Chapter 18: One-Man Army

The King's Path (4)

Fenrir lunged at Comet, then stopped and staggered. Comet's Spiritual Power pressured Fenrir, forcing it to obey.

"Are you mocking me!"

The Necromancer widened his eyes and countered with his own Spiritual Power. Spiritual Power clashed against Spiritual Power, and a battle for dominance began.

A battle for control over a spirit body overwhelmingly favors the original owner. The attacker had to understand the spirit body's structure, exploit it to seize control, and block the defender's sabotage.

On the other hand, the defender only needed to disrupt the attacker's subtle techniques by stirring up Spiritual Power. For an attacker to seize a spirit body, they had to understand and even overwhelm the theories and applications considered by the defender.

Comet smiled faintly. The unfortunate truth for the Necromancer was that Comet wasn't lacking in other areas. She simply preferred and found the close-combat build more useful, so she focused on that.

Some of Comet's Spiritual Power checked the Necromancer's, while the rest touched and moved Fenrir. As the chains binding the spirit body were released one by one, the Necromancer's face paled as he grasped the situation.

"No! It can't be!"

The Necromancer let out a desperate cry. Comet seized the opportunity of the Necromancer's panic and surged her Spiritual Power all at once. Fenrir writhed in agony and howled. Part of the white spirit body turned black. It was over.

Comet gathered her Spiritual Power. The Necromancer, out of his mind, stared at Fenrir before screaming and running away.

Fenrir approached and panted like a wolf should. Its tail wagged. Comet rubbed Fenrir's snout. It was clear that a lot of effort had gone into the design. Behaviors that weren't even necessary for combat had been taught.

It was a fact not usually shared with those outside the school, but elite builds tended to put a lot of effort into spirit body design. Usually, that was the purpose and the most enjoyable part of an elite build.

If there was a spirit body with a bizarre or grotesque design, it was also a reflection of the Necromancer's taste. If you asked why a tentacle monster had been taught to wriggle its tentacles, you'd only feel awkward.

Close-combat builds had that aspect as well. Like deliberately changing a perfectly good weapon to a scythe and using it as a finishing move. It wasn't polite for Necromancers, let alone outsiders, to ask about such things. They all knew that was the point, and they didn't want to embarrass each other.

Comet turned to the fleeing Necromancer and pointed her finger.

"Fenrir, bite."

"Don't come any closer!"

Fenrir charged at the Necromancer. Concrete debris in its path shattered. Fangs appeared, and the Necromancer raised one arm. A stream of blood spurted out.

The Necromancer screamed and fell. Fenrir chewed and swallowed the torn-off arm, then turned to Comet, who was approaching. It seemed to be asking for praise.

"Good job, good job. And you don't even have preferences."

She stroked its snout again. As she did, Comet leisurely stepped on the Necromancer's remaining arm. The arm, which was trying to rummage through his pockets, made a cracking sound. A scream echoed.

The Necromancer soon died. Comet examined Fenrir's design, satisfied, and then rummaged through the Necromancer's pockets. She found things that seemed to have been alchemically crafted, but she carelessly threw them on the ground. These weren't what she needed. She'd rather ask Chairwoman for supplies than pick up these things.

She found soul orbs and collected them. The Necromancer must have worked hard during the rift situation, as there was a considerable amount. She planned to wash them with dish soap and eat them when she got back. With more souls to use in case of emergency, it was worth raising her assimilation rate.

"The results are good. I'll have to go up to the fourth floor to know for sure, but I'm satisfied with this."

After all, the Necromantic Arts adage never failed. When something felt lacking, killing a nearby Necromancer would fill the void.

『That ended rather anticlimactically.』

"It always ends quickly when facing a Necromancer who isn't a close-combat build. It's ultimately a battle for spirit body dominance. Shall we go up now then? Considering what I used in the fight, there probably won't be much left."

Comet fed the corpse to Fenrir and went up to the fourth floor. As expected, the fourth floor was a research workshop. It was being used for multiple purposes, perhaps because the space was large. There was even a torture chamber. A recently deceased corpse was visible. It was probably the owner of the screams she had heard before entering.

『Necromancers are disgusting.』

The Princess said in a nonchalant tone, despite the content.

"Indeed."

Comet stared at the bio-chimera made of monsters and humans. It was dead. The Necromancer's alchemical skills must have been lacking, as it was a failure. Considering Fenrir's high level of completion, it seemed he had attempted a spirit body chimera based on the bio-chimera, even though it wasn't his specialty.

Besides that, a table was visible in one corner of the fourth floor. A map of Seoul was spread out on it. Several places were circled, and next to them were notes about the estimated arrival times of nearby military units and police special forces. A lengthy comparison of the expected soul harvest and risk was written.

『Thanks to the commoner's actions, many lives have been saved! Rejoice.』

"I am pleased."

It seemed this Necromancer was planning to commit an act of terrorism. After gathering some souls, he must have felt he could take on the authorities. It was an ambitious attitude, but it didn't seem like a good plan.

Comet looked around the fourth floor some more before descending the stairs. There was nothing more to see. She left the officetel.

#

A few days later, Dan Ga-yeon visited in the morning.

Comet greeted Dan Ga-yeon in her pajamas.

"Why are you in your pajamas again...?"

She seemed puzzled, remembering that Comet had been in her pajamas during her last visit as well.

Comet smiled brightly.

"Because you came in the morning. It's not a sight I show to just anyone. Come in."

"Should I come later?"

"No, it's fine. Come in and make yourself comfortable."

Dan Ga-yeon hesitated, then came in and sat on a chair. Comet sat across from her. Dan Ga-yeon hesitated, then asked cautiously.

"Do you need time to change?"

"If you want to watch."

Comet gave her a playful smile.

"No, it's not that..."

"Speaking of which, what do you wear to sleep, Officer Dan?"

"Huh? Clothes?"

Dan Ga-yeon seemed flustered by the sudden question.

"If you sleep in pajamas, would you like a pair?

Comet got up and headed to the closet. She took out a pair of pajamas.

"I used to wear these."

Comet handed the pajamas to her. Dan Ga-yeon didn't take them.

"Why are you trying to give me something you've worn? I don't need them."

"It would make us seem closer."

"That's weird."

Comet shrugged and put the pajamas back in the closet.

"They're my favorite."

"I need them even less now."

When Comet sat down again, Dan Ga-yeon took out some documents from her briefcase. They were drawings of clothing designs.

"What are these?"

"Chairwoman promised to provide you with armor, right?"

"She did mention something like that."

"So, design drafts were created this time. If you choose one of these, the government will produce it for you."

"Is this official support?"

"Um... can this be unofficial?"

Dan Ga-yeon said something rather clueless.

"Ah."

Comet twisted her side hair.

"No, please pretend you didn't hear that question. More importantly, did Chairwoman design these? The quality seems higher than when I ordered from her back in the game."

"I remember that professional clothing designers helped. It's also to create jobs on the government's end."

"No wonder the designs are better than Chairwoman's skills."

Dan Ga-yeon chuckled softly. She seemed to find it funny to badmouth her superior.

"I won't tell Chairwoman you said that."

"It's the truth."

"That too."

Dan Ga-yeon took out another document. As the words "official support" suggested, there were things Comet had to fill out, going through the related paperwork.

"Just fill it out as it's written, and if there's anything confusing, tell me, and I'll explain it to you."

"There are body measurements here?"

"Because it's clothing."

Comet stared at the blank spaces and smiled brightly.

"Come to think of it, I don't know my body measurements."

Dan Ga-yeon paused and looked at Comet's closet. It seemed like an unconscious action. Of course, the closet contained the dresses and other things Comet usually wore.

"Those are just things I wear casually. Would you measure me?"

"Well, I brought a measuring tape for the procedure, but..."

Dan Ga-yeon seemed unsure if this made sense. Regardless, Comet got up. Dan Ga-yeon also took out the measuring tape and approached her.

"Should I take off my pajamas?"

"Of course not! They're thin, so we can measure over them."

"I see."

Dan Ga-yeon unfolded the measuring tape.

"Um, I'll start with the bust."

"By all means."

Comet lightly raised her arms. The measuring tape slowly approached her chest. It passed under her armpits and went around. The loose measuring tape slowly shortened, pressing against her chest. The pajamas and measuring tape rustled against each other.

Dan Ga-yeon glanced at Comet.

Comet gave her a bright smile.

"Officer Dan, when you eat strawberry cake, what do you eat first? The strawberries or the cake?"

"...Strawberry cake?"

"Yes."

"It varies, but I'd probably eat the strawberries first? As a palate cleanser."

Dan Ga-yeon wrote down the bust size on the document.

"Do you like strawberries?"

"Isn't that normal?"

"So, you eat what you like first. I'm the type to eat according to my mood, so it's hard to say what I'll eat first. I'll treat you to a strawberry cake later. We can eat it together and see."

"Okay. Next..."

Dan Ga-yeon finished taking the measurements and left. She had tried to bring up the topic of looking at the design drafts together, but she was turned down, saying she was busy.

Comet propped her chin up and looked at the design drafts. They were all good. Perhaps because designers who didn't know Comet had designed them, there were designs that didn't suit her personality, but the quality itself was good.

"I think this one is the best. The white base with black accents suits my taste."

『This one doesn't appeal to me.』

"Really?"

『What about that black one over there, instead?』

“If you mean the black one, this one?”

『Yes! It’s a truly outstanding design. A commoner’s eye wouldn’t be able to appreciate it, but that one suits you best.』

It was an outfit based on black with red accents. Comet suddenly recalled the Princess's epithet: Blood and Shadow. Her tastes were certainly consistent.

“It’s too much black. When I bring out my wings, it’ll be all black, and the colors won’t match. Let’s just go with the one I picked.”

『No. I object!』

The Princess vehemently opposed.

Comet ignored her and filled out the paperwork.

“It’s not like you’re the one who’s going to be wearing it anyway, Princess.”

『Of course I am. It’s the body I’ll be occupying, so naturally, it’s the outfit I’ll be wearing.』

An astonishing idea.

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