Chapter 84: The World After 11 Days

[Translator – Aren]

When you spend long enough laughing and talking, you inevitably forget the present.

Joy and elation drive people forward, but at the same time, they are like drugs that numb you by making you turn away from reality.

That was why you occasionally had to look back at the city streets stained with concrete dust and blood.

For us Supreme Archmages, Suwon City Hall was that reminder.

The moment we climbed down from the back of the military truck we had transferred to in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, the sight of Suwon, completely wrecked in the most literal sense, entered our view.

Had the soldiers waiting for us not approached after saluting and shouting, ‘Loyalty,’ we might have simply stood there in a daze.

Once again, they were soldiers whose names we could not identify because their name tags had been removed.

Every official and non-commissioned officer seemed to have taken theirs off, while the enlisted soldiers following them still wore theirs.

The NCO who approached us was a staff sergeant with sunglasses resting on top of his helmet and lips that jutted out like a duck’s bill.

"Loyalty! Five members of the civilian operational unit Aphorism and one rescued local survivor. May I confirm your numbers?”

"Yes, yes."

While Lee Sejun reflexively answered him, we stared around Suwon with our mouths hanging open.

Only 11 days.

Not even 2 full weeks had passed, yet Suwon looked completely different from before.

We saw soldiers in sackcloth-like military ponchos and gas masks rushing frantically toward an alley near Suwon City Hall. One of them carried a flamethrower, and it was painfully obvious that he was struggling under the weight of the heavy fuel tank.

The officer leading them waved and shouted.

"Incident in progress! Incident in progress! Recite the rules of engagement. Rescue strictly forbidden, kill on sight!”

"Re…Rescue strictly forbidden! Kill on sight!”

And there was more than one squad like that.

Armored vehicles and militaryHumvees raced down the roads, their machine-gun barrels tracking every alley entrance, while three-person patrol teams armed with shotguns and rifles maintained a tight watch over every street.

I stared blankly at the sight, then asked the duck-billed staff sergeant,

"Did the line break?”

"Pardon? Aah…We’re pulling together every specialist soldier and civilian operational unit we can find to hold them back. It’s still within manageable limits, so headquarters has ordered us to defend Suwon Station at all costs.”

"What about Seongnam?”

At that, the duck-billed staff sergeant lowered the sunglasses from the top of his helmet and said,

"The line there was breached once, so they’re scheduled for quarantine.”

"Quarantine? Is that even possible?”

Lee Sejun, who knew the military situation better than any of us, immediately asked.

He couldn’t have been the only one thinking it.

The other Supreme Archmages also looked at the duck-billed staff sergeant in surprise, while Go Ryeoha had already crossed her arms and raised the corners of her eyes sharply. Her feelings were obvious without her saying a word.

Noticing our stares, the duck-billed staff sergeant clicked his tongue once and answered with a short sigh.

"There are at least 10 thousand troops assigned to defend Seongnam. If we kill all of them, there won’t be enough personnel left to maintain the blockade line. Headquarters’ policy is that if every civilian has to be shot, the soldiers needed to hold the line must be screened and recovered.”

"Unbelievable. So civilians aren’t needed, and they can just die?”

When the pastor asked sharply, the duck-bulled staff sergeant merely shrugged.

"In exchange, the troops stationed in Seongnam can never be reassigned to the rear again. They’ll have to fight there until they die. I understand what you’re angry about, but…Haah. The second blockade line, especially Suwon, nearly collapsed, so nobody’s thinking straight anymore. There are bastards who really will shoot you for asking questions like that, so be careful.”

His voice carried bitterness and pity, but also absolute certainty that there was no other choice.

Only then did the pastor fall silent, visibly troubled.

An order allowing them to survive in exchange for giving up any chance of reassignment to the rear.

It was a short statement, but the cruelty contained within it was unmistakable.

The soldiers deployed in Seongnam had failed to maintain the first blockade line and allowed the monsters’ offensive to break through. As punishment for that failure, they were now destined to fight this horrific horde until they were trapped in eternity.

Even Go Ryeoha, who stood with her arms crossed and was the most sympathetic among us. no longer looked openly hostile.

"So they’ve ended up in the same situation as us.”

I also recalled a familiar face and could not avoid the strange emotions that followed.

Second Lieutenant Shin Hangi.

The easygoing young lieutenant who had encouraged me to awaken as a wizard and become a civilian Operator would now never be permitted to leave Seongnam.

He had been sentenced to maintain Seongnam’s blockade line until this monster crisis ended or until he himself became trapped within the flesh of a monster and confronted eternity.

After imprisoning 10 million people in Seoul and leaving them to die, the soldiers themselves had now been imprisoned as well. Was this karma?

With the unusually quiet Shin Nain and Hamza, whose teeth were chattering, following behind us, we were guided toward yet another vehicle.

As the duck-billed staff sergeant led us toward the back of another military truck, he told us several things.

"Right now, the military police are rounding up everyone who failed to answer the mobilization order, conscripting them, and taking them away to turn them into civilian Operators or specialist soldiers. They load them into trucks, drag them into the fog, and shoot them on the spot if they try to run. If you introduce yourselves only as civilian Operators, the frontline soldiers will look down on you, so make sure you also say that you’re Aphorism.”

"What’s the difference between the two?”

"Specialist soldiers are those with Localized Invasive…Shit. Pastor, you don’t mind if I just call it magic, right? Among the ones who can use magic, anyone capable of distinguishing monsters gets conscripted and assigned to a military unit as a specialist soldier. The less useful ones, or those with low social credibility, like petty criminals, are designated civilian Operators and excluded from the military supply network.”

"Hey, soldier. Wouldn’t people like spirit mediums or shamans be able to distinguish them for certain?”

The pastor asked while thinking of Bosal Geulmun.

I saw Go Ryeoha’s shoulders twitch slightly as well. Shamans possessed the Dogma-type magic [Spirit Sight], so she seemed curious whether they too were conscripted as specialist soldiers.

Perhaps the pastor was worried that Go Ryeoha might be taken away as a specialist soldier.

Pastor Park Yohan might have been stern toward grown men, but he was endlessly gentle and soft toward a young woman he felt was like his own daughter.

While escorting us with the other soldiers, the duck-billed staff sergeant turned his head slightly at the pastor’s question and lowered his sunglasses to the top of his nose.

Before long, his impassive expression broke into a faint smirk.

"People who can distinguish them that reliably are assigned separately as quarantine officers. They’re valuable personnel, so they aren’t sent to the front. Apparently, after they lost a valuable shaman while receiving an evacuation train at Suwon Station, they stopped sending them anywhere near dangerous areas.”

Just then, a sound like a swarm of hornets passed overhead, to which I looked up without thinking. Quadcopter drones were buzzing loudly as they hurried between the buildings.

The sky through which the drones flew was perfectly clear, without a single speck in sight.

Only then, by contrasting Suwon’s sky with the ground below, did I notice the extremely pale fog spreading across the roads and the entrance to the alleys.

Around then, sirens began blaring throughout Suwon, followed by an announcement spoken with slightly distorted pronunciation.

-Fog Depth Level 1 declared nearHwaseo Station. Fog Depth Level 1 declared near Hwaseo Station…

Around the time the announcement began playing, a strange sight caught my eye beyond the vehicles being loaded with supplies. Soldiers wearing helmets and full combat gear had all set down their rifles and knelt with their hands clasped in prayer, while a military priest in a gas mask stood before them, making the sign of the cross as he prayed.

"We beseech the Lord Jesus Christ. Have mercy upon and protect those who seek to defend their country and people, their beloved neighbors and cherished friends, and their precious families. Grant them repentance and grace. Merciful Virgin Mary, pray to Christ on their behalf. Through Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.”

The soldiers bowed their heads and sobbed as they responded to the prayer.

-Amen.

I heard the pastor snort sharply through his nose, but everyone ignored him and kept walking.

Fortunately, the pastor did not start an argument either.

Setting aside the fact that Catholicism was an unforgivable heresy from this perspective, he seemed worried that criticizing them would also mean condemning the soldiers for desperately grasping at any straw they could find.

I was moved by the sight of our fanatic duo finally showing some maturity and remaining silent.

"Just like those Mary-worshippers to be so good at throwing around the name of the Heavenly Mother.”

"Pastor, shall we knock on the doors of their spirituality with our rifle stocks until they see the light?”

"No. Once they hear the gospel and their spirits awaken, they will naturally distance themselves from that kind of godless nonsense. We may be able to hasten the process, but if we resort to indiscriminate violence, their spirituality may instead close itself off.”

I take back what I said.

Wondering what everyone else was doing, I moved my eyes around and first spotted Hamza shivering.

"What’s wrong? Is it because of Go Ryeoha-ssi?”

"No…It feels like I’m walking on ice. It wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any moment.”

"That’s fascinating! It was completely normal in Seoul.”

"Haaaah…”

Go Ryeoha barged into the conversation as soon as we tried to talk.

I made a rapid decision and retreated without hesitation, leaving Go Ryeoha to Hamza.

Hamza’s eyes began darting around wildly while his mouth silently opened and closed.

It looked like he was mouthing the word "traitor," but that couldn’t be.

Considering how long I had been handling her, it was only fair that we rotate shifts.

"So? Muslim-ssi, where are you from?”

"E-even if you kill me, I won’t drop any relics.”

"What? Muslim-ssi, just what do you take me for~?”

Okay.

Taking advantage of her attention being focused on Hamza, I moved closer to the duck-billed staff sergeant.

"Can’t you just put us in one vehicle and send us straight there? More importantly, where are we going now?”

"Ah. You weren’t told? You’re going to Pyeongtaek.”

"Pyeongtaek?”

"The command post will remain in Suwon for now, but due to the danger level, the VIPs are being moved to Pyeongtaek.”

The duck-billed staff sergeant was extremely helpful.

The greatest reason was probably that he recognized how different we Supreme Archmages were from most civilian operational units.

According to the duck-billed staff sergeant…

The Republic of Korea Armed Forces were trying to maintain a minimum number of vehicles in order to preserve at least some transportation capacity in eastern Seoul, where rapid resupply and redeployment were difficult. Because of that, there were no vehicles traveling directly from Namyangju to Suwon.

Naturally, the same applied to vehicles headed for Pyeongtaek.

It seemed needlessly cumbersome, and I wondered whether repeatedly loading and unloading supplies wasted manpower and fuel, but apparently it was reasonably effective for conducting separate quarantine inspections at each stronghold. Any unauthorized vehicle that moved, or any registered vehicle that deviated from its approached area, would be shot and destroyed on the spot.

For heavy artillery shells and other cargo difficult to load and unload, they sometimes changed only the driver. He also explained that every stronghold had its own inspection process involving specialist soldiers or shamans serving as quarantine officers.

The vehicle assigned to us was parked quite far away, so we only managed to arrive after listening to nearly the entire explanation.

"There are many vehicles that need to depart immediately, so we parked yours somewhere at little out of the way. I contacted the driver and vehicle commander, so they’ll be here shortly.”

Sure enough, he was right.

We had only spent a few dozen seconds tapping our feet against the ground when two people in full combat gear came jogging out of the city hall.

The vehicle commander was even someone I recognized.

"Civilian operational unit Aphorism. Congratulations on your safe return.”

It was Captain Kim Howoon, the sharp-cheekboned, field-oriented officer who had acted as Second Lieutenant Shin Hangi’s senior gunner.

After one crisis after another, the dark circles beneath Captain Kim Howoon’s eyes had almost reached his cheekbones.

Shin Nain greeted him with a gentle smile.

"I’m glad to see a familiar face again."

"Yes. It’s fortunate. In a disaster like this, that alone counts as luck.”

Captain Kim Howoon gave a bitter smile, and at that exact moment, the penalty from my Ears-branch, Stage 1 magic picked up his thoughts.

'I’m still in a much better situation than Lieutenant Shin…’

I didn’t argue with him over that thought.

Finding comfort in the present by comparing it to the worst possible outcome was not human cowardice, but a perfectly natural instinct.

We climbed into the back of the truck and finished preparing to depart for Pyeongtaek with Captain Howoon.

The duck-billed staff sergeant who had guided us then snapped into a sharply disciplined stance and saluted alongside the 6 soldiers following him.

"We thank the civilian operational unit Aphorism for your courage and voluntary service.”

-Snap, snap.

Good grief.

There was really no need to go this far…

"Everyone, Attention! Salute with respect!”

The wheels began rolling again.

From the rattling truck bed, I watched the duck-billed staff sergeant and the soldiers continue saluting until we had completely left, and I could not stop the corners of my mouth from twitching upward.

But the roads to Suwon that greeted us after we left the city hall were nowhere near as bright or lively as we were.

As the truck traveled down that road, we Supreme Archmages and Go Ryeoha watched people make their way through the extremely thin fog.

Soldiers prepared to aim their weapons at any moment toward civilians trudging along with difficulty. Elderly men and women loaded down with baggage, clutching MPC tightly in their hands. Children who understood nothing and merely looked around at their surroundings.

And military police gesturing toward an empty building as they prepared to storm inside.

-Fog Depth Level 1 near Hwaseo Station has been lifted. Fog Depth Level 1 near Hwaseo Station has been lifted…

-Rattle!

In the swaying back of the vehicle, our words and laughter gradually faded away.

Under the blank gazes of the people watching us ride away, we Supreme Archmages and Go Ryeoha slowly began to realize once more that we were standing in the very middle of it all.

Especially after witnessing the Han River’s transformation into another world? Or perhaps its transformation into the deep sea?

I felt it more painfully than anyone.

Something worthy of being called the end of the world had arrived.

The world I had lived in, the world I was still living in, was collapsing.

* * *

It was still afternoon when we arrived in Pyeongtaek.

Unlike Suwon’s dreary, rigid atmosphere, Pyeongtaek was comparatively much brighter and more lively.

That was only natural, considering it was the headquarters that remained fully operational and handled supplies for Seoul and the surrounding areas of Gyeonggi Province.

Once we passed through the tight security and entered the road, the change in atmosphere from before became fully apparent.

It felt like only yesterday that everyone had been making a fuss about regional depopulation, yet every commercial building that had once displayed a For Lease sign was now packed with people.

Processions of refugees overflowed across the sidewalks, while distribution vehicles parked along the roadside were busy handing out relief supplies on a first-come, first-served basis.

After passing through the outskirts and heading closer to Pyeongtaek Port, we saw American soldiers around areas where temporary structures were rapidly being erected.

The sound of them rapidly speaking in English drifted over on the wind, so there was no mistaking them.

The Korean-US Combined Command appeared to have established itself near Pyeongtaek Port, where it inspected cargo being loaded and unloaded, temporarily housed foreign troops dispatched from overseas, and served as a camp for American forces.

The area near the port, packed tightly with containers and tents, looked completely different to us after what we had seen in Suwon.

American soldiers stood facing one another with their rifles slung over their shoulders, laughing as though trading idle jokes. Some even sat on ammunition cans beneath the sunlight, licking ice cream.

There were also Korean soldiers mixed among them. They appeared to be interpreters, trotting after Korean officers while their tongues worked nonstop between them and the American officers.

We got off near the fence at a checkpoint guarded by American soldiers standing at rigid attention.

They checked the vehicle number, inspected Captain Kim Howoon’s authorization documents, and finally, some middle-aged woman came out, looked us over, and widened her eyes.

"Goodness. You there, student!”

"Who? Me?”

When I looked around, the woman pointed directly at me, her neatly styled hair swaying as she spoke.

"Yes. Who else here looks young enough to be a student? You haven’t received any kind of spirit calling¹, have you?"

"No."

"I thought so! Goodness. You American officer gentlemen, that young man is fine. He might die, but he’s not the sort to be seized byyin energy. He’s pure yang, pure yang!”

The interpreter who had accompanied the woman spoke awkwardly to the Americans, who raised their eyebrows and looked us over.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a serious issue, and we were allowed through.

However, around the time the vehicle was parked, an unexpected commotion broke out.

Just as Go Ryeoha was about to jump down first after confirming the truck had stopped, the soldiers hesitated and parted to either side. Through the opening, fully armed troops dressed in black poured out.

With soldiers wrapped tightly from head to toe approaching while prepared to raise their weapons, the atmosphere could not help but turn cold.

"Which of you is the local survivor rescued from Seoul?”

"That would be me. Is there a problem?"

It was an unusually short and firm answer from Go Ryeoha.

Only then did I notice that she had already pulled her mask back up and was not smiling with her eyes either. Her gaze was as cold and sharp as could be, but the soldiers facing her looked equally fierce.

"You will undergo additional searches, interrogations, examination, and treatment through a separate process from the civilian operational unit Aphorism. Given the current circumstances, we ask for your cooperation and understanding regarding this show of force.”

"Haah~. This is why I hate the military. You understand now why the people of Seoul hate them, right?”

Instead of answering the soldiers, Go Ryeoha turned back toward us and smiled brightly.

Then, after giving us a light, little wave, she hopped down and, surprisingly, followed the soldiers without resistance.

"Then would you mind showing me the way? If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you too.”

"Thank you for your cooperation.”

When the soldier speaking with her gave a hand signal, the others began escorting her somewhere while maintaining tight security around Go Ryeoha and the surrounding area.

As I silently watched Go Ryeoha’s retreating figure, the pastor made a tremendous fuss and repeatedly jabbed me in the side.

"Hey, hey! Jemin! Shouldn’t we stop them? Huh? After how much Ryeoha-ssi cared for us?”

"She’s just going to get washed down. Why stop someone from heading to the wash site?"

"What the hell is wrong with the way you talk, you brat?!”

Unlike the pastor, who flew into a rage, Hamza, who had suffered in my place for a while, jumped down first with hollow eyes.

-Hop!

"You fanatic pastor. I feel like hitting someone, so stop it and get down.”

"Islam, you?”

"Want me to make you a martyr?”

Apparently, the super-manly side of Hamza emerged whenever he was tired.

This fanatic zealot was already insane, but when our Muslim friend snapped, he became much scarier. Even the pastor quietly climbed down, while Shin Nain, who ordinarily would have fired back, became as silent as a clam and followed after him.

Lee Sejun stared at Hamza with wide eyes and raised his thumb.

"Hamza-ssi. You must be popular back home.”

"I don’t want to be popular with you, Sejun-ssi.”

When I jumped down after them, Captain Kim Howoon climbed out alongside the driver with an exhausted expression.

However, he seemed to have overheard our conversation, because he was letting out a faint chuckle.

"Then I’ll guide you from here.”

Thanks to that smile, Captain Kim Howoon’s shoulders looked a little lighter.

* * *

The place we were led to was neither an ordinary tent nor a container.

Perhaps they had excavated it with construction equipment in the meantime, because we were taken to an underground bunker. It clearly looked hastily built, but the clean finishing showed that they had still put considerable care into it.

Once we sat in the chairs prepared inside the stark white bunker, my boundless imagination slowly began to run wild.

"What if they locked us in here to kill us all? Maybe they’re going to pump in gas?”

"Jemin-ssi, please stop imagining such horrible things. Why would the military kill us?”

Shin Nain kept shooting me down, so I had no choice but to let my imagination fly away before it could spread its wings.

And so, roughly 10 minutes passed.

At first, we were tense, but once 10 minutes had gone by, every last one of us began to slump.

Only Captain Kim Howoon remained restless, repeatedly checking the watch on his wrist and tapping his foot against the floor.

Lee Sejun spoke up as though the sound were bothering him, but it was no use.

"Captain Kim. If you keep shaking your leg like that, you’ll shake all your luck away.”

"......"

Captain Kim Howoon was clearly preoccupied with something else.

I figured it was probably nothing and was just about to close my eyes and take a quick nap.

-Bebebeeeep—.

At the notification tone, Captain Kim Howoon raised his phone and checked it. Then he turned toward us with a slightly pale face.

"General McKinsey, the current commander of the Korean-US Combined Command, along with the generals of the Reality Survival Command, is coming.”

My eyelids rose on their own.

What? 

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¹ sudden awakening of a person's spiritual sensitivity, setting off “spirit sickness" often leading one to become a shaman