Chapter 136: Those Who Come Running to Greet Us

[Translator – Aren]

An afternoon with the blazing sun beating down on us.

Working out on a day like this was pure torture. Even my Middle Eastern friends who live in the desert had to acknowledge how vicious Korean summer heat can be, so resting is the right choice.

It wasn’t that I was being lazy. The world literally forced me to rest.

Lee Sejun was the only person crazy enough to go out for a run in weather like this.

The other Supreme Archmages were all resting in their own ways as well, so Hamza and I were the only ones left in the barracks right now.

It had only been four days since the Gangnam group caused this huge commission, throwing everything into chaos, and we were resting?

There were probably people with that kind of disapproving mindset, but not a single one of them had the balls to mess with us Supreme Archmages.

Not that I knew what a bunch of non-wizard trash thought they could do anyway.

Plenty of people were probably kind of pissed seeing me lounging around while the world was turning upside down, but if they pissed me off as well, I could always just defect to the 66 Society and burn everything to the ground or whatever.

Gas? Go ahead and spray it around, fuckers.

I’d just use [Cognitive Dissonance] to stop breathing and kill every last one of them before I could even inhale any.

Fire off a thousand oh-so-great nukes as well.

I’d deliberately pop up in a major city like New York, Washington, Beijing, Paris, London, or Tokyo and take tens of millions of people with me.

If these vermin bastards still thought they were all that and came at me, I’d thoroughly trample them.

At this point they should be retraining as professional applauders, and if some asshole who had nothing to do with me started talking shit, they’d go straight into a coffin.

It was ridiculous to assume they could gas or nuke me in the first place.

I wouldn’t even have to go that far. Just need to share the benefits of magic with the US president and members of Congress, and the trash-like non-wizards would have no choice but to shut their mouths and live with it.

Putting myself in the 66 Society’s shoes and going over their tactics and strategy like this really drove home just how badly the non-wizards had been cornered.

If all they’ve got is poison gas farts and nuclear farts, then just go die. I don’t know why they’re struggling so desperately to stay alive. It’s not like they’re even the ones who get to press the button.

While I was thinking about all that, Hamza stopped tidying his locker, glanced over at me, and asked, clearly uncomfortable.

"Jemin-ssi, aren’t you going to work out?”

"Nah. I’m one-eyed.”

Still lying on my bed, I rolled around and casually tapped at the screen of my authorized phone.

It wasn’t for no reason that I’d started thinking like a Society wizard.

Things were still a mess in Pyeongtaek, and people kept dying, so the praise and adoration we deserved from the non-wizards had been delayed.

So I’d been messing around online on my authorized phone, checking for public opinion that was 100% pure praise for wizards. But, true to their nature as non-wizard trash, beings far beneath even cockroaches, they were still spouting bullshit, so I couldn’t help but frown.

The Korean internet was especially ridiculous now that overseas access had been cut off and it basically turned into an intranet.

Even the comments under articles on portal sites were a complete shitshow.

There was censorship, sure, but censorship and regulation concerning civilian Operators were still extremely weak. Instead of insulting the government or military, people had started directing their venom towards civilian Operators = wizards.

[It’s disheartening to see the military that’s supposed to protect the citizens committing another massacre. Aren’t the people voluntarily collaborating with the blockade line ashamed of themselves?]

[They keep going on about the blockade line being broken through or it collapsing, but weren’t the people in the latest incident really just trying to escape and beg for their lives? The military’s gotten so much shit for massacring civilians that it looks like they’re just trying to manufacture an excuse for themselves. It’s srsly disgusting how obvious their intentions are. I hear there are even people helping them and boasting like they’ve accomplished something amazing. I really don’t know how this country ended up like this…]

[Even the term “our side” they use is strange. Aren’t we all citizens of the Republic of Korea? Why are people dividing fellow citizens into “our side” and “their side”? There’s definitely something strange about this whole blockade stuff.]

[LOOOOL the blockade line troops totally lost it and started shooting civilians too, but the martial-law troops don’t say a single word about that, huh? These fuckers just don’t give a shit about protecting the country any more lmao. The guys who are supposed to protect the country and its people claim monsters showed up and shoot everyone dead. They don’t want to save civilians, they don’t want to properly explain why they’re imposing martial law, and their soldier brains can’t come up with any excuse. They just wanna shoot people. And meanwhile there are already assholes lining up to suck up to them LOL]

[How long are you going to keep posting AI-generated fakes as excuses? Nobody fucking believes you. Civilian control! Restore sovereignty! Rebuild Seoul!]

[The military must save innocent civilians! Do your duty as soldiers! Save my family trapped in Seoul!!]

Of course, there were comments and social media posts mocking opinions like these too.

They seemed like the kind of quick-witted people the Korean-US Combined Command would absolutely adore right now.

[People keep saying a nuke dropped, then that it didn’t, and these fuckers still have flowers growing in their heads.]

[You goddamn idiots, then what? Are the refugees who escaped all morons who can’t tell a monster from a person? Experts keep telling you the Suwon Station monster video wasn’t faked, and you’re still crying AI? For fuck’s sake.]

[The military,,, has,,,, thought,, everything,,,, through,,, people like you,,, who don’t,,,,think enough,,,,,can’t put yourselves in someone else’s shoes~~!]

[Guys, this isn’t the time for this. Don’t go when the martial-law troops tell you to come in for some kind of ‘training.’ There’s a rumor that they make you read a pamphlet there and then drag people off to the blockade line based on some sort of criteria nobody gets. I don’t know what the hell is really going on, but at least don’t get yourselves killed for nothing.]

[Fuck, if you don’t go they cut off your rations, fire you from your job, and the military police’ll come knocking. How the hell are we supposed to refuse, huh? LOOL]

[Then just go to the blockade line~ You know you can’t come back once you go there, right? And once you enter Gyeonggi Province, no dollars for you either~.]

There was a very clear reason why I, Baek Jemin, was getting so vicious.

Could these fucking non-wizard bastards even clap properly?

The only reason I put up with this flood of shitposts was that it at least let me infer the general public’s level of knowledge and how strict the censorship was.

Anything involving magic was still under thorough censorship.

Not a single person used the word "magic" when insulting or referring to civilian Operators. The only two theories that existed were that they were slaves who had voluntarily collaborated with the blockade line or laborers who’d been forcibly conscripted.

As for the emergency alert warning that two nukes had been fired at Seongnam, the official explanation was either a glitch or a mistake by whoever was responsible for sending it. Public opinion was split 50-50 on that too.

One side said this proved the blockade line was a mere excuse for a coup, while the other wondered whether things were actually serious enough that someone had actually considered firing nukes.

What surprised me more was how weak the censorship and regulations were, considering how heated debates like these had become. Posts insulting the US military, the core of the Korean-US Combined Command, disappeared without a single trace before anyone even had time to comment on them.

Then, over some bouncy trot-like music, hymn lyrics started drifting through the room.

"The Lord is amaaaazing~ O amazing~.”

It was Shin Nain.

He’d said he was helping the pastor with worship and volunteering in the local community, but he’d come back alone. He even took off his headset and kept humming the lyrics himself. As if that wasn’t enough, after putting the headset in his locker, he wiped the sweat off himself with a towel and stared straight at me.

"Jemin-ssi, you don’t look very happy.”

Since the distribution of Thousand-Miles Eyes’ remains and the things we’d looted still hadn’t been properly settled, Shin Nain was still stuck at Ears-branch, Stage 3.

Maybe that was why he couldn’t properly read my mind anymore.

Unless I allowed it, Shin Nain, the Ears-branch wizard, could no longer hear the voice of my thoughts.

Meanwhile, even when I didn’t want to, I had no choice but to hear Shin Nain’s inner voice.

The backlash of Ears-branch magic was cold and merciless.

'For inferior specimens like Jemin-ssi, who lack spiritual intelligence, are deficient in empathy, can’t think about the future, and are incapable of properly understanding interpersonal relationships like familiar and fraternal love, I suppose the backlash of Ears-branch Holy Battle Arts, Stage 4 would be nothing to worry about. Haah…Even devil-spawns who were never promised Heaven can still be put to use for faithful Christians. Just how magnificent is the design of our Lord God?’

"Oh, fuck you.”

'Jemin-ssi is once again blatantly revealing his immature character by using such vulgar, cheap language. I understand. Those who realize they can’t be embraced by the Lord often abandon themselves further and then walk the path of repentance and confession. Heavenly Father, thank You for granting me infinite patience so that I don’t stray from Your path. I will take Jemin-ssi as a cautionary example and neither grow arrogant nor stray from Your guidance.’

I set my authorized phone down with a tap and sat up.

Shin Nain.

He had his own completely different brand of being damn insufferable, comparable to Lee Sejun.

I already felt like dying thanks to the non-wizards dragging their feet and the humid heat.

For some reason, Buddha’s words about human life being filled with suffering and hardship kept coming back to me today.

The problem was that these were thoughts.

If he’d said them out loud, I could’ve cussed him out too, but picking a fight over SHin Nain’s thoughts would just leave me wide open to a counterattack. If he asked who the hell I thought I was, snooping through someone else’s thoughts without permission, I’d have nothing to say.

So I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.

Right. Once Shin Nain reaches Stage 4, I’ll get my revenge by deliberately thinking nothing but horrifying shit and barking it at him nonstop every single day. Shin Nain absolutely had to reach Ears-branch, Stage 4.

After making that decision, my heart, smooth as silk, was able to release all the resentment it was holding onto.

I met Shin Nain’s gaze with a benevolent smile.

"Why are you alone? Where’s the pastor?”

"The pastor is doing missionary work in the area. You’ll be seeing him soon anyway. I came to pass along instructions from Command.”

"Oh!"

I picked up the authorized phone I’d set down and checked the time.

May 26th, 2028, 1:11 PM.

Thousand-Miles Eyes and his group had been wiped out on the 22nd, so it had taken the Korean-US Combined Command a full 4 days to respond. Half of me wondered why they were so damn slow, while the other half thought, ‘Well, for a bunch of non-wizards, I guess this is pretty fast.’

I stuffed my phone into my pocket, then looked at Hamza, who was also stuffing things into his backpack.

He’d waited until I was distracted by Shin Nain.

"Hamza. You’re not packing because you’re planning to run away, right?”

"No. I just feel more comfortable when I keep my things organized.”

Hamza answered calmly and naturally, but the backlash of Ears-branch magic brought back some disappointing results.

'Now that Jemin-ssi’s Ears-branch magic has gotten stronger, he can notice any escape attempt I make. I need to create distance as naturally as possible without making him suspicious.’

-Tap.

I dragged my right hand over my face.

An old-fashioned fanatic zealot pastor, a Muslim migrant worker constantly looking for his chance to desert, a disappointing Captain Korea, a Shitmaster elitist fanatic zealot… The fact that the least messed-up one of the bunch was Go Ryeoha, a former Seoul wizard who hoarded non-wizards but at least looked pretty, was seriously disheartening.

That was the moment my long-lost patriotism and sense of duty settled back onto my shoulders.

Was the fate of the Korean people really this miserable?

I, Great Archmage Baek Jemin, felt a certain obligation to help the country as a descendant of the Korean people, even if I couldn’t take responsibility for it all the way to the end, I looked back at Shin Nain.

Fortunately, maybe because I’d already paid the price, Shin Nain’s damn inner thoughts didn’t come through this time.

"So what’d Command say?”

"We’ll be discussing the remains of Gangnam Thousand-Miles Eyes, the Cursed Objects and holy relics we recovered, and the 66 Society. And of course…”

One corner of Shin Nain’s mouth slowly curled upward into a smirk.

"We tilled the field, so it’s only right that we eat the ripe fruit."

*t*t*

May 26th, 2028, 1:25 PM.

For the first time in a while, all of us Supreme Archmages gathered in one place.

Specifically, inside a van with Captain Kim Howoon and driver Son Gain.

Pastor Park, Hamza, and I were crammed into the very back, while Go Ryeoha, Lee Sejun, and Shin Nain sat in the middle.

With everyone crammed in there so tightly, naturally somebody was bound to sit there with their arms crossed and complain.

"Aah. Why do we have to wear these stinking ponchos everywhere we go?”

The pastor apparently hated our poncho raincoats, complaining as he was pressed right up against the door with a scowl on his face.

Normally he’d have made a huge fuss as loudly as he could, but for some reason he kept glazing over this way like he was watching my reaction. Hamza, wedged between me and the pastor, was curled up like a pressed sausage and busy muttering some prayers.

I guess it can’t be helped.

With my cheek plastered against the window, I answered.

"I heard that civilian Operators are starting to form their own groups lately. Better to grab some distinctive concept before anybody else does. A trademark, you know?”

"Of all things you could’ve picked…”

The pastor sighed but couldn’t bring himself to object too strongly.

I could hear Shin Nain and Lee Sejun bickering in the seats before us, along with Go Ryeoha quietly chuckling at them.

Normally I would have listened in to hear what they were talking about, but right now my attention was drawn to another place.

To the soldiers beyond the window, watching our van, to be exact.

Even while struggling to carry ammo cans or boxes, the moment they spotted our van from a distance, some would set them down and stand at attention where they stood. Others started as we passed or even put down their weapons to give us a quick salute.

A military chaplain with a gas mask hanging from his forearm was leading a group of soldiers when he saw us and made the sign of the cross.

This was probably what it really felt like when your status changed.

No one anywhere mentioned the Supreme Archmages out loud. Nobody had even told them who we were, yet people recognized us on their own and reacted accordingly. The gin-wizards and chaplains at our US camp were clearly on another level compared to the slackers below the blockade line.

Then the van suddenly jolted to a stop.

Captain Kim Howoon, riding at the front as the vehicle commander, checked the mirror and spoke.

"We’re here. If you get out now…Oh!”

He cut himself off and hurriedly jumped out.

He abruptly pulled the door open and frantically motioned for us to hurry, as he licked his lips.

"Please, just get out quickly…”

"What’s with all the fuss?”

Lee Sejun, still pouting after bickering with Shin Nain, was first to hop out.

He casually wandered around, then the instant he saw the people standing in front of the temporary bunker prepared for the discussion, his whole body went rigid. Just as the rest of us started climbing out one by one, wondering what could possibly be impressive about a few barely visible outlines…

Even the pastor, who’d been watching my reaction, instantly looked startled and shouted.

"General!”

"What general?”

The moment I jumped out, I saw stars running toward me for the first time in my life.

"Welcooome!”

They were obviously foreigners, yet they came running over while speaking Korean.

With one exception, every one of them was a familiar US general.

Marshal McKinsey, Lieutenant General Royce, Brigadier General Thatcher, and one face I’d never seen before, hurrying after them while pushing up his horn-rimmed glasses.

I could feel the bodyguards keeping their distance and watching carefully, but McKinsey didn’t seem to care. He walked right up and held out his hand to us Supreme Archmages.

"Sorry it took me this long to check on you. And ‘I've been busy' won't cut it as an excuse, will it? Anything giving you trouble?"

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Shin Nain, who served as the Supreme Archmages’ translator, to which he sighed.

"He’s asking if anything’s been bothering us.”

"I can speak English too!”

Go Ryeoha poked her head out slightly, trying to make her presence known, but I decided to stick with the good, old, reliable Shin Nain Translator.

Considering what we’d accomplished, we probably could’ve afforded to act a little cocky, but most of the Supreme Archamges were too busy nodding their heads in admiration or shaking hands like they were deeply honored. The pastor was practically bowing at the waist.

"Oh my, General. You really didn’t have to.”

McKinsey smiled as he shook the pastor’s hand, gave Shin Nain a comparatively formal handshake, and when he reached Lee Sejun, skipped the handshake entirely and simply exchanged salutes.

"Atten-shun! The Korean Army let a soldier like you slip through their fingers. Their loss. Present arms!"

"Yes, Sir!”

Lee Sejun obviously hadn’t completely understood what he said, clearly answering by sheer instinct.

McKinsey moved on with a satisfied smile, but when he came face-to-face with Go Ryeoha, his expression became somewhat complicated. He simply gave her a faint smile and nod without adding anything else.

"Good luck."

"Ah, yes."

Leaving the obviously awkward Go Ryeoha behind, Marshal McKinsey finally turned to me.

The moment he saw my eyepatch, his expression grew visibly serious as he offered me his hand.

"Few men are willing to give up an eye for the soldiers around them. Rarer yet for someone who isn't one. I admire your courage."

Hmm…

Would these Yankee bastards die if they spoke Korean? I flicked my gaze toward Shin Nain, only to see him tapping a finger against his ear. Realizing it was his signal to use telepathy, I focused.

‘Jemin-ssi. He’s being extremely formal and speaking extremely highly of you. It seems he was impressed after he heard how you lost your right eye. The military appears to have a great deal of trust in you.’

Phew.

As expected of an American, his discernment was clearly on another level.

Only then could I flash a proud smile and firmly grasped Marshal McKinsey’s hand.

McKinsey’s eyes widened, but then he broke into a playful grin and patted me on the shoulder.

After that, I shook hands with Lieutenant General Royce, Brigadier General Thatcher, and even the unfamiliar Korean brigadier general one after the other.

Setting aside the kindly bald Lieutenant General Royce and the sleepy-looking Brigadier General Thatcher, the one who caught my attention was this new Korean general.

The brigadier general looked to be a haggard middle-aged man, with horn-rimmed glasses, nervous eyes, and unusually long eyelashes. He clasped my hand and nodded.

"Thank you. Thanks to you, they never managed to break through the blockade line.”

"Uh. Your position and name?”

"Ah! I'm Lee Giseong. I’ll be serving as a staff officer with the Joint Alteration Operations Group and assisting Aphorism under Major General Thatcher, who’ll be taking over as the new commander. I look forward to working with you. As a fellow Korean, I especially wanted to tell you how grateful I am!”

I was moved by Brigadier General Lee Giseong’s respectful treatment.

Right. A soldier deserved to be called a gun-wizard. Gun-wizards were different from non-wizards.

I finished shaking Brigadier General Lee Giseong’s hand with a satisfied smile. Marshal McKinsey exchanged looks with the other general, then spoke in clumsy Korean.

"Let’s do some Walking.”

The Supreme Archmages’ gazes naturally turned toward Brigadier General Lee Giseong.

Sweat dripping down his face, Brigadier General Lee Giseong looked toward Captain Kim Howoon, but the guy had already hidden himself inside the vehicle with the excuse that he was the vehicle commander and wasn’t showing so much as the tip of his nose.

In the end, Brigadier General Lee Giseong, who looked to be in his late 40s and just about to cross into his 50s, wiped the sweat from his face with one hand and added.

"Uh…His Excellency the Marshal… Is ‘His Excellency’ even the right way to address him? Anyway, um… I think he wants to get to know you on a more personal level before discussing the…heavier things…”

I wondered why he was acting like that, but by then Go Ryeoha had come up beside me and was poking me in the ribs with her elbows.

"Hubae-nim, I think they’re trying to win us over.”

"Huh? Win us over?”

Why, though?

I blinked and looked around, seeing Marshal McKinsey watching us cautiously.

At that moment, a thought burst into my head as if something had suddenly cleared.

People would probably call it intuition.

I shuddered with excitement and barely managed to suppress the twitching corners of my mouth by rubbing them with my hand.

Ah. Right.

Holding back a grin while striking a cool pose really wasn't easy, huh?

But I, Baek Jemin, had no choice but to pull it off.

I absolutely had to.

I was now in a position where the United States and the military couldn’t simply order me around or advise me carelessly. They had to persuade me instead.

I fully understood it now.

The fact that I was now a wizard on the level of a national power.