61 - Undead Legion
The garrison of the Undead Legion, to which he was guided, was half a day's distance from the fortress's north gate. Compared to the fortress where the Demon King's Main Army was stationed, the surrounding walls were considerably lower; it looked more like a village than a military facility. Ray thought it might be because the facility was on the opposite side of the front lines, but he would soon realize that was not the case. It was simply that the Undead Legion was being neglected.
"...This guy is the commander?"
The one who greeted Ray was a small man clad in a brown robe so filthy it was hard to tell if that was its original color. He wore his hood deep, obscuring his face.
"That is correct. He was appointed personally by the Demon King."
The Vampio man who had guided Ray here answered the question.
"The Demon King... does that mean..."
"It is a fact that the order was issued."
"...I get it. If that guy is the commander, then what happens to me?"
"You can be the vice-commander or a regular member, do as you please. After all, you're the only other person in the legion."
"Excuse me?"
Ray was the one surprised by the Vampio man's words. If the only person belonging to the legion was the robed man before him, the future plans would change significantly.
"I'm not alone! I have plenty of loyal subordinates!"
The robed man denied the Vampio's words. Ray felt a bit relieved by this, but he became curious about why the two were saying different things.
"That's right. Then you can welcome your new commander and all work hard together. So that you can prove you are part of the Demon King's army."
"...I'll do that without being told."
A displeased tone. Ray understood that the Undead Legion was a group of failures. He had expected as much the moment he was appointed commander by a Demon King who clearly harbored malice toward them.
"Well then, I shall take my leave."
"Ah, yes. Thank you very much."
The Vampio man left the garrison. Now, only Ray and the robed man remained. At least, within visible range.
"My name is Ray. I look forward to working with you."
He started with a greeting for now. In response, the other party said:
"I am the supreme mage! The naturally immortal Lich! The great leader of the undead! I am Alexander III!"
He replied with a loud and lengthy self-introduction.
"Heh... he's quite the person."
Compared to his shabby appearance, his proclamation was quite grand. That was unexpected.
"Yeah, I'm amazing. Just because you've become the commander, don't act all high and mighty."
"...I'll try my best."
Compared to the grandeur of his introduction, his tone was quite light.
"So, you, what did you do?"
"What do you mean by 'what did I do'?"
"The fact that you were sent here means you pissed off the Demon King, right? What did you do to make him angry?"
Ray had known for a while, but that was the kind of place this was.
"I don't recall doing anything in particular, but it's probably because I'm not of the Demon Race, right?"
"Eh?"
"I'm not a member of the Demon Race, but for certain reasons, I need to fight the Laurel Kingdom."
"I see... so that's it."
The man looked dissatisfied after hearing Ray's story.
"Even if you're not a member of the Demon Race, I'm the commander. Even if you're dissatisfied, I'll be troubled if you don't follow my orders properly."
"That's not it."
"Then what is?"
"I'm still thought of as a human. You were probably sent here for that reason."
"Excuse me?"
"My father was human. To master the magical arts, he underwent various trainings, and among them, he mastered necromancy, and through further training, he became immortal himself."
"...Ah, a Lich... wait?"
The man had introduced himself as a Lich. But according to what he just said, the Lich was his father. Ray only now noticed the strangeness of his introduction.
"What is it?"
"Your father is a Lich. Then what are you?"
"Weren't you listening? I'm a Lich too. I told you I'm a naturally immortal Lich, didn't I?"
It was still strange.
"According to my knowledge, a Lich is something one becomes as a result of training, like your father. To be a Lich from birth is..."
"Shut up! I'm a Lich! I'm immortal, and I can use necromancy! Being a natural-born Lich, I am a member of the Demon Race!"
Ray now understood why he had seemed dissatisfied. Believing himself to be of the Demon Race, he was frustrated that those around him would not acknowledge it.
"...I understand. May I ask one more thing?"
"What?"
"How old are you?"
"Me? How old was I... I think I've passed ten."
"Hey!"
Because he called himself a Lich, Ray had thought he was some elder who had lived for hundreds of years, but the impression of his tone had been correct. He was still a child.
"What?"
"You're lower than me in both rank and age."
"Ah, what's with you acting all high and mighty so quickly?"
Whenever he said one thing, the other countered. A complete child.
"...How about you fix your habit of acting high and mighty first?"
"What, do you want to be served by your subordinates?"
"...You know some difficult words."
"That's because I'm knowledgeable."
"...I wonder if it's something like memory inheritance?"
The memory inheritance Kamiira had given Ray. Ray wondered if the same thing had been done for him.
"What's this memory inheritance?"
"Nothing. So, where are these loyal subordinates of yours?"
Currently, only Ray and Alexander III were at the garrison. If his words were true, there should be many loyal subordinates.
"Alexander III."
"...Alec's loyal—"
"It's Alexander III!"
"It's too long! If you hate Alec, I'll just call you The Third!"
"The Third... yeah. I like it. Call me The Third from now on."
For some reason, he seemed to like "The Third."
"I'm the one who decided it... well, fine. So, The Third... The Third?"
"What. Is there something else?"
"According to what you said earlier, your father was the first Lich and you're the second. But 'The Third'?"
"Yeah, 'The Third' sounds better than 'The Second', right?"
"............"
What happened to his obsession with how he was called? Ray was a bit appalled by The Third's haphazardness.
"You want to meet my loyal subordinates, right? I'll let you."
Saying this, The Third took a few steps forward and turned his back to Ray.
"Come forth! My servants!"
The Third shouted loudly, raising both hands high. What responded to that voice was...
"...As I thought, undead."
Skeletons rose one after another from the ground. As predicted from the name Undead Legion, it was an army of undead. Their number was about a hundred. All of them were skeletons. Ray couldn't judge whether this was many or few at the moment.
"How are they? My subordinates."
The Third looked proud. Unfortunately, Ray had no obligation to make The Third happy.
"Are your subordinates strong?"
"...What do you mean by that?"
At Ray's question, his voice instantly turned displeased.
"I've never fought undead, so I don't know how strong they are."
"It's an immortal army. Of course they're strong."
"That's what The Third says, but..."
The Undead Legion was undoubtedly being neglected. Was it only because the soldiers were undead? Ray felt it was not just that.
"Then try fighting them."
"...True. Shall we test it?"
To measure their strength, there was no choice but to actually verify it. Deciding this, Ray decided to fight a skeleton soldier.
"Don't come crying and apologizing to me."
"I won't cry. Though, first, let's start one-on-one."
"Yeah. No problem. After all, my subordinates are immortal."
The Third was full of confidence. It would have been helpful for Ray if that were the case, but he already knew it wasn't. One skeleton stepped forward from the group. Its movements were slow, and it didn't seem like its attack would hit the enemy. Indeed, Ray easily dodged the club the skeleton soldier swung down.
"...Can't you move faster?"
"Faster... alright, watch this."
In response to Ray's request, the skeleton soldier's movements became faster. But even then, it wasn't a fight. Ray lightly dodged the club and, with his sword, snapped its arm—though it was only bone.
"...N-not yet! It's not dead yet!"
"It's not going to die."
Breaking an arm wouldn't kill someone even if they weren't undead. Ray had aimed for the arm intending to hold back.
"...Even if their arms are broken! Even if their legs are broken! My subordinates will continue to attack!"
"No matter how much you continue to attack, it's meaningless if you don't hit the enemy."
"...They will keep fighting, on and on, until the enemy is exhausted!"
"The Third. With this slowness, the enemy will just escape. Besides... undead have weaknesses, right?"
"............"
The enemy has no need to force themselves to fight. With the current movements, they could escape even by running. Furthermore, undead have weaknesses. Fire, or purification-type magic.
"I can't fight with this."
"...Shut up."
"Huh?"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! My subordinates are useless anyway!"
"Hey!?"
Calling his own subordinates, whom he had been bragging about until a moment ago, useless. Ray felt discomfort at that attitude.
"They aren't even thought of as a fighting force! They're hated things that people don't even want to be near!"
"Shut up. Be quiet."
The Third continued to scream hysterically. Along with the discomfort, annoyance also welled up in Ray's chest.
"They're just consumables for stalling for time! That's all they are!"
"Shut up!"
Ray's arm was stretched straight out. In his hand was a jet-black sword different from the one he used to break the skeleton's arm, the Magic Sword Kamui. After a brief moment, The Third's head rolled onto the ground. It had been sliced off by Ray's sword. Seeing this, the skeleton soldiers all made a movement as if they had suddenly realized something, but the reaction stopped there. After that, they just stood there blankly.
"...Pick it up quickly or I'll kick it."
Responding to Ray's words, The Third's headless body began to waddle. While acting a bit tentatively, he managed to pick up the head that had fallen on the ground and placed it on his shoulder.
"You... what were you planning to do if I died!?"
The Third puffed out his cheeks in anger at Ray's action.
"Huh? No, I mean, you said yourself that you're immortal, right?"
Ray had no intention of killing The Third. The Third was an immortal Lich. He had acted thinking that he wouldn't die just from being cut by a sword.
"Even so, normally, can someone slice off a head without hesitating? You're a terrifying man."
"It's because you were loud."
"No, no. Cutting off a person's head just because they're loud is the abnormal part."
"That's why, since you said yourself that you're immortal, I just believed that, right?"
"You believed me... no, that's a lie. A normal person can't slice the head of someone they believe in."
For a moment, The Third's face smirked at Ray's words about believing him, but he quickly tightened his expression and repeated his complaints.
"It's your fault for saying things that irritate The Third."
"It can't be helped, right? I—we have always been looked down upon by those around us. I just got angry because you looked at us the same way."
The Third's complex. Ray had stimulated it. However, Ray himself had no such intention.
"That's not it. I got irritated because The Third called his own subordinates consumables."
"Eh...?"
"I think you shouldn't lead subordinates with that kind of thinking just because they're immortal. They aren't immortal in the true sense, are they? If their weakness is struck, they die—or rather, they vanish, is that correct? Anyway, you should treat them with care."
"...You."
The Third didn't actually think of his soldiers as consumables. He knew that others thought so, and he felt frustrated by it.
"For now, we have to find a way to train them. We also need to think about how they fight."
"Train them how?"
"...Couldn't we just do normal army-like training?"
Even if they were skeleton soldiers, they were soldiers and a unit. If so, Ray simply thought they should be trained in army-like ways of fighting.
"Army-like training?"
"Eh? You don't know?"
"I've never been in an army."
Of course he hadn't. There were no organizations that could be called an army among the Demon Race. They had the idea that everyone was a warrior. Furthermore, they relied solely on individual strength and had no concept of group training.
"I guess that's true... not even thinking about training. But first, the basics."
"Basics?"
"Well, just watch."
Saying this to The Third, Ray stepped forward in front of the skeleton soldiers.
"...Fall in!"
Ray gave the command. The Third, who had been watching with disbelief at what he was doing...
"Eh!?"
He was surprised to see the skeleton soldiers start to move.
"No! No! 'Fall in' is... alright! Line up in a single row in front of me!"
Ray didn't have the luxury to care that The Third was surprised and was re-issuing instructions to the skeleton soldiers. It seemed that the word 'fall in' alone didn't get through to the skeleton soldiers, and they were just confused.
"No way? They can't even line up in a row... do I need to teach them the order?"
Ray fretted over things not going as planned.
"W-wait a minute!"
The Third called out to Ray.
"What? I'm thinking right now."
"Why are they moving at your instructions?"
The skeleton soldiers were moving by The Third's necromancy. There was no way they would move at another's instructions.
"Ah, sorry. I borrowed a bit of your power."
"Haaah!?"
"Come to think of it, I can steal your power... and you don't die even if I kill you."
What Ray had stolen was necromancy, an ability The Third possessed. The Third's abilities could be stolen. Moreover, The Third was immortal. Ray realized the utility of this.
"Hey! What dangerous things are you thinking about again!?"
"You, train more and acquire more power. That would help me too."
Let The Third acquire abilities and then receive them. He thought it was a good plan, but...
"Train... how?"
The Third didn't know how to acquire abilities.
"How... I don't know about Lich training. Didn't you hear from your father?"
"My old man died without teaching me anything."
"Ah... that's too bad."
"I don't need your sympathy."
"I'm not sympathizing. I lost my parents when I was a child too."
"Eh?"
"I don't need your sympathy."
"Like I would!"
In this manner, Ray encountered a subordinate who, if one were to call it that, was a good match for him. The weakest in the Demon King's army, the Undead Legion, which was not considered a fighting force, would change greatly starting from this day. That would be known a bit later.
◇◇◇
On the night he joined the Undead Legion, Ray was racking his brain inside a building in the garrison. He was thinking of training methods for the legion. He spread paper on the desk and wrote down everything that came to mind. He was still at that stage.
"...Don't sleep."
"............"
"Don't sleep!"
"Eh? Ah, I'm awake."
The Third told a blatant lie. Ray looked at him with an exasperated face.
"Do you even need to sleep if you're immortal?"
In the first place, he didn't understand why sleep would be necessary for the immortal The Third.
"Even immortals get sleepy. In other words, sleep is necessary."
"...Do the undead soldiers sleep too, perhaps?"
He couldn't think of tactics without knowing the characteristics of the soldiers. Thinking this, Ray decided to hear about the undead soldiers from The Third.
"It's not so much sleeping, but they won't move without my instructions."
"...At all?"
Undead soldiers move even without every single movement being instructed. Ray, who had acquired the same ability as The Third, understood this.
"I mean they don't make meaningful movements."
"I get that. Instructions don't need to be in real-time, right?"
"What's this 'real-time'?"
"I shortened it too much. Uh... if I give an order under certain conditions, will they move accordingly even after time has passed?"
He couldn't think of a word to explain real-time well. He thought it was inconvenient that there were words that didn't get through at times like this.
"Yeah, of course. It's not like they have absolutely no intelligence. It's hard for them to think for themselves, but they can at least remember an order."
"I see... by the way, can they move in water?"
"...They float."
"Ah, I see. If I attach weights... how heavy of an object can they carry?"
He thought about attaching weights so they wouldn't float, but he didn't know how much weight a skeleton soldier could withstand. A skeleton soldier with no muscles.
"That depends on the caster's ability."
"In other words, you. Train. Train right now! Train immediately!"
"You're a caster too, aren't you!?"
"I'll obviously train... I see. The reason the instructions didn't go well during the day was also due to my immaturity."
The abilities of skeleton soldiers depend quite a bit on those of the caster. Realizing this, he noticed that if he wanted them to acquire army-like movements, he himself had to train.
"Once you're proficient, you don't need to use your voice every time."
"...Can you do that?"
"Of course."
"Really?"
"...To some extent."
When questioned repeatedly by Ray, The Third suddenly became lacking in confidence. Ray had seen the poor movements during the day. He thought there was no point in bluffing.
"Well, certainly, I didn't give verbal orders to the skeleton soldier that fought me. In other words, it's not an ability from the start, but requires practice."
Things The Third could do but he couldn't were things to be acquired through training and experience. Ray understood that there was room for growth in necromancy.
"You... why are you so enthusiastic?"
"Because I have a goal."
"A goal?"
"To destroy the Laurel Kingdom. For that, I need the power to wage war."
"...And that's this legion?"
Far from destroying the Laurel Kingdom, if they fought head-on, they were a weak legion that would be wiped out immediately even with equal numbers. The Third still couldn't understand Ray's feelings in being so enthusiastic about such a legion.
"Even if they're weak now, they'll manage if they're trained. I was the same way."
"Will they manage?"
"They will manage. The two of us, me and The Third."
"The two of us, you and I..."
The Third blushed shyly. Seeing that face, Ray thought of one thing that bothered him.
"Come to think of it, The Third's face isn't wrinkled, is it?"
"Hah? Why do you wonder about that?"
"Because Liches are... oh, The Third was a Lich from birth."
"I told you."
The Third had not lived for a long period of time far exceeding a human's lifetime. Ray thought it was natural that he differed from the image of a Lich in his head. Though the sense of incongruity didn't disappear.
"Wait? Then why are you hiding your face with a hood?"
"Isn't it obvious? Because I hate being looked down upon as a child. After all, I am a Lich."
"...I don't really understand The Third's values."
"There are various things."
"I see... that's true. We've only just met. Understanding each other starts from now."
"A-ah."
Thus, the night deepened. Though mixed with idle chatter, it was a meaningful time for the two of them. It was the time necessary for the Undead Legion to become strong.