Chapter 44
Assembly Archmages
At the moment, I was lying flat on the floor.
Pressed against the ground, one ear touching the tiles, feeling the vibrations that traveled through my entire body beneath the hood of my poncho.
I kept my breathing as slow as possible.
The distinctive sound of a gas mask felt deafening.
If I breathed too hard, I'd reveal my position.
My heart pounded violently.
Yet my lungs continued their deliberate rhythm.
Slow inhale.
Slow exhale.
Again and again.
Just as forcing yourself to smile eventually changes your mood, forcing myself to breathe calmly kept my mind sharp.
Only then did I realize my ears were ringing.
Piiiiiiiiii—
A bullet had passed dangerously close.
Or maybe a gunshot had erupted right beside me.
Feeling the cold weight of my rifle, I remembered infantry training from long ago.
Crawling through mud.
Dragging myself across filthy ground.
The memories resurfaced vividly.
I began inching forward.
Dragging the dense fog behind me like a blanket.
Anyone watching would probably think I resembled a giant green cockroach.
I'd once read an internet rumor claiming cockroaches temporarily reached an IQ of 300 when their lives were in danger.
Maybe Baek Jemin belonged to the same species.
Thoughts exploded inside my head like bubbles.
The reason I hadn't immediately used Tongue Magic and Eye Magic again was simple.
The behavior of the fog had changed.
When I used Eye Stage 1 focused through Tongue Stage 1 near Sergeant Bang's corpse, the fog didn't completely disappear.
It merely thinned.
I couldn't pinpoint the target immediately.
Did magical effects weaken when used against another mage?
Did greater differences in mastery reduce effectiveness?
I carefully considered the Seoul mage's abilities as well.
Before opening fire, she had casually thrown a massive chunk of concrete.
At minimum, her physical abilities were enhanced.
Heart Magic?
Theories and assumptions tangled through my thoughts.
Then—
Heavy footsteps.
They struck the remaining intact tiles.
A woman's playful voice drifted through the fog.
"Oppa, you really are like a cockroach."
"You already ran away?"
Cold sweat trickled down my neck.
The weak, ordinary human part of me screamed.
You're going to die.
Run.
Beg.
But the cold, rational Baek Jemin had already finished his calculations.
I wouldn't die immediately.
Because she wanted my head.
According to Shin Nain, the department-store mage operated similarly to an Amalgam.
She opened skulls.
Stole memories.
Looted information.
Negotiation was impossible.
The moment she fired at us on the escalator, any possibility of peaceful resolution disappeared.
The only thing I could avoid was being executed outright with a bullet.
If she wanted information, opening my skull was more valuable than killing me immediately.
Therefore—
No reckless counterattack.
If I resisted too aggressively, she might simply shoot me.
The fog was too dense.
The pain from my left-hand staff was fading.
Trusting only Eye Stage 2 would be suicide.
Meanwhile, the footsteps grew closer.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Whether she was enjoying herself or trying to build fear, she wasn't hurrying.
Perhaps she was using something as a shield.
I hugged my rifle closer.
Despite my racing heart, my mind remained ice-cold.
Then I realized something.
Shin Nain never detected her attack.
THUD.
The vibrations were too heavy to belong to a human.
Far too heavy.
The concrete chunk she'd thrown earlier...
Then it clicked.
Shin Nain heard only the thoughts of people.
If she wasn't using thoughts.
If she wasn't speaking internally.
If she wasn't approaching like a normal person...
Then his detection had failed.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
I rolled my tongue inside my mouth.
Evade. Death. Five Minutes. Path.
...
Difficult.
Avoiding death through magic carried tremendous strain even in dense fog.
My tongue tingled.
Too many variables.
Too broad a condition.
I adjusted it.
Evade. Fatal Injury. Five Minutes. Path.
The fog immediately parted.
Much more clearly.
I tightened my grip on the rifle.
Pulled one knee underneath me.
Pressed an elbow against the floor.
Ready to stand.
Even so, it was mentally taxing.
So I counted.
One.
Two—
"Oppa, what are you doing?"
I exploded upward.
Like a cockroach suddenly discovering bipedal locomotion.
Running.
Only running.
And screaming internally.
SHOOT, YOU IDIOTS!
The signal was perfect.
The instant I moved—
TATATATATANG—!!!
Gunfire erupted.
Bullets rained through the fog.
The echoes ricocheted through walls and ceilings.
Muzzle flashes vanished inside the mist.
I had no idea where the bullets were coming from.
But my eyes found the gaps where the fog parted.
Only I could sprint through the storm of gunfire.
Ting! Ting-ting!
Ricochets mixed with gunfire.
Two emotions collided.
You're safe. Increase the distance.
A foolish thought.
I chose cold logic.
She'll catch up.
You can't outrun her.
Which meant Baek Jemin had to perform the greatest desperate stunt of his twenty-eight-year life.
A trick only possible within dense fog.
I rolled my tongue again.
Evade. Physical Impact. Fatal Injury. Injury. Five Minutes. Me.
My tongue burned.
Not that it mattered.
Actually, it mattered a lot.
Eye Stage 2 wasn't free.
But right now—
For five minutes—
I was practically invincible.
That realization made me look back.
And immediately throw myself into a roll.
WHOOOOSH!
Something enormous passed over my head.
A mass so heavy that even grazing me would've stripped away my skin.
The air displacement alone brushed my back.
I rolled across the floor and slid behind a display counter.
Then I peeked around the edge.
A massive chunk of concrete was embedded in a pillar.
Through the pale fog, I could just barely make out the Seoul mage.
She looked annoyed.
Very annoyed.
Staring directly toward my position.
But she couldn't advance.
Not yet.
Because beyond the fog, my fellow Archmages had opened fire.
A storm of bullets filled the department store.
Poorly aimed.
Not intended to kill.
Just enough to be irritating.
The Seoul mage lowered herself and yanked the concrete chunk free.
Then used it as a shield.
"Seriously?!"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Bullets slammed into concrete.
Chunks shattered away like dust.
Watching that happen, I immediately raised my rifle.
This was it.
The end.
The instant my finger touched the trigger—
The fog shifted.
Red footprints appeared.
Dozens.
Racing toward me.
Without hesitation, I lowered my weapon and ran.
CRASH!
Something white pierced straight through the display counter I'd occupied moments earlier.
Crawling beneath the fog like a cloak, I looked back.
The Seoul mage was smashing the spot where I'd been.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Filled with rage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Then she pulled something from her clothing.
The moment I saw it, I ran.
Shattering debris beneath my boots.
Broken glass crunched underfoot.
Then a horrifying sound filled the department store.
Beeeeep.
A radio signal.
Moments later, her voice echoed across the building.
Slightly hoarse.
Playful.
Cruel.
[Hey, military oppas. Ever heard of sympathetic magic? It's something I learned.]
Only one woman laughed inside the dark department store.
I ran between counters and mannequins.
Rifle tucked under my arm.
Still avoiding the pursuing red footprints.
Her voice became increasingly delighted.
Tap. Tap.
Finger tapping.
[As long as you have similarity and substitution...]
[Turning things off doesn't matter.]
[If I turn mine on, yours turn on too.]
A chill crawled down my spine.
Then—
The department store erupted into a chorus.
Beeeeep.
Beeeeep.
Beeeeep.
Radio signals.
Everywhere.
Above.
Below.
All around.
Some surviving soldiers must have left their radios powered on.
The Seoul mage's attention shifted.
The red footprints disappeared.
Cruel as it was, I couldn't help them.
Not now.
Not while Eye Magic was keeping me alive.
The moment I started searching for soldiers, she'd find me.
And kill me.
Then fate played a joke.
The radio signals suddenly stopped.
One by one.
Until only a single source remained.
Nearby.
Far too nearby.
Red footprints flooded the area.
Only one safe place remained.
Behind a pillar near the railing.
Ten seconds.
Within that time, I moved faster than any cockroach.
Sliding behind the pillar.
Then I heard sobbing.
The Seoul mage's footsteps were no longer leisurely.
THUD THUD THUD THUD
My finger settled onto the trigger.
A concrete block smashed through nearby displays and mannequins.
Not yet.
Wait until she relaxes.
"AAAAAAAH!"
"Come here, military oppa~"
"I'll give you a kiss~!"
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Now.
I raised my rifle and leaned out.
And finally understood why Shin Nain hated the Seoul mage so much.
"Mmmwah~"
"Ghhh... krrghhhh..."
It wasn't a kiss.
The Seoul mage's tongue stretched impossibly far.
Covered in filthy blood.
It was pressed against the face of a soldier whose gas mask she'd removed.
Their eyes merged.
Their facial structure blurred.
Their skull melted.
Everything was stolen.
The soldier clawed desperately at her face.
Trying to pull her away.
But his head was already lost.
His hands grasped only air.
A magic that stole memories.
Experiences.
Knowledge.
Wisdom.
Fresh neural tissue.
Everything.
Leaving only scraps behind.
A twisted inversion of Tongue Magic.
All of this registered in less than a second.
At the same moment I pulled the trigger.
The overlapping eyes looked directly at me.
The Seoul mage smiled.
Then slammed her concrete shield into the floor.
TATATAT!
Bullets shattered against concrete.
One round struck her left thigh before the shield covered everything.
Only one.
Without hesitation, I turned and ran.
Then the height of the cleared fog changed.
Duck.
Pure instinct.
I stumbled forward.
The moment my balance broke—
Something flew over me.
A body.
It hit the wall ahead with a sickening impact.
The soldier.
Head ruined.
Limbs twisted.
Blood smeared across the concrete as he slid downward.
I ran past him.
Didn't know his name.
But I saw his rank.
Private First Class.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
"BAEK JEMIN! DOWN!"
The pastor.
I obeyed instantly.
And instinctively glanced back.
Not from curiosity.
Because running blindly wouldn't shake pursuit.
That's when I saw it.
The Seoul mage charging forward behind her concrete shield.
And a grenade.
Smacking directly into the shield.
The moment I turned—
The explosion erupted.
The ringing returned.
I staggered.
Forced my legs to keep moving.
Through the fog.
Toward familiar faces.
Lee Sejun was casually tossing and catching another grenade like a baseball pitcher.
Shin Nain quietly sang a hymn.
The pastor had a K2 tucked under one arm while dragging Hamza by the back of the neck with the other.
The pastor shouted.
"That bitch is circling around!"
Only after reaching them did I realize how badly I was breathing.
My heart felt ready to explode.
My legs shook.
My hands shook too.
Not from fear.
From the fact that a delicate man like Baek Jemin had just performed a series of impossible evasive maneuvers.
"See, Jemin?"
"This is why people need exercise."
"Magic is stamina too!"
Lee Sejun grinned while palming a grenade.
I didn't even have enough breath to insult him.
After finally catching my breath, I summarized what I'd learned.
"Not Eye."
"Not Ear."
"Tongue and Heart."
"Not sure about Hand."
Shin Nain stopped singing.
"You figured it out?"
"She's vulnerable to detection."
"The escalator ambush only worked because she was watching the most likely route."
I swallowed.
The Seoul mage was an experienced hunter.
Only now did I realize she'd manipulated us from the beginning.
At Sergeant Bang's corpse she'd intentionally seemed almost reasonable.
Made us focus on the trapped soldiers.
Made us impatient.
The dead escalator had been a perfect choke point.
A location easy to predict in a dark building where sound and vision were unreliable.
I could infer her tactics too.
Dense fog.
Indoor terrain.
Heart Magic enhanced physical strength.
She tore chunks of concrete free and used them as shields.
Normal bullets became useless.
Then she rushed forward and forced close-quarters combat.
But one thing seemed certain.
She didn't possess Eye Magic.
And she didn't possess Ear Magic.
If she had Ear Magic, she would've found me immediately when I crawled away.
If she had Eye Magic, she would've behaved much more cautiously.
Which raised another question.
Had she fought Eye and Ear mages before?
Was that why she used psychological pressure so effectively?
Regardless—
She had to die.
There wasn't enough time to explain every detail.
So I gave the short version.
"She specializes in ambushes and overwhelming pressure."
"Prepare for close combat."
At least we had Shin Nain.
The shithead understood without further explanation.
Through his gas-mask lenses I could see it.
The narrowed eyes.
The focused movements.
Meanwhile, Lee Sejun reattached his grenade and grinned at Hamza.
"Hamza. You know the drill, right?"
"Pull the pin."
"Stuff it in her mouth."
"Boom."
"Straight to Heaven."
"Okay?"
"O-Okay."
"Okay my ass."
"Don't you know people who commit suicide can't get into Heaven?"
Hamza trembled as the pastor dragged him along.
Now that we'd regrouped, I thought things would be easier.
But my eyes, still under the effect of magic, showed the shifting fog.
The fog below was clearly parted, while everything above waist height was packed full of dense mist.
"Get down!!!"
We shoved each other to the floor.
I hit the ground with a splat and looked up just in time to see something flying overhead.
It was the shattered chunk of concrete that had taken the grenade blast.
The concrete block sailed away and crashed somewhere with a deafening roar.
Only then did I realize we'd been separated.
In this dense fog, even a small distance might as well be miles.
Fortunately, the pastor and Hamza were nearby.
The pastor had thrown himself perfectly between a cluster of mannequins and was groaning while rubbing his lower back.
"Oww... I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die..."
"Pastor, Hamza—"
Before I could finish, footsteps reached us.
Fast.
The footsteps of the Seoul mage who had hurled that massive chunk of concrete were light and savage.
She knew how to move across broken debris like water flowing over rocks.
Rolling stones.
Cracking concrete.
She timed her approach perfectly with the surrounding noise.
The sounds overlapped.
At the same time, I rolled over on the floor while clutching my rifle.
My eyes met hers.
The Seoul mage emerged from the fog.
After devouring an entire human head, her face was still bright and cheerful.
Not a trace of fatigue.
But the most important thing was that she was absurdly, unbelievably fast.
Faster than shouldering a rifle.
Faster than tucking it under an arm.
Before I could blink, she was springing off walls, leaving footprints behind as she ran while practically sliding through the air.
There was no time.
No aiming.
No point-shooting.
I just pulled the trigger.
Without hesitation.
The rifle shook.
The muzzle wandered everywhere.
I knew it.
Didn't matter.
I kept firing.
Shell casings flew.
Bullets struck walls and ricocheted away.
But despite blood pouring from her left thigh, the Seoul mage only staggered slightly.
Then she laughed.
A wild, manic laugh as she charged straight toward me.
I heard the pastor and Hamza scream.
Too late.
Click click click click.
Gun smoke mixed with the fog.
The empty chamber fell silent.
Out of ammo.
The Seoul mage burst into laughter and lunged.
The pastor, sitting on his rear while scrambling backward, shouted:
"Faith!"
At that moment, his hand brushed against a mannequin while crawling.
The mannequin toppled over.
Seeing it fall, Hamza screamed and sprinted.
"AAAAH! Angel!"
Hamza crashed into everything around him.
Abandoned mannequins collapsed one after another.
One of them happened to collide with the pastor's raised knee and bounced away.
The mannequin wobbled forward and crashed into a display shelf.
The shelf, already emptied of merchandise, caught the mannequin's upper body.
And by sheer coincidence...
That spot happened to be directly in the Seoul mage's path.
Of course, she ignored it.
She tried to step on the mannequin and use it as a springboard.
That was when the mannequin finally gave way.
The rotten thing shattered beneath her foot.
At the exact moment she tried to leap dramatically from it.
The ground seemed to collapse beneath her.
The mannequin exploded into pieces.
"Huh?"
Even the Seoul mage looked stunned.
I probably looked just as stupid.
Only one person reacted differently.
Pastor Park Yohan burst out laughing inside his gas mask and tucked his K2 under one arm.
"Those who believe shall be saved!"
Bang bang!
His shooting wasn't great.
But he managed to hit her shoulder.
That finally snapped me out of it.
An opportunity.
I immediately adjusted my posture and ejected the empty magazine.
Then I shouted while reloading.
"Archmages, assemble!"
Clack.
Eye Stage 2 was powerful.
But if she left my sight, I couldn't stop her.
If she rushed me during a single blink, I'd die.
I needed to save it for the decisive moment.
So I used Eye Stage 1.
As the magazine locked into place, I rolled my tongue inside my mouth.
My trust in Eye Magic had reached one hundred percent.
After all, it had kept me alive through storms of bullets and relentless pursuit.
And more importantly...
I liked the image.
Me, a user of proper Tongue Magic.
Fighting a corrupted user of its twisted opposite.
Evade. Hostile attack. Department Store Mage. Five Minutes. Me.
"I'll tank."
Those who sacrifice others to pursue power are third-rate.
Other people's pain?
Worthless compared to my own.
How could anyone reach the pinnacle through sacrifices like that?
In an era where people only respected the best, how foolish was it to treat even yourself as worthless while trying to please magic with the suffering of others?
Only my pain held value.
Therefore—
I offered only my own pain.
For I am...
The Great Archmage Baek Jemin!
TATATATAT!
I charged while firing wildly.
No aiming.
Just enough to force the Seoul mage onto the defensive.
After taking a hit to her left shoulder, she leaped backward.
Trying to create distance.
But I moved first.
Of course, that alone couldn't overcome the gap in physical ability.
The Seoul mage knew it.
She smiled at me.
"I'll be back soon, oppa~"
Then—
A heavy baseball-like object flew through the fog.
A grenade.
The pin already removed.
It barely grazed her.
I immediately dropped to one knee.
Fortunately...
The Seoul mage herself was my meat shield.
The explosion thundered.
Metal fragments tore through flesh.
I heard it even through the ringing in my ears.
But she survived.
I saw her trying to retreat while screaming in pain.
At that moment Shin Nain emerged from the fog.
Standing.
Proper firing stance.
Weapon shouldered.
"Almighty Lord God, guide my rifle toward the demon!"
Gunfire erupted.
Most shots missed.
Some struck her thighs and legs.
No matter how powerful her regeneration was, she couldn't simply ignore that.
And because she could still run—
I rushed her.
Only now, after bullets and shrapnel had mangled her body, did I understand the strange symbiosis she possessed.
Then I remembered an old discussion between Monk Cheonghwi and Pastor Park.
They had once said that Alteration Magic was a system meant to perfect humanity.
If that was true...
Then was this twisted version growing stronger by rejecting humanity itself?
Human flesh and damaged flesh mixed together.
Inside, ribs writhed like insects.
The Seoul mage glared at me with hatred and fury.
Then smiled again.
Her tongue poked out through her ruined jaw.
Blood filled the spaces between her organs and muscles.
Yet her speech remained perfectly clear.
"You guys kinda suck at magic..."
"But you're strong~?"
That was the signal.
Her ribs twitched.
The skin of her back split open.
A white spine emerged and began writhing.
I wondered briefly how she was still moving after pulling out her own spine.
The answer was horrifying.
She was using magically enhanced muscles as a replacement skeleton.
Red footprints surrounded me.
The fog churned.
I crouched.
Stepped back.
Moved.
Again and again.
SWISH!
The spine-tail whipped past my poncho sleeve like a scorpion stinger.
A single graze tore the fabric apart.
At the same time I raised my rifle.
The Seoul mage crossed her arms.
Protecting her heart and head.
Then she realized.
It was a feint.
I never pulled the trigger.
Instead, I gripped the rifle and smashed the stock into her leg.
My role was simple.
Destroy mobility.
That was my decision.
I retreated and raised the rifle again.
This time she wasn't fooled.
The spine-tail lashed out.
But my eyes showed me where to move.
Lower my body.
Maintain grip.
Finger on trigger.
WHOOOSH!
I answered the sound of rushing air with gunfire.
TATATAT!
It was insanity.
Baek Jemin, relying entirely on Eye Magic.
Using glimpses of the future.
Holding an AR-15 under one arm while fighting a higher-stage body-focused mage merged with a monster.
Even while my poncho was being shredded.
Even while death closed in.
Feints collided.
Movements overlapped.
One trying to escape.
One trying to hold her in place.
Shell casings flew.
Muzzle flashes erupted.
Blood and flesh followed.
That was enough for the Archmages.
They could determine her position now.
While I fought something that swung a spine like a tail, shattered concrete with punches, and cracked floors with kicks...
The others finished repositioning.
The first to arrive was Pastor Park.
He steadied his stance and aimed.
"Best of the Best, take this!"
A kill zone formed.
I stepped back briefly to catch my breath.
Evade. Physical Impact. Fatal Injury. Five Minutes. Me.
Now I only needed to avoid friendly fire while closing the distance and pinning the enemy.
Absolutely insane.
Which was exactly why it worked.
Dopamine flooded my brain.
Meanwhile the Seoul mage tried to escape.
But someone had already taken position beside a display shelf.
Shin Nain.
Reload complete.
No hesitation.
No words.
He simply started shooting.
One round.
Then another.
Then another.
Carefully.
Deliberately.
The Seoul mage couldn't escape.
Every hit slowed her further.
Then she looked at me.
Smiled strangely.
Her ruined jaw hung open.
Her tongue dangled out.
Mixed with blood and saliva.
I immediately understood.
She wanted my magic.
My eyes.
At that moment Lee Sejun shouted:
"Jemin! Your back!"
Before I could answer, a full-grown man's weight landed on my shoulders.
That bastard had used me as a stepping stone.
Lee Sejun vaulted over the Seoul mage.
Rifle aimed downward.
But the Devouring Spine reacted faster.
The tail that had been targeting me turned toward Lee Sejun.
He managed to bring up his rifle like a shield.
But the impact still sent him flying.
Yet that created the opening.
The instant the tail focused on Lee Sejun—
I charged.
Firing.
TATATAT!
Side.
Chest.
Bullets tore into exposed organs.
The movements and spine that had blocked my shots were gone.
Naturally, the rounds landed.
Every previous sacrifice she'd made—
Using arms and flesh to protect vital areas—
Became meaningless.
Pain finally overwhelmed her.
Her eyes shook.
Her body staggered before her desire to flee could act.
I gambled everything.
Just in case she could somehow dodge by reading my barrel.
My left hand drew the bayonet.
My right remained on the trigger.
The rifle stayed tucked beneath my arm.
I charged.
Target. Kill. Department Store Mage. Three Minutes. Me.
Bullets flew.
The bayonet swung.
I saw the path that would sever her strength.
My body couldn't fully follow the ideal route.
Didn't matter.
Every cut slowed her.
Every wound weakened her.
I became certain.
The Seoul mage had never fought a mage who charged while shooting and swinging a blade.
Yet even as bullets exploded through her flesh and organs...
She still tried to kill me.
When I slashed her hand—
One of my gas-mask straps snapped.
When I filled her torso with bullets—
The shockwave from her backhand forced me backward.
Even while the pastor and Shin Nain pinned her down, she twisted desperately to protect her head.
Eventually—
I ran out of ammunition.
Click. Click. Click.
Through the haze of gun smoke, the Seoul mage listened to the empty clicks like a birthday song.
"Today's my birthday."
"Thanks for the present~"
She charged.
Ignoring her wounds.
Coming for my knowledge.
My memories.
My magic.
The momentum shifted.
I didn't even think about blocking with the rifle stock.
Only evasion remained.
My poncho became rags.
Her attacks grew more precise.
Terrifyingly precise.
Not once did she attack above my neck.
Her tongue flicked out.
Baek Jemin.
Twenty-eight years old.
My first kiss would not be this.
That conviction alone kept me alive.
Then I heard Hamza.
"Sejun!"
That bastard hadn't run away.
Hamza came sprinting from behind the Seoul mage.
Panting.
He drew his ridiculously huge revolver.
Then—
Instead of throwing it—
He rolled it.
Like a bowling ball.
The enormous revolver slid across the floor.
Straight into someone's hand.
Clack.
A cold metallic sound.
The Seoul mage's expression changed.
"First shot, first hit!"
Lee Sejun shouted.
Then—
BOOM!
The shot landed.
The Devouring Spine's tail intercepted the bullet.
The tail exploded apart.
Severed.
Flying away.
At that exact moment—
I swung the bayonet.
The blade carved from her jaw to her cheek.
I felt teeth scrape against steel.
SLASH!
Blood exploded.
Flesh flew.
Her long tongue was severed completely.
My left hand became drenched in her blood.
But I didn't stop.
The gap between throat and skull.
Where bone and muscle separated.
I swung with everything I had.
Then I saw it.
Regret.
Something resembling regret appeared in her eyes.
I didn't care what she regretted.
Only one thing mattered.
The survivors would be us.
The Archmages.
SLASH!
The Seoul mage clutched her nearly severed neck and stumbled backward.
Then collapsed onto her rear.
Yet she still didn't die.
Whether it was the power of advanced Heart Magic...
Or the nature of corrupted Alteration Magic...
I didn't know.
But one thing was certain.
She could not escape death.
Lee Sejun's enormous revolver pointed directly at her forehead.
Clack.
"One shot. One kill."
BOOM!
Her head exploded.
Only then did Shin Nain casually kick away a spent casing and walk over.
"Dead."
"Huff... huff..."
Only then did I realize I was gasping.
Exhausted.
Beyond exhausted.
And exhilarated beyond belief.
I couldn't hold it in.
I pulled off my gas mask.
The damp fog touched my sweat-soaked face.
I looked around at the Archmages.
And smiled.
"We're stronger than we thought, aren't we?"