The Bureau agents who had entered the theme park all returned safely, with only a single fatality.
There were a few injured, but they would recover after a few days’ rest in the recovery room. Fortunately, no one had suffered the loss of any body parts.
Their results were not bad, either. The number of people rescued was zero, but by identifying the theme park’s rules and structure and drafting a strategy, they had made it possible for the next exploration to proceed far more smoothly. Through this, they could expect a significant reduction in casualties.
After reading through all the reports, the head of the Bureau’s capital branch nodded with a gentle expression.
“Well done. Everyone worked hard, so get some rest for a while before returning to your duties.”
“……”
“Miss Mir?”
“……Ah, I’m sorry. I had something on my mind for a moment.”
Mir, seated across from the branch chief, lowered her head slightly. As if to say it was all right, the branch chief handed her some snacks and coffee before speaking.
“Are you worried about the members of Team 6?”
At present, all key personnel of the Capital Region Bureau had been deployed in the museum raid operation. Not only team leaders, but even department heads had all gone to攻略 the Taste Museum, one of the Five Senses Museums.
Every one of them was a vital force of the Bureau, no different from a weapon in their own right. Naturally, Team 6, famed as the strongest in the Response Department and within the Bureau, had also joined the operation, with the exception of Mir. Mir, being the youngest on the team, had not been allowed to participate.
In a way, it was only natural for her to worry about her teammates. The museum itself was an extremely high-grade anomalous phenomenon, and by now, one could have built a mountain out of the Bureau personnel ground down within it.
The branch chief smiled gently and softly wrapped her hands around Mir’s.
“Don’t worry too much. They’ll all be doing fine.”
“……Ah, yes.”
Mir answered with a reluctant expression.
In truth, she had not been worrying about her teammates at all; it was simply that the grotesque sight she had seen in the theme park would not leave her mind. But she did not 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, as written in the report.”
“Ah.”
The branch chief carefully accepted the translucent shard and looked it over.
A structure through which one could see both the person on the other side and oneself. An alien energy that made it somewhat inaccurate to call it an ordinary magical tool. An instinctive unpleasantness whose reason could not be discerned.
She swallowed hard and placed the shard on the table.
“……You said you saw a strange shape beyond this?”
“Yes. The grimoire the magician was holding was faintly reflected, and at the same time, I experienced mental abnormalities. It felt as though someone were directly gripping and kneading my brain.”
“Could it be a tool imbued with mind control?”
“……I don’t know. However, its physical attack power was also considerable. It turned the floor into glass and shattered it like fragments…… If a person were hit by it, they would likely die instantly.”
“What a headache. Why would a magician capable of something like this appear in Korea of all places…… We recently received a report that a new magician appeared in Busan as well. Honestly……”
The branch chief let out a deep sigh and leaned back against her chair.
“Did you respond? Ah, I suppose that means you fought.”
“The first article of the Bureau’s anti-magician guidelines: When encountering a magician in the field, if the other party brings out magical means, attack or leave the scene without asking questions. We carried it out exactly.”
“It’s quite an old-fashioned guideline, but it’s not exactly wrong.”
If one asked whether magicians themselves were inherently threatening, the answer was no. If this were a fantasy world, they might spew fire, build shields, or call down lightning, but this place was unmistakably reality. There were almost no magicians capable of such feats.
Most would die from a single bullet. There was a reason people said long-range sniping was the best way to deal with a magician.
These days, magicians all carried at least one countermeasure against sniping, so it no longer met expectations the way it had in the past, but it was still the best method. That was why, when facing magicians, agents always carried guns and tended to bring a sniper along.
Of course, the Bureau was not hostile toward every magician.
It was true that many harbored hostility toward magicians because of the spontaneous human combustion incident and the isolation-room cursed doll incident in the past, but that did not mean all magicians were like those people. Among them were many who could be reasoned with, and many who were still inexperienced.
Even so, the reason the guidelines said to attack a magician first was because doing so offered the highest survival rate.
“A magician who has completed their magic is dangerous. Bringing out magical means is practically the same as declaring that they intend to kill the target in front of them from that moment on.”
As if recalling events from the past, the branch chief exhaled for a long time.
“That’s why you attack first. The policy is to disrupt the magician’s magic, then either continue fighting, flee, or persuade them. When you encounter a wild magician, this really is the best method.”
“……We chose to continue fighting.”
“You did. But that wasn’t a particularly good choice. If the other party is in a hurry to leave? If they weren’t all that interested in Bureau agents to begin with? Then there’s no need to provoke trouble unnecessarily. Your judgment there was a little off. It would have been better to talk.”
The branch chief lifted her coffee cup and continued.
“Most magicians tend to be rational, so they don’t automatically harbor hatred or refuse to cooperate just because you attacked them. Of course, a narrow-minded magician or one who hates the Bureau would be an exception, but even people like that tend to move together if cooperation is necessary. Keep that in mind next time.”
“Yes.”
“Hehe.”
The branch chief smiled softly and took a sip of coffee. The cold mint pineapple iced Americano wriggled over her tongue before going down.
“Well, in any case, all that matters is that you came back alive. It’s a good thing you gave up the pursuit eventually. Go and get some proper rest now. I’ll inform the containment team about the mirror shard and have them put it in a special containment room.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Don’t mention it. You may go.”
Mir nodded, bowed to the branch chief, and left the room. The branch chief picked up the snacks Mir had left behind and ate them as she rose to her feet.
“Well then, shall I get to work too……”
With a creaking sound, her bones cracked inside her body.
“……”
The pure-white tent contained within the mirror appeared for an instant, then immediately vanished.
*
Another day passed. The construction of the workshop was now complete. To fill the room with aether, Ian put back on the coat he had taken off, sat down in a chair, and opened the grimoire.
He checked the list he had drawn up in advance so that he could start making things as soon as the workshop was finished.
He absolutely intended to make more Dying Eyeballs. After facing the vampire, he had realized that the power to burst eyeballs from a distance without any risk was far stronger than he had expected.
The destructive power of the Piercing Mirror was considerable as well, but in the end, it carried the risk of having to directly drive a mirror shard into the target. If the target dodged or deflected it, it was useless.
The eyeball, on the other hand, could not be avoided even if one wanted to avoid it. Perhaps if they moved so quickly that their image could not be caught on the retina, it might be different. Otherwise, they would be unable to resist as their vision was sealed away. So he would definitely make the eyeballs.
‘There are other tools that block the five senses besides sight, but…… aside from the tongue, all of them require human body parts. I can’t make them right now.’
Eyes and tongues were similar in form across most living creatures, but noses, ears, and skin often differed. That was why the grimoire stated that only human ones could be used.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do. For now, he had no choice but to make only the eyes.
First, Ian scooped out the eyes of the fish he had bought at the market with a spoon, placed them on the table, and set the other ingredients nearby.
Then, transmutation. The moment he recited the incantation, the Dying Eyeball was complete.
As before, he carefully wrapped the eyeball in cloth and stored it so it would not be crushed. After repeating that process three times, three cloth-wrapped spheres were rolling around on the table. Ian smiled in satisfaction and opened the grimoire again.
‘The eyeballs are done. Next is……’
With a rustle, he turned the page. He checked the item he had selected in advance for the list.
[Knowledge-Eating Paper]
[A target to which this paper is attached will gradually experience a decline in intelligence. If used on a human, the lost intelligence will not return. Eventually, once they become an idiot, their brain will flow out through the holes in their face.]
[Materials: 3 byproducts of mystery, 1 sheet of clean paper, 100 ml of beast blood, 50 ml of magician’s blood, 1 bowl]
Knowledge-Eating Paper. It was a tool suitable for use against fellow magicians or mysteries with outstanding intellectual abilities.
He had already confirmed in the theme park that there were beings capable of communicating with humans. If he used this tool, he might be able to resolve matters easily without going out of his way to create trouble with them.
Above all, if he attached it to the librarian of the Abandoned Library, where one needed to learn the rules, he might be able to make the rules spill from the creature’s mouth. It was an appropriate item to use on his very next request.
“Good.”
Ian immediately piled the items he had prepared onto the table.
Three ghost orbs obtained while cleaning the officetel. One clean sheet of A4 paper. Two bottles of laboratory animal blood ordered online, his own blood drawn in advance, and a bowl.
The preparations were complete. Ian immediately drew a magic circle on the paper, placed the bowl in the center, and poured in his blood and the beast blood. He also submerged the ghost orbs in the blood.
……Tzzzt.
The orbs, which had been shining blue, became dyed red, and Ian, holding the grimoire, recited the incantation.
“God has not permitted you knowledge, and so He deems it impious that you dare open your mouth and prattle. Thus shall He take it back. A lowly creature shall return to being a lowly creature.”
The moment the incantation ended, the bowl melted away, and blood spread over the paper.
In an instant, the blood dyed the paper red. The byproducts of the grotesque seeped into the very bottom of the paper and spread like ink from a brush.
With that, the alchemy was complete. Ian lifted the grotesque, red-stained paper in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
Naturally, he did not test the paper’s ability. A situation in which he could test it would come soon enough, so there was no need to rush.
He neatly folded the paper, put it in his backpack, left the workshop, and returned home.
Perhaps because of the repeated use of alchemy, his body was somewhat tired. Ian roughly ate the triangular gimbap he had bought on the way home for dinner, took a shower, and lay down on his bed.
It was one in the morning. Dawn had already arrived.
Since he planned to start the request that very day, there was no reason to idle around on his phone until late. He pulled the blanket over himself at once and closed his eyes.
And so morning came. Ian gathered all the luggage he had prepared in advance, accepted the Cartel’s request, and left his room.
His destination was the Abandoned Library.
Fortunately, its location was fairly close to where he was.