Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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Gideon, who had glanced at us once, leisurely extended a hand to point at the corpse of Heimbel sprawled on the floor.

“Rise and confess the truth to me.”

Hoo-woo.

Psshhh!

A massive surge of Death Energy emanated from the tips of his fingers, wrapping around Heimbel’s body as if an invisible hand existed, lifting him from the ground.

And soon, Heimbel’s eyes shot wide open.

“…It is indeed an infinite honor. I meet the true master of Death.”

Only then did I grasp his true intentions.

Heimbel had been waiting for the resurrected Gideon to bring him back as an Undead.

And surprisingly, the resurrected Heimbel displayed clear memories, intelligence, and an even greater strength.

‘He was made a High-Ranking Undead? Just like that?’

He merely stretched out his hand and released Death Energy. Moreover, he appeared completely unstrained in the process.

Indeed, it was a necromancy method unlike anything I had seen before.

‘This guy is different.’

Though I had earlier said that Heimbel’s necromancy had reached maturity, in the grand scheme, it didn’t seem much more than childish to me.

That’s why I could evaluate it so casually.

However, Gideon’s craftsmanship before my eyes was definitely not ordinary.

I sensed it instinctively.

This guy is the real deal. He has already reached a level where no one can rival him, paving his own path as a pioneer.

As soon as I realized that, a surge of intense curiosity and competitiveness welled up within me.

‘How far has he been?’

I wondered if Gideon had, beyond necromancy, witnessed the sights I once did.

But regrettably, now was not the time to ponder such things.

“Chae Hwa In.”

As my gaze met hers, Chae Hwa In understood the meaning and channelled her magic and Death Energy, propelling herself forward.

“The Blade of Mourning.”

Simultaneously, as if it had been prearranged, Henesia hurriedly invoked a teleportation spell.

Through that distraction created by Chae Hwa In, we safely moved to the room just outside the Boss Room where our comrades were.

Hoo-woo.

Swoosh!

A rectangular spatial transition was drawn, and my vision restored; at the same time, I felt Chae Hwa In’s soul dart back to Death.

“…Brother?”

“Master! What happened? What is this Death Energy?”

A quick glance revealed it was a complete victory on our side.

The Undead known as Braga was completely annihilated, the robed man was dead, and only the muscular youth wielding a halberd remained captured.

I looked at the scene and provided my team with an answer.

“The ritual was successful.”

“Huh.”

“So…”

Anyway, now was the real problem.

With the Dungeon Boss being offered as a sacrifice, the Dungeon itself had been cleared, but the resurrected Gideon and Heimbel were blocking the entrance to the Boss Room.

And if it were Gideon, he could easily open the entrance to the Boss Room and chase us down.

In short, we were akin to trapped mice right now.

“Is he really that strong?”

Surprisingly, it was Astrid who answered Lee Ji Cheol’s question.

“…Excluding the Master, I’ve never seen anyone of such caliber.”

Even Astrid, who had spent time with the demigod Serejia, said that.

Gideon’s power was an indication that he had already entered the realm of transcendents.

“…Both the main body and the Undead he commands are strong. I sensed traces of powerful souls bound to him.”

“That’s a problem. I’ve heard that the leader of Hades he revived is no trivial opponent either…”

Xavier was right. It practically made our disadvantage clear.

With no way to exit the Dungeon now, a desperate future awaited us unless we found some new avenue.

‘…This is bad.’

I thought it over slowly, but I knew no miraculous solution would spring to mind.

And that was when he appeared before us. The first Undead presumed to be sent by Gideon.

Koo-woom.

“…My name is Braga, servant of the great Lord. Who is the one called Baek Eun Ha?”

He had a fierce face that looked like a blend of an ogre and a bear, accompanied by a massive body.

And he exuded an intense heat that raised the surrounding temperature in an instant with his golden mace.

There was no doubt he was strong.

Just standing there with an arrogant attitude, he radiated an overwhelming aura of dominance.

“Why do you ask that?”

“The Lord seeks. You may kill the rest.”

“…What a rude creature.”

Lee Ji Cheol stepped forward, fully maximized the power of his Dragonkin.

Magic armor formed around him, and massive fangs manifested from his fists.

It was substantial power, but Braga chuckled, warning him.

“You’re not even a proper half-dragon. You’re out of your depth.”

At that moment, red flames filled the passage, engulfing all of us.

Whoosh!

Kaboom!

Zzzzshhhhhhh!

Henesia, who had been prepared, unleashed a powerful defensive spell, but she appeared strained as she grimaced.

As the flames died down, the scene within the Dungeon was devastating.

Walls and ceilings were ablaze, utterly ruined, and there was no trace of the previous appearance.

Moreover, Lee Ji Cheol, who had faced the flames head-on, was not in good shape either.

Though he was regaining his strength thanks to the unique recovery ability of Dragonkin, he looked significantly affected.

“I’ll ask again. Who is the one named Baek Eun Ha?”

“…….”

“…It’s truly laughable that you cannot even state your own name and have to lower your tail. Fine. You are not even worth the Lord’s attention. I shall burn you all right here.”

I was indeed annoyed, but there was nothing I could do since I lacked strength at the moment.

However, at that moment, Astrid’s aura abruptly shifted.

“…That’s the second time.”

“What?”

“Do not insult my Master with that filthy mouth.”

Unlike her usual composed self, Astrid was now visibly angry.

Seeing this, Henesia quickly whispered.

“Astri, if you kill him, more troops will come. We shouldn’t provoke him until we find a solution.”

“…….”

Just the other day, they both crouched and cried while calling my name, and now, even in this desperate situation, they were thinking ahead and searching for a solution.

Watching them, I felt a wave of nostalgia.

‘…You’ve really grown.’

Having organized my thoughts in silence, I finally stepped forward and commanded Astrid.

“…Enough, just kill him.”

“Master? Are you sure? Gideon must have even more powerful Undead…”

“Well, there’s no point in dragging it out.”

So now, it was time for us to make a choice.

I summoned the chains of souls that were still tightly restraining my power and whispered to the being that had created them.

‘I have an inkling of why you’ve taken such measures…’

The situation had escalated to the next stage.

It was no longer time to sit idly by.

“…I will forcefully unseal it.”

“Huh? Master, last time you said that was dangerous!”

“Brother, first calm down. We can just wait and dodge until our powers return…”

No, I’m sorry, but that won’t do.

While there was the reason that there were no other viable routes, fundamentally, this didn’t align with my principles.

‘There’s a Necromancer bragging about being the best, and you want me to tuck my tail and run?’

No matter how much I tried to compromise, it was simply unacceptable.

Running away now would be tantamount to disregarding everything I had built in Thebes, as well as insulting the formidable foes who had perished by my hand up until now.

At the very least, if I claimed to be a Lord in front of someone, I must not retreat in the face of challengers, even if it cost me my life.

Only one human can sit on a throne.

Thus, either he or I must bury our bones here.

“Are you Baek Eun Ha? Now I see that you excel only at babbling nonsense.”

“…….”

“Many heroes and rulers have come, yet none dared to covet his position. Do you think a creature like you could even touch the tips of his toes?”

As an Undead, his speech was annoyingly fluent.

It was evident he held significant pride in the strength of his master.

Thus, I regarded him with indifferent eyes and said to Astrid.

“…What are you waiting for? This is the third time.”

That alone was sufficient.

In an instant, a flash of light erupted, temporarily blinding me.

When my vision cleared, I found Braga before me, now missing all his limbs, his head buried into the ground.

“Cough! How could this… a mere human…”

In front of me, Astrid swung her sword again without hesitation.

Fwoosh!

Braga’s head fell, and his soul, severely injured, barely returned to Gideon.

“If you’re so confident, how about a proper match?”

The legendary Necromancer.

This was a formal declaration of war against the ancient myth of Thebes.