122 第三十話:虚影の王⑤




 I was calm in the face of the cleansing light that was destroying all the undead.

 Strong. My first fight was one-sided. When I went to Epe's inn to return the sword, he was shaken and not at his best.

 But this time he attacked head-on. I don't know how he did it, but he knew that Senri and I were there and he was determined to kill us.

 Even though they are third level, they are definitely heroes who control the blessing.

 Seeing the light bullets raining down on them, and seeing Nevira rushing at them from beyond, I am convinced.

 She's stronger than when I met her before.

 I'm going to damage her with Photon Rain, and then I'm going to take advantage of that.

 I didn't need to worry about it, I had only one choice.

 The light was pouring down all around me. I made up my mind, scolded my aching body, and flew to the side.

 Lefley makes a small sound.

"What?

!

 The light burns the body. It's not the same as Sable's curse, but it's a different kind of pain, like being burned by the fires of hell.

 I rolled over and hugged Senri, protecting her.

 I can see that the light is trying to bring me back to the corpse I should be, but my vision is flickering with pain, and I can't even scream, but my thoughts are calm.

 I'm stronger. Maybe he's been training since the day Senri disappeared with me.

 But nothing's changed.
 The sharpened killing intent in his attacks is impressive, but that's it.

 They're stronger, but that's it. They haven't changed at all.

They've been hit by ......'s Photon Rain, and they're barely damaged! Watch out!

It's working!

 I can feel the will to fight ripping through my back. I can feel the strong power of light.

 In the past, I had very little experience in combat with superior players, and could only run around in a desperate manner. Now I have an indicator to measure them. Senri.

 Lefley and the others have grown stronger. But I'm getting stronger.

 I knew that even if Lefley's Photon Rain hit me full force, it wouldn't be enough to fill my abyss.
 A beastly roar rises from my back. The holy silver weapon given to all demise knights was swung down.


 --It was met by Senri, who slipped easily out of her arms.


 He rolled to the side to check the situation.

 Senri's sword is always beautiful, no matter how many times you see it. The straight, swift strikes are probably not necessary to cleanse the undead.
 I'm not sure what to make of it.

 A violent sound echoes through the air. Nevilla roars.

"You bastard! Haven't you woken up yet?

 You're looking in the wrong place. Senri's eyes were not clouded from the start.

 The mace is flung wide by Senri's blow. Nevilla's face contorts.
 Senri and Nevilla are different in size and gender, but for a Knight of the End who can enhance his physical abilities with a blessing, this is of little consequence.

You can't kill me!

 I'm not sure if they thought Senri was going to be intimidated by me or not.
 No, of course not. Senri isn't stupid enough to be manipulated by me. That's why I've been careful not to betray her as much as possible.

 How could Lefley and the others want to kill me, the one that Senri, who was stronger than they, was protecting, the one that Senri, who they were trying to save, was protecting?

End, are you okay?

Sort of.

 It hurts. If I were a human, I'd be dead for sure, but since I'm dead, I can afford it.

 Maybe I'm stronger than Lefley and the others now.
 I'm probably stronger than Lefley and the others now because I have a lot of combat experience. I know the tricks of the demise knights through Senri.

 Lefley, who seems to have grasped the situation in an instant, shouts.

"Nevilla, hold that side! Photon Rain.

End!

 It's sweet, sweet. In that sense, Epe's "Soul Release" from a great distance was a very clever move.

 Perhaps Epe knows exactly what we are.

 The Knights of the End are not evil. So perhaps time will heal the tragedy. Even if I'm killed, Senri will come to terms with it.
 But Senri isn't the kind of person who would stand by and watch someone try to kill him right in front of her.

 If I were them, I'd plan an assassination. You can't talk a stubborn senri out of it.

 I swung my "Light Eater" at the rain of light, which had become denser because I had narrowed its range to me.

 My heart was roaring. The power of the vampire is the power of blood, and its source is the heart. The heart is the source of the vampire's power. The vampire's instincts are roaring in battle at the attack of its natural enemy.



 Senri said that light-eaters are also made of metal that absorbs blessings.
 The jet-black blade produced the result I had in mind. The light that touched the blade disappeared as if swallowed by it. Some of it will not be erased and will pierce you, but you can withstand it if you are prepared.

 The Lord has left me with something good.

"You drowned it out! How could he have done that on the first hit?

 Oh, yeah. First shot would've done the same thing. But you don't understand, Lefley.

"I'm madly in love with Senri!

 So it's only natural that I should try to hold on to her heart. I'm expressing it with my whole body, with my life!

I'm trying to express it with my whole body, with my whole life!" "I'm mad at my natural enemy. ...... I never thought this would happen.

 Lord is lamenting for some reason. I stepped forward hard.

 I walked past Nevilla, who was exchanging weapons with Senri. My target-- Lefley.

 His handsome face flushes in surprise.

 You didn't think I'd still be hunted, did you? 
 Already the fear that was etched in my mind when I was decapitated has vanished. Knowing the path I've taken since then, I'm sure they'll understand.

"I won't kill you! Senri will be sad!

"......

 Think about it. I don't kill innocent people. Senri gave me his blood, but my innocence remains intact.
 A vampire who's done nothing and a knight in shining armor who wants to kill him. To the world, the demon knight is right, but not to Senri.

 It's ironic that one of the reasons Senri was so highly regarded was because of his virtue, protecting the poor vampire.

 Lefley holds up his sword. A light shines on the sword, which is slightly wider and longer than Senri's.

 It's the sword that beheaded me. The wound where it once severed my head hurts.

 I know. The sword of a demon knight is a sword of evasion and passivity. We've gone toe-to-toe.

 Lufrey, are you sure you're stronger than Senri?

 There's a terrible pain rushing through my brain. Sable's curse. But I won't skimp.
 Scolding my knees from shattering, I slammed "Light Eater" into the floor as hard as I could in front of Lefley, who was standing ready.

What?

 The shattered floor becomes rubble and attacks me and Lufrey. But no matter what kind of demise knight you are, your durability is no match for mine.

 I went toe-to-toe with Senri. We exchanged blows, and I saw the difference in our abilities. I'm also thinking about how to fight.
 I don't think I can live in lovemaking with Senri all the time without an external enemy.

 Lefley moved back to reduce the damage from the debris. I stepped forward.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Ah!

 A roar shook the air.
 Lufrey's body glowed faintly. It's a cleansing light that burns on contact.

 The Lord floating in the air warns me. But I push forward.
 The debris pierces me, but I don't care.

 I'm not afraid of pain. I've had enough. The only thing I'm afraid of is losing.

 He raises his machete. Lufrey, stunned by the debris, aims the tip of his sword.
 But as he steps back, he's no match for the physical strength of the lesser vampire.

 I won't let him catch it. I will not let it flow. He raises his light-eating sword and leaps forcibly at the holy silver blade.
 My bosom opens. I hit the white armor, the symbol of the Knights of the End, with my body.

 Lefley's body was too light for the power of a vampire.
 The simple physical attack sent Lufrey flying and slamming into the wall. Perhaps it was an unexpected attack, but he was not even able to catch himself.

 The light in his body propagated in a split second of contact and burned my flesh. I didn't stop because I had experienced the pain once before.

 I had already experienced the cleansing of a blessing, the pain of a weakness, the violation of overwhelming power.

 I can't see out of my left eye. It seems I was burned by the light.
 The front half of his body had intense heat and pain. He must be in bad shape.



 The damage from the blessing interferes with the vampire's ability to regenerate. You want to manipulate the power of blood to regenerate, but it won't work because of Sable's curse.
 She licks her lips.

"I'm not gonna kill you. You didn't kill me either.

 I was decapitated.

 Lufrey wobbles up from his fall against the wall. The wound may not be fatal, but the damage is not zero.
 Nevilla screams. Her voice is filled with swirling emotions. Did he think that Lufrey and I would have the advantage? 

I'm sure you'll be able to understand that I'm not the only one.

The ...... end is not a ...... monster.

 The only person who will stand up for me is Senri.
 I turn my back and answer him.

No, ...... I'm a monster. But I'm happy with Senri. I didn't do anything horrible to you, so give it up.

 The reason I'm not looking back is because my body is in the process of regeneration and it's probably in bad shape. My face is probably like a skeleton.
 Lefley glares at me as I regenerate. I'm still strong enough to fight. But you know how hard it is to kill me alone, even with no damage.

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

I'm sure you'll find it difficult to kill me alone. ......

 I'm sure you'll find it difficult to kill them.
 I see ...... that for them, fighting vampires is not a struggle, but an extermination. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will help you.

 Lefley's decision was swift.

"...... Nevilla, let's pull back for now. I'll rethink my strategy.

 You've given up. Run, run, run. ...... By the time we get back, they'll be gone!
 You can't have Senri. I'll play the victim to the hilt.

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

 I'm sure you've heard of it, but I've never seen it.
 The reason Nevilla was able to hold her ground against Senri was probably because Senri took it easy on her. He's not going to hurt his former comrades.

 But Lefley and the others made it look even worse today.

 If you don't listen to me first, my Senri won't be so naive as to give you to a ...... brainiac. . And I'm going to use today's attack as an excuse to get some blood from Senri.

If they know what you're thinking, they're going to come after you like the dickens.

 Well, I don't think there's anything I can do about it as long as the hostages are on my side, even if they do attack me to death. .......

 The look in Nevilla's eyes was like that of avenging a parent. But even Nevilla, who had once abused me with little effort, could not kill me with a single blow from the front.
 As we crossed blades, I was once again convinced that there was a huge difference between a third level knight and a second level knight.

 There's a big difference between a third level knight and a second level knight, both in terms of fighting skills and the amount of blessings.
 The third class knight's power can easily defeat small undead, but it will struggle against vampire class undead. That's why they're working together.

 And perhaps it is when they work together that their true potential comes into play. If there was a mage who could pour water on the floor, it would be a tough fight. .......

 Lefley and Nevilla fall back. I didn't chase them and neither did Senri.

 The most important thing now is to destroy the Demon Lord's ritual. The second most important thing is to escape.
 I have a general idea of their power. With Senri and me, we should be able to handle any attack from the four of them except Epe. If Epe was there, it was over.

 Lefley glanced at me and said in a serious voice.

"Senri, I'll try to convince you one more time. You have to come back, your teacher wants you to. You're in trouble, but it's not too late.

"............ Go home. End has never attacked anyone, never been consumed by the bloodsucking urge.

That's because you're doing the blood! Ohhhhhh, I thought you were a sweetheart, but I never thought you'd actually do something that outrageous--you saw it! That f*cking vampire over there is enhanced with your blood! You'll be out of control in no time!

 I don't even know what to say anymore. .......

 That's right. The only reason I haven't been consumed by vampiric urges is because I've been fed Senri's blood, and while I haven't killed any innocent people, I have taken down a few mobsters to get money.
 But Lefley's words were messed up, too. I'll convince them one more time... was the attack the first time they'd been convinced?

 Senri's amethyst eyes were unwavering as he listened to their words. How could she not have expected something of that magnitude?
 She's prepared for everything the moment she decided to save me.

 Then, Lefley's gaze suddenly changed. He opened his mouth with a somewhat thoughtful expression.

"Senri, you may not know this, but Master ............ is--

I'm not sure what to say. You can find a lot of people who are looking for the best way to get the most out of their life.



!


 The moment Lord's voice rang out, the ground shook violently.
 No, not just the ground. The floor, the walls, the entire space was shaking violently. The cursed body couldn't stand and collapsed, but there was no attack.

 Nevilla and Lefley, who had been so hostile to me just a moment ago, did not see me.
 The ground shook violently, and I maintained my posture, staring into the darkness.


What kind of power is this?

I'm sure it's still ahead of .......


 And then a force exploded in the direction where the night crystals had just been.