Chapter 33: The Gods’ Arena

****

The inside of the vehicle was more cramped than I’d expected. I didn’t even know Facility 82 had a tank. Was this really a tank, though? It looked a bit odd.

From the outside, it definitely had something like a tank main gun mounted on it, but the back of the armored vehicle had space for several people besides the crew.

In this armored vehicle sat me, one engineer, and one task force soldier the Overseer had brought along. Both of them were busily doing something.

I sat in my seat and stared at the screens. Christopher looked around the inside of the vehicle.

“I can’t operate this.”

“It’s in good condition. I can handle the communications equipment myself. No need to worry.”

“What kind of vehicle is this, exactly?”

“Foundation-issue medium infantry fighting vehicle. 105mm main gun, 30mm autocannon, capable of anti-air fire and indirect fire in emergencies, seats six people.”

That’s just a siege tank.

They’d mounted something like a main battle tank’s gun on an infantry fighting vehicle. I wondered if it even worked properly.

“Why would anyone build a weapon this perverted?”

“I’m curious too. What a waste of money.”

Christopher flicked an ear.

“The people who pushed to build this had this logic: for convenience’s sake, it’d be nice if one vehicle could fill multiple roles, and since they had to use special ammunition a lot, they couldn’t give up on a large-caliber gun.”

“A dream, then?”

“A dream… could be. These are the people who submit budget proposals demanding giant mechs every other day. I get that you can do it, but when I ask them to explain where they’d use it—”

I had plenty of questions, but I didn’t bother asking. It was obvious I’d get an incomprehensible answer.

“So they built it because they wanted to build it.”

Christopher laughed.

Being a cat, he didn’t really laugh—he just bared an oddly large number of teeth in a grin. Whether that was how cats normally smiled or whether it was an anomaly, I couldn’t say.

Probably the former.

“Anyway. Director Geum.”

“Yes.”

The cat climbed up onto my shoulder.

“We’ve been watching you closely. We expected you to fail and die or kill yourself like your predecessors. You’ve done far better than we anticipated.”

WHRRRRRR.

The armored vehicle’s engine roared. The ride was smoother than expected. The suspension must have been more sophisticated than I’d thought.

I scratched my head.

“How do you know that?”

“It’s obvious. Your predecessor as Director… disappeared. And the three before that all killed themselves.”

All true.

“The Head of Research, who was the top figure at Facility 82 for a while, has no interest in the position and isn’t the type to lead anyway. As for Miss Nanami, she might have the ability, but she’s a test subject, so no one respects her.”

“You were watching us?”

“You know this. We watch everyone. All the more so for a person of interest like you.”

“Ah, right.”

“We thought a Director’s Office without a Director would collapse before long. At least, that was the mainstream opinion at Foundation HQ.”

It was also the mainstream opinion at the Seoul Branch.

“I did my best.”

“How long could a high school girl Director with no experience last? We thought she’d fail quickly—either eaten by monsters or eaten by her own staff.”

“I’m not a high school girl…”

“We were betting on when HQ would have to intervene in Facility 82’s operations. For the record, I put money on you lasting three months.”

I pressed my temple.

“Thank you.”

“I’m saying this to praise you, so don’t be tense. I won the bet. Are you prepared?”

I showed the cat my bag.

“I cleaned out the Safe Artifact Management Division’s warehouse. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Good. Well done.”

The cat lay down on the floor.

It might look ridiculous to be making small talk in an armored vehicle, but we had at least a few hours of travel ahead of us to reach the site.

Which meant about twenty minutes of small talk. I cleared my throat briefly.

The task force soldier looked at me.

“Who are you, sir?”

“Task force, from the Praetorian Guard under the Overseer Council. We’ll be escorting the Overseer and Dr. Geum on this mission.”

No, I asked who *you* are.

***

It took three hours to reach the target.

When we arrived on site, Foundation personnel who’d come by helicopter had already secured the area. If that was the plan, we could’ve just taken a helicopter too, right?

I looked outside the vehicle through the camera.

“We’re here.”

Christopher sat on top of the communications equipment.

“Is there a speaker on site? We need a way to remind people of Yulje-myeon’s existence.”

“Ah, I’ll let them know.”

“The operation will proceed as planned—the soldiers will handle it. There’s no guarantee communications will work inside the fog of forgetting. Let’s start with roll call. Who’s supposed to be here?”

Nine radios sat in the command compartment of the tank. I squinted at the microphone and the radios. I have no idea where to start.

***

I grabbed the microphone.

The cat had said so.

You say everything that needs to be said today. We’d discussed what to say together, sure. But the burden of speaking is all mine.

“Hello, Foundation personnel. This is Overseer Petraeus and Director Geum.”

“First, I’ll call roll over the command channel.”

The cat nodded at me.

“Is the Section Chief of Recovery Section 1 present?”

“Is the Section Chief of Recovery Division 2 present?”

“Is the Team Leader of the task force ‘Moon of Seoul’ present?”

“Is the Precognition Division Chief present?”

“Is the Mechanical Section Chief present?”

Everyone was there.

I’d only made a few calls, but my hand gripping the microphone was trembling. Moving on. I’d called everyone from Facility 82.

Now it’s time to call the support personnel.

“Is the Team Leader of the task force ‘Praetorian Guard’ present?”

“Is the Team Leader of the task force ‘Mistilteinn’ present?”

“Is the Team Leader of the task force ‘Purifying Flame’ present?”

A few more left. I just need to confirm the external experts the Foundation brought in are all here.

“Is the Commander of the ROK Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Special Mission Unit present?”

“Is the Director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Anomalous Incident Response Agency present?”

“UN… uh, is anyone from the UN present?”

Everyone was there.

Peacekeeping Force response team, or whatever it was—I can’t even remember. Too long to say over the radio.

“Thank you. Let’s do our best.”

I turned off the microphone.

Ugh, I’m dying.

The cat was still looking at my face and smiling. I sank into my chair and closed my eyes. My hands were still shaking, though.

Right, there was still one more thing to do.

I turned the microphone back on and grabbed it.

“Attention, all Foundation personnel on site. You are currently under the influence of a cognitohazard. Do not fully trust your senses, memories, or experiences.”

“You are here to rescue the citizens of Yulje-myeon. Remember this fact. This message will repeat until termination.”

This time, it’s really over.

***

The screens in the command compartment connected one by one.

Normally I’d go to the command room in person, but this time there didn’t seem to be any need to leave the tank. The command room was already inside the tank.

First.

I need to check what’s behind the curtain of fog covering the city. Right now, everything that enters Yulje-myeon is being forgotten.

We need to come up with a countermeasure.

“Connect me to the Mechanical Section Chief.”

[Hello! This is Mechanical Section Chief Min Iseo.]

I looked at the Mechanical Section Chief’s face on the screen. Is there anyone else who enjoys coming to work that much? It’s funny every time I see it.

“Mechanical Section Chief. Report the situation.”

[Yes. I sent drones into the fog, and they all crashed. I also sent Steel Spiders, and they all stopped functioning too.]

“Department Head. How many unmanned units were lost?”

[Three quadcopters and four Steel Spiders.]

I squinted.

“Department Head. Are you telling me we spent 3.5 billion won in research funds just to confirm that machines lose communication once they enter the fog?”

[Well… That’s about right, isn’t it?]

I pressed my temple. Pathetic as it was, that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Then explain what you did find out.”

[The Steel Spiders maintained connection for several minutes. That’s why I kept sending unmanned units — because the connection held for a few minutes each time.]

“What’s inside the fog?”

[For one thing, the fog surrounding Yulje-myeon forms a kind of wall. There’s a separate space inside the fog, and its interior is relatively free from cognitohazard effects. However, it’s difficult for meaningful information to pass through the fog wall.]

“Any countermeasures?”

[None at the moment. Are you planning to send people in?]

As always. Why does everyone assume I know the answer? I don’t know either.

When there’s a problem, let’s try recalling the manual.

Anomalous space, and cognitohazard.

A method to prevent information degradation — radio wave communication seems too prone to degradation. There must be a more reliable means of communication.

Ah, I remember now.

“Is there a communications vehicle on site?”

[Yes.]

“Understood. Connect a cable — wired communication. We’ll communicate with the inside of Yulje-myeon by wire.”

[Huh, but we don’t have a cable that long.]

“Then bring one.”

[It’ll take half a day just to prepare.]

“Then, please take care of it.”

The Foundation’s tanks begin moving toward the site.