The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

Dozens of humans slowly emerged from various areas surrounding us. Although the distance between us and them was quite significant, I felt an overwhelming sense of pressure from each person.

Encircling the entire area seemed impossible, even with a thousand people in this massive basin. Yet, a few dozen individuals had surrounded us. Still, it felt as though thousands had us cornered with no way out.

I looked around. The humans were diverse in appearance. A man towered over two meters tall, with an abnormally broad-shouldered, inverted triangle physique. There was a woman with her eyes covered by thick, black fabric. Her elegant, well-proportioned face was offset by her chest. Although her chest was larger than her head, it strangely didn’t feel unnatural.

Even blindfolded, she gracefully navigated the treacherous cliffs and sat casually at the edge of a long staircase. The rest of the group, dozens in total, either stood or sat comfortably, watching us.

An old man with his head wrapped tightly in a thick, deep blue turban approached us from the front. He appeared to be the leader.

I glanced around and asked Rena, ”Do you recognize any of them?”

Rena pointed at a gaunt man standing calmly on the left. ”A few. I see one of the promotion examiners.”

The promotion examiner nodded slightly in greeting to her before stepping back. The turbaned old man then walked forward slowly, holding a staff. Intricate runic symbols spiraled along its surface, carved in delicately.

He expressed his gratitude. ”Thank you for accepting our invitation.”

The gray robe he wore suited him perfectly. It was incomparable to the absurd garb Rubia used to wear. He looked like someone who had spent his entire life wearing such robes. The staff trembled slightly, emitting a faint white glow.

”Are you a magician?”

”I’m just a humble conjurer.”

I considered asking about the recurring time loops, but I decided now wasn’t the moment.

”Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Retric Aezar, head of the Empire’s third headquarters. These individuals you see around us...” The old man continued as he gestured broadly with his staff, pointing out the others,”...are comrades who share our vision. Most of them are T&T executives.”

I asked, ”What vision do you share?”

”We... have gathered to reduce the number of humans.”

To reduce the number of humans?

”Can I assume that you represent T&T?”

”Think of us as a small faction within the guild.”

Rena interjected, ”It’s not so small, is it? You seem to control the entire executive promotion process.”

The old man chuckled and nodded. ”Our numbers are few, but as you said, our power is significant. Positions abound, of course. Do you desire to become a branch manager? To have access to classified information?”

Rena breathed, ”Hmm.”

”A dedicated analysis team you can use at any time? An investigative unit? Disposal specialists? All of it can be yours. Right now, if you wish.”

The old man’s offer was very appealing for Rena. However, a critical question remained.

I asked the old man, ”Rena aside, why did you call me here?”

The old man’s expression turned peculiar.

”How could we not call you?” He paused briefly before continuing, ”We’ve been tracking your activities. You’ve risen to prominence at an astonishing pace.”

Did I draw too much attention?

”I could understand Rena. Talent is a human trait. Some are exceptional. But...” The old man looked at me squarely and continued, ”I’ve never seen a skeleton like you.”

”What are you trying to say?”

”You rose from the grave and killed two Necron worms. Then you slaughtered foolish human adventurers in the dungeon before deftly escaping when things got dangerous.”

”...”

”You burned down the Web Slinger, massacred the vile guards of Yublam, and killed a corrupted centaur, a ghoul lord, and a venomous hyena...”

I felt a bit embarrassed when I heard him lay it all out like that.

”All of that happened within a year of your awakening. What exactly are you?”

They seemed to have investigated all my past actions, down to my killing of the first two Necron members. That was somewhat surprising.

So the information guild title isn’t just for show. Then again...

I had grown rapidly and smoothly up to this point. Thanks to the optimal equipment provided by the slime and meticulous intelligence, I never faced serious danger and developed quickly and safely.

The slime was part of T&T. Considering that T&T’s capabilities were this high, it was expected.

”...”

It felt oddly unsettling to realize I’d been under their watch the whole time, so I remained silent.

The old man proposed, ”We want to create a new world with you.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected phrase, I asked, ”A new world? Why would you want to do that?”

The old man replied in a serious tone, ”I heard you recently visited a goblin dungeon where the goblins’ heads and hearts are split open to extract bloodstones.”

I recalled the neatly dissected goblin corpses stacked in rows. ”Yes, I did.”

”They spray aphrodisiac gas into the villages, forcing the goblins to breed. And they even split open the heads and hearts of young goblins before your very eyes, didn’t they?”

I nodded.

The old man continued, confident I would be persuaded. ”You saved them. The goblins who escaped all praised you. They called you the savior of their tribe. You are their hero.”

The old man applauded.

Clap, clap, clap, clap...

The sound of clapping spread among the surrounding individuals. It left me with a strange sense of discomfort.

Applause meant to steer my thoughts and actions felt anything but welcome, but I didn’t let it show. I planned to listen to everything they had to say. The noisy applause eventually subsided.

”What about the dungeon you lived in? Humans exploited skeletons, keeping them barely alive while endlessly extracting their labor. That place was a factory for human experience points.”

The old man’s words were true. That was the world I had experienced.

Swish.

Next, the old man removed his thick blue turban. On his forehead were broken antlers. The stumps glowed faintly red as if the wounds were fresh.

A deer?

”My kind suffers the same fate. We are bred by humans.”

Deer antlers were a prized medicinal ingredient among humans and were used similarly like goblin bloodstones.

”They sever our antlers while they’re still alive and filled with blood, then sever them again when they grow back. They inject nutrients into our necks to make them grow faster and even drain our blood to drink. This continues until we die of disease.”

”I see.”

”When we die, our corpses are ground up and fed to other deer.”

”Did humans also take your antlers?”

”I cut them off myself so that I wouldn’t forget my kin.”

Makes sense.

A being with his presence didn’t seem like someone who would fall easily. In any case, I already knew everything the old man had said. There was no need to appeal to my empathy because I was well aware of what humans were like.

I knew full well how they treated all others. I, too, was fighting to carve out a small space to protect my master from humans. It was all for the sake of Lady Succubus so she would never again have to endure such things.

The old man stated, ”Similar events are happening everywhere in the world at this very moment. Should we leave the world as it is?”

I asked, ”What do you propose?”

”I want to... restore some balance.”

”Balance?”

”Humans have become the disease of this world. The symptoms must be alleviated. First... their numbers need to be drastically reduced.”

Their cause sounded noble. If humans disappeared, other races and monsters would flourish.

If that’s what they insist on calling balance, then so be it.

But a critical problem remained.

”Who could achieve such a thing?” I questioned.

Humans had already dominated this world. Their dominance was deeply entrenched and unshakably firm.

I added, ”It’s a matter of superiority in violence. Don’t speak of it as a question of morality—it never has been.”

The old man’s eyes curved slightly, an expression of intrigue. ”Ho... of course, you’re right. It’s a matter of power.”

”Extinct races, those reduced to livestock, or those hiding in shadows—do you think they can manage such a task? This isn’t even a matter of division. Even if they all united, they couldn’t stand against humanity.”

Instead of showing any anger, the old man looked delighted. ”You’ve given it very concrete thought. Impressive. Truly remarkable. Of course, we cannot do it with our strength alone.”

”Then how?”

”Humans will... start a war. And we shall offer the blood spilled in that war to the great king.”

He must be referring to Purson.

The old man’s face lit up with fervor. ”The king will descend. He will become the purifying fire, incinerating the humans.”

”By king... you mean that figure?”

I pointed at a nearby sculpture: a human figure with the head of a lion riding a bear.

The old man let out a deep sigh of admiration. ”As expected... your insight is extraordinary. You’re no ordinary individual. Is this knowledge? Are you familiar with mythology?”

”Well, somewhat. Isn’t it Purson?”

At my words, murmurs spread among the group.

The old man nodded vigorously several times. ”To know his true name! Truly a learned individual. Yes, that’s correct. No need for further explanation.”

”...”

After returning from twenty years in the future, not knowing the names of the Demon Kings who descended upon the world would be strange.

”We plan to offer the blood and screams of humans to him. The sacrifice is already prepared. Once the king descends, humanity will be finished.”

I looked around. I hadn’t expected a group like this to exist. Reflecting on my first life, this was when the emperor had started a war.

If they could organize a meeting of this scale and had this level of influence...

I asked the old man, ”Did you incite the war?”

The old man shook his head. ”The war is the will of the royal family.”

Several others around him nodded.

”We simply aim to make the war more consuming. We’ll disrupt truces and continuously fabricate war heroes. The Empire and the Free Confederation will despise each other forever. That’s how we’ll sustain it.”

The old man was thoroughly excited, overly earnest, and utterly convinced about his plans. I found them pitiable. Their plan would only partially succeed: the war would drag on, and the Demon Kings would descend. Yet, in the end, heroes would trample and slay them.

Their god would respond. Purson would descend upon receiving the blood and screams of humans as sacrifices. However, faith unrealized was far more beautiful.

What will become of the believers’ hearts when a god descends, only to be torn apart like a rag?

Of course, I didn’t have the luxury to concern myself with their sentiments. The Demon Kings would ravage humanity as they pleased for at least ten years. These individuals might find satisfaction in that alone.

I decided to focus on more practical questions.

”I’d like to ask something.”