Dark Knight Kroki

　It was a close call. I had to save her.
　She tried to kill me once before. She might try to kill me again.
　And I saved her.

'Chiyuki-san!　Are you okay?!

　A girl with short hair comes over to us.

'Yeah, it's okay, Nao. ...... He helped me out.

　The girl called Chiyuki looks at me.
　Her slit eyes are staring at me. They are beautiful but tight eyes. For some reason, I feel like I'm being blamed.
　I turn my eyes away from her and look at the girl who was called Nao.
　I have to say something to her.
　I hold out my hand to her.

'What is it?'
"Can I have my people back?

　'If we come by the information, she should have Nat.

'Oh, I see your brother has come for Ruby. Ruby, we're here for you.

　She said and pulled a nut out of the bag at her waist.
　Apparently, she realized what the nut was.

'Master Dihardt~!

　Nat jumps on himself.

'What?　Does that rat talk?!

　Chiyuki let out a surprised voice.
　She didn't seem to notice anything against Nao.

'I didn't expect you to come to my rescue, Yansu!

　Nat cried into his face.

'Of course I'll help you. And then I want you to stay back, Nat, because I'm going to fight the evil one. I'm going to fight the evil one now.

　I take Nat away from his face and place him on the floor. As long as they're in range of their defensive magic, Nat will be safe.

'All right, Jans.'

　As Nat leaves, I see myself looking at Lavrus.
　The fallen Lavrus is up and looking at you. He's not coming closer, as if he's wary.

I'll cover you.

　Chiyuki offers to help, but stops him with his hands.

It's okay. You look tired and stay back. I'll take care of the rest.

　I said to myself and headed towards Lavrus.

'Why is the Dark Knight here?　Why would you help a brave man?!!!!

　The evil god Lavrus shouts.
　I'm not going to help Rage.
　This is just going to happen.
　Why should I help Rage in the first place?

This fire is a distraction: ......

　I let out a black flame to counteract the red flames that filled the room.

'Nonsense! You put out my Moloch fire!

　Lavrus is astonished.

'I'm sorry, but the god Heybos has asked me to do something for you. He wants me to defeat you. ......

　I hold my sword at the ready.

'Wait!!!!'

　We are approached from behind.
　A recovering Rage comes over to us.

'What is it? ......'
"We can win without your help!　Let's get you out of the way!

　Then he holds up two swords. One of them is broken.

'I'm not going to help you in any way. ......

　You can do what you want.
　It's possible that they would have been saved without me in the first place.
　And I have no intention of ingratiating myself.
　I ignore Rage and point my sword at Lavrus.

''Why are the brave men of light and the dark knight both coming towards me!　What does that mean!

　Lavrus holds his axe.
　Myself and Rage go to Lavrus.
　A three-way battle between the dark knight, the brave men of light and the evil gods has begun.



The black-haired wise man Chiyuki.

Hey, Chiyuki, what's the situation here?

　Reno asks me.

'I don't know what's going on with me either when you say that: ......

　In front of me, Rage and his Dark Knight are fighting Lavrus.
　I'm not going to cover them.
　Because, obviously, Rage and the others are pushing them.
　Lavrus is being pushed by the two attackers.
　It seems like we won't need to cover them in this one.
　And we don't have time to spare either.
　If we don't rest, our magic power won't recover.
　Sahoko's burden was particularly heavy.
　The whole time she was chanting healing and defensive magic, it's not unreasonable.
　Now she's lying down. I want to say thank you for your help.

'I don't know what's going on, but I'm saved. ......
Yeah, yeah. ......

　The situation has been reversed with his arrival as a dark knight.
　Lavrus attacks him with fire and lightning, but it doesn't seem to be working at all.
　He attacks with axes, spears and swords, but they are easily swept away.
　Also, his raging attacks are not being defended by his shield.
　He's overwhelmed Lavrus. He's ridiculously strong.
　And then there's Rage.
　Rage is attacking Lavrus with his dark knight.
　Rage's sword of light and his black flames dance like a dance.
　It was a circular dance of light and darkness.



◆Kuroki the Dark Knight.

Flashburst!

　Rage's sword attacks himself and Lavrus.
　I avoid Rage's sword as I turn my body around to avoid it.
　Rage's attack doesn't take into account the fact that I'm there.
　Well, from Rage's point of view, he's not even a friend, he's just attacking the same enemy.
　That's why he uses a wide range of magic without a care in the world even though he is in front of you.
　I know that Rage only protects girls, so I don't mind.
　The problem is that you have to fight while watching your back.
　To be honest, it's hard to fight.
　I duck and duck Rage's slash that comes from the back.
　The slash goes straight to Lavrus.
　It seems that I was too late to respond to Rage's attack because I was standing in between.
　Lavrus gets to his knees.

''Why!　Why are the brave men of light and the dark knights working together!

　Lavrus shouts.
　But I'm not cooperating.
　Lavrus is misunderstood.
　It may look like we are working together, but I'm simply ducking the attack of Rage coming from behind.
　They are not fighting with each other under their breath.
　Lavrus lets out flames from his mouth and thunderbolts from his horns.
　But neither flames nor electricity will work on me.
　Lavrus is coming at you with axes and spears.
　The swing is too big.
　You can't kill yourself with such an attack.
　I catch the axe and spear and slash Lavrus's arm with the sword that returns the axe and spear.
　Then he escapes to the side as it is.
　Rage comes charging at the position I was in until then, sword at the ready. I almost got myself skewered too.
　Rage goes straight to Lavrus.
　Lavrus is unable to protect himself with his shield and is blown away by the penetration.

''BMOOOOOOOOOO!

　Lavrus rolls on the floor.
　But soon the room lights up and recovers.
　Lavrus stands up as if nothing happened.

'I'm not going to get hit like this!　I'm not going to lose. ！！！！

　Lavrus shouts.
　Lavrus's attacks do not work on him. Their own attacks can damage Lavrus and heal him quickly.
　They won't lose, but it's too much trouble.
　So let's get this fight over with.
　I lead them to the side of the room little by little while fighting Lavrus.

''Silone!　Now!

　I shout to myself and signal to Silone.
　Something flies from the entrance of this room towards the altar at the back of the room at breakneck speed.
　It's Shirone, of course, who has come in.

''What?!''

　Lavrus notices Silone, but it's too late.
　Flying in at breakneck speed, Silone reaches the altar.

''What are you doing!''

　I stand in front of Lavrus as he tries to return to the altar and stop him.

'I'm sorry, but I won't let you go!

　Suddenly the entire room is engulfed in light.
　As the light subsides, the landscape around you changes.

'Where are we?'

　Lavrus looks around.
　The place where we are now is not beneath the thirteenth level. It's the surface of the labyrinth.

''It's an urgent transference spell. Heibos built an escape device on the thirteenth level, just in case the labyrinth is attacked, and I'm sure you're aware of this. I'm sure you're aware of this.

　I say to myself, pointing my sword at Lavrus.
　The thirteenth level doesn't allow ordinary transference magic to be used, but there was a way to escape in an emergency. However, there was an emergency way to escape.
　If you activate the magic device on the altar behind the throne where Lavrus sits, all of the people in that room will be forcibly transported out of the labyrinth.

''Now they can't recover anymore!　Of course I'm not going to let him go!　You lose, Lavrus!



Shirone the Maiden of Swords

　I activate the magic device on the altar and transfer everyone who was there to the outside of the labyrinth.
　This was something I had discussed with Kroki beforehand.
　As long as Lavrulus is in that labyrinth, he will gain unlimited power.
　That's why we have to pull Lavrulus out of the labyrinth.
　To do this, Kroki and I decided to use the emergency transference magic device that was in the blueprint.
　While Kroki was attracting Lavrus, I would activate the magic device.
　It all worked.
　The magic device is activated and everyone is forced to transition out of the labyrinth.
　The transition destination is the square in the surface portion of the labyrinth.
　I make a single turn in the sky and land at Chiyuki-san's place.

''Shirone-san!

　Chiyuki calls my name.

'Good! Everyone is safe!

　I look at everyone. They look tired, but they look fine.

'Yes, thank you for your help, Sirone. It's all thanks to him.

　Chiyuki looks at Kuroki.
　The fight isn't over yet.
　Kuroki and Reigi-kun are still facing off against Lavrus.
　But we've won.

''That's great, Shirone-san!　They breathed so well together!

　Nao makes an excited sound.

'You really are. We're supposed to be fighting together for the first time. ......'

　I watched them both fight from the entrance of the room as well.
　It was impressive to see them both fighting together.
　I'm sure this is the sight I wanted to see.
　I was thinking that. Suddenly, the sky glows.
　We look above us.
　There is a huge ship flying there.
　There are armed female angels flying around the ship.
　And someone is standing at the head of the ship.

Is that Raina?

　At the head of the ship stood the armed goddess Raina.



◆Dark Knight Kroki.

　A glowing ship is floating in the sky.
　At the head of that ship stands Raina with a spear and shield.
　She was probably waiting far overhead in the labyrinth.
　It seems that they came down because they themselves had shifted to the surface part of the labyrinth.
　Myself, Rage and Lavrus both stopped fighting and looked up at the sky.

''It's been a long time, Lavrus.''

　Raina laughs softly.
　She's far away, but with her own vision, she can see that face clearly. That seems to be the case for both Rage and Lavrus.

'Leena!　You came to me!　Will you accept my love?!!!!!

　Lavrus says what's best for him.

'I'm sorry, Lavrus. He is the only one I love, and that's why I can't accept your love. That's why I can't accept your love.

　With that, Raina looks at herself and Rage.

'You say the goddess in the sky chooses a man from another world ！！！！

　Lavrus exclaims.

'That's right, Lavrus. I am from the other world and I love him. I can't sleep at night when I think of him.'

　When I say that, I get a prodigal smile from Lena.
　That Raina's eyes are feverish.
　The people around her are groaning at the goddess's confession of love.
　Rage beside her is smiling happily.
　That's right, Raina is a beautiful goddess. What man wouldn't be happy to be told by that goddess that she loves him?

''d*mn it!　I'll kill you!

　Lavrus attacks Rage with a flurry of strikes.
　Rage avoids it easily.

'You little man, Evil Lavrus!　You're attacking that man because the woman you love isn't turning on you!　If you're a man, you should shut up and step aside to wish the woman you love well: ！！！！

　Rage laughs happily and avoids Lavrus's attacks.

'Shut the f*ck up ！！！！！'

　Lavrus is still attacking.

"Come on, Lavrus, come on!　I like to turn back men like you!　I'm going to show you the difference between being a man and being a man!

　The fight between Rage and Lavrus begins.
　Shirone and the other girls in the back come to cover Rage.
　The armed angels in the sky also attack Lavrus.
　Lavrus no longer has a chance.
　I quietly move away from the spot.
　There is no longer any need to fight him. You helped Nat, too.
　What is the sadness of having to save the rear man in the first place?

''Master Dihardt~!

　Nat is coming our way. Nat seems to have transitioned to the surface as well.

"Nat. Can you go back to Nargol first?
You gonna go ahead and f*ck me?
'Yeah, I think Coona's on her way. I've got to go get her.

　I look at my left hand with the ring on it.
　Kuna is coming towards me. It looks like she couldn't wait.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out. I'll inform His Majesty about it from here.
Thanks, Nat.

　I use my magic tool to transfer Nat.
　Then I look at Lavrus and Rage and the others.
　Lavrus is strong even if he's not in the labyrinth.
　But he's slowly being driven into a corner.

'I guess I'll go: ....... It doesn't look like I need to be here any longer. ......

　I was just about to leave this place. I feel something flying from the direction of the central mountain range.
　You will be able to fly and hit back something that is coming towards Raina who is on the airship.
　It was a spear that flew at me.
　The spear goes back to the direction it came from.
　I landed on the empty boat as is.
　I didn't mean to help, but my body moved on its own.

'Thank you, Kroki. For protecting me.

　I looked around and saw that no one was there. It looks like they all went to Lavrus.
　I want to tell you that some of you should stay behind and protect Raina.
　Thanks to that, I had to protect Raina myself.
　You and Raina look in the direction the spear flew from.
　We see a huge bird coming towards us from the central mountain range.

That's the Rufu bird!　Why are you here?!

　Raina exclaims in surprise.
　'Ruf is a giant bird that lives on the southern continent. It is not supposed to live in this region.
　If you look closely, you'll see that someone is on the Rufvian.

'Is that a Zarxys? And it looks like there's someone else on board: ....... Raina, do you know who it is?

　The two men on the Rufous Bird, one of them is Zarxys. I recognize that mask.
　And with Zarxys, there is a person who looks like a woman on the mask.
　The woman holds a spear in her right hand and wears a red vestments.
　Did she throw the spear to Raina?
　The woman looks like a normal human being, but she must not be human because she's with Zarxys.

'Lies ....... Diadna, Queen of Snakes. What is she doing here ......?

　Raina opens her eyes and looks at the woman riding the Rufvian.
　I've heard of the snake queen, Diadna. She is a goddess revered by the Gorgon and Lamia tribes of the South Sea Islands.
　And she is also a goddess who was under the command of Nargol, the god of destruction.
　She must be just as hostile to the Demon King as Zarxis.
　The Rufu bird stops when it gets close to a certain distance.
　Everyone present notices the Rufu bird and stops fighting.

''I'm here to help you, Ravrus!

　Deirdre descends from the rufous bird.
　As she descends, Deirdre takes off her vestments and her body changes.
　Huge bat-like wings grow out of her back and her lower body turns into a giant snake.
　Two huge horns grow on her head. His eyes shine with gold.

''Don't!　Shields!　Unleash that power!!!!

　Raina holds her shield up to the sky and the shield emits a blue light.
　Deirdona's eyes grow brighter and the area is engulfed in light.

''What's this ......?''

　It's a powerful magical light. The light makes it difficult to see the surroundings.
　And when the light disappeared, there was no more Zarxis, Deirdona, Lavrus, or the Rufus bird.

'Now that was ......'
''It's Deirdre's petrifying magic eye, Kroki. If you are exposed to it properly, even if you are a god race, you won't get away with it. But more importantly, ......

　Then Raina looks in the direction where the rufous bird was.

'It looks like it got away ....... I didn't expect to see Deirdre coming.'

　Raina's expression darkens.
　But there's nothing I can do about it now that she's escaped.

'Cheer up, Raina. You escaped, but you were able to thwart Lavrus's plan. You have won. You should be laughing here.

　Raina laughs when I say this myself.

'Yes, ....... I feel a little better now. Then, if they show up, you'll have to protect me.

　Then Raina comes over to me.

'No, um, .......'

　A beautiful face approaches and I panic myself.
　Raina smiles happily, enjoying herself in such a state.

'Well, I guess it's time for me to go downstairs. I must greet Rage. I'll see you later.'

　Raina says and gets off the empty boat.
　She looks down from the empty boat and sees that the girls are gathered around Rage.
　The girls are laughing at each other with Rage at the center.
　They must be happy to see each other again.
　One of them is Sirone.
　Shilone is hugging her friends and is happy to see them again.
　I'm glad to see that.
　If possible, I want Shirone to be happy.
　There are a lot of cute girls around Rage, so it might be hard for Shirone to get them to love her.
　But that's also the path that Sirone has chosen. Let's just let it go.
　Most importantly, I don't want to fight with Cyrone about this anymore.
　Eventually, Rayna joins Shirone and her friends.
　Raina's arrival opens the way for the girls.
　Rage takes Raina's hand.
　When Rage and Raina line up, they are a beautiful couple and very picturesque.
　I'm jealous of that.
　They have a beautiful goddess named Raina while getting Sirone and other beautiful girls.
　It makes me kind of sad to see it.

''Ugh ...... let's stop ....... Looking at it any more. It just makes me sad.

　I mutter to myself and use my magic to fly.
　You can't help envying others.
　I should pursue my own happiness.
　I will fly in the direction of Nargol.
　I'm going to meet up with Kuna.
　I'm flying alone in the sunset sky.




Chiyuki the Black-Haired Sage

Chiyuki-san, what was that light?

　Nao exclaims.

'I don't know ....... Perhaps it's some kind of magic, but ......

　Suddenly the snake woman appeared and the snake woman's eyes lit up.
　When the light in her eyes disappeared, Lavrus disappeared.
　It looks like she was able to escape.

'Look!　The angels!

　I look at the one Reno pointed at and the angel I was fighting with has turned into a statue as clear as a jewel.

'It's the curse of petrification: ....... Maybe he's not dead. You'll have to break the curse later, though: .......

　I look at the angels turned into statues and say.
　The petrification curse is a powerful curse, but it won't kill you. It should return to normal once the curse is broken.

''Even so, it's a powerful magic eye. Even though Raina used defensive magic, it's still this powerful: ......

　I shudder.
　It's like Raina used a defensive spell on me before the snake woman activated her magic eye. I remember the blue light protecting us.
　Thanks to this, we were safe, but it seems that the angels, who are less powerful against magic than us, still couldn't resist.
　Moreover, they were not ordinary stone statues, but were transformed into stone statues of gems.
　The angels were turned into beautiful statues of emeralds. I think they are alive, but it seems to be difficult to undo the curse.

'Will I have to fight that thing: ......

　Nao says with a frustrated look on her face.
　I don't want to fight a monster like that either.
　Everyone's expressions darken.

'Already everyone!　That's not the point now!　But more importantly, let's just be happy that you're safe now!

　Silone says brightly and hugs me.

'Sirone: ......'
'Good, guys! I was worried about you!

　Syrone's face is on the verge of tears. She must have been really worried.

'Oh I'm sorry, Sirone ....... I'm sorry for worrying you.'

　When Rage laughs, everyone laughs.

'Rage. I'm glad you're safe.

　Raina comes over here.

"Raina!

　Rage makes his way to Raina.

'I'm sorry, Raina!　I'm worried about you!

　Rage says apologetically, taking Raina's hand.

"I was sure you were safe. But I was a little worried about you, Raige. I was afraid he would get hurt. ......

　Raina says with a slightly melancholy look on her face.
　I feel a little uncomfortable with the way Raina just said it.
　The way she said it is a bit odd. You should say "you'll be hurt".
　But such trivial things don't seem to matter to Rage.
　You'll be able to see that you're impressed by Reina's words.

"I'm sorry, Raina!　I won't worry about you anymore!

　Rage tries to hug Reina, but Reina ducks her.

'Rage ....... I would like to congratulate you on your safety, but right now I have to heal everyone. So I'll see you later.

　Raina said and looked at the angels who had been turned into statues.
　Not all of the angels were turned into statues. Some are safe, some are partially turned to stone.
　Raina orders the angels who are safe away from us.
　The angels who were safe will carry the angels who were turned into statues to the empty ship.
　And Raina and the angels leave this place.
　Raina and the angels leave, leaving us alone.

Raige. Let us return to the Republic of Ariadia.
Yeah.

　Eulia has transitioned to the Republic of Ariadia before fighting Lavrus.
　We should return to the Republic of Ariadia as well.
　From what Cyrone said, Kyouka and Kaya should be waiting for us there.

'Speaking of which, where's Kuroki?'

　Cyrone looks around.
　But we're the only ones here.

'Yes, where did he go, Syrone?　You got him back from Nargol, didn't you?

　I'll look for him too. I haven't thanked him yet.
　But Cyrone shakes his head sadly.

'No. ...... I haven't ...... yet. Maybe he's gone to Nargol again ......

　Cyrone is about to cry.

'We'll have to hear the details. But for now, let's go back to the Republic of Ariadia. Kyouka-san and the others will be waiting for us.

　We need to hear the details from Cyrone. What happened in our absence to meet him.
　And I wanted to get to know him better.
　I cast a transfer spell as I thought of Kuroki, Syrone's childhood friend.