Musou Slime 36

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36. Sold My Soul To The Reaper. [SIDE - ??]

I was supposed to have died that day for sure.

Crushed by the fist of the Giant Spriggan, my life came to an end. I still remember the sensation from that moment.

However, my consciousness still lingers. Right now, I find myself in a space I can't quite comprehend. There's nothing around, just dirty colors mixed like the palette of paints I once laid out.

Could this be the afterlife? If so, everything makes sense.

Nevertheless, whether this is the afterlife or this life, it doesn't matter anymore.

"Hey, is anyone here!? Come on, anyone! Answer me!!"

I shout into the void, but my voice doesn't echo. I thought it would reverberate like in a cave due to the vast space. But it's like I'm being surrounded by sponges.

"No way I'm just going to be left here like this... What the hell..."

Floating in a space where up and down are indistinguishable, I clutch my head.

"Darn it, how did it come to this..."

Before I realize it, I'm recalling the moment of my death.

[Decline. Who's going to listen to what you say?]

[Right, should you crawl on the ground and apologize for your disrespect to us so far?]

The first hallucination I hear is the words of Arx and Raize.

A scornful gaze at myself crawling on the ground.

Mocking laughter. The gaze of other adventurers.

What's wrong? What did I do? Why do I have to go through such agony?

When I was young, my father used to say,

[You are overwhelmingly strong. The weak are used by the strong. You will someday become stronger than anyone, dominating all the weak.]

Strength is power. So, I've behaved as a strong person, using the weak.

However, Alcus and Raize disrupted that hierarchy.

The weak exist to be used by the strong. Especially women.

If I utter a single word, anyone would bow to me.

I did what was appropriate for my position. What's wrong with that?

However, I ended up dead. Crushed by that giant.

"Screw this!! Someone get me out of here!!"

[Hey hey, even though you're dead, you're full of energy, huh?]

"Who's there!?"

[Anyone will do, but it's inconvenient without a name. Well then, call me the Reaper]

The hoarse voice, like that of an old woman, identifies itself as the Reaper. Not the most pleasant hobby.

"Where is this? Let me out quickly."

[Unfortunately, that's not possible. You're dead, after all.]

"I know that. So what do I do from here?"

The world after death has no money, power, women, or anything I like. It's empty.

As if reading my inner thoughts, the Reaper laughs.

[I have a proposal for you. What if there was a way for you to come back to life?]

"Come back to life... Is there such a method!?"

[Hehe, you're quite eager. Keep that spirit up.]

It feels like I'm getting teased, but if there's such a good deal. I can't ignore it.

[To come back to life, you'll use me.]

"You?"

[That's right. My skill, <Undead>, will be your ticket.]

Like the wicked witch in a fairy tale, the Reaper laughs.

"What do you mean? Are you a skill?"

[I'm a skill, and I can communicate with you like this. In a way, I'm like a parasite.]

"I don't think that's a flattering metaphor."

[But you don't mind, do you?]

It seems like this guy can see through my thoughts.

As the Reaper said, I'm really drawn to this proposal.

Regardless of the means, I want to go to the original world.

Everything I liked couldn't be taken to the afterlife. So, I genuinely wanted to live forever.

And just when I died, such a chance rolled into my lap. It's like a wish come true.

"So, you're saying I should acquire <Undead>?"

[You catch on fast. That's right.]

"Wait a minute. Each person can only have one skill. I already have <Strong Arm>."

What's funny is that the Reaper laughs at my point.

[That's only in the present world. You have a form as a living being and a form as a dead one.]

"Meaning I can have two skills?"

[That's right. But I've never tried such a thing, so I don't know what will happen.]

The Reaper affirms.

"But there must be drawbacks, right?"

[Oh yes. <Undead> is a skill that transcends death. If you die again after returning to the original world, you won't be a living being or a dead one anymore. In other words, you'll wander eternally in nothingness. And I'll completely disappear from this world.]

I see. There is a disadvantage for me.

[Scared now?]

"No, the opposite. I'm relieved."

Whether I wander in nothingness or spend time with the Reaper in this mysterious space, it's the same if I'm not alive.

I want to devour everything in the world. Becoming a lord and leading an easy life is too trivial. I want to dominate the country, the world, and get everything.

For that, I'm willing to accept any pain.

"Give it to me. I'll do anything to return to the present world."

[...Excellent! My judgment was correct. What's your name?]

"Dan Orteze."

[Dan, huh. I like you. I won't say anything more. Use the skill to your heart's content.]

I open the status.

――

Dan Orteze, 0 years old, Male

Level 0

Skills

<Undead>

[Hundred Demons' Night Parade]... Turns the dead into undead monsters and controls them.

[Dance of Death]... Releases abilities based on the number of undead monsters within a 1-kilometer radius.

――

Good skills. With this power, I will seize the world.

However, before that, I'll kill Alrx and Raize first. Those two, above all, I'll give them pain worse than death.