The Undead here in this darkened castle...
How do I say this...
They were different.
Actually, I hesitate to even call them undead.
Besides literally a few skeletons that threw their own bones like javelins with unerring accuracy before regrowing their calcium cannons, I couldn't see anything that could constitute as undead here.
From living suits of armor that were revealed to have nothing within their metal shells wielding spears and axes.
To a literal wall decoration unhooking itself and spinning towards me with snakes hissing and a lions face roaring.
To werewolves with a severe hunchback, excessive nail growth and bad breath.
To finally Flying Harpies swinging glowing orange claws at my face in hopes of clawing it off.
Which surprise, surprise, I was really used to.
It really wasn't hard to get used to stopping things trying to claw your face off when it happens every single day in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
"God your breath smells bad." Blocking the overgrown fingernails of a werewolf, the wolf with a terrible case of hunchback snarled at my face with maddened orange eyes.
Clenching my fists around the straps of the dual shields, I pushed backwards, sending the beasts claws flying straight into the birds of prey dive bombing my position.
Turning their fellow monsters into ribbons of flesh, I closed my eyes to the rain of blood that suddenly filled my position.
Snapping my eyes open, my head switched to one of flame, burning all of the blood covering my face and making it so that I could ignore the terrible case of bad breath.
"Ever heard of breath mints you damn mutt?"
Groaning, the clock on my waist glowed imperceptibly causing both my body and thoughts to whirl speedily as I lifted my leg
Spartan kicking its chest, the already curved chest bent inwards as the were wolf was sent flying through the air.
Seeing that I was able to achieve my goals of assessing how strong I would get if I used the time rune, I instantly doubled over and disabled it.
"Huff huff hufff"
If only when the effects of mana exhaustion didn't manifest as both nausea and sleepiness, it would've been so much better.
There was also physical exertion and aches, but we could ignore that.
Suppressing the urge to throw up on the ground, I held it all in and withdrew the mana coating my limbs in preparation of blasting outwards.
It was useful to have when I needed sudden bursts of speed to dodge something my mind could clearly process incoming but my body couldn't react to.
But right now when I was set on vomiting my guts out onto the carpet? Well, unless those werewolves suddenly had a deteriorated sense of smell, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
"Hoo... Bloody hell."
"Hell is more so a place of flame than a place of blood, although you could argue that the blood of sinners fills its rivers."
A sudden voice, filled with a smooth confidence and a heavy bass.
Snapping my head at its direction, all signs of nausea and sleepiness were instantly suppressed as a blood blade instantly drew itself out of my inventory and into the world.
Pointing the tip of the blade at the sudden intruder that had gotten eerily close without my knowledge, I observed the new guest that had suddenly popped up out of nowhere.
Porcelain pale skin that stretched across their features.
Ashen white hair that hung like locks over their shoulder blades.
Pointed ears silently exposed at the sides of their head.
Noble attire fit entirely with a black overcoat, white puff, gold lining and a blood red undershirt not unlike a business suit albeit more ancient.
A black and red coat fluttering behind their back despite the lack of wind.
And finally, to top it all off Crimson red ruby like gems for eyes observing not me, but the blade in my hand with interest.
"Where did you get such anarmament?"
"..."
"Tell me you uninvited intruder while I'm being nice." Red eyes glowing, I answered their question with a question of my own.
"Who are you?"
"Oh? How interesting, has that much time passed for even an intruder to not know who's castle they're invading?" Tapping their cheek, a thin smile that couldn't be called a smile spread across their face.
"What?" Tilting my head in confusion, my free hand slowly inched to my back and prepared a chunk of condensed wood I would use with a combination of the inferno rune and the vine rune.
But from what I could glean from his words, the place I was in? The black and red castle built on this island?
The very same castle that was vacated in favor of the white and gold castle due to the previous kings and princes being killed within its blood red halls?
The very same castle that was abandoned and left here only to be maintained by the bare minimum needed?
That very same castle?
"I am the owner of this castle, you peasant warrior, and you shall treat me with the respect I deserve."
Arrogantly tilting their head back, despite facing their head upwards, the crimson red ruby like eyes didn't for a second leave the sword in my hands
With an unknown gleam flashing through their eyes, their mouth moved again.
"Now again you uninvited guest on my own home, tell me while I'm being nice." His head returned to their previous position as their red eyes flashed brightly.
"Where did you get such an armament."
"Ugh..." Stumbling slightly from a sudden dizziness striking me, I shook off the after effects of the mana exhaustion and stared resolutely into the red eyes of this noble.
From my previous dealing with people in power, I straightened my back and gave a strong showing to however this was.
With a posture that seemed to say that I wouldn't bow no matter what, I groaned and cracked my neck before speaking straightforwardly to the noble figure who had suddenly appeared before me.
"Before I answer your question, may I ask who I'm speaking to?"
The red light in the man's eyes faltered slightly as their smile twitched. "What?"
"It's just a standard exchange don't you think? In exchange for telling you how I got this blade in my hand, you tell me your name."
"I shouldn't need to tell me name to the intruder that suddenly invaded my own home and pointed their blade to the owner of their own home should I?"
Red eyes flashing and glimmering, I felt a chill on the back of my neck as a burning sensation came from the tattoo on my right side.
It seemed that the challenger's rune was reacting to this, but I honestly didn't get why.
Ah, the dizziness got stronger.
Shaking my head, my eyes focused on the crimson scarlet sanguine colored eyes, and spoke.
"That honestly makes sense, so how about this, I'll tell you my name and you'll tell me yours, and in exchange for the... sin? of pointing my blade at you, I'll tell you how I got this sword."
'Why am I saying this?' Feeling a brief dissonance in my actions, the dizziness from the mana exhaustion struck me once again as the rubies glowed brighter.
The burning sensation on my waist grew even stronger.
"Is that so? How interesting of a deal..." The thin smile seemingly spread across their porcelain face. "But it seems unfair to me don't you think?"
"Ugh... how so?"
"I have to tell you my name in exchange for yours when the only thing you should be doing is telling me how you got that blade for the sin of intruding on my domicile."
"Ah... That makes sense... But I would like to the name of who's home I invaded? It doesn't make sense that the entire kingdom... forgot your holy name?"
'Wasn't I teleported here against my own will? Why am I saying this?'
Already feeling something off, the sensation of burning on my waist got stronger.
By now, said burning sensation had already spread from the hip bone to the entire length of my waist, the only portion of flesh untouched being the area where the clock was resting.
"Is that so? Well then, you seem like the stubborn type, Slade was it?"
"Ugh... When did I tell you my name?"
'And since when was my entire waist on fire?'
Feeling gaps in my memory, my legs trembled as instead of the chunk of wood, I stabbed the tonic into my waist, stabilising my trembling legs.
"My name is Count *#!)$}~"
"Ack!"
Clutching my head, a garbled sound seemed to press into my head with a stake and stab itself straight into the language center responsible for processing that name
"Now tell me." Red Eyes
"How did you really get that blade? Don't you lie to me."
"I got it by... stabbing my blade into the chest of a zombie and coating it in... oil? And then I used their spine, ugh..."
A sudden headache struck my head.
"Ah... that disease." Their eyes slowly turned into crescents as their thin smile turned into a genuine one. "To think that it's progressed this far, how fun."
Staring straight into the red eyes now showing more interest in me, I tilted my head as I continued to stare at the man and continued to felt an increase on the chills on my back.
Now that I see it, his feet hadn't even touched the ground.
+++
Tree