Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 206

206: The Badlands

While many regions were still covered in snow, this place was strangely dry.

A desolate wasteland stretched out before us.

The four of us—Aithys, piloting Leaf the griffin, myself, Liz, and Samarkand—flew over the barren land.

The wind was strangely warm, and I couldn’t help but think that this was the kind of wind that blew at the beginning of a ghost story. Perhaps that was because of what I had heard about this place.

The blighted land that spread across the eastern part of Listrea.

The headquarters of the Fourth Army.

The Badlands.

A military base with more troops stationed than even Fort Litalside, with most of the undead in the Listrea Demon Kingdom residing here.

The undead were the enemy of the living.

—That was the human perspective, and it wasn’t entirely wrong.

The undead could only sustain their existence by absorbing the life energy of the living.

If humans were to see this sight, they would surely say, “I told you so.” A dry, lifeless land. If the undead were not destroyed, the entire world would eventually become like this. And in the end, even the undead would be unable to find life to drain, and this world would become a world of death, with nothing moving…

While I didn’t think that was an impossible future, the human nations actually had more undead-related incidents. It wasn’t unheard of in Listrea, either, but it was mostly animal undead.

If the ‘emerged’ undead were former dark elves or beastmen…

…they usually wouldn’t go on a rampage.

Everyone knew what the undead were.

They might not have the same freedom they had in life. But there was no reason to satisfy their hunger through violence, no reason to fear being hunted down immediately.

Incidentally, in Listrea, ‘emerged’ undead were required to report to the nearest Demon King’s army unit.

Since newly born undead sometimes lacked a clear sense of self, a nearby person would report them. They would then be placed under the control of a necromancer like Rebecca and wait for their consciousness to awaken.

Basically, they were assigned to the Demon King’s army or to various labor in the Badlands, such as mining and quarrying, based on their aptitude and their wishes.

Incidentally, the Badlands had been chosen as the Undead Army’s base because it was a wasteland, not the other way around.

In this country, the undead, unless they had lost their minds or were starving and had killed someone, were not immediately hunted down.

And while they sometimes retained their names and memories from their past lives, whether they continued to interact with their former acquaintances was up to them. According to Harken and Rebecca, the stance was that they were ‘fundamentally different,’ but if they had fond memories, they couldn’t just cut ties, and they sometimes formed new relationships.

For over four hundred years, the Listrea Demon Kingdom had been trying to change the perception of other races.

This was where His Majesty and Listrea-sama, the Old One, had put in their efforts.

Demons and undead had not always been comrades of the dark elves and beastmen. The idea of a dragon protecting the country would have been unthinkable.

It wasn’t perfect, and it probably wasn’t an ideal. But this country had shown what could be achieved when different races joined hands.

The reason the humans feared the Listrea Demon Kingdom was probably because the various races, which had been scattered throughout history, had united to form a nation, a ‘threat.’

It was the humans who had lumped all non-human races together as ‘demons.’ The non-human races had originally been separate. And the reason they were now united, despite their differences, was probably because the humans, who had also been scattered throughout history, had united and become a threat.

The humans claimed that they had united to counter the demon threat… but the cause and effect were reversed. At the very least, they could have allied with the elves and dark elves.

The world was now divided into two colors.

Humans and demons.

The Human Alliance Against Demons, consisting of sixteen human nations, and the Listrea Demon Kingdom.

And each was trying to paint the other in their own color. Peace might be like a rainbow, with many beautiful colors, but…

The disappearance of the color of Listrea was something I could not forgive.

Even if that color was black, the symbol of this nation. Because I couldn’t imagine that the world the humans were aiming for was a rainbow.

“—Five riders, coming up. I think they’re from the Fourth Army, to welcome us, but be prepared for a fight. Check your harnesses.”

At Aithys’s command, I checked to make sure my safety harness was secure. This part had been drilled into me.

In the sky, Aithys was the captain. To follow her instructions promptly was the ‘rule.’ Like following the captain on a ship.

And as I looked up, I saw five black shadows, surrounded by the eerie blue-green aura of the undead, approaching at high speed. At this distance, I couldn’t make out the details—

“Banner confirmed. Half Listrean Kingdom emblem, half Fourth Army emblem.”

Liz said, as if it were nothing. Aithys, her gaze fixed on the approaching riders, grumbled.

“…What kind of eyes do you have?”

“I have the support of my goggles.”

“I have goggles, too…”

I squinted, but they were still just specks to me.

“I can’t see… wait, do these have a zoom function?”

“Yours aren’t magic items, Master.”

“Huh, why?”

“Why should I prepare a luxury item for someone who said, ‘I want goggles so we can match,’ when a mask would suffice?”

“…………” She had a point.

“Please put on your mask.”

“Alright.” I took off the goggles and pulled my mask from my pocket. It clung to my palm, and then to my face. It was a relief not to have to worry about dropping it.

Putting on this mask made me feel… more focused. …And more… like the Lord of Disease. I’d even once wondered if it had some kind of mind-altering magic, slowly brainwashing me with each use. I’d had Samarkand check it once, just in case, but the result had been negative. It was probably just a psychological effect. And besides, I had declared my intention to exterminate humanity with my own face.

They were approaching quickly, probably because we were both flying at high speed. Through my blood contract, I could feel Samarkand quietly gathering his mana.

And when I could finally see the wide, forked banner, with the left half of the Listrean Kingdom emblem, the ‘dragon with a serpent’s tongue,’ and the right half of the Fourth Army emblem, the ‘sword and bar between two crossed bones,’ it was waved.

“I presume you are the Lord of Disease of the Sixth Army! We have come from the Fourth Army to welcome you! —State your affiliation and name!”

The one who had spoken was also riding a griffin. A skeleton griffin. And the rider, too, was a skeleton and a wraith. Behind the rider was a flag bearer and a staff wielder. And the four accompanying riders were each carrying two crossbows. Their saddles were also equipped with javelins, and they were well-armed with throwing weapons.

While their fingers weren’t on the triggers, a total of eight crossbows were aimed at us.

“Your reply, please.”

“Understood.”

I nodded at Aithys’s words and cleared my throat. I touched my mask and activated the voice and sound amplification functions. I could use the amplification spell on my own, but it was much easier with the help of a magic item.

“This is the Lord of Disease of the Sixth Army, and four others… We have come at your invitation…!”

A deep, resonant voice, as if from the depths of hell. The voice of the Lord of Disease, after a long time.

The banner was waved again.

“Welcome to the Badlands! —We will lead the way.”

And they turned. The other four riders pointed their crossbows to the sky and smoothly took up a position at a fixed distance from us.

Aithys let out a quiet breath.

“…Well-trained. Good skill. Even setting aside the fact that the griffins are undead, I’m impressed.”

“Maybe they were former griffin riders.”

“…Maybe.”

For the beastmen of the past, the undead had not been an acceptable thing. To live a life of battle was their way, and there was no ‘overtime’ after death.

But now, with their leader Lathus recognizing the death knight Harken as a warrior, that prejudice had faded.

“If I were to die and become undead… I would want to fly again, for my comrades, and for Listrea.”

To make a straightforward and proud beastman girl say such a thing…

…a future that would have been impossible four hundred years ago.

Slowly, but surely.

Just a little at a time.

This country had been moving forward.

Accepting those who were different.

Acknowledging each other’s differences.

Could I, too, become like that?

I, who had chosen to destroy those who were different, as they were.

…Well, you had to fight fire with fire, as they say.

And since the humans had the same way of thinking, it couldn’t be helped.

These people were kind and proud. It was probably a good thing to have someone like that on their side.

And as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound.