The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

However, there is not just a single evolution destination from there. The rank evolution of the undead is the evolution of directivity incorporated by Necromancers.

The body exposed after taking off the hood was made of dried bones and skin. Dried up dark skin and a suspicious light shining within his eye sockets.

It was written in the undead picture book I once stole a glance at in the Lord’s mansion. An evolution variant of Skeletons. Unlike Skeleton Knight that the Lord used, it was a form of the bones that once devoted themselves to magic, transcended death and attained even more power.

Lich.

Magic is powerful. It’s a force to be reckoned with even if it’s used by humans. What would happen if the undead got their hands on a power like that? ――

Their appearance isn’t suited for hiding amongst the humans. The dangerousness of the vampires also takes into account the fact that they can mix in with the humans. When you think about it, they are the rulers of the abyss, who might even surpass the vampires in pure combat ability.

I feel power. A powerful power of death that can even overwhelm me, another undead. The powerful magic surging up within his body is greater than that of any mage I have ever seen. Is this guy the Mirage King? No – that’s not right. He’s a pawn, at best. If he could use Necromancy, he’d use it right away.

I shook my body and roared towards the night sky.

He’s the opponent that I would normally be wary of. Even running away would be an option to consider.

But, I definitely caught it, while in sharp pain.

A slightly different emotion contained within the killing intent oozing from the shining eye sockets of the terrifying transcendental of the death in front of me

Low class undead have no free will or emotions. But, the monster in front of me is different. He has a high intelligence, along with great hatred for the living.

I changed my standing position. I check my footing.

Feeling Senri, who was clinging to the corner of my body, moved away, I narrowed my eyes and looked down at the monster in front of me.

“You were, afraid of me – weren’t you?”

“Kh… what nonsense!”

“Senri, I’ll deal with this one, myself.”

Blessing shows a powerful effect on the undead, but it can’t neutralize combat magic. Powerful mages are a bit troublesome opponents for humans. I don’t need a reply. She knows what to do.

“My name is… Avicord. I am the retainer of the Great King and the one who has received the blessing of the darkness. I will end you, youngster.”

Lich, who introduced himself as Avicord, raised his arms. The space looked distorted from the whirling magic. I jumped inside it without caring.

I feel uncomfortable, as if the skin on my entire body is buzzing. I can feel the flow of the whirling mana being disturbed by a foreign object like me. Avicord quickly moves back to avoid the swipe of my forelegs. His physical abilities also seem to be monstrous. I’ll kill him before he sees all my abilities. I don’t know when Lufry and Neville will turn on me. It’s also better if I don’t overuse my transformation too much.

The Lord’s voice resonates inside my head.

‘I am surprised you can move when you are in that much pain.’

Pain was my friend. I never wanted to experience it again, but when I was alive, that was the only thing which made me feel alive ever since I was bedridden. I just move my body forward. I rampage using my whole body and disturb the place. I just pay attention to not run my feet through the ground. Even if he’s an undead, he’ll die if his body is flattened. Or should I just bite him to death? Rubble hits my head but I don’t care. Avicord’s movements surpass human capabilities but not as much as me. He also doesn’t seem to have much power.

I’ve definitely — hold the advantage.

“Acro Gridade, darkness, come.”

Avicord chanted while moving back. Magic requires mental concentration. Perhaps one of the reasons why undead demonstrate a terrifying power as mages is their numbness to pain.

The change happened in a second. The whirling mana rushes. The darkness that seeped in from who knows where, filled the space.

Even the moonlight, that’s shining in, cannot dispel it. The Lord groans quietly.

‘Hmm… it’s old magic.’

But, I can see it.

The Lord didn’t warn me to be on guard.

The eyes of the vampire penetrate through the darkness. It wouldn’t be funny if the lineage that lives in the night couldn’t see through the darkness. I turn towards Avicord, who’s clearly visible in the spread darkness, and swing down my claws.

Avicord avoided my full power swing once again, by falling back.

Not giving him any time to rest, I swing down my forelegs in succession. Swing down. Mow down. Rotate my body and slam into him. I open my jaw wide and bite down.

The rubble is chewy but tasteless. I spit it out.

Avicord stood calmly amidst the rubble.

I’m being evaded with minimal movements. It’s not magic. Even Senri wouldn’t be able to evade me so skillfully. I’m not exhausted but my vision is flickering because of the pain.

“Fuu, fuu, you’re pretty agile for your age.”

“Ag Gal Del Galm. O the King of the Underworld ―― the wind of corrosion.”

The air explodes with Avicord in center. A terrible rotten stench spreads at once. The torrent of mana that fills the air reminds me of the flow of the large river that I crossed once while held by Senri.

I keep moving forward without a care. My body is tingling with pain but I took no notice and mow down my forelegs from the side.

Avicord’s reaction fell behind for the first time. His eyes distorted in astonishment and my attack hit his body directly for the first time. The recoil that came back to my hand was unimaginably heavy coming from hitting that skinny body. Avicord was blown away but right before slamming into the wall, he changed his posture and landed on it instead. He seemed to be mostly fine.

But I saw it.

It’s evasion. He’s evaded me by using mana. He’s most likely sensing the flow of the air and pushing his own body with mana.

My movements are somewhat fast and intense, but they’re not breaking the laws of physics. Furthermore, my attacks are probably no big deal for him.

Perhaps the unexpectedly heavy recoil was because he was protecting himself with mana. He doesn’t seem to be invincible, but it feels like I’ll end up breaking my bones. I’m not a Skeleton though.

However, the skilled mage who easily dodged my attacks, said as if spitting out.

“Guh!… impossible… he neutralized the wind of corrosion?! Don’t tell me, his magic resistance is getting stronger?!”

‘Of course. End here is— the fruit of wisdom. It would be a problem if you lumped him together with antiques.’

It’s all thanks to the Lord. Given that he was planning to make me into his new body, he must’ve really done his best.

“It might be a coincidence. Try shooting again, senior.”

“Ghh… Agra Gal Ede Raizel Logias Grissin—“ “Not good.”

Unlike the curses, magic is bound by rules. Generally, it’s more powerful the more preparation you need. Therefore, the longer the spell incantation, the stronger the spell too.

I put power in my four legs and jumped high in the air. Perhaps because I took an unexpected action, Avicord’s chanting stops for a moment.

Above. If he can evade me by reading the flow of the air, attacking from the side is a bad move. I just have to crush him from above. One arm would be easy, but if I attack him on a wider area, he shouldn’t be able to evade.

‘I am astonished by your fighting spirit, but… are you an idiot?’

The Lord says with exasperation. I jumped up, breaking through the high ceiling and delivered an all-out body press from directly above Avicord.