Chapter 882: Unundeaded
"You... can revive Miss Esme?"
"It should be no problem at all. Her body is fully intact, without even a single millimeter of her skin in decay — in all accounts, she is alive except for her mind."
"Hm."
It is true. Even though Miss Esme was literally a zombie variant of Princess Esme, the two almost did not differ from each other physically aside from the color of their skin and eyes. Miss Esme, even though she was already dead, has not shown any signs of decaying due to her themarian physiology, which seemed to continue healing her body despite her already being in a state of Eternal Death.
In fact, if she stopped moving so clumsily and weirdly, even Riley would probably have a hard time differentiating him from the normal Princess Esme, since Esme was already weird from the start.
"And forget about any deals, I can just do it for free," Randall once again brushed his horns, causing streaks of light to once again dance around him, "But once she resurrects, there is a high chance that she would be thrown out of the Domain of the Gods. So, what do you say?"
"Hm..." Riley turned to look at Miss Esme for a few seconds, before just letting out a small sigh and shaking his head, "No. There is no need for that, Randall. From all the lives that have turned into nothing by my hands, I have learned that death can sometimes be a blessing."
"That... is true," Randall also let out a sigh as the light dancing around him quickly dissipated away, "Very well, if death was her fate, we have no right to take it away. And I have also tried resurrecting the undead before, and they chose to take their lives after as they remember everything they had done during the time they were mindlessly killing everything and everyone that breathes. It is not a fate I would wish even against my worst ene—"
"Resurrect her," Riley did not let Randall finish his words as he gestured something with his hand, and Miss Esme just proceeded to walk toward him in a very careful manner, "You said she would remember, correct?"
"Yes...?" Randall squinted his eyes at Riley as he noticed a smile very slowly forming on his face.
"Then if I could bother you to do it," Riley stretched his hand to the side and called for Miss Esme's cage, before seemingly ordering her to enter it.
"Miss Esme really follows your orders, huh?" Miss Peponvondosovich could not help but be in awe as Riley could actually control Miss Esme, who just seemed to do whatever she wanted and eat anything she wanted, "Are you sure you want her to resurrect her? What if she begins to resent you?"
"That is the point, Miss Peponvondosovich," the smile on Riley's face persisted as he closed the cage, "Randall, if you may?"
"Very well, since I was the first to open up about it," the light dancing around Randall returned as he pointed both his fingers at the age. Another rhythmic tune whispered in the air as the lights started to circle around the cage, before ultimately seeping through and covering Miss Esme.
Miss Esme quickly started growling in place as she watched as the streaks of light started separating from each other and becoming fireflies that started hovering and dancing around her.
"This feeling..." Miss Esme whispered as she stepped out of her cage, looking at her hands which now had color, "...it is truly a weird sensation that I am once again able to make them move the way I want to. I thank you, Demon."
"Randall," Randall bowed his head, "You may call me Randall, Madam."
"There is no need to treat me with such a formality," Miss Esme shook her head, "Whatever I was before has already died. And although I did not truly have the desire to live again, or perhaps I was not able to desire at all, I still thank you for reviving me, Randall."
"I am merely the instrument, he is the one who revived you," Randall gestured to Riley.
"I know," Miss Esme turned to approach Riley, completely towering over him, "But from the time I have been Riley Ross's pet, I believe he asked to revive me for his own enjoyment."
"That is true, Miss Esme," Riley smiled, "What do you wish to do now?"
"What is there to do, Riley Ross?" Miss Esme shook her head, "When you recovered me and my people from my universe and brought me to yours, you have already claimed ownership of us...
...I am still your pet, and will forever be."
"...Oh," Riley could not help but slightly lower his eyebrows in disappointment, "Do you not hate me, Miss Esme?"
"Why would I hate you?" Miss Esme tilted her head to the side, "You were not the one who killed us and turned my people into the undead. You have even fed me, played with me, clothed me, and even talked to me as if I were alive. You have given me dignity, Riley Ross. If anything...
...I love you, Riley Ross."
"I forgot you were also in the spectrum, Miss Esme," Riley could really only sigh and shake his head. But after a few seconds of expressing his disappointment, he grabbed something from one of his many pockets and showed it to her,
"What do you want to do with them?"
"Hm?" Miss Esme once again tilted her head to the side as she looked at Riley's palm, which was now carrying several miniature glass cages, "Are those undead themarians, Riley Ross?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I have 1,254 with me. Since you are alive now, I am giving them to you. Perhaps...
...Randall could resurrect all of them and could potentially revive your people here, Princess Esme."