Chapter 4: One-Man Army

Necromancer (4)

The raider group's headquarters was the former main office of a bankrupt distribution company. Since it was a company with warehouses and garages, it seemed they had settled there for convenient management of their loot.

"The site isn't as big as I thought."

Comet peered into the headquarters with binoculars from the building's rooftop in the back. She saw a car entering through the main gate and a few raiders wandering around.

"Perhaps the main warehouses are located outside the city?"

Dan Ga-yeon, who was also looking through binoculars next to her, replied.

Comet nodded and lowered her binoculars. Then, she unfolded the architectural blueprint she had received from the police. Dan Ga-yeon turned around at the sound of the paper unfolding.

"I doubt we'll have to enter."

"That's a shame. To have a joint entry rejected so decisively, I thought Officer Dan would use the power of an extrajudicial organization to persuade them."

"Haha... Still, isn't it good enough that we got permission to wait at the back gate...?"

Dan Ga-yeon gave an awkward smile. Comet stared at Dan Ga-yeon with a slightly piqued expression before smiling brightly.

"I suppose so."

Comet sharply smoothed out the wrinkles in the architectural blueprint. She tried to examine the blueprint to figure out where the raider group's Necromancer was staying, but it wasn't much help. It was a shame that the police would confiscate the Necromancer's achievements.

"Officer Dan, how much have you raised your Assimilation rate?"

"Up to 14%."

Comet leaned her arms on the railing and rested her chin on them.

"Martial arts types have it good. Just swinging a sword restores your Stats."

"If you think about it that way, magic types have it easier."

Dan Ga-yeon said with a somewhat disgruntled tone. The sword at Dan Ga-yeon's side swayed. She seemed unhappy that she had to make separate time for training in her busy schedule.

"They only absorb Mana, so they don't sweat and don't need to shower."

"That's right. Mages have it easy too."

Comet nodded.

"I don't know why they live so comfortably."

Necromancers, who dealt with Spiritual Power instead of Mana, needed an environment filled with death, not such a peaceful one. They needed an incident that would generate a large number of souls.

"Still, Comet, aren't your Stats high even with just your base Assimilation rate?"

"They're high, but not if you compare them to other top Rankers."

"I can't relate..."

Comet smiled, amused by the grumbling she heard. Dan Ga-yeon stared at Comet for a moment before picking up her binoculars again and focusing on the front.

Before long, the signal they had been waiting for arrived.

On the rooftop near the raider headquarters, a small white flag fluttered.

"Comet!"

"Yes, I saw it too. Let's get ready."

Comet rechecked that she had her knife and Soul orbs. Then, seeing Dan Ga-yeon watching the back gate, she turned her binoculars to take a quick look at the police's entry process.

Armed police officers swarmed over the fence, and police cars broke through the main gate and entered. However, there were no police officers at the back gate; she had heard that it was not their goal to completely annihilate them, so they left an escape route to prevent a desperate last stand.

She saw a raider who appeared to be an Awakened trying to use magic, only to be shot down mercilessly.

"How scary..."

Comet became desperate for higher Stats.

"Pardon?"

"No, I just hope the Necromancer escapes safely through the back gate."

Already, some of the more perceptive raiders were escaping through the back gate. Comet held a Soul orb and checked for a reaction, but there was none, so she put it back in her pocket, assuming the raider Necromancer had already taken it.

"He's out!"

Dan Ga-yeon shouted, alternating between looking through her binoculars and looking at a photograph.

"Let's go."

Comet grabbed the railing and jumped off the roof. A brief sensation of floating, her black bobbed hair scattering and her dress fluttering. Her safety shorts were revealed and then hidden.

The sound of impact echoed on the roof. Footprints were left intermittently as she passed over the roofs.

Comet flipped her body in mid-air and landed in front of the Necromancer. The Necromancer stopped running, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

Comet straightened her disheveled hair and clothes and opened her mouth in a friendly tone.

"I was just passing by and saw someone in the same profession, so I came to find you. Can I help you?"

The Necromancer, who had been momentarily stunned, frowned.

"What nonsense are you spouting? What crazy Necromancer has a sense of camaraderie?"

The Necromancer quickly spat out the words and looked around before running towards the raiders. Comet scratched her cheek. He was right.

"Haa, where's the Necromancer?"

Dan Ga-yeon arrived late. Comet pointed to the Necromancer, who had already hidden behind the raiders.

A man walked out from among the raiders.

"I didn't know the great Comet had become a government dog."

Judging by the raiders' reactions, he seemed to be the boss of the organization.

The boss's words were so natural that Comet paused, wondering if they had met before. A strange silence flowed, and the boss furrowed his brow and tried to open his mouth.

Comet quickly held out her palm, gesturing for him not to speak yet, and retraced her memories. Come to think of it, his face seemed familiar, but also not. She couldn't remember where, but he might have been a guild leader somewhere.

Comet tentatively reacted in an unsure voice.

"Guild Leader...?"

"...I was in one of the guilds that went to kill you during the Imperial Execution Order."

The boss added an explanation, as if he had read Comet's mind.

"Ah. I think I remember. Your combat sense was top-notch."

Comet made up some words to match the explanation. The Necromancer, who was hiding in the back, admired his boss.

Even though many guilds had received the Execution Order request, a guild leader was considered to be a Ranker.

"If you understand, I'd like you to get out of my way."

The boss said, looking back at what used to be his headquarters. The gunfire was still going on, but it was gradually subsiding.

"Are you asking for a fight to the death?"

His voice seemed confident that he had an advantage in Stats. Since he had a Necromancer among his subordinates, he seemed to expect that Comet's Assimilation rate would be low.

Comet silently twisted her side hair.

Then, she looked at Dan Ga-yeon.

"Why are you standing still?"

"Yes...?"

Dan Ga-yeon, who had been quietly watching from the side, trembled as the attention suddenly turned to her. She swallowed hard and approached, whispering.

"What should we do?"

"I don't know. What should we do, Officer?"

"...Can you win?"

"Yes. But isn't it not my job? I'm just an external helper, a civilian."

"Ugh."

Dan Ga-yeon's hand, which was holding the sword, trembled. Comet waited, and when she heard the boss's uncomfortable cough, she stopped watching and whispered to Dan Ga-yeon.

"Let them go. Honestly, isn't it not your responsibility either? The police will take care of it. They said they'll take out the raiders who escaped through the open escape route individually."

Dan Ga-yeon's face lit up at the idea of passing the responsibility to the department in charge. It was a typical reaction for a civil servant.

"...Should we? But what if a Ranker breaks through the encirclement and escapes?"

Comet silently patted Dan Ga-yeon's shoulder.

Dan Ga-yeon agonized for a while before taking a few steps back to create distance. She even lowered her head, as if she couldn't bring herself to tell them to pass directly. Comet also stepped back, gesturing with one hand for them to pass quickly.

"Now go!"

The boss began to lead the raiders away. Comet, who had been watching the escape, opened her mouth as the boss passed by her side.

"By the way."

The boss paused and turned around. His eyes were filled with annoyance and tension, as if asking if she was going to attack now.

Comet conspicuously fiddled with her knife.

"I'm wondering if the Necromancer committed murder at a convenience store. As the boss, you must have been aware of your subordinate's actions, right?"

The boss looked back at the Necromancer, who was following blankly.

"...Are you asking if my subordinate committed murder at a convenience store?"

"Yes."

The boss's expression flashed with the idea that there was no way. He seemed certain that the Necromancer liked to stay in his room.

The boss tried to figure out Comet's intentions before turning to Dan Ga-yeon. Dan Ga-yeon was initially puzzled, but then looked at the boss, curious about his answer.

The boss looked back at Comet. Comet naturally moved the knife in the blind spot of Dan Ga-yeon's vision, aiming it at the Officer's side.

The boss's eyes changed.

"...Of course he did."

"Because of the souls?"

"Yes. I remember now. I remember hearing him say that it was nice to harvest souls at the convenience store and be able to buy snacks."

"Me?!"

The boss casually added a lie. He was being cooperative, as if repaying Comet for matching his story earlier when she said they knew each other, so he wouldn't be embarrassed.

The Necromancer, who had been sold out by the boss, widened his eyes and panicked before quieting down at the boss's shoulder pat.

After the Q&A, the raiders left.

Comet smiled brightly and turned to Dan Ga-yeon.

"You heard the guild leader's testimony just now, right? Can it be used as evidence?"

"...You tried to make a plea bargain in exchange for letting them go?"

It was a transaction between criminals, so it wasn't a legal transaction, but a private one.

"That's up to Officer Dan to interpret. So, can the evidence be adopted?"

"I don't know either... But I think it's become more certain in my mind! We can just wait for the police to arrest him! You did a great job!"

Dan Ga-yeon grabbed her hand.

"It's all thanks to you, Officer."

Comet also grabbed her hand in return.

Dan Ga-yeon's expression brightened at Comet's praise. She was like a young professional.

However, it didn't take long for Dan Ga-yeon's expression to turn gloomy. The police, who had finished clearing the headquarters, came to Officer Dan and demanded accountability.

Dan Ga-yeon didn't try to shift the blame, but instead apologized while being pushed around.

Comet watched it happen before returning to her room after hearing the news that the encirclement had been breached.

It was a good day.

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