Journey to Godhood Begins in Frieren

Liches, alongside vampires—the undead monsters most people picture—stand at the very top of the undead hierarchy.

They are arch‑mages who have refined their magic to perfection, abandoning their human bodies through arcane secrets and becoming what people call "Kings of the Undying."

(And no, they are not the well‑known "Overlord who plays mind games with the air.")

Unlike monsters that turn undead naturally through overpowering regrets or hatred, liches bend the laws of nature by their own will and ultimately become beings that defy the gods.

So when a monster straight out of a final boss fight suddenly showed up here, Darkness and the others understandably panicked.

Aqua might look clueless and act clueless, but she really is an Arch‑Priest, so she could never mistake a lich.

Still, this particular lich seemed a little different from the kind everyone fears…

"Q‑Quit it—what are you doing? Stop right now! Who are you? Never mind popping up out of nowhere, why are you wrecking my magic circle? Please stop—just stop!"

"You're so noisy! Quiet, you undead thing! I can tell you're plotting something evil with this shady circle. What is it, huh? I'm stomping it—stomp, stomp!"

"No, don't! Please stop! You can't just—mmpf—"

The so‑called final‑boss figure had a woman's voice. Crying, she grabbed Aqua's right leg, trying to keep her from trampling the circle.

Plenty of undead minions stood at the lich's side, yet none of them interfered. They simply stared blankly at the pair.

Of course, on Shichen's side, everyone except him was just as dumbfounded.

At that moment they even began to doubt whether that person really was a lich.

She was clearly no zombie maker, and she hardly looked like a lich at all—more like an honest citizen being bullied by a thug.

"Please stop! I beg you, really—stop! This circle sends souls that haven't passed on—those still wandering this world—back to Heaven! Look—see all those souls drifting up from it? Please stop—!"

The lich was telling the truth. Countless bluish‑white wisps—like ghost‑lights—floated into the circle, rode its blue glow, and soared up to the sky.

Anyone could tell what was happening, but stone‑hearted Aqua was unmoved by the lich's pleading.

"Heh. You, a lich, pretending to be kind? A deed like this is my job as a High Priestess. Out of the way! Honestly, at your snail's pace, you'll never finish. Watch me purify you and this whole cemetery in one go!"

"Eek—H‑High Priestess? P‑Please stop!"

The instant Aqua mentioned being a High Priestess, the lich panicked—but Aqua ignored her, spread her arms wide, and shouted:

"Turn Undead!"

A shocking scene erupted. Centered on Aqua, white light flooded the entire graveyard.

Where it touched the zombies beside the lich, they vanished without a trace.

The ghost‑lights gathered in the circle were swallowed by the same light—and disappeared.

And of course, the light washed over the lich.

"Kyaa—! M‑My body? It's disappearing! Stop, please stop—I'll be sent on! Nooo—!"

The lich was terrified she would be purified on the spot.

Aqua burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Foolish lich! An existence that violates nature, an undead defying the gods—vanish! Vanish completely beneath my power!"

"All right, that's enough." Shichen strolled over, smiling, and tapped Aqua on the head.

"Mm‑m… Shichen, why?" Aqua pouted.

"I'm about to purify this lich!"

"Quit it. Didn't you hear what she just said?"

"But she's a lich!"

"Ask her what's going on first."

"I don't—"

"Behave, and I'll buy you sparkling wine later."

"…Fine," Aqua yielded at once.

"Heh‑heh~"

Shichen shook his head with a wry smile, then finally turned to the so‑called lich—who was already partly transparent.

A so‑called final boss really couldn't stand up to a goddess.

She wasn't skeletal at all—in fact, she was strikingly pretty. Under the moonlight her features were clear:

Chestnut‑brown hair, a young woman who looked barely into her twenties, a little timid, with delicate features that stirred pity.

Shichen recognized her. He reached out and asked gently, "Are you all right?"

"I‑I'm fine… Thank you for saving me." The lich took his hand, voice soft.

"No—it was Aqua who was rude," Shichen said, helping her up.

His divine body felt no resistance to her touch, so she was clearly harmless.

"Not at all! She's a lich!" Aqua retorted.

"Two bottles," Shichen said calmly.

"…Fine. Maybe I was a little rude. Sorry." Aqua folded her arms and looked away, clearly unrepentant.

She might be ditzy, but as a goddess she clung hard to her professional pride.

"N‑No, it's fine…" the lich shook her head. "She's right—I am a lich."

"So she really is a lich." Megumin and the others came closer.

"She doesn't look anything like I expected." Satou Kazuma rubbed his chin, regarding the lich.

Final‑boss material, yet she seemed easy to bully—she might not even fight back.

This world was truly bizarre.

"Are you really a lich? Why are you here? You said you were sending souls to heaven—isn't that a priest's job?" Darkness pressed.

"Um…" The lich shrank back, clutching Shichen's hand and stepping half‑behind him. "B‑Because I'm a lich—the so‑called King of the Undying… As the king, I can hear the voices of souls wandering the living world… Many souls in this public cemetery had no money, so even a decent funeral was beyond them; they couldn't return to Heaven and just wander here every night… As the undead king, I come by occasionally and help the children who want to go home…"

"So…so kind‑hearted!" Yunyun said, moved.

"Indeed…" Kazuma nodded. Such a kind lich deserved respect.

"I'll provisionally believe you," Megumin said, eyeing the joined hands suspiciously, "but shouldn't priests handle this? Why not let them?"

"Because…" The lich replied awkwardly, "The priests in this town are rather… money‑minded… No, no, I mean they keep postponing cases when there's no money, so…"

"No need to say more—everyone here gets it," Shichen interjected.

"Is that true?" Yunyun asked Darkness.

"Embarrassing as it is… yes," Darkness admitted.

"Damn it! What's wrong with this world, where not a single lich isn't kinder than people?" Kazuma exploded.

"That's reality—not everyone is so kind," Shichen said.

"Don't tell me the Demon King is a good guy too, and the royal family are the villains?" Kazuma asked.

"Hardly," Shichen answered.

"Good."

"Sorry for the trouble. We took a quest to eliminate a zombie maker and ended up here," Shichen apologized to the lich.

"No, no, it's my fault. My mana probably woke the zombie maker. Still, thanks to Aqua everything's cleared up—the graveyard's completely empty now."

"Heh‑heh~ I'm amazing, right?" Aqua planted her fists on her hips proudly.

"Yes, yes—you're amazing," Shichen allowed.

"Heh‑heh~"

"By the way, what's your name?" Megumin suddenly asked, serious.

"Eh?" The lich startled, then hurriedly answered, "I‑I'm Wiz…"

"Wiz, huh." Megumin frowned, cutting her off. "And how long do you plan on holding Shichen's hand?"

"Ah—"

~~~

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