The Knights of the End are the guardians of humanity and the natural enemies of the Dark Family.
　The Knights of the End are few in number, but they are all elite, and after learning combat techniques and how to fight the Dark One at their headquarters, they are assigned to their respective units as third level knights.

　Senri is sweet. But she's not just sweet.
　If she was just sweet, Epe would never have let me go.

　She's learned and experienced and knows how to fight the Dark Ones.

　The intelligent Dark Ones can be described in one word: demons.
　In fairy tales, they have immense fighting power, brutality, pride in their existence, and sometimes use sweet words to corrupt the knights of the end.

　Yes... just as I seduced Senri.

　I'm still human inside. I can't say with much confidence that I've been able to endure pain all my life, but I don't feel as if my thoughts have changed.

　But as time goes by, Senri will probably have more than a little doubt about that fact. Or maybe she already has.

　Senri saved me because it was an emergency. It was only because I was dying that I was able to half-heartedly and impulsively offer my neck to a lowly vampire.

　What I said in my negotiation with Epe was not a lie, it was my untruth.

　She is a Knight of the End. Don't forget that.
　I have no intention of harming humans. But the world will come to kill me in the name of justice, and I will fight back.

　Vampires are strong. They have weaknesses that can't be ignored, but even in their lower states they are no match for the average human.

　She offered to give me her blood. But I have no idea how long that spirit of self-sacrifice will last. It's hard to realize because I was surrounded by so many strong people, but I am not exactly what people call weak.

　If I were in her position, I would never choose to give my neck to a monster.
　And there is no doubt in my mind that she, with her knowledge of the Dark Family, would be very reluctant to make that choice. At the time, I had more reason than that, it just had more impact.

　I needed to earn her trust. She's my lifesaver, my natural enemy, and my shield of protection.

　The battle between Epe and I has been going on ever since that encounter.

　If I can't gain Senri's trust, they win.
　And if I can gain Senri's trust, my life will be extended a little.

　If I want to live as peacefully as possible, I can't afford to lose Senri.
　Like blood, I lack the knowledge to survive.

　When I was a ghoul, I satisfied my hunger with the raw meat of hexenbiests. If I'd stayed that way, I could have lived on without harming humans.

　But vampires are different. Vampires can't live without human blood.
　In fact, I've sucked the blood of wild animals many times since that day, but it has rarely satisfied my hunger, and I've never felt the soul-shaking euphoria I felt when I sucked Senri's blood.

　It was a curse. Vampires need to feed on people to survive. They can't live alone in the depths of the forest.
　They only get a little blood periodically, but few people are open-minded enough to tolerate that. It seems natural for vampires to attack people and for people to abhor vampires.

　Carrying a dead lizard with its head cut off and as much blood as possible drained from its body, I walked deeper into the forest.
　Several kilometers from the watering hole, Senri waited in a slightly open area.

　The sound of burning branches and leaves.
　The light from the bright red campfire cleared some of the darkness and illuminated the silver-haired holy knight.

"End, is that ......?

"It's a souvenir. There's no salt or pepper, but you should ...... eat a little meat.

"...... Yeah. Thank you.

　Senri said quietly, smiling just a little.

　The last ten days on the run had made Senri look a little worse for wear.

　She was human. The glow was still there, but there was an unconcealed fatigue in her face.
　I guess it's due to the endless escapade that started almost without preparation and the mental fatigue of being around a vampire like me.

　Originally, Senri was different from an undead like me.

　As a vampire, I'm sturdy anyway.
　If I eat garlic, I get violently sick to my stomach, but otherwise, I can eat anything, even rotting meat, and not get sick to my stomach.
　I can survive without taking nutrition for a long time. No matter how much you run, you feel no fatigue and your sense of pain is quite dull. Even if you are injured, you have the ability to regenerate. He doesn't have the unique abilities of a vampire, but his body is very close to that of a vampire.

　However, this is not the case with Senri. She is much stronger than a normal human due to her enormous positive energy, and she works out a lot, but her body is a fragile human.
　If she doesn't eat every day, she will become weaker and weaker, and there is a limit to how many nights she can stay up all night. If she doesn't eat every day, she gets weaker and weaker. And if she doesn't take care of her nutrition, the blood she produces will deteriorate.

　She is stunningly beautiful. But her beauty and strength are not indestructible.

　Even though we were sitting some distance apart, I could still smell the same intoxicating scent coming from Senri's body.

　The smell of blood, of flesh.

　Underneath the white skin, there was blood of the highest quality that made my body and soul tremble with just one lick.
　Just being near her makes your breath come in ragged gasps and your mouth start to drool. No matter how much I try to hold back, it's not something I can stand. It was proof that I was a demon.

　Trying not to think about it, I skillfully used my extended claws like a blade to carve the lizard's flesh.
　Peel off the skin, gut it, and remove the bones. Your hands quickly turn red and wet. The carved meat is stuck on a branch and roasted over a fire. Senri bit into the small fruit without seeming to particularly enjoy it.



　I'm going to go dump my guts far away, find a watering hole and wash my hands.

　Lower level vampires are amazing. Not only do they have good night vision, but all of their senses are sharper than those of humans, and perhaps--perhaps--more tolerant.
　They can see at night, but are not blinded by the flames of a bonfire. They have a keen sense of taste, but can eat rotten meat with impunity. The same goes for smell, hearing, and touch.

　But it shows that there is a gap between me and Senri that cannot be bridged.

　I go back to Senri and look at his face.

"Senri, are you in pain?

...... No problem.

　How could it not be a problem? But Senri didn't show any sign of pain.
　She simply nibbled on the unappetizing lizard meat that I had recommended.
　No salt, no pepper, just food on the fire, and days of nothing but walking through the forest. Days without any joy.

　When you have enough food and clothing, you know how to be polite. I don't want to force her, the woman who saved my life, to live like this.

　If I don't leave the forest soon, ...... the quality of my blood will deteriorate. Such thoughts suddenly crossed my mind and I smiled to myself.
　It's not a human thought. I'm using Senri, but I'm sure I wasn't just thinking about preying on the woman who saved my life.

　That's not a good trend.

　Senri's body is weakening. There will come a time, not long from now, when she will be weaker than I am, weaker than I am. A time will come when she will make the tragic decision that she cannot control me. That's the end.
　If that time comes before I've won her heart, I'll be destroyed.

　Senri's body was wasting away from malnutrition, stress, and fatigue.
　However, the positive energy in her body did not wane in the slightest. In fact, it was even growing.

　This is astounding. I had always thought that the positive energy (which she called a blessing) meant the life force itself. But it seems that's not the case.
　The amount of power hidden in that body is still more than enough to destroy me. Such a ridiculous amount, not to mention the challenge.

　I'm not sure if she sensed something in my gaze, but she said in a voice that was a little more somber than usual.

I'm fine, really, I'm fine. You can think of ...... yourself as the end.

"I wish I could ...... walk in the sun. ......

"Don't ...... take it too hard. You're not so bad.

　I'm part of the reason you're still stuck in the woods.

　As a vampire, I can't walk in the sun. As a vampire, I can't walk in the sun. I'm still low enough that I don't turn to ashes immediately after being exposed to the light, but I need to sleep out of the sun, and this time of year - the sun is out for a very long time.
　Senri is forced to do this, and it also cuts into her resting time. While I dig a hole in the ground and sleep in it, she protects me under the strong sun.

　We can't stay in this forest because the Knights of the End might follow us, but we'll have to make a base somewhere.


　As I remained silent, Senri looked up. Her deep purple eyes pierce me silently.
　I brace myself and put my strength into my tanden.

　Her fingertips tremble hesitantly, and she pulls down her collar, revealing her delicious white neck, free of stains. Not a trace of the bite I had taken ten days ago remained.
　My heart trembles strongly. Then Senri asked me in a small voice, "Do you want a drink?



"Do you want a drink at the end ......?