The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time

,” Kanako replied, giving a strong-willed nod.
“We will keep going until we get a response from him.”

Doug gave a deep sigh.
“It feels like we’re on a deserted island, trying to get help by putting letters into empty bottles and throwing them into the sea.”

“I think our chances of getting a response are higher than that,” said Melissa.
“What comes for us isn’t guaranteed to be help, though.”

The trio had separated from Murakami and the others who had accepted Rodcorte’s request to kill Vandalieu.
The objective of Kanako and her companions was to defect to Talosheim, the nation ruled by Vandalieu.

The three of them had died in their previous lives to death-attribute Mana that had gone out of control.
They did not believe that they could win against Vandalieu.

With that being the case, the most dangerous place to be in this world was with Murakami, who intended to fulfil Rodcorte’s request and kill Vandalieu.
Thus, the safest place in the world was by Vandalieu’s side.

They had also decided that it would be dangerous to try and keep themselves hidden from both parties.

After all, in Origin, they had pretended to be allies of the Eighth Guidance, who worshipped Vandalieu, and later betrayed them.
They had also been present when the ‘Death Scythe’ Konoe Miyaji attacked Vandalieu.

It wouldn’t be strange for Vandalieu to already consider them enemies.

By hiding, they might cause Vandalieu and his allies to be more wary of them and chase them down persistently.

If that was the case, wouldn’t they be more likely to survive by pressing their foreheads against the ground and kissing his feet to surrender than by making a poor attempt to hide?

That was what the three of them believed.

They also believed that even if they were not accepted into Talosheim, Vandalieu would not chase after them once they told him that they had no hostile intentions towards him.

However, the three of them had been struggling to make contact with Vandalieu.

“Hey, how about coming up with a plan that’s more reliable than throwing letters from the sign outside the place?” said Doug.

“No way,” said Kanako, rejecting this suggestion immediately.
“I’m definitely not going past that sign.”

“Why not?” Doug asked, frowning but not angry.

“Because once we go past the sign, the Undead will acknowledge us as enemies.
It’s uncertain that they will relay our words to him, and it’s possible that they might pick up the letters that we threw.
And, according to rumors, there’s an unidentified head-hunting demon inside,” said Kanako.

“And if we stay on this side of the sign and don’t do anything hostile, we’ll be safe,” Melissa added.
“We’ve already talked about this.
Did you forget?”

What Kanako and Melissa spoke of was the information that had been spreading among the adventurers of the Sauron Duchy ever since Vandalieu occupied the former Scylla region.

Several groups had tried going past the sign at the boundary of the former Scylla territory since then, including Duke Marme’s army, and none of them had returned.

However, all of those who had not stepped past the sign had returned safely.

From this information, the Guilds had determined that this forest was just a Devil’s Nest with nothing more than weak monsters, as long as one did not step past the sign.

However, these three were reincarnated individuals.
Even now, despite going against Rodcorte’s desires, they could use their cheat-like abilities normally, and still possessed his divine protection and fortune.

Over a year had passed since they began going through job changes at the Adventurers’ Guild, and their abilities were getting close to those of A-class adventurers.

As long as the mysterious head-hunting demon didn’t appear, they would manage to hold their own against Rank 4 and 5 Undead.
But what the trio feared was not fighting against Undead.

“The worst-case scenario is if we accidentally defeat some of the Undead, right? I remember, we decided that Vandalieu might kill us to take revenge for the Undead if we defeat them,” said Doug.

This was the scenario that Kanako feared the most.
In any other part of the world, nobody would think of taking revenge for Undead.

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No, the same would be true even if they weren’t Undead.
A nation’s leader would have to be mad to jump into battle in order to avenge sentries that had been dispatched on the frontlines.

But Kanako and her companions had observed Talosheim, even though it had only been for a short while.
From what they had seen, they didn’t think that this would be out of the question.
In that city, Undead smiled just like the living, sharing tables and raising cups of alcohol together.

And from the information that they had received from Rodcorte, Vandalieu conversed normally with Undead, treating them as companions and forming bonds of trust with them.

Even in Origin, where both science and magic existed, Undead appeared on very rare occasions.
However, with only two exceptions, Undead were nothing more than beasts that saw all living as their prey, or insane creatures that unleashed their hatred upon everything in sight.

One of those exceptions was the one with the codename ‘Undead,’ who had saved the others who were being used as experimental subjects despite dying and becoming an Undead… Vandalieu himself.

The second was the Zombie soldiers that had been created by Isis and commanded by Valkyrie; these two were members of the Eighth Guidance who had been rescued by the Undead.
At least while they were under Valkyrie’s command, the Zombie soldiers had not been like beasts; they had fought with sophisticated coordination.

The death attribute was involved in both of those exceptions.
With that being the case, the Undead affected by the death attribute in Lambda should be treated in the same way as those exceptions, along with the reasons for their appearance.
That was what Kanako, Doug and Melissa had decided upon.

“It doesn’t seem that Murakami or Asagi have noticed that, though,” said Melissa.

“That’s probably because they decided that Vandalieu and the Eighth Guidance are crazy, even before thinking things through about the Undead,” said Doug, taking a skewer and taking a bite of the perfectly-roasted meat.
“When you watch Zombie movies, there are always characters that make a big fuss about how Zombies are just sick humans so they can be treated and returned to normal, and that Zombies have rights just like humans.
To Asagi and Murakami, Vandalieu just looks like one of those characters.
They think that if Vandalieu is manipulating the Undead, it’s possible that he is making them act like they have personalities.
That what Valkyrie was doing was like playing with dolls, and what Vandalieu is doing is no different.”

Melissa and Kanako stared at Doug.

“Doug, haven’t you become smarter than you were in your previous life?” said Kanako.

“Perhaps this world’s food has some nutrients that are good for the brain,” said Melissa.

“… I see exactly what you guys think of me now,” Doug sighed.

“No, no, it was a very interesting view on things,” said Kanako.

“Playing with dolls is a terrible way to put it! It is the real thing!” said a voice from very close by.

Kanako, Doug and Melissa froze.
And then they noticed that two people were present on the very edge of the light of their campfire.

In a way, these two were people that they knew, but at the same time, this was their first meeting.

“I-it seems that you got our letter.
Umm, should I say, ‘long time no see?’” Kanako said nervously, managing to recover from her shock.

“Yes.
Long time no see, Tsuchiya Kanako-san.
Excluding the time when I destroyed ‘Death Scythe,’ it’s been ten years? No, you weren’t there when I was killed in my previous life, so has it been thirty years?”

“For us, it has been a year and a few months! Well, depending on the person, that’s certainly long enough to say ‘long time no see!’”

“I’m glad to see you again… or so it’s socially polite to say, isn’t it?”

The two newcomers sounded as if they were starting a casual chat.

“I’ll introduce myself again.
I’m Vandalieu.
This person wearing the black cloak is Legion, who were previously the Eighth Guidance.
You’re the ‘Venus’ Kanako-san, the one over there is ‘Aegis’ Melissa-san and he’s the ‘Hecatoncheir’ Doug-san, is that correct?”

Having seen the letter that Kanako’s group had apparently written, Vandalieu had decided to meet them and talk.

Of course, he had considered the possibility that the letter was a trap.
He had only called out to them after finding them with his Lemure familiars and making preparations.

“Incidentally, I have already told my companions of this location.
If you try anything, several hundred Undead will flood into this forest,” Vandalieu said.

“I mean, it’s only normal to be that wary.
By the way, why did I hear voices that sounded like Valkyrie and Isis from the one over there… Legion-san?” Kanako asked.

“We’re being considerate towards you.
Our current appearance is very shocking,” said Legion.

They had used the Form Alteration and Size Alteration Skills to transform into the rough shape and size of a human, then put on a hood and cloak to conceal their appearance.
This was done out of consideration for Kanako and her companions so as to not frighten them.

Vandalieu had come here to hear what they had to say, so it would have been problematic if they had started panicking.

“So, about your desire to defect… Why do you want to do that?” Vandalieu asked his former classmate Kanako, who had completely changed from who she was when she was on Earth except for her appearance and age.

It wasn’t as if Vandalieu had been particularly close to her, but she seemed to be the leader of the trio, and he hadn’t ever spoken to the other two reincarnated individuals since their time on Earth, either.

However, it was almost certain that Kanako’s personality had changed drastically since she was Vandalieu’s classmate.

“When ‘Death Scythe’ attacked me, I did notice you desperately forming a cross with your arms,” Vandalieu added.

That act had been quite comical, but it was probably another sign that Kanako had changed.

“Ah, you noticed! I’m so glad.
The truth is, we cut our ties with Murakami and his group,” said Kanako, smiling.

On the other hand, she also felt that Vandalieu was a completely different person from when he was Amamiya Hiroto on Earth.
She was shaking on the inside.

This was something that she knew because she was exchanging words with him directly, but it wasn’t just his appearance… his very existence had transformed.

We’ve had military training and survived a lot of battles, but even then, he was able to approach us without us noticing.
Assuming that’s a death-attribute spell… Even if you take that out of the picture, I don’t think we could defeat him, Kanako thought.

Kanako and her companions had trained in military-style close-quarters combat.
Even from their point of view, the atmosphere surrounding Vandalieu was bizarre.

He was merely standing there, but there was a terrifying lack of openings.
His appearance was younger than them… it was that of a child.
But Kanako couldn’t feel any sense of inexperience about him.

I’m sure his Attribute Values and Skills are far higher than ours.
Not only for unarmed combat, but various other things as well.
Well, he is definitely a senpai when it comes to this world, but… the one next to him, Legion? That one’s presence is strange, too.

These were not ones to turn into enemies – Kanako, as well as Doug and Melissa who had been engulfed in Vandalieu and Legion’s presence, became absolutely certain of this now.

Kanako gave a rough explanation of how they had died after the Eighth Guidance were wiped out.
She kept quiet about some things to use for negotiation later, however, such as the fact that the ‘Avalon’ Rikudou Hijiri was the one who had been pulling the strings on everything.

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“Hmm.
If I managed to crush people who were trying to research the death attribute, then collecting all that death wasn’t a waste.
It’s unfortunate that it ended up being something like an indiscriminate act of terror, but that wasn’t the result of our intentions,” said Pluto.

“Yes, that’s why the three of us thought that we don’t want to make you our enemy, because we don’t want to die anymore!” said Kanako.

“Leaving Kanako and Melissa aside, I feel a little strange about Doug thinking that way.
You were something of a berserker, weren’t you?” Legion asked.

“… That voice, it’s Shade, isn’t it? It’s true that I like fighting.
But that wasn’t a fight; it was more like a catastrophic disaster.
No different from a hurricane or an earthquake,” said Doug.
“And battles are fought in order to win.
I’m not stupid enough to try and fight when there is no chance of winning.”

Legion were actively engaging in conversation with Kanako, Doug and Melissa.
This was to make sure that there were no lies in their words.

Because Legion had worked with them for several years, they knew them well.
They had kept an eye on Murakami’s group because they knew that they would become enemies once again in the future.

The same applied for Murakami’s group, but it seemed that Kanako and her companions were a little bewildered by the disguised Legion.

It seemed that they had accepted that they could hear multiple voices coming from Legion, but they were surprised that there was no anger or hatred in their tone and behavior.

However, Kanako and her companions were hesitant to confirm the reason for this.
During their hesitation, Vandalieu changed the topic.

“I see.
I understand your story,” he said.
“In other words, you have nothing to do with the three people who are still hiding over there, right?”

“There’s someone there?!”

Kanako and her companions turned around and saw nothing, but… after a few moments, as if resigning themselves to the fact that they had been detected, three more people of about the same age stepped out of the trees’ shadows.

“Man, we were trying to find a good timing to come out… Long time no see, Amamiya,” said one of the three… the ‘Mage Masher’ Asagi Minami, with a bitter smile on his face.

 

 

 

Name: Basdia Rank: 10 Race: Ghoul Amazoness Queen Level: 7 Job: Demon Axe Blade Job level: 65 Job history: Apprentice Warrior, Warrior, Apprentice Mage, Mage, Magical Warrior, Wind-Attribute Mage, Magic Axeman Age: 34 years old (27 years old in appearance) Passive skills: Night Vision Superhuman Strength: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!) Pain Resistance: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!) Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 5 (LEVEL UP!) Magic Resistance: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!) Intuition: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!) Strengthened Attack Power when equipped with an axe: Large (LEVEL UP!) Mental Fortitude: Level 3 (NEW!) Mana Enlargement: Level 1 (NEW!) Strengthened Attribute Values: Guidance: Level 4 (NEW!) Strengthen Followers: Level 4 (NEW!) Allure: Level 1 (NEW!) Active skills: Axe Technique: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!) Shield Technique: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!) Archery: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!) Throwing: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!) Silent Steps: Level 3 Coordination: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!) No-Attribute Magic: Level 3 Wind-Attribute Magic: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!) Water-Attribute Magic: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!) Mana Control: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!) Cooking: Level 2 Surpass Limits – Magic Axe: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!) Armor Technique: Level 3 (NEW!) Magic Fighting Technique: Level 3 (NEW!) Dismantling: Level 1 (NEW!) Unique skills: Zozogante’s Divine Protection (NEW!) Garess’s Divine Protection (NEW!) ■■ンダ■■’s Divine Protection (NEW!) [N, Da]

 

 

 

Race explanation (Written by Luciliano):

Ghoul Amazoness Queen

In legends, a Ghoul Amazoness Queen is a queen who commands a female-only pack of Ghoul Amazonesses.
Of course, there are no records of actual sightings in human society.
Even in the Ghoul nation in the Boundary Mountain Range, there have apparently been several Ghoul Amazonesses, but no queen has ever been confirmed to exist.

In terms of appearance, they may appear to be not much different from Ghoul Amazonesses, Ghoul Amazoness Geronimos or Ghoul Amazoness Chiefs, but… It is possible that Basdia, the only Ghoul Amazoness Queen currently in existence, simply has not changed because of her large body that was originally 190cm tall to begin with.

Speaking of Basdia’s individual strength, she has not awakened any superior Skills, but her abilities are in the realm of A-class adventurers.
With equipment made from the Demon King’s fragments, she would be unlikely to lose to an ordinary A-class adventurer.

Though it is limited in range as it only affects Ghoul women, she has acquired the Strengthen Followers Skill, and she hopes to become a commander in the future.

Incidentally, the Job named ‘Demon Axe Blade’ that she has acquired is one that has not been discovered in human society, but it is already known to the Kijin nation.
It is apparently a Job that can be acquired by a woman with a high-Level Axe Technique Skill and the divine protection of Garess, the god of battle flags who is the guardian deity of the Kijin nation.

The “ladies” of Vida’s races may be high-class, but it seems that being such a lady has nothing to do with being graceful.