NecroDancer Operation

"Choi Yeon, you're not supposed to use a helmet there—you've gotta lift it with pure arm strength!"

"Like this?"

"Perfect! More! More! One more set from there!"

"Got it!"

I sat on the sofa in the club room, flipping through the materials Sea-a had compiled and sent over, while those two were already getting along like old pals pumping iron. That's when Jinwoo approached me, smartphone in hand.

"Boss, boss. Found something hilarious."

"Hilarious?"

Jinwoo showed me his phone screen as he said that. There was a post from the community forum.

"A skeleton doing the moonwalk?"

"Even you think it's ridiculous, right boss? Ghosts in this day and age? And a moonwalking skeleton of all things—"

"It is. A real ghost."

"Whaaat?! For real? You're joking, right boss?"

"Nah, it's a legit ghost. We've got necromancers, so why not ghosts?"

"Oh. Makes sense."

In a world with spirits, dragons, and elves, of course ghosts exist too. Naturally, they did in this one.

"But why's a ghost moonwalking around the basement?"

"Beats me?"

I wanted to explain the details, but since it was a top-secret op, I couldn't spill to Jinwoo. The skeleton haunting the basement was a phenomenon Yulli and I had cooked up, after all.

"Apparently the priest seniors are freaking out, saying they're gonna hold an exorcism over this."

According to Jinwoo, the Platinum club of priests, Exorcist, wouldn't tolerate undead in the club building and were combing every corner.

Right on schedule.

"Those quiet guys who usually just hold prayer meetings—what's got them riled up?"

"Dunno. Guess the dancing skeleton's a novelty."

Truth was, not at all. A dancing skull might sound funny in a post, treated like a gag by most, but to priests whose job was exorcism, it was no laughing matter.

It meant one thing.

'Demon.' A high-ranking one, at that.

The next move was obvious.

"Guess they'll be guarding the club building 24/7 for a while."

"Yeah? Over a dancing skull?"

Truth be told, it was a huge deal. As far as I knew, a dancing skull was part of the ritual to summon one of the Archdemons.

Of course, the moonwalk I'd requested had zero ritual meaning, so no real value there.

Still, they couldn't ignore the anomaly. And so, members of the neutral, faith-upholding Platinum club—who bowed to no evil—were pulling night shifts at the club building.

No thief, no matter how skilled, would wander freely now. Student council included.

The trigger had been simple.

Urgent message from Yulli last night. Pretty much what I'd expected.

Unlike with Inspector General, the student council couldn't issue a search warrant on their own. Especially not with clear evidence like documents stashed here—limited their options.

'But that slimy bastard won't back off easy.'

So, simple solution: show of force. Make 'em regret it without even noticing.

Enter Operation: NecroDancer.

Disguise it as an Archdemon summoning ritual to deploy a neutral force even the student council couldn't touch.

And it was working perfectly—not just per Jinwoo's intel, but confirmed elsewhere too.

Having an inside info network sure was handy. Without her, we'd have relied solely on club room security and let 'em waltz in.

They wouldn't find much even if they did, but this was a matter of pride.

'A mafia losing momentum and vibe? Just asking to get eaten alive.'

And honestly? It pissed me off. Riding high on a smooth term, acting all cocky...

Time to show 'em how scary the faithful could be.

The community exploded again.

* * *

The forum was skeleton party central.

To check the fallout at lunchtime, I headed to the courtyard—and beheld an astonishing scene.

"We must purify this land immediately!! Satan!! The demons descend!!"

"Block 'em!! Round 'em all up and toss 'em in holding!"

Club members who looked like they'd joined Exorcist clashing physically with students seemingly hired by the student council.

Just making skeletons dance at dawn had successfully painted the student council a new enemy: the religious zealots.

"Kinda scary... the Exorcists. Their eyes are all unfocused."

Sea-a, watching beside me, shivered as she muttered.

Yeah... I hadn't expected it to work this well.

"Purify! Purify! Exorcists! Cleanse this tainted soil!"

"You lunatics! There's nothing here!"

Watching the student council struggle brought a soothing calm to my chest.

Should keep their eyes off us for a while. With Jinwoo, Youngje, and Choi Yeon out for mentoring today, it was just me and Sea-a left at the academy. Figured we'd skip club and head home early for some rest...

-How about dinner tonight?

"Dinner tonight?"

-Yeah. Got a free slot today, and some old talk to catch up on. Might be good to see the elder.

The world wouldn't let me rest, it seemed. Or maybe this was a bonus—getting to witness a scene I'd been hoping for?

"Lemme check first."

-Alright. Ask and let me know.

"Yes, Father."

I turned from the parking lot toward the faculty office. As an instructor, Gwak Chunsik had to be there. Probably swamped sorting measurement results—best approach carefully—

"Elder?"

"Oh, Eugene. Not home yet?"

Ran into him briefcase in hand, apparently heading out.

"Heard all the instructors are buried in measurement data this week. Heading home?"

"They begged me to clock out first so they could breathe."

He tsked, clearly displeased.

...Yeah, having a veteran like Gwak Chunsik around probably stalled everything. Felt for the other instructors.

"Perfect timing, Elder. Free for dinner tonight?"

"Huh? Dinner? What's up with that."

I spoke carefully to the head-tilted, puzzled man.

"Father wants to share a meal with you."

"Huh? That kid? Hold on."

He reached into his inner pocket.

"Lemme see~ today's schedule~ ah, found it. Whew, dinner's free tonight."

"Lucky. Wanna head out with me now?"

"Sure, sure. Got a ride?"

"Yes. Waiting in the lot."

I messaged Father as we walked.

"Father, Elder's good with it. We'll take our car."

-Alright. I'll prep to receive the elder properly. Haha!

Father laughed, clearly excited, and hung up. Gwak Chunsik's face wore a similar anticipatory smile.

Ominous vibes. Kinda uneasy...

Han Seojun, out of the car ahead of time, bowed as we arrived.

"Just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠got the report. Honored to chauffeur a hero of Korea."

"Appreciate it. Eugene, you ride in this monster daily? Even full-power swings from me wouldn't dent it much."

Gwak Chunsik eyed our usual sedan, muttering in a tone hard to read as joke or serious, then guffawed.

I played along.

"Father worries a lot. If even you say that, it must be solid."

"Damn right. President'd kill for wheels like this! Haha!"

Seojun opened the rear door; Elder first, then me.

"Seats are plush. Smells great. Mmm~ top-notch."

"Glad you like it, Elder. Oh, here."

"Ah? Right, that."

He reacted like he'd forgotten the pink bracelet I handed over.

"Just keep it."

"...Pardon? Didn't you say it was borrowed?"

"It was... but when I said my disciple was using it well, the owner just told me to give it away. Not my style anyway—keep it."

...Not his style either, but whatever. Felt like a hand-me-down, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but as the Awakener Restraint or Mana Shackle, it was rare and valuable.

Might come in handy someday. I pocketed it in the cube meekly.

"Thanks. I'll take it."

"Yeah, yeah. Calione mansion, huh... First Hero Association exec to step foot there, maybe? Heart's pounding! Gwahaha!"

Yeah, never thought I'd see this for real. Red aura Vito Calione meets blue aura Gwak Chunsik.

Ah, my chest already swelled with grandeur.