Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!

-----

We were served not only delicious looking and expansive looking cake, but also cookies, expensive tea, and other snacks served over the plate. Helga was left shocked by seeing the products here. Apparently cake was something even more expensive for dwarves, who lacked wheat because it couldn't grow properly in here and therefore all wheat had to be imported from the outside, often done by the Goldsand Confederation. Only nobles had the privilege of enjoying such meals, I guess.

"Come on, eat to your heart's content. People as strong as you I'm sure you're able to make ten times the money this cake costs in just a minute of hunting a high ranked monster." Laughed the lady.

"T-Then… Thank you for the meal!" I said, everybody with me quickly began eating everything. The twins had come with us as well, so they were having fun eating the sweets, which they had in very little quantities back home.

I ended losing myself in the food until I found myself being interrogated by the old lady.

"So you're a ghost, huh?" She wondered. "Well… more like something called Beelzebub, I've never heard of such a thing before. Also the skills you have… oh dear." She sighed. "You're all monsters beyond what I had ever thought possible. I am a pretty good acter at keeping cool about it, eh?"

She knew everything!

"Eh? Ghost?" Asked Helga, looking at me.

"Ahaha… Yeah, I am kind of a ghost." I sighed.

"O-Oh, but it doesn't look like it." Said Helga.

"I… err, well, it is part of my magic." I said.

"I-I see… Well, you seem very civilized, also you can eat?!" She asked again.

"Yep." I said.

"…Well, I will just let it go. It is not as if this will affect me somehow." Helga quickly let it go.

"Also the one there is an Ancient Death Dragon and you… a Vampire." Said the old hag. "Oh right, and you two children, Homunculus? What are humans even doing anymore?" She sighed.

"It is a long story…" I sighed.

"Master, should we get rid of her so she doesn't talk?" Wondered Partner.

"What? No! Calm down a bit, Partner. Take it easy." I calmed down my Partner as I looked back at the old lady. "If I wanted, it wouldn't be hard to just brainwash her for all I know."

"I am well aware I am left rather hopeless against you all, in fact I am sure you could even wipe out the entire country if you just pleased to do so. The only beings that can compare to you are S Rank Adventurers, or high ranked monsters or Vampires, I would guess that's what you hunt, right? The later?" She wondered.

"Yep, we are hunting them down, we already killed one in Affnaria." I said. I didn't had anything to hide anymore I guess.

"…Amazing. You're also civilized and talk just like people- Well, you're people, our country is so open over other tribes that it is not hard for me to accept you all. An Ancient Dragon though… this is the first time I see one in the flesh." Aquamarine said.

"I am aware that my tribe in this continent was small… After the war against the Demon King we… we were hunted down by the Summoned Heroes." Sighed Lucifer.

"The summoned heroes…" Said the lady.

"The humans used nasty tactics, they stole our younglings and our eggs and blackmailed us into surrendering so they wouldn't harm our young…" Sighed Lucifer. "My entire family… everything I had was lost. I died before I could see the end of it all, but now that I've arrived here, I can already sense that there might not be anybody else that is an Ancient Dragon anymore."

"Ancient Dragon Lucifer, are you not? I mildly remember your name." Said the old lady. "We came into these mountains after the Ancient Dragon tribe was defeated, but according to the annals of our history, our founder had spoken with Ancient Dragons." Said Aquamarine.

"He did?!" Lucifer asked in surprise.

"Yes. Judging by your reaction, I am pretty sure you also came here to investigate about the remnants of your family, is it not?" Wondered the lady.

"Yeah… I… I've been holding into this hope that I might see them, someone, anybody…" Sighed Lucifer.

"I see, these mountains once belonged to the prideful Ancient Dragon Tribe, you were beings of great power and magic capable of bringing life and judgement. Some even said you were the children of the gods… Are all such things true?" Wondered Aquamarine.

"Not us, but our ancestors were able to do such things." Lucifer spoke. "We descended from the Ancient Divine Dragons, who are also the children of the Dragon Goddesses, the Progenitors of the many dragons of this world, and the guardians of the world itself. We didn't possess the incredible divine powers of our ancestors, but we were strong and still capable of shaping the landscape and making life flourish with our Ancient Dragon Magic. Alas, I've lost it now. I died long ago but was revived by Maria as an Undead, I evolved after gaining the power of Hel, the Goddess of Death shared from Maria, and I became a Death Dragon, I am neither alive, nor dead, I am something in between now."

"Incredible…" Aquamarine said. "The Herald of Hel herself, you're someone that might bring death to all." Aquamarine pointed her glance at me as I was wolfing down a shortcake.

"Huh? Ah… I don't really want that…" I said while quickly trying to swallow the cake I had in my mouth, quickly putting it down with some tea. "Phew…"

"Hahaha, I guess you're way too goofy for that." Laughed the dwarf old lady.

"Goofy?! I can get serious too!" I roared back. "Nonetheless, what do you even want, Aquamarine? You're just talking, revealing secrets, and seem just interested in us overall. But what's your endgame?" I asked her directly.

"Hm, I guess I can just talk now, huh? Well… what I want to do are various things. I've been waiting for someone strong like you. Several years ago, you see, we found a dungeon in the depths of the mountain. Back then, we foolishly charged inside, only to be greeted with deathly miasma that melted away the flesh of my friends and monstrous aberrations beyond what our strongest weapons could properly handle." Said Aquamarine.

"Miasma?!" I asked.

"Yes… amidst the miasma, I remember seeing a gigantic skeleton wandering across an endless abyss of darkness… This nightmarish dungeon had been sealed by magic, but the last ten years, its miasma has been leaking, enhancing the strength of local monsters, and the seals are weakening as well… We even speculate that inside this ancient dungeon we should had never stepped into, there might be a Fragment of the Evil God."

-----