3 Chapter 161: A demon lord’s work isn’t a god’s
Calgurio opened his eyes while feeling a gentle warmth wrapped around himself.
(Wh-where is this?)
He couldn't remember exactly what he had been doing till now.
A silver haired girl, she looked about ten and wore an angelic smile, was busily working on something.
He looked to his side and saw an injured comrade ―― he guessed Krishna ――, on whom the girl put her hand on. The hand released lights of all colors which went inside the injured comrade.
After some time, that person ―― it was Krishna after all ―― also woke up, and looked back at Calgurio.
Similar to himself, Krishna had also woken up in a state of confusion, also unaware of his current situation.
The silver haired girl continued to do the same task, without realized that he and Krishna had awoken.
After having worked on the ~100 people in the room just like them, satisfied, she nodded, and faced Calgurio.
"Hey, you're awake right? Feel sick? Can you tell me your name?"
The girl asked him in a casual tone.
No, he did not feel any discomfort.
One reason could be the healing effect of the girl's cuteness, but the main reason was that her presence soothed any tension floating in the air.
Seeing Calgurio and the others being hesitant,
"Huh? Didn't it work? I thought I followed the ritual perfectly..."
The girl made a troubled face.
Apparently, he and the others had had some ritual performed on them, but his body did not feel anything strange.
To be precise, he did have some fatigue.
By now, he remembered that they were currently at war with Tempest.
"W-where is he? What happened to the red haired devil? Did we really survive?"
Shouted Calgurio.
With that statement, the others also finally remembered the events up to that point, and realized the strangeness of their current situation.
Indeed, Calgurio and the others were murdered by the devil Diablo.
His attacks being completely useless, Diablo's hand had pierced his chest and ripped apart his heart. Calgurio recalled that much.
That was why he doubted the fact that he was now alive.
"Oh, remember now? You remember your name?"
She asked him again.
"My name is Calgurio.
I am the general in charge of the Imperial Armoured Corps, and I was entrusted as the commander-in-chief for the operation this time.
The operation details are confidential, so forgive me, I cannot say.
Rather than that, are you the one who saved us?"
He said in a continuous breath.
To save them from their predicament meant she had to be very powerful herself.
They had been caught by a Demon, no, a Demon Lord.
To save them from that kind of threat, Calgurio couldn't imagine her as anything other than a 'Hero'.
She could be one of the Emperor's Personal Guards in the ranks of 1st to 10th, but the feat she had achieved alone raised doubts on that theory.
In fact, if she was a Guard, Calgurio would definitely recognize her face, and they would have been working together during the mission.
She was someone too strong for him to not know about.
"Hm? You know, we're the ones who took care of your little 'operation' you know?
You're probably misunderstanding something, and I'll explain in detail, but, you are all dead.
Don't you remember all your soldiers died?
Well, some may have survived, but let's get to that later.
I see your memories are fine, the ritual was a success then.
Well, then.
Pleasure to meet you, I'm Rimuru.
Demon Lord Rimuru.
Currently acting as king of this country.
Regards (TN: yoroshiku). Also, I'll say this if you didn't figure it out yet, but I'm the one who revived you.
As for the details on that matter, you'll get to know soon enough.
"
Calgurio couldn't understand the words spoken to him and was in a daze.
When the meaning finally connected, Calgurio opened his eyes as wide as possible and carefully observed the girl from head to toe. (TN: lolicon)
This girl was Rimuru.
She was the enemy they were supposed to defeat.
She was Demon Lord Rimuru, one of the current pillars of Octagram.
This little girl!?
Revived she says? Who? Us she says!?
Surprise and confusion, and mostly fear swirled around in Calgurio's heart.
But not only him, every revived person in the room shared the same feelings.
They needed a bit of time to collect their lost marbles.
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
Leaving aside a confused Calgurio and co., I came out from the tent.
The 100 or so people inside were the ones who Diablo had killed, the army General and his advisors.
The ones most responsible for this invasion, so to speak.
I carefully tried out the revival ritual as an experiment, and it turned out great.
Of course, this is only to have them take responsibility.
Accordingly, we have erected a force field around the tent, and Souei is on guard duty.
Escape was impossible.
Well, as for the revival, it was only partial.
I had no reason to return their souls.
They attacked first, so dying serves them right.
But, for various reasons, I had to go and perform the revival ritual on them.
This ritual revived someone to a transient state.
After that time when Shion died, Raphael had begun to analyse the properties of the soul.
The Spirit Jewel I took from Clayman used human souls as its basic component.
It carried around 10,000 souls' worth of energy.
But, its power had a time limit, and it could only be used as a single burst of very high energy amplification.
According to Raphael's analysis, around 100 fused human souls could be used to make such an energy amplification jewel.
Despite its name, it wasn't that great an item.
The instant doping could be useful, but it wasn't wise to rely on it, so Raphael had broken it down to the soul level.
And because the process could be reversed, he put more time into studying the soul.
For all beings, souls had a quality and a quantity component. (TN: Quantity, probably the energy inside.)
Quality aside, flora and fauna had souls of very little energy.
Compared to that, the amount in human souls was enormous.
Whether this much energy was in any and all humans was not yet confirmed.
Were they actually using this energy? It depended on their Skills, which used such Spirit Energy.
Data engraved on the soul, would become one with the soul's bearer.
As for whether it was possible to input this data directly, it wasn't so simple.
First of all, there's the ego, which is enveloped by the Nucleic Heart.(TN: Author probably wants us to call it the Kokoro, but fuck that.)
It is there that all the data is engraved.
The crystallizations of energy around the Nucleic Heart forms into the soul.
The Possession Jewel (TN: that pseudo-VRMMO thing) was a vessel on which this Heart was projected.
The Heart didn't possess its own energy, but the ego did.
So it was possible to have an ego without necessarily having a strong enough soul to utilize Skills.
And the Possession Jewel is able to use the Spirit Energy as a substitute for one's internal reserve of energy.
But that had its limits, considering that the quality of the energy being different.
Well, it was a simple toy for enjoying the Labyrinth so the limits didn't matter.
The point is, even if the Nucleic Heart had Skill data engraved inside, without enough Spirit Energy, the Skills could not be used.
For reviving Calgurio and co. on this occasion, I used Possession Jewels.
Extracting the soul, and taking the Heart from it, I put it in a Jewel.
Making the Possession Jewels were simple, less than 1% of the person's Spirit Energy was used from their collected souls.
I didn't lose anything, but it was a laborious task.
I healed the corpses with magic and inserted the Possession Jewel.
And so the person's Nucleic Heart was returned.
It was easier said than done, but with Raphael-san's insane computational ability, it was a task made much easier.
He identified each individual, sorting through and picking from their genetic and spiritual data, almost instantly, so he should really be called -sensei rather than -san.
With this process, it was possible to reuse the body, and use the Possession Jewel to successfully achieve resurrection.
This method still had its flaws.
First, it greatly weakened the person in question.
Obviously, because I didn't include any of their Spirit Energy.
From now on, along with all their skills being sealed, magic usage could cause some problems.
But the strength of the original body was still the same, and if they never really relied on any Skills or magic, they were good to go.
And another flaw.
And I really couldn't do anything about it.
Those whose bodies didn't remain, could not be revived.
Obviously.
I wasn't an omnipotent God by any means.
With no physical data from the body to compare it to, I couldn't do anything with the soul data.
I could technically put them in automatons (TN: he said dolls, but I think this is cooler.), but was that really worth it?
I didn't have enough automatons anyway.
I really didn't have any duty nor did I have any advantage in doing that much.
Let's just go with: they were unlucky.
If even a single body part remained, magic repair was possible ―― It wasn't possible to reproduce the soul, so revival magic wasn't an option in that case―― but some of them didn't even have that much.
There were those completely reduced to ashes with Ultima's 'Nuclear Flame' and others had even their DNA destroyed with Testarossa's 'Death Streak'.
Yet others had died at the very spiritual level from unsurmountable fear.
This last group wasn't receptive of any healing magic, so I really didn't know what to do.
As a result, more than 200,000 people were impossible to revive.
200,000 out of the original 900,000 were really really dead.
Well, all of them would be dead normally, but its pretty lucky to get by with less than a quarter I'd say.
I really thought that Testa and co. went overboard, but then again, I never ordered to preserve the bodies.
The reason was simple.
If our troops got casualties while worrying about such things, it was meaningless.
It was an us or them situation, the us being more important than the them.
Or rather, I wasn't such a peace loving hippie nor did I have so compassionate a heart towards the enemy.
So, some of them not reviving was the least of my worries.
It really didn't bother me but... having the sensibilities of a peaceful modern-day Japanese person, it was an indescribable feeling.
I didn't think I was wrong in my actions, but I still wasn't used to it.
So I hypocritically pray that souls rest in peace.(TN: Pedro says you don't make sense.)
Even so, I won't be going any easier on others invading my domain, and will have them cower back in fear.
I had confirmed the results of the ritual on Calgurio and co.
Now to do it on a larger scale.
700,000 bodies were lined up at the entrance of the Labyrinth.
After the fighting was over, Gerudo went to get them.
The victims from other fights were also being collected.
The bodies there were all the ones we could recover.
Sacred Birthday. (TN: It's the ritual's name I guess.)
Calgurio and co. who were still looking at me form the tent, their eyes almost popping out in astonishment.
They might get their eyes permanently affixed that way.
Well, not that I cared.
Let's just get this over with.
I'd insert a Possession Vessel into each body.
With the help of Alderman's Holy Magic, the bodies were now perfectly restored.
Recently, everyone had been losing sleep from working so hard.
As a Ghost, Alderman, didn't have that need though.
That being the case, we were taking care of the bodies like in a production line.
Followed by, 〈Arcane Soul Grant〉 instead of 〈Arcane Soul Recall〉. (TN: Thanks Alfha. You da real MVP!)
Unlike Soul Regeneration, this method was much more energy efficient.
There was a lot of data to be analysed for each person, but Raphael took care of it.
I left most of the details to Raphael-sensei.
It was a complex ritual that I likely could not perform alone.
Though from the outside, Calgurio and co.
probably thought I was the one doing all this.
Some of them even prostrated themselves as if worshipping some kind of God.
Hey now, that's making me uneasy so can you please stop?
But I bore it without complaint till the ritual was done.
And in that uneasy state, I spent around the next 24 hours performing 〈Arcane Soul Grant〉 on ~700,000 people.
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
The next day the revived people were fed.
The confusion right after revival wasn't too hectic, but it wasn't easy to manage either.
A huge amount of nabe, with various kinds of meat and vegetables thrown in, with a stew like distinctive taste, was prepared.
Warm and with lots of ingredients.
For the Imperial troops, having calmed down and recovered their memories, this soup would be a source of liveliness and warmth beyond words.
Their hunger going unnoticed, the risen tensions now dissipated.
They realized that they had already been killed once by the Demon Lord.
But they were now alive.
The Demon Lord had said 'partial life'.
Rest assured. There would be no problem living normal lives.
There were no restrictions on love-making, or child-making.(TN: v-very important information ~g-GAO!!!)
But for doing anything opposite of the best interests of Tempest, of course there was a penalty!
A 'curse' inside the Possession Jewel inside them, would prevent any action as an enemy.
They had to completely understand that.
As everyone had calmed down, it was explained thus.
But the 'curse' was really not necessary, Calgurio said with confidence.
No one would be foolish enough to try this kind of thing again.
Several hundred years ago, the destruction caused by Veldora, only caused fear to spread.
But felling a city, killing all the residents, was something men could achieve.
Was that why? Even with the fear, no one doubted the possibility of winning against the storm dragon.
Or rather, if some had survived, perhaps news of the real danger would have spread farther.
In that regard, maybe the mistake of this invasion would have been averted.
Having once died, they had been revived.
All by the hands of this Demon Lord-cum-God.
We foolish humans were reminded of our utter impudence.
No, is she really a Demon Lord?
Calgurio was doubting these base facts.
Krishna even changed his faith over to Rimuru-ism (TN: Yes, I made that up.) overnight.
Well since Calgurio was already doing that, he had no complaints.
The Demon Lost did say, 'partial life' but...
In reality, there was no problem at all.
Certainly, using Skills was impossible, and magic was harder to perform.
But, his well trained body had remained unaffected.
He could age, and was allowed to live and procreate like any other humans.
Everyone was so thankful and awe-inspired that there was no doubt that all their enmity had vanished.
But there was a problem on another front.
Their positions were split on whether they should return back to the Empire.
One side arguing to go back for the time being.
The other, arguing to relocate to Tempest.
There was a square difference in opinion.
Both sides were reasonable, those with families would of course want to go back.
But if they expressed any poor choice in words, they might anger the Demon Lord.
They were given mercy, so they would obviously not try anything like that.
As Calgurio pondered on what to do, he was called in by the Demon Lord.
With a few advisors, he was given audience.
To the nervous Calgurio,
"Be at ease. I want to get your opinion on something."
Laughed Demon Lord Rimuru, sinisterly, with the face of a lovely girl.
The conclusion: By the Demon Lord's command, their opinion didn't matter.
It was all conditional.
Currently, the Empire and Tempest were at war.
As no cease-fires had been announced, they were still officially a hostile nation.
There were no wartime treaties, nor was there any concept of POWs between the 2 nations. But, the revived Calgurio and co. had no intention of disobeying the Demon Lord.
Further, the war was still ongoing.
And even Calgurio understood that they couldn't be allowed leave in that situation.
Even if Calgurio couldn't, the Empire could still mobilize more troops from the rear.
So evidently, they had to stay in Tempest till the war was over.
And then she spoke,
"Food isn't free you know?
We can handle 300,000 by ourselves, but with 700,000, we needed to get it from other countries.
Therefore, those who eat shall be put to work!",
Of those issues.
Certainly not a minor issue.
They were introduced to a General Gerudo, and under his supervision, the troops were to do construction work.
They would be undertaking a project to build a bustling city for more than 300,000 people.
Transporting iron-ore from the mine would be troublesome, so the decision was to build the city around the mine itself.
General Gerudo gullibly accepted the job.
"It appears that some of you want to stay here after the war is over, so I suggest you work diligently.
You look like a greedy bunch, good.
I want you to do large scale exports of automobiles, so build me a profitable and functional Industrialized city!"
Calgurio had no option to refuse, and the Demon Lord had spoken thus.
He didn't fully understand what he had to do, but he knew that something big was expected of them.
His spirits were high, but some hesitance remained.
He wasn't complaining, but was baffled at the monsters who obeyed the whims of their lord without question.
Make me a city!
They had to first start construction of a railway, according to the order.
General Gerudo laughed, saying it was great timing as he was short on hands.
You lead an army, so you're good at arranging personnel right? He said casually.
What is even going on in this country?
Calgurio instantly removed that thought, thinking it was rude to the Demon Lord.
Soon, he would be incessantly worked to the bone, but he didn't know that.
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
As Calgurio was leaving, Diablo came in. (TN: Pfff… spilled my coffee!)
"It has gone just as planned, my liege."
I nod in response.
We had let the disoriented rat escape, making her believe the Imperial forces defeated.
With that, the army being wiped out ―― literally ―― would be the thought.
Krishna had come to me, as if confessing, with the news that the Emperor was trying to establish emergency contact with him, but I left that matter to diablo.
The body of the woman called Miranda wasn't found, so she was the rat, in other words, Yuuki's spy.
Most likely, she was one of the 3 bosses of Cerberus.
Calgurio was being controlled by her without him ever realizing.
As if conducting fraud, he was tempted by greed, but the man probably didn't realize.
Sensing Calgurio's eminent defeat, she made like the wind but... was obviously detected by Diablo who had been there.
Furthermore, Souei who knows this forest like the back of his hand, was also observing, so there really was no sneaking away.
We had willingly let her go to pass along the information to the Empire and Yuuki.
If they requested peace now, that would be fine.
But if they still didn't plan on stopping, we would really finish them off this time.
Especially Yuuki, who was going to be a pain if let go.
Even if we make peace with the Empire, I want to get a hold of the bastard.
The war continues. We should hit them where it hurts.
The defensive was this time was our complete victory.
I threatened Calgurio with the matter of food, but the problem wasn't actually that big.
Recovery Potions were distributed, and a lot of our troops were hurt.
And a portion of the forest was being pioneered, so those were our losses.
But we did get 3 God-tier, Legendary armours.
And a whopping 940,000 human souls.
It was a pretty big victory.
I still have to choose who among my subordinates to evolve, but I'll announce it soon enough. (TN: hype!)
Of course, it'll be on the hush.
The war had yet not ended. (TN: Dangnabbit, first the 'too late' now this.)
I of course knew about the 300 Airships coming from the sea route.
We can't relax yet.
Not to get drunk on a single victory, but some rewards and punishments were in order.
I don't think their loyalty had faded with my advent as Demon Lord, but I still want to test them.
After that's done, we'll take care of the sea route.
It is your turn this time. (TN: Is it Veldora? I didn't read ahead, but please be him!)
In this way, Tempest fended off the Empire's invasion, and would move on to the counterattack.
* * *
(AN: (TN: author's POV)
The Empire's Invasion Arc, Complete!
I thought it'd be a bit tougher, how'd it end up like this?
The story this time may generate bad reviews, but that's for then.
Just in case, I had slipped in the Possession Jewel in earlier part in advance.
The plot need a bit of work, so it might be late.
I'll probably start back up on Sunday (TN: If you see the source site, the dates tell you he'd been poppin' 'em out daily.)
Please wait patiently for a little longer, and have my best regards (TN: same from me + ~gao!))
