Dark Knight Kroki

You had fun last night, didn't you?

　That's what he told me at the opening when I left the separate room and went to Gallios' house.
　I can't say anything back because I honestly don't remember anything.
　What happened last night?
　I don't know what Raina's aim is.
　Normally, we should be in a situation where we have to get out of here in a hurry.
　It was supposed to be .......
　...... For some reason it seemed to be okay.
　The reason for this is that Rage and the others are not moving against me. Nothing at all.
　When I woke up in the morning, I was confused for a long time.
　You're going to have to run away immediately, but you've done a good job of cleaning up the room that you've made a mess.
　After that, quite some time had passed when I realized that I had to run away.
　I looked at the room and it was very clean.
　I think I tried too hard to clean it up. I didn't even use fabric softener on the sheets, but they are still fluffy. I really wonder what I'm doing. ......
　Even after all this time, they haven't done anything. There was no sign of them coming to raid this room.
　Is Raina not going to do something about herself?
　Or did Raina not tell Rage about herself?
　Or did you tell him but he won't do anything about it because he's so insignificant to Rage that he's insignificant to himself?
　The last one seemed particularly likely.
　That made me angry, but I didn't know what it was really about.

'Black. What about her?

　He must be talking about Raina. Gallios asks with a smirk.

'I'll be gone when that happens ......'

　I answer honestly. I'd like to know where Raina is.
　Gallios is surprised at his words.

'That's funny, I'm sure he'd notice if someone walked by: ......

　Perhaps he left here with the magic of flight.
　Did he go to Rage and the others?
　Gallios is also tilting his head. But he can't do anything about it because he doesn't know.

"And you, Black. You'd better look in the mirror. You've got a hell of a face.

　Gallios says with a laugh.

''?''

　Gallios told me to go to the bathroom with the mirror.
　The mirror in this world is made of polished metal. It's a little bit of a bad reflection, but I was able to see enough.
　There are marks on his face where he was hit. And there were many other red marks.

"What are these marks ......?

　But it looks like I'd better wash my face.
　I draw water from a jar that holds water and wash my face.

It doesn't come off very well: ......

　It may be cursed or something, but the red stuff doesn't fall off easily.
　I'm sure it will fall off sooner or later, but maybe it's better to spend today hiding your face.

''Does Gallios-senpai have Kuro-dono?

　A loud voice suddenly rang out. It's Lember's voice, what's going on?
　I turned toward the living room and saw Lember.

'Senior! Black-dono!　I need your help.
　Lember bowed to himself and Gallios.





◆Silone, the maiden of the sword

　Unfortunately, it's cloudy today.
　Walking outside the city walls didn't look like much fun.
　But I don't have the luxury of not having to wear that embarrassing armor all day.
　Everyone except me should be looking for a pervert today.
　I hope you can find a way to get home: .......
　To be honest, I'm not too keen on going home, except for Chiyuki-san.
　Reigi-kun, Reno-chan and Nao-chan seem to think they don't need to go home.
　Sahoko seems to think that she only needs to stay with Reiji, and Kyouka and Kaya are not enthusiastic about going home, although I don't know about them.
　So what about me?
　I honestly don't know.
　I enjoy being with everyone. So part of me is relieved that I can't go home.
　I'm glad to know that I can still be with you guys.
　But that doesn't mean I don't want to go back.
　It's probably right to go back like Chiyuki-san says, and there are people in the original world that I want to see.
　That's why I can't forgive Dihardt, the reason why I can't go home.
　I'm very disappointed that I lost to a guy like that.
　And maybe I'll have a rematch with that Dihardt.
　Before the rematch, I want to move my body a bit.
　I want to blow off that hazy feeling, so I go to the tower.
　I stand tall and catch my breath.
　Someone comes to my side. It's Lember, a knight of this country. He will be my companion today.

'Lady Syllone. We seem to be in order.

　I turn around as Lember reports.
　There is a group of people in various armed groups near the gate outside the city walls.
　They are the people who came to help me from the Rox Kingdom to investigate the tower.
　Since I don't have any detection skills, Chiyuki-san requested that the Kingdom of Roxx dispatch personnel.
　Of course, the kingdom agreed to send personnel.
　Well, it's only natural that they'll be the ones to suffer from Striges.
　The number of people dispatched was 12. Since Nao-chan couldn't come, the investigation would have to be covered by numbers.
　The problem is that we don't know if we can deal with the demons in the tower.
　There are supposed to be demons in the tower, so even if I'm fine, it might be dangerous for them.
　I'm not saying that I need to be as strong as Reiji, but I'd like to see him at least have the ability to protect himself.
　I know it's a pity to compare myself to the cool and strong Mr. Rage, but I can't help but compare myself to him.
　This is a bad habit. I need to get rid of it.
　It's like Chiyuki says, we shouldn't look at men in reference to Reigi.
　He turns to the members and bows his head slightly.

''Good day to you all.''

　Each member bows his or her head when I say hello.
　I look at the members.
　First of all, the leader of this group, Lember. He comes from a family of knights who have been in the Kingdom of Roxx for generations, and he himself is a knight. As he's engaged to the princess, he's also quite high up in the kingdom.
　Next is the de facto leader, Gallios. He seems to be a former knight, but now he's a freedom fighter. Apparently, the fact that he was able to gather so many people on such short notice is largely due to his skill.
　And then there's Stol, the ranger. He seems to be the best ranger in the country, teaming up with Gallios to exterminate the monsters of the forest.
　Nimli the Magician. He's a wizard in the kingdom of Roxx and is the chief strategist for this group. He's an ordinary ordinary sorcerer with a good appearance.
　There are also eight freedom fighters, but it's hard to remember them all. I'll only remember four of the main characters for now.
　These twelve, plus myself, make a total of thirteen members of the tower's investigation.

Well then, shall we go, gentlemen?

　There's a bit of a murmur as I say it.

'Um, Sir Syrone-sama, may I ask you to go to ......?'

　One person comes out. That's Stoll the ranger.

What is it?
'It's more than half a day's journey from here to the tower, do we camp near the tower? I don't have anything prepared for you: ......

　Stoll says with concern.

'Oh, that's fine. I'll use my movement magic.'

　The members look at each other as I say it.
　I'm not as good as Reno, but I can use a bit of wind spirit magic.
　There's a magic that uses that wind spirit that allows the person following to move as fast as the person leading the way is going.
　If I run at the front of the pack, we should all be at the tower within 30 minutes.
　Everyone looks at me when I explain it to them.
　But it was too much of a hassle to explain any further.

''Well then, let's go!



Shirone the Maiden of Swords

　We arrive at Striges Tower.

'Oh, aren't there a few of them?'

　I look behind me and there are fewer of them than when I came at the gates of the city walls.

'It's ...... but apparently it's ...... that has dropped out by the time they get here.

　Lember says, exhaling coarsely.

'Oh ...... too much ...... couldn't keep up with ...... speed ...... It looks like .......

　I'm discouraged by those words.
　I thought I came as slowly as possible, but it was weaker than I expected.
　There were four of us who were eliminated.
　It looks like we'll have to explore the tower with the four people I remembered, including Lember, plus four freedom fighters and nine people including me, but when I looked at the remaining people, all but one were on all fours and breathing heavily. To be honest, they didn't look useful.
　The exception was one of the freedom fighters whose name I couldn't remember. That person seemed unconcerned, though his face was covered by a cloth, and he was caring for Nimri beside him.
　He might be useful in this one. I thought I'd ask him for his name again later.
　Leaving the care of one of them to take care of me, I approach the tower gate.

'Huh?'

　I notice something strange.

'Maybe it's the wards: ......

　I feel some kind of magical power that is different from before.
　It was like there was a warding that blocked detection.
　Chiyuki-san might be able to tell me more about it, but I don't know for sure.
　Moreover, I feel that the person who put up the wards has quite a powerful dark power.

''You don't think he's really here?''

　If so, it's too easy to understand. But the Striges I had met before had never felt such powerful magic.

''Silone-sama, what do you want me to do?''

　Lember comes in, wobbling.

'Of course we'll go. Last time we went in through the air, but today you guys are here, so let's go in the front.

　In fact, last time I only entered the Striges' living quarters on the top floor of the tower.
　Even with Nao's detection, there was only a hint of undead, and since there were no signs of life, she assumed that she had defeated all of the Striges and left.
　Therefore, there should still be traps inside for fighting off the undead and intruders.
　However, since we've come to explore, we should explore the part below from the living quarters that we haven't seen yet. Also, since none of the members can fly, I'm going to enter through the front gate.
　We don't even know what's in there.
　But we'll find out when we get in.

I'll be okay on my own. And if you think it's dangerous, run away immediately.

　I say the same thing that Chiyuki said to me. Honestly, I don't want you to die, so don't take it easy.
　And we broke into the tower.



◆Kuroki the Dark Knight

　It was a very bad situation.
　How many times do I have to wonder about that?
　Glorious is in that tower.
　When Lember came to Gallios' house in such a hurry.
　I thought he had found out about me.
　However, it seems that this is not the case.
　At Lember's request, I went to the house and found Shirone.
　I didn't expect to find Cyrone there, but I was glad I kept my face covered to hide the red marks on my face.
　And I could tell from Sirone's demeanor that Raina hadn't told Rage and the others anything.
　But there was another problem.
　If they didn't do something about it, Sirone and Glorious would meet up with each other. If they didn't do something about it, Glorious would be defeated by Shirone.
　However, they came to the tower without a good idea.

''Black-dono ...... sorry ......''

　Nimli apologizes to himself.
　I had pulled Nimli, who was about to drop out when he came to this tower, myself.
　Nimli was able to escape, but some of them were left behind in the forest. Hopefully, those who were eliminated will be able to return safely.
　Although the forest is defeated, it is not entirely free of demons. There will be danger.
　Compared to us, the people of this world are weak, will they be okay?
　And even those who have reached this point seem to be unable to move, breathing coarsely.
　But Silone quickly headed towards the tower, leaving those who couldn't move.
　I wish I could give him a little bit more of a workout, but I don't think that's possible with his personality.
　Syrone is hard on men.
　To be precise, it's the men who are weaker than me. I had a vague idea of the reason for this, though.
　Sirone's family, the Akamine family, had never had a boy.
　Akamine's uncle didn't say it in words, but he wanted a boy to take over the dojo.
　I think it was evident in his attitude.
　I think he knew from a child's heart that a boy was desired. I think he was trying his best not to lose to a man.
　This made Shirone far stronger than the men out there. And Sirone came to hate men who were weaker than her.
　Girls seemed to be good at being weak, and Sirone would protect those girls from violent men. For this reason, he was very well-liked by his peers.
　I think the comics and novels that she liked were all about girls fighting off bad guys.
　I remember that she often made me play the role of a villain when I played with Shirone.
　I was willing to play a villain because it made Shirohane happy, and Shirohane, the main character, would beat me up.
　But it's probably because I was always playing that kind of villain that I couldn't get Cyrone to like me.
　But it's only recently that I've realized that.
　And in the stories that Shirone liked, there was always a boy who helped a girl fight the bad guys. All of those boys seemed to be similar to Rage.
　Maybe that's what Rage was to Shirone.
　I guess I'm the villain in contrast. Even now, I'm still sneaking around behind Shirohne's back.
　But this time, I couldn't let Shirohne play an active role. I'm not going to let him become a dragon slayer hero.
　When I look at them, I see that Renber and Gallios have finally recovered to the point where they can move, and they are following Shirone, starting with those who have recovered.
　I'm following them.
　What should I do now? I've been thinking about it for a while now.



Dark Knight Kroki.

　The Striges are a winged race and therefore do not need an entrance on the first floor.
　However, the reason it is there is because the Striges are purposely building it for the Striges to prey on humans.
　According to Lember, the nations surrounding the tower, including the Kingdom of Roxx, have formed a strike force to challenge the tower, but no one has ever entered the tower and returned. Perhaps Striges had sucked the blood out of them and they died or were turned into the undead.
　Even now, there are many traps and monsters in the tower to catch intruders, and they are said to be dangerous.
　But I think it's safe because Shirone and I are here.

''Speaking of which, Kuro-dono, why are you hiding your face?''

　Lember asks me where it hurts.
　There are many reasons, but the biggest one right now is because I don't want Shirone to find out who I am. But I can't be honest. How will I cover it up?

'Well, well, Lember.'

　Gallios laughed and approached and gave Lember an earful.

'I see...is that why? Black-dono does it unexpectedly too.''

　Lember says with a little laugh.

'Wha?　What are you talking about?!

　I protest to Gallios myself.
　The reason for wanting to hide his face seems deceptive, but I'm not convinced. After all, we don't know what happened last night.

'Sorry, sorry. Let's get the hell out of here.
'That's right, Mister Black. We're going to be late for Master Sirone.

　They laugh and go on.
　I'm not convinced, but I can't make excuses, so I go into the tower.
　Inside the tower is wide and dark, and I'm okay with that, but without a light, Gallios and the others won't be able to see anything.
　The sorcerer Nimli has been working on a magical light, but it does not seem to illuminate everything in the tower.
　I'm not thinking about the pace of my companions in such a dark tower, but I'm going through it all by myself.

"Rembar. It's a good thing that Striges isn't here, but I have a bad feeling about this tower. Is it safe to let that girl go first?

　Gallios looks at Silone, who is walking in the lead, and says.

''I don't think we need to worry about that. I heard that Sirone-sama is far stronger than us.''

　Cyrone's appearance is that of a dainty girl. From Gallios' point of view, she wouldn't look very strong.

''Sirone-sama, as well as her sword skills, can use spirit magic, healing magic and sunshine magic despite her low rank.
He says he's a magical warrior. Perhaps even if all of us here were to band together, we would be no match for them. Therefore, we must protect ourselves so that we don't have to deal with Shirone-sama.

　Rember said and instructed themselves.

'Teacher Nimli, the sorcerer, will use his magic to light up the area, and Stoll, the ranger, will look around for anything suspicious. The rest of you will guard the two of you as we move on.

　The front of the pack was Stellos, who was with us the night before last, and he was the last.
　Steros was in the lead because he wanted to be in the lead.
　It seems that he has impure thoughts about Silone, and he wanted to be at the front of the pack where he could see Silone's back.
　Today's equipment is normal, but looking at yesterday's outfit, it's not hard to understand that feeling.
　Of course, if they try to do something, I'll do my best to stop them.
　When you are walking, Shirone suddenly stops.

'There's something here.'

　Stoll, walking second, seems to notice something and points forward.
　Gallios and the others may not be able to see it, but he can see something approaching in his own eyes.
　It was a zombie. Moreover, it seemed to be human in origin, and it was also armed.
　They could be members of a former defeating party. There were about five zombies and they were slowly but surely approaching.

''Sunlight!

　When Cyrone shouts, a blinding light floods out of his hands and illuminates the zombies.
　It is said that only high-ranking priests can use this sunshine magic.
　The zombies melt away in a puff of smoke from the light. A few minutes later, they are gone, leaving only their clothes and armaments behind.

''Wow, it's only a moment.''

　Nimli marvels.
　The undead are a troublesome opponent to defeat. After all, normal attacks are ineffective.
　Also, some of the zombies have left their abilities before they were born. There were signs that the zombies just now were also using swords and shields.
　If there was no Syrone and it was just Gallios and the others, they might have struggled.
　This may be the difference between having magic that can deal with the undead and not having it.

''Defeating them with magic wouldn't be much fun.

　But Cyrone was not happy.

'They're still coming!

　Stoll shouts.
　Dozens of zombies are approaching us.
　We were greeted by a group of so-and-so zombies entering the tower.
　But with the magic of sunshine, they could be eradicated in an instant.
　However, Silone drew his sword and headed towards the zombie army.

''Eh, sunshine magic!

　I let out a confused voice to myself.

'Flame Blade!

　Flames cling to Sirone's sword as Sirone shouted.

''Flame slash!''

　As it is, he slashes into the zombies.

'Su...... awesome......'

　Gallios lets out a surprised voice.

'Nothing but sunlight shouldn't do much for the undead: ......

　Nimli also says in a gasp.
　It's a very difficult opponent to defeat the undead, as they turn into skeletons when burning zombies, and turn into ghosts when crushing their bones, which are shapeless astral bodies.
　In particular, the shapeless astral body cannot be defeated with normal weapons, and you need to use magic swords and other weapons to inflict damage.
　The blue shining sword that Sirone has is probably a magical sword. It's not only able to do damage as it is, but it also has the attribute of fire in it, slicing through the flesh and bones of zombies with its astral body.
　It's not a bad idea to have a good time, but it's not a good idea to have a good time.
　Everyone is astonished at his or her movements.
　In the midst of all this, you are the only one to defeat them with your sword. You are the only one who uses a sword to defeat them.

"Well, let's go on and on.

　Sirone-sama looked back with a refreshed expression.
　We watched that way ourselves with indescribable feelings.




Dark Knight Kuroki

'Korya, that's awesome Lember ....... A brave man's wife is so strong.

　Gallios muttered.
　Thanks to Silone's help, they could easily come to the middle of the tower.
　The undead, as well as the bloodsucking bats and giant spiders, were not Syrone's enemies.
　Almost all of the demons before coming here were defeated by Sirone.
　Of course, there were traps and such, but Silone managed them with brute force.
　If an arrow comes flying at you, it drops before it hits you, if there's a falling hole, it moves in the air before it falls into the hole and escapes, and if the ceiling falls on you, it bounces back with one hand and puts it back on.
　Do we honestly need to be ourselves?

''I think it's amazing too. I've seen the power of the brave master before, but I didn't expect his wife to be as good as he was.

　Nimli admires it as much as Gallios does.
　He could do this much himself. But it seems like a great thing for the two of them.
　But still, it's not very interesting that the two of them call Shirone as Rage's wife.
　Even in the original world, she was treated as Rage's woman. It doesn't seem like they are treated much differently in this world either.
　When I think about it, it becomes ridiculous to protect them.
　Should I still go for the dragon's horn?
　And it might be a good idea to get a beautiful girl like Raina.
　For some reason, when I think of Raina's face, my heart is upset.
　I'm wondering about Raina.
　What in the world is Raina thinking about?
　As I was thinking about this, Sirone suddenly stopped walking.

''Dear Sirone, is there something wrong?''

　Lember hears Cyrone suddenly stop.
　He looks at the door in front of Cyrone. The door to the room is different now.

'This is something.'

　Stoll is right, I can feel a presence from behind this door.

'I'm coming,'

　Cyrone opens the door and walks in.

'Is there a light?'

　No one is surprised.
　This large room is lit, unlike the rest of the room. It wouldn't need Nimli's magical lighting to illuminate it.
　But that wasn't the only thing that was different.
　Someone else was standing in the center of that room. He looks like a living human man who is clearly not a zombie.
　He has golden hair and a pale face, wearing black clothes and a black cloak. The clothes are quite respectable, not the tattered clothes that goblins and zombies wear.

'Oh, to think the Lord has returned, you're human. I didn't expect him to come this far.

　The man looks at me and laughs.

'Look at his eyes!　That's not human!
　Stoll shouts.
　The man's eyes are glowing red. And he has fangs in his mouth.

'Vampires!

　Nimli shouts.
　'Vampires are advanced undead, unlike the zombies that have appeared in the tower so far, they are wise and use magic.

'I didn't expect Striges to be using vampires as well: ......

　Lember says, stunned.

'Sunshine!'
The nightgown!

　Cyrone's magic and the vampire's magic are activated.
　The dazzling light released from Cyrone's hands is blocked by the black haze that covers the vampire.

''I don't care if it's a real sun. You won't be able to defeat me to that degree.''

　The vampire laughs.

'Heh, that's pretty good,'

　Syrone seems to be enjoying himself.

''Hmm, that would be mutual. He looks like some kind of princess, but he was a high-ranking priest. I'm very impressed with this Elkhitos. What do you think, would you like to be my bride?

　The vampire who called himself Elchitos says, licking his tongue. The fangs peeking out of its mouth are shining.
　In this case, the bride probably means to suck the blood and make it into her family.
　Of course I won't let them do that.

''I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in a man weaker than me.''

　Syrone points his sword at Elchitos.

'I see. Then let me prove that I am stronger than you and you will be my bride.'

　Bat wings sprouted from Elchitos' back.
　The battle is about to begin right now.

''Si, Shirone-sama, please wait!

　Nimli suddenly speaks up.

'Hmm?　What's going on?

　Silone looks at Nimli unhappily, probably because he was interrupted in the fight.

'I need to check something: ......

　Nimli looks at Elquitos in horror and says.

'You are a tactless man. You interrupted my time with her.'

　The vampire isn't happy either.

'Are you the one who is turning the recently dead demons around here into zombies?

　Nimli asks.
　The purpose of coming to this tower is also to find Striges, the cause of the zombie incident in the first place.
　Even if it's not Striges, a vampire can use necromancy. This vampire could be the culprit in the case.
　Nimli is trying to confirm that point.

''Oh, I see!　I had to look into that!　That's great!

　Cyrone sends his praise to Nimri. I honestly wonder what he's doing here.
　Don't tell me he came purely to slay demons? That could be too, based on what I've been doing so far. Well, maybe that's a good thing because there are fewer demons.

I ...... not so much.

　Nimli says, annoyed.
　I thought it would have been better if it had been just Cyrone, but it might have been the right thing for the Removers to come.
　If it had been just Cyrone, he might have just ended up rampaging around. If we beat them, we won't even know if this guy is the culprit.

''Hmm, I only know what you're talking about, but I haven't created a zombie since I woke up three days ago.

　Elchitos says grimly.
　It doesn't sound like he's lying. It didn't seem like this guy was the culprit.
　But three days ago was the day I came to this tower myself, wasn't it?

'You woke up three days ago?　Come to think of it, you weren't here the last time you were in this tower. Could you have been sleeping in this tower?
'Huh, they were sealed up. They didn't have the power to use me as an errand girl.

　Elchitos replies happily.
　The attitude is quite different between Nimli and Syrone. I'm a little annoyed.

'How did that wake you up?'
That was three days ago. I don't know who he is. I don't know who it was, but there was a man who used dark magic in this tower. Through his power surge, I was freed from the seal. I'm sure he's famous for that kind of amazing power.

　Elchitos' enthralling manner.
　It was funny; I hadn't sensed any sign of such a great guy when I came here three days ago.
　Moreover, I had set up a magical ward at that time. It's a powerful spell that covers the entire tower. If he has a certain amount of power, he should be able to sense something too.
　Or maybe that person didn't have that kind of power.

You're that person: ....... Hey, is that person in the tower right now?

　Cyrone asks happily. Perhaps he would like to fight that gentleman.
　But Elchitos shakes his head.

'No, that man has gone away, leaving his messenger behind.
Hmmm, yeah. That's a shame. But the angel is there. What's he like?
It's a dragon. I don't know where they came from.
"'Nah!

　Everyone's voices overlap.

'Even dragons are ....... No such .......
And now he's using it?
"How can you beat a dragon ......?

　Everyone seems shocked that a dragon is in this tower.
　But I'm surprised for another reason.
　Could it be that I am the one who woke this vampire up?

Hmmm... dragons... ...... I don't know, there are all kinds of dragons. But I guess I'll have a little fun.
　Cyrone says happily.
'I'm sorry, but if you're going to go to that man's messenger, you'll have to defeat me first.

　Elchitos holds up.
　Syrone also draws his sword and holds it up, and Gallios and the others take up their weapons.

'You're standing in the way behind me. Shall we ask you to leave? ''Phantom Eye!

　Elchitos' eyes glowed red.

''Geez!''
Geez!
UGH!!!

　Everyone except myself and Shirone, who was exposed to that light, fell down with a cry.
　It seems the magic resistance has failed.

''I took away your body's freedom. Hmph, I won't kill you. It's tastier when it's still alive. You guys stay there and watch as she and I are joined together.

　Elchitos smiles cryptically.
　Gallios and the others are lying on the floor, moaning and groaning.
　I can't do anything about it because I don't have the magic to recover others.
　Syrone seems to be able to use recovery magic to some extent, but she doesn't seem to have any intention of helping Gallios and the others.

''Huh, now it's you and me standing here ...... eh, one more person.

　Elchitos looks at me, as if he's noticed he's not the only one down.

'Geez!

　Thinking it was a bad idea, I pretend I've been hit and fall down.

I guess I was imagining things. Now let's enjoy our time together.

　It's like he tricked me despite the fact that it was obviously a deliberate fall.
　Maybe he simply wasn't interested in himself, though.

'Well, I've had enough of waiting.

　Cyrone hasn't noticed it at all.
　I wish people behind me would pay a little attention to the people behind me.
　The two of them face each other.
　They no longer seem to be able to see anything but themselves.
　It was an opportunity. Let's get to Glorious while we're at it.
　Thanks to being at the back of the line, I shouldn't be able to see myself from where Gallios and the others had fallen.
　And since it seems unlikely that Cyrone would lose at that level, there would be no need for him to join in.
　I left the place by creeping away so that I wouldn't be noticed.
　The way it moved, I thought, was like a cockroach.



◆Silone, the maiden of the sword

　I look at the vampire in front of me.
　They are probably stronger than the Striges who ruled this tower.
　But I don't feel like I'm going to lose.
　Of course, we can't let our guard down.
　In fact, you might want to call your friend Rage. This vampire could be very strong.
　But I won't call him. Of course, Chiyuki-san might be angry.
　But I'll blow off the bad feeling of losing to Dihardt here.
　I point my sword at him.
　The blue, transparent sword barrel is shining faintly.
　The Blue Heaven Winged Sword.
　It's my favorite sword with wing decoration on the hilt.

''Then let's go. Ultra-Sonic Wave (Ultra-Sonic Wave)!

　Elchitos casts a spell.

'Windwall!

　I quickly cast a defensive spell.
　The shockwave released from Elkittos scrapes the floor and approaches, but is blocked by a wall of wind.

"Hoho. You can't go wrong with that.

　Erquitos does not lose his expression of composure.
　But that room is only for now.

''Flame Blade!

　I slash at Elkittos as the flames dwell in my sword barrel.

''Winged blade!

　Elchitos shouts and huge wings shoot out from his back and catch my sword.

It's a pretty fast one. But I'm not ...... what!

　Elchitos' spare expression crumbles.
　I put all my strength into the received sword and slash my wings as it is.
　Did he think he could stop me with this level of force?

What's wrong with you?

　I slash Elkittos' torso with my wings.

''Ugh!''

　He lets out a grunt and Elchitos escapes backwards.
　The place where he was cut regenerates. His wings and body are restored to their original state.
　If it were a human, the instantaneous wounds wouldn't be enough to defeat a vampire.
　It seems to do some damage, but it's still hard to defeat with anything other than sunlight.

''You-ah ----!!! You're human! How dare you.

　Elchitos has a look of indignation on his face.

'Hmm, looks like you've been wounded and can't afford it anymore.

　His earlier gentlemanly demeanor is gone.

'Let's stop playing. I'll kill you!

　Elchitos draws his sword like a rapier from his waist.
　That rapier's sword barrel is glowing red and miserable.

''I'll take you seriously, prepare yourself, you filthy human!

　Elquitos comes towards me with his sword at the ready.

''Sonic Move (sonic move)!

　Elquitos' movement accelerates and gets closer.

''Hmph!''

　Approaching at high speed, Elchitos thrusts his rapier out repeatedly.

''Ei!

　With a shout, I spin my sword and repel all the attacks.

"d*mn it!

　Elquitos bends down and goes for my legs.
　I fly and duck and move in the air to move behind Elquitos.

''What!!!''

　Elquitos turns around.
　He seems to have turned around in a hurry, but it feels slow to me.

'There!'

　Elkittos turns around and I swing my sword and slash off Elkittos' right hand with the sword.

''Nonsense! A human can move faster than this me!

　Elchitos shouts as he holds back his slashed arm.
　He looks angry, but I don't know about that.

'Pick up your sword. Let's continue.

　I encourage him to step back a bit and pick up his sword.
　Elquitos slowly approaches and picks up the sword.

'Apparently you're not ...... just a human,'

　Elchitos said and glanced at Lember and the others.

'Explosions (Explosions)!

　Elchitos suddenly unleashes a spell at Rembar and the others.

'Shrinkage!

　I knew it was bad, so I instantly moved and unleashed my magic.

'Waterwall!

　When a wall of water covers the Removers, the magic explodes and an explosion occurs.
　The wall of water is vaporized by the huge explosion. The vapour stains the surroundings white.

'Hey! I thought you weren't going to kill him!

　I protest to Elchitos.
　But there is no reply.
　When the steam runs out, there is no more Elquitos.
　And a huge hole is in the wall.
　The hole runs all the way to the outside of the tower and I can see the cloudy sky.

'Ahhh! You got away!

　I shout.

"I'm not going to let you go!

　I focus my attention on my back.

'O Wings of the Fierce Angel!

　When I shout that, wings sprout from my back.
　I can't use flying magic like Reiji and Chiyuki-san, but I can have angel wings on my back instead.
　In fact, my armor is usually hidden by a short cloak that only extends to my waist, but it has no back and sometimes my skin is bare. This is so that I can reveal my wings at any time.
　I'm very proud of these wings, which only I can grow. When I produced these wings, Chiyuki-san and Reno-chan envied me.
　When I flap my wings, I step out of the tower through the hole.
　Thanks to these wings, I can move faster than Nao-chan in a straight line.

'Don't think you can escape!

　I fly at full speed.
　I soon catch up to the bat-winged Elchitos.
　He looks surprised as he stands in front of Elquitos.

''Those wings!　Oh, so you were the angelic race!　That's why he's so strong!
'Well, I'm no angel. ......'

　I can't even be bothered to deny it.
　What race am I with wings when I'm not of the angelic race? I've been challenged to fight Nia in the past for that.
　Well, I guess that doesn't matter right now.

''Elchitos, prepare yourself! Sunlight Blade!

　The sword barrel shines due to the granting of sunshine magic.
　Actually, if I had used this technique from the beginning, I could have easily defeated it, but I didn't use it.

''If the night robe doesn't allow the sunlight to reach you, I'll smash it directly into your body!

　I raise my sword.

'Wait a minute!

　Elchitos makes a panicked sound.
　Of course he doesn't listen.

''I'm going to cut you off in one fell swoop!
'Geez!

　He swung his sword down and slashed through Elchitos' body, and Elchitos disappeared with smoke from where he had cut.

''What the ...... ana.......''

　Elle something's last words were cut off in the middle and I didn't understand.

'You weren't very strong ....... Is the messenger stronger than this?''

　Honestly, it was an apparent failure. I don't need to compare it to Mr. Rage.
　I flap my wings as I decide to return to the tower.
　When I returned to the tower, everyone seemed to have recovered, perhaps because Elkittos was defeated.

'I have wings: ......'
Te ...... angel.
It's beautiful.

　The freedom fighters behind Lember are surprised to see my wings.
　Some of them seem to be admiring my wings. I don't feel bad about being complimented on my wings.
　I think about showing them more, but I get the wings off my back.
　The wings of a cutthroat angel are not useful in a confined space, such as a room, and they get in the way. That's why I didn't use these wings during the fight with Dihardt.

''It looks like everyone is safe. Now let's go.

　We walk up some steps to the residential area of Striges, where we came from before.
　This part of the building is circular and hollow, and if you look up you can see the sky.

"There doesn't seem to be anything there. ......

　Ranger Stoll will check the area and report back.
　I'll look into it, but I don't see any sign of anything.

''Syrone-sama. That vampire must have lied to you, didn't he?

　Lember says.

'Hmmm, it didn't look like you were lying to me: ......

　It didn't seem like that Elle something was lying to me.
　But there is no parcel above this residential area. No way to check.

There's something here, but at least it's gone now, I guess.

　Several people nodded at Stoll's words.
　Could it be that they are hiding?

''If Nao-chan had been there at a time like this, we could have gotten more information: ......

　But there's nothing more that can be done.

''Master Silone, there's no point in staying here any longer. Let's go back to Rox.

　Lember is right, there's certainly nothing more we can do about it.

'What can we do?' ......

　I muttered. We decided to go back.



Dark Knight Kroki.

I'm sorry, Glorious.

　Glorious was in the woods near the tower.
　As I approached, Glorious sniffed at me.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry to inconvenience you ......'

　Glorious purred happily as he stroked his nose.

'And that's great,'

　I look at the necklace Glorious wore on his right horn.
　The trees in the forest were large and thick, but they were not enough to hide Glorious's massive body.
　But even so, it didn't go unnoticed because of the necklace that Glorious wears on his horn.
　When I examined the necklace that Raina had left behind with magic, I discovered that it had the ability to block detection in a certain area.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.

''If you don't use it in the wrong place, it can be an amazing weapon.

　The disadvantage of this necklace was that it also inhibited the user's ability to detect the user.
　If used poorly, it could be a fatal mistake for the user himself.
　Why did Raina leave this necklace behind?
　You may need to look into it.