The courtyard of Lord's mansion. The moon was shining quietly in the night sky.

　Using centrifugal force, the machete strikes. The skeletal knight, who had been standing on the other side of the machete, skillfully used the swords he held in both hands while stepping back to parry the blow that had been delivered by his inhuman physical strength.
　The weight of his long training and experience could be felt in every move he made.

　The quality of a skeleton depends on the ability of the owner of the bones used to create it. Experience is ingrained in the bones.
　If you use the bones of a skilled mercenary, you can make a skeleton with sufficient fighting ability, and if you use the bones of an ordinary person with no fighting experience, you can make a skeleton with a very different quality. It is said that a skeleton made from the bones of a mythical hero slaughtered even a dragon.

　Skeletons, like fleshmen, are one of the lowest levels of undead.

　There are four types of undead roots.
　Skeletons are created from bones. The Fleshman, which is made from flesh. Wraiths, which are created from the soul. A zombie is a decomposing corpse that seems to be the trigger for necromancy.

　Each has different characteristics, but there are no major differences. As the result of a mutation from a freshman, I am a werewolf, and my performance is superior to that of a skeleton (I wear a knight's sword and armor, but inside I am a boneman).
　Even so, the fact that I am able to handle attacks in one-on-one combat can only be attributed to my experience.

　A skull wearing a helmet. In the depths of his eye sockets, a red light shines, a sign that he has been resurrected by necromancy.
　My opponent has only bones, but I have muscles. We are stronger and faster. He's lighter, and he's not as tired.

　Every blow you deliver adds to your confidence.

　No! This is no way to compete with a demon knight. 　

　If we actually meet this bone man on the battlefield, we'll win. My attacks can shatter a bone man's body with a single blow if I hit it properly, and I even have a powerful regeneration ability. But that's just a power move, and it won't work against a being that's more powerful than me.

　Demise knights aren't just mercenaries. They're heroes. They have skills and experience that are definitely not the same as Lord's skeleton knights.

　Lord, who had listened to my request and prepared a particularly skilled crew for me, observed me and shouted.

"Yes, End. Think, intelligence is your strength. Think, intellect is your strength, and let your resentment, your emotions, your negative impulses explode. The abyss you hold within you is infinitely deep. That's the essence of the undead!

　That's not what I wanted.
　Sure, the explosion of negative impulses might make me stronger, but strength is not my goal.
　Combat is a last resort. If I lost my cool, I'd lose my edge, even my escape.

　The Lord seems to see talent in me, but I don't trust him enough to believe it.

　But a certain amount of strength is necessary. Even if I survive and escape the Lord, I will have many chances to fight him.
　It is for the future - to feel the disparity, to feel the technology - that I am now more eager for a mock battle with the skeleton knight than to increase my negative energy by hunting in the forest.
　He wanted to make sure that his future self would not be so enthralled with power that he would recklessly challenge himself in battle.

　Now that I have a rough idea of the difference in strength, I swing the machete down with all my might to the point of tearing my muscles.
　In return for the dull pain in his arm, the skeleton knight's sword snaps under the blow, and his armor is blown off his bony body.

　The Lord's skeleton knight was still very strong. The Lord's skeleton knight was still strong.
　If he closed the distance, he could destroy it. There was no point in fighting any more.

　Lower the machete. I wondered what kind of metal the black blade was made of, and even though I snapped the sword, there was not a single spill.
　Perhaps it is imbued with the same magical power as the shadow amulet and sunshade cloak he was given on his way out.

"Satisfied, End?

"Yes, thank you. "Yes, thank you, I think so.

　A small answer to the Lord's question.

　I understand. It's impossible for me to learn how to be a swordsman. Maybe it's because I've been fighting like a beast and letting performance do the work, or maybe I just don't have the talent.
　At the very least, it's not something that can be learned overnight, and even if it were, there's no time for actual combat experience.

　For now--let's give up. It's better to fight with the cards you have.

Then go hunting. We don't have time, but we need to increase our strength as much as possible. It'll make you a lot stronger than experiencing the technology. If you become a "roamer of the dark" your power will be greater than that of a wraith. That's what the undead are: .......

　Lord's words made sense.
　One of the reasons the undead are feared in the first place is that they gather the energy of death and mutate to dramatically increase their abilities.

　I nodded honestly, and Lord looked at me quizzically for a moment, but then quickly shouted loudly.
　He hurriedly ran in and gave a short instruction to Luu.

Luu!　Give the skeletons spare weapons from the armory. I have to prepare for war. ...... End, the hunters come back before dawn. Remember, you can't do your best under the sun.

"All right. I don't want to die either.



　With a short reply, the Lord sniffed once and walked back into the house.
　Luu scurries up to the skeleton standing there, weaponless. His complexion, temporarily improved by Senri's magic, has already returned to normal.

　This is our chance. The courtyard is not used except on such occasions, and there are no Lord's messengers. Most of them are looking out, keeping an eye out for enemies.
　Still, with surveillance in mind, I approached Lu with a very natural gesture and made a small call to him.

"Luu, I need a favor.

"............

I want to make a deal. I have something I really need. It's not much, and it doesn't violate any of the orders Luu has been given.

............ I refuse.

　That's an insurmountable answer. The skeleton is looking at Luu, but the undead has no intelligence to speak of.
　I am guarded and constantly under the watchful eye of a messenger, but Luu is not guarded at all and has no messenger to watch her.

　She was a slave, a real weakling. A living undead, if you will, who only obediently obeyed the Lord's orders.

　And the Lord's prospects were sadly very good.

　After all, she had never asked for help, even in the face of the Lord's enemies, the Knights of the End. Even if she was afraid of the pain that would be rushing through her body for violating the order, the Demise Knights could have done anything.

　Luu is weak. She couldn't live like this for long, and she knew it.

　He bent down, looked into her tired, jet-black eyes, and smiled.

I'll make you the same offer I made you the other day. If you do me a favor, I'll take Luu safely to the city after the Lord dies. If you want, I can stay with you until you're able to make a minimal living.

"...... Master will never, ever die. It's a meaningless assumption.

　He didn't look as surprised as he had at first. His body didn't shake, his voice didn't tremble. There was the same conviction in his eyes as before.
　She probably would have given the same answer even if Lou hadn't been chastised because of me. That's the way Luu's world is.

　I'm going to play it down a little bit.

You owe me one. If you ever need ...... help, I'll be ...... there for you.

"No, sir. I have no right to make a loan. In the first place, you'll never get it back.

　Lou replies in a quiet voice and frowns.
　That's true. If I had to choose between gratitude and my life, I would definitely choose the latter.

　No, before that, ...... I don't think Luu is going to listen to my request.

　I changed the direction of my proposal as planned.

"Then why are you listening to me?

"............ what?

　Lou's eyes widened, and for the first time today he looked upset.
　I was surprised by his very human expression and continued to persuade him in an impassioned voice.

If you don't want something, you don't need to listen to me. Just close your ears and go.

I don't listen to ............. I don't listen to .......

Actually, I do. I know what I want, what I've always wanted, because I'm weak like Lou. If you bring me what I want, I'll give it to you.

"............?

　And while I had it in life - Luu, the poor slave of the Lord, does not have it.

　Luu looks up at me with a quizzical expression. But his face was even bloodier than ever.
　Maybe she doesn't know what she wants.

　I didn't want to make this suggestion either. But I couldn't weigh it against my life.

　I put my lips close to Luu's ear and whispered words of persuasion.

　Luu's expression changed as he heard the words and understood their meaning. It was a dramatic change.
　He looked like he was about to get angry, cry, or laugh, and his expression was a mixture of emotions.

"What ...... ...... oh ...... such a ridiculous thing-- --

I'll keep my ...... promise.

　Lu swallowed his spit and shuddered. But there was no point in resisting now.
　A single tear ran down his lower lashes and from his eyes. Luu knew now. He knew what he wanted so badly that he cried. 　

"What a ...... horrible ...... master, what a horrible ...... monster Holos Kamen is! --

　Her dry lips cursed me. But she can't resist me anymore.
　She'll do me a favor, even if it hurts like hell.

　Once I reconfirmed that there was no surveillance around, I told Lou what I needed, feeling just a little bit of self-loathing.