The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

I released the captured Death Knight because I had already taken that into account, and since my ‘Cursed Flame’ was weaker than Hebram’s, I would have a tough time in a fight against Rainel.

I wanted to increase my power even a little bit before challenging Rainel, but I’m sure that even if I sucked up all the blood from those around me, I wouldn’t be able to get more powerful. Considering that I was able to gain some power by sucking blood from Monica, who’s not a human, it’s very important whether the target of blood-sucking is of the opposite sex.

If there was an enemy I could suck blood from, I’d be the first one to attack them, but Monica’s the only cute girl in this army…

As I was having those thoughts while engaging in escapism, suddenly the castle shook. I could vaguely hear Dell’s roar mixed with the sound of destruction.

Looks like he charged in without waiting for me. I think he was obviously led in though. Are Death Knights so simpleminded or should I call them pure?

I can’t rely on my regeneration ability against an enemy with silver claws. If Dell dies, my chances of winning will become considerably lower.

I hurriedly left the castle.

According to Monica, Rainel doesn’t usually use the entrance. It must be inconvenient to use a human castle with a lion body that big.

When I and Man-Eater were fighting, Rainel also dropped from above.

If I look up at the stone castle, I can see an entrance made for Rainel at the very top. Climbing up would be hard for an ordinary human, but it’s no tough feat for the current me. As I strongly kick off the ground and jump up a dozen or so meters in one breath, I grab the foothold with my hand and got up.

The entrance was shaped almost like a balcony, without any windows or doors.

The sound came right below me. I used ‘Silhouette’, hid my presence, and looked down at the throne room,

There was a battle reminiscent of a showdown between Senri and the Lord unfolding before my eyes.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Dell swung his iron sword with a loud shout.

His body was brimming with the power of blessing that once made me shirk away just by its mere presence.

Looks like he was preserving a good chunk of it before this battle. The steel blade shone with the life energy and its slash, while not as graceful as Senri’s, was imposing enough, worthy of a hero.

No one would have guessed that he was stuck in prison all this time. Its brilliance, shining as if it was burning life, made me step back.

That thing’s a problem. That blade has been polished in order to kill me. If I’m careless enough to get cut by it, I might be erased with a single slash.

However, even after getting hit by it ―― Reinel remained the same.

Rainel wasn’t roaring. He wasn’t, but I could still feel tremendous pressure.

The golden lion was bigger than Albertus and all humans looked like ants before his imposing appearance. It was regardless of how much they trained themselves. The blows dealt by his silver claws were heavier and sharper than any of the slashes I had seen until now, slashing through the castle walls and the floor like a piece of paper.

His forefeet crushed the floor and was most likely the main reason behind the shaking of the castle. The throne room was already in ruins.

I was involuntarily fascinated by their battle. I might be a vampire now, but it seems like I still maintained some admiration towards heroes. Just like I had in the past.

I narrow my eyes, observe their movements in detail and look for a chance to strike.

Rainel is fast, heavy and powerful. Everything coming from his giant body is an attack and if he gets serious, he can easily demolish this entire castle.

He’s not doing anything unusual like Man-Eater. He has neither the poisoned needles, nor does he spit fire but even with just his inborn power, Rainel is strong. Absolutely strong. I can now understand how he subdued Man-Eater.

Dell was entirely avoiding Rainel’s attacks. He used his sword to repel everything that it could and evaded Rainel’s claw attacks. Even after Dell’s power was boosted with his blessing, he still couldn’t match Rainel. And the Death Knight seemed to be well aware of that fact.

Monsters and humans. The strength of humans lies in manoeuvrability. He was using that to his full advantage.

His movements were the extension of what Senri had shown me once in a mock battle.

He’s good. But as expected, he has no chances of winning alone.

Dell’s sword struck Rainel many times, but the latter showed no concern. He might be having problems unleashing his full powers while evading constant attacks, but even if he did slash at Rainel from the front, it would still be considerably hard to kill Rainel. He’s just too sturdy.

Does he have no weakness?… At that moment, an impact assaulted my body suddenly. A terrifying sound shook my whole body with a delay.

Rainel roared. It was as if the world had exploded. The castle shook and the walls cracked.

While I was confused, Rainel swung his forefeet down towards Dell.

Dell avoided it.

Despite the fact that he should have been subjected to a larger force from that roar than I, Dell’s expression was very calm.

The floor shattered and the castle shook. By that time, Dell was already stepping on top of Rainel’s forefeet that had just swung down.

Holding the sword with both hands, Dell ran. I could see the power of blessing concentrated beneath his feet.

I reflexively opened my eyes wide. Claws weren’t the only weapons Rainel had. His jaw was big enough to crush Hebram in one bite and was lined with fangs. Running towards it took some steel courage.

As he dashed up in a few steps, Dell readied the blade with both hands, and he leapt. At this moment I finally realized Dell’s objective.

Rainel’s fur was hard enough to repel the sword. His head, protected by his bones, was even stronger.

Dell’s aim was ―― his eyeballs.

His objective was the golden eyes that made one shrink themselves when Rainel’s gaze laid upon them. If Rainel is a living being, beyond his eyeballs lay his fatal weakness that he would have no possibility to train ―― or it should be.

For Rainel’s giant body, Dell’s sword was probably no different from a tree branch. But that’s exactly why the former could aim for his eyeballs.

The Demon King stopped his movements. The black blade approached. Rainel narrowed his eyes at its tip.

―― and he closed his eyes.

“?!”

I could not believe it.

The swung down blade slid over his eyelid and grandly bounced off. Dell lost his footing, he was strongly thrown to the floor and barely managed to land.

Rainel slowly opened his eyes. Neither his eyelids nor his eyes had as much as a scratch. Perhaps Dell couldn’t put all his strength into it because he didn’t have solid footing, but the enemy was… just too sturdy.

Here, the Demon King opened his mouth for the first time. A somewhat aged voice resounded in the half-destroyed throne room.

“Is that all you can do… human? So, the famous Death Knight is just worth that much, huh? You dare challenge me when this is all you are capable of? How foolish… “

Damn it! He’s going to be killed.

Rainel hasn’t gotten serious yet. Dell might be strong but he’s a human. He’s exhausted. I’ve no choice but to go.

I’ll finish everything with a surprise attack. I’ll erase my presence with ‘Silhouette”, stick to his head and unleash ‘Cursed Flames’ from a close distance.

I made up my mind instantly and jumped off towards Rainel.