Dark Knight Kroki



That was easier than I expected.

　No one has ever been able to resist the magic of sleep so far. I put every human I encountered to sleep before I came.
　With this, I wondered if I didn't have to put on the Dark Knight's armor. I was also thinking about the possibility of a fierce battle.
　Shaking my head, I couldn't let my guard down.
　If I open this door, it's a room with an altar, this is where Raina should be.
　I order Spartoi and the others to skip consciousness and not to let anyone enter this room.
　When I opened the door and entered, the room with the altar was very large and lit up in places with magical lights.
　In the center of the room, there is a huge magic circle painted on it.
　And at the four corners of the magic circle were what looked like stone lanterns that were slightly taller than he was.
　The stone lanterns are the same ones that Modes had seen when he summoned himself. It was undoubtedly an auxiliary to the summoning technique created by Haybos, the god of craftsmanship.
　And there was one woman in front of that magic circle with her back to him.

''Did you capture the intruder, Priestess?''

　Raina asked without turning around.

'I'm sorry, I'm not the head priestess.

　At her own words, Raina turns around.

'The Dark Knight ....... No way, Dihardt!

　Raina rushes to speak her magic.

'Transference (teleportation)!

　However, the magic did not activate.

''Sorry, I blocked the movement-type magic when I invaded this temple. I don't think transfer magic can be activated in this whole area.

　Raina looks surprised.
　I've heard that magic that cancels out the opponent's magic won't be activated if the difference in magic power is large. I guess the magic power of Lehna and myself is not that different.
　If you can't seal it off with this, there was nothing you could do. I'm relieved that it seems to have worked.
　As I approached, Raina stepped back and looked around to search the area.
　She is probably looking for a weapon.
　But there doesn't seem to be anything here that can be used as a weapon.

''Is it me you're after: ......

　I shake my head and then wipe my helmet.
　I can hear Raina gasp for air.

'Nice to meet you, Goddess Raina. I'm sorry to barge into your temple like this.

　Then he holds his helmet under his arm and bows.
　I am anxious to see if I have bowed well.
　I followed Modes' etiquette for the gods of this world. The etiquette of this world is a necessary part of my journey through this world.
　The etiquette of this world was not much different from the world I was from. I heard that there are countries with similar cultures even though they have no contact with the original world, so maybe it's the same.
　The reason I thanked her was because it wasn't actually decided that Raina was bad.
　You can't be rude without being bad.
　I look up and see Raina, there was a much more beautiful face there than I saw in the video.
　Raina is staring at her face.
　I waited for Raina to speak.
　But Raina just looks at her face and does nothing.

'Goddess Raina......?'

　I call out fearfully to myself.

'Hah ...... eh ......'

　He finally came to himself. Raina is a bit flustered.

''It seems that your aim is not me. What is it, dark knight?

　Raina laughs a little. You can't help but admire that smile.
　She's relieved to know that her life is not the target.

'Goddess Raina. I have something to confirm to you.
Is this ......?
'Yes. I thought you were going to summon another one from the same other world as you ......?

　This is not a lie. Because I can't rule out the possibility of a new summons, rather than bringing back Syrone and the others.

''Oh, so that's what you mean: ....... No, it's not, Dark Knight Dihardt.''
Then go to ...... what?
'It's for the return of our brave friends. Isn't that convenient for you?

　Raina thinks that she and the brave men are hostile to each other. He thought it would be more convenient for him to have fewer of his brave friends.

''Our strength will only decrease, the summoning of those from the other world was forbidden in the divine world. It's definitely not a summoning.''
'Are you sure?　It's funny, because as far as I know, it should be difficult for the summoned to return to their world with that technique ......?
'Oh, you've heard from Modes: ....... But you'll have to believe me. It's really not a summons, sir.
'I understand. But wouldn't that put our brave friends in a lot of trouble?
'Indeed it is. But I'm sure it's none of your business.

　When I heard those words from Raina, I put my helmet on.
　I'm done checking.

'The Dark Knight ......?'

　Raina sounded puzzled as her own behavior changed.
　Questions and answers are no longer necessary.
　I drew my sword as I jumped up and slashed one of the summoning aids from the upper level.

''Nah what .......''

　Raina's surprised voice.
　The upper portion of the auxiliary tools fall at an angle with a gobble.
　He continues to fly and slashes two or three of the auxiliary tools.
　He slashes the fourth and final one and points his sword at Raina.
　Then he looks at Raina.

'What are the brave men to you?'

　I say, with suppressed anger.
　The sound of her voice unnerves Raina. Her face was a little frightened.

'You were ...... right, weren't you ....... You are the one who has been summoned, too.'

　Raina says, a little mistakenly.

'Why would you do something like that to fool a brave man: ......

　I say to myself as I point my sword at Raina.

'It was a lot of work, the work of creating ...... summoning techniques was ......

　Raina says bitterly.
　Apparently, they didn't have time to make even a return technique.

''That said, ......,''
'You can't blame me, it's disgusting. I can't believe that ugly Modes is making an alter ego of me and doing weird things: ......

　Raina says, looking away.

'I tried to get rid of him, but ....... I can't believe you did that.'

　The words make it impossible to say anything.
　Raina's physiological aversion to Modes is the cause of the conflict. And they themselves were summoned for that conflict.
　Honestly, it's disempowering.
　But if you think about it, the cause of the conflict might be an emotional thing like that.
　Still, it hurts my head to think that if Modes was the kind of man that women liked, nothing would have happened to cause a conflict.
　The story about the demon king kidnapping the princess and the brave men and knights going to save her is neatly arranged, but isn't it actually a headache?
　In the first place, if the Demon King is beautiful and liked by all women, there is no need to kidnap him and there will be no conflict. Rather, it would be a matter of why they are fighting.
　It's not mentioned in the story, but the princess may think the demon king is a creepy, disgusting man and should die. I've never heard of a supposedly kind-hearted princess sparing the defeated Demon King's life.
　However, that's no reason to deceive Sirone and the others.
　I have to tell Sirone and the others the truth. The best way to do that would be to get Raina to help them.

'Goddess Raina. Tell the brave men the truth.

　I thrust my sword further into Raina.
　Tension hangs in the air between you and Raina.

'...... hey you. Would you like to be my knight?

　But Raina's words were unexpected.
What?

　I make myself sound bareheaded.

'It's funny that someone like you would serve Modes. You should be my knight.

　What is this goddess saying?
　Then what happens to the brave ones? That's when I was about to ask.
　One shadow pops out of the open door.

''Deyaaaaaaah!

　The shadow comes running in and slashes at you.
　I duck back and duck the attack.

'Glad you're safe, Raina!

　The shadow was Cyrone.

'Sorry I'm late. There was a spartoy on the way. ......

　Syrone points his sword at Raina, shielding her behind her back.

''Cowardly man. Pointing a sword at an unarmed woman!''

　Cyrone turns an angry look on him.
　Honestly, I don't want you to look at me like that.

'Run, Raina!　I'll take care of the rest!
'Ah yes, ...... Okay, Cyrone, I'll take care of the rest: ......

　Rayna goes to the door, pushed by Cyrone's attention.

'Wait ......!

　As I tried to chase after him, Shirone stood in front of me.

'I'm not letting you pass here! I'm the guy!







Kuroki's childhood friend, the swordsman Shirone

　　I can't let Rage-kun fight.
　Seeing Sahoko desperately trying to stop Rage-kun, I couldn't let her hurt him any more.
　So I jumped out of the way.
　Rage-kun is our hero.
　The first time I knew about Rage-kun was in middle school. At that time, I was just aware of someone who was cool.
　One day, an incident happened.
　That day I was asked by a junior kid to help me because my friend had been taken by someone with a bad gala.
　I was confident in my skills because my family ran a dojo, and I was often asked for help by junior girls.
　So I went to help my friend with a wooden sword.
　There were three girls at the scene and five men surrounding them. The men must have been high school students, they were large and smelled of violence.
　I had never been beaten by a boy before. If I could only hold a wooden sword, I should have been able to win.
　But that day was different.
　One of the men, enraged by the wooden sword, struck me with an iron pipe.
　I was struck by the blow with my wooden sword. It was a tremendous shock. At that moment, my hand went numb and I dropped the sword.
　The men looked at me in mock horror as I lost my weapon.
　It was then that Rage-kun came to me. The juniors were calling for help not only from me, but also from Rage-kun.
　I remember well the way Rage-kun moved at that time. The opponents were armed, but Rage was bare-handed, and he easily took out five of them.
　Even though he was bigger than you, he was able to fight and win without fear, even though he was armed with a weapon. He was the hero of the story.
　When I was hobbled by fear, he smiled gently at me. I almost cried at the sight of his smile.
　During the fight, he had an injury in his right hand. The juniors and I decided to take care of him until the injury healed. I would protect him if anything happened to him.
　That's when I met Sahoko and Chiyuki.
　Some people ridiculed us for being cronies to Reiji.
　I was annoyed by that. It was good for me, but I couldn't forgive them for saying bad things about Reigi.
　Rage has done nothing wrong.
　I got into a fight with my childhood friend, Kuroki, about it. Kuroki didn't say anything directly, but he was obviously not happy. To me, that was very annoying.
　No, it was probably because it was Kroki that it made me even more angry.
　　I feel that I said many terrible things to Kroki at that time. I think that Kroki was despondent after being said terrible things.
　I felt a little bad about it. But you're a hero, and I wanted Kuroki to recognize that.
　That Mr. Rage is a hero in this world.
　It reminds me of an anime I used to watch. It's about a brave man from another world who defeats the demon king. The current situation is very similar to that story.
　I used to play a game of the anime with Kuroki. I was the hero and Kroki played the role of his minion's antagonist. I don't remember the name of the antagonist, but that doesn't matter.
　I think Kuroki also wanted to play the role of the brave man. But he didn't budge and I was always the hero.
　But the real brave man is Rage. I'm not me.
　This is the reason why it's a good idea to have a good time.
　I was devastated.
　Without realizing it, I was convinced that he was the hero of this story and that he would never lose.
　But I was wrong. You can get hurt sometimes, and you can also lose.
　I was reminded of this when I lost to Dihardt.
　At that time, Sahoko-san was desperate. She was desperately trying to heal Reiji.
　To Sahoko-san, Rage is a special person.
　Just as Kuroki is to me.
　I'm sure Kuroki is worried about you.
　That's why I have to get back to him.
　The only reason I'm going back to my world with Chiyuki-san is to make Kuroki feel safe.
　If someone special hurts him, he will be worried.
　I can't make Sahoko feel that way any longer.
　So I jumped out of the way.
　It's my job to fight when Rage-kun is injured.
　I took down the two spartoys and came to the altar room.
　When I walked into the room, I saw Dihardt holding his sword to Raina.
　The sight of it makes my head bleed.
　Rage-kun would never point a sword at a woman who doesn't have a weapon.
　What a guy.
''Deyaaaaaaahhhh!!!!
　I drew my sword and went to Dihardt.



Dark Knight Kroki.

Prepare yourself, Dihardt!

　He prevents Syrohne's attack as he says so.
　Why is this happening?
　And Dehart, it's like a continuation of the playground game I played with Sirone.
　I have to tell Syrone the truth. But I don't want to reveal my identity. So this is what happens.
　I think as I cross swords with Syrone.
　She thinks to herself, "This is the only way I can save myself.
　It's easy to read the swordsmanship of Cyrone. That's why it's easy to prevent it.
　After facing this, you'll be reminded of this.
　Why was I defeated by Rage at that time? Why I was able to beat Rage then.
　The first time I fought him, I couldn't understand Rage's sword.
　And I lost. I was utterly outclassed. It wasn't because I was wearing a heavier suit of armor or anything like that.
　And I didn't understand why he was beaten. You can't see your opponent's sword. That's what terrified me, and I knew I was no match for him.
　The second time I fought him, somehow I saw Rage's sword. And I won.
　Then I realized that I had crossed swords with Shirone.
　Syrone's sword was formally learned. So it's understandable.
　In contrast, Rage's movements were not formally learned sword movements, they were absurd. That's why I couldn't understand and was terrified the first time I fought him.
　Normally, such a move would not have worked for someone who had learned martial arts, let alone in a fight.
　However, Rage had an uncommon physical ability. Rage's fighting style is like a beast that fights only with the power it was born with.
　This is probably why the martial arts students in the school lost.
　Martial arts is essentially a technique for fighting humans. They must have been confused by Rage, who fought like a beast.
　Of course, I was also confused. I was completely taken aback by his moves, which were so haphazard and impossible to do in Kendo.
　But the second time I fought, Rage's moves were nothing like the first time. So I was able to read and win.
　And when he confronted Shirone, he realized that Rage's movements were the same as the beast's.
　To win against Rage, you can think of it as dealing with a fierce beast, not a human.
　If he had run away from Modes' request at that time, he would never have realized it.
　In hindsight, Rage is a beast of a man.
　A wild beast, loyal to his own desires. Normally, he wouldn't be able to live freely like that. That's what women admire and men are jealous of.
　I can't live like that. Was Shirone also attracted to Rage's free life?
　Even if you can win with a sword, you might not be able to match Rage, I thought to myself.
　Syrone swung her sword at herself.
　It's been a long time since I've matched swords with Syrone. Hasn't Sirone become weaker since then?
　I feel like I was stronger before. Or am I stronger now?
　I have to end this game for good.
　I have to tell Cyrone the truth. In order to do that, I have to get Cyrone to listen to me.
　He may not be able to listen to me in Dihardt.
　But first, I have to get Cyrone to put down his sword.
　In fact, I've never beaten Cyrone myself. It's not that I went easy on him, but for some reason I can't beat Cyrone. That's why I lose in the end.
　And now I'm not holding a shinai but a serious one. It's not possible to hit it harder. If you do that, Sirone will be injured.
　You have to finish the game without hurting her.
　So what do we do?



Kuroki's childhood friend, Shirone.

　Strong. Totally unstoppable.
　I think so when I see the enemy in front of me, Dihardt.
　My sword is easily blocked and avoided by my opponent.
　They have completely seen through me.
　My opponent ducks the sword with the minimum amount of movement necessary.
　There's only one person I know who can make that slipping motion on the ground.
　That was my uncle, who came to my family's dojo to train.
　He was an acquaintance of my father and used to come to the dojo to train.
　The father said that he was a genius of the sword.
　I once saw him and the uncle having a match. That strong father couldn't touch the uncle at all and lost.
　Dihardt's movements are similar to those of his uncle. I'm sure Dihardt is as strong as his uncle.
　But even that strong uncle didn't seem to have a good eye for people.
　Because he calls Kuroki talented. Kroki has never defeated me before.
　The uncle had taught Kroki many things.
　I should have learned the sword from him.
　I didn't learn because he was so strict with me that I quickly uprooted myself.
　I regret it now.
　If I had learned, I might have been able to fight Dihardt a little better.
　I was on the verge of tears. Originally, the game would have been won long ago.
　The reason I'm still fighting such a strong Dihardt is because he's not attacking me.
　He's playing me, I thought.
　I was frustrated. My opponent is a scumbag who points his sword at a defenseless woman. I was frustrated that I couldn't win against someone like that.
　But all he could do was wield the sword.
　And how many times did I have to do that?
　With a snap, my hand becomes light.
　I look at my hand. The sword I should have been holding is gone.
　My sword was lying on the ground beside me.
　I am stunned, and then I realize what my opponent has done to me.
　I was struck with a false sense of security.
　The sword is usually gripped softly, and only for a moment of slashing, I hold it tightly.
　Emptiness is when it is held softly.
　The time it is held tightly is the truth.
　Dihardt struck the emptiness just before he held it tightly to slash with the sword.
　The sword that wasn't held tightly received Dihardt's sword and left his hand.
　I couldn't believe it. That someone could do something like this divine feat.
　Is it a monster, I thought as I looked at Dihardt.
　I'm stunned. But Dihardt didn't do anything.
　I guess I wasn't even an enemy to Dihardt.
''I couldn't be the brave one ......

　Before I knew it, I was in tears.

'Don't think you've won this one!

　I stared at Dihardt as I cried.



◆Dark Knight Kroki.

　It worked, I thought.
　I was able to successfully strike the falsehood.
　This technique cannot be used by an amateur with a prone grip on a sword.
　It was only because he had learned the sword and had crossed swords with himself many times that he was able to use this technique.
　Having lost his sword, Sirone could not fight any more. The only thing left to do is to find a way to get him to listen to you.
　I try to get closer to Sirone.

''I couldn't be a brave man ......

　A prone Silone mutters.
　His muttering stops him in his tracks.

''Don't think you've won with this!

　Silone shouted and stared at herself.
　That face was crying.
　I can't say anything to that crying face.

''Rage-kun will defeat you eventually!

　Then he gulped and said out loud




"More than you!　Rage, you're a hundred times better man than I am!




　The words pierced my own heart.
　It honestly hurts so much.
　I remember being told the same thing in the past.
　I think it was when I had a fight with Shirohane about Rage.
　It hurt a lot then too.
　The thorns that stabbed me then are still stabbing me to this day.
　I knew I couldn't win. Even if you can win with a sword, you're probably no match for Rage.
　Sirone screamed, then sat down on the ground and began to wail wanly.
　Seeing the crying Shirone, I am at a loss for words.
　I've made Cyrone cry. Wasn't I really the villain in this case?
　I feel my heart sink.
　I have to tell her the truth, but honestly, I don't care anymore.
　I've broken the summoning tool, for one thing, it shouldn't put Syrone in danger.
　But that's if Raina doesn't do anything about it.

'Sirone, you're safe!
Mr. White!

　I was thinking for a while when Rage and the others came over.

'Le, Rage-kun ......?'

　Cyrone stops crying a bit and looks at Rage and laughs.
　Seeing that smile makes me feel like I'm going to cry in reverse.

You-!　Get away from Cyrone!

　Rage draws his sword and holds it up.
　The figure looked as if a brave man had come to save the princess.
　If that's the case, I, the villain, have no choice but to disappear.
　When you are in a position to do this, you can be sure that you will be able to get the most out of it.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of this.
　As I walked, I saw a black flame in my hand.
　This black flame seemed to be the one that erupted from my own heart.
　I hit that black flame against the ceiling of the temple. The ceiling melts and makes a hole without letting out any debris.
　I flew out of the top of the temple with my flying magic as it was.
　Let's go back to Nargol.
　That dark land would be suitable for me.
　If I moved with my flying magic, the gods of Elyos might find me, but it didn't matter.
　In the moonlight, I flew alone and lonely.