Chapter 54

Crack!

Renoku slowly got up from his position after planting a bolt of electricity into the man's chest. Fortunately, the man, who had no particular resistance to pain, readily handed over all the information he knew without much effort.

According to his account, the current situation in this research facility is as follows: the black magic faction rooted in Balkan is divided into two types. One faction deals with non-combat enchantments, while the other is a practical faction that combines various external spells, including necromancy.

This is a characteristic of black magicians who have survived independently by faction rather than being based in a specific environment like a magic tower.

Both factions had been living in the 40s district, but they suffered significant damage from the city government's inspections. However, the relationship between the factions began to deteriorate when the enchantment faction, which had relatively more means to survive, refused to cooperate with the practical faction.

As the inspections dragged on, the tension between the two factions escalated, leading to recent bloody conflicts.

Today's massacre could also be considered part of this conflict.

The reason the black magicians in the research facility were so easily killed by just one of their own was due to their extremely poor combat skills.

"Huff...."

Massaging his sore thighs, he naturally took another cigarette and put it in his mouth. It now felt natural to smoke a medicinal herb whenever he felt even a slight discomfort in his body, especially when working.

'Not good news.'

It seemed that the enchantment factions were being unilaterally massacred. Considering that they were more likely to cooperate with Renoku, this was not a good sign.

As these incidents continued, both factions would start to protect themselves, and naturally, there would be fewer people for Renoku to consult.

After considering all the clues, he chose what seemed to be the easiest way to obtain information about the closed world, but it had already gone awry from the start.

"I never thought it would be easy."

Muttering to himself, Renoku immediately turned around.

Descending back into the research facility, Renoku began to search through the possessions of the fallen bodies, looking for any clues that might be helpful.

Even if they were isolated in this remote place for research, they must have had some contact with the outside world.

Especially with so many black magicians gathered for research, it wouldn't be strange if some of them had means to communicate with other black magicians.

As expected, Renoku was able to obtain dozens of mobile phones from the scene.

After discarding the damaged ones that wouldn't even turn on, he gathered about ten functioning phones, which should be sufficient as samples.

He planned to take them to Jenny to see if she could extract data from them, similar to how she tracked Beck Clinton's phone.

Sitting at the edge of the research facility's rooftop, he sent the smoke into the cold fog.

Despite the absurdity, the man's last words were still echoing in his mind.

The words that no one would help him.

Even if it was just a random provocation to fuel Renoku's frustration, the fact that he was still bothered by it was a clear sign of his own concerns.

No matter how clever and cautious Renoku was, how long could he continue to solve everything on his own?

To distinguish between confidence and overconfidence in his abilities, he needed the presence of a collaborator who could observe and advise him.

Not just for the sake of commissions or operations, but especially for handling his greatest secret—magic.

Bright blonde hair. Blue eyes flashed through his mind.

He already knew the answer.

"......"

The last chance to continue the connection that had been maintained by a chance encounter.

He must not refuse the proposal he had hesitated and feared to make until now.

He had to give her an answer.