Having added Henry to my service, I departed from the half-destroyed prison.
Our next destination was the royal castle within the capital city.
This was at Henry's request; he seemed to have something he wanted to retrieve from inside the castle.
Seeing no particular reason to refuse, I agreed to accompany him.
Along the way, I shed my damaged current body and switched to an intact undead form.
The injuries from the fight with Henry were severe.
Both my arms were completely gone, and my spine was split.
Remaining in that state would have forced me to endure various inconveniences.
Henry remained unperturbed seeing me freely change bodies.
According to him, "At this point, I'm no longer surprised by such things."
The shock of losing our one-on-one duel was apparently far greater.
It must have been a fresh experience for Henry.
I took Henry and used teleportation magic to move.
I knew the castle had been seized by a horde of undead.
Aside from Henry, there didn't seem to be any significant powers left in this small kingdom.
This was the natural result.
Henry was simply the exception to the norm.
It would have been untenable if the undead army could be collapsed so easily.
We flew into a great hall within the castle.
In the room laid with a red carpet, wounded ghouls were wandering about.
Armored soldiers, nobles in fine clothes, even servants—all had become equally undead.
"Amazing. They really won't attack, huh?"
Henry prodded nearby undead and peered into their faces, impressed.
Even knowing it was safe, I had to respect the nerve it took to go that far.
His curiosity must have outweighed all caution.
"By the way, where is this thing you want to retrieve?"
"Probably the treasury. Upstairs in this castle. It's a weapon I was fond of. Confiscated when I was imprisoned, but it should still be there. Not something they'd just throw away."
Henry spoke with a hint of pride.
Hearing this, I recalled something at the same time.
When Henry was put forward as a hero candidate, I learned about his fighting style through documents.
Based on that information, a weapon was indeed essential.
This meant the current Henry couldn't fully utilize his combat abilities.
To think he was already this incomplete was astonishing.
As we climbed the stairs leading to the treasury, a familiar presence drew near.
Luciana popped her head into view.
"Hi-yah~ Demon King. You really are safe after all."
"Naturally. I cannot perish here."
Behind her stood several humans.
They hadn't turned undead yet.
They had vacant, unfocused eyes that were distinctly unique.
Their expressions were slack; there was no doubt they were in some kind of abnormal state.
Luciana, noticing my gaze, quickly interjected with an explanation.
"These children are the leaders of minor nations. I've enchanted them to their very souls. This completes our perfectly obedient puppets."
"Oh? Not bad."
"Right, right!"
Luciana eagerly sought my approval.
Increasing the number of compliant human pawns was welcome.
They could be utilized in many ways.
This was a harvest made possible by leveraging her nature as a succubus.
The fact that information could be easily extracted from them was also significant.
It would prove useful in pinpointing the third nation that had instigated the smaller countries.
Just then, Luciana glanced at Henry.
She studied him, finger to her chin.
"You've turned that human too, I see. Hmm, I think that's a wise decision."
"Pleased to meet ya!"
"Oh, right."
Luciana responded flatly to Henry's spirited greeting.
Perhaps she wasn't very interested.
In her case, the criterion for distinguishing between sexes boiled down to one word: strength.
Anything other than myself at the apex is essentially irrelevant.
In truth, I held much the same attitude toward Grom, whose strength rivaled that of the previous Demon Lord.
On this matter, I hope we gradually grow closer.
If collaborators are on poor terms, it could hinder various operations.
I can only pray that time will resolve it.
Since we had successfully rendezvoused, we headed to the treasury with Luciana in tow.
After destroying the heavy security enchantments and opening the door, we surveyed the interior.
There lay the gold, silver, and treasures amassed by the small nation.
The funds of an entire state.
The total sum was considerable.
Though, in my current state, I felt little appeal.
I had become an existence that found no value in wealth.
Well, perhaps even in life, I never had much attachment to it.
Maybe being undead has little to do with it.
"Ah ha! Isn't this amazing? For a small country, they've really stashed away a lot!"
Luciana, on the other hand, dove into the treasure with shining eyes.
She gathered gemstones with delight, eventually nuzzling her cheek against an ornate necklace.
Her elation was unmistakable.
She seemed to have a surprisingly materialistic side.
Passing by her, Henry strode through the treasury.
He searched in silence for the weapon he had in mind.
Eventually, his feet came to a stop at one particular spot.
"Oh, found it, chief!"
What he held up was a bow.
Its surface was a dull brown, but it was not made of wood.
Nor was it metallic, exactly.
It possessed an uncanny texture.
Right—Henry was a bowman.
For all his ferocity in close-quarters combat, his true calling was ranged attack.
It was almost impossible to believe, but he made a habit of sniping from distances beyond detection.
Hearing that, he sounded like an assassin.
"This here's a bow crafted from dragon bone and whiskers. One of a kind in the whole world. You can understand why I'd want it back, right?"
Henry fiddled with the bowstring as he explained.
A bow made from dragon materials would be of the highest quality.
Even without any special enhancements, it would function as a powerful magical weapon.
"Well, might as well take a few test shots while we're at it. Just need one or two arrows..."
Muttering to himself, Henry rummaged through the treasury at random and secured a handful of arrows.
There didn't seem to be any particular preference.
Any arrow would do, apparently.
We followed Henry's lead and moved out.
It seems he'll move to a different location to demonstrate some bow test shots.
He was led to a room where one entire wall was made of glass.
The structure offered a panoramic view of the castle town, providing an excellent outlook.
Currently, all that could be seen were streets dominated by the undead, but under normal circumstances, it must have been a particularly striking vista.
"Heave."
Henry shattered the glass with a kick, nocked an arrow, and took aim.
His refined stance spoke volumes.
Just seeing him like this gave a glimpse of his skill.
"..."
Henry's expression emptied, and he fell silent.
The arrowhead of his nocked arrow began to faintly glow.
It was likely the effect of the bow made with dragon materials.
It was functioning as a high-level magical weapon.
It was enhancing the arrow.
After a suitable moment passed, Henry released the arrow.
The arrow flew, tracing a path of light.
At its end stood the barracks.
The arrow, shot for distance, reached the barracks in the blink of an eye.
It struck the stone tower portion, piercing its surface.
The tower, now with a small hole bored through it, groaned and swayed.
The trembling grew steadily stronger, and soon the tower collapsed.
It crashed down as a rain of rubble, crushing the entire barracks.
"Damn, what a disappointment. My aim's gotten rusty after all this time without a shot."
Henry, releasing his stance, seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
Though he spoke like that, his skill was exceptional.
To cause a collapse from such a tiny hole was a feat far beyond the capability of the bow's performance alone.
It must have been the result of Henry's own transcendent technique.
Even so, to have gained such an outrageous ally—I had to be grateful for the fortune of recruiting him into the Demon King's army.
This alone justified the value of invading a small nation.
Henry was, at some point, already holding a wine bottle.
He must have stolen it from somewhere within the castle.
He took a satisfying swig, then exhaled deeply, savoring it.
"...Hmm."
Standing beside him, I crossed my arms and pondered.
A flicker of curiosity and rivalry was stirring.
I was beginning to wonder just how much power I possessed.
With the goal of destroying a small nation now nearly complete, a bit of amusement would likely be permitted.
I extended a hand toward Henry.
"Lend me an arrow."
"Oh, the general's going to show off their sniping too? That I'd like to see."
Henry moved to offer me the bow along with an arrow.
I only grabbed the arrow.
"This is enough."
"Hmph... if the general says so, I suppose."
Henry's expression was bewildered.
I intended to loose an arrow without using a bow.
His confusion was understandable.
With a single arrow in hand, I stepped to the window.
It was the very spot where Henry had just fired.
I fixed my gaze beyond the collapsed tower, weaving body-enhancement magic throughout my frame.
I also imbued the arrow itself.
I had to be careful with the application, lest it break apart.
Once prepared, I drew back the darkened arrow.
Then, with all my strength, I hurled it beyond the castle walls.
The arrow left sound behind, shrinking from sight in an instant.
After a brief delay, an explosion erupted on a mountain beyond the capital.
The peak was sheared off, a swathe of forest flayed away to expose raw, gouged earth.
The scale of the devastation was beyond question.
"Uh, uh...?"
Henry stared blankly.
Amber liquid dripped from the tilted bottle.
After a moment, he returned to himself and shrugged with a look of realization.
"Haha, that leaves me with no leg to stand on. What a bad boss."
"Oh well. The Demon Lord is always like that..."
Luciana muttered, glancing at me.
Her sidelong look held a hint of reproach and exasperation.
Feeling inexplicably uncomfortable, I could do nothing but avert my gaze without a word.