**Chapter Twenty-Five: The Merciless Reaper**
—
This is bad, bad, bad, bad.
I can’t muster any strength. The wound in my left leg, pierced by a silver arrow, is being eroded by holy power as we speak. Even if I could stand, swift action is impossible.
In the darkness, cloaked in overwhelming holy energy, the End Knight approaches leisurely.
There are four of them. They are Third-Class Knights. The Lord said that they could only be dealt with if I became a Vampire. Considering that I managed to hold out against them for several hours, alongside Senri and the others, it’s clear just how formidable the Lord truly is.
My heart, which has finally started to beat again, now races like a frantic drum. A voice descends from the sky.
“Well, well… I’m surprised. That stubborn Senri, who insisted on bringing back the corpse, returned alone without anything.”
“Senri is strong, but far too soft. Though he may seem cold at first glance, he’s straightforward and—he’s terrible at keeping secrets. That’s why he sometimes makes mistakes like this. That’s why we’re here.”
I let out a small cry and crawl to create some distance. I need to buy time. I must feign weakness.
There’s no chance of winning—none at all. But I won’t give up. In this utterly hopeless situation, my mind begins to clear.
If only I could replenish my strength…
I open my eyes wide, trembling as I confirm the enemy’s presence. The Third-Class Knights standing before me are truly reapers of death. Senri is nowhere to be found. Four Third-Class Knights, weaker than Senri but just as relentless, are more than enough to finish me off.
They are overwhelming, thorough. Even at my best, I wouldn’t know if I could defeat just one of them, let alone four.
Once again, a silver arrow is loosed, piercing my right leg. I saw it coming, but in my current state, I couldn’t evade it.
No, even if one of my legs was unharmed, I wouldn’t be able to escape this dire situation. It’s fine. I don’t need my legs. Right now, I must induce their carelessness.
I scream in agony, a cry that seeks sympathy from others. Yet, the golden-haired female Knight who shot me looks at me with a coldness that reflects nothing like Senri’s warmth, unwavering and unyielding.
Everything is—unexpected. Perhaps I am cursed?
Senri’s appearance was unexpected. The Lord, who should have perished, trying to consume me was unexpected. And now, they arrive before dawn… much sooner than I anticipated.
I expected Senri’s lies to be discovered. However, I thought the hunting party wouldn’t emerge until at least after dawn. Night is the time for the undead. That’s why the Order of the Final Knights chose morning to strike against the Lord. I assumed they would choose morning again.
I was naive. I had no time to lie down and rest. I should have crawled away from here, even if it meant abandoning everything.
The four of them are fatigued. Their clothing is disheveled, and the power they wield is not at its peak. However, though not as strong as Senri, they possess enough power to annihilate me.
Resistance is—futile. The moment I attempt to counterattack, they will obliterate me without mercy.
My body, finally becoming my own, my freedom—everything is rendered meaningless.
Think. I must think. What is the best course of action I can take now?
The Order of the Final Knights spreads out, surrounding me as I crawl. They are not careless. Yet, they do not see me as a formidable foe. If they recognized me as such, they would have already annihilated me with relentless attacks without giving me a moment to breathe.
I must not give them an excuse to attack. I need to buy even a second of time. Even if it’s all in vain, it is still the best I can do.
The wound on my leg is slowly spreading.
When I was a Shiki, things were a bit better. The enhancements from my rank mutation had worked against me.
I look up at the End Knight, a man closing in on me with a predatory gaze. He was the one who had cast suspicion on me back in Engai. If I recall correctly, Senri called him… Nebira.
Desperately, I plead.
“Haah, haah… I-I have memories of my previous life.”
“Oh, really? Senri told me. It’s hard to believe, but apparently, you were digging graves. It’s one thing to desecrate a grave, but to create one? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“I-I’ve never attacked a human. I have no intention of doing so!”
“Oh… and so?”
Perfect. The man before me is the epitome of an End Knight. He embodies the cold, strongest image I had of them.
His brow doesn’t twitch. Yet, an overwhelming killing intent crashes over me.
He’s angry. I don’t know what I did to provoke him, but I’ve clearly drawn his ire.
To them, even if I don’t attack humans, a monster is still a monster. That is also a righteous stance for those who protect this world.
“Senri is—”
“Don’t you dare call that name, monster!!”
“W-What!?”
He looks like a demon, his eyes wide open, lips trembling. The hand gripping the mace is turning pale from the pressure. The swordsman beside him, the archer, and the staff-wielding man all look down at me with irritation.
The atmosphere is charged, as if it could explode with the slightest provocation.
“D-Did she sell me out…?”
“If that were possible, we wouldn’t be struggling like this. Senri protected you until the very end. But our Master is not so lenient.”
That’s a relief. Those words save me, if only a little.
I had believed in her compassion. It’s true that she used me, but I trusted her. Even if it didn’t help me, being betrayed by something I believed in is painful.
I can’t think of a way to escape this situation. I have no weapon.
Nebira’s expression softens for a brief moment, and his left hand, which isn’t gripping the mace, extends as if to help me up.
“I sympathize with your plight. Waking up to find you’ve become a monster is a nightmare beyond measure. Isn’t that right?”
His left hand is filled with holy power, a strong light that seems ready to purify me the moment we touch.
It’s intentional. As I hesitate to reach out, Nebira grins with a feral smile and forcibly grabs my left hand, lifting me off the ground.
“But you took advantage of Senri’s weakness and deceived him. And now, you will leave a scar on his heart. I don’t particularly like that soft-hearted First-Class Knight, but I’m still his senior.”
White smoke rises from my left arm. My body convulses in excruciating pain, and I twist away with all my might. My spine creaks ominously.
A scream erupts from me, one that sounds more like a monster than a human. The holy power can be used for defense when wrapped around me. And for the undead, it becomes a direct source of strength.
My ungripped right hand trembles. Nebira is close; I should be able to reach him, yet my arm won’t move. It feels as if the strength is being drained from the arm that he’s holding.
No, it’s not that the strength is leaving me. It’s being buried. The unfathomable abyss that should not exist for me as a living being is being filled by holy power, heading toward zero in accordance with the world’s rules.
“This will leave a deep wound. I’m used to tragedy, but that doesn’t mean I’m indifferent. Senri will think of you every time something happens from now on. That could become a significant weakness someday. To injure someone protected by such strong blessings, you are quite the monster.”
“…If you just leave me alone, that would be fine! I don’t want anything, nothing at all!”
That was my true feeling. I just want to survive.
I have no intention of causing trouble for anyone. I hold no grudges.
Yet—everyone is coming to kill me. My vision narrows. Desperately looking up, I hear Nebira declare.
“There’s no way we can let a monster go… Even if you’re harmless now, you will kill someone someday.”
“We’re here because of our Master’s orders. Hey, do you know why Senri isn’t here?”
The female Knight speaks to me, who is on the verge of death. She aims the silver arrow at me, as if to taunt me with the reason for my impending death.
“The Master told Senri with a smile, ‘I understand, I’ll let you go.’ Senri is stubborn, and no matter how much we talk, we never reach an agreement. But Senri realized that was a lie. At the very least, he was anxious about whether it was true or not. Senri is now—keeping watch to ensure the Master doesn’t leave the inn.”
“That didn’t matter, though. The Master sent us after you. To ensure your annihilation. I never thought we’d be sent out before dawn… but in a way, this will be a good experience for Senri. If he wants to become a First-Class Knight, he must go through this someday.”
The archer, the swordsman, and even the shadowy figure holding the staff are all my enemies without a hint of mercy.
What do they think my life is worth?
Is there any way to turn this around?
“Senri is coming to help me? That’s hard to believe. If she does show up, it will be after I’ve been killed. And even if Now Senri did appear to assist, Nebira would kill me without hesitation before she could interfere. That kind of resolve—one that doesn’t care if Senri hates him—resides in the man before me.
I don’t feel hunger, but my throat is parched. Moments ago, the man with the sword referred to me as a ‘Lower rank Vampire.’ If that’s true, what I need now is—blood.
It’s far. Too far. Even stretching my neck won’t let me reach Nebira, and I can’t even tell if Fang would pierce them, given they’re cloaked in Sei’s power.
The Knight, gripping his sword, cautiously approached my body and stripped away the sunshade cloak. He found the shadow amulet hanging from my neck, tore the chain apart, and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“So this is… why I can’t feel the power of Negative.”
“A prized possession of Holos Carmen, huh… Crap. If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have let you slip away in the city…”
If it hadn’t been for this, the Lord wouldn’t have allowed me to wander into the city.
My bag had already been lost somewhere while devouring the Lord. As Nebira rummaged through my belongings, he carelessly tossed me to the ground. Perhaps it was permissible? The fleeting hope that had momentarily flickered was crushed to pieces by the End Knight.
“Well then, there’s only one task left. To kill you…”
Nebira said in a low voice to me, who was pitifully crawling on the ground, enduring pain and curling up. The mace was aimed at me, and those golden eyes looked down upon me. He leaned in close and whispered:
“Apologize. I’ll make it quick.”
This is—the one who calls forth the end. A reaper. Far more brutal and far more real than those from fairy tales. They are enemies. The enemies of humanity. I am the enemy of humanity.
Surely, they have families too. They must have important people in their lives. And to those people, they must seem like very kind and reliable individuals.
—But still, I don’t want to die.
“I don’t want to die… I just don’t want to die!!”
A wail echoed through the darkness. Even if it birthed further cruelty, it was a cry of the soul. Nebira and the End Knights did not rage; they merely regarded me, writhing like a worm, with eyes that looked upon a hopeless object.
“…Tch. Are you Sei? Ah, to not even retaliate after being subjected to this… It’s pathetic. I can see why Senri would feel pity and let you go. Weaklings are her natural enemies.”
“Nebira. Make sure to finish her off. It’s the Master’s order.”
“Of course! I’m nothing like that one!!”
I will die. I will be killed. No help will come. My previous life was taken by a strange disease, and just when I thought I had obtained a body of freedom, I’m to be killed by the Order of the Final Knights this time. Surrounded, with no chance to resist, trampled by overwhelming combat power.
Tears streamed down my face. Blood tears. As my vision narrowed, I desperately looked up at the enemy. My body wouldn’t move. I couldn’t think clearly through the pain.
A gap. I need a gap. I have to discern whether a weakness exists, even if I don’t know if it does. Struggle until the very end. If I die—then I’ll come back to haunt them.
“What’s with that look!? Why can you still have such eyes in this situation!? Crap!!”
Nebira kicked my body. Each time he did, Sei’s energy surged through me with the impact. I no longer screamed. I felt Sei’s power advancing my existence toward zero.
Even in this situation, Nebira didn’t easily kick me. His movements were practiced. He grabbed my hair, which lay on the ground like a corpse, and forced my face up to meet his gaze, which held a cruel intensity.
“…Fine. This shall be the final mercy—I’ll give you time to regret.”
“N-Nebira!? No way—”
“The purification by the End Knights is salvation. I’ll show you. What did you say your name was? Well, it doesn’t matter. Do you know how an undead suffers the most?”
My body no longer had the strength to tremble. Only Nebira’s dark voice echoed in my mind.
Suddenly, a dull impact struck my left shoulder. Nebira had, without me noticing, plunged his sword into the ground, extended his arm, and lifted something.
It was—my left arm. Nebira gripped it tightly and instantly purified it. My left arm turned to dust and vanished.
…Fine. I can give up my left arm. An arm that doesn’t even move—.
“Sunlight. I’ll weaken you to the point where your regeneration won’t work, and with sunlight, I’ll slowly fill your abyss. The unbearable pain will continue indefinitely. Even the most vicious undead will soon start to whimper. We call it the Solar Punishment. Its cruelty is only used as a warning—”
Sunlight. Even when I was a Shiki with resistance, prolonged exposure made me feel a prickling pain. How much damage would it do to me now?
In the fading consciousness, I let out a dry voice.
“Ah… what a terrifying thing…”
“I’ll give you time for repentance. Time to regret. Consider it a punishment for trying to deceive Senri, for living even after death!”
Anger. Nebira was filled with rage toward me, seeking to vent it. He intended to torment me excessively. No matter what he said, his actions were emotional, like a grudge against me. It was the first time I had seen such an uncharacteristic emotion in Nebira, an End Knight.
But that’s fine. That’s okay. I let out a wheezing breath. A slow death is most welcome. I’ll endure any pain or humiliation. If it means surviving even for a second longer, if it grants me a chance to escape, what does pain matter?
Nebira looked down at me, who was defenseless yet desperately maintaining Sei energy, and narrowed his eyes. A dull impact surged through my right shoulder.
“Are you still thinking you can survive? That’s impossible. I’ll give you time, but I won’t grant you freedom.”
Nebira lifted my severed right arm and easily turned it to dust right before my astonished eyes.
“What we leave behind is—only your head. If you wish to repent, that will be enough, right? Ah, yes. I’ll leave your head near the grave you made.”
§
My body… won’t move. Of course, I have nothing below my neck now.
The Order of the Final Knights, Nebira, mercilessly dismantled my body. They cut off my arms, severed my legs, carved my body, and decapitated me without using silver swords, purifying me.
I don’t understand why I’m still alive. I have no strength. I can’t regenerate. The intense pain and the freezing chill I feel at the back of my head indicate that I am dying.
The night forest is silent. The Order of the Final Knights are already gone. Perhaps this solitude is part of the punishment. All I can see from the spot where I lie near Ruu’s grave is the remnants of the Lord’s mansion.
I can do nothing. I can’t fight or flee. All that remains is pain and despair. It’s just like my previous life, before I died. Ah, what a terrifying thought to entertain.
As I desperately tried to keep my mind clear, a voice suddenly drifted through the wind.
“How pitiful… End.”