Chapter 82 - Battle City (2)
9 min read ·
A signal fire bloomed brilliantly in the streets of Seoul just after sunset.
The starting signal for the bounty race targeting the owner of the grimoire <De Vermis Mysteriis>.
The gazes of wizards and mercenaries who had gathered in one place turned toward the sky.
Among them, Hard, a muscular man with black hair and Nordic features, looked up at the murky smoke and grinned.
"Haha! Let's go, boys."
He called out to his subordinate mercenaries and set off.
The mercenaries pulled firearms from the travel bags and guitar cases they'd been carrying on the street, armed themselves, and followed.
"...Is that real? No way, right?"
Foreign mercenaries armed with modern firearms. At the surreal sight, bystanders' eyes went wide and they gave the group a wide berth.
A few cautiously called the police.
...But it didn't matter.
Who had fired the first shot was unclear, but if someone had kicked things off this spectacularly, then this side would play by the old ways too.
Move fast before the government gets involved. Hit hard, get out fast.
Hard took the lead with a savage grin.
"It's time to plunder."
***
One of those targeting the grimoire <De Vermis Mysteriis>.
Soo-ah's father, Namgung Soo, was listening to his secretary's report when he spoke.
"You're saying this man named Yo-han who helped Soo-ah is a wizard?"
Not long ago, a man who had been hurt while protecting Soo-ah from Chairman Kim's subordinates when they tried to kidnap her.
At Soo-ah's request, they had even called a doctor to the hotel.
"Yes, there is a high probability that he is a wizard."
The secretary nodded at Namgung Soo's question.
"At that time, the young miss asked us to have his coat dry-cleaned. They reported that magic symbols were engraved on the inside of the coat."
Photos of the coat's interior were attached to the file.
"...A wizard."
Namgung Soo gazed intently down at the photo of Yo-han taken together with Soo-ah.
There was no definitive proof, only deduction, but....
If Yo-han was a wizard, several odd details fell into place.
The fact that the dead bodyguards' corpses were found in a van parked near Chairman Kim's building.
The fact that Soo-ah seemed to want this incident swept under the rug quietly.
Namgung Soo's brow furrowed.
".........."
Most likely, Soo-ah hadn't almost been kidnapped. She had been kidnapped.
After that, the man named Yo-han had stormed the building and rescued Soo-ah using some kind of magic.
Namgung Soo's gaze turned to the report sitting on his desk.
The mass disappearance incident at Chairman Kim's building.
As a result, a bizarre catastrophe had occurred that the government was still struggling to figure out how to clean up.
Something not easily caused even by a wizard. But....
It might be possible for a powerful wizard who possessed a grimoire.
"Hmm...."
A wizard who might be the owner of a grimoire, at a time like this.
'The owner of <De Vermis Mysteriis>.'
...There was no way things would be that convenient.
Rumor had it that a grimoire called <Lemegeton> had also appeared in Korea. He might be its owner instead.
Namgung Soo sighed and leaned back in his chair.
Honestly, something else bothered him more than that.
'...Why did he save Soo-ah?'
If money had been the goal, it was strange that he hadn't contacted Namgung Soo afterward.
Namgung Soo's tired eyes darkened.
".........."
Suspecting motives before even feeling gratitude toward the man who had saved his daughter.
"Hoo...."
He let out a self-deprecating sigh.
Soo-ah's behavior had also been cooperative in concealing the man named Yo-han's identity....
She said they'd met on a death-defying experience at the campground.
Had he saved Soo-ah simply because they shared a connection and he wanted to help her?
"...For now, let's just keep an eye on things."
The moment Namgung Soo said that, someone knocked urgently on the office door and a bodyguard rushed in.
"We have a situation! The movements of Chairman Kim's remaining forces and the gathered wizards are highly unusual!"
"What?"
Namgung Soo's eyes flew open at the bodyguard's report.
It was a selfish, hypocritical emotion for someone who intended to turn back time and erase this entire present, but Namgung Soo had no intention of ever forgiving Chairman Kim for targeting his daughter.
He never wanted to feel the grief of losing family again.
That was why he had been separately monitoring Chairman Kim's remaining forces to track him down, and now he'd caught a lead.
Granted, those "forces" amounted to nothing more than a handful of subordinates who'd been outside the building during the incident and a few men assigned to his mistress.
...But other wizards were on the move too?
A chill crawled up Namgung Soo's spine. He kicked back his chair and rose to his feet.
Chairman Kim, who had lost his forces and gone into hiding, was resurfacing by rallying his remaining loyalists.
If the wizards who'd gathered targeting <De Vermis Mysteriis> were making their move, there was only one reason.
"...They found him."
They had found the grimoire owner's whereabouts.
Jumping in now was dangerous, but he couldn't just sit around twiddling his thumbs either.
And so Namgung Soo, who had invested a massive fortune right after helplessly losing his wife,
decided to deploy the private military force he had raised for exactly a time like this, hidden from the government's eyes.
"Send the Sword Division."
In Namgung Soo's weary, clouded eyes, a flicker of longing stirred.
***
The Director's office at the Bureau for Abnormal Phenomena Countermeasures.
Shin Do-ryong clenched his jaw and grimaced at the urgent report that had come in.
"What? An open shootout? Swordfights? Have these wizard bastards lost their minds?"
He kicked back from his seat, barked orders at his agents,
"They're really pushing my buttons. Deploy everyone. Surround the entire area and set up crowd-repelling wards to keep civilians out as much as possible."
Shin Do-ryong stepped out of the Director's office with narrowed eyes.
"I'll kill every last one of those fuckers."
The Muyedobot'ongji floated up gently and trailed after Shin Do-ryong.
And then.
Si-on, having received the deployment order, called Yo-han, but....
Buzz...
Yo-han didn't answer, and Si-on's eyes involuntarily narrowed.
".........."
A feeling of unease washed over her.
***
A lost child, cradled in her mother's arms and sniffling, turned her head and said,
"...Thank you for helping me find my mommy, unnie."
The child's mother also bowed her head.
"Thank you so much."
And then, the beautiful silver-haired girl.
"Huhu~ It's nothing."
Elsea, the Finnish saint of the Sacred Maiden Convent, placed a hand on her hip, puffed out her chest, and spoke with a triumphant expression.
"Because I'm a saint!"
It was a remark that came out of nowhere, and its meaning was unclear.
"Ah... yes...."
The child's mother bowed her head a few more times in thanks, and the child, holding her mother's hand as they left, waved at Elsea.
"Bye-bye, unnie~"
"It's dangerous today~ Hold mommy's hand and go home early~!"
Elsea waved back at the departing child.
And then, the white book in Elsea's hand.
[Elsea]
<The Book of the Angel Raziel> sent a signal to Elsea.
When she raised her head, something registered in Elsea's sparkling blue eyes.
Whoosh...
Shadows moved along the rooftops between buildings.
Figures in black clothing with swords strapped to their waists or backs were parkouring, sprinting toward the place where the murky smoke was rising.
"Th-that's..."
Elsea's eyes wavered and her lips trembled. She shouted.
"Joseon ninjas?!"
Of course not. It was Namgung Soo's private military force, the Sword Division.
"Raziel-nim! Look! They're real Joseon ninjas!"
At the excited Elsea's words, a gentle yet bewildered voice flowed from <The Book of the Angel Raziel>.
[...Elsea, doesn't the word "ninja" refer to Japanese spies, or a character archetype from a specific group?]
"That's true! But ninjas were originally from Hwanguk too! They say it's a documented fact in the Goguryeo Subakdo!" [TL: Elsea is referencing a fringe Korean-origin claim about ninjas deriving from ancient Korean martial arts, specifically Goguryeo's Subakdo murals.]
Elsea wore a curious expression as she said,
"...I've never actually seen the Goguryeo Subakdo in person, though."
Her pretty eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Since I'm in Seoul, I want to visit a museum and see the Goguryeo Subakdo too!"
[Elsea, sightseeing is fine, but... at this rate the damage will grow. Let us go as well.]
Light poured from <The Book of the Angel Raziel>.
"Yes!"
Elsea answered energetically and set off toward the center of the commotion.
***
The gazes of passersby gathered in one place.
Though what drew them wasn't the murky smoke rising into the sky.
It was a beautiful red-haired girl wearing a school uniform that looked like something out of a manga.
"...Cosplay?"
She had a gentle aura but one that made her difficult to approach, so passersby glanced at the girl and moved on.
And the red-haired girl with a voluptuous figure.
"...So that's where you were."
Gremory stood still, gazing solely toward where the smoke was rising.
She smiled seductively.
***
The hem of a white coat fluttered as I dashed urgently around corners through the alleyways.
The moment I turned a corner, bullets embedded themselves in the wall.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-!
I ran through the alley listening to the rain of gunfire.
Was it a relief? Fortunately, I hadn't been shot dead yet.
Grizzly, following behind, was blocking the dangerous stuff for me.
"Gyaah-!"
Yeah, I'd been sitting there minding my own business and nearly died when the whole building blew up, but....
It was a relief, I supposed.
My mind was in chaos, thoughts racing.
The reason those bastards targeted me?
Well, it was obvious. They were after a grimoire. I now had three grimoires, so I wasn't sure which one they were after... but they might have just been going for all of them.
I'd fled too quickly to get a good look, but the image of my secret workshop, blown apart and burning, came to mind.
My eyes narrowed and irritation welled up.
The Hand of Glory I'd painstakingly spent time salting.
The preparation time was almost up.
And yet I never even got to use it before it went from a pickled hand to a flame-grilled hand.
...A trivial problem given the current situation, though.
I took a deep breath, steadied my breathing, and organized my thoughts.
For now, I'd sort out the situation later.
My eyes narrowed as I ran.
Focus only on what's needed right now.
Engaging in a firefight with vampires like this wasn't ideal, so I broke out of the alley and onto the main road.
Of course, the area was supposed to be deserted, but... I didn't think people willing to blow up a building with a bomb would suddenly behave just because bystanders showed up.
Bang-!
Sure enough, a bullet immediately whizzed past and embedded itself beside me.
I twisted my body sharply.
".........?"
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
Among the people screaming and fleeing in terror, standing calmly as if he'd been waiting for me in advance.
I saw a blond man in a black coat with a sword strapped to his back, watching me.
When our eyes met, he smiled, and pointed fangs were visible.
My eyes narrowed instinctively.
'Damn it....'
It wasn't certain, but I could tell roughly by instinct.
He was most likely the leader of the vampire pack.
A dangerous one.
After the briefest standoff, I moved immediately.
I pulled the Glock from inside my coat and squeezed the trigger.
Bang-!