The Pacifistic OverlordFrom left to right
Terios: I will, without fail, bring to life a peaceful world that will continue for a millennium.
The Undead King's Reign of Peace is a Light Novel series written by Sakuma Sasaki and illustrated by Eishi Hayama, which began publication in 2020. The series is licensed in English by Yen Press.
In the continent of Trokhia, the peaceful life Mira of Krio Village knew is suddenly uprooted when her home is afflicted by the green rot. The Erythron Kingdom's soldiers have written off the village as a lost cause and are killing any villager attempting to escape. Fortunately for Mira, she and the remaining children of the village are saved by the most unlikeliest of people: a skeleton named Terios, who wants to create a peaceful world without killing anyone.
This series contains the following:
- Action Girl:
- Mira discovers she's capable of magic thanks to Terios' tutilage, and while she's nowhere near as strong as Terios, she's able to kill two goblins by herself.
- Dine is the resident Holy Knight of Erythron and a descendant of the God of Fire, as well as the strongest knight in the country.
- Actually, I Am Him: Although Terios doesn't outright come out and say it, he is all but implied to be the Massacre King Aeon. By his own admission, he claims to have become an undead around 200 years ago, during the time period when Aeon ruled with an iron fist. He also admits to having tried to bring peace to the world through violence, which made him enemies out of the loved ones of the people he cruelly put to the sword and wound up betrayed by his friend. He also makes no attempt to denying the implications of who his past self may have been when Dine brings up how history recalled him taking a girl thirty years younger than him as his mistress.
- Ambition Is Evil: As Terios pointed out, Gemlan could have easily ruled Erythron through his nephew Calyx, who is only a child. There was no other reason to orchestrate the destruction and death of Krio Village except to oust Calyx from the throne so he could become king.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Accordine to Dine, Gemlan doted on his nephew Calyx. In truth, Gemlan didn't think he was a worthy successor to the throne and conspired to usurp him, either forcibly taking the crown from Calyx or orchestrating an event that would force Calyx to willingly concede the throne to Gemlan.
- Cassandra Truth: It was initially a lie to motivate Mira, but Terios claimed the goblins were responsible for spreading the green rot (which isn't true, as the green rot spreads only to humans and demi-human creatures; goblins can't contract the disease). As Terios soon learns, he wasn't too far off the mark; while the goblins aren't responsible for spreading the green rot to Krio Village, the wererat leading them was.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: While not officially recognized as such, Mira is usually the voice of reason among the surviving children of Krio Village and the one charged with looking after them.
- Covert Pervert: Mira, due to knowing what sex is after asking her neighbor about the "strange noises" she made late at night. Melan teases her relentlessly for it.
- Cycle of Revenge: This is what ultimately did Terios in 200 years ago. The family and loved ones of the people he killed grew bitter and resentful, becoming his enemies, and when he killed them, their family and loved ones grew to resent and hate him as well. This is also why he wants to create a world without killing anyone.
- Dark and Troubled Past: After subduing Dine, Terios explains his reasons for not wanting to kill humans; when he first tried to unite the world, he was uncompromising and slaughtered his enemies down to the last man, which in turn made new enemies out of the loved ones of the people he callously killed and even his closest friends. By his own admission, one of his closest friends stabbed him and is partially responsible for his undead state.
- The Dreaded: Among the classes of undead are the Undead Kings, who are said to have lived for centuries and boast incredible power. After hearing about Terios, Gemlan classifies him as such and orders Dine to exterminate him pronto.
- Evil Overlord: The Massacre King Aeon is not regarded favorably in the present day. As his title implies, he led a brutal and bloody campaign in his attempt to unite all of Trokhia. To give you an idea, it's said one could build a kingdom from the mountains of bodies he left in his wake.
- False Flag Operation: The reason behind the barricading of Krio Village. Gemlan orchestrated the events leading to the villagers contracting the green rot in an attempt to force Calyx to give up the throne. Terios' unexpected involvement forced him to change up his plans and ultimately ruined them.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Torio really doesn't like Terios; not because he's a monster, but because of how close he is to Mira.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: After telling Mira that he finds her beautiful and clearing up the misunderstanding that he has no intention of abusing the geas between him and Dine, Melan and the children ruthlessly call him a pervert, much to his chagrin.
- Our Liches Are Different: As explained by Terios, liches are born in one of two ways: either they're overwhelmed by hate at the moment of their death that the only thing they can do is attacking the living, and by willingly becoming undead to stave off their meeting with the grim reaper. Terios is apparently a mix of the two, as although he was killed and betrayed, he harbors no resentment or hate for humans, much less the friend who betrayed him.
- Playing with Fire: As a descendant of the God of Fire, Dine can infuse her sword with blistering heat. In a battle against a giant slime from a swamp, she was able to boil its main body alive in seconds and leave its nucleus completely exposed.
- Precocious Crush: Torio has it bad for Mira, so much that Melan constantly teases him about it.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: This is Terios' biggest rule and belief in wanting to create a peaceful world without killing humans, citing the Cycle of Revenge and his own experiences as to why bloody and brutal campaigns won't always work. This only applies to humans, however. Non-humans and demi-humans are exempt from this and therefore fair game.
- Undying Loyalty: Dine is unwaveringly loyal to King Calyx. Hearing that he's been overthrown by Gemlan and slated for execution nearly sends her flying into a rage and would have stormed the castle were it not for Terios' geas holding her back.
