Fire, fire, fire.
Everything in sight was engulfed in fire.
The Undead King’s vision was filled with all flora and fauna consumed by flames, showcasing a scene where no living being could possibly survive.
“…It seems I’ve been outmaneuvered.”
Nōraifu, the Undead King, gazed at the fiery mountain before him, regretting his delayed action. He then acknowledged his own misjudgment.
“I decided it was fine to investigate that Dungeon later. I curse my own judgment. Should I assume the other party was equally panicked, or is there some other motive…?”
Though his tone was relaxed, it was laced with genuine self-recrimination. A mistake in prioritizing.
It would have been obvious to someone like the Oni King how keenly he was feeling it now.
“However, I never expected them to resort to such large-scale evidence destruction.”
The Old Calicetra Margraviate.
This was the territory once governed by the margrave who Carter Isperio reportedly served.
However, its true nature was that of a rebel army’s stronghold, operating against the Demon Lord’s Army.
Currently, due to their plot of rebellion, their entire clan and their families were declared criminals, and the land and all their possessions were confiscated as direct territory of the Demon Lord.
But, that scenery was already gone without a trace.
“Have they even abandoned their hearts?”
It was a remote region with poor transportation, yet there had been some level of interaction.
There were also innocent people there who were not involved in the rebellion.
People who, even after being exhausted by repeated battles, desperately tried to live for tomorrow.
“…No, they were never the sort to see us as neighbors from the start.”
They were not enemies with the leniency to show mercy to their foes.
But, he still felt that it was impossible to be so ruthlessly cruel.
As an undead being, the Undead King, who understood life’s brilliance more vividly than when he himself was alive, found it easy to be merciless, but difficult to be cruel.
The Undead King recognized that the line between necessity and its absence was drawn by reason.
However, he could find no trace of reason in the scene before him.
This meant he couldn’t comprehend the necessity of going this far.
The flames spread over an immense area, centered on the city where the margrave’s mansion stood, a city that boasted a vast land, even if it was just a part of the continent.
It burned with unnatural intensity, spreading from one place to the next.
The flames didn’t stop at plants like trees; they blazed as if to incinerate every being residing in that land.
“Undead King-sama! The flames are too strong, and we’re not enough! Let’s retreat for now and regroup!”
A male vampire, assigned to the investigation team this time, rushed towards the Undead King, who was preventing the fire’s further spread, though he couldn’t stop its initial outbreak. The man’s face was smudged with soot, a testament to his desperate firefighting efforts. He indicated that further progress couldn’t be prevented, but the Undead King shook his head resolutely.
“No. If we retreat now, our people behind us will be consumed by the flames. Trust the Demon Lord. He is not one to abandon others easily. If we endure here, we will surely be rewarded.”
The reason for this was the towns and villages that existed in the direction the flames were spreading.
As someone entrusted with the rank of general, and as someone with even greater power, retreating was impossible for the Undead King.
The Undead King himself was currently using his magic power and spells to fight against the great fire, but the enemy’s immense flames showed no sign of subsiding.
In fact, even when he used earth magic to gouge the ground and create mudslides to swallow the fire, flames re-emerged from within.
They were like living fire.
“I will support this place. Those who can fly, search for the cause while continuing firefighting from the air. Those who cannot fly, relay messages to the surrounding towns, and call for even a little reinforcements. Your primary objective is to extinguish this fire.”
“Yes!”
He watched his subordinates depart, then stood alone before the conflagration.
From now on, he would earnestly begin using magic, truly becoming a shield for the people.
A magic circle materialized around his staff, a testament to years of diligent practice.
“Kahahahaha, looks like an all-nighter tonight. Well, as an undead, the meaning of the process called ‘sleep’ is rather thin for me.”
Various magic circles of different sizes appeared around the large central magic circle, and he cheerfully cracked the bones in his jaw. Was it a display of false courage, or a sign of composure?
Nonetheless, there was not a shred of resignation in his demeanor.
“Let’s see, now that I’m here to gauge the enemy’s true intentions, I’ll be generous.”
Enjoying dire straits—this was what he had taught Jiro, to avoid despair in such moments.
Unreasonable demands.
Reckless impulses.
This was the empirical knowledge gained from experiencing such obstacles at any given moment.
To Nōraifu, who had experienced this in actual combat, this great fire was merely a minor inconvenience.
The Undead King simply took action to resolve the situation.
“If I had known something like this would happen, I would have brought Lunaria with me.”
Water or earth would be the most effective against fire.
Alternatively, there was the option of blowing away the flames with an explosion.
He grumbled about not having a top-class acquaintance who could interfere with nature like that present, but he did not stop his actions.
In conclusion, the means Nōraifu took was a combination of these.
“I can only hope that after this great fire, the land becomes fertile.”
A colossal magic circle composed of numerous magic circles of varying sizes.
It wasn’t just powerful; it was meticulously calculated, the magic circles themselves spread across the ground like the pattern on a carpet.
Each of these large and small magic circles amplified each other’s magic through synergy, enhancing their effects.
The Undead King, displaying a composed expression, unleashed a magic that could be described in a single word as a natural disaster, a feat difficult for an individual to perform.
“Here, a small test first.”
After thoroughly infusing the earth with air to soften it, he erupted underground water, overturning the land.
As if a waterfall was flowing upside down, with an explosion sound, the land before the Undead King turned into a great tsunami. The torrent of mud and water mixed together engulfed the flames.
The range was extensive.
The raging torrent, spreading for tens of kilometers, poured into the flames.
Its momentum surpassed the speed at which new flames were being generated.
Nōraifu’s magic, which he believed would serve as a sufficient barrier, though not entirely put out the fire. This action was taken because he perceived there were no survivors.
However.
“Ah~, oops! It’s a waste to put out a fire I just started~”
“Who is it?”
When an unconcerned voice echoed, everything changed.
“Me? Yes, I suppose. I’m the source of this fire, aren’t I?”
The Undead King’s faint, glowing pupils, deep within his void, caught sight of a figure floating in the air without needing to search for the speaker.
“Kahahaha, it’s quite admirable for the culprit to appear so boldly. The Oni King would probably be delighted, but unfortunately, I am not that kind of person. State your business. Non-human being.”
There stood a being with golden hair swaying, clad only in a white cloth that could be mistaken for either a boy or a girl.
If Jiro saw it, he might have thought it was a scarecrow.
Though the figure appeared human at first glance, the Undead King, who could see through souls, perceived that it was merely a human-shaped vessel, its fundamental nature being entirely alien.
“…Well now, you don’t seem like just a mere undead. An undead who can perceive my existence must hold a certain rank, hmm. My work is finished, but if it’s a test run, it shouldn’t be a problem to cause a little more havoc, right?”
“Hoho, you speak boldly, claiming to be a test run against me.”
It was easily imaginable that the shadow of the Sun God lay within.
Had they slipped back in through some undetected gap?
Or did they possess such a technique?
However, the word “test run” rather than “testing” snagged in the Undead King’s thoughts.
If it was the former, he would lament the current situation, which had not improved despite the terrible ordeal, but he would deal with that later.
For now, the Undead King, concealing his magic, began to activate it to deal with the culprit before him.
“Yes, because you’re an old man.”
Whether sensing it or not, the culprit, with a faint smile, stood leisurely as if completely at ease, facing the formidable Undead King, one of the foremost powers in the Demon Lord’s Army.
“You’re weak.”
They declared the Undead King weak.
“Kahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
Those words might have been the truth from the culprit’s perspective.
However, for the Undead King, it had been years, decades, perhaps even a century, since he had been called weak.
And those words were to the Undead King.
A forbidden phrase.
Despite recognizing that this was now a battlefield, he burst into loud laughter.
The magic he had been concealing and activating dissipated.
“?” “Did you lose your mind?”
At his reaction, the culprit tilted their head as if questioning if he had gone mad. This further substantiated that his previous statement about weakness was not a lie or a joke.
The Undead King found himself wanting to express gratitude for being able to laugh heartily, finding it all so funny and delightful.
“I, weak?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying, aren’t I? Old man. Are you senile?”
And the fact that he was being **so** casually dismissed also stirred a desire for retaliation from the bottom of his stomach, which he found amusing.
“When was it, that someone last said such a thing to me?”
“Huh? Hello~, can you hear me?”
He swore.
He swore by the emotions he felt when he was powerless that day.
He swore.
He swore to retaliate against those who mocked him.
He swore.
He swore against those who recognized him as weak.
He swore.
He swore to fulfill this feeling.
He had sworn long ago.
He had sworn on that day of betrayal.
The Undead King would not permit it.
Being weak.
The Undead King would not permit it.
Having weakness forced upon him.
The Undead King would not permit it.
Remaining weak.
The Undead King would not permit it.
The experience of **losing** due to weakness in the past.
Therefore.
“It’s been a while, I suppose it’s time to get serious.”
“Eh? What? Did I get involved with a weirdo? Hellooo, let’s talk, old man.”
The Undead King had snapped.
“There is no need for resolve or determination. Your Master, undoubtedly. I will break.”
“Whoa, you just snapped. Scary, this old man is scary.”
He no longer intended to converse.
He no longer intended to gather information.
All that remained was the consciousness to save the few surviving civilians.
And exceeding that was the overwhelming desire to destroy the being before him.
Only the impulse to destroy.
“Perish.”
The trigger for his anger was undeniably the thing that called itself the culprit.
The opening hit was the Undead King’s strike.
A single word, a single action.
With just that, the concept of spatial cohesion around the culprit was broken.
The elements in the air, as well as phenomena like magic power and flames, had their cohesion undone, and for a moment, it seemed to become a void.
“Whoa! This is intense! No mercy at all! Look at this, the magic particles have become so fine, it’s incredibly difficult to mix them! This is definitely magic that shouldn’t be aimed at people! Well, it won’t affect me though! After all, I’m the strongest!”
“Gravity Compression.”
Undeterred by the space, the culprit, without evading, energy criticized the Undead King’s attack.
It was a peculiar sight, but perhaps they had resistance to magic, or some other reason.
The Undead King’s brain was constructing formulas to break down the opponent, considering all possibilities.
He interfered with gravity, attempting to slam the opponent to the ground, but that too failed.
“It’s useless, old man, don’t push yourself, you might collapse from high blood pressure?”
The surrounding area had collapsed in a donut shape due to the magic cast by the Undead King, but the point where the culprit stood, that single spot, was unaffected.
“….Earth Quake Eruption.”
Attacks dependent on magic power were not effective.
So, if it was magic that involved physics, then what? He caused numerous rocks to rapidly erupt from the ground and hurl them at the culprit.
“I’m TELLING you! Attacks like that won’t work on me! Listen properly!!”
Seeing them catch the rocks with one hand, the Undead King recorded the gained information: “So, they *can* be hit.”
“Ah, geez! One useless thing after another, the beings from this world are truly annoying.”
From then on, as if in a stalemate, they unleashed a barrage of magic, regardless of attribute—fire, water, wind—but each and every one was nullified.
Or rather.
“…”
It was *nullified*.
Not automatically, but intentionally.
To erase all that magic, they had to perceive it.
Upon realizing this, the Undead King recalled a certain passage and took a step to confirm that possibility.
“Illusory Rupture.”
This was a magic that caused phantom pain.
A magic that stimulated the pain nerves in living beings, and for a user as skilled as the Undead King, it was a fearsome blow that could even cause shock death in veteran soldiers.
“?” “A dud? Are you out of breath already, old man?”
However, the being before him cast a look of exasperation at the Undead King, as if asking, “What is this one trying to do?”
This meant it was ineffective.
Would the Undead King waste such effort needlessly?
“Kahahahaha, what, I was just preparing to break you.”
The answer was no.
The Undead King had activated the previous magic with grounds for doing so.
And the Undead King, whose conviction grew stronger with the previous magic, threw words at the culprit, partly to confirm his suspicions.
“Hoh. The Divine Sword of this generation.”
Today’s word:
Self-expression is difficult.
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*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year.
Volume two was released on December 19.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, with the addition of an unpublished interlude.
Please also look forward to the new releases!!
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