Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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The things referred to as “Death Eyes” or “Demon Eyes” in the world.

My genuine interest in such abilities began the moment I passed the 70-year mark after descending into Thebes.

The reason was nothing special. At that time, I was simply bored.

“If I didn’t do something, I felt like I would die of boredom.”

There was no one left to challenge me, and I had grown tired of everything.

Therefore, if anything even slightly interesting appeared, I would often spend my time researching or observing it.

Anyway, over the course of those few years, I successfully integrated the ability of Demon Eyes into my necromancy.

Sometimes I would extract things directly from ancient creatures, and whenever I heard rumors of someone using a similar ability, I would promptly seek them out and extract information.

The result was something considerably more dangerous than I initially thought.

Well, that wasn’t entirely strange.

I had already reached an excessively high level.

“I just happen to have an ability that’s perfect for a type like you.”

“…….”

The eye that had settled in my palm began to change color, emanating a fierce energy, and Ryan rushed toward me without hesitation.

“… I told you it wouldn’t be of any use.”

Whoosh.

Crackle!

An immense amount of current began to radiate from him, and it certainly seemed there was no way to evade it.

However.

Crackle.

Whoosh.

“What the!”

Ryan’s current, as if it were alive, avoided the space I occupied, striking only the innocent air around me.

If one didn’t know the truth, they’d think he deliberately aimed to miss me.

I spoke, as if mocking Ryan.

“You see? You just need to change your method.”

“… What kind of trickery is this?”

“Well, it’s because your fighting style is too obvious.”

To be honest, Ryan controlled his powers perfectly, worthy of the title of Seven Stars.

However, he too couldn’t break free from the limitations of being an Awakened One. The power he had built up himself wasn’t the issue, but his clear image of the powers he possessed was.

“The method of using power is too one-dimensional and straightforward.”

Naturally, this made it easier for me to strategize against him.

With a nonchalant expression, I summoned a Lizard Wolf and quietly sat on its back.

“I’ll start wrapping things up. It looks like there’s not much that will change.”

“… Ugh!”

Looking at the raised level, I had an idea of what to expect, but indeed, now my upper limit for power had risen considerably even without using necromancy.

I was even considering using necromancy again in a hurry, but perhaps I could manage the situation without it.

I began to channel my death energy and mana in an all-out surge.

However, as expected, interruptions came.

Swish!

Clang, clang, clang—!

A dozen steel columns suddenly rained down upon me as if to restrain me.

The owner, of course, was Julian from Germany, who had been keeping an eye on Ryan.

‘…Honestly, that guy is quite a headache.’

A different type than Ryan.

I couldn’t gauge the scale of his power, but at least he was much better at handling it than Ryan.

He didn’t have the excellent affinity that Ryan did. It was clear none of the tricks I’d employed earlier would work on him.

However, for some reason, Julian appeared to have no desire to continue the battle.

After securing Ryan’s safety, he calmly spoke.

“Let’s hear each other out.”

“What? Julian, are you in your right mind?”

“Ryan, calmly assess the situation. Fighting to the death here won’t help either side.”

It seemed Julian judged that since I easily subdued Ryan, we didn’t stand a chance if we teamed up with Henesia.

“I want you to clarify the exact facts. There’s a nation affected by the two behind you, yet they stated they couldn’t find a clear objective from you. What happened with the attacks?”

“……”

He’s more rational than I thought.

It was a situation I hadn’t anticipated, but if we could avoid fighting, I didn’t see a reason to refuse.

Besides, I was quite concerned about Hades in the meantime.

“Well, we do have some mutual acquaintances. I just didn’t know if the same person attacked the U.S. and Russia.”

“What! Such a fallacy…”

“Was it Paulson from America? Calm down. What she said must be true.”

The Paulson dispatched by the authorities was furious at my words, but Julian intervened again.

Falling silent, Paulson couldn’t say another word in the face of the words of the Hunter known as Seven Stars.

“Then, here’s my next question. What exactly is their identity? I requested cooperation from all countries associated with the international organization, but couldn’t find matching information.”

For Julian, that was most likely the most puzzling part.

Without going into details, the two weren’t even from this planet.

However, I had no idea how to explain that.

At that moment, Astrid, who had been watching the situation from the back, stepped forward.

“… I met with the teacher over there. We only arrived on this planet just a few days ago, so it’s natural for us not to know anything about you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“… It means we are just like the Returners you refer to.”

While her explanation was brief, it seemed Julian understood what Astrid intended to convey.

For the first time, he showed a surprised expression as he spoke.

“Is that truly possible?”

“… There may be complex variables depending on the situation, but at least we were able to.”

It’s possible to artificially move between dimensions. Frankly, just that information could cause an uproar.

Julian fell into deep thought for a moment, then spoke again.

“It doesn’t sound like a lie. If I believe that, it explains previous events as well. The attacks were due to ignorance of this world, weren’t they?”

“What? You can actually talk sense. We didn’t really move to commit any outrageous deeds. It just sort of happened that way.”

Henesia spoke shamelessly, and Astrid nodded in agreement.

Since the two had likely achieved their objective of finding me, they must have concluded that causing any more friction with this side wasn’t prudent.

“Then, can you promise that you will not cause any more unnecessary disturbances?”

“If you don’t bother us, that much is fine.”

“Alright. I will persuade the higher-ups. However, I hope to at least have minimum communication through whichever country in the future.”

“I’ll do that.”

The conversation proceeded alarmingly quickly. It was hard to believe these were the same individuals who were ready to fight to the death just moments ago.

That thought wasn’t just mine; other hunters, aside from Julian and Ryan, expressed their objections collectively.

“This is an absurd farce. Since when did you have such authority?”

“This is an insult to the other hunters and their nations here. Would you say the same before Russia?”

“There are two powerful beings here whose affiliations are unknown. It was you who said they might be dangerous figures threatening the world order.”

None of them were factually wrong, so I had no rebuttal.

Wondering how Julian would react, I saw him suddenly emanate a killing intent.

“… You’re incredibly ignorant. If you have a brain, consider what is best for your country.”

“W-what?!”

“I won’t entertain any further objections here. If you have discontent, I urge you to convey it through official channels.”

A display of supreme authority; yet, it felt somewhat mixed with an unseen urgency.

However, knowing well his strength, the other hunters merely exchanged glances without anyone stepping forward.

Adding the finishing blow was none other than Astrid.

“… I should tell you, we’re not particularly afraid of you.”

Simultaneously, she unsheathed a sword from her waist, swung it carelessly, and then sheathed it again.

Swish!

Swoosh!

Clank.

Then, something astonishing occurred.

“W-what on earth just happened?”

The hunters, who had been contacting their respective factions in different ways, suddenly all reported communication disturbances.

“… How can this happen?”

“I didn’t sense any signs of skill activation!”

“I had no magical response. She just swung her sword.”

To be precise, that statement was incorrect.

They simply couldn’t perceive the extremely refined and restrained mana according to their levels.

However, it seemed that even a single strike was enough to instill a significant sense of alertness in the hunters.

Ultimately, they could only watch the situation unfold without being able to voice any substantial objections.

‘……’

Amidst this, I cast a meaningful glance at Julian.

I couldn’t be entirely sure, but he seemed to be hiding some facts.

Also, concentrating more closely, I vaguely sensed something hovering around him.

That sudden change in attitude and inexplicable urgency must be related to that.

‘Well, does it matter?’

I was merely intrigued; it wasn’t something I needed to worry about right away.

“… Teacher.”

Above all else, there were far too many matters to address immediately.