However, they did glance at each other, and then one soldier spoke: "The Queen of the Dead is the Queen of the Dead."
Kaguya was speechless. After a moment's thought, she changed her question, pointing at Yusei, "Do you know him? And his subordinates?"
She was referring to Yusei and the fifty undead soldiers he had summoned.
The five soldiers, receiving this query, looked over in unison and immediately prostrated themselves again on the ground.
"We apologize profoundly! We did not know the Lich King was also present!"
They seemed to tremble, clearly terrified.
Yusei was also puzzled. He then directed one of his own formation's skeleton generals, the undead general riding the zombie horse, to dismount. Pointing at it, he asked the five soldiers, "Do you know him?"
"Uh... General Mordekai?" The five soldiers ventured cautiously, glancing at the skeleton general.
"You know him?" Yusei asked curiously.
"General Mordekai is the garrison captain of the Undead Capital. Most of us know him," The skeleton soldier replied carefully, looking at the general named Mordekai.
"Then why can't he speak intelligently like you?" Yusei pressed, this being the core of his confusion.
"That... Your Majesty, when you summoned him, you might have bound his intellect. So..."
"Bound his intellect?" This was the first time Yusei had heard this term.
"Yes, Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen can arbitrarily control our very being. You can bind our intellect or manipulate us like puppets," The skeleton soldier explained, its tone oddly tinged with excitement, as if being used by their monarchs was a great honor.
Yusei didn't pay much mind to that.
Instead, he refocused on the Netherworld Legion authority. Following the skeleton soldier's explanation, he quickly adjusted the authority's parameters.
Instantly, the previously puppet-like fifty soldiers, who merely followed orders, seemed to come alive. Though they still stood in formation, it was clear they now possessed consciousness.
The undead general standing before Yusei was the first to kneel in reverence, "Mordekai pays respects to the Lich King! It is my honor to be summoned and utilized by Your Majesty."
"So you all had intelligence all along," Yusei remarked, looking at the now-sentient undead with a sense of wonder. He had assumed they were like summoned puppets, mindless soldiers. He hadn't expected them to be conscious beings capable of human speech.
Understanding this, Yusei felt somewhat reluctant to use them as cannon fodder in battle.
It wasn't necessarily out of pity, but concern that they might be finite… that each loss would be permanent.
Considering this, Yusei continued his inquiry: "How do your undead ranks get replenished?"
"In reply, Your Majesty, those slain by our blades or by your hand can be transformed into undead. Furthermore, the Undead Capital contains Soul Pools which gather our spirits. Even if our bodies are destroyed, we can be reborn there."
"So, in theory, your numbers can only increase, never decrease?"
"Correct, Your Majesty. However, if encountered by Holy Light, we might be purified directly." Mordekai explained in detail, giving Yusei a much better understanding.
Yusei felt a surge of excitement. This elevated his assessment of the [Netherworld Legion] Authority another notch.
"Alright, I understand. You are dismissed."
"As you will, Your Majesty."
Upon Yusei's command, the fifty soldiers of his formation, along with Mordekai, dissolved into dust and vanished into the ground as if they had never been there.
The five soldiers summoned by Kaguya looked at each other, unsure what to do, before finally turning their gazes to her.
After all, she, the Queen of the Dead, had summoned them, and they were bound to obey her.
"You are dismissed as well," Kaguya said, waving her hand.
The five soldiers also bowed and quickly disappeared.
Only after the skeletal undead had completely vanished did Asuna pat her chest lightly and let out a sigh, "I never imagined undead truly existed. So, one of you is the Lich King, the other the Queen of the Dead... does that mean you'd be husband and wife in the underworld too?" she teased, looking at the pair.
"Don't be ridiculous! I have no intention of dying anytime soon," Kaguya retorted, rolling her eyes at Asuna.
"The Netherworld doesn't necessarily mean you have to be dead to go there. You are the Queen of the Dead. If you went now, you'd undoubtedly rule the Undead Capital," Yusei added with a laugh.
"Enough of that! Who knows what this 'Undead Capital' even is? I'm not qualified to go there with my current strength. By the way, Yusei, do you know anything about this Undead Capital?"
"No, this is my first time hearing of it. But it's probably similar to the King Yama's Place… one is a gathering place for spirits, the other a place of judgment for them," Yusei speculated.
"Forget it, it's all too complicated. All this 'undead' talk just sounds unpleasant. Let's change the subject," Kaguya complained.
"Fair enough. This was just to test your Authority. So, you have a basic understanding of the Netherworld Legion now. What about the other Authorities?"
"Let me see... It seems I can only use Lightning and Sun right now."
"I have a rough idea about Lightning. Is your Sun Authority about summoning a sun to crush people or something?"
"Uh, no, it seems to be just... clearing the weather," Kaguya said, slightly embarrassed.
Her authority could disperse cloudy skies and make the sun shine brightly.
It could significantly alter the battlefield environment, but its direct offensive power was practically zero.
Of course, if she encountered undead, suddenly conjuring a sun might be somewhat useful.
But the problem was, she herself was the so-called [Queen of the Dead]! What would it mean for her to summon the sun to destroy undead?
Such was the nature of Kaguya's Authorities. Due to the usage restrictions on the others, she didn't experiment further.
But based on the Netherworld Legion alone, Melqart's Authority was undoubtedly powerful.
It turned out the [Netherworld Legion] was a genuine, vast army, not just a handful of summoned skeleton grunts.
Furthermore, through this authority, Yusei had gleaned some information about the Undead Capital.
It wasn't just populated by skeleton soldiers, but other species as well.
If he had to make a comparison, Yusei felt it somewhat resembled the Undead Scourge from Warcraft, a game from his previous life.
The Scourge Legion!