Chapter 72

Operation Blue Pill

Goryeoha was unusually bright and optimistic for someone living in times like these.

She was probably warm-hearted and personable by nature.

Even as we descended into the pitch-black underground where no lights reached, Goryeoha never stopped looking out for us.

Glancing back at us every so often, apparently worried that someone might miss a step, she pulled a flashlight from her padded jacket pocket, shined it downward, and spoke cheerfully.

"It's pretty dark, right? We can only run the generators for limited periods, and we have to conserve batteries too, so this is how things ended up."

"Oh, don't worry about it. A young lady like you is already working so hard."

Pastor Park Yohan couldn't stop praising her.

A young woman who was kind-hearted and diligent in everything she did was apparently exactly his type of person.

Even Lee Sejun and Hamza, who had begun sensing something wrong, kept their mouths shut and continued down the stairs.

Yet Pastor Park smiled so warmly that it was visible even through his gas mask lenses, responding enthusiastically to everything Goryeoha said.

Meanwhile, Shin Nain and I watched him with exasperation while exchanging telepathy.

'Mr. Jemin, have you identified her magic yet?'

Whatever she's got on my neck is still there.

Judging by her physical abilities, she definitely has Heart-type magic.

But she also reacted when we detected monsters, so she has some sort of detection ability too.

She's displayed too many different abilities. It's hard to pin down.

Which means trying to ambush and kill her is unrealistic.

My eyes aren't in normal condition right now. Using Eye Tier 2 to freeze her would be too risky.

After I laid out that perfectly rational assessment, Shin Nain's response was absurd.

'Why not just freeze her with your right eye like you usually do?'

If I go blind because I can't handle the side effects, are you taking responsibility, you bastard?

Ask Hamza whether we're in danger.

Tell him to figure out what's safe first.

While Shin Nain and I bickered mentally, Pastor Park continued trying to convert Goryeoha.

"Young lady, come visit just once. Really. You've got faith in your heart, don't you? It's not some strange place. I'm a pastor, after all. A proper one."

"Ahaha! Okay, okay. If my spiritual powers get stronger, I'll stop by."

"Huh? Spiritual powers?"

At the pastor's question, the other Supreme Mages perked up as well.

Something important was being discussed.

Meanwhile, Goryeoha, who was leading the way down the stairs while illuminating the path, answered casually.

"My aunt was a shaman. She used to say our family has a bit of spiritual sensitivity. She told me that if it looked like I'd end up receiving a spirit possession ritual, I should just find a proper church and become very devout instead."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Don't wait until later. You can start right now!"

The pastor looked delighted, even clapping his hands.

The sounds of combat boots striking the stairs echoed through the darkness.

Then Shin Nain's telepathy reached me.

Apparently he'd been whispering with Hamza while the pastor's booming voice covered the noise.

I swallowed nervously.

This was the moment for Hamza's doctrinal spell, [Angel's Intuition].

'The heretical unbeliever is safe. We should follow her.'

This fake Muslim bastard.

I knew he was hopeless from the moment he claimed to believe in Allah while washing down pork belly with soju and stuffing himself with Spam.

Your magic's finally stopped working, huh?

Just as I was silently cursing him, Shin Nain added:

'Running away would be even more dangerous.'

That shut me up.

By the time we reached the bottom of the stairs, Goryeoha swept her flashlight to the side.

The beam revealed a shabby generator.

Its panels were unfinished, exposing pipes and wiring.

Pointing at it proudly, Goryeoha grinned.

"Ta-da! Do you know how hard it was moving this thing? I even drained fuel from cars and stored it in those containers over there."

"Don't you have to siphon gasoline through a hose? You did all that yourself?"

"Hehe. Of course!"

"Oh dear. Other people should've helped."

"Pastor, it's hard for everyone to go outside. Some things can't be helped."

"How can someone be this kind? Jesus really picked you out personally."

While the pastor marveled, the rest of us desperately wanted to back away.

The atmosphere felt wrong.

Me.

Shin Nain.

Lee Sejun.

Hamza.

The four of us had gradually clustered together and were whispering.

Ironically, the pastor's nonstop chatter with Goryeoha had created an opening for us to talk.

The first person to speak with a grave expression was Lee Sejun.

"Are we completely screwed?"

"What?"

"Mr. Jemin. This doesn't feel like a place where people are living."

"Sss..."

He was right.

Everything we were seeing was a clue.

Even Goryeoha's embarrassed smile as she brushed dust off the generator while the pastor praised her felt wrong.

Sure, dust accumulated underground.

But any functioning group would run the generator at least once a day.

Yet we'd openly walked all the way down here, and nobody had reacted.

The generator wasn't even running.

That was an extremely bad sign.

An even bigger problem was Lee Sejun's terrible timing.

Suppressing the urge to snap at him, I glanced at Hamza and Sejun before whispering quickly.

"Mmph mmph..."

"Mr. Jemin, but—"

"Mmph mmph."

Looks like I was right.

The moment Lee Sejun tried to argue, Hamza's face turned pale and he started waving his hands frantically.

One hundred percent confirmation.

Memories of the military briefing before entering Seoul resurfaced.

The report that had led us to seek contact with Goryeoha because her group was supposedly the friendliest in Seoul.

What had they said again?

Something about all the mages in Seoul being insane.

I quietly lifted part of my poncho and decided to switch on the L-shaped light clipped to my chest.

Using the tactical light mounted on my AR-15 would've looked too hostile.

I even adjusted my mindset.

I wasn't hostile toward Goryeoha.

I didn't want to kill her.

My rifle remained slung.

My bayonet remained sheathed.

I simply wanted to look around.

With that thought, I placed a hand over the light.

Click.

"What are you doing?"

Goryeoha was suddenly looking straight at me.

For a second I wondered if she'd caught me staring at her again.

But no.

"Miss, when did you get over there? Want me to start the generator for you?"

"Ah! It's okay, Pastor! I'll do it!"

Before I could react, Goryeoha had moved in front of me.

Her innocent eyes blinked as she lowered the flashlight in her hand.

But in doing so, she perfectly blocked the beam from my chest light.

Preventing me from seeing deeper inside.

A cold chill crawled up my spine.

The sensation spreading through the back of my neck grew sharper.

I focused on the one person I could still trust.

Shin Nain.

For the first time, I felt genuine relief that mages of the same Ear lineage could communicate telepathically.

Apparently, while I'd been trying to look with my flashlight, Shin Nain had already investigated using his own magic.

In stark contrast to my pounding heartbeat, his voice remained calm.

'Confirmed. There are no living people here.'

How do you know?

What if another spell is interfering with Ear magic?

'Ear Tier 3 can still hear them.'

The moment I remembered what Ear Tier 3 did, my mouth went dry.

I absentmindedly fiddled with the L-shaped light.

Ear Tier 3 was the ability to communicate with lingering souls.

A simpler name would be:

[Speak with the Dead].

I immediately waved toward Pastor Park.

"Pastor! Try converting Miss Goryeoha. Come to think of it, she'd fit perfectly into a church. You said you needed young adults, right?"

"Huh? What's gotten into Baek Jemin?"

Looking at the clueless pastor standing right beside Goryeoha filled me with a bit of guilt.

But Pastor Park possessed [Soteriological Certainty], an absurdly overpowered reassurance spell.

He was the optimal sacrifice.

Me.

Shin Nain.

Hamza.

Lee Sejun.

We had all silently agreed on the same decision.

Everyone immediately joined in.

"A sister who maintains her faith even under circumstances like this is exactly what we need."

"Jibril and Isa would welcome her too."

"Pretty really is the best. Even the pastor fell for it."

One person's agreement was clearly motivated by ulterior motives, but it worked.

The pastor nodded enthusiastically and patted Goryeoha's shoulder.

"See? My kids might be a little strange, but they're not bad people. They'll all end up in church eventually. What do you think, Miss Goryeoha?"

"Oh dear, Pastor. You're making me feel pressured."

"Alright, alright. Then tell me more about this spiritual sensitivity. Even if you don't come to church, I'll pray to the Lord to help you feel comfortable. That's okay, right?"

"Ahaha. But I should talk with the military gentlemen too. They seem to want to talk to me. Usually, anyway."

Sharp inhale.

Goryeoha had a fundamentally incorrect understanding of soldiers.

She seemed to think every soldier became helpless around a young, pretty woman.

To be fair, that described most men.

Including me.

Still, even trash gets sorted into recyclables, general waste, and nuclear waste.

And I at least knew there was a proper time and place.

That made me recyclable nuclear waste.

Barely.

"No, no, no. We're exhausted. We'll just sit here and chat for a bit. You're not going to monitor us while we rest, right?"

"Hmm... not exactly. It's just that the others don't really like military men. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Of course! Besides, we're civilians."

"Yeah, right. What kind of civilians dress like that?"

"This is what it's like outside Seoul these days. Come on. Go talk with the pastor. Salvation awaits."

"Look at that, Baek Jemin. I told you. You'd make a perfect youth group leader."

In my opinion, Pastor Park was the kind of character who either died first in a horror movie or survived all the way to the end.

Regardless, he happily led Goryeoha into conversation near the generator.

Goryeoha seemed just as lively as he was, laughing behind her mask and covering her mouth as she giggled.

That gave us our chance.

The moment the light on my chest illuminated the room beyond, every one of us held our breath.

There were people.

The problem was that they weren't breathing.

Basement Level 1 of the student union building.

It looked like it had originally been a cafeteria.

Beneath a stained menu board on the wall sat clusters of bodies.

They had collapsed together, leaning against one another.

Emaciated.

Starved.

Their cheekbones jutted visibly from their faces.

Their swollen abdomens bulged beneath thick clothing.

Their skin had darkened to an almost black color.

Occasionally, plump maggots crawled across flesh dried like a mummy's.

Maggots.

The first familiar living creatures we'd found in Seoul.

After all the horrors we'd encountered in the fog, a swarm of maggots feeding on corpses felt almost normal.

Yet something was wrong.

Open cans.

Torn snack wrappers.

Rice containers crawling with maggots.

Disposable spoons.

All scattered around the bodies.

Even Lee Sejun felt the unease.

He inhaled sharply.

Hamza covered his gas mask filter with both hands, apparently afraid he might scream.

The first person to move was Shin Nain.

He walked up to the pile of corpses and knelt.

Then he slung his rifle aside and pulled off his gas mask.

His attention focused on a microwave rice container with a disposable spoon stuck in it.

He lifted it.

Sniffed it.

Then turned back toward us and spoke carefully.

"It hasn't spoiled."

"What?"

"It doesn't smell rotten. It's fresh."

The pastor was still occupied with Goryeoha.

This was our chance.

I immediately turned to Shin Nain, Lee Sejun, and Hamza.

"While Shin Nain uses his past-sight and Ear Tier 3 to figure out what happened, Hamza stays beside him in case something goes wrong."

I touched the back of my neck.

"I can still feel that grip, so she's probably still watching me. If things go bad, Sejun, you hit her."

"What if she snaps your neck, Mr. Jemin?"

"What else?"

If that happened—

I'd have to lose my eyes and resurrect myself using Eye Tier 3:

[Cognitive Dissonance].

No other choice.

Death is the end of my learning.

Losing Eye Magic would be truly horrifying, but not enough for me to abandon even the slightest possibility of surviving and continuing to learn magic.

I'd rather live as a blind man than stop being a mage.

Fortunately, Pastor Park Yohan was putting in unbelievable work, so we had plenty of time.

"Have you ever heard of pioneer ministry? It's when you go directly to people who haven't heard the Gospel yet and help them however you can. Everyone would love someone as kind-hearted as Miss Goryeoha."

"You're different from the image I had of pastors. Aren't pastors supposed to collect tithes and live in luxury?"

"Oh, that's all the media's fault. There aren't that many mega-churches run like franchises. Most pastors spend their lives worrying about how to use the offerings people donate. Especially pioneer ministry..."

Goryeoha was remarkable in her own way.

The fact that she was actually listening to all of this.

I couldn't even begin to imagine how much madness lay buried beneath that cheerful exterior.

While the pastor kept talking, the mysterious pressure on the back of my neck gradually weakened.

Eventually, it vanished completely.

Around then, Shin Nain and Hamza returned to our side after finishing their investigation.

Hoo...

The sound of breathing through gas masks cut through the silence of the underground.

Shin Nain stepped between Lee Sejun, who stood with his arms crossed, and me, who was still keeping an eye on Goryeoha.

He had his gas mask back on.

Judging by his pale complexion, he'd probably found a place out of sight to quietly throw up.

"She didn't kill them herself."

"Explain in detail. Separate important information from useless information and make it easy to understand."

At my request, Shin Nain finally got straight to the point.

According to him:

Nothing had changed when he viewed several hours into the past.

The survivors in this basement had clearly died a long time ago.

However, perhaps because his advancement to Ear Tier 3 had influenced his past-sight, he could now hear sounds from the past as well.

So, despite the increased penalties, he'd looked back to the day before—when Goryeoha first contacted us.

"Same thing yesterday. Same thing several hours ago. I couldn't hear a generator. I couldn't hear breathing. Except for one thing."

The generator sat silent.

The underground cafeteria remained pitch black.

And within those shadows, only a single set of footsteps echoed.

Among the opened cans and instant rice containers.

Among the bodies slumped against walls and leaning on each other.

Only one person had been alive.

Only one person had spoken.

—The military gentlemen are coming. It sounds like escaping will be difficult, but... judging from the messages, they seem like brave people.

In Shin Nain's vision of the past, a woman walked among the corpses inside the dark cafeteria.

—People need to help each other when times are hard. Everyone sounds strong, so maybe things will feel brighter once they arrive! And communication with the military outside might become easier too. We won't have to worry so much about our location being exposed anymore, right?

He said her eyes stood out all the more because of it.

The woman was little more than a shifting silhouette in the darkness.

Yet her voice and tone made her presence unmistakable.

She spoke confidently.

Cheerfully.

—...What? How could I leave? I'll stay with all of you. We'll escape together.

Listening to Shin Nain's vivid account, I finally felt a chill crawl up my spine.

Hamza and Lee Sejun still hadn't fully realized it.

They were only frowning.

Meanwhile, my vision had begun to yellow at the edges.

Yet Shin Nain continued.

—...Okay.

Inside that dark cafeteria.

In front of dozens of corpses.

The cheerful woman finally revealed her resolve.

—I'll go out with the military gentlemen and meet people from outside. I'll help them. I'll leave together with them and convince the people outside!

Silence followed.

A long silence.

At the end of it, I desperately forced myself to think rationally.

First:

Goryeoha was not an Ear mage.

While the pastor chatted happily with her, we'd been listening to Shin Nain's report.

She hadn't noticed us despite all the talking.

An Ear mage would've overheard everything.

Which made the reality even worse.

"...That's all."

The moment Shin Nain finished, Lee Sejun covered his cheeks with both hands.

Despite still wearing a gas mask.

"Holy shit."

Only then did Hamza seem to understand why [Angel's Intuition] had deemed her harmless.

Looking half-fainted, he stared at us.

"D-Don't say anything... Just agree with her..."

Truly a spell that only prevented the worst possible answers.

I found myself covering my mouth despite wearing a gas mask.

My mind raced.

Dozens of old corpses.

Maggots everywhere.

A basement without a functioning generator.

There was a reason nobody sane could survive here.

"Shin Nain. The smell?"

"It's awful. Rotting flesh. Nobody could live here. The past confirms it. She only came here when contacting us."

"So Goryeoha has another place where she lives."

Did she unconsciously know they were dead?

Then acknowledge it consciously too, damn it...

For a moment I considered ambushing her.

Taking her remains.

Taking her information.

But she was the strongest Seoul mage we'd encountered.

And the one with the most information.

She definitely possessed Heart-type magic.

We still didn't understand those gloves.

The unknown risks were enormous.

And even if she wasn't an Ear mage, she clearly had some form of detection ability.

If she were merely insane, that'd be one thing.

But she was insane and absurdly strong.

There was no answer to that.

Even if we won, casualties would mean disaster.

Assuming we could kill Goryeoha without suffering a single fatal injury was idiotic.

And we only had three hundred rounds left.

Were we really going to spend them all here?

While my emotions screamed.

While my lower half had completely cooled off.

The intellect of Baek Jemin, future Archmage, presented a solution.

Think, Baek Jemin.

In the grand scheme of things, this isn't much different from what social workers do.

Come on.

It's about time you did something good for someone.

After reassuring myself, I took a deep breath.

"Hoooooo..."

Then I spoke.

"Operation Blue Pill."

A short phrase.

Loaded with meaning.

Only Shin Nain immediately nodded with a hardened expression.

Lee Sejun and Hamza stared at me like I was insane.

"Huh? Mr. Jemin, what?"

"Mr. Jemin... uh... um... Angel, is this really right...?"

"Hamza. I want to beat the shit out of you, so don't argue."

"Y-Yes."

Right.

The angel had said she wasn't dangerous.

Maybe she wasn't as exceptional as Sister Kang Areum.

But in terms of being able to communicate and remaining friendly, she was probably in the top one percent among Seoul mages.

Complaining now would just make me pathetic.

"First, we leave here. Go to Goryeoha's real hideout. Gather information. If possible, shake her off. If not..."

If not...

Well, what else could we do?

The four of us looked toward Goryeoha and the pastor.

"Khhh~! Miss Goryeoha, you're amazing! Tell you what—if you come now, I'll give you the youth group leader position I was going to give Baek Jemin!"

"Pastor, aren't you thinking too highly of me? What if you're disappointed?"

"No! I've got a great eye for people. Our church absolutely needs someone like you!"

"Wow! Really?!"

Suppressing the heavy feeling in my chest, I signaled the others.

"Operation Blue Pill. I'll take point."

I headed toward the stairs.

The others carefully followed.

Neither Goryeoha nor the pastor had expected us to return so soon.

They tilted their heads.

"What? I thought you were resting."

"It seems the people here really hate military uniforms. They don't believe we're civilians."

"Hehe. See? Nobody would ever believe you're civilians dressed like that."

"Yeah... I suppose not..."

Click.

As gears locked into place, I lowered my poncho and concealed the L-shaped flashlight again.

I didn't know why these people had starved to death.

Maybe they'd lost hope of rescue and stopped eating.

Maybe some kind of plague had spread.

There was no way to know.

But one fact remained.

Dozens of people had died before becoming monsters.

That fact itself testified to Goryeoha's character.

At the very least, she'd protected them from the monsters.

For ordinary people to die as humans in a place like this, a powerful mage had to protect them with absolute dedication.

"Do you have somewhere else to stay? Not here."

"Ah! Of course! Though it might be a little cramped. I lived there alone."

"That's fine. The people here should be allowed to rest."

"Mr. Soldier, you're softer than I thought. Just like those squishy blood vessels!"

Goryeoha's eyes sparkled.

She immediately began climbing the stairs.

Maybe it was my imagination.

But her steps felt lighter than before.

"I'll guide you there right away. Just hang in there a little longer."

"Hahaha. So there really are still people in Seoul. Ah, right. I should go greet them."

At that moment, Shin Nain stepped in front of the pastor.

"Pastor."

"Hm? Why? I wanted to say hello. Maybe see if any brothers or sisters in Christ are down there."

"They seem tired. Resting. Perhaps a short prayer would be enough, and then we can continue talking with Miss Goryeoha."

"Really? Hmm... If Baek Jemin, Sejun, or the Muslim had said it, I'd ignore them..."

The pastor peeked past Shin Nain's shoulder.

But the darkness was too thick.

No light bulbs illuminated the basement.

"What are they, children of darkness? Living without lights. Electricity is precious, but still. They'll ruin their eyes. You lot should keep the lights on when you get back outside."

"Tch. Well, since Nain suggested it..."

The pastor bowed his head.

"Almighty Lord God, may Your kingdom and authority be with everyone here. Let them know no fear within Your embrace. Amen."

Though reluctant, he turned away.

We all breathed easier.

Step.

Step.

Combat boots struck the stairs once more.

Goryeoha chatted brightly as she led the way.

The pastor laughed, saying she reminded him of a daughter.

Behind them, the four Supreme Mages couldn't help glancing back toward the basement.

Hamza looked away first.

Then Lee Sejun shook his head and turned aside.

Only Shin Nain remained standing on the first step.

Staring deep into the darkness below.

For a long time.

Only when he noticed me watching did he finally turn around.

His prayer consisted of a single word.

"Amen."

I patted his shoulder once.

Then, together, we climbed the stairs side by side at the rear of the group.

We would not disturb the dead for the sake of curiosity.