The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

☠

Demon King Rainel died. His army still remains, but I killed the strongest person there, Demon King and Man-Eater so the rest will take care of itself. Dell is here too.

To start with, in most cases, the Demon King’s army will apparently collapse if you kill the Demon King. Senri said this so it must be true.

It seems that everybody from the merchant group who gave me food was mostly safe, so I’m glad to hear that.

I thought I would die many times, but the battle with Rainel brought me a lot of things.

I more or less understand how to use my power and I obtained ‘Cursed Flame’ too. I don’t want to do it again but fighting against a strong enemy was a very good experience.

There are a lot of things I have to think about, like an encounter with new vampires, but it should be okay to take a rest for a bit.

As expected, Senri’s the best. Being close to her makes me feel very relieved.

In my opinion, what the vampires lack are people who trust them. That is what turns monsters back into humans.

I’m hungry. I received the minimum required amount of blood from her right immediately after we reunited, so I recovered to an extent, but it wasn’t close to enough.

Apparently Senri was worried about me the whole time we were separated. She also seems to be feeling guilty. I say… won’t she give me her blood? My expectations rise all the more. I feel like sleeping in a cozy coffin for many days and relaxing with Senri.

Looking at my wagging tail, Senri sighs quietly and smiles so slightly that only somebody who knows her well enough would notice it. 

“Baron, we’ll be leaving the city right away. We can’t stay here. Dell’s comrades are also in the nearby city.”

“…” 

I see. Not to toot my own horn, but right now I can become bigger. I can even properly let Senri ride on my back. I should be able to go anywhere with no flowing water.

I’m pretty fast in my dog form. We’ll be in the next city right away. Though it’s also hard to give up on giving her a piggyback ride…

It’s dusk, the best time. I’m always ready to go. I won’t have a thing to complain about if I get a little bit of blood, but I’ll save it as something to look forward to later.

“Once we reach a faraway city, we can take it easy for a while. You need to rest. Specifically, you will rest for a while until your body turns white.” 

Looks like Senri prefers a cute fluffy white dog over a cool black dog. I’m quite fond of the things as they are right now, but if Senri’s saying otherwise, it’s unavoidable.

I reflexively ask Senri, who has her face close to me and is looking into my eyes.

“Will you give me blood too?”

“I will. So, don’t talk. It will look suspicious.”

Certainly, a speaking dog is out of line. I shut up and follow Senri, who’s going through the leaving procedure, while wagging my tail.

☠☠☠

Blessing is life itself. Death Knights, who excel at manipulating it, possess a far superior regeneration ability and endurance compared to ordinary humans. If they focus their powers, they can heal broken bones and they can fight day and night too. The 3rd class knight, Dell Gordon was heavily wounded, but even that was nothing compared to the injuries he usually received.

End was outside the room. There were only Dell and Senri inside.

Dell was lying on the bed, glaring at Senri without moving an inch.

“cough, cough, don’t heal me… Senri Silvis. If my wounds are healed, I would have to, chase after you two.”

Death Knights also have a wide social network. They move in groups with the 1st class knight as their leader, but Senri had met Dell Gordon before.

He was a member of the squad led by ‘Heavenly Garb’, known for their consistent mission accomplishment rate. 

“I owe that vampire. As unacceptable as it is for a Death Knight. Besides, I have no chances of winning while I’m injured. That’s why… while I hate to say this, I have no choice but to let you two get away.”

Dell’s expression was grim the whole time. It was understandable.

Rather, the reason he was letting them go so easily was that the man called Dell Gordon, was not the victim of the tragedy caused by the undead.

However, there was animosity in his eyes.

Though, that was not the animosity towards End. It was animosity towards Senri. Dell declared with a groaning voice.

“But the next time we meet, staking my pride as the Death Knight, I swear towards all the victims of past tragedies, that — Senri Silvis, I will kill you. No matter what the circumstances may be.

“I see.”

Senri’s expression didn’t change.

She was already a traitor. For the Death Knights, she was somebody to be avoided even more than the undead, their enemy. She was the traitor, who despite being a Death Knight, changed sides towards the undead.

Her master let her go once, but others wouldn’t be so forgiving, 

But she was already prepared for all this. It’s not like Senri decided to take End’s side without thinking.

Seeing that Senri didn’t react, Dell frowned. His voice didn’t contain the same anger as before.

“Senri, this is a warning. Kill that man―― End Baron. Bestow salvation upon him while he still can be saved. You’re a genius Death Knight, but that man has the talent of a monster. I’m not talking about him having strong abilities. End Baron will become a terrifying King. Sooner or later, he will become the greatest enemy of the Death Knights.”

Dell’s words were strongly emotional.

Senri understood it. End’s ‘Curse Steal’ contained with itself a terrifying possibility.

They didn’t even know what multiple curses could do to End.

Once, Senri speculated that End’s transformed self represented his heart. Now, End had become able to transform into a black dog.

It showed that this slightly easy-going young man didn’t remain unchanged. 

But, even so, Senri simply looked at Dell and said.

“… I won’t let it happen.”

“… Kill him. As long as you still have the pride as the Death Knight.”

Dell turned away and closed his eyes.

Dell’s worries were justified. End’s escape would become even harder from now on.

The word of Senri’s withdrawal would spread through the whole Order of Death Knights and the retainer of the Stake King, an Ancestor known for his might, would find out about End’s existence.

Senri used ‘Photon Delete’ but if she missed even a single bat, they would regenerate. She most likely didn’t actually get them all.

Maybe purifying End would be a salvation for him. But End would definitely not want that.

Thus, Senri could only take his side. 

Senri reignited her resolve without letting it show on her face, turned her back on Dell and left the room.