Kill Me Baby

Time goes back a little.

“Ahh… ah… uh… ahh…”

In a prison cell beneath the royal castle. Lawrence, with half of his body replaced by a pulsating mass of flesh, was wandering through a maze of thoughts as the zombies devoured his innards.

There was nothing to do but groan. Then, in a daze, he would think endlessly.

Where did he go wrong?

How could he have made it work?

Every time he pondered whether the coup would have been completed if he had not killed René, he denied it.

If she had not been guillotined, if she had been placed under house arrest, she would not have come back as an Undead.

But…

–No…. It’s an injustice… All those who helped the Federation should be killed… They must all be killed… So what should I have done…? What is justice…?

The thoughts returned to the drawing board.

How would that justice have been realized in this country if Lawrence had been allowed to do so?

Lawrence, who was not even allowed to sleep and was subjected to constant pain, no longer had the capacity to think straight.

But when he heard footsteps echoing against the stone walls, he became only slightly more alert.

A silvery girl appeared in the prison.

–This is …. who was … ah, yes, the enemy. The evil Federation must be defeated…, if not destroyed…, but where’s my sword? Why won’t my hand … move?

René looked up at the hulking Lawrence, his lower body a blubbery, pulsating mass of flesh.

Her silver eyes twinkled like stars.

“Work, Lawrence. I’m giving you one more chance to fight.”

＊ ＊ ＊

The main street of Terra Kaine, where all signs of life had disappeared.

The five members of the “Decisive Drolette” were located close to the city gate.

To be more precise, the three vanguards were standing in the middle of the street, and Loretta and Edgar were on top of the buildings on either side of the street, each holding a round cannon-like artifact.

“Alright, let’s give it another test run. Alfonso. I’ll need you to play the enemy again.”

“Understood.”

Alfonso walked toward the city wall, turned on his heel in the middle of the street, readied his sword, and charged.

“Whoaaa!”

“Now!”

At Erminio’s command, Loretta and Edgar operated the magic artifact.

Rays of white brilliance were released from the cannons’ muzzle.

The two rays of light caught Alfonso like a spotlight illuminating an actor on stage.

Of course, this was no ordinary light.

The “Eye of Evil”. It was a magic item that could produce the same effect as «Sanctuary» with a pinpoint accuracy.

“Good aim! If the undead were to be hit by this, they would stop in their tracks. In fact, if they are weak, they will be purified in an instant. We will capture it with «Sanctuary» and damage it while stopping it in its tracks. Then we’ll strike after it. It’s perfect!”

Erminio praised himself for the perfect strategy he had devised.

“Loretta, is the output stable? How’s the connection to the ground veins?”

“Perfectly fine!”

“Then there’s no problem with the fuel. We can hold her for two or three days until her power runs out.”

Of course, the world was not so easy as to allow such a powerful item to be used for free.

The only way to do this was to have a large amount of magic stones, or else use the magic power accumulated in the land.

Terra Kaine was located on a hotspot of magical power, as was usual in large cities. Well, it was much less impressive than the royal capital, but the lack of magical defenses on the city walls meant that there was plenty of margin to work with.

Hired directly by the Marquis Edfeldt, the “Decisive Drolette” was able to use the magic of the land with the Marquis’ permission. Now they could use the “Eye of Evil” as much as they wanted.

The undead are encamped outside the city walls.

They would soon attack the city. And the walls of this city would not be enough to stop them.

But that was where the game would begin.

And then, suddenly.

With a roar, the city gates were blasted away.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Here they come!”

The city gates in this town were just a sturdy double-opening doors slotted into the walls.

However, it was no ordinary opponent that could blow it open with a single blow.

It must have been some kind of powerful attack magic. Debris and several soldiers who had apparently become collateral damage while trying to defend the gate rained down on them.

Still, Erminio was not intimidated.

“Come! This Erminio Drolet is waiting for you, ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’!”

As Erminio was about to say this, he noticed it.

A huge, distorted, and snoring shadow was approaching, cutting through the thick cloud of smoke.

“… What? That thing is …”

*

“Aaahhh! Aaaahhhh!!”

Lawrence screamed. A battering ram was swung quite independently, cleaving the soldiers, who had remained rigid with their shields and spears at the ready.

Lawrence’s body, made from many dead bodies spliced together, crawled along on many legs sprouting from a pulsating mass of huge flesh, like a galley sailing with its paddles in motion.

On his back were several flags like those of a Japanese warlord, and on these flags were written, in letters that René had deliberately written poorly, the words “Lawrence☆Reinhardt”.

Several long, thick arms sprouted from his bloated upper body, supporting and wielding a battering hammer all by himself.

And, even more blasphemous, next to Lawrence’s head sprouted the head of a knight, whose identity was unknown. The head had eyes, nose, and ears sewn together. But it was this newly grown head that was in control of the body.

Lawrence could not move a finger. He was just a sensory organ for the giant, blasphemous Flesh Golem to see and hear.

Only his consciousness still remained.

Lawrence looked down at the knights and farm soldiers gathered by Marquis Edfeldt.

These people who fight to protect their city, his people, and his country were pointing their weapons at Lawrence.

Pushing aside their fear, they looked filled with a sense of duty. They looked as if they were facing off against a powerful monster!

“Kill me, kill me, kill me! Kill me, kill me, kill me! Kill me!!”

With his throat crushed and tongue pulled out, Lawrence still screamed.

René was following along behind Lawrence as he rampaged around in a frenzy.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It would be much more convenient if we could do something about the slow movement. The problem is that it cannot be stored alive, so it is not suitable for expeditions.”

This was a fresh golem-like creature that was created by abusing «Corpse Repair» to fuse undead.

It was not a bad asset, except the magic cost to maintain it was a bit much, and there was a lot of room for improvement by tweaking the shape. Put armor on it or make it a mobile torchka…

“Stop it, stop it!”

“Wait a minute… why doesn’t it work!?”

A voice in an impassioned tone rose in the path of the Lawrence.

A purifying light of physiological disgust poured down from the top of a building on the side of the street onto Lawrence’s eyes.

“What kind of holy magic is being shot at us? It’s a strange magic item, isn’t it? Well, it doesn’t really work on this ‘meat chariot’.”

The core Lawrence was a living human being, so no matter how evil the magic was, it would not cause fatal damage (although it would probably be agonizingly painful).

“… Is not the “Decisive Drolette”.”

One of them was a female magician wizard who was working as a light on the rooftop, dressed to the nines with sweet good looks and the utmost glamour and style.

Iris, who had previously possessed René, had seen the “Decisive Drolette”, and René had inherited her memories of it.

The two on the rooftops frantically moved their searchlights to capture Lawrence running around and licking his body, and also to capture René. René jumped over Lawrence’s body to avoid the light.

The three in armor looked on as Lawrence swung his battering ram in front of them.

The leader of the group, wearing shiny silver armor, was Erminio, and the two in full body armor with the holy symbols in front of him, protecting him, were the temple knights accompanying him.

They invaded the royal capital, committed violence, and reduced the number of René’s soldiers. Well, they deserved to be killed anyway.

They were not bad as materials for undead.

“I think the two strongest ones are the Temple Knights. … I think they are good quality material, but I am sure they are protecting the souls. The souls are important to make them Liches. Geez.”

Well, it wasn’t bad material for ghouls and skeletons.

René considered the arrangements.

For the time being, René could eliminate the two who bombarded her with holy beams, and have Lawrence stall the other three while she does so.

And then…

“Oh… that’s bad. This is the one that connected a living human with an undead.”

The voice of an old woman sounded relaxed, not quite fitting for a battlefield.

For a former Japanese, she reminded René of an old lady sitting on the porch, petting a cat and drinking tea.

René was not the only one who was surprised by the voice.

Erminio and the others also turned their heads toward the source of the voice.

An old woman emerged from the crowd of soldiers who were watching from afar.

Pure white hair tied up in a bun. A wrinkled face.

She was wearing what one might surmise was originally a white robe. It was white with flecks of reddish-brown stains.

Her hips were nearly bent, but her legs and feet seemed strong, and she came at a surprisingly fast pace, even with a cane.

René wondered. There was no fear. No hostility. She was an old woman with a strange heart, as if painted in one color with cheap white paint.

“Do it.”

The old woman muttered a few words, and some holy energy swelled up from the surroundings.

–Something is coming!?

Multiple presences flew across the rooftops, approaching at a speed that was impossible for a human being. And then.

“Goaaaaaaaaa!!”

“Uuaaaaaa!?”

A white and gold shining tiger-like beast leapt at Lawrence.

Its fangs and claws were cyborg-like in appearance, as if a goldsmith’s armor had become one with its body.

The swarming army of holy tigers descended from the heavens one after another, sinking their fangs and claws into Lawrence’s massive body.

“Oh, suffer. Even if it’s not your intention, suffer and pay for what you’ve done with this body. It hurts, but hang in there.”

“Guah, aaagh! Aaaaahhh!”

“All right, good boy.”

Lawrence cried out in pain as he spat out blood.

The mysterious cyborg tigers’ attacks seemed to be clad in holy energy, and that was the most agonizing pain Lawrence could feel right now.

The old woman seemed pleased to see Lawrence in agony, her eyes narrowed.

–I believe that is … a summoned beast or “holy beast” of the holy magic type?

Summoned beasts were created by magic, or summoned and used as a general term.

There was a wide range of spirits, angels, and even evil spirits of mountains and rivers like twisted animal spirits, but this majestic design and the holy energy that emanated from them were definitely of the holy magic type.

The nearly ten holy beasts quickly put Lawrence out of action.

Every single one of them was powerful, and there were many of them…

But for all that, the old woman in front of her didn’t seem strong enough to command such things. Nor did she sense the power of holy magic.

Maybe she was simply a commander and there was a magician controlling the summoned beasts behind her, but if so, why did she even come to the forefront like this…?

Anyway, this old woman was strange and creepy in many ways.

“Well, apparently, this is the main issue.”

The old woman turned to René, her face as calm as ever.

“I have no choice but to punish bad children who don’t have good manners. God is watching. Yes. It won’t be enough anymore. …You’re going to hell. You little brat.”