30 Prologue : 自由




 There was a silver moon in the sky. A cold wind blew through the trees and caressed my cheeks.

 The undead created by necromancers have their abilities raised and lowered according to the age of the moon.

 This may be the reason why we, the undead, are called the family of darkness and the family of night.
 As a lower-ranking vampire, I, too, am an example of this, and my power is strongest at the full moon, and decreases greatly at the new moon.
 Well, I am weakened the most when the sun shines in the morning, which comes every day without fail, but those who pursue and annihilate monsters take into account the time and even the age of the moon in their pursuit.

 I was able to escape from Epe not because I was devious, but because they were naive.

 Not because they were lenient with me, but because they were lenient with Senri.
 Perhaps her qualities were hard to come by even for the elite few of the Knights of the End.
 There must have been very few people who could become first class knights. It's not unusual for someone of Senri's age to have a hand in that. That's why he chose to trust Senri rather than kill the monster that is me.

 But the Knights of the End aren't the only ones who target vampires.
 For example, there are foreign necromancers who try to collar and tame vampires, and, incredibly, there are vampire hunters who specialize in hunting vampires. Even ordinary mercenaries and guards would try to kill me if they knew I was a vampire.

 I had to be careful.
 Vampires are incredibly strong and have many powerful special abilities, but they are also incredibly weak.

 They have a general dislike of the sun, garlic, and crosses, but they can't walk on running water, and they can't break into other people's homes without being invited. You can't see yourself in a mirror, and if a wooden stake is driven through your heart, you will turn to ashes. I'm also not good with silver or holy water, which most demons are not good with.
 I am still a Lesser. I'm still a lesser vampire, and my weaknesses are not as great as those of a pure vampire, but it's too early to go down to the villages at this stage.

 I was sure of it. Epe of Annihilation's final destruction of the Amulet of Shadows was not an act of emotion.
 He destroyed it so he wouldn't be able to track me with it.

 It was a declaration of war. It's an iron will to kill me even if I let it go now.

 The Demon Knight can sense the presence of the undead from negative energy. I don't know what kind of technology it is, but if the Demon Knight can do it, it's only natural that other knights and vampire hunters can.
 The amulet is lost, and even if you can sneak into town and live peacefully as someone who is a little uncomfortable in the morning, there is a chance that the demise knight will suddenly attack you.

 Perhaps this is not a tool that can be easily obtained. I did a quick search of the Lord's site, but I couldn't find any spare parts.
 There was already no way of knowing how the Lord had gotten it.

 Ten days since Senri was taken. I've been on the run, moving further and further into the forest, but since then, there's been no sign of the residue of Lord's residue. There is a possibility that it may never appear again.

 I peer into the lake where the moon is shifting in the night sky. There was a reflection of me, half-transparent.
 I'm free now. Completely free. I'm being hunted, but I have an infinite number of options for action. And there's nothing to stop me.


 Oh, how heavy that fact is.

 I was bedridden before I died. After he came back, he was under the protection of the lord.
 When you're allowed to do anything, that means you're responsible for everything you do.
 I was reminded of this fact.

 How to live? How to attack? How to defend? How to escape?

 But that frustration is also comforting. Even if I have to go through a lot of trouble, I don't want to let the Lord take away my freedom now.

 A large black lizard slithers out from between the trees. The monsters that appear in this area seem to be different from the ones around Lord's mansion.
 Its fierce golden eyes were staring at me. In its thinly opened mouth, I can see a row of fine teeth.

 But I don't know the lizard.
 It knows that I'm a demon more terrifying than any hexenbiest out there, a member of the dark family with unhuman strength and regenerative powers that won't die even if my head is blown off.

 The fingertips of both hands change with a creaking sound and become sharp and pointed.
 This is the ability that he gained when he changed into a ghoul - the "claws". It's just a claw that has grown longer, but it's sharp enough to be used as a knife.

 He waved his hand lightly and smiled.


"I'll give it to Senri as a souvenir. She needs to make a little blood.


 Then, thinking of the girl who had recently come to her senses, I pounced like an animal on the lizard in front of me.