**Chapter 23: Corrosion④**
**Chapter Three**
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**Chapter 23: Corrosion④**
The Third Knight of the Order of the Final Knights, Del-Gor, kept his eyes closed in the confines of his cell, attuned to the surrounding situation.
It had been nearly a month since he was captured. During that time, Del had endured the mocking gazes of his captors, feigning a state of exhaustion.
All members of the Order of the Final Knights were Human. However, the Blessing that resided within them granted the Endgame Knights the power of the Person Outside. When he was first imprisoned, his Blessing had been nearly depleted, but it had since recovered. His body, once battered and wracked with pain from even the slightest movement, now felt free of discomfort.
Though he had received little nourishment and his nutritional status was dire, Del had fought in missions without food or water before. Moreover, among the techniques of the Endgame Knights were those that utilized Blessing to perform the Impossible and move their bodies beyond their limits.
The chains binding his hands and feet were of a Special make, seemingly unbreakable even by the immense strength of an Endgame Knight. However, the wall to which he was shackled was another matter. Now that he had regained his strength, he could likely tear the chains apart and force open the bars to escape. The iron ball attached to his legs was a hindrance, but with his enhanced physical abilities, it would not pose a significant obstacle.
The Rainer Army underestimated the Endgame Knights. His decision to feign weakness and remain docile was a ruse to wait for the right moment to strike.
The army of the Demon King Rainer was overwhelming the forces of the Royal City of Rorun. With their sheer numbers and individual strength, they posed a grave threat to both Now and Rorun. The city’s survival was due to the power of the Outer Walls, built over many years. However, repeated raids had degraded their integrity, and they would not hold out much longer. To save the city, it was necessary to defeat the Demon King Rainer.
If Rainer were defeated, the Rainer Army would become nothing more than a horde of beasts. At that point, even the soldiers stationed in Rorun could handle the situation.
Del had never believed he could face such an enemy alone. Yet, he had no choice but to confront this challenge.
Rorun was Del’s homeland.
He had few fond memories of it. Rorun was a fortress city, and most of its inhabitants made their living through warfare, creating a harsh atmosphere within the city. His family was long gone. Few of his former acquaintances would remember Del, who had been taken in by the Order of the Final Knights and left the city.
Nevertheless, Rorun was still the land where Del was born and raised. Some of the combat techniques ingrained in him had been taught by mercenaries from this very place. It felt like divine providence, Del thought. The fact that he, Now, found himself returning to Rorun, a city on the brink of destruction from the relentless assault of the Demon King’s forces, was perhaps not mere coincidence.
Del possessed power now. The strength he had cultivated through fierce battles with dark Familiars.
His comrades had tried to dissuade him. Even his mentor, who had looked after him for so long, had urged him to reconsider. Power came with responsibility. The Order of the Final Knights had a rule against intervening in the battle against the Demon King. The strength of the Endgame Knights was meant solely for fighting dark Familiars.
However, Del did not waver. Once his comrades recognized his resolute will, they ceased their attempts to stop him.
What would the Order of the Final Knights do if he broke the rules and forced an intervention against the Demon King?
They would not expel him. They would not forcibly restrain him.
The answer was—turn a blind eye.
This was Del’s battle. The Order of the Final Knights respected that. They would not lend him their strength, but they would not stop him either. If he wished to go his own way, he must demonstrate his power. That was the nature of a Hero.
He did not think it was a cruel response. It was simply selfishness. No help would come. His comrades had already departed from Rorun. If Del did not return, he would be considered missing.
It was merely luck that he had not been killed, but being captured had worked to his advantage.
Rainer was a formidable Demon King. His robust physique, which could even repel the BaLi staff, rendered Blessing ineffective. He was unlike any opponent Del had faced before. In a direct confrontation, even an Endgame Knight would find victory difficult. Moreover, if the enemy was a large horde, the difficulty would increase exponentially.
By being trapped within the enemy camp, Del’s chances of success had slightly improved. If he played his cards right, he might be able to launch an ambush. While he might not be able to take down Rainer, he could potentially defeat some of the higher-ranking officers.
It was during such thoughts that the situation changed. The reactions of the demi-humans guarding Del shifted, and then it appeared.
It took the form of a young man. Though its presence was suppressed, Del recognized it immediately. What stood before him was—a dark Familiar. The enemy of the Order of the Final Knights, a powerful Abomination, the natural enemy of all living beings—Vampire.
Having come this far, it was likely summoned by the Demon King Rainer.
What a foolish move, Del thought. Abominations harbored hatred for all living beings, not just humans, and even towards other Abominations at times. While Vampires had become somewhat more intelligent and less prone to attack the living out of sheer instinct, their danger was unparalleled.
Yet, at the same time, this was not necessarily bad news for Del.
If an Abomination had joined Rainer, then the Demon King would become an enemy of the Order of the Final Knights. Reporting this would compel the Order to destroy Rainer in the name of their honor. This was also a show of force to prevent powerful Abominations from forming alliances.
The army was thrown into chaos by the arrival of the Abomination. Just as the Abomination would attack the living, so too would the living instinctively shun the Abomination. It would take time to grow accustomed to the aura of death. The anxiety and fear spread among the guards, growing stronger by the day. If he were to escape, there would be no better opportunity.
The operation would commence tomorrow morning, at the moment the Vampire was incapacitated and the guards changed shifts.
As he held his breath and circulated his Blessing within his body to recover his condition, a sudden chill ran down his spine. He lifted his gaze slightly, tensing his body in preparation to break free from his restraints at a moment’s notice. He donned the armor of Blessing he had conserved around him. His instincts were sounding an alarm. A strong presence of darkness was approaching. The Oni guards were oblivious to the danger.
There was no sound. No scent. Only the malevolent aura drew closer. This was not magic. This sensation was a unique ability of the Vampire, mutated from the Corpse Eater.
No sound accompanied it. The three Oni guards standing watch let out faint groans. Their eyes widened slightly before losing their light in an instant, collapsing to the ground.
Del opened his eyes wide and stood on his feet. Vampires were monsters, and even for an Endgame Knight, they were not to be underestimated.
His body trembled. It was a warrior’s shiver.
From the shadows, the Vampire’s blood-red eyes, characteristic of its kind, gazed back at him. Its once-blackened skin seemed to revert as if the Corrosion had been lifted. Though it appeared unchanged from the last time Del had seen it, the oppressive aura and darkness emanating from it were far beyond what he had felt before.
In an instant, he forgot about the Demon King, the target of his mission. Even without any personal grudge against the Vampire, Del recognized that the creature before him was an entity that must be killed without question. The monster spoke to Del, who glared at it with unspoken murderous intent.
“I will kill Rainer. Let me free you, and cooperate with me.”
§ § §
Del had killed too much. He felt feverish. His vision flickered and dulled.
His mind boiled with chaos. He took a deep breath to maintain his composure.
The heat in his body was likely a remnant of the Vampire’s instincts. This was what made Vampires such fearsome monsters. Though it was still a lower-ranking Vampire, its instincts were intense, akin to a raging fire or storm, and it would take time to fully suppress them.
Despite having just fed on blood, an insatiable thirst burned in his throat. He realized he had made a mistake.
He had miscalculated. Before drinking Monica’s blood, he should have found Senri for some reason or another. If Senri had been there, he would have been calmer. It was easy to succumb to impulse, but that was the first step toward becoming a monster. Even if it was an ambush, the fact that he had killed three Oni guards in an instant was proof that his power was rapidly increasing. He could not afford to let his guard down any further.
He gripped the iron bars and forced them outward, throwing them aside. He stepped into the spacious cell.
Having come to rescue him, the Endgame Knight’s gaze was filled with murderous intent.
A slender, battered body. Eyes of a strong, brown hue. The Knight was clad in armor of Blessing, keeping Del at bay. However, with his current strength, he could likely strike this Knight down, armor and all.
The instincts of a Vampire urged him to kill the Knight before him. Yet, he could not do that. Even if the Knight bore murderous intent, Del could not reciprocate. As long as Senri believed in him, he had to respond in kind.
He wanted to slap himself for thinking he could rescue the Endgame Knight and defeat Rainer, then claim blood as a reward before Senri arrived.
The Endgame Knight said nothing. Yet, Del preemptively laid down the law.
“Ah, I understand your doubts. I don’t want to do this either. But the enemy of my enemy is my ally, right? Let’s save the fighting for another time. Rainer is strong, honestly. One person alone is not enough. Maybe even you alone…”
I didn’t expect them to become my ally completely. That was, after all, an impossible dream.
That’s why I needed to divert their attention. The End Knight had been captured during the battle against the Rainer army, and the true target was undoubtedly the Demon King, Rainer.
A troublesome iron ball was attached to the end of my feet. I grasped the massive chain and lifted it. Just as I was about to exert my strength with both hands, I realized something crucial.
“Oh no… It’s not a Full Moon tonight.”
I had made a mistake. If I was going to retaliate, I should have waited for the Full Moon when my power peaked. Normally, I would have caught that without fail, but it seemed I was angrier than I had realized.
I poured all my strength into it. The chain appeared to be made of some special material, sturdy and resilient, but as I pushed beyond my limits, a sharp crack echoed in the air. A deeper sound resonated from my arm, sending a dull pain coursing through me, but I ignored it. With a fierce twist, the chain snapped with a heavy clang.
The End Knight spoke in a low voice.
“…There should be a key.”
“……Ah, you’re absolutely right. I didn’t notice. Crap…”
My instincts urged me to unleash my power. My thoughts were corroding under the pressure.
Right now, I was incredibly agitated. One could even say I was irritated. I felt as if I wanted to sink underwater for years, drowning in my own frustration.
I rummaged through the corpse of the guard I had killed and found a bundle of keys, tossing them to the End Knight.
It was terrifying. The instincts of a vampire were deeply unsettling. The thought that I might not even notice if I fused with them was frightening.
At this moment, I felt an overwhelming urge to abandon everything and flee, but I couldn’t allow myself to do that. I had already taken too many risks. The die had been cast.
If I ran now, I would surely develop a habit of fleeing. That was not the freedom I sought.
The End Knight stood up. He was a lower-ranked vampire, but his physique was far more developed than mine, which had grown taller.
He had likely been restrained for a long time, yet there was no sign of anxiety in his demeanor. It was astonishing that the Rainer army had chosen to capture the End Knight. Brave or foolish, I thought—if I were in their position, I would have undoubtedly killed him.
The End Knight’s companion spoke.
“We need weapons.”
“They should be in the treasure vault. After that, we should look for better clothes too.”
It was a bit odd for me to say that, but it wasn’t right for such a man to move around in tattered clothing.
Now, before dawn breaks and the Rainer army realizes what’s happening, let’s wrap this up quickly.