Chapter 340: The Undead King

Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc

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"Wait, you were serious?" I sighed with a frown. 

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I'm always serious!" Exclaimed Belia indignantly. 

"And that's just a bold-faced lie," I retorted dryly. 

Literally five seconds after Minise and I finished eating, portals opened up beneath our feet and we fell through, landing in a room in the castle, where Belia was waiting for us. 

Apparently, she'd been waiting all this time till we finished eating, in order to have me transfer the life force of the Undead King into Minise...I can't believe she's actually going for this, just like that. 

"Hold on, I know what I said about concerns regarding the Ghouls being respawnable, but still...them being able to respawn instantly is an incredible weapon to have against our enemies!" I pointed out. 

"Hm? I said we'll transfer Korpse's life force into Minise, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they won't be respawnable," She remarked, before pointing her palm at Minise, "There, that should do it...I've cast a spell on you that, upon receiving Korpse's life force, you'll gain his powers and control over the Ghouls, but unlike Kuro with his monsters, if any Ghouls are killed, you'll have five minutes to choose whether they respawn or die, and if you choose the former, it'll be instantaneous. Also, they'll be able to instinctively sense that you control them, so they won't attack you, because if you're killed without your life force being transfered, they'll never be able to respawn again. They'll still kill any and all other living creatures though. Oh, and also...if you don't receive Korpse's life force within the next ten minutes...you'll die!"

"I'm sorry, what!?" Exclaimed Minise in alarm. 

"Hold on, how'd you cast such a complex spell so quickly?" I inquired suspiciously. 

"Well, duh, I was bored while waiting for you two to finish eating, and I was also a little annoyed at being kept waiting, so I came up with it while you were eating," She replied with a shrug, as if that answer should have been obvious. 

"H-hold on, I've only got ten minutes to live unless I take in the Undead King's life force!?" Stuttered Minise, looking a bit panicked. 

"Well, it's more like eight minutes now, but yeah."

"Can't you undo the spell?" I inquired with a frown. 

"Probably, yeah...but it'll almost definitely take more than ten minutes, so...," Belia replied slyly. 

"Why are you the way that you are?" I sighed, before saying, "Well, whatever, bring the Undead King here so that we can get this over with."

"Nah, I have a better idea...I'll send you two to him!" Grinned Belia, with that usual chaotic gleam in her eyes. 

"Wait, hold on a-...!" I began, but it was too late, as she'd already opened portals beneath us before she even finished talking, dropping us into a different room...where the Undead King was. 

He glanced up as we appeared, the gleaming red spots where his eyes would be narrowing slightly. 

"Lady Belia's subordinates...do you need something?" He inquired cautiously, standing up. 

Tch, I'm no one's subordinate... 

"Korpse, right? Nothing personal, but for reasons you probably wouldn't understand, Belia needs you to die. Now, we can do this the easy way or-," I began. 

"Very well, I understand. If that is Lady Belia's wish, then so be it...carry out her will, I shall not resist."

Huh?

"Bruh, you for real?" Responded Minise in bewilderment. 

"I do not understand the question, and therefore, I will not respond to it."

Well, whatever, if he's going to comply, then I might as well get this over with, I guess. Wait, he's a skeleton, how do I absorb his life force? Do I pierce my claws into a bone? Can't think of anything else, so looks like that's my only option... 

"Alright, then, let's do this. Come on," I said to Minise, as I walked over to the Undead King, extending my claws and piercing it into one of his ribs. 

Pretty dense skeleton, but mine's a fair bit denser than his is. Minise then stepped up beside me, and I pricked my claws into her shoulder, before starting to transfer his life force into her, draining him within a couple of seconds. 

As I finished, the dark haze around him dissipated, before all the bones collapsed in a heap on the floor, now completely harmless. Well, that was easy. 

"O-oh, wow...holy crap, it feels like my strength is surging up like crazy...," Muttered Minise quietly, staring at her hands with wide eyes as her appearance changed slightly. 

Her arms and legs were growing more limber, her fingernails extending slightly into claws and her teeth sharpening into fangs, as wooden bands appeared around her wrists and her knuckles turned pale. 

"Nice work, you did it!" Remarked Belia with a grin, as she walked through a portal. 

"Just how much stronger am I now?" Asked Minise, looking up and down herself with an expression of disbelief. 

"Heh, only one way to find out...how about we take this outside the walls and you two spar a bit?" Suggested Belia. 

"I don't know about that...," I trailed off doubtfully. 

"Actually, I think I'm up for that...I feel crazy strong right now, and I really want to find out how strong," Minise chimed in sheepishly, "Um, unless you're against it, I won't force you."

Grr, that's not fair. I don't know why, but all of a sudden, saying no feels impossible. 

"Fine, whatever...let's do it," I relented with a sigh. 

... 

A few minutes later, she and I were in a safety barrier. Since this was just a test of her new powers, she'd be attacking while I'd stay on the defensive for the most part. I decided to enter Vampire Mode, just in case. 

"Wait, how do I figure out how to use these powers?" Inquired Minise uncertainly. 

"No idea. Belia?" I shifted the question to her. 

"Hm? Let me think...well, with Kuro, he had Lazarus, the Vampire King to help him figure it out. The only other person with the life forces of monster kings in them is Fuo Wesroh...and she has a Vampire inside her too, doesn't she? I think you're just going to have figure it out the hard way. Though from what I've seen of Kuro, he gained the powers of the monsters that the kings he absorbed ruled over...so maybe try and picture the abilities of the monsters whose powers are yours now," Suggested Belia, after mulling it over. 

Huh, what do you know, when she's interested in something, she'll give actual, proper advice on it.

"Okay...and which monsters exactly?" Inquired Minise sheepishly. 

"Hm, let's see...there's Icemen, Walking Trees, Banshees, Headless Walkers, Skeletons, Liches, Golems, Hellroaches, and of course, Ghouls," Recalled Belia, before adding sheepishly, "Well, Headless Walkers and Skeletons can't really do anything, they just sort of walk about and swing their arms at any targets they come across, I got kinda lazy towards the end of my monster creations, and I happened to end with the monsters under Korpse, so yeah."

Yeah, that sounds like her, alright... 

"Oh, and also, Hellroaches are basically just giant cockroaches, so I don't think you'll get any powers from them either. And Ghouls don't really have any powers, all their abilities are physical, you should get an increase in strength and agility, and your fingernails and teeth are probably secreting the paralyzing toxin. Then there's Golems, they're walking blocks of rock, though they're basically like puppets and, like the Headless Walkers and Skeletons, just wildly swing their arms at their targets, they don't have any actual abilities, though they do pack a real punch," Explained Belia. 

"Wait, so then do all the undead-type monsters suck?" Inquired Minise in dismay. 

"Well, no, I wouldn't say that. Of the rest of the monsters, let me think...Icemen can shoot out ice shards, Walking Trees can bind targets within a certain range and control plants around them to an extent, Banshees have deafening screams, though I guess that's technically a physical ability too. Hm, what else...ah, yes, there's one more, Liches...a Lich can raise dead bodies and control them, so if you ever kill a super strong enemy, you can preserve their corpse and use them to fight for you!" Replied Belia with a grin. 

"That's...kinda messed up, dude," Responded Minise with a nervous smile. 

"Heh...I know, right?" 

"Well, anyway, I guess I might as well try one of the abilities you mentioned...," Said Minise, before closing her eyes with a look of focus...and then suddenly opening them with a look of surprise as sharp shards of ice shot out of her knuckles, piercing into the ground, "Woah-...alright, it worked!" 

"Hm, yeah, it did...but those projectiles seemed a bit slow. They'd be easy to dodge or deflect against a more powerful opponent," Pointed out Belia. 

"Yeah, that's true," I agreed, before suggesting, "Though against stronger opponents, you could save it as a trump card to use at point-blank range. You could also work on trying to increase the velocity of the projectiles, if that's possible. Or even-...hey, you listening?" 

She then closed her eyes with a look of concentration again, though there was something different about it this time...suddenly, a black haze burst out around her, as her closed eyelids began glowing a dim, ominous red. 

"Oh, wow!" She exclaimed as she opened her eyes, a bright red glow bursting out, "All of a sudden I feel even stronger! Though...I don't think I can maintain this for long. Still, I feel pretty damn powerful right now! Alright, this is freaking awesome!" 

Huh, what a strange sight...that aura looks so ominous, but her jumping up and down giddily is decidedly not ominous, and I have to admit...I kinda like that contrast... 

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