104 ##12: Nite Owl 3 (1/2)

It's been ten days since I started helping mercenaries in secret.

It's been more than ten days since I started helping the mercenaries in secret. It seems that the castle of the Demon Lord of the Void is the center of attention of the undead. Not many visitors, but some kind of undead appeared out of nowhere at least once every three days.

There were several types of undead behavior. Razzal and the others said that all the undead came to the basement, but that was because they had been ordered to stay there. Most of the intruders came straight to the underground passages, but there were a few who went around the upper floors of the castle.

The undead were mostly bone men. Most of them were the lowest class of undead that had never been mutated, but there were some Kuro Bones mixed in, as well as zombies and wraiths. Razzal and the others who struggled against the Kuro Bones would certainly not have been able to break through this wave.

Of course, they were no match for me and Senri (who was now using the name Ru).

I was surprised at first because I had never fought an evil spirit before, but the Blood Ruler sliced through the incorporeal evil spirit as if it were an object.

I guess this blade has undead as its virtual enemy. In addition, the bodies of the lower vampires bounced back the mental pollution that the evil spirits dealt with, and it was even easier than dealing with the bone people because they had no substance. In the first place, it would take more than Lord's army of undead to kill Senri, a second-class knight.

On the other hand, there was something to be seen in Razal's battle as well.

No, even if there wasn't - the guts of a mere human to fight the undead in the dark is commendable. To be honest, I'm quite jealous of the way he fights, talking to his vulnerable friends and killing his fear.

”What kind of training does it take to become so strong?

Lots of muscle training.

...... You don't look like you've got that much muscle.

Quality over quantity. Besides, it's hard to fight vampires without this kind of strength.

He replied to Razal while cutting the bony man in half.

I've grown accustomed to it over the past few days, Senri said in a reproachful voice.

Baron, you need to be more tense.

I'm fine. I'm not careless.

Now I was hiding my presence with three Night Crystals.

I'm not sure how much negative power a single crystal can conceal because of its small size, but with three of them, even if the demise knight sees you, he won't know. In fact, Senri has given his approval in this area.

They had already explored the castle of the Demon Lord of the False Shadow. The inside of the castle would be pitch-black from a human point of view because there is no light source, but this is not a hurdle for a vampire with eyes that can see through the darkness.

There was nothing new inside the castle. There were no expensive items, and while the existence of an old castle is very intriguing, there was nothing more to be found. The information that the castle had been abandoned a long time ago must be true.

If this had been all I had seen, I would have judged that there was nothing here and would have left this place quickly. But what was holding me back from that decision was the underground.

Naturally, I looked everywhere underground. The underground paths were maze-like, but they were not that wide, and I already had a map.

Perhaps it was an escape route in case of emergency, and the rugged underground passages give a sense of age, but they are not inhabited by demons, and are themselves just passages.

However, this underground passage is where the Night Crystal springs up.

The first time I rescued Razzal and his friends, I was sure I had collected the crystal, but the next day, when I came with them, it had returned.

At that time, I thought there was a crystal that I forgot to collect on the first day. When I saved Razzal and the others, I left without inspecting the underground passage, so there was no possibility that I had left some behind.

But two days later, when I found the night crystal again, my suspicion turned to certainty.

It was definitely not left behind. To begin with, the night crystal has a unique presence that only the undead can sense. No matter how small they are, and no matter how dark their color, they are impossible to miss.

We decided to hunt here for a while.

The mechanism of crystal formation is unknown. But crystals at night are valuable. The more the merrier. It's hard to describe how weird it is, but we should try to collect as many as we can.

At this point, it's clear that the undead that appear nightly are after the crystals. I'm sure Senri won't let this go unnoticed. I don't think the other undead are safe either.

Leaving the guards to Razal and the mercenaries, I sat down and wrote down some notes in the notebook Senri had bought for me.

”What are you writing?

”Secrets.

”............

Perhaps it was a good thing that I had shown strength in the beginning, but Razal and the others respected my will. I am writing this at night.

I am writing this during the cycle of the night crystals.

Day 1. I was down when I saved Razzal and the others. The next day I didn't go. Raza and his friends refused the client and took the day off.

On the third day, when I visited again with Mr. Razzal and his friends, it had fallen. The next day it was not there. And the day after that, there was no sign. The next day, it was there.

With a pen in hand, I summarize the timeline.

The first time it came back after a day, the next time it came back was two days later. It does not necessarily mean that it will come back after a day.

Then, I'll write down what happened on each day as far as I can remember.

Day 1. Yes. Saving Razzal and the others. Engaged and defeated a large number of Bone Men and Kuro Bones.

Second day. Unidentified.

Day three. Yes. Engage the boneys.

Day four. None. No undead.

Day five. None. Engaged a boneman. Two black bones killed.

Day 6. Yes. Engage the Bone Men.

Seventh day. None. Engage an evil spirit and a corruptor.

Day 8. None. No undead appear.

Day nine. None. No undead appear.

Tenth day. Nothing. No undead.

No undead have appeared in the last few days. It's possible that they've given up, but according to Razal and the others, it's not unusual for there to be no attacks for several days in a row.

And that's when I noticed it.

...... could be ............ generated the day after defeating the mutated undead. ...... And?

I haven't tried it enough to be sure, but if that's the case - I'm in big trouble.

It's not up to me to decide whether the mutated undead will appear or not. I am also curious about what will happen if they are not defeated.

However, if this assumption is correct, it is more likely that the power released by the undead is responsible for the creation of the Night Crystal.

I may be able to make it myself somehow. After all, I now have the groundwork to use necromancy.

Of course, it's doubtful that Senri will allow me to do so.

As Lord's masterpiece, I have the power to grow stronger. I have room to increase my power. The quickest way to get stronger is to make friends. There are demons like Oliver who will follow a vampire unconditionally.

But to be strong, you have to do things that are unethical. And Senri doesn't want that.

My favorite Senri, the one who's been protecting me all these years, is the biggest obstacle of all. I'm torn.

Senri, who had been on patrol with Razal and the others, called out to me while I was immersed in the luxury of worry.

”Barron, the big one's coming.

”...... another 'Kuro Bone'?

It's more than that, up there.

There was no emotion on Senri's face, but as a Senri Master I could tell he was a little nervous.