Chapter 11: Blood and Shadow(1)

The self-proclaimed princess’s spirit shouted for respect.

Comet scratched her cheek and gave a slight nod toward the soul orb.

“Hello, Your Highness. Nice to meet you for the first time.”

“Hmph. Your manners are lacking in basic etiquette, but since you appear untrained, I shall overlook it this once. Consider it an honor.”

Comet looked at the soul orb and smiled slightly.

“How did Your Highness end up passing away? Maintaining your consciousness even in a soul form shows your impressive willpower.”

“There is a profound reason. It’s not something a commoner like you needs to know.”

“I see.”

Comet nodded in vague agreement.

“Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

“You may be lacking, but at least you show some respect. Look to your left.”

Comet followed the direction and blinked as something caught her eye. There lay the body of a small jellyfish draped in fine fabric, with tire marks suggesting it had been run over by a car.

“Please retrieve the body.”

“Are you… a jellyfish?”

“A jellyfish? You fool! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

As the princess raged, Comet paused in thought. She briefly worried about consuming something unknown, but it probably wouldn’t be a problem.

Comet blew the dust off the soul orb containing the princess and put it in her mouth.

“W-What? Are you seriously…?!”

With a crunch, the orb was bitten. A small spark flickered as the orb, which was about to shatter, resisted and began to repair itself.

“Aaagh! You insane fool, stop it!”

Comet, feeling the resistance grow stronger and her teeth starting to hurt, gave up. It seemed a magic circle would be needed to absorb it. She spat out the orb and wiped her mouth as the princess panted heavily.

“Hah! How dare you try to consume my noble self! Know your place!”

“How would you like me to handle your body?”

Comet asked as she approached the small jellyfish corpse. The princess hesitated at the calm question before speaking again after a moment.

“Handle… it?”

“Yes. You requested it, so I’ll do it for you.”

“After what you just tried to do?!”

“That was that, and this is this. If you don’t want me to, I won’t.”

As Comet moved away from the corpse, the princess quickly called out.

“Wait, wait! Water would be good. Considering you’re an uneducated commoner, I’ll instruct you step by step. Just follow my directions.”

Comet obediently followed the princess’s instructions.

“First, wash this body of mine in water.”

There wasn’t any proper water nearby. Comet picked up the dead jellyfish and, after looking around, entered a collapsed restaurant and turned on the faucet. She removed the jellyfish’s clothing and washed off the dust and dirt.

Washing the jellyfish in the restaurant gave Comet a strange feeling.

“What’s with that look? How dare you not maintain a solemn heart while cleansing the body of royalty! Such insolence!”

“I didn’t learn much, so it’s hard to feel solemn.”

“Hmph. Knowing that is enough. Still, do your best.”

“Alright.”

Comet finished washing off all the dirt from the small jellyfish.

“Now, immerse my body in still water.”

Comet paused as she searched for a space to immerse it in water. She hesitated, unsure if this was really the right thing to do. When the princess urged her on, Comet took out a pot and filled it with water. She placed the jellyfish inside.

Comet stared intently at the pot containing the jellyfish. She still wasn’t sure if this was really the correct process.

“Your gaze is still disrespectful. Are you truly trying to be reverent?”

“I’m sorry. It’s hard, but I really am trying.”

“It seems that the level of a commoner is even lower than I thought.”

“Is the next step to boil the water, by any chance?”

“Now, all you need to do is wait. Do not rush me.”

Not long after, the jellyfish in the pot dissolved into the water and disappeared. The princess’s tone shifted to one of solemnity. It seemed jellyfish had some cultural significance.

“Carefully pour the water onto the roots of a plant.”

Comet took the pot outside, looked around, and found a nearby tree. She approached it.

“Will this work?”

“Yes.”

She gently poured the water.

Comet smiled toward the soul orb containing the princess.

“Cheer up. Life always has an endpoint; you just reached yours a little earlier than most. In the vast universe and the flow of souls, it’s just a fleeting moment.”

“Hmph. How dare you try to comfort me after attempting to consume me.”

“I was just respecting your soul. Now that everything’s resolved, let’s move on. I’ve delayed my soul collection duties to help you, Princess.”

“Are you a necromancer?”

“That’s right.”

“It would be wise for you to give up on consuming me.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Comet continued conversing with the princess while collecting souls. Once the situation was sorted out, she returned to the parliamentary building.

~~~

Comet stretched.

“It’s nice to be back in my room. I should probably take tomorrow off.”

“It has become clear to me why the empire has historically persecuted necromancers.”

“Is that so? I’m glad you found it helpful.”

“You certainly have a knack for interpreting others’ words however it suits you, don’t you?”

Comet sat at her desk and picked up the tumbler of liquid mana she had received from the chairman. She dabbed her fingers in the mana and began drawing a magic circle on the desk.

“What are you drawing?”

“A magic circle.”

Comet completed the magic circle and placed the soul orb containing the princess at its center.

“Wait…!”

Realizing Comet’s intention, the princess cried out in alarm. Comet, feeling mischievous, snapped her fingers to activate the magic circle. However, before she could proceed, the room’s fluorescent light flickered off.

“Huh?”

Darkness fell over the room. Comet looked up at the ceiling. It was a blackout.

The soul orb containing the princess began to move on its own, emitting a dark crimson energy. Shadows flickered around it.

“You will pay for insulting royalty with your body!”

Comet, startled by the sudden attack, quickly kicked back her chair and leaped up. Shadowy tentacles rose and wrapped around her. She slashed at the tentacles with a knife, leaving one strand intact just in case. When the tentacle touched her, it sparked and exploded.

“Gahhh!” The princess screamed, then went silent. Comet wasn’t sure what just happened.

Soon after, the fluorescent lights came back on. It seemed the power outage was resolved.

“Were you trying to possess me just now?”

“Ugh, damn it.”

“Oh my. I’m a necromancer, you know. What kind of soul tries to possess a necromancer?”

“You… How can you be so strong…?”

“If you wanted to possess someone, you should’ve tried someone else.”

“Do you think I’d try to possess talentless commoners who have no affinity for blood or shadows?”

“True, I do have quite a bit of talent.”

Comet twisted a strand of hair. The princess, who claimed to be of blood and shadows, was using magic Comet had never seen before.

After a moment of thought, Comet activated the magic circle she had drawn.

“Wait, wait! Let’s call a truce!”

The soul-binding spell activated.

Pressure built up around the soul orb.

Comet gripped her knife in a way that would allow her to stab down easily, imbuing the blade with energy, making it cold.

“Don’t you understand peace?! Just wait a moment!”

The princess rambled on, trying to negotiate peace, but it was pointless.

The knife struck the soul orb, causing a massive spark. The princess screamed as the orb cracked, almost shattering.

Comet watched the result, tapping the knife handle lightly as if hammering a nail. Each tap was followed by screams and curses, but the orb didn’t break.

Comet set the knife down.

“You’ve got some impressive mental strength.”

“You filthy commoner! Do you think you can consume royalty?!”

Though exhausted, the princess regained her confidence.

“For royalty, your language sure is foul. And you use strange pronouns.”

Comet casually wiped away the magic circle.

“Hmph! It’s none of your concern!”

It seemed she would need to get a soul compressor from the chairman. However, the chairman was very busy, so it might take some time to ask for the favor.

Contrary to her expectations, it didn’t take long to meet with the chairman.

The next day, the chairman’s assistant came by.

“Chairman? Is that commoner a necromancer as well?”

“No. He’s an alchemist. He’s been quite helpful in many ways.”

Comet whispered softly so the assistant wouldn’t hear. Being a soul, there was no need to speak loudly anyway.

“Oh, in that case, he might be able to create a body for me.”

“Creating a homunculus isn’t possible right now. If you need a body to possess, should I get you another jellyfish?”

“A jellyfish?!”

Comet scratched her cheek. Wasn’t a jellyfish suitable?

“If you lost your body, would you try to possess a monkey?!”

“Now that I hear it, it makes sense. But isn’t this better than being absorbed by me? I was trying to be considerate.”

“Hmph. That will never happen.”

“Yes, yes.”

The chairman wasn’t in his office but in the Situation Room of the National Crisis Management Center. It seemed like a meeting had just ended, as assistants nearby were tidying up the room.

“Are you aware of yesterday’s blackout?”

“Yes, it caused me some trouble.”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

“Nothing major.”

“The fact that I’m considered nothing major…?”

The princess spoke in a somewhat shocked voice. Comet, pretending to adjust her hair, whispered to the princess, confirming her statement.

The chairman tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers.

“Good to hear it was nothing major. Anyway, about that blackout, it wasn’t an accident or a mistake. One of the power plants managing Seoul was taken over by a high-risk monster.”

“What…?”

“Even though we have backup generators, they won’t last long. So, how about it? Would you be interested in joining a small elite team for the extermination?”

Comet scratched her cheek.

“It’s hard to refuse. Who’s in this elite team?”

“The team will include Officer Dan and a few others you don’t know.”

Comet twisted a strand of hair and thought for a moment.

“Essentially, you’ll be handling it while the rest provide support.”

“I don’t think we’ll need the others. How about just Officer Dan and me? Unfamiliar people could just get in the way.”

“Confident, aren’t you?”

“I’m well-stocked with souls right now. I haven’t increased my synchronization rate yet, but that actually gives me more reserves in an emergency.”

It was a matter of whether to use souls to temporarily exceed the energy limit or to increase the maximum energy limit permanently. The results differ, but the process is largely the same.

The method Comet used to fight the demon monster at Dan Ga-yeon’s request was a one-time use technique.

When she attempted to absorb the princess or crush the soul orb with the knife, she was trying to use high-grade souls to increase her synchronization rate. Although the actions were the same, the results were different.

Since the multiverse was currently in a state of emergency due to dimensional rifts, she prioritized reserve power over future synchronization rates.

The chairman gave a bitter smile, seemingly understanding that Comet had collected a lot of souls.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Don’t worry. Oh, by the way, do you have a soul compressor?”

“No, but I’ll prepare one.”

“What? What’s your intention?”

You know very well.