Versatile: Alternate World

Is that how it is? The sleeping demons are brainwashed the moment they wake up? Wait, isn't that was almost the case for Lucia since the demons back in the elf village that I just annihilated were planning to wake Lucia up from her slumber. Does that mean they are all planning to do this method to increase the number of demons and the demons who can command an army? Lucia alone is pretty strong so if other demons who were from the primordial times woke up, isn't this going to be a real bad thing? I still quite remember how chaotic things were during the demon invasion and the amount of bosses we have to defeat is quite overwhelming too.

"Anyways, enough of that. I can tell that you guys are confused on why we are not entering the Kingdom of the Deep Sea even though you all are just one step away to enter the area right?" Lifera snaps and furniture appeared before us alongside some refreshments. I am wondering how the water in the refreshments does not mix with the water we are in. But the heck with that, this world has its own rules so I doubt I will know it.

I took a glance at the others and nodded. It seems like they have already understood what I meant.

"Yeah, this should be the best time you tell us. What happened these past few years while we are sealed? What is happening right now in the kingdom?" Li asked.

"Yes, should I explain from the very beginning?"

"Perhaps you can shorten it? Long stories might be entertaining but that isn't always the case and making it short would just allow being concise and easier to sink in compared to the long one. Also, it seems our friends here are also quite in a hurry so that should be the case," Sera pleaded.

"Understood. Therefore, I will explain it as concisely as possible. Anyways, let's start 100 years ago since that is the beginning of the trouble brewing in the kingdom. There was an epidemic that broke out with the merfolk all of a sudden. Sera-sama and Li-sama should know that diseases are pretty rare or almost non-existent in the kingdom due to the blessings of the Sea God. However, during that time, that disease broke out, infecting thousands of the merfolks in one single night."

"An infection?" Sera frowned hearing it.

"Did anyone know what caused it? Is it already eradicated?" Li asked.

"This particular disease stopped infecting but it lasted for quite a long time that it almost went on for 50 years after it appeared. It was controlled allowing the infected to be quarantined and isolated. During that time, the infected merfolk were quickly seen by the uninfected as filth and they started to ostracize and kill some of them to control the spread. It was chaotic and it started to get more rampant when the populace heard that the king got infected. Just a reminder that the king this time is no longer your father but your cousin, Alfer who was the next in line on the throne after the two of you decided to sacrifice.

"So Alfer-san became the king. It was natural since he was a born leader type. But I am quite curious as to why this disease that caused an outbreak suddenly became terrifying to the point that people will ostracize the infected. This usually never happens to them unless it was too dangerous or weird?"

"Are you familiar with Necrosis? I bet our human friends know it," Lifera then glances at us.

"Of course. It's a pretty common thing especially if there is a certain part of the body that has been infected by a certain kind of disease and they will go to necrosis. Even some of the zombification happening on the humans where they turn into undead are also necrosis. But that isn't a disease at all that would be enough for things like that to be caused by something. After all, it can easily be cured using [Holy Water] item or [Holy Cure]," Lina explained.

"Astute answer and yes, that is how necrosis naturally works. Merfolks should be immune to it since Necrosis is something that has been cured easily whenever the blessing of the Sea God is applied. However, this is not simple necrosis. The people who got caught on this started to exhibit what an undead would do."

"They crave the flesh of their own kind right?" Atlas guessed.

"Yes. Although they exhibit this strange behavior only at night, it was too dangerous as some of them even devoured one whole merman due to this "hunger" they feel. It was due to this that the people who contracted it were forced to be isolated from the others."

"So how did everyone solve it?" I asked.

"It's unfortunate but it was never solved."

"W-what? What do you mean it was not solved? You said it stopped infecting..." Sera frowned. As for me, I can already guess.

"Yes. It stopped infecting the inhabitants because the people of the Kingdom of the Deep Sea are no longer existing. In short, they all succumbed to the disease. As for me, I was here as a guard in the secret entrance that is why I managed to know what is happening. Also, I am a part automaton, this disease is not effective against me."

Sera and Li were speechless by the revelation.

"B-but, they should be protected by the blessings of the Sea God. How come...?" Sera was on the verge of crying.

I also can't believe it but I don't understand what is happening. If that is the case, how come the players back in the previous timeline managed to get the cooperation to fight against the demons and destroy the rule of the twin demons? I don't understand and can't easily find a connection on how it happened.

"If that is the case, does that mean the Kingdom of the Deep Sea is now the home of the undead merfolk?"

"More or less. Although if you enter, you won't find anything strange due to how the merfolk you will see still retain their own behaviors and their faces. You won't even know that they are part of the people who got infected and have died there unless someone else will tell. The moment you let your guard down, you will die and will become their food without a doubt. After all, they have turned into flesh-eating cannibals."

"Does that mean there is a necromancer in the works in here?" I asked.

Lifera's face twitches but he quickly affirmed. "Yes. There is indeed a necromancer and this time, he has already obtained the blessing of the Primordial Sea God and the Sea God's natural power that is usually only used by the royalty of the Merfolk and the ruler of the Kingdom of the Deep Sea. Basically, he should be the one who caused everything.

I keep quiet from what I heard. It's another necromancer. This does not bode well. Perhaps the reason I got this quest is due to the ongoing quest of me eradicating the necromancers.

The first necromancer is dead but there are still a few necromancers that are still alive. As long as they are still alive, I can't just erase in my mind whether the necromancer in the Kingdom of the Deep Sea who became the ruler of the empty kingdom to be one of those Necromancers. That is just too much of a coincidence it's not even funny anymore.

"If that is the case, we should check the situation out," I suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"If everyone has become an undead, isn't the very first thing needed to be done is to purify and free their souls from their rotten bodies? That is always the main remedy to stop the dead people to reanimate as undead. If it works on the human towns, that also works in merfolk too."

"Bladeheart is right, if everything is real, our task is not to return joyfully but to let all the people who got reanimated to forever rest. We might not be able to revive them but they should at least rest and get a proper send to the afterlife, not as someone who rises from the dead and then eats their fellow species. We allowed ourselves to be sealed to save them. So now that they are in need of help to rest, we should be the ones who needed to do it," Li agreed to my suggestion.

"Li-sama! What are you talking about? Don't do this. I can't allow the two of you and any of the humans to enter the portal," Lifera frantically stopped us.

"Lifera, this is the job of the last line of the Merfolk royalty. Even though we are not considered as royalty now that our status is officially we are dead, our task remains the same, liberate the kingdom and rebuild it!"

BAM!

Lifera who is showing a calm look on his face gets a threatening aura all of a sudden.

"I already told you guys that this is impossible.. So give it up, now."