Clear, glistening blood spilled out, soaking the entire altar. It wound through the carved grooves in the stone, and the magic runes lit one by one in its wake.
The black-robed figures stood with their heads bowed, chanting an ancient hymn in unison, praising the resurrection of the God of Death.
The altar's light burned brighter and brighter. The girl lying upon it looked serene, her expression peaceful and composed. If not for the blood-red flower blooming across her chest, she might have seemed merely asleep.
Then, without warning, a vast surge of magical power shook the temple. Red light rippled out from the altar like a tide. In the next moment, the carved patterns split apart, and a low, lingering sigh spread through the hall.
Antilene lay on the altar. Beneath her was a thick stone slab.
The black-robed figures stepped forward in formation. They lifted the slab she rested on, shouldered its weight, and slowly carried it aside, as though removing the lid of a coffin.
Under the slab was an abyss of absolute darkness. Not even the faintest ray of light could reach inside.
After a long silence, a pitch-black skeleton rose from the darkness. Clear light washed over his skull, and two points of orange-yellow fire kindled in his eye sockets.
The God of Death, Surshana, had returned from the dead. His believers had resurrected their god.
"Where is this place?" the pitch-black skeleton asked. His head turned stiffly as his gaze swept over the surrounding black-robed figures.
"Honored God of Death, this is the Slane Theocracy," they answered as one.
"The Slane Theocracy?" The skeleton's voice was hoarse and grating. The golden light in his eye sockets suddenly shrank.
Then he let out a shrill, furious scream.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHY THE HELL AM I ALIVE AGAIN?! FUCK! AAAAAAAH!!"
He sounded like an undead who had slept for a thousand years in a graveyard, only to be dragged awake for no reason at all—mad with rage.
"Lord God of Death!" One of the black-robed figures braved the undead's sonic blast, gathered his courage, and stepped forward. "The Slane Theocracy stands at the brink of life and death!"
...
EeDechi carried Kilua on her back as she sprinted down the stone avenue at blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, she had already crossed several kilometers.
Waves of powerful magical energy rose and fell like a tide, washing over the land again and again. EeDechi was running straight toward the center of that surge.
Suddenly, countless streaks of golden light tore across the clear blue sky.
Brilliant arcs of gold swept through the heavens, crossing and weaving together until they formed a vast pale-gold net, majestic enough to cover the lands of the Slane Theocracy.
"What is that?" EeDechi asked, looking up in surprise.
"It's probably a national transmutation array—though that's not exactly right. It's a magical miracle on the level of the Eight Greed Kings," Kilua answered from where she lay across EeDechi's back.
"You sure know a lot for someone with amnesia," EeDechi said.
The little girl was becoming more mysterious by the minute, but with a Justice Value of 162, EeDechi still felt fairly safe around her.
"I only forgot the part about my parents. I remember everything else perfectly! From now on, I'll be your personal little magic advisor."
Kilua rested her chin on EeDechi's shoulder and tried her hardest to look sweet and innocent.
EeDechi gave her a doubtful sideways glance, then abruptly picked up even more speed.
At the center of the city stood a grand temple. A line of black-robed figures waited outside. EeDechi quickly spotted a familiar face among them—Daniel Christian.
The moment Daniel saw EeDechi rushing toward them, delight flashed across his face. He hurried forward to meet her.
"Divine Envoy, your timing couldn't be better!" he said.
"What did you do? I felt a powerful magical fluctuation," EeDechi asked.
Daniel steadied himself, his expression turning solemn.
"We have resurrected the God of Death, Surshana."
"The God of Death, Surshana?" EeDechi was startled too.
Surshana was one of the Six Great Gods worshipped by the Slane Theocracy. He was their founding deity, a legendary figure from six hundred years ago—a level-100 demon god from the same era as the Eight Greed Kings.
And now he had been resurrected?
EeDechi frowned in confusion. "Really? Just like that? You can bring someone back that easily? Then why not resurrect the other five gods too?"
"What was the price?" Kilua cut in before anyone else could speak.
"Lady Antilene volunteered as the sacrifice. She was a descendant of the God of Death and carried the blood of her ancestors. With her level-90 divine power, she gave her life to complete the resurrection ritual and call back our level-100 God of Death," Daniel replied.
EeDechi's eyelid twitched. "Antilene is dead?"
Daniel lowered his head and avoided her gaze. "Yes."
An elderly blind woman stepped out of the temple. She dropped to her knees before EeDechi and spoke with utmost reverence.
"We greet the Divine Envoy."
"Please don't, ma'am." EeDechi quickly helped her up.
Antilene's face surfaced in her mind, and for a moment, her chest felt unbearably heavy.
EeDechi asked, "Can I go see your God of Death?"
Daniel nodded. "You seem to come from the same world as him. Perhaps you could speak with him on our behalf. Right now… he is somewhat agitated."
EeDechi nodded and strode into the temple.
She wanted to see for herself what kind of person this God of Death was—the one Antilene had given her life to bring back.
...
"I didn't want to come back!" In the side hall, a pitch-black skeleton clad in luxurious robes sat with one hand pressed to his forehead, sighing heavily.
"You're the God of Death?" EeDechi leaped closer and asked bluntly.
The pitch-black skeleton—Surshana—looked up, clearly surprised.
Since his resurrection, this was the first time anyone had spoken to him in such a casual tone. It reminded him of his companions from six hundred years ago.
"That is correct. I am the God of Death, ruler of the underworld and master of necrotic power. Who are you?" Surshana sat up straight and replied.
EeDechi skipped the formalities and went straight to the point. "I'm also level 100, and I crossed over from another world too. I'm on the same side as the Slane Theocracy."
"A fellow countryman!" Surshana sprang to his feet in excitement. The golden light in his eye sockets curved into bright crescents.
EeDechi waved a hand, signaling for him to calm down. "I heard from the Six Scriptures that you didn't want to be revived. What's the problem? I can try knocking some sense into you."
"This world is boring," Surshana sighed. "I miss the world before I crossed over. Games, the internet, WiFi, cola, chips, anime… those were the good days."
"Unbelievable," EeDechi muttered. "Antilene sacrificed herself for a dead otaku."
EeDechi asked, "After you died, did you return to your original world?"
"No. Dead is dead. There was nothing left. I can't go back," Surshana said with a deep sigh.
EeDechi suddenly remembered something important and asked, "Wait a second. You're an undead, right? How did you even have descendants? I mean, you don't have anything down there…"
"Ahem," Surshana said. "I used ancient magic to attach a dick to myself. The key to the spell was finding materials that matched a level-100 being. Back then, I used one of my friend's arms. He said he was willing to sacrifice a hand for my happiness…"
"Stop, stop, stop." EeDechi raised a hand. "I'm not interested in that part of your story. The situation is urgent. The Sorcerer Kingdom—that is, the Great Tomb of Nazarick—is about to attack the Slane Theocracy!"
"I already know the situation," Surshana said with a nod. "I've activated the supreme divine artifact created through World Item fusion technology. It is the final trump card we used six hundred years ago against the Eight Greed Kings—the Homeland Guardian Array. The array can protect half of the Slane Theocracy's territory and prevent anyone level 60 or higher from entering this domain."
"Good!" EeDechi gave him a thumbs-up. "But what about the other half of the territory outside the array? What about the people living there? They're your subjects and believers. Ainz is very likely to slaughter them. We need to discuss how to deal with Ainz Ooal Gown."
Surshana shook his head and turned to leave.
"I can't deal with all that. From now on, I'm just going to freeload and wait for death. I have no interest in saving the world. Farewell. I'm going to reminisce about my old friends and my lover."