“Right. So you think you’re my death… but don’t think it’s going to be easy!”
– ???
The adventurer I accidentally ran into in the labyrinth suddenly goes full drama and now is ramping up.
“Wow, let’s go!”
The adventurer charges at me with an intense aura that feels like they’re burning their life away.
Wait, what’s happening here…?
I was momentarily dumbfounded, but then it hit me.
These guys… are raiders?!
They’re clearly trying to put on a show to catch me off guard and then smash my skull to loot my pockets!
No, am I going to end up alive but my arms and legs smashed to pieces?!
I’m cute…!
I bet they’re planning to humiliate me while I’m stuck in a state where I can’t even move without help, my limbs twisted in unnatural directions!
Like in an adult comic! Like in an adult comic…!
No matter how gender-swapped this world is, I simply can’t accept the barbaric genre of male ‘Weeble’!
…Well, if I think about it seriously, they probably just mistook me for some evil enemy that’s controlling undead creatures and concluded that’s the only explanation for the situation.
According to Benny, there are many people who control undead, but command them on such a large scale is practically impossible.
Usually, those who show a bizarre level of mastery have either one of two backgrounds:
They’re either promising clergy from a temple or lunatics belonging to One Who Devours the Twilight.
They must have mistook me for the latter and are now struggling to save their companions.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll just go down easily.
– “King Dragon! Step on him! Don’t kill him!”
“—————!”
The newly appointed Lesser Drake ghoul let out a roar and charged in.
Unlike skeletons, it still had enough flesh to actually make noise.
Thud! Thud!
Four Tyrannosaurus-rex-like creatures (not really) charged toward a single adventurer.
The adventurer, looking determined, raised their hammer high. As if to say they’d take out the one in front of them no matter the odds.
It looked reckless and almost foolish, but one thing was clear: she was serious.
Maybe I should prepare a skeleton or something, just in case.
Just as the two of us were about to clash head-on.
“Hey, you crazy idiot! Why are you seriously attacking?!”
In the midst of all this, Benny appeared and subdued both of us in an instant.
Benny then tossed the subdued adventurer toward me, wrapped up in a Shadow’s tentacle.
“Here. I tied them up, so don’t kill them, okay?”
-……
As I nodded silently, the subdued adventurer glared at me with a determined expression.
“Gah! Just kill me!”
– ???
Caught off guard, I instinctively scribbled on a rib bone I had just pulled out.
– Do you think dying is the end?
“……!”
Suddenly, it looked like they realized something and flinched.
“What do you intend to do with my corpse?!”
– From what I’ve overheard, it seems your fallen companion was engaged to your younger brother. That can’t happen. You’ll be family soon. If you break away now…
“Don’t tell me…?!”
Their complexion turned pale. It’s fortunate it’s only me they’re up against; if they faced someone truly dangerous, they shouldn’t so easily give up their life.
Swallowing my confusion, I forced myself to smile as ideally as possible, using various abilities to avoid being threatening.
– Don’t worry. You’ll meet soon enough.
“Y-you witch!!!!”
With their anguished cries too loud, I struck their head down with the rib bone I was holding.
Crack!
Their head dented slightly, and they fell limp, fainting.
Just to be safe, I sprayed a potion on them for healing, then commanded a skeleton to carry them.
When the female adventurer, presumably their companion, returns with the guild staff, I can hand her over then.
Not a big deal, I casually thought as I ordered my undead once more.
– Charge straight ahead! We’re heading to the resting place of the God of Death! Don’t stop; keep moving!
Controlling undead to this extent is easy. However, using Divine Power to hold my makeshift holy sword is starting to push the limits.
I need to take out at least one, ideally two, more groups before they join the ranks.
There’s no way I thought I could make it from the start to finish on the first day. The biggest weapon I have right now—the Holy Undead and Holy Water—will surely become immobilized once I run out.
In other words, it’s still time for a last sprint.
– Let’s go!
Clank. Clank.
“Rrrrroooaaar!”
The sounds of bones clashing and the Lesser Drake ghoul’s roar.
Benny, who watched all this unfold, tilted their head.
“Something feels wrong.”
Eh, what’s that feeling of nonsense?
*
As I continued forward, I encountered various undead again.
There were large ones like King Dragons, plenty of ordinary humanoids, and occasionally, ghost-type monsters that lacked a physical body.
But mostly, they were nothing too challenging, only capable of being easily ignored.
After all, I’m just letting the undead take the hits while I take the easy shots.
I just had to run ahead, swinging the Unicorn Dagger, or occasionally, use the Transparent Cloak to disappear from sight and strike from behind.
The Lesser Drake ghoul took most of the blows, creating openings for the Holy Skeleton to deal considerable damage to the enemies, while I steadily took them out among the chaos.
It was a simple and straightforward style. Essentially, the fighting was barely more than trimming weeds.
As I continued down the path, my military strength began to gradually change.
Of the initial thirty Holy Undead, only about twenty were left, and all the common skeletons had fallen.
In return, the number of large Lesser Drakes increased to six, while agile ghosts capable of passing through thin walls totaled seven.
The number of humanoid ghouls had also climbed to twelve, each a different kind—Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, or even strange races that had existed only before the War of the Gods.
The variety of undead was increasing, and they specialized in various fields, so my army’s combat power actually rose despite the shrinking numbers.
It wasn’t just that I became skilled at controlling the monsters.
The call of the dead.
This was literally just a sound calling them, not a power that forcibly raised them.
Like how I observe the bodies of monsters that will become undead, part of their memories remained in the flesh, peering back at me. If they didn’t want to, they’d refuse the call.
However, for some reason, most of the undead so far not only obeyed me unconditionally but were also begging me to resurrect them.
In any case, all monsters on the Fourth Floor are traces left by the God of Death. Maybe they sense the power of Death’s God in my abilities, after all.
Right. Hunting monsters proved smoother than I expected.
The problem lies with the adventurers trying to hunt us.
“Damnit! If we let this slip, all the monsters on the Fourth Floor will fall into their hands!”
“I’m sorry, Billy. I don’t think I can return to your side… But I swear I’ll protect the world you live in.”
“The Guild! How far are we from the guild?!”
“…Our Drag Clan dies here today. But our name will be remembered forever.”
Something feels off. The adventurers, misjudging and charging at me without killing intent, I had planned to subdue them rather than execute them and place their living bodies on a bed made of bones.
Before I knew it, a surprising number of adventurers were blocking my way, even a clan among them.
The coating of Divine Power had just worn off, and I was on the brink of entering deep territory, so I was thinking of backing down…
– Benny. What do we do now?
“Seriously… how did it come to this? I should have been more proactive in showing I was harmless instead of just catching them because it looked fun.”
– Sigh. Well, I guess we’ll have to explain properly from now on, huh?
“If you really don’t want to fight, that’s what you should do.”
With deep sighs, Benny and I stepped forward. I might not be able to speak, maintaining my undead presence, but if Benny spoke on my behalf, it should work out somehow.
Confronted with adventurers taking poses with weapons at the ready.
Maybe there were too many living beings gathered in one spot.
Some unusual sound echoed down the path to the deep territory.
“Eeeeeek-!”
An ear-splitting scream that resembled a banshee’s wail. Everyone who heard it clutched their heads and started to stagger.
Some even to the point of vomiting blood and collapsing on the spot.
The exceptions were just me, who felt fine for some reason, and Benny, who, despite being a high-ranking adventurer, was a bit sluggish yet had lightning-fast magic response and had shielded their ears just in time.
Before us, amidst the eerie gray forest, an ominous, shadowy figure, roughly the size of a small building, appeared.
“Tsk. The Banshee Queen, huh.”
Benny began gathering mana and getting ready to fight.
If it’s the Banshee Queen, they’re one of the most tricky monsters on the Fourth Floor.
The ghost type creatures under my command merely tear into the heart of their targets, utilizing their ability to pass through objects.
And even then, regular attacks can work if you time them right, making the encounter merely an annoying one.
But the Banshee Queen operates on a different level. Just hearing her scream pulls you toward death, and the banshees circling around her can also cause instant death with their screams even if they lack the power.
If I hear her screams two or three more times, all the people gathered here will lose their lives.
So, it makes sense for Benny to step in, but…
– Just leave it to me. I have a good plan.
“This isn’t the time for that?!”
– Thirty seconds will be enough.
I kept the Unicorn Dagger raised as Benny began preparing buffs using everything available: Basilieus, Divine Bloodline, Avatar of Love, Mini Sanctuary, and so forth.
Feeling something was amiss, the Banshee Queen, leading her banshees, charged at me, but my undead had already thrown themselves in the way to hold her back.
As the Banshee Queen swung her hand and let out a short scream, the undead crumbled one after another.
It pained me to see my hard-earned army vanish like snow melting, but they had done their part.
I released the remaining undead and canceled the call of the dead.
Then I murmured the incantation with my now free voice.
“Let there be light.”
A radiant purifying light shone in the surrounding area.
