The Death Mage Who Doesn't Want a Fourth Time

Chapter 368: The last remnants of the evil-god-worshiping Vampires and Meorilith, who praises everything to forcefully grant credits

The Vampires who worshiped Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God of Joyful Life, had manipulated the Bahn Gaia continent from the shadows throughout history. But now, they were in grave danger.

“It was such a powerful organization… So large that even I, someone who was at its core, did not have a full picture of its scope. But now it’s just a shadow of its former self,” remarked Isla.

The three Pure-breed Vampires – Birkyne, Gubamon, and Ternecia – had been wiped out, along with their closest servants. And the source of their ideology, the object of their worship – Hihiryushukaka – had been destroyed.

“I always thought they would fade out eventually, but it seems like they’re in a worse situation than I thought,” said Vandalieu.

The Noble-born Vampires who had gathered under the command of Birkyne, the last remaining Pure-breed Vampire, had fled and scattered after his death, out of their fear of Vandalieu. They had then attempted to reform their organization in the places they had fled to.

There weren’t any particularly capable individuals among the surviving Noble-born Vampires, and all of them had known that they couldn’t survive without forming an organization… They would eventually be hunted down by adventurers, Vampire hunters sent by Churches, or Vandalieu himself.

And most importantly, they had always been a part of an organization from the moment they became Vampires. They had only had the things necessary for a Vampire to survive – somewhere safe to be sheltered from the sun, the ability to gather information, a supply of humans to suck blood from – because of that organization.

Thus, they had little familiarity with the skills necessary to survive on their own. They weren’t entirely incapable of doing so, but it was likely that adventurers would find their trail and hunt them down within less than a century.

Aware of this, the Vampires had gathered once more to try and reform their organization, despite having been scattered at first after they fled.

They knew that they wanted to avoid the Alcrem Duchy, the part of the Orbaume Kingdom in which Vandalieu had been continuously active, as well as the Sauron, Hartner, and Birgitt Duchies, which neighbored the Boundary Mountain Range. But they didn’t have a large base in the Jahan Duchy, which was far away from the Boundary Mountain Range.

Naturally, they didn’t have a large base on the Amid Empire’s side of the continent, either.

There were two main reasons why the Vampires who had worshiped Hihiryushukaka had become so weak. And both reasons were related to necessary factors for the formation of an organization.

“I’m sure they couldn’t trust each other. An organization doesn’t function if everyone is pretending to get along, but… an organization where everyone is constantly wary of each other because they don’t know when they’ll be betrayed doesn’t function either,” said Isla.

The first reason was that the surviving Noble-born Vampires were unable to form relationships of trust with one another. They had been an evil organization that worshiped an evil god, so it wasn’t unusual for them to not be on friendly terms with each other. In fact, it was normal for everyone in the organization to see each other only as superiors, subordinates, or rival competitors.

But even so, a bare minimum level of trust between them had been necessary. When relationships between individuals consisted of constantly being suspicious and wary of their superiors baring their fangs and attacking them the moment they turned their backs, or their peers leaking information, or their subordinates forming factions to kill them as soon as they left themselves vulnerable, there was no way a proper organization could be formed.

“Of course, those were Hihiryushukaka’s teachings, so that couldn’t be helped, but still…” Isla said.

“If there had been a powerful leader, things might have been different, but unfortunately for them, all of the Pure-breed Vampires were killed, and there weren’t any particularly capable individuals among them. How pitiful,” said Eleanora.

One should feel jealous of their superiors and do their best to drag them down. Peers of the same level should be enemies that one should deceive and kill when given the opportunity. Subordinates were pawns to be forced into submission and exploited. These were the teachings of Hihiryushukaka, so perhaps the Vampires of the organization that worshiped him could not be blamed for becoming the way they did.

If there had been a powerful individual such as a Pure-breed Vampire or one of their former aides to seize the initiative, it might have been possible for an organization to consolidate around them, but… there had been very little difference between the surviving Noble-born Vampires, and even the strongest of them were Rank 9 Vampire Viscounts at best.

Thus, it had been impossible to create a single, consolidated organization.

“And I suppose they couldn’t get another being to worship instead of Hihiryushukaka, either,” said Isla.

The other major reason for the Vampires’ weakness was the lack of an evil god to worship. Their organization had been a criminal organization, and at the same time, it had been a dangerous cult that worshiped an evil god.

But Hihiryushukaka had been devoured and erased from existence by Vandalieu.

Thus, the Vampires who had fled had needed a new being to worship. Without a powerful leader to unify the organization, there had been a need for something to make every member hold some ideology in common to unify them.

But even though they had worshiped a new evil god in Hihiryushukaka’s place, the evil gods seemed to have decided to ignore them. In fact, they had even sent Divine Messages of “Don’t get me involved!” to reject the Vampires.

The evil gods that were the remnants of the Demon King’s army couldn’t be blamed for making this decision. They did want the Vampires’ worship, which they could gain by taking Hihiryushukaka’s place. But making Vandalieu their enemy was something that they absolutely wanted to avoid.

No amount of prayer or sacrifices the Vampires could offer would be worth making Vandalieu hostile towards them.

Thus, the evil-god-worshiping Vampires had been unable to acquire a being for them to worship and make into the core of their organization, and they were inevitably forced to split up and work in smaller groups of just a few to a dozen individuals.

The groups had loosely cooperated with one another in various forms, such as the sharing of information, while staying in hiding and keeping an eye on the situation.

And one of the pieces of information they had learned was that a god willing to accept their worship had appeared, so a number of groups had gathered together.

But what had awaited them was an enemy they feared more than Alda’s Vampire hunters – Vandalieu, the one who had brought about the collapse of their organization by devouring the souls of the Pure-breed Vampires and Hihiryushukaka, and Vandalieu’s subordinates.

 “I see. Considering that, it might have been better for them to escape all the way outside the Bahn Gaia continent,” said Vandalieu.

“No, Vandalieu-sama,” said Isla. “There are Vampire organizations outside the Bahn Gaia continent who worship different evil gods that were once a part of the Demon King’s army, and these guys made enemies of them, so… even if they had fled, I believe they would simply have been toyed with until they died agonizing deaths.”

“… The dark side of society is quite brutal, it seems,” Vandalieu remarked. “I would have thought it would be better for those who are unable to live in public society to at least offer scraps of help to one another.”

The evil-god-worshiping Vampires’ organization was so harsh that Vandalieu found himself looking for some good things to say about them.

Although he had no intention of defending criminal organizations, it wasn’t as if they contributed absolutely nothing to society. In some cases, they contributed a surprising amount to local communities.

“Vandalieu-sama, unfortunately, there isn’t a shred of that,” said Chipuras. “It is true that these Vampires led a criminal organization and ended up bringing about a certain level of order to the dark side of society, but… that was also achievable by the local criminal organizations that were serving these evil-god-worshiping Vampires.”

“In fact, I believe they created more unnecessary victims because of the need to squeeze money from the people as tribute to the Vampires and offer them orphans as sources of blood,” said Daroak.

Berkert burst loudly into tears. “We’re the garbage of societyyyyyyy!” he wailed.

Chipuras and Daroak were light-attribute Ghosts who had been servants of the Pure-breed Vampire Ternecia when they were still alive. They were saying that although it was true that the Vampires may have contributed to society, it was too insignificant compared to the harm they caused, and it would have in fact been better if they had not existed.

And this was a truth that no excuse would change. Berkert had nothing to say, so he was simply crying out loud.

“After I became a slave, nobody bought me, so I was sold off to the mines, and that’s where Birkyne’s servants found me and turned me into a Vampire. So in that sense, I do owe them for that, but… given that I was made to distribute drugs and carry out political conspiracies, it’s hard to defend them,” said Eleanora.

“I was also someone who was taken in, so it is difficult for me to say this, but… at the very least, it was not an organization whose existence was beneficial to society. An ordinary criminal organization might have been better, but the one run by the Vampires worshiped the Evil God of Joyful Life, after all,” said Bellmond.

Given that the Vampires had worshiped Hihiryushukaka, who taught them to toy with life, any philanthropic work they did had been nothing more than yet another method to deceive their helpless prey.

The Noble-born Vampires were now baring their fangs, furious after hearing all of these insults from their former superiors.

“Y-you bastards! Getting all full of yourselves just because we decided to be quiet and listen to what you have to say!” one of them shouted.

“Have you forgotten that you were a part of the organization’s core yourselves?!” demanded another.

“Enough barking, you worms!” Isla snarled,

She was right beside Vandalieu, but moving at a speed so fast that it was as if she had teleported, she closed the distance to the two Noble-born Vampires who had spoken and swung her sword.

One of them screamed in agony.

“M-my legs!” the other groaned.

The Noble-born Vampires’ legs had been severed around halfway up their thighs, and they tumbled onto the ground. Covered in dirt and their own blood, they were in absolute astonishment at the fact that they had not even been able to perceive the movements of Isla’s sword.

But they were Noble-born Vampires. Unlike Subordinate Vampires, they were nobles of the night, capable of flying even without using magic. They attempted to float off the ground and make themselves upright again.

But Isla would not allow that. She firmly stomped on the back of one of the Vampires, who grunted in pain, and placed the blade of her sword at the neck of the other.

“I don’t care if you disobey or try to flee. If you do either, I’ll simply sever your heads and bring them back to Vandalieu-sama. If you don’t want that to happen, then be silent and listen,” she told them.

The anger of the two Noble-born Vampires evaporated in an instant, along with their will to resist, and they began trembling at their core. The same was true for the rest of the Noble-born Vampires, who were watching helplessly.

They understood that they had no chance of defeating Isla.

“So, what I want from you people is for you to tell me where the other surviving groups of evil-god-worshiping Vampires are,” said Vandalieu. “And I want you to offer yourselves to me, too.”

Vandalieu and his companions had previously simply left the remnants of the evil-god-worshiping Vampires to scatter and flee. They hadn’t been able to chase all of them down, and they had thought that the Vampires wouldn’t be able to do much without the society that was their core support. If they continued committing evil acts even after scattering, they would eventually be hunted down by adventurers, knights, or Vampire hunters sent by the Churches. If they refrained from committing evil acts and lived quietly in hiding, they would probably be able to survive for at least a few centuries.

Vandalieu and his companions would have been fine with either outcome. Or to be more precise, they were entirely uninterested in what happened to the Vampires.

The Vampires had scattered across the Orbaume Kingdom, not the Demon Empire of VIdal. After all, the Orbaume Kingdom’s public safety was the responsibility of the Orbaume Kingdom’s royals and nobles, and the knights who served them.

At the time, Vandalieu had only been active in the Alcrem Duchy, and he had felt that he’d done the Orbaume Kingdom a favor by defeating the core of the Vampires’ society, so they could at least clean up the remainders.

And at the time, Alda’s worshipers had still been very influential in the Orbaume Kingdom, and Vandalieu and his companions hadn’t known the real identity of Randolf ‘the True,’ so there had been bigger things to be worried about than the remnants of the evil-god-worshiping Vampires.

But now, things were considerably different.

With the exception of the Farzon Duchy, the Orbaume Kingdom had shifted greatly in favor of Vida’s faction, and it had relations with the Demon Empire of Vidal. The individuals who were the main constituents of Alda’s worshipers were concentrated in the Farzon Duchy, and Randolf was now cooperating with Vandalieu and his allies as a skilled drummer.

Thus, the situation had changed in a way where it would be inconvenient for Vandalieu if the scattered Vampires formerly belonging to the evil-god-worshiping organization were to cause trouble across the kingdom’s numerous duchies.

“If you people were to cause trouble across the Orbaume Kingdom and get yourselves caught, and then you blurted out that I was the reason that you lost your organization, there might be people who demand that my companions and I take responsibility for that. I don’t think there’s any logic in blaming me, but in this case, unreasonable accusations win over logic,” said Vandalieu.

Every duchy was sure to have people of varying numbers and political influence who disagreed with the fact that their duchy had formed an alliance with the Demon Empire of Vidal. It was a significant political change, so it was only natural that there would be people who lost money or rights.

It was possible that some of them would struggle in vain to try and turn the situation around in their favor.

Such people would be looking for any excuses to criticize the Demon Empire of Vidal.

“W-wait! This is all just hypothetical, isn’t it?! Are you bastards telling us that because we might become troublesome weeds later on, you’re getting rid of us now just in case?!” screamed the Vampire who was being stepped on by Isla.

“Yes,” Vandalieu replied immediately.

The Vampire under Isla’s foot was lost for words for a few moments. “But then, that makes you no different from the human scum who ignore logic and criticize you with nothing but false pretexts!”

“Yes,” Vandalieu said again with a nod, not backing down. “To elaborate even further, even if I do something about you people now, it’s very likely that the people who are against the Demon Empire of Vidal will come up with some other false pretext to criticize us, so I really am only doing this just in case. I think it’s better to do this than to not do it, and doing it now doesn’t take us too much effort.”

The light of hope vanished completely from the Noble-born Vampires’ eyes.

“So, as for what’s in store for you people, I’m going to have you work for me to atone for your past crimes, and it will also serve as a form of vocational training,” Vandalieu said.

“Y-you’re telling us to become your slaves?!” one of the Noble-born Vampires asked fearfully.

Suddenly, a loud laughter echoed from somewhere, and several people appeared from within Vandalieu’s shadow.

“Slaves, you say?!” one of them said.

“Y-you… You’re Andrew!” a Noble-born Vampire said, recognizing him.

“Barnio, Felpo, Citrin… It’s the lowly Subordinate Vampires!” one of the other Noble-Vampires exclaimed.

“You guys were alive?!” a third Noble-born Vampire uttered in shock.

The people who had emerged from Vandalieu’s shadow were the Subordinate Vampires that the Noble-born Vampires had left behind when they fled because they would only slow them down due to their inability to fly.

The Noble-born Vampires were surprised to see that the Subordinate Vampires were serving Vandalieu, as they had assumed that they had simply been killed and turned into Undead, but there was something that surprised them even more than that.

“More importantly, what are you wearing?!” another Noble-born Vampire shouted.

Andrew and the other Subordinate Vampires had changed in appearance greatly from when they had been the subordinates of these Noble-born Vampires.

“He says ‘labor,’ but a day’s work is about ten hours including meals and breaks! You’ll have collars put on you and you’ll be monitored, but you’ll get your own room, plenty of food, and one day off every week!” Andrew said.

“You won’t be hurt for no reason by your superiors, tortured to death because you angered them, or killed by getting caught up in one of their tantrums! It’s absolute heaven compared to when we were working under you! In fact, I’d be happy to do this labor for the rest of my life!” said Barnio.

The lowliest members of the evil-god-worshiping Vampires’ organization had been the humans. Unaware that they were being manipulated by Vampires, they had formed the lowest parts of the organization that could be cut off at a moment’s notice, and some of them had just been kept as livestock to be harvested for blood. Naturally, these humans had certainly not been treated well.

But the lowest actual part of the organization had been the Subordinate Vampires who were supposed to be above the humans. To the Noble-born Vampires, the Subordinate Vampires were those who didn’t have the qualities or potential to be worthy of being made Noble-born Vampires, and they were easily replaceable, to an extent. To Birkyne and the other Pure-breed Vampires, the Subordinate Vampires had been entirely insignificant beings.

Thus, plenty of Vampires had been killed simply because they had not gotten away from Birkyne in time when he threw a tantrum, or because they had been chosen as targets for Ternecia to unleash her pent-up stress on. Others had been defeated in battle by Adventurers, discovered and killed because they had been given the most exposed positions in conspiracies, or executed for failing to do as they had been ordered. The majority of Vampires who had suffered such fates were Subordinate Vampires.

Even Subordinate Vampires possessed far greater Vitality and regenerative capabilities than humans, which made them much sturdier, and this meant that they did not die immediately even when they were subjected to such cruel treatment.

And even if they withstood this treatment and achieved great things, this didn’t mean that they could become Noble-born Vampires. No matter how much they increased their Ranks, they remained Subordinate Vampires.

Thus, the labor that Vandalieu had imposed on Andrew and the others didn’t feel like suffering for them at all.

“No, I mean, what are you wearing…?” the Noble-Vampire said, repeating his question.

“These are our work clothes, of course,” the Subordinate Vampires replied in unison.

The object that Andrew was carrying on his shoulder was not a sword, but a hoe for farming, and he was wearing field-working clothes. Barnio was wearing a janitor’s clothes and holding a mop and bucket. Felpo and Citrin were wearing maid uniforms.

After being separated from the children that they had victimized, the Subordinate Vampires who had previously belonged to the evil-god-worshiping organization had been assigned to their various jobs and made to do labor. 

“I’m doing farmwork in the fields!” Andrew said joyfully. “Plants are great… Whenever I’m feeling lost, they always point the way. I plow the land as the plants tell me to, and I spread the fertilizer and sing and dance! At first, I didn’t understand… but now, I can hear the plants’ voices like my senpai does! When it comes to harvesting and planting rice, I still have a long way to go to reach the Scylla ladies, but…”

Ever since being turned into an Abyssal Subordinate Vampire, Andrew had been doing farmwork in the fields around Talosheim and in the rice fields in the great marshlands.

Under the instruction of Flark, a singing Zombie farmer who had once been the criminal slave of the ‘Green Wind Spear’ Riley, he was working hard as a singing and dancing Vampire farmer.

“I’m a janitor!” Barnio declared proudly. “I clean the city that everyone lives in, Sam-sama’s limitlessly vast carriage, and the buildings that are being built one after another! And I keep the statues of Vandalieu-sama squeaky clean, along with Vandalieu-sama’s split entities!”

Barnio was a janitor. Together with the Demon King Familiars, he spent his days cleaning in all kinds of locations. Vandalieu had told him that he didn’t need to put so much effort in, but he was even keeping the enormous statue of Vandalieu in a sparkling clean state.

“We’re apprentice maids,” said Felpo. “Don’t worry, Noble-born Vampires will be able to become maids right away, too. All you need is a maid’s uniform and to throw away all that excess pride you have.”

“First, let’s have you bow to anything and everyone, and use polite language – to Undead, Vampires, humans, plants, insects, and every other living thing!”

Felpo and Citrin were maids.

And although Vandalieu hadn’t brought them with him because they were busy with their work, there were other Subordinate Vampires like Raikert.

Seeing Andrew and the others who had discovered a new way of life, a single thought ran through the minds of all of the Noble-born Vampires: This is bad, they’ve lost their minds.

Vandalieu and his companions would find it extremely regrettable that they thought this way. These were Subordinate Vampires whose values had been influenced by their evil-god-worshiping organization, and yet they had been reformed into honest, sociable people within a short period of time. It couldn’t be helped that their behavior had become a little odd in the process.

Once they gained more experience, their behavior would become less strange and more normal… probably.

“A-and if we refuse?” one of the Noble-born Vampires fearfully.

“Of course, we will have you choose a different path. Would you like to be a Zombie?” said Isla.

Magisa, who had been a close servant of Birkyne’s while she was still alive, performed a bow in her maid uniform.

“Or would you prefer to be a Ghost?” Isla continued.

Chipuras chuckled. “Perhaps you would like to shine as brightly as we do?” he said, while Daroak and Berkert laughed as they gazed at the Noble-born Vampires.

“Incidentally, why am I here? I would like to be on my way back to my master,” said an old Vampire who had been one of Birkyne’s servants before being killed by Chipuras and the others and turned into a Wisp – the lowest form of Ghost – as he floated around unsteadily.

“You also have the option of giving up being Vampires. Such a thing is possible if Vandalieu-sama pseudo-reincarnates you as Demons or other monsters after you die,” Isla said. “Now then, choose. There are other remnants we must hunt down after we deal with you, so I would very much like for you to not waste any more of our time.”

The Noble-born Vampires exchanged looks with pale faces as they were presented with this difficult choice – to submit while still alive, or to be killed and submit after their deaths. They were desperately thinking about how they could escape this terrible situation. They wondered whether they should join forces and work together, or whether they should take advantage of one another.

“I-I will serve while still remaining a Vampire!” one of the Noble-born Vampires blurted out. “Please, give me a collar!”

“I will also remain a Vampire and offer you all that I can give!” said another.

About a third of the Noble-born Vampires… about four of them, chose to submit. Their eyes were gazing straight at Vandalieu, and there was a fanatical sort of gleam in their eyes.

It seemed that they had been guided and charmed. It was likely that they had not immediately shown this in order to avoid being attacked for their treachery by the Noble-born Vampires who hadn’t been guided.

The rest of the Noble-born Vampires reacted in a variety of ways.

“You traitors!” one of them snarled.

He and several others attempted to attack those of their former allies who had chosen to obey Vandalieu.

“Y-you can’t be serious! There’s no way I’ll willingly choose between going crazy or being turned into an Undead!” one of them screamed.

He and several others attempted to ignore everyone else and flee.

“I will also obey! I will accept labor or whatever else you ask of me!” said yet another Noble-born Vampire.

He and a few others followed the lead of those who had been guided.

Several short, hoarse screams echoed out as the heads of all of the Noble-born Vampires who hadn’t chosen to submit were severed and fell onto the ground.

“Answer me one more time. What do you wish to do?” Isla asked the decapitated Vampires once more.

The mouths of the decapitated heads moved to answer her. “We shall serve Vandalieu-sama as Undead.”

“Very good,” said Isla. “But Vandalieu-sama, I must say, I am very impressed. The Noble-born Vampires have already become Zombies.”

“No, I haven’t done anything,” Vandalieu told her.

“Oh? Then how have they have become Undead so quickly-”

“Isla,” Eleanora interrupted, having noticed a change in Isla. “There’s something different about you. Could it be…?”

“What? My Rank has increased?!” Isla exclaimed.

Checking her Status, she did indeed find that her Rank had increased.

Some days later, Vandalieu visited the principal’s office at the Hero Preparatory School in order to explain to Meorilith that he would be canceling his attendance of the practical training he had applied for due to Isla’s Rank increase.

Ordinarily, students would speak to the instructor in charge of the practical training for such matters, but it seemed that either Randolf or Meorilith would be in charge of practical training sessions attended by Vandalieu, so he had been left with no choice but to visit the principal’s office.

“Well done for coming to the principal’s office,” said Meorilith, beaming. “Excellent, truly splendid. Allow me to award you some credits for that. I’m sure it was difficult to do something as awkward as canceling  your practical training attendance, and yet you came to speak to me immediately. Truly admirable. I must award some credits for that. And how about thinking about it this way? You have successfully produced favorable results in the practical training of canceling your practical training. So you should accept some more credits.”

Meorilith, who possessed a dignified beauty, was smiling radiantly as she poured undeserved compliments onto Vandalieu – a sight that even Randolf had not seen in all the long years he had known her. But this did not work on Isla and Vandalieu.

“Poor thing. She’s lost her mind,” said Isla.

“Principal Meorilith, please get a hold of yourself,” said Vandalieu.

“… A great hero who slew the Demon King and rules a nation far more greater than this kingdom is my student who demands me to teach him more. I don’t think I should be blamed for becoming a little crazy,” sighed Meorilith, who wanted to give Vandalieu credits for any excuse she could think of so that he could graduate as quickly as possible. “And as if it couldn’t get any worse, you’ve come to tell me that you’re here to cancel your practical training session, delaying my ability to grant you credits even further.”

“I mean, the practical training I was supposed to attend was the training involving camping outdoors under an adventurer’s supervision. I need to experience multiple different environments before I earn any credits for it. This might not be true for Elizabeth-sama and the others, but for me, it’s only my third time,” Vandalieu said.

“As principal, I am more than capable of doing something about that,” said Meorilith. “I want you to graduate as quickly as possible. I’m begging you, I’ll do everything I can, so please hurry up and graduate.”

“Principal, I would suggest that you don’t say that within earshot of Kanako. If she hears you, you might end up having to make your debut as a performer on stage,” said Isla. 

“… A debut on stage. I see,” said Meorilith. “Resigning as principal will not solve anything, but at least I will be free!”

“Please don’t, Principal,” said Vandalieu. “I’ll do anything in my power, other than graduating right this moment.”

“Alright, that’s a promise. You don’t have to graduate right this moment, but don’t you dare repeat a year. Got it? I’m serious about this. If you do, I’ll resign as principal,” Meorilith threatened. “Now then, why are you canceling your practical training session?”

“Ah, that’s because Isla has become a Rank 14 monster called a ‘Lifeless Queen.’”

Meorilith felt dizzy as she heard this explanation and saw Isla looking proud. Rank 14 was a Rank above Rank 13, the Rank thought to be the equivalent of the weakest evil gods, Elder Dragons, and Colossi.

Only an S-class adventurer would be chosen for the task of defeating such a monster, and there would be no guarantee that they would live to tell the tale. The battle between them would be one spoken of not in legends, but in mythological tales.

That was the kind of being a Rank 14 monster represented.

Come to think of it, there was a somewhat divine aura about Isla… or not. Meorilith did feel a bewitching kind of allure and a presence that sent a shiver up her spine coming from her, however.

“So, she’s learned a Skill called ‘Undead Reactivity,’ and this Skill’s effect makes it easier for Undead to spawn around her and strengthens any Undead that are spawned. I thought it would be dangerous to take her into Dungeons as my familiar while she still can’t control this Skill yet,” Vandalieu said.

“Makes it easier for Undead to spawn around her, huh. It’s true that it would be difficult to focus on your practical training if every monster corpse turns into a Zombie. It won’t cause any danger if all of those Zombies are charmed by you and are obedient, but in any case, it won’t be much of a practical training,” said Meorilith.

Hunting a few monsters would immediately create loyal allies that would fight on Vandalieu’s behalf. And the corpses of the monsters defeated by the Zombies would go on to become Zombies, infinitely creating more and more fighting allies. There would be no need to keep watch. As long as Vandalieu could procure food, his practical training would become nothing more than camping peacefully in the woods.

… Of course, given that it was Vandalieu attending the training, with the difficulty of the Dungeon managed by the Hero Preparatory School, it wouldn’t be any different from camping peacefully in the woods anyway.

But it still did need to resemble proper practical training, and it wouldn’t be of any benefit to Elizabeth and the others who would be attending the training with him.

“Wait, then don’t you just need to change which familiar you’ll take with you?!” Meorilith pointed out.

“No, the rules state that once you’ve submitted your application for which familiar you’ll take with you, you can’t change it,” said Vandalieu.

“With my power as principal, I hereby allow you to change familiars!” Meorilith declared.

“You can’t do that,” said Vandalieu.

Isla made a frustrated noise. “I wish to be with Vandalieu-sama, but I cannot bear to be a hindrance to him! But even so, no matter what, I do not wish to hand this opportunity over to that little girl! … Ah, that’s right! Felpo and Citrin are still inside the Inner Worlds! Let’s have them attend with you!” she suggested.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Elizabeth-sama and the others will misunderstand and think that I’ve found some new girls to serve me,” said Vandalieu.

“Then how about Andrew and Barnio?!” said Isla.

“Elizabeth-sama and the others will just think that I’ve found some new muscular men to serve me, so I do think that will work,” Vandalieu said.

The group of survivors that were the remnants of the evil-god-worshiping Vampires were absorbed into Vandalieu’s ranks, whether alive or dead, and ceased to exist as an organization.

• Name: Isla
• Age: Approximately 30,000 years old
• Title: The Eclipse Emperor’s Hound, Leader’s Mistress
• Rank: 14
• Race: Lifeless Queen
• Level: 0
• Passive skills:
  • Dark Vision
  • Status Effect Immunity (Awakened from Status Effect Resistance!)
  • Monstrous Strength: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Rapid Regeneration: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Mental Corruption: Level 8
  • Super Slaughter Healing: Level 1 (Awakened from Slaughter Healing!)
  • Intuition: Level 6
  • Augmented Attribute Values: Loyalty: Vandalieu: Level 1 (Awakened from Strengthened Attribute Values: Loyalty: Vandalieu!)
  • Detect Presence: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Self-Strengthening: Guidance: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Self-Strengthening: Transformation: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Strengthened Defensive Power while equipped with Transformation Equipment: Large (LEVEL UP!)
  • Strengthened Attribute Values: Worshiping: Level 1 (NEW!)
  • Mana Enlargement: Level 1 (NEW!)
  • Allure: Level 1 (NEW!)
  • Strengthen Subordinates: Level 1 (NEW!)
• Active skills:
  • Bloodwork: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Water-Attribute Magic: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Fire-Attribute Magic: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
  • No-Attribute Magic: Level 5
  • Mana Control: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Corpse Massacre Swordsmanship: Level 3
  • Transforming Chain Armor Technique: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Transcend Limits: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
  • High-speed Flight: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Pursuit: Level 9
  • Torture: Level 7
  • Commanding: Level 5
  • Housework: Level 2
  • Coordination: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Mount: Level 2
  • Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Familiar Spirit Demonfall: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Surpass Limits: Magic Sword: Level 1 (NEW!)
• Unique Skills:
  • Shapeshift: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)
  • Vandalieu’s Divine Protection
  • Vida’s Divine Protection
  • Undead Reactivity (NEW!)

Monster explanation (Written by Luciliano):

Lifeless Queen 

A queen of those who are lifeless. Do the Undead equivalents of ‘King’ variants of demihuman monsters exist? Numerous researchers have researched and theorized around this question.

It can be presumed that this monster is one of the answers they came up with – a Queen, a female version of a ‘King’ of those who are lifeless.

Being perfectly honest, I was under the assumption that no such Undead would ever appear as long as Master was around. After all, Master himself is the Lifeless King.

Isla proved that assumption false, but there is no change to her pledge of loyalty to Master. She possesses the ‘Status Effect Immunity’ Skill, but it seems that death-attribute charming and guidance is not considered to be a Status Effect.

Well, Master also believes that being completely unaffected by one’s own emotions is not an ordinary state of being, so I suppose this means that Isla’s state of being a fanatic who has sworn loyalty to Master is an ordinary state of being for her… A terrible analysis, I must say, despite being the one who made it.

I would very much like to investigate whether other Undead can become Lifeless Kings or Queens.

Skill explanation (Written by Luciliano):

Undead Reactivity

A Skill that strengthens the Attribute Values and regenerative capabilities of Undead around the user, and makes it easier for corpses and spirits to become Undead. Ordinarily, this would be considered a dangerous Skill for non-Undead monsters to have, not just humans.

Even mere Living Bones and Living Dead under this Skill’s effect would gain regenerative capabilities, though they would be modest, and any abandoned corpses would almost certainly become Undead within hours.

This could even affect processed goods that cannot be described as corpses… leather goods such as leather armor and accessories made from bones, and even dried fish.

It even increases the chances for non-corpse Undead to spawn, such as Living Armors and Cursed Weapons.

And even if one ignores corpses and the various objects that could potentially become Undead, spirits can possess earth and rocks to become Golems, or directly turn into Ghosts, so the Skill’s owner likely must do something in order to prevent an endless propagation of Undead.

However, in Isla’s case, she is able to control the degree to which this Skill is active, and any Undead it spawns is obedient to Master, so it poses little danger… At the very least, not to the citizens of the Demon Empire of Vidal or its allies.