37
Chapter 37
The day the world's fate changed was quieter and more unsettled than I had expected.
*Rattle, rattle.*
In the back of the countless 2.5-ton trucks lined up along the road, relatively important personnel were packed in like sardines.
On the smaller roads visible beyond the alleys, soldiers in full military gear were marching in perfect formation. However, the sighs and shouts of the people were buried beneath the vapor trails streaking across the sky.
*Screeech—*
Three fighter jets flew in a single formation. They were likely deploying them from other locations as well. I heard there's an airbase in Suwon, so they're probably flying from there.
Now that I think about it, I understand why Suwon was chosen as a key stronghold for the Secondary Blockade Line.
There was an airbase.
It didn't quite feel real. The thrill and excitement were still there, but the feeling of heading into a battlefield where my life was on the line wasn't hitting me. When I fought monsters, my spine would stiffen with tension, but being part of such a massive troop movement actually made me feel strangely calm.
It was an unexpected noise that brought back a sense of reality.
[The current President and the government will now make a major announcement.]
Lee Se-jun, who had been sighing softly, Hamza, who was blinking slowly, and Shin Na-in, who seemed happy with everything in the world, all turned their heads toward the sound.
Pastor Park Yo-han had intentionally turned up the volume to share this historic moment with everyone.
"You have to listen to this stuff so you have something to talk about later."
At the pastor's calm and easygoing words, everyone began to listen in silence.
I, Baek Jemin, also met that day of destiny while loaded in the back of a military truck with other mages. Just as the world was divided into before and after the COVID era, the world will be divided by today.
[My dear citizens, today I stand before you to speak honestly about the most dangerous moment since our nation's founding. I speak of the fight against the most threatening danger humanity can imagine. This includes revealing the truth behind the distrust and the various atrocities committed against civilians in the name of protection.]
By the time we had nearly broken through Suwon Station, information about the Amalgams had already spread to some extent, despite censorship and control.
The government refused to officially acknowledge it until the end, but Korean society had long been in chaos.
Even if they didn't know the detailed horrors of the Seoul Blockade Line, the outbreak of monsters and the ruthless killing of civilians had triggered old traumas in South Korea.
*Clunk.*
My hips jolted up and slammed back down as the truck hit a speed bump. Lee Se-jun rubbed his lower back and groaned before speaking.
"Do things look that bad in the provinces?"
"It's a riot, obviously."
This was said by the Makgeolli Mister wearing a beanie.
The Makgeolli Mister's hair fluttered in the wind, his hands shoved into the pockets of his tattered padded jacket.
"Those idiots don't even think about the face-rubbing monsters; they only care if they have family in Seoul or not. Damn it. Have they not seen any movies? Does it make sense to open the gates—where those monsters might be mixed in—just to save one family member?"
"Oh, honestly, why do you talk like that, Mister?"
Auntie Poppy snapped back after listening for a while.
"Did the government do any better? They should have thought of a way to soothe people and get them out. It doesn't make sense to kill everyone out of fear and then only blame the victims."
"With that kind of mindset, you'll end up as one of those face-rubbing monsters! Do you still think Seoul is a place worth protecting? Those Chinese bastards might be annoying, but they weren't wrong. I think it's a miracle they didn't just drop nukes on the place."
"Why are you beating around the bush just to say everyone should die? Is it okay to insult people who have family just because you don't? What's so great about shooting everyone who comes out begging for help?"
"That's exactly my point! The government is working its ass off to save 40 million people, but these people just want refugee shelters and quarantine zones in Seoul without knowing how to actually save them... No wonder the country spends all its time fighting."
Listening to this debate, which felt like a microcosm of South Korea in 2028, I felt a lot of things.
Maybe South Korea really is doomed.
I desperately needed the authoritative advice of my Richam friend, Hamza.
"Hamza, do you think this country can survive?"
"I don't know about the fate of the country; the Angel doesn't tell me."
While the Makgeolli Mister and Auntie Poppy continued to bicker, the government's major announcement continued to leak from the speakers of the rattling military truck.
[The government humbly accepts that this situation is no longer limited to South Korea, but is a global disaster facing all of humanity. From the declaration of mobilization until now, we will share information with the world regarding the monsters that the government and military have been facing. These are the details of four identified species that, thanks to the brave efforts of our soldiers and the active support of our ally, the USA, have not leaked outside of Gyeonggi-do...]
At that moment, everyone stopped talking.
Under a strange silence, the current President read the script in a calm but trembling voice.
Identified Species One. Head-Fusion Mimic.
Mimics as humans to approach and then fuses heads to steal the body. Capable of mimicking humans to an extent, and possess active intelligence to recognize the power of firearms and avoid them. The ego of previous victims is presumed to be irrelevant; an instinctive, hostile predator with no room for conversation or negotiation.
Communication impossible.
Identified Species Two. Autonomous Spine Extractor.
An independent monster born from the mutation of a host's spine, it mimics the host by sending signals that manipulate the nervous system. While incapable of speech, it maintains a human form and supplements its nutrition by devouring the host's internal organs, exiting the moment the host dies to ambush and reproduce by injecting fluids into other victims, much like a parasitic wasp.
Taming impossible.
Identified Species Three. Degenerative Cellular Cluster.
A type of slime presumed to occur when humans are exposed to specific environments. It is believed to be the result of all somatic cells regressing into a cellular cluster filled with extreme mutations similar to cancer cells; it has been confirmed to move in clusters to acquire a host and reproduce through a mechanism similar to cancer cells upon contact with a victim.
No intelligence. Taming impossible.
Identified Species Four. Blood-Shatter Delta.
A subspecies of the Head-Fusion Mimic, mutated to avoid heavy biochemical gases and adapt to indoor environments. It predates by ambushing from the ceiling and snatching victims with tentacles, and it is presumed to absorb some of the victim's knowledge. It has been confirmed to manipulate several corpses to neutralize the resistance of victims.
Taming impossible.
[These are the true forms of the monsters we face. Through further reports, citizens will be able to see the images of the monsters they wish to identify.]
There was no mention of Teratomas yet, but the four monsters mentioned were already enough to make it a living hell.
But why take the drastic step of revealing information they had kept so strictly hidden until now?
When I let it show that I was thinking deeply, Shin Na-in raised an eyebrow while wearing his earphones.
"It's a psychological war to create the most important justification for the Holy War."
"Psychological war."
"It's a question for those who feel aversion or discomfort toward the act of killing all the Seoul heretics. Look, here is the power of Satan. Can you shoulder the weight of the responsibility that might arise if we did as you say? Do you dare?"
"But some people might not believe it, thinking it's AI synthesis."
Despite Lee Se-jun's sharp point, Shin Na-in smiled as if he were delighted.
"Then they should be breached."
"What?"
"If the majority have succumbed to the power of Satan, then it's only right to let this country end. Refugee evacuation? Quarantine? They'll finally realize how cowardly and insignificant they were when their weak, shallow pleas spread those Satanic demons across the entire peninsula."
"Wow..."
I shifted my hips and subtly leaned closer to Hamza.
Hamza suddenly had to shift his posture, becoming vertically stretched as if he had been crushed by a hydraulic press.
"Jemin, I think I'm getting crushed."
"I'll give you a spoonful of Spam this time. Hang in there."
Shin Na-in is a complete psycho.
Unlike me, who was happy at the thought of mages fighting each other, it was hard to understand that reckless optimism that didn't care whether the line was breached or held.
Even as this happened, the government's major announcement continued.
[Despite the military's hard fighting, casualties have exceeded 13,000 over the past three months. These soldiers are the military's finest, fighting desperately to prevent a breach of the blockade line as they know the threat of these monsters better than anyone; they are patriots devoted to stopping the monsters from spreading to the rear, even while suffering significant psychological trauma and aftereffects. Unfortunately, the current government could not prevent bloodshed while repeatedly implementing hardline policies against the survivor groups remaining in Seoul.]
Around this point, I understood why Shin Na-in called it a psychological war.
Yeah. They're framing it perfectly.
[The local survivor groups made the natural decision to prioritize individual survival over the importance of quarantine and blockade, but as a result, they disobeyed military orders, requested the cessation of firepower, and even did not hesitate to act hostiley toward the military... Circumstances have even been captured where some survivor groups used human bait to lure monsters toward the military's defensive lines. They have almost no will to negotiate with the current government... It is estimated that a significant number of the 13,000 military casualties were caused by the machinations of the local survivor groups in Seoul.]
The President went one step further and began to appeal to emotion.
That emotion was an old-school sentiment of "you should suffer a bit," but it was enough to work on the people outside the blockade who were enjoying safety.
[I understand the sense of betrayal the citizens of Seoul must feel. In the early stages, the government was preoccupied with analyzing the cause and responding, and under the guise of preventing chaos, we blocked the sharing of information, obstructed evacuation attempts to prevent traffic jams and logistics crises, and demanded isolation in the name of quarantine inside the blockade line. This is an original sin of the government and the military that can be defended under no circumstances.]
[However, despite our limited capabilities and exhaustion... as a result of fighting with all our might to maintain the blockade for about three months, we were able to secure the safety of the Korean peninsula, excluding Seoul and northern Gyeonggi-do, by maintaining the first and second blockade lines. The survival and safety of 40 million citizens is the most important value the government must protect. Despite the various values of Seoul and its citizens, I had to make a utilitarian judgment for the sake of more citizens.]
[I would like to apologize to the citizens of Seoul who could not accept this decision and forced sacrifice upon our soldiers by even mobilizing human bait to break through the blockade line. Despite the division in the face of this tragic situation, if there are still those with reason and a will to negotiate, please respond to communications with the ROK-US Combined Forces Command in Pyeongtaek.]
[Fellow citizens, this is an unprecedented situation since the founding of our nation. No one dared imagine such a thing would happen, and even I, who carry the mission to face any crisis, was no exception. I am a sinner standing before you. However, I am a sinner who possesses a sense of duty to stop this situation by any means, more passionately than anyone else. Please give the government and the military one more chance. I offer my apologies once again to those who will lose their families. I bow in apology to our ancestors as I watch South Korea crumble.]
[However, I could not gamble the survival and safety of 40 million citizens on the risk of saving innocent people who might be mixed among the monsters. That is all.]
*Rattle, rattle.*
As the sound faded, silence fell. Amidst the sound of the suspension rattling over speed bumps, Pastor Park Yo-han spoke bitterly.
"It's more about fear than responsibility."
"The soldiers at the 1st Blockade Line were pretty savage."
Responding to the pastor, I recalled the time the three of us faced the Teratomas.
I remembered how the soldiers had boldly formed a semi-circle to surround and annihilate the monsters, blasting them with flamethrowers even as they mimicked young girls. There were undoubtedly innocent refugees mixed in among them.
Even so, the soldiers of the 1st Blockade Line had pulled their triggers without a moment's hesitation.
Why else would a rule of engagement like 'No rescue; kill on sight' even exist?
The contents of the diary I found in the abandoned hospital were entirely correct.
Humanity cannot win this fight.
Because they love themselves and each other far too much.
Monsters prey on the fragile nature of the human heart.
Amalgams use human mimicry to slip into crowds and bypass quarantine efforts, Autonomous Spine Extractors maintain a host to find a place to ambush, and Teratomas mimic the appearance and cries of infants, using the mere desire to live to nullify the psychological detection of Hearing Line magic.
Only those who have awakened to magic have the chance to perceive their true nature more quickly and oppose them.
An enemy that brutally desecrates and kills you if you try to uphold a noble yet fragile and shallow morality.
That was the essence of a monster.
However, not everyone possesses the aptitude to become a mage. At the very least, the ethics and morality of 21st-century Korea ensured that.
As long as people believe they must save even the innocents hidden among the monsters, defeat is inevitable, no matter how much South Korea struggles or flails. At least the mages gathered here secretly understood that fact.
I looked around at the Supreme Mages and asked them.
I wanted to know what they thought of the government's major announcement.
"Even so, we must save them. For the Lord risked His life to save a single lost sheep."
Pastor Park Yo-han comforted himself, his gaze growing even more determined.
"Not everyone is a good person. While no one deserves to die, not everyone is destined for salvation."
Hamza voiced his opinion, which was more cynical than I had expected.
"I don't know. It's good to save them if we can, but we can't all be put at risk just to do so..."
Lee Se-jun groaned, resting his chin in his hand.
"Jemin, that perspective is exactly what's wrong."
"..."
"Salvation belongs to the Lord alone. Once we kill them and send them before Him, His judgment will decide. The righteous do not fear judgment, and the wicked repent in the face of terror!"
Only Shin Na-in possessed such an unwavering conviction.
In a crazy world, the logic of a madman is the only correct answer.
I didn't need to go crazy myself; it was better to just sneak a peek at his answer sheet and tweak it to my liking.
Before long, the back of the military truck became noisy as everyone began debating their respective views, but instead of participating in such a draining argument, I began a different exploration.
Using the bandages, disinfectant, and the combat knife I had used in the ritual, I decided to utilize Hand Line Stage 2 magic.
For this operation, I had brought my old K2 rifle instead of a new AR-15, for a simple but definitive reason. I wanted to avoid being suspected or identified as a mage or mercenary due to a flashy weapon.
Since mages were now fighting mages, and since the mages in Seoul were likely being watched, it was best not to provide any conspicuous clues.
Combat uniforms, gas masks, and ponchos wouldn't stand out much at the 1st Blockade Line anyway.
Therefore, I applied the Hand Line Stage 2 magic in a place where it wouldn't be noticed.
"I'm saying we should at least do some screening to reduce the pushback from the people in Seoul..."
"And if that causes losses, are you going to take responsibility?"
Using the chatter as background noise, I secretly pricked the index finger of my left hand with the combat knife.
Using the bead of blood that emerged, I repeatedly drew letters on the rubber inside my gas mask and rubbed them in to activate the effect. The word I wrote inside the mask was 'Breath.' I wondered if it could fix the shortness of breath caused by the filter.
As a result, I managed to find a certain pattern:
1. Words with broad meanings have proportionally weaker effects. To achieve the specific effect I wanted, I had to carve more letters to make it more detailed.
2. However, it seems a higher level of magical attainment is required to imbue words with more complex meanings. My current limit is about one word, or two characters.
3. When combining words like Purification, Breath, and Refresh, the effect only manifests in the word drawn with the most blood. This might change as my level increases, but for now, only one works.
4. I felt that Tongue Line Stage 1 magic might strengthen the effect, but I didn't do it because I was afraid it would hurt my tongue.
5. It is a permanent effect, similar to rune magic, but the backlash is relatively low. It was merely a tingling in my arm, as if I had slept on it for six hours, with my fingers twitching and occasionally cramping.
I wondered if it was possible to have an effect on the caster personally.
To test this, I borrowed Lee Se-jun's gas mask and tried my magic, but unfortunately, it didn't seem to work. Se-jun, who had eagerly agreed to my request, whispered to me while panting through the mask.
"Jemin, did it work?"
"You're still a man. Writing 'TS' didn't do anything."
"Damn it. Do I really need to hit Heart Line Stage 5 for that to work?"
Hand Line Stage 2 magic strictly grants effects only to objects stained with blood.
Just in case, and at Se-jun's adamant request, I wrote 'pretty girl' with the blood of my left hand on his hairy arm, but nothing happened.
"Se-jun, just accept your life. Why do you hate being born a Korean man so much that you want to get rid of your junk?"
"Fuck, I just want to live off someone else for a change!"
This damn idiot.
I fought the urge to look at him with the same contempt as Shin Na-in. Well, I suppose everyone has different desires.
At any rate, the limits of Hand Line Stage 2 were clear.
6. It has no effect on living beings, especially humans. Therefore, it must be used to enhance or grant characteristics to inanimate objects without intelligence, such as firearms, gas masks, or clothing. It is most similar to commonly known enchantment magic, which seems to support the theory that the Hand Line is related to alchemy.
Meanwhile, the air began to change.
A fishy mixture of burning smells and something nauseating wafted in.
As gray dust drifted in occasionally, Lee Se-jun and I subtly braced ourselves. Hamza, who had been squashed, straightened his back, and the others gradually fell silent.
We had arrived near the 1st Blockade Line.
The one difference was that the usual thunderous sound of shelling had stopped, replaced by an even more bizarre and chilling silence.
For a moment, I wondered if everyone had been wiped out...
Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
The sound of soldiers' footsteps and the clanking of gear were clearly audible.
Then the truck came to a halt, and soldiers from the 1st Blockade Line, completely encased in CBRN protective suits and gas masks, approached us. They were armed with flamethrowers and drum-magazine shotguns.
*Hiss— wheeze—*
As the characteristic sound of breathing through a gas mask pressed against our ears, a soldier wearing a Squad Leader armband spoke.
"The command center requires the assistance of the Civilian Operators for a final ultimatum and warning. I will lead you there."
***
March 23, 2028.
The South Korean government exposed truths it had hidden for a long time.
The Seoul riots were not mere unrest, but a form of quarantine and war against threatening monsters that proliferated along with the fog; the government and the military accepted a downfall to ensure the immediate survival of South Korea, despite knowing the repercussions.
While the rest of the world debated the information on the four identified species and questioned its authenticity, they had no choice but to acknowledge its impact.
Humanity would never be able to return to the way things were before March 23.
The UN convened to provide global support, designating this unprecedented crisis, known as the Seoul riots, as a transnational biological disaster. Discussions ranged from nuclear strikes if the blockade were breached to the deployment of volunteers and UN forces.
In this situation, the government presented a final ultimatum and last negotiation offer to the local survivor groups in Seoul.
To be precise, these were the same offers they had been putting forward all along.
- Commencement of support via risky aerial drops.
- Regular supply of materials via unmanned drones or vehicles once underground passages are secured.
- Cessation of shelling in areas where the survivor groups reveal their coordinates.
- Survival on-site until Seoul is reclaimed and recaptured.
And as we mages gathered, the response that came back through the command center's radio, mixed with all sorts of static, was as follows:
[....You.... you...... stupid, little bastards...]
Amidst the loud noise, a voice—so distorted that it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman—screamed.
[LET US OUT!!!]
End