The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

Everything was gone from where the old castle had stood just 10 days ago.

It was destroyed along with the entire hill it was built on, dragging in the surrounding forest and leaving only the desolate patch of the land that looked like the aftermath of a disaster.

The night of the new moon. In that desolate land, where not even the insects could be heard due to the powerful miasma, multiple black things suddenly swooped down from the sky.

They were — bats. Multiple gigantic bats, each with the over-all length of about 30 centimeters, gathered as if guided by somebody’s will, solidified and transformed.

“Who would have expected that things would turn this way –“

A cold voice echoed through the silence.

It was a girl with blood-red hair that had appeared. She was wearing a jet-black cloak and was wrapped in a somewhat supernatural atmosphere, but her expression was terribly resentful.

Sable Bloodpain. The vampire that served the Stake King proceeded through the wasteland.

Ahead of her was — a sword.

A single sword was stabbing the center of the wasteland, as if it were a tombstone. Its hilt, guard and its blade were all black, as if carved from a giant crystal. A mysterious threat could be felt from the blade.

It was clearly not just a sword. However, nobody took that sword which was stuck in the ground. Neither the soldiers that came to investigate after the battle, nor the onlookers who came to take a look after hearing that the castle had collapsed. And even the Death Knights――

The sword was releasing a powerful curse. Even if they had no knowledge about it, any living being would realize its dangerousness instinctually.

A curse is a thought. It’s a passion so intense it interrupts the world’s rules.

And the curse which that sword possesses – is the curse cast by the King of the Dead.

Even Sable, who was also a product of a powerful curse and had a strong resistance towards them, couldn’t bring herself to touch that sword. Sable hadn’t seen the actual fight. She hadn’t been able to restore her powers in time. However, she could guess what had happened. She had also finished gathering the information in Dessend.

“To have tied with the ancient King, what a terrifying man End Baron was.”

The situation had far exceeded Sable’s expectations.

For her, it would be enough to separate End and that Death Knight. She used the newly appearing Death Knights for that. She had noticed that something was happening in Dessend, but she couldn’t care less about that.

She couldn’t have imagined that the purpose of the ritual that was being carried out was the revival of the Mirage King and that End, who had shown such strong survival instincts would die like that–

“So the recruitment was a failure. But I guess I should consider it lucky.”

End Baron was too much to handle. Most likely even Sable’s master wouldn’t be able to control him.

In addition, End was completely in love with the Death Knight. Depending on the case, he might have ended up fighting on the side of the Order of Death Knights. Even though he was still inexperienced, he managed to defeat Sable’s clone. If he would become her enemy, it was better for him to die.

There was a bouquet in front of the sword. That female Death Knight must have left it. A vampire leaves nothing but ashes behind. The proof of the battle had become the tombstone.

Years or perhaps decades later, when the curse of the sword would have weakened somewhat, those who specialized in curses would most likely come to collect it.

Looking down on the flowers, Sable sighed.

“Good grief, I’ve failed to carry out his order. I will be chastised by master…”

There were already signs of a big battle. They needed to increase their forces as much as possible. An instinct to keep fighting by any means necessary and desire to survive. He could have become a strong ally. If they had fought side by side, maybe they could have even become friends.

Finally, Sable looked at the sword and murmured.

“What a fool, to have fallen in love with somebody with a life span after attaining eternal life. Despite having so much power… King. We will… be going ahead.” She transformed her body into bats. After she instantly changed her bones, flesh and the cloak made of blood into bats, Sable disappeared into the moonless sky.

☠☠☠

Two shadows were quietly walking through the dark forest. A large shadow that easily reached 2 meters and a shadow one head smaller. There was no moon in the sky and the surroundings were wrapped in near complete darkness, but their steps were confident.

“So, how is it?”

“Well, be patient. Just how old do you think this scent is?”

A man’s hoarse voice answered the woman’s impatient voice with exasperation. The bigger shadow brought his nose close to the ground and moved forward on his fours.

And – suddenly, the way opened up.

A wasteland spread before them. The cries of the insects and the birds they could hear until now had disappeared. A single sword was piercing its center, a fence made of ropes – a simple barrier – wrapped around it in many layers. There were not even weeds growing on the ground and according to the information they had gathered at Dessend, it was caused by the sword’s curse.

After looking around carefully and finally turning towards the sword, the big shadow shuddered.

“… Are you serious… “

“Come on, go already-“

Nobody would touch the powerful curse that could be recognized with a single glance, even out of curiosity. In fact, the sword was wrapped in a powerful curse, but there were no casualties. It’s because nobody had tried to touch it. The enclosure was just a precaution and that was probably why there weren’t even guards around.

But the scent led to the sword. The smaller shadow lightly kicked the waist of the bigger shadow.

“W-why am I the one made to go?!”

“Stop being such a big baby. After all, an ordinary curse won’t work on werewolves—“

“If you’re gonna bring that up, it doesn’t work on demons either! There’s no moon out today so I can’t muster up power!” The woman sighed at the man, who let out a pathetic voice unsuited for his large build.

“I’ve also had my powers sucked out and haven’t recovered at al–

“I got it already… Shit, the scent is actually getting thicker — no way – Ah, I can feel it…”

He crawled along the ground. He forcefully pulled off the layers of the rope enclosure, brought the tip of nose close to the ground where the sword was stabbed and fearfully stretched out his thick arm. He said with a delirious voice.

“It’s here… it’s here, I can smell it, Monica. It took three years. We reached it. We finally reached it.”

His voice was shaking. His eyes, shining in the dark, contracted with fear and excitement. A furry beast’s hands strongly shoveled the soil.

“O-Oliver, carefully, dig carefully—-“

“Yeah, I know. Shit! I have to undo my transformation —“

A rough, windy breathing. After digging for about 1 meters, his hands stopped.

“I found it—“ He carefully lifted it from the hole. It was the size of a fist. It was as dark as the darkness. It was cold and soft, and certainly pulsating in Oliver’s hands.

It was a heart. It was an immortal heart that continued living even after being cut out.

“Three years. It’s been three years since the rumors of his death started circulating. This is impossible.”

He didn’t expect to find it, but he really found it. It was a miracle. Vampires certainly possessed high immortality, but it was impossible for them to continue living forever beneath the ground, that’s not even a coffin.

However, albeit he didn’t feel any power from it, the heart was definitely alive. It couldn’t move a single step or regenerate and was in a condition where it could easily be killed even by an infant – but if Oliver and Monica hadn’t come, it would probably keep living forever in the depths of the earth.

His hands, his arms trembled. The ruthless gaze from when they met before. The young ancestor that killed Oliver’s master and single handedly led Rainel’s army to its destruction.

That fear was firmly imprinted on Oliver, who had become a werewolf with the power of a vampire. “H-hey, this is — really –“

“Kh—“

Monica, who had once had her blood sucked by that young man, the demon who had lost her powers and was abandoned, unhesitatingly slashed her own arm with a knife.

Blood that was a little darker than a human’s dripped onto the heart.