-Good and Evil
We made our way toward the South Gate.
No one said a word. Though we had finished our on-site investigation, we still had much on our minds.
Yashin had vanished, and the Holy Mage had vanished as well. It remained a mystery why a white light had erupted while we were fighting Yashin, knocking everyone unconscious.
‘What reason did the Holy Mage have for stopping the battle?’
Moreover, the fact that Yashin had disappeared in the gap created by the white light made the Holy Mage’s intentions impossible to understand.
‘Had he tried to help or hide Yashin, or had he blocked him?’
Either way, we now had to go outside, find Yashin and the Holy Mage, and get to the bottom of things.
Even if Yashin had escaped alive, moving freely would be difficult for the time being.
His injuries had been quite severe, and since he had used magic in that condition, the internal damage meant he would have trouble moving at all for the moment.
Tracking down the Holy Mage would clearly be even more difficult, but fortunately, traces of the fog had been collected by Thor’s Hammer.
It was then, as I turned to Thor thinking once again how impressive his hammer was, that he opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.
“Isn’t it really strange? Both the Black Mage and the Holy Mage are weird. Very strange guys.”
“What’s so strange?”
I replied lightly.
“I mean, why would anyone try to destroy a holy forest filled with such mana-rich, precious plants? If it were me, I’d rather sneak in and steal this and that.”
Thor spoke with his own brand of seriousness, but I couldn’t help letting out a chuckle. It was nothing if not an innocent perspective.
“Because Yashin is a Black Mage. Those guys exist to bring chaos and destruction to the world.”
“That’s exactly why I don’t get it. Shouldn’t there be some utility even in bad deeds? What do you gain by destroying everything blindly?”
“Normal people would think that way.”
I replied, holding back a laugh.
Of course, Thor wasn’t entirely wrong. It was just that he was overlooking something.
There was utility in chaos and destruction. They sought to seize power by destroying the order of the world.
So, strictly speaking, chaos and destruction were a means to an end.
But that wasn’t all.
They enjoyed chaos and destruction. That was precisely why those things became ends in themselves at times.
The person I was thinking of was Samir.
Even in his previous life, when he had been an ordinary human rather than a Black Mage, he had openly committed heinous, devilish acts. And he had enjoyed them.
Thor continued.
“Okay, let’s say the Black Mages are like that. But the Holy Mage is strange too. Was he trying to stop Yashin, or help him? I just can’t understand. You said the first white light blocked the explosion. But when we were fighting, why did he stop us?”
When it came to the Holy Mage, Thor harbored the same doubts as I did. I had no answer for this either, so I kept silent.
“Is he good, or evil? I can’t tell which side he’s on. But no matter what, he’s a Holy Mage, so he can’t be on the side of evil, right?”
When Thor asked this, Han Doosu answered.
“You shouldn’t think so dichotomously that Black Mages are evil and Holy Mages are good. It’s not cleanly divided into black and white. The reason the White Mages turned their backs on them in the late Middle Ages was because the Holy Mage had joined hands with a Black Mage. They have a history together.”
Earlier he had said to stop talking about history, yet here he was bringing it up again.
Was this unavoidable in order to understand the Holy Mage?
But there had been a time when the Holy Mage joined hands with a Black Mage?
It was history I knew nothing of. I grew curious about the details.
“Something like that happened?”
Thor echoed back as if this was the first time he had heard of it.
“It happened in France. At the time, mages held the role of protecting the royal family. However, the Holy Mage joined hands with the Black Mages, who refused that role, and led them to depose the king.”
As Han Doosu explained, Thor waved his hand dismissively.
“Aha! That? I know that. But that was a revolution. It was a power struggle and politics. The Holy Mage wasn’t standing on the side of evil.”
“Hmm. Let’s continue this conversation later.”
Since Thor’s perspective remained unchanged and the difference in opinion became pronounced, Han Doosu cut the conversation short again.
It was a deflating moment, but in any case, it had become difficult to talk further.
We had arrived at the South Gate.
Stepping outside the gate was like entering another world. The air felt completely different from the forest we had been in moments ago, and light and sounds came flooding in.
Having emerged from pitch-black darkness, even though it was night, it was dazzling. I could see streetlights, magical flames conjured by mages, and campfires scattered here and there.
It seemed they were gathering and burning the corpses of the rats, because the surrounding air was acrid. Mages and police officers were gathered here and there.
As we stepped out of the gate, an employee from the Hall quickly approached.
“Are you coming out now?”
“Yes.”
“It seemed a battle took place inside. Are you alright?”
“We’re fine.”
“That’s a relief. The mages tried to enter to provide support, but the General Affairs Manager stopped them. He said they might get in the way instead.”
It seemed Kang Yonghun had kept things under control. That was a good thing. Even if more mages had entered, they would have been helpless against the white light anyway.
“Where is General Affairs Manager Kang Yonghun? Has he withdrawn?”
Han Doosu asked, looking around.
“He went to check the situation at Incheon Airport just a short while ago.”
“Why Incheon Airport?”
Listening to the employee, it seemed the orc protest situation at Incheon Airport had grown more serious.
When the blackout occurred, Incheon Airport had lost power as well. There had been no outage in Incheon city proper, but only the airport had been affected.
In the brief gap before the emergency power activated, the protesting orcs had secretly entered the country.
“Government-affiliated mages responded first, but the situation isn’t resolved, so the General Affairs Manager said he would go to the scene.”
“The orcs entered the country... Was there a commotion like last time?”
Han Doosu asked the employee with a grave expression.
“No. No commotion by the orcs has been reported. Their current whereabouts are unknown. However, there have been other disturbances.”
“Other disturbances?”
“There have been reports of strange creatures appearing. They aren’t huge enough to be called monsters, but rather things like cats or pigeons that appear to have been genetically modified into grotesque forms. We suspect it to be the work of a biohacker organization.”
Coming outside, the city was still in a chaotic state.
Neither the entry of the orc protesters nor the appearance of strange creatures seemed to be causing great harm to people, but for the government and the Hall, it must be a matter of no small concern.
Could there be Black Mages behind these incidents as well, or were they merely copycat acts spurred by the blackout and the swarm of rats?
“How are they responding to these disturbances?”
“Several Hall mages have been dispatched as well, but it isn’t a major disturbance, so it seems to be being handled at the police level.”
“I see. We should return to the Hall quickly and assess the situation. Things are being cleaned up here?”
“Yes. All the rat corpses have been disposed of. We were waiting for the Director and the mages who entered the forest to come out. We can now clean up here.”
Around that time, the mages nearby began to gather one by one.
The foreign mages didn’t seem to be around much, perhaps having already returned. Most were Hall mages.
“May I return now? It’s late, so I don’t have to file the on-site investigation report immediately, do I?”
When I spoke to Han Doosu, he nodded and answered.
“Alright. Go back and get some rest. I’ll organize the on-site investigation report. If I need anything supplementary, I’ll ask you later. Thank you for your assistance today. It was a great help.”
“You worked hard as well, Director.”
As I turned to leave, I saw Thor and offered him a farewell.
“We’ll meet again?”
“Of course. You’re coming to the World Tournament too, after all. Anyway, working with you today was enjoyable. Here is my contact information. Feel free to reach out anytime. I’ll be in Korea until the World Tournament.”
“Alright. I’ll be in touch.”
I took the business card Thor handed me and took my leave.
Somehow, a chuckle escaped me. It was because of Thor.
A mage with a huge frame, yet innocent and delicate. And yet, a person with a clear sense of self.
I found myself wanting to fight alongside him next time.
I quickened my steps toward the herb shop. The night had grown quite deep.
Upon entering the shop, Cheon Danbi and Gil were engaged in some enthusiastic conversation, but when they saw me, they welcomed me with bright smiles.
“Are you done with the investigation?”
“You came back faster than I thought?”
I asked, slipping in between them.
“What were you two talking about so interestingly?”
“Nothing much.”
“Stories about the forest! They say there are a lot of fascinating creatures living in Neo Forest. I even found a golden beetle there earlier. It was incredibly rich in mana.”
They must have been talking about Gil’s interests.
When it came to the holy forest and the creatures living within it, the two could have talked all night without exhausting the subject.
Gil’s eyes sparkled. Moreover, I could feel the forest’s mana brimming from the child. Just being nearby felt refreshing.
“It’s late, so let’s head home now. Cheon Danbi needs rest too.”
“Yes, we should.”
At my words, Gil immediately rose from the seat.
Cheon Danbi asked me back.
“Leaving already? Without chatting more?”
“We have a lot to talk about, but let’s rest today and pick this up again tomorrow. I need to investigate, organize my thoughts, and analyze what needs analyzing.”
“Alright. For now, we’ve salvaged everything we could from the on-site investigation, so let’s try to track him down based on that. Though I don’t know if we’ll be able to find the Holy Mage.”
Cheon Danbi spoke just like Han Doosu. Finding the Holy Mage was clearly no easy task.
The conversation between Han Doosu and Thor surfaced in my mind again.
Holy Mage, was he good or evil? What on earth had been the intention behind that white light?
To unravel the unanswered questions, I would have to find him.
“Ah! The car is all fixed. I parked it down the alley. The repairs came out clean. It’ll probably feel like a new car.”
Cheon Danbi said, handing me the car keys.
“They finished the repairs already?”
“Dwarves are quite good with their hands, after all.”
“Anyway, thanks for seeing to the repairs.”
“It’s not like I did it myself.”
“Then pass along my thanks.”
“Okay. I will.”
I waved to Cheon Danbi and left the herb shop with Gil.
Outside, I cast detection magic around the herb shop. I had checked security just in case anything dangerous happened.
However, the herb shop had its own barrier set up meticulously for security.
It seemed Cheon Danbi could rest easy.