Demon Sword Master of the Holy Sword Academy - Volume 1 - Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

THE UNDEAD KING’S MINION

“This is the girls’ dorm for our team.”

Riselia’s unit lived in the Hræsvelgr dorm. It was fairly removed from the center of Excalibur Academy, where most of the facilities were concentrated. Its appearance seemed to stand in contrast to the rectilinear designs of the city’s buildings, being closer to the familiar sight of a noble’s estate.

…Retro-culture, I believe it was called?

It likely used the architecture of the old kingdom of Londirk as its motif. Londirk was a great kingdom that once commanded corps of magical knights, but the nation eventually submitted to Leonis’s army of the dead and swore fealty to him.

“Dorms are assigned according to a platoon’s achievements,” Riselia explained, pushing the door open.

“Platoon…”

…That guy, Muselle, had told Riselia to join his platoon.

“It’s a tactical unit Holy Swordsmen deploy in. They’re usually made up of five to six people,” the girl continued.

She explained that Excalibur Academy organized platoons to fight Voids. Holy Swords had a wide variety of abilities, and so it was recommended that members with abilities that complemented and augmented each other team up and work together. There was no limitation on the members’ gender or age, and it wasn’t unusual for upperclassmen to partner up with younger students.

“The academy works on a complete merit system. Besides the missions platoons are sent on, there are training matches between Holy Swordsmen and all sorts of other tests. Platoons with high rankings get to stay in newer dorms. The Fafnir dorm has air conditioning, the newest workout equipment, a Jacuzzi, and even a sauna!”

“…I—I see.”

Riselia was obviously quite passionate about the issue, but Leonis could muster little more than a vague response. He didn’t have the faintest idea what a Jacuzzi was. Probably some sort of weapons system.

Riselia’s room was up the stairs, on the second floor.

“Come in, make yourself at home…” Riselia stepped in first and motioned for him to follow.

“It might be a bit late to be asking this, but is it all right for me to be in a girls’ dorm?”

“It’s fine, Leo. You’re still a kid.”

Leonis wasn’t sure what was so “fine” about it but entered all the same. The room was neatly furnished. There was a sofa arranged with cushions, a bed with neat sheets spread over it, and a wooden dining table sporting a porcelain teapot. Sitting on the windowsill was a pot with a decorative cactus.

It was quite different from the oppressive atmosphere of the Undead King’s Death Hold.

“Being in your own room sure is relaxing…” The silver-haired girl sat on the edge of her bed and started taking off her knee socks.

I-I’m standing right here, you know…! Leonis thought, his heart skipping a beat despite himself. The glimpse of her healthy, shapely thighs peeking out from under the hem of her skirt was dazzling. Maybe I should clear my throat to remind her I’m in the room…

…But pointing that out would make it clear he was looking at her that way.

Wh-why am I getting so flustered?! I’m a Dark Lord; I need only confidently state my business!

And having convinced himself, Leonis averted his gaze slightly.

“Oh, Leo, you head into the bath first, okay?” Riselia pointed to a door as she started undoing the buttons on her blouse.

Warm water poured over Leonis’s skin, and white steam rose and clouded his vision. The bathroom attached to Riselia’s room was surprisingly large. The boy knew of private baths like these, but they were reserved for nobles and royalty. Common people used public bathhouses or hot springs.

She does seem to be of noble birth…

Riselia had a personal maid and conducted herself with a refined gentility.

The shower’s warm water rained down, drenching the Undead King’s black hair.

This must be some magic apparatus employing water and fire sorcery…

Curious, he looked at the shower’s stopper. It was engraved in the shape of a lion. It had been designed to work with even the tiniest mana reaction.

It was hard to believe something as advanced as this could exist while sorcery had been entirely forgotten.

In Leonis’s day, sorcery was a unique power reserved for those with the talent to use it. But in this age, mankind had developed technologies that allowed almost anyone to make use of them.

…And thus sorcery, which requires natural ability, became unnecessary…

Sorcery was cast aside, but with the appearance of a new enemy—Voids—mankind developed a new weapon to oppose them: Holy Swords. An unusual power that differed from sorcery on a fundamental level.

…It likely wasn’t a power that originated in this world.

He had nothing to confirm that, but the Dark Lord felt as much. Riselia had called it a gift the planet bestowed upon humanity.

But does the planet really have that kind of power…?

Voids, Holy Swords…everything was too different from the time with which Leonis was familiar. Even if he was to try rebuilding the Dark Lords’ Armies, he lacked information about this world. A mistake now would do nothing but cause him more trouble.

More importantly, had she really been reincarnated into this world?

For the time being, I should wait for Shary and Blackas to return with their reports.

Leonis covered his hands in foamy soap and started rinsing his hair.

…Incidentally, I did hear something interesting back there.

He recalled the conversation he’d overheard a short while earlier. Large ruins were detected on the seabed below. Leonis happened to know exactly what those ruins were. This area was where Death Hold, Necrozoa’s fortress, once stood. It was also the site of the final battle between the Six Heroes and the Dark Lords’ Armies.

Which meant that below these waves slumbered the remains of countless undead and monsters, as well as the Archsage Arakael Degradios, the one who’d merged with the Holy Tree.

…The Archsage had a kind of immortality, too, but even he shouldn’t have been able to survive on the ocean floor.

But the fact that Voids had spawned there was of interest.

Just a coincidence, perhaps? Or maybe…?

But just as the thought crossed his now foamy head…

“Leo, are you all right in there?”

“Yes, the water’s just the right… Aaaah?!” Leonis reflexively turned toward the voice and let out a yelp.

Silvery hair fluttered from across the steamy room… Skin as white as virgin snow… A pair of breasts appeared before his eyes.

“…Aaah, erm…!”

Leonis almost knocked over a bucket.

“What’s wrong, Leo?!” Riselia asked in surprise.

“Wh-why?!”

The Undead King fell, his bottom colliding with the tiled floor.

In his panic, he forgot to even cover his face with his hands, giving him a perfect view of her gorgeous nude form. Wet silvery locks clung to her bare skin. It was as if the goddess of the moon had descended to the earth.

“What, are you embarrassed at me seeing you naked? Boys shouldn’t get embarrassed over that.”

No, no, I’m not the one who should be embarrassed here…! The thought all but screamed in Leonis’s mind.

…Maybe this was considered the norm in this weird post-one-thousand-year world?

…Perhaps this era’s sense of decency differs from my time’s as well!

Putting aside how odd it was for an Undead King to be hung up over decorum, Leonis was quite taken aback. His confusion caught Riselia’s attention. She peered down at the boy.

“Aah!” she suddenly exclaimed.

“Wh-what is it…?” Leonis asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

“You’re supposed to use shampoo for your hair, not soap!”

“…Huh?”

She frowned and sat Leonis down on a chair.

“You’ve got such pretty hair; you shouldn’t damage it like that.”

She poured hot water over his hair and began rinsing it.

“I can wash myself…”

“Noooope! Let your big sister handle it.”

“…?!”

Leonis shut his eyes tight as he felt a bit of shampoo get into them.

“What lovely skin. It’s hard to believe you didn’t live in the city.”

Riselia started rubbing his back with a sponge. This girl had the greatest of the Dark Lords completely at her mercy. Every now and then, Leonis felt a soft, squishy sensation against his back. As his pulse skyrocketed, he made conscious, pained efforts to not dwell on what the source of it might be. Riselia, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind pressing her skin against his at all.

Is this because of this child body, or…?

Whatever it was, the feeling of her slender fingers rinsing his hair was a pleasant one… Until her hands suddenly stopped.

“…Could I tell you a bit about myself?” she asked.

“Sure.” Leonis nodded.

She turned off the shower water.

“…My parents were killed by Voids,” she confided in a whisper. “They called it a Stampede—an unpredictable, large-scale disaster instigated by a Void that commanded others. It happened six years ago. My old home, the Third Assault Garden, was destroyed in a single night.”

She went on to detail that her parents were Holy Swordsmen and commanders of the assault corps, and that they had died in the line of duty, defending the civilians. The only members of Crystalia house to survive were her and her maid, Regina.

“The search and rescue forces found us ten days later. It was expected that the daughter of two Holy Swordsmen would exhibit the same power, so I was admitted into Excalibur Academy. But…” Riselia trailed off into bitter silence.

“You can’t produce a Holy Sword…?”

“…That’s right.” Riselia nodded. “What Muselle said is true. I haven’t awakened the power of a Holy Sword.”

According to Riselia, children with the factor that allowed one to produce a Holy Sword manifested at least part of the power at the age of ten at the earliest and fourteen at the latest. And in cases like Riselia’s, where both parents were Holy Swordsmen, the chance of the child manifesting the power was nearly 90 percent.

But despite all her efforts, she couldn’t summon a Holy Sword. She proactively went on ruin explorations, thinking that a weapon given to mankind to combat Voids might materialize more easily when fighting them.

“That’s reckless…”

“…Y-yes… I know that.” Riselia hung her head at Leonis’s remark. “But if I don’t awaken a Holy Sword soon, I’ll lose my right to be here.”

Her voice was tinged with anxiety and bitterness… Leonis understood how she felt perfectly. That feeling of wanting power more than anyone else but being unable to attain it. Just as he had once wished for the power to protect those dear to him.

“But I believe I’ll eventually awaken a Holy Sword.” Riselia clenched her fists to her chest.

“Erm, Leo…” Riselia’s voice was now a whisper.

“What would you think of joining my platoon?”

“…Me, join your platoon?”

He felt her nod gently.

“Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to…” The young woman lowered her head. “You’re free to join whichever platoon you like. Your Holy Sword can heal injuries, so I’m sure a lot of other units would want you…” Riselia sped through the words under her breath.

…Is this an attempt to recruit me?

“So that’s why you’ve been employing your feminine wiles. Maybe I’ve misjudged you.”

“F-feminine wi… N-n-no, that’s not it at all!” Flustered, Riselia hurriedly pulled her body away from Leonis.

“I’m only joking,” Leonis said. “But you couldn’t fault me if I were to misunderstand, could you?”

“…You might have a cute face, but you’re a bully on the inside.” Riselia pouted.

…But Leonis knew she was a fair and honest person. It was why she had told him she couldn’t use a Holy Sword before asking him.

A girl who couldn’t manifest a Holy Sword… A girl on the verge of being cast out of the academy. Excepting people with ulterior motives like that scum, Muselle, there weren’t many who’d see any benefit to teaming up with a girl like Riselia.

…Whatever happens, it was my intent to stick with her anyway.

After all, he would be better off having his minion at his side.

“…If you join our platoon, you’ll always have tasty sweets whenever you want them.”

“Trying to reel me in with food this time?”

“Th-that’s not…!”

That’s when it happened.

“H-huh…?”

Riselia staggered, as if hit by a sudden dizziness.

“Ah… Are you all right?” Leonis caught her by the shoulders.

She probably didn’t realize this herself, but…her body was deathly cold, like a corpse.

“Ah, sorry, I…I’m suddenly feeling very weak…”

…Looks like she’s about to reach her limit.

The girl’s breathing rapidly became labored, and the light began fading from her ice-blue eyes. Leonis leaned her against the wall, so as to place her in a more comfortable position.

“I’m sorry. I lied to you.”

“…Huh?” Riselia looked up at Leonis with a dazed expression.

“—What I used to heal you…wasn’t the power of a Holy Sword, Selia.”

What he’d done couldn’t even rightly be considered healing. Because despite everything, she was already…

“Le…o…?”

“Riselia Crystalia is already dead.”

“L-Leo… What are you…saying…?” Riselia asked through labored breaths.

Her expression made it plain that the young woman hadn’t grasped what the boy had said.

Well, I suppose it’s only natural…

It pained Leonis to see Riselia in such a state. He averted his gaze as he continued to explain.

“There’s no mistaking that a monster in the ruins killed you, Selia. And my power only governs over death, so I can’t resurrect a life that’s been lost.”

It was true; the Undead King Leonis couldn’t use holy magic. Therefore, he’d had to use magic from the Realm of Death to resurrect her as an undead.

“B-but I…”

“Unfortunately, you only seem to be alive.” Leonis shook his head. “This seal is the proof.”

“…?!”

A crimson seal surfaced on her thigh.

“What…is this…?”

“A tenth-order spell called Create Elder Undead. Honestly, it was a gamble whether it would succeed or not. It could have just as easily reduced you to ash or made you into a mindless ghoul…”

However, the actual result far exceeded the Undead King’s expectations. A seal that shone bloodred only surfaced on those undead minions of the highest level and power…

“—You’re a Vampire Queen. The highest rank possible for an undead being.”

In order to become a Vampire Queen, one needed the kind of noble soul that was worthy of being a ruler of the night. It also required that the subject be a pure, unsullied maiden…

“A…ngh… Vampire… Khh, gaah…,” Riselia moaned.

“Don’t worry, it’s just your mana reserves running low. Bear with it just a bit longer.” Leonis knelt next to her.

Tracing the seal on her thigh with the tip of his finger, the boy let some of his massive mana reserves flow into it.

“…Aaah, mmm…” Riselia bit her lip, as if to suppress an indecent moan.

“Ah… Haaah… Nnn…”

The pale blue of Riselia’s cloudy eyes turned a burning crimson. She gave an audible swallow.

“Aaah, nnn…”

Her first mana-shortage-induced vampiric impulse was an intense one. It wasn’t a condition that could be controlled with any kind of mental fortitude. Leonis stuck out his thumb at the girl. Riselia ran her tongue over it in a daze before sinking sharp teeth into the flesh.

“…Ugh…”

There was no pain, but Leonis contorted his face at the itchy sensation. Mana began coursing through the vampiress’s body, transmitted via the Undead King’s blood. Her silvery hair began to glow.

After an hour or so, Riselia had finally calmed down. The newly supplied mana spurred her heart to beat again, and her temperature was gradually returning to normal.

“…Just who are you?” she asked, lying beneath her bedsheets.

Having calmed down, the reality of her undead existence was starting to sink in.

“I’m an ancient mage who was resurrected.” Leonis gave a nod as he put on his uniform top.

He kept his status as the Undead King secret, instead explaining he was an ancient mage slumbering in the crystal Riselia had found, and he was capable of using the lost art of sorcery. He clarified that it was his magic that had turned her into his minion.

Riselia silently listened to the explanation before offering a question:

“Sorcery? Not a Holy Sword?”

“In the age I lived in, we used spells and sorcery.”

“I see…”

It didn’t seem she was wholly convinced yet, but…

Riselia took another look at her body.

“…All right. I’ll believe you,” the girl said with a small sigh. “It really does seem like I died…”

“I’m sorry. This was the only way I could save you with my magic.”

“…I understand.”

The young woman’s shock was unmistakable, but the facts were plain as day. There was little to do but accept them. She came to terms with the situation quicker than Leonis had expected.

It’s clear she still feels conflicted about it all, though…

That much was easy to understand.

Riselia huddled deeper beneath the covers.

“So I’m not human anymore, am I…?”

“That…would be the case, yes.” It was unpleasant news for Leonis to have to relate.

“Do you think I’m still able to gain the power of a Holy Sword?”

“I don’t know.”

Leonis had no way of knowing about that unfamiliar power. However, he couldn’t say for certain there was no chance, either.

“I see…” Riselia fell silent for a moment. “But you did save my life, right?”

“………”

Such a fair girl. She’d died to save Leonis, so it only made sense for him to return that kindness in some way. But even if he were to point that out, Riselia wouldn’t hold it against him.

“…Then, yeah. I’m grateful,” she said, hugging a pillow.

“Huh?”

“I’m better off this way than dying down in the ruins, right?”

“Well, I suppose so, but…” The greatest Dark Lord found himself a bit taken aback.

“…All right. Then it’s settled.”

Riselia rose to her feet, resigned to her new circumstances, sheets still clenched in her fingers.

“By the way, are you after something? Why were you asleep all those years?”

“Well…” Leonis fell silent for a few moments, carefully picking his words. “There’s someone I’m looking for.”

“Someone?” Riselia seemed to sense something in the boy’s earnest tone. “Is this person…important to you?”

“Yes.” Leonis nodded.

“I see. All right, then.” Riselia beamed at him. “Then I’ll help you find that someone.”

“I appreciate it, but…”

“But in exchange…” Riselia stuck out her index finger. “I want you to make me stronger. Strong enough to fight the Voids.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult.” Leonis was by no means opposed to strengthening his minions.

“In that case, I look forward to working with you, Leo.”

And so the Undead King and his vampire minion sealed the agreement with a handshake.