There are four main types of undead that are created by necromancers.

　Skeletons are created from bones.
　Fleshmen, which are created from flesh.
　Wraiths, which are created from the soul.
　A carrion man (zombie) is created from a decomposing corpse.

　But there is more than one way to mutate from there.
　The rank mutation of the undead is a directed evolution built in by the necromancer.

　The hood was removed to reveal a body made up of dry bones and skin. The skin was black and dry, and a strange light shone in its eye sockets.

　It was in an illustrated book of the undead I once stole at Lord's house. A mutated form of bone man.
　Unlike the skeleton knights used by Lord, this is a form of bone that has transcended death and gained even more power.

　Litchi.

　His magic is powerful. Even when used by humans, it can be a force to be reckoned with. What happens when the undead get their hands on such power?

　Their appearance makes them unfit to blend in with humans. The danger level of vampires takes into account the fact that they can blend in.
　If you think about it, they're the rulers of the abyss, possibly even surpassing vampires in pure combat ability.

　I can feel their power. A powerful power of death that overwhelms even me, an undead.
　The powerful magic emanating from his body is greater than any sorcerer I've ever seen.

　Is this the king of the dead?　No, ---- is not. He's a pawn at best.

　If he could use necromancy, he'd be the first to use it.

　I shuddered and roared into the night sky.

　It's an opponent worthy of caution. I would even consider running.

　But in the midst of my intense pain, I was sure I had caught it.

　The fearsome transcendent of death in front of me. The killing intent radiating from its glowing eye sockets contained a slightly different set of emotions.

　Low-ranking undead have no will or emotion. But the monster in front of you is different. It has a high intelligence as well as a hatred for the living.

　Change your position. Check your feet.

　He squinted down at the monster in front of him, feeling the senri that had been clinging to the corner of his body leave.



"You're afraid of me, aren't you?



"...... bullshit!


"Senri, I'll take care of this one.

　The blessing is powerful against the undead, but it does not nullify offensive magic. Powerful mages are a bit of a nuisance for humans.
　No need to answer. She knows what she has to do.

"My name is ...... Abicode. A vassal of the great king and blessed of the darkness. Let me show you the way, lad.

　Richie, who calls himself Abichord, raises his arms. Space appears to be distorted by the swirling magic. I jumped into it without a second thought.

　I felt an uncomfortable sensation as if the skin of my entire body was buzzing. I can feel the flow of swirling magic being disturbed by the foreign substance that is me.
　Abichord quickly steps back and avoids the cleave of my front foot. Apparently, he's also a monster.

　I'll kill him before he sees what I can do.
　You never know when Lefley and the others will try to surprise you. Don't overuse your woge.

　The Lord's voice echoed in my head.

"How can you move with that pain?

　Pain was my friend.
　I never wanted to experience it again, but since I was bedridden, it was the only thing that made me feel alive.

　I just move my body forward. Use your whole body to flail and disrupt. Just be careful not to step through the ground.
　No matter how immortal you are, if your body is crushed, you will die. Or maybe I'll just chew him up.

　The debris hits you on the head, but you don't care. Abichord's moves are beyond human, but not as strong as mine. He doesn't look as strong.

　I've got a definite advantage.

"Acro-glide, darkness, come.

　Abichord chants as he steps back. Magic requires mental focus. Perhaps the reason the undead are so fearsome as sorcerers is that they are insensitive to pain.

　The change was instantaneous. The swirling magic burst. Darkness seeped out from nowhere and filled the space.

　Even the moonlight can't strip it away. The Lord groans softly.

It's ...... old magic.



　But I see you.

　The Lord didn't tell me to be wary.

　A vampire's eyes see through the darkness. What good is a species that lives by night if it can't see the darkness?
　In the spreading darkness. He swings his claws down toward the Abichord he can see so clearly.

　But Abichord evaded the full force of the swing by stepping back again.

　Without giving him any room to maneuver, he swung his paws down in rapid succession. Swing down. Cleave away. He spins his body and slams it down. It opens its jaws wide and bites.

　The rubble is crunchy but tasteless. I spit it out.

　Abichord stood there in the rubble unconcerned.

　Evaded with minimal movement. It's not magic. Even Senri couldn't have evaded it so brilliantly.
　He's not fatigued, but the pain is flickering before his eyes.

"Hmm. Hmm. You're quick for your age.

"Ag-gal-del-galum. King of the Underworld--Corrosive Winds.

　The air exploded around Abichord. A terrible stench of decay spreads through the air. The rush of magic that filled the air reminded me of the great river that Senri once carried me across.

　I walked forward regardless. His body tingled with pain, but he didn't care as he swiped his paw across his body.

　Abichord's reaction was delayed for the first time. Its eyes twisted in astonishment as my attack hit its body for the first time.
　The recoil that came back to my hand was too heavy to have struck that slender body.

　Just as Abichord is about to blow up and slam into the wall, I change my posture and land on the wall. There seemed to be little damage.

　But I see it.

　Evasion. He's using his magic to evade. It's probably sensing the flow of air and pushing itself with magic.

　My movements are reasonably fast and violent, but they don't violate the laws of physics.
　Did I say "wind in the willows"?

　The fact that the recoil was unexpectedly heavy may be due to the fact that I am protected by magic.
　It doesn't look invincible, but it looks like it'll break your bones. I'm not a bone man.

　I'm not a bone man, but I'm a skilled sorcerer who can easily fend off my attacks.

I'm sure you're not the only one.　I'm sure you're not the only one.

"Of course. This end is the crystallization of wisdom. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

　Thank you, Lord.
　He was going to make a new body, so he must have really been giving it his all.

It could be a coincidence, you know?　Try shooting again, senior.

"G............ Agla-Gal-Ed-Raiser-Rogers-Glissin--

You can't do that.

　Witchcraft, unlike curses, is rule-bound.
　Basically, the more preparation you have to do, the more powerful it is. So the longer the spell chant, the stronger it is.

　I put all my strength into my four legs and jumped up into the air.
　Perhaps it was an unexpected action, but the chanting of the Abichord was momentarily interrupted.

　Up there. Attacking from the side is a bad idea if you can read the air flow and avoid it. Crush it from above.
　A single arm, but a wide spread attack is unavoidable.

I admire your fighting spirit, but ...... you're an idiot.

　Lord says in disgust.
　I jumped up through the high ceiling and gave Abichord a full body press right above him.




§§.



　I managed to get out of the basement and return to the surface.

　What was unfolding in front of Lefley and the others was a battle between two monsters.

　The earth shook and the air trembled.
　The earth shook, the air trembled, a dense darkness that was clearly not natural, and the presence of powerful magic.

　Litchi is a master of countless powerful offensive spells, and is the most dangerous target for the Knights of the End.
　Vampires, who are trained in multiple unique abilities and have clear weaknesses that cannot be killed.

　The struggle between these two powerful demons, which should have been almost non-existent due to the activities of the Knights of the End, foreshadowed the coming of the Age of Darkness.

　Light purges darkness. The Knights of the End will not be defeated so easily, even if their opponents are superior.

　However, it would be difficult to take on two of them without a full complement of members.

　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

"The power of death is too great. "The power of death is too great.

"d*mn, we finally got here...

　It was a mistake to miss. We should have destroyed them then, no matter what.


　End's growth was far beyond that of Lefley and the others. The vampire was no longer the kind of demon that could be dealt with one-on-one.

　It was unexpected that Senri hadn't given up on End yet, and that End hadn't done anything to make him give up on her.
　Even if her memory is still there, she must be very rational to withstand the bloodsucking urge for so long.

　End is strong. Senri is strong too. There's no way I can go through with this by force against the two of them.

"If that vampire dies, Senri will wake up.

　Nevilla said as if to spit. Her grim gaze turned to End, who had turned into a giant beast.

　The battle situation was close. The life force of the undead surpasses that of all living things.
　Magic doesn't work on vampires, but it's also difficult to kill Richie by force when he's defending himself with magic. Dawn is still far away.
　Lufrey and his team's blessed attack should have worked, but the accumulated power of death was too strong to be purified.


　Then Lufrey, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

But that's not what we should be thinking about right now. Nevilla.

"...... Tsk. I know. That crazy power, right?


　The power that swelled in front of Lufrey and the others fighting in the basement.

　It was a huge dark force that Lufrey and his team had never seen before in all their years of dealing with various demons.
　The earth has stopped trembling now, but the thread of sensation from the blessing clearly sees the power trembling like a fetus just below the ground.

　If it was only the total amount of power, it would still not be enough even if I added the two monsters in front of me.

　If End's last words were true, he would have tried to stop its resurrection.
　I don't believe that a monster can do justice, but if Senri is working with him, it adds credibility.

　The end is a problem, but if you're so concerned about it that you let it go, you're not a good guardian.

The Demon Lord of the False Shadow, or ......

The undead are really stubborn. They're like cockroaches.

　The power is about to be awakened. But it's not complete.

　I don't know what kind of magic is responsible for its awakening, but the Demon Lord of the Shadow was once completely destroyed by the Knights of the End.

　There's a process to resurrect even the most stubborn undead. There's still time. And even if he is resurrected, he won't be perfect.

　The fact that Ritchie is still fighting against an opponent whose magic is ineffective is proof of that.

　There is no time to regroup. To miss now would be a great disaster.
　Lefley and the others have only been following the End, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

　We'll finish him off while he still hasn't moved and while Ritchie is distracted by the End.


　The Knights of the End have their own specialties. The Lefties, led by Epe of Annihilation, excel at releasing attacks.
　Their final form is the Photon Delight, which blasts everything with light.


　Then a voice called out from behind me.

　A voice I've worked with for a long time, and haven't missed in months.
　The voice of a girl who sounds cold, but is actually quite gentle.



"Lefley, Nevira. I'll blow everything away. Gather your strength to me.

Okay.

Tsk.


　I expected this, so I'm not surprised. She's not the kind of person who tolerates this.

　No need for words. Forget the feud.
　Because the Knights of the End exist to save the world. The members may have different backgrounds and ideologies, but that remains the same.

　And there's a reason why the Demise Knights, who are powerful on their own, work together in groups.


　Some of the dark family members have overwhelming power that surpasses even the demise knights.
　But the light that purges the darkness shines even more powerfully when united.


　Senri drew his sword and held it steady. Lefley and Nevilla stand on either side of him.

　A blessing is poured into the air. The power of the three of them gathers at the tip of the sword. The power of the blessing gathered in one place shone like the sun.

　End's huge body is pushed away. Richie crawls out from under it. But it's too late.
　End crushes the raised staff with his paw, as if he was planning to use defensive magic.




　--And then the light shines.