Fortunately, the misunderstanding was cleared up immediately.
There was no real need to explain. Gim Iseo looked at the severed cross-sections on the corpses’ heads and immediately realized that this was the work of an evil spirit. It seemed her experience hadn’t gone to waste.
“What did you do with the evil spirit?”
Gim Iseo asked, pulling a sack from her pocket. Ian answered, stubbing out his cigarette in an ashtray.
“I killed it.”
“Confirmed. Good work.”
She spoke with a respectful attitude and placed the heads rolling about on the floor into the sack one by one.
The pristine white sack instantly turned red. The blood pooled at its bottom dripped down in droplets.
“Why are you collecting those?”
“Because we must identify the victims. Only then can we compensate the bereaved families.”
“……Compensation?”
“It’s nothing much, really. Winning the lottery, or having your work go smoothly—things like that.”
“So there was intervention in the lottery. I knew it.”
No wonder he hadn’t won the lottery even once despite buying tickets for years. To think there was such a story behind it.
Though it was rigged, it was hard to criticize outright since the intention was good. If he had been short on money, he might have looked on it with some resentment, but the current Ian was financially comfortable. His income was as large as his expenses, so he did not obsess over money.
Thus, he let the matter of the lottery slide.
He hung his helmet on the bike’s helmet lock and stretched his stiff body.
“Where are the others?”
“They should be on their way. Including you, Sir Ian, there are two mages deployed in this operation.”
Just as he was about to ask who the other was, three people slowly walked up the long downhill slope. Two of them wore Administration Bureau suits—outfits far sturdier than typical slash-resistant or bulletproof armor. The black suits, which invested solely in defense, absorbed the sunlight and accumulated heat.
“Hello.”
The other was a woman wearing a black short-sleeve shirt and a white tennis skirt, ill-suited for winter. Her black hair stuck out messily, bangs falling to her nose. With striking dark circles under her eyes, she slowly waved her hand toward Ian.
“Long time no see.”
It was Gim Yul. Ian checked her attire and narrowed his eyes.
“……Aren’t you cold?”
“I can’t feel the cold because of my magic. My body temperature doesn’t change, either.”
She answered, trotting up to Ian.
“How’s that? Amazing, right?”
“……It is amazing, but can you fight with that magic?”
“My main magic is something else. This is just a byproduct of learning it.”
She smiled brightly and gently wrapped her hand around Ian’s. Her cold body temperature ran through his fingers and spread throughout his entire body.
“Look forward to it. I’ll show you how amazing your senior is.”
“……What do you mean, senior.”
Ian chuckled and pushed Gim Yul’s hand away. She stepped back without resistance.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Gim Milyeo of Response Team 4.”
“I’m I Minsu, also from Team 4. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Administration agents filled the empty space she had left. The two extended their hands toward Ian and introduced themselves. Ian nodded and shook hands with each of them in turn.
“Ian. I’m a mage.”
“I’ve heard a great deal about you. They say you distinguished yourself at the hospital.”
The man named I Minsu spoke with a calm expression. Two small hand axes hung menacingly at his waist.
“I look forward to working with you. Don’t worry, I won’t hold you back.”
“That’s good to hear. Still, you don’t seem to particularly hate mages.”
“Because I know not all mages are detestable beings. It’s not something that should be generalized.”
He smiled vaguely and pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his lips.
“I’m someone who believes in the innate goodness of human beings, you see. Until I personally brand someone a villain, I tend to see everyone as good. Ah, is it alright if I smoke?”
“Smoke away.”
“Thank you. Are you a smoker, by any chance?”
Instead of answering, Ian pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. I Minsu smiled and took out a lighter, lighting Ian’s cigarette. Gim Yul stepped far back at the sight.
“It reeks of smoke. We’re on a mountain, can’t you hold back? You’ll start a fire.”
“That’s why I’m smoking before we go in. Once the mission starts, I won’t be able to smoke even if I want to.”
“……Ugh, you addicts.”
Gim Yul said with a disgusted expression, sitting on a rock and shaking her head from side to side.
Ian narrowed his eyes as he watched the puddle of water at her feet ripple slightly in time with the movements of her head.
*Is it water-related magic?*
The power of the four elements.
To wield fire, one must experience pain akin to being burned to death dozens of times.
To wield earth, one must live deep underground, consuming dirt for over a hundred hours.
To wield wind, one must attempt freefall from high altitude dozens of times without any safety equipment.
And to wield water, one must repeatedly experience pain close to drowning, awakening and fainting dozens of times. Whether one handles water at the level of droplets or waterfalls, in the end, to use the power of water, one must fill one’s respiratory system completely with water.
Because of these conditions, four-element magic tended to be quite powerful. Depending on the place or environment where the magic awakened, additional traits could manifest. However, if asked whether it was as amazing as the risk involved, that was another matter entirely.
*Easy to say, but any one of these could easily get you killed. No one but lunatics would even attempt them.*
No matter how outstanding one’s magical talent, no one would want to become a mage badly enough to throw themselves into fire or nearly drown dozens of times.
Conversely, this meant that there were indeed people who became mages through such methods.
Perhaps Gim Yul was one of them.
“…….”
Whatever the case, once the work began in earnest, he would have a chance to see her magic. It wouldn’t be too late to be certain then.
Ian thought so and lit his cigarette.
A short while later, the two who had finished smoking walked toward Gim Iseo, who was tapping away at a laptop.
On the black laptop screen, a complete list of the evil spirit’s victims was displayed. Gim Iseo transmitted the list to the Administration and gathered the group.
“Beginning the briefing. Everyone, please gather.”
*
“The objective of this operation is the destruction or retrieval of the Monkey Hand.”
She spoke, showing the laptop screen to everyone. Gim Yul, sticking close beside Ian, pouted her lips and tapped on her smartphone. Checking the screen, she had been dumping a post onto a community forum.
A post titled *[It’s been three days since I showered; do I smell?]*.
“…….”
Ian pushed her away, sat down next to I Minsu, and looked at the laptop screen.
A fairly detailed PowerPoint.
Aerial photographs and a map of the village were displayed on the screen.
“Locating the missing reconnaissance agents is the third objective. If we happen to find them, we will rescue them, but we will not go out of our way to search.”
“What if they’ve been severely mentally contaminated?”
Gim Milyeo asked. Gim Iseo answered without hesitation.
“If mental cleansing is possible, we rescue them. If not…… we secure their bodies, at the very least.”
“Cold.”
“We must, in order to carry out our mission. We cannot become consumed with rescue.”
“I know. I was just asking, just in case.”
“You’ve grown so cold, Iseo. In the old days, you would have tried to rescue them unconditionally.”
“……I believe it is a necessary virtue for an agent.”
“You’re right. I was just saying it, so ignore me. Anyway, what’s the second objective?”
“It’s dealing with the Buddha.”
Click.
Gim Iseo changed the screen.
“The Laughing Buddha. Its threat level is unknown, but since it possesses its own devotees, it won’t be weak. We’ve secured almost no information, so there is little I can tell you in detail.”
“…….”
“However, we were able to determine the Buddha’s appearance thanks to the records left by reconnaissance agents who took their own lives.”
The screen changed once more.
What appeared was a drawing.
A large Buddha statue painted entirely blood-red. Human eyeballs were packed densely like insects where its eyes should be, and blood continuously flowed from its ear-to-ear grin. Between the vertical dashed lines splitting its chest to its abdomen, the clearly drawn faces of smiling men and women were visible.
“This is a restored drawing based on an agent’s eyewitness account,”
Gim Iseo said.
“The moment you visually identify this Buddha statue, the corners of your mouth will rise on their own and you will laugh. Furthermore, if you continue to hear the laughter it produces on its own, you will lose your ego. No countermeasure other than suicide has been discovered. We also do not know what happens when one loses their ego.”
“A mentally attacking entity.”
“That is uncertain. Perhaps it will suddenly rise and display close-quarters combat.”
“Ah, that would be fun.”
Gim Yul giggled and remarked. Gim Iseo ignored her and closed the laptop.
“Since it is unknown whether physical attacks will work, we will handle the Buddha statue after resolving the first objective, if possible. After dealing with the Monkey Hand, we will assess the situation and decide whether to withdraw or kill the Buddha as well.”
“I hope we only have to handle the Monkey Hand, if possible.”
I Minsu sighed and said.
“Taking down two entities in one day is difficult.”
“Let me ask you something, Iseo. Is there any chance the Buddha appeared because of the Monkey Hand?”
Gim Milyeo asked. Gim Iseo pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
“I do not know. But it seems plausible. It is worth considering.”
“Right?”
The briefing continued for about five more minutes before concluding. Ian adjusted his bag and stood up, following those preparing to depart. Gim Yul scurried up beside him and grinned.
“Shall we go, newbie?”
Ian switched out the grimoire tucked inside his coat and looked down at her with cold eyes.
“……Wash up before coming next time. You smell sour.”
“Beautiful people don’t smell.”
“Unbelievable.”
“I’m bouncing with disbelief.”
Gim Yul put her hands behind her back and followed the Administration agents walking ahead with light steps.
A watery mist spread thickly in the wake of her footsteps. Ian caught the faint scent of water wafting toward him and exhaled a long breath.
“Let’s go, Sir Ian.”
Gim Iseo, his escort and the one responsible for the rearguard of the group, said, slinging the case she carried over her back.
“……Yeah, let’s go.”
Ian nodded and began to walk.
Squish. Mud was trampled with a wet sound.
[AHAHAHAHA!!]
A clear peal of laughter seemed to come from somewhere.
+
Many of you have been asking for a Deep Sea Anglerfish illustration, so I had one drawn.