Chapter 9
The Knight named Vin, who had been rampaging, was put to sleep by another Knight's magic after his helmet was removed. He seemed to have fallen into a sleep so deep that he couldn't even dream, showing no signs of distress.
Once things calmed down, everyone's gaze turned to the Knight who had been beheaded. Upon closer inspection, they were a bit smaller than the others—possibly a woman inside.
"Claire......"
The red-haired girl Knight murmured the name with a pained expression.
"I wasn't the one who killed her, okay?"
"......It's basically the same as you killing her."
"Haa...... So you're not letting that go, huh."
(This one's blaming everything on me...... Sure, I had a part in it, but it's not like I deserve all the blame.)
With a shrug, Yuurai suddenly had a thought.
(......Ah, wait, could this be a fresh corpse? Spirit Sight, activate.)
Name: Claire
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Time Since Death: 10 minutes
Soul: Present
Status: Noble. Devout in faith. Bears the stains of a warrior.
(Soul, confirmed. And yeah, there's definitely still something lingering near the corpse. That "noble" part probably means she was faithful but also killed people as a Knight—something like that.)
A thin thread extended from Claire's corpse, and at the end of it, a girl floated gently in the air.
She was translucent, with sky-blue bobbed hair—a cute girl. She was completely naked, probably because she was a soul.
(Oho, quite a nice figure...... Her body's toned too...... Wait, why am I still thinking like a guy when I'm in a girl's body? Anyway, this is a perfect chance for Undead Creation!)
"Excuse me a sec—I'll be borrowing this girl, okay?"
"Hey, you! What are you trying to do!? Stay away from Claire!"
Only the red-haired Knight objected to Yuurai, while the others fled the moment she approached.
"It's fine, it's fine. I won't do anything bad, alright?"
(Probably.)
Yuurai picked up the helmet with the contents still inside and pulled them out. The girl's face, frozen in a vacant expression, was pitiful.
(When creating an Undead from a corpse...... Gather the body parts and shove the soul back into the body. Also, it has to be within thirty minutes of death. Hmm, something like this?)
She carried out the Undead Creation procedure as it came to mind.
"......Undead Creation."
A massive amount of magical power drained from within Yuurai.
All of it poured into Claire's body, altering it.
"Hey! What are you doing!? Did you say Undead Creation!? Are you turning one of us Holy Knights into an Undead!? Don't be ridiculous! I'd rather die with honor than become an Undead!"
"That's how you feel, right? But we won't know how she feels unless we ask her, will we?"
A sinister black-purple light overflowed around Yuurai and Claire.
In a sense, it was a great resurrection spell, but it looked nothing short of evil.
(No way I'm gonna end up with a monster-looking Zombie, right? Come on, Dark Magic, do your thing!)
After about three minutes, the light subsided. Undead Creation was complete. About half of Yuurai's magical power had been consumed.
"......Now then, how did it turn out? Her appearance changed a bit, but she doesn't look like a monster."
Her once white skin had turned slightly blue, and her sky-blue hair had deepened in color.
It wasn't the appearance of a living human. However, aside from the slight change in skin and hair color, she wasn't grotesque beyond saving.
Eventually, Claire opened her eyes. Her pupils were black.
"Huh......? I got my neck cut......?"
"Good morning. How are you feeling?"
When Claire recognized Yuurai, she flinched and trembled. Then, driven by fear, she crawled backward to put distance between them.
"Stop! Please, no more! I won't fight you, just spare me!"
"Relax. I don't go out of my way to attack people, but I won't hold back against enemies who come at me."
Yuurai tried to calm Claire down, but Claire only trembled with teary eyes.
(......Mental Corruption really is a trauma-inducing spell. Judging from everyone's reactions, the redhead is mentally tough to still have any fighting spirit.)
"Well, anyway, Undead Creation was a success. I've got no more use for you, so do as you like."
"......Undead Creation......?"
Claire touched her neck. The cut had healed cleanly, so she couldn't tell just from that that she was now Undead.
"Wait? I...... Vin cut my neck...... and I died......? But I'm alive......? Undead Creation......?"
Claire looked around at the other Knights. Though they still wore helmets and their expressions were hidden, she could sense their fear of her.
Claire met eyes with the red-haired Knight.
"E-Emma......? Did I really get turned into an Undead? That's a lie...... right?"
"Claire......"
Apparently, the redhead's name was Emma. Since Emma didn't reply right away, Claire understood everything.
"No...... I became an Undead......? A Holy Knight becoming an Undead...... that's impossible......"
(Uh-oh, she's in despair. Would it have been better to let her die quietly?)
As Claire slumped down in exhaustion, Yuurai knelt and met her eyes.
"Would it have been better not to bring you back? If you want to die, I'll kill you. What'll it be?"
"No...... I don't want to die......"
(She answered without hesitation. Of course she doesn't want to die. She's only eighteen.)
"Then live your best life, alright?"
"But, but! What should I do!? If I'm made into an Undead, I can't be a Holy Knight anymore, and I can't live among people!"
"Then live away from human settlements. Or, you could come with me?"
"With you......?"
"I've always wanted at least one companion. There's a lot I want to learn. If you're coming with me, I'd be glad to have you."
"I......"
"No!"
The one who interrupted was a man who seemed to be the captain.
"A Holy Knight surviving as an Undead is unacceptable! Claire...... As painful as this is...... you must die here."
The captain raised his sword. He still seemed mentally shaken and looked unreliable.
"Claire, what'll you do? If you become my companion, I'll save you. If not, I'll let you die."
"......No. I don't want to die."
"I figured. So, are you coming with me or not?"
Claire hesitated. The captain slowly approached her.
Just as the captain raised his sword, Claire finally spoke.
"......I'll go with you. So please, save me."
"Got it."
The captain was so weakened that Yuurai blew him away with a light push.
With the threat gone, Claire slumped again, exhausted.
(......I made her my companion, but will she really be okay? Well, if she says she wants to die, I'll just kill her then.)
"So, can we call this fight over? Your name is Emma, right? Emma, do you still want to fight me?"
She asked Emma, who couldn't move due to Marionette magic.
"......One day, I will definitely defeat you."
"So that means no fighting for now, right? Then I'll release Marionette. There."
Even after being released, Emma showed no signs of attacking.
"Let's get out of here before Emma changes her mind. Claire, let's go."
Yuurai pulled Claire by the arm and left the scene.
Not a single person tried to follow them.