-Eternal Life
“Eternal Life. Now that I look at it, it was immortality. Eternal Life Insurance, huh……”
The company name written at the top of the building was in English, so when I’d seen it in photos on the news, I hadn’t paid it much attention.
But now that I was here in person, the name finally engraved itself in my mind.
It was a company I’d never taken an interest in. It wasn’t as if mages didn’t buy insurance, but I personally had never cared about it.
Naturally, I hadn’t even known its headquarters was here.
I turned my gaze back to Vanaheim’s headquarters.
The buildings stood facing each other.
Vanaheim’s side was far taller and more ornate, making it stand out. Compared to it, the Eternal Life building was extremely plain.
On the massive display of Vanaheim’s headquarters, a dazzling 3D promotional video was playing as if nothing at all had happened.
On any other day, it would have been the kind of video that instantly seized the attention of passersby, but right now, no one was looking at it.
“Seeing it in person, it really is enormous.”
“It’s truly fascinating. Even though it isn’t a single living organism, it moves as if it is one, and yet each part is also individually alive.”
Cheon Danbi and Gil, like everyone else on the street, were completely captivated by the strange life-form’s appearance.
As though they had been bewitched.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on it.
But what I was looking at was not the mound of amoebas. I was looking at the place where it had appeared.
The midday sunlight brightly illuminated the forest of buildings around Samseong Station intersection.
The buildings, most of their exteriors made of glass, reflected the sunlight like clear lakes, glittering brilliantly.
Buildings raised up splendidly, each as if boasting that its company was the best.
They were flashy and resplendent.
Among them, only the Eternal Life building looked excessively plain.
A dull gray structure stood there solidly, as though trying to swallow up all the light.
“It was here. Right in the middle of Seoul.”
The closer we got to the scene, the more people there were.
Because traffic had been restricted, people were even loitering in the middle of the road where cars no longer passed.
We pushed through the crowd and moved forward.
As I walked, I activated my golden vision and extended my detection magic.
I could clearly see the flow of mana waves stretching from the top of Vanaheim’s headquarters toward the giant mound of amoebas.
This much I had already expected. I had already included it in my attack plan.
What I had failed to anticipate was the true identity of the Eternal Life Insurance Company.
A space had been overlaid on the Eternal Life building.
Hidden perfectly. And an enormous space at that.
The protective magic surrounding that space was extremely powerful.
I had activated my golden vision and was trying to pierce through it with detection magic, but even so, the space did not reveal itself clearly.
All I could tell was that the visible building was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg, and that the overlaid space was the real thing.
But that alone was enough for me to understand.
“It’s the Magic Tower. The Magic Tower wasn’t in the mountains of Danyang. It was here!”
In the middle of Seoul, on a bustling street in Gangnam.
In a place people passed by without knowing a thing, the Magic Tower stood.
It had not yet brazenly revealed itself, but if it wished, it could announce its existence at any time, flaunt its majesty, and press down upon the city.
It was right here.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Cheon Danbi came closer and asked me. The way I was looking around must have seemed unusual.
I did want to tell Cheon Danbi and Gil about the Magic Tower, but I felt this was not the time.
Nothing had been confirmed yet, and more than anything, this was the moment to focus on attacking the amoeba mound.
“No. I was just checking the surroundings.”
“What do we do now? Get closer?”
“Wait a moment.”
Only then did I focus on the amoeba mound. I extended my detection magic and examined the magic circuits.
Since the giant amoeba mound was currently very much alive, there were more than enough drifting magic circuits to analyze.
As expected, there was no infinite pentagon shape included. The giant amoeba mound had not been created by Samir’s Magic Tower.
I could not instantly analyze the entire structure of the control magic circuit, but I had already confirmed that it was extending from Vanaheim’s headquarters.
“Mage-nim, it really is incredible, isn’t it? Its vitality is extremely strong, and it seems quite toxic as well. How are we supposed to attack that?”
Gil spoke in admiration.
“Can you hear anything even now? Can you read something like the amoeba mound’s thoughts?”
“No. I can hear something like the sound of wind rustling through leaves, but that isn’t thought or speech. It seems the amoeba mound isn’t a living creature intelligent enough to think or speak. I can only sense something like instinct. In some ways, it’s similar to a swarm of jellyfish, but even more blind than that.”
Judging by the fact that it did not possess an ego like the tentacle monster, my guess seemed to be correct: rather than summoning a life-form from another dimension and transforming it, they had likely infused amoebas with magic in a laboratory and enlarged them.
“I see. Communication won’t be possible. Put up your barriers first. They say that if we attack the amoeba mound, the mound will scatter in every direction and spray toxic substances, so be very careful.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful. When are you going to attack?”
“In a little while, I’ll stimulate the amoeba mound. I’m trying to draw out a reaction. I want to drag out the black mage controlling those things. But once the counterattack begins, casualties could occur nearby, so Cheon Danbi and Gil, keep an eye on the surroundings and take care of any amoebas that break loose.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then I’ll focus on people’s safety and treatment.”
“Both of you, hurry and put up your barriers first.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
We had come close to the scene’s control line, and though we were speaking quietly, we had even discussed the attack strategy, yet no one paid us any attention.
For now, it was fortunate that no one recognized me and tried to criticize or interfere with me.
Of course, once I stepped forward and began the attack, everyone’s attention would be focused on me.
I surveyed the surroundings for a little longer.
The giant amoeba mound was trapped inside an invisible barrier.
They said it constantly changed form, but right now, it had risen high like a tower and was showing no particular movement.
The long, piled-up mound looked at first glance like a tentacle monster.
The topmost part was slightly bent and pointed downward, as though it were looking down at the people and waiting for someone.
No. Amoebas do not think.
It was probably not the amoeba mound that was waiting for someone. It would be the black mage controlling it.
Inside the control line but outside the barrier, mages were stationed.
Dozens of them surrounded the amoeba mound in a circle, but they were not making any particular attacks. I caught glimpses of familiar faces.
They, too, looked as though they were waiting for someone.
“Fine. I’m here. I’ll step forward soon enough.”
I looked around outside the control line.
There were quite a lot of onlookers. The police were controlling the area and preventing them from approaching the scene, but they were not stopping people from watching from outside the control line.
There had already been several strange life-form terror attacks, and no small number of casualties had occurred, yet it seemed people still had not developed a proper sense of danger.
It was also such a busy street that there were naturally many people passing through. In any case, people were still living their everyday lives.
At the front of the onlookers, in other words, right in front of the control line, cameras and reporters from broadcasting stations had gathered.
They were exactly the people I was looking for.
The scene was now a single stage.
The black mage who had made the amoeba mound appear here was not merely aiming for terrorism.
He was staging something with a purpose.
The Eternal Life building had become the stage.
Samir, the master of the Magic Tower, was also participating in the play.
There had to be a reason why he was staying still even though Vanaheim was carrying out such a provocation right in front of the Magic Tower.
I did not know every detail of the relationships between them, nor each of their reasons and objectives, but I knew very well that this was a show.
From now on, I intended to make use of that stage.
I would change the contents of the play. The protagonist would still be me, just as they had cast me, but I would also take over as director.
My goal, too, was not simply to attack a strange life-form.
That was why I needed the broadcasting station cameras and reporters.
Before approaching the reporters, I first contacted Yu Jaeseon and Kim Seonho.
Yu Jaeseon had to become a character in my play, and though Kim Seonho would not reveal himself, he also had a role to play.
“I’ve arrived at the scene. Where are you?”
[Ah! You’re here. I’m inside the control line with the mages.]
“Understood. I’ll head over there soon.”
I informed Yu Jaeseon that I had arrived and confirmed his location.
“I’ve arrived at the scene. Are you at headquarters?”
[Mage Oudin. You’ve finally come up to Seoul. Yes. I’m at the company. If you’ve arrived at the scene, will you begin the attack right away?]
As expected, Kim Seonho was curious about my movements.
“Are you watching the scene right now?”
[Yes, I am. Since it’s something happening right in front of our company, we can hardly be indifferent.]
“I see.”
[Once you finish the attack, please stop by our company. We’ll need to discuss what comes next.]
“Understood.”
I ended the call and glanced up at the top floor of the Vanaheim building.
He was probably looking down from there.
And beside Kim Seonho would be the black mage who had created the amoeba mound.
The flow of mana waves connecting the Vanaheim building to the amoeba mound was still clearly visible.
“From now on, I’ll move alone, so the two of you must not enter the control line under any circumstances. Protect the people from the outside. And don’t go toward that life insurance building either. Don’t approach the rear side of the amoeba mound.”
I cautioned Cheon Danbi and Gil.
For the moment, Samir was hiding the Magic Tower and showing no movement, but there was no telling how the situation might change.
“Yes. We’ll do that.”
“We couldn’t go that way even if we wanted to, could we? It’s too close to the amoeba mound, so they’ve even closed off the building entrance. That’s inside the control line too.”
“Right. Move only in the open directions of the intersection.”
“Okay. Understood!”
Leaving the two behind, I walked straight toward the reporters.
It was showtime.
Since there had been no major changes at the scene, several reporters who had been slightly bored and searching for news quickly noticed me and immediately shouted.
“Huh? It’s Oudin!”
“It really is! It’s Mage Oudin!”
“He finally showed up.”
In an instant, cameras and reporters surged toward me.
I stopped walking and greeted them with a broad smile.