Traces - 2

The fact that there were traces of Black Mages in the Karsaril Mansion was quite unexpected, so I urgently asked where they were.

Shiren first pointed to Daisy's belly.

"The first one is inside *Super Giant Ddungddwaejji's* belly."

"Mnyak!?"

"That's what happens when you pick up and eat strange things."

"Mnyak!"

Calming the two who were bickering, I asked for the location of other items.

Shiren tidied her disheveled hair and told me,

"There are a few Black Mage Items related to Black Magic inside Damian's room."

"In my room?"

"Yes. In the drawers and wardrobe."

It seemed highly probable that these were items Damian had received from a Dark Mage he met before leaving for The North. Considering this, I wondered if this was what the Family Head meant by “indirect factors”. Around that time, Shiren began to reveal all the remaining Dark Mage remnants hidden throughout the Mansion.

I decided to get rid of all these things while I was at it.

I gathered them all together and put them into my Shadow.

*I don't know if it'll work, but if I use these, I might be able to find the Traces of Black Mages.*

Of course, the possibility was low, but it was better than not trying, so I decided to give it a shot. As I was collecting them, Shiren looked at me intently and asked,

"Are you perhaps trying to find Dark Mages using these?"

I nodded, and Shiren, looking at the countless Black Mage Items being thrown around, said to me,

"Then, can I investigate those traces?"

"I'd appreciate it."

"You can praise me, you know."

With those words, Shiren proudly tilted her head and looked at me.

I found Shiren cute and stroked her head, falling into thought for a moment.

*There are more than I imagined.*

Despite the strict management, I hadn't expected so many to be mixed in.

I realized that Dark Mages had infiltrated quite extensively, more than anticipated, and fell into a brief contemplation.

*It might be good to prepare in advance.*

As always, prevention was better than cure, so I decided to prepare for it and sent Shadows to various places around the Mansion.

*And it would also be good to plant them on important individuals beforehand.*

They were like my family or the Head Butler.

After taking measures so I could immediately rescue them if they were in danger, I massaged my shoulder.

*Should I go rest now?*

If it were just me, maybe, but with Shiren here, there's no need to overdo it.

With that thought, I decided to return to my Room for now.

*

*The next day, after bidding farewell to my family, I immediately headed to the Shadow City.*

Though saying 'headed' is a bit funny, since I can just enter my Shadow anytime, anywhere.

I stepped inside immediately and said to Shiren,

"Then, please proceed with the Investigation."

"Okay."

I handed all the Black Mage Items to Shiren, then slowly made my way to where Liana was likely to be.

"Liana."

As I entered the Meeting Room, Liana, surrounded by all sorts of documents, beckoned to me with her hand.

I approached Liana and asked her how far she had progressed.

"For the Order, the information dissemination has just begun, and for the Dark Mages, I've compiled a list, so you can take it."

"Already? Thank you."

"No problem."

I read the list Liana had prepared, pondering for a moment who to abduct first.

*Should I start with the ones nearby? No, it might be better to abduct the key figures first, even if they're far away.*

As I was calculating the best method, an interesting thought occurred to me.

*Maybe abducting them simultaneously would be good too?*

If I use Shadow Passages, it might not be too difficult.

As soon as I made that decision, I created Passages near those on the list.

I nodded in satisfaction, deciding to abduct them simultaneously and gather them in one place.

*Then, after I've seen to my companions.*

I looked at the list, determined to execute the plan immediately.

*

Unfortunately, I had to get close to install the Shadow Passages.

As I followed the planned route, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

*Isn't just abducting them a bit... lacking?*

Because Dark Mages, being insidious and suspicious, were highly unlikely to act based solely on the fact that their acquaintances had been abducted.

I decided it would be better to add another element besides simple abduction. After a brief contemplation, I pulled out a Shadow Bomb from my pocket.

*I should leave a present.*

From the perspective of Elion, the High-ranking Dark Mage Executive, if his acquaintances were abducted and explosive terror attacks occurred everywhere simultaneously, he would surely think something like this:

*If things go wrong, they might actually kill them.*

*If I'm lucky, Elion might move directly to try something here.*

However, judging by the Dark Mages I had dealt with so far, they were more likely to play it safe than to act directly.

Nevertheless, there was one reason to cause terror attacks alongside the abductions:

Regardless of Elion's thoughts and judgment,

anyone even slightly connected to Elion, or those who would be in the future, would be gripped by fear and anxiety.

*Then people would naturally reduce their dealings and contact with Elion.*

Elion, having suffered immense losses, would have no choice but to come after me, whether he wanted to or not.

*Of course, this alone might not be enough.*

It wouldn't be bad to stage a hostage situation here and there to get on his nerves.

Deciding to do so, I moved faster, advancing to carry out the abductions.

*

About a week passed like that.

The reason it took longer than expected was twofold:

The first was that some individuals were located much farther away than anticipated, and the second was that some had suddenly disappeared, making their whereabouts quite difficult to track.

*I managed to find them all thanks to Liana's information.*

Thinking it had taken longer than expected, I fiddled with the hammer I carried in my pocket.

*Still, it wasn't a complete waste of time.*

During my journeys, I suppressed all the side effects that arose from my excessively rapid ascent from High-grade Expert to Highest-grade Expert.

In addition, I had time to contemplate my power...

I had inadvertently refined my power, making me even stronger than before.

*How ironic.*

Unsure whether to call it good or bad, I looked at Liana standing before me and said,

"Then, let's start now."

"Yes."

I looked at the dozens of Passages open before me and slowly stepped forward.

I entered them in the order I had planned beforehand.

The abduction method was quite simple.

First, head to the target's location.

Second, as soon as the target is found, form a shadow into a bundle, wrap them in it, and forcibly put them into the Shadow Space.

Third, don't forget to knock them out, as they might cause a commotion during this process.

...And so, I abducted dozens of Humans in this manner.

I piled the Hostages into the Hostage Storage Room one by one, smiling in satisfaction.

*Is this how a dragon feels with its hoard?*

Feeling a strange sense of accomplishment, I threw a Shadow Bomb in front of me.

*This is quite tough, though.*

The most crucial aspect of this plan was to accomplish it “as quickly as possible, with as many people as possible, without being detected by others.”

Therefore, moving at a speed invisible to others was a key point.

So, while moving extremely fast with mana wrapped around my entire body, I also had to move quietly so others wouldn't notice, making it a rather tricky task in many ways.

However, perhaps because I had reached the Highest-grade Expert level, I managed to complete it without much difficulty.

I filled my Hostage Storage Room to the brim and informed Liana that the plan had been successful.

"Ah... well. Sometimes, I feel like we're the bad guys."

"The structure of good and evil changes depending on one's perspective, doesn't it?"

"That's not what I meant... no, never mind."

Liana seemed to give up on explaining, shaking her head and avoiding my gaze.

I found Liana's reaction amusing and smiled, then thought it was time to start the grand detonation.

I detonated all the Shadow Bombs I had planted.

Unfortunately, being inside the Shadow City, I couldn't witness the spectacle directly.

However, I could feel my Shadow Bombs rapidly depleting, so I easily realized that they had successfully detonated.

As I was feeling satisfied, Liana looked at me and said,

"Then, we should lie low for a while and see how Elion reacts."

"Exactly."

As I was wondering when he would finally react, Shiren, having apparently finished all her research, approached me, carrying a pile of the items I had given her.

"I've analyzed all the waves and succeeded in identifying the unique flow of Dark Mages."

I wasn't sure exactly what Wave Analysis meant, but... judging by Shiren's confident expression, she must have accomplished something amazing.

First, I praised Shiren for her good work and stroked her head.

Shiren, with a somewhat excited voice, told me,

"With this, I can roughly figure out where Dark Mages are hiding."

"Roughly?"

"Yes. What I mean is, whether it's a living creature or an item, each has a Unique Wave. By analyzing the waves here and extracting the common wave, we can then use Search Magic to find places similar to that wave."

"...?"

She seemed to be explaining in detail, but honestly, I didn't quite understand what she was saying. I just nodded and said,

"So, you can roughly figure out where they are, right?"

"Yes, with a few conditions."

Deciding to use this to catch that Elion fellow, I told Shiren that I was entrusting this to her.