The sound of the wind. A door in the floor. What lay beyond it was pitch black.

　Even the faint light that Razzal and the others had could not clear the darkness behind the door. They probably could not see what was behind the door at all.

　But I, with eyes that can see through the darkness, can. I can feel the air flow through the pain. What lies beyond the door is a huge space. A space so vast that the ground appears to be an afterthought.
　It is deep. The space behind the door is narrow like a passage for a while, and then a vast space spreads out beyond it. It is too high for a mere human to descend without a ladder.


　Vampires have an excellent ability to grasp space. What my senses were telling me was a structure that was too alien.
　A three-dimensional maze, if you will. The strong smell of dust indicated that no one had entered for a long time, but at the same time... there was a sound.

"Oh, hey. What's going on?

　Razzal asks fearfully. I thought.
　This is too much for ...... mere mercenaries to handle.

　It is said that powerful undead sometimes use the labyrinths leading to the abyss as their strongholds. I can see why.

　This is undead territory.

　Senri's blessings and training have given him abilities beyond those of a human, but even so, it would be difficult for him to continue fighting in a dark labyrinth where he could be attacked from all sides.
　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that," he said.

There is no ...... sign of the undead.

　I see. ...... It is indeed the castle of the former king of the dead. It seems that the castle of the former King of the Dead has taken all possible measures against the demise of the knights. But my senses are deceiving me.

　But my senses can't be fooled. I do my best to focus on the pain that is distracting me.

"I feel the ...... presence of night crystals.

　It's bigger than any crystal I've ever felt.
　I can feel the negative aura that my crystal shards have not been able to eliminate being sucked in with unprecedented force.

　I'm not sure what to do.　I'm not sure what to do.

I'm not sure if you're collecting ...... power,.......

　I'm not sure.
　The moment I came up with that idea, a very strong pain rushed through my body.
　I crouched down. I'm not sure what to make of it.

"It's coming!

　By the time Senri shouted briefly, I was already on the move.
　We've been together for so long, we're like one flesh. I pushed Razal, who had been peeking at me from behind, backwards to evacuate the door, and threw myself behind the deep door.

"Don't come!　

　I'm not going to die even if I hit the hard floor and get stained. I shouted to Senri and focused my attention.
　I felt a presence immediately. Something was climbing the wall at high speed in the darkness.

　Not a living thing. But not undead, either.

　Violent footsteps. Manipulating its long limbs, it climbed up the wall, something I'd never seen before.

　A black, smooth, cylindrical body. It had no eyes, no mouth, no nose, but long, clawed limbs, and it was coming towards me. Strange shape, but terrifying speed.
　Its center of gravity was very stable. It would be difficult even for a bone-man with no free will to be so undisturbed despite its acrobatic movements.

　It seems that this object knows exactly where we are, even though it has no sensory organs. Behind us, outside the door, Senri shouts.

"Golem. ......

　Through the pain, I search my memory.
　Golem. I've heard of them. A living puppet used by a high ranking mage.
　It's so close, yet I can barely feel it. Not a heartbeat, not a breath, not even a body temperature.
　Only the sound of footsteps. Was it his footsteps that were echoing just now?

　I was confident in my senses, but I didn't realize it until he approached me. It seems that the ...... vampire's ability to detect signs is specialized for use against living things.

　I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you have. The scorching pain that immediately followed choked the back of my throat.

　If you look closely, you'll see that the claws on the golem's arms are made of silver. They were tarnished and not blessed silver like Senri's weapons, but they were definitely silver.

　The pain transmitted by Sable's curse and the pain of purification made it hard to tell what was going on. But my body did what my brain told it to do.
　My trembling hands grasped the Blood Ruler hanging from my waist and swung it with all my might in the air. The black body and blade collided violently, and both were blown away.


　The golem is slamming into the wall. I get knocked down too. I jab my fingers into the wall and hold myself in place so I don't fall.

　It's very hard. It looks like it's made of metal. I might have been able to break it on the ground, but I couldn't muster enough strength in the air.
　The golem dangled upside down on the wall, perhaps hooked by its claws, and pounced on me with great force. His strength and agility are not that great, but the pain is preventing him from moving smoothly. And silver is sneaky.

　A few hits won't destroy you, but they're far more troublesome than that undead army that attacked in numbers.

　I scolded my soul, which was shivering in pain, and moved my arm. He shakes off his arm with the machete and swings it selflessly like an amateur.

　A hard response. With a high-pitched metallic sound, the golem slams into the wall. The violent sound reverberates and shakes the air.
　A critical hit. Your mobility and stealth are good, but your skill and strength are not. Even with my disadvantage, I'm like this.

　Just as this thought crossed my mind, a dull shock passed through my body.

　I look down. A thick arrow, several inches in diameter, was lodged in my stomach. Senri called out my name.


"End!

"...... It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. Don't come.


　A sharp sound of wind. An arrow flies from the bottom of the abyss, the labyrinth. Apparently, the golem was not a single entity.
　So this is the defense system of the Castle of the King of the Dead. Let's take a look.

　I move my legs to knock down some of the arrows flying at me, but many of them still pierce my lower body. My costume is tattered again.

　But the arrowheads don't seem to have any silver in them. I feel a dull thump, but the pain is drowned out by the pain of the sable curse, so I can't understand it.

I'm not sure if I should install silver.

　However, if you let your soldiers carry silver weapons, there is a possibility that they will start a mutiny. I suppose it's an itchy situation.

　I found this out when I engaged it. This golem expects the enemy to be the Senri, the Knights of the End. If it wanted to fight the undead, it would have included silver as an arrowhead.
　But it's too dangerous to attack at long range when you're out of position in the air.

　I want to regain my stance, but I've fallen too far. It is difficult to climb up among the countless arrows that are raining down on me.
　I pull out the piercing arrows at random and tell Senri.

I'm going to take a look down.

　He pulls out the finger that was sticking into the wall and lets gravity take over.
　It is not difficult to shake off the arrow even in the midst of intense pain. Worst case scenario, you don't get hit in the head.
　The bottom soon comes into view. It is, after all, a very large space. The walls and floor are made of stone, showing the years. At the bottom are several golems, similar to the proximity golems I fought.

　In their hands, however, is a device that was not on the golem I just fought.
　That's a crossbow. It's a mechanical bow. It's a powerful weapon that's still in use even with the development of guns.
　But its thick arrows are enough to blow off a human head, but not powerful enough to kill a sturdy lower vampire. The arrow lands on the floor, sometimes bouncing off, sometimes catching. Her knees shatter from the pain of the curse, but she uses even the force of her collapse to accelerate.

　He moves his body selflessly. The next thing I know, the battle is over.

　The remains of countless golems lie on the floor. The golems were filled to the brim with metal. I have no idea why this thing was moving.

　I crouched down and pulled out the arrow that was still lodged in my body. The blood that flowed for a moment was quickly stopped by the regenerative ability.
　The predicament is over for the time being, but it is obvious that the number of battles and the number of wreckage do not match. It seems that I've missed some of them.
　I sigh heavily. It seems that when you get so excited about fighting that you forget about the pain, you lose your reason. This is not a good trend.

　Anyway, I got the gist of it from the first fight.
　This is a trap. It's probably a trap that's been prepared for a long time, because I don't think I can prepare a golem right away. And this trap has the demise knight in mind.

　There's a strange smell coming from the arrowhead. Apparently it's been poisoned.

　Senri shouldn't come out. A mere scratch could kill you. Just as I was about to shout upward, Senri came falling down from the door above.

　Her silver hair swayed above her, and her amethyst eyes shone quietly in the darkness. The scene was so beautiful that it seemed out of this world.


　Senri landed without making a sound and looked around at the remains of the golem.

I told you not to come.

I left Razzal and the others behind.

　Apparently he was going to come no matter what.
　On the other hand, Razzal and the others could have come if they wanted to. They might be useful as a wall. .......

　Senri reached out his hand to me.

"Just get it over with and go home, End.

"It's a trap.

　The door is still open. The door is still open. Senri can fly, and if I'm careful, the crossbow attack will be manageable.
　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that.


"Then ...... protect me, end.




§ § § §




　The high walls were overly cautious of outsiders, and a deep moat surrounded them. Silver reliefs here and there.
　A knight in silver and white armor snorted in admiration at the appearance of the city, which had been given a measure of protection that was unparalleled compared to other large cities.

This is the place where the famous battle against the Demon Lord of the False Shadow took place.

It's a strange place. I'm not sure if this is really where the crystals are.　I'm not sure.

　You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web. Nevilla turns around.

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


I'll just work for what I'm paid. Crystals have suddenly spread among the wise undead and necromancers of late. The power of the crystals is of no concern to mere mortals like us who can't read auras, but we can at least find out where they come from.