“I asked who you are. Never heard of any ‘Lucas.’”
The tension shattered under the weight of his flat tone.
Lucas burst into laughter, pressing his foot down on the young man’s face.
Grinding his heel, he spoke mockingly.
“You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of Helheim in this day and age?! The most ruthless, cruel organization pulling the strings of the world! And I’m one of its executives! My power should be obvious—just look at the forest! Has fear rotted your brain?!”
“S-Stop it!”
Asha lashed out with her bound legs,
but Lucas dodged effortlessly, sneering down at them.
“You need discipline… And I have plenty of ways to ensure you behave—”
“Answer the question. I asked who you are.”
Lucas’ veins bulged in anger, while Asha averted her eyes.
Frothing at the mouth, Lucas roared at the sprawled-out young man.
“……I said it already!! I’m Lucas, the ‘Strategist’—one of Helheim’s top brass!”
“Ain’t no such guy.”
“——Huh?”
“Didn’t hear me? There’s no guy like that in Helheim.”
The young man sat up and spat the blood from his mouth.
“Tch… broadcasting someone’s cringe past like it’s nothing. Look, secret societies—the whole damn point is—you ruin the mystique the second you say that shit out loud in public!!”
“……Wh-what are you—?”
“Ultra-evil? Cruel and merciless? ……Lame as hell! What even is that!? It’s gotta be more like—lurking in the shadows, motives unknown! Phantom-like, enigmatic! That’s the whole appeal! If the whole damn world knows about you, what’s the point!?”
“Hah…… Have you lost your mind?”
“……You…… what’s your deal?”
Lucas looked at the young man with pity. Even Asha couldn’t hide her confusion.
But the guy in question just exhaled like a weight had been lifted.
“Well, at least those guys weren’t actually up to anything shady… That’d be way worse, seriously.”
“Wh-what are you even talking about!?”
“See, you don’t know. Helheim’s rules. Helheim’s top brass never give their real names. They never speak Helheim’s name. You failed the second you opened your mouth.”
No room for argument.
The young man spoke with absolute certainty, an icy aura radiating from him.
“Even if you’re new…… wYou don’t belong in Helheim. You’re unnecessary. Unrecognized.”
The cave turned white.
Frost spread, encasing everything in ice statues… freezing time itself in place.
Just like the forest outside.
“I’m the one…… who froze the forest.”
“…………Haah!?”
“You knew, didn’t you? That you weren’t the one who froze it… Maybe you got lucky and found some idiots to fool. But it’s full of holes, isn’t it?”
Neither Asha nor Lucas could speak.
The rest of the bandits had already turned into frozen statues, unable to move.
“In the month since I got here, I’ve taken 1,458 lives. You know what that means?”
Lucas shivered in the biting cold, unable to answer the young man’s question.
“See, you can’t. A real Helheim member would know exactly what it means. So you’re definitely a fake. Which means… you’re good to die.”
Freeze. Freeze.
Blood. Heartbeat. Thought.
“Don’t you dare…… tarnish Helheim’s name.”
The malice that had festered in the cave met a pitifully dull end—frozen solid in an instant.
■
“Whew… Shouldn’t get carried away the second I’m back in the groove…”
I’d meant to wipe out the Lesser Demons infesting the forest, but I got a little too enthusiastic and froze the whole damn place…
Then I ran out of magic, collapsed from hunger, and would’ve straight-up died if the Fifth Princess hadn’t shown up. Seriously.
Looking back, I used to cause my subordinates all kinds of trouble like this… Kinda nostalgic.
I let myself reminisce as I stared at the ice statues. Every last bandit in the cave had suffocated in the ice. Doubt there’s any remnants left.
Actually…
“Ughhhhhh…… What the hell was I even sayingggg…… So embarrassing…… Ah, dammit. That title was so obviously something I’d come up with, it’s painful… No, worse—it HURTS!”
This whole world really loves digging up my old wounds.
“Wait, hold up—people actually know about that!? Like, the whole world knows!? AAAAAAH I WANNA DIIIIIE……!!”
Just imagine random people on the street knowing about your chuuni delusions. That’s me right now. For some people, this kinda thing’d be enough to kill ‘em…
“S-stop right there!”
“……Huh?”
The Fifth Princess pointed her sword at me as I writhed in agony.
She was trembling, but she held her ground, staring me down with desperate resolve.
“……Y-you’re the one…… who froze the forest…… right?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Wh-why would you……?”
“Ahh…… To kill demons…… I guess?”
“Demons……?”
Demons.
Humanity’s sworn enemy, infesting this world. Even now, remnants of their kind roam freely, claiming lives.
The Demon King’s gone, so they’re not organized anymore, but…
Lesser Demons exist in numbers too vast to exterminate completely, though their intelligence and magic are weak.
Mid-Rank Demons are straight-up superior to Lesser Demons in every way, but they’re fewer in number and vary wildly in strength.
And then—Greater Demons.
Most take on beautiful, humanoid forms. Their intellect rivals humans’.
But their magic and physical resilience are beyond comparison—and so is their cruelty.
Killing them for justice or whatever… that explanation should satisfy her.
The truth? I just figured I might as well kill some demons along with beasts and bugs as offerings for the Blessing of Death. Pure laziness.
“Y-you…… Who are you……?”
The princess kept her sword trained on me, glaring.
As I stood, freezing her blade, she stepped back to keep her distance.
Oh, right. Forgot to introduce myself.
Back in the day, I’d have seized this chance to show off with something cool… Just remembering makes my stomach churn…
Keep it simple.
“Name’s Shiou. Not anybody special. Just a normal human.”
TLNOTE : Shi = Death, Ou = King, Shi+Ou = Corpse King
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
■
“I’m the Corpse King. Not anybody special. Just a normal human.”
Corpse King.
The young man before me had definitely said that.
“C-Corpse King (Shiou)……?”
“Yeah, Shiou… Anyway, gotta go. Stuff to do. The whole saving-my-life thing…… I’ll pay you back if I remember.”
He flashed Asha a carefree smile, oblivious to her stunned expression.
That name—passed down only among royalty since childhood, appearing time and again in legends.
They said he was the arch-nemesis of the Griffil royal family’s ancestor, the hero who slew the Demon King. A man repeatedly struck down by that very hero.
But more than anything—a great sinner who took the lives of the hero’s thirty-two companions.
The legends detailed his atrocities, declaring him an ultimate evil that must be slain.
And now, with the Demon King gone, it was the royal family’s duty to do so.
“Y-you…… are……”
Control yourself. I can’t win yet. Absolutely not.
But someday…
She pointed her sword at the young man’s retreating back.
“I…… will slay you. On the honor of the royal family.”
■
Galdr Volcano.
A lone woman stood at the crater, gazing at the sky. When she caught sight of the shimmering frost dissolving into the air, her body jerked.
Her long-dormant heart pounded faster, sending pulses through her entire being. No matter how she tried to steady her trembling breath, her excitement refused to fade—so much so, it was almost ridiculous.
“M-My King…… I, Nidhoggr…… am coming to you now!”
Her lips curled into a grin, baring fangs in a mix of ferocity and sheer joy.
She’d thought him dead.
As a dragon who’d witnessed the decline of the Radiant Ones, she’d resigned herself to the idea that even the Corpse King could perish.
But this magic—
This piercing cold, sharp enough to stab even through dragonhide. There was no mistaking it.
“Fuhahahaha! Of course you wouldn’t die…… You are the King, after all!”
She was giddy, embarrassingly so.
But appearances didn’t matter.
“My King! O Corpse King!”
For now, she just wanted to savor this heartbeat—this happiness.
■
“The Griffil Forest…… froze?”
“Yes. His Majesty the Emperor wishes to hear your thoughts on the matter.”
As the imperial knight relayed the message, the man lowered his gaze in thought, then shook his head slightly.
“Not a natural phenomenon. But not purely magical either…… Though if it were the Demon King or a Greater Demon, it might be possible.”
“Wha—!? Then—”
“Calm yourself. That’s merely a hypothesis, assuming human interference. Speculation without evidence is worthless, no matter the source…… Tell His Majesty to wait a while longer.”
“Understood!”
To receive a request from the emperor—and then delay it—
was an act of sheer audacity. Only his standing allowed such a thing.
The man then—
“……Tch!”
His eyes widened as he frantically rifled through the books in his room.
He scanned the records of his own exploits, adopting a stance of loyalty he would never show the emperor.
“……We’ve been waiting. Corpse King…… Lord Hel.”
With tears of emotion, the man whispered to himself.
■
“Nifl! Nifl!”
“Yes, there’s no mistake!”
The frozen forest visible in the distance—
That unnatural blanket of white could only be his doing.
He’d truly returned. This had to be his signal—a declaration of his homecoming.
A warning to those who dared sully Helheim’s name. A proclamation of his presence to his subordinates.
A magical phenomenon brimming with countless layers of meaning.
“Welcome back, Corpse King.”
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