed that even if he tried to force a smile, the corners of his mouth wouldn't go up.
In this situation, everyone opened their booklets, and whether mage candidates or mages, they all gagged harmoniously together. I was no different. I tried to learn the Heart Line Stage 1 on page 5, but the result was just dry heaving.
"Urp... fuck..."
Looking back, I've just been winging it all this time without a single solid theory.
Is it finally time to admit that learning magic without a proper theory or a clear goal is impossible? Am I really supposed to seriously believe that crap about calculating 5x5 to get 25, splitting it, adding 2 and 5, and spitting out 7?
I closed my eyes and endured the surging vertigo for several dozen seconds.
Opening my eyes again and looking around, I had to admit the correlation between the fog and magic success rates. At a visibility of 200m, everyone without exception was gagging, but once it dropped to 100m, at least six people remained fine.
The Monk, the prisoner, the curly-haired auntie, the slightly hunched elder, and the sickly middle-aged man.
The Escort spoke with them, diligently jotted something down in a notebook, and nodded.
"At this rate, it seems we can just turn back. Let's do a quick headcount and..."
"Captain. Hold on a moment."
A soldier wrapped in a CBRN Protective Suit and Gas Mask, holding a shotgun, raised his hand and approached.
The Escort and the soldier kept their distance, chattering away amongst themselves about something. It was an impossible feat for our Alteration-type trio to hear, so I elbowed Shin Na-in—a hotheaded bastard, but a versatile tool—in the ribs, and he started whispering to me like a radio.
"Apparently, a few soldiers have gone missing."
"Shouldn't we strictly forbid rescue operations?"
"And it seems a few Operator candidates have disappeared as well."
That was quite serious.
The Escort seemed to be racking his brains over it, as his groans reached us all the way over here. Losing a few soldiers was an acceptable loss. As heartbreaking as it was, it was better than getting wiped out trying to save them.
The problem was the Operators, or rather, the mage candidates.
Even if they hadn't grasped magic yet, what would happen if they were individuals who could potentially become mages? Furthermore, our Alteration-type trio knew that if a mage was eaten or bred by a monster, they would be used in a different form.
The post-mortem appearances of Priest Jeong Yong-hwan and Bosal Geulmun were still vivid in my mind.
The Escort looked like someone from the first Blockade Line, and there was no way information about such Unidentified Species specimens wouldn't have been shared with the Front Line. What were they supposed to do if a mage's corpse could be reborn as a stronger monster?
After a long deliberation, the Escort checked his Analog Watch and let out a sigh.
"Exactly 10 minutes. Any longer is dangerous. Load up the Operator candidates, and the soldiers will guard the perimeter with their backs to the trucks and Armored Vehicles, waiting 10 minutes for stragglers to join up. Everyone, prepare for combat and stay alert."
Here, our Alteration-type trio and the Taegeuk Cloak Squad joined the soldiers in protecting the truck convoy.
The Dogma-type Magic, Soteriological Certainty, went without saying in helping the soldiers survive, and the magic our Alteration-type trio possessed was also genuinely helpful.
Of course, Lee Se-jun's Heart Line was a bit lackluster, but even that was at an overwhelming level compared to a regular soldier. Whether it was 30 seconds or 30 minutes, seeing how he barely tired even in extreme situations meant that as long as his mental state and equipment were good, his combat sustainability was something to count on.
Plus, perhaps thanks to the fog being so thick, the magic's recoil was almost non-existent.
When I activated Future Sight, the Alteration-type Eye Line Stage 1 showing 10 seconds into the future, the only side effect was a slight fatigue in my eyes. It felt like I hadn't gotten a full night's sleep but was still somewhat refreshed.
As the fog cleared, my range widened enough to faintly see red footprints beyond the concrete debris in the distance. The red footprints were about 500 meters away from us, and whoever left them was definitely wary of us.
After all, the red footprints disappeared before long.
"If only there were no monsters in the fog, we could have lived here."
"If you live in a place like this, what about the mold?"
"Mold, huh. Didn't think of that."
Lee Se-jun was also full of energy. Aside from a sense of tension, it was clear his body was in peak condition; Lee Se-jun was busy shuffling his feet, letting off his overflowing stamina.
The one suffering the most here was Shin Na-in.
With earphones plugged in, the guy scowled and rubbed his earlobes until they turned bright red. It was my first time seeing Shin Na-in struggle this much.
"Ugh... Lord..."
"Hey. Shin Na-in. What's wrong with this bastard?"
"Na-in, can you see me? Do you want to study Chinese characters?"
Lee Se-jun went as far as waving only his index and middle fingers in front of Shin Na-in's eyes. Shin Na-in only came back to his senses after seeing Lee Se-jun's body language forming the character for mountain.
Shin Na-in, sweating a mixture of the fog's moisture and his own, looked up to the north with slightly haggard eyes.
"There are still people alive out there. They are all looking for a god. Some are furious. Cursing the government and the military for abandoning them here."
"..."
"What's even more terrifying is that I can hear a baby crying nearby."
"Probably some monster brat."
I stretched my index finger out over the firearm's trigger and said nonchalantly.
But Shin Na-in, with a haggard face, let out a faint sigh.
"I can't tell the difference. It's crying exactly like a real baby. All I can hear is a desperate scream begging to live..."
Leaving those words behind, Shin Na-in returned to his devout believer mode.
He shed streams of tears, reciting some kind of prayer, but listening closely, it sounded like a bizarre language like Ali-Ali-Allashong, so I decided not to decipher it. I figured I'd try an AI translation later.
However, Lee Se-jun didn't seem as nonchalant as me; his mind seemed a bit rattled.
Gulp. Lee Se-jun swallowed his saliva before slowly parting his lips.
"Jemin. If a baby appears in front of us, are we supposed to consider it a monster and shoot it?"
Someone else might have avoided the question, saying it was too difficult.
Of course, I had somewhat of an answer.
"Sejun, it won't look like the cute little babies we know. Amalgam or Predatory Spine, look at the monsters we've seen so far. They aren't exactly at the level of being so cute and adorable that you'd want to keep them instead of a cat."
"That's..."
"They're such considerate monsters. They hand us a million reasons to hate them on sight. We don't need to pretend to be smart and make up reasons to dislike them; how convenient is that?"
If their "kindness" has a flaw, it's that encountering them makes me want to piss and shit myself every single time.
We continued our vigil, each harboring our own thoughts, questions, and answers.
*Beeeeep—.*
A sound like static blaring through a speaker turned up to full volume crushed the entire convoy. The mage candidates who had let down their guard to whisper on the trucks, the soldiers anxiously scanning the perimeter, the Taegeuk Cloak Squad, and our Supreme Mages all held our breath simultaneously.
*Crackle... crackle...*
Static spilled from the small radios worn by the soldiers and Escorts in the convoy.
Just in case, I used Alteration-type Eye Stage 1 to scan the surroundings, but I didn't see a single red footprint. It wasn't an ambush. Though it definitely seemed like an omen of some kind.
Soon, the ringing that seemed to leak from the speakers died down, replaced by voices erupting from the radios.
The first was the sound of a baby crying.
[Waaah... Waaaaah...]
Hearing it instantly brought to mind the image of a baby flailing its tiny limbs and shedding tears. A species-driven instinct to protect this cute, innocent baby surged within me.
The second voices to come through were those of the missing soldiers and mage candidates.
[This is Staff Sergeant Kim... Following the testimonies of the candidates who awakened the Hearing Line, we found a real survivor in what used to be a hospital. It's a baby... It seems a group of refugees trying to escape managed to hide them somehow...]
[It's a baby. They're crying out that they want to live. Oh, a baby in a place like this...!]
Someone might see a miracle here.
In this Seoul, where thick fog swirls and monsters run rampant, this was the last hope left by people who overcame fear to protect a tiny life. They would feel moved and thrilled that a pure being survived through countless sacrifices and decisions to finally face the outside world.
Indeed, the people of the Taegeuk Cloak Squad were praying the moment they overheard the radio broadcast.
Their atmosphere was incredibly solemn and serious, unlike anything they had shown so far. Even though they hadn't graduated from a seminary and wore the ridiculous Taegeukgi cloaks, they hadn't volunteered to head to Seoul for nothing.
"Lord, I have finally understood the reason You guided us here today. You descended upon the darkest and lowest places, and I fully comprehend Your command to save the child left in this most horrific and twisted place..."
However, there were those who got goosebumps for a different reason than religious awe or humanistic sentiment.
Namely me, Baek Jemin.
A baby survived in this horrific hellhole?
I don't know if it's possible. Since probability exists, it could be possible. Of course, even if the heartwarming tale of refugees setting aside their selfishness to sacrifice themselves to save at least one baby were true, the problem wouldn't disappear.
Are humans, is human life, worth that kind of miracle right now?
At that moment, Captain Escort brought the radio to his mouth without hesitation and shouted.
"Hey. Staff Sergeant Kim. You dumb shit. That's a monster, drop it and get out!"
[Captain... Can't we save even just one baby?]
"Hey... Hey, hey, hey! Don't you know the rules of engagement? Get out! Run away right now, you bastard!"
But the radio cut off at that moment.
It was clear the other side had hung up first. Insubordination. It was an act I never expected to see in this horrific field. The Escort couldn't hide his bewilderment, pacing around and checking his Analog Watch.
"10 minutes... 10 minutes..."
Before long, the Escort seemed to be communicating with headquarters via radio.
The soldiers, the candidates on the trucks, and we Mages all waited in silence for the Escort's decision. Soon, the Escort made his decision and approached us.
"Confirmed phenomenon suspected to be the work of an Unidentified Species entity within the 100m fog visibility range. In accordance with the fifth rule of engagement, prioritizing intel gathering inside the fog, the mission will change to rapid reconnaissance for about 30 minutes."
Unidentified Species.
It seemed like only our Supreme Mages truly understood the weight of those words. The Taegeuk Cloak Squad looked on with resolute and firm eyes, ready to persuade the Escort if he decided to run away.
We Supreme Mages had to brace ourselves, knowing just how bizarre and grotesque the Unidentified Species could be.
Let alone magic, we were encountering a new enemy.
The given conditions were just as tough.
"I'll assign one Armored Vehicle to you Operators. Any more than that is difficult since we need to protect the transport convoy. The drone command contacted us; there's what used to be a medical clinic nearby. They say that's the most likely location."
"Is reconnaissance possible in just 30 minutes?"
"Operators know how to use Localized Invasive Structural Alteration, right? Find out what you can from the outside, and if you enter, sweep through quickly. If you confirm the bodies of Staff Sergeant Kim and his squad members or the mage candidates, just bug out immediately. I'm not even expecting incineration. Confirming the Unidentified Species would be nice, but if you judge it's too hard to survive, just run."
With that, Captain Escort called over a few soldiers.
I wondered what was going on, but the soldiers gathered up some Grenades they had kept and handed them to us Mages.
"I heard Civilian Operators have to pay with Military Notes to buy even Grenades, right? Take them. Whether you blow up a monster or kill yourselves, they'll be a big help."
"Captain, we Christians do not commit suicide. Even if it means dying fighting back."
As Deacon Min Hyeong-jun accepted the Grenade and replied firmly, Captain Escort quietly averted his gaze and muttered softly.
"It'd probably be better to just kill yourselves."
***
February 29, 2028, 2:45 PM.
We were crammed into a tiny Armored Vehicle and barely managed to pop out. I figured Priest Jeong Yong-hwan and Han Myeong-un must have felt this way when they tangled with the Amalgam.
The operation began before we could even stretch our cramped bodies after jumping out.
The place where the truck convoy had stopped to wait was near Jangjagyo, and it took about 4 minutes to reach the nearby clinic. That left us with roughly 26 minutes.
Just as I was looking around, wondering what we could really do with this time, a hornet-like buzzing sounded from the sky.
At the same time, the radio I had received from Captain Escort and tucked into my breast pocket emitted a voice amidst loud static.
[Drone reconnaissance of the perimeter is underway. Everything is clear. Please detect from your side.]
It was around this time that I learned about the magic possessed by the Taegeuk Cloak Squad.
Among the four men and two women in the squad, Deacon Min Hyeong-jun and one woman were Alteration-type mages. The others were likely Dogma-type. Deacon Min utilized the Heart Line, and the woman utilized the Eye Line, each having awakened slightly different variations.
Deacon Min swung a mop handle like a staff with such force that the fog seemed to actually push back.
"Whew, all clear."
Was he a close-quarters power mage?
The woman with the slanted eyes frowned, eventually clicking her tongue in disapproval.
"Sinister. Everything is red; this place must be dangerous."
Only then did I begin to understand the composition of the Taegeuk Cloak Squad.
Deacon Min and the woman handled the actual combat power and danger detection as Alteration-type mages, while the other four supported them with the Dogma-type magic, Soteriological Certainty.
They were more professional than I had expected.
Or perhaps the military had molded them to be that way.
I slowly shifted my gaze toward Lee Se-jun.
"Jemin, your look is quite unpleasant."
This ordinary man, Se-jun.
I cannot allow Lee Se-jun to fall behind as a mental pillar of the Supreme Mages. Just as I vowed to help him level up, Shin Na-in took off his earphones and put on his gas mask.
"Do you know the abilities of the Taegeuk Cloak Squad people?"
"Taegeuk Cloak Squad? ...Ah, the people from the Taegeuk Jesus Descent Eastern Academy."
Se-jun and I put on our gas masks together while listening to Shin Na-in's deductions.
This mind-reading fanatic was incredibly useful, regardless of how annoying he was.
"Deacon Min has temporary Strength Enhancement. Sister Jeong has Danger Detection to identify hazardous areas."
"Can Sister Jeong see the future like I can?"
"Not to that extent... she just knows where it's dangerous without knowing exactly what the hazard is. Time wasn't mentioned."
I got the general gist of it after hearing that.
It is highly probable that none of them are utilizing 100% of their magic's potential. Priest Jeong Yong-hwan's theory was quite reasonable; manifestation differs based on aptitude.
I can predict the future ten seconds ahead, Priest Jeong senses heat, and this Sister Jeong identifies danger zones. Perhaps at 100% performance, one could utilize all of these abilities, rather than them being vastly different based on aptitude or worldview.
However, just as I was about to rack my brain and ponder this deeply, the situation did not allow it.
Feeling a bit disappointed, I put on my gas mask and pulled the hood of my poncho over my head, checked my weapon, and toyed with the handle of my combat knife. I handed another grenade to Lee Se-jun.
"Our Grenadier, take one more."
"You're treating me like a human catapult."
I hope Lee Se-jun is grateful that I found a purpose for him as a human catapult.
And in this situation, the most helpful person was, once again, Shin Na-in.
He seemed to be listening intently for a moment, then spoke in a cracked voice, sounding bewildered.
"The baby crying has increased."
"What?"
"I can't hear the soldiers or the other mage candidates. I only hear the babies crying."
At Shin Na-in's words, not only our Alteration-type trio but even the Taegeuk Cloak Squad were flustered.
More babies?
I checked my gas mask strap once more and let out a laugh.
"Here's the secret to solving the low birth rate. Let's go."
We are madness against madness, absurdity against absurdity.
We move into hell before hell seeps into us.
We took a step forward before the Taegeuk Cloak Squad did.
A 30-minute limit?
Piece of cake.
"Jemin, aren't you just a dopamine addict?"
"Finding joy anywhere is the mark of a pro. Try enjoying it if you can't avoid it, Se-jun. Isn't that the spirit of the army?"
Lee Se-jun muttered a curse under his breath.
Along with a strangely quiet Shin Na-in, we entered the massive concrete tomb that was once a hospital.
*Huuu, huuu—.*
A place where the sound of breathing through gas masks echoed.
The End
© Hard Explosion #151df