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
“Well, in a way, it might have been for the best.”
“Are you happy that my resurrection potion is gone?!”
“No, that’s not it… If I had used that resurrection potion to bring someone back to life, what do you think would have happened over time?”
“…It might have vanished.”
“If I used it, it might have been mine, but if it were to disappear over time, both the person brought back and Lady Fiona would be traumatized. When considering such a terrifying possibility, I wouldn’t want to casually test it.”
“Then, shall I conduct the test next time?”
I thought this matter was settled, but suddenly Epiclesi raised her hand. A test… Who would want to experience the fear of disappearing suddenly?
“Hmm… indeed, if it’s you, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try.”
“Eh… That’s surprising. Lady Fiona loves her subordinates so much that she’d even cuddle them like a pillow, so I thought she’d immediately reject the idea of the fear of vanishing.”
“So, is Epiclesi’ experiment trusted to that degree?”
“Well, it was Epiclesi who discovered the conditions that seemed to increase the probability of the resurrection potion appearing, so she’s certainly skilled…”
“There are plenty of undead without self-awareness, so it wouldn’t matter if they vanished at worst.”
“Undead?”
“Yes, I suppose you could call them those who died but didn’t fully pass on.”
Skeletons, zombies, and such demonic creatures, right? Now that I think about it, vampires are also considered undead.
“Epiclesi can summon undead with ease, so in a way, she has powers similar to Rey.”
“Ease?”
The Demon Lord’s words are always so cute, but that’s not the point.
While I’m blushing from being teased, this is about Epiclesi.
“Even with this, I could compete with Dikitis’ army. Though, Dikitis is too strong, so I’d eventually lose.”
Even so, the fact that she can form an army on her own is impressive.
So, summoning undead… that’s similar to my monster creation ability. And since she can summon beings without self-awareness, it wouldn’t matter if they disappeared.
Now, a question came to mind.
“Wait… Does that mean summoning and then killing them?”
“No, no, no! I’m not the type to do such wicked experiments.”
I’m relieved…
If she were a mad scientist who didn’t care about human rights, I wouldn’t know how to interact with Epiclesi going forward.
So, she’s probably focusing on undead that died in the past?
“Even though they’re undead, you have dead subordinates?”
What exactly are undead again…?
“Heroes and saintesses are natural enemies… Not only that, but sacred powers in general are really troublesome… In front of that power, even undead are called to heaven.”
That’s something you hear often in games.
They must have been highly valued in this world.
Undead armies are like soldiers you can’t defeat, so there might not even be a battle. I can understand why saintesses, who can break that, are respected and adored by people.
“Well, because of that, my army has dwindled quite a bit. If I can resurrect them, I don’t want to waste the opportunity.”
“In that case, it might not be a problem… But what about the resurrection potion I made, Lady Fiona?”
“That’s the thing, hmm… Fortunately, more demons and employees have joined, so perhaps a doctor would be good?”
A doctor, huh… I haven’t had any injuries lately, and I haven’t been sick since I reincarnated.
But it’s definitely necessary. Having one around in case of emergency makes a big difference.
“Indeed, although I have plenty of healing potions, it’s reassuring to have a professional.”
“Plenty, you say!”
“Well, thanks to Primilla , I can mass-produce them… There’s also stock for Lopez to sell to the beastmen.”
“Oh, I see.”
She probably imagined the disappointing results from her gacha. This demon lord.
Since we’ve decided which demon to resurrect, after Lady Fiona’s experiment tomorrow, I’ll probably meet that doctor.
“By the way, don’t you keep any as a backup? Especially considering the possibility of Rey dying.”
“Day by day, the number of phoenix feathers I receive is increasing. Do you think that’s still not enough insurance?”
Is she planning to make me an immortal phoenix or something?
When I showed Epiclesi the many phoenix feathers she gave me, she gave a wry smile.
“With that many, you could probably handle any accidents…”
“I’m still a bit uneasy. Should I hold onto a few more?”
“No, there’s a limit to how many feathers I can carry…”
In the end, I was forcibly given more feathers.
How many lives do I have left now…?
◇
“Alright, my magic power has recovered! Primilla gave me this look, like ‘What are you doing, coming here every day to beg for magic recovery potions?’ But don’t worry, I’ve got the magic recovery potions ready!”
Primilla … Despite her supposed lack of expression, did she give such a skeptical look that Fiona could read it? Or is it that Fiona can sense emotions even from a neutral face?
It’s probably just that Fiona, feeling guilty for troubling Primilla , was imagining things.
“Now then, please proceed with the measurement, Rey!”
“Yes.”
Now, how many weeks will it take to draw the resurrection potion?
As I watch Fiona’s magic power decrease, I wait for the moment it turns into despair.
“10,000.”
“Then, let’s open it!”
“No way…”
A resurrection potion? Is Fiona hiding something?
No, calm down. This resurrection potion was made using excess magic power as well. If I panic, I need to quickly hand it over to Epiclesi before it disappears.
“Epiclesi, it’s up to you.”
“Y-yes! To think the resurrection potion is so easy… Well then, King Skeleton, rise!”
As Epiclesi drew something like a magic circle in the air, she thrust her arm holding the resurrection potion into it.
I see, Epiclesi’ army must be in the space connected to that magic circle.
Now that I think about it, Fiona had mentioned that she keeps only the souls of the Demon Lord’s army within her body.
For Epiclesi, that space beyond the magic circle must be the place where the souls reside.
“Resurrection successful!”
“Whoa… With this, I can mass-produce resurrection potions too…”
“…S-Sama…”
“!!”
A moving skeleton emerged from the circle. However, it wasn’t white—its body was mainly black with gold tattoo-like patterns in places.
This skeleton, being a king, was well-equipped and appeared strong, with an air of dignity.
“Sorry.”
Epiclesi muttered that one word, and the King Skeleton collapsed to the ground as if its strings were cut.
What… happened? Was there a problem? Did something go wrong because it was resurrected with excess magic power?
“Ah… my body is disappearing…”
It seems it was an incomplete resurrection potion after all.
The King Skeleton’s body gradually vanished from the edges.
So, it didn’t work out. It’s a good thing I didn’t use it on one of the Demon Lord’s army with self-awareness…
…If this spread to other races, it could cause a lot of trouble.
Someone who was brought back to life would vanish in a short time.
It would cause significant psychological damage… but even as a demon, would I really go that far with something so inhumane?
“Looks like the King Skeleton didn’t completely vanish, but rather returned to a dead state. I wouldn’t recommend using this on either allies or enemies.”
“Yes, let’s unfortunately abandon this method of manufacturing the resurrection potion.”
Ah, so even for demons, this is the consensus.
There’s a difference between mercilessly killing enemies and toying with their deaths.
“Well then, I guess I’ll continue to grind away at the gacha!”
She doesn’t give up easily…
Well, that’s one of the things I admire about Fiona.
Epiclesi seemed to want to investigate the interior of the magic circle a little more, so only Fiona and I left her room.
◇
“…I shouldn’t have had self-awareness, but I definitely called out to Epiclesi-sama back then… Did I gain self-awareness?”
If that’s the case, what caused it?
The Demon Lord’s magic power? Rey-sama’s resurrection potion? Or perhaps we’ve always been like this?
“…Let’s leave it. I don’t have a taste for getting too close to the abyss.”
The King Skeleton from that time certainly had self-awareness.
Before the Demon Lord and Rey-sama could carry unnecessary guilt, I stole away his magic power and took away his freedom of movement.
But, that only made him unable to move; it didn’t mean he would disappear.
If that’s the case, it seems the resurrection potion created by that method can only resurrect for a short time.
And… anything resurrected with the potion will either gain self-awareness or become enhanced.
“Such an extraordinary person…”
I couldn’t tell if those words were meant for the Demon Lord or for Rey-sama.
…I wasn’t sure myself.
