Chapter 12: Thousand Astral Graves

The forest was filled with gigantic gravestones that towered over even the trees. The sun slowly set over the horizon, allowing night full rein over the wilderness.

"What are all these graves?"

Watching the countless gravestones of different sizes and varying symbols tower over her, Tsukishima was unable to conceal the tremor in her voice as she demanded an answer. She tightened her grip over her staff, half-expecting the tombstones to attack her.

"The 1,008 tombstones grant 12 different types of buff."

That was all the information I was willing to impart to her. Staying silent, I glanced up at my tombstones with a smile. There were 12 type of specific symbols, and each of them granted a particular buff.

The foot-shaped symbol increased movement speed. The claw-like symbol increased attack speed. The cross-shaped symbol increased regeneration or healing. The skeletal, bone-like symbol increased durability. The star-shaped symbol enhanced abilities. The skull-shaped symbol increased intelligence. The weird circle-shaped symbol improved their senses and range of sight. The swords or blades-shaped symbol increased attack power. The diamond-shaped symbols increased defense and resistance. The dragon-like symbol granted them berserker status, which further increased their physical stats such as speed and strength. The triangle-shaped symbol increased their reflexes and reaction, enhancing their evasiveness. And the final, eye-like symbol improved their accuracy and hit-rate, increasing their chances of getting critical hits.

Any familiars that stood under the shadows of these tombstones would have their specific attributes increased by 10 times, depending on which tombstone was buffing them. And as long as they weren't the same type of buffs, these buffs stacked.

In other words, if there were many shadows casted by these tombstones, even the weakest familiar would evolve into ridiculously strong monsters.

The demonic zombies were all shifting, transforming and mutating under the shadows, undergoing horrendous changes. The dark elf commander was clutching her mouth with her hands, tears running down her eyes as she watched her former subordinates become literal monsters. Distorted beyond recognition, driven into an inhuman frenzy, they were more creature than former, sentient, humanoid beings.

Looking at them now, it was difficult to say that they had ever been humanoid demons.

"What is this?!" Tsukishima shrieked.

"This is…wrong."

Alone, in the shadows of the tombstones, the dark elf commander wept. In fighting the heroes, she had turned to a monster, a monster whose unorthodox methods and magic repulsed even the supposedly ruthless and cruel demon race.

She couldn't accept this. She just couldn't…

I didn't care. I was willing to pay any price for victory, even if it meant discarding my humanity and using others as tools. If these men were dead, then they would serve me better in death. Even if I had to transform them into monsters. Speaking about honor and ethics were useless if I died. Those were just pretty words. They wouldn't keep me alive in reality. Besides, nobody cared about ethics when it came to me. So why should I care about others?

I should hurry up and finish this battle before any of the other heroes notice and arrive. It'll be difficult to fight my former classmates if there's more than one of them.

I had trouble just from fighting Tsukishima Tomoyo alone. I dreaded to think how insurmountable a task it would be if I had to fight two or more…or even the whole class by myself.

"Look!"

The dark elf commander's subordinates, who were wisely keeping their distance, watched in amazement as my mutated, enhanced zombies lunged forward. Unlike their commander, they were not averse to the change in their comrades. They were even impressed by it. The new shapes, sizes and strength of the zombies were several times beyond that of their original selves. The mutations had granted them a new lease in un-life.

"Those zombies became berserk monsters!"

Those zombies were your former comrades, you know? Well, considering that I was the one who wrought such terrifying changes on them, I couldn't say anything.

One of the monsters, a blue-skinned zombie with mutating tubes writhing on its back, bent over and unleashed a bombardment of smaller zombies at Tsukishima, drowning her in a horde of lesser zombie spawn.

"My God! And they have special abilities too!"

Not only that, these lesser zombie spawn transformed and evolved underneath the shadows of my Thousand Astral Graves, turning into terrifying monsters in their own right. Growling, they all pounced on a stunned Tsukishima, who was frantically trying to keep them away with her staff. Despite her peerless skills and heroic attributes, she found herself overwhelmed by her numbers.

Not only that, the newly evolved zombies were a lot more resistant to her magic and curses, shrugging off her Dark Decay and Fetid Fields without suffering much damage. Try as she much, her staff proved ineffective against the immense bulks of armored zombies, who grabbed hold of her weapon with their colossal arms and ripped it out of her hands.

"Ah…!"

Perspiration poured down her face when she realized that she was completely outmatched. She continued to struggle to the bitter end, but her spells proved ineffective, and she was shoved down by pouncing zombies, pinned to the ground by their incredible strength. Despite her heroic strength, she was no match for the augmented physical prowess of the zombies and their sheer numbers. The entire horde was upon her, ripping and tearing.

"Ah…aaaaaaaaah!"

Tsukishima let out a bloodcurdling scream as the zombies tore into her, tearing her limbs from her sockets and began feeding on her. An ocean of blood spread underneath her rent body.

"Hah! Hero bitch! You deserve it!"

"Awesome! That was awesome, Nii-san!"

"Who is that guy? What was that power? To think he could defeat a Chosen of Evelyn?"

"There's hope for the demon race after all!"

The demonic soldiers cheered when they saw Tsukishima's demise. I slowly strolled to the zombies and stopped them.

"Hey, leave some for me."

"What…what do you think you're doing?" The dark elf commander demanded, but I stopped her. A ring of armored zombies stood between us, barring her way. She was outraged. "Didn't you promise?"

"Yes, I did. But it's not over yet. Please have a bit more patience. I'm going to do something, but I'll need these guys to guard me while I get it done. Then I'll bury them once I'm finished." I turned to glance at the rest of her soldiers. "Take your men out and get them out of here. The heroes will be coming. I'll have to dispose of her body before they arrive."

"What do you mean dispose?"

I didn't answer. Instead, my zombies formed an impenetrable ring around me, blocking any sight that the dark elf commander would have. Hidden from view, I knelt down beside the gory remains of Tsukishima's body.

I couldn't let the dark elf commander or her subordinates see what I was about to do. She was already disturbed by my reanimating of her dead men and turning them into monstrous berserkers. What I was about to commit was far worse.

But I didn't care. I needed Tsukishima's special ability, especially in the long run. It would be very useful. Not to mention, it would be a waste if I let this opportunity go.

Reaching, out, I scooped a bunch of Tsukishima's flesh and began to feed.

*

With my feast done, I left the remains of Tsukishima to my mutated zombies. As it turned out, I didn't need to eat the whole body to gain her special ability. Just a few mouthfuls were enough. Since I enlisted the help of these zombies, they deserved a reward. I indulged them, knowing that it would literally be sweet revenge for them.

As the zombies gorged themselves on Tsukishima's remains, I emerged from the ring and bowed apologetically to the dark elf commander.

"They want to eat her before they pass on," I explained. "That would be a great revenge for them, wouldn't you agree?"

"You…!"

I didn't say anything. Obviously the commander didn't agree. She was furious at how I allowed her dead subordinates to degenerate into human-eating ghouls. Couldn't she see how happy they were? They weren't degenerate, mindless ghouls. They were vengeful spirits, whose rage could only be appeased by consuming their sworn enemies.

But there was no point convincing a blind person. Instead, I conjured my blue window.

Name: Tanaka Tomoyuki

Species: Undead

Job/Rank: Gravekeeper/Lich Lord

Title: Hero Slayer

Special Abilities: Adamantium Will, Regeneration, Devour, Lord of Darkness, Absolute Appraisal

"Oh, this is interesting."

I had gained Tsukishima Tomoyo's Absolute Appraisal, as I expected but I didn't think I would earn a new title. Hero Slayer. Probably because I defeated and slew a hero. I didn't earn such a title after killing and devouring the Demon Lord, but that was probably because I wasn't the one who wounded and defeated him.

The system was fair, I suppose.

"Stop it! Stop it right now!"

The commander was shouting at me. I glanced at her, and then decided to experiment with my newly plundered Absolute Appraisal. Raising a hand, I tapped my brow and blinked as a purple flame appeared in my pupil.

"Oh…!"

I could see the dark elf commander's personal information.

Name: Elia Kratz

Species: Dark Elf

Job/Rank: Soldier/Lieutenant

Special Abilities: Nature's Guidance

So humanoid demons seemed to have special abilities, as opposed to non-sentient monsters like the white wolves and cockatrices. I studied the blue holographic window that floated over the lady named Elia Kratz, and then glanced at the soldiers.

Name: Krom Orkgaze

Species: Orc

Job/Rank: Soldier/Private

Name: Drake Holden

Species: Drakken

Job/Rank: Soldier/Corporal

It appeared that the majority if the soldiers didn't possess special abilities. I was wrong about the whole humanoid thing.

What should I do?

I took a deep breath and focused my attention on the outraged Elia Kratz.

"I know you want me to release them. They will automatically be released once they finish their meal, so let them enjoy their last meal first, okay?"

"Enjoy? What do you mean enjoy?" Elia spluttered, livid. I held up both hands and gestured to the horde.

"I know they were once your dead comrades, but they are empty vessels now. The only thing that remains is their desire for vengeance. They are no longer your subordinates, Lieutenant Kratz. They are undead, mindless puppets without any soul or intelligence. No memories, no personality, nothing. Just pure emotion. So let them vent out all their emotions first. That's the only way they can pass on. Please believe me."

Elia Kratz studied me skeptically for a few seconds before she sighed.

"I can't deny that you saved our lives, so we owe you. We'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But I'll ensure that you keep the end of your bargain."

"Yes, Lieutenant Kratz."

Even as I affirmed her command, I had to suppress a retort. Seems like you're the only one who needs to be convinced.

Her surviving soldiers didn't seem to care about the fate of their former comrades. They were all staring at me in awe.

"You're awesome!"

"You saved us!"

"Hey, boss." One of the burly knights turned to Elia Kratz. "Are you sure you should be speaking to that person in that tone? He killed one of the Chosen of Evelyn, you know?"

"Um, yes…?"

The burly knight scowled. From my Absolute Appraisal, I could glean his identity.

Name: Gio Vanni

Species: Dark Elf

Job/Rank: Soldier/Sergeant

Special Abilities: Tenacious Survivor

A sergeant, huh? He also seemed much older than the seemingly young Lieutenant, who appeared to be no older than her mid-twenties.

"Doesn't that feat alone automatically earn him the rank of a Lord? Shouldn't you be more careful about being disrespectful to someone of higher rank? I mean, you may be a noble, but his slaying of a hero just allowed him to surpass you in rank."

"Eh? Eh?"

Lieutenant Kratz looked flustered upon the revelation. I merely looked at her dumbly, and shrugged. Unfortunately, I remained ignorant of all the trivial details and formalities, and had no wish to learn them.

But that explains why I'm a Lich Lord now.

I did find it weird that I was suddenly promoted into a Lich Lord, but dismissed it as a mere increase in rank after my achievement of slaying a hero. I didn't think it carried any real significance. From what I had seen so far, the ranks appeared to be arbitrary. The different statuses carried no meaning to me, an outsider.

However, there was something I could use to my advantage.

"Uh, speaking of which, I might need your help."

That was right. If I wanted to find out more about the world around me, I needed to rely on these guys. I needed to learn about Restia and its ways, and get acquainted with the demon race and their outlay of forces. If possible, I would like to commandeer them and unleash them on the heroes. I had no interest in annihilating the human race, but I had a vested interest in enacting my revenge on my former classmates.

I was going to ensure their death, no matter what it took.

"What help do you need?" Lieutenant Kratz asked hesitantly, trying to defer to me now that she realized my new rank. I scowled.

"Just speak to me normally. I don't care about all this lord nonsense. I'm just a normal undead, so don't worry about formalities."

Even as I said that, I realized the great irony behind my words. Just a normal undead? No, I was far from being a normal undead. There was a massive difference between me and the zombies that were snacking on Tsukishima Tomoyo's corpse. Those were normal undead. Not a walking, talking, intelligent corpse like me.

Well, that was no point busying myself with such trivial details, so I focused on the issue at hand. Pushing my glasses at hand, I flashed them my winning smile and hoped that my Machiavellian Charisma would kick in.

No such luck. The demons just stared at me blankly, waiting for me to continue. I took a deep breath and proceeded sourly.

"I kind of lost my memories and have no place to go. The only thing I remember was being hunted and attacked by those so-called heroes." I glanced in the direction of Tsukishima and my zombies. "But that's all I remember. More of them will be coming, and even I wouldn't be able to beat all of them at the same time. I need help. And a safe place to stay."

"So you need a place to stay?" Sergeant Vanni echoed. I nodded. He shrugged. "Well, I could put you up at our place, if your lordship doesn't mind shacking up with us lowly soldiers."

I scowled. "I told you to stop it with that lordship. I'm not a lord."

"Sure you are. Even if you weren't, the moment you slew a hero, you're automatically promoted to a lord."

"Ugh, I'm trying to keep a low profile…" I complained, but none of the demons were paying attention to me. They were chattering excitedly at the prospect of rooming with a lord. Only Kratz looked displeased, but she remained silent.

Despite her sharp tongue, she was a good leader. Kratz was obviously aware that she couldn't afford to destroy her men's morale, especially after such a crushing defeat. This sense of elation was necessary to keep the demonic army fighting even after the demise of their king.

"We'll escort you safely back to Helsfort," Kratz spoke up determinedly, which earned cheers of approval from her men.

"Don't you mean I'll be the one doing the escorting?" I replied, drawing laughter from the soldiers. "But I'll take up your offer. Please lead me to Helsfort. Is that…?"

"You really lost your memory, didn't you?" Kratz shook her head, amazed. "That's the capital of the demonic realm, Morten. After his majesty was killed, it'll be natural that everyone will retreat back to the capital and prepare for a siege."

"Huh? Isn't this place the capital?" I blurted out, gesturing in the direction of the castle where the heroes had fought the Demon Lord. "The Demon Lord…I mean, his majesty was waiting for the heroes there, in that castle."

"Are you an idiot? That's because his majesty decided to meet the Chosen of Evelyn in the frontlines, and so he set up base in the border castle to stop them from invading our territory. This isn't the capital. It's the border between Helsreach and Midgardia."

The names meant nothing to me, but judging from the pattern, I could guess that Helsreach was a province belonging to the demons, and the Midgardia was part of the human kingdom. Come to think of it, Kratz had a point. The castle was in the middle of nowhere, situated in vast plains framed by mountains in the background. There were far too little buildings or urban landscape to mark it out as the capital of a civilization.

Furthermore, the demons were referring to my former classmates as the Chosen of Evelyn instead of heroes. That made sense. They weren't heroes to the demons. Rather, they were more like monstrous villains. Given how the goddess Evelyn had chosen them to fight the demons, I guessed that name was as logical as any.

"…I see."

That made sense. Stopping the humans from punching deep into demonic territory by staking everything on a border fortress…obviously, the Demon Lord failed, but his plans were sound. Unfortunately, the moment he was killed, that gamble collapsed and he lost everything.

"We were probably going to die a slow, painful death from despair," Vanni remarked with a chuckle. "But with you around, we'll probably inspire everyone to raise arms once again and resist those humans to the bitter end."

"You'll be a symbol of hope," Kratz added, her voice rising from excitement. "If we can isolate those heroes and have you pick them off one by one, we might just be able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat!"

"You give me too much credit."

While it was indeed my goal to exact revenge on my former classmates, I was under no illusions regarding the difficulty of my task. It was easier said than done.

"I'm not some special messiah who has come to save you all. I'm just one guy…a perfectly normal guy."

"Bullshit. A normal guy wouldn't possess the power to fight a hero on even footing."

"I just got lucky, I guess?"

I wilted under the intense glare of Sergeant Vanni, who wasn't buying into any of my BS. As expected, there was no hiding the fact that I wasn't normal. But I couldn't very well tell them that I was from another world, just like the heroes who had ravaged their kingdom and killed their king. The backlash from that revelation might cause them to turn on me.

Especially when they learned of my human origins…

"That was no luck. You had a plan and you stuck to it."

Elia Kratz had noticed my confidence and lack of panic as my plan unfolded against Tsukishima Tomoyo. She wasn't letting that go.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, the zombies should be done. Let me check on them and bury them before we proceed…"

And then I stopped, a chill running down my back. Turning to Elia Kratz apologetically, I bowed.

"I'm sorry. I might have to borrow your comrades' bodies for a bit longer."

"What are you talking about? You promised…"

As I expected, Kratz was enraged at my audacity. Raising her voice, she snapped at me, only to trail off in midsentence when she noticed what I had detected.

"…boss?"

Vanni glanced at her, concerned, but Kratz shook her head, her face paling.

"There's another hero approaching."

"Go," I snapped at them urgently. "Get out of here before he comes. I'll buy you as much time as possible."

"Too late."

Cackling gleefully, Kijima Takeshi stepped into the clearing, his golden lions emerging from the woods to surround us. He scanned the clearing triumphantly, his sneering gaze widening into a scornful smile.

"I've finally caught up to you bastards."

Turning to his lions, he snapped his fingers and grinned.

"Kill them all."