episode_0011

-Thud! Thud! Thud!

“…”

-Thud! Thud! Thud!

“…What is it…”

The sound of something tapping on the window filled the room. At first, I thought it was just the sound of rain, but if it were, it wouldn’t have been so rhythmic.

As the thought dawned on me, Sajaehyeok got up from his seat and approached the window.

-Creak!

He unlocked and opened the window. The humid, cold air rushed into the room, jolting his sluggish mind awake.

-Caw!

“…What, it’s you.”

Soon, Sajaehyeok could see a crow perched on the window frame. The crow immediately hopped into the room as if it had been waiting for the window to open.

This crow, with white fur on its crest, was a familiar presence to Sajaehyeok. It was the crow of his childhood friend and former comrade, Mok Jinwoo.

Mok Jinwoo currently held the position of the head of the Masada Intelligence Bureau.

The fact that he contacted Sajaehyeok through a secure line meant that he had something to ask for. If he had just wanted to check in, he would have used the phone line in the hotel.

“You, water…no, give me that.”

The crow was happily flapping its wings on the carpet. Sajaehyeok frowned for a moment at the sight, but then resignedly reached out his hand to the crow.

-Caw!

Seeing Sajaehyeok’s gesture, the crow picked up a bundle of papers tied to its leg and handed it over.

Taking the papers, Sajaehyeok sat on the rocking chair by the window. The sound of rain tapping on the window echoed in his ears.

He untied the bundle and placed his palm on top of it. As the dense black particles flowed into the paper through his hand, letters began to appear on the blank sheet.

“…Let’s see. What troublesome task are you trying to assign me now.”

The letter contained a brief update on the situation in the capital and a story about a recent incident.

A small residential area in the northeast of Masada was recently attacked by the demons, and all the residents except for one boy were killed.

It was suspected that this was the work of remnants of demons who escaped the last extermination, but there were some unclear points that required further investigation.

However, since the Masada Intelligence Bureau was fully focused on the capital’s affairs, they didn’t have the manpower to spare. So, until the situation here was resolved, Mok Jinwoo requested that the boy’s safety be ensured.

“…I knew this would happen…ugh.”

It was a moment when he was about to frown at the annoying request. Sajaehyeok suddenly grabbed his left chest with his hand.

Soon, a burning pain spread through his veins, starting from his heart.

The old wound had been haunting him relentlessly for 13 years. On rainy days like today, the pain was particularly severe.

Sajaehyeok found a herbal cigarette in his pocket and lit it.

As he inhaled the smoke, the pain eased, and his mind calmed down. Sajaehyeok buried himself in the rocking chair, lost in thought.

In truth, he hadn’t been feeling great lately. It wasn’t because his unit had been deployed to exterminate the demons in the south this time.

Sajaehyeok and his unit had a long history of eliminating demons, with dozens of high-ranking demons among their kills.

It was only natural for a unit with such expertise to be deployed as part of the extermination force. Even if they hadn’t received a request for support, they would have volunteered.

What troubled him was something else entirely.

The matter was so serious that he had to return this time for the extermination report.

However, Sajaehyuk did not particularly enjoy visiting the capital.

Every time he stepped inside the majestic gates, old memories would flood his mind, leaving him dizzy.

On top of that, dealing with the corrupt power-hungry elites was no easy task either.

Their power struggles had intensified even more since he left a decade ago.

Although his family had long retreated from the frontline, they still fought like predators seeking prey.

Recently, signs of armed conflict were emerging, which was why Mo Jinwoo had mobilized the capabilities of the Information Bureau.

With daily internal strife like this, there was no way the country could function properly.

The frontier that had been painstakingly developed for decades was turning into ruins. Bandits and criminals roamed freely, as if it were their own world.

Even though they had surely completed a tight encirclement in this crackdown, the divisions among the factions created loopholes due to their infighting.

The boy who was currently hospitalized was a pitiful victim of such chaos.

“…Should I accept it? It doesn’t seem too bad.”

In Sajaehyuk’s opinion, this request was just an excuse made by Mo Jinwoo for his benefit.

He was one of the few who knew better than anyone that Sajaehyuk was disillusioned with the capital and the high-ranking mage families.

Moreover, this task did not deviate significantly from the authority of the 66th Division, so there was no risk of being caught later.

Since he planned to return to the East after resting, he could just stop by for a short while before that.

Sajaehyuk could quickly come to a conclusion. He engraved the character ‘可’ on the paper and sealed it again before handing it over to the crow’s beak.

-Caw!

The crow that received the bundle of papers immediately flew out through the rain-soaked window.

-Rustle!

“Seriously! Where did this sudden rain come from?”

“It’s noisy…someone might think it’s just me getting rained on…”

“Still, we bought everything we needed today. That’s lucky enough…”

As the crow disappeared, the door of the room opened almost simultaneously. Three women rushed into the room. Their loud voices once again clouded Sajaehyuk’s mind.

Unlike him, who was holed up in the hotel suite to avoid the stench, his subordinates were happily roaming around, releasing their pent-up frustrations through shopping and other activities.

“Aren’t you tired of this? How many outfits did you buy?”

Sajaehyuk remarked as he stood up from his seat. He picked up the coat hanging on the rack.

Yoon Chaewon, the short-haired woman who had just put down her shopping bags, spoke to Sajaehyuk.

“Jaehyuk. Are you leaving? It’s raining outside.”

“I know. And call me Captain.”

At Sajaehyuk’s curt words, the three women stiffened. When Sajaehyuk referred to himself as the Captain, it meant that it was time to get back to work.

“…Are you joking? We only rested for three days…”

Ryu Sehwa, the woman with long hair, sighed.

“…I haven’t finished all my shopping yet…I’ve planned everything until tomorrow…”

Ponytail-wearing Yejin murmured in a desperate voice. Her usually expressionless eyes were trembling as if an earthquake had struck.

“…Sorry. Let’s do it next time.”

“No, it’s okay. We’ve rested enough. But what about the report?”

Seeing the rare submissive attitude of Sajaehyuk, Yoon Chaewon softened her voice and asked.

“Jinwoo will take care of that. We’re heading to the northeast. Chaewon, bring the uniforms. They should be repaired by now. Sehwa, go pack our things. Jina, keep the vehicle ready.”

“Got it.”

“…Got it.”

Upon hearing Sajaehyuk’s instructions, Chaewon and Sehwa immediately left the room. Behind the mirror, Sajaehyuk could see Yejin hesitating and fidgeting instead of following them.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

Upon Sajaehyuk’s urging, Yejin hesitated before speaking up.

“Oppa… I mean, Captain. Actually, I ran into my aunt and uncle earlier…”

As Yejin spoke, Sajaehyuk’s hand motioned to stop abruptly. After a moment of silence, Sajaehyuk spoke again.

“Your parents? Something wrong?”

“…Yes. And… they also asked about the Captain’s well-being. Maybe this time…”

“Jina. That can wait. We should go and prepare now.”

“….Yes.”

Sajaehyuk cut off Yejin’s words, showing he didn’t want to hear more. Understanding Sajaehyuk’s intention, Yejin resignedly followed Chaewon and Sehwa out of the room.

“Sigh…”

Alone, Sajaehyuk finally let out a heavy sigh. His parents were another reason he didn’t want to leave the hotel room.

Turning around, Sajaehyuk adjusted his appearance one last time. In the mirror, a tall and fierce-looking man with tired eyes stood, the silver rocket hanging around his neck swaying lightly with a clinking sound.

***

“Ow…! It hurts… it hurts!!”

“Shut up. Sehwa. Detain this bastard and take him away. Chaewon. What about him?”

Sajaehyuk ruthlessly stomped on the captured dark wizard with his military boots. Yoon Chaewon briefly checked the body of the wizard writhing on the ground before shaking her head.

“…No vital signs. It seems his arm was cut off and the magic backfired. Dark wizards experience more severe backlashes…”

“I see. Understood. Jini and I will finish this, you go help Sehwa with the interrogation.”

“Got it.”

Following Sajaehyuk’s orders, Chaewon disappeared into the darkness. Soon, the smell of burning flesh and the screams of the dark wizard echoed in the distance.

‘It seemed like a simple guard duty.’

Sajaehyuk sighed inwardly at the favor requested by Mok Jinwoo.

Having departed as soon as he received the request, he arrived at the destination quite quickly, only to find the boy had already vanished from the hospital.

Fortunately, they could confirm the boy’s entry and exit records at the city gate, so after leaving the hesitant doctor behind, Sajaehyuk followed closely.

But when he caught up with the boy, he was already cornered. Thus, the battle ensued, and successfully subduing him was what had happened so far.

Sajaehyuk’s gaze finally turned to the boy. He appeared to be in his early teens, with a noticeable scar running long under his left eye.

Despite everything that had just happened before his eyes, the boy sat there blankly, his eyes devoid of any light.

“Hey. Are you okay? Where are you hurt?”

-Thunk!

Just as Yejin was about to examine the boy, he pushed her hand away and leaned back slightly. Even in the darkness, his trembling body was visible.

“Jina. It’s better to illuminate the surroundings first.”

“Oh, right.”

Upon hearing Sajaehyuk’s words, Yejin nodded in understanding. In this darkness, no one would look good, especially after just being threatened with their life.

Yejin raised her hand and gestured to use magic. However, even after some time, there was no sign of the surroundings getting brighter.

Yejin, manipulating the particle array on her wrist, furrowed her brow.

“…Strange. The magic isn’t working. The PA seems fine… just earlier, until we left…”

“Fine. I’ll take care of it for now. Let me try to reconfigure it later.”

With an indifferent tone, Sajaehyuk raised his hand in place of Yejin. Then, he drew out the pattern of light magic stored in the PA.

“…?”

However, Sajaehyuk’s PA also did not respond.

In an attempt to construct the magic formula directly with his hand, there was still no sign of the magic being cast. No matter how many times he repeated it, there was no response.

No, it felt more like particles were not gathering at all from the start.

“Wait.”

It was a moment when he was thinking, ‘Has aging already begun?’ A sudden intuition passed through Sajaehyuk’s mind. It was the instinct of a soldier who had survived on the battlefield for a decade.

Sajaehyuk looked back at where the boy was. The boy was still sitting there with empty eyes.

However, Sajaehyuk’s intuition continued to insist that there was something beyond that.

“…”

After a moment of contemplation, Sajaehyuk took out a particle filter from his pocket. It was a glasses-shaped tool that allowed one to assess the particle concentration in the air through a polarized sensitized stone.

“What is this…?”

As Sajaehyuk put on the filter and looked around, a rare look of surprise appeared on his face.

Even if the concentration of Vessel particles was low, they should have been present in the air everywhere. So, the surroundings shown by the sensitized stone filtering the particles should have been filled with small, twinkling particles of light.

However, the darkness of the cold and heavy night was the only thing present around Sajaehyuk now. There was no trace of activated particles anywhere.

Sajaehyuk tried to extend his hand again, but the magic still did not activate.

“…”

After some thought, Sajaehyuk came up with one idea.

For some reason, could it be that not only the particles in the air but also the internalized particles were being deactivated in this area?

So, whether using PA or writing the formula directly, could it be that he couldn’t use magic?

Sajaehyuk’s gaze turned back to the boy.

Beyond the semicircular boundary surrounding the boy, twinkling particles of air could still be seen. One could also see the movement of the spatial boundary following the boy’s subtle movements.

Sajaehyuk could easily perceive that this space was unfolding around the boy.

“Commander, what are you doing?”

Ignoring Yejin’s question, Sajaehyuk stepped outside the boundary. Then, he wrote the formula for the light magic again.

As expected, this time the magic was activated without any issues. A floating ball of light appeared above Sajaehyuk’s palm, illuminating the surroundings brightly.

“Oh…! There! Then what was the problem? Was it a mechanical error…?”

Muttered Yejin as she looked at the ball of light. While maintaining the light magic, Sajaehyuk took a step back inside the boundary.

And as the ball of light touched the boundary, it shattered into fine pieces and dispersed into the air.

Given the situation, it was almost certain that this phenomenon of deactivating the surrounding particles originated from the boy.

If the boy was able to control this phenomenon at will, then he was no different from a nemesis of magicians.

A magician who couldn’t use magic was just a powerless human being.

Not only magicians but also all living beings sensitive to particles, including demons and monsters, would be in the same predicament before the boy.

“…”

Sajaehyuk couldn’t continue his words. He had encountered individuals with similar abilities in the past.

There was only one being he knew of with such inexplicable powers.

A witch.

It was a nightmare from 13 years ago that had plunged his life into chaos.