Caligurio felt a gentle warmth enveloping him and opened his eyes.
(W-Where am I?)
Caligurio suddenly couldn't remember what he had been doing until now.
A girl who appeared to be just past ten years old, with silver hair, wore an angelic smile as she carried out some kind of work.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a fallen comrade—though he couldn't be certain, it looked like Krisna—toward whom she extended her hand, rainbow-colored light pouring from that hand into the fallen figure.
After a short while, that person—it was indeed Krisna—also opened her eyes halfway, and their gazes met.
However, like Caligurio who had just awakened, she was bewildered by the current situation and couldn't grasp what was happening.
The silver-haired girl didn't seem to notice that Caligurio and the others had awakened, and continued repeating the same process on one person after another.
When she had finished the same work on roughly a hundred people gathered in the room, she finally nodded with a satisfied look and turned toward him.
"Yo, you're awake, right? How are you feeling? Can you remember your name?"
The girl spoke to him in a casual tone.
But he felt no sense of discomfort.
The girl's beauty was certainly part of the reason, but the aura she gave off simply didn't permit Caligurio to harbor any rebellious intent.
Watching Caligurio's and the others' confused reactions— "Hm? Did it fail? The formula should have been perfect, though…"
The girl made a troubled expression.
Caligurio realized they had been placed under some kind of spell, but he felt no abnormalities in his body.
If anything, he simply felt that it was slightly harder to exert his strength.
Just as he was confirming this, he suddenly remembered— They had been invading the Monster Nation and were in the middle of a war.
"Ah—the demons! What happened to that red-haired demon? Did we survive?!"
Caligurio shouted.
At his words, his comrades finally recovered their memories from just before and realized how abnormal the current situation was.
Come to think of it, Caligurio and the others should have been killed by the demon.
His attacks had been completely useless, and he recalled the demon's hand blade crushing his heart.
That was precisely why he questioned the fact that he was alive.
"Oh, you remember now? Do you remember your own name too?"
As she asked, he nodded.
"I am Caligurio.
I serve as the Commander of the Empire's Armored Division and was appointed as the supreme commander of this operation.
The details of the operation are classified, so I cannot mention them here, but please forgive me. More importantly—are you the one who rescued us?"
He pressed eagerly.
Rescuing them from that situation would be impossible for anyone less than extraordinary.
That demon was truly a powerhouse worthy of the title King of Demons.
Before that demon, the only person capable of rescuing them that came to mind was the "Hero" he had heard about in passing rumors.
The Empire's Imperial Guards ranked No. 1 through 10 might have been able to do it, but whether even one of them could manage alone was questionable.
Moreover, he knew the Imperial Guards by face, and there would have been no reason for any of them to hide their identity from Caligurio.
He couldn't think of anyone he didn't know who possessed that level of power.
"Hm? Operation, shmoperation—we're the ones who wiped out your entire army, you know?
You're probably confused, so let me explain: you're dead.
Or rather, I'd say every single soldier who participated in the campaign died.
There might be some survivors, but we can deal with that later.
It looks like your memories are intact too, so I guess the formula was a success.
Nice to meet you—I'm Rimuru. The Demon Lord Rimuru.
I'm the king of this country. Pleased to make your acquaintance!
Oh, and just so you know—I'm also the one who resurrected you.
So with all that in mind, I'll get around to explaining things little by little."
Caligurio couldn't comprehend what was being said and simply stood there in a daze.
As the words reached his brain and their meaning became clear, Caligurio's eyes widened to their limit as he stared at the girl before him.
This girl was Rimuru.
The enemy they had considered an obstacle and moved to eliminate.
The very person who was currently one of the Eight Star Demon Lords—Demon Lord Rimuru.
This girl!?
She brought them back to life, she said? Who? Us!?
Shock, confusion, and then terror filled his heart.
This wasn't just Caligurio—every single person who had been revived wore the same expression.
It would take some time for the confusion to settle.
--- While Caligurio and the others floundered in confusion, I stepped outside the tent.
The hundred people inside the tent were those
In other words, they were the highest-ranking officials responsible for this invasion.
I had carefully tested the formula and resurrected them, and the results seemed to be perfect.
Naturally, this was so I could hold them accountable.
Therefore, the tent was sealed under strict barrier restrictions and kept under
Escape would be impossible.
That said, even though I said I'd "resurrected" them, what I had actually given them was merely a provisional life.
There was no reason to go through the trouble of returning the souls I had taken.
The invasion was their doing, and dying in the process was their own fault.
However, for various reasons, I had decided to carry out this resurrection formula.
This spell granted a provisional life.
Ever since
The "Holy Spirit Jewel" we had taken from
Converted to energy, it was equivalent to ten thousand human souls.
However, the power was clearly limited in duration, having been designed to amplify its force through a momentary burst.
In truth, Wisdom King's analysis revealed it was merely a jewel that could fuse roughly a hundred human souls together to temporarily boost output.
For something with such a grand name, it was a rather unremarkable item.
It was essentially a form of doping, but relying on such a thing seemed to lead nowhere, so I had it disassembled and returned to its component souls.
Well, the fact that restoration was possible was precisely why I could carry this out—I had been diverting those souls for research.
Not just humans, but all souls possessed both quality and quantity.
Setting quality aside, the energy contained in the souls of animals and plants was extremely small.
Compared to that, human souls held enormous amounts of energy.
It had been confirmed that this energy was distributed equally and uniformly to everyone.
Whether one could utilize that soul energy—that was what was called a Skill, the power of the soul.
The information inscribed on the soul served as the origin for wielding power.
But was the information directly carved into the energy? No—that wasn't the case.
First, there was a sense of self, and surrounding it was a Heart Core.
All information was inscribed here.
The energy crystal enveloping this Heart Core became the soul.
Magi Crystals had also been developed as receptacles to receive the projection of this Heart Core.
A Heart Core had no energy. But it did possess a sense of self.
Without soul power, one couldn't wield Skills, but it was still possible to act with volition.
This was because Magi Crystals used Magicules to substitute for the soul's energy.
However, since the quality of energy was different, there were undeniable limits. After all, they were merely toys designed for enjoying the dungeon, so there was no real problem.
What I was trying to say was this: even if Skill information was inscribed on a Heart Core, without soul power, one couldn't use it.
This time, I had used Magi Crystals in the resurrection of Caligurio and the others.
I took their souls, extracted the Heart Core from them, and transferred it into a Magi Crystal.
Creating Magi Crystals was easy, but for energy, I diverted less than one percent of the "soul power" extracted from each person.
In practical terms, I suffered no loss—though if I had to name a cost, it would be labor.
Healing the dead Physical Bodies with magic, embedding the Magi Crystals within them.
And then pouring in the Heart Core.
Easy to describe, of course—but this was a feat made possible only by Wisdom King's overwhelming computational power.
The meticulous work of identifying individuals, which would normally be nearly impossible, was accomplished by cross-referencing the Physical Body's genetic information with the soul's records—performing individual identification in an instant. It was a feat worthy of being called nothing less than masterful.
And so, for those whose Physical Bodies could be restored, I succeeded in resurrecting them using Magi Crystals.
This resurrection was not without its problems.
First, they were significantly weakened.
I had taken all of their soul power, so naturally.
From now on, they would be unable to use Skills, and in some cases, even magic would be affected.
However, the Physical Bodies they had trained and the techniques they had honed remained, so if they hadn't been the type to rely entirely on Skills, it shouldn't be a major issue.
And then there was the second problem.
This one was beyond my ability to fix.
Those whose Physical Bodies were no longer remaining could not be resurrected.
Naturally.
I wasn't an omnipotent god.
Without Physical Body information and with only the soul's records as a basis, I couldn't create something from nothing.
There was the option of placing them in dolls, but was it really worth going that far?
For starters, there weren't enough dolls. I had no obligation to do that much, and I couldn't think of any advantage in doing so.
Unfortunately, they would have to accept that their luck had simply run out.
If even a portion of the Physical Body remained, magical restoration was possible—the reason resurrection magic was said to be impossible was because the soul couldn't be replicated—but there were those whose Physical Bodies hadn't survived at all.
Those completely incinerated by
Then there were those whose souls themselves had died from fear or despair.
There was simply nothing I could do for those cases. I possessed no means of spiritual healing magic.
In the end, the total number of those who could not be resurrected came to over two hundred thousand.
Out of 940,000, 200,000 had died.
But originally, all of them would have perished, so one could say it was fortunate that only this many remained.
Honestly, I did think Testa and the others had been a bit overzealous, but I hadn't instructed them to avoid damaging the Physical Bodies.
The reason was simple.
If they had been distracted by such concerns and something had happened to my side, it would have been pointless.
What mattered to me was my own people. Comparing strangers who had no relation to me against my own, I would unhesitatingly protect my own.
I had no interest in becoming some saintly idealist who spoke of showing compassion to invading enemy soldiers.
So yes, some could not be resurrected, but that was nothing to dwell on.
Nothing to dwell on… yet, because my sensibilities were still those of someone from peaceful Japan, I couldn't help feeling a certain way about those who had died.
I didn't think what I had done was wrong, but I still hadn't grown accustomed to it.
Praying for their repose was probably hypocrisy, wasn't it?
Even so, going forward, I would continue to show no mercy to those who encroached upon my domain, and I would make it a point to inflict thorough terror upon them.
I performed the formula on Caligurio and the others and confirmed the effects.
Having verified that there were no problems, I decided to carry it out on a massive scale.
In an open area near the dungeon entrance, roughly 700,000 corpses had been laid out.
Geld had recovered them all as soon as the fighting ceased.
The victims of the initial battle had also been teleported and retrieved.
The corpses arranged here represented all the casualties of this battle.
Large-Scale Formula Deployment.
Caligurio and the others, watching from the tent, stared in wide-eyed astonishment.
At that rate, they might end up with permanently wide-open eyes.
Well, not my problem.
Let's just get this over with quickly.
I embedded replicated Magi Crystals into every corpse.
Thanks to Adalman and the other practitioners of Sacred Magic working around the clock to repair the corpses, they were all in pristine condition.
Lately, everyone had been working tirelessly, sacrificing their sleep.
Adalman, being an undead, probably didn't need to sleep, but still.
And so, I finished embedding Magi Crystals into the clean corpses one after another.
Next came the Secret Art of Soul Bestowal—distinct from the Secret Art of Soul Return.
Unlike soul regeneration, this didn't require nearly as much energy.
The individual identification required enormous computational power, but Wisdom King was the one executing it.
I left everything to the Teacher.
It was a bizarrely complex formula that I could never have managed on my own.
However, from Caligurio and the others' vantage point watching from the side, it must have looked as though I was carrying out every step myself.
At some point, they had prostrated themselves and begun making gestures of worship.
Hey, doing that kind of thing makes me uncomfortable, you know?
But I couldn't complain until the formula was finished.
And so, for an entire day and night, feeling thoroughly awkward, I performed the Secret Art of Soul Bestowal on nearly seven hundred thousand people.
--- The following day, a meal was served to the resurrected.
Right after resurrection, the confusion had been immense, and they were far from ready to deal with anything else.
A large pot brimming with various vegetables and meat, simmered into a dish with a unique flavor reminiscent of stew.
It was loaded with ingredients and served warm.
For the Imperial Army soldiers whose confusion was beginning to subside and who were starting to recognize reality, that soup brought indescribable warmth and emotion.
They hadn't even noticed their own hunger, and the tension in the air gradually loosened.
They could now truly feel it—they had been killed once by the Demon Lord's subordinates.
But they were alive.
The Demon Lord had called it a "provisional life."
Rest assured. As long as you lived normally, there would be no inconvenience whatsoever.
You could fall in love, start a family, even have children.
However, any actions that would harm the Monster Nation would be restricted!
A "Curse" inscribed on the Magi Crystal ensured they could never take hostile action again.
I wanted them to understand and accept that.
I had informed them of all this once everyone was resurrected and the confusion had settled.
But Caligurio was certain that such a "Curse" was entirely unnecessary.
Who would be foolish enough to repeat such stupidity twice?
During the calamity caused by Veldora several hundred years ago, only terror had been passed down through its aftermath.
But even if an entire city had been wiped out, with all its inhabitants erased, the possibility existed that humans could produce a disaster of comparable scale with their own hands.
That was probably why? Fear had been transmitted, but nobody truly believed the Demon Lord was invincible.
Or perhaps, if there had been numerous survivors, the sense of absolute inviolability might have been conveyed more fundamentally.
On that point, there would be no room for error this time.
They had died once and then been brought back to life.
By the hands of a non-divine Demon Lord.
They had been made to realize just how foolish they had been—how far beyond their station they had grown.
No wait—was the Demon Lord even real in the first place?
Caligurio couldn't help but question even that.
Krisna and the others had, in the span of a single night, come to revere the Demon Lord as an object of worship.
He himself had been the first to bow to the Demon Lord, so he had no grounds for complaint, nor did he have any intention of making any.
The Demon Lord's "provisional life," as he had called it…
In truth, it presented no problems at all.
True, he could no longer wield his abilities, and using magic had become difficult.
But his well-trained Physical Body still responded to his will.
He had been permitted to live until his Physical Body aged and reached its natural lifespan.
With everyone filled with gratitude and awe, it was inconceivable that anyone would harbor rebellious intent toward the Demon Lord.
However, there was a separate point of contention.
They seemed to be divided on whether to return to the Empire or not.
Some insisted on returning first.
Others argued they should submit to the Monster Nation as it stood.
This created an open clash of opinions.
Both sides' reasoning was understandable, and it was only natural that those with families would argue for returning to the Empire.
But carelessly declaring they wanted to return to the Empire might incur the Demon Lord's displeasure.
Having been granted their lives, they had to follow the Demon Lord's lead.
As Caligurio pondered what to do, a summons came from the Demon Lord.
Called forth, he appeared before the Demon Lord with several staff officers.
To the kneeling Caligurio— "Relax. I have something to discuss today."
Demon Lord Rimuru said this, then grinned wickedly with a beautiful girl's smile.
To cut to the conclusion, by the Demon Lord's command, Caligurio and the others were not permitted to return.
Only on certain conditions.
Currently, the Empire and the Monster Nation were in a state of war.
Until a ceasefire was reached, hostilities continued.
No wartime treaty had been signed, so the concept of prisoners of war didn't exist on either side. But Caligurio and the others had been brought back to life, and they had no intention of defying the Demon Lord's words.
Moreover, the war was still ongoing.
It was perfectly understandable to Caligurio that they couldn't be released under such circumstances.
Even if Caligurio and the others couldn't attack the Demon Lord directly, they could still be reassigned to rear support and other units could be mobilized.
And so, until the war ended, they were ordered to remain under the Monster Nation's control.
What he was told at that point was— "Your meals aren't free either.
I can cover up to three hundred thousand, but when it comes to seven hundred thousand, I'll need to purchase supplies from other countries.
So you'll work for every bite you eat!"
This made perfect sense.
They were introduced to a general named Geld and assigned to construction work under his supervision.
Apparently, they were to build an industrial city capable of housing over three hundred thousand people.
Something about transporting iron ore from the mines to the capital being inefficient, so they were ordered to build a town at the base of the mine.
General Geld accepted the task with an easy smile.
"In fact, after the war ends, I might even let some of you volunteers live here, so do your best and build me a nice town.
You've got a greedy look about you—perfect for the job.
This is an industrial city for mass-producing vehicles, so focus on functionality and make sure there's plenty of profit to be had!"
Being told this by the smiling Demon Lord, Caligurio realized he had no right of refusal.
He didn't fully understand what was being said, but he was clearly being entrusted with something important.
He felt his spirits lift, though somewhat confused.
He had no complaints, but the fact that the monster folk simply followed orders—issued on a whim with no meeting or discussion—filled him with an indescribable sense of bewilderment.
Build a town!
That order began with preparing the ground for laying down railway tracks.
General Geld was smiling, saying it was perfect timing since he was short on hands.
"You were leading an entire division, so you must be good at organizing personnel, right? Shouldn't be too hard," he said.
What on earth was going on in this country?
That worry flickered through his mind for an instant, but he quickly abandoned the thought, fearing it might constitute disrespect toward the Demon Lord.
And soon enough, Caligurio would be worked to the bone so thoroughly that he wouldn't even have time to worry—but as of yet, he had no inkling of that.
--- The moment Caligurio left, Diablo entered.
"Everything has proceeded exactly as planned, my Lord."
I nodded in response to Diablo's report.
I had shown the Imperial Army being annihilated in its entirety, then deliberately let the frightened rats scurry away.
This ensured that the Empire would believe its own army had been wiped out—in the most literal sense.
Krisna had reported to me that she had sent an emergency communication to the Emperor in a tone of contrition, but I had simply had Diablo let that happen as well.
The body of a woman named Miranda had not been found, confirming that she was the rat—the spy of Yuuki.
Most likely one of the heads of the Three Titans.
Caligurio had been subtly guided in his thinking by Miranda without ever realizing it.
It was a con artist's trick, but it merely played on his inherent greed, so he probably never caught on.
That Miranda had also foreseen Caligurio's defeat and fled in a panic—but she had been completely transparent to Diablo, who had been watching.
And beyond that, Souei's operatives had been keeping watch as well, so there was nowhere for her to escape regardless.
I had deliberately let her go in order to feed information to Yuuki and the Emperor.
If this led them to propose peace negotiations, so be it.
But if they chose to continue the war, I would crush them completely.
Yuuki in particular seemed like he'd become troublesome if I let him slip away.
Even if I reached a peace accord with the Empire, I wanted to secure his person at the very least.
The war was still ongoing. I should strike when the opportunity presented itself.
This defensive battle had been a complete victory.
I had given Caligurio an earful about food costs and whatnot to keep up appearances, but the actual losses were minimal.
We had released a massive supply of Recovery
The only other damage was that a portion of the forest had been cleared.
We had acquired a complete set of Mythical-grade armor and three sets of Legendary-grade equipment.
And on top of that, we had obtained 940,000 souls.
This could rightly be called a great victory.
I was still deliberating on which of my subordinates to evolve, but I planned to make a grand announcement along with the reward in the near future.
Naturally, limited to my own people.
The war wasn't over yet.
I was aware that three hundred airships were moving along a sea route.
There was no room for complacency.
It wasn't the time to be carried away by a single victory, but rewards and punishments were essential.
Even after awakening as a Demon Lord, I doubted their loyalty to me would wane—but regardless, I wanted to run a test first.
Once that was done, I would strike the naval air forces.
It would be our turn next.
And so, the Monster Nation repelled the Imperial Army's invasion and moved to the counteroffensive.
The Empire Invasion Arc, concluded!
I actually intended to make it a much harder struggle, so how did it end up like this?
This chapter might draw some dissenting opinions, but it is what it is.
I had been dropping hints about this direction in previous installments, so it's not entirely out of nowhere.
It feels like I'll need to revise the overall plot, so there may be a brief hiatus.
I'll resume by Sunday at the latest.
I appreciate your patience, and thank you for your continued support!