Chapter 68

The Name of the Miracle

BOOM!

We stepped on a car and vaulted over it.

It still wasn't enough.

There were hundreds of abandoned vehicles scattered across Olympic Bridge.

The real problem was the monsters hanging from the thick cables extending from the gigantic arch at the bridge's center.

Predatory Spines crawled down from the edges of my vision like insects.

"Spines!"

The moment Shin Nain shouted, I turned my head.

I needed to take in the entire swarm of Predatory Spines pouring down from the hangers attached to the great arch.

A world without fog.

A sky where monsters burst apart beneath artillery fire and flesh rained from above.

Chunks of meat pattered against my poncho while I stared at the Predatory Spines using their ribs as legs.

Pain was frightening.

But what I truly feared was having my potential trapped for eternity.

So I didn't hesitate.

Forward Alteration-Type Tongue Stage 2.

[Desire Explosion – Sleepiness].

PSSHHT!

This time it felt as though someone had smashed my tongue with a pork cutlet hammer.

Naturally, I couldn't keep running.

I grabbed the filter of my gas mask with my left hand and rolled across the ground.

As I tumbled, I opened my mouth and panted desperately.

Like a dog sticking out its tongue under a blazing sun.

A burning sensation stronger than ten thousand Scoville units spread across my tongue.

The pain was enough to drive me insane.

Yet because of the pain, I couldn't go insane.

I felt saliva mixed with blood dripping from the corner of my mouth, but I didn't even have the strength to lift my gas mask and spit it out.

My arms and legs trembled uncontrollably.

My body collapsed.

And yet—

My thoughts remained perfectly clear.

The only reason I could still think calmly was because of Eye Stage 3.

[Cognitive Dissonance].

My left eye, already reduced to a blind spot, felt numb.

The pressure inside it was rising.

Deep within my eyeball, the optic nerves heated like electric coils.

It felt as though the inside of my eye was boiling like an egg white.

Only then did I understand the true cost of Cognitive Dissonance.

This wasn't a one-time spell.

It was a sustained effect.

All the costs required to deny the condition of my body were being concentrated into one eye.

The blindness was temporary.

But there was a limit.

The moment my left eye became completely blind—

My right eye would begin paying the price.

Cognitive Dissonance was a spell that paid its cost through vision itself.

The most important sense in human perception.

To withstand death, it would eventually consume both eyes.

And a man without eyes couldn't use eye magic.

Even so—

For such a powerful spell outside the fog, it was still absurdly cheap.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Bones struck the ground.

Some splashed into the Han River.

I couldn't see directly because I was lying face-down.

But the rough hands that hauled me upright told me enough.

SMACK!

Lee Sejun slapped me hard across the back.

My senses instantly returned.

"UGH!"

"Mr. Jemin! Stay awake! Run!"

Heart Mage Lee Sejun was still terrifyingly powerful outside the fog.

That slap definitely left a bruise.

Any gratitude I felt evaporated immediately.

Only irritation remained.

You bastard. Couldn't you hit a little softer?

But I didn't have time to complain.

Something behind us was drooling.

The moment I regained my senses, I gripped my bayonet and sprinted to the front.

BOOM! BOOM!

Behind us, the flesh-colored starfish crushed cars while chasing us.

And it spoke.

Using a monster's throat to form human words.

Where are you going?

I didn't answer aloud.

Only in my head.

Where am I going?

To feed you, obviously.

Then my vision darkened.

As we passed beneath the massive arch at the center of Olympic Bridge, another change became visible on the northern side of the river.

Between concrete buildings.

Among piles of wrecked cars.

Inside the debris.

Twisted figures began turning toward us.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

The monsters that had been focused on the outskirts finally heard the gunfire.

Not distant gunfire.

Gunfire echoing from the heart of Seoul itself.

We hadn't even crossed the river yet.

And we were already surrounded.

But stopping wasn't an option.

Odoki chased us from behind.

Amalgams and countless other monsters approached from ahead, drooling hungrily.

We passed beneath the arch.

And ran straight toward the monsters gathering beyond the wrecked vehicles.

Then, amid the ragged breathing of despair and resignation, the pastor shouted.

"Don't forget! As long as you believe, you'll be saved!"

His voice cut through artillery fire and monster screams.

Even the monsters reacted.

The Amalgams recognized it as the prayer of the living.

And charged.

At least ten medium-class Amalgams.

Each one had consumed dozens of people.

I made my decision instantly.

"Lee Sejun! Throw me a spare grenade!"

"After pulling the pin?!"

"Damn it! I'm using it!"

WHOOSH!

Something shot over my head like a stone.

Not an arc.

A straight line.

If I'd tried catching that thing, it would've punched through my hand.

This lunatic really wants to kill me with a grenade.

The complaint rose immediately.

But there was no time.

The moment I confirmed the grenade had passed overhead, I rolled my tongue.

Forward Alteration-Type Tongue Stage 1.

[Degradation].

Time to use a 100% spell again.

As long as fear remained more terrifying than pain—

I was prepared to offer this body as a sacrifice.

If things got bad, I'd inject another dose of morphine and sacrifice my left eye.

Odin had already set the precedent.

Why couldn't I?

Forward Alteration-Type Eye Stage 2.

100%.

Therefore my pain is longer and more absolute than any era—

[Cognitive Distortion].

Twenty steps separated me from the Amalgams.

The world slowed.

Yet even in that stretched-out moment, the grenade Lee Sejun had thrown struck the rear window of an abandoned vehicle.

I couldn't hear the impact.

But I saw cracks spreading across the reinforced glass like a spiderweb.

Grenades were supposed to be thrown weapons.

I never knew they could also function as armor-piercing projectiles.

And this psychopath expected me to catch it.

Step.

Step.

Ten steps carried me to the vehicle.

I reached out and pulled the grenade free before it could bury itself in the glass.

Then I walked another ten.

Standing directly before the Amalgam, I examined it carefully.

A monster that had feasted exclusively on healthy young people.

Its multiple smooth, wrinkle-free arms waved through the air.

I gently placed the grenade into one of the hands reaching toward us.

Reflexively, the fingers closed.

Still unaware.

I pulled the pin.

Then I struck the hand, forcing it toward the creature's stomach.

The compound eyes hidden among the tangled faces still hadn't noticed me.

I crouched.

Pulled my poncho over my head.

The word [Durable] written in blood-red letters across it.

And shouted.

"Lee Sejun! Kick it!"

Blink.

Everything happened at once.

My left eye boiled.

Sticky tears streamed down my face.

My body surrendered to pain before my mind did, collapsing onto the ground.

Then a tremendous gust passed over my back.

Something huge flew overhead.

Not a stone this time.

More like a giant black eraser.

For a brief instant, it felt as though the air itself had vanished.

Then the shockwave arrived.

All the stretched sounds returned at once.

But the ringing reached my ears first.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEE—

The poncho flapped violently.

Someone hauled me upright.

When my legs failed, they simply dragged me along.

Only then did I understand.

My poncho was covered in shattered flesh.

Blood.

Metal fragments.

Ahead of me stretched a road scraped clean, as though someone had erased it.

Crushed Amalgams writhed among the destruction.

Someone was shouting beside me.

I couldn't hear a thing.

Then I remembered Ear Magic Stage 1.

Right.

Telepathy.

I focused.

And heard Shin Nain's voice.

Mr. Jemin, can you hear me?

Yeah.

Mr. Sejun kicked an abandoned car and launched it at them.

I told him to kick a monster.

He kicked a car instead.

And sent both flying.

The results were good, weren't they?

My wariness toward Lee Sejun increased dramatically.

A Heart Mage capable of shattering reinforced glass with an unpinned grenade and kicking cars through the air?

As far as I was concerned, he was the real monster hiding in human skin.

Yet somehow my legs kept moving.

Not running.

But moving.

Supported by someone else's shoulder.

Eventually the ringing faded.

I released the support and began running again.

The one supporting me had been Hamza.

"Th-thanks."

"Huff... huff..."

Thanks to him, the sounds behind us changed.

Instead of hungry cries—

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

Odoki was eating.

At that moment, Lee Sejun, now leading the group, looked back.

"Let's catch our breath."

"Hah... hah... huff..."

That breathing belonged to the pastor.

He pulled off his gas mask and collapsed.

Sweat drenched every wrinkle on Pastor Park Yohan's face.

When he wiped his brow, droplets splashed onto the ground.

The others weren't much different.

"Pwah!"

Hamza was too busy gasping for air to answer anyone.

I decided he deserved an extra spoonful of luncheon meat.

Meanwhile we passed the twitching remains of the Amalgams.

Shin Nain immediately reached for his canteen.

"Huff... huff..."

Hamza braced himself on trembling legs.

He seemed to realize that if he sat down now, he might never stand again.

"Huff... huff... huff... huff..."

BOOM!

We stomped on a car and vaulted over it.

It still wasn't enough.

There were hundreds of abandoned vehicles scattered across Olympic Bridge.

The real problem was the monsters dangling from the thick cables extending from the massive arch at the center of the bridge.

Predatory Spines skittered down at the edge of my vision like insects.

"Spines!"

The moment Shin Nain shouted, I turned my head.

I needed to take in the entire swarm of Predatory Spines pouring down from the hangers connected to the giant arch.

A world without fog.

A sky where monsters exploded under artillery fire and flesh rained down.

While finely shredded chunks of meat pattered against my poncho, I stared at the Predatory Spines using their ribs as legs as they came for us.

Pain was frightening.

But what I truly needed to fear was my potential being trapped for eternity.

So I didn't hesitate.

Forward Alteration-Type Tongue Stage 2.

[Desire Explosion - Sleepiness].

Splurt!

This time, it felt as though my tongue had been smashed with a meat tenderizer.

Naturally, I couldn't run properly. Clutching the filter of my gas mask with my left hand, I rolled across the ground.

While rolling, I opened my mouth and panted desperately.

Like a dog sticking out its tongue under the blazing sun.

The pain on my tongue felt hotter than a pepper with a Scoville rating over ten thousand.

It felt like I was about to go insane, yet the pain itself prevented me from losing my mind.

I felt blood-mixed saliva dripping from my lips, but I didn't even have the strength to pull up my gas mask and spit it out.

My arms and legs trembled uncontrollably and gave way beneath me.

Yet my thoughts remained crystal clear.

The only reason I could still think calmly was because of Eye Stage 3, [Cognitive Dissonance].

My left eye, already reduced to a blind spot, felt numb as the pressure inside it continued to rise.

Deep within the eyeball, the bundle of optic nerves heated up like an electric coil, threatening to boil the inside of the eye like an egg white.

Only then did I realize the true cost of Cognitive Dissonance.

This spell wasn't a one-time effect.

It was a sustained spell.

All the costs required to deny the changes happening to my body were being concentrated into a single eye.

The blindness was temporary, but it had a limit.

The moment my left eye went completely blind, my right eye would begin paying the price.

Cognitive Dissonance was a spell that paid its cost through vision—the most important sense in human perception.

To withstand death itself, both eyes would be sacrificed.

And a mage without eyes naturally couldn't use eye magic.

Even so, it was still cheap for a spell this powerful outside the fog.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I heard bones hitting the ground.

Some splashed into the Han River.

I couldn't confirm it myself while sprawled on the ground, but the rough hands forcibly dragging me to my feet told me enough.

SMACK!

Lee Sejun slapped my back.

My senses snapped back immediately.

"Urgh!"

"Mr. Jemin! Get it together! Run!"

Heart Mage Lee Sejun was strong even outside the fog.

That definitely left a bruise.

Any gratitude vanished instantly, replaced by irritation and curses.

You bastard. Couldn't you hit a little softer?

But I didn't have time to complain.

Something behind us was drooling.

The first thing I did after regaining my senses was grip my bayonet and charge back to the front.

BOOM! BOOM!

Behind us, the flesh-colored starfish crushed vehicles as it pursued us.

And it spoke.

Through a monster's vocal cords, it uttered human words.

"Where are you going?"

I didn't answer aloud.

Only in my head.

Where am I going?

To feed you, you bastard.

That was when everything went dark.

As we passed beneath the giant arch at the center of Olympic Bridge, another change became visible across the river on the Gangbuk side.

Even amidst this chaos, twisted forms hidden between neatly trimmed concrete buildings, abandoned cars, and piles of debris began turning toward us.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

The monsters that had been watching the outskirts of Seoul heard the gunfire.

Not distant gunfire.

Gunfire echoing from the heart of Seoul.

Before we even finished crossing the river, we had effectively surrounded ourselves with monsters.

But stopping wasn't an option.

Odoki was behind us.

Amalgams and countless other monsters approached from ahead, drooling as they came.

We passed beneath the arch.

We charged straight toward the monsters gathering beyond the wrecked vehicles.

And amid the ragged breathing of despair and resignation, the pastor shouted.

"Don't forget! As long as you believe, you'll be saved!"

His voice pierced through the artillery fire and the monsters' screams.

Even the monsters reacted.

The Amalgams realized it was the final prayer of the living and broke into a run.

At least ten medium-sized Amalgams that had each devoured dozens of people.

Baek Jemin made a decision instantly.

"Lee Sejun! Throw me one of the spare grenades!"

"After pulling the pin!?"

"Fuck, I'm gonna use it!"

Whoosh!

The instant I spoke, something flew over my head like a stone.

Not in an arc.

In a straight line.

If I caught that with my hand, it'd punch right through my palm.

This lunatic really intends to kill me with a grenade.

Complaints flooded my mind, but there wasn't time.

The moment I confirmed the grenade had passed overhead, I rolled my tongue.

Forward Alteration-Type Tongue Stage 1.

[Degradation].

Time to use 100% magic again.

As long as a fear worse than pain drove me forward, I was prepared to offer this body as a sacrifice.

If it came down to it, I'd inject another shot of morphine and sacrifice my left eye.

Odin already set a precedent. Why couldn't I?

Forward Alteration-Type Eye Stage 2. 100%.

Therefore my pain is longer and more absolute than any era—

[Cognitive Distortion].

The distance between the Amalgams and me was roughly twenty steps.

At that moment, time stretched into eternity.

Even then, I clearly saw the grenade Lee Sejun had thrown strike the rear window of an abandoned car.

I couldn't hear it.

But I could see the cracks spreading across the reinforced glass like a spiderweb.

I knew grenades were thrown weapons.

I didn't know they could also be used to punch holes through people's bodies.

Lee Sejun was the sort of madman who threw them expecting someone to catch them.

Step.

Step.

After ten strides, I reached the vehicle.

I extended a hand and pulled the grenade free from the glass.

Then I took another ten steps.

Standing directly before the Amalgam, I leisurely examined it.

This monster had apparently feasted exclusively on young people in an aging society.

The sight of its many smooth, wrinkle-free arms waving around was oddly impressive.

I gently placed the grenade into the hand of the Amalgam reaching toward us.

As if acting on spinal reflex alone, its fingers immediately began closing around it.

I pulled the pin.

Then I smacked the arm so it carried the grenade toward its own belly.

The compound eyes rolling among the tangled faces still hadn't noticed me.

Then I crouched.

Pulling up my poncho with [Durable] written on it in blood-red letters, I covered my face and shouted.

Blink.

"Lee Sejun! Kick it!"

Everything happened at once.

My left eye boiled.

Sticky tears streamed down my face.

My body succumbed to pain before my mind did and collapsed to the ground.

At the same time, a massive blast of wind swept over my back.

Something black, like a giant eraser, flew overhead.

The air itself seemed to vanish.

For less than a second, silence reigned.

Then a tremendous gale followed.

All the sounds that had been stretched out began playing at once.

But the ringing reached my ears first.

EEEEEEEEEEE—

While my poncho flapped violently around me, someone hauled me to my feet.

My legs trembled, so they practically dragged me along.

Only then did I understand what had happened.

My poncho was covered in shredded flesh, blood, and twisted metal fragments.

Ahead of me, the road looked as though a giant eraser had scraped away everything in its path.

Crushed Amalgams writhed amid the destruction.

Someone was shouting beside me, but I couldn't hear a thing through the ringing.

Then Ear Magic Stage 1 came to mind.

Right. Telepathy.

Steadying my thoughts, I focused.

Shin Nain's voice reached me.

Mr. Jemin, can you hear me?

I can.

Mr. Sejun kicked an abandoned car and launched it at them.

I told him to kick the monster.

He kicked a car and sent both flying together?

The results were good, weren't they?

My suspicion of Lee Sejun increased dramatically.

A Heart Mage who shattered reinforced glass with an unpinned grenade and could kick cars through the air?

From my perspective, he was the real monster wearing human skin.

Even so, my feet somehow kept moving.

Not running, but moving quickly enough while leaning on someone else's support.

As the ringing gradually faded, I pushed myself away and started running again.

The one supporting me had been Hamza.

"Thanks."

"Huff... huff..."

Thanks to that, the sounds behind us changed.

Instead of hearing Odoki shouting about being hungry—

Crunch! Crunch!

Lee Sejun, who had taken point in my place, looked back.

"Let's catch our breath for a second."

"Hah... hah... huff..."

That was the pastor's breathing.

The pastor pulled up his gas mask and collapsed to the ground.

Sweat gleamed in every wrinkle of Pastor Park Yohan's face.

When he wiped his face with one hand, droplets splattered onto the pavement.

The others weren't much different.

"Pwah!"

Seeing Hamza too busy gasping for breath to answer anyone, I decided to reward him with an extra spoonful of luncheon meat later.

Meanwhile, we passed the twitching remains of the Amalgams.

Shin Nain exhaled and immediately reached for his canteen.

"Huff... huff..."

Hamza forced himself to remain standing.

He seemed to realize that if he sat down here, he might never get back up.

"Huff... huff... huff... huff..."

I, Baek Jemin, was no exception.

The moment rest was permitted, I braced my collapsing body on my knees and pulled up my gas mask...