Variable Upon Variable (2)

Catching up to Kim Jin-pyo was not difficult.

That was because after spreading my mana, I only had to interfere with Kim Jin-pyo whenever he tried to use magic and close the distance.

The moment Kim Jin-pyo, who had been running toward the entrance, was eventually caught by me halfway through, he poured out magic in fierce resistance.

‘It seems he had quite a few spells Memorized.’

I wondered what in the world he was trying to hide, and since it had become important whether Kim Jin-pyo’s identity was simply that of a person who had betrayed the Magic Tower, or if not, whether he was a Cultist of Ruin, I simply Dispelled the magic flying toward me and closed the distance.

“Why, why in the world! Why!!”

Kim Jin-pyo spewed mana while venting his resentment. At a glance, it was a great destruction spell. However, I had no intention of letting him cast it, so I pushed mana into Kim Jin-pyo’s spell, reverse-calculated what had been calculated, and scattered it. He ended up only wasting mana and collapsing down limply.

“No matter what you do, it’s useless, so give up and tell me the truth about what you’re hiding.”

“What grudge do you have against us to do this? We only worked hard to make this country prosper!”

“What kind of effort was that?”

“Do you not know when you look around?”

‘Was he a person who created this facility together with Pi Jin-hyeok?’

Perhaps Kim Jin-pyo had been afraid that his identity would be exposed and that he would be branded as something like a Cultist of Ruin, just like Pi Jin-hyeok. Judging that, I asked whether that was truly the case.

Then he let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“We knew that the Chimera research we were doing went against ethics. But it absolutely had to succeed. You know the reason, don’t you?”

“I know the surrounding circumstances were chaotic. But it wasn’t as if Chimeras were absolutely necessary, was it?”

“Because you existed. Because we did not know you would appear again like a comet and break through adversity!”

“That is a poor excuse.”

“We were overflowing with passion. The three of us joined forces, and through countless ideas and research, we proved many things. If not for the fact that we had to conduct experiments while even betraying our teacher, we surely could have been recognized for legitimate experimental achievements and announced them widely to the world. But… damn it….”

Kim Jin-pyo spat out a curse as though remembering something.

“That bitch came to find us.”

I did not know who “that bitch” was, but his tone was filled with tremendous hostility. So just as I wondered who in the world had come to find them…

“The Cultists of Ruin, the Church of Ruin…. The ruin they desire is not simply the destruction of this world.”

I tilted my head at the sudden talk of the Cultists of Ruin, and Kim Jin-pyo ended up revealing the inside story he knew in full.

“There is a Saintess of the Church of Ruin in this country. I do not know her name, and each time, she appeared with a different face, so it was impossible to identify her as a person. But she possessed absurd strength.”

It was an abrupt story.

However, from Kim Jin-pyo’s continuing story, I could roughly understand the situation.

Back when Bak Hyeok had been the Tower Master, the Saintess of the Church of Ruin contacted them, and after that, Bak Hyeok, who had refused several offers, suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed one day.

Afterward, all sorts of experiments continued in order to restore his consciousness, but when they confirmed that there was no way to restore it, the Saintess contacted Pi Jin-hyeok, who had been nominated as the next Great Tower Master.

As a result, Pi Jin-hyeok, who could not walk the same path as his teacher, yielded to the Cultists of Ruin, and after that, the research that Pi Jin-hyeok, Bak U-seok, and Kim Jin-pyo had been conducting together began to flow rapidly in a strange direction.

Kim Jin-pyo then told the story that, in the midst of that, experiments were carried out on Bak Hyeok and some other Awakeners as well, and the research began to become corrupted.

‘I roughly understand the circumstances. In the end, they yielded to power?’

Magic and divinity were opposites.

That was because he thought absolute truth and miracles that twisted truth could never coexist.

‘If even someone on Bak Hyeok’s level was suppressed…. That means she is stronger than expected. I need to be cautious.’

If the Saintess of the Church of Ruin contacted me right now, I might lose many things. Since that was absolutely undesirable, I thought the information I gained this time was quite useful.

“I’ll ask one last thing. What was that thing you destroyed?”

“It was a roster. A roster of traitors inside the Magic Tower….”

I felt like I knew why he had destroyed it.

It was because he hoped they would no longer be swayed by the Cultists of Ruin.

There were probably truths Kim Jin-pyo was hiding, but just as I decided not to question him any further…

“Was my story interesting?”

Kim Jin-pyo flinched, and at the voice that flowed out from a place where I had sensed no presence, my head naturally turned.

But when I saw what she was holding in her hand, I could not help but frown.

‘The mages…. Did she kill them?’

Three heads were dangling, held by the hair.

“It seems the one connected to the surveillance equipment was on your side.”

“I have heard quite a lot about you. It seems that person is deeply interested in you as well.”

“You mean the god of the Church of Ruin?”

Seeing Kim Jin-pyo tremble and be swallowed by fear, it seemed the person before my eyes was probably that Saintess.

“How did you get in?”

“There are many secrets in the will of god. So I will ask. Do you have any intention of joining us?”

“If I don’t, do you intend to kill me like them?”

“Hmm…. You have surpassed the category of human, so even for me, it seems it would not be easy. That troubles me.”

I did not feel any particular power from her. And yet, tension chilled my spine.

If the person before my eyes attacked with serious intent, the battle would grow intense.

The result would develop into a problem on a completely different level from the deaths of the three mages before my eyes.

Moreover, even I would not be able to guarantee my life.

A situation where mutual destruction was the best outcome. At that, I spoke to the person presumed to be the Saintess.

“I am someone who wants to live for a long time.”

“I am the same. However, because of you, our fate will be twisted.”

“If you intend to correct that twisting right now, I will not refuse.”

The Saintess cackled with laughter, suddenly threw the three heads at my feet, and spoke.

“I will be satisfied with this much as today’s harvest. And… if you persecute us too much, the one who will be in trouble will be you. I hope you understand that the current you exists because god is watching you.”

At that moment, the Saintess emitted tremendous pressure, but I also emitted mana to oppose it and met her gaze. Then, as I watched her suddenly turn around and quickly disappear, I came to realize that my current realm was still far from enough.

‘The need to become stronger has emerged. As expected…. There are many strong people.’

At that moment, Kim Jin-pyo collapsed limply.

He had probably been tense and then fainted.

It was not an action fitting for an 8th Circle mage, but on the other hand, it was a situation I could understand.

Afterward, I confirmed the three heads that had fallen at my feet and was returning to the hidden space when Kim Jin-pyo, swallowed by fear, asked.

“I-I will die too.”

“You won’t die. This place is no longer of any use to her.”

“U-use?”

Kim Jin-pyo, who looked at the place I silently moved toward, collapsed right there.

Most of the magic circles on the final floor, including the undisclosed laboratory, were destroyed.

It was understandable that he would be dazed while looking at the mess that had been ruined as though it had been disposed of to the point it could never be used again.

And I looked around the ruined area while becoming certain that the Saintess had also been convinced that this laboratory was an extremely important place where powerful strength could be obtained.

‘It is not at a level where I cannot restore it. But there is no need for me to deliberately pour my strength into it…. But the matter seems to have grown larger than expected. I wonder if old man Han Sang-gil will end up in trouble.’

The purpose had been to draw attention by digging up secrets here and concentrate on preventing our forces from being sent overseas.

However, since a disaster that far exceeded expectations had broken out, it remained to be seen just how far this problem would spread.

At least… the fact that one witness had survived was beneficial to me, and also an immense relief.

Afterward, I examined the entire facility, but there was nothing intact, so in the end, I had no choice but to turn my steps outside.

It did not take long for the fact that the Chimera research facility had been destroyed to become known.

Although the National Magic Research Institute and the Ministry of Magic possessed most of the research materials, the value of the facility itself was also considerable, so the government became busy trying to identify the cause of this incident.

Then, as the deaths of the director and deputy director of the National Magic Research Institute, as well as one Magic Tower elder, began spreading through the media, attention began to focus on what the cause of this incident was.

“…So you are saying that the Saintess of the Church of Ruin is in the country, and that this is what she did?”

I faced Kim Dae-san for the first time in a while, and when he came to me with a face that looked completely aged and asked that question, I answered by nodding.

“Senior Elder Kim Jin-pyo also gave the same… testimony. But who in the world is she?”

“I don’t know either. But the Cultists of Ruin were deeply involved in this Chimera research, and this time, she came to erase something in order to conceal it perfectly.”

Perhaps she had come to recruit me while also destroying the facility.

If her goal had been to get rid of the facility, she would have come and caused a disturbance long ago.

‘If I had dealt with the surveillance device myself instead, I could have obtained more information. What a shame.’

Regret remained heavily, but I had no intention of being too attached to it.

“There is no way to root out that damned group….”

They were a group secretly active throughout the entire world. If there had been a way, most of the Cultists of Ruin would already have disappeared.

At least, I expected there were almost none in the country, but the fact that a powerful being was lurking here was more than enough to raise alarm.

“Hoo…. It seems their purpose really is the ruin of the world.”

I stared silently at Kim Dae-san, who muttered that to himself, then rose from my seat.

At that, he looked up at me and asked.

“What do you intend to do now?”

“There is no answer. If I had a way to track her, I would have gone and caused a disturbance long ago.”

“The black mages opposed dispatching people at the meeting. That must be your will, correct?”

“It is everyone’s will. There is no reason to go to a place that is not even my country and shed blood, is there?”

“In the end, it is a decision to protect this country. Are you still saying that?”

“I am not sure who that decision is for.”

I kicked back my seat and left the Blue House, looking up at the snowflakes falling like flower petals while thinking that the weather was ridiculously good.