He listened to Senri's quiet voice as he endured a stomachache. The story Senri had gleaned from the mayor was very suspicious.

A sanctuary for the undead. ......

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

　According to the mayor, there is a kind of sanctuary under the old castle that attracts the undead.
　In order to get rid of the undead that frequently appear, the [Descend] has called in mercenaries from outside to guard the old castle. The scale of last night's attack was unexpected by [Descend].

　It is too unnatural. There is an uncomfortable sense of forced logic that I can clearly see even though my concentration is distracted by my stomachache.
　In the first place, that is not a reason for not contacting the Knights of the End. It is possible that they were planning to contact the Knights of the End after checking on them, but it is highly unlikely. In any case, there is no disadvantage to the [Descend] side from contacting him.

　Senri says with a serious expression.

There's something ...... hidden.

It's not the ...... place I was attracted to in the first place.

　If it's a sanctuary that attracts the undead, it should have an effect on me. But the reason why I frequented that place was because of the night crystals that had fallen there, and the presence of those night crystals was not detectable from outside the castle.
　If we could have captured the necromancer who was supposedly controlling the undead army, we would have gotten some information, but with that poisonous blood vampire involved, it would have been difficult.

　Senri dangles a key in front of him. The key is as big as the palm of your hand. It's covered in rust and looks like it has some sort of evil in it.
　He frowns. Senri takes a small breath. I watch with a stomachache as her chest moves quietly in response.

"There's ...... more down in that basement. The key to it. I got it from the mayor.

"...... What's in there?

　Senri gave a small shake of his head.
　It's a complete trap. I don't know what's underneath the old demon king's castle, but it's probably something really bad.
　But I know it. Senri was fully prepared. She's righteous. She can be calm and stubborn at the same time. It's too dangerous, but I can't stop looking at her eyes, which are as still as the surface of the lake.

I'm coming with you.

............

I can make it to the wall. Even in this state, I'm much stronger than Senri.

　It's true that my stomach hurts, but my regenerative abilities are still intact, and even if I'm not the best, I can handle most monsters if I hit them with all my might.
　Senri is strong, but he's human. She has no durability or regeneration, so if something happens to her, there's no way to get her back. Holding her belly, he declares to Senri, who is so slender that she might break if he hugs her tightly.

It's not like I'm going around town asking for help. I'm going to follow you even if I have to hold on to you.

"............ You don't have to hang on.

I won't let you bite me. I haven't forgotten what happened in Albados. I'm a one-way biter.

It's much more dangerous to leave ............ behind. This city is too dangerous for you.

　He reached out his arm to hug her, but Senri avoided it with minimal movement.
　I'm stronger than her, but I'm still not as delicate and flexible as she is. But that's okay. She'll catch me when I suck her blood.

　Still feeling the burning pain in my belly, I straighten my spine and try my best to be strong.

This is the last time. Let's just get this over with and get out of this town.


§ § § §



　I felt a strange sensation in the back of my neck.
　Like a numbness - or a chill. It was a peculiar feeling before entering a dangerous place.

　Senri frowned as he looked up at the silent castle, where there was no other sign of life.

　It was the first time he had visited the castle at night, but it was clearly different.
　It was only the day before yesterday that I defeated a large number of undead. But now, not a single piece of bone can be found in the heaps of wreckage that were piled high. If the mayor was telling the truth, he would have cleaned them up.

　It's a feeling somewhat similar to the one I had just before entering the house of Horus Kamen. The strong sense of darkness is not a lingering scent from the Demon Lord's time.

After what he did to you, you're still here at night, you really like things, don't you Lu?

　In the back of the room was a group of mercenaries, including Razzal. Although they hardly showed it, their attitude was clearly reluctant. 　

　No wonder, Senri thought. Although they hadn't come into contact with that horde of undead, they had seen a lot of wreckage. This is the kind of army that, even if they are quite good, is no match for the Kuro Bones.

　Nevertheless, they had both come here at the request of the mayor, perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps because they felt guilty about leaving everything to Senri, who was much younger than them.
　One of the mercenaries opened his mouth. The person to whom his awe-inspiring gaze was directed was a blue-faced End, clutching his stomach.



Baron looks pretty out of sorts today, maybe you should go back?

I think so, too. But Luu will go by himself. As a husband, I can't keep quiet about it. As a husband.

　I admire End's guts a little for continuing to act under such circumstances.

　In the first place, it must have been extraordinary for End, who literally did not want to die even if he had to, to have come this far while in poor health.
　This whole thing started out for End, but it was Senri's selfishness that brought him to this point. And she knew that if she moved, End would want to follow her. I'm a little - no, a lot - sorry about that.

Love. I love you so much that I'm following you even though my stomach hurts so much. Because I love you.

"Oh, yeah, okay. I know enough, Barron. But can you fight like that?

　End glanced at Senri, asserting something embarrassing. I've been aware of this for a while, but End seems to be the ...... toothless type. Or perhaps he doesn't care what Razzal and the others think of him.

　But regardless of what he says, I want you to be quiet. Even though it is almost certain from the atmosphere of the old castle that the other side is waiting for us, I can't hold my nerves.
　End is making a powerful speech with a face devoid of any bloodlust. He is pretending to be unconcerned, but I can see his body movements occasionally stop as if he is tensing up. He must be in pain.

"Of course!　But if you're in danger, Razal and the others should run away quickly. If you die, your beloved Lu will be sad!　My favorite!

　End is strong, but we can't rely on him this time. Senri sighed heavily and chided End in a low voice.

"Baron, be quiet. I love you.



§ § § §



　The atmosphere of the old castle was clearly different from before. It wasn't a very cheerful place to begin with, but if I had to say anything, I would say that it was filled with a very gloomy atmosphere that seemed to cheer me up. If I didn't have a stomachache, I would have been humming a tune.
　But even though I was in pain, I remained alert. The lower vampires' instincts were already in battle mode.

　Senri leads the way. Followed by Razal, a group of mercenaries, and me.
　Razzal and the others are probably useless in this fight. So they're a wall.
　A wall to protect me and Senri from traps. I'd like to avoid dying because I don't want Senri's grief and I don't want any hard feelings, but I can't trade my life for theirs. We've come this far knowing the risks, so we should be prepared for anything.

　When they reached the main gate of the castle, Senri paused. He hesitated for a moment, but then quickly drew his sword from his waist and scratched the walls of the castle.
　One vertical, one horizontal. The scars, sharply made in the shape of a cross, glowed faintly white.

　I'm not sure if he was looking at me quizzically, but when he saw my face, Senri said a little apologetically.

It's a mark in case I don't make it out alive. I'll alert those who come after me.

　...... I see, a fierce resolve befitting the Knights of the End, who risk their lives to defeat the undead.
　I wish I could say it was brilliant, but I know I loved to read.

It's a bad omen. It's called a death flag.

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

　Well, ...... I'm already dead.

　I look down at the heavy machete in my right hand. My stomach hurts, but I can at least swing it around and destroy the death flag.
　I hesitate for a moment, but I give a small shrug.

　No matter what I have to do, I won't let Senri die. That's it. I don't need a sign of resolve. It's in me.

　The power was almost useless. Perhaps the curse of the sable, unabsorbed, was responsible for the malfunction.

　My physical strength, regeneration, senses, and overall physical abilities were intact, but my active powers were not working properly.
　I can't use cannibalism, spell-fire, sharp claws or fangs, or hide. If I put all my strength into it, risking my life in pain, I might be able to activate it, but I can't bring myself to try.

　The constant pain is making me lose my concentration. I took a deep breath and distracted myself from the pain by thinking only of Senri.
　I'm sure if I can figure out what's causing it, Senri will reward me. With that in mind, this level of pain was tolerable.

　I walked through the familiar corridors of the castle. Normally I would lead the way, but this time it would only slow me down, so I had to let Senri lead the way.
　The smell was the same as usual. But the air felt different. We passed through a collapsed wall and descended into an underground passage.



　I had a little bit of hope, but there was no sign of the night crystals. I walked deeper and deeper, keeping a watchful eye on my surroundings.

　We arrived at a dead-end passage. Several large wooden boxes were placed in the passage, giving it the appearance of a storage room. I have been coming here for a while now, but I have never seen any night crystals here.

　Incidentally, the crates are empty, as I confirmed when I first came here. I was told that they were brought in by [Descend] and left as is. Senri took a look around and dragged the crate away.

　He peeked at the exposed stone floor, illuminated by the faint light of the torches carried by Razal and the others.
　Indeed, if you look closely--there are gaps between the stone slabs. This is not something you would notice with just a quick glance. It doesn't smell, so even a vampire wouldn't notice it.

　I can't let her turn the stone over with her white-finned fingertips. Replacing Senri, I stepped forward and inserted my trembling fingertips, forcing the stone slab to turn over.
　The stone made a crunching sound. It was quite heavy, but it must have been unfastened. It may be difficult to remove with human strength, but if you turn one stone over and make a large gap, it is not difficult to remove the rest.



　Carefully pull off the remaining pieces one by one. Hidden beneath the stone floor was an old black door.


It's a ............ trap. No doubt.

　Is it the [Descend] that buried this floor?　I'm not sure what to make of this.
　But either way, it's troublesome. The door is tightly closed, and there is no smell leaking out. I looked at Senri's face, but he shook his head.

It's ............ protected.

　So the blessing detection had a weakness too.
　Of course it does. This is the basement of the former castle of the King of the Dead, it would be strange if they hadn't done something like that.

　But Senri's expression was tense, but not fearful. I'm sure she's been doing this kind of fighting her whole life.
　Then there's no reason for me to be afraid. I hold out my hand to Senri. Senri hesitated for a moment, but then quickly handed me the rusty key.