Chapter 35
The Bureau agents who had entered the theme park returned safely, with only one fatality.
There were a few injuries, but they were the kind that could heal with a few days' rest in the recovery room. Thankfully, no one had lost any body parts.
The results weren't bad either. They had rescued no one—zero people—but by figuring out the theme park's rules and structure and writing up a strategy, the next expedition could proceed much more smoothly. That could also greatly reduce casualties.
After reading every report, the chief of the Bureau's capital branch nodded with a gentle expression.
“Well done. You’ve all worked hard, so take a little rest for now before returning to your duties.”
“…….”
“Miss Mir?”
“...Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
Mir, seated across from the branch chief, lowered her head slightly. As if to reassure her, the chief handed her some snacks and coffee before speaking.
“Are you worried about the members of Team 6?”
At present, all of the Bureau's key personnel in the capital region had been sent to the museum assault operation. From the team leader to the deputy chief, everyone had gone after the Museum of Taste, one of the Museum of the Five Senses.
All of them were important assets of the Bureau, practically no different from living weapons. Naturally, Team 6, famed as the strongest unit in Response and Internal Affairs, had all joined the operation except Mir. Mir was the youngest on the team, so she couldn't take part.
For her to worry about her teammates was, in a way, only natural. The museum itself was a highly ranked anomaly, and the number of Bureau personnel it had chewed up so far was enough to build a mountain.
The branch chief smiled warmly and gently took Mir's hand in hers.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m sure everyone is doing fine.”
“...Ah, yes.”
Mir answered with a reluctant expression.
In truth, she wasn't worried about her teammates at all; the only thing she couldn't get out of her head was the grotesque sight she had seen at the theme park, but she didn't bother correcting the branch chief's misunderstanding.
Instead, she handed over one of the mirror shards Ian had thrown.
“What is this?”
“It’s one of the magician’s means of attack mentioned in the report.”
“Ah.”
The branch chief carefully took the translucent shard and looked it over.
A structure that let you see both the person across from you and yourself. A strange aura that made it hard to call it an ordinary magical tool. An instinctive, inexplicable sense of unease.
She swallowed hard and set the shard down on the table.
“...You said you saw a strange shape beyond this, right?”
“Yes. I caught a faint reflection of the grimoire the magician was holding, and at the same time I suffered a mental disturbance. It felt as though someone had grabbed my brain directly and kneaded it.”
“Could it be a tool that induces mental domination?”
“...I don't know. But its physical destructive power was considerable too. It turned the floor into glass and shattered it like shards... If it hit a person, they’d probably die instantly.”
“What a headache. Why is a magician who can do something like this here in Korea of all places... A report also came in recently that another magician has appeared in Busan, too. Honestly...”
The branch chief let out a long sigh and leaned back in her chair.
“Did you respond? Ah, right—you mean you fought it.”
“The first rule in the Bureau’s anti-magician handbook. When you encounter a magician in the field, if the other side pulls out magical means, attack or leave the scene without asking questions or debating. We followed it exactly.”
“It is a rather old-fashioned guideline, but well, it’s not wrong either.”
If you said the magicians themselves were the threat, that wasn't exactly the case. If this were a fantasy world, they might breathe fire, raise shields, or hurl lightning, but this was very much reality. Magicians capable of such things were almost nonexistent.
Most of them would die to a single bullet. There was a reason people said long-range sniping was the best way to deal with magicians.
Nowadays, magicians all carry some kind of anti-sniper measure, so you can't expect the same results as before, but it still remains the best method. That's why, when dealing with magicians, they always bring guns and usually a sniper too.
Of course, the Bureau was not hostile to every magician.
It was true that many people held hostility toward magicians because of the past spontaneous human combustion incident and the cursed doll incident in the quarantine room, but that didn't mean all magicians were like them. Among them were plenty who could talk things through, and plenty who were still green.
Even so, the handbook says to attack magicians first because that gives the highest survival rate.
“A magician who has completed a spell is dangerous. Bringing out magical means is practically the same as saying they intend to kill the target in front of them.”
The branch chief let out a long breath as if remembering something from the past.
“So you attack first. The policy is to disrupt the magician’s magic and then keep fighting, flee, or try to persuade them. When you meet a wild magician, this really is the best way.”
“...We had decided to keep fighting.”
“Right. But that wasn't a very good choice. If the other side is in a hurry? Or if they weren't all that interested in Bureau agents to begin with? Then there's no need to pick a fight for nothing. Your judgment was a little off there. You should've talked instead.”
The branch chief continued as she lifted her coffee cup.
“Most magicians are fairly reasonable, so if you attack them, they won’t automatically bear a grudge or refuse to cooperate. Of course, closed-minded magicians or magicians who hate the Bureau are exceptions, but even they tend to cooperate when the situation absolutely requires it. Keep that in mind next time.”
“Yes.”
“Heh-heh.”
The branch chief smiled softly and took a sip of her coffee. The cold mint pineapple iced Americano wriggled on her tongue before going down.
“Still, as long as you came back alive, that’s enough. It’s a relief you gave up the pursuit later on. Go get some good rest now. I’ll notify the quarantine team about the mirror shard and have them put it into a special containment room.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Not at all. Go on.”
Mir nodded, bowed to the branch chief, and left the room. The branch chief picked up and ate the snack Mir had left behind, then stood up.
“Then I suppose I should do some work too...”
With a creaking sound, her bones cracked.
“[……]”
The pure white tent inside the mirror briefly appeared, then vanished immediately.
*
Another day passed. The workshop construction was now finished. Ian put back on the coat he had taken off to fill the room with ether, sat down in a chair, and opened his grimoire.
He checked the list he had drawn up in advance so he could make everything as soon as the workshop was complete.
He definitely planned to make more dying eyeballs. What he had learned while dealing with the vampire was that the power to burst an eyeball from afar with no risk at all was much stronger than he had expected.
The piercing mirror’s destructive power was considerable too, but it still carried the risk of having to drive a mirror shard in by hand. If the target dodged or knocked it away, it would be useless.
By contrast, you couldn't avoid the eyeballs even if you wanted to. Unless you moved so fast that your image never reached the retina, that is. Otherwise, you'd be unable to resist and your sight would be sealed away. So eyeballs were a must.
‘There are other tools that can block the five senses besides sight, but... apart from the tongue, they all require a human body part. I can't make those right now.’
Eyes and tongues were similar in shape for most living things, but noses, ears, and skin were often different. That was why the grimoire said only human parts could be used.
It was a pity, but there was no helping it. For now, he would have to make only eyes.
Ian scooped the fish eyes he had bought at the market out with a spoon, set them on the table, and placed the other materials nearby.
Then, transmutation. The moment he chanted the spell, the dying eyeballs were completed.
As before, he carefully wrapped the eyeballs in cloth and stored them so they wouldn't be crushed. After repeating that about three times, three cloth-wrapped little spheres were rolling around on the table. Ian smiled in satisfaction and opened the grimoire again.
‘Eyeballs are done. Next...’
With a rustling sound, he turned the page and checked the items he had previously selected from the list.
[Knowledge-Eating Paper]
[Any target to which this paper is attached will gradually have its intelligence lowered. If used on a human, the lost intelligence will not return. Eventually, when they become an idiot, their brain will flow out through the holes in their face.]
[Materials: 3 anomalous byproducts, 1 clean sheet of paper, 100 ml beast blood, 50 ml magician's blood, 1 bowl]
Knowledge-Eating Paper. It was a suitable tool for dealing with other magicians, or with mysteries possessing exceptional intellect.
He had already confirmed at the theme park that there were beings capable of communicating with humans. If he used this tool, he could probably handle things easily without making trouble with them.
More importantly, if he attached it to the librarian of the abandoned library, who needed to know the rules, it might make the rules pour out of the bastard's mouth. It was a suitable item to use on the very next request.
“Good.”
Ian immediately stacked the things he had prepared on the table.
Three ghost orbs obtained while cleaning the officetel. One clean sheet of A4 paper. And two bottles of experimental animal blood ordered online, the blood he had drawn in advance from himself, and a bowl.
The preparations were complete. Ian immediately drew a magic circle on the paper, placed the bowl in its center, and poured in his own blood and the beast's blood. He also submerged the ghost orbs in the blood.
……츠즈즛.
The orb that had been sparkling blue was dyed red, and Ian chanted the spell with the grimoire in hand.
“The god did not grant you knowledge, and deems it blasphemous for you to dare open your mouth and prattle. Thus, I reclaim it. The lowly shall return to the lowly.”
The moment the incantation ended, the bowl melted away and blood spread across the paper.
The blood instantly stained the paper red. The anomaly's byproduct seeped into the very bottom of the paper and spread like a brushstroke.
With that, the alchemy was complete. Ian lifted the grotesque blood-red paper and nodded with satisfaction.
Of course, he didn't test the paper's ability. Anyway, a chance to try it out would come soon enough, so there was no need to rush.
He folded the paper neatly, stuffed it into his backpack, left the workshop, and returned home.
Perhaps because of the repeated use of alchemy, his body was a little tired. Ian roughly ate the triangular kimbap he had bought on the way back to make do for dinner, then showered and lay down on the bed.
It was 1 a.m.—already the early hours of the morning.
Since he planned to start the request today, there was no reason to mess around on his phone late into the night. He pulled the blanket over himself and closed his eyes.
And so morning dawned. Ian gathered all the luggage he had prepared in advance, accepted the cartel's request, and left the room.
His destination was the abandoned library.
Fortunately, it was fairly close by.