44
Chapter 44
Now I'm lying face down.
I've pressed my ear to the floor, feeling the vibrations through my entire body, echoing beyond the hood of my poncho. I breathed as slowly as possible, fearing the distinct sound of the gas mask would give me away.
It was because I knew a single heavy breath could reveal my position.
Separate from my pounding heart, my lungs inhaled and exhaled slowly, repeating the cycle. Much like how forcing a smile can make you feel happy, forcing my breathing to stay slow kept my mind racing.
Only then did I notice the ringing in my ears.
Beeeeee—
A bullet must have grazed me from a close distance. Or perhaps a gunshot went off nearby.
Feeling the cold, heavy weight of the gun, I recalled the individual combat training I'd learned long ago. Memories of crawling through damp, filthy ground came flooding back.
I focused on steadying my breath and began to wriggle, carrying the thick fog on my back. To anyone else, I must have looked like a giant green cockroach.
I remember reading online that cockroaches' IQs jump to 300 when their lives are on the line; perhaps the man Baek Jemin was of a similar breed.
Countless thoughts popped like bubbles in my racing mind.
The reason I hadn't used the tongue or eye magic immediately was because of the change in how the fog cleared.
When I used Eye Stage 1 combined with Tongue Stage 1 and approached Sergeant Bang Gi-seong's body, the fog didn't clear completely—it only thinned, and I couldn't pinpoint the exact location.
Does the potency halve against other mages? Does the effect diminish as the gap in level increases?
I cautiously speculated about the magic the Seoul Mage used. Before she fired, I saw her throw a heap of concrete. She definitely possessed some form of physical enhancement.
Then maybe it's the Heart Line?
Just as these assumptions and theories were swirling in my head.
Thump.
Heavy footsteps were approaching, striking the remaining intact floor tiles. A flirtatious voice, half-mixed with air, drifted through the fog.
"Oppa, you're like a real cockroach. You escaped already?"
Cold sweat trickled down my neck.
The instincts of a weak, lacking, conditioned civilian screamed in terror.
I'm going to die here. I have to struggle. Beg for my life.
But the cold, hard reason of the man Baek Jemin had already run the numbers on a calculator.
I won't die immediately.
Because the Seoul Mage will go for my head.
According to Shin Na-in, the Seoul Mage inhabiting this department store acts like an Amalgam. It seems she somehow pries open others' heads to plunder memories and information.
There's no room for persuasion or negotiation. Since she fired at us while we were coming up the escalator, it was 100% murderous intent, regardless of the timing. Still, I can avoid the most desperate possibility: being executed with a finishing shot.
To find out how much a mage from outside Seoul knows, popping the skull would be more certain than an interrogation.
Therefore, I won't attempt a clumsy counterattack.
It's only natural; if I resist too violently, the opponent might just shoot me dead. With the fog so thick and the pain in my left-hand staff fading, it would be reckless to rely solely on Eye Stage 2.
Meanwhile, the footsteps drew closer. Whether she was savoring the moment or trying to pressure me with fear, she was walking deliberately slowly.
Thump.
The vibration of the floor was too great to be a mere human step. It wasn't the weight of one person. It seemed she was carrying that concrete heap she'd thrown earlier as a shield.
I slowly hugged the gun.
Thanks to my cold, calculated mind, separate from my racing heart, I realized something.
Shin Na-in failed to detect the Seoul Mage's attack.
Thump.
If so, Shin Na-in, who handles Hearing Line magic, wouldn't have heard the voice in the Seoul Mage's heart.
Thump, thump.
All Shin Na-in hears are the inner voices of us Supreme Mages.
Thump, thump, thump...
In that moment, I rolled my tongue inside my mouth.
Evasion, death, 5 minutes, path.
...It's not easy.
Avoiding death with magic, even in thick fog, was quite a burden; I felt a stinging sensation on the tip of my tongue. Perhaps because there were too many causes of death, or the range was too broad, focusing through tongue magic felt forced.
I corrected it.
Evasion, critical hit, 5 minutes, path.
The fog began to clear vividly.
I gripped the gun. I pulled up my knees and pressed my elbows softly into the ground. Finally, I was ready to stand.
Still, because it was mentally taxing, I decided to count to three.
One, two...
Oppa, what are you doing?
I leaped.
Fast, like a bipedal cockroach.
Running as fast as I could, I screamed internally.
Shoot, you idiots!
It was the perfect signal.
The moment I threw myself forward, a gunshot rang out.
Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
Bullets rained down from within the fog.
The gunshots bounced off the walls and ceiling of the department store, and the muzzle flashes were scattered by the thick fog, remaining invisible.
Inside a web of fire where I couldn't even tell where the shots were coming from, my eyes searched for the spots where the fog cleared.
I was the only one sprinting through this hail of bullets.
Ping, ping-ping...
The sound of ricocheting bullets or those embedding themselves into the walls intertwined with the gunshots.
Two opposing emotions clashed.
It's okay now. Let's put some distance between us.
Naive thinking.
I chose cold, ruthless reason.
She'll catch up soon. I can't shake off the pursuit.
In that case, I'll have to put on one last desperate show of Baek Jemin's 28 years of life. I decided to try a trick only possible within the thick fog.
I rolled my tongue in my mouth.
Evasion, physical strike, critical hit, injury, 5 minutes, me.
The tip of my tongue stung slightly, but it was fine. No, since I couldn't use Eye Stage 2 magic for free, it wasn't exactly fine.
But right now, I was practically invincible for five minutes.
That fact made me look back.
And immediately made me roll my body.
Whoosh!
Something heavy passed over the back of my head.
A heavy mass that would have stripped my skin raw if it had even grazed me brushed against my back with the flow of air.
After rolling clumsily, I lowered my stance and hid behind a remaining display stand.
Peeking my head out, I could see the concrete heap embedded in a pillar through the flowing fog.
Although the white fog made it hard to see clearly, the Seoul Mage was annoyed. She was glaring in my direction.
But she couldn't approach me immediately.
Because the Supreme Mages, who were listening to the voice in my heart beyond that fog, were pouring out a hail of fire.
Loud gunshots shook the entire department store, scattering bullets everywhere.
They weren't aiming precisely, but it was enough to be distracting.
The Seoul Mage had no choice but to lower her body, then she suddenly ripped the concrete heap out of the pillar and covered herself with it like a shield.
"Ah, seriously!"
Thud, thud-thud—.
The sound of bullets hitting the heavy concrete was brutal.
Broken concrete fragments were trickling down like dust. Watching that, I lifted the muzzle without hesitation.
This is the end.
The moment I placed my index finger on the trigger, the fog swirled.
Through the scattering fog particles, I saw red footprints.
Red footprints stamped rapidly on the floor, approaching me.
In that instant, I withdrew the gun without hesitation and sprinted powerfully in a crouching, duck-like walk.
Crunch!
The stand I had been at was pierced by something whitish.
Crawling with the fog draped over me like a cloak, I examined the spot where I had been more closely.
The Seoul Mage was smashing the spot I'd been in with the concrete heap. She repeated it several times, filled with rage and annoyance.
Boom, boom, boom!
And the moment I confirmed the Seoul Mage had taken something out of her pocket, I immediately hid behind a mannequin and stand and ran in the opposite direction.
Every time I ran, stepping over the ruins of Seoul, colorless glass shards were crushed under the heels of my combat boots.
Simultaneously, an eerie sound filled the entire department store.
Beep-beep-beep.
The signal sound typical of a walkie-talkie rang out, and shortly after, a woman's slightly coarse voice was heard.
"Mister soldiers, do you know about incantations? It's something I learned."
In the darkened department store, only one wandering woman was laughing.
I ran between the displays and mannequins as quietly and quickly as I could.
With the gun tucked under my right arm, I navigated the fog, avoiding the red footprints that were still chasing me.
Tap, tap.
Along with the sound of drumming fingers, the Seoul Mage's voice grew increasingly sadistic.
[As long as there's the Principle of Substitution between the same species. It's useless even if you turn these off. If I keep mine on, yours turn on too.]
In that moment, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.
That was when a loud choir song rang out in the darkened department store.
Beep-beep-beep.
Beep-beep-beep.
Beep-beep-beep.
Walkie-talkie signals exploded from all directions, making it impossible to tell up from down.
It seemed some survivors had left their devices on.
The red footprints' pursuit vanished, as if the Seoul Mage's interest had shifted there. Cruel as it was, I had no way to help soldiers whose locations I didn't even know.
While I was using Eye magic to save my own skin, I couldn't afford to use Clairvoyance to track the soldiers.
The Seoul Mage likely knew I was using Eye magic.
She clearly realized I didn't know the soldiers' locations. At the very least, she knew we were different groups. Did she figure it out because I didn't try to communicate via walkie-talkie? Or from the fact that mages don't usually act with soldiers?
Either way, the opponent had learned how to hunt by dangling clumsy humanitarianism like bait. As a survivor of a Seoul inhabited only by monsters, she was a mage who had truly mastered the art of the lure.
The moment I started searching with Eye magic to locate the soldiers, she would find and kill me.
But fate was cruel.
The walkie-talkie signals, which had been lingering like echoes, suddenly cut off—and it happened to be right near me.
In an instant, red footprints flooded the surrounding area.
There was only one spot where I wouldn't be seen: behind a pillar near the railing.
Ten seconds.
Within that time, I hid behind the pillar faster than a cockroach. Then, I heard a sobbing groan. The Seoul Mage's heavy footsteps were no longer leisurely.
Thump, thump, thump, thump...
I placed my index finger on the trigger.
I heard the sound of a concrete heap swinging with a whoosh, smashing through the displays and mannequins I was poorly hidden behind. Not yet. I have to wait for her to lower her guard.
"Hwaaa... Aaaaagh!"
"My little soldier oppa, I'll give you a kiss. Come here!"
"Agh, hwaaaaagh!!!"
Now.
I readjusted my grip on the gun and lunged forward.
Only then did I realize why Shin Na-in loathed the Seoul Mage so much.
"Mmm~ chuuu~."
"Agrrrr... kergh-hrrrr..."
It wasn't something cute like a kiss.
The Seoul Mage, with her sinister, blood-stained tongue lolling out, was smeared across the face of a soldier whose gas mask had been ripped off. Eyes overlapped, facial contours blurred, and the skull melted as everything was unilaterally plundered.
The soldier's hands flailed, trying to pull her face away, but the touch of one who had lost their mind only clawed at the air.
A magic that steals all memories, experiences, knowledge, wisdom, fresh brain cells, and the central nervous system, leaving only husks.
-An inverted form of Tongue magic, symbolizing reception and change.
It took only a second to comprehend all this.
The moment I pulled the trigger, the overlapping compound eyes looked toward me.
The Seoul Mage smiled and slammed the concrete heap into the floor to use as a shield.
Rat-tat-tat!
Bullets embedded themselves in or ricocheted off the concrete.
I managed to hit her left thigh before the shield blocked me, but that was all.
Without regret or hesitation, I turned and fled.
In that moment, the height of the clearing fog shifted.
Duck.
It was an instinctive judgment.
As I staggered and leaned forward—almost as if I'd tripped—something was thrown behind me.
Since I happened to be in front of a wall, the sound of the impact was clear.
Thud.
The soldier with the crushed, merged head slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood, limbs twisted.
I adjusted my posture and passed by him.
I didn't see his name, but I saw his rank. He was a Private First Class.
That was when a familiar voice rang out.
"Baek Jemin! Get down!"
I threw myself to the ground following the Pastor's shout.
Looking back was a natural habit. Not because of curiosity, but because I judged that simply running without looking would not allow me to shake the pursuit.
Thanks to that, I saw the Seoul Mage charging with the concrete heap as a shield, and a grenade slamming right into that shield with a thud.
A blast erupted the moment I turned my head.
Amidst the returning ringing in my ears, I steadied my shaking legs and ran.
Beyond the fog, I saw the familiar faces of the Supreme Mages.
Lee Se-jun was tossing and catching a grenade like a catcher in baseball, and Shin Na-in was softly singing a hymn. The Pastor had his K2 tucked under his arm, aimed toward me, while his free hand held Hamza by the scruff of the neck.
The Pastor shouted.
"That bastard's coming back!"
Only after joining them in a desperate scramble did I realize how winded I was.
It was a wonder my heart hadn't exploded. My legs were shaking uncontrollably. The problem was that the hand holding the gun was also trembling. It wasn't from fear.
It was the result of a delicate man like me being forced into sudden, violent evasive maneuvers.
"Jemin, this is why people need to exercise. Magic requires stamina too!"
"Haa... haaa..."
Lee Se-jun gripped a grenade like a baseball pitcher and gave a confident smile, but I had no energy to respond.
I raised my hand to catch my breath for a moment, then briefly stated what I'd figured out.
"It's not Eye or Hearing. It's Tongue and Heart. I'm not sure about Hand."
Shin Na-in stopped singing his hymn and glanced over.
"Jemin, did you figure it out?"
"She's vulnerable to detection. Her ambush on the escalator was likely because that was the most probable route, so she kept an eye on it."
I swallowed hard and instinctively touched my gas mask.
The Seoul Mage is a skilled hunter.
I realized it too late. When we communicated in front of Sergeant Bang Gi-seong's body, she made us feel that she was more humanitarian than expected, causing the soldiers to panic and act erratically.
In a darkened department store where sound and vision make pinpointing locations difficult, the stalled escalator was an easy point to identify.
I also deduced her tactics.
Using the environment of the fog and interior, along with the physical abilities provided by Heart Line magic, she rips out absurd obstacles like concrete heaps to use as shields. She blocks conventional bullets with them and then charges to close the gap and force a brawl.
However, it was certain that she didn't use Eye or Hearing magic.
If she had Hearing, she would have caught me while I was crawling; if she had Eye, she would have moved more cautiously. That brings up one question about her fighting style.
Did she fight a mage with Eye or Hearing magic in the past and therefore deliberately uses psychological pressure to overwhelm her opponents?
Either way, she is an opponent who must be fought and killed.
But there wasn't enough time to explain all this in words.
"It's a style of surprise and overwhelming pressure. Everyone, prepare for close-quarters combat."
Fortunately, I have this piece of crap Shin Na-in.
Because he's the type to understand everything without being told.
Behind the lenses of Shin Na-in's gas mask, his slightly narrowed brows and urgent yet disciplined, FM-like movements were proof. Lee Se-jun shrugged at Hamza while clipping the grenade back to his belt.
"Hamza, you know the drill, right? Unlock the safety, put it in your mouth, and bang. Straight to heaven. Okay?"
"O-okay."
"What do you mean 'okay'? Don't you know people who commit suicide can't go to heaven?"
Hamza trembled as he was dragged along, held firmly by the Pastor.
I believed things would be easier now that we were reunited.
However, my eyes—still active with magic—showed me the shifting fog. The fog was clearly cleared at the bottom, but thick from the waist up.
"Get down!!!"
We pushed each other down to the floor.
As I sprawled on the floor and looked up, I saw something fly past. It was the concrete heap that had been smashed by the grenade. The concrete heap flew and struck something, letting out a loud crash.
Only then did I realize we had been separated.
In thick fog, even a small distance can feel like a total separation. At least this time, the Pastor and Hamza were near me. The Pastor, who had thrown himself perfectly between the mannequins, was groaning while rubbing his waist.
"Ow, ow. I'm dying, I'm dying."
"Pastor, Hamza..."
Before I could finish, footsteps reached me.
Fast.
The footsteps of the Seoul Mage, who had just thrown heavy concrete, were light and ferocious.
She knew how to glide over the broken ruins like flowing water. She was sprinting in sync with the sound of tumbling rubble and the cracking of tiles.
Sounds overlap.
My actions—clutching the gun and rolling over—overlapped with them.
As I writhed on the floor, my eyes met those of the Seoul Mage charging through the fog.
Having devoured a person's head whole, her face looked innocent, her eyes shining with a brilliance that showed no sign of fatigue. But the most important thing was that she was fast—damn, terrifyingly fast.
She was faster than I could shoulder the gun or tuck it under my arm.
Before I could even blink, she bounded along, leaving footprints on the walls, sliding and sprinting toward me.
There was no time to hesitate.
I pulled the trigger without hoping for a proper aim or even a point-blank shot.
I pulled it incessantly.
Even knowing the gun was shaking and the muzzle was swinging wildly, I just kept firing.
Shells flew out, and bullets embedded themselves in the walls or ricocheted.
But even while blood streamed from her left thigh, the Seoul Mage only stumbled slightly, approaching me with a manic laugh.
The screams of the Pastor and Hamza reached me too late, but the result was hopeless.
Click, click, click, click...
The acrid gun smoke mingled with the fog, and the empty chamber fell silent.
I was out of ammo.
That was when the Seoul Mage burst into laughter and lunged forward.
In front of her, the Pastor, who had fallen onto his backside, scrambled backward and shouted.
"Faith!"
In that moment, as the Pastor crawled, his hand collided with a mannequin.
Seeing the mannequin fall, Hamza screamed and bolted forward.
"Aaaaagh! Angel!"
Because Hamza crashed into everything in his path, the discarded mannequins all tumbled and became entangled.
And one of the fallen mannequins happened to hit the Pastor, who had just raised his knee, and went flying.
The mannequin flew and, by pure coincidence, toppled over a display shelf. The shelf, having lost all its merchandise, caught the mannequin's upper body.
That spot happened to be exactly in the linear path the Seoul Mage was charging along.
Of course, the Seoul Mage didn't care; she tried to step on the mannequin to leap forward.
That was when the mannequin, unable to withstand the weight and pressure, crumbled as if it had rotted.
Just as the Seoul Mage tried to make a graceful leap by stepping on it, the mannequin collapsed beneath her as if the ground had given way.
"Huh?"
I could see the Seoul Mage wearing a bewildered expression.
I probably had a stupid look on my face too.
Only one person.
Pastor Park Yo-han burst into laughter inside his gas mask and tucked his K2 under his arm.
"Those who believe are saved!"
The Pastor's marksmanship wasn't great.
But he succeeded in hitting the Seoul Mage's shoulder.
That was when I snapped out of my stupor. This was the chance. I quickly adjusted my posture and ejected the spent magazine.
As I reloaded, I shouted.
"Supreme Mages, Assemble!"
Click.
Eye Stage 2 is powerful, but it can't stop someone if they're out of sight. If the Seoul Mage lunged during a blink, I'd be dead, so I had to use it at the critical moment.
Therefore, I use Eye Stage 1.
With a clicking sound, I rolled my tongue in my mouth.
My trust in the Eye magic, which had kept me alive through hails of bullets and the Seoul Mage's pursuit, had now reached 100%.
More than anything, the image of me—someone who knew how to use the correct form of Tongue magic—facing an inverted form of it felt quite cool.
Evasion, hostile attack, department store mage, 5 minutes, me.
"I'll be the tank."
Those who seek goals by sacrificing others are third-rate.
The pain of others is trivial compared to my own.
How can one challenge the peak with such petty offerings?
In an era where people are discarded if they aren't the best, the mindset of trying to satisfy others—or even magic—by treating oneself as trivial is foolish.
Only my pain is valuable.
Therefore, I offer only my pain.
-That is who I am, Archmage Baek Jemin!
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
I lunged forward, pulling the trigger haphazardly.
I didn't aim.
My only goal was to fire roughly and make the Seoul Mage flinch.
Having been hit in the left shoulder, the Seoul Mage immediately jumped back to create distance.
But before she could flee, I took a step forward.
Still, I couldn't bridge the gap in physical ability.
The Seoul Mage, knowing this, looked at me with curving eyes.
"I'll be back soon, Oppa~."
And just as she was about to run, a heavy baseball-like object flew through the fog.
A grenade with the pin pulled narrowly grazed the Seoul Mage.
Sensing the explosion, I immediately dropped to my knees to lower my profile.
Fortunately, the Seoul Mage was in front of me, acting as a meat shield.
A blast erupted.
The sound of shrapnel splitting and tearing through flesh echoed, overcoming even the ringing in my ears.
But she didn't die.
Amidst groans and screams, I saw the opponent try to flee.
At that moment, Shin Na-in stepped out of the fog, appearing from a distance with his rifle shouldered and aimed.
"Almighty Lord God, lead my muzzle to the devil!"
Gunshots and bullets rained down.
Most missed, but a few hit the Seoul Mage's thighs and legs.
I didn't know how strong her regeneration was, but she wouldn't be able to avoid it for now. Still, since she could still flee, I lunged forward, getting within close range of the Seoul Mage.
As she was crushed and shattered by bullets and shrapnel, I could see the strange symbiosis of the Seoul Mage.
This reminded me of the time I had a discussion with the Pastor back when Monk Cheong-hwi was still with us.
Monk Cheong-hwi and Pastor Park Yo-han had said that Alteration-type Magic was a secret system for perfecting humanity.
If so, was the Alteration-type Magic before my eyes... was the inverted Alteration-type Magic making her stronger by denying humanity?
Amidst the mix of her damaged parts and human-looking parts, I could see ribs writhing inside like worms. The Seoul Mage looked at me with eyes mixed with rage and hatred, then suddenly curved her eyes playfully.
And through her tattered lower jaw, she stuck out her tongue.
Blood filled the gaps between her internal organs and muscles, but strangely, her pronunciation remained clear and distinct.
"Oppa, your magic skills are lacking, but you're strong~?"
That was the signal.
Just as her ribs seemed to wriggle, her back skin burst open, and a white spinal column began to undulate. I caught a glimpse of how she survived after having her spine pulled out, and it was a sight to behold. The Seoul Mage was using magic-enhanced muscles to maintain her body instead of a skeletal frame.
In an instant, red footprints surrounded me.
Within the swirling and clearing fog.
With the gun tucked under my arm, I began to repeat the motion of bending down and stepping backward.
Swoosh!
The spinal tail grazed the sleeve of my poncho like a wasp's stinger. A single graze, and it was sharply torn.
Simultaneously, I leveled my muzzle and placed my finger on the trigger.
In response, the Seoul Mage crossed her arms, trying to protect her heart and head.
But she must have realized immediately.
A feint.
The trigger was not pulled.
Instead, there was the great Archmage Baek Jemin, gripping the gun and slamming the buttstock down toward her leg.
Thud!
My role was strictly to neutralize her mobility.
That's what I decided.
As I stepped back, I aimed the muzzle again. This time, the Seoul Mage didn't panic and swung her spinal tail.
However, my eyes told me where to avoid.
I ducked, kept my grip, and placed my finger on the trigger.
Whoosh—!
I answered the terrifying sound of wind with the sound of gunshots.
Rat-tat-tat!
It was madness.
Human Baek Jemin relied on his eyes, using his power to see the future while clutching an AR-15 under his arm, facing a mage of a higher realm who existed in symbiosis with a monster.
He did this even knowing his poncho was torn and death was closing in.
Feints and movements overlapped; the will to escape clashed with the will to capture.
As shells flew and flames erupted from the muzzle, blood and flesh invariably splattered.
Thanks to this, the Supreme Mages were able to pinpoint their positions.
While I faced a being that swung a spine like a whip, cleaved the air with its fists, and shattered the floor with a single kick, the repositioning was completed.
The first to join was Pastor Park Yo-han, who adjusted his stance and aimed his muzzle.
"Best of the Best, take this!"
A wall of fire was formed.
I stepped back for a moment to catch my breath.
Evasion, physical strike, critical hit, 5 minutes, me.
Now, I would close the distance and bind the enemy while dodging the trajectories of my allies' bullets. It was madness, but it was possible because it was magic. Dopamine was surging wildly through me.
In the meantime, the Seoul Mage tried to flee the crossfire, but another person had already taken a position by the side display.
Shin Na-in, with disciplined and unwavering precision, had finished reloading his magazine and was aiming through his sights.
He didn't say a word.
With a more refined marksmanship, he began to shoot the Seoul Mage one bullet at a time, with meticulous care.
She couldn't escape.
Hit by bullet after bullet, the Seoul Mage stumbled, losing any chance to flee.
Then, the Seoul Mage turned toward us with a bizarre smile.
With her mangled jaw, she stuck out her tongue and let drool mixed with blood drip down; I knew exactly what she was thinking.
She was targeting my magic.
My eyes.
That was when I heard Lee Se-jun's voice.
"Jemin, give me a boost!"
Before I could answer, the full weight of a man crashed onto my shoulder.
That bastard Lee Se-jun had used my shoulder as a stepping stone.
Using that momentum, Lee Se-jun leaped instantaneously over the Seoul Mage's head.
With his muzzle aimed.
But the tail of the Predatory Spine in symbiosis with the Seoul Mage was one step faster.
The spinal tail, which had been targeting me, shifted to Lee Se-jun.
Lee Se-jun instantly readjusted his grip and held his gun up like a shield, but he couldn't avoid being knocked back by the impact of the tail.
However, it was an opportunity.
The moment the Predatory Spine's tail was distracted by Lee Se-jun, I pulled the trigger without hesitation and lunged again.
Rat-tat-tat!
The flank. The chest.
Bullets tore into the exposed internal organs, and blood erupted. This was inevitable now that the Seoul Mage's erratic movements and the Predatory Spine—which had been blocking my aim—were gone.
All her actions to reduce the hit area by offering up arms or skin instead of vital spots became meaningless in this very moment.
The Seoul Mage's eyes wavered, unable to handle the sudden pain and damage.
Her body staggered before her intention to flee could even manifest.
I gambled my life to ensure she wouldn't be able to dodge by reading the direction of the muzzle.
With a combat knife in my left hand and my finger on the trigger of the gun tucked under my arm, I charged forward powerfully.
Target, kill, department store mage, 3 minutes, me.
I sprayed bullets while swinging the combat knife.
I saw the trajectory of the blade cutting through the opponent's tendons. I couldn't inflict full damage because my body couldn't keep up, but it was enough.
Whenever blood flowed from a slash, the Seoul Mage's movements lagged.
I was certain.
The Seoul Mage had never faced a mage who lunged at her, swinging a knife while firing a gun.
Yet, even as her flesh and organs were torn apart by bullets, she swung her tail to kill me.
When I slashed the Seoul Mage's hand, one of my gas mask straps was snipped clean.
When I poured bullets into the Seoul Mage's gut, the sheer wind pressure from her slap forced me backward.
Despite the interference from the Pastor and Shin Na-in, the Seoul Mage managed to survive by shaking her head and writhing her body.
Eventually, my remaining ammo ran out.
Click-click-click...
Beyond the acrid smoke, the Seoul Mage listened to the clicking sound as if it were a happy birthday song.
"It's my birthday today. Thanks for the gift~."
Tadak!
Regardless of her injuries, the Seoul Mage lunged at me, targeting my knowledge, wisdom, experience, senses, and magic.
The offensive was reversed.
I didn't even think to block by swinging the buttstock.
I focused entirely on evasion.
My poncho quickly became tattered, and the attacks targeting my body became more precise. Chillingly, no attacks ever reached above my neck.
The Seoul Mage's tongue flickered.
I endured it with a single thought: that the first kiss of the man Baek Jemin, coming after 28 years, could not possibly be something like this.
At that moment, I heard Hamza's voice.
"Se-jun!"
That bastard Hamza; I thought he'd bolted, but he hadn't.
Sprinting out from behind the Seoul Mage, Hamza pulled out a massive revolver from his waist and threw it. Rather than throwing it, he rolled it like a bowling ball—sliding was a more accurate description.
But that massive revolver was soon caught by another man.
Click.
At the chilling sound of the hammer cocking, bewilderment flickered on the Seoul Mage's face.
"Perfect First Shot!"
Along with Lee Se-jun's loud shout, a heavy gunshot rang out.
Boom!
By the time the sound reached us, the action hadn't quite finished.
The tail of the symbiotic Predatory Spine was flying away, severed as the price for deflecting the bullet.
In that instant, I swung my combat knife.
I sliced through the area connecting the jaw and cheek, feeling the blade lightly scrape the teeth.
Slash!
Blood and flesh splattered.
The long tongue was sliced away in a clump along with the blood.
My left hand was drenched in the Seoul Mage's blood.
But I didn't stop.
The area connecting the uvula and the head. The gap where bone and muscle parted.
I swung the combat knife with all my might, as if striking downward.
At that moment, resentment appeared in the Seoul Mage's eyes.
I didn't want to know what that resentment was directed toward.
I only needed to know one thing.
The ones who survive are us, the Supreme Mages!
Shink!
The Seoul Mage clutched her severed neck and staggered backward before falling onto her backside.
Still, she didn't die.
I didn't know if this was because she had reached a high level of the Heart Line, or if it was a characteristic of Inverse Alteration-type Magic.
What was certain, however, was that the Seoul Mage could no longer avoid death.
Lee Se-jun's massive revolver aimed for the glabella of the fallen Seoul Mage.
Click.
"Sure-Hit Sure-Kill."
Boom!
Her head exploded.
Only then did Shin Na-in approach slowly, kicking a discarded shell casing with his foot.
"She's dead."
"Huu, huu..."
Only then did I realize I was panting heavily.
I was so exhausted, so overwhelmed...
And it was so exhilarating that I couldn't resist pulling up and removing my gas mask.
The damp fog touched my sweat-soaked face.
I looked back at the Supreme Mages and let out a laugh.
"We're stronger than I thought, aren't we?"
End