-Chain of Command
“Don’t make me laugh! You think I’ll just sit here and take it? You little brat!”
Though Kang Yonghun had flinched for a moment when I told him to stay still, he did not give up on casting his magic.
Well, he did have the pride of a high-ranking mage. If he simply sat there and let himself be attacked, that would have been a disgrace in its own way.
Not that I intended to preserve his dignity.
The instant I reached out, Kang Yonghun tried to raise a barrier around himself, but it was useless. The barrier was dismantled before it could even form.
The next moment, he tried to hurl lightning at me, but that too was dispelled without a trace before it could properly activate.
He was slow. Far too slow.
It was the sort of skill that made it seem as though he had spent the past hundred years blinded by power and money, busy with politics instead of training.
Even Gil could have come here instead of me and subdued him with ease, at that sluggish pace.
“General Affairs Committee Member Kang Yonghun, you are under arrest on charges of corruption and treason. The Bureau will come handle the rest, so stay quiet and don’t move an inch.”
“Ugh……!”
The mage, whose skills had rusted as far as they could rust, was tangled in the magical snare I cast and could not move. A magical gag was placed in the mouth that had been making so much noise.
If I had my way, I would have liked to slam Kang Yonghun into the floor nice and hard, but I was carrying out official duties, so I could not.
If his skills had been even a little better, I might have had the excuse of self-defense, but honestly, this was just pathetic.
Leaving behind Kang Yonghun, who had finally gone quiet, we left the office.
When we stepped outside, the men who had come into the room earlier were frozen in shock. The secretary was also staring at us with his mouth hanging open.
They were all Kang Yonghun’s subordinates, but none of them dared move or say a word to me.
“Everyone, wait here until the Bureau arrives. And contact Director Han Dosu and tell him to come to the Chairman’s room immediately.”
When I spoke to the secretary, he finally nodded and barely managed to answer.
“U-understood.”
“It would be best if you didn’t think of running anywhere.”
“Yes…… Understood.”
The Bureau would handle taking away Kang Yonghun and his subordinates, but I wanted to straighten out the power structure inside the Hall before leaving.
Even if the Magic Hall had not been fulfilling its role properly lately, it was still a symbolic organization to Korea’s mages and the public.
The Hall itself could not be allowed to waver because of Kang Yonghun’s arrest.
However, a new transformation was necessary.
Han Dosu needed to seize real power. Only then would the Hall be able to work smoothly with us in countering terrorism from now on.
Once we stepped into the corridor, I called Yu Jaeseon.
When I told him what had happened on my end, he said they had just finished arresting Department Head Han Huiyeong on theirs as well.
“That’s good. Please come this way and wrap things up. And before I leave, I intend to meet with the Chairman and Mage Han Dosu.”
[You’re trying to establish the Hall’s chain of command, aren’t you? I previously shared the overall situation with Mage Han Dosu, so if you speak to him, he should understand right away.]
As expected, I liked that I did not need to explain much with Yu Jaeseon.
Even with a brief exchange, we quickly understood what the other was thinking.
After ending the short call, I headed straight to the Chairman’s room.
The Chairman’s office was on the opposite side from Kang Yonghun’s office, with the executive floor lobby between them.
There was no one in the lobby. I pointed to the sofa in the lobby and said to Cheon Danbi,
“Wait here for a bit. I’ll just have a quick talk with the Chairman and Mage Han Dosu.”
“Sure. My business is done now anyway. Go on.”
After seeing Cheon Danbi head to the sofa, I walked to the Chairman’s office alone.
As I approached, I could sense a flurry of movement from the office side, but the moment I stepped inside, the staff in the secretarial office all greeted me as if they had frozen solid.
Like cockroaches that had been scurrying busily around the house, only to stop dead when the lights were switched on.
The news that I had arrested Kang Yonghun must have spread.
“Director Han Dosu is on his way up now. Will you wait, or would you like to go in first?”
The secretary spoke to me in a manner so formal it was almost robotic.
“I’ll wait and go in with him.”
“Yes, understood.”
After waiting briefly, Han Dosu soon entered the secretarial office.
We exchanged brief greetings, then went into the Chairman’s room together.
The Chairman rose from his seat with a calm demeanor and guided us to the sofa.
“Hello. I just arrested General Affairs Committee Member Kang Yonghun on charges of corruption and treason. General Affairs Committee Member Kang Yonghun has been colluding with Bureau Department Head Han Huiyeong and Mage Loki. It appears he overlooked illegal experiments and even provided test subjects. He also caused several terrorist incidents and manipulated public opinion.”
Though I had first explained the charges simply, Chairman I Jiwon did not look the least bit surprised and merely nodded quietly.
It meant he had known to some extent and had turned a blind eye.
I knew it was not that the Chairman had willfully overlooked it with his authority, but that he himself had been a toothless tiger, powerless to do anything and thus left to watch from the sidelines, so I did not bother pressing him on it.
“So that was the case. In the end, it was time for Kang Yonghun to go. He has committed many abuses of power over the years. The position of a mage, and especially that of an executive of the Magic Hall, is granted great power, and with that power comes great responsibility. Yet Kang Yonghun sought only to enjoy the power and never to bear the responsibility. As the Chairman of the Hall, I am sorry.”
Chairman I Jiwon wrapped up his thoughts with those words.
Since he too had failed to take responsibility, there was no weight behind his apology.
He merely looked like an old man in the back room muttering obvious truths as though they were eternal wisdom.
As a Chairman in name only, he had been suppressed by Kang Yonghun all this time, so Kang Yonghun’s arrest must have felt somewhat satisfying to him deep down, but he did not show that emotion either.
“I won’t ask you to step down from the position of Chairman, but I think it would be best to entrust the actual command authority to Director Han Dosu.”
When I cut straight to the point without preamble, I Jiwon finally stared intently at my face.
Though I was from the Hall, I was no longer an insider. Was he displeased that I was telling him what to do?
But the words that came from the Chairman’s mouth were unexpected.
“You’ve grown splendidly. Before I knew it, you became a hero and took the affairs of the nation upon yourself.”
He spoke as though he had been watching over me all this time.
That expression with his eyes narrowed was probably something like a smile.
Since there was no need for me to react to those words, I went straight back to the main point.
“Do you agree to Director Han Dosu taking command of the Hall?”
“Of course I agree. If it is Director Han Dosu, he should be able to lead our Hall well.”
I Jiwon agreed at once.
If he was this cooperative, there would be no issue with leaving him in the Chairman’s seat.
In order to prevent backlash from the mages within the Hall, it was necessary to leave at least the Chairman in place for now.
I now looked at Han Dosu and sought his answer.
“You agree, I assume?”
“I will gladly take it on.”
Of course, Han Dosu had already spoken with Yu Jaeseon, so he must have understood well what this meeting signified.
In order to respond properly to the black mages’ terrorism from now on, I, the Hall, and the Bureau had to cooperate closely.
It was time for those of the same mind to step forward.
“Then I’ll take it that way. I trust the two of you will handle the internal arrangements appropriately.”
The two of them nodded.
As I was about to stand right away, the Chairman brought up something that concerned him.
“The problem is that the number of mages in the Hall has fallen too much. With these numbers, whether we can respond to terrorism from now on……”
“A considerable number of mages have been sacrificed until now. That too was because the command structure wasn’t functioning properly. If even a small number of people move efficiently from now on, we should be able to respond sufficiently.”
For now, I gave a principled answer.
In truth, I thought fighting black mages in actual combat would be my role.
Han Dosu offered another opinion.
“There are also the regional mages, aren’t there? We can make use of them.”
“But the regional mages are just acting like local powers. There are none with exceptional magical skill, are there? They likely have almost no experience participating in actual combat either.”
“We can train them. And we can reorganize the entire organization around the center, establishing a system that allows regional mages to be mobilized at any time. I’ll think that part through.”
Han Dosu spoke confidently.
As the Director responsible for training, it seemed he had been thinking about this for some time.
It was a relief he had ended up taking command after all.
The Chairman was not wrong that regional mages lagged behind in skill and combat experience, but what was truly necessary right now was not merely knowing reality, but deriving solutions from that reality.
“That is a good idea. In peaceful times, it was enough for mages to resolve disputes and difficulties in their regions, so there was no issue. But in times of disaster like now, a command structure concentrated at the Hall’s center is absolutely necessary.”
I Jiwon also looked at Han Dosu with a satisfied expression.
“From now on, we will move in close connection with the Bureau as well, so establishing a rapid deployment system for responding to terrorism should not be difficult.”
“And at the very center, you will stand, Oudin, won’t you?”
“In the field, yes. But as far as deploying the mages goes, the Bureau and the Hall will have to play their roles.”
“Of course. That is how it should be.”
I was pleased that a system finally seemed to be taking shape.
The three of us gathered here could not discuss everything about the direction the Hall would take from now on, but it seemed our basic perspective and attitude had been agreed upon and shared.
“Then I’ll be going now. I look forward to working with you.”
“Mage Oudin, I sincerely thank you. The Hall desperately needed a new wind.”
I Jiwon said as he suddenly took my hand.
I could feel his sincerity. Though he had spent his time as a toothless tiger of a Chairman and had not truly fulfilled his role in practice, at the very least, I confirmed that he did care about the Hall and the country.
“Thank you. From now on, let us all join forces and overcome this crisis.”
Han Dosu also spoke to me quietly.
I had already confirmed his sincerity in the field long ago.
“Let’s meet again soon and discuss the measures going forward in detail.”
With a lighter heart, I left the Chairman’s room.
I went to the lobby, picked up Cheon Danbi, and headed toward the elevator, when for some reason I noticed mages suddenly moving about busily.
I wondered if it was because of the news of Kang Yonghun’s arrest, but Han Dosu soon followed after me and delivered new information.
“It seems there’s been a terrorist attack.”