Kai shook his head; he didn't have much time to process his involuntary thoughts:
What am I saying?
Then his attention snapped back to the approaching undead.
He threw the vase to slow them down, and it struck the undead chef, ultimately only causing a minor nuisance.
Kai planned to flee, but instinctively, his new body seemed ready for this kind of life-and-death situation.
That didn't make things any easier, since the only way out led straight to the entrance of the throne room.
He found himself stepping back until he felt the elevated flooring of the throne room.
Then the undead with the cleaver lunged forward, but Kai had no desire to trade blows, so he carefully kept just out of reach.
Kai darted around the throne room, and before he knew it, he was caught in the deadliest game of tag.
"The entrance door!" Kai caught a glimpse of the antechamber just outside the throne room.
He couldn't make out a clear picture, but he was sure it was littered with debris from broken furniture and bloodied pools left by the corpses of guards and attendants.
This place was a harrowing mess…
His instinct warned him to never go there, for he felt certain death was the one thing that awaited him.
After all, if undead were prowling the throne room, the chaos beyond the castle must be unimaginable.
Yet, somehow, he felt a surge of unexplained confidence.
Am I out of my mind? Three against one, but I actually think I can pull this off.
Despite the sword in his hand, Kai knew he wasn't a swordsman.
Then… his heartbeat slowed, and fleeting memories of the king's subjects, faces of peasants, soldiers, and innocent families, flickered through his mind.
None of them he knew personally, but that thought of them suffering caused an unexplainable swelling of anger in Kai's heart.
"Get out of my head…"
But that very sentiment wasn't even his.
Kai halted his steps, as if Vladimir Leousi, the original owner of this body, had momentarily taken control of his instincts.
The undead chef attempted to slash vertically at the now stationary ruler, but he dodged by nonchalantly sidestepping.
However, mid-motion, Kai's hand, almost as if by practiced routine, slashed at the undead chef's jaw.
As expected, the sword wasn't as sharp as he had hoped, but it still partially severed the undead chef's jaw as it lost balance.
The undead chef writhed on the ground, struggling futilely.
Before Kai could react, two undead soldiers closed in, flanking him from either side.
Kai instinctively kicked one in the knee, sending it stumbling, then spun toward the other, locking its arm before driving his sword deep into its neck, and yanking it out just as swiftly, putting an end to it.
Without hesitation, he kicked the undead soldier that had stumbled to the ground in the temple, then stepped forward and smashed its skull with his dominant right foot.
The sickening crack and spray of flesh echoed through the throne room.
"There's nothing human about this strength." Kai was surprised by the sheer might he now possessed, though the sight made him recoil in disgust.
The flesh of the undead soldier oozed a black, tar-like residue, as if its blood had turned from crimson to flesh charcoal.
Then his gaze fell over his shoulder, landing on the rising undead chef with its partially severed jaw.
And yet… on top of the anger, there was a hint of sadness.
It was as if the creature before him stirred a faint sense of familiarity.
Then it clicked: this undead chef must have been the king's personal cook, that was sufficient explanation to the sudden flurry of emotions coursing through Kai's heart.
He clenched his fists, and his anger subsided, leaving only a dull ache in his chest.
Whatever this thing had become, it wasn't truly alive anymore.
Kai stepped forward and in a single decisive motion, he struck, ending the undead chef's suffering and letting the body finally collapse into stillness of true death.
He turned away before the corpse hit the floor.
It didn't deserve to stay like this.
Yearning for a quick rest, Kai sat on his throne while reflecting on what he was feeling.
He wasn't sure if he was having a dual identity crisis; it was hard to tell whether he was in control or not.
Who am I?
Not only that, his heart had been beating abnormally fast.
As during the confrontation with the dead, Kai wasn't used to moving like the trained king Vladimir Leousi, and he genuinely thought he was going to die in the middle of those actions upon committing one small mistake.
Am I slowly merging with a dead ruler whose life I'm inheriting?
In the middle of his reverie, he heard multiple people walking outside the throne room's door.
He stood up and gripped the decorative long sword once more.
"Who is it?!" he yelled, it was a mistake, as the sound of his voice immediately drew the attention of multiple evil forces.
I shouldn't have done that…
To his dismay, more and more undead castle attendants seemed to stir throughout the structure, all converging on the throne room.
Their tattered uniforms were streaked with dried black blood, limbs twisted unnaturally with bits of flesh missing, and their milky, maggot-filled eyes scavenge the bloodied corridors as they searched for the king.
But one thing remained similar among them: they all had black, oozing smoke coming out of their decaying flesh.
Kai was the only living being within this castle.
In truth, he was terrified of dying by being feasted upon, as it might be one of the worst ways to go.
Yet, he waited.
Whoever you are, guide my hand…
Upon the bloodied Dais, the impostor king stood…
This was his conviction…
Kai… no, the late Vladimir Leousi! had taken on the ultimate responsibility: alone, he would soon face his former servants, slaying them one by one in the bloodied throne room.
Chapter End.