Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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Since then, nothing has been difficult.

I steadily chipped away at Bargante’s powers without summoning the Undead, and eventually, Bargante couldn’t even put up a decent fight.

“What a ridiculous situation. You’re a warrior, right?”

A warrior is someone who exists on the border between life and death.

With such traits, I had thought he would be a formidable opponent, but surprisingly, Bargante seemed completely helpless.

As I pondered over this, I quickly realized the reason.

“You’ve been living rather comfortably, haven’t you?”

His excessive strength was the issue. He lacked experience facing devastating defeat and confronting death.

In that case, it was obvious he couldn’t inflict a lethal blow on me.

Despite being called a ‘warrior’, he was merely a half-baked version of one.

“Yeah, that makes sense. They probably sent him over to gauge the situation.”

“…Are you mocking my honor?”

“Reality is like that, isn’t it?”

With that, there was no need to adopt a defensive stance.

I waved my hand dismissively and began to corner Bargante to settle the score.

Huff.

Screech!

“In just ten seconds, it will all be over.”

“Ugh…!”

Bargante grimaced in frustration, but it didn’t change anything.

Ultimately, the outcome was decided, and my hand pierced through Bargante’s heart, inscribing complete death there.

Whoosh!

Splatter─!

Blood sprayed everywhere, and his mana waned lifelessly.

Standing in the midst of it all, Bargante wore a blank expression, as though he had frozen in place.

“……”

Immediately after, the atmosphere around Bargante began to change.

It wasn’t just the mood; the essence of his being had transformed into something entirely different from before.

“What the hell?”

“…I’ve committed an offense. But it’s already too late.”

In a moment, it was as if he had regained lost memories, and he changed completely.

Even while coughing up blood, Bargante looked at me with a calm gaze and readied himself.

Hmph.

Huff.

“Your opponent is a fearsome and dangerous being. The ones who will come after this will be the same. So remember this strike.”

The arrogance that had once clouded his eyes was gone. Only a true warrior, forged through countless battles, now stared at his enemy.

Bang!

Bargante threw a punch. After that, it seemed like he accepted death as if he had given it his all.

In the midst of this bewildering situation, I glanced at my arm, which had started to ache.

“…It’s broken.”

And it wasn’t just that.

My regeneration, which normally heals any injury immediately, was ineffective, and other healing arts also didn’t work.

At least that last strike had definitely struck near my core.

“Master!”

Once the battle was over, Song Ha Yeon and Camilla, who had been watching, approached me.

I collected Bargante’s body and headed towards the portal that had formed, contemplating the message and meaning he had intended to convey.

#

“So, in the end, this guy was a victim too?”

“Clearly, from the situation. He must have lost and had his strength and memories taken by that man.”

Considering how flimsy he seemed, boasting about being a third-tier deity, it turned out Bargante was not in a normal state either.

He was a victim who had lost everything in war.

“So it means that there are two kinds over there too?”

Those gods who follow him with their tails between their legs, like Tyndalus, and those who had their strength and memories stripped away, treated as mere pawns.

Given the unfolding circumstances, such a conclusion was unavoidable.

Shin Do Yoon nodded at my words, his face growing somber as he spoke once more.

“With this, it’s certain he’s a higher-tier deity.”

“One hundred percent?”

“It’s impossible for a second-tier. Only they can pull off such a stunt.”

It meant my worst assumptions had come true.

Shin Do Yoon sighed and continued.

“We need to move quickly. So, what was your impression of facing a third-tier deity directly?”

“Nothing special, I guess. Since my strength was taken anyway, it’d be a poor comparison.”

“I’m talking about that last blow of his.”

If it was that, then it certainly had enough value to evaluate. I had already replayed and analyzed Bargante’s strike countless times in my mind.

“I expected it, but indeed, second-tiers are dangerous.”

The difference between Tyndalus and Bargante was already this significant. The disparity with a second-tier deity would likely be even larger.

“If another one comes over, I’ll fight, but I can’t guarantee the outcome.”

“…Is that so?”

In reality, both Shin Do Yoon and I knew that those expectations were overly ambitious.

But facing that reality still made my stomach churn.

“There must be quite a few deities of that caliber on their side, right?”

“I don’t know. But thinking about how they used a third-tier as bait, it’s hard to make optimistic assumptions.”

At this point, the reality was clear.

The opponent hadn’t sent Tyndalus and Bargante to deal with us; rather, they simply couldn’t yet send higher-tier beings, so they sacrificed them to raise the energy levels on Earth.

They used beings close to deification as mere sacrifices. The sheer confidence behind that fact made me frown uncontrollably.

“…Just how much confidence do they have to pull something like that off?”

“I can’t say. Perhaps even now, somewhere in another dimension, their territory is expanding, and their power is growing.”

“That makes it seem really hopeless.”

Shin Do Yoon had mentioned completing the vessels of hunters to imbue them with tremendous strength using divine materials, but that only made sense if their power levels were comparable.

If the enemy had overwhelming strength, then all that awaited us was a brutal defeat.

Having danced on the edges of death multiple times, I felt a profound sense of urgency at that moment.

“…This won’t do. We need something more.”

“But we have no suitable methods, right?”

“I have to figure something out from now on.”

I needed to look for possibilities outside of the hunters’ vessels and the new god Shin Do Yoon.

After pondering for a considerable time, one conclusion emerged.

“I have to do it myself.”

“…What nonsense are you suddenly talking about?”

“Thinking about it, if I take them all out of the equation, I’d be left with just me.”

When it came to whether this could be realized, that was secondary; this was the only method that came to mind.

I just needed to grow stronger than I am now.

And, it must happen.

“Next time someone crosses over, you catch them.”

“I keep saying, I have other things to do…”

“I’ll take that into account. Let’s not communicate for a while.”

With that, I left and sought out Serejia, who was still at home.

“Come with me for a moment.”

“Where are we going?”

“Doesn’t matter, just hurry up.”

Despite everything, the one who knew me best and had enough knowledge was Serejia.

Having taken her with me, I pulled out the Seal of the Underworld in a remote mountain area to create a training space.

Serejia, who had seen it before in Thebes, tilted her head and asked me.

“Are you planning to train? But why am I here?”

“They say many hands make light work.”

“That’s not ‘many hands’; it’s ‘many sheets of paper.'”

“…You sure are quite the local. Is that important right now?”

This was basically what people referred to as seclusion training.

I imposed a self-restriction to not leave this place until I found a clue for growth, no matter the circumstances.

Of course, Serejia would be bound by the same restriction.

“No, but why do I have to do this?”

“It’s usually when you’re desperate that the methods start to appear. So think it over together.”

“This is crazy. You’ve already reached that level; there’s no way the answer is just waiting to pop out.”

I turned to Serejia, changing my expression to a serious one and spoke.

“I know that too, but if that doesn’t work out, it’ll all be over.”

“…Is it that severe?”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Serejia also fixed her gaze with a serious demeanor.

“In the end, it means we have to make it happen, no matter what.”

“Exactly.”

“…Well, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”

Serejia wore a somewhat nostalgic expression, sitting across from me and resting her chin on her hands as she sank into thought.

Indeed.

I had faced similar dilemmas in the past.

And I was here now because I had always found answers along the way.

‘…It’s not impossible at all.’

Just once. Just finding a clue one more time would be enough.

With that, the tide of battle would change, and new possibilities would unfold before me.

I glanced at Serejia, who was deeply focused, then closed my eyes lightly, sinking into countless thoughts.