Red Gate Subjugation

There had been an absurd number of outrageous conditions.

He had laid out every condition he wanted, enough to secure every form of support he had never been able to receive before, and Min Tae-jin had accepted them all.

There was just one poisonous clause, however….

“The condition stating that there must not be any deaths is excessive.”

“That is the reason the government accepted all the conditions. Since the personnel actually being deployed for the investigation are the top experts in the country, they are saying that they cannot tolerate even a single casualty.”

It was a situation where they were asking for understanding.

The problem was that there was a limit to being able to stay attached to them for twenty-four hours straight. It would make more sense to settle food and lodging inside after making up their minds to do so, and if a problem arose at night, merely buying time would not be enough to resolve it.

The conclusion was that the conditions were far too unfavorable, and that even the slightest trick would make them take the full brunt of the blame as if they had stepped into a trap.

So after looking at the contract he had been drafting, he simply tore it up.

“What is the meaning of this all of a sudden!”

“I won’t do it. Find someone else.”

“…This is difficult if you suddenly act this way. You already decided to do it, and did you not also coordinate differences with the government in real time?”

“If there is something unsettling, then isn’t it right not to do it?”

“It will be fine as long as no one dies. It is not as though someone is guaranteed to die….”

“Conversely, if that opinion is correct, then there would be no need to put such a clause in the contract in the first place. There would be no reason to intentionally sign a contract in a form that makes it easy to kill someone and set a trap, would there?”

When he openly said that they were trying to play tricks, the expressions on the two men’s faces stiffened.

“That is defamation against the Association.”

“The Cultists of Ruin, those things, were planted everywhere. So if someone wanted to exploit that fact, they could easily do so, and one of you two could also be a Cultist of Ruin. The government official who proposed these conditions could also be one. Even if that is not the case, we are in no position to forget the government’s persecution of black mages. You know that, don’t you?”

The two fell silent as though at a loss for words.

So he turned his words toward the telephone placed on the table.

“I’m not signing the contract. Whether you struggle or squirm is your business.”

Then, as he leaned back against the chair, Min Tae-jin asked urgently,

“We are already in a situation where the decision has been made, so we are planning to mobilize all personnel.”

“Let’s not force this. You’re making it feel as though I absolutely have to enter the Red Gate, aren’t you?”

When he met Min Tae-jin’s gaze and stared as though seeing through his true intentions, the man flinched in surprise and subtly turned his eyes away.

Min Tae-jin, a 1st Generation Awakener and a supernatural Awakener, was himself a figure who had gone through the Great Cataclysm and the war, someone worthy of being called a hero.

However, his line had always been unclear, and under the banner of neutrality, he had maintained a position that was neither one side nor the other. So for a man like him to suddenly come looking for me and cling to me like this? ‘There are too many suspicious parts. Should I investigate separately?’

It was not impossible to investigate immediately.

He could even probe into a person’s mind through magic, but if the man was merely being cautious, the problem would grow even bigger afterward.

Unless he was certain, it was better not to touch him.

So when he said there was nothing more to discuss, Min Tae-jin grew urgent.

“In that case, it would be right to newly adjust a few of the clauses.”

“Once suspicion arises, it does not fade easily. I intend to let go of this request.”

“…What would it take for you to accept the request?”

Rather than trying to placate him moderately, Min Tae-jin directly asked about the part that made me uncomfortable, so I let out a faint laugh and asked,

“If the masters are mobilized, dealing with that monster would not be difficult, so why are you so fixated on me?”

“It is because there is no one more suited than you. Britain also suffered massive losses while trying to control the Red Gate. But when they analyzed the cause, they found that there was one especially serious reason.”

“What was it?”

“The absence of someone stronger than a master.”

It was an honest answer, and I had been thinking something similar myself.

So I could understand why Min Tae-jin was clinging to me, but on the other hand, it did not seem that that was all there was to it.

‘Did he say he persuaded Kim Dae-san and then came to find me?’

Was he this passionate a person?

I could not find a proper answer to that part.

To begin with, Min Tae-jin had founded the Association in order to represent Awakeners, and thanks to that, he was a person who had built a system that allowed the government and the Awakeners to harmonize appropriately before a rift developed between them.

“Is it truly impossible?”

“I have no intention of accepting the poisonous clause itself. If your side has no intention of withdrawing it, then there is no request.”

At my firm answer, Min Tae-jin said to give him a moment, then picked up the phone and left his seat. In his absence, Vice Minister Chu Jin-yeong of the Ministry of Industry, who remained behind, spoke.

“I heard a lot about you from my father. That you are an extraordinary person.”

“Is that so?”

“It is strange that someone like that would let this opportunity slip away over just one clause.”

“It is not an opportunity.”

Silence continued as we met each other’s eyes without a word.

As that awkward time passed, Min Tae-jin returned with a tired expression, as though he had just finished his call, and said,

“They say that if there are clauses you refuse, they will accept them all.”

It was the moment I confirmed that Kim Dae-san was determined to hire me.

After that, the contract was drawn up again, and all the unfavorable clauses from before were deleted.

It was generous enough to make me frown, and Min Tae-jin let out a sigh as he said,

“The reason they are going this far is because they judged you to be the best among the Awakeners currently in the country. One person’s influence, and the things only you can accomplish, are why I would appreciate it if you would think that the government, too, made this unavoidable choice while knowing it would be a loss for them.”

“So Chairman Min Tae-jin of the Association has become quite the government man. That is good information.”

In the end, Min Tae-jin let out a sigh. After that, the two left after finishing the contract, and Go Yu-jin and An So-mi, who had been watching the whole situation, cautiously approached and asked,

“I really didn’t think they would accept every condition.”

“That’s right. Amazing, the benefits are great, but I guess we’ll also get to satisfy our curiosity?”

From time to time, I had obtained information about the Red Gate through the media. But I had not been able to go there myself.

It had been designated a controlled zone, so no one could enter without permission.

But now, I could head inside legally, so I quietly said to the two of them,

“Shall we go have some fun?”

“Sounds good!”

Go Yu-jin readily agreed, while An So-mi made a sulky expression and asked,

“If you’re thinking of making me tag along on your date, isn’t that a bit much?”

Was it because I had told her that Go Yu-jin and I had developed quite a deep relationship?

An So-mi grumbled, and Go Yu-jin lightly draped an arm over her shoulders as though embracing her and said,

“So what, you were curious about the Red Gate too.”

In truth, I was sure there was not a single Awakener who was not curious about the Red Gate.

Moreover, the situation was leading to Red Gates erupting all across the world. If they failed to respond to it properly, it was impossible to predict how dreadful the situation might become; perhaps the government was trying to find the answer through me, and that thought crossed my mind as well.

Otherwise, why would they accept even such ridiculous conditions wholesale?

If that was not the case, then perhaps they were trying to use this Red Gate incident to eliminate me, and at that thought, I rose from my seat at once and said to the two of them,

“In that case, let’s frame it not as a date, but as a field exercise.”

“A field exercise?”

“Yes, because the contract specifically states that those accompanying me may pass through the Red Gate. So let’s take this chance to bring the black mages along and give them some field training.”

The two were startled at those words, but soon both of them were smiling broadly, and An So-mi said,

“I think there was a clause saying that daily wages must be paid for mobilized personnel….”

“Then let’s earn a little spending money while we’re at it.”

After that, through the emergency contact network, I ended up summoning everyone with names that carried real weight, from Han Sang-gil to Jeong Gil-sun and even Cheon Jong-un.

I inspected every person who had gathered in front of the Red Gate.

‘To think the great black mage masters would all gather in one place, a day like this has come too.’

There are ten 7th Circle black mages in the country.

All of them had been scattered across the nation, living separately, and only recently had Han Sang-gil, Jeong Gil-sun, and the others begun calling the masters to Seoul and other places, gathering those who had been surviving on their own into the academy I was establishing.

Even Jo Jin-man of Hamheung and Jang Seong-hun of Sokcho, who had not yet been persuaded, ended up joining as well.

The two men who had deep ties with Cheon Jong-un had been called to Seoul because of this matter, and when all ten masters, including Go Yu-jin and myself, gathered in one place, most of the black mages who had followed them directed tense gazes toward them.

“I never thought the people who never came no matter how much the Association kept telling them to would all gather in one place.”

After hearing me say that, Cheon Jong-un began speaking.

“Isn’t it the Red Gate, after all?”

“That’s right. Opportunities like this are rare. And thanks to the government, which added a few clauses to the contract with me, I was able to gather everyone in one place.”

“Hah, when I first heard the story that you had broken through the wall of the 8th Circle, I was so impatient I could hardly bear it.”

I was acquainted with Jang Seong-hun.

It was not bad blood, but it was not quite a bond either.

He was simply someone who had fought on the same battlefield. Still, we had exchanged greetings now and then, and life had been too harsh for either of us to stay in deeper contact.

You could say it was quite a different relationship from the one I had with Jo Jin-man, who had come down from Hamheung.

In any case, every black mage representing the Republic of Korea was present here now, and many black mages relying on them had gathered before the Red Gate.

What was more, while the government had mobilized fewer than one thousand personnel for research, there were already around seven hundred black mages of at least the 5th Circle gathered here.

“No one knows in what form the Red Gate has appeared, but all of you should have confirmed through Britain that stage-by-stage mutation occurs.”

Everyone’s gaze focused on me.

“Do not get too excited about the research, and stay tense. Our goal is, to the very end, the protection of the researchers. Understood?”

Everyone answered only by nodding. So I began walking toward the Red Gate.

“Now, let’s go. A new possibility may be waiting for us.”

Whether this would become the spark marking the start of yet another Great Cataclysm, or if not, the signal flare announcing the beginning of the foretold destruction, we would find that possibility no matter what.