The Necromancer
“...Isn't that really dangerous?”
“It is.”
The Chief, who had been quietly listening with her face buried against my chest, slowly rose. Her expression was extremely serious. I ought to match that seriousness, yet my eyes kept drifting to the plump swell of her breasts. How delicious those fruits dangling at the tips must taste.
“What's the plan?”
“For now I want to learn more about lust from you, Chief. Since it's the same kind of power, it should give me some hints.”
I sat up as well. The absence of my left arm still felt awkward, so even the simple act of rising looked strange.
“You can already handle lust, so what you want to learn is Essence, I take it.”
“Yes, that's right.”
According to the Chief's explanation, Essence was a form of stored energy that could be converted one hundred percent into lust. Succubi were a race—more precisely, a type of demon—that stole people's Essence, stored it, and converted it into lust whenever needed. Wasn't that similar to the way a Necromancer drained energy from people? So I figured that if I learned to absorb Essence, I might be able to block the channels the Necromancer had created.
“Understood. First, this is Essence.”
A ball of mottled light rose above the Chief's right hand. It was about the size of a fist, yet the light somehow felt intensely lewd.
But...
“...Isn't this just lust?”
“Actually, yes. That's why it converts one hundred percent. Still, we call this Essence.”
“What kind of wordplay is that...”
It wasn't something to dismiss lightly. If words themselves were a kind of image, then ultimately she was converting lust into the image of Essence to make storage more advantageous. Different case, but the same principle as when I precisely imaged sword energy in order to use it.
“Have you realized something?”
“...A little. Then how do I absorb Essence?”
“In my case, I take a little of Jungmin's lust and store it. I took quite a lot just now, too.”
The Chief smiled a very deep smile. She must have been extremely satisfied. Really, she had become a full-fledged Succubus.
“Huh? I didn't notice at all...”
“That means you were focusing that much on me. Thank you.”
“Does it work like that?”
My face burned at the unexpected attack. I had been mindlessly devouring Noona. I always gave my all in every single moment.
“Something like that. But once you know, you'll notice right away. I'm still taking a little even now.”
“...Oh?”
Indeed, once I knew, I could feel it. The soft, fluffy energy floating around me was flowing toward the Chief.
“Then can I try too?”
“Of course. First, raise your lust.”
My lust was already fully aroused. With a beautiful sculpture right in front of me, staying calm would have been stranger. When I focused a little more on my lust, the energy flowing toward the Chief stopped. This seemed to be the way to block it. Then I just needed to snatch it like this.
I moved my lust to pull the energy near the Chief. The energy came lightly. But it did not naturally fuse with my lust the way the Chief's did.
“...What next?”
“Simple. What do we do?”
“...Sex?”
“Correct.”
You might wonder what energy has to do with sex, but it does. As I said again, handling formless energy is tied to images. If the image is clear enough, the energy follows the image.
I thought of sex. I imagined thrusting my energy into hers. Filling her insides with my semen—that was the image this time. Then the two energies merged into one. It was my energy, yet to some extent it was also the Chief's. A subtle feeling.
“...Does energy normally mix like this?”
“Yes. If you keep absorbing the same person's energy, your energy becomes similar to theirs. That's why it's easy for you to handle my energy. We've already synchronized quite a bit.”
My body and heart, of course, and even my energy—all of it is yours.
Why did it sound like that? Lately it seemed the lewd demon had invaded my mind to the point that daily life was nearly impossible.
“...Then next?”
“Pull the energy and store it in your body. I store it in my womb, but for Jungmin, probably...”
“Ah, I think I know that.”
The lust amplified through Ttanttani always went to my alter ego and tormented me. The easiest storage place would be right there. I sent the lust to my alter ego. My already stiff alter ego grew even harder. Up to here it was the same as when I researched Ttanttani. Normally I would wait for the lust to subside or thrust it into Keira and Elena to relieve it. But this time I focused on the word Essence. Essence that could convert one hundred percent into lust. Energy that could be called another aspect of life force. I wished for the lust to change into Essence.
Gulp.
Mysteriously, my alter ego smoothly shrank, and my mind cleared.
“Looks like it worked? I knew you'd do well.”
“Is that so?”
Tap tap. Even when the Chief touched my alter ego, there was no reaction at all. This was definitely sage time. But Essence could convert right back into lust.
“Oh my...!”
My alter ego became majestic as if nothing had happened. Matching that, the Chief's touch grew sticky too.
“J-Jungmin... shall we continue practicing Essence absorption?”
“Yeah, Noona. I wanted to keep going too.”
After that we mixed our bodies and exchanged Essence. Perhaps because our Essences mixed in the process of giving and receiving, there was a strange sense of exaltation different from ordinary sex. But the conclusion was this. This alone wouldn't control the Necromancer's power, would it? I needed to find another method.
Gate Keeper Association Headquarters, conference room.
“...That's how it happened.”
Park Sena reported the conversation she had shared with Lee Jungmin to the Association. The ones receiving the report were General Manager Lee Jayoung of the Gate Keeper Association and Head of the Anti-Villain Division Park Taeyoung.
“Demons? Otherworlders? Is that really true?”
“Yes.”
Park Sena answered Lee Jayoung's question.
“Why did you only report such an important fact now?”
“I don't really know about that either.”
Park Sena did not rush to defend him. A careless remark of hers could end up causing more harm.
“They must not have trusted us. The Association is the organization that cares about Keepers more than anyone, after all.”
“Is that so? That's a shame. We'll have to try harder.”
...They're not as surprised as I expected.
Park Sena found it strange that the two of them were continuing the conversation so casually. Even in a world with Gates and Keepers, accepting the existence of otherworlders and demons so easily was difficult. They should at least have been shocked and asked follow-up questions the way she had; otherwise all the answers she had carefully prepared would go to waste.
“A demon targeted Ttanttani... is that certain?”
“Yes. I witnessed it myself on site.”
“The reason? What did the otherworlder friends say?”
“They say Ttanttani is called ‘the metal of demons’ in the other world. It also amplifies demonic power.”
“Indeed... there was an opinion before that we should call Ttanttani the metal of demons.”
“I never knew Ttanttani had that kind of ability. In a way, Shinyongsan's strategy worked.”
“That man doesn't live strategically. He just named it however he felt like.”
The two of them seemed more interested in Ttanttani. At least as far as Park Sena could judge, they were more surprised by this fact.
“By the way, does that mean Lee Jungmin is using demonic power?”
“That would fit the flow of things. What's your opinion?”
“I also speculate that way.”
Park Sena stated the most probable story. She had no particular reason to hide what Lee Jungmin had told her. And even if she tried to hide it, it would not have worked. The Association was already suspicious of the power Lee Jungmin used. They had been researching mana, magic, and Magic Stones, and they knew that the energy from Magic Stones did not react violently with Ttanttani. In that situation, the Association was not so naive as to simply believe Jungmin's claim that “mana reacted with Ttanttani.” Now that demons had appeared, there was no way to stop them from viewing the power Jungmin used as demonic power.
“So there's no evidence. Did he look like a demon?”
“He did not.”
Park Sena answered short and firm. She wanted to make this one point absolutely clear. From what she had seen, the actions of code name “Necromancer” and Lee Jungmin were clearly different.
“I don't think he's a demon either. His birth records are solid. If he were a demon, he would have stuck to the claim that Ttanttani reacts with mana to the end.”
“Still, we'll have to keep an eye on him. Whatever the circumstances, he is using demonic power.”
“There are plenty of other reasons to take interest. A mage, otherworlders... the young man has everything.”
“It would have been nice if the recruitment had succeeded...”
At the glance Lee Jayoung shot her way, Park Sena lowered her head. Her mission to recruit Lee Jungmin had clearly failed.
“...I'll try a little harder. Please give me another chance.”
Park Sena hoped the Association and Lee Jungmin would enter a closer relationship. She was, after all, an Association member, and Jungmin was her benefactor.
“We'll keep using you as the communication channel, so that counts as a chance. Handle it yourself. If you can, try recruiting the otherworlders too.”
“Understood.”
“Good. Then step out for now.”
Park Sena bowed and left the conference room. Click. After closing the door, she found it hard to leave the area right away.
Something feels off.
Her superiors' reactions had not been bad. Jungmin had not demonized, and the Association still maintained its stance of wanting to recruit him. Yet she could not shake the feeling that she was missing something.
Should I eavesdrop?
The two superiors left in the room might discuss something important. In front of her they had reacted casually about Jungmin, but she had no idea what they were really thinking. Villains were always like that. Their front and back faces were always different.
...No.
She shook her head and left the conference room. Equating the Association with villains—even she found the thought absurd. Suspecting the Association was not her job. As a tool of the Association, all she needed to do was diligently carry out the missions she was given.
“We've finally got otherworlders of our own.”
General Manager Lee Jayoung said with a smile.
“Indeed. Otherworlders rolling right into our hands like this—we no longer have to worry about falling behind.”
Head of the Anti-Villain Division Park Taeyoung likewise wore a satisfied smile. Until now Korea had stood as a Keeper powerhouse. It possessed the world's finest metal, Ttanttani, and had a high number of Keepers relative to its population. But recently otherworlders appearing in other countries had nearly threatened that position. Of course the information had never been made public, and only a handful of people knew it.
“How can we make the otherworlders do whatever we want?”
“Couldn't we just round them up? Push the demon angle and all.”
“That's one method. But suddenly dragging demons into the open is a bit distasteful.”
“I agree. There's risk.”
“Let's take it slow for now. We need to know what restrictions they have before we can make a real plan.”
“Understood. I'll proceed that way.”
The two looked at each other and smiled. Lately everything was going well for them. The Association's image was rising, and the otherworlders were practically already in their hands. At this rate, the day they would manipulate the world at their fingertips was not far off—both of them thought so inwardly.