Chapter 70: School Bus

[Translator – Aren]

Before deciding how to respond to Go Ryeoha’s message, we first took some time to organize everything we knew about the wizards of Seoul.

One of the main reasons was the pastor’s insistence.

"Since they’ve already contacted us, we need to decide in advance how we’re going to approach them and how we’ll handle things. Figure out what we want from them and what we can offer in return.”

Who should we contact? Who should we meet? What could we trade to come out ahead?

In other words, it was time for us Supreme Archmages to start preparing our long-term plan for escaping Seoul.

Everyone agreed and began digging through their memories.

Fortunately, all of us Supreme Archmages still remembered the 5 survivors we’d contacted before entering Seoul.

The military had managed to narrow down their approximate locations through those communications. And thanks to Hamza’s Dogma-type spell, we’d already put together a rough profile for each of them.

To make things easier, we’d even given them nicknames.

First, we decided to call the guy, who’d been sobbing while calling us idiots and begging us to rescue him, Idiot.

Dobong Idiot actually had a strangely cute ring to it.

Unfortunately, Dobong Idiot was somewhere near Bukhansan Mountain, so we probably wouldn’t be seeing him for quite a while.

Besides, none of us Supreme Archmages had much to say about him.

Even Shin Nain, that fanatic who loved digging up dirt on people, looked stumped.

"Other than the fact that he’s already in a complete panic, there’s really nothing else to learn.”

Compared to the other Seoul wizards, there was almost no information about Dobong Idiot. And someone who did nothing but cry and beg to be rescued was honestly too generic to have much personality.

If anything, my incredible naming sense had given someone even blander thanMuk a wonderfully distinctive nickname. Dobong Idiot.

The next one was a completely different story, though.

Second, the calm, intellectual voice, who’d shown hostility toward outsiders while still looking after the survivors, was provisionally named Professor Nowon.

From the very first transmission, and based on Hamza’s warnings, we judged ProfessorNowon to be extremely dangerous.

So meeting him was postponed until much later.

Lee Sejun folded his arms and shook his head.

"Wasn’t he the one who said he’d show us what someone could do without a gun?”

"Meeting him would be dangerous.”

If even Hamza was calling him dangerous, then he was probably hostile toward us as well.

Third. The middle-aged woman who’d confidently led the conversation and skillfully negotiated military support over the radio was nicknamed MadamYongsan Station.

Compared to the others, she’d been relatively friendly toward the military outside Seoul. And judging from her mature way of speaking, calling her noona just felt a little too disrespectful.

Though the pastor clearly had doubts about my naming sense.

"Madam? Isn’t that a bit much? You kept calling Kang Areum ‘Noonim, noonim.’ So why isn't this one Yongsan Station Noona?”

"What kind of person calls an older lady Noona? I’m not the type to look down on my elders.”

"I barely remember her voice, but I doubt she was even over 50. If that’s the case, she’s a Noona, not a Madam, you brat.”

"Pastor, I’m not the kind of person who treats their elders so carelessly.”

If someone was more than 20 years older than me, they deserved proper respect. Why would I casually call her Noona, like I was 20 years older myself?

No matter how badly our country had fallen apart, it was still a place where respect for one’s elders was alive and well.

"Baek Jemin, you little bastard. You’re just calling her Madam because you don’t want someone older than you to be in the same age bracket as you, aren’t you?”

"Haah~. Pastor, I’m still in my twenties.”

Just thinking about turning 30 was depressing enough. If I started calling women in their 40s Noona, I’d feel like I was already in my 30s myself. Anyway, according to Hamza’s Dogma-type spell, Madam Yongsan Station ranked among the less dangerous ones.

The real issue was that Yongsan Station and Madam Yongsan Station might have to be considered separately.

Was Yongsan Station dangerous because it was overrun with monsters? Or because Madam Yongsan Station herself was unpredictable? That wasn’t easy to determine.

Besides, Yongsan Station was where the last military unit had collapsed.

The reason the pastor had kept dwelling on Madam Yongsan Station was because this was what he really wanted to discuss. It had been bait. A way to raise the real question.

"Do you all remember Suwon Station? The one time the government changed its mind and tried screening the refugees? Back in all that chaos, they even brought in that shaman and the priest to try and identify the people who’d managed to evacuate.”

"Yeah, I remember."

Every one of us Supreme Archmages nodded, lost in old memories.

We’d all gone through different trials in different ways, but I couldn’t help thinking of 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.

"But think about it. Where did those refugee trains leave from? Yongsan Station. The military unit holding the evacuation line there collapsed, and that was when the military completely lost control over Seoul. I don’t know what happened at the Southern Bus Terminal, but I’m certain about Yongsan Station. Now here’s the interesting part. The lead train carrying refugees and the second train full of monsters both departed from Yongsan Station, right?”

"I understand what you’re getting at, Pastor. The fact that Madam Yongsan Station just so happens to be at Yongsan Station itself is what’s bothering you.”

Shin Nain, the pastor’s faithful little sycophant, was the first to agree.

Seeing the confused looks and my furrowed brows, he let out a long sigh.

"The pastor is talking about the second train. The one that caused the collision. He’s worried that Madam Yongsan Station may have been involved in sending that train out.”

"You think a person did that?”

"The circumstances are certainly suspicious enough.”

According to the pastor and Shin Nain’s theory, that was what happened.

Up until now we’d assumed the Amalgams had used their human intelligence to infiltrate the train, attack the engineer, and seize control themselves. 

But what if someone had deliberately orchestrated it to break through the blockade?

That was what worried them.

"This all happened not long after everything truly began falling apart. We Crusaders who wield Holy Alteration Battle Arts weren’t very powerful yet at that point. But if Madam Yongsan Station was already leading a survivor group and operating around Yongsan Station at the time, then it’s possible that she attempted to break through the blockade that way.”

"So, we can’t completely let our guard down.”

Hearing Lee Sejun say something so serious still felt weird.

Fourth.

Everyone nodded in approval at my awesome naming sense. His nickname was the most straightforward yet.

"Gangnam Thousand-Miles Eyes. Nice."

"If they can see all the way from Gangnam to Songnam, I’d call them Thousand-Miles Eyes as well.”

"So it basically means they can see really far away?”

Except for Hamza, who hadn’t known what Thousand-Miles Eyes meant, everyone seemed to like the name.

It also reinforced our reasonable assumption that the 5 people who’d answered the military’s broadcast were all powerful wizards.

"In this absolute hellhole they’re still picking up radio frequencies instead of using a spell phone?"

The pastor looked around at us, his sharp gaze peering over the glasses that had slipped down to the tip of his nose.

I had no choice but to nod at the pastor’s questioning look.

"They’re probably keeping it active so they can stay in touch with ordinary survivors who don’t have magic. Or because they still want information from outside Seoul.”

"Exactly. That’s why we don’t think every Seoul wizard belongs to the 66-Society. These people are looking for sources of information outside the 66-Society, too. Out of everyone, these five were probably powerful enough that even the 66-Society couldn’t push them around. That’s why they were willing to risk having their communications intercepted by answering the military.”

"Or maybe they had the 66-Society's approval.”

Hamza’s wet-blanket remark made the pastor click his tongue and sharply turn his head.

Hamza paid him no mind. He rolled his eyes thoughtfully, then gestured with his hands as he spoke.

"What we can offer is information about the world outside Seoul and MPC. Bundles of it, enough to guarantee them an escape. What we need from them is information about magic and about the survivor groups inside Seoul.”

"Good. That settles it.”

In the end, I, Baek Jemin, was put in charge of contacting Go Ryeoha.

There was a good reason for that. The rest of the candidates were a complete disaster.

"Jemin-ssi, why are you looking at me like that?”

Shin Nain. He looked perfectly normal but was such a hopeless fanatic that he’d probably start a fight within 5 minutes.

"What about me? I’m great at talking to women like this!”

Lee Sejun. The mere thought of why he was so eager to message a young woman made me feel disgusted. Absolutely not.

"If she seems like a good person, I might invite her to church. Nothing wrong with that.”

Pastor Park Yohan. Rejected. The whole ‘Heaven if you believe, hell if you don’t’ routine had an unfortunate tendency to rub non-Christians the wrong way.

"I don’t like dangerous things.”

Hamza declared that he didn’t want to be the one talking to another wizard and promptly moved somewhere else.

Which left the only remotely normal member of the Supreme Archmages, me. So I became the one responsible for chatting with Go Ryeoha through the spell phone.

There was just one problem I hadn’t anticipated. My fingers kept missing the keys whenever I tried to type.

[Me: Go Ryeoha-ssi, it’s nife to meet you.]

I figured she’d forgive a single typo. Even so, after painstakingly typing the message the little 1 beside it didn’t disappear.

Had she set her spell phone down while we’d been busy discussing our average impression of Seoul wizards? Then again, modern people weren’t exactly known for putting their phones down.

Just as those thoughts had been bouncing around my head for a few seconds, a reply came.

[Go Ryeoha: Nice to meetcha ^ㅡ^]

"Whoa."

"What?"

The Supreme Archmages, who had somehow gathered behind me, were staring at the screen in amazement.

Lee Sejun, in particular, was clicking his tongue in admiration, his eyes sparkling.

"Wow. Just one message and I already know what we’ve been missing. Freshness and cheerfulness.”

"Quit making such a fuss. Tsk.”

"Jemin-ssi. You do realize you’re grinning right now?”

"Uhuhuhuhuhuhu. This is so damn nice.”

After lightly telling Lee Sejun off, I used my fingers to message the corners of my mouth that refused to stop curling upward.

Shin Nain, the lunatic who shut out the world to sing hymns. Pastor Park, the hardcore Christian who looked for every possible opportunity to evangelize. Hamza, the world’s biggest coward, always ready to run, and Lee Sejun, who kept going on about how his dream was to become a cute TS anime girl!

After hacking my way through the monsters in the mist with a party that reeked of lonely bachelors, this was the fragrance of femininity.

Well, Kang Areum-noonim…

She was a woman of such substantial presence, like a block of sugar, that calling her feminine and delicate hardly would do her justice…

Given the situation, there was no way I could let a miraculous moment like this slip away.

"Jemin-ssi, you seem to be having trouble typing. Want me to do it for you?”

"Get lost, Shitmaster."

-Tap, tap, tap.

I, Baek Jemin, the real man, kept stubbornly pecking away at the screen, no matter how many times my fingers missed the keys.

[Me: My hand’s injured, so I type slowly. Please bear with me.]

"Jemin, you little punk. You were typing way more casually with Kang Areum, weren’t you?”

"Pastor, please stop interrupting me. We’re in the middle of important negotiations.”

"You brat. Would you still be talking like this if she looked like Kang Areum?”

"Please, let me dream a little, okay?!”

I swear, these damn Supreme Archmages wouldn’t stop heckling me from behind.

Regardless, the conversation had already begun.

[Go Ryeoha: Soldiers-ssi, may I ask what brought you here?!]

First, I had to clear up the misunderstanding.

[Me: We’re not soldiers. We’re civilians.]

[Go Ryeoha:?]

[Go Ryeoha: Civilians?]

-Tap, taptap, tap…

As I struggled to type with fingers that kept landing on the wrong keys, I suddenly reached an enlightenment.

Instead of acting like an idiot, just because I was messaging a woman I’d never seen before, life was a whole lot easier if I simply got over myself.

The moment that realization hit, the conversation became much easier.

"Jemin, what’s with you? You suddenly started typing like you did with Areum.”

"I’ve awakened from my dream."

-Tatap, tap!

[Me: Civilian.]

[Go Ryeoha: Why did your way of talking suddenly change?]

[Me: Left eye’s wrecked. Can barely see what I’m typing, so bear with me.]

[Go Ryeoha: Isn’t there someone else?]

[Go Ryeoha: More importantly, you crossed the bridge under artillery support, you’re wearing military uniforms, and you’re carrying rifles. How are you civilians?]

[Me: Hold on]

I looked away from the screen and glanced at the Supreme Archmages.

Shin Nain, meeting my gaze as if asking what the problem was. Lee Sejun, staring proudly at the screen, eyes sparkling. The pastor, raising an eyebrow, already sizing up an opportunity to evangelize. Hazma, sitting well away from us, hugging his backpack, while secretly peeking over every now and then.

After looking at all of them, I turned back to the screen and started typing again.

[Me: I’m the most normal one here]

[Me: Besides, civilians carry guns and wear ponchos these days.]

[Go Ryeoha:...]

People didn’t always accept the truth even if it was staring them in the face.

Go Ryeoha was no exception, but after a little back and forth we finally got to the real reason for contacting each other.

[Go Ryeoha: You came all this way to meet me???]

[Me: Let’s make a deal.]

[Go Ryeoha: So this isn’t some kind of rescue operation???]

At that moment, my brain kicked into overdrive.

It looked like Go Ryeoha was one of the survivors who’d decided to hold out until the military changed its policy and came to rescue everyone. In reality, the military wasn’t changing its policy at all. If anything, they were getting ready to press the nuclear button. But I had a feeling that telling her the truth right now would kill the negotiations on the spot.

This was where my experience came in handy.

To get out of evening self-study back in school, I’d come up with hundreds of excuses. Like that I’d become a once-in-a-generation genius at telling convincing lies.

While I valued honesty, if sacrificing it would lead to the best possible outcome, I could live with a little lie.

[Me: Everyone who came with us died. Only we made it…]

Technically, it was the truth. Every Korean soldier who should’ve been traveling with us had disappeared. And the vanguard unit we’d found at Jangji Station had already been wiped out.

The only thing I left unsaid was that we’d never actually come here intending to rescue anyone. That was a painful subject for both sides. 

But it seems like Go Ryeoha still couldn’t bring herself to give up hope of escaping.

[Go Ryeoha: Ah]

[Go Ryeoha: Then don’t you at least have a way to get back?]

[Me: Nope…]

[Go Ryeoha:?]

[Me: Our radio operator died too, so we’re looking for someone like you who can still communicate with the military……]

[Go Ryeoha:...]

I could feel some strange stares from behind me. When I turned around, Shin Nain was tilting his head.

"Jemin-ssi. The way you type somehow makes everything sound kind of pathetic. You sure know how to use ellipses, though.”

"Those were typos."

I was trying to hit enter, but my fingers kept missing and landing on the period instead. Eventually, I got too lazy to delete them and just left them in.

[Go Ryeoha: Can you make it here?]

[Me: Send me the location and we’ll find you]

[Go Ryeoha: I’ll go talk to everyone first.]

It was at that moment that Pastor Park Yohan smiled with satisfaction.

"Just judging from the messages, she seems promising so far. She seems to have faith.”

N-Not especially dangerous…but my spell isn’t 100% accurate. What if it’s ambush or a trap?”

Watching Hamza hugging his backpack tightly, while rrembling in fear, filled me with an indescribable sense of regret regarding my life choices.

Meanwhile, Go Ryeoha must’ve finished talking with the others, because another message arrived.

[Go Ryeoha: I’ll come to you instead.]

[Go Ryeoha: Come to the fire station nearChildren's Grand Park tomorrow at noon.]

[Me: Thank you]

[Go Ryeoha: And stop saying you’re civilians when you obviously look like soldiers]

[Go Ryeoha: It feels like you’re trying to trick me 0-0]

-Clack!

The moment the conversation ended, I set the spell phone down.

Typing with two fingers that kept landing on the wrong keys was unbelievably exhausting. My thumbs felt like they were about to snap off. Turning toward the Superme Archmages, who had all gathered behind me, I spoke.

"Tomorrow noon. She wants to meet in front of the fire station at Children’s Grand Park. Let’s rest here until then.”

“Of all places, Children’s Grand Park? What if she’s trying to get us killed? It’s a huge park. There have to be even more monsters there than Olypmic Park.”

Lee Sejun voiced his concern.

On the surface, it sounded like a perfectly reasonable conclusion, but Shin Nain and I could only look at him with contempt.

The backlash from Ears-branch, Stage 1 had chosen that exact moment to kick in.

'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 squishy!!!’

Letting out a deep sigh, I finally decided to pull out the can of Spam I’d been secretly saving.

Using the lid like a knife, I hacked it into chunky pieces, then handed one piece to each of the noisy Supreme Archmages. If I ate it myself, they’d absolutely throw every kind of tantrum imaginable.

"We’re all tired. Have a piece of Spam and shut those mouths.”

The moment I said that, everyone stopped making a fuss, returned to their own spots, and started digging out their own food stashes.

Half-finished bags of hardtack. Canned perilla leaves. Instant rice porridge. Even rock-hard instant rice. Each of them somehow managed to pair it with their single piece of Spam grinning the whole time. They looked exactly like a pack of hyenas.

"Well, well. Looks like our stingy Baek Jemin’s finally grown up. This pastor’s about to cry over here, you know?”

"Hehe. Spam!”

"Jemin-ssi is a proper Christian. I thank God for this Spam you’ve provided.”

"Thank you, Jemin-ssi.”

Ironically, the only one who actually thanked me properly was Hamza, the Muslim foreign worker.

Was that really how this was supposed to go?

No!

I frowned and slowly ran my tongue across my own piece of Spam.

Immediately, the other Supreme Archmages all grimaced.

Shin Nain, in particular, looked at me like I was a cockroach crawling across the kitchen counter.

"Jemin-ssi, what are you doing?”

"Making my piece last."

"..."

-Lick, lick, lick…

It was a desperate strategic play. If I made my Spam disgustingly unsanitary, surely they’d feel too grossed out to keep theirs and give it back to me instead.

I placed the cold piece of Spam on the can lid and kept licking it over and over without stopping.

Most people would’ve gotten fed up and handed it back.

But these were the Supreme Archmages.

"Huh. I see. Take your time enjoying it, Jemin. Nom.”

"Munch, munch. Spam’s delicious."

"The Lord’s daily bread is not something one returns.”

"Jemin-ssi, I even thanked you.”

It happened in an instant.

I shuddered watching the Supreme Archmages stuff their pieces of Spam into their mouths without the slightest hesitation or a single ounce of guilt.

These bastards.

They were every bit as shameless as I was.

"Seriously…Holy shit. I’m humiliating myself this badly, and none of you are giving my Spam back? That’s legendary. You really are the Supreme Archmages.”

"Listen, Baek Jemin. This only works on people who still have a sense of shame.”

"Give it back. My Spam.”

"Already ate it. You cheap bastard.”

And so the Supreme Archmages spent the entirety of the 7th day of our expedition doing nothing but resting.

Once again we used a combat knife like a thumbtack to pin a poncho over the window, then coated the door with [Blood of the Right Hand] to keep unwanted visitors out. After that, Hamza finally inspected everyone’s injuries.

"I brought antibiotics too, but first I’ll disinfect it and wrap it with a bandage...If you develop a fever, that’s when I’ll give them to you.”

"Hamza-ssi! Me too! My right hand’s bleeding too!”

“You’re built like a tank, Sejun-ssi, so you’re fine. But Jemin-ssi has a lot of injuries.”

Looking down at both my hands covered in cuts and scabs, it really drove home just how bravely I’d been fighting.

"Uwaaah…”

"Jemin-ssi. Don’t be such a baby over a little disinfectant. And stop shaking your leg. It makes it hard to apply.”

"It hurts like hell…sobsob…”

"Baek Jemin. Are you five? Listen to yourself actually crying. Judging by your reaction, this looks more painful than when you got morphine.”

As the disinfectant burned its way into my skin, I cried my eyes out and vowed to make shallower cuts next time.

The one fortunate thing was that despite the brutal force march we’d endured over the past 7 days, there were surprisingly few serious injuries. Other than me and Lee Sejun, everyone else had little more than minor cuts and scrapes. Nothing that required much attention.

Hamza packed the first-aid kit back into his backpack and spoke.

"Everyone’s filthy, so be careful about infections. If you think you’re getting a fever, tell me immediately.”

It was a relief that the Supreme Archmages had at least been blessed with absurdly sturdy bodies.

We spent our time alternating between catching up on sleep and waking up again. Whenever we got bored, we’d pass the time with pointless conversations.

"Jemin-ssi. Don’t you think magical aptitude is influenced to some extent by the life you’ve lived?”

"The fact that you awakened Hand-branch, Stage 1, representing humanity’s intellect, really hurts the credibility of that theory.”

"I just figured maybe the reason you never awakened Hear-branch magic is because you spent your life as an unemployed bum, locked away in your room playing games.”

"Hey, I was only unemployed for 2 months.”

*t*t*

April 22nd, 2028, 11:11 AM.

Day 8 of our expedition.

We, the Supreme Archmages, advanced toward our destination in a slightly altered formation.

Visibility through the fog was around 100 meters.

A little dangerous for walking through Seoul, but as long as we stayed alert, it was manageable.

Of course, under these circumstances, the journey from Olympic Bridge to Children’s Grand Park was still a very long one.

Not because of the distance, but because of the time.

Hazards that we’d normally cut through in an instant could no longer be dealt with so easily.

"Jellyfish. Five."

-Shuffle!

The moment we spotted five wandering Human-skin Jellyfish, we immediately took cover behind an abandoned truck and looked at one another.

"Islam, how much ammo do we have left?”

"300 rounds.”

"Jemin, you eye’s still not better?”

"Not completely.”

One thing we’d learned was that the temporary blindness caused by Eyes-branch, Stage 3 [Cognitive Dissonance], recovered at different speeds depending on how severe the injury was.

My left eye still hadn’t recovered.

If I forced it open, I could barely make out the outlines of objects. But if someone gave me an eye exam, I was pretty sure I’d measure something like -10.0.

Everything was that blurry. Honestly, it was more comfortable to just keep it covered with a strip of cloth like an eyepatch.

Under these circumstances, using Eyes-branch magic with only my right eye was something I had to be very careful about.

If I permanently lost both eyes, the real problem wouldn’t be the blindness itself. It’d be becoming a blind man who couldn’t use Eyes-branch magic anymore.

I’d grit my teeth and endure going blind if I had to, but if I lost Eyes-branch magic, I was fully confident I’d collapse onto the ground, crying, snotting, drooling, and pissing and shitting myself all at once.

Shin Nain must’ve picked up on that grim determination. His eyes widened before he suddenly gagged.

"Blegh. Ugh.”

"What’s wrong with Nain all of a sudden?”

"I think he heard a monster. Shh.”

To maintain operational silence, I raised a finger over the filter of my gas mask as a signal to stay quiet.

Fortunately, by the time Shin Nain started retching, the Human-skin Jellyfish had already floated away, disappearing into the fog.

Watching them gave me a strangely complicated feeling.

The first time I’d seen them, they’d been the most horrifying things imaginable, but watching them peacefully drifting through the air was oddly calming. The problem was that Seoul’s terrible first impression made people unfairly prejudiced against the place. Once you actually lived here, it wasn’t all that bad.

Wasn’t it basically just a safari where ugly-looking tigers and bears roamed around freely?

I mean, whether it was a predator that ate humans or a predator made from humans, the raw material was human either way.

The moment Shin Nain finished gagging, he frowned and snapped at me.

"Jemin-ssi. Just because they’re both made from the same ingredients, don’t start saying tuna sashimi and canned tuna are the same thing. Get a grip.”

"Knock it off with the mind reading.”

In any case, while we waited, the Human-skin Jellyfish floated away. After watching the swarm for a moment, the Supreme Archmages passed an empty bus stop and continued along the sidewalk, carefully watching all directions.

The pastor and Shin Nain took point with their rifles shouldered. Hamza walked in the center beside me, shaking like a leaf. Lee Sejun brought up the rear, constantly scanning our surroundings.

Then we began hearing a strange sound drawing steadily closer.

At first I assumed another monster was causing trouble. Honestly, I’d gotten to the point where I was almost looking forward to discovering new monsters, like I was filling out a monster encyclopedia. But the closer we got, the stranger it sounded.

It was that dull noise of flesh being crushed.

A wet, heavy thud of something being smashed apart sounded out every so often.

We Supreme Archmages instantly tensed and all looked toward Hamza.

"I-I still can’t tell…”

-Click.

Keeping their rifles trained ahead, the pastor and Shin Nain were the first to crouch down.

Duck-walking was an absolute pain, but it was still better than making ourselves obvious. So every one of us Supreme Archmages lowered our posture and slowly crept forward. As we inched closer, the source of the sound became unmistakable.

-Bang…Bang…Bang…

The sound of someone hammering.

Yet beneath the steady rhythm, there was a murderous hatred, more vicious than someone pounding on an apartment wall with every ounce of strength just to torment the neighbors upstairs.

And then within 100 meters…

Through the pale fog we finally saw what was making the noise.

"It hurts…Help me…”

The voice didn’t come from a child but an Amalgam that had devoured a young child’s face.

A small Amalgam, that had devoured 8 people, was floating in midair as if hanging upside down, sobbing, wearing the face of a little child while its single fused mouth cried out in the same child’s voice, its body getting thrashed helplessly.

Scattered around it lay the corpses of all kinds of monsters already burned or torn to pieces.

A Predator Spine, its skull completely shattered. An Amalgam, burned so black only a mummy-like silhouette remained. A Human-skin Jellyfish, crushed flat like a balloon that had burst under pressure.

Beyond those corpses right in the middle of monsters that were still alive, twitching and trying to crawl away, stood a lone woman.

A high ponytail. A black mask better than aK90. A short, thick padded jacket that still couldn't quite hide the graceful outline of her legs. Combat boots, slick with blood and fat. Dark crimson gloves, covering both hands.

She slowly extended her right arm toward the struggling Amalgam.

At that moment, every one of us Supreme Archmages must have been stunned.

At least I was.

"Lord Huode. Fire overcomes Metal, go.”

-Bang!

Something shot out from her glove. A pebble? A steel ball? I couldn't tell. Whatever it was, there was no way something that powerful could’ve been fired by ordinary means.

For a split second I thought I saw sparks. Then it was over.

A hole had been punched clean through the Amalgam’s head. The fluid inside started to spill out only to harden almost immediately. Then the creature simply collapsed. The Amalgam stopped twitching altogether. Only then did it slowly slide down from the air.

-Thud.

The woman walked toward the Amalgam, which had been thrown to the ground, trailing the smell of burning flesh. For a brief moment, I wondered if she was sentimental enough to mourn it.

Then the woman with the ponytail raised her knee high and slammed it down.

-Crunch!

The Amalgam’s true body was technically its liquid head, but apart from that, its neck and spine were no different from a normal human’s. The place she’d stomped was the cervical spine connecting the head to the neck.

-Crack, crunch, snap!

Like someone grinding out a lit cigarette butt beneath their heel, she methodically crushed the Amalgam’s head under her boot. Every one of us fell completely silent.

Then, perhaps sensing our presence, she looked up. Our eyes met.

A brief silence hung between us Supreme Archmages and the woman.

The woman with the ponytail looked quietly pleased, like someone who’d just finished a long-overdue deep cleaning and was opening the windows to air the place out.

Then she saw us properly. Hooking a finger under the left side of her mask, she pulled it down.

"Oh? Soldier-ssi?"

She wasn’t wearing a trace of makeup. Even so, my first thought was, ‘She’s beautiful.'

Her eyes curved into bright crescents as she smiled warmly.

"You got here early. Way earlier than our meeting time.”

All the while she continued grinding the Amalgam’s spine to pieces beneath her boot.

-Craaack!

A sickening crack echoed through the air.

Just as we Supreme Archmages instinctively tightened our grips on our guns and weapons…

"In front of the Children’s Grand Park fire station. 12 o’clock. Nice to meet you!”

The woman with the ponytail, still holding her mask down, raised her right hand and gave us a gentle little wave.

"I’m Go Ryeoha. The one you’ve been messaging!”

A genuine shiver ran down my spine.

This woman…

Had just used a form of magic that wasn’t of the Dogma- or Alteration-type.