episode_0029

[Angel? Did you just say angel?]

“Yeah, but he’s dead…”

The liquid wasn’t completely white, but it was vaguely visible. The figure of a man with wings on his back, but the head that should have been on his neck was not visible.

Hearing my words that he was already a corpse, Kuzunoha let out a low, sobbing voice.

[Strictly speaking, the expression “dead” is not correct. Angels are not living beings. It would be more correct to say that time has run out.]

“Not a living thing?”

This is another interesting story. If angels are not living beings, then does that mean that the royal family that inherited the blood of angels is not true?

[Ah, that… It can function as a living being. However, it stops when the given time is up…]

Angels do not go through birth and growth. They are created with perfect bodies from the beginning and come down to the earth. Naturally, they do not age. They are created to stop after completing the mission they have to do upon coming down to the earth. They are to level the earth and create a foundation for other living beings to live on. After completing the mission given to each individual, they wait for the day they stop.

How you spend your remaining time is up to you. You can share love with others, or spend time in the forest enjoying nature. Perhaps there are angels who give up being angels and try to live a life of luxury by stealing the time of others.

“You know him very well, don’t you?”

[…That’s what I’m saying.]

The trembling voice seemed to be telling me not to ask any more questions. Well, that wasn’t the point. After hearing the explanation, I felt like I wanted to try something.

“Then, if I give you some energy, will you be able to come back to life?

[Yes? Could that be possible?]

Kuzunoha also had doubts. Ah, Kuzunoha doesn’t know yet that I can control this energy.

“Yeah. I think I can control the energy and put it in once. It doesn’t seem like it would hurt to try it anyway. ”

[Oh my goodness, if that’s the case, can you show me some of the items so I can send them to you?]

With those words, the items in my bag that I had missed fell from the ceiling in an organized manner.

Wow, this is possible too. I should learn magic or sorcery instead of swords. I’ll have to think about it seriously when I get back.

‘Ah, I should have gotten help from the start of the fight instead of just rushing in.’

As expected, people should always be calm. If I had fought with the strengthening spell that was on my body right now, there would have been no reason for me to be captured in that village. Well, that might not be the case since it gave the kunoichi time to get her body in order.

There’s no need to regret what’s past. What’s important is what’s to be done in the future.

The original plan was to ask the angel several questions, starting with why I was summoned… but I guess I can’t ask a corpse.

Even if you can’t ask questions, you can look into it.

I carefully climbed up to the top of the liquid tank. I could feel the white liquid, the energy that I could now skillfully draw from. I dipped my fingertips into the liquid, and began to carefully draw in the power. The white liquid gradually began to clear up.

‘Thank you. I will use it well.’

It’s really rude to say this, but it felt like I was eating a bone soup packed with nutrients. That’s half true, but…

As I carefully took the body out from inside and laid it gently on the floor, I felt strange.

“Okay, let’s start.”

[Yes, I understand.]

An angel lying neatly on the floor. For a corpse, the legs stretched out slenderly and the chest swaying were incredibly lively. If there was anything above the neck, it would be mistaken for being alive, as there was no corpse-like smell. There was no smell of decaying corpses either. It was as if it had been stuffed exactly as it was when it died.

I know this feeling of the body’s time being stopped. People who live in the barrier that spreads across the castle were like this. It feels like time is fixed. If that’s the case, I can fully release it.

Well, it’s not exactly the same. The difference with the people inside the barrier is that they have no energy at all in their bodies. Just make time pass and put in a little energy… That’s it.

Thump-

“The heart… Oh my, it’s a bit odd to call it a real living thing.”

[Oh my goodness, if that’s the case… Haa, no. What’s in the past can’t be helped.]

Although only a voice was heard, Kuzunoha looked extremely dejected. The angel’s corpse began to twitch as it was infused with energy. It had no head, but it moved as if it were alive.

Ugh-

A small amount of white liquid began to flow out from the cross-section of the neck, and soon the artery began to spurt out a white liquid like a fountain. The reason the limbs were moving a little was probably because the blood was being supplied again and was sending signals to the muscles of the body.

“Eek! Huh, huh?”

I hastily covered the cut with my hand and gathered my energy again. As if nothing had happened, the white… blood that had been gushing out stopped.

The white liquid that spurted out seemed to be the same type as what was in the tank… It seems that the white liquid that filled the tank was angel’s blood.

“Whew… I’m surprised. If only the head was intact, I might be able to revive it.”

“Well? When we found it, the head part was already crushed. It probably couldn’t have survived. We just cut it off to use it.”

At that moment, a woman’s voice was heard from the entrance of the cave.

A voice that sounds familiar – yes, it’s the succubus named Ella who cherishes the doll named Ray in the building. Have you been here too long, chasing me all the way here?

She was standing at the entrance to the cave, holding a round object wrapped in a bundle in her hand.

“Hmm… Did you hear it from the villagers? What do you mean by cutting it to use it?”

“That’s what it means. Now, get up, Captain Esther.”

She opened the bundle she was holding with a rustling sound, and a woman’s head with a short haircut came out.

‘No way… No. Even their skin color is different.’

For a moment, I thought it was a severed angel’s head, but the color was different. It’s not racism, but it’s impossible for a white body to have a blue face. What that succubus is holding is definitely the head of a demon.

As I was thinking that, the severed head suddenly opened its eyes and spoke quietly.

“Haam… Nice to meet you. I heard you were looking for me.”

“Eek!”

It was scary that the corpse kept spewing blood, but it was scarier that the corpse with only a head was talking to me.

[Come to think of it, you have never seen a demon other than a succubus, have you? The author is one of the Four Heavenly Kings. I am Esther, the Dullahan known as the leader of the rebel army.]

Durahan? Hmm… I wonder if I could win if I fought him? Even though he’s the Four Heavenly Kings, he doesn’t seem like he’d be able to do anything with just his head.

First of all, let’s not rush in too quickly. Since they came to us first, it means they have some kind of belief. Since they don’t seem to want to fight, should we first propose an alliance?

“Wow… Why did Lady Esther come here with only her neck…?”

“I was originally in the village. I went on a mission because of my body. My head was just sleeping all this time. Seriously… because of the commotion you’ve caused, my original body is now scattered somewhere in the mountains?”

Ah. So the body was saying that it would arrive in two days. I felt relieved because the possibility of escaping by force had increased.

“If you are far apart, can you only control one of them?”

“Okay. Then it’s your turn to answer. Why did you ask to meet in a week? You barely touched your subordinates.”

What should I do with this? If it were as it was, I was going to absorb all the power of the angels here and destroy the research lab upstairs. With the power I gained, I was going to return to the castle, train for a while, and then come out.

While I was thinking, Kuzunoha’s voice rang faintly in my head.

[I think you can be honest. According to my memory, I am a demon who likes humans. If it is necessary, you may use my name.]

Honestly? Hmm… Okay, I understand. I’ll try to convince you somehow.

[Yes. Then, I will prepare something else for a while.]

“I heard you’re the leader of the rebels. Is that true?”

“Hmm, I guess I should take better care of my kids. Right. So?”

Esther didn’t look surprised or anything. Instead, an expression of interest came over her face.

It seems like he’s telling me to keep talking. Maybe things will work out easier than I thought.

“I want to propose an alliance. The small goals may be different, but the big goal is the same, right?”

The fact that they can create a rebel army means that there are many demons who are dissatisfied with the current Demon King’s system. This is even more true now that most demons are succubi. The research lab above is making dolls artificially, but according to Kuzunoha, they are incomparable to the real thing. They have to be constantly concentrated to make them look real, but even so, they can’t erase the artificial taste.

“From what I know, even demons like succubi don’t want humans to completely disappear, right? I don’t know why the Demon King is like that now…but it seems like he has some reason to form an alliance?”

“You want an alliance… Well, are you in a position to say something like that?”

Now it’s time to reveal your identity.

“For now, I’m working as a warrior. I can’t say I’m the representative, but I think I’m somewhat of a proxy.”

“Warrior? Well, isn’t that too weak to believe that you have that title? If you’re a proxy, then the faction you belong to isn’t very promising either.”

“… Right now, yes.”

I might have to go back to the castle and bring out Mayhen, the Queen, or someone else. Or I could train more and come back. If I could just stop by the castle for a little while, I could show them that I’m getting stronger in no time.

“Just give me a week, just give me a week, and I can convince you.”

“No, that’s not necessary. I will accept the alliance.”

“…What?”

You gave me so many negative reactions before, and now you’re saying you’re going to accept it? I don’t know what you’re up to.

“Our situation isn’t so good either. I’m 85% of our power. The rest is 15%. And the kunoichi you killed is about 10% of that.”

“…I didn’t know that. I thought it was the Demon King’s Army because it had a vagina.”

As far as I know, that’s how it was. All demons with vaginas embedded in their stomachs are under the command of the Demon King, so they’re all enemies. That’s what I learned…

“She was, what should I say… a spy or something. There is no place suitable for a wild demon to live. They are all hunted. She worked under the Demon King and obtained this laboratory so that we could live there.”

“Me too. Well, it’s okay since both I and the deputy commander were prepared to die while taking on the role.”

The succubus, who had been raising her head, showed the vulva embedded in her stomach.

“Then… are there other succubi in the lab above?”

“No, only Ella and the two Kunoichi girls do. The rest of them don’t even know that there’s something like this down there. They’re too busy having fun.”

When Esther said, “All succubi are like that,” Ella retorted, “That’s racial discrimination.” Hmm…

“Then wouldn’t that be a big problem? I absorbed all the white liquid here, and if they find it strange and come to investigate…”

“Of course it was a dangerous situation. Kunoichi and Ella were holding on by risking their lives and stealing it little by little. But it’s okay now.”

Are you okay? As I questioned that, I felt a strong shock at the back of my neck.

“That’s right, even if you’re alone, the power will be restored. I agree with the alliance. The size of the force doesn’t matter. One man’s gain is greater.”

What I saw through my blurred vision was a headless angel raising his hand.

“Phew. I thought it wouldn’t work because it wasn’t my original body.”

“Thank you for your hard work. But-”

That’s how I lost consciousness.