Labyrinth: Chapter 35/36

Chapter 35: The Arch Priest’s Strength

The ogres stared wide-eyed at Aqua, who had appeared without warning.

The girl radiated immense magical power. Yet, instead of overwhelming pressure, her presence brought an odd, gentle warmth.

"Don't worry."

Aqua crouched beside a fallen ogre and gently placed her hands on his face.

"The Axis Church welcomes all life. Whether orcs, demi-humans, or lizardfolk—so long as they're not demons, salvation is always possible."

As soon as she spoke.

A warm, holy light enveloped the corpse.

The next second.

The ogre suddenly sat up, gasping for air, eyes wide with shock.

He instinctively reached for his chest wound, now completely healed.

"I… I'm alive?!"

Aqua threw her arms up triumphantly. "Success! Next one—!!!"

At that moment, the six surviving ogres were struck dumb.

Especially when they saw another comrade—half his body missing—fully regenerate and come back to life.

Their worldview, logic, and basic common sense were all shattered on the spot.

The shrine maiden-clad ogre girl clutched her mouth.

"Oh… Oh my god…"

"Whoa… that's incredible…"

"There really is resurrection magic… oh my god…"

She repeated "oh my god" like a broken record, unable to snap out of her shock.

Even the white-haired elder stared, mouth agape.

A miracle.

A true miracle.

Not even some Demon Lords could resurrect the dead.

Who exactly was that girl?

And what kind of monster was the boy standing behind her?

The red-haired ogre's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, glancing back and forth between Aqua and Chishiya.

He finally realized.

He might have just made the best decision of his life.

No… not just his life.

This moment might have rewritten the fate of the entire Ogre Clan.

Roughly an hour later, every ogre with a recoverable body had been resurrected.

Some were missing limbs or vital parts, so the process took longer.

But as the anime had once made very clear, Kazuma himself got blown to ashes and still got revived.

So this wasn't pushing the logic too far.

In Aqua's own words: "If the person's been dead for a short time, I can bring them back in a flash!"

"Hehe~"

Aqua stood with hands on hips. "Chishiya-san, I did a good job, right?"

Chishiya gave her a thumbs up.

"Very good."

To be honest, Aqua might be dumb, but her professional ability was solid.

Chishiya said, "I already contacted the Queen Ant via voice transmission. She's preparing a premium case of sparkling wine for you."

"A whole box. You'll have enough to drown in it."

"Chishiya-san! You're the best! I'm heading back now!"

Beaming, Aqua turned to leave as another portal opened behind her. She gave everyone a happy wave and disappeared.

Meanwhile, in the ruined village.

The newly revived members of the Ogre Clan were tearfully reuniting.

Relief. Joy. Grief. All flooding out at once.

But after a while, they all turned.

Led by the red-haired ogre boy, they knelt before Chishiya.

"Master, thank you—!!!"

"Thank you for giving them another life!"

"From now on, we are your most loyal subordinates!"

Chishiya nodded and looked around the ruins.

This place would make a decent base.

Next step: give them names. Let's see if that triggers evolution.

"Gather everyone. I'm going to give you names."

"Huh?"

"You're naming us?"

The red-haired ogre leader blinked in surprise.

Thirty ogres... Could a human really survive giving out that many names?

Chishiya shrugged. "It's inconvenient not having names."

"But…"

The pink-haired ogre girl looked worried.

"Giving names comes with a heavy cost. You're human, right…?"

"Using up too much magic power could literally kill you."

Chishiya touched his chin.

She had a point.

In the anime, Rimuru collapsed after naming just six of them.

He wasn't sure how his own body would react.

But with all the blessings he had… he should be fine.

"I'll be careful. Let's start with you six first."

He walked up to the red-haired ogre.

"You'll be Benimaru."

"Next, Shuna."

"Shion."

"Hakurou."

"Souei."

"Kurobe."

He named all six using their canon names from the series.

The moment he finished, a huge surge of mana drained from his body.

Chishiya felt it immediately.

There was no physical pain. Just a weird sensation, like sudden hypoglycemia.

Still, that meant it had worked.

As for how far they'd evolve… they'd have to wait until tomorrow.

Noticing Chishiya's pale face, Shuna stepped forward, clearly concerned.

"Chishiya-sama, let's stop here for today."

"You don't look well. It could be dangerous if you push yourself."

The other ogres all nodded in agreement.

This was the difference between monsters and humans.

Their loyalty was unwavering.

Chishiya gave a nod.

No need to rush.

It'd take four days to name them all anyway. That was more than enough to rebuild the village.

"We'll continue tomorrow."

With that, Chishiya opened his system panel and selected a [Land Deed].

It had cost him 500,000 Reputation Points.

It'd better be worth it.

[Use land deed?]

"Yes."

As Chishiya answered, a beam of light shot from his palm.

A one-kilometer radius of forest lit up around him.

Then—

The ruined houses around him began reconstructing on their own.

Nearby trees were broken down and absorbed into the magic.

Soon—

A modest village materialized before their eyes.

Simple structures. Thatched roofs. Bare essentials.

But way better than nothing.

Especially for land that cost him 50 million Eris.

There better be some kind of startup bonus.

[Land Setup Complete]
[Initial Base Established]

System messages popped up.

Chishiya gazed at the thatched hut in front of him.

Crude, but livable.

The ogres stared, jaws nearly dropping.

First, he brought the dead back to life.

Now he rebuilt a village out of thin air.

Just… who was this guy?

Chishiya turned toward them.

"Let everyone rest for now."

"Tomorrow we'll name the others and resume construction."

He was going to build a proper branch here.

Thatched huts wouldn't cut it.

He needed infrastructure—roads, housing, commerce, and entertainment districts.

"Yes!"

Benimaru and the others bowed and went off to assign housing to the newly revived.

The slightly larger house in the center of the village was designated as Chishiya's residence.

Megumin and Darkness would temporarily be living in the one next door.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 36: Evolution

Chishiya stepped into the thatched hut. The interior was sparse, with only the bare minimum in furniture.

Well, it was an initial village. Can't exactly expect five-star comfort right out the gate.

He sat down on the wooden bed and opened his system panel.

[Chishiya Shuntaro]

[Core Staff: Megumin, Queen Ant, Vanir, Wiz, Kazuma, Aqua, Darkness, Yunyun]

[Account Balance: 100 million Eris (convertible to Reputation Points at 100:1)
0 copper coins (convertible to Reputation Points at 100:1)]

[Reputation Points: 300,000]

[Special Abilities: Explosion Magic Lover, Leadership, Lich's Blessing, Demon King's Blessing, Goddess of Water's Blessing, Goddess of Luck's Blessing, Knight's Body, Lone Wolf]

He originally had 500,000 Reputation Points.

But after producing 200 magic telephones, he was down to 300,000.

He closed the panel.

If he wanted to establish a branch in this world, the Ogre Clan alone wasn't enough.

He'd need more manpower.

Not to mention, the Pig-Head Emperor had to be dealt with. Otherwise, forget trade—no one would even survive here long enough to talk business.

——————————

Meanwhile...

Boom! Boom! Boom...

The forest echoed with thunderous footsteps.

From the sky above, the sight was terrifying.

A vast horde of orcs—200,000 strong—marched forward in full steel armor, heading straight for the center of the Jura Forest.

Their sheer numbers made the earth tremble.

"Crush everything!"

"Crush everything!"

Their pig-like eyes glowed with crimson light, their chants echoing like a curse.

Atop a tree, not far from the advancing army...

A masked demon wearing a crow-shaped mask looked on, grinning.

Since destroying the Ogre Village, the Orc Lord's magic power had skyrocketed.

Next target: the Lizardmen.

After that: the Goblin Village.

Eventually, every monster in the Jura Forest would fall.

"Eat. Eat everything."

——————————

Deep within the Jura Forest

"Trya, the orcs wiped out the Ogre Village…"

On a treetop, two women in plain dresses stood side by side.

They looked nearly identical. Only the length of their hair set them apart.

The long-haired one on the right narrowed her eyes.

"Treyni," she said calmly. "There's a high-level demon backing the Orc Lord."

"The Ogre Clan was just the first target."

"They're planning to take over the entire forest now that the Storm Dragon has vanished."

Trya clenched her fists anxiously.

"Sister, what do we do?"

Treyni's expression turned serious.

"We need the help of other races."

"Are you talking about that slime?"

"Yeah."

Treyni nodded. "He leads the goblins and the wolfmen. He's a force to be reckoned with."

As they spoke.

A beam of divine light split the clouds overhead.

"Sister, there it is!"

Such intense magic… Treyni's eyes sharpened. "That's coming from the Ogre Village's direction."

A sudden gust rustled the trees around them, as if the forest itself was whispering.

They turned to each other in shock.

The Ogre Clan… had been resurrected.

And not only that—they had been subjugated?!

A race as proud and stubborn as the Ogres… actually brought to heel?

A new power had emerged in the forest.

"Trya," Treyni said. "We're going to investigate."

"I'll confirm whether this new player is friend or foe."

"And I'll check in with the slime," Trya nodded.

The two women turned into streaks of light and vanished from the treetops.

——————————

The Next Morning

Before Chishiya even opened his eyes, he heard bickering.

"Shion, let me deliver Chishiya-sama's breakfast."

"No, no, Miss Shuna. Please allow me to handle this trivial task."

He slowly opened his eyes.

In his room stood two beautiful women, each holding a bowl of porridge.

When they saw he was awake, they rushed over.

"Chishiya-sama, good morning! Time for breakfast!"

What… the hell?

They looked vaguely familiar.

Weren't these two some of the Ogre girls from yesterday?

Had the evolution already succeeded?

Their appearances had completely transformed.

The one on the left was Shion.

Her long violet ponytail suited her sharp features perfectly. A single obsidian horn rose from her forehead, elegantly parting her hair down the middle.

Her skin was pale, lips crimson, and the savage aura she had before had softened into a more composed beauty.

She stood at around 170cm, with a tall, slender figure like a model... except for one very obvious area that seemed desperate for attention.

Next to her was a petite, stunning girl—Shuna.

She had already been cute, but now she radiated refined beauty.

Her pink hair had grown out, curled slightly, and was tied in a graceful bun.

Twin white horns peeked out like porcelain ornaments.

Her red eyes sparkled as she looked intently at Chishiya.

"You two…?"

Chishiya blinked.

Their mana had skyrocketed.

Had they evolved into the Oni race?

Wait… no.

He squinted.

This aura…

Was this demon evolution?

In Ogre biology, evolution goes: Ogre → Kijin (Oni) → Demon → Demon God.

Demons have power comparable to Demon Lords.

In the original anime, Rimuru had only helped them evolve into Kijin.

The demon stage came much later—after he became a Demon Lord.

So that meant…

My current magic power is already about mid-tier Demon Lord level?

"Chishiya-sama!"

Shion cheerfully handed him a bowl of… black sludge.

"…What is this?"

He stared at the ominous paste for a long time.

Shion smiled brightly. "It's porridge! I made it myself!"

"Try some!"

"…I'm… not very hungry."

Even with goddess-level blessings, Chishiya had a gut feeling eating this would not end well.

"Chishiya-sama, you're awake."

The curtain lifted.

Benimaru and the others walked in.

Chishiya glanced around.

After evolution, Benimaru had shrunk in size but was overflowing with mana.

Two black horns curled from his head, glowing with obsidian luster, sticking out from his fiery red hair.

Next to him was Souei.

He had dark skin and deep blue-black hair.

A single white horn protruded from his forehead.

His icy blue eyes matched his dark complexion perfectly.

Hakurou looked significantly younger.

Kurobe had transformed into a rugged bearded uncle.

All six of them had evolved into Kijin.

Their bodies had become leaner, which unfortunately made their clothes comically oversized.

Except Hakurou. He looked exactly the same.

The most dangerous one was still Shion.

Her absurdly massive… assets… were barely held back by her shirt.

This couldn't continue.

If Megumin saw this, she'd absolutely lose her mind with jealousy.

(To be continued.)