The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

The base of Rainel’s army was burning. The order that had been established under the absolute rule of the law of the jungle crumbled in a single night.

To start with, the army was founded with the strongest man, the Demon King, as its pillar. Now matter how big the army itself was, once that pillar was pulled out, the troops couldn’t keep themselves together.

The news of the death of Demon King Rainel spread in a second. What assaulted the Demon King’s army after that, was chaos.

Chaos spread from the low-ranking combatants with barely any intelligence.

Rainel, who boasted of his absolute strength, had died and Man-Eater Hebram, who was both hated and feared, had disappeared.

Some of the soldiers run away in fear, some comprehended the significance of their king’s death and started plotting how to replace him and some turned to looting. The camp, that had been set up to some extent, burnt down and the stench of death whirled in the darkness.

Uniting various species required a symbol with an undebatable strength.

The army that had been functioning as a single entity until yesterday, had split into race-based factions and the treasury was already being invaded by the ‘thieves’ that were formerly the members of the army.

Oliver Arbor, the executive of the Demon King’s army and the werewolf who was once assigned an important position because of his abilities and strength, quietly peeked out from the room in his human form.

The chaos had yet to spread to the houses near the castle. Perhaps the place where executives lived was hard to approach for the lower-ranking soldiers.

However, peace wouldn’t last long. After all, the high-ranking soldiers with intelligence were now also eagerly looking for the opportunity to take control of Rainel’s former army

Demon King Rainel’s army was finished.

Even if it got back on its feet, it would be impossible to conquer the fortified city, Romberg, with an army that lacked the pillar and the order. Oliver was relatively confident in his own strength, but he didn’t think that he could become their King.

He had to hurry up.  He shivered for a second and went outside while carrying Monika over his shoulder. 

Demon King was strong and grand. However, he died.

Oliver didn’t think that Rainel would lose. He was instinctively afraid of vampires, but even from his point of view, Gamelyon Rainel was overwhelming. Still, looking at the current state of the army, it was obvious what had happened.

The reason why Oliver was shaking wasn’t because of the rampaging remnants of the Demon King’s army. The only thing Oliver Arbor was afraid of was a vampire.

Right now, Oliver could only run away. He would run away and conceal himself.

Monika, who had her blood sucked slowly, had yet to open her eyes, still unconscious. Though, she was alive.

She would be a hindrance, but he couldn’t just abandon her. They had undertaken a mission together, and above all, he was asked by that terrifying End Baron to watch over her.

Blood-red, cruel eyes. The sharp sign of death coming from his thin body wasn’t much different from the vampire that had once changed Oliver.

The chances of him coming back was extremely slim. His presence was already fading far away. Just like the Ancestor who had killed Oliver’s master, End Baron also didn’t choose the option of ruling over Oliver.

However, if there was even the smallest chance of him coming back, Oliver couldn’t do anything but run away.

The residents of the fortified city, Romberg, would sooner or later hear about the demise of Demon King Rainel. And would undoubtedly join the hunt for the remnants to vent their anger.

Suddenly, countless shining eyes appeared approaching from the foot of the mountain. Those were the lower ranking soldiers of the former army of Rainel. Now they were just a swarm of magical beasts.

As soon as they noticed Oliver and Monica, who looked like humans at a first glance, they surrounded them. Saliva was dripping from their jaws lined with sharp fangs out of excitement.

This would have been impossible when the absolute strong Demon King Rainel was alive. In this chaotic situation, all had lost their reasons. They would only calm down after entering under the rule of a new charismatic Demon King. 

How pitiful, he thought for a second. He had no time to bother with small flies.

Oliver looked at the sky that was about to turn into dawn and transformed with a roar.

☠☠☠

“… Miss Senri… What happened to Baron? Are you okay with just any dog?”

“… T-that’s… “

Senri’s face was unusually stiff in front of Katerina’s pure eyes.

One night after my fight with the Demon King Rainel, we were returning to the fortified city, Romberg.

In truth, it was a bad move to go back to the city. But we had a reason why this had to be done. It’s because of Dell.

Dell was on the verge of death. The rubble had broken some of his bones and his blessing was extremely close to running dry. It was highly likely he would die if left like that. I’m the one who had heavier injuries, but Dell’s not an undead.

Dell is an enemy, but we’ve fought together once. It’s not like I hate him. It was natural for me to propose to Senri to rescue him. It’s not like I proposed this to butter her up. Though, I knew that she’d rescue him even without my advice. This was also not because I wanted to see the city or anything.

Infiltrating the city wasn’t hard.

Senri seemed to have treated the soldiers when she was staying in the city and Dell was also well known for subduing the Demon King’s army alone. He and Senri had built up so much trust within the city that they would be let in even if they brought a strange dog with them at night. Thus, we came to Katerina just to say goodbye. 

Right now, I’m a black dog. I was able to change my size, but I couldn’t change my colour.

Unlike the utter ball of fluff I was before, I look plenty more dangerous. My claws and fangs are all sharp, and my form packs style too. Before, I was a ball of cuteness, Now, I’m a ball of coolness. I’m so cool and strong-looking that mercenaries asked to purchase me whenever they see me walking in the city

I barked confidently and approached Katarina while wagging my tail.

As I got close to Katarina who shook with fear, I channelled my desire to please and sat down. Katarina was frozen for a while, her eyes open wide, but she still hesitantly patted my head.

“… What a well-behaved boy… Miss Senri, where did you find him? What is he called?”

“… Well, he was outside. I haven’t… decided on the name yet. He looks strong, he also very smart and is a good boy.”

“Also… only his tail is white, isn’t it?”

“Right… it turned white.”

Oh I see. So only my tail is white right now? Unfortunately, it’s hard to see my own tail when I’m in the form of a dog and because of the characteristic of Lesser Vampires, I look semi-transparent in the mirror, so I can’t check myself out readily, but this isn’t too bad either. It’s not as bad as a charming attribute.

Katarina takes out a biscuit from her pocket and holds it out to me. I thankfully accept it and lick her hand. Katarina’s eyes narrow and she says happily.

“In addition, he’s very friendly… like Baron.”

To think that I’d charm children even with his cool appearance, I’m such a sinful vampire. I’ve no need for a Fascinate Eye, do I?

As I happily wag my tail in response to the compliment, Senri looks at me with eyes so cold, that it seems to freeze life itself. It makes me doubt her expression during our reunion.

“Baron, will you go with Katarina?”

“?!”

No way… I’m only devoted to you, Senri. Is she jealous? Is this co-called jealousy? Being popular sure is tough.

I left Katarina and leaned in close to Senri. Here, I noticed that the tips of my forelegs had become white. 

How strange… they were definitely black a moment ago.