The once-quiet room grew noisy again.
“Hah, you’re going to end the war?”
“What kind of absurd nonsense is that?”
It was because the generals and various officers found my words utterly ridiculous.
The people from the intelligence agencies of both countries were the same.
However, after seeing the reactions of their superiors, their expressions gradually stiffened.
Because after hearing what I had said, the Combined Forces Commander and the deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau continued to wear grave expressions.
Seeing them look as if they believed my words were true, everyone was at a loss.
Looking at the expressions of those present, the Combined Forces Commander shook his head.
“It seems it will be difficult to continue this discussion here. Let’s speak separately. Before that, if there is anything you need, we will provide all of it.”
“Let’s do that. You can give it to Magreta.”
After nodding at the commander’s words, I spoke to Magreta.
“Magreta, you know, right? What I want.”
“Yes. I know. You mean the locations where the important weapons are, don’t you?”
At my words, Magreta smiled. It was the smile of Agent Magreta, one I had not seen in a long time.
Before coming to Earth, I had told Magreta everything that had happened in the Sanctuary.
That I had tested nuclear bombs, and that in order to bring down the Demon King, I needed an even stronger weapon.
On Earth, there was only one weapon stronger than an atomic bomb.
And luckily, China possessed that weapon.
A hydrogen bomb.
I needed humanity’s worst weapon.
***
After leaving the rest to Magreta, I left the container with the Combined Forces Commander and the deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau.
When I stepped outside with the two of them, people’s gazes gathered on us.
We ignored those gazes and kept walking.
Walking alongside the ROK-US Combined Forces Commander and the deputy director of the U.S. Intelligence Bureau made me feel strange.
It was not because I was walking with important people.
I had already spoken with the president of the United States and the president of Korea before.
The reason it felt different from other times was probably because these two were Magreta’s uncle and her superior.
It was Commander John who first brought up Magreta.
“When Maggie ran away from home, my brother and his wife were terribly worried. The place she went after running away was Samuel’s company, so the matter was smoothed over. Otherwise, she would have been dragged back.”
Since he was talking about Magreta, I could not pretend not to know.
I pointed at Deputy Director Samuel and asked,
“You two knew each other?”
At my question, Commander John nodded.
“I was the one who introduced Samuel to Maggie. When Maggie ran away from home, my brother cursed me out quite a bit.”
“It wasn’t easy for me either. After I took Magreta in, you have no idea how much pressure came down on me……”
“Still, didn’t you gain a great deal from Maggie?”
“My gain? It benefited the country.”
The two of them seemed much closer than I had expected.
As the two continued their casual conversation, the stiff atmosphere softened considerably.
While we were talking like that, Commander John drew me into the conversation.
“The greatest of those benefits would be you, Vice Commander Hyeon.”
At his words, Samuel chimed in.
“That’s right. Vice Commander Hyeon was someone we never expected. We had to change every plan we’d made up to that point, so Vice Commander Hyeon was both our greatest gain and our greatest source of confusion.”
Samuel counted on his fingers as he listed what I had done.
“Defeating the monsters on Trappist and bringing back a large amount of black stone. Obtaining the Awakening Drug that can create energy users. Helping with the matters of ‘Nakwon’ and ‘Taepyeong’ as well. None of the things Vice Commander Hyeon has done could be called small.”
At Samuel’s words, Commander John shook his head.
“They’re still hard to believe. Every time I heard about them, I thought I was listening to a story about a superhero from a comic book.”
After the two of them praised me for quite some time, they finally got to the main point.
“If what you said just now is true, then that means you can use your abilities on Earth as well, doesn’t it?”
I nodded at Commander John’s words.
Since I had said I would end the war, anyone who knew me would have no other reason to think of.
“Have you decided to reveal everything?”
Samuel’s question was different from Commander John’s.
Unlike Commander John, Samuel knew that I could use magic on Earth.
Or perhaps he had guessed it.
“Yes. This is no longer a situation where I can hide it.”
I told the truth, and Samuel nodded in agreement.
“Well, with Earth’s destruction right around the corner, I suppose this isn’t the time to hide it.”
I shook my head at Samuel’s words.
“It isn’t because of Earth. It’s because of Trappist.”
At this point, there was no problem even if I used my abilities on Earth, but more important than that was the Demon King in the Sanctuary.
In order to obtain a weapon to deal with the Demon King, I could no longer hide my magic.
In a situation like this, I had to reveal my strength to get what I wanted.
Samuel quickly realized what I meant.
“……You’re saying there was a place on Trappist where you needed to use a nuke.”
He and the Intelligence Bureau also knew that I had taken nuclear missiles to Trappist.
Well, once they became certain that I could use magic, they would be able to figure out fairly quickly what I had done on Earth.
However, there was something he did not know.
“I used both nuclear missiles I took with me entirely for testing.”
Samuel and Commander John looked at me in surprise.
“You took nukes over there and used them?”
“Those were for testing?”
The two were surprised by different things, but my answer was the same.
“Yes. I succeeded in detonating the nukes, but their firepower was insufficient to kill the monster I was aiming for.”
With atomic bombs, it was difficult even to eliminate the control entities.
It was obvious they would not work on the Demon King.
Samuel looked at me with an uneasy expression.
“That means……”
“I need more bombs.”
The answer to my words came not from Samuel, but from Commander John.
“No! We cannot give nuclear bombs to an individual. Nukes are not something that can be handed over like that.”
The four-star general spoke with his face hardened to the utmost.
Samuel, who had lost his chance to answer because of Commander John, seemed to be thinking the same thing from the look on his face.
The two of them were not the president of the United States, but even if they had been, I did not think the answer would have changed.
But it did not matter.
I had already known I would hear an answer like this.
I had never intended to receive nuclear bombs from the United States.
I brought up another alternative.
“I have no intention of asking the United States. The U.S. government only needs to overlook the fact that I take them from another country.”
At my words, the two of them frowned.
Both of them had realized which country I meant to take them from.
There were only a few countries that possessed hydrogen bombs.
And among them, there was only one country where a civil war had broken out, making it possible to seize nuclear weapons.
China.
Neither of them looked pleased, but unlike before, no words of opposition came out.
“You’re telling us this so there won’t be any disputes later.”
“I need to continue cooperating with the United States going forward. I don’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings. And besides……”
While speaking, I looked at the two of them.
When I did, Commander John frowned.
“You need information.”
“There’s no way the United States wouldn’t be paying attention to the nuclear bombs of a country in the middle of a civil war.”
This was the United States, a country that could track down terrorist organizations combing the deserts of the Middle East to gather nuclear material.
There was no way such a United States would have failed to keep track of China’s nuclear weapons amid a civil war.
At my words, Commander John and Samuel looked at each other with troubled expressions.
“What do you think will happen?”
“Ugh. I don’t know whether to call this bad luck or good luck.”
“Do you think permission will be granted?”
“Permission won’t be granted, but as Mr. Hyeon said, overlooking it seems possible.”
It was an abrupt exchange whose meaning I could not understand.
When I tilted my head, the two explained the situation.
“As you said, we know the locations of the nuclear weapons held by the rebels.”
“In fact, the Chinese government forces leaked them to us.”
“After all, the most dangerous weapons in the rebels’ possession are nuclear bombs and nuclear missiles. They may not use them now, but if the situation worsens, no one knows what might happen.”
“That is why we were preparing a special forces unit to destroy or neutralize those nuclear bombs. They were about to depart, and then Mr. Hyeon brought this up.”
I was lucky.
The United States was preparing a special forces unit to eliminate the nuclear bombs held by the rebels.
In that case, there was only one thing to do.
“Perfect. Please allow me to join the team. I will make sure those nuclear weapons are neutralized.”
At my firm answer, the two looked at each other, then sighed.
“I will report this to the higher-ups. The answer that comes back will likely be close to tacit approval.”
“Then I’ll have to adjust the personnel as well.”
Commander John shook his head in disbelief, then spoke to me.
“Eliminating the nuclear bombs would be an incredible achievement, but that alone won’t end the war, will it? What do you intend to do about that?”
He said it half-jokingly, but I answered in earnest.
“I’ll take care of that on my way back after the operation is over. By the time I return, there will be no more rebels coming east.”
Hearing my answer, the two of them looked appalled.
After finishing our walk with the two of them, we returned to the field command post.
When we entered the container, Magreta approached me with a frown.
She pulled me into a corner and whispered softly.
“I found out the Northern Theater Command’s advance status and troop positions. I also obtained the locations of major facilities. However, I couldn’t find what Hyeon wanted.”
Although the Combined Forces Commander had told them to tell her everything, as expected, the soldiers had not revealed where the nuclear bombs were.
“That is enough. I found that place. I also have a way to get there.”
At my words, Magreta turned her head.
She narrowed her eyes and looked at the Combined Forces Commander, who was speaking with the generals.
The Combined Forces Commander did not look back, but beads of sweat began to form on the back of his neck.
The operation would begin two days later.
I headed to Pyongyang Airport to meet the special forces members.
In the meantime, Magreta headed to the United States.
It was to find and gather the families of the other dispatched personnel.
When we returned this time, I intended to take the families of the dispatched personnel and experts to Trappist.
It would become known that ordinary people could go to Trappist, but that did not matter.
Now that I had revealed magic, there was no longer any reason to hide it.
Two days later, inside the hangar at Pyongyang Airport, there was a strange-looking helicopter, and in front of it were soldiers who looked like they knew what they were doing.
All of them were special forces members that the United States prided itself on.
I stood before them and introduced myself.
“I am Hyeon Myeonghan. A mage from Trappist.”
Civil War (3)