Chapter 85: Learning and Adapting

The Iruma Mage did not blame the Zombie Witch for waking him through zombification rather than resurrection. He judged that there was no point in reproaching something that had already happened.

Zombification was a form of revival that greatly weakened the subject.

For starters, even a glancing touch from a dispelling spell would break the zombification and cause instant death.

Furthermore, if the body sustained major damage, it would trigger a magic death, reducing the body to dust — a state from which there was no return.

According to the Zombie Witch’s experiments, healing magic was also ineffective. Self-enhancements like vampiric regeneration could not be used either.

Even natural magic power recovery was lost.

The magician Iruma, now a moving corpse, was far more fragile and restricted than when he had been alive.

If there was time to complain, it was better spent removing even one more limitation and regaining strength.

For the time being, Iruma began by listening to the Zombie Witch’s account of the six years that had passed while he was dead, and inspecting several unknown magic tools that the Witch had in her possession.

“I see. That’s something I didn’t know either. I was simply using that mushroom monster as a combat asset; I had no intention of starting a pandemic.”

“Oh, you’re seriously hated for it, you know? People call it ‘Iruma’s time bomb.’”

“They really don’t understand. I’m a ruler, not a butcher. I would never resort to pointless killing that does nothing for control. Wasting the lives of hundreds of thousands… what a terrible waste.”

Iruma spoke with genuine sorrow, setting down the mass-produced magic staff and picking up an amulet to examine.

For the Zombie Witch, the world Iruma sought to create was her ideal paradise.

Iruma would conquer the world, and the Zombie Witch would collect exotic, beautiful men and women from distant lands.

Iruma would turn the living into puppets, and those beyond his control — the dead — would fall under the Zombie Witch’s command.

That way, they would seize everything.

To ensure Iruma’s return to power, the Zombie Witch shared all the knowledge she had and gave him every tool at her disposal, knowing the return on her investment would be far greater.

“That’s an amulet. It was invented by Staff smith 0933, who modeled it after the gremlins — those mushroom monsters — and Professor Handa at the Magic University further enhanced its performance. It’s a magic item that accelerates magic power recovery.”

“Hmm… so this force field interferes with the incomprehensible magic organ in the brain? Each force field is slightly different.”

“Apparently, unless it’s an amulet customized with your own blood during manufacture, it doesn’t have any recovery effect.”

“I see. Very interesting.”

As he spoke, Iruma gathered the desks and chairs that had once displayed the handsome zombie men, arranging them around himself and beginning to place and move multiple amulets in various configurations.

The Zombie Witch couldn’t figure out what he was trying to do. But since she hadn’t been told to stop talking, she continued.

Iruma looked amused as she talked about the remaining four major survival zones, which had begun interacting with the Tokyo Witch Assembly following the pandemic: the Tohoku Hunting Union, the Hokkaido Magic Beast Ranch, the Lake Biwa Accord, and the Aratake Group.

But when the topic shifted to the Aratake Group’s invasion, his expression turned sour.

“Are they stupid? If they had a degraded version of my magic, they should’ve started by chipping away at the edges. Since there was no way to tell whether someone was under a spell, unlike my magic, they could have spent ten or twenty years slowly infiltrating from the bottom. Instead, they wasted lives and killed valuable personnel for no reason. Utterly foolish.”

“I don’t know. I thought launching multifront offensives to counter future sight was a clever idea.”

“That part’s true. But from what you’ve told me, the Aratake Group’s actions seem inconsistent. I suspect there was a skilled mastermind separate from their field teams — someone who stayed safe and observed the situation from afar. Judging by the timing, that person likely made their escape when the Blue Witch was unleashed.”

While stacking chairs and desks to place amulets at higher positions, Iruma carefully observed the overlapping force fields created when one amulet was placed near another, his mind deep in analysis.

“If the Aratake boss dies, the brainwashing on Lake Biwa and their Kyushu base will be lifted. Since the mastermind seems to be a clever type, they wouldn’t flee south, where the enraged factions will be hunting the Aratake remnants like bloodhounds.

If they’re going to run, it’ll be north.

They wouldn’t hide in some tiny community either. Someone like that, who craves the feeling of power, would definitely aim for a comeback and embed themselves in a larger community.

Based on what you’ve said about the Tohoku Hunting Union — the number of incidents is far too low given the population and location. That suggests there’s a highly competent secret police or a counterintelligence agency in place.

If the mastermind had been caught, the Union would have made it public. So I’d say the mastermind slipped through Tohoku and escaped to Hokkaido.”

“If that’s what you think, I’m sure you’re right.”

“Sigh… That attitude is your one flaw. You’re not stupid, and you’re good at riding along with other people’s plans, but thinking things through on your own isn’t your strength. I don’t even believe my own deductions are all correct — and neither should you.”

“Oh my, a lecture? Getting scolded by a patchwork pretty-boy is a new kind of thrill.”

The Zombie Witch shivered with delight, making Iruma give a wry smile.

Iruma’s patchwork body was, of course, a different appearance from his lifetime. There was no need to rebuild a body that was so deeply hated in its original form.

And yet, his new body had a different kind of beauty — one the Zombie Witch found thoroughly charming.

When the conversation drifted to the major incidents and technological breakthroughs that had occurred after the Aratake invasion, the topic eventually reached the invention of the “Scrolls” following the arrival of the Black Ships.

It was then that Iruma, who had been fiddling endlessly with the amulets, raised a hand to interrupt.

“You’ve been mentioning ‘0933’ an awful lot, haven’t you? The Gremlins’ spherical finish, the multilayer structural processing, the fractal shaping, the Möbius processing, ritual magic instruments. This amulet too. The improved monster snare, the sealing bullets, the miniaturized mana-training coffin, even the Quant-style magic compression loop — all basically 0933’s work. And the Scrolls, too, in the end. Who exactly is this 0933?”

“I wonder…? The Blue Witch is keeping the secret so tightly that no information has gotten out.”

“Hmm…”

“Personally, I suspect some electronic fabrication machine in Ome survived the Gremlin disaster. Otherwise, this level of production would be impossible. My reasoning is—”

“Wrong.”

Just as the Zombie Witch was about to confidently explain her theory about 0933, Iruma interrupted, cutting her off with a flat, decisive denial.

“There’s nothing special in Ome. I had every single person I turned into a puppet in Ome self-report, so I’m sure of it. The place that’s more suspicious is Okutama, where the Blue Witch uses as a summer retreat. Both Ome and Okutama are covered in that confusing fog. If it’s not Ome, then the secret lies in Okutama. And that secret is either a person or a transcendent being. The Blue Witch is someone who acts on emotion. She wouldn’t go to the trouble of protecting some piece of machinery in a place that isn’t even her hometown. It’s far more likely she has a close relationship with one of the gremlin-crafting master artisans based in Okutama, or with an individual transcendent being who possesses either magic or an innate dexterity comparable to 21st-century cutting-edge electronic control engineering. This artisan, who is close to the Blue Witch, seems to be a very reclusive type. Most likely, they were originally living in Okutama, and simply stayed there even after the Gremlin Disaster. Whether it’s an individual or a group, there’s a clear sense of pride in their work. They engrave their name on staff, add logos, sell to influential people, and try to build their reputation. They probably aren’t interested in personal fame, but are the artistic type — deeply attached to the quality of their creations. A woman… or maybe a man? I can’t quite tell the gender. But whoever it is, they’re incredibly passionate, always working on new designs. Age-wise, I’d guess anywhere from late teens to their forties. I doubt they suddenly started crafting staff at this level from scratch after the Gremlin Disaster. They must have been involved in some kind of artistic club, hobby, or profession before. Either a close-knit group of like-minded enthusiasts, or a solitary, eccentric misanthrope… If I could get my hands on the Okutama city resident registry, I could probably narrow down the candidates to about fifty.”

After speaking so smoothly and fluidly, Iruma finished with a cheerful smile.

“People like that really do exist, huh? Honestly, 0933 is worth more than twenty half-baked transcendent beings. I’d love to get my hands on them, along with Professor Handa.”

“Oh, sorry — did I forget to mention? Professor Handa was killed during the Aratake Clan invasion. The body was in pieces, and they weren’t exactly someone brimming with mana, so turning them into a zombie isn’t possible either.”

“…What a waste. If I’d been around, I wouldn’t have let it end so tragically. I could’ve prevented the whole disaster and turned the Aratake Clan and all of Tokyo University’s elite into puppets.”

“Yeah, if only. If that cute little stoat had died, I’m sure you’d have dug up the grave and made it a zombie.”

For a moment, the two of them quietly mourned the tragic end of the Aratake Clan invasion.

Once Iruma had finished hearing about the end of the Demon King War and caught up on most of the information leading up to the present, he stood inside the geometric, rippling force field created by arranging multiple amulets in a three-dimensional pattern and fell into deep thought.

As the long, long conversation covering the six years since his death wound on, dawn began to approach.

The Zombie Witch, fidgeting slightly, asked Iruma:

“Hey, what are you planning to do now? You’re going to continue with your world domination plan, right?”

“Yeah, of course. But the situation is completely different from six years ago, so I’ll have to revise the plan drastically. I can’t just act on the information you’ve told me without verifying it. So for now, I’ll start by double-checking the facts… and after that, let’s go hunt down 0933, shall we?”

As Iruma said this, the magic energy leaking from his patchwork body had clearly grown compared to when he’d first been revived.

Noticing this, the Zombie Witch stared at him in disbelief.

“Wait a second — your mana’s recovering? But zombies aren’t supposed to be able to recover mana, right?”

“Ahh, the great and glorious 0933! I’m so glad you invented the amulet. Every single one of 0933’s creations is a masterpiece. I wonder what kind of artisan they are? I can’t wait to get my hands on them.”

Seeing Iruma smirk, and realizing that he’d already achieved a technological breakthrough just one night after his resurrection, the Zombie Witch became absolutely certain.

No matter how much he was weakened, Iruma was still the strongest magician. One who could learn anything, make it part of his flesh and blood, and stand atop all others.

Surely, he would take control of the entire world and build a magnificent new era.

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