The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness (WN)

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I don’t want to die. I want to be free. To that end, I shall….reconcile myself to the fate of becoming a “monster”.

A strange disease that racks one’s entire body with intense never-ending pain, until the person slowly withers away and eventually dies. After a few years of braving through the pain, the boy is in no luxury to even feel despair. With nary a soul to tend to him, he breathes his last.

The next time he opened his eyes, the boy had become an “Undead” of the lowest rank through the power of an evil Necromancer.

The boy rejoices at having his earnest desire fulfilled, which is a body that will never feel pain. However, he realizes that he is still under someone’s control and how it was no different from when he was cooped up in the hospital ward.

But the world would not leave alone the boy who only wished for peace.

The Necromancer who revives the boy from the dead, names him “End” and attempts to gain control over him.

The Undead Knights, lay their lives on the line to persistently chase after and annihilate the beings of the darkness.

With countless monsters under their command, the Demon Lords rule over their own lands while they all contend for ultimate supremacy.

The motivation being survival and freedom. The requirements being caution and power.

This is the tale of the cowardly King of the Undead. In his pursuit for freedom, he heads into battle and turns tail at times. He knows when to fear his opponents and when to waver in his decisions.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Kuraki Kyuuden no Shisha no Ou (WN)
The King of the Dead at the Dark Palace
昏き宮殿の死者の王
Related Series
The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness (LN) (Light Novel)
Recommendations
Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~ (1)
Fugitive Poison User ~I Am Somehow Recovering in a World Full of Miasma~ (1)
Garbage Brave: Isekai Ni Shoukan Sare Suterareta Yuusha No Fukushuu Monogatari (LN) (1)
Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (1)
Monster no Goshujin-sama (1)
Seirei Gensouki ~Konna Sekai de Deaeta Kimi ni~ (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Good stories
  2. Nonhuman Male
  3. Interesting looking novels
  4. Oh apathy is thy name.
  5. All the rest.~

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/14/23 Divine Dao Library c123 part2
03/07/23 Divine Dao Library c123 part1
02/28/23 Divine Dao Library c122 part2
02/21/23 Divine Dao Library c122 part1
02/14/23 Divine Dao Library c121 part2
02/07/23 Divine Dao Library c121 part1
01/31/23 Divine Dao Library c120 part2
01/24/23 Divine Dao Library c120 part1
01/17/23 Divine Dao Library c119
01/10/23 Divine Dao Library c118 part2
01/03/23 Divine Dao Library c118 part1
12/27/22 Divine Dao Library c117
12/20/22 Divine Dao Library c116
12/13/22 Divine Dao Library c115
12/06/22 Divine Dao Library c114
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26 Reviews sorted by


heiro001
heiro001 rated it
July 10, 2020
Status: c123
Part dark hero fantasy novel, part Gothic romance. The first volume (1-29) is in many ways more of a prologue, setting up the world and the concepts and the dark fantasy tone of the story. After that the story shifts somewhat into the true story of End and Senri... an undead whose desire to simply live is so great he is even willing to continue living like a human with a conscience despite being a monster... and a holy knight so pure she will even abandon her order to save... more>> an undead who just wants to live. Together the two journey across the world, in many ways simply trying to find somewhere they can live in peace (which given the title, will probably involve End becoming a Demon King of his own domain).

There's various things I enjoyed about the writing of this one. End always feels like he's scraping by on the skin of his teeth, even as he slowly progresses from the weakest of zombies to an eater of undead lords. Both the forces of light and darkness feel like consistent threats. There's interesting mechanics around how the curses of undeath work, where becoming more powerful as an undead also means gaining additional weaknesses, as well as holy power, where there are limited pools of positive energy to both track and fight the forces of darkness with. End and Senri's relationship also adds nice pacing to the story, as we move between their growing relationship and the brutal battles they fight for survival. Despite being a monstrous undead End comes off as often incredibly vulnerable and only able to survive thanks to Senri's care. There's also some very heartfelt moments and funny bits (wait for the dog) between the tension. Overall, I had a pretty good time with this novel. <<less
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Heartless
Heartless rated it
July 14, 2020
Status: --
Surprisingly good!

I simply chose this novel out of boredom and was expecting the typical japanese beta MC with the usual chunibyou/edgelord wibes. What a pleasant surprise (a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one). The despair the MC must have felt at his deathbed, his will to live! It's all really enthralling (pun intended). I sunk into the novel almost directly and got disappointed as I reached the end of the translation.

Did not see this coming 5/5
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Acer22
Acer22 rated it
January 21, 2022
Status: c79.2
So. another review by me, the person who can never give anything 5 stars. That doesn't mean this novel isn't actually EXTREMELY well done, or that the characters aren't super interesting, because they are! It's just, nothing is 5 starts (perfect) in my opinion, so a 4 is the close something can get.

Now, prior to really getting into my review, I wanted to point something out in regards to the negative reviews that are one this work; everybody is allowed to have an opinion. However, most of the reviews find... more>> fault with the MC, and pacing of the story. I think the story pacing is fine, but this is rather subjective because it depends on personal taste. The faults people have mentioned with the MC? I can address those.

The first fault is that people say the MC doesn't actually try to get stronger: this isn't true. It is stated multiple times that drinking blood for vampires is how they can grow stronger. It is why End (MC) wishes to drink blood from Senri's (FMC) neck, rather than from her finger tip. Also, the quality of the blood matters, alot. End doesn't shy away from making it known that he wants to drink Senri's blood, but as she is both his source of life and his potential for death, he has to tred carefully to not betray her trust. There's also a couple of portions in the translation so far where End has sparing with Senri in order to try and grow stronger. So, while the MC knows he isn't some OP badass and has severe weaknesses, he does actually try to work on these.

Another fault that people have is that End "contradicts" himself. A tag that is sorely missing from this is "Unreliable Narrator", because 90% of the work is End's POV, and his inner thoughts and feelings. For people talking about how is one chapter End will think "I will never forgive Senri", and then a couple chapters later it seems to be forgotten, people get over their feelings in real life too. End, as a character, wont always stick to his guns. He will be enraged, the impulses of the monster will drive him, and then he will get back to his more..."human" self and think differently. This is all literally fantastic character building, because it feels real.

This is actually the perfect segway into my actual review: the character building in this is fantastic. I am also an author, so I see how wonderful the actions, thoughts, words, etc of the characters are to themselves. There are primarily two that need to be mentioned (End and Senri), but just know that also all the characters actually behave according to the world, which is great!

Now, starting with End, his character building is fantastic, and you really can feel that slow but painful decent into the abyss within his soul as the story continues. Routinely, the impulse for blood drinking will come up, or how all of End's s*xual tension is placed around smell; the smell of Senri's blood. It fits perfectly into who End is. At one point, End is litterally losing his mind. He is on the brink, doing everything feasibly possible to not tip over, and the inner thoughts are so jumbled and convoluted that it brings to life how insane End really is. Coming up with plans that, when sane, he KNOWS would never work, but due to the insanity completely forgetting that. His mind whipping back and forth between trying to stay alive, satisfy the blood lust that is building up, and keep true to his promise to Senri. None of his motives are pure, all of them have a tinge of selfishness to them, and it all perfectly works and makes sense with who End is.

Senri, on the other hand, is like the flip-side of the coin that End is made from. She is kind, stubborn, a justice freak, but soft-spoken. Her entire character works perfectly, except for 1 small thing... personally, I think she reason why she gave up everything and decided to keep an eye on End to be a little... flat. It's not wrong, and makes sense given her personality, but it just felt flat to me. With the revelation that End remembers his human life, that was cut short, and the pity of watching as this monster; who's fate is undeniably sad, struggle to just feel alive, she places the burden on herself to watch over End and make sure that he doesn't become harmful to humans. She's loyal to End, just like End is loyal to Senri, and the entire relationship is (imo) beautiful.

The romance, other than the s*xual tension due to blood drinking, is SLOW. While some might find this off-putting, it makes sense. Infatuation is fast, but actual romance is slow. Plus, given the situations that Senri and End find themselves in, there hasn't been alot of time to actually build up true romantic feelings. Keep in mind that I could continue on if I wanted, but I will stop my review here. The world-building is really good, the way the curses work is fantastic, the struggle between darkness and light is well played out, and the characters obediently follow the world that they exist in and act accordingly; and it makes for one hell of a read! <<less
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fear80
fear80 rated it
November 10, 2021
Status: c100
Although it's nice to see the interaction between MC and FMC.

Story feels like it's going nowhere even after all these chapters. Narration is also a bit monotonous, it could be way better than what it is now. The author glosses over lot of things in the story.
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beryl850008
beryl850008 rated it
June 17, 2020
Status: v2
The first volume is fantastic, characters are not bad and story is also intriguing. A strong start. And prolly the few times where the female character is a justice freak but still likable instead of annoying.

The second volume felt weird as there is a change of style and is... Questionable? Probably somewhere between a 3.5-4 all considered, but the first volume was really good, a solid 4.5 for me.
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Valixiant
Valixiant rated it
September 9, 2021
Status: c62p2
Oh boy. Well this is quite the novel. First volume is literally the only good thing about this novel. Everything after is one of the biggest messes known to man. There was clearly zero planning in the plot, not even a rough sketch of it. The entire plot seems like it was done on a whim.

First of all, the main character. "Cunning Protagonist" He is not cunning whatsoever. He is slightly more cautious than your average person with superhuman abilities. I hate how the author tries to make him seem... more>> smart throughout the novel. "It seems my plan is working", "Haha, all according to my plan", etc. Meanwhile his plan is to cling to someone who took pity on him, thats it.

Minor Spoiler
Spoiler

I think the story really started falling through once he turned into a dog. All of the bad aspects and good aspects of having a vampire as a main character were instantly ruined.

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Also, the main characters goal is to live. He has made that especially abundant in the first volume. However, in volume 2 and 3 he doesn't do anything to get stronger. He keeps running away. Also, his relationship with Senri (the female lead) switches so much it's insane. "I won't trust her again after this", "How dare she betray me, I will never let get away with this." These lines were instantly forgotten on the next chapter.

Furthermore, the only romance between the main character and female lead is pure s*xual tension. I mean, come on. There is literally no romantic feelings whatsoever that are expressed by the female lead, yet there is a abhorrent amount of s*xual tension. It would be nice if there was some character development, but I find this highly unlikely.

If most novels are trains running on a linear train track, this novel is someone swimming through a underwater tunnel in a murky swamp. There is no end goal besides "get stronger". There is no actual intent to get stronger. Thus, the main characters motivations seem really shallowed, completely contradictory to what he was like in the first volume.

Overall, not recommended. Very amateurish novel. <<less
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Kightray
Kightray rated it
January 28, 2021
Status: c34
Initial expectation was high and I rated it 4 star and thought it could go into 5 star territory, but the best I can say now is author is really dragging the story, its like we already know that vampire need blood just get over with it, why do you need to rub it in our face every single chapter
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dippityboppity
dippityboppity rated it
October 31, 2022
Status: c90 part1
Don't let the cover art fool you, this is pretty mature/un-cliché as far as Japanese WNs go. It's quite good and definitely one of the better stories on here. The romance ... more>>
Spoiler

is not very prominent at all, and there's not very much development as far as the relationship between End and Senri goes. They basically treat each other the same from their very first meeting and then one day just sorta tell each other they love each other after a very long time into the book. I'd say that's the one weakness of the book.

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Other than that the story itself is very good. <<less
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S3RS
S3RS rated it
August 28, 2022
Status: v5c8
It's good. The theme is dark-but-not-grusome fantasy with elements of vampires, werewolf, zombie and skeleton--basically undead (no shit, sherlock.) It is also not a power fantasy with OP protagonist. Of course, the protagonist is also strong in this novel, but he had to grow and overcome things to get to that point. Still, he is not OP... yet.

Volume 1 is a setup where the hero and heroine get to know each other and why they start their journey.

Volume 2-3 is when our hero and heroine opened their hearts to one... more>> another as they traveled. The interaction between them is really cute. Also, the powers of our heroes are being slowly discovered.

Volume 4 is a turning point.

Volume 5 is really interesting so far, but the authur IS ON A f*ckING HIATUS BECAUSE HE'S WORKING ON ANOTHER f*ckING LIGHT NOVEL f*ck!@#$%^&*

The only thing you might not like about the novel is that most of the texts are monologues and exposition in POV of the hero. However, that makes sence considering the hero's backstory of being a Thinker because he was bed-ridden and thinking is the only thing he can do to distract himself from the pain. Personally, I am fine with it, but let me warn you. Just in case.

--also really recommend if you're into vampirism aka blood-sucking is s*xual here <<less
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Kiritsuna
Kiritsuna
March 22, 2022
Status: c85 part1
--EDIT--

Just for curiosity, I decided to read the raw WN but I realized that there hasn't been a new chapter in a good while. And I can't say I like were volume 3 ended

--EDIT--

... more>> I'll start with this... Separating the chapters in parts is a shitty way to milk the money out of everyone. Now for the actual WN review.

This is the kind of story I like, slow-paced with necessary time-skips, an angelic FL who even though naive, is strong-willed and decisive when she has to act, and who is a good judge of character. Lastly, a ML who isn't dense and does what he needs to, someone who works hard to get strong and isn't afraid to show a weak side, and who DOES use his head. THANK THE LORDS!!!.

As far as the story goes, the only "original" thing it has is that unlike most, in this WN the ML is the "damsel in distress" instead of the FL. What I'll give the WN is that the pacing and writing of the story feel nice. They know when to use time-skip and when to slow down the pace. The relationship development is good, they don't force anything and the events are quite realistic.

I think I'll go ahead and read the raws or something, waiting a week p/ chapter is too much for me <<less
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TheForgottenPumpkin
TheForgottenPumpkin rated it
January 7, 2022
Status: c26
Personally not my cup of tea, but it's still a damn good story.

The graphic explanations are gruesome and I love it. The story is logical and the MC isn't a dumbass among normal people nor is he a normal person among dumbasses. He's moderately smart and he's also not omnipotent. Any and all plans are definitely not something I could come with, because I'm dumb, but they aren't f*cking Sherlock Holmes levels of s*upidly smart.

The other characters are also not too bad and the story building is overall good. I've... more>> dropped it and likely won't come back, not because it's a bad story, but because I prefer other genres. I just happened to pick this book up. <<less
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Mhelbert
Mhelbert rated it
October 22, 2021
Status: c68
Good story, good enough to make me use the forbidden technique of mtl, and read all the raws

Some readers complain about the mc's lack effort on gaining power which is very crucial on his ultimate goal of staying alive but it is explained well in the story as it progersses the one who hinders the MC to seek evolution and gaining power is senri and the companionship with senri as story progersses os as important to MC as staying alive.
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cpzombie
cpzombie rated it
October 7, 2021
Status: c65
A MC that pretty much purely desires to exist (he says live, but he's undead), eventually gaining some other motivations too. The world building is pretty good with some interesting mechanics and characters. Overall it's definitely an entertaining read, give it a shot.
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reu
reu rated it
June 15, 2021
Status: c54
Romance between a weakling undead and a holy knight.... more>>
Spoiler

That'd alone would be pretty metal, but it's only when you get to the fights that this series really gets going. Visceral and nicely paced, describing every blow but without getting cumbersome, it really is well done.

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The characters
Spoiler

are both well realised, the FL - a novice but powerful undead killer, who breaks at the first sign of humanity in her foes, has a thing for self sacrifice and wants nothing but to the right thing.

The MC - a weakling undead created to be sacrificed as a vessel for a powerful necromancer, has a good moral compass from his time among the living and will do whatever won't harm him to help those around him, but, as the monster with no real emotions other than his hunger he now is, he's ruthless in getting every advantage he can in order to "survive".

They both have simiral origins having spent most of their lives sick and suffering in their beds. Senri, who had her body ravaged by her powerful holy power until she joined the Knights and trained herself and End, who held on until his late tenage years despite having had his body ravaged by an incurable mysterious diseased until he finaly succumbed, which is probably the reason why he mantained his sentience after he was raised by a necromancer.

Their foes thus far have all been suitably competent, interesting and motivated, leaving little room for the usual asspulls and bullshitery that are the mark of a less intelligent writer.

[collapse]

As for romance between the main pair
Spoiler

- the whole novel (apart from a few chapters every now and then) is told from the MC's perspective, and it's in his interactions with the FL you clearly see how inhuman he's become, calmly and easily manipulating her, even when he's on death's door, up to the moment his endurance breaks and he goes full beast, only stoping when he's fed.

The FL's pity for the weakling vampire, over the course of the series, through his manipulations and their interactions, has turned to more and more overt romantic feelings, . tTe MC on the other hand is becoming more true to his actions as he changes focus merely surviving and starts considering his future with Senri. His advances that were originaly accompanied by cynic, manipulative and downright psychopathic thoughts are now lead by sincere desire for her... (blood).

[collapse]

Also, dunno if I should praise Merontomari or the TLers for this but the text's flow makes you reach the end of each chapter before you know it, it's both a enjoyable read and enjoyable to read. <<less
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Yash Allen
Yash Allen rated it
October 10, 2021
Status: c65
Interesting plot with good world building. Always makes me curious for next chapter. I think you should give it a try. I originally first read Light novel translated by Yen press then resume here. Writing structure of author absolutely excellent. Translation by Wisteria is good and easy to read Whoever rate below 4 are false.
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Eomin
Eomin rated it
January 19, 2021
Status: --
Flawless example for a conflicted protagonist torn between the destructive urge to kill for food, and the need to live and retain a minimum of humanity. Much better than Tokyo Ghoul as there is a proper reason for the MC to stay 'sane' and 'human' other than flimsy moral constructs, which can't withstand hunger!
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uMaykon
uMaykon rated it
November 18, 2020
Status: c12
It's bad. Why? 12 chapters "farming" the premise and no development, no world building ("imagine yourself" isn't world building), inconsistent rules, unnarrated events - I did some hunting, Lord healed me, hur dur, repeat -, tons of plotdevices - Wow! I can read books! Wow I can learn some magic bullsh*t but not everything because of language - and dumb crisis (sorry, it's spoiler).
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Fish009
Fish009 rated it
February 18, 2023
Status: c132
I love it, the first volume is a bit too gloomy and stressful for me, but after that is a perfect balance of comedy and plot. The plot does not feel forced, and the dialogues are natural, and the punch lines are not overused, overall great writing.

The world building is especially great, there's never a single piece of extra information, like everything is revealed at the right time, no info dump, but there are foreshadows so that it doesn't feel like the author is making stuff up as he goes.... more>> Like we don't know about the knights until we actually met with one, we don't know the outside world and necromancers until the MC faces the outside. It's just good writing, compared to his earlier work like "the lazy king", he seriously improved a lot (not that the lazy king was a bad series)

Such a shame the author stopped writing tho, I guess it's because this series did not sell well. I think it's the fault of the title, people somehow prefer novels with long and ridiculous titles, same thing happened with "the lazy king" from the same author. Speaking of which, maybe the word "king" brings bad luck to this author, all his series with "king" in the title did not do well commercially <<less
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Asphyxia778
Asphyxia778 rated it
September 6, 2021
Status: --
I've read the manga and was delighted to find that this has a novel cause while this series has a lot of flaws the characters are very interesting. Especially the MC.

I do love the MC as he does everything necessary to survive. He has become inhuman and that is very well portrayed, especially in his interaction with the FL. He has the resolve to use anything and everything for his survival and his motive is understandable because of his immense desire to live in his life as a human that... more>> desire became his soul's anchor as an undead.

FL is also interesting. She has a hero complex kind of and her kindness and desire to save others is what MC utilises to manipulate her. She's fairly boring right now but her relationship with MC is fun.

The lore is fairly interesting too. Some known concepts with some new tweaks from the author.

So far so good. Definitely 3 star material right now. If the author polished the work more and removed a lot of flaws it could definitely be a 4 star story. <<less
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Guess1114
Guess1114 rated it
June 16, 2021
Status: c54
Man I'm disappointed in this. It was really good at first but now it's just ok-ish.
Problems with this till now:
1. We are not shown any kind of effort from the mc's side to actually power up which is basically a must for surviving. At the very least he should try to learn something from his lord. The dude doesnt even try to solve the core issue that he's very weak.
2. Instead of actually showing the characters behaviour through action or dialogue the author just glossed over them.
3. The MCs character is really contradicting himself. He says he's not going to forgive senri the last chapter and... more>> now he's acting as if nothing ever happened. Last time he said he's not going to trust senri as much as before but now he's basically her pet.
We are told he's pragmatic and sh*t but his actions never conveyed that except for when he tried to kill his lord.
4. The authors ass pull last time turning him into a dog was utter s*upidity. It could have established he still was the pragmatic guy he was.
5. Really dumb vampire disabilities.
6. If the story was focusing on their romance I'd have no problem but that too is half assed. There's barely any dialogue for any real development. Most of the time the author just writes it as a goddamn diary.
7. The very slow power growth of the MC leaves the readers frustrated <<less
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