Epic of Caterpillar
chapter-51

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Ding!

[Redgaria Frostbite has sent you a direct message]

[Read?]

[>Yes No]

"Huh?!"

I couldn't believe what my eyes were watching, the necromancer itself, Redgaria Frostbite actually wanted to speak with me!

"W-What would this bastard want to talk about? How he will kill me or something? Alright, show it. Yes"

Ding!

A holographic message appeared out of thin air ahead of my sight.

Redgaria voice was calm and composed, but it seemed weak, as if a young man was trying to imitate a very old grandpa.

"Kireina. We talk at last. I have come to the conclusion that, due to my lack of resources and my weakening state, my possibilities of a victory over your convictions is closer to cero"

"I have lived for hundreds of years. And this was the first time that I have ever meet with someone with such an abnormal growth rate like yourself. You and your people are an incredible anomaly in this entire Realm.

"I have realized that fate itself have blessed you and I cannot fight fate, as I lack the desired Skill and God Blessing. And my Luck stat is on a negative value"

"I never desired strength, riches or this Realm domination. I have only desired one thing for my entire life. That is to live happily with my sister"

I was completely taken back after hearing Redgaria true motive, and how reasonable of a man he truly was.

"Your Sister? Is that why he annihilated his whole Kingdom? What exactly did they do to her sister?"

Ding!

Another message from Redgaria appeared again.

"Read"

"I can already imagine you having a very surprised face. Ahahaha… Yes, my sister. This is the only motive that has moved me through so many years. Since that fatidic day… Kireina, to show you my loyalty, I will tell you the truth about what happened that day, more than four hundred years ago"

I couldn't believe that this man was so old, four hundred years ago?!

Ding!

Another message was sent.

"Read"

"Long ago, on the times of old, the Ollathir Kingdom was a prolific country led by a powerful army. We had in possession countless dungeons that brought Magic Cores to us. Thanks to our military and monetary power, the Ollathir Kingdom was free to do whatever it pleased, conquering nearby countries and declaring war whenever the King felt like"

"Ah yes, you probably don't know but the Continent that we are living in is named Cretes, the border continent. This continent surrounds our whole realm and ends on the Snowy Mountain Walls"

"Going back to the topic, the Kingdom of Ollathir managed to conquer most Human countries on this continent and became an incredible Empire. However, all of this wasn't just thanks to our leader's intelligence and talent. No. It was due to the Blessings of the Demon God of Death: Hel, thanks to its unique blessing named [Luck Devourer], our Kingdom was able to devour the Luck and good destiny of other countries. Thanks to this, we were able to increase our Luck and make a positive destiny, with countless growth, predicting the total domination over our Realm"

"Hel required the sacrifice of 10 pure children born with a Human God Blessing every one hundred years to keep [Luck Devourer] on our side. And my ancestors… Happily did it, for hundreds of years"

"Hel loved the delicious soul of a pure child blessed by a strong Human God, which made her grow stronger. Other Human Gods couldn't do anything about this, as they were not allowed to enter her Realm"

"The Gods wouldn't leave things like this forever, slowly decreasing the quantity of God Blessings on our newborn children. On the past, the 2/3 of the population were born with a Blessing. In the last four hundred years, barely one child would be born with a Blessing every year, sometimes being threated as a miracle, what once was common"

"When I was born with a multiple God Blessings, every royalty saw me with horrible and greedy eyes, only my father managed to protect me from their claws. But this was different with my sister"

"My sister was born with multiple God Blessings too, but she wasn't the daughter of the Queen, being born from a whore that my father had relations with once"

"When her royal bloodline helped her raise to a royalty, I was able to meet her and I protected her my entire life. On a grim and horrible kingdom full of depravation, she was a beautiful light that illuminated my path"

"But… I wasn't able to protect her that day…"

"My… Sister was sacrificed at 9 years of age… By the most powerful Royalty Families, my father couldn't do nothing over it, and in some case, he didn't care. I remember his face that day, that indifference… You fought him yesterday, that old King, he was my father. I stripped him from his memories and emotions, yet he still remained his same nature, complete and total indifference"

"Due to the rage that the death of my sister brought to me, I went on a berserk state and one of my God Blessings kicked in, funnily enough, it was Hel Blessing"

"The power that it granted me was immense, this skill was [Otherworldly Soul Sacrifice: Hel Embrace] At the time that it kicked in, all the souls in our entire Kingdom were absorbed by a powerful Magic Circle, the strongest Knights and Champions couldn't do nothing against the power of Hel herself, dying with grievance"

"I certainly didn't want the entire Kingdom to die, but I didn't feel anything afterwards, the only pain I felt was seeing the dead body of my beloved sister, dying a horrible death. The Skill had only one use for the rest of my life, and it came with the terrible cost of giving me a [Undead Curse]"

"However, I see it as a blessing now, because it gives me the opportunity to one day retrieve my sister soul"

When I finished to read such long message, I was barely processing everything.

"Sigh… I would had preferred if he was just a typical evil guy or something… This is way too tragic, what kind of world is this? If he's saying the truth… But I need to tell my wives and servants first, I cannot do this decision alone"

Ding!

Another message from Redgaria came just after thinking this.

"Another one? Read"

"Kireina now that you know my story, I also want to ask you something. Do you have what it called, an "Epic" skill?"

After reading such question, I freaked out for a second, how did he know?!

"Hahaha, surprised? I can already imagine your face. Although I don't know the true nature of an "Epic" skill, I do have one too. Mine is named "Grieving Epic of Redgaria Frostbite: The Necromancer with a Heart of Gold" … Yes… That's the name, it's quite… Something…"

"Both of us are intertwined in what I call, the "Flow of Fate", some people call it, "The World Story" … It's a special skill giving to you when you were born, that guarantees certain events to happen, and connects your fate with others that share this skill"

"However, don't think that this skill guarantees your life, it doesn't do anything like that. It only activates certain events; it doesn't protect you from death at all. The only thing that can protect you from death in this world is your strength and intelligence, and perhaps, your companions…"

"This is why I have decided to stop this pointless attack… If I keep living on, I can still have an opportunity to retrieve my sister soul… Kireina, we are both slaves of fate. If we stick together, we can push fate towards what we desire… I know that you cannot trust me yet, but I will try to gain your trust, even if I have to become your Slave. I am determined to save my sister. Kireina, are you determined to accomplish what you desire?"

When I finished reading Regaria last message, an incredible question appeared on my mind.

"What do I… Desire?"

From such a simple but deep question, countless memories of my past battles and even my last life went through my mind.

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One Year ago, Earth.

An old couple looked at a young man with worry. Although he had a job and a stable outcome of money, they couldn't help but worry about its future.

The old woman sighed while drinking a little cup of Green Tea.

"Sigh… My son, you don't really have anything in mind? At all?"

The old man also sighed and patted her wife back.

"My son… You really don't desire anything at all? Do you just… Want to exist? You don't want to become famous? Or be rich? How about traveling across the world?"

The young man looked at his father with a tired expression.

"Father, I have already traveled to Japan, it was a nice trip and all but I'm not into going everywhere… I like to stay at home…"

The old couple were disappointed on its son low standards and desires.

"Well... I hope someday, my son, you finally find what you desire, and protect that wish… With everything you have"

"Father… I… I'm fine… I'm happy, really…"

The old man warmly hugged his son.

"I believe you… But perhaps, one day, if that ever happens. My son, I want you to protect it, protect your wish, your desire. Okay?"

"Okay, father. I will"

When the old man finished hugging his son, he went to the kitchen and bought a pack of sweet cookies filled with cream.

"Well, having that aside, lets enjoy this nice evening, I also bought a new Monopoly!"

"Hahaha… You never change, dad"

"Hmm? What do you mean? Do you want to go to jail again like last playthrough? Hahaha!"

"Oh? I see some competitiveness on your glare, old man. Bring it on!"

As the father and son set up their game, the old woman looked at them with a warm smile.

"Whatever you desire my son, we will always support you"

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As some memories of Earth passed through my mind, I remembered what my father once told me. To protect my wishes and desires.

"The most precious thing right now, is my family, my wives, my servants, my people… My desire… Is to protect them, and to that… I need to get stronger! I also want to explore this world… the Realms… And meet new beings, new monster to devour! There is so much left to see! There is not time to get melancholic! Alright, Redgaria, you bastard… You convinced me!"

"Hehehe… But first, you will have to become my servant, of course"

I finished bathing myself and went to wake up my wives, I saw their cute and sleepy faces and I couldn't resist but to kiss each one on their cheeks.

They quickly woke up due to this, with blushed faces.

"H-Honey?"

"Mastaa! Kiss!"

"Fufufu… What's with that out of nowhere?"

"Big sister kisses are full of warm love!"

"I need to tell you something important, please get up"

Zehe and Brontes began to pout because they wanted to sleep more, but Rimuru and Nesiphae quickly got outside the bed and undressed themselves.

"Fufufu… Okay but only if you bathe with us!"

"Guuuu! Let's go Mastaa!"

After hearing the idea, Zehe and Brontes got outside the bed at an incredible speed.

"Very well, Honey!"

"Big sister, let me scratch your back!"

I was surprised by their quick change in emotions.

"W-Wait! I already took a bath!"

Nesiphae approached me and sniffed my body.

"Hmmm… That's certainly true… But another bath wouldn't be so bad, come"

Flash

Nesiphae used her thick and strong snake tail to entangle me and dragged me to the bathroom alongside Zehe, Rimuru and Brontes.

"W-Wait! (Dad… Give me strength!)"

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While taking a second bath with my wives, Zehe suddenly remembered her Teacher and asked me if I saw him somewhere.

"Teacher…? Ah! The Lich! I never took him outside my Item Box! S-Shit!"

Zehe looked at me with incredible anger.

"Eeeeh?! B-But how could you forget?!"

For the first time since she became my wife, I saw Zehe genuinely angered with me!

"S-Sorry! Please forgive me, Zehe! H-Here!"

I opened my Item Box and let out the Lich Soul Core.

Herbell seemed confused at first.

"Hmm?! Where I am?! Where is the Undead King? What time is it? Kireina! How long did you put me inside your Item Box?"

"Hahaha! I'm sorry!"

When Herbell (Lich), realized that he was actually inside the bath with all of us naked, he became incredibly flustered.

"Gaah! W-What?! Why all of you are nude? Y-You perverted women! Eh? Z-Zehe?!"

When Zehe glanced at her Teacher, she hugged him with her nude body.

"Teacheeer!"

Although Herbell was no more than a floating sphere, I could already see his embarrassed face.

"Gaaahhh! Z-Zehe… You have aged very well, my daughter…"

Hearing the perverted former pile of bones talk like that to my Zehe, I couldn't contain my jealously!

"G-Get the heck out of here, you degenerate former pile of bones!"

BAAM!

"Uuuaaaaaaah!"

With a single punch, I sent Herbell flying several meters, breaking apart the bath door.

Thinking that I would get the praise of my wives, I glanced at them to only find Zehe looking at me with incredible anger!

"H-Honey…"

"Z-Zehe… Hahaha... It was… A joke?"

Although Zehe is not a physical fighter, I can't deny that she has the basic overwhelming strength of any Troll!

Zehe raised her four hands and slapped my entire face until it ended completely deformed and swollen.

I could had easily blocked the hits and casted a defensive buff, but I felt that I deserved these slaps…

The rest of my wives attended me and Rimuru healed my face, but I still felt the burning pain of each slap.

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When everyone took a bath and dressed themselves, we headed to my throne and called on my strongest and important servants. There were all the Monkey leaders, Abellona and his brothers, Wagyu, Kekensha and Yuki alongside the named wolves, Celica and Truhan alongside the Trolls and Goblins, the Slime Family, the Rin Sisters and even the Slave leaders.

Afterwards, I talked about Redgaria and its offer, alongside his entire backstory and what truly happened on the Kingdom.

Even though most of my servants hated the man to the core, they couldn't help but feel extreme sadness and even pity, the most sensible ones even cried for a bit.

With everyone there, I wanted to speak with the ones who were his former servants.

This included Zehe, Celica, Truhan, Herbell, the Trolls and Goblins.

The Trolls and Goblins that came recently were neutral about the subject, but some still had grudges against the man.

Truhan was also mostly neutral, but would agree with Celica in whatever she said.

Celica and Zehe were the most complicated of the bunch, as they harbored the most hate towards Redgaria.

Herbell was also neutral as he just recently joined us, and found out that an alliance with him would be mostly beneficial.

Celica had been planning her revenge for very long, and hearing such news shattered her convictions. However, after thinking it for a while, she thought about was what better for the rest, and her family, and realized that it was beneficial to make Redgaria our ally.

Zehe thought about it for a while but decided to leave it to me.

I waved my head.

"No, Zehe"

"H-Honey?"

"I need your answer, until everyone truly agrees, I cannot make that man my ally"

"B-But…"

"If you want me to kill him, I will"

After seeing such determination on my face, Zehe realized that I wasn't joking.

Zehe sighed and looked over the floor for a bit. Thinking about what was better.

She pondered for quite a long time, I saw her face change countless times, sometimes it was fear, worried, sadness, pity and ending up with happiness.

Zehe looked at me with a warm smile.

"I forgive him, let's do that alliance. But there will be conditions"

"I'm hearing you"

Zehe conditions were quite simple, she only wanted Redgaria to apologize in person with every one of its surviving servants, without exception, even to the tiniest of Goblins. Kneeling down, asking for forgiveness.

However, I had my own conditions too. Those were to give me everything he has and become my slave through Blood Pact of course. There was no way I would just trust him so easily!

And so I wrote a letter with everything that we agreed with my servants and sent it to him through the System Direct Messages.

In less than a minute, his response was ready.

Ding!

"Alright, read"

All my servants were around me in the time when the message came, reading it alongside me.

"Kireina, I have understood your terms. I will apologize to each of my surviving servants while also becoming your slave, all my things will become yours too. However, I also have my own terms, they're simple"

"Help me get stronger, help me recover a younger body and ultimately help me retrieve my sister soul in the future. You must shift your plans according to this in mind. And we must work together figuring out a way. That's all. I'm coming towards your Kingdom right now, I hope your people receive me with open arms, I can't wait. Hahaha. I haven't interacted with anyone in person for a while, only sending my sister undead to command my troops… I'm a little bit nervous."

After hearing the whole thing, I agreed with its terms, as they were simple and understandable. But everyone else was surprised that he agreed to everything so easily.

The terrifying necromancer that everyone feared has become so submissive and rational, most people couldn't believe that it was the real deal, calling him an impostor.

Some thought that it was some kind of plot and that we should be wary, receiving him with all our weapons and soldiers ready for a big war.

I couldn't deny their worries, as I had some too. So, I agreed with my servants as we prepared to receive him with our strongest warriors and spells, if he ever tries anything funny, we will blast him into dust.

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As I awaited outside my Kingdom, I put another solidified dome over the whole town and send the non-battle citizens inside the Castle underground.

I was being surrounded by my wives and my strongest warriors, including Abellona and his brothers, Kizuato, Yukan, Wagyu, Kekensha, Yuki, Celica, Truhan, Meiji, etc.

Suddenly, I heard a cracking noise.

Crack, crack.

After everyone heard the same, they got into battle positions, raising their weapons and reading their spells.

From the dense forest, a massive caravan of undead appeared, countless cars made of bones were coming towards us.

As I detected what was inside the caravan, I found countless books and riches, from gold to precious minerals.

And only detected one strong aura, it was obviously Redgaria.

When the caravan finally stopped in front of us, a big skeleton soldier opened a caravan and took a delicate and weak man, wearing some tattered black robes.

His face was completely wrinkled but it still managed to have the appearance of a handsome young man, just ruined by these imperfections. His lips were dry and his eyes looked almost dead, glowing with a crimson red sometimes.

His hair was of a pale white and quite long, reaching his shoulders.

He could barely move on his own so he let the undead move him, from his same caravan a cute undead girl came from inside, she was wearing a gothic dress and had a look of indifference, as if she were a robot.

"She must be her sister… Or what's left of her…"

When the undead approached us enough, he kneeled down and left Redgaria walk for some time.

Redgaria raised his weak hand, greeting us.

"Yo! I'm Redgaria! The true and only! Haaah! What a lovely group you have, Kireina!"

His voice disappointed me as he sounded like some kind of teasing asshole.

"I expected his voice to be serious and intimidating… This day has been full of surprises…"

Redgaria laughed.

"Hahaha! So rude! Common, we are friends now!"

All my servants couldn't believe such carefree personality coming from their feared enemy!

The necromancer looked over my servant disappointed faces, as they lowered their guard.

"Hahaha! What are those faces? Did you really think that I was some kind of fairy tale villain? That breaks my already broken heart… Hahaha!"

I sighed; I can barely stand these types of guys.

"Sigh…"

"Common, Kireina! Don't get sad. Look! I brought you all my riches, and even my most precious magic books! Shouldn't you be happy? It's all you wanted!"

"Y-Yeah… But still… Whatever, lets do the Blood Pact and get over it"

"Sure"

I successfully created a Blood Pact with Redgaria, but I needed the approbation of the enslaved individual, this was the first time this happened. Probably because he was stronger than me in some things.

[Redgaria Frostbite has successfully become your Slave!]

[Slaves 52/120]

After the pact, Redgaria immediately felt that the effect of my blessing was shared with him.

"Oh? What is this? Is this the special thing that all your servants have?! Impressive! I can't believe it! Hahaha! I have it too now? Buhahaha!"

"Yeah, now shut up"

As if we were tired of dealing with the guy, me and my servants slowly walked back to our Kingdom, as I deactivated the Magic Dome.

Redgaria was surprised by our response, and yelled at us.

"W-Wait! I can barely move with this decaying body! Hey!"

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Redgaria undead caravan created a whole spectacle inside the town, lots of people that didn't even know who he really was thought that it was some kind of show and even little kids went to interact with the undead soldiers.

Thankfully, Redgaria had them well tamed as they even played with the children.

He decided to do a little magic show and attracted the whole town in the process, becoming a small festival of magic.

He settled his undead everywhere and sold various useless souvenirs, like amulets made of bones and even basic mage equipment.

"The bastard even profited from it"

As if they forgot who he was, my wives were already dancing and buying things on Redgaria caravans, Rimuru brought me an ugly bone amulet, but the intention is what counts as I proudly put it on my neck.

"Guuu! Mastaa looks nice!"

Brontes invited us to go eat, as some of the money-hungry restaurant owners put small stalls of food around the magic festival, slowly transforming it in a true festival and the first in the city.

There were a lot of food that I didn't tried before including Takoyaki made out of Lower Eldritch Octopus. Fish Cakes made with Walking River Fish and even crepes with sweet cream and fruits.

After some sweet time with my wives, I found Redgaria going around the food stalls while enjoying strange food, obtaining new skills form the monsters they were made of.

"Hmm! This Fish Cake is phenomenal! Oooh! Mister Monkey! You are awesome!"

The Monkey attending the stall was a little bit uncomfortable by Redgaria personality.

I aproched him and asked how he was able to be here while he was on the center of the festival doing magic tricks.

"Oh! That's a special magic! It's called [True Magic Double]! It can even use some of my magic and skills! Isn't it awesome, Kireina?"

"That's quite overpowered! I should have really eaten you!"

"Hahaha! How scary! Calm down, Empress! Don't worry, you will be able to learn with my books, it will take its time though. Anyways, did you like my festival? I couldn't believe how deprived of entertainment you have your people! Even some strange and ugly caravan made them believe it was the real deal! Hahaha! They are all so adorable!"

Rimuru and Brontes nodded and agreed with Redgaria.

"Guuuu! I have never had this fun before!"

"Hmm! Big sister, did you plan this from before?"

"Uuuhh… I… Y-Yeah… I did! How could you tell?"

Redgaria slowly moved to my side and patted me on the shoulders.

"That's true! Your beautiful Empress is a very smart woman, you know? Hahahaha!"

I looked at Redgaria with regret.

"I should had killed this idiot"

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