The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness (WN)

In this world, there exist terrifying races that can rival an entire army with just a single individual.

For example, dragons, which are compared to natural disasters. For example, high-ranking demons, who are representatives of the rebellion against God, and high-ranking angels who are said to be the representatives of God’s wrath. Those beings that are often even mentioned in mythologies, are worthy of caution even for those that are called demons by the humans.

And now, the faction of the ‘Demon King of Evernight’, that had taken down many human towns and was increasing its power, was being violently attacked by a single demonic being.

An undead, a vampire. The abominable being that was both a human and a demon.

The humans fear and loathe demons, but that doesn’t mean that the demons themselves are on good terms with each other. However, it’s originally impossible for vampires to attack demons.

The undead instinctually seek out the souls of the same kind, and most of the vampires with high intelligence have long since been incorporated in armies led by the mighty undead Demon Kings, such as the ‘Stake King’, who have challenged the Order of Death Knights head-on.

Even if there was a stray vampire, why would they attack the faction of the demons rather than the humans that are easier to hunt?

The human towns that had been captured and put under their rule, were already taken back. The army of the Demon King of Evernight was powerful. A large number of dark elf mages, who had mastered magic, which was becoming more and more obsolete due to the development of science and technology and their tactics of destroying the enemies from afar while strong demons and the Golems placed in vanguard served as walls, helped them bring down several town without any remarkable losses. Their offensive abilities were powerful, but the power they displayed in defense should have been incomparable to that.

However, the defenses that had been set up in the cities they had taken to serve as a foothold for the next invasion were of no use.

And now, the stronghold of the Demon King of Evernight — the fortress that was built on the steep cliff – was in the midst of a buzzing commotion like a beehive.

Deep inside the fortress. Demons that formed the core of the army that was centered around the dark elves had gathered in the throne room. There were demon species like ogres and hobgoblins and low-level fiends like imps. Magical creatures created with magic, such as golems and artificial spirits. And ―-dark elves who had been persecuted because of the dark mana in their bodies despite being superior to humans both in intelligence and appearance.

A dark elf man was settled on the throne that was made of rugged stone. He had long, jet-black hair and sharp, slanted eyes. The tattoo of a strange pattern on his forehead was the product of an ancient ritual to enhance his magical powers. He was quite short for a dark elf, who were usually on a taller side, but his ears were pointed, as if to confirm which race he belonged to.

A dark elf mage, who freely manipulated the magic of the night and led a great variety of demons. The Demon King of Evernight, Disel, grit his teeth and glared at his assembled subordinates.

“Impossible! … in just a few days they’ve taken back the entire town we’ve spent months chipping away at!?” “Young master, I’ve fought vampires before, but that one’s impossible. That small town wouldn’t even stand a chance. We have to at least dig a canal as the vampire countermeasure or else―― “

Hearing the words of his confidant, who had been serving him for a long time, Disel ruffled his hair, as if agitated. The obviously frustrated appearance of their King made the demons stir.

“This is our chance. Now that the Order of Death Knights is still holding out and their attention is focused on them! If they are defeated by the Demon King alliance, those who are only watching the situation now will come rushing in! If that happens, we won’t be able to capture the town easily!”

Their initial response was delayed. No — the other demons were late to take actions too. Nobody would have expected that the Order of Death Knights would be defeated. Even now, after three years had passed, the caution faction still hadn’t moved. And at the same time, there were those who had grown impatient over those three years and had started to move. Some of them had even destroyed most of the human towns in the vicinity and had begun territorial disputes with other demons.

The fortress at Disel’s main base was too poorly located to be a foothold for the start of military rule.

“We can still make it in time, do everything to kill that vampire! Can’t we just make them collide with other forces?! There have to be other Demon Kings nearby beside us!”

“The matter is… they seem to be persistently targeting only our towns —“

“What in the world did we do?!”

Unlike the town that only had half-finished walls, this was a full-fledged fortress. Dark elf archers were patrolling on top of the wall, which was so high that not even a vampire-turned-wolf could climb over it easily. The forest at the foot of the fortress was inhabited by various demons, which didn’t let the intruders pass through alive. It was precisely because of this fortress, which had hardly been attacked for a long time that the kin of the Demon King of Evernight were able to survive even in an era when the humans were in an overwhelmingly superior position.

However, even though they had retreated to the fortress in which they had their absolute trust, the expressions on the faces of the assembled subordinates were unwell. The fear brought by those who had been lucky enough to escape had spread to those who had been defending the fortress. The situation wasn’t looking very good.

“Young master, here we have a river and spring water nearby. We can easily create flowing water. They are weak to sunlight. No matter how strong they are, if we can lure them, trap them and stop their movements, we can defeat them by stalling.”

“Gegya… We have garlic too. And the crosses…”

When he saw one of the imps under his command waving a garlic-studded necklace, Disel clutched his head. What a pathetic story it was. They were the same demonic beings, but he had to rely on exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses like humans did.

“Do you really have no idea why we would be targeted?!”

As Disel shouted with emotion, one of his subordinates suddenly replied with a small voice. The dark elf, who was guarding the town that was attacked first, reported falteringly to Disel, who immediately glared in his direction. “C-come to think of it… a summon to surrender was suddenly sent by another Demon King –- apparently, they called themselves the ‘White Puppy King’.”

“The white puppy… King…?!” That’s ridiculous! “We also doubted our ears. They said that they only had 4 members… and we assumed it was some kind of a joke…”

He didn’t even have the energy to glare back at the name that lacked all semblance of tension. He could also understand why the report hadn’t come in. To begin with, if they accepted the sudden summons to surrender from an unknown Demon King, they wouldn’t be fit to be soldiers.

However, it was probably true. The one attacking was a wolf instead of a dog though—

“So it was a trap! Shit, those damn living dead — their brains must be rotten! I’ll kill them — I’ll make them regret underestimating us!”

This —- was a war. Only those who exterminated the other Demons Kings would become the main players of the next era. And it would be the King of the Evernight to stand at the top. The era of dark elves was coming. The die had already been cast. If he was going to fight for the top, he would have to go against the vampires eventually. He was facing a small group this time, so he could consider it as a rehearsal. His confidant told to Disel, who was desperately trying to keep calm by regulating his breathing.

“Offensive magic would be a bad move. They seem to be wary of silver too. They look like a child, but the child is a skilled and experienced fighter. With our current strength, there’s nothing we can do but catch them off guard and trap them.”

“So that person is a veteran… I get it. Use any means to get rid of them! Find the coffin they sleep in!”

I will not be hindered in a place like this!

Just as he gave the instructions —- the walls, the floor, the throne room, vibrated a bit. A scream came from the outside, and Disel instantly stood up.

There wasn’t even time to confirm what had happened. They were unbelievably quick. How had they sniffed out this base?! He reprimanded his agitated subordinates.

“Get to your positions and be alert! This fortress won’t fall easily even if the enemy is a vampire! If we wait for the morning to come, it’s our win! Don’t take your eyes off the burglar, hold out no matter what!”

This fortress was surrounded by a wide moat and the flowing water, one of the weaknesses of vampires. Behind it was a precipitous cliff that even beasts couldn’t scale properly and it was possible to watch all directions from the top of the wall.

If the enemy was a vampire, they could rest in the morning. Holding down the fortress was possible. The underlings regained their senses with the calm words of their king and ran out of the throne room to get to their positions. Disel left the throne room, rushed up the stairs and looked down at the forest that spread out from the tall moat to the bottom.

Dark elves had good eyesight and could see well at night too. He quickly found his target.

That vampire — was a girl with platinum blonde hair and an otherworldly air around her. She wore a thin, fluttering white dress. She had no weapons or comrades with her. Her limbs were unbelievably slender, and it was hard to think that she was the terrifying enemy that had single-handedly chased away Disel’s subordinates.

Vampires created by necromancers generally couldn’t use magic. How in the world could she have attacked from such a distance without a weapon?

In front of the eyes of puzzled Disel, the girl put her small hand on the large tree growing near her —- and pulled it out easily.

“!?”

It was a scene that almost seemed like a joke. Even the ogres under Disel’s command couldn’t do the same thing. It was absurd. The guards gathered at the top of the outer wall stirred. The girl swung wide while still holding the large tree. Disel understood.

It was a throw with nothing special about it, utilizing her great physical strength. A mass projectile. The guards unleashed a series of magic and arrows, but that vampire didn’t care at all.

The vampire girl simply threw the large tree happily.

The large tree that came flying, pierced the thick outer wall, making the fortress shake greatly. Was she perhaps… planning to take down the castle with just long-distance attacks?!

There were countless things to throw. The moat was deep, but if she kept throwing, she would eventually stop the flow of water. Disel shuddered at the enemy’s overly bold strategy and yelled as he snatched the garlic necklace that the imp was swinging.

“Kill her! Don’t let that woman do whatever she wants any longer!”