The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

Vampires are terrifying demonic creatures that cannot be dealt with ordinary means by Death Knights.

Their physical strength, regenerative ability and special powers are all powerful, but the worst thing about them is the fact that those Undead possess the body of a human and the heart of a monster.

Vampires are strong. And they’re cunning. Therefore, they are still deeply rooted all around the world despite being burdened by countless deadly weaknesses.

‘True Vampire’, the vampire mutated from the corpse revived by a Necromancer―― as well as the ‘retainers’ created by that vampire are already demons.

Unlike the Undead created from the corpses, there are times, when people who have been changed into vampires after being bitten, retain the memories of their previous lives. But their hearts have already been swallowed by their monster instincts. They become drunk on power, merrily attack people, and drink their blood. And sometimes, they pretend to be victims to deceive Death Knights.

Senri Silvis once gave her blood to End, who was just a head. At the time, End was on the brink of disappearing and didn’t have much time, but―― it wasn’t like she gave him her blood because she was caught up in the moment.

Senri was prepared to protect End and see his future with her own eyes. That included a possibility that End would be consumed by his monster instincts, in which case, Senri would at least exorcise him while he was still human. 

However, sometime later, End, who had grown exponentially despite still not mutating into the next rank, was now drawing a blueprint at his desk.

“I will… become a coffin craftsman! I will make the comfiest coffin in the world!”

Perhaps because End was always bedridden, he was full of curiosity. In addition, he was still supposed to be a terrifying vampire, albeit of a lesser variation, but he thought of himself as a human with a somewhat useful body.

Senri was always worried about End, who looked like he’d wander away to somewhere like a puppy. Those weren’t End’s words, but this throbbing of her heart wasn’t love.

“I’ve noticed… that Vampires belong in coffins.”

Apparently, he really liked the coffin he slept in while he was in Rainel’s army.

Those words made Senri feel like she understood why there were often coffins found in the bases of vampires.

Vampires surely liked being inside coffins just like how cats liked narrow spaces. It seemed to also have improved his strength, but that alone wouldn’t be able to explain End’s enthusiasm.

End told Senri that he wanted to pull the coffin along in their journey. Senri answered that it would be impossible.

Senri left the Order of Death Knights to help End and her feelings hadn’t changed even now, but there were things she could and couldn’t do.

Coffins weren’t sold as beds, and she couldn’t have one custom made either. Even finding something dog-sized would be hard. Above all, people would definitely feel suspicious if they saw her traveling by pulling a coffin along. Because coffins weren’t meant to be used that way. But End wouldn’t understand it.

End had been through remarkable battlefields until now. Horus Carmon, Keeper and Rainel were all stronger than him.

End, who had overcome many fierce battles with trial and error, was fully intending to come up with a way to overcome this situation too.

Saying things like, ‘what if we build wheels on it?’ or ‘what if we made it into the style of a bag and carried it on our backs?’. It sounded like a joke, but Senri, who had spent a considerable time with End understood it. End was serious.

“Senri, the coffin is nice. It gives you the best feeling of peace. Its narrowness is also good… it makes you feel like you’re fitting in the place you’re supposed to fit.”

Well, End… that’s because you’re dead…

Or so Senri wanted to answer, but she couldn’t put a damper on End’s excited monologue.

“It would be better if I never learnt of this feeling. Right now, I want to get into a coffin so much that I’d immediately enter one if a coffin suddenly appeared here! I’d instantly be dead if they put a trap inside that coffin!”

“…”

“An ordinary coffin isn’t enough. I’ll obviously make the insides fluffy. As for the rest… right, I’ll make it so I can open and close it from the inside. Modern coffins are really inconvenient… they don’t think about the people inside. They don’t pursue comfort.”

 “… I’ll carry it during the day… but what about the night?”

 “You’ll get inside, and I’ll carry it.  I think it’s unexpectedly cozy enough for humans too.”

“…”

“No, I’ll make it so it will be comfortable for humans too. I have human sensibility too so I should be able to create a coffin that fits both humans and vampires! No, it’s something that only I can do!”

End declared vigorously. It was a scene that made Senri wonder if he’d probably be fine without her too. 

End was planning to make a coffin himself with the same steel will with which he defeated Rainel. End’s eyes were lit up with the new goal.

“Fortunately, I’m strong against monsters. I should be able to somehow get my hands on the ingredients from the powerful monsters that are usually hard to obtain.”

“…”

“For now, I want quality. I’ll think about mass production later. Senri, you’re a human, so… I want you to be in charge of the distribution. Is that fine?”

It was good to have a dream. It would help with forgetting murderous instincts. A coffin craftsman wouldn’t cause troubles for others.

As for Senri, she couldn’t help feeling relaxed.

“Right, what if I made it self-propelling? I’ll make it so it’ll be possible to move wheels from inside. It might be hard at first, but conveniently enough, I don’t need to sleep so I’ll have enough time. I’m itching to put my skills to work. What do I do if I become famous?…”

He even had some strange worries. His train of thoughts was easy-going, but the scary part was, End could actually accomplish it.

End was a quick thinker and wouldn’t be easily disheartened. Senri thought this at the time when he bought the book about magic too, but he was probably also good at studying. If he hadn’t died, he’d definitely become a big shot. 

 “…End, there’s a single problem.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already considered the living. I’ll make a hole for air in the double coffin bed so you can sleep with me too, Senri.”

Senri ignored the nonsense End told her with a serious face and said.

“No… coffin craftsmen have no future. Because coffins have stopped being used over the years.”

The Order of Death Knights was thorough. Their main job was to exorcise the darkness, but they also worked on indirectly weakening it by enlightening others.

There were already a few places where they practiced burials that could lead to undead to begin with, and even cremations didn’t see coffins be used as of late.

Perhaps it was unexpected for him, End’s eyes opened wide. 

 “Eh…? Why?”

“… Because you guys will end up using it.”

“…”

If every vampire was like End, the world would be more peaceful.

Seeing End’s pitiful expression, Senri could only sigh.