Necromancy

**Necromancy** (死霊術 *shiryōjutsu*) is a magic art used by **necromancers** (死霊術師 (ネクロマンサー), *nekuromansā* or *shiryōjutsushi*) in the Other World to exorcise spirits, resurrect the dead, and summon the Undead.

## Overview

Although necromancers are able to replenish their magic from "magic-storing stones" (魔留石 *maryūseki*) (jewels) just as typical magic users do, they often gather magic by exorcising spirits—usually vengeful spirits or those beyond reasoning. This is possible due to the immense amount of "staying energy" (留まるエネルギー *tomaru enerugī*)—energy stemming from emotions, grudges, and other lingering attachments—spirits require to remain on the mortal plane; it is this energy that necromancers convert to magic on a fundamental level.

Direct communication with spirits does not appear to be an attribute of necromancy, though necromancers can form contracts or 'pacts' with spirits that prove agreeable just as they can exorcise those that prove disagreeable. Furthermore, spirits are able to give necromancers permission to use their corpse; necromancers can also relocate spirits to possess suitable vessels as necessary. Necromancers *can* give spirits the ability to talk with a fresh set of vocal cords—ideally human vocal cords, though the necromancer Corpse God once improvised with a dead bird to successfully allow the spirit Miyabi Hosorogi to speak. It is inadvisable for necromancers to eat spirits, as the necromancer's soul would meld with them.

Necromancers can use resurrection magic to return the dead to life, though the process could be considered 'rebirth' rather than mere restoration. A resurrected being can be considered akin to the Earth concept of 'Zombies': 'Zombie' bodies are preserved, capable of self-repair and may be stronger than they were in life; however, a Zombie's senses may be a tad more muted as a trade-off. Their saliva contains a powerful paralyzing agent that can paralyze a bitten person for a period of time.

With enough magic—a non-insignificant amount—a necromancer can turn a Zombie into a Vampire Larva.

It is moreover possible for necromancers to summon souls; the Corpse God is able to summon souls from his world while on Earth, though the ease with which he does comes as a surprise. The animated 'skeletons' that Corpse God uses for household chores are such souls, though their bones are *not* actual bones; rather, these 'bones' are created by attracting elements of nearby metals and stones, and subsequently fashioned as temporary vessels for summoned souls. It is possible to summon souls in their original form—the monstrous skeletal creature that impaled Misaki Sakimiya being one such example—but doing so demands a great quantity of magic; therefore, this is reserved for worst-case scenarios.

Corpse God has summoned both full 'skeletons' and detached skeletal appendages to carry out his will; the latter are not the only examples of disembodied body parts (however 'real') he has employed. For instance, he uses tripodal eyeballs and detached ears to serve as literal "eyes and ears" espionage; in other words, he is able to spy and eavesdrop on others directly via such methods.

### Concepts and Terminology

**The Netherworld:** Also referred to as "the other side," the netherworld may be a realm where spirits reside. A basic necromancy technique is to overflow netherworld air into an enclosed space or the necromancer's surroundings and thereby construct a **temple** ('sanctuary'): a tangible space that even those who do not possess the Evil Eye can perceive through other senses. For instance, humans might notice the temperature lowering by several degrees.

If the necromancer devotes enough time to the ritual, the ritual can be used to confuse others' vision and orientation in lieu of a magic spell. The temples novices construct will be small in nature; however, with enough honing of the skill, necromancers theoretically should be able to envelop entire castles in their sanctuary.

**Synchronizing/Sympathizing with the Dead:** To 'sympathize' with the spirits with the dead is to share one's senses with the dead, a technique that is taught to novice necromancers. Novices are typically taught not to sympathize 'directly' with spirits, and need to learn how to protect their own souls to safely employ the technique lest their souls erode.

Crystal balls can be utilized to experience the senses of faraway spirits, but the actual application of the technique without tools can prove difficult in normal conditions—i.e. when a necromancer has not diluted or drained an area of its magical essence. (Draining an area can be achieved by erecting a barrier, from the confines of which a necromancer can then smoothly operate.) 'Normal conditions' in the Other World refers to the rich saturation of magical essence in its atmosphere; the necromancer's technique is liable to be blocked by the surrounding essence.

**"Spirit-of-the-Dead Thread":** 'Normal conditions' on Earth differ to normal conditions on the Other World, for magical essence is severely diluted in Earth's atmosphere. This allows the reincarnated necromancer Corpse God to sympathize with the dead "totally and without limit" on Earth, where he has subsequently devised "Spirit-of-the-Dead Thread"—threads that not only give spirits' hands his sense of touch but the ability to interact with physical objects. Essentially, Corpse God creates a loophole that enables him to "use the Earth's own environment against itself without expending too much magic."

While he had been able to share his sense of touch with spirits on his home world, he would not have been able to devise or use the Thread there as its magical essence impeded his technique.

**Memory Erasure:** By having a soul possess a person's spirit, a necromancer can use the soul like a scalpel to cut out a portion of the target's memory (soul), which suggests one's soul and memory are interlinked. This necromantic method relies on a magic system different to that which Geldwood members use for brainwashing and confessional spells; whether the method sees the same results when applied to people from Earth is unknown.

**Secret Art of Reincarnation** (転生の秘術 *Tensei no Hijutsu*): Although it is not explicitly clear that the secret art of reincarnation Corpse God masters is exclusively possible through necromancy and not other magic, its obscure, prohibited nature and fundamental manipulation of souls and carcasses suggest necromancy must be involved.

## Necromancers

Necromancers may be either at risk of becoming—or guaranteed to become—the Undead themselves, as exemplified by the Corpse God's gradual transformation, metamorphosis, or evolution from human to an undead skeleton during his time as a necromancer in the Other World. The Corpse God's statement that he did not notice his transformation cannot be presumed to represent a universal experience. Necromancers may have a long life expectancy as a result of this or other reasons.

### Other World

The Geldwood faith of the Other World, which preaches that souls can be granted salvation, abhors necromancy and believes the souls of fraternizers with necromancers are as corrupted as the souls of necromancers themselves. Purporting that such souls can only be granted salvation in death, Geldwood practitioners are expected to kill both necromancers and their fraternizers outright.

Since the Geldwood faith is upheld in the Kingdom of Nyanild, it is unlikely that necromancers had much of a presence in Nyanild territory. In contrast, Byandy Empire welcomed necromancers into its ranks and expected them to fight on the battlefield in the empire's name. At the time of the empire's collapse, necromancers held the second-highest and fourth-highest ranks in the Imperial court's lineup of Sorcerers.

It is said that possessors of the Evil Eye who do not seek refuge in the Church often become necromancers, for the ability to see spirits is exceptionally useful for necromancy purposes.

### Earth

Just as Corpse God retains his Evil Eye when reincarnating into a human body on Earth, he is still able to use magic and practice the art of necromancy. Where the Other World's atmosphere was rich with magical essence, Corpse God has observed that mana has a far fainter presence in Earth's air. The presence of spirits is comparatively lesser than the presence of spirits in the Empire.

The concept of necromancy on Earth has existed since Antiquity, though whether true necromancers actually existed and practiced true necromancy on Earth prior to Corpse God's arrival remains to be determined. Those who belong to the online anti-Bug forum appear not only to be aware of necromancy as a 'secret art' originating from a faraway 'ancient country' that "not even [their] ancestors could handle," they seem to desire such secret arts for themselves.

### Known Users

* Corpse God
* Easlies Swordfrail

## References

1. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 6.
2. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Chapter 47.
3. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 5.
4. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 4, Chapter 28.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 4, Chapter 34.
6. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 4, Chapter 27.
7. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 2.
8. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 2, Chapter 10.