The sharp canine teeth tear through the skin and bite into the flesh. Drool gushes into my parched mouth, and the taste of blood spreads.
　The frustration that had been burning deep in your thoughts really subsides a little.

　My vision regains its shape. Senri, who's pulling my hand, doesn't seem to notice me. I carefully tighten my jaw so that Senri doesn't notice.

　The canine tooth sinks into my left arm, and my own blood slowly flows into my mouth.

　I feel a dull ache, but it is far warmer than the urge to suck blood.

　The second way to resist the dryness. That is to bite myself.

　The pain brings me back to my senses. And even my own blood has a small effect on disguising the bloodsucking urge.
　I noticed this when I was marching through the woods and separated from Senri in the middle of the night looking for food. I noticed it when I was wounded by a hexenbiest who shot me by surprise.

　The wound itself healed quickly, but I licked off some of my own blood, which healed me a little, though not as much as Senri's blood.
　The book said that vampires only suck the blood of humans, but apparently it can be somewhat effective against vampires as well.

　Of course, this is only a temporary measure. It's a temporary measure, of course, and I'm still close to the limit, but in the current situation I'm more than grateful.

　I sip the blood, which is very bitter and different from Senri's, so that he doesn't notice.
　I was able to survive on my neck alone, which is a bit of a contradiction, but I would probably be able to survive without the blood in my body. What I need is not blood as a substance. Otherwise, I don't see why it couldn't be replaced by hexenbiest blood.

　Now that I'm calmer, I can think a little better.

　Yeah, why don't we go back and find Lu's body?　Sip the blood from the corpse.
　I'm sorry for her, but it won't be a problem if we re-bury the grave. I'm sure Lou will forgive me.

　My legs are still strong. If I leave Senri and run as fast as I can, I can make it, can't I?
　I'm not sure I can ...... win, but I don't think it's that low. The reason my blood-sucking urge is so strong is probably because I have Senri Sylvis by my side, the perfect bait. There is a possibility that it will subside somewhat when there is no one else around. 　

　Senri stopped near some gently flowing water.
　He stopped biting his arm before looking back at me. As soon as you stop sipping the blood, your head starts to heat up, but you hold on. The blood will stop soon and you don't have to worry about being noticed by the scar.

　Senri, with his survival skills, starts the fire, and I, with my strong body, look for food.
　Once I'm away from Senri, I can bite his arm again. If I drink enough water, the urge will go away.

　I'll have to be careful not to walk on water, though.

　Senri tugs weakly on my hand as I stand up.

"End ............

It's still okay. It's going to be dark soon, so we need to gather food and dig a hole.

　It's times like this when you need to keep your cool.
　I didn't even look at him, I just shook his hand off and hurried away from Senri to get some blood as soon as possible.


§



　His breathing was ragged. Her heart felt as if it was being held.

　Senri's sweet blood was exquisite, an irreplaceable pleasure, but bitter blood was not bad either.

　He sat down on the ground and twisted to sink his canine teeth into his right arm.
　The vampire's fangs are specialized for sucking blood. He concentrates on swallowing the bitter cold liquid that flows into his mouth.
　There was pleasure when he bit Senri's neck. Not now. A vampire's blood sucking should be painless, but now there's a dull ache.

　But that doesn't matter. All I need to do now is control the urge.

　The amount of blood flowing from his right arm was sadly not that much, though it was better than the left arm he had just bitten. The skin, which had been white, now looked pale and almost bloodless.
　It was not the first time he had been bitten, so it could not be helped. It's not like the blood you drink flows directly into your body.

　A vision of the Lord floats in the sky, looking down at you with a blank expression, saying nothing. Like the Grim Reaper.
　But I ignore it completely and screw my tongue into the wound.

　The feel of cold flesh. It's ironic that the horrible act of eating myself would turn me back from a beast to a man.
　Such thoughts flashed through my mind, but I didn't care about that anymore.

　I have to survive, even for a second longer. Think of a plan before you become a complete monster.

　For example, ....... There's supposed to be an ape monster in this forest. How about sipping its blood?
　If it's an ape that's close to a human, there's still a chance this dryness can be satisfied.

"............ end

"?

　Suddenly, I heard Senri's voice from close range. You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

　You'll be able to find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing.
　I hadn't realized how close I had come. I was about to open my mouth when I noticed that my fangs were still sticking out of my right arm.



　I'm interrupted in my meal. An inexplicable irritation wells up inside me.
　But I barely had enough time to determine that the thought belonged to the monster.

　It saw me. Biting off your own arm is not something a human would do.
　A split second to think.

　It's okay, it's gonna be okay. I haven't harmed Senri yet.

　I put out my left hand to stop her from approaching.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm not crazy, even my own blood helps to dry me up a bit.

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

　Oh, yeah. I forgot all about it. That reminds me why Senri is here.
　I was looking for food. I don't know how long I've been obsessed with sitting around and sipping blood.

　I'm sorry to ...... worry you. My eyes are spinning in circles. A sweet smell is approaching. It's enough to make your blood taste sweet.
　Senri whispers to me. In her purple eyes, she sees a dying monster.

"End ......, don't force it.

I'm not overreacting. I'm fine. Yes, you are. Senri, I've got an idea.

　You look up and see your arm. There are numerous fang marks there.
　In the past, a wound of this size would have regenerated quickly, but even after staring at it for a few seconds, it showed no signs of healing. There is no such power left in the body anymore. ...... Well, a wound like this won't kill you.

　Take a deep breath to calm your trembling body. He moved his heavy mouth as if it didn't belong to him and spoke.

I think I'll go back to Luu and dig up the grave. He's only been dead a short time and no one will bother him. I'm sure Lou will forgive me for sucking his blood.

"End ............

　Oh, yeah. There were a bunch of bodies in the basement of the road.
　I should have sucked them. It had completely slipped my mind. The house hasn't collapsed, but it's still rotting, isn't it?

　I couldn't stay in that place forever, considering the pursuit from the demise knights, but in a way, it was a safe haven for me.

　Senri looked as if he was about to cry. She said in a trembling voice.

Vampires suck the life out of ............ blood. That's why they can't suck blood from the ...... dead, and transfusions are useless.

Yeah, I didn't ............ know that. I didn't ...... know that.

　I didn't see that coming. Oh, no. There's no way out of this.

　I wish you had told me those important things first. Useless dregs of dregs of dregs of dregs.
　It's only appeared twice, but it always gives me useless knowledge--it's an illusion, it can't suck blood.

I also have knowledge of ............ vampires. The end knight is looking for the vampire's weakness. I know you better than you know yourself.

　You're right. My knowledge comes from Lord's undead atlas. It's for beginners, and I haven't read the vampire part in depth.
　I'm cold. My body is as cold as a dead man's. I don't know what to do.

　I sank my fangs deep into my arm and looked at Senri.

"Are you going to destroy me ......?

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

　Senri didn't say anything. But you know I'm nearing my limit.
　I can't cover it up anymore. I don't know what's going to happen to me in the future, but I think Senri knows.

　No, I may be able to endure it for a little while longer, but the time will surely come when I cannot endure it anymore.

I just want to live ....... I just want to live. I'm bedridden, I'm alive, I have nothing against people. I'm not a bad vampire. I'm not a bad vampire. I just sometimes get a craving for blood. ...... Like I said before, I've never attacked a human. Except for the time you gave me blood when I was just a head.

　But I can't help it. Knights of the End are enemies of the undead by nature.
　No hard feelings. But you have to fight back.


　Even if they saved my life once, if they want to take my life, I have to resist.

　Survive even one second longer.

　Counter. The only way to beat Senri is to counter.

I promise I won't leave the woods. I don't want salvation through death.

　No, you don't. You can't beat her with a counter. She can kill me with a touch.
　My head's so hot, I can't think straight. What's the point of killing her in the first place?

　My mouth moves frantically.

"Maybe a miracle will happen and I'll be able to ...... see, it's already happened twice, ...... if you'll let me.

　Yeah. You might as well check your knowledge in the residue of the residue of the residue of the residue.
　I'm not going to give you my body, but I'm sure Lord doesn't want me to disappear completely. Our interests are aligned.

　I can still run. But there's no escaping the light of Senri that blew that giant dragon away.

　Epe had a good eye. The returned silver sword kept Senri a Knight of the End. But he had no choice but to not return the sword in case he was discovered later.
　There was no way to escape. I didn't know the range where Senri could detect the undead.

　There was no way out for me from the start.
　It should be daybreak soon. If they let me go now, I might not be able to dig a hole in time.

　I can't think of a way out of this.

　I'm tired. I can't even think about it. He smiles, half in desperation.
　Then I felt something cold touch my cheek.

　Senri was putting his hand on my cheek. It's not like she's moving fast. Perhaps I'm losing my senses.
　I can't see or feel. I can't smell. Just the heat of instinct trying to overwhelm reason.

　But still, even as a demon, her blessing could easily reduce me to zero.
　Senri's lips parted in front of me as I prepared myself.



The end of .................. I want you to rely on me more. Trust me. ......


　The words that came out were unexpected. For a moment, my thoughts went blank.
　The right hand on my cheek. His thumb went into his mouth, stroking his long, pointed fangs.


"I've tried hard enough. I'm sorry, I knew it. I couldn't ...... tell you that you were sucking my blood all the time.


　My fangs scratched my knuckles, and something hot filled my mouth. I couldn't taste it. The only thing I felt was a strong shock that shook my brain.
　A small, injured finger stroked his tongue. His eyebrows twitched, as if in pain.

　But without mentioning it, Senri continued.

　Her cold voice was filled with compassion, just as it had been when they had talked in front of Luu's grave.
　But now she knows more than then that I'm scary, that I'm not a vampire who can't kill a single bug.
　I took advantage of her weakness and got away from Epe. And I hunted hexenbiests over and over again. There's no way he could hunt a hexenbiest and not hunt a human.

　Are you telling me that you're still on my side after all that?


In death, one's true nature comes out. I took your word for it. I'll help you. I won't ...... kill you. What can you tell me about yourself, ......?　We should talk more. We'll get along better if we do.

"...... Senri's, ho-ho-ho, ...... tell me, heh-heh?

　I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to get the best out of this.


"Yes. I'll teach you.