Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 103: Black Magic

Chapter 103: Black Magic

When I became aware, I was a headless knight.

My memories from before are only fragmented.

Japan, Saitama, company, salaryman… The memories that come to mind don’t match the current reality.

Or perhaps, the current situation as a headless knight is a dream.

As a Dullahan, what I understand is that this place is the dungeon “Corpse Candle Hall,” and my mission is to kill intruders.

In the damp, dimly lit corridors, countless zombies, my comrades, wriggle about.

No intruders appeared in the dungeon no matter how long we waited, and the number of zombies that appeared from nowhere had increased to the point where they couldn’t all fit in the dungeon.

Suddenly, a command came from someone.

“The time has come. Begin the invasion of the outside world.”

Following that voice, I stepped outside the dungeon.

Countless zombies followed, swarming out.

The sunlight, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, was painfully scorching, burning some zombies to ashes.

They hurriedly retreated to the shade.

Undead are weak to sunlight—the headless knight Dullahan understood this through the sacrifices of his comrades and his own body.

Zombies have extremely low intelligence; they lack even a sense of pain or danger, and they continue to move forward, oblivious to their bodies being burned by the sunlight, until they turn to ash.

I watched my comrades die one after another before my eyes until sunset.

There was no sadness.

Perhaps because I am undead, any moral sense I might have once had is completely non-functional.

The headless knight Dullahan quietly contemplated while watching the pointless deaths of his comrades.

Compared to these inferior comrades, I am far stronger.

This is not excessive confidence, but an objective fact.

However, I too cannot survive long under the sun, just like my inferior comrades.

At night, I can move freely, and due to the characteristics of the undead, all my abilities improve.

Night is the domain of the undead; once night falls, I can move freely.

However, night is not eternal.

Morning will inevitably come.

Therefore, unless I overcome the sun, I won’t be able to survive long outside.

The headless knight Dullahan thought—I need more power.

But the headless knight Dullahan had noticed—since being exposed to the outside air, my power has gradually increased.

Instinct as an undead, as a monster, tells me.

If I continue to gain power like this, the time will come when I can overcome the sun.

This is not a hope, but a certainty.

The headless knight Dullahan waited quietly.

Waited for his power to grow to the level where he could overcome the sun.

Thus, the headless knight Dullahan spent half a year waiting silently.

His black armor grew moss and turned deep green.

With maturity, he gained two unique abilities.

“Army Command” and “Army Enhancement.”

The zombies now moved at his will, and their abilities had dramatically improved.

No longer were they just mindless creatures that scratched and bit while moaning.

They became invincible soldiers who efficiently targeted their enemies as a group and didn’t fall regardless of the injuries they suffered.

Moreover, he could bestow his own sunlight-resistance characteristic on the entire army.

This created an immortal army that could act without problems even in sunlight.

Everything was ready.

“Invasion, commence.”

Following that voice echoing from the depths of the dungeon, the headless knight Dullahan began to move.

Mounted on his undead horse, he raised the flag to lead the army.

“All troops, advance.”

The undead army overflowed from the wetlands like a wave of death.

*

They ravaged everything that lived—humans, animals, insects—and added them to their ranks.

The number of the undead army increased daily, covering the land as far as the eye could see.

I rarely recalled my memories from when I was human.

Without any sense of ethics, I had no hesitation in killing the humans who were once my kind.

“Ravage the outside world and expand your forces.”

Moving according to the policy of the voice echoing from the depths of the dungeon.

Humans were fragile, and our army was strong.

I had a certainty that we would lose to no one.

Until one man appeared—

*

Suddenly, a man appeared alone before the undead army.

A suicide, or just a fool.

Either way, we would trample him with our advance and that would be the end of it—so I thought.

Then I felt a sense of déjà vu.

That man, I felt like I had seen him somewhere before—

But the headless knight Dullahan had killed and turned every human he had encountered into a comrade since he was born.

There should be no way I recognized him—

I sent a zombie bird to the man’s vicinity and shared its vision to observe him closely.

The man turned a sharp gaze towards me, our eyes met—at that moment, the response from the zombie bird ceased.

I could only confirm his appearance for an instant, but the headless knight Dullahan knew that man.

“—Rofus the Shadow Wolf…?”

The name escaped from the non-existent mouth of the headless knight Dullahan.

Memories from my human days, long forgotten, surfaced.

Confusion.

Impossible, it can’t be, he should be a fictional character from a game.

I looked at my own form as a headless knight anew.

And then, I realized.

“Could it be—this is the world of the game…?”

“Tempest of Distorted Atmosphere—Black Rope Spiral.”

Behind the man—Rofus, a giant black griffin appeared and activated his magic.

A massive dark tornado, like a black rope, stretched to the sky—immediately branching into countless black winds, swirling and ravaging the undead army.

My comrades were shredded to pieces in an instant, rendered irreparable, and that deathly wind swallowed the headless knight Dullahan as well.

The headless knight Dullahan raised his battle flag and faced the black spiral wind.

Tremendous power—but not enough to take the life of the headless knight Dullahan.

With all his might, the headless knight Dullahan deflected the magic.

It was close, but he somehow endured.

However, before the headless knight Dullahan lay the sight of his annihilated undead army.

Understanding the unique abilities of “Army Command” and “Army Enhancement” made it clear—he was the only survivor.

The strongest undead army had been destroyed by a single spell.

In the face of this unbearable reality, the headless knight Dullahan stood in stunned silence as he saw a black hawk-armored warrior charging towards him at incredible speed.

Immediately, the war axe swung down, splitting me in half.

As an undead, I cannot die—but this blow rendered me incapable of moving properly.

In my fading vision, I saw an amorphous darkness crawling on the ground.

Countless eyes floating within the darkness stared at the bisected headless knight Dullahan, slowly approaching.

Soon, the headless knight Dullahan was engulfed by the darkness, his consciousness fading into oblivion.

＊

About 1 km away from Rofus, Count Gimlet and Talon had stopped their horses to observe the battle from a mountain.

Talon desperately peered through his opera glasses.

“Count Gimlet, shouldn’t we get a bit closer? I can’t see very well…”

“Lord Talon… can’t you even use ‘Far Sight’?”

Count Gimlet, exasperated, had been observing Rofus clearly with the magic that allows distant viewing—’Far Sight.’

Leaving the royal army behind, Rofus approached the monster legion alone. Does he really intend to fight alone? Count Gimlet frowned.

While Talon struggled to adjust his opera glasses, the battle—or rather, the one-sided massacre—came to an end.

Count Gimlet, who had witnessed the entire event, froze.

“Oh, I can finally see! Oh, the monster horde isn’t there? Has the battle not started yet?”

Talon voiced his misplaced observation alone.

Perhaps annoyed by being watched through ‘Far Sight,’ Rofus glared at Count Gimlet.

Meeting his gaze, Count Gimlet awkwardly waved with a smile.

Ending with Rofus’s annoyed expression, Count Gimlet dispelled the ‘Far Sight’ spell.

“…Well. Let’s go back, Lord Talon.”

“What? The battle?”

“It’s over.”

“Wha!?”

Ignoring Talon’s gaping mouth, Count Gimlet pulled the reins and turned his horse around.

With the neighing of the horse, Count Gimlet rode off, and Talon kicked his horse to hurry and follow.

“Count Gimlet! What do you mean it’s over!?”

“Exactly as I said. Lord Rofus single-handedly annihilated the monster horde.”

“That’s impossible! No matter how skilled in magic he is, he’s still just one human. How could he possibly defeat a horde of seven thousand so quickly by himself!?”

“…Well, I saw it with my own eyes. It’s unfortunate, Lord Talon. I recommend you learn ‘Far Sight’ next time.”

Count Gimlet said as he spurred his horse forward.

Hastening back to his domain as quickly as possible.

It was unexpected that Rofus noticed them.

The distance was over 1 km.

Normally, it would be impossible to detect them at such a range.

Yet, Rofus easily sensed Count Gimlet and Talon’s presence.

“The prodigy of Lightless, with the highest magical power in history, was it?”

The range of magical detection is determined by how far one can send out detection waves.

In simple terms, the amount of magic one has can be equated to the detection range.

Of course, it’s not just about having a lot of magic; it also requires skill. However, without a significant amount of magic, it’s impossible to send out detection waves over a wide area.

Incidentally, though Count Gimlet didn’t know this, the largest detection range Rofus had used so far was a radius of 50 km.

“Why are we in such a hurry? At this rate, it seems like we’re running away from Lord Rofus.”

“Running away? What nonsense. If Lord Rofus noticed us at this distance, there’s no place to hide. Besides, there’s no need to run.”

Count Gimlet replied, exasperated, and looked ahead.

“It’s natural to hurry. I didn’t expect the battle to end so quickly. We must return to the domain immediately and prepare hastily. Prepare to entertain the hero who saved not only the capital but also the southern lands—prepare a perfect reception.”

On horseback, Count Gimlet spread his arms wide and declared loudly.

He already knew of Rofus’s extraordinary skill.

Being from the esteemed Lightless family, known as one of the kingdom’s top combat families, it’s no wonder he possessed such unparalleled power.

Annihilating a monster horde single-handedly—this was within expectations for someone from Lightless.

However, the battle ending so quickly was unexpected.

Count Gimlet recalled the battle scene—no, the massacre carried out by Rofus’s two familiars.

“The shadow familiars of Lightless—I’ve heard rumors, but to be so powerful…”

The Lightless family is known for controlling familiars born from shadows—a widely known fact.

But this is just a fraction of the power possessed by the Lightless family.

The kingdom has three noble families known for their combat prowess, excluding the Gimlet family—these are the Steria Marquess family, the Galeon Duke family, and the Lightless Marquess family.

Steria has highly trained, formidable soldiers and a powerful dragon cavalry.

Galeon uses unique summoning magic to tactically deploy numerous monsters.

The Lightless family’s power, revered as the kingdom’s best, lies in their individual martial prowess.

Lightless’s feats are countless.

For instance, half a century ago, during the war with the empire.

The former head of the Lightless family charged into the imperial army alone, causing a great advance in the frontline.

The current head of the Lightless family took over by defeating this former head.

In other words, Lightless family members have always been monsters capable of fighting armies single-handedly.

Their overwhelming individual strength is their greatest asset.

The prodigy of Lightless, Rofus, used a combat method involving familiars—a strategy reminiscent of the Galeon Duke family’s summoning magic.

“Having multiple powerful familiars and high personal skill… I see, that’s—extremely strong.”

Count Gimlet’s thoughts wandered far and wide.

For now, the issue of defeating the ‘Demon King’—whether true or not, it’s certain that Rofus has the ability to accomplish it.

And it’s clear that he is not an opponent to make an enemy of.

Count Gimlet decided to shift his relationship with Rofus—from a relatively close neighbor to a much closer friend.

It would be even better if they could occasionally play chess together.

At the very least, they must become neighbors who mutually respect each other’s territories.

Enemy status was absolutely unacceptable.

“If he would marry my daughter, we would be family, but he refused… No, we haven’t met in person yet, there’s still a chance…”

Ignoring Talon riding beside him, Count Gimlet muttered to himself.

“Introduce them at the reception… get them drunk… if only for one night, create a fait accompli…”

“Um, Count Gimlet? Planning is important, but if you’re too absent-minded, you’ll fall off your horse.”

Talon advised, exasperated by Count Gimlet’s dubious mutterings.

“Hmm, quite right. For now, let’s prepare the heads of those three nobles nicely and present them to Lord Rofus.”

“…I’m not too familiar with Lord Rofus’s preferences, but I would advise against that.”

Talon said seriously, trying to stop Count Gimlet.