Chapter 101

Dirty Hope

The first people to arrive at the Reality Survival Command's command and control center were Lee Sejun and me.

Among the officers whose faces and names I had memorized, only Major General Jeon Minho and Captain Kim Houn were present. Of course, there were plenty of American and Korean junior officers busily exchanging communications and shouting orders, but the situation was too urgent to remember each one individually.

As it happened, Major General Jeon Minho was issuing orders to Captain Kim Houn with bloodshot eyes.

"Captain Kim. Bring Aphorism. Once the deployment order comes down, keep him nearby so he can be loaded onto a helicopter immediately. Your unit can bring his supplies separately later."

"Yes, sir!"

Captain Kim snapped off a perfect salute and turned around.

The moment he did, our eyes met.

He looked me and Lee Sejun over in our fully equipped ponchos and blinked in surprise, his prominent cheekbones twitching.

"What? Even by car it's at least ten minutes away. How are you already here?"

Lee Sejun and I looked at each other.

Ordinary non-mage mortals would probably launch into a boring explanation about their exercise routines and how diligently they trained themselves.

But for Supreme Mages like us, a single phrase was enough.

"Magical Physical."

"Ha... Magic is seriously cheating."

Captain Kim muttered and hurried past us.

Then he returned before even a minute had passed.

"Captain Kim, what is it? If you've got something to report, keep it brief—"

"They've arrived."

"What?"

Thud!

As everyone in the command center turned to look, a woman dropped several people she had been carrying like pieces of luggage.

The familiar faces tossed onto the floor like garbage bags were:

Hamza, Pastor Park Yohan, and Shin Nain.

"Ugh... blegh."

"I-I'm never riding that thing again."

"Though the path of my life... may not be smooth~."

While the three Supreme Mages crawled around like worms, Goryeoha stood tall, hands on her hips as she scolded us.

"Sunbae-nim, Uncle Sejun! How could you leave first? We're on the same team!"

May 12, 2028, 2:50 AM.

It had taken exactly four minutes for all six Supreme Mages to gear up and arrive at the Reality Survival Command's command center.

Like a practical soldier, Major General Jeon Minho ruthlessly cut away any tedious or academic explanations and focused only on the simplest, most important facts.

Completely ignoring Hamza, Shin Nain, and Pastor Park Yohan, who were all complaining of dizziness and nausea.

"Until now, our command believed this attack was merely a probing action intended to gauge our response. However, the enemy... the one Aphorism designated as [Gangnam Clairvoyant], along with the 55th Unit under his command and the hostile local survivors presumed to belong to the Gangnam Group, have displayed a level of aggression far beyond our expectations."

Unlike Lee Sejun, who was listening attentively, I was curious what trick Goryeoha had used and nudged the pastor in the side with my elbow.

"How did Ms. Ryeoha carry three grown men here?"

"Goddammit. Baek Jemin, that's what you're curious about right now? I'm dying from dizziness."

"Next time, we can have Lee Sejun carry you around."

"You know that Invisible Hand thing? The third-stage hand spell. [Telekinesis]. She grabbed me and Nain with it and made us float all the way here."

Good information.

And it immediately led me to a deduction.

Until now, I had believed one of the penalties of either Third-Stage or Fourth-Stage Hand magic was [Emotional Detachment].

And Goryeoha was a mage surviving with an incomplete mind by having her fear removed.

She didn't use Fourth-Stage Hand Magic, [Material Conversion], very often. And blood-consuming magic was frequently penalized simply by requiring the user to bleed.

In that case, the penalty known as [Emotional Detachment] was more likely tied to Third-Stage Hand Magic, [Telekinesis], which Goryeoha appeared to maintain almost constantly.

Magic was just that useful.

Even trivial details could yield clues and information.

Once again, I found myself marveling at the limitless applications of magic and smiled in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Major General Jeon's briefing had reached its critical point.

"They're methodical and meticulous. We have determined that Gangnam Clairvoyant and his forces launched a three-stage offensive."

First Offensive

Reconnaissance using cheap drones, followed by monster attacks targeting soldiers who attempted anti-air fire in response to the noise.

Initially, we had assumed the enemy was using severed amalgam heads or hanging predatory spines beneath the drones.

But there was another monster far more suited for this kind of bombardment.

"The third identified species, the Cellular Degenerative Swarm, appears to have been tied inside plastic bags and suspended beneath drones to induce infection explosions. The intent was to ensure damage even if the drones were shot down..."

The Cellular Degenerative Swarm.

The monster we had nicknamed the Human Slime.

They had stuffed the creatures into plastic bags, hung them from drones, and flown them over our positions.

Specifically so that shooting them would cause even greater damage.

Electronic warfare equipment neutralized some of them, but because drones carrying predatory spines and severed amalgam heads were mixed in, anti-air fire couldn't simply be halted.

The containment-line soldiers were protected by chemical warfare suits and gas masks, allowing them to avoid immediate infection and continue fighting while conducting decontamination procedures.

But as the Human Slime drone attacks continued, some soldiers ultimately failed to withstand the mutations.

Hongran followed.

"The collapse of the containment line was detected by the amalgams—official designation: Head-Fusion Mimic Beasts—which then began moving south. At the same time, hostile localized reality-alteration users were deployed. The Republic of Korea military has already responded with nerve agents, sustained chemical bombardment, air strikes, missiles, and artillery fire, eliminating considerable numbers, but these are believed not to be the enemy's true combat strength..."

Second Offensive

The monsters reacted to the commotion and began moving south.

At the same time, the Seoul mages attacked the containment line from nearby positions and attempted a breakthrough.

Naturally, even if they had learned magic, Seoul mages were still essentially light infantry.

Neither they nor the flesh-monster hordes were capable of punching through modern firepower.

Most inhaled gas and went straight to the afterlife.

The rest were exposed to the prepared kill zones of the containment-line troops and riddled with bullets.

But the enemy wasn't completely stupid.

"...During the defense against the second offensive, monster-carrying drones continuously targeted artillery positions that had revealed themselves. It was then that Gangnam Clairvoyant and the enemy's true combat forces finally appeared."

Third Offensive

Monster drones rained down on the exposed artillery positions.

And while everyone was disoriented, the real main force finally emerged:

High-realm mages belonging to the Gangnam Group, along with the 55th Unit—the private army of the Sixty-Six Martyrs.

To neutralize thermal imaging, long-range observation, and night vision, they painted magical runes onto their coats, blinding enemy observers.

Fortunately, equipment that didn't rely on direct visual observation—motion sensors, heartbeat detectors, radar, and similar systems—still allowed infiltration attempts to be detected.

But in the process, a fatal weakness was exposed.

And Gangnam Clairvoyant did not miss the opportunity.

"At present, Gangnam Clairvoyant is demanding defection from the soldiers left in Seongnam. He is ordering them to remove their masks, reveal their names, and surrender before the 55th Unit. Naturally, once a face and name are exposed, it becomes impossible to stop Gangnam Clairvoyant's long-range executions."

What a dirty trick.

The soldiers had already received orders to fight to the death.

There was almost no path left for survival.

Only then did I realize the true purpose of this offensive.

Gangnam Clairvoyant wasn't trying to break through by force.

He was trying to absorb manpower.

Without exposing himself, he intended to turn Seongnam's guns around and have the military destroy itself.

And apparently that wasn't all.

"Lord above."

Pastor Park Yohan, who had listened quietly until now, pushed his glasses up onto his forehead and covered his mouth.

"No wonder all I saw in the army were fresh-faced kids. General Jeon... You already knew there was someone who could kill people if he learned their face and name, didn't you?"

"We didn't know who it was. Our suspicions solidified after the communications from Seongnam. Now we're certain."

The reason every military officer had been going around without name tags all this time.

No matter that we were civilians, the number of generals we encountered in important meetings was suspiciously low.

And objectively speaking, people holding ranks far below the authority they should have possessed were exercising actual command.

The reason was—

"Treason under Article 87 of the Criminal Act."

Major General Jeon Minho planted his hands on the table and spoke.

"We have standing orders to immediately execute on sight any individual suspected of being Gangnam Clairvoyant, on charges of murdering sixty-one military generals and field commanders responsible for maintaining the containment line, stealing weapons, inciting soldiers, disobeying martial law, and attempting to break through the containment line."

***

The camp of the Supreme Mages was moved from its dedicated barracks to an area beside the helipad.

It was the worst possible environment.

Every time you were about to fall asleep, helicopter rotors hammered your eardrums.

Every time you stepped outside for a moment, clouds of dirt battered your poncho.

Yet no one dared complain.

The sirens had stopped, but the commotion throughout the camp had not.

Whenever helicopters landed or took off, countless supplies, groaning soldiers, and technicians rushing to perform maintenance became tangled together in chaos.

The Supreme Mages quietly organized the drinks, snacks, sleeping bags, blankets, and ammunition boxes that Captain Kim Houn kept bringing over.

The mood was somewhat dazed.

Even Goryeoha, who was usually all smiles, tapped her fingers anxiously against an ammo can lid.

"Mr. Gangnam really was unusual. The hatred he had toward people outside Seoul."

"Do you know anything else?"

Even Lee Sejun, who was carrying ammunition boxes, had abandoned his usual jealousy and inferiority complex as he questioned her.

The human garbage who normally ranted about gender-swapping fantasies had vanished.

Only Captain Korea remained, burning with patriotic conviction.

Setting the ammunition boxes down with military precision, Lee Sejun looked at Goryeoha seriously.

"Ms. Ryeoha. As someone who wasn't left behind in Seoul, I can't fully understand the hatred you feel toward people outside."

"Mr. Soldier...?"

"But I think I can understand the resentment. The anger that comes from being abandoned by everyone. The bitterness toward those who were chosen. I feel it too."

He paused.

"I hate beautiful women. And envy them. Desperately."

This son of a bitch.

My emotional moment instantly collapsed.

But Lee Sejun wasn't finished.

"Even so, I don't resent having to protect them. Because knowing that the life I dream of exists somewhere in the world gives me comfort. Maybe someday I can live that life too. Just that faint hope is enough to keep me going. Even while resenting those who enjoy my dream without paying any price, I still have hope because I know dreams can come true without payment."

Hope.

The moment that word left Lee Sejun's mouth, every Supreme Mage fell silent.

Hamza stared weakly at the floor.

Shin Nain slowly removed her headset and hung it around her neck.

Pastor Park clasped his hands together in prayer.

Goryeoha's large eyes trembled.

Everyone knew it.

Everyone avoided acknowledging it.

How futile that word sounded before the truth.

Our world was collapsing.

Humanity had split apart.

Everyone was doing their best in their assigned roles.

Yet there was no sign of escaping the apocalypse drawing closer with every passing moment.

And in that reality, the person carrying the dirtiest, most pathetic wish of all spoke.

"I hope you can have that kind of hope too, Ms. Ryeoha."

Silence stretched.

Goryeoha looked as though she couldn't speak.

Her lips twitched repeatedly.

Then tears began streaming silently down her face.

Without hiding her reddening eyes, she wiped the tears away with her wrist again and again.

I didn't know whether Goryeoha had taken the red pill.

Or whether she still believed the survivors from Konkuk University were alive.

But one thing was certain.

Though she never showed it, she had deeply resented the people outside Seoul.

She kept wiping away the tears silently.

When she could no longer stop them, she turned toward us.

For the first time, the eyes of the fear-stripped mage held genuine emotion instead of a false smile.

Sadness.

Anger.

Resentment.

And then the secret hidden beneath them spilled out.

"Three systems."

At that instant, Shin Nain's eyes snapped open.

"Directional Alteration Eye, Stage 1. Ear, Stage 4. Tongue, Stage 3."

Along with the secret came years of suppressed frustration.

Goryeoha cried rivers of tears without sobbing, an eerie sight.

Her wrists and forearms were already soaked, yet she kept frantically wiping at her eyes.

"Mr. Gangnam... is an Ear Mage."

"What...?"

For a moment I thought:

If he's called Clairvoyant, why is he an Ear Mage?

Then a realization flashed through my mind.

The true power of Eye Stage 1 was [Expanded Perception].

The distorted square inside the triangle symbolized perceiving things that should never enter human sight.

I had forgotten that for a long time.

The original performance of Eye Stage 1.

The true, one-hundred-percent version of the magic.

It allowed someone to see everything humans were never meant to see.

When I had used Eye Stage 1 through Tongue Magic without limiting its area of effect, it had displayed horrifying side effects and a fragment of omnipotent power.

A magic that could see the past.

The present.

The future.

Things that should never be visible.

That was the original function of Eye Stage 1.

The same principle applied to other forms of magic.

Without the support of Tongue Magic, what people called individual spells were merely degraded versions of their true capabilities, reduced to a level that matched the mage's talent and aptitude.

The only difference was which aspect a person's talent emphasized.

In that case...

Had Gangnam Clairvoyant's awakened Eye Stage 1 evolved toward long-distance vision because he wanted to see and kill people from far away?

Just then—

"Ms. Ryeoha."

Pastor Park Yohan looked at her with firm eyes tinged with sympathy.

"It was wrong."

"Hic... sob..."

"It was shameful too."

"Sniff..."

"But if you feel ashamed, that's enough. You've already stepped onto the path of repentance."

I could practically see Shin Nain's expression rotting away.

But faced with the sight of Goryeoha sobbing and the pastor comforting her, she couldn't bring herself to interrupt.

Hamza and Lee Sejun both wore complicated expressions as they watched Goryeoha begin crying openly.

Once again, we were reminded just how deep the hatred and resentment of Seoul's survivors toward the outside world truly ran.

But the melodrama ended there.

"Let's go. Hamza, Lee Sejun, Shin Nain."

"Mr. Jemin. What about Ms. Ryeoha?"

"The pastor's busy filming a soap opera. We need to go tell headquarters."

Hamza narrowed his eyes.

"Mr. Jemin. You're a T, aren't you?"

"I'm a proud TETO man."

The revelation that Gangnam Clairvoyant was actually an Ear Mage was valuable information.

It corrected the misleading assumptions created by his title alone.

Besides, with the pastor already acting as everyone's emotional garbage can, there was no reason for the four of us to remain stuck here.

If we all went together, the military might share information they'd gathered as well.

I slung my rifle over my shoulder and started walking.

The Supreme Mages naturally fell into formation behind me.

At this point, nobody even needed instructions.

After learning that standing in front of me meant getting shot, they instinctively lined up behind me.

Watching that, I felt a warm sense of satisfaction and strode confidently toward headquarters.

That was, until a vehicle carrying Captain Kim Houn and Corporal Son Gain appeared from the opposite direction.

Forced to stop, we waited as Captain Kim parked and lowered the window.

"What's going on?"

May 12, 2028, 5:47 AM.

The sun was beginning to rise.

The world was slowly brightening.

Captain Kim Houn, sitting in the front seat, pointed his thumb toward the rear compartment.

His face had gone deathly pale.

"We've received a transmission from Yongsan Station. It's from a middle-aged woman leading a survivor group. Aphorism's confirmation is required."

"The Yongsan Station lady? Why all of a sudden?"

I voiced everyone's question.

And once again, we were reminded that the world had changed.

"She's offering negotiations in exchange for sharing information about Gangnam Clairvoyant and his subordinates."

Our world was now confronting an overwhelming flood of dopamine.