LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 88
Chapter 88. Fortress of the Undead
“—No way! Finally, I can invite you, Zil-kun!”
The Undead King skipped lightly down the spiral staircase in front of me.
So, this is Zilbagias, who has finally invited me to the nest of the undead after all those necromancy classes.
“This staircase is really long.”
Even with the physical abilities of a demon, I’m starting to get sick of the seemingly endless steps.
Even though I’m already dead and don’t get tired, this is way too deep… The thought of having to climb back up is already weighing heavily on me.
Beside me, Sophia floats along carefreely. Damn, she’s really lazy, completely ignoring the laws of physics…!!
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.”
“Really?”
I’ve seen the door several times already, only to be told, “That’s the emergency exit of the Dragon’s Great Cave,” and felt the bitter disappointment each time.
“We didn’t need to dig this deep—”
I was about to say we could live a little higher up when I realized the living would definitely protest that idea.
“We’re fine down here.”
As if sensing my thoughts, Enma turned around with a smirk.
“It’s much better to hide deep underground and live peacefully than to meddle and clash with other residents.”
“Peace-loving, huh?”
“Exactly! But you know, this time was tough.”
With exaggerated gestures, Enma sighed.
“We cleaned up and aired the place out, but no one really knew if it was safe to invite the living. After all, we don’t breathe.”
Enma crack some dead jokes that made me chuckle awkwardly.
“No, no, it’s not a laughing matter. If, by chance, there’s poison in the air and you passed out— that would be seriously bad, right?”
“Yeah, it would be bad. I don’t know how Father and Mother would react.”
Politically, it’d be quite tricky. Even if by some miracle Platy allowed it, people would likely scream, “The undead harmed the prince!”
“Right. So, it took us so long to invite you because we had to confirm everything… Do you know they use birds to test if the air in mines is toxic?”
“Oh, yeah… I think I read that in a book.”
“Exactly! I caught a few birds and kept them in the light for several days to see if they survived, and only then did we finally confirm that the ventilation was working properly and that it wasn’t harmful to the living.”
Sounds like they went through a lot just to call me…
‘Instead of going through all that trouble, it seems easier just to prepare a meeting room above ground, doesn’t it?’
Antendeixis bluntly stated. Way to ruin the mood!
“So, it’s not like it was a junk house or anything!!”
Enma pointed at me, declaring that. It seemed like that was the main point she wanted to make—
Then.
While we were talking, we finally reached the end of the staircase.
“Thank you for waiting, we’ve arrived!”
A heavy metallic gate.
And standing in lines to either side were armored sentinels.
“Prince Magician has arrived!”
At Enma’s theatrical voice, the sentinels smoothly raised their swords and bowed deeply.
…I thought they were golems, but they’re heavy-armored skeletons. There are absolutely no gaps in their armor, and they’re probably stuffed inside, protecting their skeletal structure tightly.
It’s an application of the Skeleton Horse technology. Seems like they’re built to withstand light, fire, and even holy attributes quite well. If they were slow, I could find a way to deal with them, but judging by how nimble they move, their agility is high. If a bunch of them charged in here, that would be quite a tough fight…
While I observed them from a hero’s perspective, they respectfully opened the gates.
Whoosh, the air stirred. A breeze flowed into the base from above the stairs.
“We dug a new vent, causing the air to flow in with the pressure difference.”
Enma boasted proudly, but I felt like I was about to get sucked into a giant monster at the bottom of the abyss.
“With that said, welcome, Your Highness. You are our first living guest—how momentous!”
Enma bowed grandly. Following her lead, I tried to step in as princely as possible.
Unlike the massive marble mountain that is the Demon Lord Castle, the types of rock forming the walls and floor here are different at this depth.
This must be granite. They say it forms from solidified lava deep underground.
It’s beautifully carved and polished. Surely for me, light sources like lamps and glowstone are set up, so it’s dim but visibility is fine.
—It’s spacious.
There are enormous pillars left here and there, and while the ceiling has an arched structure, I can’t help but feel a bit anxious about this spacious area so deep underground.
…I wonder if, worst case, just crumbling a couple of these pillars would be enough to make the Demon Lord Castle collapse…?
‘Could that be one way out?’
The problem is, if I do it, I won’t be able to escape.
However, the undead wouldn’t hesitate to take the living down with them. Clearly, it was a blunder by the Demon Lord to allow them to live right beneath the castle. Is Enma trying to show me that she can do something like that whenever she wants…?
“That over there is our warehouse, where we store various materials. The corridor further inside doubles as a morgue, but the smell might be too much for the living, so it’s sealed off. You might want to avoid coming too close. And this room is—”
Ignoring my suspicious gaze, Enma excitedly and rapidly explained everything with eyes shining like glass beads, almost like a child showing off their toys.
…I can’t believe it… Is she completely unaware of the implications…?
Then it hit me. For her, this base might finally be her very own castle.
This could be a very important place for her. She might not even think of destroying it.
Given how she was so worried about being cautious around the demon race, she wouldn’t voluntarily expose her hand, considering what I might report to the Demon Lord. There’s a high chance she genuinely hasn’t realized it—!
…Well, not knowing what she’s really thinking deep down is also typical of Enma. I should probably prepare for the worst.
Either way, if I spill this information to the Demon Lord, it would raise alarm about the undead, and if Enma is unaware, I could bait her into collapsing the Demon Lord Castle like a mountain of playing cards.
I’ve got some valuable intel here.
If I just close my eyes to the fact that I’m also living in this precarious place…!
“And over here is the library, with various books I’ve collected about magic. Of course, Zil-kun is free to enter, and you too, Mr. Demon!”
“Are you sure it’s okay!?”
—Then, the knowledge demon who is likely to catch on next was quickly distracted and completely lost focus. Hey, Sophia!
“Well then, how about we have a leisurely chat? Shall we start with some tea?”
Enma beckoned me to a room opposite the library.
“Um… um…”
Sophia was following behind me, wearing an extremely pained expression that was too much to just describe as ‘feeling held back.’
“…We’re not starting the necromancy lesson right away, right? Sophia can go to the library if she wants.”
“Yay! Long live Zilbagias-sama!!”
Woohoo! Sophia darted off to the library. Given her demeanor, she doesn’t seem like she’s going to catch on…
‘She’s a knowledge demon, not a wisdom demon.’
Antendeixis chuckled.
‘She can solve problems easily if they’re presented to her but can’t find problems on her own. That’s her type.’
Hmm… That sounds about right… She’s smart but a little absent-minded…
“…Is that really okay?”
I confirmed as I watched Sophia get swallowed up by the library, realizing now.
“Of course!”
Enma nodded carefreely.
“And besides, I’m happier with just the two of us… heehee♪”
“Huh?”
“Nothing! Come on this way!”
Whoa, I definitely heard that…
…It’s probably best not to mention that Antendeixis is inside me.
‘At this moment, I want to burst out and say, “I’m always just the two of us!”‘
Stop! Don’t complicate things!!
…Just by visiting the headquarters, why am I so exhausted?
It’s definitely not just because of the stairs…
I swallowed a sigh as I entered the room Enma beckoned me into.