Chapter 153 (1/2)

Sleygar and ion and the Dark Night Knights’ Order led by Isla

But there was a single surviving Hilt member His existence hadn’t even been known to Ervine or the other in with It seeuessed that someone would be there in the shadows, but he hadn’t knohere they would be or how many of them there were

He had been devoting hi information from a place distant from Ervine and the others And he had si killed, continuing to gather infor to Rickert’s aid

And once the battle was over, he had focused solely on escaping He had passed through the region, ignoring the occupying army’s headquarters where Duke Marme was, to pass on the information to other members of the Hilt who had been on standby

“… If only it ended as a needless concern,” muttered Marshukzarl Amid, the Amid Empire’s emperor, as he passed his eyes over the report that contained this information

He had not intended to use the fourSwords, his own nephew Rickert a theency… even in situations of eh members to overcome them

The insects used by the ‘Insect Swarm’ Bebeckett should have been able to exterminate Vandalieu’s Undead, even if there were a thousand of them… Even if there were several thousand of Undead the insects should have been able to suppress them

The ‘King Slayer’ Sleygar should have been able to assassinate Vandalieu while Bebeckett’s insects suppressed his Undead

And the ‘Five-headed Snake’ Ervine was skilled enough to have aimed for proiven not only Artifacts but De equipment as well, so he should have been able to exter

The ‘Light-speed Sword’ Rickert was inferior to the other three in coh when cohts With the holy sword Neht-speed Sword Technique, a superior version of the Swordsmanshi+p Skill, he shouldn’t have been a burden to the others

But according to the written report, none of the things that ‘should have’ happened had become reality

Bebeckett’s insects had been stolen, and Sleygar’s assassination had failed despite successfully decapitating his target Ervine had fought bravely, successfully drawing out the powers of Vandalieu who had been shrouded in mystery up until now, but he had ultimately been defeated

Rickert had fallen to the rotesque monster

“To think that rown old,” Marshukzarl said to himself as he stroked his face

He was over a hundred years old, but as one would expect of a half-Elf, there wasn’t a single wrinkle on his skin

Marshukzarl was sitting in a conference rooside his office for the purpose of discussing high-confidentiality athered in this room had serious expressions on their faces

“Your Majesty, it is not the ti such jokes,” one of them said

Other than Marshukzarl, there was the surviving Hilt h the Teleportation spell of a space-attributethe Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords, General Hewberry who led the First Arain The others in the room were Marshukzarl’s retainers that were also closely trusted

“There has been an e that the vassals and knights of Duke Marht And it seems that the duke himself has been abducted by the perpetrator as well… except for the skin of his head from the neck up”

By the tie and entered the building of the headquarters, the inside of the building had already turned into a sea of blood Because the smell had been erased by some kind of spell, nobody had noticed

And the mask-like skin of Duke Marme’s head from the neck up had been nailed onto the wall of his office, with the separated left and right halves of Rickert’s decapitated head on the floor below it

Several of the employees, servants and soldiers ere supposed to be in the building were safe, but their memories had somehow been erased, and none of them could recall what had happened

“The culprit is clearly Vandalieu himself or his subordinates, but that is not all The ar for an order to arrive from the empire, one of the commanders of Duke Marme’s army led a unit into the former Scylla territory to try and rescue the Duke, but there has been no contact from them since It is likely that…”

“It is only a ency situation… no, they ht wind of it,” said General Hewberry

His apprehensions were correct The news of Rickert being dispatched ell-known in the empire, and a portion of Duke Mardo unusual after all of this, their intelligence departments could only be considered incompetent

However, Marshukzarl directed his gaze not at General Hewberry, but at Chief I the peculiar spells mentioned in the report?” he asked

“I aain said, and then he closed his ain But as Marshukzarl silently ain “The peculiarities, such as the fact that the spells are different from any spells of any of the attributes in our records, and the fact that heat the report, one ht think that there are many spells that could be associated with death Froine that he has either reversed the effects of the life attribute, or… is using theGuduranis”

“That’s impossible,” muttered several of Marshukzarl’s vassals as they stirred and began talking aic that were only spoken of in myths

But Marshukzarl’s response was different “I see,” he said with a nod, and then he sighed deeply “He uses the frag as if they were part of his own body, so I suppose it is no surprise that he can use the Deh-Rank Undead; he is already like the De himself”

“Your Majesty! As we have mentioned, this one Dhaion will be stolen back by the Orbau with the loud voice that one would expect from a military man

“That’s exactly right, Hewberry” Marshukzarl suddenly opened his eyes wide and rose frodom!” he said bluntly

“As you wish!+ We will give the Sauron region… Your Majesty, what did you just –?!”

“I said to give it back to theested this?”

“I-I did not say that we should give it back to the?!” Hewberry asked, his face turning pale

“Getting rid of a nuisance, of course,” Marshukzarl replied “Carmine, that Hilt member had the Measurement Unique Skill, didn’t he?”

The Measureested, was a Skill that allowed the user to measure objects that he saw It didn’t allow the user to see everything on the target’s Status like De information

“I give you permission to speak Report your information on Vandalieu,” Marshukzarl said to the Hilt member

“As you will At the tie, nine titles, nine Jobs previously experienced, twelve Passive Skills, eighteen Active Skills, twenty-six Unique Skills, eight,” the Hilt member reported in a matter-of-fact tone

Many, including General Hewberry, gasped

The titles were still understandable There were plenty of incidents in the past where rulers ere overly fond of their children had given them titles

But at the age of nine, this boy had reached Level 100 with twelve Jobs, and possessed a combined total of forty-four Passive and Active Skills And though it was rare to possess even a single Unique Skill, he possessed eight

The Skills’ naainst Ervine, there was no doubting that he was a threat equivalent to an S-class adventurer

… The truth was that Vandalieu had gone through yet another Job-change after the Hilt member had used Measurement on him, however

“What about the other Undead and Vampires?” Marshukzarl asked “Report only their Ranks”

“… The lowest ahest was Rank 12”

The vassals’ unrest grew even greater

“The lowest a Undead!”

“And the highest was Rank 12?! Depending on the individual ht possess power rivaling an Elder Dragon or an evil God We ht away!”

“Your Majesty! Weequipive the at once!”

“It seeed to feel the same sense of crisis as me,” Marshukzarl said

Hewberry and the vassals closed their mouths and directed their attention to him

“But it is still not enough,” Marshukzarl continued “With Teleportation, he is able to cross the Boundary Mountain Range freely On the other hand, it is nearly impossible for us to cross it”

The enemy could attack freely with an unmatched army of powerful Undead, while the e a counterattack

If Vandalieu wished to do so, he could spread disease to the eedy of the cultivated land of Balcheburg in the Mirg shi+eld-nation as many times as he wanted

For Marshukzarl and his nation, that was more of a threat than his ability to destroy familiar spirits

In this situation of unprecedented crisis, the vassals did not even have ti themselves

“But what does this have to do with giving the Sauron region to the Orbauet the Orbau?” asked Chief I the silence

“Exactly,” Marshukzarl said with a nod “It is unclear what Vandalieu thinks of the kingdom, but it is certain that he will not join it In fact, the Sauron Liberation Front, whose strings he was pulling from the shadoas not able to coordinate their actions with the kingdom”

“That is true… according to the reports of our spies, the nobles of the kingdom took in Duke Sauron’s orphans… the est faction his fifth son, and the last, his third daughter has… deserted, if I am not mistaken Either way, it is likely that the Sauron Liberation Front was a nuisance for them”

There had been abandoned noble the ranks of the Sauron Liberation Front led by Iris, such as the last-born, adopted or illegitimate children of noble families If they were to make achievements, the reputations of the main families who had fled to other duchies would beco other duke fa substantially

Iris and Vandalieu hadn’t realized this, but this was the dirty reason for coordination between the Sauron Liberation Front and the Orbau well

The reason the now-deceased Raymond Paris had been able to coordinate activities with the kingdootiations

And the leaders of the A swords with the Orbau time, were aware of this They kne rotten the inner circles of that nation were It wasn’t just the Hartner Duchy, which had abandoned Talosheio The corruption had spread into the deepest parts of the nation

Considering Vandalieu’s personality, of which they had now learned through recent events, it was io well between hi the fact that Heinz, suspected to be responsible for the death of Vandalieu’s mother, was a national hero there

“I see… So, ill conduct a pincer attack against Vandalieu from both the east and the west?” asked Hewberry

“It depends on the circu a simple response

I can’t idom would join forces with my empire just because a common enemy has appeared And even if Vandalieu is a dew, he is likely to create several allies in the kingdoe At any rate, this is unlikely to turn into a full-scale war against the kingdom

Depending on the circuht even be best to try and reconcile with Vandalieu Marshukzarl would offer several heads including his own, an enormous sum in reparations, a vast amount of land and tens of thousands of commoners It would be most satisfactory if this could lead to the eeneration and a possibility for the eain prosperity once more

But I suppose I cannot convince those around ree to this The position of eht as he called an ending to this secretthe abandonion with the marshal, who had not been called to this room

Iris wasin a sea of warmth

The pain of her wounds inflicted by the Ne, her body and her senses had all disappeared

They had not been lost due to her fatal wound; she was siely in a pleasant slumber

Everything melted, and only her consciousness was left But at that eneration, her senses and the sensation of her body returned

“Your state is like that of a chrysalis You will be melted once, and then your entire body will be recreated oncereborn,” said a voice that Iris had never heard before but sounded very familiar at the same time “The difference between you and a chrysalis is that this process will take less tiht, you will be reborn As hter”

Iris could see a large silhouette on the other side of a red membrane Instinctively, she reached out with her arms and tore at the membrane from the inside

The ile membrane broke and the blackish-red fluid that had been inside theher outside

Lying on a cold floor, Iris spat out the fluid in her lungs “Air is so pleasant… Godwin-dono,” she said, speaking her first words after her rebirth as she looked up at Godwin, king of the Majin

Godwin let out a hearty, satisfied laugh “To think that you can speak as soon as you’re reborn The eht to leave this toconsciousness, not speaking words”

Vandalieu had asked Godwin to transform Iris into a member of the Majin race

“I a this unreasonable request on this occasion,” Iris said

“You’re too forhter,” said Godwin “I don’t mind if you think of me as your second father And it’s most satisfactory that I could take care of it with just seven days and seven nights’ work”

The one Vandalieu had asked to turn Iris into aGodwin

When Vandalieu suddenly appeared and made this request, Godwin had been hesitant at first to conduct the ritual needed to transform a member of another race into a Majin It was a ritual that Godwin himself had never performed, one that had not been performed by any Majin for thousands of years

But the moment Vandalieu said, “I request this as the emperor,” Godwin had placed his fist on his chest and said, “Leave it toresponsibility for this task… Because with this achievement under his belt, he would most absolutely not be considered a candidate to become the next emperor

“Let’s see… Since you call your other one ‘Chichi-ue,’ how about calling ested

“… I would veryto you,” said Iris

The Majin race could turn members of huinate from monsters into members of their own race There were several different variations in the ritual used to carry this out

One of them was the blood cocoon of the Battle-Majin Diablo like Godwin

TLN: The author has changed the names of the different varieties of Majin as was foretold by darksanity; now Battle-Majin have the name of Diablo

A special ic circle was drawn, a special vessel that the Majin called the holy grail was placed at its center and the blood of the Diablo that would becoreat amount of Mana and Vitality, in the form of another’s blood, was also offered

With this, a cocoon-like object made of blood was created And once the one anted to becoenerated and reborn as a Majin after seven days and seven nights

“Is that so? Well, I don’t care what you call s of deep affection in your words In any case, I’ve said thisthis ritual It was bothersoh a lot for the sacrifice, and I had to sit here and talk about this and that in front of the cocoon for seven days But it seems that it orth the effort and the results are superb You’ve transforhter, from the ends of her horns to the tips of her toes

Her base appearance was the same as the previous Iris But her skin was blue and her eyes had beco froon’s on her back and there was a tail with a triangular tip growing from her tailbone

She was a complete Majin

“Is it because of Legion’sthat you have a bit more meat on you now… When you went into the cocoon, you were haggard and on the verge of death, so maybe you just looked thinner than you do now Well, you seem to have become a fine Majin, an Obscene-Majin Succubus The emperor and I can be proud of this,” Godwin remarked

“… Godwin-dono, are those supposed to be words of praise?” Iris asked, frowning as she covered her body with her newly-acquired wings

But Godwin didn’t seem to take notice of this As a side-effect of the ritual, his feelings for her felt as if she were his real daughter, so he didn’t think of her as a member of the opposite sex

“Hin with, when humans and Elves transform into Majin, unless they’re half-titan or Beast-person or Drakonid or soe bodies, they almost always become Obscene-Majin,” he explained

It see a Battle-Majin didn’t guarantee that the child would transform into a Battle-Majin as well

Apparently, only the race and physique of the person being reborn were relevant

“Anyway, don’t worry about it I don’t knohat’ll be said about you in the outside world, but just because you’re a Succubus doesn’t mean you have to behave like one It just uise yourself as a huainst the opposite sex,” Godwin told her

But even so, Iris couldn’t shake off the ie of Succubi and Incubi held by human societies, so she couldn’t think of these words as a compliment

“Well, first of all, it’d be best if you put on soo and show your face to the emperor and his subordinates outside The newest trend in the Majin nation has been prepared to celebrate your birth,” Godwin said, pointing at a basket

The basket contained clothes… apparently

“Uned underwear in here,” said Iris

The basket contained soion would think was a swimsuit if they were to see it

“Hs as well as the underwear, look We thought that it’s a bit too early for you to get armor, so that’s not there yet,” said Godwin

“No, I’, I need clothes…”

“And I’, those are clothes”

Through this mismatched conversation, Iris suddenly realized This underwear-like clothing was the latest trend in the Majin nation

She looked at Godwin again and saw that he was only wearing knee-length pantspattern in them; the only other ite at hi quite a lot of himself

“… When I was asked which race I would like to be reborn as, perhaps it was hasty ofas possible so that I would not be a burden to anyone again,” Iris muttered

“You don’t have to ain It’s not like you can’t wear anything other than your clothes Well, you need holes for your wings and tail, so you need to be a bit craftier than humans,” said Godwin “Hmm, maybe the clothes that were the trend a while back would have been better?”

Godwin comforted Iris, who had been raised in a strict household of knights, as he went to fetch the clothes whose design had been popular in the distant past… clothes that weren’t revealing but were heavily over-decorated with sinister-looking things like skulls and eyeballs

“Griiiiiill~” Vandalieu said happily

He was cooking Bugitas’s rounds Two quivering antennae were protruding from his forehead

“What a pleasant smell,” said Myuze

“It is, isn’t it?” Vandalieu agreed “My antennae areon their own”

“Not your nose?! Van-kun, has it already beco from your head?!” exclaimed Privel

“… Boss has really gone fro a person to more of an insect…” muttered Debis

“Gichih?”

“Hyih! It wasn’t a complaint, Pete-Danna!”

Having abducted Duke Marme and others and then invited the ones with promise to join his side, Vandalieu and his companions had come to visit the Majin nation once more, on this day when Iris’s ritual was set to be complete

A them were the senior resistance members of the Sauron Liberation Front, Debis as well as those who could be quickly gathered aroup

Having transfor the resistance as she had done up until now The Majin were not recognized as people in the Orbaudoets to be exterminated

That hy Iris would set up a new leader on the surface and give commands fro members that their leader was actually a Majin, so only those whoh the ion temporarily absorb them

Privel, Myuze, Gizania, Zadiris and otheras well, except for Budarion and the others ere busy rebuilding their nations

They had co Iris’s rebirth

Tarea called out to Vandalieu with fire in her eyes and scissors in her hand as she cooked the meat “Van-saentle as possible, but with the sath!”

“Okay,” said Vandalieu

His hair lengthened explosively But Tarea cut and harvested it until it was back to its original length

“Ufufufu, such soft hair… It is more like soft fur than hair,” Tarea said “But at the sa and withstands i fire resistance and defense…”

Haj and his coht of a Ghoul wo and pressing her cheeks against Vandalieu’s hair with a twisted expression that looked as if she were going to start drooling at any moment

It was enough to et that Tarea was a beautiful woure

“Van-sama, every time you leave, you come back to me more wonderful than ever,” Tarea said “Just how much do you have to charm me before you are satisfied?”

“You mean he provides wonderful materials, do you not? Tarea, please do not tire Dannsama out too much,” Bellmond warned her

Asmile appeared on Tarea’s loose, twisted lips “Ah, you do not need to tellthe special brush that Van-sama asked me to make”

“a brush, you say?!” Bell, fluffy tail extending from it, as she backed away

Her tail, which could , was sensitive when brushed for some reason, and this was her weakness

What would happen if it were to be brushed by a brush

“Dannsaht this moment!” Bellmond pleaded

“Hmm? The brush is for Gizania,” said Vandalieu

“… Eh?” said two voices simultaneously

Bellmond stared at Vandalieu blankly, while Gizania looked surprised at the sudden mention of her own name

“The fur on Gizania’s lower body is harder than it looks, so normal brushes would probably be quickly ruined if they were used on her fur That’s why I thought a specially-made item would be necessary and asked Tarea to make it,” Vandalieu explained “But it seems that you want one as well, Bells and make one more”

“D-DANNSAMAAAA!” Bellmond cried sorrowfully

“I wasn’t lying~!” Tarea said with a loud laugh behind her

“Vandalieu-dono, we Arachne, especially large-build Arachne, certainly have hard fur on our lower limbs, but…” said Gizania

“Well, everything is a challenge,” said Vandalieu

“Van-kun, pay attention toher ar Vandalieu in them

As Vandalieu continued cooking the aps between the tentacles, Gizania decided to give up on trying to change his mind

Haj, Debis and the others watched this scene with stiff s their distance They would definitely never feel jealous of Vandalieu

Because if they were to be caught up in that, they would have a bone or two easily broken All of the woth Skill, and Gizania and Privel in particular could be considered to be heavyweights if their lower bodies were taken into account

It was surprising that Vandalieu was still unharmed

“Should we just become Majin as well?” one of the fely

“Hey, there won’t be any candidates to becoht if we do that!” said another

“Indeed Do not say such rash things,” Zadiris said, scolding theion offered their own Mana and Vitality as sacrifices necessary for the blood cocoon ritual And the Majin that will become the parent hts It is not a ritual that can be performed so easily”

The woized to Zadiris, who looked younger than them in appearance

“Don’t say that, Mother It’s not such a heavy burden on Van and Legion, so they probably didn’t feel like it was anything serious,” said Basdia

Her words were not insincere words of comfort for the resistance women; they were true

Vandalieu and Legion had offered their own Mana and Vitality for the ritual Ordinarily, the amount of each required would be considered extensive

Normally, the Mana and Vitality necessary for the sacrifice would be extracted froes, but that would need the efforts of several hundred individuals

But for Vandalieu and Legion, the cost was not particularly heavy In fact, Vandalieu had said, “This is much smaller than the amount needed to fire Death Cannon once”

As for Legion –

“That’s right, you don’t have to worry about us We’ll recover quickly, and it costs us less than the pieces of flesh ere throwing at Rickert e fought hiion said as they ate a frankfurter

These really were not great costs to pay

“Well, that is true, but –” Zadiris began

Jadal, Basdia’s daughter and Zadiris’s granddaughter, called out to her “Obachan, give etables~”

“Oh, Jadal, you are such a good girl who is not picky with food,” said Zadiris, her gri one in an instant

The tohs of relief

“By the here is the rest of Legion-san?” a feion

The resistance ion’s presence

Legion ate a frankfurter as they replied

“We’re all here”

“We’re not actually separated right now”

“With the Size Alteration Skill and Form Alteration Skill, it just looks like we’ve separated”

“This is practice for us so that we can all work together inside a hu”

“BURURURURU!”

“… What about the person-shaped Sli to the Sli an effort to maintain a human-shaped form

“… For some reason, it feels a sense of rivalry towards us”

“A rival!”

“… What on earth is this?” said Iris’s voice

Reborn, she erounds Because of her new horns and wings, the balance of her body had changed and she see properly

Incidentally, it see She earing a cloak that had been trending in the past (with the unique design feature of having a large hole in the back), along with the highly-revealing, currently-trending clothes

The resistance asped as they looked upon her completely different form

“… Everyone, I’ you worry,” Iris said “I’ed to transfored significantly I cannot blaer Say it clearly –”

“No, I don’t think it’s all that bad, Princess,” said Debis

“Well, I do feel like you have a strange lewdness that you didn’t have before, but that’s –” Haj began “GUHEBUH?!”

“Partner, you speak rudely,” said Haj’s Living Armor