The name “Kuzuri” is no exaggeration.
She herself is young, so much so that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her a junior within the Demon Lord’s Army.
She is indeed young enough that beings who naturally live for hundreds of years would consider her young.
To reach the rank of General, a supreme executive of the Demon Lord’s Army, at such a young age undoubtedly places her in the category of geniuses.
Moreover, she’s a genius among geniuses. Therefore, she’s one of the strongest.
A being capable of dominating one of the strongest is, one might say, a natural disaster.
“Kah kah kah kah!! So young, far too young. Do you think mere abilities that can produce a few high-level soldiers can suppress me?”
A natural disaster that can suppress a genius. The exception among exceptions.
The Undead King, Nōraifu, bursts into laughter, clutching his sides in amusement, conjuring subordinates from the darkness. No, it would be more accurate to say he had already conjured and stored them.
Death is the ultimate destination for all things. Undead beings are beings that have gone beyond that ultimate destination. That, in itself, is a contradiction. They have reached their destination yet have not ended. That is the nature of the undead.
However, there’s no need to explain the nature of the undead now. What’s important is that death is always the passage one must go through to become undead. In every field imaginable, death awaits at the end. Animals, plants, even inanimate objects meet their end.
“I am the Undead King. I have seen the end of death. Do you know how many years I have watched death? The mere grunts a young miss who has lived only a few decades can amass are something I can prepare with a flick of my hand.”
The Undead King, Nōraifu, who has a close relationship with death, accumulates more soldiers the more deaths there are. Of course, he doesn’t accumulate all deaths, and there are limits. But there’s no denying the difference that comes with age and experience.
Even as the Kuzuri continuously creates subordinates, death still occurs, and there are beings that decay. Even as the Kuzuri’s subordinates mature, death brings ruin, and there are beings that cease to exist. Even when the Kuzuri’s subordinates are ready to fight, death plucks away new lives.
No matter how much of a genius one might be, one shouldn’t directly challenge a being that defies natural laws.
The Undead King, due to his very existence, gives the impression of an experienced Mage. However, his true domain is necromancy, which transcends death. He completed the creation of his undead subordinates and armies long ago, and now only needs to focus on improving their quality and replenishing their numbers. He keeps his army in a state of perpetual dormancy, ready to be awakened at any moment. This state of being, which could be described as insane, is maintained by the insane Undead King. And it was the Demon Lord who managed to defeat this insane Undead King.
Initially, insects poured out from the forest, intending to prey on the undead. But their advance was gradually pushed back. Subordinates wielding scythes, like mantises, were swallowed by waves of bones. Zombies were holding their ground against the rolling, giant pill bugs that burrowed forward. Bees, proudly extending their stingers while flapping their large wings, were surrounded by ghosts and had their life force drained. A massive swarm of dragonflies, soaring through the sky, was instantly brought down by the toxic breath of a single dragon zombie.
“Numbers are only useful when they are combined with quality. Your quality is quite low, wouldn’t you say?”
And yet, for the Undead King, this fighting strength was merely the beginning. In the darkness behind the Undead King, countless other beings still writhed. Were their numbers in the thousands? Tens of thousands? More? Only the Undead King, who ruled them all, grasped the entirety of his forces.
“If it were Raidou, he could break through this wave head-on. If it were Lunaria, she could flip the very earth and swallow the army. If it were Amili, she could prepare an army comparable to mine. A Warlock could instantly construct a massive fortress. And the Dragon King goes without saying.”
Perhaps he kept the captured insect nearby to provoke the Kuzuri, who could hear him? With a rattle of his jaw, he laughed with amusement, taunting her, calling her inferior.
“Ah, how unfruitful. Jiro would have entertained me more. And yet, what is this? Were you truly a General? If you had honed your skills, you could have easily dealt with this level of army and enjoyed yourself with me.”
He even went so far as to say she was inferior to humans. This was, in a way, a provocation that was akin to a forbidden word for a General. In the Demon Lord’s Army, strength is justice. And to mock that strength is the greatest provocation.
“Kah kah kah kah! Are you angry? Then, try to take my head. Show me your pride! Entertain me more!!”
Perhaps due to their shared senses, anger radiated from the captured insect. Seeing this, the Undead King sneered.
“Look, look, look. Do you have time to be angry? My army is already occupying the forest!”
Even as this exchange took place, the extermination of the insects continued. The insects that had been overflowing moments ago were now being eradicated by the undead, creating a remarkably cleared scene. What remained in the forest was not insects, but the undead army. The insects, considering the patrolling undead as invaders of their territory, launched counterattacks. However, for every undead that latched on as dead weight, willing to be destroyed in the process, other undead would drag the living past the boundary of death. No matter how fast they were born, being forced into such a swift war of attrition was unsustainable.
“See, we’ve already found the entrance!”
Moreover, they had even found the entrance to the dungeon. There, she should have placed three of her subordinates, her own daughters, whom the Kuzuri recognized as capable. Even though those daughters were intercepting with all their might, the undead swarmed the entrance. It didn’t matter if their comrades fell, were eaten, or were impaled. For the undead, death was something they had passed. It was something they accepted. It was not something to be feared. Furthermore, the consciousness of the lower-ranking undead was faint. They could only fight by instinct. Therefore, they followed orders and sought to annihilate the enemies before them. This is what the insects feared.
A legion that feared death, with their emotions unified, driving to exterminate them. They had thought their numbers were superior. But this was overthrown. Upon closer inspection, one could see the figures of the insects that had been fighting alongside them moments ago mixed within the undead horde. It was impossible to mistake the insect army, with their bodies partially missing. And now, their numbers were being used against them, transforming into undead soldiers. The tide of battle was shifting, favoring the Undead King moment by moment.
“Kah kah kah kah, no reinforcements are coming. The nobles you are using as disposable pawns are also desperately fighting, relying on your reinforcements for hope. If there are any…”
The Kuzuri was in dire straits. Nōraifu had an idea of how to break this deadlock. The living dungeon, and the angels supporting the Aristocratic Union who opposed the Demon Lord. Discarded dungeons, except for a few that were properly managed, had all been destroyed and rendered unusable. Therefore, the answer was limited.
“Perhaps reinforcements from Isal?”
This dungeon connected to their world. The Undead King was certain of this. Challenging the Demon Lord’s Army with the Kuzuri alone was too reckless; the Undead King reasoned she possessed enough intelligence to consider this. If not, he would simply judge her a fool. However, even the Undead King could see that the only way for the Kuzuri to win against the Demon Lord’s Army was by aiming to divide their forces through causing chaos. Therefore, she would have considered inviting beings who would bring chaos to the continent. It was unlikely the Kuzuri would not have considered such a method.
“They have arrived.”
His prediction was not wrong. Near the dungeon entrance, a bright light illuminated the area. It was a barrier of holy attribute. That wall, possessing purifying power, was a natural enemy to the undead army. In fact, ghosts and skeletons that touched the wall instantly turned to ash. The Kuzuri should not have possessed such a barrier.
“You have no choice but to rely on such things now. Hmph, you have fallen.”
Relying on that power meant she had banked on Isal’s power. To the Undead King, she felt irritation that she, who had once held the rank of General, did not aim for a solution with her own abilities.
“You will rely on defense, but attack with your own power, is that it?”
And then, he saw large insects emerging one after another from within the dungeon. Centipedes, beetles, spiders, scorpions. They were diverse, and insects covered in strong carapaces appeared, crushing the undead.
“I don’t like it.”
The strategy was not wrong. It could hardly be called a misjudgment if the goal was to defeat the Undead King. But the feeling that he didn’t like it was also not wrong. The cause of the Kuzuri’s rebellion was her own selfish pride, unable to accept being subordinate to anyone. If she had maintained that principle, it would have become her honor, inspiring admiration and a desire to follow her. But who would admire the current Kuzuri, who would use anything at her disposal without regard?
“Demon Lord” is the title of the strongest. I am not saying one should not borrow from others. But to be the Demon Lord, one must reach that position solely through their own power. The moment she borrowed the hand of Isal, an enemy, the Kuzuri could no longer call herself the Demon Lord. The Undead King’s slight hope was betrayed, and along with his disappointment, he felt anger at the act of desecrating the name of the Demon Lord.
“You have done something you must not. You have defiled the names of past Demon Lords. You have defiled the names of future Demon Lords. That act is worthy of ten thousand deaths.”
Pride and dignity are actions performed according to individual values, but the Kuzuri had unmistakably stepped into a realm that should not have been trampled upon. At this point, the Undead King stopped his amusement. What followed was simply a task of destruction. He no longer recognized the enemy as an opponent to fight, but as pests to be eradicated.
“If that’s the case, the evil must be dealt with.”
The Undead King summoned further forces. It would be beneath his pride to summon the Knights’ Order against the Kuzuri. Thus, he would pit pests against pests. These were the fates of those condemned criminals who had defiled, invaded, and sought to destroy his territory. Criminals who were allowed to live, yet whose lives were made a trial. A legion of monsters, their bodies modified by necromancy, affirming their humanity while stripping them of it.
“With this, even that barrier will be meaningless.”
Their most distinctive feature was that they obeyed the Undead King’s commands like the undead do, but they were not undead. Therefore, holy light had no effect on them. And the criminals, sentenced to death and modified by the Undead King, attacked the insects to be freed from their suffering. Death is salvation. These criminals, who were given that place of salvation, wielded the power granted by the Undead King to its fullest. The monstrous beings, transformed into odd shapes, were unleashed into the forest, advancing directly towards the dungeon. They further pushed back the Kuzuri’s army, which had temporarily held them at bay, deeper into the dungeon. They destroyed the barrier of holy light, their last resort, with sheer physical force.
“Now, for the finishing touch.”
And with that, the Undead King cast his magic. An extremely large magic circle unfolded above the dungeon. Once that magic circle was complete, the Undead King’s judgment would be passed. A countdown to the approaching death. To prevent this, one would have to escape the dungeon. But the Undead King would not permit that.
Today’s word: “It is difficult to overcome the difference in experience that comes with age.”
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