Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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“What do you intend to do with those guys?”

“What’s there to think about? They’re traitors anyway; we can just bury them here.”

“…It’s a complicated feeling, but taking them out at this point with the dungeon strategy still needing to be tackled seems unreasonable.”

That was indeed the case.

The Hunters were already furious, and there was no one here to defend them.

The Hunters from the U.S., who hadn’t been involved in the incident, were fidgeting and hesitating, but they couldn’t voice anything significant in this situation.

The expressions of Mikael and his group turned pale at that reaction. Their deaths were indeed looming closer.

At the same moment, Mikael, who had been secretly gathering his strength until that moment, began to move, seizing his last opportunity.

However.

Kwahak!

“Gah!”

Chae Hwa In wasn’t about to just stand by. Perhaps having anticipated it, she immediately sealed off Mikael’s movement before he could fully gather his magical power.

After that, Chae Hwa In, having subdued Mikael, radiated a terrifying killing intent toward the three.

Everyone present understood. From this moment on, they would all meet their deaths at Chae Hwa In’s hands without exception.

“Gah! S-stop! If the U.S. finds out about this…”

“…Then let them come. I’ll send them all to you.”

The atmosphere among the strategy team’s Hunters didn’t suggest any intention to intervene, so there was no longer any reason for Chae Hwa In to hesitate.

Drawing up her refined magical power, she raised her sword calmly and swung it lightly.

There was no trace of lingering regret on her face, nor any sign of complex emotions. It was simply the feeling of completing her duty.

Swoosh!

Thud.
Crack.

Three heads fell to the floor, blood spurting violently.

Those heads belonged to none other than Mikael’s group.

After casting one last glance at Mikael’s rigid, wide-open eyes, Chae Hwa In turned her gaze away without hesitation.

As an S Rank Hunter of a major power, it was the empty and futile end for the cowards who had once enjoyed wealth and glory.

#

I decided to store the bodies of Mikael’s group in the Book of Death. There might be a use for them in future disputes with the U.S., and fundamentally, they would make excellent materials for Undead, so I was satisfied with this arrangement.

‘…….’

With this, I could say I had passed the biggest hurdle that had become an issue. Especially, resolving the situation without unsealing was a significant achievement.

‘Has the situation been arranged somewhat?’

There were many witnesses, and since the majority were high-ranking Hunters from various nations, we could probably shake off a bit of notoriety, but the U.S. wouldn’t easily admit to any crime.

Since there was no way to check what had happened inside, they would insist that they couldn’t acknowledge it, and even if it were true, the U.S. upper echelons could simply deny any involvement.

‘I can guess the thoughts of the upper-ups without needing to see them.’

Having skimmed the majority of Mikael’s memories earlier, I could clearly identify the key figures involved in the incident.

Among the political figures and current high-ranking individuals in the U.S., there were several who had minor connections, but the one who stood out as the main player was Hudson, the former president of the American Hunter Association.

According to Mikael’s memories, he had retired shortly after the incident seven years ago and had been living in seclusion until now.

I relayed this information to Chae Hwa In, but she shook her head softly.

“…This is enough. There’s something more important now.”

She was undoubtedly referring to her younger sister, Chae Hwa Ryeon, who was also Seo Ha’s guildmate.

However, separate from that, I felt it. The special, inexplicable intuition that had been so helpful back in Thebes.

Even though it hadn’t shown itself in this incident, I had a strange feeling I would cross paths with that guy Hudson someday.

So, when that time came, I would make him pay the price as well.

Nodding to myself, I approached the members of the strategy team, who were currently resting. Seo Ha and Lee Ji Cheol, who had joined near the end of the battle, were also there.

“Oh, brother. Are you done talking?”

“Yeah. By the way, why are you here? You’ll just end up getting hurt.”

“…It wasn’t a big injury anyway.”

Although I didn’t contribute much since I joined towards the end of the battle, I heard that she had been fighting against the S Rank Hunter known as the Executioner.

Indeed, there was a different aura coming from Seo Ha compared to before. At her current level, she wouldn’t fall short compared to the S Rank Hunters here.

Was it called the Path of the Tumbling God? I had never seen a skill of that type before, and it piqued my interest.

‘Come to think of it, there were similar training methods among the ancient combat tribes in Thebes.’

Regardless, it was undoubtedly a very dangerous endeavor, so I glanced at Lee Ji Cheol with a disapproving look.

In response, he merely shot back a look that suggested there was nothing wrong.

“It’s natural for her to worry about her family. Baek Seo Ha is also a professional in combat capable of making her own judgments; I can’t restrict her actions at will.”

“Tch.”

While he wasn’t wrong, I turned away and asked Sanada, who was temporarily acting as the representative of the strategy team.

“What’s the situation?”

“We’ve exhausted ourselves fighting pointless battles against each other. Supplies are still sufficient, but if we don’t recover our strength quickly and clear the dungeon, it might become dangerous.”

“That’s fine then.”

“……”

The Hunters of the strategy team stared at me with puzzled eyes at my nonchalant attitude.

Although there were misunderstandings between us, considering we had just fought fiercely not long ago, it seemed there was still some awkwardness lingering.

After a day’s worth of rest, we set out again to tackle the dungeon.

“Did you say Sand Eaters will appear up ahead?”

“I’ve only seen a few, so I can’t be sure. There should be only the monsters from the deeper levels left.”

Sand Eaters, grotesque giants made entirely of sand.

They were powerful monsters that had even been seen in the boss room of a previous A1 Rank dungeon.

Given that such a creature had been spotted, it was evident that breaking through the deeper levels would not be easy.

Furthermore, on this side, there were still those who had not fully recovered from their injuries.

In many ways, it could be seen that the damage from battle was substantial.

“But if you and she lend your strength, it should be quite possible to break through.”

“Eh? I’m not fighting.”

“…What do you mean?”

Sanada looked at me as if I were saying something ridiculous, but I was serious.

“I’m exhausted from using all my strength. I’m going to rest until we reach the boss room.”

“Hey, our Hunters are similarly in that situation. If you, who is most suited for large-scale combat, act like that, it’s not going to work.”

“I don’t care. I’ll just follow behind and sleep, so handle it yourselves. I’ll lend you Chae Hwa In.”

“You out of your mind….”

Leaving just those words, I really did fall behind the group and summoned a Lizard Wolf, promptly settling down atop it to take a nap.

‘Gotta recharge as much as possible.’

I had intentionally spoken a bit nastily, but it couldn’t be helped for the sake of my plan.

In the upcoming boss battle, I intended to use Kan’s necromancy and pour all my strength into it.

‘…That’s the most certain way.’

Both for clearing the dungeon without further losses and for what’s to come.

What would be the most efficient method to keep the U.S., which had become firmly at odds, in check?

It was power.

While there would be many excuses to be made about crimes, when faced with overwhelming strength, it would naturally render them speechless.

Through this boss battle, the Hunters from various nations would likely return to their home countries, having engraved a sense of vigilance regarding me in their hearts and sharing that information with their superiors.

And that information would subsequently trickle down through various routes to the U.S. side as well.

As everyone spoke of the same thing, the credibility of that information would rise correspondingly, and they would see me, who had touched the seal and regained part of my original powers.

What kind of evaluation would that lead to?

If I had to guess, it would be inflated beyond expectation.

In reality, I would be a person who turned into a couch potato for a week after using my strength just once, but to them, I would appear as some indescribably powerful being.

Naturally, if the U.S. had any wits about them, they wouldn’t dare provoke me.

Thinking about that, I closed my eyes softly, letting the sounds of the strategy team’s battle play in the background as a form of music.

The end of this long journey was drawing nearer and nearer.