“—What the hell is going on!?”
The king, having lost an arm and bearing deep wounds on his body, wore a confused expression. Yet, in an instant, he floated in midair and erected a barrier against holy magic as he gazed at the Zombie Queen.
“Why are you attacking me!? I should have brainwashed you multiple times!”
[Vwooo! Vwaaaaaaa—!]
The Zombie Queen was fast and strong. With a grace reminiscent of a tiger said to dwell in the jungle, she evaded the king’s probing attacks, closing the distance to swing her sword.
“If it’s not a problem with your brain, then it must be an issue with your body as a holy knight? After hundreds of years of humiliation, has your body stored up memories of anger and gone berserk? How troublesome…!”
The king clicked his tongue but didn’t back down in the slightest.
“Seems I have no choice but to make you understand again. That body is no longer yours… it belongs to me.”
Just as the king’s hand emitted a black light, sturdy zombies clad in hard soil armor appeared from the ground around him.
“You all, restrain the Queen. As long as I touch her, I can brainwash her again.”
The armored zombies began to move, surrounding the Queen. However,
[—Booowww!]
Charging in from the depths of the corridor was the brawny zombie that had carried me into this dungeon. It blew away the armored zombies with its strong body.
Following closely was a mummy zombie that had brought Milphobia, now also joining the fray to assist the Zombie Queen.
“Ugh…!? Why are there so many of them all at once!?”
The king summoned more zombies, directing the three towards the others. The dungeon turned into chaos as the zombies clashed with one another.
“…I really wonder why.”
Amidst this chaos, I muttered quietly to myself, crawling stealthily like a cockroach along the corner of the dungeon floor. In this situation, it seemed the king had no leisure to worry about my presence.
If that’s the case, now’s my chance.
“Hey, Milphobia, are you okay?”
“Ah, Alaya -sama…!?”
I finally reached Milphobia, still lying flat on the ground like a cockroach, and touched the zombies clinging to her.
Then, I cast Dark Heal.
As always, I eliminated the distorted mass of magical power that controlled the zombies, suppressing their hunger. One, two, three.
As I continued, the work gradually sped up.
“That makes nine in total… Is that it?”
“…Thank you so much again.”
I looked over at the king. He still seemed unaware of our situation.
“Alaya -sama… what on earth is happening?”
“Well, I don’t know the details. But one thing is clear: those three zombies were once ‘humans’ with dignity, will, and pride.”
“…?”
“The brain is a strange thing. Even if the body dies, the memories of humiliation and the emotions of anger might not vanish.”
I had no way of knowing if such a thing was possible. Was it because the bodies that made up those three were special, or was it a side effect of long-term brainwashing? Or perhaps, as the king said, the memories of their bodies had exploded forth.
But given the situation unfolding before my eyes, there had to be some reason behind it.
“Anyway, I’m glad we got a chance. Alaya -sama, let’s go now!”
“Ah, yes…”
Milphobia took my hand, trying to pull me toward the dungeon’s exit. This action stemmed from a rational judgment that she couldn’t defeat the king with her own power.
She wasn’t wrong.
…She wasn’t wrong, but.
I turned back.
[Vwaaaaaaa—!]
The Zombie Queen, colored with anger and hatred, swung her sword, while the other two were gradually being pushed into a corner. I stopped my feet.
“Alaya -sama?”
“…You see.”
“Yes?”
“When it comes to choosing between high-risk, high-reward and low-risk, low-reward, I tend to side with the former.”
“What are you saying…?”
“Milphobia.”
I grasped her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
“Could you tempt me a bit?”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
＊ ＊ ＊
The special three zombies, including the Zombie Queen, seemed to boast an extraordinary strength compared to the other zombies summoned by the king.
Yet, the reason they were still at a disadvantage lay in the difference in wits.
“Really, what foolish behavior…!”
The king always stood at a safe distance from the Zombie Queens, maintaining a sufficient safety margin by placing barriers and summoned zombies in between. At times, he would issue attack orders to the zombies, taking advantage of the Queens’ moments of weakness.
…It seemed only the Queen could still move.
The other two were being crushed and immobilized by an endless swarm of zombies resembling rubble. The king wore a smile that half-conveyed victory as he looked at the Queen.
“I won’t kill you, but prepare for a fitting punishment. Until the invasion of the Demon Kingdom is complete, you must continue to experience humiliation and shame.”
[Vwaaaaaaa—!]
With a roar that seemed to split her throat, the Queen charged. However, the king, still wearing a relaxed smile, emitted black magic from his hand, summoning tough zombies as obstacles in front of her, and attempted to retreat to safety once again.
—Exactly as I predicted.
Splash! It collided with the side of the king’s face, who had been looking so confident. It was a damp, crumpled piece of sleepwear I had thrown in advance, targeting the spot I anticipated he would move to.
“I’ve heard that beginners who only partially learn chess are easier to toy with, and I can certainly agree with that.”
I had appeared right in front of the king.
I had been hiding, tucked away in the body of a deactivated armored zombie nearby.
And I had been timing my move.
“Though I’m not particularly a chess player or strategist, your repeated method of gaining distance made your actions easy to read.”
“You, a human…!? What are you doing…?”
“Too bad. I could even smell the scent of my kind from you. However, I’m not impressed with your defiance against the Demon Kingdom. Given my current position, I can’t let you go.”
“What are you saying—”
Clarity.
The king’s body tilted.
“What, what is this…!?”
His face flushed, even as a corpse, and his tongue faltered.
…Well, that was to be expected. That’s the effect of Succubus’ nectar. The liquid that had dampened the cloth was Milphobia’s sweat.
“Oh, King. The moment you realized Milphobia was a Succubus, you stopped your advance towards her. That’s how I knew.”
“Ugh…!?”
“You, despite being a corpse, have an incredibly strong libido. You must be easily seduced by a Succubus, huh?”
I pointed behind the king.
He turned slowly, as if he couldn’t resist, to where I was indicating.
There stood Milphobia, posing seductively with her upper body bare, raising her arms to emphasize her chest.
“—Muha… Muhah—!?”
The king’s eyes were glued to Milphobia.
He had completely forgotten everything else.
[Uuuaaaaa—!]
From behind him, the Queen, wielding a holy sword, leaped in for a swift strike.
The king’s head flew into the air.
“Ah, ahhh! I can’t see her naked body like this!”
Even with his head severed from his torso, the king’s gaze never left Milphobia.
