7th Demon Prince Jilbagias’ Chronicle of Demon Kingdom Toppling - Chapter 27: Burning Ambition

Chapter 27: Burning Ambition

２７． Burning Ambition

TN: Enter the best girl!

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Good day, this is Jilbagias who stumbled upon a suspicious person who turned out to be the king of the undead when he took a brief rest at noon in the garden.

「How rare to see a demon race’s child in this kind of timeframe.」

The fella then walked around under the shadow of the corridor toward our place, to avoid the sunlight obviously.

「… I think an undead who deliberately exposed their hand under the sunlight is even stranger, right?」

Yeah, if we’re talking about who is more unusual between us.

「Sure. You got me there.」

The No Life King(Lich) who laughed wryly was androgynous. Though Ante said that their magical power was stagnant, I had no idea what she meant by that.

I mean, their presence was―― Thin. As if the other party was a doll.

「What were you doing just now?」

「Naturally, an experiment to know whether I can resist the sunlight.」

The fella said carefreely while showing their right arm that now stopped at their elbow..

―― Are they an idiot?

Undead would turn into ash once they got exposed to sunlight. That was common sense. There was no exception for that rule,even the No Life King(Lich).

「Muu, You just think that I’m a reckless person right?」

Said the fella as they made an artificial looking frown expression on their face.

「Nevertheless, this is a good progress. At first, my arm turned into ash immediately. But, after applying various counter measure after counter measure, I managed to persist for a few seconds.」

「… That’s a huge leap indeed.」

Now that they said it, it DID take a few moments before their arm turned into ashes.

Undead, no matter how powerful they are, they would be, without a doubt reduced to ashes the moment they got exposed under sunlight―― Or so it was supposed to be. The moment I realized that, this fella was a threat for sure.

I mean, this fella could literally create a huge disaster in that few seconds before they got reduced to ashes.

「OOH, THAT FACE! SO YOU UNDERSTAND HUH! MOST OF YOUR KINDS SNICKERING AT ME WHEN THEY HEAR THAT I CAN SURVIVE FOR A FEW SECONDS UNDER THE SUNLIGHT BUT, YOU UNDERSTOOD HUH!」

Maybe because they felt delighted being recognized by me, the No Life King(Lich) looked even happier than before. They’re hopping happily and sitting in the bench under the shadow right beside me.

「Ah, sorry for the late introduction. My name is Emma. Best regard.」

「――」

I’ve heard that name before, I did my best to hold back the shriek that almost came out from my throat.

Emma―― Emma of “Doll Creator”!

Don’t screw with me! So this fella was the historical wanted criminal who was being hunted down by the Holy country and Panhumanity Alliance more than a hundred years ago!

Since that was the case, this fella was a SHE… At least that was her gender when she was still alive.

According to the stereotype of those days she was a gitz who repainted the outer appearance of the undead such as zombies or skeletons to be as close as possible to living beings. Since the result of her work closely resembled a doll, she was given the name “Doll Creator”.

And the victim of Emma’s experiment could pile up as high as a mountain. And then, though her whereabouts was unknown after she turned an entire city into undead around eighty years ago―― To think that she took residence in the demon king castle.

「… Appearance Wise, you look like a human though.」

I suppressed my emotion and tried to dig as much information as possible from her.

「Ah, You mean this body. You see, I’m a former human after all. Do you hate human race?」

「No――」

Wait, how should I answer that question?

「――Personally, I don’t hate them. I’m just curious.」

「Eh, I see now. Uhm, and… your name is? 」

「Jilbagias.」

Upon hearing my name, Emma’s eyes widened.

「I’ve heard your name. You’re the Prince-sama who fought the soldiers yesterday!」

――Even if you know that I’m your Prince-sama, your reaction is way too much!!

「Ahaha, are you surprised since I act overly familiar with you? Well, I actually received a count rank from His Majesty the Demon King. I’ll act humbly before you once your pedigree surpassed mine though.」

I see, there was that method eh.

… Her tone was far from what I imagined how it was supposed to be. I mean, her tone was too easy-going for history’s worst sinner.

「From the way you speak, you know that I fought those soldiers yesterday, right? The same goes for you, why are you in this place?」

「Well, no biggie. I simply am working for the Demon King right now!」

Dammit, that was a sound argument.

「… In the first place, why Demon King Army of all places?」

「OH GREAT, SOMEONE FINALLY ASKED THAT QUESTION! The truth is, I’ve got a goal.」

Emma’s glass marble-like eyes sparkled.

I knew from the very beginning that it must be a good-for-nothing dream.

「You see, I―― I think that all humans should just become UNDEAD!」

Rather than good-for-nothing, I couldn’t even understand the point of her goal.

「… Reason?」

「I mean, living is too painful and sorrowful right?」

“Right?” That’s a question that even I had trouble answering.

「I mean, look at those humans, they are so pitiful and miserable. All they do is produce waste after waste as long as they’re alive, constantly feeling three desires, constantly afraid of death that might come who knows when.」

Emma heaved a sigh, pausing after she said so.

「BUT! They’re going to be released from that sad life once they become undead. They don’t have to worry about hunger, sex, or rest anymore. They’ll be able to spend their time calmly… In short, UNDEAD IS THE NEW TYPE OF HUMANITY! And yet…」

She paused again as she made a sad expression.

「The human race―― Especially those blockheads from the Holy religion killing everyone just because they’re undead. Even though everyone has been released from their suffering and getting along with each other.」

NO… THAT’S ONLY NATURAL RIGHT!!!

I mean, it was only natural for the Holy religion(Us) to purify the undead since there was a high probability of them losing their mind and harming living beings!!!

AND I DIDN’T SEE ANY LIVING BEING IN YOUR SO-CALLED 『EVERYONE』 of 『EVERYONE IS GETTING ALONG WITH EACH OTHER』!!!

「And you see. That day, when the city which is also my greatest masterpiece was destroyed for no reason, I finally achieved an enlightment. My power alone is far from enough.」

So you’re telling me that you should see things from a bigger perspective huh.

「Thus, I decided to weaken the power of the Holy religion first. And once that was achieved, peaceful undead utopia isn’t a pipe dream anymore!!」

So that’s the main reason for her joining the Demon King Army. Dammit, just hearing her was enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

「In short, you’re―― Turning humans into undead to give them salvation, right?」

Don’t make doll-filled miniature gardens as you please…

「CORRECT! I CAN’T BEAR TO WATCH THOSE MISERABLE AND INEFFICIENT LIVING HUMANS AFTER ALL!」

「I think you shouldn’t limit that to human race alone, you should apply this to all living beings.」

「In fact, I do feel the same way as you. I do think that everyone should just become undead.」

And yet―― Emma shrugged her shoulders.

「But well, I’m a former human after all. I can say just anything about my former race but, I think it’s wrong to force my own idea to the other races.」

Nah, it’s exactly because you had to say anything you can say about your former race. It’s like you’re regressed by a thousand steps as an individual. You should show more care about your former race, you know. And stop acting like you’re the representative of the human race, talking as if human race salvation is becoming an undead.

There were way too many things that I wanted to retort to the point that I was at a lose for words.

「… As far as I know, many undead lost their mind and turned into mindless monsters.」

I somehow managed to squeeze my voice while massaging my temple.

「Those of No Life King(Lich) class can have a rational conversation and won’t lose their ego.」

I still had a doubt whether the word “Rational” could be applied to Emma though.

「There’s evidence that some have lost their personality when they’re still alive. And though you say that there’s no need to fear death, Don’t you think that the current human race is infinitely closer to extinction?」

「Regarding their ego, I’ve been conducting countless experiments on that. Too many of them ended up broken or becoming a doll that can’t even speak at all.」

Emma replied with an honest tone.

「Buut, it turned out personality is playing the biggest factor in that regard. I mean, their soul… transforming when they become undead after all. In short, undead is chosen existence!」

Emma, who stood with an excited look on her face, was starting to move like an actress on the stage.

「ONLY EXCELLENT HUMANS WHO DON’T FEAR DEATH CAN REBORN AS UNDEAD! THOSE WHO CAN’T ARE JUST LOWLY CREATURES WHO CAN ONLY EAT, SLEEP, AND PRODUCE MORE SHI*T! AND ONLY THE PERSON THEMSELVES CAN END SUCH A USELESS AND UNPRODUCTIVE LIFESTYLE!」

Her glass marble-like eyes shone as she declared so.

Yeah, she was a dangerous fella after all.

Though it was a good thing that she was an undead who maintained her ego and intelligence, I couldn’t dismiss the fact that she was a madman, or should I say, madwoman.

In the end, this was the result. No matter how noble her dream was supposed to be, undead was―― Just as incompatible as ever with living beings.

That’s why they were targets of extermination.

I wouldn’t do anything to harm her if she only stayed in her damned dark and damp room with her own followers though.

But, that was a pipe dream after all. I mean, forcing her to stay in their damned damp and dark room was next to impossible.

Nevertheless, I was curious about the reason for the Demon King to invited this woman to become his subordinate…

… No, maybe I already know the reason. It was simply because they’re useful. She was undoubtedly a top-class war potential. Even though this woman was crazy, she was extremely secretive and never provoked the other races.

「Is something the matter? You’ve been keeping your silence since a while ago.」

Emma was tilting her head as she asked that question with a smile pasted on her face.

Even now, I had this unbearable urge to seize this fella by the nape of her neck and expose her under the sunlight.

But… That wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem. I mean, upon a closer look, I could see a faint thread of magical power stretching from her body.

And that thread was connected to the ground and maybe deeper and even deeper―― under the castle…

「Oops. Please stop looking at me with such lecherous eyes.」

Emma was wriggling as if she was unaffected by my gaze.

「I’m not seeing you with lecherous gaze though.」

「Then why do I feel that you’re looking at my body with a lecherous gaze when you say that you’re not looking at all?」

「… M-My bad.」

I wonder, what’s with this impulse to drive a punch right in the face of this madwoman? Rather, I should just throw her into the sunlight. At this point, I didn’t even care if the body before me was just a replacement.

「Ahahaha, your mild temperament made me think that you’re different from the other demon race. But, I enjoyed it, it’s as if I’m speaking with like-minded fellow.」

PLEASE STOP!! THIS WOMAN’S INSTINCT IS ROTTEN TOO!!

「But, if possible I wanted us to meet properly with my own body instead of an experimental one like this one. Okay, I guess I’ll focus on the appearance for the next experiment.」

Suddenly, Emma threw off her robe.

She wore nothing beneath that robe. But then, the body wasn’t perfectly sculpted either as it was genderless―― Like a doll.

「Sooner or later, I shall conquer the sun. Being only able to move in the darkness is completely inefficient after all. And then, I shall turn this world into a paradise filled with chosen undead…」

She exposed herself to the sunlight as she declared her dream.

Smoke started to rise from the body that looked like a wax doll the moment she was exposed under the sunlight, and then wrapped in a blazing flame.

「Though you seem to be struggling to understand, I’m really happy to meet a like minded fellow in the Demon Kingdom. That’s why I won’t give up on my dream!」

Please give up on your dream.

「Well then, see you later, Prince-sama. I’ll be waiting for the moment when you become my comrade.」

As Demon Race, eh――

Emma waved her hand to me before she turned into white ashes.

Though the Holy religion had been in conflict for a really long time with Emma, now I caught a glimpse of the reason why they failed to subjugate her numerous times. I mean… How am I supposed to kill an opponent like her?

「… The human race are, truly good-for-nothing race eh…」

Garounya muttered, flinching as she saw Emma turn into white ashes.

「… Please don’t take her as the representative of the entire humanity.」

I barely managed to say that. I mean, THAT was clearly not a SANE person no matter how you look at it.

I swore in my heart to destroy Emma once and for all to protect the dignity of the human race.

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Self-proclaimed Heroine of Jilbagias, Emma-chan