The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 282

That morning.

I was heading to the airport with Soonchan.

“Kuh. The Golden Trio is finally getting together after a while.”

Soonchan clasped his hands behind his neck and leaned back in the car seat.

I didn’t sense any sulking or upset feelings from him.

Soonchan’s expression and attitude were no different from two months ago.

“But, if you were going to visit Adela in the hospital, you should have contacted me. I’m the only one who ended up feeling like trash.”

For the record, I didn’t do anything.

Soonchan had been like this since we met.

“……No, right? Thinking about it, I should have thought of going first before you said anything. Maybe I am trash?”

I don’t know how embarrassed I was when I called Soonchan this morning.

I thought he would be 100% sulking, but he was so nonchalant.

It seems I was deceived by the Blue Magic Tower Lord.

Come to think of it, there was no way Soonchan would sulk over something like this.

Soonchan was also in a period of adapting to the Blue Magic Tower, so he wouldn’t have had the energy to worry about other things.

“You’re making a fuss all by yourself.”

“What’s new.”

“I guess so.”

Well, he’s always been like this.

“Are things going well with Heeyun, your senior?”

“Of course~ It’s going too well. It’s almost a problem.”

Above all, Soonchan is currently in the early stages of his relationship.

There’s no way he’d be upset just because I didn’t contact him for a while.

“These days, every day is so happy, you know? I’ve become really close with my seniors at the Magic Tower. Things are going well with Heeyun, and my father is also continuing to be successful.”

Positive energy poured out from every expression and gesture of Soonchan.

He looked too happy.

Looking at that expression, I felt a strange urge to tease him.

It’s good that my friend is happy, but he was too happy, so I felt like being a little mean.

“It’s a bit much to say this, but you know that luck and misfortune are proportional, right?”

“What, man?”

“Prepare for the misfortune that will come. The more happy you are now, the more misfortune will come.”

Soonchan scoffed.

“Just curse me already.”

“Oh, can I curse you? Then I would have said it beforehand. I wouldn’t have said it so indirectly.”

I said with a bright smile.

“I really hope you become unhappy.”

“This bastard. Look at how sincere he is……”

Soonchan also smiled brightly.

“……Okay. Thanks. I hope that curse will take effect when you’re with me.”

That’s when we were glaring at each other and smiling.

“By the way. Isn’t the traffic too bad? Adela must have already arrived……”

Kugugugugugu-!

Suddenly, the ground shook.

“E, earthquake?”

A strong vibration started from the ground and traveled up through the tires.

It was a vibration that resembled an earthquake, just as Soonchan said.

However.

“No. This isn’t an earthquake, it’s……”

This isn’t an earthquake.

This vibration isn’t a natural one. An artificial tremor of mana is transmitted through the ground.

Before I could even speak, both my and Soonchan’s phones rang at the same time.

Weeeeeeeng-!

Emergency disaster alert.

Soonchan and I checked the message at the same time.

[Emergency Disaster Alert]

[Terrorist attack at Incheon International Airport]

[Citizens are advised to evacuate immediately]

“……I knew it.”

My prediction was correct.

A terrorist attack occurred at Incheon International Airport.

* * *

Near Incheon International Airport.

Command center of the Korean Terror Response Team.

The team leader was listening to a briefing on the current situation with a serious expression.

“Currently, Incheon International Airport has been completely seized. There are a total of 7,732 citizens being held hostage. Not only Korean citizens but also citizens from 22 countries are being held hostage, so if we don’t handle this properly, it could become an international issue.”

“……What are the terrorists’ demands?”

“The lives of all magicians in Korea.”

The team leader pressed his temples with a serious expression.

“A crazy proposal as if they have no intention of negotiating… Are they really Anti-Magia?”

“Yes. It’s certain.”

Anti-Magia.

An anti-magic group.

A counter-force that denies mana, hates magic, and despises the privileged class of magicians.

A dangerous group that doesn’t hesitate to commit suicide attacks if necessary.

“Then, if negotiations break down……”

“Yes. If their demands are not met, they say they will blow up Incheon International Airport.”

“……Damn it.”

They call themselves an anti-magic force.

In fact, they are the worst criminal group established by crazy people.

Under the pretext of eliminating magic from this world, they commit all sorts of atrocities.

You can see that from the current suicide bombing.

They are holding 7,000 hostages and demanding the lives of all Korean magicians.

This is practically saying that they have no intention of releasing the hostages.

It’s no different from a random terrorist attack.

What a crazy group they are.

“What’s the time limit?”

“They say they’ll give us 3 hours.”

What’s even crazier is that they give a time limit while making such absurd demands.

They gave us a choice. They must want to gain that justification.

“3 hours…… That’s not enough time to prepare anything.”

“……Yes.”

Normally, we would start with negotiations to gain more time.

But since the opponent is Anti-Magia, that’s impossible.

There’s no talking to Anti-Magia. This is common knowledge around the world.

If they said they’d give us 3 hours, that’s it.

There’s no more time to be gained.

“What should we do?”

“What should we do……”

The team leader lowered his head with a gloomy expression.

“I should be the one asking. What should we do?”

Normally, we would deploy the response team or infiltrate special forces.

But given who the opponent is, that’s impossible.

The ‘Anti-Magia,’ which is the identity of Anti-Magia, is blocking all means.

“Damn it……”

Anti-Magia is an unstable substance that explodes in response to mana.

You can’t use magic where Anti-Magia is present.

If you use magic, the entire area will turn to ashes with Anti-Magia.

“Has the number of Anti-Magia they possess been confirmed?”

“We’ve confirmed 5 so far. They’re fixed in vests as we know.”

They are wearing vests with the dangerous substance Anti-Magia fixed to them.

It means they don’t care about their own lives.

“Damn it. How did they bring in 5 Anti-Magia? Has the acquisition route been confirmed?”

“That…… has not been confirmed.”

“Those incompetent search team bastards……”

The team leader scratched his head as if there was no answer.

He felt genuine anger towards the search team that missed 5 Anti-Magia.

“Team leader! We’ve received another call from them! Shall we connect?”

“……Connect it.”

“Connecting!”

The man operated the terminal and connected the communication with the terrorists.

The terrorist appeared on the hologram video.

A man with a fierce impression, who appeared to be from the Middle East, grinned.

—Are you the highest authority?

“Yes. I’m Kim Hyunsoo, the team leader of the Terror Response Team, the highest authority in this case. State your demands.”

—Just a team leader?

The terrorist’s expression contorted.

—It seems you haven’t grasped the situation yet.

He licked his lower lip and grabbed the collar of a man tied up next to him.

—I don’t want to talk to a nobody like you.

Then, he brought the gun he was holding in his other hand to the hostage’s head.

—P, please save me!

“Take your hand off that gun……!”

I didn’t even have time to shout that.

Bang!

The terrorist pulled the trigger.

Blood gushed from the hole in his head.

The man became a cold corpse.

—Kyaaaaaaaaaaak!

Screams of terror echoed from the scene.

It was the screams of the hostages who were holding their breath and watching the situation from behind.

—Shut up.

The terrorist pointed his gun at one of the women who was screaming.

Then, he pulled the trigger again.

Bang!

Then he shot another man who was screaming.

Then he shot an old man who was screaming at the sight of that man.

That act continued for a total of 7 times.

—Hmm. It’s a bit quieter now.

The terrorist smiled with satisfaction.

—I was originally going to kill just one as an example, but somehow it became 8.

“……”

The team leader bit his lip.

I wanted to curse him, but the terrorist was the one holding the knife right now.

I couldn’t provoke him any further.

—I’ll give you 10 minutes. Connect me to the president in the meantime. If you don’t connect me within 10 minutes…….

The terrorist shot without even looking back.

He was indiscriminately firing as if it didn’t matter who the target was.

“Stop! Stop it!”

The terrorist continued to pull the trigger without stopping, despite the team leader’s shouts.

The shooting continued until the bullets ran out.

—It stopped at 20 people now, but next time, 100…… no, 1000 people will die.

The terrorist licked his lips.

—Then I’ll wait for your call.

With those words, the terrorist cut off the communication.

“……”

“……”

The team leader and all the members of the Terror Response Team bit their lips with resentful expressions.

They were lamenting their own incompetence, as they could only watch as citizens were killed in front of their eyes.

“……Connect me to the President’s Chief of Staff.”

Above all, they hated the reality that they had to follow the terrorist’s demands, even though they were in this position.

* * *

Blocked area near the airport.

Soonchan and I were watching the situation.

“……Anti-Magia, you say?”

“Yeah.”

That was the information I just heard from Mr. Seokhyun.

The terrorists are Anti-Magia.

A terrorist group that is bad in a different sense from the Black Magic Tower.

No, in some ways, they are worse than the Black Magic Tower.

The Black Magic Tower is at least a ‘black company’ that pursues its own profits.

The Anti-Magia guys don’t have that.

They are typical ideologues. They are fanatics who believe that their ideology is right, so they are even more difficult to deal with.

“Then we’re in big trouble, aren’t we?”

“It’s a big deal.”

It’s impossible to stop a terrorist attack by Anti-Magia.

You can see that just by looking at the statistics.

0%.

There has never been a single time that an Anti-Magia terrorist attack has been stopped.

“……This is a damn mess.”

Soonchan bit his nails and muttered a curse.

“Why now? Why Anti-Magia……”

He looked like he was about to die of anxiety.

“Why is the terrorist attack happening just when Adela is arriving? Why……!”

Adela is among the 7,000 people currently being held hostage.

If things continue like this, Adela will die.

It was natural for Soonchan to be anxious.

“But there must be some way, right? Our country is the best in terms of public safety, if nothing else. There must be some way……”

“There isn’t.”

Then, Mr. Seokhyun appeared behind us.

He had joined me immediately after receiving my call.

“Currently, the Terror Response Team has not been able to come up with any countermeasures.”

“That can’t be……”

“The Blue House is the same. The Blue House has already decided to abandon the hostages to some extent.”

“……A, abandon them? It hasn’t even been 20 minutes since the terrorist attack started. They’ve already decided to abandon them?”

“Yes.”

“That’s absurd. That’s not right. It’s not right for a country to abandon its people so easily……”

“It can’t be helped.”

Mr. Seokhyun frowned and answered coldly.

“Anti-Magia’s demand is the death of all magicians with Korean nationality. We can’t accept such a demand. So……”

“So, you’re saying that they’re abandoning the hostages because they can’t help it? Does that make sense? If the demand is absurd, they should try to save them. Abandon them……”

“The Blue House probably wants to save them too. But……”

Mr. Seokhyun frowned as if he was also frustrated.

“With 5 Anti-Magia, it’s impossible to subdue them.”

An unstable substance that automatically explodes in response to mana.

Anti-Magia.

You can’t use magic to subdue them.

It’s also meaningless to mobilize the military, which mainly uses firearms.

What they have is not just a magic suppression device, but a bomb that explodes in response to magic.

And it’s not just any bomb, but a high-powered bomb that can easily blow up Incheon International Airport.

If they show any signs of mobilizing the military, they will immediately detonate the Anti-Magia.

Then it’s over.

Incheon International Airport will be destroyed along with 7,000 hostages and the military.

Even with the best response, the result will not change.

Rather, only the deployed military will die additionally.

“If they were the kind of guys who thought about preserving their own lives, there might be a way……”

Since they are fanatics who disregard their own lives, there are no loopholes.

The 100% success rate of Anti-Magia’s terrorist attacks is not for nothing.

Their terrorism is that notorious.

“Then……”

Soonchan clenched his fist tightly.

“Then are we just going to watch Adela die like this?”

“……”

Mr. Seokhyun was silent.

“That can’t be. It can’t be……”

Soonchan bit his nails with an expression that he would do anything.

His eyes were filled with the will to save Adela at all costs.

“Don’t think strange things. What you’re thinking right now are actions that are worse than doing nothing.”

“How do you know?”

“I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking at your expression.”

His will is good, but it’s just good will.

It’s impossible to change the result with will alone.

“……How can you be so calm?”

Soonchan glared at me.

“Adela is going to die in 3 hours. But why are you so cold?”

A heartless bastard.

Soonchan’s eyes were saying that.

“That’s why I’m being cold.”

“What?”

I brought my fist to Soonchan’s chest.

“If you’re not cold at a time like this, when will you be?”

“……!”

Soonchan’s eyes widened.

His expression turned cold in an instant.

“Get a grip. If you’re not cold, you won’t be able to save anything.”

Those words were the final nail in the coffin.

“That…… no. Hah.”

Soonchan took a deep breath for the last time and bowed his head to me.

“……My head was too heated. I’m really sorry.”

He apologized sincerely, as if he was ashamed of almost losing himself to anger and sorry for speaking harshly to me.

“You don’t have to apologize. I understand enough.”

I’m rather happy.

That my friend is someone who can be so angry that he loses himself in a friend’s crisis.

“I’m really sorry……”

“It’s okay, so take a deep breath instead of apologizing. You’ll only be a hindrance in that excited state.”

“A hindrance…… So there is a way?”

“Yeah. I have one idea. So take a deep breath. I might need your help.”

I tapped Soonchan’s chest once more and turned my gaze to Mr. Seokhyun.

“Mr. Seokhyun. How did what I asked for go?”

“Here it is.”

Mr. Seokhyun handed me about 10 pages of documents.

“What’s that?”

Soonchan brought his face close to me and checked the documents.

“Anti-Magia component analysis report? What are you going to do with that?”

Anti-Magia, which is called an impregnable explosive that has not yet found a proper response method.

“Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles. We must thoroughly analyze the enemy’s weapons first.”

That’s not true for me, who has read all sorts of books in the Book of Mimir.

‘As expected. It’s a Blank Stone [a type of stone that reacts to mana].’

There is a way to deal with Anti-Magia.

“Mr. Seokhyun. Can you contact the Terror Response Team leader?”