Kai's current circumstance was too coincidental, he failed to conjure a logical chain of events on how this all came to be.
The king's instinct is still present within this body.
The right thing to do now is to let it save me.
The former king's body knew how to tread carefully, despite the exhaustion surfacing in his limbs, and it would be his guidance into surviving the impending slaughter within the throne room.
However, one by one, the undead servants entered the room in sequence.
They were drawn to someone particular, something that wasn't flesh.
The first to come near was another castle guard, and Kai noticed that at this individual's waist was a proper longsword, which was strapped securely within its scabbard.
This fellow had died and turned without ever drawing his weapon.
"Come closer…"
Kai waited until the castle guard was within grabbing distance, and then, at that crucial moment, he didn't hesitate.
He closed his eyes, and with a deep breath, he let the king's instinct move his hand and body.
The decorative sword was not practical in direct combat.
He discarded it from his grasp and maneuvered forward, wrenching the longsword from the guard's waist while using his other arm to prevent the dead from biting him.
The blade came free in one clean swoop.
After all, the king was familiar with the type of scabbard used with this particular sword.
Speaking of which, this longsword felt more right, it was sharper, adequate, and well-crafted too.
The king might even know who had personally smithed it.
Then the castle guard barely had time to let out a snarl before Kai drove the sword upward, piercing through its chin and into the skull.
The body collapsed instantly, and this time, it was permanently dead.
Another servant shambled forward, her mangled arms outstretched, reaching almost excitedly when she saw the king.
But Kai was feeling himself in the situation; the sensation of slaying, he actually found it exhilarating.
This particular woman stumbled in her steps, having been bitten just above the thigh, a severe wound that left her an exposed target.
Kai pivoted smoothly, his sword sweeping in a precise crescent.
Her head came loose, tumbling over polished marble with an eerie grace.
Then a third foe approached, it was just behind the recently slain undead.
Kai's body was on an unstoppable chain of actions, enhanced by adrenaline.
He swiftly pivoted, slashed, and thrust, driving the sword into the chest, twisting it, then ripping it free as the corpse crumpled.
One by one, they came into the throne room.
His sheer existence rattled them; it was his smell that the dead found infuriating, reminding them of a certain woman.
Kai paid attention to every move, making sure not to make any wild motions that would inefficiently drain his energy.
Everything must die in a short, precise sequence of murder.
At some point, he stopped thinking altogether and simply let it flow, calm and undisturbed as a quiet lake of blood.
His death dance ensued; he was the dancer, and the fallen corpses were his audience.
Until then, he would perform within this macabre symphony of death.
The throne room became a cradle of silence after the onslaught, as only one stood among the pile of corpses, it was him, Vladimir Leousi! And Kai was on his knees, utterly spent, catching his breath, leaning on the longsword to steady his trembling body.
How long have I been fighting? Is there no survivor at all?!
His heart pounded in his chest, each beat warning him that another undead could emerge from the corridors at any moment.
He didn't wish to face any more… after all, he was as good as dead.
Why? He had been bitten throughout it all, shoulders and forearms! Kai had blundered, and as a result, he knelt not to rest, but to wait until he himself turned and died.
If the king is this strong, who the hell was able to kill him?!
And why am I the one inhabiting his body?!
Frustration etched his expression; he didn't wish for any of this.
He would rather be at home doing anything else than dying in someone else's body.
Then, just as he was about to blurt out furious rants, his vision gradually began to dim.
Was it the infection? Was he about to turn?!
Terror welled up inside him, he didn't wish to die.
In fact, Kai was afraid of the very notion.
He looked around desperately for anything that might save him, but his limbs wouldn't even move anymore.
"What kind of sick individual would let a poor college student transmigrate into such an unfavorable situation?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
...
.....
An abrupt arrival…
"That responsibility falls to me," a voice echoed behind him, lustrous and alluring.
But aside from the piles of corpses, Kai was certain he was alone in the throne room.
He turned his head and looked back, only to see a woman with the palest complexion, long blonde hair, piercing crimson eyes, and a white gown, sitting cross-legged upon the very throne of Vladimir Leousi.
One thing was clear — her presence was divinity.
And just as the realization settled in, time itself suddenly stopped, leaving the chamber suspended in a monotone stillness.
"Oh dear, you look like a mess." the woman spoke with a tone of pity.
"Who the hell are you?" Kai asked carefully.
The woman smiled, it was a strange duality of solemnity and embarrassment that complemented her divine features of ample chest and petite curves.
What kind of sick joke is this? Is this the woman the letter was talking about?
"I am the one who summoned you here… though," she hesitated, while letting out a quiet, almost sheepish sigh, "I must apologize. This was my first time transmigrating a soul, and as you can see."
She gestured vaguely at the corpses, the entire ruined throne room, and finally at Kai himself.
"I made quite the mistake."
The moment the woman explained herself, Kai lost all sense of awe toward the godly woman.
In honesty, he felt more angered every time he gazed at her, and this time, both his and Vladimir Leousi's feelings finally converged into a single emotion.
A mistake…?
Raw, unfiltered disdain.
"Why did you summon me here?" Kai asked, finding it difficult to mask the frustration in his tone at being sent here without his consent.
The blonde woman merely smiled and gave the man a look of amusement before saying the one thing Kai had ever wanted to hear.
"Do you wish to go back to your world?"
Kai stood up and fully turned to her, his attention sharpened with great interest.
"Yes…"
"Then let us make a binding vow to one another." the woman offered.
It was a tempting offer, as Kai desperately wanted to return home.
He wanted no part of this whole charade.
"If it means that I return to my old life, tell me, how do I make a vow?" he asked, conviction lacing his tone.
With not a single resistance…
"Excellent…" the goddess murmured.
Chapter End.