109 It's an ancient Chinese opera house.




 It's full of power. It is easy to understand why Arbatos was so violent.
 With this kind of power, it would be stronger to surrender to the wildness that comes from the depths of the soul than to try any tricks.

 The weaknesses of vampires are still intact, so you have to be careful about that, but your opponent is also a vampire. He won't be prepared for it.
 If it comes down to a no-strings-attached match, I probably have the advantage because I have Senri's endorsement that I'm already more powerful than most vampires.
 It seems that what you get when you mutate from a lower level vampire is a different ability, and your physical abilities don't change that much. It would be a foul thing if the basic abilities were also greatly increased, since one mutation can give you such a variety of abilities.

 The werewolves spread out and surround me. My vision is slightly different from that of a human, but I can smell where they are even if they are in my blind spot.
 I wonder if that's how Arbatos and Rainer felt when they fought me.

 I roar at the sable floating high in the sky. With my current physical abilities, I could probably reach him if I jumped, but that would be a bad move for me since I have no way to move properly in the air.

 I stand up on my hind legs and extend my paws at Sable - but then I pounce on the nearest werewolf.

 The werewolf panicked and tried to catch the attack, but I didn't care, I crushed it. His hand is scraped, but he can't leave a mark on me with his mere claws. And although werewolves can only be harmed by silver weapons, they are exceptionally susceptible to attacks from vampires, perhaps out of grief for their family.

"...... Surround them! Restrain them from all sides!

 Sable gives the order. You've underestimated me. It's not a lot to take in if you're attacked from all sides at once.
 I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think it's a good idea.
 I'm sure you can find a lot of ways to deal with this if you were me, but I can't help but laugh.

 The wolves attacked with frustration. He shakes his body and blasts away the powerful arm that is swung down with all his might.
 My body can't hold a sword, but I have claws. And there's no reason to take it easy on us.

 Once we've taken out Sable's men, we're done.
 If I'm unencumbered, with Senri at my back, there's no way I can lose.
 The more you kill, the easier it will be. The more you kill, the easier it will be to kill you later. Creating a werewolf is probably manageable if you have a vampire with the ability, but you'll need training to be able to use the curse you've received.

"d*mn it, ............!

 Perhaps realizing his disadvantage, or perhaps reading my thoughts, Sable spat.

 And then--it rained blood.

 It wasn't a metaphor, it was a rain made of blood. Each drop of blood shot out with such force that it became a bullet and rained down inescapably.
 The still remaining outer wall of the old castle collapsed under the rain of blood. The wolves attached to me were hit by the bullets and blown away violently. It was the work of a monster.
 I've heard that high-powered attack spells that target a wide area are cast by multiple mages working together over time.
 In that sense, Sable, who can wipe out powerful wolves with almost no time lag, deserves to be called a one-hit wonder.

 However, my body in this form is much stronger than the werewolves and the walls of the old castle.
 The blood stops raining. I lifted my head and looked Sable in the eye.

"What have you done, ......?

"d*mn you, ......, the Founder. ......

 There was a heavy thump. Some of the blood bullets dug into the flesh. But that was it.
 The wounds had already healed. A small number of scarred wolves, who had just barely survived the bloodbath, stepped back in alarm.

 Sable's pale face was clearly less relaxed than before. He seemed to still have the will to fight, but he could not hide his exhaustion.

 Why is he so tired when he's barely fought yet? He slowly chewed on the question that came to mind.
 I look at the puddle of blood that has formed on the ground. I see. .......

You can't move the blood that's spilled.

......

There's not enough blood, is there? This is your blood.

 It's not that it can't be moved, it's that there's some condition. I can't even put a claw on a severed arm.
 And the exhaustion on Sable's face is probably because she has used most of the blood in her body.

It's not so much a defective ability ...... as it is a bad use of it.

 If there is a disadvantage, you should use it without letting it leave your body. A rain of blood is great for killing large numbers of people, but it's not powerful enough to kill a monster like Lynell.
 So this woman has never been in a fight for her life.

 Sable's eyes narrowed, and I could see the sharp fangs from the edge of her tightly clenched mouth. So I sighed and said in disgust.

I'll let you off the hook. I'll let you off the hook. You can leave.

"...... is a blatant provocation!

 I'm not sure what to say, but I'm not sure what to do.

 But Sable deactivated her blood wings on the spot and landed on the ground.
 Why now ......? You know it's a provocation.

 The unexpected action made me think. By that time, the mutation had begun.

 Sable's thin arms swelled up and her chin grew wide. Her silvery body hair, different from mine, grows and clicks.


 Arbatross has been appearing to me in the form of a black dog. This is the first time I've seen a mutation with my own eyes, and it's-- it's a little creepy.

 Strong limbs crunching holes in the ground.
 What Sable had mutated into was a beautiful silvery white wolf. Over three meters tall, the only thing that hasn't changed are its red eyes looking up at me.

"Okay. I'll show you a real vampire.

A wolf and a dog. ............ The wolf seems stronger.

 I let out a threatening breath of spellfire and let out my true feelings.
 The vampire who becomes a wolf is more powerful in battle, Senri said. Perhaps the essence of this caninization is the enhancement of the ability to search for enemies. I'm at a disadvantage if I look at it that way.

I'm not sure if I'd be able to do that if we were the same size.

 The wolf that Sable transformed into is huge, but it's only half the size of me.
 She doesn't understand. The bigger is stronger than the smaller. That's why I've always struggled with this.

 Sable jumps at me with fangs bared. I hit her as hard as I can with my paw.


§The air shakes.



 The air trembles. Two huge beasts are rampaging under the sky where the full moon shines.
 Observing them from a distance, Senri had a complicated expression on his face.

 The black dog that End had transformed into was overwhelming the silver wolf.
 The silver wolf was not weak either, but his physique was too different. It is said that the size of a vampire after its transformation is proportional to its power. In other words, it shows that Endo Baron's basic abilities already exceed those of the King of the Stakes' family. Even though the other party was already exhausted from the previous exchange, and even though the other party is probably not at full strength yet, it is unusual that End, who has only been changed for a few months, has reached that level.

 Too strong. Too strong. It's not that hard for the demise knight to fight, since he doesn't have vampire abilities yet, but if he gets powerful vampire abilities, he'll turn into one.
 Senri trusts End, but it's hard to say if his own blood has given End that much power.

 End's appearance has not changed much since they first met. No, he's even loosened up as he's become more relaxed.

 Perhaps that's just the way he is.
 He had always had a talent as a warrior. The disadvantage of his sickly body has disappeared, and through his many experiences, it has blossomed.
 Great power often attracts demons. It would be difficult to live in peace now that a major power had discovered his power. You can't even run to the Knights of the End. No matter what happens, the Knights of the End will not tolerate vampires.

 Senri had no idea how much peace the Crystal of the Night would bring to the vampire.

 The claws gouged deep into his flesh, and Sable let out a terrified roar.
 But End was not to be caught off guard. The lustrous dark canine took no time at all to bite the blasted wolf in rapid succession.

 He's going to decide with a series of attacks. But it won't be enough to kill him. It would be difficult to kill off a vampire of that class without preparation, even if you had several Knights of the End in your team. Besides, they know that Senri is on End's side. He couldn't be so foolish as to come in unprepared.
 Even if he were to wipe out the wolf's current body, it would come back without a fight. Experienced vampires are nearly immortal.

 The undead had already been all but destroyed by End's hand. It was unlikely that the mercenaries would fall under his spell.
 They walked on, careful to be ready to come to their aid in a pinch.

 The ground was littered with countless bones. Many of the undead are created by necromancers. It's not often that more undead are created from the corpses of undead, but with this amount of undead, they can't be left alone. They'll have to be purified later.

 The cold wind was caressing my cheeks. It would be a while before the undead infestation disappeared.

 And then Senri's eyes caught sight of a knight waiting behind the city walls. It was a knight armed in hideous jet-black armor.
 In his right hand was a pulsating sword with an obviously strong curse on it. And in his left arm...

"The Headless Knight (Dullahan) ......

 The dried-up head in his left arm looks at Senri. The eye sockets reminiscent of the abyss are very creepy in a different way than vampires.

 Dullahan is a symbol of death, the undead. A mutated form of the bony man, it has few nasty abilities, but its pure fighting ability alone surpasses that of vampires. At this level, it cannot be extinguished by Soul Release, and in some cases, the Demise Knight may be killed.

 Judging from the tendency of the undead that have attacked it so far, it would definitely be the marauder's trump card. The black lips of the severed head twisted slightly. The sword is pointed straight at Senri.
 The cursed sword, the type that sucks the life out of its owner in exchange for power, is the undead's most powerful weapon. Seeing the refined movement, Senri drew his sword without moving an eyebrow.

 A warm breeze blows. As quiet as the wind, as fast as the wind, Dullahan stepped in. The blade swung down, and Senri gently parried it with his holy silver sword.
 He doesn't take it head on. He knows that he is greatly outmatched in strength, and he does not need to cross blades to know it.



 The giant swims. By that time, Senri's sword had flicked his left arm wide open.
 The head in her arms flies through the air. No need to attack. Kill him before he gets used to it.

 One breath. The third blow pierced the section of his neck covered by the helm.

 And that was it.

 The rest of the body convulses, falls to its knees, and slumps to the ground. His superior endurance and regenerative abilities were meaningless if the holy silver sword was used to exploit his weakness.

 At about the same time, Sable let out a particularly loud roar. Her head was crushed by an end nearly twice her size.

 Vampires are immortal, but their heads and hearts are just as vulnerable as humans. Crushing the head would leave a clear opening for regeneration.

 From that point on, End's movements were so swift that Senri was terrified to watch.
 He released the mutation, instantly reverted to human form, and extended the five-fingered claw of his right hand, piercing the chest of the prone silver wolf without a moment's hesitation.

 The silver wolf convulses. He's going to pull out the heart, the symbol of a vampire's power. If he removes the heart, his regenerative ability will be greatly reduced and his abilities will be limited.

 But then End's expression changed.
 With obvious impatience, he pulls his hand out once and sticks it in a slightly different place. He checks a few times and mutters in dismay.

"Stupid ...... can't be.

 Then Senri stepped in front of End. Sable, who had been beaten by End, was on the verge of disappearing.
 He was too fragile to be an immortal vampire. End says to Senri with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Senri, your ...... heart is ...... gone. I'm not sure what to say.

"There's ............ another way. The heart is hidden.

 Only the heart is removed and stored in a coffin. It's a lot less powerful, but it keeps you alive when you need to be.
 Sable's crushed head is slowly recovering. He has no heart, so his strength must be running low.

 His regenerated eyes look at End and Senri, and he says in a hateful voice.

I didn't think you'd be this strong,......, but I underestimated you.

It's not fair to hide the heart! Are undead and necromancers the only cowards?

I'm not sure what to make of this.

 I'm not sure what to say. I'm sure you don't have the power to turn into a bat and run away anymore. It was definitely End's power that drained him to this point.
 Even if he did have the power to transform and escape, Senri would never let him go.

"Ancestor, I've seen your trick. Next time, be on your guard. Next time, I'll just take your head.

No, ......, please. I've lost, just leave me alone! I just want to live in peace!

 I just want to live in peace!" End said with a face that looked like he was about to cry, and then collapsed on the spot.
 A slight smile appears on Sable's face. At that moment, End extended his fangs and plunged them into the silver wolf's neck.