The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

“Come on, move already! You fool! You were only struck by a needle to your spine. You imbecile! Heal yourself already!”

“Ugh… shut… up…”

I tried my utmost to put some strength into my body. Gradually, bit by bit, my body was growing less numb.

I crawled off the bed, fell to the floor and pushed myself up to my feet.

The only thing that had me moving was anger. Anger against Senri.

Though she promised to give me blood, it was only an awful lie. Even if her actions were justified, I still would not forgive her.

It had been nearly ten days since I had last fed, so when asked if I needed to feed just as I figured I should be almost depleted, I totally did not suspect her.

Even though I was incredibly happy, she was too cruel… I will definitely get her back for this later. I will never let my guard down again.

The numbness was slowly ebbing but the Lord’s apparition showed no signs of disappearing.

“All things said, you really are… unique, as I thought. You have talent. Generally, you can’t recover from the effects of that skill so quickly. If not for that weak spirit of yours, you could have made a fine King…”

Then, you need not have rushed me to heal.

He certainly is too noisy for an apparition. And more voluble than the actual Lord.

It is not my objective to become a great King in the first place. I am only looking to become the King by default.

Even as we speak, the negative energy in me is steadily growing. I am slowly getting stronger even without killing any living or drinking the blood of anyone else.

I do not know if that is normal for an undead, but judging from what the Lord has to say , I must have a vessel suitable for an undead. Quite the irony considering my desperate will to live.

Senri bit down on my neck and made a thin long hole in my body. One that reached down to my spine. The damage caused by that is being healed albeit slowly.

Still, what a horrible skill. I could swallow it if I had been pushed to this state after a punch or something, but I was taken down when my eyes were fixated on Senri’s neck. How cruel….

“Your body is… generating more negative energy? Well, it really is a miracle that you managed to survive all those years in that body of yours…”, said the Lord with a puzzled expression.

Good grief, must be nice to have nothing to do but yap about.

I ignored his comments as I pushed myself up by leaning on the soft bed.

“I’m here right now because I died… ahh, finally I can move around.”

I felt unsteady on my feet. Numbness still pervaded my fingertips, but it was still manageable.

Nevertheless, just why did Senri make me go through this hell. Today, we were going to move to the mansion that my father had prepared for us.

It does not make sense that she simply left me paralyzed if her intention had been one of betrayal. It would have been easier than taking candy from a child for Senri to have dealt the final blow to me.

I need… to chase after her. Something feels off. Although I am not completely back to normal, I should recover on the move. The Lord’s apparition had also disappeared before I knew it.

Judging from the circumstances, Senri must have wanted to stop me from going to father’s mansion. Only she can tell me the reason behind her actions, but if I had to guess… she might have wanted to check if any traps had been laid out. Either that or father may have said something to Senri yesterday.

Senri, as I have seen of her personality so far, is very self-sacrificing in nature.

I am prepared to make use of anything in order to survive, but that does not mean I want her to bear the brunt of the burden.

I wonder what happened to the machete – Blood Ruler.

I looked around the room and found the machete propped up against the wall. The moment I picked it up with my still numb arm, something dark suddenly jumped into the room through the window.

I was completely caught off guard. Not to mention, I had barely sensed any presence.

Broken glass. I was sent flying by whatever entered the room. The Blood Ruler slipped from my arm, fell onto the floor and away from me.

The world spins uncontrollably. I tumble over several times before slamming against the wall and sliding to the floor. I tried to straighten myself, ignoring my numb arms’ protests and raised my head.

The one that had come flying at me… was a five feet tall monster, a black dog. Of course, I had no recollection of seeing it before.

Fiery gold eyes gleamed in the dark.

My instincts screamed that this was no ordinary beast. The dog… looked almost like a monster.

Why am I being subject to this hell… I simply just want to survive.

As if it was not enough that the Death Knights and the Vampire Hunters were always after me, now even a dog has to attack me….

No… wait! This scent feels familiar….

As thoughts kept swirling through my head, I forced my still slightly numb arm to reach for the machete. However, before my fingers could touch the hilt , the dog kicked it away from me. And immediately after, it tread on my hand with its huge limb. I could feel my hand being crushed and the bones breaking.

I forcibly removed my arm, ignoring my arm tearing apart, broke my arm free and rolled around to get back on my feet.

By then, the broken bones and torn arm had healed and the pain was subsiding.

Unfortunately, tonight… was the full moon. The night the dark forces are at their strongest. I am much stronger than usual.

The black dog lunges at me. It stands up high on its hind feet and strikes at me with a huge hairy forelimb. I received the blow that came from above by planting my feet firmly on the floor.

“?!”

I gasped in spite of myself at the outcome that was not in the least what I had expected.

The floor easily gave away, my legs sunk into it and my body screamed in pain.

Speechless, I withstand the power that tries to crush me from above.

What a tremendous power. Although it is true that my body is not completely back to normal, this is no strength of an ordinary beast. It is much superior than the beasts I have ever faced. Above all, it is incredible that it comes close to me in strength on a full moon.

… Don’t underestimate me!

I put all my strength into my arms and pushed myself to the side, thus evading the forelimb that attempted to crush me down. Its claws plunged into the floor due to momentum, but the black dog was still unstoppable. The other forelimb slashed at me with its sharp claws. I hastened backwards but they still managed to graze me.

Blood spurted and I was thrown back violently and slammed against the wall. Although the wound healed right away, this is….

The black dog came stomping with its huge mouth and shiny tongue. Sharp fangs lined its mouth. Though a vampire’s body is much sturdier than a human’s, a bite from that could tear me apart.

I rolled over to the side and evaded its mouth. It crashed into the wall leaving a huge hole in its wake. Its forelimb that I had failed to evade made holes in my body proportionate to the number of its claws.

Dammit….

I bit down on my pain and kicked at its body. However, an attack that could have broken a few bones in an ordinary being did no damage to it.

It is strong. I used the skill Sharp Claw and transformed my nails into sharp talons. I rolled over to evade the relentless attacks from its forelimb and stabbed at the gap between its fur with my claws that were as sharp as a knife.

There was a response. However, it was different from what I expected. The bones in my fingers were crushed.

The claws that had stabbed and pierced through countless beasts before were broken in half. What in hell… is that fur made of. I hit the wall when I tried to retreat in order to avoid the attack. Glinting talons descended on me from above.

I need to think. Though it was troubling that I had lost the machete, fighting in such a narrow space was a much bigger problem.

Being tossed around in a small space puts me at a terrible disadvantage. Even a vampire would perish if its body is torn apart and its head crushed, moreover, my regenerative abilities are not inexhaustible.

I stretched out my arms and received its limbs that came at me with momentum. Outclassed by power, my arms were torn and bones crushed, but I gained a few seconds.

I crawled on all fours like a beast and desperately threw myself out the window. It was the second floor, but you cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

People passing by scream out seeing me suddenly fall out of the window, but I pay them no mind.

So did the black dog as it relentlessly chased after me.

My arms healed. However, my clothes were still torn. And I had only just bought them….

I probably would have the upper hand in a wide space. I do not know the identity of the black dog, but surely it cannot have better regenerative capabilities than a vampire. I picked up a rock the size of my fist and flung it with all my might. The black dog did not even slow down as it easily flicked off the rock that came at it like a cannonball.

It was almost like a boar. Drooling all over, a beast is coming to kill me.

The broken and crushed claws regenerate and grow stronger. This time, they were much stronger and sharper.

My body creaked as it mutated.

Ominous, glinting, golden eyes drew nearer.

Fine. If you wish to kill me… I shall kill you.

I steeled my resolve. I firmly planted my feet on the ground and received the left forelimb that slashed at me, with my own left arm.

The blow sent heavy shockwaves through my body. However, I was not sent flying this time. My left arm creaked in protest. But it was still fine.

I was going head to head… no, I was overpowering it.

“Finally!… the numbness… is gone!!”

Seriously, it is not even funny that I can be overpowered on a full moon at that, when vampires are well known for their herculean strength.

Its jaws come for my flesh. However, no matter if it is different on the inside, it is still in the shape of a beast. I have ample experience battling wolves in the Lord’s mansion. I use my sharp claws to slash at the jaws that lunge at me.

I got in a clean shot. Having taken a blow to the jaw from below, its huge body was sent flying in the air. Blood trickled down my claws and touched my fingertips.

The black dog was flung far and bounced over the ground several times, before it took on a defensive position to land safely and got up on its feet.

I gaped in wonder. Impossible. I pierced its jaw and it would not be too strange if my claws had reached its brain.

Bloodshot golden eyes. The blood that was gushing from its jaws, stops suddenly. Its feet pawed at the ground and the very same mouth let out a deep growl.

It… was regeneration. The attack just now would have been fatal to an ordinary beast….

It finally hit me. The reason why something felt off earlier.

The scent had felt familiar. And that surprising regenerative ability.

“Werewolf… and this scent…you’re the Keeper’s partner!”

It was the girl who looked at me with hatred in her eyes back during the negotiation. Albertus was the name I think.

The black dog made no response to my words.

I do not know any of their special traits. However, since werewolves pop up in a lot of folktales, I have a general idea about them.

Minions of vampires. Werewolves are dreadful evil.

Normally in the human form, they are capable of transforming into wolves upon will. Superhuman strength, explosive power coupled with insane regenerative powers, they grow stronger and weaker with the moon cycles, just like vampires, with silver weapons being their weakness.

However, what sets them apart from typical dark forces is that those beings… are not undead. Although cursed, they are not undead. Hence, they are capable of function during the day and are said to protect the vampires as they sleep.

Other things mentioned in folklore include them losing most of their reason when they transform or the full moon transforming them into werewolves even against their will. But if Albertus really was a werewolf, then that raised a lot of questions.

Firstly… the Keeper not being a vampire. Since werewolves are said to have been created by certain vampires.

Secondly… no matter how I look at it, the beast before me is not a wolf. But a dog.

The Keeper does not seem to be close by. If he were, they would coordinate and attack me together.

Perhaps, Senri had been caught off guard by the Keeper’s attack.

Well, let me set that aside for now. Albertus… is a fitting opponent for a monster like me.

It is true that the herculean strength, agility and the thick coat that acts as a shield are certain threats, but I should be able to take her on now. I can win.

I cannot let down my guard, however, the clash earlier makes me feel like I have a fighting chance.

Werewolves are small fries that play the part of mid-bosses in stories. They are something like minions to vampires.

I licked off the blood clinging to my claws. Albertus’ blood was as different from Senri’s as meat from fruit, but it was not a bad taste.

Maybe because the blood was still fresh, my body fired up and power surged forth. Albertus growled even fiercely.

Spilling blood had me excited. I brandished my claws and grinned at Albertus.

“Come at me if you wish to die, Albertus. I won’t hold back unlike Senri.”

Albertus’ eyes grew narrower.

Eyes full of killing intent. A hoarse voice filled the air.

“Ggggrrrrhh… Don’t look down on me, vam…pire.”

“?!”

The next instant, Albertus’ body swelled up.

Her body, which was five feet high, grew in size along with her mouth, limbs, ears, tail and just about everything enlarged with every heartbeat.

It was quite the incredible transformation making it worthy of being called a curse. The claws in those limbs grew bigger, piercing the ground, forming deep cracks. All the fangs grew much sharper, her golden eyes had contracted like a beast’s and her fur, all bristled, stood on end, sharp as needles.

Gigantic!… What in hell… I gaped and retreated a few steps in spite of myself.

Albertus after transformation was twice the size she was before. Be it in height or width, just about everything was twice the size.

Earlier, she could still be classified as a beast, but now, she was the size of a food stall. It would be no exaggeration to say she was twice as intimidating as well.

Her forelimbs were almost like pillars. If the size were not just for show, I do not think I can stop a blow from it. The black beast, unlike anything I had seen before, stood tall with the ground under its feet cracked and finally turned its attention to me. Looking into those fiery eyes, I could not sense any humanity behind them.

The beast roared mightily. The air trembled, debris was sent flying everywhere and windows of nearby houses shattered. My body trembled. Any exaltation I felt before disappeared. And thus, smashing the ground it stepped on, Albertus came charging.