Volume 8, Chapter 29 – A Bizarre and Otherworldly Kingdom

When Fia retraced her path, used [Guidance of the Stone Spirit] to tunnel through the earth created by [Blessing of the Mother Goddess], and returned to the defensive fortress built by the undead, the entire fortress was in chaos.

The ramparts were swarming with skeletons rushing about everywhere, and halfway up the steep rock face, numerous undead archmages had gathered. They were taking turns using earth magic to excavate the sheer, sturdy rock wall. The roar of magic slamming into the rocks was deafening, making it feel like one’s brains were shaking along with it.

At first, Fia didn’t understand what the undead were doing. Logically, her forcibly partitioning the battlefield with terrain-altering magic should have been a good thing for the defending undead. It wasn’t until she saw one of the Thirteen Attendants—a male butler who had also served as the referee for that previous duel—approach that she understood the undead were going to all this trouble under Lucitine’s orders to search for her.

From the undead’s perspective, she, their queen, had stepped forward when their queen was no match for the Chaos. Not only had she withstood an attack for the Queen of Death that shouldn’t have been resisted directly, but she had also used a terrifying magic that altered terrain to split the battlefield in two, giving the undead side breathing room. This was nothing less than turning the tide, a heroic act deserving to be remembered by all. Therefore, the result of her disappearing to the other side of the terrain after unleashing the magic was that Lucitine had gone mad with orders to search for her, while she herself had immediately returned to her palace, striving to restore her magic power to its peak in the shortest time possible.

In short, in Lucitine’s eyes, Fia had acted self-sacrificially for others on the very first day they met, burdening her with immense guilt.

Although the understanding was mistaken, the objective fact was that she had indeed done the undead a huge favor. Fia chose to accept this frankly. The only thing that left her helpless was one matter.

Facing the young undead whose eyes were filled with excitement and who was clearly relieved, Fia sighed.

“You all saw me use terrain-altering magic. Lucitine should probably understand by now that I’m actually much stronger than her. No need to worry this much.”

“Her Majesty has her considerations…” Not denying Fia’s words, the butler-like young undead rubbed his hands together, looking embarrassed. “Knowing you’re strong and knowing you’re in danger without worrying are two different things. Whether it’s Her Majesty or us, we were all very worried about your safety. If anything happened to you, we would all be sinners.”

“I can understand Lucitine’s thoughts. By ‘we,’ do you mean the Thirteen Attendants?”

As she flew toward the fortress under the butler’s welcome, Fia could clearly feel the awe-filled gazes of the distant undead cast her way. At the butler’s call, they stopped destroying the rock face and turned to assessing losses. Looking down from Fia’s high vantage point, one could see the sight of a large group of undead returning to the fortress from below the rock face—dense, cone-shaped figures reminiscent of migrating herds on the grasslands.

The butler responded to Fia with a wry smile.

“It means all of us. Your performance in the war has earned everyone’s admiration and awe. Today, the Chaos showed unprecedented strength, and you stepped forward in the moment of crisis. This courage alone is worthy of everyone’s reverence. When I was alive, I certainly didn’t have your bravery. I’d almost suspect you only accepted Her Majesty’s invitation because you have some designs on her—after all, with your current strength, you could completely refuse Her Majesty. Honestly, this is the first time I’ve seen someone withstand the golden beams head-on… Thinking back now, the idea that you were sacrificing yourself for your homeland seems truly ridiculous.”

Finally, someone intelligent.

Feeling secretly pleased, Fia waved her hand.

“So I said from the beginning, I only came to discuss jointly fighting Chaos with Lucitine. You all were the ones who didn’t believe me. That maid named Afla even thought I was speaking arrogantly and wanted to teach me a lesson on Lucitine’s behalf, didn’t she?”

“Well… I’m not defending Afla. She bears full responsibility for this matter. If not for the urgent combat, even the single charge of challenging Her Highness the Queen would be enough to impose the death penalty of having her soul crushed. But her impulsiveness then is also related to the characteristics of us undead. We undead don’t have the living’s needs for food and beauty, so our pursuits on the spiritual level are extremely strict. We cannot tolerate outsiders denying our dignity.”

“Among the undead, challenging one’s dignity is as intolerable as having one’s wife stolen and one’s son murdered. And we Thirteen Attendants, besides being one level below Her Majesty and you and Lady Ruth, control nearly all affairs in the kingdom of the dead. She felt that as a living person, you challenged her dignity, which is why she acted so crazily.”

“Are you defending her?”

Fia had no favorable impression of this maid named Afla. Even after the butler explained the reasons for her impulsiveness, Fia’s opinion hadn’t changed. Afla was too arrogant, too unobservant of others.

The butler smiled wryly again.

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“No, I am merely explaining our deceased’s thoughts to you. When you make a mistake, you should admit it and learn from it—this is knowledge Afla should rightfully learn. You taught her a lesson and then demonstrated such strength; surely this will help her grow. As her senior, I express my gratitude to you on her behalf.”

“No need for thanks. I just hope you’ll listen carefully next time someone speaks. For instance, that I came to cooperate with you, to discuss jointly fighting Chaos. Come to think of it, I’ve never visited your city. Is Lucitine up in the kingdom of the dead?”

“Yes, please follow me.”

Bowing respectfully to Fia, the butler led her into the bustling city. After weaving through the complex anthill for a while, the two arrived at a spacious passage over a kilometer wide.

Unlike the complex, uneven passages within the anthill, this place had been artificially renovated. The ground and walls were densely paved with cyan bricks, and luminous gems were embedded in the ceiling. If not for the passage sloping distinctly upward, Fia might have mistaken it for a spacious assembly hall.

Furthermore, [Mana Vision] told Fia that behind the walls on either side of the passage, large cavities had been excavated, housing numerous undead of the Third Tier and above. And the passage itself wasn’t empty either. Undead gathered here and there in small groups; some were dressed similarly to the adventurers Fia had seen—clad in furs, adorned with bone accessories.

But what struck Fia as strangest was that since entering this artificially excavated passage, she felt a sharp drop in gravity. She even thought that an ordinary person here, with just a slight push off the ground, could jump straight to the three or four-meter-high ceiling.

Sensing Fia’s confusion, the butler was quickly introduced.

“This place is called the Interception Hall. Long ago, Chaos eroded all the way here. The then-Queen of Death led other undead to meet the enemy here. To commemorate Her Majesty, and also to facilitate delving deep into the anthill in the future, we built this artificial corridor with a slope. However, since we have already suppressed the Chaos back to the large cavities below the anthill, this place has lost its original purpose.”

No… that’s actually the Eye playing tricks on you.

Fia answered in her mind, not showing sympathy on her face.

The butler continued to explain courteously.

“As for the kingdom of the dead above, like the Wall of Sighs, it’s something that has existed since the birth of the World Tree Continent. Perhaps due to being imbued by special mana, the gravity here is much lower than in other parts of the World Tree Continent. Even though it’s underground, the sky is perpetually shrouded by auroras. Those dressed as adventurers are continuing habits from when they were alive. They were adventurers in life, accustomed to adventures, and there are many unexplored passages in the anthill where Chaos appears, so they often go deep into the anthill to clear out Chaos.”

“Do they get rewards like adventurers?”

“Re…wards?” As if hearing an extremely unfamiliar word, the young butler pondered for a long moment before coming to his senses. “Ah, it’s been so long since I last heard that word, I’d almost forgotten what it means. Of course, they get no rewards. Her Majesty allowing them to enter the anthill is already a special favor. Ordinary people would want to enter but aren’t permitted. Among us undead, there is no concept of rewards. We only have honor.”

“I see.”

Fia nodded thoughtfully. The undead had no physiological needs, not even safety needs. Their social structure would naturally be vastly different from the world above.

“So how many undead are there in the kingdom of the dead?”

“One hundred million? Or more? I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness the Queen, but I really don’t know for sure. Countless souls pass through the Wall of Sighs and come here every day, and countless undead wish to go out and live in the outside world. Add to that some souls are willing to enter reincarnation, some are not, and no one has a permanent residence, so keeping statistics is extremely difficult. Ultimately, there’s no taxation here, and everyone obeys Her Majesty’s commands. Tracking the population is a superfluous matter.”

“Unwilling to enter reincarnation? Such a thing exists?”

“Of course.”

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As they progressed, Fia could already see light at the passage’s exit. Just as the butler had said, the outside world was illuminated by green auroras. Although the overall color tone of the world was dark, it wasn’t frightening at all.

—Fia thought even ordinary people would only find it novel here. The undead here didn’t attack her on sight. Instead, they all looked over in unison with curious gazes, giving Fia the feeling of walking down Blossom’s main street, with all the elves staring at her, the black-haired elf. She wondered if they were staring because she looked cute, or if they sensed the Eldest Princess’s status.

“Her Majesty doesn’t force souls into reincarnation. Some souls, unable to let go of hatred and family, and others attracted by Her Majesty’s charm, unwilling to just disappear, choose to stay in the kingdom of the dead. The undead you see now and will see, including us Thirteen Attendants, are all souls who are unwilling to enter reincarnation and choose to stay.”

“Oh?” The butler’s words piqued Fia’s interest. She looked him over—this zombie in tails. “And what’s your reason for staying?”

“It’s for my beloved. She’s also in the kingdom of the dead. As long as I can see her every once in a while, I’m content.”

When he answered, the butler’s voice was filled with fond memories, which sparked Fia’s curiosity.

“Can you tell me who she is?”

“Please allow me to keep it secret.”

The butler grinned. Although his face was a withered, terrifying rotting shape, Fia could read shyness in it. He seemed less like a prominent member of the Thirteen Attendants and more like a naive youth.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to say. Everyone has their secrets.”

Fia curled her lips similarly and smiled back.

For an instant, the butler’s step faltered. Only after seeing Fia’s puzzled expression did he come to his senses. He rubbed his nose awkwardly, not daring to look at Fia’s face again.

“Uh… you are truly an interesting living person. Not only are you unafraid of us, but you also understand us. Since my death, I have never seen such a pure and innocent smile as just now. I feel my negative life force decreasing. If I keep looking, I might one day enter reincarnation because of your smile.”

“Don’t flatter me like that. Apart from appearance, aren’t we all intelligent beings capable of communication? As long as they can communicate and are friendly creatures, they’re no different in my eyes.”

She was a soul from the Human Alliance, that melting pot of civilizations. Not just skeletons, but even stone men and lizardmen—she could communicate with them all just fine.

Continuing onward for a while, Fia finally walked out of the exit. When she followed the butler, using flight magic to leave the ground, the full vista of the kingdom of the dead finally unfolded before Fia’s eyes.

A vast, boundless, endless pitch-black world. Because it was so unexpected, she couldn’t help but stand dazed in the sky for a moment.

“Is this really underground…?”

Initially, Fia thought that since the kingdom of the dead was underground, it should be like the Hall of Reverent Light—merely a large hole dug underground serving as a city. Even with a population of over a hundred million, it should be a large urban complex connected by countless passages. However, the kingdom of the dead unfolding before her eyes was nothing like that.

The world’s background was pitch black, but because of the flowing, magnificent auroras in the sky, it wasn’t completely pitch-dark. Higher in the sky, one could even see points of light resembling stars.

Illuminated by these light sources, the massive architectural complex below layered out toward the horizon’s edge. She couldn’t see any walls blocking the city’s expansion; it seemed this wasn’t underground but some plain on the surface. At the city’s center lay a large, smooth and rounded lake, its surface reflecting the shining auroras from the starry sky, making it colorful and mysterious like a black opal gem.

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Within the city, besides the gray palace where Lucitine resided, Fia also saw clock towers, fountain squares, canals flowing through the city, bridges, and even church-like buildings. Multi-story houses providing rest for the undead were countless. The streets were cleaner than human cities, and with the streetlamps and benches lining the roads, if not for the ghosts emitting a faint blue glow drifting through the air, Fia would have mistaken this for some retro-style architecture underground in the Human Alliance. Both in scale and intricacy, it could rival Blossom.

If this was the undead’s masterpiece, then the undead indeed had the capital to look down on the living.

“I don’t know how to answer that question either. Theoretically, what outsiders call the Kingdom of Death, and we call the kingdom of the dead, should be an underground world inside the Wall of Sighs. But from the feeling of living here, it’s truly hard to believe this is underground. In the past, Her Majesty organized expedition teams, sending them to scout in the three directions of east, west, and sky, forbidding them to return until they found the world’s boundary. But over a thousand years have passed since that order was issued, and not one of the three expedition teams has returned.”

“Aside from the lack of sunlight and inability to grow plants, this world is almost identical to the surface. We undead usually have nothing to do, so some devote themselves to architecture. This is the residential area, so there are no wonders. If Your Highness the Queen is interested, you can visit the wonders district farther away another day and admire the masterpieces of our undead architects.”

“Ah, ah, I admit I underestimated you. But admiring wonders can wait. Right now, business comes first. Lucitine is probably still worried.”

“Yes, this way, please.”

With one hand behind his back and the other gesturing, the butler led Fia as they slowly flew toward the most conspicuous of all the buildings, the gray hall Fia had seen on the surface.

Because Fia’s living aura was so distinct, numerous ghosts with flight capabilities curiously followed her, forming a faint blue long trail in the night sky comparable to the aurora. This bizarre, otherworldly scene lifted Fia’s spirits considerably. It was just a pity she couldn’t shake hands with these curious ghosts; otherwise, her life force would directly send them into reincarnation.

“Ahead is Her Majesty the Queen. There should be no one else inside. Please, make yourself at ease.”

Stopping before the hall with its massive double doors, the butler smiled and halted.

Fia nodded to indicate she understood, then stepped into the hall—before she even entered, she heard a familiar voice echoing within.

“You say you want to marry who as the queen?”

“Fia. Dofilia Alexia Yushir. What about it?”

“Isn’t she the black-haired, red-eyed, arrogant elf?”

“Oh ho! Have you met her? Even before I did. That’s perfect. Don’t disturb me for now. Once my magic power is fully restored, we’ll go save her. Although her strength is only greater than mine, facing that much Chaos alone is still too much.”

“No way! Absolutely not! I don’t approve of this marriage! Mother, I strongly oppose! You are the Queen of Death. That you’re taking a living person as your wife, I could perhaps ignore. But why does it have to be that jerk? Then it won’t be her becoming your wife, but you becoming her consort. She’s definitely coveting your body. You’ve been deceived by her! Also, worrying about her struggling against Chaos is completely superfluous. You should be worrying about the Chaos’s safety. If that freak could get hurt, I… I’ll walk on my hands today!”

That voice, so furious and frantic— wasn’t it my old acquaintance, Ruth?

Fia’s lips instantly curved into an ‘ω’ shape. Her normally cold face now held only mischief.

She lowered her footsteps, took [Cloud Moon of the Illusory Sea] out of her storage magic, first pressed it against her left arm with her right hand, then used [Cloud Moon of the Illusory Sea] to create an illusion of “bleeding” where her left arm was pressed. Only after these preparations did she continue forward.

The conversation inside continued. Lucitine’s voice carried much more vitality, so much so that Fia could imagine Lucitine’s queenly face furrowing its brows.

“Ruth, I won’t allow you to belittle Fia like this. She risked her life in a death match with Chaos to save me. As my daughter, how can you not only fail to worry about Fia’s safety, but also use such a flippant tone to belittle her? Besides, my marriage is my affair. If you don’t like it, you can move out.”

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“Mother, what kind of potion has she fed you, that you would disregard even me, your daughter, to protect her—”

“Ugh… Lucitine, I’m back…”

Appearing at just the right moment, Fia put on a pained expression and dragged her weary body into Lucitine’s view. The instant she heard Fia’s voice, Lucitine rose from her throne. When she saw the vivid bloodstains on Fia’s left arm, her expression tightened with worry instantly. She practically flew from the throne to Fia’s side, about to pull Fia into her arms.

“Fia! You’re injured?!”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“How can it be nothing! Ahh… as long as you’re alive… as long as you’re alive…”

Bearing the pressure of Lucitine’s concerned gaze and those warm, slender hands searching her body for wounds, Fia, while Lucitine wasn’t looking, secretly winked at Ruth, who stood not far away, and stuck out her tongue.

「Don’t forget to walk on your hands.」

This was expressed through lip language.

Ruth’s already stiff expression instantly turned ashen. Although Ruth was an undead, Fia could see the veins bulging on her forehead.

As the princess of the kingdom of the dead, first being spanked by her, then coming home to find her own mother stolen—it would be strange if Ruth had a good expression.

If not for her excellent control, Fia would have burst out laughing.

Suppressing her amusement, she deliberately avoided looking at Ruth and instead gazed tenderly at Lucitine, gently pushing away the hand trying to check her wound.

“I’m not injured. That’s Chaos blood—”

Chaos probably doesn’t have blood, right?

Fortunately, Lucitine was too anxious to notice. Fia quickly corrected herself.

“The Chaos has been repelled by me. They won’t be back for a while. More importantly, won’t you introduce this beautiful young lady over here to me?”

Translator Note

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