101 Chapter 9: Growth ③ (1/2)

The attack was swift, heavy, and undeterred. The crowd of armed bone men disintegrated in an instant.

There was no need for Senri to help at all. The End walking in front of him was already strong enough. His unassuming appearance meant that he had changed a lot since the first time they met.

Through his many struggles and victories, End had gained confidence and the strength to match. The End of today (though of course he would never have the chance to do so) would have enough power to make even a second-class knight like Senri struggle a bit. For Senri, who knew End when he was wary of all directions, this is a deeply moving fact.

End says in a serious tone.

What the hell are these guys trying to do? ......

The dog's ears were bushy and its eyes were dull and charming. It had no tail, but it was more than unique that a dog's head could speak human language.

End is strong. Strong, but amusing. It's hard to maintain tension when he says serious things while transformed.

But I guess this is End's way of communicating. It's a little hard to get used to, since the Knights of the End were all serious, but this kind of thing is tolerable as long as it's not too much.

End...... tongue is sticking out.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

It's really amazing that vampires can suppress their fighting instincts to such an extent, even if they are in a lower rank. It's impossible, considering the accumulated know-how of the Knights of the End.

Lately, they have been asking for blood more often, but they don't try to force it, which is probably a sign that they have forgiven me. He has never tried to kill me.

End...... ears are twitching. It's like a real dog.

I feel like I'm losing my mind when I look at it.

I wonder if Senri's old friends will stop chasing him if I show them this.

The vampire in front of me was so free spirited that it made me think such a ridiculous thing.

§ § § §

Darkness is an ally to the undead in general. Although my physical abilities and senses are far superior to those of a mere human, I was able to see through the darkness even when I was a carnivore, and the bone men who guarded the mansion walked around in complete darkness without a care in the world. For us abominations, night is like daytime.

The castle was full of bones, apparently invading from all sides.

The castle is used for tourism, so they must not have been the original inhabitants of the castle. The bone men are moving in groups of several, and all of them are heading for one place.

There's a dungeon. Part of the wall collapsed in the earthquake the other day.

Despite being human, Senri said as he walked unperturbed in the total darkness.

Perhaps he is using senses other than sight to grasp the situation around him. It's no use for a Knight of the End to be stuck in the dark.

I didn't know the inner workings of the castle, but by following the sounds and smells, I soon arrived at a place that looked like it.

There was no sign of a strong enemy, so I cut down the bone man with my machete and descended the stone stairs.

The dungeon smelled must have been unused for a long time, and it smelled musty. There are not that many rooms, but the iron bars are stronger than I expected, and the rust is acceptable.

As I gazed at it, Senri told me.

”It looks like [Descend] is maintaining it for tourism.

”...... Humans are tough.

However, if the city was maintaining the castle, they would have noticed the effects of the earthquake right away. I don't think there's anything left for the bones to gather around.

The collapsed wall was easy to find. The wall of the third cell. The rubble has been cleared away on both sides, and beyond the gaping hole is a staircase leading further underground.

The sound of small sword fights reverberates in the air. There's a faint smell of blood, but it's probably just a scratch.

A group of bone men came from behind Senri. He cleanses the spearhead with a single blow of his silver blade. He continued to move forward and eliminated the five bone men that had attacked him in the blink of an eye. His fighting technique was as smooth as art, but I noticed that Senri was getting a little impatient.

If it were up to me, I'd wait and see, but it's not.

I stopped Senri from moving forward and took the lead. In the basement of the dungeon was a narrow passage. It was about two meters wide, with a low ceiling and a very oppressive feeling. There seemed to be vents, so the air must be fine. There also seemed to be a hole, perhaps for drainage.

A hidden passage?　But it was blocked by a stone wall, and there was no gimmick in the doorway. I don't know what kind of battles have been fought in this castle, but it could be an escape route in case of emergency.

I frowned, searching for information about my surroundings through my senses of smell and wind flow.

True darkness. There was a smell of fire in the air, as if the lights were on.

The underground passage seemed to have many branches, like a labyrinth in a fairy tale. But if you follow the smells and sounds, it won't be hard to find your way.

Then, I suddenly noticed a small discomfort. Vampires are resistant to all kinds of attacks, but that doesn't mean they are numb to them.

This is ...... something. It's not something strong, but it's definitely something. It's hard to describe, but there's a slight tugging sensation.

I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's hard to describe. Apparently the demise knight's detection ability hadn't caught it.

Maybe it's something only the undead can feel.

The incessant sounds of battle indicated that a significant number of bone people had already entered.

But it was the humans who had the upper hand. They were breathing hard, and there was a slight smell of blood, but the hard thud against the ground was the sound of a bone man falling.

Attempts to negotiate with the bony man failed, but the human should be able to talk to him. He may not be an ally, but since he doesn't seem to be controlling the blessings that Senri uses (and if he could use them, he wouldn't be struggling against a boneman), he's probably not a Knight of the End. If you help him, he'll at least let you talk to him. I'd like to investigate the source of your discomfort, but that can wait.

Alone, he would have been suspicious, but with Senri's clean presence, there was no chance of him being suspected of being a vampire.

I was a little disappointed, but I put my head back on. There is also a race of beast-headed people called beastmen, but they rarely come down to human settlements and are not very friendly to humans, so there is no way they would go in front of someone who can't keep their mouth shut with a dog's head.

I felt Senri breathe a sigh of relief. I put on my sunglasses, which I like a little, and said to Senri with trust.

Senri, I'll take care of the back.

§ § § §

The violent sound of hard objects hitting each other echoed through the narrow underground passage.

A pile of human bones piled haphazardly on the floor reflected the faint light of a candle. In the narrow passage, five men were blocking the way, facing the rushing bones.

The skeletons are not human. But they are human bones. No one, even those who have worked as mercenaries for years, feels good about seeing the end of a human being.

But it's a different story when dozens of them appear. They could no longer afford to feel repellent or creepy.

The men were mercenaries. Not vampire hunters, not Knights of the End, but anything and everything that could be hired to fight.

One of them, a rather dirty looking Deck, wielded his mace while complaining.

”I didn't know there were so many of them!

I've never heard of so many!” ”Don't waste your breath, kill them!　It's not much of an enemy, don't forget to crush their heads!