Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 7

Requiem

Satou here. I once had a close friend die unexpectedly, and I found myself wishing I could see them again, even if it was just as a ghost. Of course, that was an impossible wish that never came true, but maybe in a parallel world…

“I cannot read your name. A recognition-inhibiting tool, eh? How irritating… Tell me your name. That is an order.”

My great master Lord Orchidee gave me my first order.

Though I did not know what features were hidden beneath the black hood, I knew someone so great as my master must have an equally handsome face.

Right now, obeying his order was much more important than worrying about the strange red spiderweb-like afterimages at the corners of my vision.

Before I spoke my name, I cast off the disguise I wore, including the recognition-inhibiting device that had troubled my lord.

“My name is Na…”

Halfway through, I remembered that this was a fake name and trailed off.

I had to change my name back to Satou in my social tab.

But for some reason, it was locked. Why couldn’t I change it?

“Hmph, so you are level 89, nearly on par with the great master. Impressive that you are still fighting against the Geist even when it contained that cursed witch’s power…”

I must have given my master the wrong idea because of my hesitation.

What an idiot—wait, no, I mean a wise and vigilant man.

Pushing away the disrespectful thought that arose in the back of my mind, I opened my mouth to correct the misunderstanding, only to realize that he was unfortunately still talking.

Rather than rudely interrupting him, I waited for him to finish talking.

“I order you yet again! Submit yourself to me, and tell me your name at once!   Geist!”

He struck a melodramatic—I mean, majestic pose as he activated his skill.

My log showed that I had resisted it, but I decided to keep that to myself for the sake of my master’s honor.

At any rate, it should be all right for me to state my name now.

“My name is Sa—”

“Master!!”

The voices of Arisa and the other girls drowned out my introduction.

For some reason, the spiderweb-like patterns in the corners of my vision grew stronger.

“Your subordinates?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Answering his question was more important than finishing my introduction.

“It seems they have recognition-inhibiting tools, too. But I assume since they made it this far, they, too, are stronger than they appear?”

“You have a keen eye, my lord.”

“Oh-ho?”

“Just as you surmised, they are so skillful that they defeated a floormaster in the Celivera Labyrinth on their own.”

I boasted of my companions to my great lord.

“Satou…?”

“Wh-what’s going on, Master?”

“Arisa, I think something’s wrong with him.”

“Perhaps that man did something to him, I propose.”

For some reason, the girls looked concerned.

As much as I wanted to go to their side, I was still conversing with my all-powerful master. I’d better wrap it up quick—no, I had best explain it to them only after my master is done speaking.

“Given their appearance, they should be able to infiltrate enemy lands without being noticed. No doubt they can cause all manner of destruction before they are killed by enemy soldiers.”

Killed by enemy soldiers? Did he want to use my kids as disposable pawns?

I used my stupidly high MND stat to force down the insolent thoughts that arose in my mind, and kept anything that might displease my master out of my expression with my “Poker Face” skill.

The red spiderwebs at the corners of my vision kept spreading farther and darker, much to my annoyance.

“Are they stronger than you?”

While I tried to shake off the unpleasant afterimages, my master’s wonderful voice reached my ears.

I dropped my unnecessary distraction at once and responded.

“No.”

“Can you take them captive by yourself?”

“I can.”

I should be able to use Unit Deployment to capture them without harming them.

“Seize them, then. The more sacrificial pawns we have, the better.”

Sacrificial pawns…?

The spiderwebs crept farther across my vision, dense and dark red.

“Yes, my lord.”

Carrying out my great master’s orders was more important than dealing with the annoying distraction.

I turned toward Arisa and the others.

“I am under my great lord’s orders.”

“W-wait a minute, Master! Come on, wake up!”

“Arisa, do you think Master got put under a Geist, too?”

“Yes, Lulu. That is a strong possibility, I report.”

“Uh-oooh?”

“Th-this is bad, sir!”

“It’s awful! If Satou has fallen into enemy hands, we’re in big, big trouble. What do we do? This is worse than a whole team of demon lords getting revived, you know. The entire world could be in danger. It’s true, you know?”

My companions were panicking. Mia even started talking in full sentences.

“This is the most hopeless situation we have encountered yet, I declare.”

Nana seemed to have misunderstood somehow.

“We’ve got to bring Master back to his senses somehow.”

I never thought the day would come that Arisa, of all people, would question my sanity.

“But howww?”

“If we give him a good smack on the head, I’m sure that’ll fix it.”

What am I, some old grandmother’s tube TV?

“I—I don’t want to hit Master…”

“It’s only to get him back to normal.”

“P-Pochi will try, sir.”

“I shall use everything Master has taught me to ensure that my spear reaches him.”

Please don’t. That sounds painful.

“Satou…”

From what little I could see through the increasingly dense red spiderweb patterns blocking my vision, Mia and the others looked like they were on the verge of tears.

“Ready, everyone?”

“Ready.”

The others all responded to Arisa as one, and shifted into battle posture to face me.

“Put those foolish little girls back in their place. Even if they lose two or three limbs in the process, I’ll just bring them back as chimeras. Show them no mercy! T’would be no small entertainment to give such beautiful faces the body parts of terrible monsters.”

That bastard—I mean, my great lord—is pissing me off so much—I mean, his plan is clearly too wise for the likes of me to tolerate—I mean, understand.

Liza charged at me with a grim look on her face.

By her side, Nana was expressionless, but I knew her well enough from all our time spent together to sense her sadness clearly. Pochi and Tama followed, also in distress.

Although I could barely see through the red webbing encroaching on my vision, I have plenty of skills at my disposal.

Not being able to see wouldn’t prevent me from fighting.

I used “Warp” to leap in front of Nana.

“…Fortress!”

Layers of protective barriers appeared in front of Nana. I used a Holy Sword from Storage to destroy them.

Despite Fortress’s toughness, the “Shining Helix Slash” I learned from Hayato the Hero himself was able to destroy it. I’d better finish making a “Castle” and “Mobile Fortress” for the gold armor instead of settling for this magic device.

Of course, I was careful to use the dull side of my blade so the shock waves wouldn’t hurt Nana or the other girls.

“‘Triple Helix Spear Attack’!”

I countered Liza’s speedy special attack with a “Triple Helix” of my own, twining mine around her weapon and turning it aside.

“‘Vanquish Strike’, sir!”

Pochi popped out from behind Liza, using her own special attack.

Blocking it with my sword seemed dangerous, so I used “Warp” to dodge to one side, giving Pochi a light push and sending her tumbling into Liza.

“‘Vorpal Faaang’?”

Tama crept up in my blind spot and unleashed an attack. Blind spots don’t matter if you’re not depending on your vision in the first place, though.

I waited for the instant that her dual blades crossed and struck them with my Holy Sword, knocking her off-balance long enough to grab the waist of her armor and toss her at Nana.

“Target…locked!”

The kindhearted Lulu fired at my sword. I used “Spellblade” on the tip to knock the shot away.

“‘Deracinator’!”

The blocked bullet came back at me from an unexpected direction. I was still able to catch it by putting “Magic Power Armor” around my palm, though.

Arisa must have ricocheted it at me with her Space Magic.

“H-he caught the bullet…?”

“Bullets don’t work on me, you know.”

“…You’re so darn OP!”

Hmm. I think they could probably do it, too, with enough practice, no?

“Let’s try another team attack.”

“Right!”

Back on their feet, the four vanguard fighters came at me again.

I must’ve held back a bit too much. If they kept trying over and over, it would only increase the risk of one of them getting hurt.

I used “Warp” and “Flashrunning” to throw them off, teleporting into each one’s blind spot with a visual Unit Deployment and knocking them out with a quick palm strike, one after another.

“H-he’s too strong…”

Arisa’s voice shook with despair.

…My chest hurt. I’d better finish this quickly.

I used “Warp” to land in front of the rearguard girls.

A moment later, I was in a different area entirely. Arisa must have used the Space Magic spell Mazemaker without a chant.

The only way out of this space was to either find the exit or break through the entire illusion by force.

But I didn’t need to do either of those. After all, those kinds of barriers don’t work on me.

I took a single step forward, and I was back outside the barrier, in the presence of my great lord, in the dungeonmaster’s chamber.

“No way…how’d you get out so fast?!”

“Create Behemoth!”

Mia’s magic invocation overlapped Arisa’s surprised cry.

Her Spirit Magic activated, and a pseudo-spirit behemoth emerged from a beautiful magic circle.

Looking up at it like this, it certainly made for an imposing site.

“The Spirit Magic of the high elves?! Listen, you! Hurry up and get rid of that thing!”

My master gave me another order.

With the aid of my Magic Hand, I grabbed the gigantic behemoth and flung it away.

PUWAOOOOOWWNNN!!

Its limbs flailed in the air as it went flying.

I’d thrown it because my order was to get rid of it, but if I stopped there, he might tell me to exterminate it. And that would make Mia sad, so I used Explosion Magic to make a smoke screen while I popped the behemoth out of the labyrinth with Unit Deployment.

“‘Deracinator’!”

I kicked the barrier that appeared in front of Arisa, shattering it.

Through the shards, I caught a glimpse of Arisa’s and the others’ faces, though they were mostly obscured by the red spiderweb patterns taking over my vision.

“…Master?”

“Satou…”

Arisa, Lulu, and Mia looked tearful as they called out to me.

My head throbbed, and the red pattern got even denser.

“Master!” Liza leaped at me from the side. “Please, do not forget about us.”

The red afterimages flickered and pulsed.

“Don’t forget Pochi, either, sir.”

“Tama tooo.”

Pochi and Tama crowded around me.

The red patterns flickered faster, more and more intensely.

“Master, you must remember my breasts, I declare.”

Nana threw off her armor and pressed her chest against me.

The unpleasant red patterns kept tormenting me, distracting me from the soft sensation.

Get out of here.

I waved my hand to clear the red patterns from my eyes…

…Oh, I see.

As soon as the red patterns vanished, my mind became clear again.

I quickly looked at my log and saw that I’d been bound under Orchidee’s Geist.

While he was controlling me, I apparently followed his orders and even attacked my own friends. I was beyond ashamed.

The red spiderweb patterns in my vision must have been displaying the Geist’s effects. When I finally broke free, my head hurt horribly, like I’d damaged some brain cells in the process. I turned my “Pain Resistance” skill on and checked my HP gauge; it had already fully recovered, thanks to the “Self-Healing” skill.

“What is the matter with you?! Do not hesitate! Beat up those women and children at once!”

Hearing Orchidee’s words, the girls only clung to me more tightly.

I had better reassure them right away.

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

With that, I used visual Unit Deployment to teleport out of their grasp.

“Master…”

Tears flooded down Arisa’s cheeks as she called after me.

Huh?

Oh, does she think I’m still being controlled?

“That’s it!” the idiot shouted. “Hurry up and do it!”

I guess I should deal with him first.

I used “Warp” to teleport directly in front of Orchidee.

“Wha—?!”

Before he could use another Geist, I snatched the Xanthic Staff out of his hands.

I must have used a bit too much force, because it sent Orchidee flying in a sort of triple Axel.

> Skill Acquired: “Robbery”

> Skill Acquired: “Theft”

> Skill Acquired: “Pickpocket”

> Title Acquired: Robber

> Title Acquired: Mugger

I got a barrage of skills and titles for the first time in a while.

I don’t think “pickpocket” really applies here, but whatever—there’s no point arguing with the skill and title system.

“Master! You’ve come back to us!”

Arisa and the others finally noticed my change in condition.

“I’m so sorry for upsetting all of you.”

“Damn yooou! Servants! Prepare my magic circle!”

Orchidee’s enslaved mages began the chant.

“Liza, please!”

“I’m on i—!”

“Wait.”

Liza started to dash forward at Arisa’s request, until I stopped her with a hand signal.

I gave another hand signal for them to retreat, sending the group to safety.

Then I pointed the Xanthic Staff at Orchidee.

“You fool! Stealing that staff will not help you. I just used the last of the witch’s power that was sealed inside it. Now it is nothing more than a useless decoration!”

Orchidee rambled on.

I knew that from my AR display already, of course. No, I had a different goal.

Ignoring Orchidee’s ranting, I used my menu to put skill points into the “Geist Resistance” and “Geist” skills and activated them.

At the same time, the servant mages finished the Geist Support Magic circle.

Orchidee sneered evilly as I stood unmoving.

“Obey me!   Geist!”

He activated the Geist spell.

I looked at the Xanthic Staff I’d been holding up toward him.

…It worked.

The information in my AR display was exactly what I wanted.

I quietly lowered the staff so that it no longer pointed at Orchidee.

“Bwah-ha-ha-ha! You idiot! Did you think your high level would protect you?! It seems the first Geist didn’t take properly, but the same Geist cast two- and threefold is even harder to resist!”

I see. Thanks for the useful explanation.

However, without Arisa’s “Never Give Up” sealed in the Xanthic Staff, “Geist” wasn’t so all-powerful that it could make up for my new “Resistance” skill and overwhelmingly higher level.

I could tell without looking at my log that I’d successfully resisted it.

“I forbid you from using the ‘Geist’ skill.”

“What are you talking about?”

“<Let the twilight dawn.>”

Ignoring Orchidee’s confusion, I spoke the incantation to use the Xanthic Staff.

“What are you playing at?”

“I sealed your ‘Geist’ skill into this thing, that’s what.”

“As if I’d fall for such a ridiculous bluff!”

Orchidee gave the order to his mages to make another magic circle, evidently intending to use “Geist” again.

“I wouldn’t use that skill if I were you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, all right?”

“Enough of your drivel! Obey me!  —”

I shut my eyes.

“—‘Geist’!”

Orchidee used “Geist.”

Little did he know that he was signing his own death warrant.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

A terrible scream echoed through the dungeonmaster’s chamber.

When the scream faded, and I heard the thud of something hitting the floor, I opened my eyes to see Orchidee collapsed and bleeding profusely from every orifice.

> Title Acquired: Dungeonmaster Killer

> Title Acquired: Dungeon Conqueror: Sacrificial Labyrinth

“Master! Are you all right?!”

Unfortunately, Orchidee’s scream brought everyone running back into the room.

They gasped when they saw the gruesome corpse.

“Wow, Master, you can be ruthless when you want to be.”

“I didn’t kill him. If anything, he killed himself.”

I charged Orchidee’s “Geist” skill in the Xanthic Staff and used it to forbid him from using the “Geist” skill again, and I told him as much, too.

Orchidee is the one who assumed I was bluffing, went against the direct order I’d placed him under with the Geist, and died as a result.

It’s his fault for not knowing what his own staff was capable of.

Luckily, absorbing the skill once was enough to charge it for three uses, so I could still use it to free Arisa and Lulu from their Geists.

The enslaved mages all screamed and fell when Orchidee died, but they weren’t dead according to my AR. I left them lying unconscious and figured I’d deal with it when they woke up.

“Master, look up there! Sir!”

I followed Pochi’s gaze and saw what looked like a transparent red jewel, glowing as it materialized.

“Master, what is that? I inquire.”

“It’s…”

My AR display gave me the answer.

“…the Dungeon Core.”

Countless black lights flickered inside the gleaming core.

It was similar to a City Core, though a bit more sinister.

The Dungeon Core slowly descended to the floor.

I reached out automatically, until a silent voice stopped me.

You must not touch that.

“Someone’s heeeere?”

Tama was looking fixedly at what appeared to be an empty spot, like a cat staring at nothing.

I examined the spot for a while, and soon the faint outlines of figures came into view.

…Arisa?

“Mother! Father!” Arisa cried out to the figures.

The handsome man in a diadem and a lovely woman in a tiara soundlessly floated to her side.

Several younger boys and girls appeared, too, and gathered near Arisa’s parents.

“My big brothers! Sitam, Dudo… Aryus, Berits… and my big sisters, too…!”

A clever boy and a mischievous one looked at her with smiles, while the other two young men turned away in different directions. Still, Arisa seemed happy to see all of them.

The young girls she called her sisters just stared at her in a daze, as if their selves and memories were already fading.

“Lulu, you should go see them, too.”

“B-but I’m just an illegitimate child…”

“It’s fine. Look.”

Seeing Lulu’s hesitation, the king nodded at her with a warm expression.

As Lulu still hung back, I gave her a gentle push.

“…Your Majesty.”

The ghost of the king looked a little forlorn at Lulu’s timid words.

“Lulu, call him Father at least this one last time, won’t you?”

“…Is that all right?”

“Of course it is, silly!”

At Arisa’s prompting, Lulu raised her head to look up at the king.

“…Father.”

At this, the king beamed warmly back at Lulu.

I turned my “Keen Hearing” skill off and ushered the rest of the group out of earshot to give them some space.

We watched from a distance as Arisa and Lulu said their final farewells to the royal family.

Eventually, Arisa beckoned us back over.

“Already? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

“I got to say good-bye to my father.”

Arisa and Lulu nodded, their cheeks still stained with tears.

“We’d like to free our family with our own hands. Is that all right?”

I nodded, giving them permission to destroy the Dungeon Core.

Lulu took the Fireburst Gun out of her Fairy Pack and pointed it at the Dungeon Core. She and Arisa both charged it with their magic.

Just to be safe, I destroyed the barrier around the Dungeon Core with my fist, and used the Practical Magic spell Mana Drain to steal its magic power.

“Good-bye, Father, Mother, brothers, and sisters.”

“Farewell, Father.”

Arisa and Lulu pulled the trigger together.

Its defenses lost, the Dungeon Core shattered easily.

A somehow holy light poured down from above, bathing the ghosts, whose expressions grew peaceful.

The sisters who had already lost their sense of selves were the first to disappear, then the young princes. Aryus and Berits raised their hands lightly toward Arisa as they ascended. The mischievous-looking Dudo wore a grin that seemed to say “See ya!” while he rose out of sight, and the gentle-faced Sitam waved at Arisa and Lulu with a small smile as he followed.

Even if we couldn’t hear their voices, it was clear how much they loved Arisa.

The queen seemed to notice something and motioned for Lulu to look behind her.

“…Mother!”

“Lili!”

Arisa followed suit, and her eyes widened.

There stood a beautiful black-haired woman with Japanese features and the garb of a lady’s maid.

This must be Lulu’s mother. Since she was transparent, she must be a ghost, too.

The king’s ghost came to stand next to Lulu’s mother, Lili. Looking around, I realized the queen was nowhere in sight. She must have gone on ahead to give them a moment to say good-bye.

Lili and Lulu gazed at each other.

“I’m all right, Mother. I have Arisa and Mast—I mean, Lord Satou, and all our friends, too. I’m happy now, I really am. So you don’t need to worry about me.”

“That’s right! We get to spend every day cozying up with our beloved, so just relax and wait for us up in heaven!”

Lili and the king looked pleased by Lulu’s and Arisa’s words.

When they looked over at me, I gave a noble bow and told them, “I’ll look after them, I promise.”

Lili bowed her head to me deeply, and the king gestured as if to pat my shoulder, his face seeming to say, “Take good care of my daughters.”

I nodded back, and the king and Lili began rising to the heavens, looking satisfied.

“Father! Brother Eruus is in the capital city of Kageus County! You should go say good-bye!”

Arisa called out to the king as he disappeared.

“Do you think he heard me?”

“Yes, I’m sure he went to see Eruus.”

Lulu nodded at Arisa.

The two wiped away their tears, their smiles somehow looking clearer than ever.