The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness (WN)

There is no denying it. This is the best I have ever felt in all my life.

It felt euphoric when I first feasted on a monster after having become a ghoul, but that was nothing compared to the moment her blood touched my lips.

Well I am sure that is also because Senri’s blood is of the highest quality. I could finally understand why a vampire would risk death, only for a sip of a young maiden’s blood.

Vampires, as they are called, get stronger through blood. The same goes for the pupa, Lesser Vampires.

Senri’s blood permeated through my body and heart and helped regenerate it whole. The very same body that would have certainly perished had she arrived a few moments later.

I can see it. The strong positive energy around the Death Knights. However it did not fill me with hopelessness unlike the last time.

I am now, including my past life, the strongest I have ever been.

Lesser vampire is simply a stepping stone to becoming a full-fledged vampire and is said to be especially weak among the undead; not that I mind.

My body did not look as malnourished as it did in my previous life either. My arms were rather muscled and I even had abs. Needless to say, I felt more powerful than ever.

The undead body that was originally not supposed to go through any physical growth, is slowly changing. That is also by the necromancer’s design; proof that the curse is progressing.

All the Death Knights were gathered in the room.

The man with the mace who condemned me to torture; Neville, stepped back looking aghast. He must have been under the impression that he was welcoming Senri.

“Y-you are…!”

“How?!!”

They should have been utterly taken by surprise. However, their reactions were entirely abnormal.

The blonde female knight, Thelma, picked up her bow that had been leaning against the wall, and sent an arrow flying towards me in a flash. At the same time, Neville brandished his mace.

I was calm nevertheless. Had I not been certain of my survival, a coward like me would never dare to enter the enemy’s stronghold.

The mace was closing in on me at high speed and the arrow was after my head. I could see their trajectory clearly after gaining the superhuman ability of kinetic vision upon becoming a lesser vampire.

Certainly, the physical abilities of third-class knights are way better than an average soldier and their skills more refined, nevertheless, they are still only human. They possess physical abilities that far surpass a normal human by making use of positive energy, but they are still no match to me now, a genuine monster.

I stepped to the front, and caught the mace before it crash landed on me with my left hand and grabbed the arrow that was headed towards the centre of my forehead with my right hand.

Pain shot through my arm. Still, it did not feel as painful as the solar penalty.

Vampires do not just feed on blood to replenish their energy.

I fling the arrow to the floor. Grab on to the mace and snatch it off Neville’s hands. The hands that were burning just a moment ago had already healed and the smoke had disappeared.

“I am… mostly made of Senri’s blood from the neck down. Thanks to you purging all of my body except my head.”

The Death Knights were dumbfounded. Only the man as bright as the sun, Senri’s master – Epée the Destroyer, looked unperturbed.

He’s strong. It was not my first time seeing him, but I have to admit, he is overwhelmingly strong. Epée’s power far surpassed even Senri’s, who is supposed to be a genius abundantly blessed by God.

I have heard of Epée the Destroyer even in my previous life. He is one of the more popular first-class knights.

There was even a famous play about how he conquered the castle of the Vampire King in no time and ‘destroyed’ an army of several thousand undead with a single wave of his sword.

Literally, a living hero.

I was really surprised when I discovered that this man in front of me was that Epée the Destroyer who I was a diehard fan of. But it made more sense now why I felt like Icarus flying too close to the sun.

Epée the Destroyer sat with his brows knit and looked calm.

“So, what brings you here? Lesser Vampire… End, did you say your name was? Revenge? Just because you got your body back… you thought you could take on a group of Death Knights? You’re taking us too lightly.”

Obviously, that was not my intention in the least. Simply standing in front of this man was enough to set my heart thump frantically.

Strong. Too strong. This man… is truly a monster in the guise of a human.

I regretted my decision to come to this place a little, but it was a necessary step in my plan.

Do not let them overwhelm you. The disparity in our strengths is nothing new. I cannot lose in spirit for I am done the moment I do that.

“ Of course this isn’t about revenge. I bear no resentment. It’s true that I thought I would surely die and also wondered what I had done to deserve all that… but even if I do possess memories from my previous life, I suppose it doesn’t make me any less an undead. I don’t fault you for what you did.”

I acted bold and put on a front as the third-class knights were all poised to attack, weapons at the ready.

“I know all about the Death Knights. You could even call me a fan. I was bedridden for most of my previous life, so reading about your heroic deeds gave me moral support. Let the fact that you tried to kill me be water under the bridge. Thanks to Neville’s cruel punishment, Senri took pity on me. Seeing me on the brink of death, she willingly offered her neck.”

“?! She… I had thought she was naive, b-but this… is just absurd…!”

Normally, it is not quite possible to drink the blood of a Death Knight who possesses an incredible amount of positive energy. The reason being, the positive energy around their person is a weapon against the undead and an armor to their own selves.

So it is only possible when they offer their blood of their own volition. In other words, Senri had stripped off her armor and allowed him to feed on her.

Epée’s expression looked kind but I could not get a read on him.

“Then, what was your purpose for coming here? Did you really think you could get out of here alive?”

“Ahh, Senri is alive by the way. I accepted her kind offer and partook a little of her blood, but I’m not cruel enough to kill my lifesaver. I am not one of you, you see. I am still quite human… and of course, still have my morals.”

The third-class Death Knights all quivered and gaped at me. Epée, who had maintained a lordly, calm expression all along, stiffened a little.

“?! You mean to say… you managed to control your bloodlust?”

“Oh, I very nearly thought I had ascended to heaven. It even made me forget that I was actually dying. I never imagined such pleasure existed in this world… that said, I am still human, I shall not let my urges control me. And the fact that I know of your names is further proof. Epée the Destroyer, Neville, Lufry, Thelma, and that inconspicuous guy back there is, Adrian. I asked Senri for your names. Thought it would help protect myself and negotiations would go smoother.”

Recalling the moment I fed on her blood made my breath hot. It was an experience that completely changed my view of life.

Nevertheless, I could not become a true undead. The undead have a lot of enemies. I shall survive come hell or high water.

“… protect yourself. Let’s hear your terms.”

Epée is thinking hard. About my true intentions. About how to save Senri, his disciple who was set to become a first-class knight.

Epée must be thinking that I plan on keeping Senri hostage.

However, he is wrong in that regard. I have no such intentions.

The reason I put my life at risk to come here, was to settle things once and for all. I did not really wish to but I realized I had to, since I found the outcome would be favourable to me.

I was clad in a random robe I found in the ruins of the Lord’s mansion. I retrieved a sword, still sheathed from inside of it.

Their expressions began to shift. From rage to worry and lastly to grief.

I placed the sword on the table and smiled calmly just like Epée had a while ago and uttered.

“Terms? You seem to be misunderstanding something. I‘m not holding Senri hostage. I simply dropped by to return the sword. As it was a part of our promise… and I have a message from her. ‘Sorry. I’ll quit the Order. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me’, she said.”

☠ ☠ ☠