Isekai Conquest Journal (2)
Olivia, suddenly summoned to another world, found herself burdened with a great responsibility.
She was now submerged in immense emotion.
‘Death is rampant throughout the world. At this point, we might be on par with the glory days of the Undead King during the great conquest of the continent.’
In fact, given that this place had a similar situation everywhere, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was even more extraordinary than the frontlines concentrated in the western continent back then.
With the undead growing stronger amidst the thick death energy, this place was practically an optimal battlefield for them.
‘I’ve always wondered where the king was going when he left his throne…’
Now she could finally understand his actions.
Why the current Undead King wasn’t so proactive about conquering Auterica.
Why he delayed the war to prioritize other matters.
‘Could it be that he’s been preparing to venture into other dimensions since then!’
A grand plan that no one in the army of the undead had anticipated.
She berated her own foolishness for daring to presume upon the thoughts of a great sovereign, and did her best to fulfill the orders given by the king, referring to the knowledge of a human named McCarthy.
The increase in workload was a trivial matter.
After all, working all day was something she was used to.
‘Whether here or there, the amount of work I handle daily wouldn’t change anyway.’
More than that, she was touched that the king called for her first among the high-ranking officials.
Wasn’t this proof that the king trusted and favored her the most?
[By all means, I must repay that trust… Now, there’s no time… Search the entire world thoroughly…!]
Gooooo—
Woooooo—
Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands…
A wave of spirits swirled around Olivia, soaring high into the skies, spreading throughout the world.
Not only the pre-existing ghosts but also new entities born from the influence of her power joined in, causing the wave to expand even further.
Unfulfilled wishes, grievances from unjust deaths, and lingering attachments.
In a world that was already in shambles and filled with despair, the conditions were more than met, as there were so many remnants left behind by the dead.
And her decisive movements were sufficient to provoke the arrogant beings who regarded this world as their playground.
*
In a massive castle located in the heart of the continent.
“The air seems chaotic today.”
The castle’s lord, Grand Duke Lapua, frowned while looking up at the sky outside his window.
But he soon shook his head lightly and hurried along.
Having just received a summon from his lord, he had no time to spare elsewhere.
Before others, he ruled as a king at the peak of the world, transcending humanity, but in reality, he was merely a wretched slave.
Knock knock—
Standing before the ornate door, he politely knocked and cautiously entered.
Inside the spacious room, filled with all sorts of luxurious items, stood a large man with his hands clasped behind him, gazing out the window.
“You called for me.”
“Hmm.”
With a deep voice, the man slowly turned around.
Over two meters tall, with skin so dark it was nearly impossible to distinguish his features, covered in crimson tattoos, and glimmering red eyeballs like glass without any pupils.
“Lapua.”
The Supreme Being of the current world, “The Infinite Great Demon,” spoke quietly as he looked down at his contractor.
“It seems like some rat is taking a peek at us.”
“A rat… you say?”
At Lapua’s response, the man slowly extended a hand.
Having kept his hands folded behind him from the beginning, he suddenly held up a pale spirit, struggling in his dark grasp, as if he’d captured it long ago.
“A considerable level of necromancy. And it seems this isn’t the only one.”
“…Are you saying someone dared to surveil this place with that?”
Lapua looked at the spirit in disbelief and scoffed.
The Infinite Great Demon was considered an unmatched entity in the present age.
Yet, someone would try such a trick in the castle where he resided?
He couldn’t help but think it was an incredibly foolish act.
‘Who could it be? Destruction? Sorrow?’
While the most likely candidates were the fellow Great Demons, ‘Destruction’ and ‘Sorrow,’ Lapua soon dismissed that thought.
Though they rose to the rank of Great Demons like “Infinity,” the differences between them remained vast.
While they ascended together as the world fell into chaos, the Infinite Great Demon had maintained that position for thousands of years.
It would be tough for either of them to defeat his master even if they teamed up.
They were likely well aware of that fact, so it didn’t seem they would act rashly and provoke him.
‘Unless it’s about that eternity only told in tales.’
The legends regarding the Eternal Great Demon were indeed mere stories.
He began as a mere human and became a low-tier demon, eventually rising to the pinnacle of Great Demons in just over twenty years.
He killed the then-seated Great Demons ‘Slaughter’ and ‘Fear,’ and vanished under mysterious circumstances about a hundred years ago, never to reappear. A being of legend.
Had there not been traces left behind throughout this broken world, he himself would hardly believe it…
“You’re thinking useless thoughts.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Lapua’s musings came to an abrupt halt with the cold, chilling voice coupled with a terrifying aura.
Recalling that the Infinite Great Demon disliked stories of eternity, he quickly provided the answer his master desired.
“I will take immediate action. I will thoroughly root out the perpetrator and ensure no one dares to repeat such foolishness.”
Hmm.
The black demon nodded slowly and turned his head away.
Lapua silently sighed in relief but knew the Infinite Great Demon was still looking out the window with a cold gaze.
Mulling over the unease he felt from the spirit he crushed with his fingertips.
‘Necromancy… Necromancy.’
The followers of Devour, who worshiped their master above all, did not particularly favor necromancy.
If they had the strength for that, they would absorb all the spirit’s energy and add it to their powers instead.
‘Unless it’s some specter of a demon,’ but as far as he knew, there was no one who could command a spirit at this level.
‘And this discomfort.’
It reminded him of an unpleasant feeling he had long forgotten.
Yes, just like when he faced that eternity about a hundred years ago.
‘No, it’s impossible for him to return. It’s a well-established fact that the being, an interdimensional entity, vanished beyond the dimensions back then.’
The walls of that dimension were absolute laws that no one could breach.
Even the Eternal itself would never be able to cross that threshold again.
Then is it possible that this is…?
‘…Something feels off. It would be wise to proceed cautiously until I understand the situation in detail.’
His subordinates were a stellar lineup of demons.
Even if Destruction and Sorrow joined forces to attack, it wouldn’t be easy for them to crumble.
Even if someone else came against them, they would have enough time to grasp the situation properly.
And he was not the only one thinking this.
The Great Demon of Destruction and the Great Demon of Sorrow, the ones most wary of Infinity, were also suspicious that he might be behind this incident.
In the end, they decided to hold back and let their subordinate demons take the lead instead of directly intervening.
In a situation teetering on the brink, the ruling powers of Devour were preparing for a prolonged engagement while scouting for countermeasures.
However, there was one piece of unfortunate news for them—
[My King… The girl has completed all the commands you issued…!]
[Hoho? Faster than I expected.]
[Perhaps due to confidence, she seemed to have no intention of hiding it… it wasn’t that difficult to find her position…!]
Haha— That arrogance, believing no one could touch them, is quite amusing.
Little did they know that the true masterminds behind this incident intended for—
[I’m curious what face they’ll make when that confidence shatters into pieces.]
They had no intention of dragging this out.
‘In a situation where the enemy is so clearly defined, there’s no need to stall time.’
The conqueror who invaded this world—the Undead King Hans gazed down upon the plains of the mortal realm.
From his eye sockets, ablaze with fiery light, opened the Eye of the Abyss.
Soon, the land that came into his view was engulfed in darkness.
At that moment.
“Kieeeek!”
[Heed the king’s call!]
“Grrruuuk!”
[Woooooo—!]
In the darkness of the earth, countless shapes began to rise, both big and small.
Not just human corpses and skeletons but also undead with the bodies of monsters, and even jiangshi created from youkai and martial artists.
Gugugugugung—
Pooof!
Not stopping there, the long-dead spirits were being resurrected.
The bodies of the deceased burst forth from the earth, as if deliberately drawn to the ancient battlegrounds where resentment was most concentrated, and the number of undead was anything but few.
[Servant Karam will follow the king’s command!]
[For the glory of the king—! Bring infinite terror to this world—!]
[…Please, your orders…!]
Kuoooooo——!
And at the forefront of them.
The Undead’s high-ranking officers, who answered the call of the Undead King and crossed dimensions, all knelt to the ground, while bone dragons began to take flight in the sky.
With the effects of skills like “Overturning the Heavens” and the divine aura of ‘Death’ that Hans had nurtured, the aura emanating from them was on an altogether different level compared to when they first received it.
The presence flowing from the gathered high-ranking officers shook the very fabric of space.
The energy of death that filled the world and the power of the Abyss granted by the Undead King synergized, setting the black flames ignited on their bodies ablaze wildly.
“…Glory to the Master of Death.”
“Ah! My lord!”
And among them was a particularly meticulous creation of the jiangshi, along with many Abyss Revenants including the heavenly demons and secretaries.
It was as if most of the undead forces that Hans had gathered up until now were present in this one place.
[No need for lengthy discussions.]
A voice echoed across the plains teeming with undead.
At the same time, the atmosphere, once filled with various noises, fell into silence.
The countless undead turned their gaze toward one point simultaneously.
[Already groveling at the feet of power, I have no interest in them.]
The spectacle was so wondrous that the lone human, McCarthy, found himself struggling to swallow, nearly frozen in shock.
Holding onto his consciousness, teetering on the brink of fainting, he ignored the pain in his left arm and eye.
That declaration was akin to the last lifeline for the humans barely clinging onto life in this world.
There was no way the long-declining humans could survive against this great army.
‘This is the King of Beasts, the ruler of death, who looks down on even the Great Demons.’
Amidst the ashen sky, the great conqueror looked down proudly at his army.
With each word he spoke, the battle spirit of his subordinates soared to unimaginable heights.
[Slaughter all the demon scum that oppress this world—!]
As soon as his final command was issued.
[Uoooooo——!]
[Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!]
[Coordinates confirmed! Activate the Gate immediately! We’ll act decisively!]
With fervent cheers, the army of the undead scattered, centering around the high-ranking officers, and began to march forward in unison.
A war without a declaration against the entire world.
Having prepared for this war long ago, and now pinpointing the exact coordinates, the movement of the army was as smooth as flowing water.
And as a result.
158 entities.
The number of demons revered as unbeatable in this world, hunted down in mere days.
*
There was a significant difference between the demons of Devour and those of Auterica.
While the demons residing in Auterica’s Demon Realm felt somewhat like an anomalous subspecies, those in Devour were closer to the fundamental image of ‘demon.’
A type of phenomenon that transcended human understanding, a form of ultimate evil.
‘The Executioner didn’t seem that obvious since he was human and of Awakening origin.’
Every demon had a name bestowed upon them.
It was both a name that referred to their existence and a title that held power, indirectly reflecting their status.
‘Essentially, this world was maintained by demon hunters eliminating demon contractors hiding in the shadows. Now, it’s become a completely dark fantasy setting.’
Demons dwelling in Hell couldn’t be defeated by conventional means.
They existed by empowering their contractors without directly intervening, making them practically untouchable.
The problem arose when, for some reason, the demons from Hell began to roam freely in the human world.
The power balance shattered in an instant, plunging the world into chaos.
Even demons that ascended from Hell lost their immortality and suffered various weaknesses; however, they faced an insurmountable wall that could not simply be overcome.
And the foremost beings leading the world to destruction were those known as ‘Great Demons.’
Each one of them was a ruler above typical demons that possessed tremendous power, unlike any ordinary demon.
And now one of those Great Demons, the Great Demon of Sorrow, was currently.
Kuhk! That bastard sure is being a nuisance. Is this what it means to be a Great Demon?
Grrr— What are you? How is some irregular like you in this world!
Bound by a leash in his bony hand, he sunk deeper into the abyss of sorrow from the unreasonable violence directed at him.
