Chapter 14: Blood and Shadow(4)

Dan Ga-yeon opened her eyes wide at the sight of an employee running toward the burning building.

“That person is…”

“He’s the survivor I found. He was worried that if the items in that building burned, it would be difficult to operate the power plant, so he went to solve it himself.”

Comet glanced at the golem that was trying to move while repairing its arm and turned away.

“Please catch the golem, Ms. Dan. I’ll go protect him.”

“Sure. But I probably can’t catch it.”

“I think you can.”

Comet followed the employee into the building, hearing the sound of the fire golem smashing the ground.

As he walked leisurely, inspecting the hallway, the sun fairy spoke up.

“You’re walking too leisurely.”

“For me to lose my composure, either I need to be left alone in a soulless place or this country needs to make me be alone. One of those two has to happen.”

“That’s not the typical response of a necromancer, is it?”

“Actually, it is a necromancer’s response. It seems like other necromancers aren’t like that.”

Comet scratched his cheek while examining the burning hallway.

There were no signs of the brave employee having a spectacular death.

As he went up a floor, he saw a male employee striking the doorknob with a window.

It seemed the locking mechanism was broken due to the flames and the impact.

The employee looked back at Comet with a bright expression.

“Awakened one! Please open this door!”

“Is this an important place?”

“It’s not important, but it’s essential.”

Comet grabbed the doorknob and pulled.

The edges crumpled as the door opened.

The interior came into view.

Flames flowed along the walls.

On one side were electronic devices and wires.

He had no idea what they were for.

Part of the outer wall had collapsed, revealing the outside.

Dan Ga-yeon was dodging the golem’s attacks.

The employee, quickly surveying the room, let out a small sigh of relief.

It seemed the essential parts were still intact.

Burning embers fell from the ceiling onto the electronic devices.

“I think we might be short-handed. Please help!”

The employee hurriedly rummaged through a nearby drawer and pulled out tools like a screwdriver.

“How can I assist you?”

“I’ll separate the devices, so you need to collect them in a way that doesn’t catch fire.”

The employee took off his coat and handed it to Comet.

Then he pulled out the wires and separated only the important electronic devices one by one.

Comet received the electronic devices and wrapped them in the employee’s coat.

An ominous sound came from the ceiling.

Burning debris fell to the floor.

Both the employee and Comet stopped and looked up at the ceiling.

The ceiling, unable to withstand the impact from the golem and the persistent flames, was about to collapse.

“Damn it.”

“Should we give up and leave?”

“…No. Just a little more.”

Comet looked at the busy employee and smiled, secretly channeling his magical energy.

The ceiling that was about to collapse stopped under the pressure of his magic.

“Don’t worry. It won’t collapse until you finish your duty.”

“I hope that’s really the case.”

“How much longer do you have?”

“I just need to collect a few more.”

Comet received and organized the electronic devices handed to him by the employee.

Before long, the employee started his last task with a much more relaxed face.

“This is the last one, right?”

“Yes. I’m glad it hasn’t collapsed.”

Comet looked at the ceiling.

A part of the ceiling was slightly floating in the air, pushed by his magical energy.

It wasn’t that it hadn’t collapsed; it was that it was holding up the collapse.

“What do you think will happen if the ceiling collapses?”

“That’s a strange question. I would regret doing something unnecessary. I would also blame myself for throwing away the rest of my life.”

The employee answered while loosening the screws.

“But you’re still going until the end.”

“What are you thinking?”

The sun fairy seemed to sense something strange and asked.

Comet was lost in thought about how to present a precious opportunity for the employee, who was facing a complete death in an era where miserable, futile, or shameful deaths were the norm.

How should he decorate this opportunity?

As the employee handed over the last electronic device and stood up, Comet stopped pondering.

The magical energy that was supporting the ceiling disappeared.

The ceiling creaked and then fell under the force of gravity.

The employee stared blankly at the ceiling.

In his eyes, there was neither regret nor self-blame for what he had said.

Death descended from the ceiling.

Comet silently watched the result unfold.

A leap sound was heard.

The first thing visible was a hand reaching out toward the employee.

A familiar face followed.

Long black hair flowed behind.

Dan Ga-yeon rolled and wrapped herself around the employee.

Comet stared at Dan Ga-yeon in shock.

The ceiling crashed to the floor, raising a cloud of dust.

From the dust cloud, flames writhed and covered the room.

The flames attacked the electronic devices the employee had saved but were pushed back by Comet’s magical energy and diminished.

As the outer wall crumbled, the fire golem’s fist crashed through.

Comet, looking beyond the dust cloud where Dan Ga-yeon was, raised one hand to block the golem’s fist.

The shockwave cleared the dust and flames.

It was a hindrance.

His magical energy surged, burrowing along the golem’s arm.

The energy that swept across the golem’s body smashed its core.

The golem collapsed.

Comet sighed as he watched Dan Ga-yeon and the employee rising to their feet, carefully wrapping the electronic devices she had covered in the employee’s coat.

“You succeeded. Congratulations.”

There was no complete death here, but this wasn’t a bad result in its own right.

Good was good.

The employee looked at the messy room and the intact electronic devices, smiled, and then fell backward.

He seemed to have lost strength.

“Are you okay?!”

Dan Ga-yeon exclaimed.

The employee continued to laugh while lying down and said one thing.

“I’m not okay!”

“What?!”

“It’s okay. You did well, Ms. Dan. Next time, try catching the golem by yourself.”

She returned with the employee to the location of the military base.

The government would handle any wild beasts or flames left at the power plant.

As Comet was about to get into the car to return to Yeouido, he suddenly turned back to the employee at the power plant who was seeing them off.

“What’s your name? I don’t think I heard it.”

“Kwon Hyun-seung.”

“I see. You had a good sense of duty.”

Comet exchanged smiles with Kwon Hyun-seung and got into the car.

Dan Ga-yeon took the wheel and started the car.

“He was a person who knew honor.”

“That’s true. But since he’s not an Awakened one, I probably won’t see him again.”

Comet whispered to Dan Ga-yeon so that she wouldn’t hear.

“Destiny flows according to honor.”

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

“What would a sorcerer lacking in morals know?”

“That’s a harsh thing to say.”

And a few days passed.

The situation stabilized to some extent.

In the meantime, Comet had tried using the soul compressor she received from the chairman on the sun fairy.

“Ugh! You son of a dog!”

There wasn’t much success.

The sun fairy’s mental strength was truly formidable.

At this point, Comet gave up on absorbing the sun fairy and spent his time as a companion instead.

Surprisingly, the sun fairy didn’t seem to develop any ill feelings and fulfilled her role as a companion faithfully.

Perhaps she was just waiting for an opportunity to possess Comet.

It was a futile ambition.

While enjoying his idle life among the busy government workers, a man came to see Comet.

When he opened the door in response to the knock, it was a top-tier ranker he had faced a few times during his gaming days.

He had a strikingly sturdy physique.

Although job rankings and overall rankings are not glamorous, he was ranked third in Korea.

With Comet ranked second in Korea, being first in job rankings and thirteenth overall, that was quite a high rank.

“It’s been a while, Comet.”

“Oh, Gunther. I heard you were with the government, but it’s amazing to see you in person. Where’s your guild since you’re the guild leader?”

“Because the vice guild leader was a civil servant, the guild got absorbed by the government from the beginning. Is it okay for me to come in?”

“Yes, come in. Would you like a drink?”

“I’d like an orange, please.”

“Please sit here. We don’t have oranges, but we have tomato juice.”

“Hmm.”

Gunther stared blankly at the tomato juice placed on the table.

He probably didn’t like tomatoes.

But there were no oranges.

“What brings you here?”

“This room’s security is impressive. It felt like I was visiting a high-ranking government official.

Even a civilian without authority has to find a room like this.”

Comet scratched his cheek.

“It seems the chairman is giving me special treatment in several ways.”

Gunther nodded slightly and stealthily pushed the glass of tomato juice to the corner of the table.

“I came to ask you something.”

“Feel free to ask.”

“What do you think about the current era?”

“I’m not sure what kind of question that is.”

Gunther looked around the room.

“The era is changing. Those who haven’t awakened can’t even guarantee their survival and are powerless.

No matter how many weaklings gather, they

won’t be able to beat the strong.”

Comet turned his head toward Gunther.

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

“What if that weakling said that strength isn’t the most important thing?”

“What would you think of him?”

“I’d think he’s delusional.”

Gunther grinned.

“Exactly. That’s why I came to you. I wonder if you’ll agree.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Gunther shifted slightly, leaning closer.

“If you want to preserve your life and dignity, join us.”

“Join you? Where?”

“The government is in a state of chaos now, but we’re getting control over it.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“It has to do with whether you can live or die in this era, Comet.”

Comet crossed his arms and pondered.

Gunther continued.

“In the end, even if you can’t obtain great power, you can guarantee your survival.

That alone should be enough motivation to join.”

“You’re convincing.”

“Thank you. So, will you consider it?”

“I’m not too fond of politics.”

Gunther shook his head.

“I knew it.”

“Just let me know when things get more interesting.”

“That might be a while.”

“I don’t mind. Just let me know.”

Gunther got up and opened the door.

“Next time we meet, I hope you’ll have made a decision.”

After saying that, Gunther left.

Comet stared blankly at the door and murmured.

“It’s going to be boring again.”