I Became The Academy Necromancer

A frosty chill spread along the path as she swung her halberd. The sharp, cold closing in seemed to resemble a wolf’s fangs.

And for a fleeting moment, the sight revealed by Findenai looked like a spectacular display befitting a Mage.

However, the hunters quickly raised their shields, blocking her first strike with near perfection.

Seeing them repel her attack without taking any significant damage, Findenai’s eyebrow twitched a little.

They are…

This organization was surprisingly well-organized. She realized that underestimating or dismissing them could come back to bite her.

However, they were only at that level of threat—Dismissing them would be dangerous.

Fwoosh!

Findenai’s War Shoes spewed out smoke as she floated forward at considerable speed.

The War Shoes were originally an item designed to provide maneuverability in urban areas.

In an open plain like this, it didn’t provide much help except for allowing her to fly for a short while.

Even so, for Findenai, it was one of the means of preserving her stamina.

As she raised her shield and charged at the enemies blocking her, she swung Snow White mercilessly, forcing them to stagger backward.

The sight of her breaking through the barrier formed by seasoned hunters with ease resembled a wolf that had come to tear into a flock of sheep.

However,

“Everyone, stand aside!”

Facing her was not a helpless shepherd boy, but a massive, bearded man.

Whalebelter, the vice leader of the hunters, stepped forward, wielding an enormous axe like hers.

It would be more fitting to describe the rough man as a mercenary than a hunter.

Indeed, Findenai wondered if they actually belonged to a certain mercenary group.

Clang!

As their weapons collided, a fierce shockwave erupted, and Findenai couldn’t help but smirk.

“Why even bother thinking?”

Though Whalebelter was exchanging relentless blows with her, he felt as if her words were directed at someone else.

They were clearly engaged in a fierce back-and-forth, and she was sweating intensely, so much that even the cold air was unable to cool her down.

“I just need to beat you and take you down!”

As soon as she finished speaking, her Snow White began to push forward. It was so dazzling, that it looked like she didn’t even feel any weight from the weapon. However, Whalebelter, who was blocking it, almost bit his tongue as he clenched his teeth without realizing it.

“…!”

She was neither Margrave Darius nor the Mountain Lord, the guardian deity of the mountains.

Perplexed, Whalebelter wondered where in the world this monstrous woman had come from.

“Hey.”

Her voice cut low, like a blade held directly against his thick neck.

“Did you just get distracted?”

Before he even had the chance to swallow his saliva due to the chill, his axe shattered under the impact.

Her white hair swirled as her blood-red eyes glowed between the strands.

A wolf guarding the mountain range.

Although he bore the title of a hunter, Whalebelter had to admit the truth.

It was impossible to win against her on his own. So there was only one thing left.

“Get her!”

The hunters began to pour in from all directions. They did not act with the honor of knights.

They did not strictly adhere to one-on-one confrontations, nor did they feel the slightest moral guilt when facing their prey.

Nets and snares rained down.

Arrows and bullets flew through the air.

Swords and spears joined the assault.

Various attacks poured in from all directions, making it unclear whether they were attempting to kill or capture.

Fwoooshhh!

Findenai’s War Shoes discharged smoke once again as she rose into the air, evading all their attacks effortlessly.

As she soared upward, she spotted familiar faces from the Clark Republic rushing in her direction and grinned.

“You bastards, you’re fucking late!”

Even though the Clark Republic had fallen, Margrave Darius could not recklessly lead his troops into another country’s land.

While the fact that the mountain range had been attacked could serve as a valid reason…

If Darius crossed the border with his troops solely based on his personal judgment, it would not end with only the Verdi Household being held responsible.

And since the hunters weren’t affiliated with the Republic, they couldn’t sway public opinion by saying it was Griffin’s scheme.

Amidst such an ambiguous situation, Findenai was undoubtedly the solution.

“Ooooh! Chief!”

“It’s been a while! You look more beautiful than ever!”

“So we just have to take care of these rude fellows?”

The Scrapyard Nomads were no longer fighting for freedom; now, they fought for the Republic’s rights.

And they had come to deal with the ruffians who had invaded their land.

At the front stood Findenai, and beyond her was the mountain range and the Mountain Lord.

While the revolutionaries who had once fought to break free from the Demon Lord Magan’s reign were coming at them from behind.

“This is…?”

Why had the situation taken such a drastic turn?

Whalebelter sighed in resignation as he looked at the neatly extinguished fires in the Norseweden Mountain Range.

* * *

“Sigh.”

Crossing her legs, Deia let out a sigh of relief. As she looked out the window and saw the group of hunters Findenai had taken out, the tension in her body eased.

Things had been resolved admirably.

When the Mountain Lord had requested help, she had been quite worried.

After all, it was a heavy matter for a guardian deity to ask her for protection.

However, once things were laid out plainly, it wasn’t all that difficult. To be precise, it could be resolved without much trouble.

It was a misunderstanding born from a difference in perspective with the Mountain Lord.

Seeing the Mountain Lord pleading for help, she naturally assumed that a being stronger than him would be coming to kill or threaten him.

If that were to happen, even the Verdi Household would not be able to fend off such a being.

Hence, Deia went to the Mountain Lord to explain the harsh reality, and the response she received was unexpected.

Who would have ever thought that the guardian deity of the mountain range would be powerless against threats from outside the mountain…

The moment she heard that, Deia understood that she had been mistaken due to a communication gap.

Well, I doubt there is a sane person in the world who will hunt a monster like that using conventional methods.

One issue was dealt with.

Deia thought as she stretched her body.

Even without Deus Verdi, she could at least manage this much. She began to wonder if she had been overly dependent on him for nearly a year.

No, that’s not it.

It wasn’t that she was unable to showcase her abilities; it was just that he had handled everything so effortlessly that she hadn’t had the chance to shine.

She thought about how she could proudly tell him about this incident when he returned, but just as Deia was about to pour herself a cup of tea…

Clatter!

The door burst opened, and Darius and Findenai walked in, dragging the tied up.

She initially assumed that he had been brought in for interrogation, but Darius’ expression was unexpectedly serious.

“Deia, it seems like it’s not over yet.”

“Huh?”

Deia was puzzled by what he meant.

Pushing Whalebelter forward, Findenai gave him a swift kick.

“Kuhk!”

Kneeling on the ground, he groaned softly. After a moment, he cautiously raised his head.

As Deia rose from her chair and subtly gestured for him to speak, he swallowed hard and began carefully.

“W-we are part of an organization called the Hunters.”

“Right, I heard about that.”

The name seemed quite direct, but personally, Deia found it much more intuitive than something like Dante.

“I-in fact, we didn’t just come here to kill the Mountain Lord.”

“…”

“It’s mainly to find the Soul Whisperer, Deus Verdi!”

Whalebelter’s story continued.

He revealed the purpose of the Hunters, the goals of their organization, and who led them.

Finally, he explained that this was only the start.

The more Deia listened, the more she felt that this man had little to almost no loyalty to the Hunters.

It was almost bewildering to see how easily he spilled everything.

“This bastard definitely has a lock on his mouth, but it’s only attached to his lower lip. And it’s so loose, it just opens on its own.”

Even Findenai struggled to comprehend his actions and smacked him on the back of his head.

Having been smacked, Whalebelter continued awkwardly but quickly.

“W-we’re more like a mercenary group. Aside from our chief, Lanhardt, and a few subordinates, most of us barely have any loyalty towards the group!”

“Didn’t you just say you were second-in-command?”

Crossing his arms, Darius asked, and Whalebelter nodded quickly.

“That’s only because Lanhardt gave me the title nominally due to the large number of subordinates under me.”

Whalebelter, kneeling, shouted urgently. Knowing that he was already captured and that he would lose his life if he didn’t align with them, he was actively offering his help.

“Lanhardt is coming! He’ll never spare me for spilling the information after being defeated! He’s like a beast!”

“…”

“He’ll kill the Mountain Lord and Deus Verdi to seize the souls in his possession!”

“Let him try.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Deia frowned, clenching her teeth with a hint of frustration.

“Let him go ahead, if he thinks he can.”

Did he even realize whom he was threatening to kill?

Did he truly understand the weight of that plan?

Her gaze turned heavy as she looked at the mountain /genesisforsaken