◈ 520. [STAGE 25] Dancing With The Devil (4)
Operation Surprise Party is an operation designed to trick the midnight sun and steal information from her.
The number of participants in the operation was seven.
Ash first.
It is the role of guiding the trap according to the strategy while dealing with the enemy commander Baekya.
You must entertain her, escort her, and seduce her if necessary.
In a way, it is the most dangerous and difficult role, but Ash, the strategy planner, took on this risk himself. If you don’t take on this role, the strategy won’t work in the first place.
And the Gamble Club 5 players.
Mind Reader Orange.
Clairvoyant Rhyme.
Puppeteer Cobalt.
Illusionist Violet.
And Tazza Scarlett.
They are placed in the banquet hall as waiters. They are given a role that suits their abilities, and they are put in as needed, and they use the means to attack the midnight sun.
Finally a serenade.
Since Ash has to deal directly with the Midnight Sun, he cannot dictate the overall situation of the operation. So, in the situation room, Serenade decided to assist with the operation instructions.
She knew the structure of the banquet hall better than anyone else, was accustomed to handling multiple people at the same time, and was good at improvising.
Also, because I fully understood the purpose of this operation.
***
The operation starts from the moment Midnight Sun enters the banquet hall.
First, Mind Reader Orange naturally served alcohol.
Originally, her ability is a skill that allows her to read the thoughts of an opponent by feeding them her own orange tea.
And after reaching level 50 and awakening, her ability evolves… … It is now possible to give the same effect to all drinks that one touches, rather than the tea he brews. without leaving any magical traces.
A trivial effect that doesn’t really help in the slightest in combat situations. However, it is insignificant and is not detected by the enemy.
Few techniques are as deceptive as this in an espionage situation. Ash was pleased, saying that it was worthwhile to awaken the Gamble Club with blood and sweat.
So, Orange calmly served alcohol – Ash, who took two glasses, offered a drink to Midnight. Baekya did not feel much abnormal and drank the wine.
Situation room.
After confirming that the liquor disappeared into the Midnight Sun’s mouth, Serenade manipulated the communication artifact in the ear.
“orange. Report the situation.”
“It’s cool to drink well… That’s Okay. You begin to read my inner thoughts.”
“Communicate with Her Highness through a private channel from now on. I’m going to report all of the midnight sun to Your Highness.”
From the beginning of the party like this, Midnight Sun was able to reveal all of her inner feelings to Ash.
After securing insurance, Serenade communicated to the next member.
“Lime. What is the situation?”
The clairvoyant, Rhyme, circled around Ash and the midnight sun from afar and glanced at the midnight sun.
“The search has begun.”
“Can you see it well?”
“yes. Visibility is no problem at all. But it might take some time to find the hidden location… … .」
“Your Highness will take care of the time. Please calmly find Mr. Lime.”
Serenade articulated the core goal of this operation.
“The location of the ‘talisman’.”
All Jiangshi need an amulet, a kind of programming command, to move their bodies, which are corpses.
Therefore, when a battle situation occurs with Jiangshi, this amulet is the target of destruction of the top priority parts.
The midnight sun is relatively free from this restriction because it is a practitioner of Jiangshi, but as long as the body is a Jiangshi, there is no choice but to have an amulet somewhere on the body.
Ash gave instructions with conviction, and Rhyme began to thoroughly search the bare body under the clothes of the Midnight Sun with her clairvoyance ability.
Originally, his clairvoyance ability, which at most read the cards on the back of the cards, evolved after awakening, and it became ridiculous to look inside the opponent’s clothes from a distance.
but it was not visible at all. Time passed helplessly, and Serenade had to take measures to enable perspective from various angles.
“… instruct the orchestra. Let them play the waltz.”
I didn’t like the situation of making Ash dance with another woman, but this operation was more important than that. Serenade instructed.
“Let’s dance. If you turn it round and round, you can see it a little better.”
So the music played and Ash himself danced a waltz round and round with the Midnight Sun.
The time to dry the blood passed, but Lime finally called.
“… Found it. But the location is a bit… … It’s embarrassing.」
“Where is it?”
Serenade asked urgently.
Pre-simulation was done to prepare for all kinds of locations where the midnight amulet would be.
However, the actual location was in a much more difficult place than expected.
“It is the roof of the mouth. I saw it at first glance during a conversation, so I focused on it and put it in a place like that. The size is also very small.”
“… oh my god.”
The Serenade, which was in pain with a painful forehead, turned the communication to the third member.
“Scarlett.”
“I’m listening.”
Tazza Scarlett, a waiter girl with a red scarf around her neck, answered the message.
Said the serenade with a sigh.
“The location of the amulet is said to be the roof of the mouth.”
“… Wow.”
“How can you show your skills?”
If it’s another part of the body, how can I do it anyway? not in your mouth?
How could he touch the talisman attached to such a place? Scarlett shook her head.
“It’s a crowd. Besides, to begin with, I’m a tajja, lady. I’m not a pickpocket… … .”
“You can see that the principles of the job are roughly the same. So as not to be noticed with subtle hand movements.”
“… .”
“So can you do it? no?”
Scarlett is an N-rank hero.
He has virtually no magical powers and possesses specs that are virtually no different from ordinary people.
With these specs, he was forced to reach a state of awakening that he could not reach originally, and as a result.
As far as tricks unfold by hand… … It has reached a level where it can deceive even if the opponent is a god.
“How did you get out of here? Even if I can’t eat, I have to go all the way.”
Scarlett let out a small sigh, then threw off the apron she was wearing while serving and spit it out briefly.
“Please lay down the plate. I’ll try.」
“Good.”
Serenade is in trouble. how do you plate it?
“… I have to physically open my mouth. Open it towards Scarlett.”
The serenade, which had been deep in thought with a bright light on it, eventually snapped its fingers.
“It is said that they perform a blood oath ceremony. It is a ritual to eat and drink flesh and blood. And it is customary for the flesh to be fed by the witnesses. Let’s take this time. Scarlett, is it possible?”
Scarlett let out a panicked voice.
“… It’s not just changing by hand, but using tableware? The talisman attached to the roof of that monster’s mouth?J
“Scarlett.”
Serenade relaxed, but asked again sternly.
“Tell me if you can or not.”
“… Please pass it on to Her Highness.」
Scarlett, who was fixing her scarf, approached the Midnight Sun and Ash.
“If you succeed in this ridiculous trick, ask for a bonus that doubles your annual salary this year.”
“I’ll give you five. go.”
“This is an amount worth risking your life for…” … .」
As Scarlett approached, turning her arms eagerly, Serenade also communicated with Ash.
“majesty. Guide the white night to the special room in the back under the excuse of going through the blood alliance ceremony.”
After explaining the operation, Serenade apologized.
“… sorry. Because I tried to use Your Highness’ blood and flesh recklessly.”
Ash, who was spinning around in the midnight sun at the serenade’s apology, looked towards the situation room for a moment and winked.
“… !”
The serenade with a hard laugh continued to instruct.
“In the special room, a wine bottle and a glass knife are set up, Violet! Please wait in advance in the room next to the special room.”
And the ceremony of blood oath was held.
When you share a drink mixed with blood, and when you share a piece of flesh.
Scarlett succeeded in replacing the talisman attached to the roof of the midnight sun with another talisman she had prepared in advance – at an invisible speed.
The skill was so exquisite that the white night did not notice it at all. Even the stiffening of one’s own body… … .
Ash and Midnight tilted their glasses a few more times, and it wasn’t long.
thud!
The white night collapsed as if fainting.
“Miss Lily!”
Serenade ordered Lily, who was waiting next to her.
“Please activate the magic amplifier!”
“all right! Activate the magic amplifier!”
An Artifact Magic Amplifier that amplifies the target’s magical power only once.
The target is… … It was Violet, the illusionist who was waiting in the room next to the special room.
“Violet now!”
[Wow!]
Violet, who jumped into the special room, grabbed the head of the midnight sun and unfolded the illusion realm with all her might.
“Whoa! Whoa! Single-target phantom realm deployment complete! It worked!」
Violet’s ultimate ability after awakening is the ability to immerse a single target in a perfect illusion.
Even though you can’t cast illusions in a wide area like the basic skill, you can cast much more sophisticated illusions against a single target. Upon succeeding, Violet let out a sigh of relief.
“From now on, I will show you the illusion as Your Highness directs.”
“Go to Orange Bar and read the enemy commander’s dream. We need to extract as much information as possible.”
After sending Orange to the special room, Serenade quickly followed.
“Scarlett comes out because she has to go into the next operation. Lime! cobalt! Get ready.”
While Ash and Violet Orange show illusions to the Midnight Sun and gather information.
Lime figured out where the talisman was attached to the rest of the Liches’ bodies, and Scarlett replaced it with another talisman prepared in advance – Cobalt, the last member, the puppeteer, succeeded in taking control of the 10 fallen Liches with his own abilities. .
After awakening, Cobalt was able to arbitrarily take control of summoned beasts and artificial creatures and use them as his own dolls. that was the application.
All operations have been successfully completed. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Serenade wiped her forehead drenched in cold sweat.
“Operation Success. The party is over.”
The broadcast was turned on throughout the banquet hall and a serenade was shouted.
“ruler! Everyone who played, please come to your senses and prepare for Plan B!”
After the illusion she showed to the midnight sun ends and she comes to her senses. Circumstances may arise where direct force is used.
Then, all the heroes who were enjoying the party all became cold faces like lies.
After stopping the dance and greeting each other, the heroes entered the warehouses and rooms provided throughout the party in perfect order.
Everyone’s equipment was hidden everywhere.
The heroes, who took off their suits and dresses and put on their armor, raised their weapons and began to gather in the banquet hall again.
Serenade laughed in spite of herself because she couldn’t be that reliable.
***
“From the moment I accepted the invitation to this party… It was designed, Mr. Hogu.”
Banquet hall special room.
Ash sighed coldly at the dumbfounded white night.
“You used to betray us like this in the end, even in the game.”
《… .》
“And you, who were accepted as an ally, become too powerful by the end of the third year… It used to be too difficult to get rid of at that time.”
《… .》
“So, right before an alliance is the best time to get rid of it.”
Although he couldn’t understand everything Ash was saying, Midnight was intuitively aware of it.
this is checkmate
There is no retreat.
So I couldn’t understand it at all. Above all, there were too many conditions that had to be pre-determined in order for him to fall into this trap.
Although everything was full of doubts, from not noticing all the trivial magic tricks inflicted on the magic master himself.
《… The amulet.]
Among them, the most incomprehensible.
《The formulas and principles used in my talisman are… … Only the shaman of the East could know. did you change it? Stop my body with it? Nonsense. How the hell do you know the formula for creating a talisman… .]
Stopped talking, Midnight made a stupid sound.
“Huh?”
Ash laughed.
“It’s too late to find out.”
“new year… M?”
“Yes. It was you who gave me the formula for this talisman.”
White Night let out a voice close to screaming.
“Nonsense! He’s alive?! But the magic tower is definitely! >
“It collapsed. self.”
“What nonsense is that… ? Even destroying the magic tower… … You said it was all concocted?!”
Ash shrugged smirkingly.
White Night shook his head.
“It can’t be! He got eternal life in the cyber world! And that cybernetic world was built within the system inside the Mage Tower!》
“… .”
“You gave up eternal life and killed yourself to kill me?! no it can’t be! Another me is not the one to join this crazy plan!]
Self-respect is more important than anything else.
That was the principle of behavior of the undead lich White Night, who wished for eternal life. That’s why the midnight sun couldn’t believe Ash’s words.
“Well how about… .”
But Ash smiled and said,
“Why don’t you ask yourself?”
He reached out his hand towards the inside of the room.
Then
again, again.
Someone came forward from the darkness in the corner of the room with the clear sound of shoe heels.
《… ?!]
And the face of the midnight sun who saw that way… … It was stained with vivid astonishment and fear.
