NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
“Where am I? Why have I turned into a girl?”
As I regained my senses, I found myself inhabiting the body of a strange girl.
What the hell is this?
Is this a nightmare?
Did I accidentally devour a girl in my sleep and her soul ended up in me?
Or is this some mental magic unleashed by another Demon Lord targeting me?
“That doesn’t seem likely.”
No, it feels all too real.
I’ve ‘inhabited’ this girl’s body.
“I’ve possessed a corpse.”
The girl’s mind is dead, her soul has escaped, but her physical body remains, and now it’s mine.
But….
“Cough…!”
Blood gushed from my mouth.
It wasn’t as if a blood vessel had burst inside me, but rather blood that had pooled in my mouth burst out.
This girl has no heart.
Her heart was ripped out, and just before all her blood drained away, what I spat out was the last of it.
The reason this body moves even though it’s a corpse is simple.
“I’ve become Undead.”
I’ve inhabited an Undead’s body.
There’s no other way to explain my current state.
“…What the…?”
I surveyed those around me as they held a ceremony.
“Oh, he has awakened!”
“I’m so happy! Our savior has finally come to us!”
“Praise him! Applaud the great being!”
‘Are these people insane?’
They look like fanatics of some sort.
All those I don’t want to get close to are wearing indistinguishable robes….
“The Seal of Sloth?!”
Five hundred years ago.
The insignia of the legion I led was emblazoned on their robes.
The same emblem that flew over my Demon King’s Castle was now on their robes.
“Oh, you’ve awakened! Our great Demon King, Bel Phegor, has finally descended!!”
“Bel Phegor! Bel Phegor! Bel Phegor!”
What they displayed was akin to collective madness.
I wondered what I should do in response, but before I knew it, I spoke, drawn by a familiar magical power.
I recognize this magic.
“Zephar?”
“Yes! Indeed! I am your loyal servant, Zephar!”
The man removed his robe.
His face was a skull.
“Zephar, Zephar. The head of the Necromancer faction leading the 17th legion. A human who surrendered to our Demon King’s army. Have you become a Lich?”
“Yes, that’s right! Ah, despite the voice of a child, your presence is overflowing with majesty…!”
“…I thought you were dead.”
“That could never be! I, Zephar, have awaited you for five hundred years, thinking only of you, my master.”
Zephar knelt before me, nothing but bone remaining.
“Ah, do you know how much we have suffered since you passed away?”
A glance around showed that everyone else appeared to be human, yet they were all Necromancers skilled in dark magic.
“The battle of Igrasys Plains that will determine the fate of the Demon King’s army and humanity. You awaited our victory from the Demon King’s Castle. We intended to march to victory against humanity, but…”
“I was killed by heroes.”
“Ugh…!”
The Demon Lord was slain just before a major battle.
Naturally, the majority of the monsters under the Demon Lord’s control would have gone berserk when the hold was released, and the human alliance would have wiped out the frenzied Demon King’s army.
“I barely survived. And wishing for your return, I’ve gathered our forces.”
“Is that so? So what do you desire from me?”
“Regain your courageous form! My master, Black Dragon Bel Phegor!”
Black Dragon.
To be blunt, it’s just a Black Dragon.
Though I became a Demon with dragon origins, my kin insulted me, and I suppressed them all to seize the throne of the Dragon Lord.
Oh, the thrill of ruling over dragons was exhilarating.
I wonder if they’re still alive. The last time I attacked, I locked them in a cave while they were in a state of ecstasy.
“Now, bring your true self here! Thus, let the achievements of the Demon Lord resurface on this land!”
“No thanks.”
“…What?”
“Too bothersome.”
I didn’t know what thoughts Zephar was harboring towards me, but I had no intention of wreaking havoc against humanity again.
“Summoning your true body requires immense magical power. I’m tired. Even if I tried to gather the Demon King’s army again, it would only bring suffering. Besides, even if a Demon King’s army exists, there would still be the Holy Sword remaining, right? Then why gather an army again? One strike from the Holy Sword would wipe out half of the Demon King’s army.”
“D-Demon Lord! How can you say such things?”
“And more importantly.”
I pointed to the body of the girl I had possessed, especially to the empty heart.
And to Zephar, who was holding a knife, ready to carve out my heart.
“What do you plan to do with me, huh? You filthy human. Just because you’ve become a Lich doesn’t mean you’ve lost your human nature.”
“……H-huh, heh.”
Zephar began to laugh, rattling his bones.
“Ha, heh, heh…! Ha, ha, ha, ha!!”
“You’re a madman.”
“A madman?! Yes, I’m a madman! Truly, a Demon Lord! I never thought you would catch on!”
As expected.
“If you had called me forth with pure intentions, you wouldn’t have bothered to extract my soul separately.”
“Did you expect to just summon my soul? Yes, first, you summon the soul and then take the body… that’s the plan.”
“If that were the case, you wouldn’t be trying to carve out this body’s heart to use for your summoning magic.”
“……Heh, heh.”
I rose from the altar.
“Zephar. What exactly do you intend to achieve by trapping my soul in this body and controlling it?”
“World domination.”
“How absurd and laughable.”
“You wouldn’t understand. You, a loser who’s been cooped up in the Demon World for five hundred years, have no idea about the oppression we endured under you and your kind!”
“Why should I care? But wait, what? Kind? You little bastard.”
Who are you calling kind?
“Heh heh heh, little bastard? Seems like you’re about to be controlled by that little bastard… huh?”
“Idiot.”
I thrust my hand forward.
“Even with just my soul, I could easily overpower a mere Lich like you.”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
Zephar writhed in agony—
“Tada.”
He spread his arms wide.
My arms rose up in response, mimicking Zephar’s movements.
“Still, it seems you have some skill as the Demon Lord, but I’m sorry to say, you’re just an Undead under my control right now.”
“…….”
I’m in trouble.
“Heh heh, obediently follow my orders! Though you may have been the Demon Lord in the past, now you’re merely a worthless demon girl summoned by me!”
“This is bad, Zephar!!”
One of his subordinates rushed over and knelt.
“We’ve been discovered! The Holy Knights are coming!”
*
“Break through! Kill the enemies of humanity!”
With the shout of the holy knight clad in white armor, the knights charged into the cave.
In front of them stood all kinds of skeletons and zombies, blocking the way.
“Charge!”
“For humanity!”
The Holy Knights dashed forward, cloaked in Divine Power.
Seeing themselves as living chariots, they broke through the Undead with their bodies.
“You bastards…! Pretending to be slave traders while kidnapping children.”
The knight gripped her sword, brimming with Divine Power.
“Those who deserve divine punishment…!”
“General! We have a problem. The resistance from the dark mages is too fierce. At this rate…”
“What do you mean, at this rate! Even if the resistance is fierce, we must go in and stop the ceremony!”
The knight leapt off her horse.
“I will enter myself! Everyone, follow me! Charge!”
At the knight’s—Saintess’s—shout, the waiting Holy Knights dismounted and charged in as well.
“Run faster! We must arrive before the ceremony is completed!”
But.
Gooooo!!
A tremendous wind of magical power blew from within the cave.
“Oh no…! It’s already too late…!”
The knights despaired.
Some of the knights knelt, praying to their god.
The ceremony was already nearing its end, and before they could reach the altar where it was taking place, it was complete.
“…No, not yet.”
The knight raised her sword high.
“They say demons are weakest right after being summoned! It’s not too late! There’s still hope!”
“S-Saintess…!”
“Charge! Even if the Dragon Lord has revived, we will slay him!”
The knight—Saintess—ran forward, charging with more zeal than anyone else.
“For the world—!!”
The knights began to advance once more.
*
“Damn it…!”
Zephar gnawed his teeth nervously.
“Could it be that the human scum sensed us already…?!”
“Pfft, you’re quite clumsy. Your location for the ceremony has been discovered. Back in my day….”
“Shut up!”
Zephar shot magical bullets at me.
I took the hit and staggered back.
“Cooperate with me, Demon Lord! If we get captured, you will be tortured too!”
“Tortured? I don’t want that.”
I barely managed to rise again.
And I threw a punch at Zephar.
“I wouldn’t like becoming your slave either.”
“W-what…?!”
I pointed beyond the altar.
Splash.
Below the cliff, a river flowed down the cave.
“Don’t! Stop! Stop it!”
“You’re gonna control me with dark magic? Hey, I taught you how to cast dark magic.”
The bizarre monsters down below had momentarily vacated their posts to face the Holy Knights.
“Don’t! Don’t go! Give me your power before you leave, you filthy girl!”
“No, that bastard is going all the way.”
I lunged at Zephar while swinging my fist and jumped off the cliff.
“I’m a bastard, you little bastard.”
Splash.