When I Was Reincarnated into the World of an Ultra-Difficult Game, I Ended Up As the Sole Subordinate of the Ridiculously Strong yet Incompetent Demon Lord, Tasked with Creating a Dungeon
“Crap! Sorry, Rey! I need to hide for a bit!”
“Eh, oh. Got it.”
Honestly, I don’t quite understand what’s going on. Even though I was sharing my sight with her, all I could see was just an ordinary cityscape.
But it seems like Pilkaya made this decision, so it must be right.
“Rigma, stay as far away from Dartel as possible! It’s bad if any reincarnators other than Tokito and Okui are found!”
“Oh, right. Then, we’ll split into two groups.”
There’s less time than usual.
Maybe Rigma noticed that too, as she quickly split us up into two groups.
If it’s anyone other than Tokito, Okui, and the others, it would be Kazama and Lopez.
…Could it be that we were about to run into Kunimatsu and Zino?
If Pilkaya is being found out, Kunimatsu is the most likely to have noticed.
And the fact that she’s trying to escape with Kazama’s group means they’re familiar with Kunimatsu.
Not only that, Lopez is probably there too, meaning Zino, the elf reincarnator whom Lopez heard about, might be with them as well.
It makes sense—it’s a big city after all. They could very well be here.
“Phew… Sorry, sorry. I was too careless. I didn’t expect to be assessed from such a wide range… I underestimated the reincarnators.”
“Reincarnators, huh? And since it was an appraisal, does that mean it’s Kunimatsu?”
“Yeah, it felt like being watched by some awful power. If Lopez hadn’t told me he had a bad feeling beforehand, it could have been dangerous.”
Lopez… That guy really has good intuition. It’s almost like he was given that ability by a goddess.
According to him, he’s always been intuitive even before reincarnating, and it became sharper after reincarnating as a halfling. It’s a remarkable ability.
“I was only seen for a second, but it’s safe to assume that my presence has been detected.”
“I see… Is Rigma okay?”
“They managed to escape beyond the range of the appraisal. Even if Karmal is appraised, it’s fine because he’s an independent entity, not Rigma.”
I see. I was wondering why Rigma went through the trouble of splitting personalities, but it seems like it has its advantages.
Karmal is an independent personality of Rigma, so even if appraised, only Karmal’s data will show up.
That means it’s fine, even if he’s appraised… Right? Karmal wasn’t in the game, right?
I’m starting to feel uneasy. No, it was Okui. Okui knew Rigma, but didn’t know Karmal.
If that’s the case, Karmal must not have appeared in the game.
“Right now, Tokito and the others are getting information from Kunimatsu’s group. I’ll try searching from outside the earlier range.”
“Be careful. If anything happens, prioritize escaping.”
“…Got it.”
There was a pause before the reply. Maybe they’re still in a tight spot while talking.
“Well then… Now that my revival is known, I can’t just leave things as they are.”
I made a mistake back when I dealt with that annoying beastman.
I can’t afford to drag the Demon Lord down again here.
“Hey, long time no see. You’re still annoyingly playing the Goddess’s slave, huh?”
“Pilkaya…!”
In front of me stands the Hero, the Swordsman, the Spirit User, and the Saintess.
…They’re stronger than Ido was before his weakening.
They must have trained after being revived. That kind of caution is also irritating.
“You didn’t finish me off properly, so I survived.”
“Tch… This time, I’ll make sure you vanish completely!”
Ugh, I hate this. So suffocating.
They’re more suffocating than I am, and I’m made of flames.
I manage to dodge the sword swing.
The sword skills are so irrational, they could easily cut through my fiery body.
“You’re as annoying as ever, I see.”
I direct flames at the two reincarnators.
It’s because of them that my existence was revealed.
This is not just frustration; it’s rightful anger.
“You’ve gotten weaker, haven’t you? The terrifying fiery power you once had is nowhere to be seen.”
“Dammit…”
The Saintess’s barrier blocks the flames.
It’s fine. I didn’t think I could defeat a reincarnator with just this kind of attack.
“It seems like you almost disappeared in the previous battle.”
The Hero… This one’s the most troublesome.
“This time, I’ll defeat you. The Four Heavenly Kings, Pilkaya!”
“If you can, try it!”
I try to engulf the Hero in flames.
But… ah, I knew it.
With flames like this, you’ll just cut through them. You’re that kind of guy.
With that momentum, the sword swings horizontally… My body’s been slashed.
“Am I… losing again…?”
“It’s over. It’s a good thing I found you before you regained your full power.”
…My consciousness is fading.
…And with that, everything is going according to plan.
◇
“I’m back~”
“W-Welcome back, Pilkaya. I was worried when the shared sight suddenly disappeared.”
“I just died for a bit.”
“What?”
“You know how I said Kunimatsu might have found out?”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Well, the Hero group was there too.”
Seriously…
In other words, Kunimatsu and the Heroes must already be working together.
Kunimatsu might be becoming a dangerous presence…
“It’d be bad if the reincarnators and the Heroes found out about my revival, right? So, I died right in front of them.”
“Eh… I don’t really get that.”
Is the Pilkaya in front of me a ghost?
Are spirits and ghosts similar things?
“I made a really weak clone body, fought the Heroes with it, and lost. They probably thought they finally defeated the weak version of me that survived.”
“So it’s fine even if the clone dies…?”
“It got a bit weaker, but… well, if I use a recovery potion, I should be fine.”
“Pilkaya… you shouldn’t do reckless things. Use this right away.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Lady Fiona brought a huge amount of recovery potions.
After Pilkaya used them, it was confirmed that their status hadn’t changed from before.
“Did you appraise me?”
“Ah, sorry. I was just checking your status since you were weakened.”
“Well, I don’t mind if it’s Rey. But when Kunimatsu saw me, it felt like being appraised, so I was a bit wary.”
Ripianem also reacted when her status was seen, so maybe strong people can tell when their status is being viewed?
Primilla , Rigma, and even when Pilkaya was first appraised, no one said anything…
“Can you tell when someone’s peeking at your status?”
“Hmm… Maybe because Kunimatsu’s appraisal was so forceful? I think I might’ve started to sense it.”
I see… So Ripianem must have been the odd one out, noticing it right away.
But Fiona… she’s stronger, so maybe she’s aware of it?
“Ah, before I was killed, Tokito must have gotten information from Kunimatsu. We should check it later.”
“That’ll help. I’ll ask about it when we return.”
Anyway, it seems like Pilkaya managed to get out of an unexpected pinch.
Once again, Pilkaya’s abilities are indispensable to the Demon Lord’s army.
◇
“We’re going back to report about the Four Heavenly Kings’ survivor and their defeat.”
“Yes, I’m not sure if I should be the one saying this, but please be careful.”
Rick and the others left.
I’m really glad they came along this time.
“I can’t believe there was a survivor from the Four Heavenly Kings…”
“It was a good thing they were in such a weakened state.”
That’s exactly what Zino said.
If it had been the peak of Pilkaya’s power there…
Most of the city could have been turned into a sea of flames.
Also, with that fire, she would have gotten stronger and harder to defeat. Unlike the game, she would have become a truly terrifying opponent.
“But… was there ever an event where Pilkaya showed up in this city?”
“I don’t know… But with all the flags and events, no player can possibly know everything. It must have been an event we didn’t know about.”
“Yeah.”
The map doesn’t change, and there aren’t unknown cities or dungeons that suddenly appear, but events or NPCs that join are things we didn’t fully investigate.
Pilkaya’s survival and the event of her defeat—neither Zino nor I knew about it, but somehow, it all worked out and we were saved…
