Chapter 89
Fortunately, the misunderstanding was quickly cleared up.
There was no need to explain anything in particular. Kim I-seo immediately realized from the severed wounds on the corpses’ heads that this was the work of an evil spirit. At least her experience hadn't gone to waste.
“What happened to the evil spirit?”
Kim I-seo asked as she took a sack from her pocket. Ian answered while stubbing out the cigarette he was smoking in the ashtray.
“Killed it.”
“Confirmed. Good work.”
In a formal, respectful manner, she stuffed each of the heads rolling across the floor into the sack one by one.
The pure white sack turned red in an instant. Blood dripped steadily from the pooled gore at the bottom.
“Why are you taking those?”
“Because we need to identify the victims. That way we can compensate their families.”
“...Compensate?”
“It’s not much different from what you’d expect. Things like winning the lottery or having your work go well.”
“So there was meddling with the lottery. I knew it.”
No wonder he had bought lottery tickets for years and never won once. So there had been something like that behind it.
It was manipulation, but since it had been done with good intentions, it was hard to criticize outright. If he’d been short on money, he might have found it a little irritating, but Ian was now flush with cash. His spending was heavy, but his income was just as high, so he didn’t have much attachment to money.
So he took the lottery talk in stride.
He hung his helmet on the bike’s lock and stretched his stiff body.
“Where are the others?”
“They should be on their way. There are two mages assigned to this operation, including Sir Shin Ian.”
Just as he was about to ask who the other person was, three people slowly climbed up the long downhill slope. Two of them were wearing the Bureau’s suits. Suits far sturdier than ordinary stab-proof or bulletproof vests. The black suits, designed purely for defense, absorbed the sunlight and stored up heat.
“Hello.”
The other one was a woman wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt and a white tennis skirt utterly unsuited to winter. Her black hair was tousled, and her bangs hung down to her nose. With her striking dark circles, she slowly waved at Ian.
“Long time no see.”
It was Kim Yul. Ian looked her outfit over and narrowed his eyes.
“...Aren’t you cold?”
“Because of my magic, I can’t feel the cold. My body temperature doesn’t change either.”
She answered as she trotted briskly toward Ian.
“How is it? Pretty amazing, right?”
“...It is amazing, but can you fight with that magic?”
“My main magic is something else. This is just a byproduct that came with learning it.”
She smiled brightly and gently took Ian’s hand in hers. The cold from her body raced through him through their joined hands.
“Look forward to it. I’ll show you how amazing your senior is.”
“...What senior?”
Ian snorted and pushed Kim Yul’s hand away. She stepped back without resistance.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Mi-ryeo from Response Team 4.”
“I’m Lee Min-su, also from Team 4. It’s an honor to meet you.”
The Bureau agents took her place. The two of them extended their hands toward Ian and greeted him in turn. Ian nodded and shook hands with them one by one.
“Shin Ian. Mage.”
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you. I heard you did great work at the hospital.”
The man named Lee Min-su said with a calm expression. Two small hand axes hung menacingly from his waist.
“I’ll be counting on you again this time. Don’t worry, I won’t hold you back.”
“That’s a relief. More importantly, seems like you don’t particularly hate mages.”
“Because I know not all mages are disgusting beings. It’s not something to generalize about.”
He gave a hazy smile and took a cigarette out, placing it between his lips.
“I’m the type who believes in human nature’s innate goodness. Until I personally brand someone as evil, I tend to see everyone as good. Ah, do you mind if I smoke?”
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you. By any chance, are you a smoker?”
Ian didn’t answer; instead, he took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. Lee Min-su gave a slight grin and pulled out a lighter, lighting Ian’s cigarette for him. Kim Yul, seeing that, quickly backed away.
“It smells like cigarettes. We’re in the mountains, so have some restraint. You’ll start a fire like this.”
“That’s why we smoke before going in. Once the mission starts, we won’t be able to smoke even if we want to.”
“...Ugh, chain smokers.”
Kim Yul said with a disgusted expression and sat on a rock, tilting her head from side to side.
Ian narrowed his eyes when he saw the puddle gathered at her feet ripple slightly in time with her head movements.
‘A magic related to water?’
The power of the four elements.
To control fire, one had to experience pain akin to being burned to death dozens of times.
To control earth, one had to live deep underground for over a hundred hours, eating dirt to survive.
To control wind, one had to attempt high-altitude free falls dozens of times with no safety gear whatsoever.
And to control water, one had to repeat awakening and fainting dozens of times while enduring pain close to drowning. Whether controlling water at the level of a droplet or a waterfall, in the end, to use the power of water, one had to fill the respiratory tract with water.
With conditions like that, four-element magic tended to be extremely powerful. Depending on where the magic was awakened or the environment in which it was awakened, additional traits could also manifest. But if you asked whether it was as great as the risk it carried, that was another matter.
‘Easy to say, but every one of those things is the sort of stunt you’d expect to kill you. Unless they’re insane, nobody would even dare try it.’
No matter how outstanding his magical talent might be, he didn’t want to become a mage badly enough to throw himself into fire and drown dozens of times.
By the same token, that meant there really were people who became mages that way.
Maybe Kim Yul was one of them.
“…….”
Whatever the case, once they started the job in earnest, he’d have a chance to see her magic. It wouldn’t be too late to decide then.
Ian thought that and smoked his cigarette.
A moment later, the two of them, having finished smoking, walked toward Kim I-seo, who was tapping away on a laptop.
On the black laptop screen, a list of the victims attacked by the evil spirit was laid out. Kim I-seo sent the list to the Bureau and gathered the group.
“The briefing will begin. Everyone, please gather around.”
*
“The objective of this operation is the destruction or securing of the Monkey’s Paw.”
She said, showing everyone the laptop screen. Kim Yul, stuck right beside Ian, pouted and tapped at her smartphone. When he checked the screen, she was posting on a community forum.
A post titled [Day 3 of not showering—will I smell?].
“…….”
Ian pushed her aside and sat down beside Lee Min-su, peering at the laptop screen.
A fairly detailed PowerPoint presentation.
An aerial photo of the village and a map were displayed on the screen.
“Locating the missing scouts and personnel is the third objective. If we happen to find them, we’ll rescue them, but we won’t go out of our way to search for them.”
“What will you do if the mental contamination has progressed too far?”
Kim Mi-ryeo asked. Kim I-seo answered without hesitation.
“If they’re still in a state where mental cleansing is possible, we’ll rescue them. If not... we’ll secure the bodies at least.”
“You’re cold.”
“That’s the only way we can carry out the mission. We can’t get bogged down in rescue.”
“I know. I was just asking in case.”
Kim Mi-ryeo gave a wry smile and looked up.
“You’ve gotten a lot colder, I-seo. If this were the old days, you’d have tried to rescue them no matter what.”
“...I think it’s a virtue required of an agent.”
“That’s true. I was just saying it, so let’s move on. More importantly, what’s the second objective?”
“Dealing with the Buddha.”
Click.
Kim I-seo turned the screen.
“The Laughing Buddha. Its hazard level is unknown, but it has its own believers, so it can’t be weak. We have almost no information on it, so I can’t give you any detailed explanation.”
“...”
“But we were able to identify the Buddha’s appearance thanks to the records left by the scout and agent who took their own lives.”
The screen changed again.
What appeared was an illustration.
A massive Buddha statue coated from head to toe in blood. Human eyeballs were packed densely where the eyes should have been, like insects, and blood steadily dripped from its grotesquely split mouth. From the vertical slit running from its chest to its abdomen, the smiling faces of a man and a woman were clearly drawn.
“This is a reconstructed image based on an agent’s sighting.”
Kim I-seo said.
“The moment you visually identify that Buddha statue, the corners of your mouth supposedly rise on their own and you start laughing. Also, if you keep hearing the laughter you yourself make, you lose your sense of self. The only known way to break it is suicide. We don’t know what happens once you lose yourself.”
“It’s a mental attack-type anomaly.”
“We can’t be sure. It might suddenly get up and start fighting hand-to-hand.”
“Ah, that would be fun.”
Kim Yul said with a giggle. Kim I-seo ignored her and closed the laptop.
“Since it’s also uncertain whether physical attacks will work, if possible, we’ll deal with the Buddha statue after handling the first objective. We’ll assess the situation right after dealing with the Monkey’s Paw and decide whether to withdraw or kill the Buddha as well.”
“If possible, I’d like us to handle only the Monkey’s Paw.”
Lee Min-su let out a sigh as he said it.
“It’s hard enough dealing with two anomalies in one day.”
“Let me ask you something, I-seo. Could it be that the Buddha appeared because the Monkey’s Paw showed up?”
Kim Mi-ryeo asked. Kim I-seo thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“I’m not sure. But it does seem plausible. It’s worth considering.”
“Right?”
The briefing continued for about five more minutes before wrapping up. Ian stood, readjusted his bag, and followed the others as they prepared to set out. Kim Yul hurried over to his side and grinned.
“Shall we go, newbie?”
Ian swapped out the grimoire tucked inside his coat and looked down at her with cold eyes.
“...Next time, come after washing yourself. You smell sour.”
“Beauties don’t smell.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Absurdity goes boing-boing.”
Kim Yul clasped her hands behind her back and followed the Bureau agents walking ahead, taking light, dainty steps.
Water mist spread thickly in her wake. Ian let out a long breath, taking in the faint smell of water.
“Let’s go, Sir Shin Ian.”
Kim I-seo, his escort and the one responsible for bringing up the rear of the group, said as she slung the hard case over her back.
“...Yeah, let’s go.”
Ian nodded and started walking.
With a squelch, mud was stepped on.
[Ahahahaha!!]
It seemed as though a clear laugh was coming from somewhere.
+
A lot of people wanted a deep-sea angler illustration, so I drew one.