Chapter 53: Those Who Are Saved Shall Save

[Translator – Aren]

The Supreme Archmages’ route looked like this.

First, we’d travel above ground for as long as possible.

Traveling through the subway tunnels was relatively safe, but if we got ambushed in such an enclosed space, it’d be fatal.

Besides, there were still countless monsters we hadn’t identified yet. It was far better to stay above ground, where we could spot danger or scout it from a distance with magic.

The second reason was that if we continued following Line 8, we’d inevitably end up near the nest of that thing with the pale yellow gaze.

The reason around Seokchon Lake, near Lotte Tower, was where the nest of that pale yellow gaze was according to Kang Areum-noona. If that thing really had its nest there, then the surrounding area was probably crawling with monsters or even worse. The pale yellow gaze itself swept across the surface, but the monsters around its nest could easily descend into the underground tunnels.

While saving time was important, the territory surrounding the pale yellow gaze’s nest was still an ultra-high-risk zone we simply weren’t equipped to handle.

The third reason was almost the same as the second, with one slight difference.

The problem was Jamsil Station.

Following Line 8 inevitably led straight there, and Jamsil Station also connected to Line 2.

As someone from the countryside, I couldn’t help tilting my head. So what if it was connected to Line 2?

I would’ve gone my whole life without understanding if Shin Nain hadn’t let out a long sigh through his gas mask.

"Line 2 has the infamous reputation of being the busiest subway line in Seoul. The population density is absurd. And if it’s also near the nest of… that monster, then the number of monsters there is probably beyond imagination.”

"Wouldn’t the military have shelled the hell out of it?”

"If the monsters avoided the bombardment by packing themselves into the subway station, it wouldn’t matter. Even if they usedbunker busters, they’d just pour in through neighboring stations. Either way, we can’t ignore the possibility that Jamsil Station is overflowing with monsters.”

Just to be sure, I looked around at everyone else. The pastor and Hamza both nodded.

"Line 2 wasn’t fit for human habitation. At least not back when I rode it.”

"It’s gotten a lot better, but it’s still ridiculously crowded.”

Lee Sejun chimed in before anyone even asked.

"I wouldn’t know."

"I figured you wouldn’t."

We Supreme Archmages wanted to study and master magic. We weren’t lunatics who deliberately threw ourselves into unnecessary danger.

If Shin Nain was right, then Line 2 had once carried the highest number of passengers in a city of nearly 10 million people. It had already run through the densely populated Gangnam area. And on top of that, there was every chance that during the threshold breach, civilians had fled into the subway stations to escape the monsters.

Taking all of that into account, Jamsil Station was hell within hell.

Lee Sejun added a few more thoughts.

"Sure, a lot of the monsters were drawn toward the front lines, but if you’re asking whether that reduced their number to something we could actually fight, I’d say probably not. If anything, that would’ve been one of the places the military bombarded the hardest, and if the army concentrated its firepower there to hold the line, the surrounding gaps might’ve just been filled by even more monsters.”

"Sejun-ssi, why do you suddenly sound smart?”

"Jemin-ssi. I may not look it, but I used to be a short-term sergeant.”

As we pushed through the dense fog, visibility no more than 10 meters, we traded thoughts like this whenever we had the chance.

Monster ambushes? Not a chance.

We Supreme Archmages were wizards with outstanding coordination and the ability to adapt on the fly. One moment we’d be chatting like this, and the next, Hamza’s eyes snapped wide open.

Using his fingertips, he wiped the fog from the lenses of his gas mask and quietly warned us.

"Danger."

Now, a single word was enough.

The moment Hamza gave a warning, Shin Nain would immediately drop every last one of his countless disgraceful nicknames and become nothing more than our deluxe monster detector. He adjusted his headset. His eyes narrowed behind the lenses of his gas mask before he spoke in a firm, decisive voice.

"The sound of fabric fluttering in the wind…3 Human-skin Jellyfish.”

"So they even hunt when the fog’s thick.

Normally, I’d have used Tongue-branch, Stage 1 to bring Eyes-branch, Stage 1 to its full potential, clearing the fog, lining up my sights, and carefully picking them off one by one.

We'd end up spending precious ammunition, which now totaled to barely 2000 rounds, on trash mobs like these. In fact, both Lee Sejun and the pastor had already raised their rifles toward the sky.

I’d have done the same. My AR-15 with its shortened barrel and red dot sight would’ve been aimed upward, methodically popping them one after another.

Normally.

"Hold it.”

"Huh?"

The pastor shot me a sharp look. It was the same expression that said, ‘What’s this idiot trying to pull now?’

"Baek Jemin, what kind of crazy nonsense are you about to do this time?”

"It’s not crazy nonsense. It's magic.”

Jeong Nari, the inverted Alteration-type wizard we fought at the department store near Jangji Station, hadn’t been able to use Tongue-branch, Stage 2. I’d guessed the reason was simple. Her level of perception hadn’t been high enough.

If that was the requirement, then just how much awareness did Tongue-branch, Stage 2 actually demand?

We already knew there were 3 Human-skin Jellyfish approaching. I knew what Human-skin Jellyfish were. I knew exactly what they looked like. And with Eyes-branch, Stage 1 alone, I could reverse-calculate their positions from the crimson footprints they left behind.

Without the assistance of Tongue-branch, Stage 1, it was only precognition with a 10-second delay. But looked at another way, those crimson footprints showed where they would be 10 seconds later, which meant I could estimate where they were right now.

Besides, the fog was nice and thick.

There wasn’t a single reason to hesitate.

Alteration-type, Eyes-branch, Stage 1.

My eyes grew slightly sore. The backlash was easily manageable, though.

At the same time, the fog churned, then parted. Several areas became crystal clear. Crimson footprints bounded across the mist as though it were solid ground, hopping steadily toward us.

They weren’t fast, but in 10 seconds, they’d be right in front of us.

Up until now, I’d been obsessed with stopping those crimson footprints from ever reaching me.

I’d focused solely on firing first, timing my shots for the moment their owners lined up in front of my barrel 10 seconds into the future. That was the limit of how I’d been applying my magic.

But now I had breathing room. Using precognition that only revealed the world 10 seconds ahead, I could estimate where the monsters currently were.

It took me 4 to 5 seconds to think things through and narrow down their position, but I couldn’t say I could pinpoint them with 100% accuracy.

But I could take a predictive shot.

Complaining that a power that only showed the future seconds ahead was somehow lacking, that was the thinking of a third-rate amateur. Within this magic system called Alteration-type magic, where pain was the price for every spell, a wizard’s true skill also lay in knowing how to distribute the amount of pain they could endure.

A predictive shot would be enough. I traced the crimson footprints back with my eyes. 

They were coming from above the intersection. These monsters seemed to drift lazily through the air, waiting above places where people were likely to pass or hiding behind rooftops in ambush.

They were beasts, but I was human.

If you understood an animal’s habits, you could easily beat them.

This was the perfect chance to test the power of Tongue-branch, Stage 2.

I slung my rifle over my shoulder, quickly pulled my gas mask up with my left hand, and stuck my tongue out—Bleeh.

Alteration-type, Tongue-branch, Stage 2.

Desire Amplification - Hunger.

Naturally, since I wasn’t targeting with perfect precision, and this was a Stage 2 spell, the backlash hit me despite the thick fog. For the briefest instant, it felt as though the taste buds on my tongue were boiling.

Then, blood burst from it.

-Psshk!

The metallic tang of blood spread across my tongue. A searing pain lingered at its tip as warm droplets trickled down.

Even so, my bloodshot eyes refused to close.

I had to see what became of those pale shapes beyond the fog. Even as tears welled from the pain, I forced my eyes to stay open, because I wanted to witness the result of the magic I had cast.

The true miracle of equivalent exchange. Unlike everything else, which merely granted you a chance to return for excruciating sacrifice, magic always paid exactly what you’d earned. 

The more bone you carved away, the more willingly it rewarded you. Once again, magic lived up to my expectations.

One of the three fluttering figures twitched.

One set of crimson footprints suddenly staggered, then disappeared. Or so it seemed, at least. I widened my eyes again, clearing away the fog to peer beyond it. The crimson footprints hadn’t vanished. They were now stamped directly over another Human-skin Jellyfish.

Its hunger had exploded. Consumed by starvation, the Human-skin Jellyfish no longer possessed the patience to ignore easier prey.

Hunger was a force that reduced humans to beasts. It was the same desperate agony that, during history’s great famines, had driven people to eat their own children just to survive. That all-consuming suffering overwhelmed even a monster’s instincts.

The twisted faces making up the Human-skin Jellyfish all puckered their mouths at once, screaming in silent agony.

Every lip-shaped sucker covering its body drooled uncontrollably, ready to latch onto anything it could reach.

And right now, another unsuspecting Human-skin Jellyfish was closer than we were, making it an easier target. The moment the instinctive kinship shared between the monsters met magically induced starvation, the monster screamed.

It wailed as that bond shattered, yet still spread its human skin wide toward one of its own.

-Chop!

Another set of crimson footprints disappeared.

Unable to overcome its ravenous hunger, the Human-skin Jellyfish attacked another Human-skin Jellyfish. The victim struggled desperately to survive, but having been ambushed first, it was already at a disadvantage.

-Splat.

The two Human-skin Jellyfish tangled together. Watching them writhe as they tried to devour one another, I finally understood how these creatures fed.

A Human-skin Jellyfish forced its skin into a human’s mouth, melding its own flesh with the victim's internal organs. It dissolved everything inside, consumed every piece of tissue that could rot, then effectively mummified what remained, fusing the preserved body into its own skin to grow larger.

Watching them roll across the pavement, each trying to shove their distorted, screaming faces into the other’s mouth, felt like watching a wildlife documentary. Only infinitely more grotesque, because every part of those creatures had once belonged to humans.

Then, the third Human-skin Jellyfish, the one that had remained unharmed, made its choice faced with this sudden cannibalism.

Rather than attack us, it apparently decided that devouring another of its own was the better meal. Drawn by magically amplified hunger, it lunged straight at the other two.

-Chop!

The final crimson footprints vanished.

The Human-skin Jellyfish rolled wildly across the street, trying to devour one another. Their countless tendrils lashed through the air, while the lip-shaped suckers covering their bodies snapped greedily against each other’s skin.

I watched the spectacle for a moment, then gathered the blood in my mouth and spat.

-Ptui.

After pulling my gas mask back on, everyone reacted differently.

The pastor simply stared blankly. The sudden sight of the silhouettes in the fog turning on one another had completely left him speechless.

"Jemin. What did you just do?”

"Alteration-type, Tongue-branch, Stage 2. I amplified their hunger with Desire Amplification and, well, that’s what happened.”

"It’s a terrifying power. Don’t go throwing it around carelessly.”

Hamza turned away, his face deathly pale. Lee Sejun, having no real idea what had just happened, simply gave me a thumbs-up.

"May Allah watch over me.”

"Jemin-ssi, that spell’s ridiculously convenient, isn’t it?”

Only then did I hear another strange sound.

-Ugh, bleeegh...

Shin Nain had pulled up his gas mask and was vomiting. After throwing up everything he’d eaten, he immediately poured water from his canteen over his hands and repeatedly wiped his mouth clean. Only after rinsing his mouth did he put his gas mask back on.

"Jemin-ssi. Next time you’re going to use Holy Alteration Battle Arts Tongue-branch, Stage 2 I’d appreciate a warning.”

"What were the monsters saying?"

For once, Shin Nain didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he adjusted his gas mask and ground his teeth together.

"You should really unlock the Ears-branch someday."

Fortunately, I specialized in Eyes, Tongue, and Hand-branch magic. Whatever Shin Nain had just heard, I’d have the luxury of not finding out until much later.

I gripped my rifle again and aimed at the three monsters tangled together in the middle of the road, devouring one another.

"Either way, I’ll be taking the experience point.”

"You seriously believe those rumors that killing monsters gives out something like experience points?”

The pastor sounded utterly dumbfounded as I burst out laughing, squeezing the tigger.

-Bang, babang...

As spent casings clinked pleasantly across the pavement, I causally waved my barrel aside to disperse the gunsmoke.

"That felt good.”

If I was going to kill them anyway, why wouldn’t I believe the version where I got something extra out of it?

After affectionately patting my rifle once, I jerked my chin toward the fog.

"Three bullets for three monsters. A nice, fair trade. So why complain about a rumor saying you get a little bonus on top?”

From that point onward, the Supreme Archmages’ tactics became much more varied.

With the usefulness of Alteration-type, Tongue-branch, Stage 2 now proven, something resembling stealth had become possible.

We strolled through Seoul as though we were out for a pleasant walk, but Seoul was never a land meant for humans. As we wandered through fog with barely 10 meters of visibility, familiar sounds intertwined with unfamiliar, ominous ones in a constant dissonant chorus.

The click of a light switch. Water dripping from a faucet that hadn’t quite been turned off. The eerie groans of something that sounded like a starving person squeezing out the last remnants of their strength. Wind passing through shattered windows, sounding weirdly like human screams…

But sounds alone wasn’t what Seoul had to offer.

There were smells as well.

The deeper we ventured, the more the city’s odors revealed what the past four months had been like.

The stench of wastewater leaked from shattered sewer pipes beneath broken asphalt. The faint, unmistakable smell of rotting corpses. The sickeningly sweet odor of spoiled flesh. The damp, clammy reek of mold that seemed to coat everything. 

Thankfully, writing [Purification] in blood inside our gas masks had been the right call.

Between the gas mask filter and the Hand-branch, Stage 2 enchantment adding purification, if the smell was still reaching my nose, I couldn’t even imagine how horrific it truly was.

Seoul even felt different.

You’d probably wonder how anyone could tell while wearing a poncho, combat fatigues, combat boots, and a gas mask, but I really could. As the distinctive scent of raw rubber mixed with Seoul’s air, I could feel the changed city through the soles of my combat boots.

Everything was damp and soggy. Every surface was coated in moisture.

But it wasn’t the clean morning dew waiting for the sunrise. It smelled fouler than blood, saltier than tears, and stung worse than an open wound.

Sometimes the moisture gathered so heavily that it formed shallow puddles, our feet splashed through them, the sound echoing softly as we walked. The closer we drew to central Seoul, the more dew collected on our ponchos.

A rough swing of an arm and droplets would patter to the ground.

Walking through a place like this, it was impossible not to question Kang Areum’s words.

Especially since so much of modern firepower depended on visibility.

Could the fog really be on humanity’s side?

All of the Supreme Archmages seemed to be thinking the same thing. Conversation dwindled to almost nothing. It wasn’t a question we could answer lightly.

I, however, had a more moderate view on things.

The fog was undoubtedly beneficial for casting magic, but I didn’t think it was meant to protect ordinary non-wizards as well.

It wasn’t a blessing for everyone. It was a blessing reserved only for those who had awakened magic and were prepared to walk its path.

The other Supreme Archmages couldn’t deny that one fact either. That the fog clearly favored wizards.

The fact that people recommended outdoor activity in dense fog hinted at this uncomfortable truth. To the modern, non-magical world, the fog was the enemy, but to wizards, it was a blessing, a shield, and a miracle.

As we followed the road, Hamza would warn us of danger, then Shin Nain would identify the monsters by sound, and I’d immediately activate my Eyes-branch magic to scan the area.

"Danger."

"10 Faces. No Spines approaching. 4 Jellyfish.”

"They haven't noticed us. They’re heading toward the place where we were shooting earlier.”

The fog concealed everyone.

Humans and monsters alike. As long as you could use magic, the fog was humanity’s home turf. And we intended to make full use of that advantage.

The moment the pastor heard our reports, he made his decision.

"We avoid combat. If we stop to kill every monster we see, we’ll never leave Seoul. Our objective comes first.”

-Splash, splash.

Keeping low, we slipped past the monsters.

Even if Seoul’s population had been decimated, cities don’t earn a reputation of housing 10 million people for nothing. With so many wizards among its former residents, there were bound to be just as many monsters now.

We hadn’t come here to put bullets into every one of the millions of Seoul citizens who had become monsters.

The Supreme Archmages’ mission remained unchanged. Learn magic and rescue any friendly local survivors.

And so… 

We chose not to listen to the anguished screams of those trapped inside those monstrous bodies, their minds still intact.

For those imprisoned at the beginning of eternity, the only thing we could offer was a promise. A promise that, someday, we would put a bullet through them and end their miserable lives.

*t*t*

April 18th, 2028, 11:45 AM.

We spent a great deal of time fighting monsters, making them turn on one another before finishing them off, or avoiding them altogether.

But thanks to that, the endless forest of apartment buildings surrounding us finally began to thin. Just to be safe, I scanned the area again. There were no red footprints.

Instead, through slightly thinner fog, I could just make out a wide, open stretch of flat land in the distance.

That was when Hamza started struggling, and Shin Nain began to grimace in pain.

"Huh…? I-I can’t really tell.”

"The sounds are all over the place…There are monsters. But…I can’t make out the details anymore.”

The effects of the thinning fog had arrived.

Did the fog’s density vary from place to place? Once again, we stood at a crossroads.

Should we detour back toward the denser fog or push north quickly along the edge of Olympic Park, where the fog was thinning? We couldn’t count on stumbling across another survivor group anytime soon. We didn’t have the luxury of waiting.

Judging by how the monsters had started moving after hearing just a few gunshots, staying in one palace only increased the danger.

That was when Lee Sejun spoke up.

"Let’s break through as quickly as possible. Under normal circumstances, we’d establish a safehouse by now, but with every local in Seoul being either hostile or at best neutrally hostile, it’s difficult for newcomers like us to secure one. We need to gather supplies quickly and push through as fast as we can, heading toward a destination we know. Joining Go Ryeoha, the local survivor we know is friendly, gives us advantages across the board.”

Surprisingly, it was a pretty solid argument.

With no idea where the military’s support forces had gone, the only thing we Supreme Archmages could do was keep advancing. Trying to retreat now would only mean running headfirst into the monster hordes concentrated around the front lines.

Besides…

There was still so much I didn’t know.

Magic, knowledge of magic, an environment where magic could actually be learned… Seoul had everything, so the thought that I'd have to leave it all behind made me hate the very idea of it…!!

For the first time in my life, I could slightly understand how those lunatics who claimed studying was the most fun thing in the world felt.

"...Alright."

I heard the pastor exhale sharply through his gas mask.

"Let’s all do our best to reach the Han River before the day’s over. If Olympic Park is still intact, let’s take a good look. It might be the last time you ever see it.”

-Click.

Everyone adjusted their rifles and followed the pastor’s lead.

We would continue north along the road beside Olympic Park. It was the most realistic plan and the choice most fitting for us Supreme Archmages.

Then, children’s laughter drifted down the roadside.

Beneath the blinking yellow traffic light, the sound of children laughing and chatting reached our ears as clear as a radio broadcast.

-Hahaha... Uhuhuhu... Hehehe…

Every laugh sounded bright and cheerful. Among them was the sulky crying of a child who sounded as though they’d gotten hurt while playing with friends.

I saw the pastor flinch slightly.

Was it another Teratoma subspecies? I raised my guard to its highest level and remembered the advice Shin Nain had once given me. The advice that had snapped me out of a psychic attack.

Now, it was my turn to save the pastor.

"Pastor. You’re really not that good of a person.”

"What the fuck are you talking about?"