Hel's Nostrum, also known as "Goddess of life and death's nostrum", is one of the magical potions described in Monster Girl Encyclopedia World Guide III: Sabbath Grimoire.
Guide Book Entry[edit]
A nostrum that instantly takes the life of its drinker, and resurrects them as an undead. This magical medicine is not created intentionally, but changes into this when things like poison and powerful medicines that take human life take on the power of the Goddess of Life and Death "Hel". That is, the medicine for killing all humans under the influence of the Goddess "Hel", is this "Nostrum of the Goddess of Life and Death". This nostrum is considered to be one of a number of "Curses that do not end with death, Endless blessings in death" brought about by the Goddess "Hel" and her believers.
When a chemical becomes "The Goddess of Life and Death's Nostrum", it completely loses it's toxicity, and only the power to "rob humans of life" remains. Tortured to death, burning the inside of the body, and evoking disease, all processes that bring death will vanish, and the nostrum takes away your life the moment it is tasted. There is no suffering at the moment of death, and just as a human is at the verge of death, their life is lost with a pleasure similar to climax. In addition to death, the body is filled with ecstasy and euphoria, and is revived as undead types such as "zombies" and "ghouls", receiving a life that will never end again.
Should a man take this nostrum, he will enter a state of apparent death similar to the effects of an "Undead Grey Lamentation Mushroom". The smell of essence and death worn by a man in this state greatly attracts undead mamono, inviting the living to the undead. If this lingering scent of death drifts to a woman thinking of a man, guided by the Goddess "Hel" she will become captivated by the "Nostrum of the Goddess of Life and Death". Thus, in many cases they will drink this nostrum to follow the man, reviving as undead. In this way, being safely bound to an undead mamono, a man in incomplete death accepts their magical energy and welcomes complete death. And then, he will be resurrected as an undead mamono's partner, an "undead incubus".
The Goddess Hel's believers, and Hel's church, in order to fulfill the desire of the goddess, bringing all "Curses that do not end with death, Endless blessings in death" to humans, must fulfill their missions in secrecy. And so, "The Goddess of Life and Death's Nostrum" does not exist solely in Undead Kingdoms. Through the spread of the Goddess Hel's followers, and the magic rituals they perform, even in Order nations where the shadows of mamono are never seen, the power of the Goddess Hel unknowingly extends. A story loved by many mamono, including citizens of Undead Kingdoms, seems to be one where "Two lovers born to hostile noble families attracted to one another, commit suicide with poison, and are bound together as undead". This is said to be an incident that actually occurred in a certain Anti-Monster state, an example of one of the cases related to the "Nostrum of the Goddess of Life and Death". Nowadays, both noble families have become noble undead, and it is said that the country has become an Undead Kingdom.