Chapter 226
Chapter 226. Trial and Error
“—So, what we need is this magical potion. Mix mercury with salt and extract components from the Akabane grass, then stir with magical power. And don’t forget to chant the ‘Curse of Decay’ with the reversal spell at that time. This will protect the muscle tissue while ensuring the flow of magical power—”
Here I am, Zilbagias, attending yet another lecture on necromancy.
Today, I’m learning a variety of useful magical potions for creating the undead from Enma, who is wearing stylish glasses.
‘While requesting anti-undead gear, you show up here with a straight face; you really are a bold one.’
Antedeixis chuckled, but hey, that’s not exactly a compliment.
“—The key to this technique is that it can convert magical power into pure physical phenomena. Regarding the component ratios, take a look at this graph. It differs depending on whether you emphasize explosive power or magical efficiency—”
As usual, Enma generously shares her techniques and the secrets of necromancy with me. I’m doing my best to learn with all my might.
Right now, I’m more motivated than ever.
I’ve also started the prototype of Barbara’s body, but of course, I’m hitting a technical wall…
‘…Is this me?’
In the basement of the Aulora Fortress—also known as the Demon Lord Kingdom’s Necromancy Research Institute—
One skeleton is clattering its finger bones together, opening and closing them.
“…So, how does it feel? Any weirdness in your body?”
‘It’s not that there’s unease, but rather that there’s nothing but unease.’
The skeleton turned around with a bitter voice. It doesn’t have vocal cords, so its jaw just clacked. That ‘voice’ is just like a ghost, a thought message.
‘It’s as if… I’m playing with dolls. It’ll take quite a while to convince myself this is my body…’
Playing with dolls—it’s not an entirely off-base description. In its right hand, the skeleton is holding the piercing sword, Flodida, its original form. It’s manipulating the body through a spiritual connection while housing its soul in the sword.
Moreover, this skeleton was assembled from the bones I gathered from the battlefield, shaped by demonic magic to fit her skeletal structure from her living days. The base soul housed in the skeleton is that of a nameless human with almost no ego left, pulled from the spirit world.
…It would be odd if there wasn’t any unease.
“Well, this time it’s just a test to see if Barbara can properly move the undead we prepared separately, so those various discomforts… can’t be helped.”
Hypothetically speaking.
To completely remove that unease.
We’d have to use Barbara’s own skeleton or the remains of her relatives as ‘materials.’ Then, the soul that serves as the base would also need to be from the same.
However, Barbara’s remains were completely destroyed on the battlefield so that Enma wouldn’t use them.
As for her relatives—Barbara’s parents and brother’s remains are missing. As for her sister, who was alive during the Evaroti campaign, she likely escaped east with the retreating forces. Since I couldn’t summon her, she’s probably still alive.
I feel bad for Barbara, but… she’ll just have to get used to the discomfort in her body.
‘Sebastian might be our butler, after all.’
By the way, when I talked about an incident in Evaroti, Barbara perked up. Sebastian’s appearance matched what Barbara knew, so the chances of him being the same person were extremely high.
‘Sebas has been a loyal servant to our household since my grandfather’s time… I couldn’t really repay him that well. But still, I’m glad he’s alive…’
Barbara, in her spiritual form, was struggling to hold back tears.
I had tried summoning relatives and acquaintances of Barbara immediately after she joined, so I must have heard Sebastian’s name then.
But at that time, I was mentally exhausted, so I couldn’t remember every name Barbara mentioned. If I had remembered Sebastian’s name, maybe I could have done more.
‘No, it’s actually lucky I didn’t remember. Your conduct as a Demon Lord’s Prince wouldn’t have distorted unnecessarily.’
That dry remark came from Antedeixis. …Well, when pointed out, it does make sense.
Since I’ll be frequenting Evaroti, I’ll likely get more opportunities to interact with Sebastian.
I kinda wish I could do something for him, within reasonable limits of my capacity as a Demon Lord, of course.
“So, how’s the length of your limbs and height?”
‘That seems about the same. I can move as I thought I would, and my eye level is pretty much the same as when I was alive… I think. Probably.’
Barbara lightly hopped around, moving her limbs.
Alright. I’ll lay down the spiritual form of Barbara to measure the length of her limbs, and I copied her ‘living’ skeletal structure to match her image.
It was worth it, I guess…
‘Okay, then.’
Barbara bent slightly, pulling her rapier to her chest and thrusting it forward.
No, she was going to do that. But with a skeleton body that can’t even be called powerful and her overly light weight, she lost balance as the rapier pulled her down.
As a result, what came out was a sad, pathetic strike. Even a frail old man swinging a cane would seem sharper than this…
‘…’
“…”
‘W-well, it’s the first time, so it’s only natural, right?’
“Y-yeah! I will make a better body from now on!”
At the very least, I need to prepare something with the strength and durability of the skeletal horses commonly found in the Demon Lord Kingdom.
After this, if I attach appropriate weights to the skeletal structure and infuse it with all my magical power, Barbara temporarily can perform movements closer to how she did when she was alive.
But then, the magical activity would be too strong, and it would be difficult to reproduce Barbara’s supreme techniques as a Sword Saint. I’d essentially be forcing the bones to move with my magic, with the proportion of Barbara’s willpower in the process being far too small.
There’s no way the laws of nature would smile upon that…
My magical power must play a supporting role while Barbara must autonomously control her body completely with her own will.
‘Necromancy is really difficult…’
As Barbara returned to her original weak body, my magical power scattering in no time, she muttered while idly holding the rapier.
Yes, if I don’t prepare the essential ‘core’ for the undead—like large gems or some proper magical tools—no matter how much magical power I infuse, it won’t set.
Barbara herself could absorb dark magical power continuously, meaning she could potentially progress to becoming the Undead King but then she’d have to relinquish her abilities as a Sword Saint.
…That’s a last resort.
To keep Barbara alive, I must enhance her body in some way.
Integrating a system to store my magical power more efficiently, converting that power into physical movement while also making sure it outputs enough power for combat and possesses the toughness to endure real battles…
No, there’s a lot to think about!
Trying to create a functioning undead made me acutely aware of just how refined the skeletal horses running around the Demon Lord Kingdom really are. Thinking about how those things are prevalent in the Demon Lord Kingdom by the hundreds or thousands makes my head spin… And they’re mass-produced undead?! Ridiculous.
…What kind of monstrous army is Enma’s serious undead army, I wonder?
Thinking about that—I was struck by a chill.
Over a hundred years since Enma sided with the Demon Lord Kingdom, how many dead have been incorporated into his forces…?
“—So, how’s it going? Any questions?”
Suddenly, right in front of me, the leader of the undead grinned and asked.
“Hmm, well, sorry for the novice question, but about the components of the potion here—”
I started asking about the extraction methods of a certain ingredient I had noted down, probably because I didn’t have sufficient knowledge of pharmacology to understand fully. In normal lectures, I might have skipped this, but since I’m actually trying to make it…
“Wow, you really noticed the details there, huh? That’s an exceptional processing point—”
Enma explained without hesitation. For sure, that girl has an impressive amount of knowledge. Before I knew it, even Claire, who had been reading in the corner of the lab, looked up and listened attentively to Enma’s lecture.
…Speaking of which, my lecture notes are becoming more detailed than any prohibited necromancy book that exists in the alliance zone…
“…Alright. With that said, I think that’s enough for today? We don’t want to overdo it, there’s plenty of time left.”
“Thanks! It was fulfilling, as always.”
“That’s what I’m glad to hear! How about some tea?”
With a proud puffed chest, Enma adjusted her glasses and hurriedly started preparing drinks. I wonder if those glasses are some kind of new magical device? Since Enma doesn’t need vision correction, I concluded it’s just ‘decorative glasses,’ but maybe there’s a special effect or something. I should be cautious…
“By the way, Zil-kun, you’ve been especially enthusiastic about creating undead lately.”
“Well, yeah. After all, it seems useful on the battlefield.”
I anticipated Enma would find that questionable, so I answered as nonchalantly as possible.
“I’ve decided not to bring companions to the battlefield anymore. It can put them at risk with magic, and it’s easier to fight alone. But if I can make the kind of instant undead that can be useful on the battlefield, that’d be a lifeline in emergencies.”
“I see. But with that way of using them, doesn’t the high-level undead creation we’ve been working on feel a bit irrelevant?”
“No, when you actually think from the perspective of the creator, it becomes quite interesting… I use skeleton horses regularly, but from the perspective of undead creation, it’s fascinating to see how well-made they are.”
As I answered that, Enma showed a delighted smirk, looking very much pleased. She must have prepared well for being praised…
“I’m so glad to hear that! As a creator, it fills me with pride. Here, have some herbal tea.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Slurp… Hmm.
“It’s good.”
The tea Enma brewed was delicious, perfectly following the experimental protocols. She probably compensates for her inability to taste by strictly following procedures.
“Hehe. I’m glad.”
Enma smiled, resting her chin on the desk.
“Oh, by the way, regarding the Evaroti Autonomous District, is it okay if we send higher-ranked undead representatives from the necromancer group?”
—I choked.
