Internal Monologue Of General Veron Ashmark, Commander Of The Dark Lord's Northern ArmyApproximately Twelve Minutes Before Everything Became Significantly More Complicated Than The Briefing Had Suggested
I am General Veron Ashmark.
I have conquered six provinces.
I have broken four kingdoms.
I have served the Dark Lord for twenty two years.
The Dark Lord's ancient detection network felt the Demon King's absence eighteen months ago.
The Demon King ruled nine dimensions.
Something made him disappear.
The Dark Lord has been patient.
Patient in the way of something that has been building toward a goal for two hundred years and does not allow setbacks to alter the timeline.
He sent me to find the source.
I have been tracking it for three months.
Through the ley line disturbances.
Through the boundary permeability changes.
Through the Gate formation at Hongdae.
Through seventeen intelligence reports from the scouts he sent ahead.
The scouts came back confused.
All of them.
Their reports were inconsistent.
One said: the source is a Rank F Janitor who cleans floors.
I ignored that report.
Then three more scouts confirmed it.
I stopped ignoring it.
I am General Veron Ashmark.
I have conquered six provinces.
I stepped through the Gate at seven forty three AM.
The Gate leads to a city called Seoul.
It is a large city.
There are metal boxes everywhere.
The metal boxes move in organized patterns.
They stop at lights.
There is a small building on the corner that appears to sell everything.
I went in.
The person behind the counter said: ten thousand won minimum purchase.
I do not have ten thousand won.
I left.
The scouts' reports mentioned someone called Han-Ho.
They mentioned a route.
They mentioned a specific district.
I am in the district.
I am looking for Han-Ho.
There is a man in a blue uniform crouching next to a metal grate.
He has two small dark creatures on his shoulders.
One is eating something.
There is a young woman next to him with a sword that is glowing.
The sword is pointing at me.
I am six foot four.
I have conquered six provinces.
The sword is pointing at me like I am something that needs addressing.
I have never been pointed at by a prophecy sword.
Something is wrong.
Also my boots are not appropriate for this road surface.
I am slipping slightly.
I would not usually mention this.
But it is contributing to the overall sense that this situation is not going the way I planned.
The man in the blue uniform just looked up.
He is looking at me.
He looks—
He looks annoyed.
Not at me.
At the residue I left when I came through the Gate.
Which is apparently on the road section he is currently cleaning.
I have conquered six provinces.
He is annoyed about the residue.
WHAT IS HAPPENING.
Han-Ho stood up from the drain.
Looked at General Veron Ashmark.
At the dark armor.
At the military bearing.
At the specific quality of someone who had been briefed extensively and was now discovering that the briefing had been insufficient.
At the Gate residue the general had tracked through from the fantasy world onto the section of road Han-Ho had just cleaned.
Han-Ho looked at the residue.
Made a note.
Fantasy world military arrival. Northern Mapo Friday route section. Gate residue on recently cleaned section. Assessment: deliberate crossing, not accidental. Military bearing. Dark kingdom affiliation probable based on armor design. Non-immediately-threatening but intent unclear. Filing.
He filed it.
Looked at the General.
"You came through the Hongdae Gate," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said General Ashmark. His Korean was accented but functional. The scouts had been thorough about language at least.
"You tracked the ley line changes."
"Yes."
"You are looking for the source of the Demon King's disappearance."
General Ashmark went very still.
"How do you know that," said General Ashmark.
"The Dark Lord's detection network felt the Demon King's disappearance eighteen months ago," said Han-Ho. "The ley line disturbances attracted attention from multiple directions. Military response is the expected follow-up from a kingdom with an intelligence infrastructure."
General Ashmark looked at Han-Ho.
At the work uniform.
At the notebook.
At Moru on Han-Ho's shoulder.
General Ashmark looked at Moru.
Moru looked back.
The red eyes.
The specific ancient quality of something that used to be something much larger and much darker and was now the size of a large cat sitting on the left shoulder of a man in a janitor uniform.
"That," said General Ashmark slowly. "Is the Demon King."
"Former," said Moru.
"You are the Demon King."
"Former Demon King," said Moru. "Currently Han-Ho's associate. The distinction matters."
"What happened to you," said General Ashmark.
"I was cleaned," said Moru.
"Cleaned."
"Yes."
"By—"
Moru indicated Han-Ho.
"By the Mana-Janitor," said Moru. "Rank F. One skill. He found my seal on a book in a dumpster and cleaned it because it was dirty. I had been sealed in the book for four thousand years. I was also dirty." He paused. "He cleaned me too."
General Ashmark looked at Han-Ho.
Han-Ho was cleaning the Gate residue the general had tracked onto the road section.
"He is cleaning the residue I brought through the Gate," said General Ashmark.
"Yes," said Moru. "He always addresses the residue before the person who caused it."
"In that order."
"Always in that order," said Moru.
General Ashmark watched Han-Ho clean.
The Demon King that the Dark Lord's detection network had been tracking for eighteen months was sitting on the shoulder of a Rank F Mana-Janitor watching the man clean Gate residue on a Friday morning in Seoul.
"Moru," said Han-Ho, without looking up.
"Yes Master."
"The general."
"Yes."
"His armor has ley line contamination residue on the pauldrons," said Han-Ho. "Same distribution as the Aurenthal district assessment. He has been traveling through heavily contaminated areas."
Moru relayed this to General Ashmark.
General Ashmark looked at his pauldrons.
Looked at Han-Ho.
"He can identify the contamination level from a distance," said General Ashmark.
"He can read energy through surfaces," said Moru. "And through the ambient field near surfaces. And through the air. His skill is—" Moru paused. "Comprehensive."
Han-Ho stood up.
Looked at the clean road section.
Looked at General Ashmark.
"The residue is addressed," said Han-Ho. "Welcome to Seoul. You will need to go to the Registry intake desk for registration. Sixth floor, adjacent building to the building with the rooftop Gate two blocks north." He paused. "But first. The residue on your armor."
General Ashmark looked at his armor.
"Is it significant," said General Ashmark.
"Class B ley line contamination on the pauldrons," said Han-Ho. "The right pauldron specifically has a concentration point that suggests you walked directly over a contaminated ley line junction in the past twenty four hours."
"I did," said General Ashmark. "Outside Aurenthal. Coordinating with the kingdom scouts."
"The junction outside Aurenthal is the primary seepage point for the eastern ley line branch," said Han-Ho. "It is on my Thursday assessment list. But the contamination you tracked through the Gate onto this road—" He looked at the clean section. "Has transferred."
General Ashmark looked at the road.
Looked at his boots.
Looked at the road.
"My boots," said General Ashmark.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"I tracked contamination from my boots."
"From the junction point residue on your boots yes," said Han-Ho. "The contamination transfer from footwear is a common cross-contamination vector in high seepage areas." He looked at the boots. "Can you remove the boots."
General Ashmark, Commander of the Dark Lord's Northern Army, conqueror of six provinces, breaker of four kingdoms, looked at Han-Ho.
"Remove my boots," said General Ashmark.
"On the road," said Han-Ho. "So I can address the contamination on the soles. The transfer to the road section needs to be addressed before I continue the route and the source needs to be cleaned before you track it further."
General Ashmark looked at Min-Seo.
Min-Seo was watching with the expression of someone who has seen this specific situation approximately seven times and has completely accepted it.
"He is going to keep asking about the boots," said Min-Seo helpfully. "Until you remove them."
General Ashmark looked at the road.
At his boots.
At Han-Ho waiting patiently with his notebook.
He removed the boots.
Han-Ho cleaned the soles.
Made a note.
Boot contamination: Class B ley line. Aurenthal eastern junction transfer. Cleaned. Road section re-addressed. Filing.
He filed it.
Handed the boots back.
General Ashmark put them back on.
"Thank you," said Han-Ho.
General Ashmark looked at him.
"I came here," said General Ashmark, "to assess the source of a threat that eliminated the Demon King. I have been tracking it for three months. I have conquered six provinces."
"I know," said Han-Ho.
"And you cleaned my boots."
"They were contaminated," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said General Ashmark.
"The contamination transfers when you walk," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said General Ashmark.
"So I cleaned them," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said General Ashmark.
A long pause.
"And now," said General Ashmark.
"Now the intake desk," said Han-Ho. "Registration. Then we can discuss whatever the Dark Lord wants to know." He looked at the General. "The Demon King is not a threat. He is Moru. He lives on my left shoulder. He eats honey butter chips and monitors my vegetable consumption." He paused. "Tell the Dark Lord the Demon King is accounted for and is clean."
General Ashmark looked at Moru.
Moru looked back.
"Clean," said Moru.
"Yes," said Moru again.
"I will tell the Dark Lord," said General Ashmark, with the specific tone of someone who has a very interesting report to file.
"Good," said Han-Ho. "The intake desk. Then the route continues."
He started walking.
Min-Seo fell in beside him.
Aria fell in on the other side.
General Ashmark stood on the road for a moment.
Looking at the clean spot where the Gate residue had been.
At the clean boot transfer zone.
At the man who had cleaned both while explaining contamination transfer vectors with the patient precision of a professional explaining a routine procedure.
He fell in behind them.
The sword at Aria's hip glowed once.
In the direction of General Ashmark.
The glow said: significant.
Aria relayed this to Han-Ho.
"He is significant," said Han-Ho without turning around.
"Yes," said Aria.
"File it," said Han-Ho.
"I do not have the filing system," said Aria.
"I will file it," said Han-Ho.
He filed it.
The Friday morning Mapo route continued.
General Veron Ashmark, Commander of the Dark Lord's Northern Army, walked behind a Rank F Mana-Janitor who had just cleaned his boots and was now heading to the next storm drain on the Friday route.
He had conquered six provinces.
He was now on the route.
Some Fridays were significant.