Ch.262Side Story: Elder Lich? – 1

The Fifth Corps Commander of the Demon King’s Army, Elder Lich, was an undead with a skeletal body adorned with a tattered cloak and various ornaments.

After falling for our bluff while trying to move the Life Vessel, he fought us in his living form due to the Life Vessel’s vitality, and when he tried to cast a spell to see into my mind, he ended up becoming mentally crippled instead.

But even in his crippled state, the Life Vessel’s vitality remained intact, and thanks to that, he had been subjected to biological experiments in the basement of the Mage Association, based on his infinite regeneration ability and broken mind derived from that vitality.

That was the case until recently, anyway.

“What about the Life Vessel?”

“We removed all but the minimum size needed to maintain his body. When we completely extracted it, he reverted to his undead form. We weren’t sure if his power would manifest again in undead form, and more importantly, isn’t this appearance better than a skeleton? Heh heh.”

The White Tower Master stroked his long beard that reached down to his waist and chuckled benevolently. While a demonic appearance was indeed better than a skeleton, that wasn’t the important issue right now.

“Why bring him to the Academy of all places? There are students here. Lady Erestica wouldn’t have allowed this.”

“I’ve secured permission, so you needn’t worry.”

“How?”

“Because this place, Bellium Academy, can be even safer than the Imperial Palace. Lady Mira is here, the Hero is here, and the Shadow Dragon is here as well. The Imperial Palace’s security is merely a few Archmages and Royal Guards—how could they possibly compare to Lady Mira?”

If the Emperor heard this, he would be beyond dumbfounded and might seriously consider whether to behead this man. The White Tower Master, who had uttered such words with complete nonchalance, pulled a magical device from his robe pocket and placed it in my hand.

It was a flat, rectangular device with two small switches.

“We’re not thoughtlessly throwing a former Demon King’s Army commander among students. This is both a control tool and a safety device for the creature, so please use it, Lady Mira.”

“Safety device? How does it work?”

“As you can see, there are two switches. The moment you press the lower one, annihilation magic installed in various vital parts of his body will activate, completely destroying him. If the annihilation magic disappears, malfunctions, or becomes corrupted, the device will turn blue, allowing you to make a judgment.”

“…When should I use it?”

“That’s entirely up to you, Lady Mira. Well, you could press it right now if you wish. It would be somewhat of a waste, but we’ve completed all the important experiments, so I have no regrets.”

So that’s why his forehead, neck, and joints were glowing blue—they had annihilation magic inscribed inside them.

“I understand. What about the upper switch?”

“It activates the ego injected into his surface consciousness. If pressed while already active, it returns him to a dormant state.”

“Ego? Dormant state?”

“Let me explain everything step by step.”

The White Tower Master, seeing my reaction, smiled kindly as if he had expected it and began his explanation.

“First, let’s revisit why this one’s mind collapsed. The Elder Lich became mentally crippled because he looked into Lady Mira’s mind and lost the mental battle, correct?”

To be precise, he was first shocked by the strength of the monsters from my original world, and then went mad with fear after seeing me fighting on equal terms with them.

I hadn’t bothered to tell the truth, so that’s what the Tower Masters believed.

“‘Our White Tower,’ after many attempts, has successfully developed magic that can extract a collapsed, imprisoned mind and even replicate it. Our White Tower was the first to achieve this.”

The White Tower Master heavily emphasized the words “Our White Tower” and glanced at me to gauge my reaction. Seeing my surprised expression, he stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Honestly, even I couldn’t help but be surprised by this.

“Is such a thing really possible?”

“Of course. Our White Tower has accomplished it, as you can see. Why would I lie to Lady Mira’s face? I would rather lie to His Imperial Majesty than to you.”

The White Tower Master, who had casually uttered words that could get him imprisoned for treason, tapped Elder Lich’s forehead.

“We injected the ‘original’ of the extracted ego into this one’s surface consciousness. He’s currently in a dormant state, but once activated, he should be able to move immediately. The first switch you mentioned is the trigger that releases him from that dormant state and activates the ego injected into his surface consciousness.”

“…What’s the ultimate goal of all this?”

“If the experiment succeeds, we plan to inject the extracted ego into magic stone golems to create autonomously moving golems. As I mentioned earlier, we left only the minimum Life Vessel needed to maintain life in this one’s body. The rest was disassembled and installed in magic stone golems, which increased the magic stone efficiency by as much as…”

Once he started discussing the experimental results, the White Tower Master rambled on until I cut him off in disgust.

From what I could understand, the Life Vessel had greatly increased the efficiency of magic stone golems, and using Elder Lich’s data might enable them to move autonomously.

Also, complete autonomous thinking would require an activation phrase, and the person who spoke it would be served as master while the ego was active.

“I get it, so you can stop there. But why the Academy specifically? I haven’t heard any reason besides safety.”

“Because this is where it will be deployed first after verification. We provided one as a sparring partner for a test before, remember? Though you destroyed it, Lady Mira.”

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. I had deliberately destroyed it fearing it might go berserk if corrupted by holy relics, just like in the original story.

The White Tower Master laughed heartily.

“No one wishes to hold you responsible, so please don’t worry. Anyway, since the golem will be deployed at Bellium Academy, isn’t it appropriate to test it here?”

“It’s not dangerous, is it?”

“Based on a week of testing within the Association and the Magic Tower, it hasn’t suddenly turned against humans or tried to kill them. Of course, nothing is one hundred percent certain, which is why I gave you the safety device.”

“Alright. If Lady Erestica has approved, I have nothing more to say. You may go. I’ll keep him for about three days and then return him.”

“Yes, Lady Mira. We’ll be waiting.”

The White Tower Master bowed deeply and returned to his tower, sincerely expressing his anticipation for our next meeting.

Originally, Elder Lich was scheduled to arrive tomorrow. As soon as I asked what was happening, he came to show me in person. Though not according to plan, he had succeeded in surprising me regardless of the outcome.

“Mind extraction…”

I clicked my tongue. I never expected them to succeed with such magic.

I stared at Elder Lich, who stood still like a mannequin. Purple hair, heterochromatic eyes of purple and black, and skin with a peachy tint resembling humans. Except for the eyes, his appearance was much closer to human than demon.

I pressed the upper switch on the device I’d been given. Elder Lich’s rigid posture relaxed slightly, changing from a mannequin-like stiffness to that of a human maintaining a stationary pose.

“Is this how it works?”

“Yes, it is.”

I had been talking to myself, but I directed a question at him.

“What should I call you?”

“Elder Lich is sufficient.”

“Alright, Elder Lich. What’s your purpose and reason for being here?”

“To experiment on how much autonomy the ego injected into my surface consciousness has when externally manifested.”

“You know well.”

It seemed appropriate to fully activate the ego now. I recited the activation phrase I had memorized while the White Tower Master was rambling earlier. This was where it truly began.

From my mouth came an extremely long sentence that would never be accidentally mentioned in daily life unless deliberately memorized and spoken.

“…May thoughts dwell in your head, flames in your heart, and will in your body.”

As soon as the activation phrase ended, Elder Lich’s body twitched and his stiffness disappeared. For a moment, he looked around with a confused expression before his eyes met mine standing right beside him.

“You…”

He reflexively raised his arm.

But instead of the bone-only arm of the Demon King’s Army commander who had taken countless lives and controlled legions of death, there was only a soft arm covered with human-like delicate skin and flesh.

“…It doesn’t work. Of course not, with the Life Vessel so drastically reduced in size.”

“You’re calmer than I expected.”

“Emotions only hinder objective thinking. What good would anger do here except make me forget any possible way out?”

That was quite a rational statement for someone who had lost his mind upon meeting me while moving the Life Vessel, just because I mentioned he resembled Erestica’s succubus.

“Then let’s see how rational you can be. Since they said you’re bound to absolutely obey the commands of the person who recited the activation phrase… Sit.”

“Ha, as if I would obey such a comm— Huh?”

Elder Lich, who had been snorting at my words, crouched down on the floor like a dog. His face flushed with bewilderment and shame.

“W-what is this? Why is my body…”

“Stand up, turn around once, sit down again. Roll over.”

“W-what are you doing?! Stop it! Stop—”

Though his expression showed disgust, his body faithfully followed my commands. A cry of anguish erupted from his mouth.

Finally, I extended my hand. Elder Lich, with a mortified expression, placed his left hand on my palm like a dog offering its paw. With my other hand, I patted his head as I would do to Priscilla.

“Good boy. Well done.”

“Kuh, nnnngh…”

He bit his lip and let out a groan of anguish. But his hand remained where it was. His head dropped in defeat.

“Kuk, kill me…”

“You want to die? Alright.”

At my words, he raised his head. Judging by the hope in his eyes, he was serious.

“Act as cute as you possibly can. Who knows? You might die of shame.”

“What? What are you—”

Elder Lich was horrified, but as his body began to move against his will, he cried out desperately.

“I don’t have to do this. I don’t want to die. So stop. I was lying about wanting to—”

His resistance ended there. He couldn’t finish his sentence as he faithfully followed my command. Tears welled up in the eyes that had just claimed emotions only hindered objective thinking.

Judging by his expression, he really might die of shame if this continued.