Chapter 4

Holding a massive battle axe, a large man in his forties stood there.

Then there was a young woman who seemed to be the youngest among them.

Was she a swordsman?

A small man whose age was hard to determine was likely a thief or a scout.

Finally, there was a bald man in his mid-thirties, holding a club.

His appearance and equipment were not something you see every day.

The four of them stood there, stunned, as I appeared in the midst of a battle with a monster.

On the other hand, the pig-like monster,

“Huff!”

After snorting like that, it fled at breakneck speed.

I and the four unfamiliar men and women were left alone on the scene.

Well... what should I do?

It was good to meet humans, but I had no idea how to greet them.

Even in my lifetime, I was not good at communication.

Let alone now, as an undead, I had been wandering the dungeon for a long time.

I didn’t feel like I could have a proper conversation at all.

Confused and silent, I could only stand there.

On the other hand, they were on guard, with expressions of fear or despair.

Perhaps they perceived me as a dangerous monster?

If so, there was no hope for a friendly conversation.

No, the reflection in the puddle didn’t look very undead.

If they realized I could communicate, they might lower their guard a bit.

That’s right.

First, a greeting.

A bright and cheerful “Hello” should do the trick!

“...H...ello...”

My voice was incredibly small.

After all, I wasn’t used to speaking yet.

Still, it was a greeting.

A big step forward.

Surely they would understand that I wasn’t a dangerous presence—

“...”

Wait, no reaction!?

I did greet them, right?

On the contrary, their expressions became even stiffer.

It seemed their vigilance had increased.

Damn, what went wrong...?

Ah, right.

A smile!

My voice was small and mumbled, and I was probably expressionless due to nervousness.

That could have had the opposite effect.

I tried to move my facial muscles as hard as I could.

Smile~

The next moment.

Suddenly, the warrior man let out a roar like a beast.

“Roar!”

And he lunged at me with a determined expression.

What!?

I finally managed to smile, but it had the opposite effect again!?

The weapon in the warrior’s hand was a massive battle axe, one that a normal person would struggle to even lift.

He swung it down at my head.

Ah, maybe this could kill me?

Thinking that, I didn’t dodge, and the blade of the battle axe hit my forehead perfectly.

Crack!

“!?”

The man’s eyes widened.

The blow that was supposed to crush my head had destroyed the battle axe instead.

The blade shattered.

My side... I was still unharmed.

“M...Monster...”

The man whispered in a small, strained voice.

“Alec, step back!”

A girl who seemed to be a swordsman shouted from behind him.

Upon closer inspection, she was holding a staff like a magic wand and creating a huge fireball above her head.

She appeared to be a magic swordsman.

“Meteor Fire!”

The fireball, like a meteor, came straight down at me.

Boom!

Direct hit.

And I was burned by intense flames.

Undead monsters are generally weak against fire magic.

Physical attacks didn’t work at all, but this might—

“...Not hot at all.”

Despite being engulfed in flames, I didn’t feel any heat.

It wasn’t just that I had lost my sense of pain; my body didn’t have a single burn.

“It... It’s not working!”

The female magic swordsman exclaimed in shock.

I turned around, sensing a faint presence behind me.

There was a small man there.

His eyes glinted like a bird of prey, but his expression was emotionless, with extreme malice suppressed.

He held a knife in his hand.

Or rather, something closer to a dart.

He thrust it directly at my eye without hesitation, a skilled killing technique.

Crack!

But the dart broke upon hitting my eye.

My eye was unharmed.

“Wh... What...”

Surprise appeared on the man’s previously emotionless face.

Immediately after, the bald man, muttering incantations, lunged at me.

He swung his club, enveloped in a bright light, right in front of me.

“Perish! Roar!”

A blinding flash erupted, enveloping my body.

Zap!

For the first time, I felt a slight pain, like static electricity, and my body trembled.

But soon the light faded as if nothing had happened.

“...This... doesn’t work...”

The bald man whispered in shock.

“No way... The purification spell that can even cleanse high-level undead didn’t work...”

“What... What is this monster...?”

“...Despair.”

The other three groaned in disbelief.

What should I do?

I didn’t expect to be attacked right away.

But fortunately, I was unharmed.

Although I was attacked, if I allowed it, we might still be able to have a friendly conversation.

To achieve that, I had to show that I wasn’t angry.

The last attempt failed, but now was the time to rely on the power of a smile.

Smile~

“Eek...”

...They’re scared.

At that moment.

The large man with the battle axe reached into his pocket and pulled out a crystal-like object that emitted an eerie light.

“Going for broke... I’ll use this...!”

With a determined expression, he shouted and threw the crystal at me.

Crack!

The crystal shattered right in front of my feet.

The next moment, the scene in front of me seemed to warp, as if the space itself had distorted.

“...?”

Some kind of attack, perhaps.

But my body still felt no change.

However, when the space returned to normal, a large shadow had appeared.

It had the lower body of a centaur with goat legs.

Two twisted horns and bat-like black wings, and its body was covered in red fur.

It seemed the crystal contained a spell to forcibly summon something.

“This... is a demon...?”

A malevolent race said to be created by evil gods and inhabit other realms.

That’s what a demon is.

There is a wide variation in individuals, but generally, they have horns on their heads and black wings, and possess high abilities.

Even a low-level demon can give a seasoned adventurer a hard time.

“Roar!”

The demon let out a fierce roar, showing its anger at being forcibly summoned.

Some demons have high intelligence and can communicate, but this one seemed to be the opposite.

And... they’re running away!

Upon closer inspection, the four of them had turned their backs and were fleeing at full speed.

What’s this, summoning a demon and then leaving it behind?

Perhaps summoning it was enough, and they couldn’t control it.

Thanks to that, the demon’s anger was directed at me.

Kicking the ground with its four legs, it leaped at me.

This time, I felt resistance to receiving the attack.

Because I had heard that those who are defeated by a demon can be controlled and turned into a servant.

Dying is fine, but I don’t want to become a servant.

Thinking that, I instinctively thrust my fist at the approaching demon.

Bang!

At the moment my fist and the demon’s body collided, a tremendous explosion sounded.

The lower half of the demon’s body exploded.

Blood and organs scattered, and the upper half of the demon, now headless, fell to the ground.

For a moment, I saw its face twisted in shock.

...No, I’m shocked too.