Chapter 22

There was a café on the first floor of the Bureau.

With an employee ID, you got a thirty-five percent discount and could even customize your drinks. No wonder it was popular among the female staff.

“Yes. I’m the one who asked Division 3 to send you over,” Cheon So-baek said as she sipped her Pink Drink with Acai Strawberry Blended Refresher.

For the record, mine was just milk.

“From the look on your face, you’re not happy. You’d rather run back under Deputy Commander Yoo Se-byeol, right?”

“No, I’m just curious about the reason. I don’t even know why my Deputy Commander approved it.”

“Mmm. I suppose I didn’t give you much of an explanation.”

She showed not a shred of guilt—her every movement carried such confidence that it made me wonder if I was the one who’d done something wrong.

When I asked carefully, Cheon So-baek gave me a playful smile.

“Honestly, I don’t care which side wins the training exercise.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There’s something more important.”

She slid a letter across the table.

“Another letter?”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. What’s this?”

“Go ahead, read it. No one else has seen it yet.”

I carefully tore open the crimson stationery, and my eyes widened.

It was a report from the Red Tower’s Astronomical Observation Wing—about the appearance of a Familiar.

At Mount Cheonsan, the very site of the upcoming joint reinforcement training.

“Tartaruga…”

“It’s an ultra-massive entity, discovered only three times in the entire world. It can assimilate into the surrounding terrain, and its shell generates countless small Gates. In short, a moving fortress…”

“I know.”

“…What?”

I’d fought it several times back in the Demon Realm.

It looked like a giant snapping turtle. Depending on its hatching ground, its shell could be made of lava rock, hematite, or other minerals.

Not the brightest creature, but classified as a Familiar rather than a monster because so many Archdukes in the Demon Realm kept Tartarugas in their domains, using them like satellite cities.

I’d spent quite a while hunting nothing but those things.

“Che. Not even surprised. If anyone else heard a Tartaruga was appearing in Cheonsan, they’d lose their minds.”

“More than surprise… what does this have to do with transferring me to Division 4?”

“Everything. I think we’ll need your help to capture it.”

“My help?”

Even if a Tartaruga appeared, the lineup of Awakened at the site was no joke—Deputy Commanders, elite members from Divisions 3 and 4 of the Special Unit, and guild members of The Old Gods’ Wound, who based themselves in Cheonsan.

Not to mention, there was always a chance the Sword Immortal himself might show. It didn’t seem like they needed me.

But Cheon So-baek hadn’t brought me over just to patch up a lack of firepower.

“You said before you were from the Black Tower, remember?”

“Oh, come on, that was ages ago! I’ve turned over a new leaf. I live an honest life now.”

“I’m not Ha Yeri. I’m not here to moralize. What I want to know is…”

She pulled out a reddish leather-bound book from inside her robe.

Flipping through the pages with a wave of her hand, she stopped at a chapter titled Subjugation of Magical Creatures and Mind Control.

“Can you use the spells written here?”

What Cheon So-baek wanted was to turn the Tartaruga into a weapon of humanity.

That was why she hadn’t opposed Yoo Se-byeol choosing Cheonsan as the training site. Instead, she’d insisted on bringing me into her unit.

On the surface, it sounded like a reasonable excuse.

“Division commanders are forbidden from joining the training directly. But Yoo Se-byeol of Division 3—though she’s effectively a commander—still holds the title of Deputy, so she’s an exception. Just don’t let her end up fighting alone.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“And don’t forget: Cheonsan is basically her family’s property. The Old Gods’ Wound may pull something, so don’t let your guard down just because you think the other side’s weaker.”

After the Outer Gods appeared, several mana hotspots had formed on Earth.

One of them was Mount Cheonsan. Formerly the site of Mount Surak in northern Seoul, it had erupted upward into a mountain range so tall it pierced the clouds, wrapping the city like a jagged wall.

Cheonsan—the holy land of swordsmen.

On the day of the exercise, Division 4’s Deputy Commander, Robert, gave a briefing to the assembled unit.

Mages in robes dyed with the Red Tower’s colors lined up in formation, and the sight alone sent a shiver down my spine.

This was the Special Unit’s pride: their Mage Corps.

“Teams 1 and 2, guard the siege turret. Team 3, scouting duty. Team 4, secure the supply line.”

“Yes, sir!”

“The training starts at noon. Keep all reports flowing through Channel, no interruptions. Now, take your positions.”

With that, Robert, Deputy Commander of Division 4, called me aside from the formation.

“You’re assigned to Team 4.”

“…What?”

“I don’t know why the Commander pulled a mage from Division 3, but we’re not short on firepower. And we can’t be leaking our tactics to outsiders.”

“……”

Of all the Special Unit gathered at Cheonsan, only Cheon So-baek and I knew about the Tartaruga’s appearance.

I couldn’t reveal that here, so I nodded quietly.

Supply duty meant little chance of clashing with frontline teams. Maybe that was for the best.

Avoiding the eyes of the busy mages, I slipped into the cargo hold of a supply truck.

There, I pulled out the book Cheon So-baek had given me and opened to the page marked with a strand of her red hair.

“…This really does look like the magic circle Patel once drew.”

『Fear not?』

“I won’t know until I try, but it’s not impossible. Some Familiars have survived even after cutting their blood pact with their masters.”

Familiars were demons bound to Archdukes by powerful ties.

Some were linked directly to their master’s life, while others were left to roam freely.

According to the Red Tower’s analysis, the Archduke behind this Gate was a low-ranking one—no Star Scar, never once crossed into Earth.

If the spell worked, the Familiar could be subjugated.

“Though whether it’s wise to let a single person hold the leash of a Familiar… that’s another matter.”

It could end up serving the Red Tower as a faction, or even just Cheon So-baek herself.

Whether to cooperate with her plan was a decision I’d have to make for myself.

“What do you think, Mala-nim?”

『Fear not.』

“…Even so, me controlling that thing doesn’t sound realistic. What would people think, seeing a Lower Level mage handling a Familiar?”

Unless there was someone else better suited for the role?

I was still pondering when my smartwatch chimed twelve noon—and the thunder of the siege turret’s bombardment echoed across the mountain.

Boom, boom!

“Looks like it’s begun. Let’s get through our work first.”

I closed the book and began organizing the supplies.

Since nobody came by, it was easy work—until a sudden commotion outside drew my attention.

Peeking through the truck door, I saw Red Tower mages jeering at a white-robed mage.

“You’re useless to our team. Get lost.”

“All you can do is heal, and you can’t even maintain the turret. We don’t need dead weight.”

“Right. And your ability will only get in the way during this exercise.”

“Go rot in Team 4’s supply line. That’s where you belong.”

Now this was familiar. A classic cliché.

As they came closer, I ducked into a box.

They opened the back of the truck, shoved the white-robed woman inside, and locked the door.

“Ah! Please, let me out!”

She pounded on the door, but outside all I heard was mocking laughter fading away.

So even the Special Unit wasn’t free of rotten apples.

Smirking faintly, I rose carefully from the box and approached her.

In pitch darkness, sight was useless. My other senses served me better.

Damp, slimy, and utterly obedient—my oldest friends.

Tentacles slithered up walls and across the ceiling, closing the distance until one tapped her shoulder.

Then I whispered into her ear.

“Do you desire power?”

“Kyaaaaaa!”

Her scream tore through the dark—followed by a blinding burst of light that struck my eyes.

“Kyahhhhh!”

Her scream tore through the truck like her soul itself was being ripped out.

And what I saw as I stumbled back—was a pure white pair of wings.

“M-my name is Moon Ah-rin.”

Moon Ah-rin.

“This is my ability… but once it comes out, it doesn’t go back easily…”

Her power manifested as radiant wings sprouting from her back.

Each feather emitted a purifying light that could cleanse monsters.

She could float a little, but not achieve true flight, so the wings were basically decorative.

That was why she’d been excluded from the exercise—her glow would make her an easy target against Awakened opponents, especially in broad daylight.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t realize someone else was here. Um, and you are…?”

“I’m Sae Hayan.”

“Oh, so you’re Hayan. I’m Moon Ah-rin—”

“I heard already.”

“….”

She trailed off awkwardly and dropped her head.

For a second-year Special Unit member like Kang Ha-neul, she was surprisingly timid.

And she was from the White Tower.

The White Tower specialized in pure holy magic, the polar opposite of Black Magic.

But decades of demon invasions had weakened them, and their standing had declined.

Holy magic’s essence was purification, but extermination by sheer firepower was faster and easier.

The fact that not a single Awakened from the White Tower had ever surpassed the Transcendent Realm only worsened their decline.

After black mages vanished, even their counterpart fell out of favor.

Seeing her here, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of kinship. Even if I wasn’t technically a black mage.

“U-um, what were you doing here…?”

“……”

“S-sorry! That was rude of me!”

“No, it’s fine. I was reassigned from another division to Team 4 and was sorting supplies.”

“Oh…”

She seemed relieved that I was in a similar situation.

The way she quietly gathered the scattered rations off the floor looked almost pitiful.

Even though she was Awakened, she hadn’t tried opening the door.

When I asked why, she admitted she’d only studied support magic, so she didn’t have a way out of this.

“I’m from the White Tower, so I’m useless in combat… I’m better off here than being dead weight.”

“From what I see, Ah-rin, you’re still a fine Special Unit member.”

“That’s not true. I couldn’t even manage the siege turret assigned to me during the aptitude test. It broke down not long ago.”

“……”

“I still don’t know why. I followed the manual step by step, I swear… hick…”

Right. I knew exactly why.

Using the Tentacle of Suggestion, I quickly erased my own memory of it.

A “tragic accident” had destroyed the turret, but that didn’t mean she was worthless.

I comforted her with stories of ancient heroes who had also been cast out of their parties.

“Hearing that from you makes me feel a little better, Hayan.”

“I’m glad. For now, let’s finish tidying up here. Someone will open the door eventually.”

“O-okay. Let me take that box—ah!”

A shockwave from nearby magic rattled the truck, and our hands overlapped as we reached for the same crate.

Her glowing wings had blocked my view earlier, but now, up close, I noticed details I hadn’t before.

A small beauty mark beneath her eye.

Another on the inside of her arm.

Golden bangs, falling like sunlight over gentle eyes—she looked every bit like an angel descended from heaven.

I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.

“Ah-rin. There’s something I wanted to tell you ever since we first met.”

“Hayan… don’t.”

She turned her gaze away, but didn’t pull her hand back.

A man and a woman, trapped in a narrow space.

At this moment, there was only one thing I could say.

“I-I know we just met, and it’s sudden, but—”

“Let’s get revenge.”

“…What?”

I pulled out the grimoire Cheon So-baek had given me from inside my robe.

Drawing Ah-rin’s wing closer, I opened to the chapter Subjugation of Magical Creatures and Mind Control and confirmed the section on blood pacts.

Then I nodded.

“We’ll make those bastards regret kicking you out of the team.”