Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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At the moment, the Hunter Association in Italy was completely turned upside down in chaos.

“Are the mana extraction results in yet?”

“The medical staff is still insufficient. We need more support.”

“Yes, Team Leader. The exact number of casualties is still being tallied. It seems the damages are too widespread…”

A large-scale magical terrorist attack occurred in broad daylight. Due to the aftermath, various institutions were inundated with reports from citizens, and the media quickly jumped on the incident to report it.

João, the head of the Pantheon Guild, who had dispatched elite troops for counter-terrorism, slammed his hand down on the table in outrage.

Bang!

“Is this even remotely acceptable? More than half of the guild members we sent out are seriously injured or dead. The association’s response has been utterly inadequate, hasn’t it?”

However, even João realized that those responsible for this situation possessed extraordinary abilities.

“I have no words regarding the results. But right now, the priority is to stabilize the situation. Please cooperate.”

“…….”

After a day had passed, and some semblance of order had been restored, the association called an emergency meeting with the heads of various agencies.

“What exactly are those guys? Despite the large-scale magic used, we felt nothing unusual until right before it activated.”

“They’re bold and intelligent. They must have thoroughly planned this beforehand.”

“Seven hunters, all of whom are B-rank or higher, were affected. Their combat capabilities are likely beyond our imagination.”

If there was indeed a group of Awakened Ones at that level, they wouldn’t have escaped the association’s information network.

In other words, they had just revealed themselves, and it was safe to say that the stage was set in Italy.

“What do the testimonies from the surviving witnesses say?”

“There are still several who haven’t regained their senses, so we’ll have to wait to see, but it appears that aside from one confirmed casualty, they fled after accomplishing their goal.”

Hooong.

As the projector whirred to life, a corpse was displayed on the screen. It was Eric.

“Through testimonials, we confirmed that this individual is one of the perpetrators. After identifying him, it turns out he was a Returner reported missing from the United Kingdom.”

“A Returner?”

The situation was becoming increasingly incomprehensible.

“While the exact purpose remains unclear, there are accounts suggesting they intended to conduct some sort of ritual. Additionally, there are foreign hunters who encountered the terrorists and are currently under investigation. The one confirmed dead is also speculated to have fought against them.”

“…Could it be those we detained previously? It seems dubious.”

“Yes, that’s right. While we can’t be certain, there’s a considerable possibility of a connection between these events.”

“Since the mana extraction has yielded no results, it seems they are our only lead at this point.”

In the frustrating situation, everyone present let out sighs or clicked their tongues.

Ultimately, the only conclusion they could arrive at was one.

“We can’t carelessly hand over the suspects to their respective countries. We need to extract as much information as possible.”

“…Understood.”

And so, time continued to slip by.

#

The Awakened management organization in Italy, established after the ‘Day of Change’ for a special purpose, had a B-rank Hunter named Michele who was pulling his hair in a troublesome situation.

“Dammit, I’m going crazy.”

Currently, witnesses to the incident, dubbed the Brenner Terror, were detained here.

Though they were referred to as witnesses, one could consider them half-suspects since they might be directly involved in the terrorism.

For now, they were isolating and interrogating each according to orders from above, but progress was stagnating. It was only increasing their stress.

Creak.

As Michele pressed one of the buttons in front of him, an irritated woman’s voice came through.

“How many times do I have to say this? I don’t know anything; I joined my group after everything was over. Is it standard in this country to treat innocent people like this?”

The multiple screens Michele was observing connected to the rooms where each witness was held.

Pressing another button, this time a frustrated man’s voice erupted.

“Still asking useless questions, huh? I’m just a victim who was captured. I almost became some kind of sacrifice for that ritual or whatever. Hey, the guy watching on camera. Are you even listening?”

Indeed, the investigation revealed that the man had gone missing shortly after entering Italy. Additionally, his disheveled state upon discovery supported his testimony.

“…What do you want me to do? It’s not like I’m doing this for fun.”

Ironically, they were at the center of the incident despite having no connection to Italy whatsoever. Regardless, they couldn’t let their guard down.

Michele, who had been silently staring at the screens, exhaled a deep sigh and pressed another button.

This one was for the room where the most troubling individual— a girl from Korea— was located.

Creak.

“Hey, are you coming to your senses? If you remember anything, please speak up.”

The subordinate interrogating her looked utterly exhausted. Although Michele only observed from the screens, he completely understood the feeling.

“…I’m sleepy. Bed and blanket.”

“Didn’t you just take a nice long nap? If you don’t cooperate, the situation will only get more complicated.”

“Who do you think you are, telling me what to do…?”

Crash!

The girl slammed her hands down on the table, her upper body swaying, leaving the subordinate dumbfounded.

“Damn it! How many times must I say you’re suspected in a large-scale terrorist incident? You need to stop that ridiculous act already.”

“…Shut up. I’m going to sleep.”

“……”

Though her blood alcohol level was surely normal, the girl remained in a drunken stupor as if she couldn’t wake up.

She looked as if she were just another drunkard on the street, but her status as a B-rank Hunter from Korea meant that if it turned out to be an act, casualties could happen in an instant, leaving the interrogators with an exhausting situation.

‘…I just don’t get it.’

At that moment, the girl, who had been dozing off with her head on the table, suddenly jolted up and mumbling with half-closed eyes.

“Want to show you something amazing?”

“What?”

Hooong.

Swoosh!

“Ta-da! The table is melting… monster.”

Thud.

The girl startled and bolted to a corner of the room, while Michele broke into a cold sweat, shaking his head vigorously.

‘…There’s no answer to this.’

As Michele sank into deep thought, calling all his subordinates back, an unexpected unidentified visitor arrived.

Clank.

“Are you the head of the Special Operations Department?”

“…Who are you?”

“I’ve come on orders from above. From now on, we’ll proceed in our way.”

“What? Is this resolved properly?”

Swish.

Silently throwing his phone towards Michele, the man took a seat in Michele’s place and began sending radio transmissions endlessly.

“It’s me. Extract information according to the plan.”

As Michele listened to the voice of his superior spilling from the phone, he could only sit there, dumbfounded.

#

Trionne, a former member of Hades and now a subordinate of Baek Eun Ha, clicked her tongue in frustration about the situation.

‘Who knew they would come at us like this out of nowhere?’

This was a method that could present significant issues later on, but perhaps the other side was also in a tight spot since they weren’t letting up on them easily.

‘…This is troublesome.’

While Baek Eun Ha and Joseph might not be a problem, if one were to think about it, Trionne had previously stood alongside Hades, who were deemed terrorists.

Even if she had successfully hidden her tracks, if they decided to dig deep enough, something might be caught.

Suddenly, as Trionne maintained her stance of ignorance, a person emanating a powerful aura approached her.

Clank!

“Who are you? I don’t recognize your face, and you’re not allowed to enter here freely…”

“I’ve come on orders from above. They said to get information from you useless lot.”

“What?”

The man, radiating an ominous aura, easily dismissed the protesting male and blocked Trionne’s way while channeling magic before speaking.

“I’m not going to waste time.”

“……”

“If you know anything, spill it while the talking’s good.”

“Are you nuts? I’ve already told you I don’t know anything.”

As he slowly approached, the man chuckled ominously.

Crack.

“What are you doing?”

The man seized Trionne’s hair, tightening his grip as he continued speaking.

“Seems you don’t understand. Even if you don’t know anything, think hard and come up with something useful.”

Ugh.

Feeling hostility, Trionne retaliated with her own force but found it hard to relieve the pressure.

Although her ability to channel mana was diminished due to the restraints, she was still an expert of high rank, hence the opposing force was considerable.

‘…Are they planning to do this before international interference occurs?’

For a moment, her face contorted, but then Trionne recalled an important fact that made her consider the alarming implications.

“…Could it be you guys. Are you doing this in other places too?”

“Hah, you’re quite relaxed, aren’t you? This isn’t the time to be worrying about others.”

At the man’s response, Trionne’s face twisted as she spoke again.

“Stop it at once.”

“If you offer useful information, I might consider relaying your words.”

“That’s not what I mean. You probably don’t know, but if you mess with that light-year… ”

But perhaps it was already too late.

Boom!

Bam bam bam!

As the building shook from the tremendous explosion, Trionne let out a deep sigh.

“…We’re in serious trouble.”

Caught in a predicament, this marked the moment she became, in another sense, an accomplice of the terrorists.