End, your growth rate is quite fast.

　Senri said, looking at me with sincere eyes. It sounds as if she's in a bad mood, but I already know that she's not.
　Senri Sylvis is a former Knight of the End, and is very kind to his friends. So I had no choice but to nod at her.

But this [Descend] is overly undead proof. It's dangerous to go outside. I'll go check out the situation. ...... Stay calm.

"...... All right, Senri. Be careful.

　Senri glanced at me worriedly as he left the room. I leaned my back against the wall of the room, where there was as little sunlight as possible.
　My hearing lost track of Senri's footsteps.

　My sense of smell is much more acute than my other senses, probably due to my cannibalistic abilities. Tracking her would be easy.
　But I shouldn't do anything that would undermine her trust. Trust is hard to earn, but quick to lose. And it's not like there's nothing I can do in my room.


　I waited for a while, and when I was sure Senri wasn't coming back, I slowly closed my eyes. I focused my attention on the image of burrowing into myself.

　I'm aiming for the memories and knowledge of Holos Kamen that should be inside of me.
　I've gotten a lot stronger since I became a lowly vampire. But I needed the Lord's knowledge if I was going to compete with the real vampires.

　Senri has a secret.

　Senri doesn't really want me to get stronger. She taught me the basics of fighting. But she never taught me how to apply it.
　Of course, I didn't ask her, but Senri looked about the same age as me, but she was an experienced demise knight who had risen to the second rank. He must have slaughtered a variety of vampires in the past and knew a little more about how to fight them.

　For example, he should have known that he could extend his claws like a sword by putting power into them, and that he could increase his regenerative ability by controlling the power of his blood. Even if she didn't know how to do it, she must have seen it happen. But Senri didn't tell me that.

　Looking back, Senri didn't even tell me that I was classified as an Ancestor until I asked her.

　I don't think there was any malice in that. I think she just wanted me to have a peaceful life. And in order to do that, she's trying to remove all obstacles in my way, even at her own peril.

　I appreciate the sentiment. But I can't go on like this. Senri's disappearance was very unfortunate for me.
　And I'm sure the disaster that's about to befall me will be beyond her control.

　Senri has a secret. And of course - I have one too.

　I hadn't told Senri that Holos Kamen was inside.

　This is both a concern and a strength. It was the Lord's knowledge that saved me from Sable's clutches after the battle with Lynel.
　I guess my strong survival instincts dug up my dormant knowledge - now I can do the same thing if I want to. And with a little more memory retrieval, I'll be able to control the Bones like Lord did.
　Of course I don't intend to control the dead. But the knowledge of the d*mned could be a way to protect myself.

　As I pushed everything out of my mind and concentrated, my consciousness sank.
　I was standing with my feet on the ground, but I felt as if I were floating in the air.

　I could vaguely feel a mass of power moving in the center of me.
　It's blood. We suck blood. The Lord modified bloodsucking to create carth steel. We're monsters of blood.

　As an undead created by the lord, I know. There is Holos Kamen.
　There's a connection between me and him. Sure, he's in me. But his presence is subtle. I don't know where he is.

　Apparently the Lord's knowledge is more tightly sealed than I thought. Is it because I'm a coward, or is his knowledge just that dangerous? I tried to find at least a hint, but I couldn't seem to dig it out overnight.

　He desperately searched for a way.
　Maybe if he tried to die, he might be able to dig something up again. But it's too late for that.

　It's foolish to take action after the fact.

　It was a miracle I made it back from Sable. If Senri had arrived a little later, he might have died, and there was no guarantee that he would survive the next time something like that happened.
　And what's more - the next time it might be the other way around. If I didn't have enough power or knowledge, and something happened to Senri, I wouldn't be able to die.

　Perhaps it was because I was concentrating too hard, but a dull pain rushed through my head. Even so, I mindlessly searched for the bottom.
　I feel something tingling inside my body. It's the vampire instinct I've always suppressed. My head heats up and my fangs tingle.

　And something floats in the darkness.
　Maybe it's just a fantasy. I can't tell.


　But what appeared as if oozing out of the darkness was a human skeleton. Kuro robes, gaping eye sockets. Somehow I knew it belonged to Lord.

　He's dying. His entire bony body was riddled with holes like insects, and he looked like he was about to collapse.

"----


　I can't hear its voice. But I could feel the will.
　There was no resentment there. Absolute rulers don't hold grudges against their subordinates no matter what.

　Now. There was so much I wanted to find out. How to use your powers. Why it doesn't mutate. Where to get the night crystal. But the question that came to mind was none of the above.






"What was the Lord planning on smoking with ............ this 'Carth Steel'?


　The comatose eye sockets are looking at me.

Carth Steel is a powerful force. But it's too peaky. At the very least, it's not a power the mightiest king of the dead should possess.
　A curse is not just a useful ability. There are disadvantages to curses. Some of them may be unacceptable even to me.

　Things happen for a reason. The Lord is not stupid. He must have known this ability was dangerous.
　There had to be a point to giving this ability to the one he was going to take.

　The skeleton didn't reply. It just seemed to laugh.
　I felt a strong shock to my head as if I'd been hit. My consciousness rises.

　--And then I opened my eyes. Before I know it, I'm on my knees on the floor.
　I press down on my head. My heart is beating hard and my hands are shaking.

　Before I knew it, the light coming through the curtains had turned vermillion, and the short hand on my watch was much further ahead than I remembered.

　The short hand of the clock was much further ahead than I remembered. The Lord I had felt earlier was no longer there.
　Vampires don't get physically tired. But I rolled over onto the carpet.

　I stare at the ceiling and think.

　I got no information. But I knew the Lord's will was still in me.
　The dynamics are already in place. I'm way ahead of him and it won't change much. But Holos Kamen hasn't given up yet.
　I'm sure my power is growing even as we speak, but necromancers are a real pain in the ass.


　It shouldn't be too late for Senri to come back. I wanted to lie down for a while longer, but I got up with my hands.


　But I'm glad I tried. I did find out one thing.
　The information Lord sent me when we parted.



　The reason I hadn't mutated yet was, as I had suspected, because Lord had locked me in.



　True vampires are said to be so resistant to magic that they are immune to necromancy. If my mutation was caused by the program that Lord had built into the curse, it was only natural that the cautious Lord would take measures to prevent me from mutating.
　In the first place, when Lord learned of the attack of the Knights of the End, he told me that he had originally planned to perform the ritual after becoming a lesser vampire. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but I guess that was the end point. There were many hints.

"Are you trying to be merciful ......, Lord?

　No, you're not. I'm sure he's confident that he can handle me even after I get stronger.
　Even though he has already almost disappeared,...... what a terrible man.
　It's still dangerous to dive into it. But I can't stop myself from doing it.


　As I took a deep breath, I heard footsteps approaching from outside the room. It was the rhythm of Senri's footsteps. I relaxed the muscles in my face and went to the corner of the room to hold my knees.



§.





"Earthquake ......?

"............ Yeah. Apparently part of the castle collapsed. That was five years ago.

　Senri says with a somewhat disapproving look on his face. I'm not sure why the Knights of the End didn't get the information.
　But since the castle fell hundreds of years ago and everything has been peaceful since then, it's no wonder the Knights of the End didn't notice.
　And apparently ...... something has definitely happened.

Since then, the number of travelers has increased. But I couldn't find ...... anyone who knew more about it. You'll have to go there.

　We don't know the cause and effect. I don't know the cause and effect, but I don't lose anything by striking out.


　I'm going to go sightseeing in a castle built by the same undead. Maybe it'll be useful for me when I'm hiding out somewhere. .......

　I'm not sure what to make of this, but I'm sure it's a good idea.




End ...... there are signs of the undead in the vicinity of this city. You'd better be careful.