Chapter 146: No Free Rides Allowed

[Translator – Aren]

It was obvious to anyone that everything outside the Pyeongtaek US camp had gone to shit.

Anyone who’d paid even the slightest bit of attention to the rumors going around or the things we’d seen so far would’ve figured that out. But whenever people come face-to-face with an absurd reality, they pretend to be shocked and say they had no idea.

Because they want to appear moral.

With the rise of modern civilization in the 21st century, the internet and social media have become magnifying glasses that enlarge whatever their users are interested in and put it right in front of them. But this was the kind of thing you could see simply by looking around without ever staring at a screen.

Acknowledging those facts would also mean admitting that they simply hadn’t cared about the painful reality other people were living through. In a world where morality and ethics had become blades pointed at others rather than standards people held themselves to, that was an incredibly fatal weakness.

So they hide behind the excuse that they didn’t know. They busy themselves defending their own ignorance as though ignorance made them innocent. They wrap themselves in the empty words of ‘I don't know’ because they want to remain good people right to the very end.

If they were genuinely incapable of knowing any better, I could at least accept that. Instead, they desperately try to look virtuous while kicking everyone else around and taking all the benefits for themselves.

But I, Baek Jemin, was different.

I wasn’t going to run away, hiding behind the excuse that I didn’t know, just because I wanted to cover the ugly parts of myself.

The Great Archmage Baek Jemin’s rational mind decided to coolly admit the truth.

Yeah. I was the kind of guy living the easy life at the Pyeongtaek US camp who couldn’t care less whether other people were shooting stuff up their arms and dying. If anyone demanded altruism, devotion, or sacrifice from me, I’d mercilessly crush everything in my way just to survive.

What pissed me off was that these mere non-wizards dared to try and harm a wizard, and that there were magic egalitarians out there who dared spread the mysteries of magic.

-Huuuff...

Just as I finished meditating and let out a deep breath, I herald the rough voice of the middle-aged man who had my collar clenched tightly in his fist.

"I told you to bring my kid back! Y-you’re a soldier, right? They said you military bastards were finally getting your act together!”

"Come on, Changsik’s father! Our church’s youth-group leader isn’t a soldier…”

"Pastor, stop covering for them. Think about what these bastards did to the people! Huh?! Shooting everyone, beating everyone down! What the hell is the military even for if this is what you’re going to do? Every last one of them needs to be taught a lesson!”

In front of the makeshift church.

Beside the pot where they were handing out hardtack porridge was a small gathering area with makeshift cushions made from torn-up cardboard boxes. Everyone who had come looking for someone was seated there regardless of how they looked or what they were wearing, and every last one of them was filled with nothing but complaints.

Changsik’s father, who currently had me by the collar and was shaking me around, was an especially bad case. He was practically insane.

The other soldiers could keep people’s tempers in check by pointing a gun at them the moment they got too close. But apparently I looked like a punching bag since I’d only come along with the pastor to fill in for Shin Nain, seeing how that guy was busy dumping all the anger he’d been unable to vent elsewhere onto me.

"You damn bastards! You said you’d bring Chansik back. You said he was coming with you! Was it true, then? That you abandoned the kids because bringing them back would just mean more mouths to feed?!”

I held myself back because he was a father who had lost his child.

But now he was grabbing me by the collar and shaking me around as well.

Apparently civilians outside Seoul were just as hostile toward anyone dressed like a soldier. It was hard to tell whether the recruitment ads about returning to being “The People’s Military” had backfired or whether he’d simply lost his mind after losing his child.

Someone who wanted to look kind, patient, and morally upright would’ve swallowed it and endured.

But I was the Great Archmage Baek Jemin.

His crying over losing his child didn’t give him a free pass to treat me like this.

-Grab!

I caught the man’s wrist with my right hand where he was clutching my collar. Though the lenses of my gas mask, the father who had lost his child glared at me, his face flushed bright red.

"You grabbed me? Hey, you asshole. You think you can act tough because I can’t see your face behind that gas mask or whatever? You couldn’t even protect my kid, and now you’re just going to openly beat everyone down?!”

Yeah.

I wasn’t a good person.

With that realization, a finger flick from my left hand slammed into the abusive complainant’s forehead.

Using Heart-branch, Stage 2 [Physical Enhancement], I decided to hit him damn hard, but not hard enough to kill him. It should leave a light mark on his skull, though.

-Smack!

"Aagh!”

“You damn bastard. You don’t even know your place, and you’re making demands of me? What the hell is with that mouth of yours?”

-Smaack!

I avoided vital spots like his temples, jaw, and philtrum and only flicked his forehead. I was seriously going easy on him, so if he died from this, there was nothing I could do. I held back the urge to smash his brains out with my fist and limited myself to flicking his forehead like I was tapping on a watermelon rind.

-Smack, smack, smack!

If I put all the speed I had, enough to cut through the air, into the hits, he’d obviously die instantly. So I stopped just short of his forehead each time, barely in time to cut the force in half. After I flicked his forehead three times a second for 2 seconds like that, the man finally calmed down.

"Uuugh…”

“Sir, are you coming to your senses?”

"Goodness, Jemin!!!”

If he was already coming around, that meant he could take a hit pretty well. I figured I could probably make one of them a little harder.

I might have seriously considered it if the pastor hadn’t dragged me off him.

Naturally, the area around the makeshift church was still firmly under military control. On top of that, plenty of civilians had gathered at the church to get hardtack porridge, receive counseling, or attend worship, so it didn’t take long for word to spread.

Before I knew it, a crowd had gathered around, murmuring as they checked on Changsik’s father, who was clutching his forehead and groaning.

"Changsik’s dad, get ahold of yourself. Here, water. Put some water on that bump.”

"Uugh…The military’s killing people again…”

"I get losing your mind after losing your child, but…Haah.”

Seeing him groan while rubbing the rapidly swelling bump on his forehead was deeply satisfying.

The pastor, of course, scrunched up his face as if admonishing me for looking so pleased with myself.

"Hey, you bastard. You said you were going to show everyone what a Great Archmage could do, and you couldn’t even hold yourself back from hitting someone?”

"I held back from smashing his head open.”

"Wow~. Our church youth group leader managed to not commit murder after all. Huh? I’m so proud of you!”

While the pastor sighed over and over and kept pulling me back, the spectators who had been standing around murmuring suddenly retreated all at once, splitting apart down the middle.

For a moment, I thought they’d finally recognized the majesty of this Great Archmage, but judging by the thoughts coming through the backlash of my Ears-branch magic, there was another reason.

'It’s a soldier. Better not catch his eye.'

'We can’t have the church food distribution cut off… Why’d Changsik’s dad have to go crazy like that?'

'Why the fuck is he making a scene here because he lost his kid? He’s the one who couldn’t keep track of his own kid!'

Shin Nain. 

No wonder he was so obsessed with hymns if he had to listen to this kind of bullshit all the time because of that damn backlash from Ears-branch magic. Most people’s unfiltered  inner thoughts were nothing but dark and dreary.

I was trash too for hitting Changsik’s father, but the people blaming a father who’d lost his child were pieces of trash in their own right.

That was when the thuds of combat boots overlapped with the jingling of dog tags.

-Clatter, clatter—

Soldiers wearing dog-tag armbands looked around as they breathed heavily through the filters of their gas masks. The squad consisted of one flamethrower, three shotguns, and four rifles. Apparently, whenever a disturbance broke out, they came assuming there might be an infection and prepared to resort to incineration if necessary.

-Huuff, huuff.

The soldiers were an intimidating sight, wearing their CBRN protective suits even in this weather.

The squad leader in particular made no effort to hide how irritated he was, swinging the muzzle of his rifle around and aiming at the civilians. A rosary was wound several times around the barrel, with its cross dangling from the end of the muzzle.

Nobody was tough in front of a gun barrel.

As people weakly backed away a few steps, the squad leader looked down at Changsik’s father, who was sitting on the ground groaning.

"All four limbs working just fine, but instead of enlisting, you’re mooching off a church?"

"Uugh, ungh…”

"You there.”

At that moment, the squad leader’s attitude, which I’d initially dismissed as nothing special, gradually began turning downright respectful.

It took barely a minute for him to go from looking like he might casually pull the trigger to straightening himself up, bringing his rifle properly into position, and saluting. Snap. His spread feet came together, and despite the damp weather making everyone sluggish, his movements were crisp and respectful.

Seeing the other soldiers all snap to attention when their squad leader saluted instantly raised my opinion of them by +100.

“Loyalty!!"

"Keep up the good work. Loyalty.”

I returned the salute, albeit halfheartedly.

The squad leader let out a relieved breath and relaxed before looking around and asking us a question. The other soldiers dropped out of attention and raised their weapons again, but some of their earlier intensity had faded.

"Aphorism. Is that right?”

"Yes. I came with the pastor to provide some civilian aid.”

"Civilian aid…! Pastor, are you also…?”

"Hm, ahem. Yes, well. I’m active with this organization called Aphorism together with our church youth-group leader.”

"Loyalty!!!”

Kyaa.

Those looks of admiration, like they were looking at heroes. This was why I’d come out here to provide civilian aid. I sure as hell wasn’t doing this so some abusive complainant could grab me by the collar and demand that I bring his family back to life.

The pastor was even clearing his throat without any reason and putting on airs.

Thanks to that, dealing with the situation became much easier too.

The squad leader didn't pressure or interrogate us at all. Instead, he coldly looked down at Changsik’s father.

"Conscript him in exchange for the medical supplies. How long has it been since they lifted the conscription age limit, and he’s still sitting around here mooching? Judging by the fact that he lost his kid, he doesn't have any dependents either. Seongpil, Youngjun, help him up. Recruit, if you run from now on, we’ll consider it desertation.”

Gun wizards really were different from non-wizards.

Non-wizards would’ve just pretended to squeeze out a few useless tears while going on about how much they sympathized with a father who’d lost his child. Gun wizards, on the other hand, possessed the outstanding mindset that now that he didn’t have a kid anymore, he might as well become a gun wizard with them.

But even among non-wizards, there were always brave souls.

As the two soldiers with K2 slings over their shoulders approached Chansik’s father, breathing heavily through their gas masks as they moved to help him up, a shabby-looking gray-haired man who had been watching from beside him raised his voice.

"Aren’t you soldiers going too far? He was the one who beat that guy half to death, but you don’t say a word to him!”

"What happened to going back to being the people’s military? You’re only using violence right now!”

-Murmur, murmur...

The unrest spread in an instant. Maybe all the resentment people had been forcing down against the military was finally using this opportunity to burst out. But the soldiers who had come from the blockade line had already burned away every last bit of that kind of social responsibility.

Without hesitation, the squad leader raised his rifle toward the sky and pulled the trigger.

-Ratata!

Three shots.

It took exactly three bullets to crush the noise from the murmuring civilians.

The squad leader readjusted his smoking rifle, then stroked the cross swaying precariously from the end of the muzzle with his left index finger as he spoke.

"Civilian Operator Organization Aphorism. They’re a group whose members are guaranteed immunity by the Korean-US Combind Command. Even if those people shot every last one of you here, they wouldn’t face any legal consequences. So if you’re sitting around begging because you don’t want to pick up a gun and you don’t want to fight monsters, shut your damn mouths and keep your heads down. Aphorism isn't the one that wants to shoot you. We are.”

-Huuuuff…

After letting out a threatening breath through his gas-mask filter, the squad leader turned his back on them. The other soldiers fiddled with their triggers before following him. Before Chansik’s father even knew what was happening, the soldiers had grabbed him and started dragging him away.

Even as he was dragged off in a daze, Changsik’s father’s thoughts remained remarkably consistent.

'The whole lost-my-kid thing was working pretty well for getting sympathy, but did I get too into the act? Fuck…’

The backlash from Ears-branch magic really was horrible.

It let me uncover everything. The circumstances and inner thoughts of a man pretending to cry over a child who had never even existed, trying to win people’s pity, dodge the conscription order, and somehow survive on handouts.

The pastor, who didn’t know the truth, was the only one who scolded me.

"Haah. Baek Jemin. That temper of yours… Forget it. Bringing you along for this was my mistake. Let’s go do something else. Deacon, I’m going to take our youth-group leader somewhere else for a bit.”

"Of course, of course. Still, our church’s new youth-group leader sure has a much shorter fuse than Nain~.”

For the sake of Pastor Park Yohan, who was grinning amiably and playing it off with his usual easygoing charm, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

It was true that I was a little more short-tempered than most people, after all.

* * *

June 21st, 2028, 4:54 PM.

After checking the time on the screen of my authorized phone, I absentmindedly licked my lips behind the raw rubber. The power was out in the apartment building, and climbing the emergency stairs all the way to the 11th floor had given a certain someone a leg cramp.

Not me. The pastor.

The pastor sat on the stairs writhing in pain and lamenting the passage of time.

"Good grief…I’m getting so old I can’t even climb stairs anymore.”

"Want to go back down?”

"No. These bastards won’t listen unless you’re here. Besides, if we want to go underground at Hwaseo Station, we need a ticket. The military won’t let us go down there for some half-assed reason.”

"Wait. Even us?”

"Yeah."

The pastor answered firmly despite twisting around in pain.

With nothing else to do, I turned my head. Through the window beside the emergency stairwell, I could see rows of apartment buildings sitting in eerie silence.

There was a time when ‘high-rise apartment’ was practically synonymous with somewhere nice to live and well maintained. How the hell had things ended up like this?

Around Hwaseo Station, high-rise apartment buildings had been spaced out here and there to maintain a pleasant living environment. Before everything happened, it must have been a cleaner and nicer place than I would’ve expected.

Of course, by 2028, after the monster outbreak, most of the apartments around Hwaseo Station had long since been abandoned due to difficulties supplying electricity and water.

The few apartment buildings that remained in use were closer to fortified shelters for military purposes, places people could barricade themselves inside in case the fog rose. In other words, people normally weren’t allowed to eat or sleep there.

The apartment building the pastor and I had arrived at was one that had been abandoned early on.

It was about a 15-minute walk from the makeshift church, and despite having only been empty for a few months, it was already giving off a dank, gloomy atmosphere. Around then, the pastor, who had rolled up his pants and was firmly massaging his hairy legs, let out a sigh and stood up.

"What time is it?”

"Almost 5."

"We won’t be late, then. Let’s go.”

The pastor put on his gas mask, readjusted his firearm, and started climbing the stairs again. I put away my authorized phone as well, picked up my custom AR-15, and followed in long steps with the wall on my right.

12th floor.

Nothing special. All I could see through the gap in the emergency door were tightly shut doors.

13th floor.

From here on, things felt a little ominous.

I could hear indistinct muttering that was hard to make out. Apparently, we’d found our destination. The pastor and I pulled open the emergency door and entered the 13th-floor hallway. The doors that should’ve been firmly shut were instead standing wide open as if waiting for us.

The strange muttering became clearer as well.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you, evil spirits, begone…

Did I hear that right?

I blinked, glancing over to the pastor. He let out a long sigh.

"Let’s go. It’d be nice if we could settle this by talking.”

-Clack.

There was no sound as clear and refreshing as the metallic click of a firearm’s metal. No matter how far gone someone was, hearing that sound tended to clear their head at least a bit. Besides, even without the fog, an Ears-branch wizard held an absolute advantage over non-wizards.

'What was that? That sound just now?’

'A monster…?!'

I could hear them. Their thoughts. I could feel the owners of those different voices realize the pastor and I were approaching and start to panic.

Five people.

Add Eyes-branch magic on top of that, and searching became incredibly easy. And now that the True-Body Sarira prayer beads could substitute for the price of Tongue-branch, Stage 1 [Degradation], I possessed a terrifyingly effective means of subduing people even without the fog.

That was when the pastor spoke up.

"Baek Jemin, don’t kill them.”

What did he take me for? Some fucking human butcher who goes around slaughtering people?

Killing a non-wizard wouldn't even give me any useful remains. It would just mean one less person around to applaud me. Bullets were too valuable to waste killing non-wizards, and if I killed them with my hands, I’d have to wash them afterward and waste soap.

Still, if I accidentally swung my gun around, a person could end up all limp, so I obediently slung the firearm over my shoulder.

Gotta prevent accidents.

Only then did I activate my magic.

Eyes-branch, Stage 1 [Cognitive Expansion], 100%.

The Great Archmage Baek Jemin was stronger than before. I should be able to use it with greater precision and control now.

Confidence born from intense combat experience made my tongue move on its own.

Within 1 minute, everyone inside the unit, nonlethal suppression.

Then the sign appeared.

It looked as though dark clouds had gathered over the inner balcony, because I could see two human shadows spreading like stains all the way toward the entrance. 2 people. They were coming toward the front door. I didn't need a gun to deal with them quickly, nor did I need Eyes-branch, Stage 2 [Cognitive Dissonance].

I simply stepped forward.

All while using Heart-branch, Stage 2 [Physical Enhancement].

-Step.

Our footsteps overlapped. But unlike them, who had barely taken a single step, I was already standing inside the entryway. Despite everything going on, the interior still retained its simple decor.

And there, near the inner door, I saw two men clutching clubs and switches, awkwardly crouched as they moved to charge at me.

-Step.

With a single step, I ended up right in front of them.

The eyes of the two men, knees bent awkwardly, couldn’t even keep up with me. An absolute difference. Since my goal was nonlethal suppression, I couldn't even hit them with my gun. Even a light hit with the stock might make one of them burst into tiny chunks.

So I backhanded one across the cheek.

-Smack! 

I put a little too much force into it. His neck nearly twisted around with a crunch. Before I could even grab the back of it he straight up collapsed.

I slapped the other man with my palm.

-Smack!

With an “Ugh!” one of his teeth came flying out. Tsk. At this rate, even paper clay might be tougher than a person. Still, judging by the way they collapsed clutching their faces, I apparently hadn’t killed either of them instantly.

Just as I was about to open the inner door, the dark clouds hanging over the balcony cleared.

It was enough to make one side of the window suddenly brighten a lot.

Realizing it was a sign, I prepared myself before opening the inner door.

-Sliiide!

It was probably supposed to be her decisive blow.

The instant I opened the odor, I saw a woman thrusting a sharpened mop handle at me like  a spear. She looked to be in her mid to late 30s, with a tough face, a beanie on her head, and a turtleneck pulled up over her mouth and nose instead of a balaclava.

She felt less like a kid and more like an adult driven into a vicious desperation, so I settled on mid- to late 30s.

But against me, who had already read the signs and prepared for it, the attack was nothing but a misstep.

The sharpened tip passed narrowly by my right side without even touching my poncho.

As the sweet gentleman Baek Jemin, I even left a few words for the woman staring in dismay at her missed thrust.

"I’ll only hit you once.”

One step.

That was all it took to get behind the woman who had just tried to stab me to death. It reminded me of getting smacked across the back by my mom, so I brought my palm down on her nice, flat back.

-Smack!

My control was flawless as well. If I’d messed up, her spine would’ve shattered right then. At this level at least, I’d saved her spine.

"Agh!”

The woman collapsed forward with a short scream, which was proof enough. If I’d actually pulverized her spine, she would’ve died instantly. I had no idea people were this soft and fragile, like tofu.

There needs to be some firmness to them for the person doing the hitting to enjoy the feel of it. But with these guys, it felt like they’d go spalt and crumble if I hit them even a little too hard. It was incredibly frustrating.

Clicking my tongue, I turned toward where the last two went.

The bathroom.

This time, I took two steps. I wanted them to properly experience the majesty of the Great Archmage.

The bathroom was not in a very good shape either. The expensive-looking tiles were stained with watermarks, and the bathtub was filled with murky water. Two people were sitting in front of it.

One was a man wearing a T-shirt that said I Love Soul.

The man in the I Love Soul shirt let go of the woman’s hair and looked over at me with fear in his eyes.

The other was a young-looking woman who had clearly been subjected to water torture.

Her face was a complete mess from repeatedly being dunked into the water and pulled back out, all her makeup was smeared. She coughed with clouded, unfocused eyes.

The backlash of Ears-branch magic was working overtime here as well.

'I was just about to find out how far Satan’s grasp had spread…!'

That was the man in the I Love Soul shirt.

'I’m dizzy...'

That was the young woman who’d been waterboarded.

An ordinary person would probably try to save someone being tortured, but I’d learned that insane logic was often the answer in this insane world, so I decided to be cautious. Besides, I felt like I’d been relying a bit too much on violence lately, so for the first time in a long while, I tried some diplomacy.

"Get down if you don’t want to get shot.”

"You bastard, how dare a servant of Satan threaten us!”

"Hsss..."

Of all people, the one bravely standing up to me despite his fear had to be the guy who’d just been holding a woman by the hair and waterboarding her. I sure had been seeing all kinds of displays of courage lately.

Maybe diplomacy really was just an illusion.

Just as I was starting to regret not simply beating people as the footsteps of the pastor approached from behind me.

"Hey…Well, look at that. Our Baek Jemin really didn’t kill anyone. I’m real proud of you.”

There was a reaction.

The moment the pastor spoke instead of me, I could feel the fanatic hesitate.

The pastor clicked his tongue when he saw the signs of water torture and came closer.

"Praise be to Jesus."

"...Praise be to Jesus." 

"Brother. Why are you holding this sister here? If you don’t explain the circumstances in detail, I’m afraid I’m going to have some very complicated feelings about this.”

"Pastor, the military authorized all of this. We’re identifying the spawn of the Devil to protect innocent people. We deliberately stay out of sight and only do this to people who aren’t innocent, but if you start using force against us like this…”

Diplomacy couldn’t work with words alone. It needed the right amount of violence to back it up. 

Now I understood why the pastor had brought me along. Heroism that ran on a completely different track from Shin Nain’s. Maybe that was what he’d wanted.

I casually slipped the rifle sling off my shoulder and took the gun in my hand, idly fiddling with the selector as I spoke.

"We’re Aphorism. We currently have immunity guaranteed by the Korean-US Combined Command, and I, Baek Jemin, even have a license to kill. I could shoot every last one of you dead and there’d be no problem.”

“Wh-what are you……”

"If you can’t give me a convincing reason, I’ll decide you’re a despicable bastard and kill you.”

I came to a small realization.

Rather than forcing myself to find a reason someone deserved to live, it was much faster to find a reason they were a piece of shit and therefore should be shot to death. Instead of making a fool out of myself in the name of diplomacy, sticking a gun in someone’s face was far simpler and more convenient. Surprisingly, it even resulted in fewer actual casualties.

Having quickly made up his mind, the man finally pulled out a book that had been sitting on a cabinet inside the bathroom.

He recoiled from it like he was touching a cockroach.

I thought they’d left a Bible there, but the moment the man held the book out and showed me the cover, I realized I was wrong.

"Evidence that she made contact with a demon without reporting it to the military. Evidence that she’s a servant of the Devil. This wicked grimoire is the proof!”

A symbol that looked like two semicircles facing opposite directions, overlapping each other.

The moment I saw it, a wave of disgust and faint dizziness washed over me.

Even the cover was a filthy reddish-brown, like the skin of a rotten sweet potato. and gave off a stale, moldy smell.

I was certain.

This...

"See, Baek Jemin?”

Pastor Park Yohan calmly took the grimoire from him, unable to completely hide his disgust and contempt.

Then he pulled some grape juice from inside his clothes, poured it over the cover of the grimoire, and said,

"This is our ticket to the Hwaseo Station underground.”