TL: Cannongerbil

Editor: Striker

[Note: This story takes place sometime around volume 2, so the status quo is a bit different from the more recent volumes.]

Lich.

That is a type of being created when a powerful mage performs a forbidden ritual to turn themselves into an undead creature.

It stands apart from most monsters, and even amongst the undead, they are considered to be extremely powerful.

They possess an unaging body that cannot be damaged by non-magical weapons, and their new body grants them access to dangerous abilities like Drain Touch in addition to their command of the arcane arts that they already possessed in life.

Such a powerful creature that wouldn't seem out of place as the final boss of some extensive dungeon is currently…

“Hey, Wiz, why is the tea you brew tepid? You know I prefer my tea piping hot, right!?”

“Sorry, sorry, I'm really sorry, Aqusama!”

Bowing in apology to a certain G.o.ddess acting like some cliched mother-in-law.

“Seriously. In this season, liches are really an eyesore to even be around. Just being close to you makes me feel chilly. Please go sleep in a grave or something until summer rolls around.”

“H-How terrible!”

ーThe other day, we took on an exorcism request in place of Wiz and, after a series of events, ended up with a mansion.

We visited the magic item shop to give our thanks to Wiz for pa.s.sing that job onto us, but…

“How long have you been a lich? You can't even serve a proper cup of tea. The only good thing about being an undead is your long life, isn't it? Just what have you been doing with your life?”

“I'm a fresh and supple undead whose flesh is still completely intact, so…”

Wiz described herself with words that would better fit a fish or vegetable sold at the marketplace, and Aqua gave her a suspicious look.

“Come to think of it, unlike other liches, you still have a fleshy body. Normally, you would turn into a skeleton the moment you become a lich, right? So why are you all soft and squishy?”

“I didn't turn into a lich the normal way. It's kind of like being a lich hybrid, so I'll always be like this.”

“How unfair! That's really sneaky of you, Wiz! If the public knows that you can remain forever young looking even after turning into an undead, the number of housewives who'd want to become undead will shoot through the roof!”

“T-That won't happen, Aqusama. It's not easy to become a lich, and it's not something just anyone can become…”

Megumin, Darkness, and I casually sipped our tea as we watched Aqua question Wiz, seemingly having completely forgotten the reason why we came here.

“It is a little lukewarm, but this is some delicious tea. It's comparable to the tea that Darkness brews. For someone who's that clumsy, she strangely is really good at brewing tea.”

“Hey, just what kind of person do you think I am? I can't tell if I'm being praised or insulted.”

“This really is good tea. I've thought it surprising that Darkness could brew such good tasting tea too, but to be honest, it's even more surprising to find a lich who puts on tea. Do you still need to eat and drink after becoming undead?”

“You too, Megumin?!”

Just as we were settling into this relaxed atmosphere.

“Pardon me, is Wiz-san present!?”

The doors of the magic item shop suddenly flew open, and the person who barged in was a very breathless guild receptionist.

After catching her breath, Luna explained why she was here.

“ーAn undead monster?”

According to what she said, undead monsters have been spotted at a cave not too far from Axel.

Dark places like caves and dungeons make for good gathering spots for naturally occuring undead. Normally, the guild would just put up a request in the adventurer's guild, but it seems like there's something special about this case.

“Yes, and it's not a simple undead monster that resulted from a pa.s.sing adventurer or traveller. You see, the monster that was spotted wasn't a zombie, skeleton or a ghost, but…”

From what she said, a ghoul, a mid-rank undead monster, was spotted in the caves.

It's not a creature that should be hanging around a town of beginners, so she would like someone to investigate the reason why it's here.

And, as for why she specifically came to Wiz for that, well…

“I see. It's way too strong of an undead creature to arise spontaneously. Thus, it can only be the work of some evil mage using necromancy to create them. And the only one in this town who can use such high level spells like necromancy is Wiz! She must be the culprit! ”

“Eeeh!?”

“Of course not! There's no way we would suspect Wiz!”

The receptionist bowed deeply in apology to Wiz after Aqua confidently stated her deduction.

“This quest would actually be quite dangerous. And truth be told, Aqua isn't completely baseless. It's extremely unlikely for such undead creatures to arise naturally, and the possibility of some powerful spellcaster pulling the strings can't be discounted.”

A creature powerful enough to create mid-rank undead monsters.

In other words, there could be such a powerful undead monster present.

“That's why I want to make this request to Wiz, a powerful mage and an expert on undead matters.”

“I see… In that case, I'll accept the quest. Maybe it's because there aren't many adventurers picking quests up in winter, but I don't get many customers during this time either.”

That probably isn't the only reason why n.o.body visits this store, but none of us said anything.

Just then,

“Hey, there's an undead-slaying expert in this town too, you know? Why are you ignoring me and going straight to Wiz?”

Aqua, who sees undead creatures as her mortal enemy, said that.

“Aqusan, you want to take on this quest too?… Well, yes, if it were some other quest, I would have some worries, but in this case, it might be best to have you tag along.”

“Hey, did you just say that you were worried if it was some other quest?”

Aqua rotated her shoulders menacingly while the guild receptionist placed a hand on her chin.

Just then, Darkness, who had been watching in silence until now, got to her feet.

“In that case, I'll go with you too. Mages would need someone to serve as a vanguard. Plus, I'm a Crusader. Vanquis.h.i.+ng undead is part of my job.”

“Yes, it is true that Darkness-san's defense is extremely reliable.”

Then, Megumin too got to her feet.

“Hmm, so the enemy could be a powerful undead creature. In that case, the more trump cards we have, the better. Fortunately, the enemy is living in a cave, not a dungeon. My spell would be of great help in this case.”

“Megumi-san! Yes, with Darkness-san's defence, Aqusan's holy magic, Megumin-san's offensive power and Wiz's expertise and mastery of magic…!”

As the receptionist slowly worked herself up, I adopted my most grandiose posture and got to my feet too.

“And with the addition of me, this would be the perfect formation. Don't worry, leave this to us.”

“… Umm, Satou-san, you're taking part too?”

Hey.

This quest is offering quite a bit of money due to the expectation of running into strong enemies.

However, Aqua can easily handle any undead creatures that came our way, and with Wiz tagging along as well, I wasn't particularly worried as we made our preparations.

“Everyone, please be careful. In the worst case scenario, there might be a lich hiding in the caves. Though it's fairly unlikely that such a powerful creature would come all the way out here.”

The guild lady, who came to see us off at the gates, said.

The rest of us turned to stare at Wiz.

“Y-Yeah, there's no way a lich would set up camp in such a remote place…”

Wiz muttered under her breath after meeting our gaze, though it doesn't seem like the guild lady took any notice of it.

“There aren't very many records of what a lich can do, but according to legend, a lich is a dangerous creature that can rob the surrounding land of life and poison the waters just by being there. There haven't been any such signs around the cave, so it's unlikely for there to be a lich present.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Wiz seems to grow increasingly awkward after being told that she was a dangerous creature right to her face.

“Oh, I didn't know that a lich could poison waters. It might as well be challenging me directly.”

“T-That's not it, Aqusama! That's just a rumour! I'm sure it's a badly garbled version of the Drain Touch skill!”

Wiz frantically explained, and the guild lady gave her a look of admiration.

“Wiz-san, are you familiar with liches? We don't have much solid information on liches, so if you are familiar with them, please tell us everything you know after the quest is over…”

“Eh, well, I suppose I do know quite a bit about liches. After all, I'm a fairly accomplished adventurer. Now, let's hurry up and set off. If we wait any longer, night will fall and the undead will get a strength buff!”

We waved goodbye to the guild lady as Wiz practically forced us out the gates.

“ーHey, Wiz, they said that there is a chance that it could be a lich, but it really isn't you, right? If you are keeping some stray undead behind my back, you best come clean right now. If you do so, I'll purify you painlessly.”

“It really isn't me, Aqusama! And I still think like a human, so there's no way I would keep some stray undead as a pet!”

“The best way to be sure is to purify Wiz right now. If undead continue popping up after Wiz has successfully gone on to heaven, that means that she definitely isn't the culprit.”

“Wait, Aqusama, that would kill me!”

Aqua and Wiz argued as we made our way towards the cave.

Why does she have such a chip on her shoulder when it comes to the undead?

“Still, the undead creature that was spotted was a ghoul, right? That means it might really be an undead creature on the same level as a lich that is behind all of this.”

Megumin, walking next to me, said.

“I've heard the name before, but how strong are ghouls, exactly?”

In response to my question, Darkness, who had a silver mace on her hip instead of her greatsword, said.

“Ghouls are troublesome humanoid undead creatures capable of agile movements and producing paralyzing poisons. Just one of them would be troublesome to deal with, but they often come in packs. Because they feed on carrion to live, they frequently make their nests in graveyards and other places not too far from human civilization where such meat is plentiful.”

From what I've heard, those aren't monsters that we, who still struggle against weak monsters like giant frogs, should be taking on…

“I can take out ghouls in a snap. Even if they come at us in large numbers, I can just take all of them out with a large area purifying spell, so don't worry!”

“U-Um, Aqusama? I'm an undead too, so please don't catch me in the blast along with them. If need be, I'll handle all of them myself, so…!”

Right, we have the strongest undead, a lich, and a G.o.ddess with us.

Between the two of them, there shouldn't be anything to worry aboutー

ーI was a fool to even think that for a moment.

“Waaaaaah! Kazumsan! Kazumsan!”

“You idiot, why do you always run towards me whenever you run into the slightest bit of trouble!? Hurry up and take care of them already! If you can't, then run the other way!”

“But ghouls are really scary when you look at them up close! They were eating something that will definitely give me nightmares!”

When we arrived at the cave in question, we first stealthy approached to scout out the area, and found several ghouls swarming over something.

Aqua happily went out to purify them, completely ignoring my words of caution, but…

“Aqua, don't come closer to me! You'll lead those ghouls that were eating unspeakable things towards me!”

“Aqua, run towards me! I'll take all of their attacks with my body… Ah, why are they all ignoring me!?”

After seeing the ghouls feasting on something eerily humanlike, we descended into panic.

Leaving aside their prowess at fighting undead, Aqua and Megumin seem to have a really weak stomach when it comes to blood and gore.

“Cursed Crystal Prison!”

Wiz's dignified voice echoed through the cave, and the ghouls that were chasing after Aqua were frozen into a solid block of ice that then shattered into a million pieces.

“Aqusama, it's okay now. I've taken care of the ghoulsー”

“Waaaaah!”

Aqua tearfully jumped into Wiz's bosom. It seems that seeing whatever the ghouls were eating really traumatized her.

Wiz seemed momentarily taken aback, but she quickly recovered and started slowly stroking Aqua's hair like she would comfort a crying child.

“It's fine now, so there's no need to cry, Aqusama… Aqusama? U-Um, the parts you're holding onto is getting hotter somehow, Aqusama!? Your tears really hurt, so please stop crying, Aqusama!”

After prying Aqua off Wiz who was starting to become transparent, I approached the human like pile of meat the ghouls were feasting on with the intent on giving it a proper burial.

“Ah, it wasn't a human. Hey, Aqua, it seems like the ghouls were snacking on a goblin.”

“… Considering how cowardly you normally are, I'm surprised you have the stomach to investigate such a horrible scene.”

“Any experienced adventurer will eventually pick up the skill ‘Guro resistance'.”

To be specific, it's a skill that any serious NEET will learn even if they aren't an adventurer.

It isn't unusual to run into some suspicious pictures after being lured in by the promise of p.o.r.n.

And that's how children become adults.

After Wiz incinerated the corpse of the goblin, we finally ventured into the cave proper.

Those ghouls must have been all of it, because we didn't run into any other undead monsters.

The cave itself wasn't too deep, and standing at the far end, cloaked in shadows, was a single man.

He had pale white skin, much like Wiz, and blood red eyes poked out from between his short cropped blonde hair.

“Kukuku, you probably accepted a quest to take out a high ranked undead, but you must really be unlucky to come all the way out here, newbie adventurers.”

He gave us a smile much like that a carnivore might give after sighting its prey, revealing a set of sharp fangs.

ーVampire.

It's an extremely powerful undead monster, much like a lich.

If asked “Which undead creature is the king of undead”, about half the answers would probably be `vampire'.

Such a strong creature shouldn't be anywhere near the town of beginners, but…

“There he is! See, Aqusama, there he is! That's the undead that's responsible for creating the Ghouls! Now you can be certain I'm not behind this, right!?”

“Y-Yeah. W-Well, it's not like I really suspected you in the first place, but I guess I should apologize. Sorry!”

Wiz happily pointed at the vampire, completely destroying the boss like image that the vampire was trying to project.

This must be the first time the vampire received this kind of treatment, he seemed completely taken aback and his mouth flapped open and close like a goldfish.

“Darkness, look, that's a vampire. A vampire. Though, I really hate how they taint the value of red eyes.”

“If you put it that way, then I also dislike him for tainting the value of blonde hair.”

As Megumin and Darkness whispered to each other, the vampire's eyes flashed red and he snarled.

“How dare you fledging chicks treat me like this! I am a vampire! The strongest undead creature and a supreme being, Vorgan Claud! Get down on your knees and beg for your life!!”

After haughtily declaring such a thing, he looked directly at Wiz who was still pointing at him…

“…Hmm? Why isn't my hypnotic gaze working? Did you bring some powerful protective charm with you?”

He must have tried some kind of attack, but it doesn't seem to have worked.

“Um, I'm a lich, so status effects won't work on me.”

“Lich? L-Lich, you say!?”

Vorgan's eyes widened after hearing what Wiz said.

After a short pause, he shook his head in an exasperated manner.

“Humph. While liches are pitiful beings far beneath an exquisite vampire like myself, they are still skeletal creatures capable of wielding quite a bit of power. It's not something that an airheaded girl like you should claim to be.”

“W-What did you say!?”

As Wiz worked herself into a huff, I surrept.i.tiously moved closer to Aqua.

“Hey, I'm not sure of the specifics, but vampires are really strong, right? Can you take him on?”

“Just who do you think I am? Just a single blow from my fist would be enough to vanquish a vampire. But let's leave this to Wiz. It's well known that liches and vampires don't get along. It doesn't seem like he is a particularly powerful vampire either, so let's just watch.”

Aqua said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“I can't overlook a narcissistic vampire calling liches pitiful beings! And what's that about liches being far beneath that of a vampire!? The only thing vampires have going for them is gaining a bit more power and being hard to kill, otherwise they're just riddled with weaknesses!”

“How dare you compare me to the likes of liches! How dare a mere human like you insult the king of undead, the vampire! Lightning!”

Vorgan extended his finger and fired a bolt of lightning at Wiz, but it vanished into nothingness an instant before it impacted.

Wiz adopted a triumphant, warlike smile, a stark contrast to her usual genial demeanour.

“Ufufufu, a sneak attack? As expected of the exquisite vampire. However, unlike the self proclaimed king of undead, we liches have far higher magic resistance than you vampires. There's no way such a low leveled spell would've worked on me.”

“Y-You, are you really a lich!? How annoying! How infuriating for mere upstarts who achieved undeath through the application of magic to be considered on the same level as us vampires!”

“We Liches achieved immortality under our own power after pus.h.i.+ng the laws of magic to their limits! We are not to be compared to you parasitic undead who gained immortality by merely licking your liege's boots!”

“You dare!?”

“What? You wanna go!? Just so you know, I could've defeated a vampire like you even back when I was still a human!”

Just when I thought the two of them would really go at it.

“Now, now, hold on a moment, you two. Let's listen to his story first.”

Aqua, who's clearly enjoying this, interjected with a smile.

“So, basically, you're a former n.o.ble and newly-turned vampire who's set up a base near the town of beginners far away from any strong adventurers in order to build up your power, right?”

“Precisely, vulgar human. If you let me suck your blood willingly right now, I will let you become my underling. Though, if your body isn't pure enough, you'll end up turning into a ghoul!”

Normally, when a vampire sucks your blood, you become a ghoul.

However, if someone with a pure body who has never performed s.e.xual acts before has their blood sucked, they would become a lower vampire.

“I'm still pure, so I can become a vampire.”

“Your eyes look just like that of an undead, so I'm surprised you could say that, brat.”

Are you saying I have dead eyes, you d.a.m.n undead!?

“Of course, I'm pure in both body and spirit, but I have no intention of becoming a vampire.”

“I'm obviously pure too, but I have pride in being a Crimson Demon, so I'll have to decline.”

“I-I-I should be p-pure too, .. so I shouldn't become a ghoul… I think.”

Why is she so uncertain? I kind of want to ask her exactly what she gets up to at night.

“I see. In other words, you're an evil undead, right? Well, personally, good undead and evil undead should all be purified.”

“Hmph. What are you saying? There's no way such a strange being as a non-evil undead could exist in this world.”

Wolfgang let out a snort like Aqua just stated that the sky is green, letting his fangs stick out from his mouth.

In stark contrast, Wiz enthusiastically raised her hand.

“Here, Aqusama! I'm not just a virtuous undead, I'm a very virtuous undead! After all, I'm always preparing and serving hot tea to you!”

“You dare lower your head to a fledgling human priest? Have you lost your pride as an undead? Humans should be but mere servants, forever beneath us! Seriously, a subservient lich!?”

Wiz turned towards Aqua after hearing those words.

“AquSama. AquSama, did you hear that? Vampires are pretty much all like that. Despite being formerly humans themselves, they treat their human past as a black history and seal them away. Then, they constantly sing praises of themselves as being a superior existence and hold no one but themselves in their eyes. Yes, they are a race of narcissists with inflated egos. Such an annoying species should be exterminated, right?”

“Hey, I can hear you, you upstart! We vampires turn ourselves into undead in order to achieve the perfection of existence! We are not like you, liches who turn themselves into undead just so they can shut themselves off in creepy bas.e.m.e.nts to research magic forever!”

“Only a small portion of liches become undead in order to further their research! There are plenty of people who became a lich in order to protect their loved ones or their companions!”

Just where did the gentle and calm Wiz go?

“You sure are impudent to talk to a n.o.ble like this! Very well, let's settle once and for all just which one of us is more powerful! Let's decide who is the true king of undead here!”

“Very well, I'll take you on! A vampire who can't even go out in daylight has no right to put themselves on the same level of a lich! I'll show you right now that liches are the true kings of undead!”

And, the battle between the two high ranking undead suddenly started.

The two of them started chanting spellsー!

“Turn undead!”

“Aaaaah!” x2

The one who can never read the mood suddenly shot a blast of purification magic from the side.

The two of them rolled around on the floor, smoke coming out from their bodies as they screamed in pain.

“Now, hold on one moment. What do you think you guys are doing without asking for my permission first?”

Wolfgang, clutching at his arm which has completely turned to ash, said.

“W-Wait, let's talk first. What are you doing all of a sudden, human girl? This is a battle between undead! How boorish do you have to be to interfere? …Actually, are you really a human? If I wasn't in the process of bolstering my power to deal with this lich, I would've completely turned to ash…”

Wiz, seeming slightly translucent, shakily got to her feet.

“Uuu, How horrible, Aqusama… I saw Beldia beckoning to me from the other side of the river….”

“If you say priest, you think of the undead. If you talk about undead, you have to talk to me. Indeed, if you are trying to decide the king of undead, the opinion of me, the priest amongst priests and the best undead killer in the world, is surely very important, yes?”

Aqua, a confident smile on her face, said something completely incomprehensible.

Having moved towards the entrance of the cave at Aqua's instructions, we are currently watching over the two undead who are much less lively than before.

Actually, they are clearly afraid of what Aqua intends for them next.

Wolfgang probably never expected that he would be nearly killed by a single blast of turn undead.

“Now then, let's have the match to find out which of you is truly the king of undead. As for why I'm doing this, well, it's amusing to watch. Anyway, first up, Megumin.”

“Yes?”

Megumin seemed slightly startled from being called out all of a sudden.

“Liches and vampires have strong magic resistance and physical endurance. So, to determine which is stronger, let's have the both of you take a shot from Megumin's Explosiー”

The two undead creatures made a run for it before Aqua could finish her sentence.

ーBecause it's still light out, Wolfgang couldn't run out into the open, so instead he ran back into the cave…

“Okay, okay, I get it! I won't ever name myself the king of undead again, so please let me go!”

“Ugh… He might be an undead creature, but it's still hard to see him beg for mercy like this…”

“You can't be soft like that, Darkness. He is a vampire. On top of that, he was trying to build a base of power here. He would've definitely caused harm to the citizens in town. If you are going to abandon the match, then I'll purify you right now.”

“What are you saying!? Stop saying ridiculous things! There's no way there exists an undead creature that can withstand Explosion!”

The vampire, who was supposed to be a contender for the t.i.tle of king of undead, was dragged back to the entrance of the cave by Darkness's hands.

Andー

“Aqusama, it's just as the vampire said! Even for a lich, there's no way I can take a shot from an Explosion head on! I will disappear! How about a different contest! Umm, liches and vampires can both use Drain Touch, so what about a sucking contest instead!?”

“Ah, yes, that! Yes, that's definitely more fitting for a match between undead!”

Wiz, being dragged along by Aqua, hastily proposed a different plan, and Wolfgang agreed.

“Eh? But Megumin is already raring to go.”

Looking outside, Megumin was indeed twirling her staff around while her eyes glowed bright red.

Well, being able to take out two high leveled undead at the same time would be worth quite a lot of experience.

It seems like she cares more about her experience points than Wiz's safety.

“Hey, Aqua, at the end of the day, Wiz did teach me hers skill and helped us quite a bit, so maybe we can find a less lethal game for them? The Drain Touch contest sounds pretty good!”

“Yes, well said, dead eyed kid! If you want, I can turn you into a proper vampire! I said I couldn't see you as a pure being earlier, but now that I look closely, I can say you have the face that wouldn't have allowed you to do any impure things! I'm sure you'll become a vampire!”

“Hey, do you want to take a bath in the light of the sun?”

A faint light shone from within the cave.

That is the glow produced from the Drain Touch that the two powerful undead were using.

Unlike the degraded version that I use, the version they are using is powerful enough that I could see the flow of mana with my naked eye.

“Oho, you two aren't too bad. I can feel my mana being siphoned away.”

Standing between the two of them with a placid expression is Aqua, who was the target of both their efforts.

“Human girl, we've siphoned away quite a lot of mana already, but are you alright? Originally, the plan was supposed to use Drain Touch on each other until one or the other dried out.”

Wolfgang asked with a concerned tone as he continued using Drain Touch.

“Y-Yeah, even if it is you, Aqusama, it would still be pretty tough to take on both our Drain Touches at the same time…”

Similarly, Wiz seemed quite concerned, too.

But Aqua simply replied with a casual smile.

“Oh, are the two of you worried about me?”

Wolfgang snorted in response.

“… Hmph, why would I have any reason to worry about the well being of a human priest? It would simply be hard to tell who is the victor if the target were to be drained dry before the contest is decided.”

“Unlike that twisted vampire over there, I'm genuinely concerned about you, Aqusama… Still, you really seem fine. As expected of Aqusama…”

Wiz suddenly trailed off.

Illuminated by the pale blue light, I noticed that Wiz seems much paler than before, and also that the edges of her have started to become transparent.

Wolfgang then muttered,

“… I've been feeling a bit numb for a while. Actually, this might be a little late, but how are we supposed to determine the winner? If we both do it at the same time, it won't be possible to tell whose Drain Touch was more effective.”

“Now that you mention it, we did start the contest on your instructions, but exactly how much mana should we drain? Umm, Aqusama, maybe it would really be best for us to use Drain Touch on each other instead…”

Just then,

Aqua, who had been pa.s.sively letting the two of them siphon her mana, suddenly grabbed their hands.

Almost as if she's saying that she won't let them stop halfway.

“Um, Aqusama? Why are you grabbing my hand like that? There's no way I would run away even if you didn't do that. Though, actually, I've been feeling a little unwell for a while now. Could it have been from that Turn Undead…?”

“You're feeling unwell too? I've been getting a headache for a while now, and my body has been feeling uncomfortably hot. It reminds me of the time I got food poisoning back when I was still alive…”

After hearing those words, I suddenly understood what Aqua's aim was.

“Say, Aqua, you don't care about the match at all, do you? You just want to vanquish the undead.”

“!?”

At those words, the two of them suddenly jumped back in shock and fear.

“d.a.m.n, alright, I give up! The lich can be the king of undead for all I care… Hey, let go of me! Wait, I can't stop the flow of mana! Hey, that's enough! I said that's enough! I feel like I want to vomit!”

“Aqusama, why aren't you letting me go!? It'll be really bad at this rate! Aqusama!?”

Aqua smiled upon seeing the two undead struggle.

“You asked me how we should decide the winner earlier, didn't you?”

As she said that, the mana getting sent into Wolfgang and Wiz suddenly increased.

“I don't care about the match anymore! Just let go! … What is happening!? Why can't I break her grip with my vampiric strength?!”

“Aqusama, I'll disappear! I'm vanis.h.i.+ng! At this rate I'll really vanis.h.!.+”

In response to those screams, Aqua replied in a tone of voice that sounded like she was truly enjoying herself.

“Ahahaha! Now, let's decide which one of you is truly the king of undead! Show me which one of you can withstand my holy mana the longest! Mere vampiric strength won't be able to break my grip! After all, on top of my naturally high strength, I also boosted it with my powerful buff spells!”

“Hey, Darkness, Megmin, stop Aqua! Wiz will really vanish at this rate!”

“Hey, Aqua, let go! Don't take advantage of this situation to purify Wiz too!”

“d.a.m.n-Aqua is much stronger than usual today! Is it's because she's dealing with the Undead?”

The two of them who were stuck in Aqua's death grip, screamed.

“I get it! I'm sorry! I swear I'll never harm humans or drink blood again! I'll become a vegetarian vampire from now on!”

“Aqusama! I still have things I need to do! Please, wait, Aqusama!”

Aqua, rebuffing all our attempts to get her to loosen her grip, let out a maniacal laugh.

“Wahahahaha! As long as my eyes s.h.i.+ne pure blue, I'll never let a king of undead get away!”

On that day, the vampire that was targeting the town of Axel was purified.

And Wiz's magic item shop was closed for a week.