Chapter 15: One-Man Army

The King's Path (1)

Some time after the rift situation stabilized, Gunther left the government. He took the Awakened who were originally guild members with him, creating a gap in the government's workforce, they say.

"There's... there's just too much work..."

Dan Ga-yeon muttered, stirring her soup next to Comet in the cafeteria. She looked pitiful.

"The rift issues have been mostly resolved now. It should decrease."

"Only someone not in the committee like you, Comet, can say that... As soon as one task is finished, another one is created."

"You're using honorifics again."

"...Please let it slide this time. It's hard for me to be the only one using informal speech with someone older in this situation."

Comet shrugged at Dan Ga-yeon's grumbling.

"Don't you feel like we're getting closer the more you use it?"

"Not at all."

Dan Ga-yeon grumbled, quickly finished her meal, and left first. It seemed like even meal times were a precious part of her schedule.

Comet stopped eating and rested her chin on her hand.

『Is something bothering you?』

"It bothers me that Officer Dan doesn't feel any sense of accomplishment. The situation is being resolved, but she's just accumulating stress without any reward."

『That's because she can't see the future.』

The government seemed to be working hard to design the future. Well, of course.

The rifts in the multiverse had unknown causes and no known solutions. The communication blocker that was destroying central authority was something magical and impossible to solve with current technology. Overseas trade was nearly impossible because the sea and sky routes were blocked by Monsters.

The fact that Monsters weren't flying overhead and there wasn't a major food shortage was the result of the government's tireless efforts.

But even so, this country was on a sinking ship.

"If we could find a way to solve even one of these problems, Officer Dan would gain some energy, even if there were no immediate results."

『Hehehe...』

The princess chuckled meaningfully.

『This body has a way.』

Comet took out the Soul orb held by the princess and stared at it.

『Hehehe!』

"What is it?"

『In exchange for telling you, give this body what it needs.』

"I don't know what you need. You don't want my body for something like this, do you?"

『Hmph! A handful of blood is enough.』

"My blood?"

『Yes.』

Comet rolled the Soul orb held by the princess around.

『You impudent...』

The princess muttered.

"What was your title again?"

『Blood and Shadow!』

And she's asking for blood?

Comet twisted her side hair, pondered, and then smiled brightly.

"Can I pay later?"

『The lower class has no conscience.』

"Really? Considering that a Necromancer is making a deal with a soul, this is a pretty mild approach."

Even though it's impossible, it's also a soul trying to possess me.

『But this body is royalty!』

But a small jellyfish.

Comet nodded roughly and finished her meal. Jellyfish salad briefly flashed through her mind.

After clearing her tray and leaving the cafeteria, the princess hesitantly spoke.

『...Since you have a friendship with a commoner, I will make a special allowance for you to pay later.』

"Oh, Princess, you're so kind. I'm touched."

『You may praise me more.』

"Really? Princess, I'm touched. You're so kind."

As they talked, they returned to the room, and the princess explained what that method was.

『Humanity is in trouble because they have pathetic technology that doesn't even know or can't find the existence of blockers and Relays.』

"...What are those?"

『A blocker is a device that steals communication within a certain range. It is advanced technology that steals communication itself, whether wireless or wired, that travels a certain distance. It is the basis of magical information warfare.』

"Oh..."

Comet twisted her side hair.

"Princess, this is a sudden question, but what exactly are you?"

『I told you, I'm a princess.』

"Besides that, specifically. Which region, which country, which culture, which planet, which universe's being are you?"

『It's fortunate that you've realized this body's greatness, even if it's late. But the lower class doesn't need to know!』

Comet blinked and nodded.

"I see. Please continue with your explanation."

『...A Relay is a device that creates and maintains rifts in the multiverse. I don't know much about the related technology, so it's difficult to explain.』

"Oh..."

『Hmph. All I will tell you is the magic to find these two devices. Destroying them is something even humans with low civilization levels can do, so I won't tell you that.』

"Magic, huh? That's good. It's a problem that I lack aptitude for Mana."

『It doesn't matter. First, give me a handful of blood.』

"Wasn't it pay later?"

『This body's magic requires blood or shadows.』

"Since your title is Blood and Shadow, I figured. It doesn't have to be my blood, right?"

#

Comet left Yeouido and walked aimlessly. She passed street after street after street, and then stopped when she found an abandoned warehouse. She had a feeling.

She approached and listened, hearing voices. Judging by the talk about how they killed people, it seemed to be a group of looters.

"I've found a target to get blood from."

She whispered to the princess.

『They are commoners without honor.』

Comet held a knife in her hand and slightly opened the warehouse door. The noise caused three looters to turn around. They were armed with homemade melee weapons, and one of them had a pistol, probably obtained from a police armory. A pistol, huh?

Comet scratched her cheek. The looters swaggered over, but one of them noticed Comet's identity and shouted, causing them to become wary.

A gun was suddenly pointed at her, and the trigger was pulled. The looter's response was quick. But their thinking seemed lacking. Running away would be a better decision.

Comet watched the movement of the finger pulling the trigger and moved quickly at the right moment. The bullet grazed past her. It missed, but their shooting skills were quite good.

Actually, since she's a Necromancer, getting hit by a bullet that hasn't been magically treated wouldn't be a big problem. But the loss of souls would be painful.

Comet passed by the looters and lightly swung her knife. A fountain of blood erupted belatedly.

"I intentionally drew blood, is this enough?"

『It's overflowing. Follow what I tell you.』

"Yes, yes."

Comet moved as the princess instructed. First, she crouched near the pool of blood that had just formed. She dipped her index finger in the blood and drew a red square on the warehouse floor. She scooped up a handful of blood with both hands and sprinkled it over the square. The blood droplets that were falling due to gravity stopped and flowed arbitrarily, creating patterns in 3D space.

Comet gaped.

"...Why is this working? I don't feel like I did anything."

『Hmph. It's because you have a talent for blood and shadows. Still, you're quite something. Succeeding in one try.』

"Is this how Mana users feel when they see Spiritual Power users...? I kind of understand now."

Maybe Mana users see Necromancers, who use Spiritual Power that they can't even see as energy, with this kind of feeling. They might be so wary because they're killing people to gather something they can't even see.

"The results are out, but how do I interpret them?"

『I will interpret them for you. Let's see...』

"No. I'll do the interpretation, so tell me the theoretical basis."

『You want a lot. Then I will tell you the most basic information first. Listen carefully.』

Comet nodded.

『The basic premise of blood magic is belief. The belief that you can change the world with a handful of blood droplets.』

"Necromancy is also a study of belief in a broad sense, so the two are similar."

『...Isn't that too rude of a comparison?』

"What's wrong with Necromancy?"

After that, the princess told her the basic theories and interpretation know-how needed for interpretation.

"Okay. So, you calculate the vector quantity from the trajectory left by the blood droplets, subtract the effect of gravity from the result, and then correct each one according to the 3D coordinates of the square, and then you can know the number, power, and direction of the magic affecting this space, right?"

『There are some theoretical skips, but it's accurate.』

"It's a difficult magic to use in places with strong winds or electromagnetic forces."

『You can block additional variables by using other magic.』

"Ah, I see."

Comet twisted her side hair.

"I know the number, power, and direction of the magic, but I don't know the type."

『That part depends on the blood mage's ability. If you can guess the magic used by the enemy, you can roughly figure it out through induction, even if you don't know the type. Like this body's level.』

"I see."

Comet nodded and analyzed the results of the blood magic.

『It's an obsolete method that can't be used in empires overflowing with magic. So they wouldn't have prepared for it.』

"I guess so. There are seven. I don't know why there are so many in Seoul."

『One blocker and six Relays.』

"Do you need that many in one space?"

『If smaller Relays are stacked on top of larger Relays, it can come out like that. Hmm. It seems like Relays are overlapping on the scale of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, the Korean Peninsula, East Asia, and the Earth.』

Comet stared at the Soul orb for a moment at the very specific statement.

『Why are you doing that?』

"Princess, you're smarter than I thought."

『Hmph! Even if you say that now, nothing will come out of it! Take this opportunity to feel this body's intelligence.』

The small jellyfish boasted.

Comet twisted her side hair, pondered, and then left the warehouse. It seemed like she should tell the Chairwoman the results.

And report this little invader as well.

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