Chapter 43: The Department Store Incident

[Translator – Aren]

The reason we, the Supreme Archmages, immediately concluded that the gunshots had come from the department store was thanks to thorough preparation.

Hamza had apparently learned land navigation just to survive life in a distant foreign country. And there was also the proud legacy of Korean administration: station maps posted inside subway stations.

Together, these two things made this achievement possible.

"Turn right as soon as you come out of Exit 3. It’s pretty close.”

Even with Hamza’s directions, finding the department store wasn’t easy.

The fog in Seoul was beyond imagination.

No fancy description was necessary. It was simply heavy. Just that.

The air was so damp and saturated that my poncho felt weighed down and stuck to my body. If someone hung laundry out to dry in Seoul right now, even the mold would probably get waterlogged.

Every time I exhaled, droplets formed inside my gas mask.

The unpleasant sensation of condensation running down the rubber and dampening my lips persisted. Even so, I kept breathing as I moved forward.

I poured every worry, thrill, and frustration with the oppressive air into each step.

-Huuuff—.

The distinctive sound of breathing through a gas mask blended into the fog.

Just as I was about to turn my head and wonder whether we were going the right way, an ugly structure emerged from the mist before us. The moment I saw the shattered windows that looked like broken teeth and the exterior walls cracked apart by impacts, a sigh escaped me.

Lee Sejun, Shin Nain, Hamza, and Pastor Park, who had been following behind, all came to a stop before the ruined sight.

Lee Sejun, standing beside me, was the first to look around.

"Wow…The department store is screwed.”

The country was on the verge of collapse, and this idiot was surprised about a department store.

Meanwhile, Pastor Park and Shin Nain merely nodded as though they’d expected this all along.

“It was inevitable. Instead of seeking the Lord, they chased luxury and indulgence. If they’d donated tithes instead of spending money at department stores, would any of this have happened?”

"It seems the Lord who once punished with fire and water has chosen artillery shells this time. The exterior may have become dirtier, but spiritually speaking, it’s much cleaner now.”

"Then what? Is all this fog just divine dishwashing steam?”

I cut Shin Nain off before that lunatic Shitmaster could keep running his mouth.

Both he and Pastor Park Yohan immediately turned toward me. Even through the lenses of their gas masks, their gazes felt oppressive.

"As expected of you, Baek Jemin-ssi. To interpret the fog as steam from the Lord’s dishwasher. Your unwavering faith puts me to shame."

"Jemin-ssi, Nain-ssi isn’t just saying that. There’s something biblical about you. All your problems get solved the moment you come to church. Everything! Huh? You’ve got the true makings of a youth group leader!”

"Hard pass.”

Forget those Korean church freaks. Look at Hamza instead.

The Muslim who seemed like he’d be the biggest fanatic among us was simply staring at the ruined department store in admiration.

"This place is in complete chaos, but the building still hasn’t collapsed. Korean construction is truly amazing.”

True patriotic pride meant finding something to praise even in the worst possible circumstances.

Honestly, among all the members of Supreme Archmages, wasn’t Hamza secretly the one who loved Korea the most?

But this wasn’t the time to stand around admiring buildings.

At this rate, we’d spend all day loitering outside the department store before deciding it looked too dangerous and turning back.

In this band of lunatics, there was only one man with an unshakable sense of duty, and that was me, Baek Jemin! It was time to restore some discipline here.

"Let’s get into formation and move in. If we keep hesitating here, we’re just wasting time.”

I’d taken the lead.

My adaptability was the best among us, thanks to having Eyes-branch magic, Tongue-branch magic, and Hand-branch magic all at once. As the versatile vanguard, I could confidently say I was the backbone of the Supreme Archmages.

Shin Nain’s job was to detect approaching threats and use his past sight to gather information whenever he found traces of a fight.

Since there was a high chance we’d encounter hostile wizards, getting the first stroke would be critical. From that perspective, Shin Nain’s role was every bit as important as mine.

Hamza and the pastor served as the Supreme Archmage’s crisis evaluator and good-luck charm through Angel’s Intuition and Redemptive Conviction.

Hamza could contribute simply by answering questions and providing guidance. The pastor’s role was to analyze situations from the clues we gathered and infer our enemies’ intentions. We were also hoping that Redemptive Conviction could help him piece together evidence and arrive at the correct conclusions.

As for Lee Sejun… He was our pack mule and bodyguard.

Well, calling him our “fire support specialist” sounded a bit more impressive. Either way, having one more person who knew how to shoot was always a good thing.

"Jemin-ssi, I feel like you’ve been getting colder toward me lately.”

"I don’t have any religious prejudice, but I do have some prejudice against grown men who want to get gender-swapped into anime girls.”

With that, we formed up and abandoned our final hesitation.

As we slowly advanced, the upper floors hidden by the fog gradually came into view. They weren’t exactly in good shape. Chunks of fallen concrete were piled nearby, suggesting the rooftop area had been blasted apart.

Despite the Jangji Station wizard’s notes claiming the department store had been intentionally missed, it looked like it had still taken a few hits.

And unlike the subway station, which still had power, the interior of the department store was pitch black. In fact, the shadows inside looked more oppressive than the thick fog outside.

Even my ancestors who supposedly shoved their heads into the jaws of starving tigers probably hadn’t felt the unease I was feeling now.

The silence pressing down from the darkness was enough to make even the fearless Supreme Archmages hesitate. It felt as though the fog itself was being crushed beneath it. In the suffocating silence, where even our hearts seemed unwilling to beat further, the pastor grumbled under his breath.

"Why the hell would anyone crawl into a place like that?”

Nobody answered.

It wasn’t a question that required an answer.

Since we couldn’t even tell where the entrance was, we carefully climbed through a shattered display window. A slow breeze and drifting fog seemed to push us forward from behind.

Naturally, I pulled aside my poncho and switched on my L-shaped tactical flashlight attached to my chest.

-Click.

The mechanical sound seemed unnaturally loud. It hadn’t echoed this clearly even while we were walking through the subway tunnels.

Like a shout bouncing across a mountain peak, the click reverberated through the shadows of a department store that had lost both its people and its luxury goods. Unfortunately, the flashlight didn’t help much.

Unlike outside, where the wind occasionally dispersed the fog, the fog inside the building had settled layer upon layer without disturbance. The beam illuminated nothing but pale dust drifting through the air.

Perfect conditions for an ambush.

I immediately activated Tongue-branch, Stage 1 magic, to support Eyes-branch, Stage 1.

Target, department store wizard, 5 minutes, path.

The fog churned violently before parting. A clear route opened before us, revealing the eerie interior of the department store. Abandoned display stands and mannequins stood silently in place. If I’d come here alone, I probably would’ve pissed myself the moment I saw them.

And they weren’t normal either. The mannequins had been positioned beside dead escalators and behind merchandise displays.

Seen through the fog, they looked exactly like people standing guard and keeping watch.

The ones holding brooms and similar objects almost seemed intentionally posed. Were they meant to imitate soldiers carrying rifles or weapons?

Despite the conditions I’d specified, the fact that my view had cleared completely could mean only one thing. There definitely was a wizard nearby. Not that it was particularly surprising. We’d already expected as much.

What surprised me was the backlash.

"This could be a problem.”

"What? Why? Did you find something?”

The pastor got a little jumpy, so I calmly explained.

"You know how Tongue-branch magic usually splits my tongue open and leaves blood pouring everywhere?"

"Ugh, gross.”

Lee Sejun immediately took a step away in disgust.

I’d only shown him my injured tongue a few times because of Tongue-branch magic’s backlash, and now he was acting like this? I, Baek Jemin, a man confident that if nothing else, he at least had a good-looking tongue, found that deeply offensive.

Still, I knew how to prioritize, so I graciously let it slide.

"There’s no backlash at all.”

"Like our Dogma-type spells?”

"Yeah."

Fog is thick. Outdoor activity is easy.

Now I finally understood what that message meant. The fog density was so high that you could throw magic around freely without suffering much backlash. It was basically a limited-time event where everyone got buffed magic.

At that, Shin Nain adjusted his rifle and stepped forward.

"I’ve been hearing voices anyway, so that’s convenient. I’ll take a look. After we take cover, of course.”

He was probably planning to scour the department store entrance with past sight.

But I raised a hand and stopped him first, tucking my short-barreled AR-15 under my arm.

"No. The enemy will find us faster than we find them. It’s quicker to track down the soldiers who came here first. Hamza, if we waste time, does it get more dangerous?”

"…Yes. The angel says it does.”

No complicated deduction was necessary to figure this out.

There was a very high chance this department store continued a hideout belonging to a local Seoul wizard. And considering the gunfire and radio message we’d heard, they’d already fought soldiers.

For all we knew, they’d already detected us.

Since this was our first time dealing with a hostile wizard, caution was our best weapon. Shin Nain seemed convinced.

"Tsk. Then I’ll focus on listening.”

He clicked his tongue while glaring at Hamza, but by Shin Nain standards, that counted as agreement.

* * *

The inside of the department store was littered with broken glass and dust.

Moving silently was practically impossible. No matter how carefully we stepped, we couldn’t completely eliminate the sound of glass fragments and debris crunching beneath our boots.

It wasn’t like we were elite special forces operators, and under this kind of pressure, it was impossible anyway.

-Crunch, crunch.

Even so, every footstep tightened my chest.

The emotion called fear, or perhaps exhilaration, pricked my heart like needles. Contradictory sensations like coldness, eclectic tingles, and searing heat filled me all at once. Only the five of us had beating hearts here.

The department store lobby, once a place where the wealthy gathered and dreams glittered beneath bright lights, now belonged to worn mannequins dressed in stained tattered clothes.

Every so often, as we pushed through the fog, we’d unexpectedly come face-to-face with a mannequin around a corner. My brain knew it was a mannequin. My hands and feet, however, suspected it was a monster and forced my rifle up first.

-Click.

The heavy metallic sound echoed as I aimed through my optic, and every time, I realized the truth.

It wasn’t a person but nothing more than a doll, a crude imitation of a human.

Even then, I found it hard to lower my rifle.

Still aiming at the mannequin, I asked Shin Nain.

"Monster?”

"None.”

Right now, I was continuously maintaining the combination of Tongue-branch, Stage 1, and Eyes-branch, Stage 1 magic. Target, a department store wizard, 5 minutes, path.

Because of that, I couldn’t use my foresight to detect monster traces like the red footprints. I had to rely entirely on Shin Nain’s Ear-branch magic.

The sensation of entrusting my life to someone else, especially to a fanatic little shit with bowel issues, was deeply unpleasant.

The absolute helplessness born from knowing that my life and survival depended entirely on another person rather than myself.

The others must have felt this way before.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Then again, the other four had entrusted their lives to me while I tracked the wizard’s trail.

Only after receiving Shin Nain’s assurance did I lower my rifle and continue forward toward the areas where the fog had parted, the route indicated by my Eyes-branch magic, keeping my muzzle loosely pointed in that direction.

Either the department store wizard moved around all erratically, or my Tongue-branch magic-assisted Eyes-branch magic still wasn’t refined enough. Because I kept finding traces, but never the wizard.

At some point, the fog stopped clearing completely and merely thinned.

"They’re definitely around here.”

"Did your eyeballs break?”

"Watch your mouth, Hamza.”

"So are you blind now?”

"Give me a second.”

Did Seoul’s wizards have some way to interfere with magical detection? Or was my own magical proficiency simply lacking?

Without enough information, my conclusions were pitifully limited.

Frustrated, I spent a long while scanning the countless mannequins frozen in bizarre poses amidst the thin fog.

Then, while squeezing through them, Hamza tripped over the leg of a fallen mannequin.

"Uwah!”

"Carefully. If you get hurt, we can’t exactly take you to a hospital or something.”

Lee Sejun grabbed Hamza’s shoulder and steadied him before he could fall. Instead of thanking him, Hamza started frantically flapping his hands and smacking the leg that had tripped him.

"That’s not it!”

"Damn it. Even if it’s a mannequin, don’t kick it like that. It’s creepy.”

"It’s a person…!”

That idiot Hamza…

Had he known it was a human leg while he was kicking it?

I unconsciously swallowed.

Lee Sejun immediately glanced over and took a cautious step back. Meanwhile, Shin Nain pushed back his hood, exposing his headset.

He knelt beside the figure Hamza had been tapping with his foot and waved his hand through the fog, trying to get a better look. Then a name emerged from his lips.

"Republic of Korea Army Sergeant Bang Giseong."

"Sergeant?”

"Haah."

Lee Sejun and I both shook our heads and let out long sighs.

I was an 8-year reservist who’d gotten dragged back in when the mobilization order came down, and even I thought life was unfair enough to drive a man insane. But if a sergeant got pulled into this mess, I figured he’d probably snapped a long time ago.

Pastor Park Yohan, however, clicked his tongue and looked at us like we were pathetic.

"Hey, youngsters. What’s with the sighing? It’s a soldier’s job to defend the country. Sergeant Bang Giseong was just doing what he was supposed to do. If he went to church, he’s probably knocking on Heaven’s gates right now.”

Bull~shit~.

I knelt beside what remained of Sergeant Bang Giseong, who was apparently busy pounding on Heaven’s gates.

His body was equipped in textbook fashion. MOPP Level 5, full CBRN protective gear, gloves included.

A small radio, barely larger than a walkie-talkie, was clipped on his chest. And judging by the way he still gripped his K2C1 rifle, he’d been pulling the trigger right up until the moment he died.

There was only one thing missing.

Just one thing.

As I finally got a proper look at the corpse that had been half-submerged in the fog, a chill crawled up my spine. His head was gone.

His head was gone.

More precisely, it looked as though someone had smashed it flat with a giant hammer, kneaded it like dough, and then ripped most of it away.

Whatever Sergeant Bang Giseong had looked like while alive, I was confident he’d been more handsome than this.

"Shin Nain, check with past sight.”

"You want me to witness the exact moment Sergeant Bang Giseong lost his head, Jemin-ssi?”

"We need to know if it was an Amalgam or some other monster.”

"Haah…Nothing can compare~ to our Lord~ Jesus Christ~.”

After calming himself with a hymn, Shin Nain fell silent, apparently activating his past sight.

Meanwhile, curiosity got the better of Lee Sejun and Pastor Park Yohan. Both of them immediately gagged. The wise Hamza avoided disaster by limiting himself to poking the body's leg instead of looking at its head.

“Ugh, uuugh. Bleegh…”

"Haah. To think that I, chosen by the Lord Himself, have to live while looking at horrors like this.”

"Quiet down, both of you. Nain’ll tell us what happened.”

We carefully examined the surrounding fog when…

-Krrzzzzt...

The static coming from the radio grew harsher. At first, nobody paid much attention to it. Communication interference wasn’t exactly unusual.

-Krssshht….zzzt...

But as the static became more frequent and more aggressive, everyone was slowly overcome by a strange feeling.

A laugh?

It sounded like someone trying to suppress a giggle before playing a prank. A faint, breathy snicker. I wasn’t the only one who heard it.

When I glanced around, Lee Sejun, Hamza, and Pastor Park were all exchanging looks, clearly thinking the same things.

That was when Hamza’s expression hardened.

"Danger. A lot of danger. Oh God…”

Without hesitation, I grabbed Shin Nain’s shoulder, who was still kneeling.

"Shitmaster, get up. We’re moving.”

But the radio connected before Shin Nain could come back to his senses.

A surprisingly pretty voice emerged clearly through the static. Through judging by the resp in it, she’d been through some rough times. Still, it was the kind of playful voice that would probably sound beautiful if she were singing.

[Hello~?]

The moment that sultry voice came through the radio, something strange happened behind Lee Sejun’s gas mask lenses. His eyes narrowed in an oddly analytical way.

"I can tell. That is the voice of a woman blessed with natural beauty who’s coasted through life on easy mode.”

"This bastard’s just making up random nonsense because he’s jealous.”

"Jealous? Hmph. The TS anime girl of my dreams isn’t some flirtatious woman throwing herself around. She’s an adorable little lady that makes you want to pat her head and give her a piece of candy. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop misunderstanding me, Jemin-ssi.”

At this point, I was honestly more terrified of the man standing next to me than the woman speaking through the walkie-talkie.

Thanks to that, my tolerance for horror and disgust shot straight through the roof. That woman on the radio suddenly seemed a lot less frightening.

That was when the voice on the walkie-talkie let out a giggle.

[Your soldier friend has a real talent for saying the creepiest things with a completely straight face, doesn’t he~?]

"To slander a man’s pure and humble dream as creepy…!”

[More importantly, though. You guys all sound like wizards. Why’d you become soldiers? Wizards should stick together and help other wizards~.]

Lee Sejun was fuming. Unfortunately, not a single member of the Supreme Archmages was on his side.

Instead, since the Seoul wizard seemed surprisingly friendly, Pastor Park Yohan cleared his throat and stepped toward the radio.

"Ahem, young miss, what’s your name? You seem surprisingly reasonable. I'm not a strange person. My name is Pastor Park Yohan. I devote myself to serving a small church. If you’re willing, could I share the Lord’s word with you?”

[Mister, are you insane?]

"Yes, I understand. These days, it can be difficult to seek the Lord’s teachings, but…”

[Ah, get lost. I don’t go to church. Seriously, what is wrong with you?]

"Haah. Young lady, that’s how Satan gets his hooks into you. You’re headed for trouble!”

The atmosphere was rapidly deteriorating.

I quietly drifted toward Hamza. Apparently he sensed the negotiations falling apart too, because the two of us naturally ended up standing shoulder-to-shoulder.

[Still, whatever. You guys are pretty entertaining and unique~]

"Eh?”

[Why don't you come with me? You’re different from those nasty soldiers trying to lock up all the people in Seoul and let them die. You're wizards. Right~?]

For one brief moment, I, Baek Jemin, the man among men, wondered if, in this hellscape, I might have found the possibility of a new love interest beyond my beloved right hand.

Then Shin Nain, who had been using past sight to thoroughly examine Sergeant Bang Giseong’s final moments, suddenly widened his eyes and snatched up the radio.

"Military frequency.”

[Huh?]

"I know how you found it, you devil-worshipping bastard.”

Silence fell. Everyone seemed caught off guard by the sudden collapse of negotiations.

But I was standing close enough to Shin Nain to notice something important. It had been a very long time since I’d seen him this angry. The last time he’d been this furious was when Monk Wonhaeng used a mantra to heal his mental exhaustion and Shin Nain accused him of stealing a trial sent by the Lord.

Which meant he had a reason. After a brief silence, the woman on the other end suddenly burst out laughing.

She laughed for quite a while. Then her voice returned, carrying an answer far more chilling than anything she’d said before.

[You’re ‘Eyes,’ aren’t you?]

-Click.

The transmission ended.

Shin Nain immediately hurled the radio to the floor.

-Crunch!

He stomped it to pieces without a moment’s hesitation. Even Pastor Park Yohan looked flustered in the face of Shin Nain’s complete lack of restraint.

"What’s going on, Nain-ssi? Why the sudden…”

“That devil bitch sticks herself onto people’s heads and steals from them.”

"...?"

We all blinked, wondering if we’d heard him correctly. Shin Nain looked back at us, his pupils wide with shock, fury, and fear.

"Like those Dubai Sticky humans. She latches onto people’s heads. That’s one of her spells.”

* * *

-Ratata...

Gunfire echoed through the air.

Inside the department store, with its towering ceilings and vast open spaces, the shots bounced and reverberated so many times that it was difficult to pinpoint their source.

Even so, us Supreme Archmages kept moving toward the fading echoes.

Every shattered piece of glass we stepped on marked the passage of time. And with every passing moment, another anguished scream rang out.

-Uwaaaaaaaaargh…

Whenever Shin Nain heard one, he responded unlike his usual self. In a brief, concise manner without any theatrics.

"Human. Deceased.”

It was my job to lead from the front.

Target, human, 5 minutes, path.

Following the trail of the Republic of Korea soldiers who had apparently fled from the Seoul wizard, we climbed the motionless escalator.

The farther we advanced through the paths where the fog had been pushed aside, the more radio signals whispered from beyond the fog-covered areas.

-Beeeeeep.

-Engaging hostile. Requesting response…

The voice wasn't really trying to communicate. It sounded more like a final dying gasp. A young soldier was desperately swallowing back tears and panic, gasping for breath, not as a soldier, but as a frightened kid facing death.

-Unable to engage...

-Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Our footsteps pounded against the escalator steps as we climbed. The sound echoed throughout the department store.

I rolled my tongue inside my mouth and shifted my vision.

Target, department store wizard, 5 minutes, route.

The fog split apart. 

One side churned away, while the other remained thick and impenetrable.

Third floor.

Beyond a display area where the fog had begun to clear, among the scattered mannequins, I spotted something moving. A pile of concrete.

Apparently it realized I’d seen it. The puke suddenly hurled itself to the ground with a deafening crash.

The concrete shattered. Dust exploded outward, and from within the cloud emerged a woman stained with dirt, dust, and blood. She was waving both arms frantically at us.

All while holding a gun.

"Fuck."

Without hesitation, I clenched my left hand into a fist and slammed it into the escalator railing.

-Bang!

I hit it hard. Bone-rattling hard. The resulting pain shot up through my arm and burned all the way into my shoulder.

At the same time, a burst of gunfire rang out clearly.

Thai time, we heard rounds slicing through the air, whizzing past us.

The sound made every member of Supreme Archmages instinctively flinch and hunch over. But crouching in the middle of an escalator was a good way to get wiped out.

Shin Nain, who seemed to have read my thoughts, shouted something and began directing the others.

As the woman right in front of me…

To stop the Seoul wizard, I slammed my left fist into the escalator railing again and again. I needed to keep my eyes open for as long as possible.

-Bang!

The woman had fired from such an awkward position that her shot went wide. Even so, she merely staggered for a moment before running her tongue across her lips.

-Bang!

My eyes were starting to close.

And just before my eyelids dropped of their own accord, I threw myself forward.

-Blink.