Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

August 5, 2018 – Typo corrections made.

"Heh heh heh, this will further my ambitions."

Before Hero Fuu, a black crystal pillar emitted an eerie glow.

Beyond the altar where the black crystal pillar was displayed, a white skeletal frame, like human bones, hung from the ceiling in the darkness.

However, judging by its enormous size, it was not human bones.

With bull-like horns on both sides of its skull, it was clearly not a commonly known giant.

A Minotaur? That was impossible given the size.

"Fuu-san, what’s that?"

Startled by a voice from behind, Hero Fuu literally jumped in surprise.

Looking around nervously left and right, he averted his eyes from the small man who spoke.

"I-it’s, uh…"

Hero Fuu glanced briefly at the gigantic skeleton and hastily tried to come up with an excuse but noticed the small man’s gaze was fixed on the crystal pillar, so he fell silent.

"Hey, hey, what’s that?"

The small man smiled gently, but his eyes showed no humor.

"I-it’s… a Miasma Evil Crystal."

"Hmm."

The small man circled the black crystal pillar, leaning in to examine it closely.

"So, what does that do?"

Hero Fuu looked away.

"I-it mass-produces… weak undead."

"Oh? ‘Strength lies in numbers, bro,’ huh?"

The small man quoted a line reminiscent of a certain robot anime’s third son. For a moment, Hero Fuu’s eyes sparkled, but when he looked up, the cruel smile on the small man’s face froze his expression.

"Specifically, how many can it mass-produce?"

"Well, as long as there’s magic power, an unlimited number."

"The miasma is supplied by this black crystal, right?"

"It’s not a crystal! It’s a Miasma Evil Crystal—"

Hero Fuu angrily blurted out, but seeing the small man’s serious face, he swallowed his correction halfway.

"Tell me, can it only mass-produce skeletons and zombies?"

"Y-yes—"

"Don’t lie, okay?"

At the small man's words, Hero Fuu bit his lip midway through a dodging answer.

"This Miasma Evil Crystal must have ‘Animate Undead’ necromancy inscribed on it, right? If it’s for corpses, shouldn’t it work on anything?"

Hero Fuu didn’t answer.

"Come on, answer me. Doesn’t it work on anything?"

"Y-yes. Headless knights and Skeleton Knights, and not just those. If the soul can be secured right after death, even incorporeal ghosts and Wraith Knights can be animated."

"Are you trying to move that huge skeleton too?"

The small man spoke while looking at the giant skeleton floating in the dark.

"…"

Seeing Hero Fuu silent, the small man laughed.

"That’s good, as expected of Hero Fuu. I’ve never seen such a pitch-black hero until now. Your brokenness rivals that of the first hero."

Muttering as if he knew the first hero personally, he stroked the glossy surface of the Miasma Evil Crystal.

"By the way, Fuu-san, how fast can you mass-produce with this?"

"M-mass-produce? Well, it needs not only magic power but also a lot of miasma—"

"—Don’t say ‘impossible.’"

"B-but, without miasma—"

The small man pulled out cursed bottles and Evil Thought Jars one after another from an Item Box and lined them on the floor.

"Pretty cool boss, huh? Fuu-san, you collected these mosquitoes before, right? If there was a Holy Grail from the Shiga Kingdom, we could even make Evil Thought Crystals, but—"

Remembering the “Evil Thought Crystal” he read about in books, Hero Fuu turned his hopeful face towards him.

With that, not only could they mass-produce low-rank undead soldiers, but they could also restore the white bones behind them to their original form.

"Bad news, though. That place is off-limits."

The small man playfully waved his hands as if begging forgiveness.

"…"

"If we had a bigger Evil Thought Crystal, we could immediately break your master’s seal, but that place is the Irregular’s stronghold, so getting close means an instant bad end."

"Irregular?"

"Yeah."

Without answering Hero Fuu’s question, the small man changed the subject.

"So, with this much miasma, how many soldiers do you think you can make with the Miasma Evil Crystal?"

"If it’s for weaklings, about ten thousand per day. If it’s ones that can fight normal knights, about three hundred a day is easy."