I'm not sure I've ever seen a time like this before. ......

　As he walked through the desolate city, Oliver Albor let out a small sigh.
　Even though the sun is still up, there are few people walking around the city.

　It used to be that daytime was the time of the living, when the activities of the higher undead were greatly restricted. But all that has changed.

　The defeat of the Knights of the End, the natural enemies of the undead, has changed the game. For those who lacked the ability to control blessings, even low-level undead who could move in the daytime were enough of a threat. Even more so if help was not forthcoming.

　The demons and undead that were not under the Demon Lord's control, but had been quiet until now, were also becoming active, sensing the decline in defense capabilities.

　Oliver, by nature, should have been on that side. When he was working as a member of Linel's army, he happily killed humans.
　Not for food, but because that's what the wildness instilled in him as a werewolf wanted.



　Even now, that instinct has not disappeared.



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


　Oliver gave a small snort.
　Human flesh is completely inconvenient when compared to werewolves. Oliver's curse makes him reasonably strong in human form, but even so, he is not as strong as he was after his transformation.

　The werewolf curse has a disadvantage. There are some disadvantages to the werewolf curse, such as the fact that it inculcates wildness in the werewolf, and the fact that if the werewolf continues to transform for a long time, it will be consumed by the wildness and become a mere beast.
　However, for Oliver, who was imbued with the curse by his third-ranked family members who were close to the king of beasts, these were disadvantages that could be overcome if he was careful.

　When he had been a member of the power-dominated Linel army, he had taken werewolf form to almost the upper limit. But now, he spent most of his time in human form.


　Maybe it was because I was thinking. Before I knew it, I was surrounded.
　Three in the back, three in the front. Humans armed with poor quality swords and armor. From the sound of their footsteps and the way they cleared the air, I could tell that they had some experience in battle.

　In other words, they are ...... small fry. In peacetime, he would not even be a mercenary. At best, he's a bandit.

　I look up. Your eyes meet with one of the men who came before you.

　He's a head taller than Oliver in human form.
　Even though he was in the middle of the city, he had a large, well-worn curved sword at his waist, and his mouth formed a distorted smile.

　The man stops a few meters away. Oliver stops as well. You can see the people following behind you quietly turn to the side.



　It wasn't just the undead that had been galvanized by the collapse of order.

　That movement, Oliver thought.

　It's bandits, after all. With the Demon Lords becoming more active, most of the city has fallen short of its defenses.
　Perhaps humans are foolish enough to be unconcerned with such an emergency situation.

　The men were all dressed in dark costumes.

"Hey, old man. What are you doing out here all alone?　It's dangerous here, you don't know that. You don't know about the King of Heads, who rules this neighborhood.

"The King of Heads. ............

　The man frowned quizzically for a moment at Oliver's muttering, but quickly nodded broadly.
　The two men who had been flanking him spread out to the left and right in a natural movement.

"Ah, yes. The King of Heads. Most of the soldiers who defended the city are dead. Of course, the king isn't interested in this empty, desolate city, but some people are.

　With an ostentatious motion, the man grasped the curved sword at his waist and held it at the ready. A dull glow reflected the sunlight. The others, who seemed to be his friends, each drew their swords.

　Nonsense. It's too silly. It used to be that you didn't get attacked by people like this outside the city.
　No, of course, that's because Oliver was the one doing the attacking.


"The King told us to do what we wanted. This black outfit is proof of that!　The more heads we take, the more the King will give us!


　That's a ridiculous thought. The dead hate the living. You can't show mercy to a mere mortal, no matter what the reason.
　Especially when it's a minor villain.

　Oliver shifted his position, looked around at the men surrounding him, and sighed.

"The King of Heads.

　More kings I've never heard of. There is no doubt that the people are outnumbered, but the Demon Lords are not monolithic either.

　The power structure is changing too often. I wonder where the "Head King" was hiding until the Knights of the End disappeared?

　I can't believe that there are even people in human form who are willing to join the Demon King--there were none before, but these days there are far too many.

　Endo Baron lamented the decline in the quality of vampires, but it seems that it is not only vampires that are declining.

　You can't just look at the size of your opponent, the armament of your opponent, or the number of your opponent and decide to attack.


"............ is just being used. The undead can't show their strength under the sun. Not like me.


　And then--Oliver transformed.



　The lowly werewolf takes months to transform, but Oliver, the third, does not.
　The King of Beasts has been destroyed. There are few werewolves left who can transform without the moon.




　The men's faces, which had been twisted into a ghastly expression at the discovery of new, easy prey, were stunned by Oliver's instantaneous increase in size.

　--They didn't swing their swords, scream, or run away, but went rigid. It's too big an opening for a monster.




I won't be rewarded, but I will be killed if I don't get its head.



　What surpasses the wildness of a werewolf. It's fear.

　Wolves form packs. Werewolves were created to be dominated.

　They're not allowed to attack people unless the pack leader wants them to.


　Blood blooms. With a single swing of the arm, three men fall to the ground, torn to pieces. Finally, a man lets out a scream that can't be described as a scream or a shout.


"I never thought this day would come.


　The man raises his curved sword and steps in unhesitatingly.
　Oliver let out another small sigh and pounced on him like a monster.





§ § § §








　It's not going so well, is it?

　An abandoned house, invaded by demons. I sighed as I sat in the basement of the mansion, which had been treated with curtains and pieces of wood to keep out the sunlight.

　I sat down on the sofa I had brought in and shook my head to blow away the irritation I felt.

　There were already no enemies of mine in the vicinity.
　I had killed Lynel and vanquished the Lord of the Void. The only people who could kill me now would be the Demon Lord class, vampires of the same kind, and the Knights of the End. Maybe the vampire hunters are also strong opponents, but I don't think I'll be able to defeat them unless I play my cards right.


　However, the situation had not changed at all.

　She had saved many cities and buried many of the Dark Ones. With experience, Mireille is slowly learning to use her vampire abilities.

　But there is no information. There are too many of the Dark Ones. Some of the ones I've killed claimed to be kings, but they were far less powerful than the Lynells I've fought. Apparently, the demon kings who are hunting down the Stake King and the rest of the Knights of the End don't have time to attack a mere man's town.

　I don't know if it was intentional or accidental, but there are too many people in the way. Another problem is that the communication network between the cities has been destroyed, making it difficult to transmit information.

　It was also unclear at the moment where the Knights of the End were fighting. The only thing we know is that they are resisting with Senri at the center. As expected of Senri, his information concealment is flawless. This is very troubling.


　After all, I'm just a vampire who got a little stronger.


　The fact that I can only go out at night is definitely part of the problem. The bat is useful for scouting, but if it can only operate while the sun is setting, the distance it can travel is negligible. The continent is too big.

　And by the way, if the Knights of the End are holed up, it's probably near water. Worst of all, it could be an isolated island surrounded by water.


　So far, my only allies are Oliver, Monica, and Millais. Oliver is a bad dog, and Monica can fly, but she's not that strong.
　The Dead Souls Disease scouting mission is not going so well. There are only a few of us, and we're at war. Was it fortunate that Mirele was found so easily?
　In the first place, making a vampire dependent is a transfer of power. Since it is a transfer of power, the ability of the main body of the vampire is degraded when a family is created. You can't have too many of them.


　I don't know how long I'll be able to see Senri again. If this continues, Senri will forget me.


　I feel like spreading flyers from the sky that End is still alive. But I can't because Monica would be shot down.

　I can't do it because Monica would be shot down, but Mireille is Mireille and .........



"Brother!　Look at me!


　At that moment, in the darkness, my only family member, Millere, burst into the room with a bursting smile.


　Millere was in all her glory. The reason was that turning into a wolf would have torn her apart.
　The only thing I could inherit was the Carth Steel, so I couldn't even manipulate blood to make clothes. It reminds me of the old days.

　Mirele was carrying a large wooden box. She lifted it up and showed it to me confidently.


I made the coffin by hand!　I'm proud of it!

"Millere, be ashamed.

　Just before she became a vampire, she must have looked so mysterious, but now she's so cheerful. It's morning, time for bed.
　You're too optimistic to begin with. I don't think he's a natural enemy of mankind.


　Nimble, naked. Who does she look like?


　To my point, Mireille quickly hid behind the coffin and poked her head out.

But, brother, there are no more clothes in this house. All of my clothes are torn, except for the ones I wore out.



　You didn't rip it, you ripped it.

Why can't you just be a puppy forever?

"What?　"Brother, it is a wolf I will become.

　Mireille rolls her eyes and says with a strange look on her face.

　A wolf is better looking than a ...... dog!　But now I can be a wolf, too. But now I can also be a wolf, a long, white, fluffy wolf!　Why not?

　I have no choice but to bite off my right thumb. I manipulate the blood that flows out of it and make it cling to Mirele's body as a blood cloak.

　My 'Blood Pain' is weak. Perhaps it's because I couldn't suck it out of the body, but it won't hold its shape for long if I let it go.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more information on this at ......, but I'm not sure if all vampires are naked except for the ones under the King of the Stakes.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

　The clothed Mirele jumped at me, cackling. I didn't raise you to be such a trifling child.

　She must be starving for people because she was bedridden. In my case, I didn't feel any particular emotion because of the Lord, but if Senri had been a vampire and saved me in a similar way, I'm not sure I wouldn't have turned out the same way.

　Mirele placed a homemade coffin on the floor, grabbed my arm, and forced me into it. She's a vampire, so she's got thin arms, but she's got a lot of strength.
　This coffin doesn't have any bedding on it. I'm glad you made it, but it's not just a wooden coffin!　And there's a nail sticking out of the body.

　Slender bones jostling against each other. Soft flesh. Long hair tickling my cheek. For a moment, as if listening to my heartbeat, Mireille put her ear to my chest, then quickly put her neck in front of me and said in a sweet voice.


"My dear brother, in return, you get a coffin and me!　Take my blood!


　Really, who did I look like? I didn't raise you to be such a trifle!
　I'm devoted to Senri. I'm not going to cheat on you.

　I'm not going to cheat on you." Mireille wriggled her body and said in an embarrassed voice.

"Oh, brother!

What?　That's a false accusation!　Who do you think put the clothes on you?

　I want you to remain the dignified Mireille you were when you were fighting.
　If you don't, ............ she'll push you away. No, no, no. I don't care how much of a vampire you are, you can't do that.



　............ Senri should learn from Mirele!　A homemade coffin and me is too good a gift.






"I'm back, sir. Mr. End.



　And then, just in time, Monica came back from her reconnaissance mission.

　Monica, who can fly, move in the daytime, and even use a slightly weaker charm power, is a more useful member than Oliver, who can only fight and smell (even I can fight and smell).

　Upon learning of Monica's return, Mireille's expression twisted in an obvious way. Apparently, Mireille doesn't like Monica very much.
　She puts her arms around Millere, who hugs her tightly, gets up, and looks at Monica.

　The demon's endurance is far beyond human. The demon's endurance far exceeds that of a human, but it is clearly inferior to that of a vampire.
　She has dark circles under her eyes and her hair is shaggy. Let's not get mad if we don't get any results.

　He clears his throat and listens to the report.


"Good to have you back, Monica. Did you make any progress?

"............ Mr. End. There's no point in trying to fix it now.

　Monica put her hands on her head as if to suppress a headache and began to report in a tired voice.