394 Death Mage V13 Side Chapter 54

Side Chapter 54
Rokudou’s reincarnation


The mercenaries guarding the entrance to Rokudou's headquarters, as well as the soldiers from the Northern Europe Federation and the Republic of China who disguised themselves as mercenaries, knew that they would eventually have to fight monsters.

Yes, monsters. Those who called themselves ‘Bravers’, a group of superhumans who possessed cheat abilities and had gained the skills of veteran elite soldiers in just a few months of training.

‘Balor’ demolished tanks with his bare hands, ‘Sleipnir’ overwhelmed veteran pilots flying new models with outdated aircrafts, in front of ‘Mage Masher’, any mage became a mere puppet, and ‘Oracle’ prophesied information about criminal organizations and the dark corners of countries, denying the existence of intelligence agencies.

They had prepared themselves to fight against such a group of cheats.

They wielded firearms that fired special alloy projectiles using gunpowder and mana that could pierce through the armor of tanks, known as anti-tank rifles. They also had three large gatling guns that had too much firepower to be used against living humans, and frost bombs infused with attack magic capable of freezing bones in an instant.

All of the soldiers handling these weapons wore state-of-the-art powered suits, which enhanced their physical abilities, provided mana-based functions, and offered magic and physical defense on par to that of armored vehicles, and were even capable of preventing poison gas, and even viruses.

In addition to that, they had military golems, magic items, biological weapons, undead weapons, and so on. They had gathered a force that could overpower even the United States military in local battles. With this, they could even defeat monsters. After all, those monsters were merely humans with an extra boost.

Until yesterday, the soldiers believed such things. But now, one of them, a soldier equipped with an anti-tank rifle, was engulfed in flames by an attack magic unleashed by Derrick of ‘Chiron’, and lost consciousness.

"Even my magic has this much attack power, huh? The performance as a magical medium is quite impressive. I could make a living for the rest of my life just by selling this to the right buyers. Well, that's not my intention, though."

Derrick said as he kicked up the armored plate of the tank he destroyed, creating a makeshift shield.

Among the ‘Bravers’, he was one of the more capable fighters. However, his strength was only slightly above that of regular elite soldiers. He couldn't engage in a one-sided battle against the elite soldiers wielding cutting-edge weapons funded with lots of budgets.

What made what he did possible was the metallic powered suit he wore… the Transformation Equipment.

(The increase in physical abilities and defensive power, as well as the significant increase in the attack power of my magic... It feels like they're too high. This isn't just defense equipment; it's a weapon. Banda, the one who had to develop such a weapon… What kind of world of carnage does Amamiya Hiroto's "afterlife" exist in?)

Derrick chanted a spell while inwardly questioning the performance of the Transformation Equipment they were given.

“‘Lightning’!"

The activated attack magic struck the military golem, creating sparks.

"If you plan on taking it down, you’d better stop. It seems to be made of a metal that doesn't exist in this world," Youdo of ‘Sandman’ said as he rolled into the shadow of the barricade created by Derrick.

"Ah, I'm tired. Let's take a break."

"I see, a metal that doesn't exist in this world, huh? So death-attribute magic is involved after all?"

"Maybe. I haven't asked for details. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to the manufacturers and professionals in that field if we were to show this to them."

Derrick interpreted Youdo's words as meaning that since they couldn't reproduce it in this world anyway, there was no point in showing it.

In reality, it meant, "It would be morally wrong to show them that the equipment Vandalieu created to support not only practical benefits but also his fun, hobbies, and Kanako's idol activities is more advanced than the suits the pros earnestly researched and developed." Although he didn't know the details of the materials used to make the Transformation Equipment, Youdo was aware of the secret story behind the creation.

"By the way, can't you put the golem to sleep?"

"Sorry, but I'm busy putting the traps on the ground and the surveillance cameras to sleep. This equipment doesn't help reduce the mana consumption of my ability.”

As Youdo replied to Derrick’s retort, the trees that emerged from the ground entangled the military golem, extending their roots inside its armor and corroding it.

Meanwhile, next to them, an armored vehicle was crushed as if trampled by a giant, and the enemy soldier who had been aiming a grenade launcher turned into an ice statue.

"Have we destroyed most of the large-scale weapons with this?"

The reason why Amemiya and the others continued to fight at the entrance was not only because they were unfamiliar with the internal structure of Rokudou's headquarters, but also to support Banda, who had gone to rescue the victims of Rokudou's research.

Given that the facility was underground, there was a high risk of the place collapsing when engaging in fierce combat inside. Of course, Rokudou and the major powers that provided the facility likely built it to be sturdy. However, if Amemiya were to use ‘Ignore Defense’, even the most robust structure could crumble in an instant.

That's why they preferred to deal with tanks and large military golems on the surface.

"If only we knew the internal structure as well..."

"After all, we're just guinea pigs. We may know the location of the facility, but other than the research building and our breeding facility, we have no knowledge of the rest."

Yuki Joro and Bokor lamented while casually turning some soldiers into ice statues and propagating the plants controlled by Joseph.

Yuki Joro manipulated freezing death, while Bokor, though appearing to be a life-attribute mage at first glance, is a limited death attribute mage specialized in proliferation... controlling decomposition.

When a person dies, microorganisms inside their body multiply and putrefy. And from the corpse, new life sprouts. He is the one who is able to govern this process. It was the magic that allowed the runaway ‘Undead’ to devour a scientist's body from the inside using insects and cause their death. That is something Bokor is capable of.

"Was it okay for the two of you to not go with Banda and Mei?"

"God and the Saintess instructed us to support you guys," they replied with smiling faces to Nanamori's question.

"Nanamori, they wanted us to help you. God thinks it would be troublesome if you were to die."

"Saintess-sama wishes to help without discrimination. If that is what Saintess-sama desires, then we will fulfill it."

Everyone present understood that their answer was sincere. The two of them were connected to the consciousness of the ‘Bravers’ through Narumi's ‘Angel’ after all.

Not doing so would also cause difficulties in coordinating with the connected ‘Bravers’. However, it is true that without resorting to such measures, there would be reluctance to entrust one's back to them.

Bokor and Yuki Joro pointed this out themselves and expressed their desire to connect their consciousness with ‘Angel’.

To Narumi, who was surprised by their request, Yuki Joro answered, "People would say that 'ordinary' people like us are fanatics or crazy, right? If you are to rely on such individuals, we believe that adequate insurance is necessary." Bokor then added with a smiling face, “Besides, we are not without our own concerns when it comes to entrusting our backs to you.”

"...I see. I appreciate your cooperation. I know that you two won't ask for my gratitude, but still, let me express my thanks."

Amemiya, who flipped his cape and returned to his comrades, said so to the two, but their response remained indifferent. While Yuki Joro and the others regarded Mei as Saintess-sama and worshiped her, they were indifferent to the Amemiya couple, who were her parents.

"That is true, but I believe that you are treating us sincerely."

They wouldn't ignore or refuse to answer when asked, but their responses lacked emotions. It was a very dry and adult-like response. Even when Bokor replied that to Amemiya, that didn't change.

"Looks like we're done with the tanks and armored vehicles. Should we continue forward, or should we wait until Mari and the others finish the rescue mission?"

Narumi's ‘Angel’ Ability allows her to connect to the consciousness of others, enabling real-time communication that is not affected by both magic and scientific interference.

However, due to the loss of members specialized in obtaining information such as ‘Clairvoyance’, she was pushed to develop her ‘Angel’ ability further. As a result, she gained the ability to perceive the positions and numbers of the consciousness of humans within her range. This allowed her to identify enemy soldiers riding tanks and armored vehicles.

...By the way, ‘Angel’ cannot be used to connect to the consciousness of beings other than that of humans, and it cannot sense their presence either. Perhaps because of this, it was unable to connect with Banda's consciousness and could only perceive the location of Mei but not for Banda. Therefore, Gabriel and Mari have been accompanying Banda and the others to provide updates on the situation.

"So Banda and the others haven't finished rescuing the victims yet... Surprising. I thought they would breeze through it easily," commented Iwao. Everyone nodded involuntarily at his words. They had the impression that Banda could overcome any obstacles with ease.

However, it seemed that even for Banda, progressing at the same pace while protecting more and more people in an enclosed space was proving difficult. Perhaps it was worth praising Rokudou's command for effectively halting Banda's advance.

"But so far, only regular soldiers, albeit heavily armed and high-performance ones, have come out to face us. Rokudou should know that that alone won't be enough to stop us..."

After all, Rokudou was one at the heart of the Bravers. He knows more than anyone else how strong the members are in combat.

Even if one were to disregard Banda's Transformation Equipment that enhances combat capabilities, it's unlikely that he would think they could defeat Amemiya Hiroto with the latest tanks and military golems. Even Derrick would not be beaten.

"Are they trying to buy time? If so, we have no choice but to move forward," Amemiya contemplated, and was about to choose to advance when suddenly a loud siren rang out, interrupting his voice.

"What is it!? Could it be that they activated a self-destruct device!?"

"I suppose if my former comrades from the organization I betrayed were dressed up and attacked me alongside a monster, I would probably feel like giving up... But it seems that's not the case."

To the flustered Iwao, Derrick, with a pale and drained expression, pointed towards the end of the corridor. From there, a group of abnormal-looking creatures emerged.

"Gaaaaaah!"

"Voaaaaah..."

Furless wolves grown to the size of tanks, bears with one vastly enlarged front leg, eyeless bipedal lizards, and zombies with machinery embedded in their body parts.

"They are... bio-weapons and undead soldiers created by Rokudou using death-attribute magic!"

Amemiya cried out in disgust. As he mentioned, they were failed experiments created during Rokudou's research on death-attribute magic, with an attempt to repurpose them as weapons.

The animals were developed with the aim of being weapons specialized in using a single type of death-attribute magic, similar to Berserk from ‘The 8th Guidance’. However, while their combat abilities were strengthened, their aggression became too extreme, causing them to become nothing more than uncontrollable monsters.

On the other hand, the zombies, through partial mechanization, were able to demonstrate combat abilities surpassing that of humans, becoming immortal soldiers. However, due to control issues and them easily going out of control, they were deemed as failures.

Nevertheless, they were kept and continued to be bred to be used as disposable forces.

"I don't feel good about this, but there's no choice... Or should we wait for Banda?"

Iwao and the rest of the ‘Bravers’ had countless experiences defeating magical beasts and naturally occurring undead created by mana.

However, upon learning that the ‘Undead’ they vanquished over ten years ago was a fellow reincarnator like themselves, and now that same reincarnator was Banda, they felt hesitant to defeat the creatures.

Furthermore, they shared the same status as victims of Rokudou's death-attribute magic research with Yuki Joro and the others present.

Banda told them, "You don't have to worry about the opponents who come your way," but still, they were hesitant about whether they should fight.

At that moment, Mari, connected through ‘Angel’, realized the situation and relayed a message from Banda.

“I told you not to worry about the approaching enemies. After all-”

"Eh, are you serious?"

“Seems like it.”

Iwao and the others thought that Banda was a limited death-attribute magic user, and was trying to save all the experimental subjects, and it seemed like all the experimental subjects were worshiping Banda.

However, that was not the case. Banda came to only help those who Vandalieu guided, and he had no intention of helping anyone else.

Unknown to Rokudou and the others, among the humans who had been used as experimental subjects, there were those who couldn't be guided like the man with ‘Decomposition’.

If such people realize they can't win against Banda, they would beg for their lives, promise to switch sides, and provide all the information they know. And once they feel safe, they will either escape or try to take advantage of the opportunity to try to kill him.

Banda and Vandalieu had no intention of helping such individuals.

Similarly, there was no consideration given to beings without any apparent reason other than aggression. There was no intention to help such beings.

"Well, if the person in question says so, then I guess it's fine... Huh? They aren’t coming towards us?"

The disposable forces sent by Rokudou appeared, but instead of attacking Amemiya and the others, they stopped in their tracks.

“Giaaaaah!!”

“Aaaaaa!!”

And they started killing each other.

Most of them were combinations of beasts and undead, probably ignoring Rokudou's orders of fighting Amemiya and the rest of the Bravers and starting fighting one another.

"...What do we do in this case? They're not coming towards us."

"We'll pass through! Only attack those that attack us!"

Rokudou's calculations had gone completely awry in this situation as well.





Meanwhile, Banda and the others continued to advance through a long underground passage. The combat personnel that were originally stationed there to stop them mostly died due to the betrayals of experimental subjects such as the man with ‘Bloodshed Enhancement’ and the women with ‘Possession’, so they were hardly an obstacle.

“Gaaaaaaaaaah!”

“So, even these experimental subjects only amount to this, huh?”

The only significant obstacle was the beasts sent by Rokudou, but even they were easily slaughtered by Banda.

"Even though they were mutated with death-attribute magic, most of them seem to be nothing more than ordinary beasts."

"It seems so. In ‘The 8th Guidance’, there was Berserk who was a modified bear, but he had spent many years with his companions while being controlled by Isis, so he developed a strong bond with them. Or perhaps because I infused my mana into him..."

They contemplated the difference between the Berserk and the six-eyed tiger at their feet, but quickly dropped the subject.

“Aaah... meii... guu…”

“Ooo…”

“Guruoo…”

"Kyakkyaa!"

The reason the undeads sent to confront them posed little threat was because they fell under the command of Mei. By the way, the man with ‘Bloodshed Enhancement’ and the woman with ‘Possession’, who had fallen earlier, also turned into undead and were among them.

"Mr. Tiger, Mr. Tiger, please get better and be a good boy!"

And when Mei chanted and waved her staff, the fallen six-eyed tiger that had fallen down opened its previously closed eyelids, stood up with clouded eyes, and let out a growl.

“Meh-kun is becoming great too... She may have already surpassed me in terms of mana distribution for basic death-attribute magic.”

"As expected of Mama!"

Banda and Mari praised Mei's skill in charming and creating undead.

Of course, Rokudou didn't specifically intend to place delightful friends or Banda's followers near Mei. In the case of the experimental subjects, he selected those who had not come into contact with ‘Metamorph’, and deployed undeads as assassins.

However, Rokudou failed to realize that Vandalieu and Mei had made contact through dreams that were impossible to prevent, let alone monitor. He also failed to recognize that Mei had inherited the ability to charm the undead. As a result, his plan backfired.

Even the military nation that discovered death-attribute magic was also unaware of the power of ‘Undead’ to charm spirits. Isis and Valkyrie of 'The 8th Guidance’ were only able to manipulate the undead they had created and modified themselves. Rokudou, who had used them as a reference to anticipate Mei and Banda, never dreamed that the undead he had created would become Mei’s allies.

"...It's great that your magic is improving, but... should I be happy about it? You look like a really villainous character."

Hiroshi couldn't help but wryly smile at the sight of his sister surrounded by undead. While he had grown accustomed to Banda, it seemed he still had a strong aversion to the other undead.

"To be honest, I have my doubts as well. We can prevent hygiene issues with 'Sterilization' magic and use 'Deodorization' spells to avoid complaints about foul odors from the neighbors, but... If I remember correctly, tigers should have been restricted from being brought from overseas. We should discuss it with Amemiya and the others later."

"Ulrika-obasan, what I'm concerned about is not the troubles that might arise with the neighbors or pet-like things."

"Oh? Is that so? Then I'm sure everything will be fine."

By the way, the Amemiya couple, who were connected to Mari through ‘Angel’, had reached a consensus of "Let's deal with Rokudou first” before thinking about what to do with Mei.

As for Banda's true identity, they would treat it the same way. And Banda was fine with that.

"By the way, is Gabriel a girl or a boy?"

"Both. Originally, I were twins, but I became one as a result of fusing the twin brother and sister into one, with the aim of combining both our mana pools via fusion.”

"Is that so!?"

"That's right. The experiment was successful, and my mana doubled. Though it seems all the test subjects other than me failed."

"I see... Everyone must’ve gone through alot."

"It wasn't too bad from my perspective. You're going to have a tough time from now on too."

"Yeah, I have a feeling about that."

Hiroshi started a conversation with Gabriel, who looked like a slightly older boy or girl. He maintained a tense posture, but it was understandable since Banda had been careful not to expose him to gruesome scenes or cruel things.

As a result, Hiroshi seemed to have little awareness that they were currently in the midst of a battle against Rokudou and the other traitors.

Up until now, there hadn't been any problems.

"This might be Hiroshi's turn. The number of people to protect have increased too much," Banda said while continuing to slaughter the attacking beasts.

In this world, Banda was a powerful and unparalleled existence. However, it was impossible for him to protect all the ever-increasing number of individuals under their care while simultaneously eliminating every threat. That's why he needed Hiroshi's help.

"Huh? What do you mean by my turn? The only thing I can do is crush empty cans with ‘No-Attribute Magic’ or use regular attribute magic. I don’t know much about offensive magic," Hiroshi protested.

Ignoring cheat abilities, while Hiroshi had inherited exceptional abilities from the Amemiya couple in terms of physical abilities and talent for magic, he was still just a boy about to turn nine years old. Naturally, he couldn't be considered a combat force in a life-or-death battle.

"No, I’m not asking you to fight—"

"Now!"

Just as Banda was about to say something, a man who had been hiding among the pack of beasts using magic suddenly appeared.

"You are... Iguchi of ‘Copy’!" Mari exclaimed, pointing at the man and mentioning his codename. It was Iguchi Takeo, a member of the ‘Bravers’ and a user that possessed the cheat ability of ‘Copy’.

Iguchi had been waiting for an opportunity to use his cheat ability instead of attacking directly, as his cheat ability allowed him to "copy the magic being used by the target, regardless of their aptitude." He had concealed his presence within the pack of beasts, waiting for the right moment. He then shouted, thrusting both of his arms towards Mei, who was within the effective range of his ability.

"This makes us the same! Come forth, my monster... Ahgya?!"

However, as soon as Iguchi revealed himself, the beasts became aware of his presence and pounced on him.

"That’s... impossible!? Why can't I ‘copy’ it?! I can even copy death-attribute magic... So why can't I ‘copy’ the death-attribute magic used to create that monster?!"

Iguchi and Rokudou, who sent him, conjectured that Banda, an unidentified monster, was a being that Mei has created and is using with some kind of death-attribute magic.

The reason behind this speculation was that even though they were aware of the ‘Undead’ was Amamiya Hiroto, they did not know that after his death in this world, he was reincarnated as Vandalieu, and sent a clone created from a fragment of his soul to possess Mei through dreams.

Even though they were blood relatives, the cheat abilities of a Reincarnator would not be inherited. Given that fact, it was only natural for them to assume that Banda, who seemed to have some connection with Mei, was created using her death-attribute magic.

Therefore, based on this assumption, they believed that if Iguchi could use the same magic through his ‘Copy’ ability, they could turn the tide of the battle in their favor, even if they can’t completely reverse the situation. However, their plan did not go as expected…

"Well, that's because it's not magic, is it?" Banda remarked.

Their assumption had been wrong from the beginning, and the attempt had failed. On the contrary, he had exposed himself defenselessly before the beasts they had created, resulting in self-destruction. Banda quickly enveloped Iguchi with mucus expelled from his mouth, trapping him within it, and then proceeded to stab and kill him with his claws as he was stuck in the cloudy gel-like mucus.

While at it, Banda also tried to crush Iguchi's soul a little, just to test it. While Banda had time to implant trauma and crush his heart without showing it to Mei and Hiroshi during the incident with ‘Balor’, this time he had no such chance.

After a few seconds of testing, it was clear that Banda, who was nothing more than a clone of Vandalieu, couldn't break souls.

(It doesn't feel like it will break at all… Is it really impossible without the main body?)

Having given up, Banda released Iguchi's soul. If he wanted to destroy Rokudou, it seemed that the only way was to summon the main body.

"Returning to the topic at hand, I don’t want Hiroshi to fight. Instead, I would like Hiroshi to assist in protecting everyone. If we continue at this rate, we'll have to rescue a large number of people who have yet to become experimental subjects and don't have the ability to fight," Banda said.

"But I don't have that kind of power..."

"It's alright, if you use this, you will."

Saying that, Banda took out a metal mass that was quite large, completely different from the staffs and portable Transformation Equipment.

"This is a heavy armored-type Transformation Equipment specially made for Hiroshi. Please give it a try," Banda explained.

"Made just for me?! Awesome!" Hiroshi exclaimed.

As he was a boy about to reach puberty and longed to be a hero, he eagerly reached out for the new model of Transformation Equipment provided by Banda with no hesitation.





The influential figures from various countries in the political and business sectors, who had been cooperating with Rokudou in exchange for the promise of unaging immortality, were now feeling frustration, distrust, and impatience.

Originally, today was supposed to be the day when Rokudou would complete the death-attribute magic and become the god of the new world, bestowing upon them the gift of immortality. They expected no troubles and no obstacles along the way. They were supposed to safely attain eternal life, which was the dream of humanity, and reign as the nobles of the new world.

"I understand that life is bound to have troubles, but... wouldn't it be nice to have some explanation? Where is Mr. Rokudou?"

Moriya of ‘Shaman’, who was questioned by the President of the United States, felt a cold sweat running down his back internally.

"Currently, Rokudou is in the final stages of preparation. I apologize for the inconvenience. Everyone will have to wait a little longer, but there are no issues to be concerned about. The attackers targeting this facility will be subdued very soon."

Moriya explained so, but deep down, he was well aware that it was a lie.

All the nuisances they wanted to dispose of were still alive, and the allies who were supposed to return after taking care of them were either dead or missing. The pawns, who were never supposed to betray them, had turned against them and sided with the enemy.

And now, the headquarters that had been well-prepared and believed to be safe from actual attacks was under fierce assault.

Moriya understood that they were holding the enemy back, but it was because the enemy prioritized rescuing their experimental subjects. Fortunately, Rokudou had come up with the idea of using the experimental subjects as hindrances rather than hostages to hinder the enemy's movements, so it’s possible for them to buy some time, but… It was uncertain whether they could hold out for a few more minutes… let alone an hour.

At least, there wouldn’t be time to escape from here and hide somewhere else. When he left the command center, the surveillance cameras captured Hiroshi transforming into a metallic monster of over two meters tall. As a result, he shouted, "What is this!? It's like a monster!"

No matter how you look at it, it was clearly Monster Number 2. It seemed almost impossible for even Rokudou himself to turn the tide of this battle. Even Moriya, one of his devoted followers, was starting to think that way.

At least, in his divine realm, Rodcorte would be screaming, "Commit suicide right away so your souls won’t get devoured!

If even Moriya has reached that point, the presidents who were cooperating with Rokudou out of their own interests, rather than faith or trust, would be even more so.

In their heads, they are likely contemplating plans to give up on Rokudou and escape from here, cover up their involvement and manipulate information to minimize the damage as much as possible. However, it was too late for the President of the United States and the head of the intelligence agency, as a coup d'état had already been underway in their home country.

"Thank you for waiting, everyone."

At that moment, Rokudou's figure was projected on a large monitor mounted on the wall.

"Mr. Rokudou!?"

"I have just finished the final adjustments. I apologize for keeping you all waiting."

"What!? So, will we finally obtain eternal life?"

"Hurry up! The ‘Bravers’ are attacking from the surface!"

"Please calm down. First of all, after I acquire the power of death-attribute magic, I will bestow it upon all of you."

Moriya could only anxiously watch Rokudou's explanation through the monitor. The talk of final adjustments was a lie. The plan was to secure Amemiya Mei and conduct research on her before testing the research findings on Rokudou himself.

However, Amemiya Mei had not been secured.

"Rokudou-san, could it be..."

On the monitor, a cultivation capsule behind Rokudou was displayed. Floating within the liquid filling the capsule was a man with his eyes closed similar to Rokudou, though with a physique much larger and sturdier.

"First, I must die. And then, I will inhabit this body that has been created and adjusted for this death-attribute magic... I must undergo reincarnation! For that purpose! It took me more than a year to build a system that allows a soul to reside in another body after it leaves the body ! Whether that is correct, whether my research is correct... Now I’ll know!

Shouting these words, Rokudou pulled out a handgun and pressed it against his own temple.

"Rokudou-san! Don't rush it!"

"Mister! What are you planning to do!?"

Moriya instinctively shouted, realizing that something was wrong, and the presidents, sensing the abnormality, started to panic.

"Now is the time... I will become a superhuman!"

However, Rokudou pulled the trigger. The sound of the gun echoed, blood splattered from Rokudou's head, and he fell, no longer visible on the monitor.

The event left Moriya and the presidents frozen in shock, but the silence didn't last long.

It was because the eyelids of the man that looked like Rokudou floating in the cultivation capsule opened.

"...Fu, fuhahaha! I have finally obtained the power to control death and rule this world!"

The cultivation capsule shattered from the inside, and the monitor displayed Rokudou, who had successfully undergone reincarnation.