Del Gordon, a third level knight of the Knights of the End, closed his eyes in his prison and watched the situation around him.

　Almost a month had already passed since he was detained. In the meantime, Dell was just accepting the mocking glances with a haggard look.

　All the members of the Knights of the End are human. But the blessing that dwells in the body gives the demise knight an inhuman power.
　The Blessing, which had been depleted to the limit when he was locked in the cell, had already been restored. The body, which had been severely injured and was in extreme pain at the slightest movement, now felt no pain.
　He was given very little food and his nutrition was at its worst, but he had fought without eating or drinking on missions, and some of the techniques of the Demise Knights involved using the Blessing to force the body to move.

　The locks on his hands and feet seemed to be specially made, and even with the physical strength of a demise knight who can tear steel, they were unlikely to be destroyed. But the walls to which they are connected are different.
　Now that he's recovered, he can forcibly tear off the lock, pry open the bars and escape. The iron ball attached to his leg is a hindrance, but with his enhanced physical abilities, it won't be much of an obstacle.

　Linel's army is underestimating the Demise Knight. The reason why they didn't escape immediately, but stayed quiet, pretending to be weak, is because they were watching for an opportunity.

　The Demon Lord Rainer's army overwhelmed the forces of Romburg.
　The city was now on the verge of ruin due to a powerful presence that outnumbered and outgunned it.
　The city still survived because of the power of the outer wall that it had built over the years. However, it is deteriorating due to repeated attacks, and will not last long. In order to save the city, it was necessary to defeat the Demon Lord Rynell.

　If the Demon Lord Rynell is defeated, Rynell's army will be nothing more than a pack of beasts. The soldiers stationed in Rhomburg would be able to handle them.

　I didn't think I could defeat him by myself. But I had to try.

　Lonburg was Del's home.

　He didn't have very good memories of it. Lomburg is a fortress city. Most of its inhabitants are warriors, and the air in the city is foul.
　My family is gone. Not many of his former acquaintances would remember Dell, who had been picked up by the Knights of the End and left the city.

　But still, Rhomburg is the land where Del was born and raised. Some of the fighting techniques that had become ingrained in Dell had been taught to him by the mercenaries of the region.
　A revelation, Dell thought. It was probably no coincidence that the current Dell had stopped by in the dying days of the Demon Lord's onslaught in Lomburg.
　The current Dell has power. The power he's cultivated through fierce battles with the Dark Ones.

　His friends stopped him. His mentor, who took care of him for years, admonished him.
　With power comes responsibility. It's the code of the Knights of the End to not intervene in the war against the Demon Lord. The power of the Knights of the End is for the sole purpose of fighting the Dark Ones.

　But Dell was unbreakable. And when his friends learned of his strong will, they gave up trying to stop him.

　What will the Demise Knights do when he breaks the law and tries to intervene with the Demon Lord?

　We won't expel him. We won't hold them back by force.

　The answer is to turn a blind eye.

　This is Dell's war. The Knights of the End will respect that.
　We will not help you but we will not stop you. If you're going to do what I do, show me your power. That's what heroes were for.

　I don't think you're being cruel. This is selfishness.
　There's no help. The others have already left Lonburg. If Dell doesn't come back, they'll say he's missing.

　It's only luck he wasn't killed, but it's a good thing he's in captivity.

　Rainer is a powerful demon lord.
　Blessings would have no effect on his strong body, which had been able to repel even the ballista provided, and he was no match for Dell's usual opponents. Even a Knight of the End would have a hard time winning a head-on collision. In addition, if the opponent is a large group, the difficulty will increase.

　Thus, being trapped inside the formation has increased my success rate a little. If you play your cards right, you may be able to surprise them.
　Even if you can't kill Liner, you might be able to kill the executive class.

　It was then that the situation changed.
　There was a change in the reaction of the subalterns guarding Dell. And then it appeared.

　It took the form of a young man.
　The presence was suppressed, but Del could see it.
　That thing in front of him was the Dark Ones. The enemies of the Knights of the End, the powerful undead, the natural enemies of all living things, the vampires.

　The Demon Lord Rynell must have brought them here.

　Nonsense, I thought.
　The undead have a hatred for all living things, not just people, and sometimes even for the undead themselves.
　As a vampire, you are wiser and less likely to attack the living out of emotion, but you are no less dangerous.

　But at the same time, that's not a bad thing for Dell.

　If the undead belong to him, the Demon Lord Rynell will become an enemy of the Knights of the End.
　If we report him, he'll use the prestige of the Order to destroy the Demon Lord. It was also an act of intimidation to prevent the powerful undead from making allies.

　The invasion of the undead had thrown the army into chaos.
　As much as the undead attack the living, the living instinctively avoid the undead. It takes time to become accustomed to the presence of death.


　Anxiety and fear were spreading to the guards, growing stronger by the day. There was no better time to make a break for it.

　It would be tomorrow morning, the moment the vampire was stuck and the guards would switch.

　As I was breathing down and letting the blessings circulate in my body to restore some of my condition, I suddenly felt a cold rush down my spine. You raise your face slightly and brace your body to break through the restraints at any time. I put on the armor of blessing that I had saved around my body.
　My instincts were ringing an alarm bell. A strong hint of darkness is approaching. The ogre guarding you doesn't seem to notice anything.

　No sound. No scent. Just an evil presence approaching.
　It's not magic. This sensation is the result of the unique ability of vampires mutated from the Flesh Man.

　There was no sound. The three demons that had been guarding me moaned softly. Their eyes widened slightly and instantly lost their light, and they fell down.

　Dell opened his eyes wide and stood up on his feet. Vampires are monsters, and even a good match for a demon knight can never be too careful.

　My body shakes. I shiver.

　From the shadows, I saw the blood-red eyes of a vampire with a bit of hair looking at me. Her skin, which had been black, reverted to its original color as if the erosion had receded.
　His appearance was the same as when I had seen him before, but the sense of intimidation and darkness I felt was beyond anything I had felt before.

　For a moment, he even forgot about his target, the Demon Lord. Even for Dell, who had no direct grudge against vampires, the thing in front of him was a monster that absolutely had to be killed.
　The monster said to Dell, who stared at it with murderous intent and no voice.

"I'm going to kill Lynell. I'll get you out, but you have to help me.


§ § § §


　I killed too much. It was so hot. My vision was dull and flickering.
　My head was boiling. I took a deep breath and kept my composure.

　The fever was probably a vampire instinct. It's what makes vampires such horrible monsters. He was still a lowly vampire, so his instincts should not be as strong, but they were like a flame, as fierce as a storm, and it would take time to suppress them completely.

　I had just drunk blood and was feeling thirsty. I knew I'd made a mistake.

　A mistake in procedure. I should have found Senri for some reason before I sucked Monica's blood. If Senri had been there, I would have been a little more calm.
　It's easy to give in to your urges, but that's the first step to becoming a monster. The fact that I was able to kill three demons in an instant, even though it was a surprise attack, is proof that my power is growing rapidly. I can't allow myself to foresee any more.

　I grabbed the bars and threw them off by force. Enter the spacious prison.

　I've come to save you, but the demise knight's gaze is filled with murderous intent.
　A slender, scarred body. Brown, strong-willed eyes. Blessed armor around his body, keeping me away. But now I could probably hit this knight with that armor.

　My vampire instincts are telling me to kill the knight in front of me. But I can't do that. Even if he wants to kill me, I can't kill him. As long as Senri believes in me, I have to respond.

　I want to beat myself up for thinking that I could save the demon knight before Senri came and get his blood as a reward for killing Lynel.

　The demon knight didn't say anything. But I'm gonna go ahead and nail him.

"Yeah, I know the question. I don't really want to do this either. But the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?　Let's kill each other some other time. Lynell's strong, and honestly, I can't handle him on my own. Maybe even on your own.

　I don't want you on my side completely. Because that's impossible anyway.
　So I'll deflect that. This demon knight was captured in combat with Lynel's army. Its target should be the Demon Lord Rynell.

　The obstructive iron ball on his toe. Grab the huge chain and lift it up. As I grabbed it with both hands and tried to put some strength into it, I realized something important.

Oh no, ......, it's not a full moon today.

　I failed. I should have waited for the full moon, when my power would be at its peak, to counterattack. My normal self would have definitely noticed this, but apparently I was more pissed off than I thought I was.
　I put all my energy into it. The chain seemed to be specially made and quite sturdy, but even so, when I continued to exert myself beyond the limit, I heard a small sound. A louder sound came from my arm, and a dull pain rushed through me, but I didn't care. Twisting as hard as he could, the chain popped off with a dull thud.


　The end knight said in a low voice.

"...... There must be a key.

"............ Oh, you're absolutely right. I didn't notice. d*mn it, .......

　Your instincts are telling you to use your powers. It's eating away at my thoughts.
　I'm very agitated right now. You could say I'm frustrated. I feel like I could sink into the water for a few years.

　I'll go through the dead bodies of the guards I killed, find the key, and throw it to the demon knight.

　I'm scared. The instincts of a vampire are so scary. I'm afraid they might not even know we're fused.
　I felt like throwing it all away and running away now, but I couldn't do that. I've taken too many risks. The die has already been cast.
　If I run now, I'll probably get in the habit of running. That's not the freedom I want.

　The end knight rises. He's a lower-ranking vampire, taller and better built than I am.
　He must have been in captivity for a long time, but there's nothing unsettling about his appearance. How dare Rainer's army choose to capture a Knight of the End? It's not just bravery, it's stupidity. ...... If I were in their shoes, I'd kill them for sure.

　The demise knight man says.

"I need a weapon.

"It's in the treasury. You should also look for some better clothes.

　If I may say so, it's not good for such a macho man to be moving around in raggedy clothes.

　Now, let's get this over with before night falls and Linel's army realizes what's going on.