Deep in the heart of the Demon Realm, tucked away where the canopy was so thick that sunlight never touched the ground, lay a dark, damp cave. An ominous aura pulsed from its depths, a presence so malevolent that the local wildlife instinctively steered clear of the area.
A single shadow approached the cavern. It was a Lich dressed in opulent robes, drifting through the air—Zecks, the Great Sage of the Undead and a member of Underworld King Kuromueina’s family.
"Goodness, as foreboding as ever... Oh? The barrier has been reinforced since my last visit. I suppose I should be impressed by the research progress, though I'm more inclined to be annoyed by how thoroughly she excludes even a rare visitor like myself."
Sighing to himself, Zecks activated a complex Magic Circle to slip through the barrier at the cave's mouth and stepped inside.
No sooner had he entered than he snatched a flying arrow out of the air with a skeletal hand.
"Really now, I have been here many times. I do wish she would adjust her settings to stop attacking me... though knowing her, she likely hasn't even bothered to remember my name."
He casually brushed aside several Undead Soldiers that lunged at him from the shadows. Maintaining his leisurely pace, he drifted deeper into the cave until he reached a door so massive it seemed to defy the physical constraints of the entrance.
Zecks held a hand toward the door—an enormous structure created through space expansion magic—and pushed it open to reveal a gargantuan chamber.
The walls were lined with Undead Soldiers of every description, from skeletons to zombies, and the entire space radiated a suffocating, concentrated aura of death.
At the far end of the room, surrounded by mountainous piles of research materials and ancient documents, stood a figure in a black robe. The moment Zecks stepped inside, the figure brandished a massive coffin and aimed it directly at him.
Just as the coffin began to creak open, releasing a surge of sinister Magic Power that seemed to warp the very air, Zecks spoke up.
"It has been quite a while, Rasal-dono."
The lid of the coffin stopped mid-motion. The woman known as Rasal finally deigned to glance at Zecks. Once she confirmed his identity, she slammed the coffin shut.
"A flashy Lich I've seen before. Ah, yes. I recall we've had a few dealings."
"I truly wish you would learn my name by now."
"I don't know it, nor do I care."
Dismissing him with a blunt tone, Rasal leaned her coffin against a nearby wall and turned around. The woman was a truly unsettling sight, her entire form shrouded in a hooded black robe. To those few in the know, she was Lasal Malfek, the strongest necromancer in the Demon Realm.
"Now then, what is your business? Speak quickly; you're an obstacle to my research."
While Rasal was the greatest necromancer Zecks had ever met, she was also an extreme eccentric. She had spent tens of thousands of years immersed in her studies, and she was such a profound shut-in that she emerged from her cave perhaps once every few millennia.
"Ho ho, is your work progressing well? The construction of your Theory of Creating Infinite Undead Soldiers, I mean..."
"I have no patience for tedious small talk. What do you want?"
"Goodness, as sharp-tongued as ever. It's nothing complicated; I simply wondered if you had any surplus Undead Soldiers you'd be willing to part with again."
Zecks had traded with Rasal several times in the past. Eccentricities aside, the quality of the Undead Soldiers she produced was several tiers above his own work in terms of perfection and utility.
Rasal tended to store the byproducts of her research haphazardly in her workshop, and once she ran out of space, she would simply vaporize them all to clear the room. Thinking this was a terrible waste, Zecks visited periodically to buy them off her.
For Rasal, it was a convenient arrangement: he cleared out her clutter and saved her the time she would have spent on disposal. For Zecks, he gained access to elite undead soldiers at a bargain price from a woman who had no interest in profit. It was a perfectly functional, mutually beneficial relationship.
"Everything along that wall is trash. Take what you like."
"I see. And the price?"
"The usual. I don't care how much."
After their brief exchange, Zecks used Space-Time Magic to store the various undead into his dimensional pocket and left a heavy bag of coins in the center of the room.
Normally, this was where the conversation ended, as Rasal never indulged in parting pleasantries. However, as Zecks turned to leave, she uncharacteristically spoke up.
"Wait. I have a question."
"My, how rare. What is it?"
"They say there is someone in the Demon Realm called the Death King. Where would I find them?"
"Are you referring to Isis-sama? Her castle is located in the Land of Death, at the northernmost tip of the Demon Realm."
Zecks was surprised by the sudden inquiry, but he answered promptly. Rasal narrowed her eyes and asked one more thing.
"Is this person actually worthy of being called the Death King?"
"She is truly the Incarnation of Death itself."
"I see... That is all. Begone."
"Hmm?"
Zecks tilted his head at her cryptic interest, but knowing she wouldn't explain further, he simply departed the cave.
Once Zecks was gone, Rasal let out a low, dark chuckle as she returned to her work.
"Kukuku... It is almost complete. I was wondering how to test it, but perhaps teaching a lesson to this fool who dares call herself the Death King in my absence would be a fitting debut. I shall show her who truly deserves that title."
Rasal immersed herself in the final stages of her research, a smug, deep smile on her face. She had no idea what fate truly awaited her.
Utterly unaware that she would soon find herself performing a sliding Dogeza the moment she came face-to-face with the real Death King, her arrogant laughter echoed through the cave.
Serious-senpai: "...And so, the future that awaits her is a First-move Dogeza."