The windows were completely closed, and the bar was filled with a sweltering heat.

　There were not many people in the bar. A whispered but passionate discussion. The strong smell of alcohol stimulated my sense of smell.

　A silver cross hung on the wall, something that was rarely seen in a bar before.

　I sat deep in one of the seats and crossed my legs.
　The small sound of a clock ticking. Even the voices of the inebriated patrons carry a hint of dark emotion.

　Night is coming.

　It seems that it has been two years since these words were spoken with fear.
　The crucifix in the tavern, the trickle of water around the bar, the tightly closed door are all effects of this.


　It wasn't painful to continue living with only my heart under the ground. I didn't even feel pain.
　All I had was nothing. I managed to get Senri home, and then I lost consciousness and realized three years had passed.

　It's ridiculous. And the world that I had spent ten years in had changed so much in just three years.
　Taverns were decorated with crosses, people no longer walked out at night, and - in almost every city - running water was laid down.

　Restaurants are checking their customers carefully and not inviting strangers in, and of course, the proportion of garlic in the food is increasing.



I'm sorry, we're out of garlic today.

　The girl bringing in the food and drinks says apologetically to the newcomer.
　She's lying. There is a large stock of garlic in the back pantry. Garlic was a common ingredient in this type of bar before the riot.
　The customer's eyes widen at the clerk's words, which would normally be impossible.

"Oh, no!　Are you crazy to be open at night when you don't have garlic?　You know that one of the stores in the next town over was destroyed!

　Vampires come with fear. They come with fear. The price they pay is a nasty one, but they're dealing with it.
　I know this because I'm a vampire. Running water, holy water, silver crosses, and garlic are not insurmountable weaknesses.
　Water can be evaporated by magic and can be blocked. The silver cross has to be touched to be effective. And garlic is a weakness, but that doesn't mean you can't suck the blood of someone who eats garlic.

　And then, the girl sitting across from me, pecking at the city's famous fried chicken, looked up.

　Her platinum blonde hair stretched to her toes. Her skin was as white as if no blood had flowed through it, and her limbs were so slender that they looked as if they would break if you held them.

　Mirele Noah. Senri was also slender, but after several years on the sickbed, her flesh was noticeably thinner than that of her peers.
　The girl, who until a few days ago couldn't even stand up, looked at the man for a moment with contempt, but when she saw that I didn't say anything, she looked at me and said.

I'm not sure what you're thinking about, brother.

............ That's not an official cross. It's a bit crooked. Crosses need to be well proportioned to be effective. It's only effective as silver.

Oh!　I see!　That's my brother!　I'll try my best to be as good as you!　I have to take note of ............ that if it's not an official cross, it's not effective, .......

　Mirele smiled a blossoming smile, moved her food away, took out her notebook and pen (which she had gotten from somewhere), and began to take notes.
　Her reaction was a little uncomfortable, probably because she had been with Senri for so long, who was stronger than her. But surely it's good to be ambitious.

　Then, the man who had just tangled with the shopkeeper noticed us and opened his eyes.

"...... What the hell?　Why is there a kid in a bar at night like this?

　Our eyes met. His arms and legs trembled for a moment, and he took a step backward as a reflex. Then I gathered my strength in my eyes and said in a whispered voice.

I gathered my strength in my eyes and said in a whispered voice, "'Relax, sit down. Sometimes there's no garlic in the bar, and sometimes there are children.



Ah .................. ah ...... yes.



　The man's eyes lost their light for a moment, and he shook his head with a feverish expression and staggered to one of the seats.

　This is the special ability that you get by becoming a Noble Vampire - the Fascinate Eye, which interferes with the thoughts of people you make eye contact with.

　As a Noble Vampire, this ability is quite powerful.
　In particular, with this power, you can almost ignore the condition that you cannot enter without being invited. It can be used even through the glass, and it can also be used in the tavern, where there is now a rule to open the door a little to see the guests. And you will be invited in.

　Of course, fascination is not absolute. It can fail depending on the strength of the opponent's mind, and professional vampire hunters and demise knights are careful not to look into the eyes of their opponents. However, it is impossible to force all people to take such measures.

　The fact that there are almost no noble vampires in this age of increased vampirism has probably contributed to the delay.

"That's great, brother!　I wonder if I will be able to do the same someday?

　Mireille asks fearfully. I gulped down a glass of chilled tomato juice and smiled.



Yes, you can. After all, you have my blood in your veins.




§§





　The Age of Darkness has come.

　It seems that the first class knight, Epe of Annihilation, had fallen ill.



　It's hard for me to believe that the monster that almost annihilated me from a very long distance could be defeated, but anyway, as if they had been waiting for that moment, the demon lords, who had only been skirmishing until now, rose up against the Knights of the End all at once.

　The biggest of them all was the King of Stakes, the one who had sent Sable to me.
　The king's army of an estimated 1,000 vampires, which had rarely existed in the past, attacked and destroyed the city with overwhelming force.

　The reason why the Knights of the End had the upper hand against the forces of darkness was, of course, because the Knights of the End were all elite, but it was also because the total number of demons and powerful dark relatives, especially vampires, was not that large.

　That assumption was overturned. The demon army, including a large number of vampires, was not something that even the Knights of the End could deal with.
　They were heroes. But they were human. They didn't have the strength to fight against the inexhaustible physical strength of the monsters while protecting the humans who were slowing them down.
　And so, the Knights of the End were defeated.


　No--defeated is not the right word.


　They're still fighting. Centered on Senri Sylvis, the heir to Annihilation.



　But unfortunately, the human city was scattered. The Knights of the End are also outnumbered and can't protect everything.
　The world was caught in a whirlpool of war. The Demon Lords are still focusing on the Knights of the End, but even so, many cities have been destroyed and countries have fallen.

　There are still many cities that have yet to be destroyed, but the Demon Lord's forces are too strong for even a slightly trained knight to take on.
　The Demon Lord himself is strong, but he is an army. It's a good idea to take a look at the website to see if there is anything you can do to help.
　In the first place, the reason I was able to fight so well was because of the very high quality of Senri's blood.

　When I was resurrected and confronted with the reality, I was left with no choice.




§§





"What's wrong?　Look at me.

　I asked, blinking my eyes at Millere, who was staring at me.
　Millere put his hand on his cheek and said in an enraptured tone.

My brother ............ looks good.

That ...... is so .......

　I'm not sure if it's a side effect of being married to a vampire, or if it's a side effect of not having done anything to look good.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one. And now she's a ward of this Endeavor.

　Traveling from city to city, I searched for those too unfit to live, those with too much of the dead in them.

　All for the purpose of making new friends.

　In order to fight the Demon Lords, to help Senri, and ultimately to save the humans, I needed a strong companion.
　I had promised Senri that I wouldn't have any dependents, but if they were in the same situation as me, they would forgive me.


　It is generally believed that those who are bitten by vampires become vampires, but strictly speaking, bloodsucking and becoming a dependent are two different things.

　Bloodsucking is about sucking, but being dependent is about giving. The curse to create werewolves that the destroyed King of Beasts had was probably a derivative of becoming dependent.

　Those who are given the blood of a vampire become vampires.
　I wonder if this is the reason why Millere started calling me "brother" when we are not blood related.

　Then, Millere's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her little nose twitches.


"Brother, the smell of the dead is approaching .......


　Recently, there have been a number of incidents of vampires attacking taverns and stores in this neighborhood.
　I'm sure that before my resurrection, vampires were a rare thing, almost a fantasy, but this is a very disturbing time.

　The reason I've come this time is to stop them.

　Suddenly, the door snapped open and a huge chunk of stone flew into the store, destroying it. One of the drunks is caught up and becomes trapped underneath.
　A strong smell of blood spreads through the store, and a scream comes out in a beat.

　But Mirele, who until a few days ago had been a mere human being, had not changed at all.

　She just made a small movement of her nose and said with a smile.


Can I kill you, brother?　I promise I will live up to your expectations.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead.



　As soon as she hears my words, her body expands. Her thick coat is torn away by the flesh from within, revealing silver fur.

　It's an exercise in power.

　The vampires can only be made family members of lesser vampires, but with the blood of the Noble Vampire, she is a vampire from the start.
　And even now that she is a vampire, her soul is still falling into the abyss, just like mine.

　Mirele transformed into a silver wolf with a sleek physique.
　The color of the wolf was not so different from the dog I used to transform into, so why was it so cool when Mirele transformed?

　The wolf glanced at me with eyes that showed a glimpse of intelligence, and then changed its stance, crashing through the wall of the store and jumping out.


　Debris falls in a heap. I took a bite of Mireille's leftover fries and sighed.



　If my instincts get too strong, I'll have to kill Millere.

　It was something I wanted to avoid as much as possible, but if I hadn't, she would have died anyway. I'm sure she won't regret it.