Shiki: Shiki(Lich) Meets Makoto [54-58]

TLnote: I'm going to use Shiki instead of Lich since anyone who is going to read this already knows Shiki is Lich.

Shiki(Lich) Meets Makoto

Now that I think about it, how long has it been?

I used to be hyuman once, and the time required to be reincarnated as a lich was very long, and I…. Let's see… in my explanation I may have been vague about some things, please pay no heed to it.

The attachments, preferences and memories of my time as a hyuman has been long gone, and has since faded away by the passage of time.

I do not mind these losses and I do not fear them.

This was the price to pay for a longer time than a regular hyuman, I accepted it before getting reincarnated.

What I am seeking, from my years of research, is the upper tribe of hyumans, the people who are able to transfer from world to world without care, the Graunt.

I have been researching these Graunt since a time long past, but now that I think about that, it was very foolish, as the existence of these beings is a mystery.

Moreover, the people of the church, who are led by the goddess, are always interfering with me and my research.

They treated me as a heretic and tried to kill me many times now.

However, because they were trying so hard to keep this a secret, I became convinced that the existence of the Graunt was a fact.

"I cannot recall what I looked like when I was hyuman, but I want to see you again. I did not listen to anyone, and told myself it was exciting, and got out." (Shiki)

…?

What?

What are you?

Oh.

Yes, now I remember, you are my best friend.

A man obsessed with the possibility of another world.

Though it was absurd to think of things like that, this friend of mine is different. He always screamed and ranted about it.

He was a man with a friendly personality, someone who is very enthusiastic about his research, a man quite different from myself.

I want to see him again.

I will forever keep his memory in my heart.

For me, whose memory is withering with the passage of time, it is now necessary to keep a notebook to remember all the names from my life. This memory must always be kept within my heart.

Otherwise I would be no different than a mindless zombie.

I have to be careful and not lose my mind.

I can still proceed with my research and investigation, even in this state.

But without my purpose, all of that will be meaningless.

It is because I have not forgotten my life, and the reason I live, that I still pursue the truth.

My reincarnation as a Lich gives me an eternity.

It has released me from the that that would kill all things, even the gods, time.

But it is not without it's disadvantages.

I have researched it, and a Lich feeds off the hatred it had when it was alive, and thus starts to forget his or her memories. This is a certainty, and will apparently happen to every single Lich.

I wanted more time to complete my research, thus I became a Lich.

I did not have hatred from when I was alive.

So I thought I would be unaffected.

But I was wrong, there are no exceptions.

Hatred that has accumulated from when you became a Lich also affects the mind.

Once you are conscious of the hatred there is no escape or release from it.

I've since understood why this was such a forbidden technique, and why they had prohibited it.

Over time, even though in the beginning I had no jealously towards the living, I eventually started to want warmth and the light they have in their eyes. I knew that this was the forced jealously created by the reincarnation.

This was a ridiculous impulse.

I can control it to some extent now, but before I always got these impulses that would drive me to a need to kill people.

But in the end, I realized that I had no reason to endure this pain and let it happen.

I just counted the deaths as unfortunate to encounter me.

"I wonder why, I keep remembering about the past, the me who was fixated on ethics in my research." (Shiki)

The words I said for some reason felt warm.

These felt as if they were not my own words.

Well, I guess that would be only natural.

As I have to use magic to even make my voice came out from my body.

However, this is something I've not felt in years.

I am trying to think of the cause.

I think that it is him.

When I came upon the village of Forest Oni, I saw their secret ability called the tree punishment.

I obtained a sample and brought it for my research.

I stayed in this village researching this ability for over ten years.

The ability to turn organisms into trees in a short period of time. This happen through a reaction with the target's soul.

It is a very strong and unique ability.

I researched it, and felt my heart dance as I did, but as time went on, I discovered that this had nothing to do with the Graunt and would not advance my research into them.

My time spent here was in vain.

But as I got ready to leave, I met a boy in the village.

He was together with a woman.

This woman was wearing very unusual clothes, but other than her strength, I had no other interest in her.

I believe that she is a demon who is disguised as a Hyuman.

But that boy is different.

That boy is a person.

I felt something different about him, different from any other hyuman I've seen before.

This village of the Forest Oni is in the wilderness, this area is also called the end of the world. It is not a place a boy his age should be at.

But from him I do not feel any fear or anxiety.

This boy is abnormal.

He may be a clue to my long pursuit of the Graunts

I know that what I may seem odd or illogical as a researcher, but I believe that this feeling is called intuition.

I have decided.

My next research subject will be that boy.

The possibility that he will have the answer is quite low, but even if this is a waste of time, it is fine.

Research and studies are all done until you get a inspiration of some kind that will let you break through the bottleneck.

I just need to go at this steadily, and slowly.

Even without that inspiration, all the work and effort will eventually lead to somewhere.

Someday I will reach my goal of becoming a Graunt.

Hmm… as long as I stay as I am now.

And as long as I do not give up.

I will find a way. There is no rush, I have all eternity to find the answer.

******

…A feast was held in the village.

I did a surprise attack on the boy, Raidou, and had chosen this opportunity to abduct him.

Raidou did not have any weapons at the feast.

I had first kidnapped a Forest Oni who was a demon in disguise, sucked out all the life energy and used him to quietly wait for the opportunity where Raidou was at his weakest. I also used this demon to amplify my magic.

For some reason the woman in black was absent from the feast, but this would work in my favor.

Raidou, after my surprise attack, was now carrying a Forest Oni on his back.

The situation that had been created made it an easy fight for me… or it should have been.

Raidou who saw me, the person who launched the surprise attack, was calm.

His face was the same, no fear or anxiety in it.

I began talking to Raidou and told him my name when he asked. He was quite a friendly person.

I combined all the magical power and madness within me, and all the negative emotions that were in the air right now into a single spell and released it at him. This technique has never failed me and I have been undefeated ever since I had created this technique.

My strategy progressed into its final stages.

With this spell, Raidou will now became a doll who will experience the same nightmare over and over again. He will stop moving and completely become lifeless.

I will take him and bring him back to my lab to study him.

Like every time before, a perfect procedure.

However, why am I the one on the floor?

I try to remember what happened, but no matter what I cannot seem to accept it.

My technique was beaten by something.

Afterwards Raidou launched a spell with a magic language that even I have never heard before, and casted it much quicker than me.

He had made magic that I've never seen before.

It was like a black tooth. It completely overwhelmed my technique.

A language I've never heard before, a magic I have never seen before.

I am so confused at this boy.

I could not respond to his attack.

Raidou's spell did not stop at my technique but went even further.

It started to come towards me, and attack me.

The barriers I made did not help one bit.

Eventually, I lost completely.

It took him a second to beat me.

I'm quite sure only a second passed in real time as well.

I lost consciousness and when I woke up, it was in a strange room.

I was in a room with Raidou and the black haired woman, Mio.

There was also another woman with blue hair here.

Both of them were wearing strange clothes and seemed to be Raidou's subordinates.

After their conversation ended, they looked at me and as they saw I was a wake, we began to discuss things.

About the Forest Oni.

The fight.

About where I am.

The boy said that his name is not Raidou but Makoto, Raidou is an alias.

Apparently the Forest Oni would have given him some book and that itself was a misunderstanding.

And….

A Graunt.

…I finally got the answer to my pursuit of the Graunt.

A lady by the name of Tomoe, who I met for the first time told me about it.

Tomoe is one of the three higher ranked superior dragons, being second only to the Mirage dragon.

She, with an identity like that, has no reason to lie to a Lich.

Apparently she had signed a ruling contract with Makoto, and is now his follower.

I, at first, thought she was joking, but it was true.

The matter with Graunt, and now this, this day had way too many surprises.

I was trying hard to gather and sort the information as quickly as possible.

"Hey, won't you become a follower?" (Tomoe)

I could not follow them anymore.

I have played with so many lives.

Is this the feeling of becoming a doll?

It isn't bad to experience the things you do to your enemies once in awhile.

When I heard her words I lost the ability to speak.

Too many insane things were happening at once, thus I abandoned my mind halfway through.

I will just follow them blindly for now.

I nod at Tomoe's words.

I did not care anymore, and these people here are all capable of giving me despair far greater than anything I have ever experienced before.

When Tomoe had begun the art to become a servant I realized how powerful Raidou, no, Makoto truly was.

I was going to be in a contract as food.

This means I could only be nourishment to Makoto, and nothing else.

I did not even have the qualifications to become a slave.

This was not the desired result, thus was rejected quickly.

How fresh, to be rejected even in becoming food.

It felt strangely good.

The plan Lady Tomoe came up with was for Raidou to weaken himself, and then, for me to wear 13 rings that were blood red in color. Apparently these were rings Raidou had used to hide his magic power, but they could only contain a certain amount.

The amount of magic I get from each ring is overwhelming.

Tomoe's plan was a success, and I became a servant to this boy, who in no way looked like someone who was going to be the absolute master of a Lich.

"Wow!" (Makoto)

"What is it Waka? This is the third time you've done this, it is not painful anymore, thus, it is easier to accomplish." (Tomoe)

"Oh." (Shiki)

Only for a moment.

I felt the power of Makoto in just one moment, all the power he had that I could not sense before.

It was not just overwhelming, but almost infinite.

It was like a waterfall that had no end, and just went on forever.

I wonder if this is because of the contract?

This feeling in my chest… surely it is…?

My chest?

"What is wrong with my chest? It's hot!" (Shiki)

I felt heat in my chest that should not be there.

The light from the contract magic climaxed and finished. The appearance of Makoto's magical power could only be seen as a silhouette.

But, there is no need to worry about that due to the nostalgic heat and beat that I feel from my chest.

I could not figure out what was happening to me.

I could not bear it any longer, thus my knees gave out.

I crouched as I pressed my right "hand" against my "beating chest" while "breathing" heavily.

"Oh, so this is your form?" (Tomoe)

"Well, I wonder, is it his former appearance when he was hyuman?" (Mio)

The voice of the women rang in my "Eardrums".

I finally understood what had happened to my body.

I could not believe it.

I had regained the dazzling life that I had thrown away.

I checked everywhere on my body, it felt warm.

I grabbed my chest with my right hand, and I felt the heartbeat again.

"This beat, it is the beat of life!!!" (Shiki)

I unintentionally let out a voice.

I looked up and saw the figure of Makoto…no, Makoto-sama.

I felt that I was being watched by him, and a pulling sensation towards him.

Of course, I have to stand up.

I've not yet greeted him.

I can later check out my body any number of times.

I have to first greet my master.

"Makoto-sama." (Shiki)

A person who got a superior dragon to obey him, and gave life to a undead.

A human, the origin of all hyumans in this world. They are really of a different standard.

I felt excitement and thrill from the blood that was flowing through my veins.

I finally understood the value of a physical body. It truly is how they say, you'll only know the value of something once you've lost it.

Makoto-sama accepted me with open arms.

I am convinced now.

I am now reborn.

My superiors, whose knowledge and strength I do not know, and the strength of my master that is bottomless.

My quest for the Graunt will not stop.

But, I believe that I'll be able to find the answer if I stay with him, and soon the world will know what Graunt truly are.

"What?!!" (Tomoe)

I, whose mind was still wandering, was awoken by Tomoe-dono's voice.

An intense light came from the direction she was looking at.

An impact could be felt immediately from that direction.

A wave of magic power passed through the room and kept on going.

Is this an enemy attack? Or something else…

… Is this my first job?

This is exactly what I wanted.

I don't know the situation, but I want to help fulfill all my master wishes. For him, I will not avoid any battles.

An incredible amount of magical power was now flowing through my body. The comparison between my power now and the power I had before is like night and day.

I, who went from hyuman to Lich, then from Lich to Hyuman.

This life of mine has been filled with ups and downs. My destiny has not once let me down, terrible to amazing situations such as this have left it full.