The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

We had enough funds to aid our travel. A small fraction of the loot I got from the mafia and bandits were precious metals of manageable sizes that could be easily liquidated in any country.

I could not possibly carry all of it with me, and the loot I found was probably only a small portion of the treasure they had stashed away. I don’t really care about what happened to the remaining treasure. Money was never my main priority.

The ‘Cursed flames’ that I stole from Hebram is perfect for destroying evidence.

I am still yet to master the ability. And it consumes a lot of energy.

One of the reasons has to be the fact that I do not meet the set conditions for its activation (that is, to eat humans), the flames were able to engulf Rainel was either because of my sheer physical strength in animal form or because I had retained a little of Hebram’s remaining power.

That said, since humans are easily combustible unlike Rainel or vampires, the smallest spark should be enough to reduce humans to ashes in a few seconds.

It is not my intention to mete out justice. Even if they were to be left alive, they probably would be up to no good anyway and it is always better to dispose of any witnesses.

Regardless, dreadfully enough, the news had still spread.

I changed into the plain black clothes Senri had bought for me. It was made of soft leather.

I donned on the water repellent overcoat meant for travel and the weight of the ‘Blood Ruler’ hanging off my hip gave me heart.

With the final addition of sunglasses meant to hide the blood red eyes unique to vampires, I (should) be looking like a pretty cool mercenary.

In this age, it is not uncommon for people to be armed and ordinary folk cannot sense the negative energy that emanates from me. Owing to the ability to extend my canines called ‘Sharp Fang’, I am able to shrink them to a normal level and hence nobody should be able to discover my real identity.

Moreover, though my body is tough and I don’t really need them, I even have a pair of gloves on to protect my hands. Maybe I have developed a longing for clothes since I end up naked more often than not.

As I stood ready to leave at any time, Senri walked into the room and stared at me, eyes wide.

“… What would you do if someone asked you why you’re wearing sunglasses at night?”

“Well, obviously… I’d tell them because it looks cool.”

“…”

“Besides, it’s not like there aren’t any people with red eyes.”

Of course, there is the option to put on color contacts instead. And I probably have a better chance of not getting found out if I were to do that, but contact lenses are not exactly cheap or easily available. And we could not possibly keep replacing them every time they get destroyed in battle.

In other matters, we have traveled around quite a bit, but I have barely come across any Death Knights in our journey.

In fact, the only Death Knight I encountered was Dell Gordon. I imagine that is not really unusual as they do not stay put in one place but are constantly on the move.

Also, it is not really possible even for Death Knights to detect the presence of dark beings over a distance. It would be a different story if I were within eyeshot, but they would need to employ some skills to sense my presence from afar. And owing to Senri’s knowledge from having been a Death Knight, I have been able to narrow down when such a skill would be employed.

‘Silhouette’ is really the best skill ever. The ability does more than conceal my scent and movements.

It is capable of temporarily suppressing the emanation of negative energy. Though not perfect, as there are still ways for Death Knights to detect my presence, it succeeds in hiding my identity as a vampire. My skin turns dark as night and though it cannot be employed for a long period as it consumes a lot of energy, I should be fine if I only need to use it during early morning and late night, which is exactly when the Death Knights apparently use the detection skill.

Of course, I cannot completely depend on the ability, but there is not much else I can do either.

And all that is left, is to run off with my tail between my legs if I sense them closing in on me.

I have ripped through my fair share of clothing so far. It has been a while since I got to put on such proper clothes that also look cool.

As I stood thrilled at the prospect of setting off on a new journey, Senri looked unusually downcast as spoke apologetically.

“End… turn into Baron.”

“… What?”

“… I admit you do look very cool right now, but it’s a lot harder to find you out in your dog form. Not to mention, you entered this town as Baron. It would look odd to leave as something else.”

“…”

“Besides, once morning comes, you’d have to take refuge in the carry case anyway. And your current form won’t exactly fit into that.”

Senri is absolutely right. Even I would never imagine a vampire could turn into a dog that cute.

Be that as it may, if this keeps on, I will be no more than a dog that can transform into a vampire at times. Moreover, I cannot even wear any clothes when in my dog form.

Because dog clothes are not really sold. And even if I were to wear any, I would probably end up ripping them.

I tried using my puppy dog eyes on Senri, but she would not budge. I need to get my hands on a night crystal immediately….

“… Would you carry me in your arms?”

“… End, there’s no need to turn more white. You’re already rather… quite unusually white.”

Senri’s eyes were cold as she answered in riddles to my small favor.

☠ ☠ ☠

Placed on a bespectacled Senri’s head, we left town. There were a lot of people leaving the town late at night, but it did not seem like anyone suspected us.

Senri may appear dainty but even a layman would be able to tell that the sword swinging from her hip was top-tier. They would probably think she has her reasons. The only problem is that I lose my strength and almost slide off Senri’s head whenever we have to cross the ‘running water’ encircling the town walls.

I slapped the back of Senri’s head with my tail as I spoke to her.

“Senri, you need to take a look in the mirror. The fake glasses aren’t really a proper disguise. They are nothing more than an accessory on you.”

“Baron, be quiet.”

“I have on the perfect disguise. I’m not saying I don’t like riding on top of your head, but you’re being a bit of a worrywart. Remember, I did survive a battle with Rainel. But the most I can do is some light sweeping in this form. Since my fur is pure white, you can tell right away when it gets filthy, and I can’t even get a good look at my own tail. You may not be able to relate with that since you don’t have a tail yourself though…”

Senri quietly listened to me grumble. I tried tickling her nape with my tail but could not elicit a response out of her.

My fur is pure white right now. And my paws and tail are both as fluffy as they were when I first transformed. There were no traces left of the cool form I had transformed into after my battle with Rainel.

I held that dark sleek form for a while even after my reunion with Senri, but as time passed I returned to my original color for some reason. Maybe I should not have let my guard down after experiencing Senri’s unusual kindness. It seemed to have made Senri happy somehow, but I had mixed feelings since I did not want to lose that smart look.

After sensing no human presence nearby, I jumped down from atop Senri’s head.

We had decided to leave the town at night despite the fact that it could invite suspicion, because we could cover more distance at night. Also because it is better to take in the sights of a town during the day.

I looked up at Senri and let my blood power flow through my body.

My bones and muscles groaned. However, there was no pain.

I may not be able to turn into a black dog anymore. But there are things I can do as a white dog as well.

Senri looked grumpy for some reason. I had to keep craning my neck to look at but soon she was at eye level.

I had become a huge, fluffy, adorable dog in a flash. I am probably twice as big as a trained warhorse right now.

Fluffy fur that is soft to the touch, one which naturally offers the maximum possible comfort to the rider, and even with our luggage strapped to my back, there was still a lot of room for Senri to even stretch out.

Not to mention, I can still use my vampire abilities in this form. I have grown used to walking on four feet, and without getting exhausted I can run at a tremendous speed for no matter how long. You could even call me the best ride ever. All I need is to overcome the hurdle that is the Sun, and I can lead a happy life.

Senri made her usual comment at times like this.

“Canine beasts of your size do exist but your appearance would raise a lot of doubts, Baron.”

“It’s not that easy to change my appearance. Come on, giddy up.”

And of course, I can use the cursed flames. Maybe they can sense the disparity in our strengths, for no beasts dared to approach me.

Since Senri carried me around on her head inside town, it is my turn to return the favor, now that we are out.

Senri stood still for a while, seemed to make up her mind and clambered up. She thoroughly fastened our luggage to my back with the help of a cord. The soft sensation of her riding on my back made me wag my tail in spite of myself.

I heard Senri whisper into my ear.

“Let’s go, Baron. I’ll lead the way.”

I could feel the power welling up inside me. And thus, I dashed through the night at full speed.

☠ ☠ ☠

Once upon a time, there lived a fearsome Demon King who was an undead.

That Demon King lived in an old castle. With a myriad of apparitions under his command, he fought a long and heated battle with the Death Knights, at the end of which he was purged.

It is just a cliche heroic tale. But according to the old records Senri had read back at the Death Knights’ stronghold, the battle had needed 90% of their force to be deployed.

And I heard that that was an extremely rare occurrence.

It was not because the Demon King was strong. He was not as overwhelming as compared to the other Kings. Regardless, one thing set him apart and it was that he had a peculiar trait.

That Demon King, despite being an undead, never once got could be detected through the wide-area sweep skill of the Death Knights. And as fate would have it, he was able to pass down that ability to his retainers.

Hence the Death Knights had no other choice but to crush him and his forces completely.

Senri was sure that the Demon King’s castle would surely provide us with a lead.

‘The Mirage King’.

That was the nickname of the Demon King whose castle had become a famous spot at the dead center of a human country in the present time.