SCP International

More than a hundred miles to the west of Thăng Long Citadel, there is the great Tản Viên Peak towers across the sky, a pillar built by mother nature to guard the western border of the citadel. There, inside a not-so-large rock cave, a young man was drinking tea while enjoying the sight of mountains and rivers. His eyes flickered a strange light, small yet held an unthinkable miracle, as if he had seen the enitre fate from Heaven.

As the man raised his sight further away, he could saw not only the Tản Viên and the Red River, but also the entire capital city and surrounding towns. The place was strangely tranquil, but not because there was peace and prosperity, no. It was because everyone had already left to prepare for an upcoming war.

In the fourth year of Đại Chính era [1533], there was an event that shocked the entire country. Nguyễn Kim declared a struggle to revive the Lê Dynasty under Lê Duy Ninh, who claimed to be a son of former Emperor Lê Chiêu Tông. Days after days, the war kept turning in unexpected ways, and less than a year later, the Revival Lê forces had taken Thanh Hoá and re-established "Tây Đô" - the western capital, creating a state of division between the Mạc of the North and the Lê of the South. The Mạc's stability had never been more threatened.

Multiple times had the Emperor from the court of Thăng Long issued decrees, ordering the Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance to join the war effort, but the Bureau's sorcerers only served the common people, administrating the sorcerous society, and pacifying the heretic entities that harm the commoners. Thus, they could not join a merely undignified war between mortals. As the war continued through several emperors of the Lê and Mạc clans, the people's lives became more miserable, dyeing the streams and mountains with blood. Additionally, the commander position of the Revival Lê forces had switched hand, from a Nguyễn clansman to a Trịnh one.

In the second year of Hồng Ninh era [1592], the Revival Lê forces besieged the the citadel, the Mạc's Mandate of Heaven seemed to be running out.

As of now, about a hundred steps from the mentioned cave, a mandarin was kowtowing on the ground. From his uniform, one could tell that he was at least holding the rank of grand chancellor of the imperial palace, which meant he was one of the closest to His Majesty. And yet, a man of such high position was here, crying miserably:

"The Lê enemy is at the gate of the citadel, the son of Heaven is at risk, I beg thee and the Bureau to please help us. I dare not to beg for an overturn of the war, nor do I ask thee to wipe out the Lê-Trịnh forces, I only wished for thee to use some magic and save the Mạc court from this situation."

"Seventy years ago, thy Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance has left the Lê to serve the Mạc, thus we can be considered on the same page here. Former Chief Bureaucrat Trần Phi Tuyết also once killed many Lê loyalists during her mission to restore a spatial matrix. An eye for an eye, if the Lê revived, then they will not spare the Bureau. I beg thee to consider this."

The man's lips moved slightly, still sitting inside that cave on Tản Viên Mountain, as if he just had an unclear smirk. From his appearance, one could never tell that he was more than a hundred years old then. He had witnessed the Lê prospered and fell, he saw the rise of the Mạc and today, he was about to witness the return of the Lê Dynasty. This had already happened to a lot of dynasties through out generations. The young man placed his cup of tea down, slowly walked out of the cave, then laid his eyes on the blue sky.

"I hope what thou said is right, Chief Bureaucrat Trần. The Bureau must end here, or rather pause its duty, to sleep tight in the chapters of history, waiting for its true leader to return."

The sunlight speared through the leaves, shining onto the man's face. A wind blowed by, causing his loose hair to flutter, the light made it seemed as if his hair was glowing scarlet. He stepped towards an old, dusty bronze drum, though it could still reflect the flickered yellow light. The young man's arm suddenly hit on the drum's surface, making the space looked like it was being bended. The sound echoed through all five circuits and thirteen regions of Đại Việt. Mysteriously, only those who need to hear the sound could hear this:

"Attention to all of the Bureau, from the five high ranking Main Assistant Envoys to the lowest disciples that have just joined, listen to your order: immediately cancel all missions and cease all works. Assemble at the Tản Viên Peak at once, do not disobey, do not delay."

From the majestic shrines and temples of the cities, to the remote rural mountains and forests. One by one, members of the Bureau were shown as they raised their head and listened to the imposing sound, after which they all rushed towards one direction using their abilities. Soon, under the Tản Viên Mountain, a crowd of figures could be seen. They were all sorcerers, and there were as much as hundreds of them.

The mandarin, who had desperately kowtowed at the mountain for days now and was just about to return, felt a sight of hope upon seeing this scene.

"Finally, the Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance has decided to take action."

In the sky, a figure appeared. Despite having no colourful uniform, he radiated a larger aura than any of the living beings below. Indeed, the figure who seemed to be floating was flying, as if he was a descending god to the people who looked upon him.

"I could not think of the day that a Damned Blood like myself would be able to rule the Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance, that I would be the one to lead all of the sorcerous clans. Ironic, how ironic." — He whispered before raising his head, making it seem like he had already determined an outcome for this situation like an all-powerful deity.

"The Tây Quách clan and three other sorcerous families have betrayed the Bureau's causes by worshipping the evil Wood Fiend. Wanting to resurrect the devil god, they have not hesitated to harm the common people. Therefore, I as Chief Bureaucrat Ngô Sinh, commander of the entire Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance, order all sorcerers to kill the evil spirits, execute the traitorous clans, and destroy any trace left from the devil god."

After what was a series of announcement and order, within just a few breaths, the assembling sorcerers felt a thunder near their ears. Though most seemed yet to comprehend the news, they were all attracted to that one name: "Wood Fiend", perhaps that was because the name had been deeply engraved in the Bureau's books. It was the name of an ancient and cruel deity that appeared during the Hồng Bàng era, it had boundless magical capability and would not hesitate to harm the good men and women of the world. It was not until the Đinh Dynasty, when sorcerers from multiple countries united, that the Wood Fiend's body could be temporarily destroyed, with its parts divided into three: Essence, Divinity, and Spirit.

The Essence and the Spirit parts of the Wood Fiend had been sealed somewhere far from the human realm, only the Divinity part — its trace — was placed at a mountainous region in Đại Việt's bordering country, Laos. Although they might not fully grasped the context, but from just hearing this name, every of the sorcerers here chanted out their order:

"Execute the traitorous clans, destroy the devil god's trace."

"Execute the traitorous clans, destroy the devil god's trace."

The chanting sound of hundreds of sorcerers, combined with the sound of thaumaturgical usages, echoed across the sky, diverting even the winds and clouds. Meanwhile, the mandarin who got his hope high had it crushed in a matter of seconds. Though he did not understand what the Wood Fiend was, nor the tales of this devil god, he could still vaguely understand what this meant, and so he screamed:

"Execute the traitorous clans and destroy the devil god's trace? You people could have pick any other time, yet choose to do so right now. This is nothing more than a declaration of abandoning the Mạc court, a refusal to join the war."

Despite shouting to the point his neck was hoarse, his voice was just that of a commone and was easily suppressed by the chants from all around, thus turning the scream into nothingness. The mandarin bowed his head and sighed:

"Your action will not only help restore the Lê by destroying the Mạc Dynasty, but it will also cause the final fall for all of you." — The loyal mandarin collapsed onto the ground, disappointed in himself for failing to complete His Majesty's task.

Xứ Đoài was covered in endless sight of mountains and rivers. Despite the scattered population, this was the most important area in the Vietnamese land, stretching from Sơn Tây for miles and miles into the sunset, a great wall that protects the capital citadel's western border. Below that vast and boundless forest, there was a mansion, not too massive but undoubtedly ancient.

"We only need one hundred souls left to finally complete the Wood Deity's Body." — An old man with clear white beard and hair declared to dozens of kneeling people, old and young alike. — "After which, he will be able to call for his Spirit part and with that, the Essence part should be more than easy to obtain. By the time the Wood Deity return, it doesn't matter if the Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance and the Chinese Abnormality Institute join forces, because without a powerful mage like Seimei, their effort will be nothing. And as our clans became his right hands, we will live in a future of luxury."

"If it wasn't for that damned Trần bloodline from Hà Trung, using their magics to push the Spirit part away, then that part would have returned to our mortal realm by now, and we wouldn't have to wait this long." — A whisper echoed across the mansion.

When the voice stop, the entire ground suddenly started to shake, the clouds began to change shape, and the birds and animals all roared out in panic. In the sky, a figure appeared in striking aura as magical powers were casted from all directions:

"Tây Quách clansmen collaborated with the devil god, harming the common people, a crime worthy of death. By order of the Chief Bureaucrat, on behalf of the Heaven, the Bureau shall execute the evil clans to uphold the correct morality."

Although he had already predicted this, Chief Bureaucrat Ngô Sinh floating above still felt an anger as he sensed the darkness from within the Tây Quách's mansion. There must have been as many as a thousand poor souls wandering around this place.

"Exposed, we are exposed." — The old man's face was twisted in a disturbing way, making his furrows a lot clearer. — "We can only risk it now." — As he shouted, the old man raised his hands in an attempt to cast a spell. — "Children of the Tây Quách clan, take the box containing the Wood Deity's trace and run as far as you can. As long as you live, our clan will still have a chance."

When he finished speaking, the old man desperately charged forward, trying to open a blood trail with all the might he had stored for decades. But the flying figure only curved out a smile before flicking his arm. Without using any other spell or gesture, a powerful fire like the burning sun itself was shot out, engulfing both the old man and his entire mansion.

"How could he be this powerful? Is this the ability of all Damned Bloods…" — The old man burnt to ashes before he could finish his sentence.

"Did I just once again destroy an entire clan?"

The clan of Tây Quách had no more than ten average-tier mages, so when facing an attack from an army of more than a hundred sorcerers from the Bureau, even the chickens and dogs living on the mansion's proper became nothingness, not even ashes. However, during the time when that desperate old man was trying to open a blood trail, "the box containing the Wood Deity's trace" had secretly been taken away by a young teenager of the traitorous clan, who apparently disappeared into the air. Within less than an hour, the Bureau's members searched every part of the mansion's ruin, determined to put an end to the Tây Quách bloodline.

As they finished, the sorcerers dismissed, either returned to their families or continue with their mission. However, that was just a cover they said, everyone knew the capital city was going to have a new master, that the Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance was about to face great danger and so, they all quietly went into hideout.

"At last, it is done." — Chief Bureaucrat Ngô Sinh sat beneath a tree beside a road, remembering what had happened in his life. — "Being the Chief Bureaucrat for all these decades does not feel as great as those few short years, when I was just an Assistant Envoy working side by side with Chief Bureaucrat Trần." — He exclaimed with a sigh.

"The Revival Lê forces has taken over Thăng Long, loyalists of the Mạc court have fled to either Dương Kinh or Cao Bằng, where they will probably hold on until next year. If they are lucky though, the Mạc clan may be able to rule Cao Bằng as a regional warlord." — Two people was discussing as they took their buffalo and cow for evacuation.

"The potential disaster that could threaten humanity's survival is now concealed for centuries more to come, the Bureau can finally rest in peace." — The Judge exclaimed again.

After the battle, the wise and powerful Chief Bureaucrat Ngô Sinh of the Bureau of Anomaly Surveillance had go into undercover, as if he had disappeared without a trace. Both the Bureau and the Mạc Dynasty also left the main stage of history, though their remnants would last for a few hundred years after…

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