Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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After everyone had left, Rama reportedly set out on the road alone, feeling quite lonely.

“At that time, I thought to myself, why not become the king of the Underworld instead?”

“…Do people usually have such thoughts there?”

Having heard that much, I was convinced. This guy definitely wasn’t normal.

His way of thinking was on a different level than that of ordinary people. It was indeed the kind of idea you’d expect from Gideon’s master, who unearthed the hero of a founding myth and turned him into his own Undead.

“At first, it might have just been a whim. However, I surprisingly had a talent for it, and I ultimately reached an absurdly high level as a Summoner.”

Surely, without that level of skill, he wouldn’t have been able to cultivate an outstanding Necromancer like Gideon.

As I nodded, Rama continued speaking.

“However, because of this, I realized I couldn’t fill the king’s place.”

“Because of a lack of talent?”

“That’s part of it, but fundamentally, I just wasn’t that kind of vessel.”

That resonated with what I had heard from Shin Do Yoon before. He had said that the right person for a role can’t simply be chosen for their strength.

“After that, I wandered the world, looking for someone with the right talent. Having reached my level, I was free from aging, and the years went by without me pausing.”

I assumed that the one he found was Gideon.

“That boy had more qualities of a king than anyone I’d ever seen. If only he had had more time and a little push, he might have sat on the throne.”

But Gideon had already died, letting go of all regrets and returning to the earth.

And in his place, he had entrusted Rama to me.

“Perhaps that boy instinctively realized it. That you are the person I’ve been looking for.”

“……”

“Come with me to the Underworld of Planet Thebes and sit on that throne. Become the true king of the Underworld, protect the planet, and set things right.”

In other words, Rama had deemed me worthy of being the master of the Underworld.

If what she said was true and I became the king of the Underworld, it might indeed be possible to shatter the vessel and grasp divinity.

“But Thebes has already fallen, hasn’t it?”

“Excuse me?”

“A high-ranking deity invaded and plundered everything from land to whatever else.”

Serejia, who had been beside me, nodded sadly at those words.

Now, there was no meaning in being a protector of the planet or setting things right. They had lost the entire planet outright.

“Th-there’s no way…”

Rama appeared shocked and stiff for a moment, unable to say anything.

She had spent her entire life wandering to rectify the laws of the planet, and now, overnight, that goal had vanished.

Hoooom.

Crash!

Hoooom.

Boom!

“I-I really can’t. I can’t open the door to the Underworld. What on earth happened while I was asleep…?”

“Of course, it wouldn’t work. This isn’t Thebes; it’s another planet.”

While it was indeed a pitiful situation, it cleared up all my questions. How was it that a deity found on Earth was absent from Thebes? Apparently, that spot had been empty from the beginning.

“I’m a deity too.”

“How can you casually say that? You came to my place and couldn’t do anything but get robbed…”

I glared at Serejia, full of irritation, but Rama reacted to that exchange.

“Are you saying you’re a deity of Thebes? That can’t be.”

“…If you say that, I’ll feel quite miserable.”

“That’s not what I meant. To begin with, the deity of Planet Thebes is solely the king of the Underworld. No other deities can exist.”

At that, Serejia tilted her head. Come to think of it, I believe I had heard something similar from Shin Do Yoon.

“Didn’t you say you felt discomfort with the very concept of demigods?”

“……”

Sure enough, that was indeed the case.

It felt illogical for a deity, who should be perfect, to have an imperfect form. Just that alone made no sense.

“…So am I not even a deity at all?”

Serejia, whose confidence had plummeted, gloomily fiddled with her hair.

From what I heard earlier, Serejia also claimed to have no memories of her birth. She simply existed in Thebes as a demigod from some point onwards, or something along those lines.

As I conveyed that fact, Rama seemed to realize something and began to stutter.

“I think I understand. You’re a substitute.”

“A substitute, you say?”

“It seems that due to the prolonged absence of the deity who should govern the planet, a temporary stand-in has been selected.”

After hearing that, Serejia pondered deeply before responding.

“…That could be possible. The only memories given to me were an inexplicable instinct to coordinate the planet’s laws.”

Thus, Serejia created the role of a coordinator and had been protecting Thebes with them all along.

“…So what changes with that?”

“Yes. It changes. Even if you’re a substitute, she possesses the rightful authority.”

In other words, by passing that on to me, a different kind of regime shift could be possible.

“However, there’s still a high likelihood it’s in an imperfect form. It might be best to return to Thebes and perform the conscious act…”

“That seems difficult. We really can’t create a dimensional transfer here.”

While it wouldn’t be impossible if we borrowed Shin Do Yoon’s power, we’d need materials and time to make that journey back.

We didn’t have the luxury of either right now.

“There are no more methods coming to mind.”

“…So we’re doomed.”

Ultimately, with hope now gone, we simply sat in silence within the veil.

Afterwards, we tried to think of other methods, but ultimately none were feasible.

“Why did you recklessly impose restrictions…”

“Sh-shut up. It’ll be over if we see no results anyway.”

Following the restrictions we had imposed, we couldn’t leave this place unless we found a clue for growth.

The moment I forcibly broke that, I’d lose a considerable amount of power as a consequence. Naturally, that was not an option.

Hoooom.

Not having any other ideas, I grabbed the Seal of the Underworld with one hand to clear my mind.

I then opened and closed the door to the Underworld, practicing the release of power.

However, as Rama watched, she cocked her head and jumped up from her seat.

“…How did you do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“The door to the Underworld, of course. It shouldn’t be able to be opened right now.”

Rama said that the Underworld, as referred to by the people of Thebes, was literally the abode of the deity governing the planet, and was naturally a space connected to Thebes.

“Thus, even if you use the inherent power of the seal on another planet like Earth, opening the door to the Underworld is impossible.”

“…Well, it opened just fine.”

“At least in a typical case, it shouldn’t.”

I didn’t quite understand Rama’s words.

What she seemed to imply was that the Underworld of Thebes wasn’t the final destination for dying souls but rather just a kind of house for gods, wasn’t she?

But there was Charon, the ferryman of the dead, and Cerberus, the guardian of Hell, too.

‘So that’s what it is, then.’

But soon, I began to uncover an inconsistency in that.

‘No, isn’t it strange that they even exist there in the first place?’

Honestly, I had thought about this at least once. Why on Earth did Charon and Cerberus, who I’d grown up hearing about in Earth’s mythology, also exist in Thebes?

I had figured it was simply because all underworlds were the same underworld, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“You call them that, then? They’re the guardians of the deity’s abode and the planet’s will. I’ve heard that their abilities and forms constantly change according to the king’s wishes.”

In short, it was just that the perception I had about the underworld had caused them to take on that form.

“Seeing the situation, it seems there’s actually already some kind of direct connection established with the Underworld.”

“If that’s the case…”

“Yes. It’s looking quite promising. If you utilize the power of the clan that you carry as a attendant, you should be more than capable of traveling to the Underworld.”

Ultimately, the answer was found.

Without hesitation, Rama nodded, and as she stood before the door to the Underworld that I had opened, she began to chant spells for quite a while.

Soon, the mist-covered scenery beyond the door began to reveal itself, and I felt the sense of connection between the two spaces slowly taking form.

Hoooom.

Whoosh.

And so, heading towards the completed passage, we slowly moved forward.

Slither.

“It’s an incredible chill I’m feeling.”

“Well, this is the type of place it is. But as a temporary stand-in, you shouldn’t have big issues, right?”

There had been various twists and turns, but at last, we had reached the Underworld of Planet Thebes.

And what appeared before me was indeed a magnificent throne.