Chapter 55

Misconceptions About Armed Civilians

Seoul had ceased to be a city for humans.

It was an extreme environment.

We had to advance while constantly scanning our surroundings, never knowing when a monster might leap out from the drifting fog. There wasn't a single moment when we could stop being vigilant.

Like our ancestors in prehistoric times, we survived by watching every direction.

Until now, we'd casually called Seoul a demon realm or a hellscape.

Even those descriptions were inadequate.

This wasn't merely hell.

It was a different ecosystem.

A different world.

An alien realm.

Instead of barking dogs, there were amalgams that groaned with human voices.

Instead of spiders, Predatory Spines lurked in ambush.

Instead of birds, Skin-Jellyfish floated through the air.

Creatures born from humanity occupied their own ecological niches and lived accordingly.

Some people might have looked at these monsters and sensed deliberate malice directed toward humanity.

They might have thought the monsters existed solely to mock the sanctity of the human body through cruelty and depravity.

Given that blindly trusting anything in front of these creatures led directly to ruin, such assumptions were understandable.

In truth, neither the Pastor nor Shin Nain said it aloud, but ever since we'd encountered the Tadpole Bellies and the Lung Trees, they'd grown noticeably quieter.

They must have felt a deep sense of righteous anger.

These monsters seemed incomprehensible, yet at the same time displayed intentions humans could easily grasp.

It wasn't the same kind of fear inspired by truly unknowable horrors.

It felt targeted.

Calculated.

And that was why I felt something closer to emptiness.

The ecology of these creatures had already gone beyond mere hatred or contempt for humanity.

***

By then, we'd reached what had once served as a parking lot for Olympic Park.

The area was packed with abandoned vehicles.

Doors had been torn off.

Windows were covered in cracks.

Brown stains of dried blood still lingered everywhere, silently hinting at what had happened here.

My gaze fell upon a small shoe lying beneath a dangling rear passenger door.

It couldn't have been larger than 200 millimeters.

Its pair was nowhere to be found.

Mold covered its surface.

Looking at that shoe reminded me of the Tadpole Belly monsters.

A bitter feeling rose within me.

Then Hamza tapped his gas mask filter twice.

A signal.

"Danger. Everyone hide."

The moment he spoke, Hamza slipped into the backseat of a car whose doors had already been ripped away.

Everyone reacted instantly.

Lee Sejun followed him into the rear seats.

The Pastor dropped beside the driver's side, pressing his back against the frame and making himself as small as possible.

Shin Nain crouched behind a large van.

Without thinking, I followed her and flattened myself beside it.

The rustling of ponchos ceased.

An unnatural silence settled over the parking lot.

"Jellyfish."

Shin Nain gripped her headset tightly and threw herself prone.

She even removed her backpack and leaned it against the vehicle before crawling forward on her stomach.

As someone who proudly considered himself an elegant cockroach, I immediately copied her.

I removed my backpack and crawled beneath the van.

Then I cautiously poked my head out and looked upward.

If things went wrong, I'd use Eye Magic or Tongue Magic.

But the moment I saw the sky, I realized how foolish that thought was.

Beyond the thin fog covering Olympic Park, countless shadows drifted overhead.

The sound of thick hide flapping in the wind struck my ears.

Not one or two.

Not dozens.

Far more.

The numbers exceeded anything I'd imagined.

The creatures were so numerous that their shadows darkened the fog itself.

Hundreds.

At minimum.

Perhaps more.

A vast swarm of Skin-Jellyfish floated within the cloud layer, completely filling the skies above Olympic Park.

I immediately shoved my entire body back beneath the van.

My eyes met Shin Nain's.

I mouthed the words silently.

There's a shitload of them.

Of course, our super-detector already knew.

She raised a finger before her gas mask.

Shh.

Human voices disappeared.

Even breathing became silent.

To avoid the telltale sound of our respirators, we deliberately slowed our breaths as much as possible.

Soon the only noises left were the alternating flaps of leathery wings and strange wet breaths bubbling through phlegm-like throats.

Had they noticed the gunshots from earlier?

Or had the sudden increase in fog density drawn them here?

We still didn't know whether monsters acted purely on instinct or obeyed some unseen commander.

They displayed intelligence as predators and hunters.

Yet they also seemed like components of a giant ecosystem.

It was impossible to tell.

So I hugged my rifle tighter.

If fighting became unavoidable, I'd use Tongue Magic to create as much chaos as possible.

As I brushed my finger against the trigger—

Bzzzzzz—

A hornet.

For a moment, I thought we'd discovered another mutated monster.

Then I heard the transmission.

[... Drone Command... survivor support... ]

None of us wore the fluorescent identification bands used by civilian auxiliaries.

Yet the unmistakable buzzing of military drones reached both me and Shin Nain beneath the vehicle.

So this was what military survivor support looked like now?

We exchanged glances and waited.

Then the buzzing multiplied.

And moments later—

Gunfire erupted.

RATATATATATAT!

The sound of countless shell casings raining onto wet earth echoed across the park.

At the same time, Skin-Jellyfish began falling from the sky.

One after another.

Even from beneath the vehicle, I could see them.

They plummeted like torn balloons.

Only then did I realize something.

How much ammunition could a drone possibly carry?

I immediately crawled out from under the vehicle and shouted,

"Move! While the drones are drawing aggro!"

This wasn't the time to worry about scraped knees.

Watching the unprecedented spectacle of Drone vs. Skin-Jellyfish would've been entertaining.

But those gunshots would attract every monster in Olympic Park.

The others realized it too.

Everyone burst from cover.

"Haaah!"

"Hamza, if you're struggling, say something! I'll drag you!"

Both Lee Sejun and Hamza sprang up like loaded springs.

The Pastor rose as well.

Then he pulled a Bible from his backpack and ran his hand across the cover.

Despite the urgency, I recognized it as part of the ritual for his doctrinal magic, Soteriological Assurance.

To steady his heart, he spoke briefly.

"As long as I believe in salvation, I shall be saved."

He returned the Bible to his pack and gripped his rifle.

"Let's move, Aphorisms."

I hauled Shin Nain to her feet and nodded.

Everyone grabbed their backpacks and followed the others.

When we charged boldly into danger, we were Supreme Mages.

When we ran away without anyone noticing, we were Aphorisms.

At that moment—

We were Aphorisms.

***

As I ran, I lifted my gaze skyward.

What I saw was something I would never forget.

There were roughly eight drones.

Eight tiny machines courageously firing into a swarm of hundreds of Skin-Jellyfish.

But physics had limits.

After only a few dozen rounds, faint smoke began rising from their barrels.

Their ammunition was exhausted.

The Skin-Jellyfish immediately surged toward them.

Gone was their usual slow drifting.

Now they moved like nets cast over birds.

Fast.

Terrifyingly fast.

Crunch!

One drone vanished inside a Skin-Jellyfish.

The sound of spinning propellers chewing through flesh echoed loudly.

DRRRRRRRRRT—

But once swallowed, the outcome was inevitable.

The drone and the monster became a single mass.

Together they tumbled from the sky and disappeared into the fog.

I turned away.

There was nothing left to see.

Now all that mattered was escape.

****

Our boots hammered against cracked asphalt.

The city, dormant until now, had awakened.

Only then did I realize how silent Seoul had truly been.

Tap.

As my boot struck the pavement, faint voices drifted from afar.

"Mom..."

"There is no such monster..."

"No..."

"Stay away..."

Broken voices.

Different tones.

Different accents.

Different emotions.

All stitched together into a single impossible chorus.

One thing was certain.

Every voice was running toward the gunfire.

We ignored them.

We ignored the countless Tadpole Bellies and Lung Tree groves that still infested Olympic Park.

And we ran.

Tap.

Crossing a drainage grate, I felt a strange vibration beneath my feet.

Whenever the hallucinated voices faded, another sound inevitably followed.

Grrrkkk...

The fate of mages wandered the sewers below.

A choir missing the tops of their heads.

Faces reduced to tongues and lower jaws.

Breathing songs through ruined throats.

As we passed what had once been a museum and plunged back into the dense fog, the meaningless chorus suddenly resolved into human language.

Grrrkkk...

The entire sewer system vibrated beneath us.

It was no longer a sound entering through the ears.

It was a song transmitted through the body itself.

A desperate warning.

A prophecy spoken by the devoured for the sake of those still struggling.

[Eternity. We stand before eternity.]

Rumble.

Behind us, countless shadows emerged.

A Skin-Jellyfish swarm.

No longer hundreds.

Thousands.

The entire cloud layer became black with them.

They watched our retreating backs.

Their slow drifting had always been a deception.

In thin fog they struck like hawks.

Like eagles.

Like predators descending upon prey.

Only after throwing ourselves into the dense fog—visibility less than ten meters—did we finally escape their gaze.

But the prophecy followed us to the very end.

[Our end is not an ending.]

[It is the beginning of an endless eternity.]

In dense fog, you couldn't even see the people traveling beside you.

I activated Eyes Stage 1—the ten-second future sight—and looked at the red footprints hidden within the mist.

For a moment, I thought my eyes had finally gone insane.

Everything was red.

Red footprints filled every direction—front, back, left, right, above, and below—as if blood were flowing through the world itself.

I didn't hesitate for long.

I slung my rifle over my shoulder, drew my combat knife with my left hand, and pressed it against my right palm.

The blade cut through my skin.

It stung.

But now wasn't the time to care about that.

I rolled my tongue inside my mouth.

Evade. Fatal wound. Five minutes. Route. Me.

Tongue Stage 1.

Language Degradation.

One hundred percent efficiency when casting magic for humans.

Using that, I activated Eyes Stage 1.

Since there was a risk of friendly fire, I couldn't use my rifle.

Instead, I wrapped my right hand around the knife.

The blade dug into my palm.

The pain was icy enough to reach my bones before transforming into a burning heat.

Yet when I saw the red footprints stretching out before me...

When I saw the fog violently parting...

I couldn't afford to focus on pain.

Those unable to endure suffering died and became monsters.

Only those who found ecstasy within pain survived.

I drew the knife from my hand as though my palm were a sheath.

The blade, drenched in my blood, looked ominous even to me.

It looked even worse to monsters.

I lowered my stance and charged along the safe paths where the fog had cleared.

Then I swung.

The attack was crude.

But against a monster charging mindlessly forward, it was lethal.

Within ten meters, an Amalgam emerged.

Five faces.

One body.

Compound eyes layered atop one another.

A single elongated mouth stretched into a grotesque smile.

It had hidden behind a tree, deliberately twisting its features into unnatural shapes.

Then it met my eyes.

And saw the blood on my blade.

Its expression twisted instantly.

Though bound by physical laws and unable to overcome its own momentum, it desperately tried to alter its course.

Meaningless.

The moment the blade touched the Amalgam, I felt something strange.

It was like cutting acorn jelly.

Or soft blood sausage.

Like slicing through warm, freshly made jelly with chopsticks.

Softer than expected.

More substantial than expected.

I could feel the texture through the blade.

Amalgams died when their bodily fluids escaped.

The military's official doctrine revolved around making that happen.

Guns simply made the process easier.

But now—

I was carving those fluids out directly.

It resembled blood coagulating when mixed together.

Yet it wasn't the same.

Hand Magic Stage 1.

The instant the blood from my right hand touched the monster's flesh—

Its skin and bodily fluids solidified into gelatin.

And the blade sliced through them effortlessly.

At that moment I finally understood Hand Branch Stage 1.

Direct Alteration Hand Stage 1 — [Blood of the Right Hand].

This magic forced human common sense upon monsters.

Creatures that ignored humanity's rules were dragged into humanity's framework and made to die in forms humans understood.

The true meaning hidden within God's order, sovereignty, and the symbolism of the right side was humanity's ancient belief in what was proper.

The Blood of the Right Hand manifested that belief physically.

That was why it used the right hand—the hand traditionally regarded as correct.

The right hand became a hand that killed monsters.

A hand representing humanity's desired order.

A hand that rejected absurdity.

Slice.

Layers of compound eyes flew into the air.

My blood seeped into the severed cross-section and spread through the creature's body.

The Amalgam seemed to understand what had happened.

Every face stared at me.

Some looked angry.

Some looked shocked.

Their fused mouth opened wide and unleashed screams and groans.

But behind all those emotions was something even I could recognize despite not being an Ear Mage.

Fear.

Monsters that feared neither bullets nor guns were terrified of a blood-covered blade.

One cut was enough.

I left the dying Amalgam behind and sprinted deeper into the fog.

Fortunately, Shin Nain hadn't lost track of me.

The constant gunfire and falling shell casings behind me proved it.

That fanatic bastard.

His luck was ridiculous.

After all, he was glued directly behind the Great Mage Baek Jemin.

I inhaled deeply through my gas mask.

Then, to halt the monsters still rushing us, I raised my bleeding right hand like a talisman.

Now that I knew the blood was lethal to them, there was no reason to hesitate.

"Stop!"

The fog cleared further.

I heard charging monsters stumble over one another.

Then a rifle settled atop my right shoulder.

It was Shin Nain.

That lunatic intended to use my shoulder as a tripod.

I was about to turn around and ask if he was trying to deafen me when he spoke.

"Mr. Jemin. I'll support the others."

God damn it.

I lowered my stance and became the tripod he wanted.

Every gunshot felt like my eardrums were tearing apart.

It was as though my ability to hear had been deleted.

I could feel hot shell casings rolling down my dew-soaked poncho.

Meanwhile, I continued advancing.

My bleeding right hand acted as a shield.

The monsters hesitated before it.

Using my shoulder as a firing platform, Shin Nain carefully squeezed off shot after shot.

My ears rang so badly that the gunfire sounded muffled.

I had no idea whether he was hitting anything.

My eyes were too busy maintaining Stage 1 at maximum power and searching for safe paths.

Eventually Shin Nain lowered his rifle, tapped my side, and shouted.

"Reloading!"

Dangerous areas were where the fog flowed.

Safe areas were where the fog retreated.

Once I'd learned that, dealing with monsters became simpler.

Swing the blood-covered blade where fog gathered.

If the blade couldn't reach, extend the right hand.

One swing didn't instantly kill every monster.

The Amalgams were intelligent.

The moment they saw me swing, they immediately retreated.

I could tell by the shadows moving beyond the fog.

Whenever they attempted to surround us, I raised my right hand and forced one side of the encirclement to hesitate.

After changing magazines, Shin Nain quickly realized my movements revealed monster locations.

Whenever I swung or raised my hand, he fired there.

Aiming for the chest.

Prioritizing incapacitation rather than immediate kills.

All while continuing to use my shoulder as a tripod.

It pissed me off.

But survival came first.

So I let it slide.

Together, Shin Nain and I pushed through the fog again and again.

Eventually, a familiar cross appeared through the mist.

Only then did other gunshots join the battle.

"Baek Jemin! Shin Nain! Over here!"

"Holy shit! There are so many!"

The Pastor and Lee Sejun.

They were firing suppressive shots based entirely on educated guesses about the monsters pursuing us.

By then a scab had already formed over my right hand.

Shin Nain and I immediately sprinted behind them.

Hamza tossed loaded magazines from his backpack.

"Reload!"

Apparently Hamza was good at baseball too.

Only then did I sheath my blade and return to my rifle.

My injured hand throbbed.

Didn't matter.

This was life or death.

I removed my magazine and estimated the remaining ammunition.

Still full.

Thirty rounds.

No need to replace it.

I tossed the spare magazine to Shin Nain.

He caught it smoothly and completed a reload with practiced efficiency.

I reinserted my own magazine.

Click.

I rolled my tongue inside my mouth again.

Target. Kill. Monster. Five minutes. Route. Me.

Fog surged where none existed before.

Red footprints spread through previously dense fog.

And then all of us Supreme Mages opened fire together.

Against Amalgams emerging from thick fog, shooting their legs was more effective than aiming for their heads.

Tripping them created obstacles.

The fallen became living barricades.

Then we shot the heads of anything trying to climb over.

Others stumbled on broken pavement and cracked tiles.

That was the effect of Soteriological Assurance.

Whenever a fallen monster attempted to stand again, whoever had the most breathing room would calmly aim and make it spill its fluids.

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

Shell casings cascaded down the church steps.

I lost count of how many magazines we changed.

Eventually the monsters came so close I nearly had to draw my blade again.

But we survived.

The last remaining Amalgam looked up at me before dying.

Among its tangled faces was half of a young woman's face.

A freshman in college, judging by her appearance.

Tears streamed down her cheek.

The fused mouth struggled to move.

"I... I can still cry..."

"I... I..."

"I'm still alive..."

I glanced at Shin Nain.

He shook his head.

Whether it was a real human personality or not no longer mattered to him.

I raised my rifle.

The mixed faces all smiled.

Only the half-faced girl continued crying.

This time I didn't hesitate.

Bang. Bang-bang.

The final gunshot echoed.

And it was over.

***

We looked at each other outside the church entrance.

Hundreds of spent casings littered the ground.

"Jemin, finish it quickly."

"Yes."

Heavy breathing filled the air.

The Pastor knocked on the church doors.

"We'll rest here for a bit. Muslim, no monsters inside?"

"Two Predatory Spines."

No further discussion was necessary.

Eyes Stage 1 was still active.

I'd been careful not to set too short a duration during the chaos.

The two Predatory Spines clinging to the church's cross each received a single bullet and burst apart.

At last, we sat on the church pews and removed our gas masks.

Every face was drenched in sweat.

***

That was when the dark-blue Sorcery Phone vibrated.

Bzzzz.

Before my rifle barrel had even cooled, I pulled the device from my pocket and checked the message.

[Five military survivors who provoked Olympic Park are moving north.]

"Military?"

There were other survivors besides us?

The other Supreme Mages seemed to think the same.

"The special forces team that went ahead?"

"People who made it through Olympic Park besides us? Five of them?"

"That's scary. They might be dangerous."

The Pastor, Lee Sejun, and Hamza each offered opinions.

Then Shin Nain wiped sweat from his face and quietly spoke.

"I think they're talking about us."

"...Huh?"

We all looked at each other.

Then tilted our heads in confusion.

There were civilians wearing ponchos, gas masks, combat gear, and carrying rifles.

But there wasn't a single soldier among us.

Shin Nain sighed tiredly.

"If they're mistaking us for soldiers, and if the blood pools of Seoul's demons hate the military..."

"...Then this message..."

I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

"...is basically announcing the start of a pursuit."

"Exactly, Mr. Jemin."

"Well, that's easy enough to understand."

Finding friendly survivors among the locals had always been difficult.

This simplified things.

A line from a cultivation novel I'd once read suddenly came to mind.

The virtuous do not come uninvited.
Those who come uninvited are not virtuous.

Therefore, if someone came looking for us when we didn't want them to—

We could simply kill them.

I glanced toward the crucifix hanging inside the church.

For some reason, Jesus looked especially pitiful today.

As someone baptized during military service, I decided to offer a brief prayer.

Lord. Looks like a few more are coming your way.