Chapter 53

The Saved Shall Seek Salvation

This was the route planned by us Supreme Mages.

First, our top priority was to travel above ground for as long as possible.

Traveling along the subway tracks was relatively safe, but because the space was enclosed, being ambushed could prove fatal.

Moreover, there were still many monsters we had yet to identify. It was better to advance above ground whenever possible, where we could detect threats from afar with magic and prepare ourselves accordingly.

The second reason was that if we continued following Line 8's subway tracks, we would inevitably approach the nest of the Bright Yellow Gaze that Kang Areum noona had warned us about.

Near Seokchon Lake, with Lotte Tower at its back, the area surrounding the Bright Yellow Gaze could be swarming with monsters—or perhaps creatures even more dangerous than monsters. The Bright Yellow Gaze itself might roam the surface, but other nearby monsters could descend underground.

Saving time was certainly an important virtue, but the territory around the Bright Yellow Gaze and its nest was an ultra-high-risk zone that we simply weren't capable of handling yet.

The third reason was similar to the second, though slightly different in nature.

The problem was Jamsil Station.

The Line 8 tracks inevitably led to Jamsil Station, and that troublesome station also connected to Line 2.

As someone from the countryside, I couldn't help tilting my head in confusion.

What's the big deal about Line 2?

Had Shin Nain not let out a long breath through her gas mask and explained it to me, I would've remained ignorant forever.

"Line 2 is infamous for being the busiest subway line in Seoul. The population density is absurdly high. And if it's also near the nest of that horrific monster... then the number of monsters there will be beyond imagination."

"Wouldn't they have bombarded the area to hell?"

"If the monsters avoided the bombardment by cramming themselves into subway stations, it'd be useless. Even if bunker busters destroyed one station, they could pour out through others. No matter what happened, we can't ignore the possibility that monsters are flooding out around Jamsil Station."

I glanced around just in case.

Both the Pastor and Hamza nodded in agreement.

"Line 2 wasn't a place people rode. At least not when I used it."

"It's gotten better. Still ridiculously crowded though."

Lee Sejun volunteered his opinion without anyone asking.

"I wouldn't know."

"I figured."

We Supreme Mages sought to study and learn magic.

We weren't lunatics who deliberately sought out unnecessary danger.

If Shin Nain was right, Line 2 had once been the most heavily used subway route in a city of nearly ten million people. It already passed through Gangnam, one of the most densely populated areas in the country, and there was also the possibility that people had fled into the subway when the Critical Point Breakthrough occurred.

Considering all that, Jamsil Station was hell among hells.

Lee Sejun added a few more thoughts.

"The monsters have moved toward the front lines, sure. But if you're asking whether they've thinned out enough for us to break through? I doubt it. That area was probably one of the places our military bombarded the hardest. If all that firepower was concentrated there to hold the line, monsters may have filled the gaps elsewhere."

"Sejun, why do you suddenly sound smart?"

"Mr. Jemin. I may not look it, but I used to be a short-service sergeant."

As we pushed through the dense fog that limited visibility to less than ten meters, we exchanged opinions like this whenever opportunities arose.

Monster attacks?

Not a chance.

We Supreme Mages were magicians with systematic procedures and highly adaptable improvisational abilities.

Even while chatting, the atmosphere changed instantly the moment Hamza's eyes widened.

Hamza wiped the fog from his gas mask lenses with his fingertips and warned us.

"Danger."

"They hunt even when the fog's this thick?"

Normally, I would've activated Tongue Stage 1 and Eyes Stage 1 at full power, cleared away the fog, aligned my sights, and carefully picked them off one by one.

And I would've wasted some of the mere two thousand rounds remaining to us Supreme Mages on those pathetic trash mobs. In fact, both Lee Sejun and the Pastor already had their rifles aimed skyward.

I would've done the same with my shortened-barrel AR-15 equipped with a red dot sight.

Normally.

"Everyone, hold."

"Hm?"

Now a single word was enough.

Whenever Hamza gave a warning, Shin Nain—having shed every disgraceful nickname and become nothing more than a super-detector—would adjust her headset.

After narrowing her eyes behind her gas mask lenses, she spoke firmly.

"The sound of cloth fluttering in the wind... three Skin-Jellyfish."

The Pastor's eyes sharpened.

It was the look of a man wondering what kind of nonsense I was about to pull again.

"Baek Jemin. What bullshit are you trying this time?"

"It's not bullshit. It's magic."

Jung Nari, the Inversion-Type Alteration Mage who had fought us in the department store near Jangji Station, couldn't use Tongue Stage 2.

I suspected that was because her level of perception wasn't high enough.

Then what level of perception was required to use Tongue Stage 2?

I knew the approaching monsters were three Skin-Jellyfish.

I knew what Skin-Jellyfish were.

I even knew what they looked like.

And with Eyes Stage 1 alone, I could calculate their positions by tracing their red footprints backward.

Without Tongue Stage 1, it was merely a precognitive vision with a ten-second delay.

But that also meant I could infer their current positions from where those red footprints had been ten seconds earlier.

And the fog was thick.

There was no reason to hesitate.

Altered Eyes Stage 1.

A slight ache spread through my eyes, but it was manageable.

At the same time, the fog swirled and parted, revealing several clear points in the distance.

Red footprints bounced through patches of fog as if stepping on invisible platforms while approaching us.

Their movement wasn't particularly fast.

But ten seconds later, they would undoubtedly be right in front of us.

Until now, I had been obsessed with stopping those red footprints from reaching me.

I'd focused solely on firing ahead of time, timing my shots for the moment their owners lined up in front of my muzzle ten seconds later.

In other words, I'd reached the limits of how creatively I could apply the magic.

But now I had room to think.

Using this delayed precognition that only showed ten seconds into the future, I could estimate the monsters' current positions.

It took roughly four or five seconds to think things through and determine their locations, so achieving one hundred percent accuracy was impossible.

But predictive shooting was now possible.

Only a third-rate fool would lament a power that showed nothing but ten seconds into the future.

Within this secret system of Alteration Magic, where pain served as the price, skill also meant distributing the pain one could endure in the most efficient manner.

Predictive fire was enough.

I rolled my eyes and traced where the red footprints had come from.

Above the intersection.

These monsters seemed to float around in the air, waiting near areas people frequently passed through or lurking behind rooftops.

They were beasts.

I was human.

Understand their habits, and you could defeat them.

This was the perfect opportunity to test Tongue Stage 2.

I slung my rifle over my shoulder, quickly pulled up my gas mask with my left hand, and stuck out my tongue.

Direct Alteration — Tongue Stage 2.

Desire Explosion — Appetite.

Naturally, because I wasn't targeting precisely and because it was Stage 2, backlash struck even through the thick fog.

For an instant, it felt as though the taste buds on my tongue were boiling.

Then blood burst forth.

Pshhk!

The metallic taste of blood coated my tongue.

A stinging pain lingered at the tip before dripping away in droplets.

But even as blood vessels burst in my eyes, I refused to blink.

I had to see what happened to the pale figures beyond the fog.

Even tears brought on by pain couldn't force my eyes shut.

Because what I witnessed was the result of the magic I had achieved.

A true miracle of equivalent exchange.

Unlike everything else that granted opportunities only after bone-grinding suffering, magic willingly repaid exactly what was sacrificed.

And once again, it met my expectations.

One of the three fluttering figures jerked.

One of the red footprints wavered chaotically before disappearing.

Or so it seemed.

When I widened my eyes and cleared away the fog to look again, the footprint had reappeared—beneath another Skin-Jellyfish.

The Skin-Jellyfish whose appetite had exploded was no longer capable of patience.

Hunger was a force that compelled humans to become beasts.

The same agonizing hunger that had driven people during historical famines to eat their own children had overwhelmed even a monster's instincts.

The distorted faces that composed the Skin-Jellyfish all drew their mouths tight and screamed as one.

Their sucker-like lips drooled uncontrollably as they prepared to latch onto anything nearby.

And at that moment, another unsuspecting Skin-Jellyfish was closer than we were.

The moment the magical hunger overwhelmed the kinship shared among monsters, the creature howled.

The Skin-Jellyfish screamed as its sense of brotherhood shattered, yet spread its skin toward its own kind to satisfy its hunger.

Chomp!

Another red footprint vanished.

Unable to overcome its immediate hunger, the Skin-Jellyfish attacked another of its species.

The victim struggled desperately to survive, but having been ambushed first, it was at a disadvantage.

Splorch.

The Skin-Jellyfish became entangled together.

And as they writhed, each trying to devour the other, I finally learned how these creatures fed.

This monster shoved its skin into a human's mouth, fused its own hide with the victim's internal organs, dissolved everything inside, consumed every part capable of rotting, and effectively turned the corpse into a taxidermied shell.

Then it merged that shell into its own body, increasing its size.

The sight of them tumbling over one another, desperately trying to force their distorted, screaming faces into each other's mouths, resembled a savage wildlife documentary.

The fact that these monsters originated from human bodies only made the scene even more grotesque.

At that moment, the remaining uninjured one made a different choice when faced with the scene of cannibalism.

Rather than targeting us, it apparently decided that devouring its own kind was the better option and lunged toward the Skin-Jellyfish afflicted by magical hunger.

Shhk!

Just like that, the final red footprint vanished.

The Skin-Jellyfish rolled across the road, trying to devour one another. They lashed out with tentacles nonstop and battered each other's skin with those puckering human-lipped sucker mouths.

Watching the spectacle, I gathered saliva and spat out a mouthful of blood.

When I put my gas mask back on, everyone reacted differently.

The Pastor looked utterly dumbfounded as he watched the shapes in the fog suddenly tangle together.

"Jemin. What did you do?"

"Direct Alteration Tongue Stage 2. I triggered Desire Explosion and amplified their appetite. That's the result."

"A terrifying power. Don't use it carelessly."

Hamza turned away with a deathly pale expression, while Lee Sejun gave me a thumbs-up without actually understanding what had happened.

"Allah, please protect me."

"Mr. Jemin, that's incredibly convenient."

Only then did I hear a strange sound.

Urgh... bleegh...

Shin Nain had pulled up her gas mask and was vomiting.

After throwing up everything she'd eaten, she immediately poured water from her canteen onto her hands and repeatedly wiped her mouth. Only after rinsing and gargling did she put her gas mask back on.

"Mr. Jemin. Please warn me before you use Alteration Sacred Formula Tongue Stage 2."

"What were the monsters saying?"

For once, Shin Nain didn't answer immediately.

Instead, she adjusted her gas mask and ground her teeth.

"Try unlocking an auditory branch someday."

Fortunately, I specialized in Eyes, Tongue, and Hand branches.

Even if Shin Nain had heard something horrific, I'd only hear it much later.

I tightened my grip on my rifle and aimed at the three monsters still tangled together on the road.

"Anyway, I'll be taking the experience points."

"You actually believe that rumor about gaining experience from killing monsters?"

The Pastor sounded incredulous.

Laughing, I squeezed the trigger.

Bang. Bang-bang...

As spent casings clattered pleasantly onto the pavement, I waved the barrel to disperse the gunsmoke and replied,

"It feels good."

If I was going to kill them anyway, why not believe it benefited me?

I stroked my rifle once before jerking my chin toward the fog.

"Three bullets for three monsters. That's already a satisfying equivalent exchange. Why wouldn't I like a rumor saying there's a bonus on top of that?"

From that point onward, there was no need to explain how much more varied our responses became.

The usefulness of Direct Alteration Tongue Stage 2 had been proven, making something akin to infiltration possible.

Though we walked around as casually as if we were on an outing, Seoul was by no means land meant for humans.

As we traveled through fog that reduced visibility to less than ten meters, familiar sounds and ominous unfamiliar sounds overlapped in a dissonant chorus.

The clicking of a switch.

The drip of water from a faucet that wasn't fully shut.

A strange groan, like a starving person squeezing out the last remnants of strength.

Wind passing through shattered windows, sounding eerily like human screams.

But sound wasn't all that defined Seoul.

Smell was Seoul too.

The deeper we went, the more our noses were assaulted by odors that revealed what had happened over the last four months.

Wastewater leaking from sewer pipes beneath shattered asphalt roads.

The faint but chilling stench of decaying corpses.

The sickeningly sweet smell of rotten flesh.

The damp, humid reek of mold that seemed to cover everything.

I was glad I'd written the blood-lettered word [Purification] inside my gas mask.

Between the gas mask filter, Hand Stage 2, and the Purification enchantment I'd inscribed, the fact that I could still smell it at all made me dread imagining how horrific it truly was.

Even the feel of Seoul was different.

You'd think it impossible to sense anything through a poncho, combat uniform, boots, and gas mask.

Yet somehow I could.

As the scent of raw rubber mingled with the smells of Seoul, I felt the city's transformation through the soles of my boots.

Everything was damp.

Everything was moist.

Dew clung everywhere.

But it wasn't the clean dew of a fresh morning.

It was dew more metallic than blood, saltier than tears, and more painful than an open wound.

Sometimes the droplets accumulated so heavily that our footsteps splashed through shallow puddles.

The closer we drew to central Seoul, the more dew collected on our ponchos.

A rough movement of the arm sent droplets scattering in streams.

Walking through a place like this, it became difficult not to question Kang Areum's words.

Especially when so much of modern firepower depended on visibility.

Was this fog really meant for humanity?

Perhaps everyone was thinking the same thing, because conversation dwindled sharply.

It wasn't an easy question.

I held a more moderate opinion.

The fog was definitely meant for magic.

But I didn't think it was intended to help ordinary non-mages.

It wasn't a blessing for everyone.

It was a blessing reserved for those who had awakened to magic and were prepared to advance further.

The other Supreme Mages also had no choice but to acknowledge that the fog was, at the very least, useful to mages.

The message Dense Fog — Intended for Outdoor Activity concealed an uncomfortable truth.

Ordinary people viewed the fog as an enemy.

For mages, it was a blessing, a fortress, and a miracle.

As we walked along the road, Hamza would warn us of danger.

Shin Nain would identify monsters by sound.

Then I would open my eyes and survey the area.

"Danger."

"Open-head type. No Spinewalker. Four jellyfish."

"They haven't noticed us. They heard the gunshots earlier and are moving toward that direction."

The fog hid everyone.

Monsters and humans alike.

As long as magic could be used, the fog was humanity's home field.

And we intended to exploit that advantage.

The moment he heard our reports, the Pastor made a decision.

"Avoid engagement. If we kill every monster we see, we'll never leave Seoul. Accomplishing the objective comes first."

Crunch. Crunch.

Keeping low, we slipped around the monsters and continued forward.

A city that once housed ten million people wasn't famous for nothing.

Just as countless mages had emerged from Seoul's population, countless monsters must have emerged as well.

We hadn't come here to hammer lead into every Seoul citizen transformed into a monster.

The purpose of us Supreme Mages was to acquire magical knowledge and rescue friendly local survivors.

Which meant...

We would not listen to the screams of those trapped in monstrous bodies while retaining their self-awareness.

For those imprisoned at the beginning of eternity, all we could offer was a distant promise of salvation:

One day, we would put a bullet in them and grant them death.

April 18, 2028 — 11:45 AM

A great deal of time had been consumed by fighting monsters, making them turn on each other, shooting them, or simply avoiding them.

But thanks to that, the endless forest of apartment buildings surrounding us finally seemed to be nearing its end.

I glanced around.

No red footprints were visible.

Instead, beyond the slightly thinning fog, I could vaguely make out an open plain stretching ahead.

This was when Hamza began struggling.

And when Shin Nain started suffering.

"Uh...? I... I'm not sure."

"The sounds are all mixed up... There are monsters. Definitely. But... I can't tell exactly what they are."

The effect of the thinning fog hit us immediately.

Did the density of the fog vary by region?

Once again, we faced a choice.

Detour back toward the thicker fog?

Or continue north quickly along the edge of Olympic Park, where the fog was growing thinner?

Given how unlikely it was that we'd encounter another survivor group, time was precious.

Considering how even a few gunshots had drawn monster hordes, remaining in one place only increased the danger.

This was when Lee Sejun stepped forward.

"Let's push through quickly. Normally we'd establish a shelter by now, but with every local survivor in Seoul effectively neutral or hostile, it'll be difficult for newcomers like us to secure one. We need supplies fast and need to break through as quickly as possible. Toward somewhere with a clear objective. Joining the local survivors in Goryeoha—people who are almost guaranteed to be friendly—offers advantages in every respect."

Surprisingly, it was a reasonable argument.

With no idea where military support had gone, the only thing the Supreme Mages could do was continue advancing.

Trying to retreat now would simply force us to fight the monster hordes concentrated around the front lines.

Besides...

There was still so much I didn't know.

Magic.

Knowledge about magic.

An environment where magic could actually be learned.

The fact that all of that existed in Seoul, yet I had to leave, frustrated me immensely...!

For the first time, I slightly—just slightly—understood the mindset of those lunatics who claimed studying was the most enjoyable thing in the world.

"...Alright."

The Pastor exhaled sharply through his gas mask filter.

"Let's all try to reach the Han River today. If Olympic Park is still intact, take a good look at it. We might never see it again."

Click.

Everyone adjusted their weapons and followed the Pastor's decision.

Continue north along the road near Olympic Park.

It was the most realistic plan.

And the most Supreme Mage-like choice.

Then we heard children's laughter drifting along the roadside.

Alongside a blinking yellow traffic light came the sounds of children laughing and chatting, as though a radio were playing nearby.

Hahaha...

Hehehe...

Ehehehe...

Every laugh sounded bright and cheerful.

Mixed among them was the sulky crying of a child who seemed to have gotten hurt while playing with friends.

I noticed the Pastor flinch.

A subspecies of Teratoma?

My vigilance instantly reached its peak.

And I remembered Shin Nain's advice—the same advice that had once saved me from a mental attack.

Now it was my turn to save the Pastor.

"Pastor. You're not actually that good of a person."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"