The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

Just as I could see even from above the door, the underground portion was surprisingly wide and intricate. Countless pathways were connected to a wide cavity. Golems seemed to still be here. There’s the sound of the footsteps, but because we’re fully enclosed, the sound is echoing, making it hard to tell the direction they’re coming from.

The constant sharp pain that ran through my whole body had somewhat subsided after I fell into the darkness. It’s probably because being surrounded by darkness slightly raised my powers. This pain might be something like the result of a tug of war between me and Sable.

That being said, just moving is still bothersome, but ―― I can’t afford to get exhausted. Even in a desperate situation like this, Senri was calm. I can’t show myself in a pathetic state in front of her and since she told me to protect her, I have to hold out.

Senri’s skin is faintly glowing. It’s a quiet light that doesn’t give out heat. The light is very faint because she’s not wearing very revealing clothes, but maybe she’ll be shining from the tips of her toes to the top of her head if she took off her clothes. Perhaps noticing my gaze, Senri says quietly.

“Oxygen is scarce… in the basement. You might be fine, End, but ―― I’m substituting it by circulating blessing.”

As expected from an anti-undead specialist. She’s thinking well about things I don’t even notice. While impressed, I ask something I’m the most curious about.

“… Will it dissolve if I touch it?

“… I’ve made it so it won’t dissolve. But you can’t touch it.”

It won’t dissolve but I’m still not allowed to touch it? … I see… I could see Senri frown at me, as I was nodding, ‘convinced’ while in the darkness.

“End, you are… too curious.”

I want to touch it… the next time I’m receiving blood, I’ll definitely have her shine. I switch the direction of my thoughts.

“The fact that the Golem isn’t old means that somebody has been going in and out of here.”

I wonder how difficult is it to manufacture Golems? That would decide the enemy’s capabilities, but if they’re on the same level as the ones that have appeared this time, I’ll manage somehow.

To start with, it was expected from the presence of the trap that some kind of conspiracy was at work. The only question is, who exactly is this other person?

According to Senri, the Mayor seemed to be just an ordinary human. Senri was called during daytime and the current Senri is also taking Night Crystal into consideration so I doubt she’d make an error of judgment regarding that. But, this underground palace, this labyrinth-like space, is far too inconvenient for humans to make use of. And in fact, there’s no smell of a human other than Senri coming from deep underground.

There seem to be quite complicated circumstances.

While looking down on Golems, Senri tells me, who’s lacking in knowledge.

“It absorbs the power and tears it up. An evil-warding steel almost out of production… at least currently. It’s not entirely made out of it but still, it’s been a while since I’ve seen one.”

“Now that I think about it, the undead that Horus controlled, didn’t have it either.”

If he had something as terrifying as a metal that devours blessing, he definitely would have used it. Even if It seems to be quite a rare object. And, how powerful must the owner of this labyrinth be to have even equipped not so strong Golems with it?

Then, Senri added on. She said while pointing at Blood Ruler I was holding.

“End, your machete is made of a small amount of evil-warding steel and Adamant. That’s why it can cut down wraiths and why it can remain unyielding even if you exchange blows with a weapon made of holy silver.”

“In other words, it’s a good weapon?”

“It also has a curse on top of it. An ordinary human most likely wouldn’t be able to wield it.”

Now that I think back after being told so, the sturdiness of this machete is pretty remarkable. I’ve gotten various things until now, but after surviving fierce fights with Albertus and Rainel, the only things that still maintain their forms are my body and this machete. As expected from the weapon the Lord had prepared for himself. I’ll cherish it.

After she stopped talking, Senri took a deep breath and closed her eyes. And, I unintentionally opened my eyes wide.

Light emanating from her silver hair spread like a veil. It’s a faint light I wouldn’t be able to notice if we were outside with even a little light. It’s because we’re in complete darkness that I could barely notice it. The light undoubtedly originated from the blessing that undead hated, but even when it touched me, I didn’t feel any pain or impact.

I can hear the sound of her heartbeat, her pulse. Senri opened her eyes and said in a quiet voice. Her breathing was disordered to the point that I wouldn’t be able to notice it if I wasn’t paying attention to it.

“It’s very complicated terrain. There are a lot of Golems too. This will be… troublesome.”

I see… so this light is the true identity of Senri’s perception. I didn’t notice it until now, but she must’ve released it frequently until now too. And if I look closely, I can also see that light is only distorted around the machete I’m holding.

Senri’s words were uncharacteristically timid. She hardly changed her attitude even when she was seriously wounded in a battle with Albertus, can I perhaps take this as a sign of her trust?

The pain that was slightly tormenting my whole body calms down. I’m getting motivated. Darkness is my domain. The practical use of the blessing goes without saying, but it’s not a good match for the monster that’s targeting somebody who claims to be a former Death Knight.

Senri carefully takes a step forward. I stretch out my arm and poke her glowing neck with my fingertip. Unusually enough, her small back trembles and Senri turns towards me. She wore a gloomy expression, as if reproaching me for my prank.

“… What?”

“It’s a gimmick floor. There’s something there.”

“?!”

I can see it. I can really see it. I can feel that I’ve gone another level up. No ―― I should say that I’ve gotten more used to this vampire body of mine once again.

I get on all fours and lie flat low on the ground. A carefully carved floor. Smell. Color. Darkness is on my side.

“It’s… a different color. Senri, you ―― can’t see it.”

To me, the world looks like daytime no matter how dark it is. Even discerning colors is easy. But, Senri’s eyes most likely don’t see that much. She’s only grasping the situation around us with the help of the power of blessing. The power of Death Knights is terrifying but it’s not almighty. That’s why she didn’t notice the door under the boxes until she was told by the Mayor. Well, I didn’t notice it either though…

There’s a large hall before my eyes. I can clearly see that some parts of its floor are of a different color. There’s some unevenness to it too. It’s probably a switch. “This is a… trap to kill Death Knights.”

The light of perception by the blessing that Senri emits is in disarray here and there. Even if she might be able to grasp the rough outline of the space, she wouldn’t be able to know the exact situation. My weapon and the evil-warding steel mixed in with the broken remains of the fallen Golems are hindering her perception. The switch on the floor is most likely also made from the same metal. I crawled closer to the switch and gently pushed it with my hand.

The switch moved slightly. There was a sharp sound and an arrow came flying seemingly out of nowhere. I reached out and grabbed it by force just as it was about to pass over my head.

The arrowhead is made from evil-warding steel. Now that it’s been pointed out, its luster is slightly similar to my machete.

I look at the strange smelling arrowhead and carefully touch it with my tongue. The taste buds of lesser vampires that evolved from a Fleshmen are quite tolerant. I feel a comfortable tingling sensation. I break the arrow in two and put the arrowhead in my pocket,

I say, hoping to dispel the gloomy atmosphere.

“It’s poison. Death Knights are too strong so countermeasures against them are also strong. From the perspective of somebody as fragile as me, it’s a big nuisance.”

“End, you can’t go scavenging for food like that. That’s why you end up with an upset stomach.”

“?! It’s because you don’t give me much blood, Senri.”

“… Your mealtime is just too long.”

☠ The labyrinth had such an odious shape that even Senri scowled. True darkness with not a single glimmer of light. There is pretty much no air around. There are even evil-warding steel that interrupted the perception through blessing. Also, Golems that attack from within the darkness. It’s just a mass of malice that ordinary mercenaries would never be able to resist.

Dessend has taken relentless countermeasures against vampires. However, I can feel a strong determination to kill Death Knights from this castle.

I was impressed with the ingenuity of my seniors. I see… so I can protect myself from Death Knights if I build this kind of castle? But when I build my castle, I’ll use more countermeasures. Countermeasures that would be able to repel a pair made up of a vampire and a Death Knight.

The underground labyrinth could broadly be divided into countless pathways, rooms and doors. Thick metal doors were not only in front of the rooms, but also in the middle of pathways and hindered the intruders in their tracks. They weren’t locked so they were probably more used for increasing blind spots for an ambush.

The curse of a vampire is unique. I can’t enter somebody else’s home without permission.

One of the criteria for determining that juncture is a door.

Now that I think about it, the reason why I was able to enter the door to the underground space may have been because the master of this underground palace had invited me.

The door of the labyrinth made me feel very much like I shouldn’t go inside. Doors have a little effect on me as a Lesser Vampire, but without Senri, I’d be very exhausted.

However, Senri solved all that. After opening the door and checking the safety inside, Senri invites me inside.

“End, come in.”

Curses are really unfathomable. For instance, when I’m crossing flowing water, I lose almost all my vampire powers, but in a bath they only weaken. Maybe it’s better if I don’t look for too much logic in it.

The pain that was eating away at my soul had changed into something that was accompanied by a fever. My head feels dizzy like how I felt long ago when I caught a cold.

“Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”

“… Don’t worry about it. End, you’re very helpful.”

Senri’s sure is nice. The fact that I’m being relied on cheers me up. I cut the Golem that falls from the ceiling in two with my machete. I can now repel Golems that used to surprise me at first, like an assembly-line system.

I wonder if Mister Lazar and the others retreated properly?

The underground labyrinth is intricate and I don’t know what’s what but the destination is steadily getting closer. I open my eyes and glare at the wall, in the direction where I feel the presence from.

“I can feel it. We’re almost there… it’s the presence of an extremely large Night Crystal.”