Dark Knight Kroki

　I found myself standing in a park for the citizens within the walls of the city.
　There was no light in the park, only the light of the moon illuminating the ground.
　He wore a set of armor drawn by magic that drew the tools he had designated with magic.
　This was the second time he had worn the Dark Knight's armor.
　It could be a battle.
　The temple was heavily guarded, and also the rages.
　Therefore, as a result of the strongest equipment given to me by Modes, I'm dressed the same way as that time again.
　Now let's go. I've made up my mind.
　The goal is to hear what Raina has to say.
　But I might be able to get away while I'm stuck in the front door.
　So I'm going to use this.
　Right now, the bag in my hand contains about thirty small white stones.
　They are magic items made from the raw material of the dragon's fangs.
　This is what Modes gave me when I was leaving Nargol, as he thought it might be useful.
　It is said that this white stone can not be used by anyone, but he also said that it would probably be useful to him.
　The white stone is buried at even intervals.
　Then he chants a magic.

'Warriors, by the power of the dragon's fangs, be born!

　As I chanted, fully armed warriors crawled out of the ground, wearing ochre-colored armor with swords in their right hands and circular shields in their left. There are 30 of them.
　They are warriors created by the magic called the Dragon Fang Warrior (Spartoi).
　The red glowing eyes peeking out from the slight gaps in their helmets showed no signs of life.
　The Spartoys come to line up in front of me.
　I look at the Spartoys.
　I thought again that magic was amazing, since such a warrior could be born from such a small stone.
　When Modes explained this magic item to me, I was skeptical that a warrior would really be born.
　I feel some kind of magical connection with the spartoys born from that magic item.
　I think I can control this one.

Nat. You'll have to wait outside.

　I say to Nat, who is sitting on my shoulder. We were in danger of getting into a battle and getting caught up in it.

'Hey,'

　Nat climbed off his own shoulders.

'And maybe I won't be able to leave. So here.

　Myself, I give Nat a stone out of my pocket.

'Oh no, Master Dihardt!

　The Stone of Shifting. It is a magic item that can be used only once, even by those who cannot use transposition magic.

It's just in case. If you're not back in the morning, use the stone to get home.
"Dear Mr. Dihardt.
'I'm not going to die, Nat. I'll definitely pull out if it gets dangerous.

　I say reassuringly to Nat.

'If you yan on that sort of thing, you can go to ....... I understand, good luck with that, yans .......
　Nat reluctantly agrees.
'I'm going, Spartoy!

　Spartoi and the others begin to move. Their movements are swift and it's hard to believe that they are wearing heavy armor.
　The Spartoys jump to the top of the roof of a house and move lightly on the roof, just like you.
　Their target is the Temple of Raina.
　I let Spartoi rush in from all directions as a decoy, and I enter the temple one tempo later.
　According to Nat, Raina is in a room with an altar in the center of the temple in order to prepare for the magic to bring back Shirone and her friends.
　It is said that the magic will take place tomorrow. Therefore, it's now or never.
　We marched towards the temple of Raina.




Chiyuki, the companion of the hero.

Hey, Reiji, this isn't alcohol!

　He protests, sticking out the drink I've been handed.

'Well, that's fine, Chilluki. This could be the last night here for Chiyuki and the others, you know.

　Rage says teasingly.
'That's right Chiyuki, don't say anything hard, don't say it.'
That's right, Chiyuki, I'm not going to tell you anything.

　Reno and Nao say happily.
　Tomorrow, Shirone and I will return to the world we came from.
　That's why Rage and the others gave us a brief farewell party.
　Rage had the people of the temple prepare refreshments and drinks for us.
　The drink I had them prepare for me was alcohol.
　The drink I have in my possession now is a liquor made from grape-like fruit, mixed with seawater and honey.
　The alcohol content of this drink is low, so you won't get drunk at first, except for one sip. The only exception would be Kyouka, who fell ill after just one sip.
　That Kyouka is sleeping on a nearby sofa and is being cared for by Kaya.
　However, no matter how low the alcohol content is, we are still underage and drinking is prohibited.
　If Kyouka hadn't fallen down, I might not have noticed.

'But hey Chiyuki, this might be the last time we'll see this world and we won't see each other for a while. Let's part ways happily at the end.

　Rage says.

'I won't be seeing everyone for a while,'

　Syrone said sadly.
　Everyone became a little dispirited at her words.

The place is going to become damp. The place is going to be damp. Let's have fun!

　Reno and Nao agree with those words.

'I can't help it. ......

　I reluctantly agree to drink.
　I don't want the place to get damp, either.
　Rage is always taking me for a ride, I think back to the past.
　I was raised by my parents to be a hard worker, and all I did was study.
　Then Rage took me outside.
　I remember the first time in my life we skipped school together. Playing in the city when everyone else was studying. I knew I shouldn't, but it was a new and exciting experience that I had never had before.
　My adventures in this world were also full of anger at Rage, but deep down I'm sure it was fun.
　We fought dragons, interacted with the elves, went to the mountains, the sea, and the caves. It was fantastic and it was like walking into a story.
　Of course there were dangers and hardships, but I enjoyed it because Rage was there and everyone else was there. If I came to this world by myself, it would just be hard.
　That's probably why people don't want to go back.
　But for me, this adventure will end tomorrow.
　I'm going back to my daily life first. In truth, I'm pulling back on my hair.
　It's time for someone to go home.
　It's getting damp, which is not good.
　I drink alcohol. It's a little sweet and tasty.
　In general, alcohol is highly impure and can only be drunk through a straw with a hollow plant inside.
　But the liquor served in this temple is easy to drink because the impurities have been carefully removed.
　We drank the alcohol and chatted about it.

I'm sorry, too, Reigi. I had to quit in the middle of practice.
It's no use. It was a sudden decision.

　Cyrone apologizes to Rage.
　The practice for countermeasures against Dihardt had to be stopped because Sirone had to leave suddenly. Besides, Sirone also said that it was impossible to teach Rage, so they needed another countermeasure method from the beginning.

''Everyone, please take care of Rage. Especially don't fight against Dihardt until you have the math to definitely win!

　Everyone nodded.
　Dihardt is strong. But he's not someone we have to take down, even if we have to risk our lives.
　I'm asking Kaya to search for the pervert. In some cases, we have to find someone other than Raina who can summon them.
　If we can't defeat Dihardt and defeat the demon king, then we'll have to ask that person to do it.
　Then we enjoyed some drinks and snacks.
　And then it was time to talk about whether we should end it for tomorrow.

　Can-can-can.

　Multiple bells can be heard.

'What's that sound!'

　Everyone looks at each other.

'There's an intruder!
They're coming from the west entrance!
There are some weirdos at the east entrance!

　A gasp from the knights.

'Intruders!

　Apparently the bell we just heard was the sound of an alarm system.

'Is there an intruder, or do we need to get out?

　Rage says.
　'I want to know what the intruder looks like first.

"Nao-san. Can you do that for me?
Okay.

　Nao closes her eyes and meditates.
　One of the special abilities that Nao has acquired since coming to this world is the ability to sense objects.
　It is the ability to know where something is or where the enemy is without looking with the eyes.
　This ability can also be used by Rage, Shirone and Kaya. However, while Rage and the other two can only detect a distance of about 8 or 9 meters, Nao can sense a radius of about 2 kilometers.
　Normally, though, it's only possible to detect the presence of something. Once she concentrates her mind, her precision increases dramatically, and she can even detect the shape of her opponent.
　Of course, the ability to perceive has its weaknesses as well. It can only sense the shape of the object, not its magic or color, and if the space is blocked by a magical ward, it cannot sense the other side of the ward.
　This temple is also magically warded, but since we are inside the ward, we will be able to detect it.

''There are about thirty intruders that seem to be invading the temple in different parts of the city, surrounding the temple.

　I nod my head at Nao's report. Since the goddess is descending in this temple, the security is tighter than usual.
　There should be about 300 knights on guard today. With just 30 people, they would be seized immediately.

...... These guys have been here before. I think it's a guy called Spartoy or something.

　Everyone is surprised by Nao's report.
　Spartoi is a demon I encountered when I fought in Nargol.
　As I recall, the strength of the one who summoned him should vary depending on the level of his magic power.

''Does that mean the demon king is attacking us?''

　Reno says anxiously.

'Mr. Nao. Spartoi would have had someone to call.'

　Yes, Spartoi would have a sorcerer who summoned him.
　Defeat him and Spartoi would be gone.

"Yes, sir!

　Nao meditates further.

'There was a guy who looked different from the others: ......

　Nao complements the intruder who is not Spartoi.
　Perhaps he is the sorcerer who called Spartoi.
　If that's the case, we'll take him down and that's it.

'This form is a knight ....... Could it be a dark knight?

　They all think the same thing at Nao's muttering.

'Could it be that Dihardt is here?

　Nao stopped meditating at Rage's words.

'Maybe so. ......
Maybe you're here for Mr. Ray: ......?

　Rage is still recovering. If we fight now, we will lose.

No, there's someone else to beat.

　Rage says and stands up with his weapon.

'Hey, where are you going!
Raina might be in danger!

　Rage said and turned to leave the room.
　Indeed, Dihardt came as if he was going to see that Raina had descended.
　It was probably more likely than not that Rage would be targeted.
　That Raina should be preparing for tomorrow's return.

''No, we can't win!

　Sahoko hugs Rage and stops him.

'Yes, I can't! You'll only get killed if you go here!

　I don't have to risk my life for Raina. I think we should abandon her.
　But Rage shook his head.

'I'm sorry, but I'm going. If Raina's in danger, I'll go, and if everyone else is in danger, I'll go too.

　Rage will go. He would risk his life to save a pretty woman.
　That's why we're all on Rage's side.

'No, we won't let her go!

　Sahoko hugs Rage even tighter.

'I'm sorry Sahoko. Just let me go. ......

　But it's not Rage to hear that.
　But perhaps because of his weakness, he tries to shake Sahoko, but is unable to do so.

'You know what state you're in, and I'm telling you!

　Sahoko is supposed to be the most impotent of all of them. But now Rage can't shake it off.
　Rage's body is still not in a fighting condition. It's useless to go there.
　So we must force Rage to stop.

''I'll go!

　Everyone looks at Silone.

'I'll protect Miss Raina!　So please, Rage, you need to stay safe with everyone else!
Sirone!

　Before I could stop her, Shirone said that and ran out of the room.




◆Temple Knight.

'What the hell!　This guy!

　Saying that, he swings his sword, but he is blocked by the circular shield that the opponent has and cannot reach it.
　The intruder in front of you is going to be pushed in with the shield as it is.
　It is pushed in place, and the guy behind him falls down as well.

''Guhaha!
Hehe!

　Two dumb voices overlap.

'What power!'

　I look at the ochre-armored intruder in front of me.
　His eyes, visible through the cracks in his helmet, glowed red.

''It's not human. ......

　Probably a demon.
　The Goddess descended and I, who was supposed to be off duty, was sent out on guard.
　It was while I was chatting lightly with my fellow knights, wondering if I could see the Goddess in the waiting area. It was the bell that rang, announcing the presence of the intruder.
　The bells were ringing at all the places where they were set up, and I knew that more than one intruder had come in simultaneously from all sides.
　And when I came to my assigned post, that guy appeared.
　I look around and see that six of my fellow knights are down.
　Those who have been cut on their arms and legs. Some were struck by shields. But strangely, none of them are dead.
　That enemy seemed to have no intention of killing us.
　If I wanted to kill myself, which is still down right now, I would be able to do so, but they didn't do anything.

''What the hell ....... Are you playing ......?

　He gets up and holds his sword.
　There are three friends left in this room. Against that, there is one.
　This one has more numbers. However, we couldn't attack them from here.
　Of the nine companions who were alone, six of them became incapable of fighting in the blink of an eye.
　We had to be cautious.

''Yeah?''

　One of my companions makes a strange noise.
　I follow my companion's gaze and see one shadow behind the intruder.
　I look at the shadow to see if it is a newcomer. A figure in jet black armor comes toward me.
　Looking at the shadow, you feel a chill run down your spine.
　The pressure of that person is nothing compared to the ochre-colored intruder in front of you.

''Ah, the Dark Knight ......

　Another fellow squeezes out a voice.

''A dark knight, you can't be a dark knight Dihardt!　So the rumors were true!

　The Dark Knight Dihardt. Now his name is resounding all over the world. The man who defeated the invincible hero.
　And it is rumored that the Dark Knight Dihardt will lead demons from all over the world to destroy the humans.
　Is he targeting the goddess Raina as a start?

"Meh Goddess is in danger." ......

　I hold my sword, but I can't stop shaking. I feel like I'm going to die just confronting him.
　When the dark knight comes close, he points his hand towards you.

'Sleep ......'

　When I hear those words, a fierce sleeper comes over me. I look around and see that the rest of my friends are collapsing as well.

'The magic of sleep: ......'

　By the time I realized what the sleeper was, it was too late.

'I believe that's the room with the altar up ahead: ......

　The last time I heard those words, I went straight into a daze.