Chapter 92: Sergeant Baek Jemin is Dangerous

[Translator – Aren]

By the time we stepped out of the one-room apartment where the last monster had been hiding, the sky had cleared completely, without so much as a trace of fog.

All that remained were grotesquely ruined abandoned houses, corpses strewn everywhere, and the shell casings we had poured out without pause. Even so, the three of us Supreme Archmages didn’t remove our gas masks or pull back our hoods.

Instead, we took a moment to catch our breath while checking the condition of our respective weapons.

-Clack.

Chamber check. Clear.

-Huuuff, huuuff—.

The distinctive sound of breathing through gas masks gradually settled into a calm rhythm.

Only then did Lee Sejun’s relieved voice break the heavy silence.

"Those Teratomas are creepy as hell. Now they’re even grouping together to imitate people. And on top of that, the Heart-branch magic symbol.”

At that, Shin Nain and I briefly exchanged glances.

Lee Sejun still didn’t know about the beginning of eternity.

Of course, for now it was nothing more than a hypothesis Shin Nain and I had arrived at independently, and since neither of us had any desire to test it, it was destined to remain a hypothesis forever.

Besides, if by some chance it was true, it would be too much for an ordinary human to bear.

The weight of the truth was almost crushing.

The revolting behavioral patterns I suspected of the Teratoma only made it worse.

Because of their pathetic mobility, Teratomas may control hosts, but they rarely if ever decide to operate independently.

Then how did they multiply?

Personally, I suspected that just as they used animals as hosts, they either took humans as hosts and controlled them in much the same way or converted their flesh into Teratomas and scattered it apart.

And considering Shin Nain had never mentioned hearing human voices during the final moments of the Taeguk Cloak Brigade, it was probably closer to the latter.

The weight of that horrifying truth pressed down on my head.

Those trapped inside the bodies of monsters endure for eternity. Apparently, even when attacked by monsters like the Teratoma that scatter the body itself, the self and consciousness remain intact.

The subspecies we had just fought, the Teratoma colony, was one such case.

Lee Sejun merely clicked his tongue in disgust, but Shin Nain and I, who knew about the beginning of eternity, felt something entirely different. How long could a human mind endure being trapped inside a monster’s body, forced to mold monster flesh into the shape of itself?

And on top of that...

She had been pregnant.

"Shitmaster."

"Yes.”

"Why don’t you have a cigarette or something?”

I had a pretty good idea why Shin Nain’s religious zealotry had faded.

The effect of Ears-branch, Stage 2 was [Hearing the Minds of Monsters]. From Ears-branch, Stage 3 onward, it became [Hearing the Words of the Dead]. And to make matters worse, unlike mine, the backlash for Shin Nain’s Ears-branch magic was neither sporadic nor a one-time occurrence.

I had forgotten, but Shin Nain was the kind of bastard whose backlash made him hear people's minds whenever he got close enough.

So he must have been faintly hearing it from the moment we first set foot there, and when we entered the one-room apartment to kill the Teratoma colony just now, he must have heard every last bit of it.

The screams of the pregnant woman as she was devoured by the Teratoma.

The screams she must have let out when she felt, through her very flesh, the fetus inside her being consumed by the monster.

The reason the human consciousness that had persisted from the moment her body transformed into a monster and was torn apart piece by piece desperately gathered the monster’s flesh back into its arms.

He must have heard all of it. Even the cries of the life that was already gone, the life that the human consciousness trapped in eternity had desperately tried to recreate by scraping together the monster’s flesh.

Anyone would go insane after hearing every last bit of that.

I was just starting to wonder whether we should inject him with a shot of psychotropic drugs like the soldiers at the blockade line before Shin Nain lost his mind.

-Tap, tap.

Shin Nain tapped his headset and turned toward me.

"Jemin-ssi. I neither drink nor smoke. And I have no intention of sticking a needle into my arm either. Do you know why?”

There was a trace of fear in Shin Nain’s eyes and a passion that burned, using that fear as fuel.

"Because I need to see and feel every single evil deed committed by the Devil’s minions so that the flames of righteous indignation can burn within this clear mind. Jemin-ssi, I want to sanctify this life. When the powers of evil spread fear, those who look away fall silent, but those who face it head-on remember the blood spilled from their wounds.”

Instead of bothering to argue, I slung my rifle over my shoulder.

A hundred words were worth less than a single action.

I thumped Shin Nain on the chest a couple of times with my fist and started walking.

"Yeah. Do it your way, then.”

There was probably some story behind why a bastard like him had awakened as an Alteration-type instead of a Dogma-type, but I was learning magic, not training to become a counselor who pried into every little detail, so I let it go.

There was something else worth being moved by.

For once, I was almost tearfully grateful that the usually clueless Lee Sejun had enough sense to keep his mouth shut.

"What were you two talking about so seriously?”

Just look at him asking immediately.

Thank God I didn’t have to stay grateful for long.

"You don’t need to know, Sejun-ssi.”

"I’m not asking you because you’re stingy about this stuff. Nain-ssi, what were you talking about?”

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me~.”

We began strolling leisurely down the village road, thick with the smell of blood and nauseating rot.

Our steps felt lighter by exactly the weight of all the bullets we had fired.

Right on cue, drones began buzzing overhead beneath the newly cleared sky, circling around and surveying the area. The military stationed at the gas station near the village entrance had probably sent them in for reconnaissance once the fog cleared.

I raised my left hand toward one of the buzzing drones and waved.

After that little wave, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived.

"Alright, everyone. Get in formation. You know the drill, right?”

"Know what?”

"Step in front of me and I shoot you. Let’s go.”

Strength returned to our previously relaxed posture.

Our marching legs stiffened for no reason, the hands switching our selectors to safe suddenly wanted to look as professional as possible, and even our breathing through the gas masks came out in deliberately long ‘Huuuuuff’ sounds.

The hems of our ponchos billowed with our quickened pace, and the more they billowed, the more the three of us stood out against the silent village.

There were exactly three people still alive and breathing in this village.

Three people gripping their respective weapons, hurrying forward in combat boots, never once removing their gas masks, with the hoods of their ponchos pulled low.

Only three people had survived, striding proudly through the middle of a village where both the chill and the fog were gone, their weapons lowered, barrels still hot and the sharp smell of gunpowder lingering around their muzzles.

Me, Shin Nain, and Lee Sejun.

Every time the three of us passed through another patch of carnage where bullets had torn past and chunks of flesh had flown, an indistinct murmur spread from beyond the road.

Instead of the wind, the hornet-like buzz of drones hammered against my eardrums, overlapping with cracked shouts and the sound of engines hurriedly starting up and wheels beginning to roll, all of it surging toward us like tidal waves.

At the village entrance, I could see soldiers rushing toward us with rifles, along with one tank and two armored vehicles.

Dozens of soldiers emerged from the woods under drone cover, while the tank rolled down the road on its heavy tracks.

Then, at some point, the murmuring noise stopped.

Because they had seen us.

The dog-tag armband soldiers who had been dismounting from the armored vehicles looked at us, then naturally split to either side and assumed a formal posture.

-Jingle, jingle.

The exaggerated movement of their salutes made their dog tags clatter together, cutting through the silence.

I turned my head without thinking and saw a man and woman among the civilian Operators who had been making a commotion behind the dog-tag soldiers. They were shivering.

My steps naturally came to a stop.

When I stopped, Shin Nain and Lee Sejun, unable to move past me, had no choice but to stop as well.

I turned toward one of the soldiers wearing a dog-tag armband and asked,

"What did these two do to end up as civilian Operators?”

The soldiers’ eyes darted side to side behind the lenses of his gas mask. Then he lowered his saluting hand and answered.

"The man was arrested by the military police for refusing the mobilization order and is currently serving as a civilian Operator. The woman was ordered into civilian operational service after being accused of spreading false rumors inJeonju that the monsters were fake."

"There are wizards out in the provinces too?”

"As if. They have to personally cover all expenses for aptitude testing conducted near Seoul, as well as the safety guarantee costs required to awaken Localized Invasive Structural Altertation phenomena. I think it’s an excellent and perfectly reasonable system.”

The dog-tag armband soldier looked down contemptuously at the male and female civilian Operators crouched behind the armored vehicle in duck-walk posture, trembling.

"Because it’d be unfair if we were the only ones fighting monsters from hell.”

-Jingle, jingle.

The clatter of the dog tags sounded especially oppressive.

I looked between the soldiers and the two civilian Operators, clicked my tongue, and turned away.

A collaboration between ordinary people who failed to awaken magic at the blockade line and commoners who couldn’t even appreciate the privilege of being able to learn magic.

This was why the Republic of Korea had fallen apart.

The three of us picked up the pace, leaving the soldiers entering the village behind us.

But the soldiers couldn’t immediately proceed into the village covered in corpses.

Instead, countless gazes remained fixed on our backs as we walked away.

The occasional radio chatter behind us told us exactly what we had accomplished.

[....16:16. Fog depth, Stage 0.]

[Situation is...]

[... appears to be over...]

Thank God I was wearing a gas mask.

Otherwise, I would never have been able to hide my rising cheekbones and twitching grin!

The footsteps of the three of us walking against the flow of dozens of soldiers grew even clearer.

-Step, step, step...

Like salmon swimming upstream against the crowd, wherever our backs passed, questions always remained.

Bust still. How? Even so.

"They’re thinking, ‘There were only three of them.’”

After letting out a heavy sigh, Shin Nain instead broke into a smug little grin and spoke proudly.

At Shin Nain’s words, our Alteration-type trio marched even more lightly despite our steps somehow feeling heavier with pride, and soon reached the gas station.

The gas station position had grown quiet after sending so many soldiers into the village, but the empty space they left behind had been filled by shocked shouting, making the place anything but peaceful.

The sweaty major was pointing furiously at his officers without even thinking to wipe the sweat gleaming on his cheeks.

Then, the moment he saw us approaching, his eyes went wide and he silently raised a hand.

-Snap!

One action was worth a hundred words. The three of us returned it in our own ways.

To answer his salute, I pressed my index and middle fingers together and gave him a quick little wave. Shin Nain, with his rifle sling hanging around his neck, pressed his palms together in prayer. 

Only Lee Sejun came to a complete stop and returned a crisp military salute, then saw Shin Nain and me heading toward the helicopter and hurried after us.

"Damn it. Why didn’t you properly return his salute? You made the major look awkward.”

"We’re civilians. We don’t have to salute back properly.”

"Amen.”

-Rattle!

Only after sliding open the helicopter door and climbing into a seat did I remove my gas mask.

-Haah—.

After breathing out a sickly sweet breath, I noticed the helicopter pilot glancing back at us.

I gave the pilot a thumbs-up.

Apparently, thumbs-up worked even when you didn’t speak the same language.

The helicopter pilot shrugged and returned the exact same thumbs-up.

And just like that, Shin Nain, Lee Sejun, and I climbed aboard the helicopter once again.

-Clatter!

The moment Lee Sejun shut the door and set down his machine gun, I said,

"And besides."

"Yes?"

"Our market value is way higher than a major’s now.”

The helicopter rotors began to turn.

Amid the deafening vibration and noise, I naturally held out my palm toward Shin Nain.

"What?"

"Black plastic bag.”

"Why do you suddenly need a bag?”

Suddenly?

Feeling the helicopter begin to shake violently through my entire body and sour bile tickling the back of my throat, I slowly said,

"I think I’m going to puke.”

May 7th, 2028, 4:32 PM.

When we returned to the US military camp at the Korean-US Combined Command in Pyeongtaek, I stepped off carrying a thick black plastic bag and immediately felt that the way people looked at us had changed.

All those doubtful looks asking, ‘Are those guys really the Supreme Archmages?’ were gone.

What remained instead was shock and awe.

The helicopter door slid open, and beneath the violent downdraft, I, Baek Jemin, strode out in the lead like a man among men, firmly gripping a black plastic bag with its handles tied tightly shut.

Behind me came Shin Nain, the fanatic Shitmaster zealot, and Lee Sejun, the former sergeant aspiring to become a pretty TS girl.

Our steps were light as we crossed asphalt and concrete, savoring the thought of how much the monster population must have dropped by the sheer number of bullets we had fired.

Then we spotted Corporal Son Gain sitting in the driver’s seat of a van parked off to the side of the reload, checking his wristwatch, while Captain Kim Howoon was on the phone. He had the phone wedged between his head and shoulder while holding a notebook and scribbling furiously with a pen.

"Yes, yes, I’m listening. Identified species: Teratoma. New behavioral pattern confirmed. Estimated 60+ individuals. Subspecies confirmed. Engagement concluded successfully. Operation time…”

Captain Kim Howoon stopped midway through his noisy phone report and stared blankly at us as we approached, then finished what he had been saying.

"…28 minutes.”

Reality Survival Command, our financial backer, took the results of this engagement extremely seriously.

That much was obvious from the fact that Major General Jeon Minho summoned us back beneath the bunker. However, Major General Jeon wasn’t alone.

Lieutenant General Royce Chandler, the second commander of the Reality Survival Command.

The bald Black man with a scar at the corner of his mouth rose from his seat and applauded as he welcomed our Alteration-type trio. Beside him, the sleepy-looking Brigadier General Thatcher and Major General Jeon Minho also stood and clapped.

-Clap, clap, clap...

As we headed toward our seats under their enthusiastic applause, they offered handshakes, and I could hardly refuse.

-Grip!

Lieutenant General Royce’s handshake didn’t hurt, but it closed around my hand with solid weight.

"Well done!"

Shin Nain handled most of the report.

There was no reason for me, with my TOEIC score of 400, to rack my brains when we already had a translator who actually knew English. Shin Nain did give us brief hints about what he was explaining out of consideration.

His report went roughly like this.

1. The Teratomas’ true behavioral pattern. They can use animals as hosts to compensate for their poor mobility and physical movement.

2. Discovery of a Teratoma subspecies: a Teratoma colony. The colony consciousness displayed the unusual trait of attempting to imitate a human appearance.

3. A Heart-branch magic symbol was discovered on the subspecies.

At that, Lieutenant General Royce had Major General Jeon ask us all kinds of questions.

These were in Korean, so even I could understand them.

"Was there any confirmed infection among birds?”

"No. At least, we didn’t find any.”

Despite Shin Nain’s firm answer, Lieutenant General Royce, Brigadier General Thatcher, and Major General Jeon Minho murmured among themselves with grave expressions.

Even those steel-hard soldiers narrowed their eyes slightly, and you could practically feel the unease running through them.

After whispering among themselves for quite a while, the generals seemed to reach some sort of conclusion and moved on to other questions.

"What exactly do you mean by attempting to imitate a human appearance?”

"Exactly what it sounds like. It was…imitating the appearance of a pregnant woman with its abdomen swollen.”

Shin Nain stumbled slightly over his words, but fortunately managed to finish.

Once again, we kept silent about our theory concerning the beginning of eternity.

Knowing would only make things more horrifying. Hesitating to put bullets into them would only prolong the suffering of the people trapped inside monster bodies.

Major General Jeon Minho nodded as though accepting that and moved on to the next question.

"This is actually the part we are most concerned about.”

Major General Jeon Minho set down the file folder and planted a hand over his clean, composed face.

Only after dragging his right hand down his face once did he speak.

"You discovered a Heart-branch magic symbol capable of inducing the awakening of Localized Invasive Structural Alteration phenomena on the body of the Teratoma colony. Are you certain?”

"Yes. All three of us saw it. I turned my head away because it made me nauseous, but Baek Jemin-ssi appears to have acquired the Heart-branch.”

"Baek Jemin-ssi, is that true?”

I nodded proudly and answered.

"Yes. I can use all five branches now.”

"All five branches…”

Lieutenant General Royce and Brigadier General Thatcher pressed their itching lips shut and fell silent.

Apparently they had remembered that Shin Nain knew English and could read minds, because it was obvious they were trying not to give us any more information. But after a few seconds, I realized I had judged them too harshly.

They weren’t withholding information. They simply couldn’t reach a conclusion.

It was painfully obvious that they were confused because they lacked the standards and evidence needed to make a judgment.

Both Lieutenant General Royce and Brigadier General Thatcher glanced at each other, then began tapping their index fingers against the table as though pressuring Major General Jeon Minho.

Eventually, Lieutenant General Royce finally spoke to Major General Jeon.

"All five disciplines. Anything notable on record?"

"Nothing, sir... He's the first."

Major General Jeon answered while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Lieutenant General Royce frowned at the answer, then turned toward Brigadier General Thatcher.

"Can we get a medical workup on him? I want to know if there's any physiological change."

"If we don't have time, we'll make time, sir."

Brigadier General Thatcher stared directly at me with that sleepy-looking face of his, so I felt uncomfortable and turned away, looking at Shin Nain instead.

That was when I first noticed Lee Sejun, reduced to little more than a fifth wheel, standing behind Shin Nain’s shoulder with his arms crossed and openly clicking his tongue.

I saw Lee Sejun, but he disgusted me, so I focused even more thoroughly on Shin Nain instead.

"What’d they say?”

"They say you’re the first person outside the blockade line to obtain all five branches. They want to give you a physical examination.”

"That’s correct."

Major General Jeon cut in and drew our attention back to him.

Lieutenant General Royce and Brigadier General Thatcher had already readjusted their postures, while Major General Jeon Minho barely managed to steady his trembling voice before continuing.

"You’re aware that in Pyeongtaek, we’ve already been conducting physical examinations on practitioners of Localized Invasive Structural Alteration phenomena, people commonly called wizards, to measure what kinds of bodily changes occur in them.”

"We have?”

That was news to me.

I was wondering why I had never heard of it when Lee Sejun, still standing there with his arms crossed, cut in and cleared up the mystery immediately.

"Jemin-ssi, I found out about my Heart-branch, Stage 2 ability after getting examined in Pyeongtaek, remember?”

"Ah."

Apparently I had shoved it into some forgotten corner of my brain because it involved Lee Sejun, the number one person I had no desire to become friends with.

The ever-helpful Major General Jeon Minho sighed but continued explaining anyway.

"However, I think we’ll have to postpone it until the situation at the blockade line stabilizes. Still, considering the 66-Society placed such emphasis on the number 55, there must be something significant about obtaining all five branches as well. We ask for your cooperation. If there’s anything you need, we’ll provide active support. Captain Kim Howoon will be assigned exclusively to your group and handle whatever arrangements you require.”

-Tap, tap.

I could tell from the way he began organizing the file folders. The meeting was about to end.

Naturally, both the generals and the three of us Supreme Archmages rose from our seats.

We exchanged handshakes once again.

Lieutenant General Royce was busy praising us, even widening his eyes and making a show of acting impressed.

Brigadier General Thatcher also shook our hands while repeatedly saying, ‘Best,’ with his eyelids raised a little higher than usual.

Then came Major General Jeon Minho’s turn.

Just when I thought it would be another ordinary handshake, Major General Jeon suddenly pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear.

"Jemin-ssi. Colonel Min asked me to keep this quiet, but I can’t anymore. The omitted report from Suwon is going up. The circumstances of how you acquired your magic as well.”

"Colonel Min?”

"The commander of the Suwon City Hall Command Post.”

At that moment, the face of the exhausted-looking colonel who had tossed me around 70 MPC while promising me from becoming a test subject flashed through my mind.

Major General Jeon kept whispering as he exaggeratedly patted me on the back.

"Jemin-ssi. Do you know what’s even more horrifying than monsters trying to steal magic through magic symbols? The fact that you can learn magic itself by killing those monsters.”

Major General Jeon continued with his grim assessment.

He had immediately realized what would happen if killing monsters carrying magic symbols made it easier to acquire magic.

"There will be people who try to deliver those monsters to their employers. Jemin-ssi, we know just how vicious these monsters are. For the sake of the world, they can’t be allowed to get out. We don’t even need to look far. If some lunatic tries smuggling them into cities in the rear, everyone suffering out there right now is finished.”

It was horrifying, but I couldn’t deny it.

Even at the end of the world, humans still looked for opportunities.

"So even if the order comes from Command, even if a private sponsor asks you, don’t keep them alive. Kill every last one of those monsters.”

With those final words, Major General Jeon stepped away with a perfectly normal expression.

Then he strode off after Lieutenant General Royce and Brigadier General Thatcher, who were already leaving the bunker.

I stared after him with a slightly dumbfounded expression, then let out a wry chuckle.

Shin Nain and Lee Sejun, meanwhile, seemed to have overheard what Major General Jeon said, because their expressions were dead serious.

"Jemin-ssi, I don’t think that was supposed to be funny.”

"No, think about it. It’s just ridiculous.”

"Wasn’t that a pretty plausible concern?”

"The concern isn’t the problem. The problem is that he said it to me. Seriously…”

I couldn’t hide the twitching corners of my mouth or my shaking shoulders.

What I had thought was a hollow laugh quickly turned into genuine laughter.

Major General Jeon worried way too much.

Because, really.

"Are you insane? Why the hell would I give my magic to someone else?”

I was already pissed enough that monsters were trying to steal my magic, and now some rich bastards thought they could steal it just because they had money?

Those kinds of bastards were dead meat.

I’d go to kill them myself.

*t*t*

May 7th, 2028, 7:14 PM.

That was when all 6 of us had gathered in the barracks, prepared for the Supreme Archmages.

While Shin Nain, Lee Sejun, and I were clearing out the Teratoma horde in 28 minutes flat, Go Ryeoha, Hamza, and the pastor had each been called away for noncombat duties and carried out their own roles.

We ladled ramen bubbling away in a pot atop a portable gas burner into our bowls and traded everything from idle chatter to important information.

After slurping down a mouthful of tender, chewy noodles, I asked Go Ryeoha.

"You said you went to the armory? What are they having you do there?”

"They’re planning to test whether putting a ritual enchantment on a gun barrel can apply an effect to the bullet the instant it’s fired. They were interested in the Fire-spewing Hands too. Thanks to that, they promised additional food and medical supplies for the people from Konkuk University.”

"Ah."

Right. We were still keeping up the whole story that the Konkuk University people were alive.

I casually shifted my gaze away from Go Ryeoha and happened to spot Hamza in the middle of eating.

Hamza neatly chomped down on a bite of kimchi, then started talking before I could even ask.

"Munch, munch…They showed me a map and asked me to point out which places were the most dangerous. Later they’re apparently going to gather Muslims like me separately and create an organization for assessing danger levels.”

"Even if you gather Muslims, don’t you still have to roll the “Fog Gacha” to see what you’ll get? Where are they even supposed to bring all these Muslims from?”

"Pakistan. Iran. Syria. Lebanon. Places like that. If they offer US citizenship, people will come in droves.”

"They’d come even with monsters crawling everywhere? Why?”

"Jemin-ssi. They’ve already got a monster called poverty over there.”

A place where people begging to be taken out and people diving in for a shot at US citizenship would all mix together.

Just as you’d expect from the wonderful Republic of Korea, now reinventing itself as a true melting pot.

The pastor, who should have been the loudest person here, was unusually quiet today. He was praying softly while savoring even a spoonful of ramen broth with almost reverent care.

"Warming our bodies with the daily bread You have granted us, we ask of Christ that Your children not lose their way even amid tribulation…”

Pastor Park Yohan had apparently been assigned to help distribute relief supplies, guide the refugees pouring into Pyeongtaek, and maintain order, so it seemed he had a lot on his mind.

Still, he clearly hadn’t missed the important information we had shared. He clicked his chopsticks together and spoke.

"Two of the magic symbols. Hand and Heart. Coincidentally, they’re both branches relatively unaffected by the fog, and if you consider the fundamental nature of Alteration-type magic as well, I don’t think the monsters will actually be able to steal magic.”

"I’d like to hear your reasoning, Pastor.”

When Shin Nain set down his chopsticks and adopted a listening posture, the pastor stirred the noodles in the pot and began.

"That bald monk, me, and the information Jemin obtained by destroying remains, those mystic bastards in Pyeongtaek, we all say the same thing. Alteration-type magic is associated with the number 5, the number of humanity, and its fundamentally magic meant to define what humanity is. It’s a miracle activated by paying pain as its price. Have you ever wondered why a miracle would demand pain as payment?”

"Because youth is supposed to hurt?”

Lee Sejun said it while picking up a slice of Spam.

I glared at him for taking the Spam, but he ignored me and popped it straight into his mouth.

"What Sejun said isn’t entirely wrong. Humans are sly creatures, and most of the time we don’t truly feel something until it hurts. Actual medication or spiritual discipline meant to refine the body and mind often involves fasting, abstaining from food, eating a clean diet, maintaining an upright posture, or burning incense so that you focus on inner devotion rather than bodily pleasure. That’s also why prayer retreats were created, to deepen faith. So then, why do people willingly suffer to the point of scourging the body?”

The pastor calmly lifted a serving of noodles into his bowl.

"To become one with God. To knock upon the gates of Heaven. Because they hope to remain filled with joy even after this life ends. Do you see that kind of longing in monsters? I’ve seen intelligence in them, but I’ve never seen that kind of spirituality. They lack the most fundamental hope shared by all humans, so they won’t be able to steal magic that seeks after humanity itself.”

"The most fundamental hope?”

The pastor clicked his chopsticks together to draw our attention.

The pastor’s theory was this.

The monsters wouldn’t be able to steal magic through magic symbols, nor were they trying to.

Instead, they were stealing magic symbols containing meanings approaching infinity in order to understand humanity. That was why the Blood Web beneath Suwon Station, which had devoured Father Jeong Yonghwan, and Eyes-branch Wizards, and Bosal Geulmun, an ordinary Dogma-type, possessed a Hand-branch magic symbol.

"Ultimately, every wizard does have an aptitude for all five branches. Five branches symbolize humanity itself, after all. The problem is that it’s ridiculously difficult. So the more wizards the monsters devour, the more they extract the different aptitudes those wizards possessed. They forcibly pull out the corresponding magic symbols.”

Shin Nain’s eyes narrowed.

"They extract the symbols their species prefers…”

"And strengthen themselves with them. An update.”

According to the pastor’s theory, monsters hunted human wizards and stole the possibilities those wizards had originally possessed.

Amalgams—Cranial Fusion-Type Mimetic Organisms stole humanity’s intellect. Hand-branch magic.

The more Hand-branch magic they steal, the more intelligently they move and the more sophisticated their pack-hunting tactics become, while subspecies that devour wizards evolve into Blood-cord Deltas, or Blood Webs.

Teratoma—Parasitic Malignant Tumors stole humanity’s life. Heart-branch magic.

The more Heart-branch magic they stole, the greater their vitality became, while subspecies that devoured wizards became Teratoma colonies capable of parasitizing hosts other than humans.

At this point, the pastor even offered one hopeful theory.

"So the more individuals that have devoured wizards we kill, the more of the stolen magic returns to humanity, which means they should weaken back toward their original state…What do you think? Sounds plausible, right?”

"What if they gather up the scraps of magical aptitude ordinary non-wizards have and use them to make magic symbols?”

"Jemin. What do you mean, what do we do? You protect people. That's the whole point, you little punk!”

My finishing blow was blocked.

Then everyone started applauding.

"Excellent. I applaud your insight, Pastor.”

Shin Nain was the first to give him a standing ovation.

Lee Sejun stared blankly and just copied him, Hamza watched everyone else for a moment before joining in, and Go Ryeoha clapped happily while laughing.

I crossed my arms and refused to clap because the pastor looked way too smug, but I had no choice but to admit it was a pretty convincing, and pretty damn cool, theory.

Desperate, dark, horrifying…but hopeful.

More than anything, I liked how simple and clear the conclusion was.

"So basically, if we shoot them all dead and take it back, the magic becomes mine, right? Do you think it’ll help me advance?”

"No idea. Baek Jemin, just clap.”

Pastor Park Yohan.

A fitting response from the leader of the fanatic zealots, the kind who, more than a decade ago, had glared murderously at a little boy named Baek Jemin for taking a thousand-won bull out of the offering box.

Especially considering he immediately started giving me shit just because I refused to clap.