-Ambush
I did not like the interest Loki showed in Gil. Nor the strange expression he wore, as if he had guessed something.
But I could hardly press him and demand what he knew.
If anything, I had to avoid his questions by turning away from them.
It was not as though I had no questions of my own.
‘Loki, why does that ashen aura keep hovering around you?’
Once could have been coincidence or a mistake, but twice was not something I could simply overlook.
Whenever Loki appeared, the black mage’s mark appeared as well. It was only natural to suspect that Loki might be connected to the black mage.
According to Oudin’s memories, Loki had been cheerful and bright by nature, but from what I could see, there was some sort of dark shadow about him.
Had something changed in the past few years?
Loki had been a close friend of Oudin’s, and he was a skilled mage.
However, he had also been overly obsessed with being acknowledged by others, and during his academy days, he had been the type to feel jealous of friends more talented than himself.
He was an exceptionally bright person, but because of that, he also had a side that could be easily drawn into darkness.
“By the way, why did you use freezing magic? Why didn’t you kill the tentacle monster?”
Loki asked me. His tone was casual, as if he were saying it in passing.
“Killing isn’t always the answer, is it? We need to keep it alive if we’re going to investigate what happened and where this strange life-form came from.”
I answered lightly as well.
Inwardly, I was relieved that he was not asking about Gil.
I decided not to throw any difficult questions at Loki for the time being either. I would have to keep my doubts to myself and resolve them on my own.
“Mage Oudin!”
I heard someone calling my name.
When I turned around, several mages were approaching.
“So the hero of the day was here.”
Kang Yonghun, an executive of the Hall of Magic, said.
Executive Director Kang Yonghun. His reputation as a mage was not particularly high, but he had risen through the ranks as an administrator.
He was someone marked as unpleasant in Oudin’s memories.
The mages following behind him were middle-ranking officials of the Hall.
They were all faces I had not seen at the battle site earlier. It seemed they were only now showing up.
“I heard you succeeded in subduing the tentacle monster all by yourself. Well done. Good work. Dozens of Hall mages charged in and failed, but you dealt with it in one go. As expected of Oudin.”
Kang Yonghun came right up in front of me and, with a radiant smile, did not hold back his praise.
Dozens of Hall mages must have died or been injured, and I wondered if this was really something to smile so brightly about. It also looked like a fake smile.
In any case, I was relieved by the part about my subduing it alone. It seemed none of the mages at the scene had noticed Gil’s role.
Things were flowing exactly as I had intended.
“It seems the tentacle monster used up its mana too quickly while blocking the mages’ attacks at first. I simply aimed for the right timing. It looked like it had weakened, so I struck it once.”
As I said that, I subtly gripped Gil’s shoulder. It meant he should not correct them and say it was not true.
Fortunately, Gil understood what I meant. Of course, even if he had not, he would not have dared assert himself in front of unfamiliar mages.
As I turned my gaze to check on Gil, I saw Loki, who had been beside me, quietly stepping back.
It seemed he did not want to be part of this conversation.
“Modest too, I see. There’s no need for that. Today’s achievement is something worth being proud of. According to the Hall mages, the monster had an enormous amount of mana. But you used freezing magic because you meant for us to investigate it alive, correct? We’ll take charge of it. We’ll move it to the Hall and investigate it there. That should be fine, yes?”
Kang Yonghun asked a question that was not really a question. It seemed this was what he had come to say.
Since I had been the one to subdue the monster, I also had priority when it came to handling the aftermath.
However, I had neither the proper place nor equipment to investigate such a gigantic life-form on my own.
And it seemed the Hall of Magic had already decided to take over the authority to investigate it.
“Yes. Please do. However, share the investigation results with me as well.”
“Of course. Naturally, we will. Then we’ll begin transporting it immediately.”
“Understood.”
When Kang Yonghun nodded to the mages beside him, they immediately headed toward the frozen tentacle monster.
Over there, soldiers had already brought in a large trailer and were preparing to transport it.
At the sinkhole site, police officers and firefighters were moving busily. They were busy clearing the area around the collapsed subway station, sorting out the injured and the dead, and transporting them.
It looked as though it would take quite some time before everything was fully cleaned up.
“I’ve asked the government to compensate you generously for the subjugation. And the Hall will provide separate compensation for handing over the authority to investigate the strange life-form.”
Kang Yonghun spoke in a relieved tone, as if concluding a transaction.
The fact that an executive of the Hall seemed to take so lightly a major incident that had caused so many casualties put me in a pointlessly unpleasant mood.
Besides, I was not even a member of the Hall, so why had he stepped in and asked the government on my behalf?
As if reading my thoughts, Kang Yonghun continued.
“It was truly regrettable that you left the Hall. Seeing your performance today makes me think so even more. Director Han Dosu said you’ve agreed to attend the World Tournament. You made a good decision. From now on, let’s rebuild our ties.”
“By the way, do you have any idea who is behind this terror attack?”
I did not welcome the way he kept pointlessly flattering me. I turned the conversation in another direction. What mattered to me was information.
“We’ll know once we investigate. Do you have something in mind?”
“It must be the work of the black mage. Perhaps the black mage who caused the Incheon Port explosion has continued carrying out terror attacks?”
“Anyone would think there is a black mage behind it, but why do you think it’s the same person as the Incheon Port incident? Did you find some evidence?”
Kang Yonghun asked, staring intently at me. His brightly smiling expression had vanished completely.
His eyes were probing. Far from giving me information, he was trying to draw information out of me.
“I have no evidence. It was just a guess.”
I had no intention of revealing the hand I held.
I did not want to share the traces of the Infinite Pentagon magic circuit with Kang Yonghun.
That information was still mine alone. It was something I had not even shared with Yantu in detail.
“I see. In any case, you should come with me to the Hall. Leave the site cleanup to the police, and let’s go summarize the subjugation process.”
“That will be difficult right now. This child is a little injured.”
I said, turning to look at Gil.
Gil had been standing silently beside me, and he looked quite exhausted. This was not merely an excuse; I really did need to take care of him.
Earlier, he had even collapsed to the ground. He might be in a state where simply standing still was difficult.
“Ah, was he with you at the battle site? He does look pale. But who is this child?”
Kang Yonghun asked, giving Gil his attention for the first time.
“He’s a younger neighbor of mine. He and I were on our way somewhere, and while passing nearby, we jumped into the scene.”
I said this to match the story I had told Loki.
But now that I thought of it and looked around, Loki was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he had slipped away.
‘Did he just leave?’
I had the thought that he had appeared abruptly and then vanished like a shadow.
“Understood. Then come by the Hall tomorrow, at least. We need to discuss preparations for the World Tournament, and there are various other things to talk about.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
“I’ll be going now. Many Hall mages were sacrificed. To think there were even deaths—what a terrible thing. Director Han Dosu was injured as well……”
Only then did Kang Yonghun mention the mages who had been sacrificed. Now that he had achieved his purpose in finding me, the state of the scene seemed to have come to mind.
“Director Han Dosu was injured too?”
“Don’t worry. It isn’t a very serious injury. The problem is those who died; there’s no need to worry about the living.”
Kang Yonghun still spoke insensitively. The idea that there was no need to worry about the living might apply when it came to mages, but right now there were also countless ordinary casualties at the scene.
Just thinking about how many more casualties might be found once they went down into the collapsed subway station made the situation seem bleak.
In any case, rescue and site cleanup were matters for the police and firefighters.
“I’ll be going.”
I said that to Kang Yonghun and left the place without hesitation. The person I had to take care of right now was Gil.
Gil’s face had gone pale. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders protectively and pushed through the people as we walked.
Until we left the scene, we hurried on in silence. But once we were out of the area, words spilled out on their own.
“This place is a whole different world.”
“I know. It’s like nothing happened at all.”
Gil also spoke for the first time in a while and answered.
The area around the sinkhole had been a sight too wretched for words, but once we left it, everyday life was flowing unchanged through the streets.
It was hard to believe that only moments ago, a gigantic tentacle monster had turned the city upside down and killed and injured countless people.
The people walking along the streets even looked carefree. When the tentacle monster had stretched its body to its fullest, it should have been visible even from far away, and the news had been making a commotion about it too.
Seeing people’s resilience, it seemed the world was not about to collapse just yet.
“How are you feeling? Your face is completely white.”
When we arrived at the place where I had parked the car, I checked Gil’s face again and asked.
“I’m dizzy. I feel like I’m going to throw up too.”
“Then throw up before you get in the car.”
“No. I’ll try to hold it in. I’ll be fine after a little while. It’s not that bad.”
Gil said with an awkward smile. Even though he must have been feeling quite unwell, it was admirable that he was managing to endure.
I fell into thought for a moment. The problem had arisen because he had absorbed an amount of mana far beyond what his vessel could handle.
What could be done to treat it?
At that moment, Cheon Danbi’s herb shop suddenly came to mind. If we went there, there might be a way.
“Get in the car. Let’s go to the herb shop. There should be something that can help.”
“Yes.”
Since we had the car I had practically commandeered, moving around was convenient. The road up toward Gangbuk was not congested. If anything, there seemed to be less traffic than usual.
Perhaps it was not that a peaceful daily life was flowing as normal. Maybe more people had seen the news and were refraining from going outside.
In any case, from the driver’s standpoint, it was nice that there was no traffic. I drove while slowly relaxing.
Gil was silent, and all sorts of thoughts flowed through my mind.
Where had the black mage who unleashed the tentacle monster disappeared to? What had his goal been? Was it merely to cause terror and plunge the city into chaos?
At any rate, Gil’s awakened trait was truly remarkable. Absorbing such an enormous amount of mana—what an astonishing ability.
If the government or the people of the Hall found out, they would certainly covet him. What did Gil want?
In that instant, I suddenly felt a mana fluctuation. It was a wave that seeped in and encroached in the blink of an eye, like smoke abruptly spreading through an empty vacuum.
‘What is it?’
Someone was using magic. Directly at us.
A huge invisible force was pushing the car we were in off the road.