Rebirth in Another World as the Undead Queen

Chapter 226 : The Mysterious Human

The Mysterious HumanUpon seeing that mark, Serea called out to Dogsius.

"Dogsius, are you able to remove that kind of mark?"

"It's very difficult, but not impossible."

"Then..."

Just as Serea was about to continue speaking with Dogsius, lilith spoke up again.

"And that isn't the only reason I have to leave. There are other things I must do, things that I have to do for Ina, so..."

Lilith's gaze was resolute.

"So I must leave for a while."

Hearing the name "Ina,"

Serea looked at Lilith. She saw Lilith's fist clenched tightly, and there seemed to be deep concern in her eyes. Thinking about the "things that had to be done,"

Serea fell silent for a moment. But after some thought, she spoke again.

"I don't want others to know I'm here."

Serea turned her head away from Lilith, but upon hearing this, lilith called out in agitation.

"Serea!"

Understanding what Serea meant, lilith immediately raised her hand.

"I swear in the name of the Holy Maiden of the Church and the Goddess of Light, I will never speak a word of what happened here."

Seeing Lilith take the oath, Serea still hesitated, then casually took out a potion.

"After you take this, you must accept my control. If you don't take it regularly, you'll turn into a bloodthirsty monster. To guarantee you won't betray me after leaving, you have to drink it."

As Serea spoke, lilith didn't hesitate. She immediately grabbed the potion and drank it down.

After wiping her mouth, lilith felt her strength had increased somewhat, but she didn't notice any other effects.

"You just drank it like that?"

"If Serea wanted to harm me, she wouldn't have saved me in the first place."

Lilith replied, making Serea unsure of how to respond. Actually, what she'd just given Lilith was not "Blood Spring (Corrosion)"; it was just an ordinary potion.

"For Ina, huh?"

"Yes."

When the name "Ina" came up, Serea had Dogsius use his mind-reading ability, and though Lilith sensed it, she didn't resist after seeing Serea's calm eyes.

Through the mind-reading, lilith's innermost thoughts flowed into Serea's mind.

Seeing the "bold plan"

Lilith had devised for Ina, Serea was surprised as well as a little impressed, and the mind-reading convinced her that Lilith had no ulterior motives.

"So... what about after that? Are you never coming back, or..."

"I will absolutely come back. I understand your feelings now, Serea. So when I return, we'll never be apart again!"

All of a sudden, lilith grabbed Serea's hand. She spoke firmly, and Serea could only sigh helplessly in response.

"How long will it take?"

"Ten days."

"Alright, you can leave for ten days, but everyone else has to stay, and I'll have them drink the Blood Spring. If you don't return, they're as good as dead."

Lilith seemed like she wanted to protest, but Serea shut her down immediately.

"That's my limit."

"......"

Hearing this, lilith could only swallow her pleas.

"That's all there is to say. Let's sleep. We have things to deal with tomorrow."

There was a hint of emotion in Serea's voice as she spoke, and though Lilith didn't know why she was angry, it almost felt like an instinct—ever since Lilith had mentioned leaving, Serea's heart had grown much more complicated.

Lilith could sense the shift in Serea as she turned away from her, so...

She hugged her from behind.

"Are you mad because I have to go?"

"No. I'm just tired."

"You two-faced little sister..."

Muttering, lilith pulled Serea toward her, and Serea was forced to meet her gaze. Lilith smiled back.

"Trust me. I will definitely come back."

"I... I never said I don't trust you."

"I know. Serea's just reluctant to let me go. And the potion you made me drink wasn't the Blood Spring, was it? Just a normal potion."

"......"

Serea remained silent, which was enough of an answer for Lilith, who let a sly smile curl the corners of her lips before lowering her head.

"Mm~"

After a brief moment of contact, lilith raised her head again.

"Heh, but I never said I'd leave right away. By using the 'task' as an excuse, I can still stay a while longer. If you're not ready for me to go, then let's make the most of this time together."

As Lilith spoke, Serea's face flushed beneath her. Upon hearing Lilith's words, she even subconsciously responded.

"Mm..."

A soft hum.

Soon after, the lights in the treehouse went out completely, but the fierce blizzard raged on outside—and it would continue for quite a while...

......

Meanwhile, deep in the jungle at the Silver Ear tribe, maregof was seated on a wooden throne. At his side, a half-beastman girl was peeling fruit for him with care.

But Maregof, absorbed in the intelligence report in his hand, had no interest in admiring the girl's beauty, and when she offered him fruit, his anger was about to boil over. Still, he restrained himself.

"You're not needed tonight. Leave."

Hearing the tightly restrained anger in Maregof's voice, the half-beastman girl bowed graciously and left. The moment she was gone, maregof could no longer contain himself.

"Bastard!"

Rip—crack!

In a fit of rage, maregof ripped up the report and hurled it fiercely to the floor. The scattered fragments revealed key pieces of information.

Xiyun Merchant Guild establishing a trade post, white Blade Mercenary Group joining the caravan as guards, fox tribe joining Xiyun's trade alliance...

"In just a few days, the Xiyun Merchant Guild actually convinced the Jawfang lizardmen and those damn foxes to come to their side. Where did that idiot Friesen run off to?!"

Maregof roared. The nearby ogres didn't understand and just stood there puzzled, discussing what to eat.

That only made Maregof angrier.

"Where is Friesen?!"

He demanded again, and a trembling goblin finally stepped forward.

"R-Reporting, sir, fr–Friesen went to the human town to gather intel and hasn't come back yet."

"Bastard, bastard, bastard!"

Enraged, maregof knocked over a pillar lamp and various items from his collection. The clatter of breaking objects scared the goblins so much they dared not breathe.

After smashing things for a while, maregof sat down again, breathing hard. Calming down, he knew there was no use getting angry now. The Xiyun Merchant Guild's trading post was already established; removing it would be very difficult. He could only try to deal with the Xiyun Merchant Guild's "clients" instead.

However, there was now a "Serea" in the jungle. Her power was undeniable—and she was the greatest obstacle to his actions.

As Maregof considered how to deal with Serea, a goblin hurried in.

"Reporting, sir, friesen is back! And he's brought two humans!"

"Hm? Humans?"

Maregof pondered for a moment before answering.

"Bring him to me."

After the goblin left to relay the order, a short goblin soon entered the hall. He wasn't wearing a black robe or a black mask at the moment, but judging by his build and voice, he was undoubtedly Black Hat!

And behind Friesen came two people, identities concealed by cloaks. After stopping, friesen bowed respectfully.

"Great Maregof, I have returned."

"How dare you come back!"

"Uh..."

"Didn't you say the White Blade Mercenary Group would definitely take that woman's camp? And now they're siding with her instead!"

Facing the furious Maregof, friesen cowered in fear.

"I... I don't know. I left because I was sure they were going to attack."

"Why didn't you keep watch on them!"

"......"

Friesen didn't dare admit it was because he feared being frozen if he didn't get back to the camp before dark.

"Useless fool!"

Maregof cursed, and Friesen could only silently endure it.

Once his anger subsided a bit, maregof turned his attention to the two humans behind Friesen.

"Who are they? Why bring humans here?"

At the mention of the humans, friesen rushed to change the subject.

"Oh, they helped me escape the undead, and they said they wanted to meet the greatest lord in the jungle. The greatest lord is undoubtedly you, maregof, so I brought them here."

Friesen was good at flattery, and Maregof looked at the two humans.

"You're looking for me?"

"Yes."

"State your business."

"Since you're so straightforward, I'll come to the point. We're two runaway undead mages. We're tired of being hunted, so we've come to seek refuge under you, Lord Maregof."

"You two humans want to join me?"

"Yes."

"Ha! Why should I take you in?"

"Because we possess a powerful force that can help you control this forest."

As the man spoke, he slowly raised his head to meet Maregof's pale purple eyes, and Maregof sensed a dangerous aura from him.

"Big words are risky."

"Then let me show a little of what I can do."

The man walked toward a group of ogres discussing dinner, selected the weakest one, and a disturbing smile appeared on his lips.

A ball of deep violet fog formed in his hand, which he pressed into the ogre's body. The ogre began to struggle desperately, but the purple mist fully invaded his body.

"Awoooo!"

A bone-chilling howl echoed through the hall. Seeing their companion's agony, several ogres grabbed their clubs.

"Enemy attack."

"He's there."

Sensing the ogres' hostility, the man merely glanced back at them and withdrew his hand—then a terrifying scene unfolded.

Splurt!

The ogre's screams gradually faded. His body stained deep violet, veins bulging on his skin, and then long, tentacle-like appendages tore through his arms and back, growing outward.

"Ah!"

The goblins cowered in fear. Even Friesen shivered at the sight of the monster, but Maregof was different—he looked at the mutant creature with fascination.

"Oooah!"

The ogre, now corrupted by some mysterious power, let out a guttural roar, half-kneeling on the ground. The other two ogres charged to attack the man, but Maregof made no move to stop them.

A club swung down, ready to smash the man to pieces. But suddenly, the mutated ogre whipped up its enormous new claw, grabbing the club before it could fall.

Tentacles coiled around the ogres' necks. The two ogres tried to tear them free, but the tentacles only squeezed tighter.

"Ughhh!"

Crack!

With a sickening break, the two ogres' heads twisted at unnatural angles. Without support, their corpses collapsed onto the ground.

Seeing the corpses, the man revealed a satisfied smile.

With his silent permission, the mutant ogre pounced on his former comrades' bodies. A huge maw and sharp teeth on the tentacles devoured flesh chunk by chunk, and blood stained the hall. The goblins huddled together in horror at the sight.

"You... you're monsters! Guards!"

Friesen tried to call for the guards, but Maregof shouted sharply.

"Silence!"

Maregof's command left Friesen confused. Staring at the mutant ogre, maregof's eyes brimmed with fanaticism.

He had always dreamed of possessing the perfect killing weapon; even back when he had Shortie secretly develop trolls in battle armor that could be controlled by a Mental Receiver, his madness was plain to see.

Unfortunately, Serea had ruined his plan to control the trolls directly. But now he could sense this creature was even more perfect than the armored trolls.

"Oh, my friend, you can control this big beast, can't you?"

"Heh, of course."

"How many of these creatures can you make?"

"Endless!"

The man grinned, and upon hearing this, a smile crept across Maregof's face as well.

"Then let's make an exchange: you give me your technique, and I'll give you shelter."

"That's exactly what I came for."

"So is it a deal?"

"Yes."

Hearing this, maregof's smile grew even wider. If he could command such powerful beings, that damned woman would be nothing to fear.

But one thing was clear—these two humans were far too strange. Anyone with sense could see they had their own agenda. So Maregof knew he had to be on guard.

And his method would be—

Keep the technique, but eliminate the men—or lock them down and use whatever means necessary!

(To be continued...)