**Chapter 18: A Sad Conclusion**
And so, Seーブル-ブラN/ADoroペイN/A regenerated within his coffin. With one hand, still heavy from the recent regeneration, he lifted the lid and slowly rose. His pale skin emerged from the darkness, flawless and porcelain-like, his body and features so exquisite they seemed almost otherworldly. However, the vitality had drained from his face, and his wide-open eyes glowed a deep crimson. He pressed a hand to his chest and shouted in a ragged voice.
“What the hell was that, that King—N/A!”
“Seーブル-sama, what happened!?”
“Silence! Ah, the entire unit has been wiped out—N/A!”
He brushed aside the approaching Familiar, a Vampire, as the heart, the source of his power, thudded strongly, generating the blood he needed.
The blood that seeped from his body formed threads, weaving into a pitch-black garment that enveloped his pale, naked form. As he attempted to stand, Seーブル staggered like a drunken man, his eyes wide with disbelief.
“Impossible. That… was a Lower rank!?”
He couldn’t believe it. Indeed, at that moment, Seーブル had not been at his best. But he had not held back either. The power of his true self had been severely diminished, having lost everything but his heart. It would take time for him to recover his strength.
While Seーブル had taken precautions to extract his source of power, the depletion of his blood’s essence had placed significant restrictions on its use. Yet, that body was undoubtedly Seーブル himself.
From what he had observed in the battle against the Demon King Rainer, he should have had sufficient strength. He had even brought along a Werewolf unit. Yet, it had been futile. The overwhelming power had crushed him. What Seーブル had misjudged was Rainer’s rate of growth.
He was clearly stronger than when they had fought before. That “Dead King” was rapidly evolving.
It was hard to believe. Originally, a “Dead King” was a title earned by a necromancer who had mastered the art of transforming into an Undead. He should have known everything there was to know about Undead—yet, even with experience, such rapid transformation was hard to fathom.
And the moment he should have been most alert was when Seーブル had died. The clone, which had still possessed formidable regenerative abilities, had vanished in an instant.
He couldn’t even confirm what had happened. Even if his head had been crushed, it shouldn’t have ended like that. The power that had remained within him had been siphoned away in an instant. That sensation would be one Seーブル would not easily forget.
The last words his clone had heard were the voice of the “Ancestor,” pleading for mercy. Immediately after, it had been obliterated. It was a complete mockery.
He struck the stone wall with all his might. The thick wall caved in deeply, but his mood did not improve in the slightest.
Seating himself heavily in a chair, he raked his fingers through his hair. What he needed was calmness. Seーブル had already failed twice. He could not afford to fail again.
“The Werewolves are fine. They are valuable, but they can still be replaced.”
He glared at his Familiar, who was watching him with a pale expression. This Familiar, born from his Vampirism, was a relatively powerful Vampire inheriting the strength of the BraN/A-Dopeina. However, it was of no use. Even if he took it along, it wouldn’t be helpful. Being merely “relatively strong” was not enough. Vampires were far stronger than Werewolves, but that was not the case when facing an Eclipse Knight.
He maintained his composure by repeating his thoughts. He would not forget the death he had sensed at that moment.
“Right. The problem isn’t the ‘Ancestor.’ The one keeping that man on the Human side is the Eclipse Knight.”
It would be difficult to raid and drive a wedge in with brute force. Even if he managed it, they would suffer considerable damage.
After all, Vampires were beings that lived in darkness. Their current status was distorted. The idea of a Vampire being alongside an Eclipse Knight would be laughed at by other Vampires. That “Ancestor” had at least not shunned Vampires. If given the right trigger, the situation could turn in their favor.
Then, he realized something and a deep smile crept across Seーブル’s face.
“One person, just one person… Hmph… indeed—”
Eclipse Knights generally operated in teams. However, that silver-haired Eclipse Knight had been alone both times. It was rare for a Vampire to be allowed to accompany an Eclipse Knight, but it was even more unlikely for an Eclipse Knight to not immediately eradicate a Vampire, considering the Order of the Final Knights’ policies. It would be understandable if they were captured and tortured to uncover their weaknesses, but that Ancestor had been completely unbound.
There was no doubt about it. That Eclipse Knight was acting on his own. If so… there were ways to exploit that.
—
And I was clutching my stomach inside the closet.
The relentless, excruciating stomachache and nausea were unlike anything I had experienced in my previous life or this one. For the first time, I learned that even a Lower rank Vampire could sweat when pushed to their limits. I was at my breaking point. However, going to the restroom would be pointless. Why? Because Vampires don’t use the toilet. They digest everything they consume. Therefore, this stomachache wasn’t due to eating something strange.
“My stomach hurts…”
“It’s because you’re sucking in strange things.”
Senri’s voice sounded somewhat exasperated.
Damn you, Seーブル, tormenting me even from within. What a fearsome opponent.
The changes in Seーブル after having his blood drained were evident. He had turned to dust and vanished in an instant. It seemed that when a Vampire’s curse was absorbed, they would cease to exist. Surely, it was because their very existence was the curse itself.
The blood I had swallowed was quite flavorful, rich, and left a lingering aftertaste. The abnormality in my stomach had begun immediately after I drank the blood. I had endured having my arms torn off, being burned alive, and even being reduced to just my head, but none of those pains compared to this. It felt as if my insides were about to turn inside out. I tried to vomit, but nothing came out, and even going to the restroom yielded nothing. I even tried to slice my stomach open, but that was pointless. I was at a loss.
“Senri, help me…”
“I don’t know any Vampire doctors…”
The sun must have risen outside by now. Yet, the pain showed no signs of abating. The only solace I found was that Senri remained outside the closet, keeping me company.
“If I die… sprinkle blood on my grave every day.”
“…Maybe, it’s fine. Your power hasn’t diminished completely.”
Senri was not being very kind. It seemed my power had not decreased, which meant I was merely in pain and wouldn’t die. That meant this agony, which felt like my stomach was staging a rebellion, would continue indefinitely.
…Better than dying, I suppose.
“Hmph… I never expected it to come to this.”
Inside the closet, the long-absent skeletal Lord spoke with interest. I felt an urge to punch him. But even if I tried, he would just phase through. His form was merely an illusion, invisible even to Senri.
He always shows up like that but never helps. What’s his deal?
“It can’t be helped. Failure is part of the process. I can’t test things out. I failed once because of that.”
“Is Seーブル’s blood the cause?”
“Vampires have stronger curses than Lower rank Vampires.”
You could have said that sooner. This was a complete waste. On top of that, I hadn’t even gained Seーブル’s power. Damn you, Seーブル. Was this a sophisticated tactic to neutralize me by having me drink your blood? To think you would exploit a weakness I wasn’t even aware of, I had underestimated the power of the King of Stakes’ Familiar.
“Well, you’re not going to die. If you were going to die, it would have happened sooner. Be grateful that it’s just a stomachache.”
He treats this like it’s someone else’s problem… will this ever heal?
“I don’t know.”
The shadow of the Lord vanished. He only said what he wanted to say. But this was bad. I had intended to leave this town, but now I couldn’t move. Could I even fight…?
I pressed my stomach, which was beginning to protest, and writhed in discomfort.
“End, can you transform?”
“I don’t know.”
If I transformed into a puppy, Senri would likely carry me out. I felt like I could manage to transform if I put in my all, but whether I could control it in my current mental state was highly questionable. I had no confidence. If Senri came in carrying a giant dog, there would be no way to explain it. “I’ve grown” wouldn’t cut it.
“If I drink Senri’s blood, I might feel better.”
“…Do you want to drink the next batch?”
“…”
I’d better not. This wasn’t the kind of situation where I could enjoy Vampirism.
But what should I do? Seーブル had discovered my whereabouts. Staying here was quite dangerous. Senri’s power was formidable, but if it became known that he was alone, there would be countless ways to counter that.
As I pondered this, Senri whispered softly.
“End, it’s better to stay here until you feel better. The Vampire defense strategy here is… nearly perfect. Seーブル can’t get in.”
“The Werewolves were here. If they climb the outer wall, it would be fine.”
“End. Werewolves aren’t absolutely obedient, and without their heart to generate power, they can’t surpass the flowing water.”
I grasped what Senri was implying.
For a Vampire to cross the wall, they would need to borrow the power of a Werewolf while having a heart. If they were alert to betrayal, they wouldn’t be able to cross the outer wall. The flowing water would drain all our strength. Indeed, in a state of lost power, even a Werewolf could easily crush a Vampire as if twisting a baby’s hand.
Senri could easily kill I if he wanted to. Without mutual trust, they could not step foot in this city.
However, that didn’t mean there were no options left. For instance, they could destroy the walls from the outside and fill in the moat… but at that point, it would be tantamount to war.
“Besides, because End recklessly set fire to everything without thinking, we have no spare ‘Night Crystals.'”
That was indeed true. I had entrusted one ‘Night Crystal’ to Senri, keeping the rest for myself. Unfortunately, everything I held had been consumed when I used the ‘Cursed Flame.’
What a fool I was. I hadn’t considered anything. The reason I had brought so many with me was that there was a limit to the amount of power the Night Crystals could suppress, and it took several to completely mask my presence.
Now, I was relying on the crystal I had entrusted to Senri to conceal my aura, but it seemed that the Eclipse Knights could still detect a trace of my negative energy if they looked closely.
At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to meet the beautiful woman who had moved to the countryside or the easygoing mercenary who only ventured outside at night.
Damn Seーブル, I would never forgive him. I wondered what I would do to him the next time we crossed paths.
As I cursed in the darkness, biting my lip and enduring the pain, I suddenly sensed Senri’s presence rising outside.
“Lazar and the others have arrived… It seems they have business with us.”
“I haven’t told them where we’re staying.”
“There are ways to find out.”
Well, it was true that we couldn’t hide forever. The city of DeSeN/ADoro wasn’t that large.
“Maybe it’s about yesterday. I might have overdone it a bit.”
Senri spoke with a hint of regret. To make matters worse, I had collapsed from stomach pain, leaving no time for my usual purification.
There was no way that number of foes could be handled by mere mercenaries. Until now, we had managed to keep our existence hidden and had the city report to us, but it seemed that ruse had finally worn thin.
What should I do? With our location compromised, our options were limited. As I endured the pain and pondered, Senri spoke softly.
“I’ll go talk to them.”
It was dangerous. But Senri was strong. I couldn’t go with him. After a moment of thought, I realized I had no good ideas. With a heavy heart, I managed to voice my concern.
“…Ruu, I can’t move because of yesterday’s fatigue. This city feels suspicious; be careful. Come back quickly.”
“I understand. Just rest easy, BaロN/A. I’ll keep my peace of mind.”