**Chapter Eleven: The King of the Dead**
It was a strike fueled by all of I’s strength. The elongated claws easily pierced through the skull of Lord.
Ruu’s eyes widened in shock at I’s sudden act of violence. But it was already too late.
There was no excitement, only a dark joy. Perhaps this was proof that I had become a monster.
I withdrew the claws that had softly penetrated the skull. Hot blood splattered, and a smile naturally crept onto I’s face.
It was done. With this, I was free. All that remained was to escape the forest and run anywhere. I had no intention of clashing with the Order of the Final Knights. I could simply leave the forest and hunt beasts in some other similar woodland to survive. A new life awaited, until boredom set in.
—Then, suddenly, a sound like something cracking echoed.
“What on earth—what is this?”
“N/A!?”
A voice that should not have been heard struck I’s ears. Confusion washed over I. After a few beats, a chilling fear gripped the entirety of I’s being.
Surely, I’s claws had pierced through Lord’s head. Lord had neither dodged nor defended against the attack.
The source of the voice was right before I. Lord, who should have been slashed diagonally through the skull, remained in the same position, calmly speaking. The head that should have been impaled bore no trace of injury.
Impossible—this cannot be. Lord was not an undead. I, as Shiki, could clearly recognize that Lord was a living human.
Somehow, the blood that had clung to I’s claws, the very blood that had splattered, had vanished.
Impossible, impossible, impossible. I had definitely—killed Lord. I had killed him, surely!
“Already, you possess—intelligence? Or did you always have it… how interesting.”
“N/A!!”
Not yet. It was not over yet. With a fierce determination, I thrust my arm forward with all my might. This time, I aimed not for the head, but for the heart. The five claws easily pierced through Lord’s thin back, tearing through the robe and creating a gaping wound at the center of his body. The warm sensation of blood flowed into I’s palm, accompanied by the sound of a splatter.
Once again, a strange cracking sound echoed.
From the Lord, whose torso had been pierced, came a voice that bore no hint of anger, only admiration.
“The reason you didn’t die from the head wound is not that. But you are clever. I do not know when you gained wisdom, but—did you lie in wait after undergoing the rank Mutation? Eyeing my life with intent? Hahaha… I did not expect this, but you are more splendid than I imagined… I must thank H/N/A.”
A monster. Even I, as Shiki, could not remain unresponsive if my heart were pierced.
Impossible. Is this what a Necromancer is?
I understood that I could not win from the outset. That was why I had attacked at the most opportune moment. My heart, on the verge of breaking, was upheld by hunger and survival instinct.
I withdrew my arm. The moment I pulled it out, the remnants of flesh and blood that had clung to my arm vanished like mist.
In that fleeting moment, I pondered.
What to do? How could one kill a living object that could survive damage to the skull or heart? No—this was not about surviving fatal wounds. It was as if, by some means, the attack had—been rendered nonexistent.
There was no escape. No defense. The decision was made in an instant. I would kill until I could kill no more. For the first time, I roared before Lord.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh N/A!”
I swung my claws in a reverse slash. Just before the sharp tips could tear through the robe, Lord-Holos’s voice sliced through my roar and reached my ears.
“Stop.”
The command struck me like lightning. My arm convulsed, and the sudden halt led to self-destruction. The tissues in my arm popped, and a dull pain surged through me. The body that had been moving so obediently now prioritized Lord’s command over my own will.
The tips of my claws never reached flesh again. No matter how much strength I tried to muster, they could not advance any further. At that moment, I finally accepted my own limitations.
No good—there was no way to win. Absolutely no way to win. The man before me was—a monster. A monster that could not be compared to I.
Before my frozen form, Lord slowly turned to face me. There was no anger in his expression, only a dark delight that clung to his features.
This clearly demonstrated the gap in our abilities. For Lord, who had shown anger at Ruu’s false report (which, in truth, was accurate), my rebellion, born from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, was hardly worth his ire.
If my life had been in danger, Lord’s expression would have shifted slightly. But not even a fraction of a chance had my rebellion succeeded. Lord seemed to revel in exposing the truth to me, as if to toy with me.
“Ku ku ku ku ku… End, you seem clever, but—do you not know magic? Your downfall lies in believing that my life is, hehehe… ‘only one.’ Ah, you are permitted to speak.”
“What do you mean—”
I had been trying to attack all this time, yet my body felt as if it had turned to stone, unable to move. Lord wore a deep smile as he slowly retrieved a silver, round stone from his pocket.
It was a stone with a strange luster I had never seen before. It had once appeared smooth and spherical, but now it bore a large crack.
“Ku ku ku… I have divided this life into one hundred twenty parts. What you have killed is merely two of them. For you, my subordinate, to kill me, you would need to deliver one hundred twenty deaths to me in an instant. That is how it works. A first-rate Necromancer would know this.”
The crack widened, and the silver sphere shattered into countless pieces in Lord’s hand. However, I could not focus on such an object.
One hundred twenty lives…? Impossible. Even in the fairy tales I had read in life, such a story never appeared. This was beyond cowardice.
Yet at the same time, I understood and accepted the reason for Lord’s confidence. If that were true—there was no way to win. Even if I could ambush him once or twice, it would be impossible to extinguish one hundred twenty lives. My rebellion had never stood a chance from the start.
A strong regret washed over me. But there was nothing I could do. At that moment, there had been no other choice. It was only a matter of whether it was too late or too early.
What mattered was what came next.
What would happen to me now? How would the man before me deal with the Shiki who had rebelled? As I glared at him, Lord smirked and issued a command.
“But… it would be troublesome if you were targeted again. End. From now on, all actions that could be considered an attack against me, or actions that could put you at a disadvantage, are forbidden.”
As expected—this was the route he would take. Yet, I felt a sense of relief at those words I had never wanted to hear until just moments ago. For that command indicated that he did not intend to kill me at this moment.
And yet, I was overwhelmed by despair at that very fact.
New questions arose, but for now, I set them aside.
I must not falter. What I needed now was—an absolute will, a thick, unyielding belief. Holos Carmen. I will kill you. I will absolutely kill you. Compared to the absolute death that loomed before me, you are nothing but a trivial existence.
By any means necessary, even if it takes years or decades—I will be the one to seize my freedom.
“Ku ku ku… A tremendous fighting spirit. An unwavering will of pitch-black determination, even in the face of an absolute disparity in power. After undergoing rank Mutation and gaining self-awareness, you still conceal your intelligence without revealing it. You are indeed the king of the dead I have long sought. The fulfillment of my long-held wish is now within reach. The Order of the Final Knights, the undead slayers, is closing in… hehehe, ahahaha…”
Lord’s eyes bulged, and he laughed heartily. His dual eyes shone brightly in the darkness. I could see Ruu, who had been on the verge of becoming undead, trembling on the floor.
Laugh. Laugh as much as you want. As long as I can laugh in the end—that is enough.
“I will make you my power. End. Your will shall be rendered irrelevant.”
“Grant me my freedom. I will comply.”
My rebellion had already been seen through. Any pretense of submission was futile. And surely, that was what Lord desired as well. As I glared at him, Lord laughed with delight, just as I had expected.
“Ah, I had heard you were bedridden, but what a ferocious man you are! But very well. End, you are permitted to move.”
“…Command me once more.”
“？ You are permitted to move.”
The body that had felt as if it had been frozen in place suddenly regained its freedom the moment I received those words. I immediately turned and sprinted toward the door. Ignoring the dull pain in my arm, I pushed off the floor with all my strength and raced up the stairs.
From behind me, a panicked voice called out.
“End, do not run away!”
“N/A…”
As expected, it was impossible. No, I had known from the beginning that it was impossible. But I could not help but try.
As I came to a halt, Lord approached with a voice tinged with exasperation.
“You seem to have no room for complacency or carelessness. But that is precisely what befits the qualities of the King of the Dead.”
§
And so, from the following day, I found myself ensnared in a life of captivity. On the surface, everything appeared unchanged, yet I was bound day after day by invisible chains that constricted my very being.