Chapter 70
Skull Bus
Before deciding how to respond to Go Ryeoha's message, we first took some time to organize what we knew about the mages of Seoul.
One reason was the pastor's insistence.
"Since we've been contacted, we need to decide beforehand how we're going to approach them and how we'll handle things. We should also sort out what we can gain and what we're willing to reveal."
Who would we contact?
Who would we meet?
What would we trade, and what would we gain from it?
In other words, it was time for the Supreme Mages to start preparing our long-term objectives and eventual escape plan.
Everyone agreed it made sense and began digging through their memories.
Fortunately, all of us remembered the five survivors we'd communicated with before entering Seoul.
The military had managed to obtain rough coordinates from those communications, and thanks to Hamza's doctrinal magic, we'd already organized what little information we had about them.
To make things easier, we even gave them nicknames.
First.
We decided to call the crying man who had sobbed while cursing us as idiots and begging to be rescued Dumbass.
Dobong-gu Dumbass.
The name even sounded oddly cute.
Unfortunately, Dobong-gu Dumbass was somewhere near Bukhansan, so we weren't likely to see him anytime soon.
Besides, none of the Supreme Mages had much to say about him.
Even Shin Nain, who loved digging up information on people in her disturbingly obsessive way, looked reluctant.
"There's nothing to learn except that he's already in a complete panic."
Dobong-gu Dumbass simply lacked information.
And crying while begging for rescue wasn't exactly a unique personality trait.
If anything, my naming sense had granted a completely flavorless person more individuality than he originally possessed.
The second candidate was very different.
Second.
The intelligent voice that had displayed hostility toward outsiders while still caring for survivors was tentatively named Professor Nowon-gu.
Professor Nowon-gu had been considered extremely dangerous from the moment we'd spoken with him.
Just as Hamza had warned.
For that reason alone, meeting him was postponed indefinitely.
Lee Sejun folded his arms and shook his head.
"Wasn't he the guy who said he'd show us what someone could do without guns?"
"Meeting him would be dangerous."
If even Hamza called him dangerous, he was probably hostile toward us too.
Third.
The older woman who had confidently led conversations and tried securing support during our communications was nicknamed Madam Yongsan Station.
She was relatively friendly toward the military, and her mature way of speaking made it feel inappropriate to casually call her "Noona."
The pastor, however, questioned my naming sense.
"'Madam' sounds weird. You keep calling Kang Areum 'Noona,' so why isn't this woman 'Yongsan Station Noona?'"
"She's older. I'm not the kind of person who casually disrespects or underestimates elders."
"The voice is fuzzy in my memory, but I doubt she's over fifty. Then she's a noona, not a madam, you punk."
"Pastor, I'm not some barbarian who disrespects his elders."
If someone was twenty years older than me, basic courtesy dictated that I treat them as a senior.
Korea might be falling apart, but respect for age still existed.
"Baek Jemin, you little bastard. You're just refusing to call her noona because you don't want to be grouped with older people."
"Sigh... Pastor, I'm still in my twenties."
Turning thirty was depressing enough.
If I started calling women in their forties noona, I'd feel like I'd already become thirty myself.
Anyway, according to Hamza's doctrinal magic, Madam Yongsan Station herself wasn't particularly dangerous.
The issue was whether Yongsan Station and Madam Yongsan Station should be considered separately.
Was Yongsan Station dangerous because of monsters?
Or because Madam Yongsan Station herself was unpredictable?
That wasn't easy to determine.
Furthermore, Yongsan Station was where the last military stronghold had collapsed.
The pastor's fixation on Madam Yongsan Station stemmed from this point.
It was bait meant to raise a larger issue.
"Do you remember Suwon Station? The one time the government changed its mind and tried screening refugees? When they brought in monks and priests to identify people escaping from Seoul?"
"We do."
The Supreme Mages all nodded.
Each of us had suffered different hardships.
As for me, I couldn't help remembering Father Jeong Yonghwan's final moments.
If he'd survived, he would've made an incredible tank.
As I swallowed that regret, the pastor clicked his tongue.
"The trains carrying refugees—where did they depart from?"
He answered his own question.
"Yongsan Station. The military unit maintaining the evacuation line collapsed there. That's when the military completely lost control of Seoul."
He narrowed his eyes.
"And both the lead refugee train and the following train that carried monsters originated from Yongsan Station."
"I understand what you're getting at."
Shin Nain immediately caught on.
"The fact that Madam Yongsan Station happens to be located there is what's bothering you."
My frown deepened.
Seeing our confusion, Shin Nain sighed.
"The pastor suspects Madam Yongsan Station may have been involved with the departure of the second train—the one that caused the collision."
"You're saying a person sent it?"
"The circumstances are suspicious enough."
Their theory was simple.
Up until now, we'd assumed the Amalgams used human intelligence to infiltrate the trains, attack the engineers, and seize control themselves.
But what if someone had intentionally orchestrated the entire thing to break through the blockade?
That possibility was what worried them.
"Back then, the Crusaders probably weren't strong enough to use Holy War rituals effectively."
Shin Nain continued.
"But if Madam Yongsan Station was already leading a group and operating around Yongsan Station at the time, then she might have attempted to break the blockade exactly that way."
"So we can't completely trust her."
Lee Sejun's serious expression still felt unnatural.
Fourth.
Everyone immediately approved of my nickname.
It was the most straightforward one.
"Gangnam Clairvoyant. Nice."
"If someone can see from Gangnam all the way to Seongnam, that's basically clairvoyance."
"It just means seeing far away, right?"
Only Hamza, who hadn't yet learned Clairvoyance, seemed confused.
The nickname also fit the growing suspicion that all five respondents to the military's communications were powerful mages.
The pastor adjusted his glasses.
"In this hellhole, they were still monitoring radio frequencies and responding to military communications? Not through cursed phones?"
His sharp gaze swept over us.
I nodded.
"They're probably maintaining contact for ordinary survivors who don't have mages. People who still want information from the outside world."
"Exactly."
The pastor pointed.
"That's one reason we believe not every Seoul mage belongs to the Sixty-Six Society. These people want alternative information channels too."
He continued.
"The five strongest individuals—the ones even the Sixty-Six Society can't push around freely—would be the ones willing to risk surveillance and answer military communications."
"Or they received approval from the Sixty-Six Society."
Hamza's interruption earned him an irritated click of the tongue from the pastor.
Ignoring that, Hamza rolled his eyes thoughtfully and gestured.
"What we can offer is information about the outside world."
"And military currency."
"And bundles of military scrip that can guarantee escape."
"What we need from them is information about magic and information about survivors inside Seoul."
"Good."
The pastor nodded.
"That's organized."
***
In the end, I, Baek Jemin, was chosen to contact Go Ryeoha.
The reason was simple.
The alternatives were terrible.
"Jemin, why are you looking at me like that?"
Shin Nain.
Looks normal.
Acts normal.
But she's such an obsessive fanatic that she'd start a fight within five minutes.
No.
"What about me? I'm amazing at talking to women!"
Lee Sejun.
The very reasons he wanted to exchange messages with a young woman were horrifying to imagine.
Absolutely not.
"If she's a decent person, I might invite her to church."
Pastor Park Yohan.
Rejected immediately because Jesus Loves You, Hell Awaits Nonbelievers tends to offend people.
"I don't like dangerous things."
Hamza moved away before anyone could nominate him.
So the responsibility fell to me.
The only remotely normal Supreme Mage.
There was just one problem.
My fingers kept missing the screen.
[Me: Nice to meet you, Go Ryeohaa.]
The typo was unavoidable.
Surely she'd overlook one mistake.
But the unread indicator remained.
Had she put down her cursed phone while we were busy profiling Seoul mages?
Hard to imagine in this day and age.
A few seconds later, a reply arrived.
[Go Ryeoha: Nice to meet you ^–^]
"Whoa."
"What?"
The Supreme Mages had somehow gathered behind me and were staring at the screen.
Lee Sejun clicked his tongue in admiration.
"Wow. One message and I already know what we were missing."
"What?"
"Freshness."
"Such a fuss."
"Jemin."
Shin Nain smirked.
"You realize you're grinning right now?"
Hehehehe. This is awesome.
I lightly scolded Lee Sejun and massaged the twitching corners of my mouth.
A party full of men.
Shin Nain, the lunatic who listened to hymns with her ears blocked.
Pastor Park Yohan, constantly looking for opportunities to evangelize.
Hamza, the supreme coward who always looked for escape routes.
Lee Sejun, who dreamed of becoming a gender-swapped anime girl and never stopped talking nonsense.
After fighting through fog-filled monsters with this sausage-fest of a party...
This felt like a miracle.
Kang Areum noona didn't count.
Calling her "freshness" felt wrong.
She was more like a giant sugar cube in human form.
That made this moment all the more precious.
"Jemin, you seem to be struggling. Want me to type for you?"
"Get lost, poop-brain."
Tap. Tap.
Baek Jemin, man among men, stubbornly hammered at the screen despite countless mistakes.
[Me: My hands are injured, so I type slowly. Please understand.]
"Look at this bastard."
The pastor laughed.
"You sent messages to Kang Areum like you were writing grocery lists."
"Pastor, please stop interrupting. This is an important negotiation."
"Would you talk like this if Kang Areum looked like her?"
"Please let me have my dreams!"
The Supreme Mages kept providing unwanted commentary from behind me.
Meanwhile, the conversation continued.
[Go Ryeoha: By the way, could I ask why you came here, military gentlemen?!]
First things first.
I had to correct her misunderstanding.
[Me: We're civilians, not soldiers.]
[Go Ryeoha: ?]
[Go Ryeoha: Civilians?]
Tap. Tap. Tap...
As I painfully fought with the keyboard, a sudden realization struck me.
Trying to impress a woman I'd never even seen was pointless.
Being comfortable was far more important.
Once I'd swallowed that red pill, the conversation became much easier.
"Jemin."
Lee Sejun blinked.
"Why did your typing suddenly become the way you talk to Kang Areum?"
"I have awakened to reality."
Tap. Tap.
[Me: Civilian.]
[Go Ryeoha: Why did your tone suddenly change?]
[Me: Left eye got wrecked. Hard to see. Cut me some slack.]
[Go Ryeoha: Isn't there anyone else?]
[Go Ryeoha: More importantly, you crossed the bridge under artillery support while carrying guns and wearing military uniforms. How are you civilians?]
[Me: Hold on.]
I looked away from the screen.
Shin Nain met my gaze with a questioning expression.
Lee Sejun was staring eagerly at the phone.
The pastor had one eyebrow raised, already calculating evangelism angles.
Hamza sat far away hugging his backpack while secretly peeking over.
After examining them all, I turned back to the screen and typed.
[Me: I'm the most normal person here.]
[Me: Also, these days civilians carry rifles and wear ponchos.]
[Go Ryeoha: ]
Sometimes people have a hard time accepting the truth.
Go Ryeoha was the same way, but after a brief exchange we were finally able to discuss the real matter at hand.
[Go Ryeoha: You're saying you came here to meet me???]
[Me: Let's make a deal.]
[Go Ryeoha: Not a rescue operation or anything???]
At that point, my brain started spinning rapidly.
Go Ryeoha seemed to be one of the survivors who had decided to hold out until the military changed its policy and began rescuing people.
The military wasn't changing policy at all—they were busy fiddling with the nuclear button—but I had a feeling that telling her that would instantly destroy any chance of negotiation.
This was where my experience shined.
I was a once-in-a-generation genius who had become highly skilled at telling plausible lies after inventing hundreds of excuses to get out of mandatory evening study sessions back in school.
I loved honesty.
But for the best possible outcome, I could sacrifice my conscience.
[Me: Everyone who came with us died. Only we survived....]
Technically, it was true.
All the soldiers who should have been traveling with us were missing, and every advance unit we'd encountered in Jangji had already been wiped out.
The fact that we'd never actually intended to rescue anyone was a painful detail best left unsaid.
Go Ryeoha, however, seemed unwilling to let go of hope.
[Go Ryeoha: Ah]
[Go Ryeoha: Then don't you have something for the return trip at least?]
[Me: Nope....]
[Go Ryeoha: ?]
[Me: Our communications specialist died too, so we're looking for someone like you who can still contact the military....]
[Go Ryeoha: ]
I felt strange gazes from behind and turned around.
Shin Nain was tilting her head.
"Jemin."
She frowned.
"There's something oddly pitiful about the way you type. And somehow you never miss the ellipses?"
"Those are typos."
I was trying to hit Enter.
My finger kept missing and pressing the period key instead.
Eventually I got too lazy to fix it.
***
[Go Ryeoha: Can you make it this far?]
[Me: Tell us where and we'll find it.]
[Go Ryeoha: I'll discuss it first and get back to you.]
This was when Pastor Park Yohan smiled in satisfaction.
"Just from the texts, she seems decent so far. Feels like she has faith."
"Sh-she doesn't seem dangerous, but..."
Hamza hugged his backpack tightly.
"My magic isn't one hundred percent accurate. It could still be an ambush."
Looking at him trembling like that filled me with profound reflections on life.
Before long, another message arrived.
[Go Ryeoha: I'll come find you.]
[Go Ryeoha: Tomorrow. Noon. Meet me near the Children's Grand Park fire station.]
[Me: Thank you.]
[Go Ryeoha: And stop saying you're civilians.]
[Go Ryeoha: Anyone can tell you're soldiers. It feels like you're trying to trick me 0-0]
Thunk!
The moment the conversation ended, I dropped the cursed phone.
Typing with fingers that constantly missed their targets was exhausting.
My thumbs felt like they were about to snap.
Looking back at the Supreme Mages gathered behind me, I announced:
"Tomorrow. Noon. Children's Grand Park fire station."
"We should rest here until then."
"Children's Grand Park?"
Lee Sejun sounded worried.
"Isn't that suspicious? It's a huge park. Wouldn't there be even more monsters than Olympic Park?"
At first glance, it sounded like a reasonable concern.
But both Shin Nain and I could only stare at him with contempt.
Unfortunately, the penalty from her Tier-1 Ear Magic had chosen that exact moment to activate.
Children's Grand Park...
I don't want to go there in this old man's body! I want to go after I've become soft and cute!
I let out a deep sigh.
Then I finally decided to bring out the can of Spam I'd been hiding.
Using the opened lid as a knife, I chopped it into rough chunks and handed a piece to each of the Supreme Mages.
If I ate it alone, they'd absolutely make my life miserable.
"Everyone's tired. Eat a piece of Spam and shut up."
The effect was immediate.
The noise stopped.
Everyone returned to their spots and began pulling out their own secret stashes.
Half-finished bags of hardtack.
Perilla-leaf cans.
Instant porridge.
Cold, hardened rice packs.
The sight of them carefully balancing a tiny slice of Spam atop their food while grinning made them look exactly like hyenas.
"Wow."
The pastor sniffled dramatically.
"Our little cheapskate Baek Jemin has finally grown up."
"Hehe. Spam!"
"Jemin truly is a good Christian."
Shin Nain clasped her hands.
"I thank God for this Spam."
"Thank you, Jemin."
Ironically, the only person who gave a proper thank-you was Hamza, the Muslim migrant worker.
Something about that felt wrong.
No.
It was wrong.
I licked my slice of Spam and frowned.
The other Supreme Mages immediately frowned back.
Shin Nain looked at me as if I'd become a cockroach on a kitchen sink.
"Jemin."
"What are you doing?"
"Making it last."
Lick.
Lick.
Lick.
My strategy was simple.
Act disgusting enough and someone would give their piece back.
I placed the uncooked Spam on the can lid and started licking it repeatedly.
Any normal person would have surrendered out of sheer disgust.
But these were the Supreme Mages.
"Uh-huh."
The pastor nodded.
"Make it last."
Nom.
"Spam's delicious."
Chew chew.
"The Lord's daily bread does not return to its owner."
"I thanked you properly, Jemin."
It happened instantly.
They all swallowed their Spam without a moment's hesitation.
Not a shred of guilt.
Not a trace of shame.
I shuddered.
These bastards.
They're every bit as shameless as I am.
"Seriously... holy shit."
I stared at them.
"I'm degrading myself this much and you're still not giving it back. Truly worthy of the title Supreme Mage."
"Jemin."
The pastor smirked.
"Resentment only works against people who still have dignity."
"Give it back."
"Nope."
He chewed loudly.
"Already ate it, you stingy bastard."
***
And so, on the seventh day of the expedition, the Supreme Mages spent an entire day resting.
Once again, we used my greatsword as a thumbtack to pin ponchos over the windows.
We painted [Blood of the Right Hand] on the doors to prevent unwanted visitors.
Then, for the first time, Hamza performed a proper medical inspection.
"I brought antibiotics too."
He opened his first-aid kit.
"But let's disinfect everything and wrap it first. If you develop a fever, then I'll give them to you."
"Me too!"
Lee Sejun immediately raised a hand.
"My right hand is bleeding too!"
"Sejun, you're tough."
Hamza didn't even look at him.
"Jemin has way more wounds."
Looking down at my hands, covered in cuts and scabs, it was obvious how heroically I had fought.
"Uwaaaah..."
"Jemin."
Hamza sighed.
"Stop whining. Stop shaking your leg. I can't apply the disinfectant."
"It hurts like hell..."
"Baek Jemin."
The pastor looked disgusted.
"Are you a child? You're literally making crying noises."
He shook his head.
"You look like you're in more pain now than when you were on morphine."
As disinfectant dug into my flesh, tears streamed down my face.
I silently swore that next time I'd try to get cut more carefully.
At least there was one blessing.
After seven days of relentless hardship, there were surprisingly few serious injuries.
Aside from Lee Sejun and me, everyone else had little more than scratches and bruises.
Once he'd finished packing away the medical supplies, Hamza warned us:
"Everyone's filthy."
"Be careful about infections."
"If you develop a fever, tell me immediately."
Fortunately, the Supreme Mages were all absurdly sturdy.
We slept.
Woke up.
Talked nonsense.
Then slept again.
"Jemin."
One day, Shin Nain spoke up.
"Don't you think magical aptitude is influenced by the way someone lived?"
"The credibility of that theory drops considerably when the first thing you awakened was Humanity's Wisdom Tier One."
"I just think maybe you never obtained a Heart because you spent your life hiding indoors like an unemployed bum."
"Hey."
I glared.
"It was only two months."
April 22, 2028 — 11:11 AM
Day 8 of the Expedition
The Supreme Mages advanced toward our destination in a slightly altered formation.
Visibility through the fog was roughly one hundred meters.
Dangerous enough to require caution.
Safe enough to keep moving.
The route from Olympic Bridge to Children's Grand Park was long.
Not necessarily in distance.
In time.
Every obstacle demanded careful handling.
"Five jellyfish."
The warning came suddenly.
Clack!
The moment we spotted five Skin-Flaying Jellyfish drifting nearby, we immediately took cover behind an abandoned truck.
"What about ammo, Hamza?"
"Three hundred rounds."
"Jemin's eye?"
"Still not fully recovered."
One thing we'd learned was that the temporary blindness caused by the backlash from [Cognitive Dissonance] recovered at different rates depending on the severity of the injury.
My left eye still hadn't healed.
If I forced it open, I could barely distinguish outlines.
Honestly, it felt like my vision had dropped to something like minus ten.
Wearing a cloth eyepatch was easier.
Using Eye Magic with only my right eye was risky.
If I permanently blinded both eyes, I'd become a blind man incapable of using Eye Magic.
And if that happened?
Forget dignity.
I'd be lying on the ground crying, drooling, peeing, and shitting myself.
Apparently Shin Nain had somehow sensed the determination behind that thought.
Her eyes widened.
Then she gagged.
"Blegh."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Heard a monster."
I pressed a finger to my gas mask.
"Quiet."
Fortunately, by the time Shin Nain finished gagging, the Skin-Flaying Jellyfish had already floated away into the fog.
Watching them drift off gave me a strange feeling.
The first time I'd seen them, they had been horrifying.
Now, seeing them bob peacefully through the mist felt oddly therapeutic.
Maybe Seoul wasn't so bad once you got used to it.
Like a safari full of ugly tigers and bears.
After all, man-eating predators and predators made from humans weren't all that different.
Shin Nain immediately scowled.
"Jemin."
"Don't start talking about how tuna sashimi and canned tuna are the same thing just because they're made from the same ingredients."
"Stop reading minds."
Eventually the jellyfish disappeared.
We resumed moving.
The pastor and Shin Nain led the formation with weapons shouldered.
Hamza and I occupied the center.
Lee Sejun guarded the rear.
Then we heard something.
At first I assumed it was another monster.
Honestly, I'd gotten to the point where I was almost excited about discovering new entries for my monster encyclopedia.
But the closer we got, the stranger the sound became.
A dull impact.
Something being crushed.
Thud.
Crunch.
The Supreme Mages instantly tensed.
"Hamza?"
"I-I don't know yet..."
Click.
The pastor and Shin Nain lowered themselves first.
Everyone followed.
The duck-walk was miserable, but less miserable than being spotted.
Slowly we crept forward.
The sound became clearer.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Hammering.
Each strike carried murderous intent.
More vicious than someone pounding on a wall in revenge for noisy neighbors.
Within one hundred meters, the source finally emerged.
"Help..."
"Save me..."
The voice belonged to an Amalgam.
One that had eaten the face of a child.
An eight-victim Lesser Amalgam floated upside down through the air.
It wore a child's face.
It cried out in a child's voice.
Beside it lay monster corpses of every variety.
A Predator Spine with its skull shattered.
A charred Amalgam burned black.
A Skin-Flaying Jellyfish crushed flat like an overinflated balloon.
And at the center of those bodies stood a woman.
A high ponytail.
A black KF-90 mask.
A padded jacket that couldn't quite hide the shape of her legs.
Combat boots slick with blood and fat.
Dark red gloves on both hands.
She stretched out her right hand toward the struggling Amalgam.
Every Supreme Mage froze.
At least I did.
"Furnace Formation."
She spoke calmly.
"Fire. Metal. Distance."
BOOM!
Something shot from her glove.
A pebble?
A steel ball?
Whatever it was, that level of power couldn't possibly come from simple brute force.
Sparks flew.
Then it was over.
A hole appeared in the Amalgam's head.
Before fluid could even spill out, the wound hardened.
The creature collapsed.
Its body slid slowly from the air.
Splatter.
The woman approached the burning corpse.
For a moment I wondered whether she intended to mourn it.
Then she raised her knee.
And stomped.
CRACK!
The Amalgam's head was technically liquid.
But its neck and spine were still human.
She had stomped directly on the cervical vertebrae.
Crunch. Crunch. CRACK.
Like extinguishing a cigarette beneath her heel.
The Supreme Mages stood there in stunned silence as she methodically crushed its skull.
Then she noticed us.
Our eyes met.
Silence settled between us.
The ponytailed woman looked pleased.
Like someone who had just finished a satisfying spring cleaning.
Then she hooked a finger beneath her mask and pulled it down.
"Oh?"
She blinked.
"The soldier gentlemen?"
Even without makeup, she was remarkably pretty.
Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
"You arrived early."
She crushed the Amalgam's spine beneath her boot while speaking.
CRUNCH!
A horrifying sound echoed through the fog.
The Supreme Mages tightened their grips on their weapons.
Meanwhile, the woman cheerfully waved.
"Children's Grand Park Fire Station."
"Noon."
"Nice to finally meet you!"
Then she introduced herself.
"I'm Go Ryeoha."
A chill ran down my spine.
Go Ryeoha.
This woman had just used a form of magic that wasn't doctrinal magic.
And it wasn't alteration magic either.