The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

“Will anyone ever forgive me?”

Senri would occasionally reminisce about the day when they were ambushed with ‘Soul Release’.

Ever since End somehow endured the life-threatening light by sucking Senri’s blood, he hasn’t cried. He didn’t seem to be angry either.

End was aloof, but it was obvious to Senri that his attitude came from resignation.

“Even if I don’t attack anybody, I’m sure others will still come to kill me. Even if I run outside of human territory, they will follow me until the end of the earth.”

Senri couldn’t say anything back. After all, his words were true.

Her teacher was eager to kill the weak young man in front of her. It was impossible to persuade him anymore. And Epée, the Destroyer, wasn’t soft enough to let his prey get away.

Would her teacher think that he had killed End with his ‘Soul Release’?

No, Epée would most likely act with the prerequisite of End being alive until he confirmed End’s death. The complete annihilation of the darkness was the reason he had the nickname of ‘Destroyer’.

“I’m scared… Senri. I’m scared of being killed, but the thing I’m most afraid of is losing myself. At this rate, I will… become a monster. I’m not strong enough to maintain my humanity even after being hated and attacked by everybody. What’s more, I―― don’t want to die even if I become a monster.”

It was a confession of his true feelings.

Those eyes looking at her were blood red, as a proof that they belonged to a monster, but they still retained strong sanity within them.

Considering the time that had passed after he revived, this level of sanity was astounding. He had overcome the urge to drink blood many times, making her think that it could be possible for him to maintain his humanity until he died.

But, for that, he required a leeway, an ally.

Whenever the curse changes someone’s appearance, their form would be affected by their true nature. End was lamenting about it, but the white puppy that couldn’t be more different from Albertus’ transformation, was most likely the embodiment of his inner world.

“It’s okay, no matter who becomes your enemy, I will always… be your ally.”

She had to protect him. Senri once again strongly resolved herself.

Even if the whole world became his enemy, she alone would remain his ally. Otherwise, End would have existed to simply suffer at the hands of the world.

☠☠☠

This is… bad.

Looking up at the base of Demon King Rainel’s army that was spread out on the mountain, Senri frowned.

She had heard about the size of the army. To start with, even if they were called the Demon King’s army, each of them were different depending on the Demon King at the top. If the Demon King was present, the whole army would be crammed inside their base. It would be impossible for Senri alone to take on the whole army that could overpower a single city.

The Sun had already set and only the half-moon was illuminating the mountain. The wind brought with it a strong bestial scent. The camp in the distance was lit with fire, not showing even the slightest intention to hide.

But the biggest problem was the strong presence of darkness that she could feel even from a considerable distance from the camp.

End was using the power of the ‘Night Crystal’ to conceal most of his negative energy. While this method wasn’t fool proof, it was enough to make Death Knights unable to sense his presence from some distance away.

However, what she was feeling from afar was definitely the sinister aura peculiar to the Undead. Moreover, it was far more ominous that End’s presence she had felt before.

She shouldn’t have waited in the city. She should have immediately come to pick him up.

Her was repenting a little too late, but this was not the time for regrets.

Senri took a small breath, changed the power filling her body into the form of threads and released it.

‘Thousand Light Threads of Vision’. It was an exploration technique that involved expanding one’s senses through thinly stretched waves of power to observe the movements within a certain range. It was an advanced technique that lets one know not only the presence of the Undead, but also the state of the creatures and the terrain of the area. It used up a lot of energy, so it was hard to use it for examining a wide area.

End’s presence was coming from the top of the mountain, in the depth of the rugged castle. She felt a beastly presence, Demon King Rainel, near him.

Presence of countless demonic beings could be felt in the camp. Some of them could probably fly and some of them could have superior senses of smell and hearing. It would be difficult to head towards the castle while avoiding all of them.

But she had no time to wait for that opportunity. 

As Senri unhesitatingly pulled out the sword from the sheath on her waist, she strengthened her body with the power of blessing. Her body shone lightly with life energy. 

“Wait for me, End. I’ve come to pick you up.”          

☠☠☠

He’s huge. He’s way too huge.

I already knew this since we first met, but this golden-haired lion king boasted of unparalleled majesty from a short distance.

The size of his body and his strength were proportional of each other. Demon King Rainel was truly on another level of existence. And this ‘another level’ couldn’t just be filled with hard effort.

So, Dell didn’t budge an inch in front of a monster like this?

I’ve only now realized how strong third rank Death Knights are. I was stupid to have thought that he was the weakest from all the knights I had met until now. He might be my enemy, but he’s undoubtedly a hero.

I’m grateful for the chance to fight alongside a hero, somebody I admired ever since I was on my sickbed. My aspiration. Even if it’s temporary――

Rainel wasn’t wary of me. No, even if he was wary, the ‘Silhouette’ that concealed one’s presence, sound and smell worked the best on magical beasts with keen senses.

There are a lot of places to grab on his giant body. I grab his mane and stick to the back of his head. When Rainel does take notice, it would already be too late.

As I firmly grab his wire-like mane and take a deep breath, I put all my blood power into ‘Cursed Flames’ and exhale.

My body trembled, and my field of vision turned over. A strong impact strikes me. The squeaking sound of my flesh and bones being crushed, along with a dull pain that makes it hard to breathe. The bones in my arm broke. Rainel had slammed his body into a wall with all his might. 

This is okay, it’s fine. This is a minor injury. The back of the head is a blind spot. I pour power in my broken fingertips and endure it. It’s fine. I won’t die just from being crushed.

As my field of vision heads up, as my body was once again crushed by another strong impact. My body was lifted up high and Rainel was standing up on his hind legs. He then strongly slams into me with his forelegs.

What power. The speed of my regeneration ―― can’t keep up with it.

No, that’s not right. This Demon King is making his move after calculating everything. By the time I realized that, my body was assaulted by the third attack.