Chapter 14: Necros, the King of the Dead
The news of the Demon King’s defeat quickly spread across the world.
Kings from various countries praised Trao for forming the hero party and promised rewards.
In response, Trao didn’t show any heroic humility but instead demanded money and privileges without hesitation.
He requested “one million gold coins,” “mining rights,” “semi-permanent use of ports,” “tax exemptions for Trao Trading Company,” and other very practical and troublesome rewards.
However, he showed no interest in territories or titles, which frustrated the kings who wanted to offer cheaper rewards.
Although the Demon King was defeated, two of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army remained.
While their forces were weakened due to internal conflicts with potion addicts, no country had enough military strength to face the Four Heavenly Kings.
An alliance between countries might defeat them, but it would likely result in significant casualties.
So, the kings decided to request Trao’s hero party to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, but another complication arose.
Trao demanded a hefty reward.
“One hundred thousand gold coins for each of the Four Heavenly Kings! That’s an outrageous amount!”
The representative of the Adventurers’ Guild, tasked with negotiating with Trao on behalf of the kings, had traveled to the former Demon King’s territory where the hero party was staying.
He criticized Trao for demanding such an exorbitant reward.
“Outrageous? How so?”
Trao, on the other hand, was unconcerned and responded calmly.
“Even though the Four Heavenly Kings are formidable enemies, fifty thousand gold coins per king would be generous! There’s no way we can pay one hundred thousand each! Besides, Trao-san, you’ve already defeated the Demon King, so the Four Heavenly Kings should be easy for you, right? You’ve already received a reward for defeating the Demon King, so there’s no need to be so greedy…”
“I’m only asking for fair compensation for our work. In the current situation, where there’s no competition, it’s natural for the reward to increase. It’s fine if you refuse.”
Trao was right; there were no other adventurers capable of taking on such an extremely difficult request as defeating the Four Heavenly Kings.
The S-rank adventurers who could have handled such requests had fought as part of the Demon King subjugation team and were wiped out.
“Besides, we incurred enormous expenses in defeating the Demon King. Even one million gold coins isn’t enough to cover it.”
“That’s absurd! Unless you’re running a country, there’s no way you could have spent more than a million gold coins!”
The Guild representative didn’t take Trao’s words seriously, assuming it was just a negotiation tactic.
Seeing his expression, Trao calmly handed him a piece of paper.
“This is a list of expenses incurred during the Demon King subjugation. The suppliers are also listed, so feel free to verify if you have doubts.”
“A list of expenses? It’s probably just the cost of equipment and items, right?”
As he said this and looked at the paper, the Guild representative’s face tensed up.
“Cost of orichalcum for one hundred swords, reconstruction of Kusanagi God’s shrine, road maintenance to Kusanagi God’s shrine, creation of Kusanagi God’s stone statue, art competition operating costs, construction of Aegis Art Museum, cost of four doses of secret potion for underwater exploration, expedition costs for two hundred people to the Fairy Forest, cost of one hundred sets of highest quality mithril armor, and other miscellaneous expenses…”
As he read on, the representative’s face grew paler.
Trao’s activities were on the scale of national projects. It seemed impossible for an individual to cover such costs.
Indeed, one million gold coins were far from enough. Moreover, the reasons for each expense were detailed, making it difficult to argue against.
“Do you understand now? I’ve gone to great lengths to gather these funds. Could you please manage to provide the reward? Of course, necessary expenses would be separate.”
Trao showed a friendly, good-natured smile.
Trao had indeed gone to great lengths to gather the funds, in an ethical sense.
However, in this context, “great lengths” typically implies taking on debt.
Of course, the Guild representative interpreted it as such.
“Well, but this… the budget…”
“Can’t you do something for the sake of world peace? Despite defeating the Demon King, I might go bankrupt, you know?”
By saying “might,” it wasn’t technically a lie.
However, Trao had secured future returns by obtaining rights to Kusanagi God’s shrine and management rights to the Aegis Art Museum.
Moreover, the expenses were covered by selling purple potions, so there was no debt at all.
Furthermore, the monsters who paid for the potions had been eliminated, leaving no witnesses.
They had thoroughly destroyed evidence related to the potion manufacturing facilities and distribution routes.
Those involved were paid substantial hush money and subtly threatened with violent retaliation if they leaked any secrets.
The involved parties believed Trao and his group to be some kind of global criminal organization, so they had no intention of speaking about the purple potions out of fear for their lives.
Even if they did speak out, Trao and his group had operated under disguise, so there was no evidence linking the purple potions to Trao.
As a result, the Guild representative assumed Trao was in debt and promised to be as accommodating as possible before taking the matter back for further discussion.
A few days later, the Guild representative returned and agreed to pay one hundred thousand gold coins per Heavenly King, totaling two hundred thousand gold coins, with an advance payment of one hundred thousand gold coins.
They also signed a contract to separately reimburse any necessary expenses incurred.
Trao cheerfully thanked the Guild representative for his efforts and promised to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings as soon as possible.
The three members of Garnet, who were nearby, were relieved to see Trao so lively, even if his methods were somewhat unscrupulous.
They had noticed that Trao seemed a bit down after defeating the Demon King.
And so, the hero party’s mission to defeat the remaining Four Heavenly Kings was decided.
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Necros, the Undead King and one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army, was in a desperate situation.
Now that the Demon King had been defeated, Necros wanted to return to the Demon King’s territory immediately. However, the hero’s party led by Trao was occupying it.
It was clear that returning would lead to a battle.
Necros was a lich. Originally human, he had become undead to master magic, and over many years, he had mastered necromancy.
Clad in a jet-black hooded cloak, Necros appeared human at first glance, but beneath was a terrifying figure of only bone and skin. Naturally, his direct subordinates were undead creatures like ghouls and skeletons.
In Necros’s domain, there had originally been a mixed unit of various types of monsters. However, they had been completely wiped out by Necros after causing internal strife over a purple potion.
As a result, Necros’s army had decreased in number and was considerably weakened.
He lacked the strength to expand his front by invading human countries, and at this rate, there was a high possibility that he would be destroyed by humans once they regained their power.
He considered joining forces with Helg, the Dragon King and another of the Four Heavenly Kings, but Helg’s domain was on the opposite side of the Demon King’s territory, making a union difficult.
The hero’s party occupying the Demon King’s territory was truly troublesome.
(“As expected of those who defeated the Demon King, they’re sharp. I don’t want to fight them head-on, but what should I do?”)
Necros’s own combat ability wasn’t particularly impressive. However, in places where many dead were buried, such as old battlefields, he could command those dead as undead, temporarily organizing a large army. This was why Necros was called the Undead King.
However, due to the limits of his magical power, he couldn’t continue to command a large undead army for long.
(“Perhaps I should lead as large an army as possible back to the Demon King’s territory.”)
In the end, returning to the Demon King’s territory and aiming for a comeback seemed like the best strategy.
The hero’s party was said to number only about a hundred. If he could temporarily gather an army tens of times that size, he should be able to overwhelm them with numbers. Quantity trumps quality.
Having made up his mind, Necros decided to act immediately.
He began marching towards the Demon King’s territory, leading his undead subordinates. Along the march, he steadily increased the number of undead from battlefields and other such places.
As things progressed, Necros’s spirits lifted.
If he could return to the Demon King’s territory, he would become its most powerful figure.
Therefore, Necros should become the next Demon King.
(“The Demon King’s army has decreased in number, but if I turn the demons and beastmen who fell in the Demon King’s castle into undead, they’ll become a massive force loyal to me. Hmm, not bad.”)
Necros advanced, dreaming of himself as the Demon King.
The march continued smoothly, and once they passed through the narrow valley ahead, they would be in the Demon King’s territory. The hero’s party would be no match for this large army.
However, after entering the valley, they spotted a lone human man standing in the distance.
(“Who’s that?”)
It was just one person. Necros ordered his undead minions to attack the man.
Over a hundred ghouls swarmed towards him. Any normal human would have screamed and fled at the sight.
But the man didn’t panic. Instead, he took out a bag.
(“Is that an item bag?”)
Though Necros didn’t use one himself, he knew it as a magic item commonly used by humans. Despite its small appearance, it could store quite a lot inside.
(“What is he planning to do with that?”)
The man opened the mouth of the item bag.
Suddenly, a massive amount of water gushed out.
Like a flood, it engulfed the ghouls and then swallowed up Necros and his forces. The narrow valley bottom quickly filled with water.
“Mere water won’t stop us!”
Necros was caught off guard, but it was just water after all.
The water from the item bag should run out soon…
(“It’s hot!”)
His body felt like it was burning.
(“This isn’t ordinary water! Could it be holy water?”)
Looking around, he saw his undead minions melting in the water.
The water didn’t flow for long, but the undead army was destroyed in an instant.
Necros himself felt as if his entire body was burned, suffering great damage.
“How do you have so much holy water?!”
Necros shouted as he staggered to his feet.
Normally, holy water was carried by priests in small vials as a token gesture.
It was used to drive away undead by sprinkling it on them, serving as a modest ward against evil.
He had never heard of holy water being used in such a torrent.
It was an act that showed no fear of the gods.
“Oh, I bought it,”
the man with the bag said nonchalantly.
“Bought it? That much holy water?”
The seller was as bad as the buyer. Doing business with such a large amount of holy water was an act unbecoming of a clergyman.
For a human, he lacked faith in the gods. He should face the gods more sincerely. Even the undead showed a bit more respect for the gods.
Necros, the evil lich, felt anger towards this impious human.
“You can buy most things if you have money. This time, I bought up all the holy water from the churches in neighboring countries. Well, I made some myself too.”
Human warriors appeared behind the man.
The man was Trao, and those who appeared were the hero’s party.
Among them, Lilith, who was tired from being made to produce large amounts of holy water, looked at Necros with sympathetic eyes.
“So that’s how it is. Please ascend to heaven quietly. It’s just work, you know.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! You’ll go to hell!”
Necros shouted, but his subordinates were decimated, leaving him alone.
Already badly wounded, Necros was easily defeated by the hero’s party.
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