episode_0205

“Witch… are you talking about?”

I heard about those beings from Muyeong before.

Criminals with unimaginably powerful particle sensitivity who suddenly appeared in various places a dozen years ago.

They were all women, so they were called witches. The terrible atrocities they committed were collectively called the Witch Incident.

The Republic was brought to the brink of destruction in an instant because of the witches. After a year of chasing them, they were all finally subdued, but by then, many wizards had already been sacrificed.

Of course, knowing that fact didn’t necessarily make me feel any sense of crisis.

To begin with, these were things I had first heard of only a few weeks ago, and although they were events that affected the survival of the nation, they were things that had already happened in the past.

“That witch I know? The one who committed the witch incident?”

“You heard right.”

“… Aren’t all witches wizards?”

But the one who caused this chaos was not a human, but some kind of squirming alien monster…

How should I accept this fact?

“It’s hard to understand. Are they some kind of people who can disguise themselves as people?”

“It’s worse than that. They eat our brains alive, cover us with our skin, and pretend to be us. They do this based on the intelligence and memories they absorb in the process.”

In contrast to the calm voice, the content is extremely horrifying.

“Witch. What a fitting name. They only do that to female wizards… ”

Then, he closed his eyes and fell into thought, placing his hand on the tank where the monster called the witch was swimming.

“It would be better if I just pretended to be human and lived quietly… ”

I could understand what he was saying right away.

The acts committed by the witches at that time were all horrific disasters that humans could never have imagined.

It has been said that there have been several instances where cities with a population of several thousand people have been reduced to ruins overnight.

It was terrifying that a fellow human being could do such a thing… but, well, if it was a monster wearing leather, then it would be understandable.

Of course, if he wanted to live quietly among humans, he wouldn’t have done such things. It seems like he’d already been fooled into eating brains and such…

“… ”

A bird listening to his story.

It seems like my initial surprise has calmed down a bit now.

It is clear that witches are a race that evokes unprecedented discomfort and fear. This can be seen immediately by just looking at their appearance and the things they have done.

However, we already know of the existence of alien creatures called spirits. We have also seen countless demons who have been distorted to the point of extreme distortion by the influence of particles.

Humans are no exception. Some have become wizards, others have become hairy demons, and others have become mutants with protruding teeth and spines and arms.

Even death cannot be a resting place. When mutant spores settle on a corpse, it raises itself and becomes a wandering ghoul. Forcing cremation is also an expression of such fear.

Because of that, I also couldn’t see the end of my mother and friends. I could only cry while looking at the ashes of their cremation.

Of course, I think it’s better now than seeing him alive and wandering around as a ghoul.

Anyway, what difference would it make if we added a monster that imitates a person to the mix? It would just be one more thing to kill.

“Why doesn’t it seem like you’re not as surprised as I thought?”

“I was surprised. But I’m more curious as to why you’re telling me this story now.”

The reason I came to see him today was not to ask about the witch’s identity, but to solve a question that had been on my mind all along.

“… The essence of the witch, the heteromorphs are creatures closer to Bessel particles than we are. It is believed that they arrived to us with meteorites that were originally loaded with particles. ”

As if sensing my gaze, Mok Jin-woo opened his mouth again and continued his explanation.

“You know? We can only use particles that have been internalized through the spring to create magic. This applies to both black magicians and demons. Even demons are no exception.”

This is what was written in the first Introduction to Magic book I saw when I came into the cradle.

“But unlike us, witches can manipulate neutral particles that are spread throughout the atmosphere. Do you know what this means?”

But… what is this?

“Unlike our magicians who are limited by the total amount of their magic, theoretically, they can exercise infinite magical power.”

As he continued his explanation, a strange sense of discomfort enveloped my body.

“Witches can also use other very unique powers. Petrification, illusions, disintegration, brainwashing, etc… ”

I’m sure I’m hearing a story about a witch, but why does it sound so familiar?

“Although there are differences between each individual, they all have one thing in common: they are all miracles whose principles cannot even be explained by magic.”

“A miracle… That’s… ”

“The witches called that miracle this.”

And the next moment.

I felt as if I had been hit in the head with a hammer.

“Power.”

***

“Wait a minute…! If it’s power…!”

“That’s right. That’s the power you have.”

“Uh, uh… ?”

I was so flustered that I couldn’t even speak properly. My magic and power belonged to those monsters? How should I accept this? Was I not actually a human but a demon? What the heck…

“Phehe, I can see what you’re thinking.”

Mok Jin-woo raised the corners of his mouth as if he was happy to see me confused.

“Well, you don’t have to worry so much. You are definitely human. It was already proven two years ago.”

Reflexively, memories of that time come to mind.

After being picked up by the chief and his sisters in the ruins, they conducted a rather rigorous physical examination on me under the pretext of a health check-up. They especially focused on the area around my head.

And on the last day of the checkup. The older sisters who saw it cheered and jumped up and down.

I didn’t know English at the time…

“If you were a witch, you would have already died at Jaehyuk’s hands. He hates the very concept of witches. All you have is their power.”

The captain would kill me. It’s something I can’t even imagine now.

Even so, I don’t really feel any antipathy towards it. If the reason is understandable, I think I could die happily.

Well, I guess I’ll have to get Yeonminha’s permission first…

“… Well, that made it even more confusing. The traces of those who had clearly killed everything without leaving a single one were found on a skinny kid. And he was a man… ”

“… Wait a minute.”

While listening to him, something suddenly bothered me.

“The woman I faced in the first city last time. She clearly knew the identity of my power. She said it was the power of Polaris or something. If that’s the case, then is that woman also…?”

Then Mok Jin-woo nodded as if to give assurance.

“You’re right. You’re a witch.”

“… No such monster came out of the corpse. It melted cleanly and disappeared without a trace… Of course, that’s also strange… ”

“It’s a characteristic of that race. That’s why we could only secure one sample.”

He said, putting his hand on the tank again.

“This is the only example. At that time, the successor of Paechon who participated in the expedition froze it all using his own magic. Thanks to that, we were able to study countermeasures, albeit late… ”

“The successor of the fallen… ”

The current successor to the throne is that child. Even the older brother who was dangerous and talked about since he was young is not old enough to participate in the subjugation at that time.

Perhaps it would be reasonable to assume that the successor to Paechon at that time does not exist in this world now. He may have died in battle during the Witch Incident.

‘The current head of household also has a particularly deep grudge against Jaehyuk…’

But why do the principal’s words suddenly come to mind?

“… But didn’t you just say that you killed them all 15 years ago? ”

“That’s right. That’s definitely the case. No, I guess it would be more accurate to say I thought it was.”

Mok Jin-woo answered with a bitter smile.

“One thing is for sure… we realized it too late.”

He muttered in a regretful voice as he went through a pile of papers in his lab.

“Let’s see…where could it be… ”

“What do you mean, you realized it too late?”

“The law of the universe, unification, the mandate of heaven… Have you ever heard what those bastards are talking about?”

His unexpected question brought back my memories.

“… is there.”

“Have you ever thought about what that means? Or what the ultimate goal of witches is?”

“Not at all. No matter how dangerous it may be, it’s just a trick. But what’s the ultimate goal? ”

“Yes. It is quite linguistically refined, but in the end, it is nothing more than my savage nature wrapped in acquired knowledge. They probably don’t even know what it means.”

He answered, still shuffling through the papers.

“But we must never overlook the danger. They want to color the land with their own colors. Terraform the surface to suit their environment.”

“Terraforming… you mean?”

“Witches can commonly use the ability called erosion. Have you been to the Sky Basin? I heard the freshmen did their first training there this year. ”

I nodded to his words.

“How is it?”

“… It felt like I was in another world, not on Earth. The plants, the animals, the whole environment was so unfamiliar… ”

“Compared to the complete erosion, even that would only be half the change.”

Mok Jin-woo answered simply.

“Even now, ordinary people without particle sensitivity are prohibited from entering the Cheonggong Basin. They will be poisoned by the poison emanating from all directions in less than an hour. If the erosion progresses further in that state, it will become a land of death that even magicians cannot endure.”

“… ”

“And the cause and unity that the witches talk about… means that they will make the entire earth like that.”

“That… isn’t that goal too grand? In the first place, there doesn’t seem to be any land in the Republic that has been rendered unusable by erosion. Not even the peninsula can be colored… much less the entire land… ”

“What if the witch attacks aren’t only happening in our republic?”

“Huh?”

“Found it.”

Finally, Mok Jin-woo, who was looking through the documents, let out a sigh. He blew the dust off it, examined it, and handed it to me.

-Current status of overseas contact network

“What is this…?”

“Read it.”

He looked at me, bewildered, and urged me on.

As I turned the pages of the document, I could see that it was a document that recorded the status of regular contacts with foreign countries and the number of times they were made.

“Half of the ten days of the Great War were spent burning, and half again was lost after the following fall. The number of humans was less than 30% of what it used to be, and only about a hundred countries remained on Earth.”

“… ”

“But somehow we survived. After humanity awakened to the power of magic, communication with each other resumed. The sky was blocked, but the sea route was still alive. And the use of crow-like communication beasts also improved with each passing day… ”

-21xx: 87 countries

-21xx: 94 countries

-21xx: 103 countries

The document shows that the number of countries with confirmed survival has increased year by year.

“We were even able to reestablish contact with the Western Regions and the United States, which were far beyond several large oceans. This was a great achievement. It meant that there was a possibility of regaining the glory of the old world when it was connected as one.”

Then, Mok Jin-woo suddenly stopped talking. Then, with a slightly gloomy expression, he took out another document from his bosom and handed it to me.

“But… Starting 15 years ago, something began to change.”

“… ”

The document he gave me also had the words ‘Current status of overseas contact network’ written on the front page. Judging from the date, it seemed to be a bit more recent.

-21xx: 100 countries

-21xx: 97 countries

“One day, the number of countries where the signal could not reach started increasing again. Well, at the time, no one paid attention. It could be that the detection was delayed due to wind and weather changes, and the network was incompletely connected to begin with. The internal situation of the country was also a mess… ”

-21xx: 88 countries

-21xx: 80 countries

“And then two years ago, things started to change rapidly.”

-21xx: 55 countries

The number of countries that received the signal last year decreased by 25 in just one year. Compared to the past, it was a very sharp decrease. It was a sign that anyone could immediately tell that the situation was abnormal.

I turned the page and checked the last, most recently reached, list of countries.

-21xx: 21 countries

“… ”

Suddenly, silence descended on the surroundings. Bubbling. The only sound that irritated my nerves was the sound of bubbles rising inside the specimen container.

I put down the documents and stared at him silently. Mok Jin-woo was also looking at me as if waiting for an answer.

“Now I know what that document means.”