43
Chapter 43
The Supreme Mages were able to pinpoint the gunfire's direction toward the department store thanks to their thorough preparation.
There was Hamza, who had learned map reading to adapt to living in a distant foreign land, and the legacy of Korean administration—the local maps posted throughout the station.
It was a feat made possible by those two factors.
"Turn right as soon as you exit Exit 3. It's quite close."
But even with Hamza's guidance, finding the department store wasn't easy.
The fog in Seoul was beyond imagination.
No adjectives were needed; it was just heavy. Simply heavy.
The air was so damp and humid that I could feel the poncho clinging to my body, weighed down by the moisture. If you tried to hang laundry on a line in this version of Seoul, the mold would probably bloat and burst.
With every breath I exhaled, beads of dew formed inside the gas mask.
I felt the unpleasant sensation of droplets trickling down the rubber and wetting my lips, but I kept stepping forward, inhaling and exhaling.
I let out all my worries, the thrill of the hunt, and the stifling frustration of the heavy air.
*Huuu*—.
It was around the time the distinct sound of breathing through a gas mask began to blend with the fog.
Just as I was about to turn my head to check if we were going the right way, a hideous building came into view. A sigh escaped me the moment I saw the shattered windows, like broken teeth, and the exterior walls cracked from the impact.
Lee Se-jun, Shin Na-in, Hamza, and Pastor Park Yo-han, who were following behind, all had no choice but to come to a dead stop before the grim sight.
Lee Se-jun, standing beside me, was the first to look around.
"Wow... the department store is totally wrecked."
This idiot is surprised that a department store is ruined while the entire country is on the brink of collapse.
On the other hand, Pastor Park Yo-han and Shin Na-in nodded as if this were inevitable, speaking calmly.
"It is only natural, for they chased luxury and pleasure rather than seeking the Lord. Do you think this would have happened if they had given tithes and offerings instead of spending money at a department store?"
"The One who used to punish with fire and water seems to have used artillery shells this time. Though it may be unsightly on the outside, it has become clean spiritually."
"Then is this fog just some kind of dishwasher steam?"
I stepped in to stop Shin Na-in, the little shit, because I felt like he'd just keep spouting nonsense if left alone.
Both Shin Na-in and Pastor Park Yo-han looked over at me, and I could feel their oppressive gazes even through the gas mask lenses.
"As expected of Mr. Baek Jemin. Your unwavering faith, perceiving the fog as the Lord's dishwashing steam, puts me to shame."
"Jemin, Na-in isn't talking nonsense. You have a certain biblical 'something.' If you just come to church, everything will go your way! Everything! You have the makings of a Youth Group Leader!"
"I'll take 'nothing' on that."
Forget these crazy Korean believers; look at Hamza.
Hamza, my Muslim friend who seemed like he'd be more fanatical than anyone, was clicking his tongue in amazement at the ruined department store.
"The building didn't even collapse in all this chaos. Korean architecture is truly impressive."
True nationalistic pride is finding something to brag about even in the most perilous moments.
I wondered if Hamza was actually the one who loved Korea the most among the Supreme Mages.
But now wasn't the time to be drunk on patriotism and gawking at a store. If we kept this up, we'd just loiter in front of the building forever or retreat out of fear.
As the only man in this insane group with an unwavering sense of mission, I, Baek Jemin, had to set things straight.
"Everyone, get into formation and let's move. Hesitating here is just a waste of time."
I'll take the lead.
It's because my adaptability is the best, equipped with eye magic, tongue magic, and even hand magic. As a versatile leader, I am practically the backbone of the Supreme Mages.
Shin Na-in detects enemy approaches and gathers information using Past Sight whenever he finds traces of a fight.
Since there's a high possibility of another mage being present, a preemptive strike is crucial in a fight. In that regard, Shin Na-in's role was vital and by no means secondary.
Hamza and the Pastor serve as the Supreme Mages' luck totems and crisis judges, utilizing Angel's Intuition and Soteriological Certainty.
Hamza is sufficient for answering various questions, while the Pastor analyzes the scene and deduces the enemy's intent based on the clues we gather. I assigned him this role hoping that Soteriological Certainty would help in deducing the correct answer from the evidence.
As for Lee Se-jun... Lee Se-jun is just a porter and bodyguard.
Let's call it 'firepower support' to make it sound cooler. Regardless, having one more person who knows how to shoot a gun is always a plus.
"Mr. Jemin, I feel like you've become quite cold toward me lately."
"I don't have any religious prejudice, but I do have some prejudice against men who want to be TS cute girls."
With that, we formed our line and cast aside our final hesitations.
As we moved forward slowly, the upper floors hidden by the fog became visible, and they weren't in great shape. Concrete debris was piled nearby, as if the roof had been blasted away.
Despite the record from the Jangji Station mage claiming the department store was intentionally spared, it seemed the building had been hit by shells a few times.
Furthermore, unlike the subway station which had power, the inside of the department store was pitch black. The shadows inside seemed more suffocating than the thick fog on the road.
Even our ancestors, who put their heads in the mouths of hungry tigers, probably didn't find this as unsettling.
An eerie silence seemed to weigh down even the fog within the shadows, making even the brave Supreme Mages hesitate. Facing a stillness that felt like it could stop a heartbeat, the Pastor grumbled.
"Why on earth did they crawl into a place like this?"
No one answered.
Because it wasn't a question that required an answer.
Not knowing where the entrance was, we simply climbed carefully through the broken windows. The slow-drifting wind and fog pushed us forward.
I naturally pushed back my poncho and turned on the L-shaped tactical light tucked into my chest.
*Click*.
The sound of the mechanism engaging sounded unusually loud. It hadn't echoed this clearly even when we were moving along the subway tracks.
Like an echo shouted from a mountain peak, the entire shadow of the department store—where both people and luxury goods had been lost—vibrated subtly with that click. However, the tactical light was of no help.
Unlike the roadside, the fog inside the building didn't drift often and had piled up in layers, so the beam of light only caught pale specks of dust.
It was the perfect visibility for an ambush.
I immediately used Stage 1 Tongue Magic to activate Stage 1 Eye Magic.
Target: Department Store Mage. Duration: 5 minutes. Path.
Then, the fog swirled and cleared, revealing the bleak landscape inside the department store. Abandoned stands and mannequins stood silently in their places; if I had come here alone, I would have pissed myself at the sight of those mannequins.
Moreover, they weren't placed normally. The mannequins were positioned on both sides of the frozen escalators or behind the counters.
Looking through the fog, one would have easily mistaken them for people standing guard and watching the perimeter.
Was the broom in their hand meant to disguise it as a firearm or some other weapon?
Regardless of the conditions I set, my vision was wide open, which made it clear there was a mage nearby. I had expected as much, so I wasn't particularly surprised.
What did surprise me, however, was the recoil of the magic.
"This could be dangerous."
"What? Why? Is something there?"
As the Pastor started to panic slightly, I calmly explained the reason.
"Usually, when I use tongue magic, my tongue splits and bleeds everywhere."
"Ugh, gross."
Lee Se-jun looked disgusted and took a step back to create some distance.
To think he'd react this way just because I'd intentionally shown him my wounded tongue a few times due to the recoil. I, Baek Jemin, might not have a perfect face, but I'm confident my tongue is handsome, so this was quite a distressing experience.
Still, I know how to prioritize, so I'll endure it.
"There's absolutely no recoil."
"Like our dogma-types?"
"Yes."
Thick fog, easy external activity.
I finally understood the meaning of that message. Since the fog was so dense, it seemed there were fewer drawbacks to using magic liberally. It was practically an event period where I could use much more powerful magic than usual.
At that, Shin Na-in stepped forward, adjusting his grip on his weapon.
"I thought I heard voices anyway, so this is perfect. I'll scout ahead. After we find cover, of course."
Shin Na-in likely intended to scour the area using Past Sight starting from the entrance.
But I held up my hand to stop him, tucking my short-barreled AR-15 under my arm.
"No. The enemy's detection speed will be faster. It's quicker to find the traces of the soldiers who came before us. Hamza, will it become more dangerous the longer we delay?"
"...Yes. The angel says so."
No complex reasoning was required.
There was a high probability that this department store housed a hideout for a local Seoul mage. Moreover, given the gunfire and radio transmissions we'd heard, they must have already had a skirmish with the soldiers.
They might have already noticed and detected our presence.
When I suggested that caution was the best approach since this was our first time facing a mage, Shin Na-in seemed to agree.
"Tsk. Then I'll just focus on listening."
He clicked his tongue while glancing at Hamza, but by his standards, that was an acceptance.
***
The inside of the department store was littered with shards of broken glass and particles of dust.
Because of this, moving silently was nearly impossible. No matter how carefully I stepped, I couldn't completely eliminate the sound of glass shards and grit grinding against each other.
We weren't exactly elite Special Forces, and since we were being chased by a sense of pressure, it was inevitable.
Step, step.
Still, my heart tightened every time a footstep echoed.
An emotion labeled as either fear or thrill pricked my heart like a needle, creating a contradictory sensation of being cold, electric, and hot all at once. We were the only five hearts beating in this place.
The department store lobby, once a gathering place for the wealthiest and those with the most brilliant dreams, was now home only to mannequins in stained, tattered clothes.
Occasionally, as we pushed through the fog, we'd unexpectedly encounter a mannequin around a corner; even though my mind knew it was just a doll, my hands and feet suspected it was a monster, forcing my muzzle forward first.
Click.
As I peered through the sight with a heavy metallic sound, I realized the truth.
It wasn't a person, but a doll—simply a mannequin clumsily mimicking a human.
Despite that, I found myself unable to lower my weapon easily.
Still aiming at the mannequin, I asked Shin Na-in.
"Any monsters?"
"None."
I was currently maintaining a combination of Stage 1 Tongue and Stage 1 Eye magic: Target, Department Store Mage, 5 minutes, Path.
Because of this, it became impossible to predict monster traces, like red footprints, so I had to rely entirely on Shin Na-in's hearing line magic. The feeling of entrusting my life completely to another person—especially to that fanatical little shit—was utterly unpleasant and powerless.
An absolute sense of helplessness stemming from the desperate dependence of knowing my own life and existence relied entirely on someone else.
Others must have felt it too.
It was by no means a pleasant experience.
However, the other four were likewise entrusting their lives to me as I tracked the mage's traces.
Only after receiving Shin Na-in's assurance did I lower my gun and move forward again. I kept my muzzle slightly aimed toward the path indicated by the eye magic, where the fog had cleared.
Whether the department store mage was wandering aimlessly or my control of the eye magic via tongue magic was still clumsy, there was no mage, only traces.
However, at some point, the fog stopped clearing and only grew thinner.
"It's definitely around here."
"Did your eyes go blind?"
"Hamza, watch your language."
"Are you a blind man with open eyes?"
"Just wait."
Do the Seoul mages have a way to interfere with magic-based detection? Or was my level of magic simply insufficient?
Since I knew nothing, my conclusions were incredibly flimsy. Frustrated, I spent a long time looking at mannequins in all sorts of bizarre poses visible through the thin fog.
While weaving through the mannequins, Hamza tripped over the leg of a fallen one.
"Whoa!"
"Be careful. If you fall and get hurt, you can't even go to a hospital."
Lee Se-jun grabbed Hamza's shoulder to stop him from falling, but instead of being grateful, Hamza flailed his arms and started tapping the leg he'd tripped over.
"That's not it!"
"Dammit. Even if it's a mannequin, don't hit it like that. It feels creepy."
"It's a person...!"
Hamza, you...
Was he hitting it knowing it was a human leg?
I involuntarily gulped.
As Lee Se-jun also glanced over and stepped back, Shin Na-in pushed back his hood, revealing his headset.
Shin Na-in knelt before the person Hamza had been tapping, waving his hand to clear the fog and attempting to confirm with his own eyes. A name, which had been sunken in the light fog, came out of Shin Na-in's mouth.
"Sergeant Bang Gi-seong of the Army."
"A sergeant?"
"Sigh."
Lee Se-jun and I shook our heads and let out deep sighs.
Even as an 8th-year reservist dragged in by a mobilization order, I felt my life was unfairly miserable, so I imagine a sergeant dragged into this situation must have already lost his mind.
However, the Pastor clicked his tongue and looked at us pitifully.
"Hey, young men. Why the sighs? It's only natural for a soldier to protect his country. Sergeant Bang did his duty. If he had attended church, he'd be knocking on the gates of heaven."
Good grief.
I knelt before the remains of Sergeant Bang, who was probably knocking on heaven's gate.
Sergeant Bang's body was in standard gear. MOPP Level 4, wearing a CBRN protective suit and gloves.
A small radio, looking like a walkie-talkie, was tucked into his chest, and he was clutching a K2C1 rifle in his right hand, as if he had been pulling the trigger until the very moment of his death.
Just one thing.
Only one thing was missing.
As I looked closely at the body, which hadn't been clearly visible due to the fog, a chilling sensation crawled up my spine.
He had no head.
More precisely, it was sunken and missing mass, as if someone had hammered it with all their might and then pinched it off. I don't know what Sergeant Bang looked like in life, but I'm certain he was more handsome than this.
"Shin Na-in, check with Past Sight."
"You're asking me to watch the scene where Sergeant Bang lost his head, aren't you, Mr. Jemin?"
"We need to know if it was an Amalgam or some other monster."
"Phew... I cannot... replace Him... with Lord Jesus Christ~."
Shin Na-in calmed himself by singing a hymn, then fell silent as if activating Past Sight.
In the meantime, Lee Se-jun and Pastor Park Yo-han, unable to contain their curiosity, gagged. The wise Hamza avoided the disaster by only tapping the leg and not attempting to look at the head.
"Blegh, ugh. Hurk..."
"Sigh. To think that I, a precious soul chosen by the Lord, must live seeing such horrific sights."
"Everyone, be quiet. Na-in will let us know."
That was just as he was meticulously scanning the light fog.
*Krrr...*
The static coming from the walkie-talkie grew harsher. At first, everyone ignored it, thinking it was common communication interference.
*Kshhh... krrr...*
But as the static grew harsher and more frequent, everyone felt a strange sensation.
Laughter?
A strange breathing sound, like someone stifling a giggle before playing a prank, could be heard. I wasn't the only one who felt this.
When I slowly turned my head, Lee Se-jun, Hamza, and the Pastor were all exchanging glances, their eyes darting around, as if they had the same thought.
It was then that Hamza's gaze hardened.
"It's dangerous. Very. Oh, my god...."
Without hesitation, I tapped the shoulder of the kneeling Shin Na-in.
"Stinky, get up. Let's move."
However, the communication connected faster than Shin Na-in could snap out of it.
A quite pretty voice sounded clearly through the static of the walkie-talkie. It was slightly raspy, perhaps from some hardship, but it was a playful female voice that sounded like she would be quite lovely when singing.
[Hello~?]
The moment he heard that coquettish tone, Lee Se-jun's pupils narrowed strangely behind the gas mask lenses.
"I can tell. It's the voice of a woman who's cruised through life boasting a natural beauty."
"This idiot is just spouting bullshit because he's jealous."
"Jealous? Hmph. The TS cute girl of my dreams isn't some flirtatious wench, but a sweet little lady who is so cute and lovely that anyone would want to give her a piece of candy and pat her head. I hope you don't misunderstand me, Mr. Jemin."
I am more afraid of the man named Lee Se-jun standing next to me than the voice coming from the walkie-talkie.
Thanks to that, my threshold for fear and disgust soared to the sky, making the woman on the walkie-talkie feel insignificant. It was then that the woman's voice giggled.
[That soldier oppa has a real talent for saying disgusting things so seriously~?]
"To dismiss a person's pure and humble wish as disgusting...!"
[More importantly. You all seem to be mages, so why did you become soldiers~? Mages should join forces with other mages~.]
Lee Se-jun was furious, but none of the Supreme Mages stood by his side.
Instead, perhaps because the Seoul Mage seemed surprisingly friendly, the Pastor cleared his throat and took a step toward the walkie-talkie.
"Miss, may I ask your name? I feel like we can actually talk. I'm not a strange man, but Pastor Park Yo-han, working hard in a pioneer church. If it's alright, could I tell you a bit about the Lord's word?"
[Are you crazy, mister?]
"Yes, I understand. In today's world, seeking the Lord's word can be difficult. However..."
[Ugh, get lost. I don't go to church. Are you actually insane?]
"Sss. Miss, you'll be possessed by a demon at this rate. That'll be a disaster!"
The atmosphere is not good.
I slowly moved toward Hamza. Hamza must have felt the signs of the negotiation falling apart as well, since we naturally leaned our shoulders against each other.
[Still, you guys are pretty unique, so it's kind of fun~.]
"Huh?"
[Don't you want to come along? You're different from those mean soldiers who want to lock up and kill everyone in Seoul. You're mages. Right~?]
Baek Jemin, a man of action. For a moment, I wondered if I'd found the possibility of welcoming a new lover in this hell, leaving my right hand behind.
Shin Na-in, who had been meticulously uncovering Sergeant Bang Gi-seong's end through Past Sight, widened his eyes and grabbed the walkie-talkie.
"Military frequency."
[Huh?]
"I know how you found out, you demonic brat."
A brief silence followed. Everyone seemed flustered, realizing the negotiations had fallen through.
But being near Shin Na-in, I suspected there was a reason for his outburst, as it had been a long time since I'd seen him this enraged. The last time he'd been this angry was when Monk Won-haeng used a mantra to treat his mental strength, and he raged that his trial from the Lord had been taken away.
After the short silence, the voice over the walkie-talkie burst into laughter.
The woman's voice, laughing for a long while, eventually returned with a chilling answer.
[You have the Eye.]
*Click*.
The walkie-talkie cut off there.
Shin Na-in immediately threw the walkie-talkie and crushed it under his foot.
*Crunch!*
Even the Pastor was flustered by the unwavering Shin Na-in.
"What happened, Na-in? Why all of a sudden..."
"That demon wench is a thing that grafts herself onto human heads to plunder."
"...?"
To those of us blinking in confusion, Shin Na-in spoke, his pupils dilated with shock, anger, and fear.
"Dubai Chewy Human. She clings to human heads just like those demonic brats. That's one of her magics."
***
*Rat-tat-tat...*
Gunshots echo.
Inside the department store, with its high ceilings and vast space, the gunshots bounced and echoed repeatedly, making it hard to gauge the location.
Yet, the Supreme Mages continued to step forward, chasing those faint remnants of sound.
As we advanced over broken glass, time passed, and with every passing moment, sobbing screams rang out.
*Aaaagh....*
Every time he heard that sound, Shin Na-in spoke in short, clear answers, unlike his usual self.
"Human. Deceased."
It was my job to lead the way from the front.
Target, Human, 5 Minutes, Path.
I climbed up the frozen escalators, following the tracks of the soldiers who must have fled from the Seoul Mage.
As I moved through the cleared areas, a cold whisper of the walkie-talkie's characteristic signal drifted from beyond the fog.
*Beep-beep-beep*.
-Combat initiated. Requesting response...
That voice wasn't for communication; it was the final moan of one left alone. It was the voice of a green recruit, terrified and gasping, barely swallowing his saliva and tears before he was just a soldier.
-Combat impossible...
*Thump, thump, thump, thump*.
Our footsteps climbing the escalator shook the department store.
I rolled my tongue in my mouth and shifted my vision.
Target, Department Store Mage, 5 Minutes, Path.
The world split into two: where the fog swirled and cleared, and where it lay thick.
Third floor of the department store.
Beyond the counters where the fog began to clear, I saw a pile of concrete moving among the still-scattered mannequins.
As if realizing I'd spotted it, the concrete pile crashed onto the floor with a loud roar.
Within the rising cloud of dust and debris, a woman stained with dust and blood was waving her hand wildly toward us.
While holding a gun.
"Crazy."
I instantly clenched my left fist and slammed it down on the escalator railing.
*Boom!*
I hit it hard. My bones vibrated, and a searing pain from the impact shot up to my shoulder.
Simultaneously, a loud gunshot rang out clearly.
This time, the sound of wind slicing through the air brushed past us.
At that sound, all the Supreme Mages seemed to crouch in shock or terror. However, crouching in the middle of an escalator is a death sentence.
Reading my judgment, Shin Na-in began to guide the others while shouting something.
And I, looked at the woman in front of me.
I slammed my left hand against the escalator railing again and again to stop the Seoul Mage, all to keep my eyes wide open for as long as possible.
*Boom!*
But because she had fired from a strange posture, she missed, though she hesitated and flicked her tongue.
*Boom!*
My eyes are starting to close.
And just before my eyelids dropped of their own accord, I threw myself forward.
*Blink*.
End