Chapter 36: All Or Nothing

[Translator – Aren]

When news of Monk Cheonghwi’s disappearance spread, most people barely reacted.

Lee Sejun merely shrugged while letting out a huge yawn.

"Didn’t they say stir-fried sausages were on the menu this morning? Maybe he went there first. Doesn’t seem like something worth making a fuss over.”

“Then maybe he’s in his room?”

"If he’s not in the cafeteria, he’s probably off praying somewhere. Doesn’t seem that serious.”

As it turned out, Monk Cheonghwi wasn’t in the cafeteria either.

The place was packed with exhausted soldiers carrying meal trays and duty personnel helping with food service. Well, if he missed breakfast, that was his own problem. I wasn’t exactly in a position to be worrying about that monk right now.

I’d gone without food since dinner yesterday and had pulled an all-nighter, so getting breakfast came first.

Sitting down with my tray, I smiled in satisfaction as I looked over the stir-fried sausages, cubed radish kimchi, and beef-and-radish soup. And now it was time for the privilege only I enjoyed.

"One spoonful of Richam. Perfect.”

"Jemin-ssi, one spoonful for me too. I’m part of Supreme Archmages.”

"Sure. One spoonful for Hamza, our fellow Supreme Archmage."

Since today’s side dishes were already fairly salty, I decided to save the Spam for later.

Hamza of Aphorism was a spineless guy who always tried to slink around unnoticed so he could keep all the good stuff to himself. But Hamza of the Supreme Archmages was different. A fellow member of Supreme Archmages cultivating himself while patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity to be useful deserved a share of my precious Richam.

After finely chopping up a spoonful and mixing it into my rice, I was happily chewing away when chaos suddenly erupted elsewhere. The cafeteria doors slammed open and a soldier wearing a helmet shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Assembly! Everyone, assemble!”

"Even people who aren’t on the 5-minute standby team?”

"Didn’t you hear me? Everyone assemble!”

The sound of utensils being set down echoed throughout the cafeteria as irritation spread across the soldiers’ faces.

Watching the scene, us Supreme Archmages couldn’t help but click our tongues. I was incredibly glad that I was technically a civilian. Pastor Park Yohan clicked his tongue as well before slurping down some soup.

"These kids have it rough.”

"That’s what being young is for. Getting worked to the bone.”

"Jemin-ssi, you little punk. You’re young too, you know?”

"These days, 28 doesn’t even count as being in your 20s. They call us ‘Early 30s’ now, you know?”

"If your age starts with a 2, you’re young!”

I used to think I was young too. Then all those fresh-faced college freshmen in their early 20s started calling me Ahjussi.

Feeling bitter, I scooped up some kimchi broth with my spoon and drank it.

Instead, I focused my attention on Hand-branch magic Stage 2 and the experiments I wanted to conduct.

Hand-branch, Stage 2.

This was completely different from the previous spells. Based on what I’d learned, Hand-branch, Stage 2 was closer to alchemy that utilized the blood of the left hand. It wasn’t a damage-dealing spell for killing monsters. It functioned more like the runes you often see in fantasy stories.

If I wrote a word meaning sharp using the blood from my left hand, the object would become sharper. If I wrote ‘split apart,’ it would split apart.

For example, if I didn’t have any salt, I could write ‘salt’ on a bowl of rice, and it’d taste as though I’d sprinkled salt all over it.

Just look at the limitless possibilities.

How could I possibly stop learning magic when it could do things like this?!

Unfortunately, even we couldn’t avoid the commotion.

March 21st, 2028, 8:42 AM.

Just as I was about to start experimenting with Hand-branch, Stage 2 magic after breakfast, Captain Kim Howoon and Lieutenant Shin Hangi came looking for us first. Both were dressed in full combat gear, and both their faces were incredibly stiff.

"Civilian Operator Venerable Cheonghwi has disappeared. We request your cooperation.”

*t*t*

Every now and then, I’d find myself wondering.

What exactly were South Korea’s special forces doing while all this insanity was happening these past 4 months? I knew special forces were supposed to be secretive, but with monsters rampaging across the country, surely there had to be something they could do.

And now, checking the time one last time before turning off my phone, I finally found out.

March 21st, 2028, 9:20 AM.

A group unlike ordinary soldiers appeared at Suwon City Hall’s Command Post. At first, all we heard was the thunderous noise of helicopters. Not long after, heavily armed men began taking positions throughout the building’s hallways.

Sunglasses or tactical goggles obscuring their eyes. Balaclavas straight out of an FPS game. And unlike the rifles carried by regular soldiers, their weapons were covered in attachments mounted all over the rails.

Anyone could recognize them at glance. Special forces dressed in black.

I wasn’t knowledgeable enough about military units to know exactly which branch they belonged to, but the speed and efficiency with which they swept through City Hall was anything but ordinary. A few of them even carried shotguns. Every single one kept their index finger poised near the trigger.

The announcement echoing through the building was incredibly cold.

[Effective immediately, all personnel assigned to Suwon City Hall Command Post are prohibited from moving without authorization. Remain in your current positions under the supervision of your superior or senior personnel until inspections have concluded.]

After hearing the announcement, Captain Kim Howoon and Lieutenant Shin Hangi gathered all the wizards together and had us wait in one location.

At some point, Suwon City Hall had accumulated quite a few wizards beside the Supreme Archmages. Most people, when they hear the word "wizard," imagine an old man with a beard wearing robes. The wizards gathered here, however, were all distinctly Korean and oddly familiar-looking.

A middle-aged woman with a curly perm. An older man in a worn padded jacket and beanie who looked like he spent his evenings drinking makgeolli. A horse-faced young man fussing over his eye makeup while staring into a hand mirror…

Including our own team, the Supreme Archmages, minus the missing Monk Cheonghwi, there were 20 wizards in total.

As I looked around at the wizards gathered from all across southern Gyeonggi, a strange sense of grandeur swelled within my chest. Every one of them had awakened to the power of magic, so how couldn’t I feel inspired?

The dream of South Korea becoming a magical superpower was taking on a clearer shape.

And yet, despite the magnificence of the scene. Lee Sejun looked disappointed.

"Sejun-ssi, what's with that face? Don’t they all look reliable?”

"No, it’s not that…”

Maybe they couldn’t match the sheer impact of the Taeguk Jesus Brigade. But they were certainly memorable.

Honestly, I thought the Taeguk Jesus Brigade had been wiped out because their hearts had simply been too fragile for a world this cruel.

In modern-day Korea, in the year 2028, if you wanted to call yourself a true believer, you needed to be at least on Shin Nain’s level. He was the kind of man who could point a gun at monsters imitating a human infant and call it the spawn of heresy before pulling the trigger.

Compared to that, the curly-haired lady who looked like she walked dyed poodles for a hobby and the beanie-wearing makgeolli enthusiast seemed incredibly dependable.

"They look like people who could beat monsters to death without much trouble. What exactly are you unhappy about?”

"Damn it…Jemin-ssi, that’s not…That’s not what I mean…”

Yet Lee Sejun continued trailing off without telling me what the hell he was actually dissatisfied with.

At that moment, Shin Nain removed one of his earbuds and spoke in a flat voice.

"Sejun-ssi is lamenting the fact that even people like these can use magic, yet not a single gorgeous young lady worthy of a Maxim cover shoot nor a province-wide S-rank beauty is present among them.”

"..."

The adult magazine I’d ordered through Lieutenant Shin Hangi was clearly going to bring me considerable wealth and opportunity.

Thinking that, I smiled in understanding. At which point Lee Sejun immediately shook his head.

"That’s not why. I was thinking about the possibilities of magic.”

"Sejun-ssi. that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Be fruitful and multiply. Even the Lord Himself…”

Shin Nain had been preaching calmly when his expression suddenly froze over. I was so startled by that look of contempt on Shin Nain’s face, harsher than anything he’d shown even to the Teratomas, I nearly jumped.

What the hell had that lunatic picked up on for him to look like that?

Faced with that icy, razor-sharp stare, even Lee Sejun seemed to get defensive and raised his voice slightly.

"Shin Nain-ssi. In this world where magic actually exists now, am I not allowed to hop? Is it really okay to look down on my dream like that? Am I asking for that much? It’s not impossible, you know…?!”

"..."

"There might be a spell that turns you into a cute girl, okay?!!!!!”

......

I pulled the hood of my poncho tight and cinched the drawstrings shut, hiding my face.

While Shin Nain and Lee Sejun continued bickering, the black-clad special forces unit approached our group. It was around then that Captain Kim Howoon let out a long sigh and spoke.

"Quiet down. Inspection’s starting.”

The inspection was conducted one person at a time. We had to step forward, raise both arms, turn in a circle, and do 10 jumping jacks.

At first glance, the black-clad operators seemed to be conducting the inspection rather casually. That is except for the sharp gaze hidden behind their tinted goggles, constantly watching our hands.

But how exactly were they supposed to inspect anything with something this simple?

Especially when dealing with wizards.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one thinking that. Most of the civilian Operators looked thoroughly unimpressed. Several of them had personally encountered monsters and even fought them.

These were people whose thresholds for fear and tension had been forcibly raised. Even if the special forces’ intimidating presence affected them, they were still handling it far better than ordinary civilians would.

However, there was one noteworthy detail. Not a single member of the special forces unit spoke, which seemed rather pointless considering there were Ear-branch wizards around.

The silence was broken only by the occasional clatter of firearms. It felt like dozens of minutes when a change occurred.

One of the black-clad operators finally lowered his rifle and turned his head directly toward our Supreme Archmages group.

"..."

It was pretty obvious that the special forces soldier had a lot they wanted to say but were forcing themselves not to.

After staring for a moment, the operator abruptly turned away and continued on his way.

At the same time, a burst of static crackled from the radio. Captain Kim Howoon and Lieutenant Shin Hangi deliberately lowered the volume and carefully listened to the transmission.

Not long afterward, both men let out deep sighs before turning back toward us.

"We’ll be escorting everyone to the conference room. Make sure you don’t leave the sightline of those operatives in black.”

As he spoke, Captain Kim Howoon casually glanced out the window.

The sky was perfectly clear without a single trace of fog.

The concrete buildings of Suwon sparkled under the sunlight. Whether that gilt came from solar panels or from the lens of someone’s scope watching from far away, no one could tell.

Under that heavy, invisible pressure, the 20 wizards gathered here began following Captain Kim Howoon and Lieutenant Shin Hangi toward the conference room.

The black-clad special operators stationed throughout City Hall never once took their eyes off us. They weren’t quite pointing their guns at us, but it felt as though they were reading to open fire the instant an order came down.

Outside the conference room, the usual soldiers had been replaced by black-clad operators standing guard with airtight security. Inside was no different. More black-clad operators stood ready, fingers at the trigger.

The colonel explained the heart of the situation in a simple, direct manner.

"A monk operating under the dharma name Cheonghwi, who had been cooperating with the Joint Alteration Operations Group under the Combined US-Korea Reality Survival Command, is believed to have defected.”

Defected.

It felt like an odd word for the Korea of today, where humans and monsters were fighting for survival. This wasn’t exactly the kind of conflict where people could pick sides. If Korea fell, the entire world would become hell on earth. Wasn’t this a war of humanity vs. monsters?

Judging by their expressions, everyone else seemed to have similar thoughts. Some frowned, others folded their arms as they carefully listened.

Among them, only Shin Nain, who had awakened Ears-branch, Stage 2, and Eyes-Branch, Stage 1, merely shrugged calmly, as if he’d been expecting this all along.

"As you know, the military is defending Suwon and Suwon Station because they are critical transportation routes and extremely difficult to seal off completely. We nearly suffered a breakthrough during the refugee train collision incident. Unfortunately, those concerns have now become reality. Despite halted trains, repeated demolitions, and even chemical containment operations, it appears the monk Cheonghwi escaped through underground passageways.”

"But he was with Jemin-ssi during the ritual. He’s the last person who saw him. That monk was definitely with Baek Jemin until at least 6:34 AM. How could he possibly…”

"Baek Jemin-ssi. Please explain your conversation with Monk Cheonghwi and the ritual you conducted.”

Based on Pastor Park’s testimony and the statements of everyone else present, I had become an extremely important witness.

So I explained the essentials as calmly as possible, leaving out the occult details.

I told them that Monk Cheonghwi had assisted me with a ritual intended to advance an Alteration-type magic and that the moment the ritual ended, he had vanished without a trace.

It seemed obvious that Cheonghwi possessed some kind of magic outside the known Dogma-types.

Otherwise, how could he have escaped undetected in such a short amount of time?

For all I knew, what I’d seen might not even have been real.

Of course, the colonel didn’t believe everything I said.

"...Convenient. Yes. Very convenient, Baek Jemin-ssi.”

From anyone’s perspective, the circumstances were suspicious.

I could practically feel the black-clad operators wanting to shoot me on the spot. But I didn’t even feel the need to use magic.

Because I was absolutely certain they couldn’t kill me.

The colonel narrowed his eyes and stared at me, but while he clearly harbored suspicions, he didn’t dare threaten me outright or apply any real pressure.

After all, I was currently one of the most versatile wizards in southern Gyeonggi. And one of the few people crazy enough to willingly dive into the fog whenever necessary.

The colonel wanted to save soldiers. I wanted stronger and more varied magic. That made us partners bound by a shared fate. The weekly Spam and Richam rations were proof enough of that bond.

The military simply didn’t have enough manpower to arrest or execute someone over a suspicious circumstance.

Get rid of me, and at least one more soldier would die later because of it.

Which was why the colonel eventually stopped pressing the issue and resorted to an appeal instead. After glaring at me with bloodshot eyes for more than 10 seconds, he finally sighed and wet his lips.

"At present, the Combined US-Korea Command is pinning its hopes on seasonal wind changes... However, due to the repeated deterioration of conditions along the first blockade line and rising casualties, discussions regarding extremely limited and localized tactical nuclear strikes have begun. It has been approximately 3 months since the fog outbreak and the abandonment of Seoul. Current military casualties have reached 13,631 personnel. We are approaching a point where further losses can no longer be sustained.”

The colonel stopped speaking for a moment.

Then, when he carefully continued, everyone in the room frowned.

"As for the primary cause of these rising casualties and the continuous flow of refugees toward the first blockade line…the military has identified local survivor groups within Seoul as the main factor. Particularly those capable of using Localized Intrusive Structural Alteration phenomena.”

"There are survivors in there? In Seoul? Not monsters?”

It was the beanie wearing, makgeolli-liking uncle.

The reactions from everyone else were much the same. Just seeing a single Amalgam or Predator Spine was enough to make your skin crawl. It was a natural reaction after hearing that actual living humans still existed in Seoul overrun by millions of those things.

Even us Supreme Archmages would’ve struggled to believe there were survivors if we hadn’t personally ventured to the outskirts of Seoul.

In fact, we’d been there ourselves. But nearly 3 months had passed since everything began.

Expecting ordinary survivors to still be alive after 3 months in that hellscape would’ve been the truly insane assumption.

And yet the colonel’s words were overturning that common sense.

"The collapse of the Yongin military forces tasked with preventing refugee movements was not caused solely by monsters. We received reports that numerous practitioners of Localized Invasive Structural Alteration-type abilities were present among the local survivor population. The military concealed this information to preserve troop morale, and we ask for your understanding that this was an unavoidable decision.”

At last, the truth behind the first blockade line, the Seoul blockade, began to emerge.

"The military believes the practitioners of Localized Invasive Structural Alteration-type ability leading the survivor groups within Seoul are attempting to break through the blockade line and escape. Repeated reconnaissance missions conducted by US special forces and anti-fog surveillance drones have confirmed that these groups are highly hostile toward both the military and the current government. Evidence suggests they are deliberately luring monsters toward the blockade line in order to facilitate a breach. Their primary focus appears to be evacuating the refugees who survived within Seoul… and naturally…”

The colonel’s lips looked unusually dry.

He licked them repeatedly. After a long pause, he cleared his throat, then raised a hand. Unable to continue, he stepped aside. 

Captain Kim Howoon moved forward instead, the muscles around his prominent cheekbones twitching.

"Thanks to the Republic of Korea and all of you holding the line until the seasonal winds begin to shift, China has started leaning toward dispatching volunteer forces. A deployment proposal is expected to be discussed through a future vote at the United Nations Security Council. The estimated timeline for foreign volunteer forces or UN peacekeeping deployments is approximately 2 months."

Captain Kim Howoon stuck out his tongue briefly and exhaled, as though releasing some of the tension before continuing.

"Because we believe the survivor groups in Seoul will make their strongest push to break through before that happens, all of you will be reassigned to reinforce the first blockade line.”

A conflict between 10 million and 40 million people.

The wizards immediately erupted into whispers.

"That’s insane, right?”

"Couldn’t they just negotiate? If the Ears-Branch, Stage 2 guys put in some work, shouldn’t this be solvable?”

Apparently Lee Sejun thought the same thing. He turned to Shin Nain.

"Nain-ssi, wouldn’t this all end peacefully if you put in a little extra effort?”

"No chance."

Before Shin Nain could elaborate, I found myself remembering the journal I’d discovered in the hospital where we’d encountered the Teratoma.

Quietly, I walked over to Hamza and lowered my voice.

"Hamza. Do you think those guys would actually shoot? What happens if someone tries to run?”

"No. Don’t."

Hamza immediately shook his head. His face had gone pale.

Then he smacked his dry lips together and added quietly.

"Though honestly, running away might still be the better option.”

*t*t*

March 21st, 2028, 10:52 AM.

The first words spoken by the colonel, who didn’t wear a nametag, inside the conference room where 20 civilian operators stood lined up were the following:

The final objective of the military unit that remained at the terminal was to prevent the refugees from escaping.

In that situation, did anyone really think the survivors trapped inside Seoul wouldn’t lose their minds?

"But 40 million citizens can’t just die!”

Lee Sejun’s objection was perfectly reasonable.

Then again, I’d love to hear the response if he said the same thing to the survivors trapped in Seoul, who’d been peppered with bombardments and abandoned.

‘Sure. For the sake of 40 million people, I’ll just let myself get bombarded to death. I’ll stay trapped here and die quietly~’ Was that really what they expected they’d answer?

Pastor Park Yohan pretended to polish his glasses and let out a weary sigh. Shin Nain merely shrugged, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. Hamza silently bowed his head in prayer. Pastor Park Yohan, having grasped both sides of the argument, quoted the Bible.

"Love your enemies. If someone strikes your left cheek, turn the right one as well. They call it God’s Word because it’s difficult to follow.”

He slowly put his glasses back on and closed his eyes.

Shin Nain seemed to ponder those words for a moment. He closed his eyes briefly, then looked back toward Lee Sejun and slid an earbud into his ear.

"There are probably people over there who can be negotiated with, but sorting them out one by one isn’t really the Korean military’s style. The words originally came from servants of the Antichrist Pope and his henchmen, but there’s a certain practicality to them.”

"Hmm..."

"Kill them all. If they’re all dead, God will sort out the innocent ones. Amen!”

I wasn’t focused on the scale of the numbers nor the tragedy itself. My attention was fixed elsewhere.

Was it sad? Tragic?

Unfortunately, those weren’t the thoughts crossing my mind.

"The standing order is total extermination.”

Right now, I was trembling with excitement.

Magic versus magic.

The fact that wizards could fight other wizards!