I Became The Academy Necromancer-Chapter 261: Hunter

“...”

Late evening as the sun set.

All the assistants had already gone home, leaving Erica only in the lab, staring at the Deus doll in the corner.

It felt strange, but the resemblance was uncanny.

And even fragrance Professor Fel Petra had sprayed lingered, smelling just like his laboratory.

But it wasn’t the same.

Only the appearance was identical.

It felt like the time when the original Deus had returned to his body.

That heavy presence he carried.

The intimidating aura that made one wary to speak in his presence.

All of that was gone—just an empty doll remained.

Noticing the invisible differences, Erica once again realized that it was the man himself she truly loved.

Appearance alone wasn’t enough to satisfy her.

She wanted him, the real him.

Thud.

She pressed her forehead lightly against the doll’s chest. When Professor Fel Petra first gave it to her, it only annoyed her more.

It brought no satisfaction.

She wanted to see the real Deus.

A brief sense of satisfaction followed by a profound feeling of loss. And within that, a pitiable sadness bloomed.

She slowly raised her head from its chest and turned away.

“I should have this thing removed tomorrow.”

She thought of asking the assistants to take care of it, looking annoyed as she prepared to leave the laboratory.

Clang!

The door swung open all of a sudden, and two girls hurried inside.

They were Aria Rias and Eleanor Luden Griffin—two who were quietly awaiting his return at Loberne Academy, just like Erica.

“...”

“...”

Having heard the news from somewhere, the two people who had rushed in post-haste froze the moment they saw the Deus doll.

Gulp.

The only sound in the laboratory was the audible gulp as they took in the sight.

* * *The Han Empire was certainly very different from the Griffin Kingdom.

Take the law enforcement, for example.

The interrogation room, where I was bound with a rope, was filled with various torture tools.

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Axes, saws, buckets of water, a branding iron resting in a cold furnace, dissection knives, and more.

They were all gruesome tools, even at a glance. However...

They haven’t been used.

Perhaps they never needed to, as there were no visible signs of previous use.

Perhaps it was some kind of psychological device placed in the interrogation room to put pressure on the person being interrogated.

Bang.

The door swung open violently.

The one who stepped in was the man who had accused me earlier.

I heard he wasn’t part of the law enforcement but was a royal inspector directly under the palace.

It felt like I had become an unfortunate murderer caught red-handed by the inspector who had come forward to investigate.

Looking grim, he slammed his hands against the desk and asked.

“Six civilians and two security personnel are dead.”

He spoke rather boldly, perhaps thinking he was intimidating me.

I remained silent, still weighing my options.

It seems that he still hasn’t realized that I’ve recognised him.

I may have had my doubts earlier, but now I was sure.

He was unaware that I had seen through his identity. This would make things somewhat easier.

“...”

Keeping my mouth sealed, I acted as if I wouldn’t be intimidated, and he gritted his teeth and shouted.

I might not have noticed if I had seen it from afar, but being so close to the source of the killing intent, I could faintly sense that it was all an act.

“Do you know how many people are suffering because of you? You think I wouldn’t ask why you killed them?”

“I didn’t kill them.”

I responded with minimal words, without a trace of hesitation. My reply was as solid as an ancient tree. He sighed and looked at me in frustration.

He pretended to be unable to hold back and gestured toward one wall.

The lights in the interrogation room went out.

Silence descended, with only the man’s brown eyes glowing ominously in the darkness.

It was probably a tactic like the one I’d seen in crime movies, where they turned off the recording in the interrogation room to conduct a more aggressive line of questioning.

Yet, on the contrary, the inspector’s voice softened.

“Are you surprised?”

His lively smile was visible even in the dark. He had intentionally created this situation to make it seem like the interrogation wasn’t going well, giving us time to talk one-on-one.

The inspector spoke to me in a more polite tone.

“I am Inspector Yun Ye, directly under the palace.”

“...”

“And I am also a hunter.”

A hunter?

It was clear that he wasn’t just talking about the literal definition of the word.

Maintaining a poker face, I listened carefully as he continued his explanation.

“I saw you gather the yokai in the city and eliminate them. That was quite impressive. You must be a Dark Mage, right?”

“Yes.”

On hearing my answer, he smirked, pointing his thumb at himself with a satisfied grin.

“The Ancient Dragon you saw—that was our doing.”

“...”

“Thanks to you gathering the yokai, we were able to end it with ease.”

There was no need to act surprised; I just acknowledged it and moved on.

Though I was a bit curious as to how they managed to kill the Ancient Dragon.

They probably discovered whatever the Ancient Dragon was guarding and targeted it.

But that wasn’t the important part.

From the start, I had no interest in a dead guardian deity.

“You go by Kim Shinwoo, correct? That’s a rather unique name.”

“...”

“Join us.”

Inspector Yun Ye extended his hand, his calloused palms implying that he wasn’t any ordinary martial artist.

“Watching you annihilate those yokai was quite impressive. Join us, become a hunter and unleash that talent.”

“And if I refuse?”

Though I already knew his answer, I still decided to push back a little.

As expected, Yun Ye shrugged nonchalantly.

“You’re charged with the murder of six people, even attacking security personnel. No matter where you’re from, the Empire won’t let you live.”

Execution was certain.

He glanced at the torture devices spread all over the room as if hinting at the suffering that awaited me.

So, this was the real purpose behind those absurd false charges against me—to leverage it as a bargaining tool.

I had to admit that it was not a bad tactic.

But ultimately, it was only a temporary measure.

If they truly intended to keep me restrained, this wouldn’t be enough, and he surely knew that.

Seemingly aware of my thoughts, he continued his pitch smoothly.

“And being a Dark Mage, aren’t you also someone who seeks power?”

This was the general perception people held regarding Dark Mages; it was only Griffin Kingdom that was excessively prejudiced against them.

“We’ve been killing guardian deities to uncover the secrets of their power.”

“...”

From my experience, this raised a question.

After all, was there truly anyone who sought power without reason? Everyone had their own motivations and backstories that were the driving force behind their actions.

This man, who called himself a hunter, and the organization he belonged to, must also have their own reasons for killing guardian deities and seizing their power.

Seeing that my interest was piqued, Yun Ye became a bit flustered, speaking faster despite his attempts to stay calm.

“But that’s not the end. We’re not satisfied with just guardian deities.”

“Then what?”

I subtly encouraged him to continue, and he took the bait immediately.

“The guardian deities are merely a stepping stone. Our ultimate goal lies beyond them.”

Why was he sharing all this with me?

I could tell it stemmed from his overwhelming confidence, though it seemed a bit excessive.

But his next words revealed why he was so certain I would cooperate.

“You’re aware that all souls contain mana, right?”

“How can I not be?”

It would have been absurd for me, a Necromancer, to be ignorant of that fact. Yun Ye licked his lips, seemingly pleased with our understanding before revealing the secret in a sultry whisper.

“Three months ago, a man claimed the souls from all over the continent.”

“...”

“At his command, all the souls followed his voice, departing from this world. Everyone witnessed it.”

Because I had cast a spell that allowed the souls to take visible form for those who remained on the continent to understand.

“We understand the exact situation you are in now as a Dark Mage. With all the souls gone, you probably can’t use your magic properly, right?”

They identified me as a Necromancer simply because they saw me extinguish the yokai with blue flames.

Indeed, unlike Griffin, they were not completely ignorant about Black Magic.

“You must have caught on by now.”

With a sly smile, Unyeop boldly declared.

“Our goal is the mana contained within those millions of souls.”

“...”

“And its master, Deus Verdi from the Griffin Kingdom.”

That was right.

That was exactly why he was so sure I would cooperate.

To the Necromancers across the continent, Deus was the source of all evil, the one who suddenly snatched all the souls under their control.

No Dark Mage would pass up on the chance for revenge.

That was the reason he was confident I would join them, and also why he revealed all this information.

I pondered for a moment.

It was somewhat amusing that someone was confessing their secret plan to kill me right in front of me.

However, I still hadn’t heard everything from them.

Why are they after the mana these souls contained?

Killing the guardian deities was to build up the strength to kill me.

And killing me was to seize the immeasurable mana stored within the souls I had taken.

Then, what came next? What was their ultimate plan once they had that?

My curiosity kept growing.

I realized that this matter, which I thought I could just ignore, was directly linked to my own survival.

Hence, although it sounded ridiculous, I took his hand.

“I will cooperate.”

That’s great.

Let’s give it our best shot.

Let’s kill Deus Verdi.