123 #31, Nihilai #6




 The underground labyrinth rings as if it were alive.

 For a moment, he forgot the pain caused by the curse. Clearly, this was not a natural phenomenon.
 Maybe if they waited, the shaking would stop, but considering the possibility that Senri would be buried alive, there was no time to dawdle.

 Apparently, Lefley and the others were not expecting this either. While enduring the tremors, I keep an eye on the direction of me and the force.
 As I stared at the floating Lord, he said wryly.

"There was time. The camp is already half destroyed. The ritual is not perfect.

 Well, it can't be helped that it happened. It's Lefley's fault.

 I can feel the power swirling. The heart of the labyrinth. The power of death rising from there is more powerful than anything I've ever seen.

 The undead have the property of absorbing the power of death.
 Some of the power gushing out was flowing into me, but for the most part, the torrent of power was concentrated in a single point.

 I have a bad feeling about this.
 The Descendants had taken every precaution against vampires. If the ritual was all arranged, then the resurrected being is not on my side. I had to act quickly.

 I emphasized that I was harmless for now.

It's your fault. I was-- I was trying to stop it.

What?

 Our priority is to get out. The way out is far above us.
 I'm pretty sure I can survive being buried alive, but Senri and the others won't. Lefley and the others can be left alone, but Senri must escape at all costs.

 A moment's hesitation. As if I remembered, a terrible pain rushed through my body.


 I ignored the pain in my body and poured all the power of my blood into it.


 My whole body was in a flurry of pain as if it were being cut into pieces. I feel my soul tremble.
 Nevilla's glittering eyes see me and distort clearly.

"...... what the hell ......?

 I became a vampire, fought many powerful enemies, and gained the truth.

 Power is size. Overwhelming mass and physical ability is what you can rely on the most in times of need.
 We can't afford to go back to the entrance we used to get here. Then-- push through.

 Skin rips, bones crumble. Your clothes will fall off.
 I guess it was reckless to use my power while under the curse, and the pain rushing through my body was at a level that made even me, who would do anything to live, feel timid for a moment.
 It's as if I'm being burned by the fires of hell.

 The black dog that had been transformed by Arbatos had a monstrously huge body. But the power of the blood I can pour is nothing compared to that.
 My flesh swelled up to fill the underground passage, which was not that wide to begin with. I bang my head on the ceiling, and the paws that come into view are like columns.

 Lefley and the others take a few steps back. The demise knight who once decapitated me was like an ant. It's a shame I can't trample him down like an ant.

 I couldn't feel my body. All I had was pain.
 Only the most exquisite pain, no less than the soul-burning pain I once experienced on the verge of death, was trying to engulf my consciousness.

 I scolded my tangled tongue and said in a low voice.

"Ugh. ...... Sen, re, my, bottom--

 I didn't have time to check for a response. I shuddered, filled my lungs with air, and roared with all my might.
 My body felt like it was going to explode. I couldn't catch the sound of my own roar. The vibrations of the air blew through the labyrinth like an explosion, and I could see Lufrey and the others blowing away.

 Even the strongest underground labyrinth is no match for a giant monster. Even Rainer had destroyed his own castle with ease.
 Rags and debris hit me, but what would have killed me once when I was bedridden is like dust to me now.

 I let my instincts take over. I kicked the ground, raised my front foot and jumped upward.



§ § § §



 The castle, which had stood there for so many years, trembled.

 The walls and pillars, which had been protected by powerful magic, were deteriorating due to the wind and rain. The air was cold and there were holes in the ceiling.

 It was all the fault of the humans. The castle where the great King of the Dead had reigned had fallen into the hands of humans, and was now in ruins.
 The king's army, once feared by man and demon alike, has been destroyed and is only spoken of in fairy tales.

 The innermost part of the old castle. In the place where the throne room once stood, a shadow stood.

 A black robe decorated with gold. A hood pulled tightly over his head.
 The long staff in his hand resembled the tin staff of a priest, and the jet-black crystal ornaments gave off a somewhat suspicious atmosphere.



 A hand extended from a loose sleeve. Fingers gripping a staff, black and dry as a mummy.
 A figure calls out. The dry voice carried strangely well through the violent ringing.


"King ......, at last the time has come. Oh, ...... it has been a long time.

 
 The tin staff thudded on the floor. The magic circled the crumbling formation.

 Suddenly, the hood came off.

 The head that was exposed was jet black, as if melting into the darkness. A red light shines faintly behind the eye sockets that are gaping in the dry, black skin.
 It was not bone. But it is not a body with blood.

 An immortal species that has been in a position close to death for a long time, storing a vast amount of magic power.

 A mutated form of the skeleton.
 The undead are rarely seen anymore due to the activities of the Knights of the End.
 Abichord, the Night Ritchie who used to be the Demon Lord's lieutenant, looks up at the heavens with deep emotion.

 It was an unbelievable time.

 Many of the demon kings that had reigned throughout the world had fallen, and most of the once starry-eyed necromancers had been exterminated.
 The number of wars has decreased, and the magic that was once available to ordinary people has become something that only a very limited number of talented people aspire to.

 And above all - science. The power of science has made it easier to create many of the things that people used to create with the power of magic.

 Silver jewelry has become commonplace, holy water that keeps the darkness away has become mass-produced. Although [Descend] is in the countryside, I hear that night is disappearing completely in the capital.

 The years have changed the world drastically.
 The power of the Knights of the End, once rivaled by the Knights of the End, has grown larger through generations of study, tragedies have decreased, and people's fear of the darkness has diminished.

 The Abyssal Code is just an insurance policy. The king had no thought of defeat.
 It took a long time for the earthquake to awaken the Abichord, which had been lying dormant beneath the earth.
 From there, it took even longer to complete the preparations for the ritual.

 The resurrection would require an enormous amount of deadly force. But there was no war nearby.
 I never imagined an era so full of strife and death would end.

 Things had to be done carefully. No matter how much magic Abichord was allowed to use, he couldn't fight against the Knights of the End.
 They ruled the city. Feeding on the fragments of his former master's power, he lured the necromancers and gathered death.

 We were so close. One more year and I could resurrect the Lord in his full form.

 It's probably no coincidence that the Order of the Fallen caught my attention at this time.

 Where there is light, there is also darkness. The Knights of the End and the Lord of the Dead are two sides of the same coin.
 They must appear when the great Dark Lord is born. So they are destined to be.


 But we're just in time. Abiquod's mission is to restore the king. Everything else is trivial.

 Swirling dark forces are circling the ancient castle that once served as a ritual site.
 Just in time. Part of the magic circle had been destroyed, but there was still enough power to create a new body for the king. Already at this point, there was nothing anyone could do to stop the resurrection.

 He felt an unstoppable rush of emotion. A rare thing for an undead man with little mental impulse.

 Vibrations are the voice of a king. The longing of a king of unparalleled power, and yet so alone, at the hands of Abichord.


"What the hell is this?

 You can find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing.

"............ garbage, huh?

 No need to turn around. The voice belonged to the mercenaries that Abichord had ordered the mayor to gather.

 In the midst of the violent shaking, the mercenaries clinging to the wall and looking at Abichord in dismay did not appear to have the courage of the mercenaries who had fought against each other so many times in the days of war.

 The level has dropped. That's it in a nutshell.

 Less warfare means less need for power. Demons have been exterminated by the development of human civilization, most notably by guns.

 There were no such weapons in the days when the Shadow King reigned.

 They were terrible weapons that could kill without power. With a silver bullet to exorcise demons, a child could kill an Abichord.
 It is much weaker than sorcery, but it is superior in terms of convenience. But for the powerful undead, a gun is not a threat unless they are very careful.

 After thinking about it, Avicord sighed heavily.

But it's useful, even if it's garbage.

 Abichord couldn't make a single move. He had gathered the power of death from the mercenaries he had hired.
 He couldn't remember their names. They'd been replaced so many times since the preparations began that it was impossible to remember the names of the humans.

 The mercenaries finally spoke up.

"...... who are you?

 Although he has not mastered necromancy, Abichord's magic is more powerful than any other sorcerer of this age. I'm not sure what to make of it.

 When the Lord returns, we'll need a new army. The bones of ordinary men will do.



 He lifts his tin staff. Without saying a word, sharpen your will and countless jet-black arrows appear in the air.
 Corrosion magic. It is a spell that once served the king well, as it can corrode flesh and blood to produce clean bones.

 At this point, the lead man's expression twisted in fear for the first time.

"Mage!

 He reacted too slowly, and even felt annoyance before ridicule.
 The men did not even show any sign of escaping from the arrows that were fired.

 A moment later, just as the flying darkness was about to devour the mercenaries, the castle trembled even more violently.

 The arrows were blocked by something that suddenly appeared from the floor. A large body of rubble leapt up and crushed the ground right next to Abichord.

 By that time, Abichord had unleashed his second volley.

 He raised his tin staff and pointed it at the black wall that appeared.
 The skilled sorcerer wields his magic as if breathing. The flaming arrows that were generated pierced the black wall in succession.

 At that moment, Abichord's eye sockets distorted for the first time.

 The flaming arrows, magic that manifested a scorching heat that no mortal could bear, were fading away at the surface.

 Abichord knew.
 It's a conflict. Magic is drowned out by more powerful magic. That's why Abichord had ordered excessive measures against it.

 A monster with an ancient curse that overcomes all magic. The natural enemy of sorcerers.

 It has many weaknesses, yet reigns as a symbol of darkness.

 A burning emotion that surpassed the impulse he had just felt in the face of the king's resurrection scorched Abichord.

Vampires ...... interfere with us again?

 A huge black beast climbs up the half-destroyed floor, using its paws for dexterity.
 Its blood-red irises glowed with wariness. Its pupils constricted, it looked down at Abichord.

 A voice that seemed to echo from the depths of the earth enveloped Abichord.


"That's my line. But ...... it's always the opposite.