Death Mage 241 – The Demon King’s cover-up before the investigators come

An incredible, delicious flavor spread inside Vandalieu’s mouth. He wasn’t actually tasting it with his tongue, but it wasn’t a matter of how he was experiencing the sensation.

A stimulating flavor, as if spices have been added. That flavor is covering the bland-flavored parts. The subtle flavors are also pleasant, stimulating my hunger. And yet, it is not overly oily and doesn’t have a heavy aftertaste. Gods’ souls are extraordinary after all, Vandalieu thought to himself.

Feeling very satisfied, Vandalieu chewed Hajime Fitun’s soul and swallowed it.

If he were to describe the soul of Hihiryushukaka, the flavor and texture had been like seafood… like fresh squid and octopus, served with a rich, unique cream sauce.

In contrast, Vandalieu felt like the soul of Fitun, the god of thunderclouds, was close to something like a chicken dish cooked with spices. The divine protection and ability bestowed upon Hajime’s soul were considerably pleasant as well.

It was difficult to say which was better, but Vandalieu did feel like Fitun’s was more delicious.

I wonder if this is because I’ve acquired the ‘Demon King’ Job and acquired a Skill of that name as well. And the ‘Demon King’s Body’ on top of that, Vandalieu thought.

Perhaps he found the soul of Fitun, a god of Lambda, more delicious than that of Hihiryushukaka, one of the remnants of the Demon King’s army, because he was the Demon King. Vandalieu thought that this must be the case, as one’s physical constitution and state of health affected one’s tastes on Earth as well.

“It seems that you are very satisfied, Bocchan,” said Sam, who had returned to the ordinary dimension.

“You’re in a total trance…” said Isis, who had left Akira’s corpse and joined with the other fragments of flesh.

As always, Vandalieu’s face was like one of an expressionless doll, but every other part of his body was expressing his emotions.

“Incidentally, what differences are there between the souls of gods, heroic spirits, familiar spirits and humans?” asked Kanako.

“Mmm… Let’s see,” Vandalieu said, his cheeks still stuffed. “If I were to use examples to describe it, a god’s soul is like a banquet that fills up a whole large table, a multi-course meal, or something like the Manchu Han Imperial Feast. Heroic spirits’ souls are light meals, like hot dogs or sandwiches. One familiar spirit’s soul on its own is like a bland piece of bread or steamed bun. People’s souls are like… tiny specks of food?”

TLN: The Manchu Han Imperial Feast was a three-day feast in China during the Qing Dynasty.

“I see,” Kanako said with a nod.

“Specks, huh,” Doug muttered, grimacing as he looked at the corpses of the three dead enemies. “I know I’m the one that finished them off, but I do feel pity for them after all.”

“By the way, do you feel more of a desire to eat souls compared to ordinary food?” asked Melissa.

“I see, you’re worried that I might lose my mind out of a hunger to feed on souls one day…” Vandalieu said, still continuing to munch on the contents of his mouth. “That’s not a problem. I’m only eating souls because it’s necessary. The flavor can be replicated with high-quality food… and souls don’t contain any calories or vitamins.”

Vandalieu had noticed the real reason for Melissa’s question. Eating souls increased his Attribute Values and caused him to learn Skills. But they did not provide him with any physical nourishment.

“I see. That’s a relief to hear,” said Melissa.

“More importantly, Your Majesty, it is impolite to speak with your mouth full,” said Princess Levia, keeping herself invisible.

“I suppose you’re right… I’ll just spit them out already,” said Vandalieu.

He stopped moving the object inside his mouth and stuck his tongue out. A small, faintly-glowing sphere was resting on it, and it floated off and began floating around him.

“Is that… a spirit?” Princess Levia asked.

“Yes, these are the souls of Gordon, the Flame Blades and the rest of the people who were turned into vessels for the heroic spirits,” said Vandalieu.

“Oh my. So, you were rolling those around inside your mouth in order to separate the human souls that had fused with those of the heroic spirits, and only ate the heroic spirits’ souls?” said Daroak.

“That’s unexpected. I was sure you’d already chewed them up and eaten them. Especially that Gordon person and those Flame Blades,” said Doug in surprise as he stared at the souls. “Or did they taste so terrible that you couldn’t eat them?”

Perhaps because they had separated from Vandalieu, they gradually faded away and became invisible to the naked eye.

But their souls certainly still existed, just like the spirits that were gathered around Vandalieu.

“The people who were turned into the heroic spirits’ vessels weren’t enemies; they were just victims. Even though I wasn’t able to save them, I thought it would be cruel to crush even their souls inside my mouth along with the ones who harmed them,” said Vandalieu. “I don’t resent Gordon and the Flame Blades enough to break their souls, and I don’t accept that it is necessary to do so.”

Vandalieu did not think well of the Flame Blades, who were deeply involved with the loss of Natania’s limbs. But their crimes had been atoned for in accordance with the Adventurers’ Guild’s rules, though it was likely the heroic spirits who had done that so that the Guild wouldn’t monitor them anymore, allowing them to move freely.

Still, their free wills had been robbed and their bodies had been taken over, and in the end, they had been killed by Legion. Surely this was enough of a punishment.

As for Gordon, Vandalieu had even less ill sentiment towards him. He was nothing more than a man who happened to cross paths with Vandalieu, duel Miles and suffer a humiliating defeat. Vandalieu felt no resentment or malice for him.

He had likely done various evil deeds in the past, but having his body taken over and being killed was enough of a punishment for that.

The same applied for the others who had been used as the heroic spirits’ vessels. They were likely adventurers and mercenaries who had just happened to get involved in this mess, but there was no guarantee that they were guiltless victims. It was possible that some of them had a history of criminal activity.

But now, they were nothing more than mindless souls. Vandalieu didn’t know their victims, and he hadn’t been asked to take vengeance on them by anyone.

And even if he released these souls like this, Rodcorte wouldn’t use them as assassins. Though heroic spirits could one day return to the mortal world, these souls were different.

There was no reason to devour them.

“I’ll likely turn them into Undead or pseudo-reincarnate them. Like the space-attribute Ghosts, there’s no hope of their memories and personalities from when they were alive coming back, though,” said Vandalieu.

Even when the memories and personalities of Undead were damaged or lost due to the fear and shock felt during their deaths or due to the passage of time, there were some cases in which these returned following a Rank increase.

However, Gordon and the others had been rendered disabled while still alive. The memories and personality that could be restored would be those that they had just before their deaths – they would never return to the states they were in before the heroic spirits took over them.

《Your Mana has increased by 100,000,000!》

《You have acquired ‘Divinity: Thunder God,’ ‘Divinity: God of War,’ ‘Chronos,’ ‘Pseudo-Death Scythe,’ ‘Pseudo-Gungnir,’ ‘Odin,’ ‘Sylphid’ and ‘Marionette!’》

《The ‘Divinity: Thunder God’ and ‘Divinity: God of War’ Skills have fused with ‘Demigod!’ You have acquired ‘Spirit Form Transformation: Lightning!’》

《‘Chronos,’ ‘Pseudo-Death Scythe,’ ‘Pseudo-Gungnir,’ ‘Odin’ and ‘Sylphid’ have fused with the ‘Dark King Magic’ Skill; ‘Marionette’ has fused with the ‘Golem Creation’ Skill!》

Vandalieu heard these announcements inside his head. Eating the souls of Fitun and his heroic spirits was likely the cause of this.

He considered that the increase to his Mana was just a little bonus. His Mana had already reached the territory of gods… and soared over it. Among the gods belonging to Alda’s religion, Fitun had been above average in rank, but that was all.

Well, I don’t really mind. It’s not like I’m eating souls for the purpose of increasing my Attribute Values and acquiring Skills, Vandalieu thought.

His objective in devouring souls was to take his resentment and hatred out on his enemies, and to destroy beings that had no physical bodies and could not be killed. It was not to increase in Attribute Values and Skills.

Thus, Vandalieu didn’t feel unnecessarily disappointed, nor did he feel happy.

He had acquired the ‘Divinity: Thunder God’ and ‘Divinity: God of War’ Skills, which were likely related to Fitun’s qualities as a god, and these had fused with his ‘Demigod’ Skill. Their effects were… far from unclear. Vandalieu suspected that once his companions learned of this, their worship of him would increase even more.

He didn’t think he could handle it if gaudy decorations were added to the giant statue of him that was currently being built, and a second and third statue were built in addition to that.

The ‘Spirit Form Transformation: Lightning’ Skill seemed useful. It was likely a Skill that allowed a human to replicate what Kimberley and the other lightning-attribute Ghosts could do – turning their own spirit form into electricity.

Vandalieu was already able to use lightning attacks with ‘Dead Spirit Magic’ as long as Kimberley and the others were there, but it seemed that this Skill would be more useful in medical treatments using his spirit form rather than attacks… In combination with ‘Mental Encroachment’ and ‘Golem Creation,’ it was possible that he could even replicate the effects of ‘Marionette.’

More importantly, Vandalieu had acquired ‘Chronos’ and the other cheat-like abilities.

“You look disappointed,” said Orbia. “Did you get some strange Skills or something?”

“Did you not get the Skill Level increases that you were hoping for?” asked Rita.

Before answering, Vandalieu looked around to make sure that they were the only ones around. “Yes, I’ve acquired ‘Chronos,’ ‘Sylphid’ and other Skills. They fused with my other Skills right away, though.”

“Huh? Those are the abilities that those guys were using, right? Then it’s…” Orbia began, looking confused.

“I see. That’s inconvenient,” said Kanako, folding her arms. “If Van eats reincarnated individuals, he acquires their abilities. If Rodcorte learns about this, he’s going to start telling the reincarnated individuals that come in the future that Van intends to devour their souls to acquire their abilities.”

“Wait, Kanako-san! His Majesty wouldn’t do something like that! If there was an ability that he really wanted no matter what, he wouldn’t devour the person’s soul! He would spare them and persuade them to join him, brainwash them or do surgery on them!” said Princess Levia.

“Levia-san, I agree. I agree, but the reincarnated individuals being fed this lie won’t know what Van is really like. And the reality is that he has already devoured the souls of reincarnated individuals before,” said Kanako. “This should be enough to set the reincarnated individuals against us.”

“No way…!” Princess Levia murmured, unable to conceal her shock.

“Persuading them would be fine, but you just mentioned brainwashing and surgery, didn’t you?” Doug said with a wry smile.

“Well, that would apply for people with abilities that you want ‘no matter what,’ right? I think that would be more gruesome than killing them and eating their souls. What do you think?” Melissa asked Vandalieu.

“I’m glad there are some people who understand me,” said Vandalieu.

An ability that Vandalieu wanted no matter what – in other words, an ability that would bring ruin upon Vandalieu and those around him if he did not obtain it – If someone with such an ability existed, Vandalieu would consider every option available and attempt to bring that ability under his control.

Princess Levia and Kanako believed that this was the case.

“Well, I’ve already heard about the abilities of the other reincarnated individuals, and there aren’t any abilities that I would want ‘no matter what,’” said Vandalieu. “At the very least, there aren’t any abilities that I would want so badly that I would force them to obey me, brainwash them or devour their soul.”

There were some abilities that Vandalieu considered troublesome and others that he thought would be convenient to have, but there weren’t any that he believed that he needed to have at all costs. That was what he thought of the reincarnated individuals’ abilities.

“But it doesn’t matter what I think. What’s important to the reincarnated individuals is what I am capable of doing,” Vandalieu said.

Vandalieu was… the reincarnated individual that none of the others had noticed in Origin. He had already killed Murakami and the others, and was capable of acquiring cheat-like abilities by devouring the souls of their owners.

None of the reincarnated individuals would have a positive impression of Vandalieu upon hearing that, even if that alone wasn’t enough of a reason for them to try and kill Vandalieu as Rodcorte wanted them to.

“So, can you use ‘Chronos’ and ‘Sylphid?’” asked Kanako.

“No, they’ve already fused with my other Skills, so I can’t use them just like that… though I might become able to produce something close to their effects,” said Vandalieu.

He tried activating the abilities in the same way that he used his Skills, but he was unable to turn a part of his body into vapor or see several seconds into the future.

This was likely because the abilities had been fused with other Skills and transformed.

“I think they will be useful when I use ‘Dark King Magic’ and ‘Golem Creation,” Vandalieu said.

“I see. I think that’s for the best, actually. If you achieved similar things to what the abilities could do only while using magic or creating Golems, they’d just think that you’re imitating the abilities,” said Kanako.

“Yeah,” Doug agreed with a nod. “Even in Origin, there were people who tried to invent spells similar to my ability. They mostly failed, and the ones that succeeded made spells that required too much Mana or were too difficult to use, so most of them were shelved and never used.”

“But various things are different in Lambda… They might think that imitating the abilities is possible with Vandalieu’s Mana,” said Melissa.

“I see. Well, even without proof, Rodcorte… and some of the reincarnated individuals might mistrust me out of ill will, but if we keep thinking like that, there would be no end to it,” said Vandalieu. “Let’s treat this matter as a national secret.”

“Very well, Bocchan. This information will never be leaked,” said Sam in a serious tone.

“The only ones who know about it are all of us who are present here, the Ghosts that are staying invisible, and the countless spirits around Bocchan!” said Rita.

Vandalieu looked away in exasperation in response to Rita’s words.

Gordon and the others used as the heroic spirits’ vessels had just joined a vast swarm of countless invisible spirits surrounding Vandalieu. However, the majority of them were the spirits of insects and plants, and even the human ones could not be heard by any living people who didn’t have the ‘Spiritualist’ job other than Vandalieu.

“Well, it’s a national secret anyway. Though I’ll let Mother and the others know, and I’ll probably be telling the people who join me and the reincarnated individuals I accept to my side at an early stage,” said Vandalieu.

“That’s fine, isn’t it? Even if everyone in the country were to know, Rodcorte and the reincarnated individuals would never find out,” said Legion as they stood up.

They were currently taking the appearance of Isis, as a way to trick the eyes of the soldiers looking on from the watchtowers.

Incidentally, the Mountain Giant’s bones that Legion had been using as their skeleton were lying in pieces on the ground.

《The Levels of the ‘Monstrous Strength,’ ‘Rapid Regeneration,’ ‘Dark King Magic,’ ‘Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue), ‘Enhanced Agility,’ ‘Mana Enlargement,’ ‘Transcend Limits,’ ‘Hollow King Magic,’ ‘Soul Destruction Fighting Technique,’ ‘Embodiment,’ ‘Super High-speed Thought Processing,’ ‘Throwing,’ ‘Dead Spirit Magic,’ ‘Armor Technique,’ ‘Shield Technique,’ ‘Shadow Group Binding Technique,’ ‘Surpass Limits: Fragments,’ ‘Whip Technique,’ ‘Demon King’ and ‘Soul Devour’ Skills have increased!》

《You have acquired the ‘Staff Technique’ Skill!》

《The Levels of the ‘Monstrous Strength,’ ‘Augmented Vitality,’ ‘Multi-Cast,’ ‘Surpass Limits: Fragments,’ ‘Armor Technique,’ ‘Shield Technique,’ ‘Whip Technique’ and ‘Group Control Technique’ have additionally increased!》

《The ‘Rapid Regeneration’ Skill has awakened into the ‘Super Rapid Regeneration’ Skill!》

As the battle had been divided into two parts, it seemed the Leveling up of Vandalieu’s Skills had also been divided into two parts.

The Levels of various Skills had increased, but… leaving aside ‘Staff Technique,’ the ‘Super Rapid Regeneration’ Skill was a big change. Vandalieu wondered how many humans had acquired this Skill… No, had anyone else ever done so before?

Probably nobody that was actually a human in the normal sense. It seems likely that there would have been some Vampires and Majin who did, Vandalieu thought. It’s all because Hajime Fitun was hacking me to pieces… Speaking of which.

“Doug, please bring the equipment that contains the Demon King’s bone marrow,” Vandalieu said.

“You’re going to go ahead and absorb it, huh? Alright,” said Doug.

While Doug fetched the quiver from the corpse of the female archer, Vandalieu picked up the curved-sword-shaped equipment that Hajime Fitun had used.

“If the people of the city found out about the Demon King equipment, they’d just go and seal it away in some Church, after all,” said Kanako.

“They won’t be able to tell what kind of equipment it is from the watchtowers, so now’s your chance,” said Melissa.

“It’s not really all that interesting,” Vandalieu said, noticing that the two of them were watching him.

He poured his death-attribute Mana into the seal on the equipment and gripped it strongly, and that was enough to cause it to crumble to pieces. It was unclear whether this was because the seal was already in tatters, or whether it was because Vandalieu was the ‘Demon King.’

“I shall not be released from this seal!” a voice shouted in defiance. “In order to merge with the main body, I shall… THE MAIN BODY?!”

“The main body? Oh, main body! OH, MAIN BODY! MERGE! I SHALL MERGE WITH THE MAIN BODY!” screamed another.

The curved blades of the weapons in Vandalieu’s hands and the bone marrow in the quiver pierced through his body! But they slipped into him without causing him any harm, and were absorbed.

《You have absorbed the Demon King’s scale, the Demon King’s scale and the Demon King’s bone marrow!》

《The Demon King’s scale, the Demon King’s scale and the Demon King’s bone marrow have fused with the Demon King’s Body!》

“It seems that both of Fitun’s curved swords were equipment made with the Demon King’s scales,” said Vandalieu.

It might have been an unusual idea to turn scales into blades rather than defensive equipment, but perhaps it was possible if using large, hard scales… or perhaps there had been a problem in the equipment creation process that made it impossible to make armor from the scales.

Kanako and Melissa had fallen completely silent.

Vandalieu turned to face them. “It wasn’t very interesting, was it?”

“It surprised the heck out of me!” Kanako exclaimed. “The blades went right into your head! I know you don’t need to use your brain, but are you really alright?!”

“It looked like the bone marrow went right into your stomach… Do you not need to use your internal organs either?” asked Melissa.

“Kanako, Melissa, I’m using both my brain and my organs right now. Not using them is really tiring, and if I’m not careful and accidentally stop moving my heart or something, I’d die. It’s very troublesome in a lot of ways,” said Vandalieu.

“That really makes me appreciate the fact that our brains make our hearts beat without us needing to think about it,” Doug murmured, nodding in agreement.

With the Demon King’s fragments removed, only Orichalcum fragments were left of the equipment.

Vandalieu got to work. “I’ll just fix the external appearance with ‘Golem Creation,’ and put one scale of the Demon King in each. As for the other one, I’ll use the marrow… I’m finished. With this, it looks like the real thing again.”

“Huh? Why are you fixing them? Nobody knows that they were using Demon King equipment, so isn’t it better to just pretend you don’t know anything about it?” Rita questioned.

“Rita, if he does that, it would be a problem if there are people who were in charge of storing the equipment before they were taken. If they ever spoke out, things might become very troublesome,” said Saria.

“Saria is correct. And it would be best to leave as many clues regarding these guys’ true identities as possible for the people from the city of Morksi who will investigate the incident later,” said Vandalieu.

The Demon King equipment had been given to Hajime Fitun and his subordinates by other people. Vandalieu wanted the investigation to find these loyal servants of the gods.

“After all, it might become even more complicated if us and Vandalieu himself were to give information in the form of verbal testimonies,” Isis added.

“The Dhampir Van claiming that the bandit’s true identity is Fitun himself, or even just claiming that it’s one of his heroes or someone who’s received his divine protection, would cause a huge fuss regardless of whether it’s true or not,” said Kanako.

“There isn’t any physical evidence, either. Their ‘Heroic Spirit Transformation’ just made their bodies glow a bit; there isn’t anything visible from a distance like the pillar of light that comes with ‘Familiar Spirit Descent,’” said Melissa.

There was no irrefutable evidence that Hajime Fitun and his subordinates were the physical incarnations of Fitun, the god of thunderclouds, and his heroic spirits.

Hajime and the others were now nothing more than corpses. It was possible that there would be traces indicating that they had been used as vessels for a god and his heroic spirits if the corpses were examined in detail, but… unfortunately, nobody, not even Vandalieu, had any idea what kind of characteristic signs would be left in a corpse used as a vessel for a god or his heroic spirits.

Even if Vandalieu and his companions were to testify the truth, even if they were trusted by the people of the city, the people outside the city… worshippers of the gods of Alda’s forces and people related to the Church of Fitun, had only ever heard rumors about Vandalieu. They would simply suspect Vandalieu of trying to break the faith of the believers of gods related to Alda for some devious plan.

“So that’s why you’re not going to testify, and just leave them a trail of evidence to follow. But even if you do that, nobody will realize that this was an actual god? Even the guys who handed the Demon King equipment over might have just believed that Hajime was a young man with Fitun’s divine protection,” said Doug apprehensively.

“No, that would be enough, you know,” said Kimberley. “A hero with the divine protection of a god went as far as to take Demon King equipment and formed a group to attack an innocent Dhampir while ignoring the monster horde that was attacking the city. That’s certainly enough of a scandal already.”

The Demon King equipment was the crucial detail. Removing seals from Demon King equipment came at the cost of allowing fragments of the Demon King to run loose. It was terrifying to imagine that a group of individuals wielding such powerful weapons were fighting a raging battle near the city while the city was trying to fend off the monster horde.

Even in the worst-case scenario, the monster rampage would have destroyed just the city of Morksi and the area surrounding it. But there was no telling how far the destruction caused by the rampage of Demon King fragments could spread.

“Incidentally, aren’t you afraid of them figuring out that these pieces of equipment are fake?” asked Orbia.

“I don’t think there’s any chance of that, Orbia,” said Vandalieu. “I replaced their contents with the real scales and bone marrow, and I’ve restored the Orichalcum parts to how they were originally. They’re just parts that I took from my own body, so the scales won’t regenerate and the bone marrow won’t bleed if they’re damaged, but… you wouldn’t discover that unless you were to try to use them.”

Demon King equipment weapons were taboo, so nobody would try to use them… If it really were discovered, Vandalieu would deal with it when the time came.

“Now then, Sam, I’m going to change Jobs again, so let me inside your carriage,” said Vandalieu.

“Oh, your Level has already reached 100, I see!” said Sam.

Even a tenth of the Experience Points Vandalieu had received for defeating three reincarnated individuals and Fitun could be considered a vast amount. Though he had only just acquired the ‘Divine Enemy’ Job, he had reached Level 100 again immediately.

“I don’t mind changing Jobs at the Adventurers’ Guild when we get back to the city, but… it would be troublesome if people ask me to register at the Adventurers’ Guild while I’m at it, and also troublesome having to lie if some important person asks me what Job I chose,” said Vandalieu.

Laying low and staying inconspicuous… Vandalieu had given up on that long ago, but he did want to avoid any troublesome problems that he could, even if it was only for temporary peace of mind.

“Indeed. There seem to be two heroic spirits still alive at the front gate, so it would be best to change Jobs before Darcia-sama and the others dispose of them,” Sam added.

“… Ah, so there were some over there as well,” said Vandalieu.

Incidentally, Kizelbyne had already been defeated by Miles, and his soul had been devoured by Vandalieu along with the other heroic spirits.

Miles was still in the forest, as it would take time for his ‘Beast Transformation’ to come undone and his appearance to return to normal.

“I will create an illusion while you’re inside, so go quickly,” said Daroak.

His light produced an illusion that made it appear as if Vandalieu was standing on the spot, while the real Vandalieu climbed into Sam’s carriage and placed his hand on the crystal in the Job-changing room.

《Jobs that can be selected: Vengeful Berserker, Dead Spirit Mage, Dark King Mage, Fallen Warrior, Insect Ninja, Destruction Guider, Chaos Guider, Hollow King Mage, Eclipse Cursecaster, String User, Demon Ruler, Creator, Pale Rider, Tartarus, Wild Spirit, Dark Battery Cannoneer, Magic Staff Creator, Soul Fighter, God Destroyer, Qliphoth, Dark Beast User, Spirit Therapist, Artisan: Transformation Equipment, Hollow Shadow Caster (NEW!), Balor (NEW!), Apollyon (NEW!), Demigorgon (NEW!), Great Demon King (NEW!), Soul Devourer (NEW!), God Devourer (NEW!), Nergal (NEW!), Ravana (NEW!), Shaitan (NEW!), Chi You (NEW!)》

“… There are more new ones than when I changed Jobs to ‘Divine Enemy,’” Vandalieu muttered to himself in a monotonous voice, but his complaint didn’t reduce the number of Jobs displayed.

The ‘Great Demon King’ Job… had been there when Vandalieu changed Jobs to ‘Divine Enemy.’ Vandalieu suspected that it would not reach the Level cap in an instant like the ‘Demon King’ Job had, however.

‘Soul Devourer’ and ‘God Devourer’ were Jobs that had appeared for the first time. They had likely appeared because Vandalieu had devoured the soul of Fitun, who was neither human nor an evil god, but a god born in this world.

‘Nergal,’ ‘Ravana,’ ‘Shaitan’ and ‘Chi You’ were likely Jobs related to myths and legends of Earth. Vandalieu could try and remember the details of those legends later.

… One thing he did remember was that ‘Nergal’ was the husband of Ereshkigal, the goddess whose name one of Legion’s personalities went by.

Of course, Ereshkigal wasn’t the goddess from that mythology herself, and the ‘Nergal’ Job was unlikely to actually turn Vandalieu into the god ‘Nergal.’

“In any case, I select ‘Dead Spirit Mage’ this time,” Vandalieu said.

‘Dead Spirit Magic’ was a highly applicable, useful Skill, as it had just proven in the previous battle with the space-attribute spell. Considering that Vandalieu would continue using it in the future, it was likely a good idea to take this Job.

《You have changed Jobs to ‘Dead Spirit Mage!’》

《The ‘Dead Spirit Magic’ Skill has awakened into the ‘God Spirit Magic’ Skill!》

Name: Vandalieu Zakkart

Race: Dhampir (Mother: Goddess)

Age: 11 years old

Title: Ghoul Emperor, Eclipse Emperor, Guardian of the Cultivation Villages, Holy Son of Vida, Scaled Emperor, Tentacle Emperor, Champion, Demon King, Oni Emperor, Trial Conqueror, Transgressor, Black Blood Emperor, Elder Dragon Emperor, Food Cart King, Genius Tamer, True Ruler of the Red-light District (NEW!)

Job: Dead Spirit Mage

Level: 0

Job history: Death-Attribute Mage, Golem Transmuter, Undead Tamer, Soul Breaker, Venom Fist User, Insect User, Tree Caster, Demon Guider, Archenemy, Zombie Maker, Golem Creator, Corpse Demon Commander, Demon King User, Dark Guider, Labyrinth Creator, Creation Guider, Dark Healer, Disease Demon, Magic Cannoneer, Spirit Warrior, Bestower, Dream Guider, Demon King, Demiurge, Whip Tongue Calamity, Divine Enemy

Attributes:

Vitality: 367,648 (Increased by 132,145!)

Mana: 7,190,583,119 (+6,471,524,807) (Increased by 3,258,539,890 in total!)

Strength: 42,816 (Increased by 13,658!)

Agility: 38,953 (Increased by 14,192!)

Stamina: 46,353 (Increased by 14,833!)

Intelligence: 54,494 (Increased by 13,119!)

Passive skills:

Monstrous Strength: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Super Rapid Regeneration: Level 1 (Awakened from Rapid Regeneration!)

Dark King Magic: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!) (Merged with Chronos, Pseudo-Death Scythe, Pseudo-Gungnir, Odin and Sylphid!)

Status Effect Immunity

Magic Resistance: Level 9

Dark Vision

Dark Dream Demon Creation Path Enticement: Level 8

Chant Revocation: Level 9

Guidance: Dark Dream Demon Creation Path: Level 8

Constant Mana Recovery: Level 1

Super Strengthen Subordinates: Level 2

Deadly Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Enhanced Agility: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)

Strengthened Attack Power while Unarmed: Very Large

Enhanced Body Part (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 10

Thread Refining: Level 7

Mana Enlargement: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 9

Strengthened Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon: Large

Augmented Vitality: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)

Enhanced Attribute Values: Reigning: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Enhanced Attribute Values: Worshiped: Level 2 (NEW!)

Active skills:

Bloodwork: Level 10

Transcend Limits: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Golem Creation: Level 6 (Merged with Marionette!)

Hollow King Magic: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Precise Mana Control: Level 1

Cooking: Level 8

Alchemy: Level 10

Soul Destruction Fighting Technique: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Greater Multi-cast: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Surgery: Level 8

Embodiment: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Coordination: Level 10

Super High-speed Thought Processing: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Commanding: Level 10

Thread-reeling: Level 6

Throwing: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)

Scream: Level 7

God Spirit Magic: Level 1 (Awakened from Dead Spirit Magic!)

Demon King Artillery Technique: Level 3

Armor Technique: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Shield Technique: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Shadow Group Binding Technique: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Surpass Limits: Fragments: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Spirit Therapy: Level 1

Whip Technique: Level 3 (NEW and LEVEL UP!)

Spirit Form Transformation: Lightning (NEW!)

Staff Technique: Level 1 (NEW!)

Unique skills:

God Devourer: Level 7

Deformed Soul

Mental Encroachment: Level 9

Labyrinth Creation: Level 4

Demon King: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Abyss: Level 8

Divine Enemy

Soul Devour: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Vida’s Divine Protection

Earth’s Gods’ Divine Protection

Group Thought Processing: Level 6

Zantark’s Divine Protection

Group Control: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Soul Form: Level 4

Demon King’s Demon Eyes

Origin’s Gods’ Divine Protection

Ricklent’s Divine Protection

Zuruwarn’s Divine Protection

Perfect Record Technique

Surpass Limits: Soul: Level 1

Mutation Induction

Demon King’s Body (Merged with Demon King’s scale x2 and Demon King’s bone marrow!)

Demigod (Merged with Divinity: Thunder God and Divinity: God of War!)

Curses

Experience gained in previous life not carried over

Cannot learn existing jobs

Unable to gain experience independently

Having taken a look through his Status, Vandalieu left the room, pondering ‘God Spirit Magic’ – the superior Skill that had awakened from ‘Dead Spirit Magic.’

God spirits… Does that mean spirits whose Ranks are as high as those of gods? Gods consist of only a soul, and so do Ghosts. So then, a Ghost of Rank 13 or above is similar to a god, or something?

That was likely the reason behind the name of the Skill. In reality, there were various differences, such as gods being able to grant divine protections. But even with such differences, powerful Ghosts were certainly similar to gods in some ways.

“Well, let’s just think of it as a straight-up more powerful version of ‘Dead Spirit Magic,’” Vandalieu decided. “Okay, please retrieve the souls of the heroic spirits defeated by Mother and the others,” he said to Sam as he got off the carriage.

“At once!” said Sam, and with that, he and his daughters vanished into his other dimension.

“Now then, let’s stay here for a while longer… I suppose we should pretend to be healing our wounds. I’ll make some empty Potion bottles with my ‘Golem Creation’ Skill,” said Vandalieu.

Even from afar, the battle that had just taken place would have looked like a fierce one. It was likely better for Vandalieu to make up various reasons for staying here and creating a solid alibi rather than simply returning on his own, looking completely fine.

“Creating porcelain bottles out of thin air just to pretend to be drinking from them seems to be a wasteful use of your Skill,” Kanako remarked.

“Then should I pretend to have been lucky enough to avoid being trampled by the Giant’s foot but lost consciousness, and pretend to just be waking up now?” said Melissa.

“What a detailed setting. More importantly, what are we going to do about Orbia-san who’s been seen, and the Dragon and Giant Zombies?” asked Kanako.

“… Apparently there is an explanation for the Dragon and Giant that involves me having poisoned them to make them lose their minds. I’ll make them hide in the forest and then retrieve them later. Entry into the forest will probably be banned for a while, after all,” said Vandalieu. “As for Orbia… Mother and I are supposedly from a hidden Dark Elf village, so let’s say that Orbia is a highly secret spiritual magic spell that the great elder of that village cast on us before we left.”

“G-great elder?” Kanako repeated in disbelief.

“Yes, the great elder,” said Vandalieu.

He had the feeling that the words ‘great elder’ somehow made explanations more plausible.

“… That would probably be where I’m from, too. We need to make sure we all tell the same story,” said Kanako, who, unlike Melissa, could not turn her skin white.

As she began reciting the words ‘great elder’ under her breath over and over, Doug looked over at Vandalieu with a troubled expression on his face.

“Hey, more importantly, when are you going to come and get this back?” Doug asked.

Vandalieu’s arm, the one that he had severed himself, was floating next to Doug.

The Demon King’s exoskeleton was still active on it, so at first glance, it appeared to be some kind of gauntlet.

“Ah,” said Vandalieu, clapping his hands together as if he had just remembered. “Come to think of it, that thing was still over there, wasn’t it?”

“You forgot about it, huh. Wait, the arm that you cut off has grown back!” Doug exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, it has, so I don’t need that one anymore. I suppose I can give it to you, if you like?”

“Why would I need it?!”

“You’re the Hecatoncheir, after all, and I guess you could make it your 101st hand. I think it would be quite useful as a weapon, you know.”

“It definitely is useful, but I refuse! The guards will take me away if I have something like this on me, won’t they!”

And so, Vandalieu and his companions waited for someone to come from the city of Morksi to check on them.

Job explanation: Whip Tongue Calamity

A Job that can be acquired by those who use their tongue as their weapon. It provides bonuses to Skills such as ‘Body Expansion (Tongue)’ and ‘Enhanced Body Part: Tongue,’ as well as ‘Unarmed Fighting Technique’ and ‘Whip Technique.’

Some monsters that use their tongues as weapons currently exist, such as amphibian-type monsters and rare kinds of Demons, but as Vandalieu is the only human that does so, he is effectively the only one who can acquire this Job.

In theory, it would be possible for someone other than Vandalieu to acquire this Job if they were to continuously train themselves in using their tongue as a weapon, but… learning combat techniques involving the arms and legs would be thousands of times more efficient, so nobody would bother.

Job explanation: Divine Enemy

A Job that symbolizes an enemy of gods. It is nothing more and nothing less than that. It provides a broad but shallow range of bonuses to various combat-related and magic-related Skills.

One might think that evil people might have acquired this Job in the past, but… as evil gods are included in the definition of ‘gods’ that the Job owner would consider enemies, those who worship the evil gods that are the remnants of the Demon King’s army would never see this Job available to them.

This Job can only be acquired by someone who is considered as an enemy by both this world’s gods and the evil gods from the Demon King’s army as enemies, or has destroyed or sealed away such gods before.

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