A tremendous light blinks again and again, drowning out even the sunlight. The body trembles at the mere sound of it, the instincts feel death, and the roar of rage shakes the whole forest.
　The light blows away the house, and the overflowing darkness lays waste to the world.

　It was the kind of battle described in mythology.

　I hid myself in the forest behind the mansion, on a large tree growing in the shallow part of the forest, and observed the scene.

　Necromancers can sense the location of the undead under their command.
　The accuracy was not that high, but he couldn't leave the house because Lord might notice him if he got too far away.

　Until Lord died.

　What Lord created was a jet-black giant dragon.

　Perhaps those fangs were the catalyst. A black body reminiscent of darkness itself with vein-like striations all over its body.
　Its tail stretched out like a shadow, easily destroying the house, and the black flames from its mouth engulfed and burned its surroundings like a wave.

　The monster was unlike any other undead I had ever seen controlled by the Lord. It's soul burns black, it's abyss is so deep that it swallows even the light, and everything about it is different.
　If I had known in advance that the Lord had such a trump card, I would have proceeded with a little more caution.

　But a shuddering amount of light easily blotted out the huge black body.
　I would have died a hundred times with just a glimpse. A huge amount of positive energy, enough to make me sure of that, drowned out the dark breath, burned up most of the dragon's huge body, swallowed the load behind it, and still didn't stop, penetrating a few meters next to the tree I was hiding in.

　And it was only one little girl who could do it.

　Senri. The second class demise knight does not take a step back and swings his sword in the face of a huge dragon that could swallow even the world.

　You can find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier.
　The Lord is unfathomable, but Senri is also unfathomable. And if this is the case for a second level knight, how much more so for a first level knight?

　The evil dragon that had most of its body blown away, however, regenerated in an instant and returned to normal. Lord, who was supposed to have disappeared into the light, is unconcerned.
　Lord's angry voice overlaps with the roars of Senri's friends.

　Superiority, inferiority. I can't decide.

　I'm weak. I'm the weakest of all the members here.
　A dragon's tail or a blast of light and I'll vanish into the dust. The regeneration and physical abilities I gained as a ghoul will be of no use.

　But even seeing that, I remained calm. I've long understood my weakness.
　I had to do this. And it was the right decision.

　Now that I had invited the assault, the battle was still close. If I had given him more time to prepare, Lord Senri would have easily beaten him.

　The Demise Knight is the strongest. I was aware of this when I was sick, having read about their exploits many times in fairy tales.
　According to my plan, Senri and the others should have been able to kill the Lord more easily. Even if the Lord had one hundred and twenty lives, they should have been used to fighting such necromancers.

　He tightened the collar of his shade cloak and clutched the Amulet of Shadows.

　I didn't bet on the Lord. I bet on Senri.

　I decided that it would be easier to escape with a Knight of the End than with a Lord who was cunning and had many privileges against me, including absolute command.
　If I was a wight, if I could still move in the sunlight, if I was rational, if I could hide my negative vibes with my amulet, I could scatter the Demise Knights.

　I risked everything. If Lord won, he'd be uncomfortable that I didn't come back immediately as ordered.
　I'd have to trust that he was exhausted and attack before it occurred to him that his orders hadn't been followed.

　The sound never stopped. The house where I'd spent less than a year after becoming undead was crumbling.
　To fire. To light. The sword. The dragon's blow was crushing it.

　I watched it without raising my voice, and thought of Lu.


§§


　The sun is rising above us. And the time had finally come.
　A voice rang out in front of me as I hunkered down.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

!

　Senri let out his first roar.

　A huge beam of light that reminded me of another sun shot out from his silver sword and burned the evil dragon to the ground.
　It was a miracle. There was life in that voice. There was no way that Senri, who had shot out so much energy in rapid succession, could control such a massive force. But Senri did it.

　Perhaps in an attempt to protect Lord, the evil dragon spread its wings wide and disappeared into the dust.
　The light disappears. All that was left of the pile of rubble was Senri on his knees and his battered friends.

　And then...

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

　I'm not sure what to do. There is no sign of the evil dragon coming back.

　The body is turning to dust from the feet up.
　Has he used up all 120 lives? The staff falls from his hand, and he watches his own hand disappear in dismay.

　There was no fear in his expression. He didn't cry or scream, and to the end he was the necromancer I imagined him to be.


　Senri breathed hard and looked at the disappearing enemy with a sharp gaze.

　His silver hair was sticking to his forehead from sweat. I'm not sure if he's used up all his strength, but I don't feel any positive power from him now.

"This is the end of .......

"What a shame. If only my longing could be fulfilled, you--if now were ...... night, ...... ah--

　And then Lord Senri disappeared with surprising ease, without even looking at his face, without even uttering a curse at the person who had destroyed him.
　It was as if the whole thing had been an illusion, and nothing was left. Loeb's body turned to dust, and the only proof of the Lord's existence was his staff on the ground.

　I won. I won the bet. The lord was my benefactor and my natural enemy. A great enemy I could never destroy.
　No sense of accomplishment. No great resentment. Maybe that's why I feel relief and a little sadness now.

　I'm the one who survived. There's no one left to bind me.
　Senri and the Knights of the End are exhausted. But they're not going to attack.

　Perhaps the weariness was so great that Senri suddenly collapsed as if a thread had been cut. One of his comrades supports him and smiles in disgust.
　With or without friends. I guess that's the big difference between Lord and Senri and the others.

　Lord had men, but no friends. If Lord had had friends, how would the war have turned out?
　No, I won't say anything. Lord gave it his all, stood up for what he believed in, and lost. That's not for me to say.

　One of the Knights of the End snatched up Lord's staff and without hesitation snapped it in half and burned it with light.

　Senri and the others, supported by their friends, left the site of the mansion. I watched them go, not moving a muscle.
　All the way until their presence disappeared.



§§



　I made sure that no one was around, and jumped down from the tree.

　My body feels a little stiff after being on the tree for several hours. Straightening my back, I headed for the site of the mansion.

　The house had been completely destroyed. The roof and walls were reduced to rubble, and there was no sign of the undead or the living.

　No, even if it hadn't been destroyed, I couldn't stay here forever.
　This was the Necromancer's base.
　The demon knights had retreated, but they would come back tomorrow to clean up the house once they regained their strength. In fairy tales, necromancers' hideouts are often set on fire.

　So what should I do now?
　I'm a ghoul. I don't know about luxuries, and I'm confident that I can survive on fresh meat, as my life is better than before.
　Unlike most undead, I do not intend to attack people. But I will need to live unnoticed.

　The only thing I know is that we have to get out of this forest now. Mercy is not a word for the Knights of the End. If they find me, I'll die.
　But before I could escape, I had a promise to keep.





　Lou's body was buried under the rubble of the former corridor.
　Miraculously, the body was not badly damaged. The cause of death was probably the silver arrow in his chest that cleansed the darkness.
　I wipe the blood from my lips. Her face was calm, almost as if she was just sleeping.

　I wondered if she had ever looked so peaceful in her life.
　At the very least, all she gave me was an angry or frightened expression.

　The corpse smelled appetizing, fragrant, and very good. For ghouls, human corpses are a feast.
　But I'm not going to eat them. I've never eaten a human before.

"I'm ...... still a man of my word. Don't worry.

　Hold the silver arrow. Shiro smoke rises from his hand, and a sharp pain rushes through him that he hasn't felt in a long time since he became undead, but he pulls it out and throws it away, and carries Luu's body up.

　Luu's body was so light. I don't know if it's a result of the loss of something in him as a person, or if it's because I'm strong.

　His soul is probably not here anymore.

　Luu was destined to die. She knew it, and if she hadn't died here, she would have easily died somewhere else.
　She didn't have the energy to live. But she also didn't have the courage to die herself.

　She was too weak. So I knew what she wanted.

　Luu wept when she heard my proposal. She called me a monster for guessing her hidden desire for the weak.

　I had a chance. I could have offered to rescue her, maybe even help her.
　In fact, the Lord had Luu in his possession until the last moment, so there was nothing I could do, but when I suggested Luu get a ride to the city, he had the option of nodding.



　But she did not have that kind of strength.

　Oh, how this world can be so unpredictable that I, once dead, longed for life so much that I returned from the grave, but she, alive, lost the will to do so.

　I spoke to Luu, who was sleeping with a somewhat relieved look on her face after losing her life.





I'll make you a tomb as promised. And I'll pray for you to rest in peace. Aren't you glad you made a deal with me?



§I'm sorry.



　I'm sorry, but I didn't have time to find a good place for the tomb.

　It was all I could do to get him out of the house enclosure. Well, I didn't promise a place, so I guess it's okay.
　Lou knew I wasn't the kind of person who cared about graves. I understood her feelings of weakness, but I did not sympathize with her.

　A place out of the enclosure. At least choose a sunny spot and dig a hole.
　It was fortunate that Luu was not too big.
　Using a piece of wood from the wreckage of the house, he dug a hole with enough room for his body, and placed Lou's corpse inside. Place a flower plucked from the ground on his chest.

　I'm sorry, but we don't have time for a cremation.
　Well, the evil necromancer is gone now, so you won't have to worry about being turned undead.

Sorry. I don't really know how to bury people, and I've been buried ...... before, but I don't remember.

　I've been buried before, but I don't remember it." With that excuse, he carefully covered Lu's body with dirt.
　Well, it's a lot better than being turned undead by the Lord and having to work after death. His legs and body were buried, and finally only his face remained.

　I wasn't sure how to greet him, so I finally said the usual words.

Lou's luckier than Lord. He gets to build his grave. Well, I guess Lord got what he deserved. ......

　He buries his face firmly in the dirt and hardens it. I'm going to get up, but I'm going to miss this.
　More importantly, if I ever decide to visit the grave in the future, I'll never know where I buried it.

　I should leave this place as soon as possible, but this might make the dead Lu angry with me, saying that this is not a grave. If he says I've gone this far and broken my promise, I'll be blinded.

　I hesitated for a moment, but then remembered that I had something better, and returned to the site of the mansion. A silver arrow.
　I carried the silver arrow that I had just pulled out, enduring the pain, and stuck it into the spot where I had buried Lu. They say silver keeps the wicked away.
　It's not a cross, but if I make it into a cross, there's a chance I won't be able to visit the grave later, when I've mutated and added a cross to my weakness.

　In addition, I brought a large, relatively clean block of stone from the wreckage of the mansion, extended my fingernails, and carved Luu's name on it.
　I was a little sad because I didn't know his second name, so I had no choice but to give him my second name before I died. I guess it's better than Karmen.
　I'm not sure if I spelled Lou's name right, but I'll let you know.

　When I was satisfied with my work, I put my hands together and prayed.
　She was probably the first undead person to pray for me.


　Please-- may Lou rest in peace.





What are you doing at ............?

What are you doing?


　Just then, I heard a voice from behind me that I should never have heard.
　I ended my prayer and slowly stood up. The fingertips of his hands were trembling. It was as if a knife was being held to my throat.

　I turn around, praying to God, not for Luu, but for myself.

　There was Senri, who had just left with his friends, looking at me with clever eyes.