"It was probably only recently that ...... was created.

　Senri said in a quiet voice.

　In the past, the demise knights and the undead have been enemies. The reason why the trend has been in favor of the demise knight for so long is because the demise knight has absolute power to deal with the undead.
　One of them is the ability to probe. The demise knight can detect the location of the undead with only a small amount of power, even if the distance is quite large. Because of this ability, the Demise Knight rarely misses an undead target.
　The reason Senri missed Sable was because she prioritized rescuing me, and because she was the only one, unlike the original Knights of the End.

　It's not surprising that the Demise Knights were wary of the Demon Lord of the False Shadow, who has the nasty ability of blocking out signs of life.

You can use the ability of the Darkness Prowler and the power of the King of Stakes to suppress signs, but it's not perfect.

　But the Demon Lord of the Void's ability to block signs was perfect. And the power of the Night Crystal was also perfect.

　Looking back, the Night Crystal was not a widely recognized item. Senri's senior knights, Nevilla and the others, seemed to have little concern about being hidden.
　It was hard to imagine the Knights of the End letting such an uncommon item go unnoticed for so long. Senri's words made sense.

　And since those were the only two items that had been completely blocked by the Knights of the End so far, it was understandable to suspect a connection.

　If the discovery was made so recently, then those crystals are probably not just minerals. In the first place, it is a little doubtful whether they were minerals or not.
　I really wonder how Lord got those crystals. ...... It's a pity that they haven't appeared in the public eye recently.

　I run like the wind through the streets. I have fur, and I'm very tolerant of temperature changes, so that's not a problem. My back is soft, so I'm sure Senri will have no problem.
　I'm not lonely. I think I'll get into the habit of putting people on my back. I think I like it.

"Is it bad if someone sees me?

You don't look like a ...... demon now.

　"You don't look like a demon. You might be surprised, but I don't have a hint of ferocity in my appearance right now.
　The dog's body is very good. Their strong limbs can run nearly ten meters in a single stride, and with enough momentum they can cross a small river. The flowing water takes away the vampire's strength, but not its inertia.

　As he moves his legs, he is buried in a sea of thoughts.

　The power of the Demon Lord of False Shadows is something I want desperately right now. And there's a chance that my "Carth Steel" can take it.
　It doesn't have to be from the Demon Lord himself. The power of the Ancestor is transmitted to your family. It seems that the power of the Ancestor is not perfectly inherited, but even if it is weakened, the power would have been reassuring to me.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

　The thought leaked out of my mouth, and I immediately realized my blunder.
　I shouldn't have said anything so careless. From Senri's point of view, the power of vampires must be an abomination. Even if it was just a hypothetical, she wouldn't like the idea of me using it recklessly.

　But the words that came out of Senri's mouth after a moment of silence did not contain any disappointment in me.

I can't do that.

"............ Why not?

　In response to my question, Senri clutched me tightly behind her back and said in a chilling voice that was hard to believe given her warmth.



According to lore, ...... the Demon Lord of the False Shadow was not a vampire. He was a king of the skeleton line, so he had no blood in his veins.





§ § § §





　A town in a small country. A group of men in silver cloaks were walking down the street of a medium-sized town that was not particularly well known.
　There were two of them, but their gestures were too out of place for this town. Their unfamiliar appearance drew the attention of the townspeople, who paid no heed to their gaze.
　Without hesitation, they walked away from the main street into a narrow alleyway where few people passed.

　They stopped in front of an old, two-story apartment building. The iron stairs were rusty and creaked with the slightest weight.

"Oh ......, you really live here?

It's the result of an investigation by headquarters.

　In the event that you've got any questions, you'll be able to contact us at the web site.

　It took me a long time to find this place. The fact that the results of the request were sent to him by letter suggests that he has been fighting for a long time and knows how to do it.
　This time, I just came to talk to him, but we can't be too careful.

　I headed for the room at the far end of the second floor.
　There was no sign of life on the other side of the door, but if I used a little blessing and deployed my sensory net, I could see that there were two lifeforms on the other side.
　It was as reported. And apparently, they were aware of our presence.

　I knocked lightly, but there was no answer. The door is made of metal, but it is for ordinary people. A demon knight could easily break through it.
　But first, I avoid violent means and call out to him.

"Rino Collos. I know you're here. Knights of the End, we need to talk.

　No reply. I just felt a creature move in the room. Nevilla says mockingly.

There's no way it's coming out!　We should break in and capture it before it escapes.



"Nevilla, you're too violent. You're dealing with a person.　...... Hmm?

　Lefley frowns, gripping the handle.
　It's unlocked. Frowning, he carefully turns the handle.

　Just as the door was about to open, a presence inside moved. The door swung open with a bang from within.


　--And then a silver flash passed in front of Lufry's eyes.

　What appeared was a small shadow. No--a girl. She was probably still in her early teens. Her arms and legs, stretching out from her black dress, seemed to be well trained, but absolutely thin.
　But her sharp black eyes reminded me of a wounded beast.

　She is holding an axe about the same size as she is tall. He took a few steps back to avoid the blade being swung down.
　Because of his weight, the blow was not that heavy. However, the momentum of the blow is so strong that it could be dangerous if taken unprotected.

　The girl swings the axe as if she were spinning her entire body. At first glance, she seems to be swung around by the weight, but she is probably doing it on purpose.
　She has slender arms without blessings and is of short stature. He has few options to put his strength into it. But the movement was still unfamiliar.
　Without drawing his blade, he moved his right foot back a step to avoid the axe. The thick blade hit the railing of the stairs and made a rattling sound.

　You can see that the blade is slightly chipped. If you look closely, you can see that the blade is chipped in many places.
　Apparently, the blade is made of silver. Silver is a soft metal. Even as an alloy, it's unsuitable for combat.

Stop. We're just here to talk!

　But the wariness simmering behind the girl's eyes didn't change at all. She was obviously younger than Senri, but her will to fight was much stronger than Senri's.
　It would be easy to knock her down, but it was awkward to subdue such an amateur.
　Just then, a girl throws an axe at him. Nevilla behind her grabbed it with one hand.


　The girl then jumped at him without hesitation, even though she was bare handed.


What?

　The girl's eyes widened at the unexpected movement. The girl opened her mouth wide. Her silver canine teeth gleamed.



　And then she bit Lefley's right arm.




　Her fangs clashed with the thin mail she wore under her clothes. Naturally, it was the mail that won. There was no way a child's bite could get through to a Knight of the End.


　But the girl wouldn't let go of her chin. Even when I waved my arms, she bit me desperately. It's like a crocodile. ...... I'd say it's a crocodile, but it looks like a crocodile.
　As you can imagine, even a knight of the end of the line has never been bitten by a human.


　As I was at a loss, a stop came from the back of the room. A low voice echoed from the depths of hell.

"Alba, stop. They're ...... guests. They are ...... guests. Uninvited, but apparently they ...... want to see me.


　The girl called Alba finally let go of his mouth at the sound of his voice and stepped back with a nimble movement. She seemed to be on guard.

　At the back of the room was a man covered in black. His arms, legs, and half of his face were bandaged, and he had a silver staff propped up nearby. But there was a hint of a man who had survived for a long time.

　Rino Kolos. One of the vampire hunters. He's known around here as "Kainushi.
　Lefley frowned at the strong smell of herbs.


I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

"I'm not so shameless as to ask for extra pay for screwing up a commission. You see, the trick to hunting vampires is to be humble.

How dare you losers ...... hide in here and pull your bullshit?

"I'm flattered. I'm flattered, but not as flattered as the knights who raid the homes of good citizens. But not as much as a knight raiding a good citizen's home, and being called by a name you don't even remember ...... I can't help but admire you guys.

　Cainusi cowered as Nevilla's forehead flushed blue. Alba glares at Nevilla with murderous intent.

　Cainusi makes an exaggerated gesture. His eyes are cloudy as he looks at Lufry.







"Yes, I know what you want. You're talking about the Night Crystals, aren't you?　I'm a man of business and I'm tight-lipped, but we're not strangers, so let's talk about it at a reasonable price.