Headless Knight and Princess Head Only

　A knight on horseback rides through the city on a moonlit night.
　I enjoy a night out with that knight in my arms.
　It's a great honor to be Master Xand's, but it's not convenient to have no limbs.
　That's why I'm making my own knight to go out with.

'I don't know, Mr. Marcias, how does it feel to be a knight?　It's a piece of armor that people like you can't normally wear.

　I say, looking at the knight holding me in his arms.
　The knight is wearing fine armor. And the horse he is riding is a good one.
　These were all given to me by Master Zand.
　And apparently they are the same as what a real knight wears.
　The man who became my knight is not the kind of man who can be a knight by nature. I made him a knight in his own right. Naturally he is grateful to me.
　But he doesn't answer any questions.

''Hmm, well, he won't be able to answer anything.

　I laugh.
　After all, he has no head. There is no way I can answer that.
　A headless knight (Dullahan) rides a headless horse (Koshta Bower) through the night.
　The wind in the night is pleasant.
　The sun's light has become difficult for me since I became in this body.
　Therefore, let's ride with all our might in the night.
　I don't care if people see me.
　If they see us, we can cut their heads off.
　I just had two heads beheaded by a headless knight (Dullahan) just now.
　Humans, such a fragile creature, would die if they let go of their heads and bodies. It's really a poor race.
　Why can they endure being such a weak creature?
　I am grateful to Lord Zand for bringing me back from such a weak creature.
　Now that I am reborn, I am strong. I can even use powerful magic. Even strong men will bow down before me without using headless knights (Dullahan).

''Oh?　Is there someone else in there?

　I feel someone in the direction of travel again.
　I order the knight to draw his sword.
　As soon as he passes, I cut off his head. My knight's horse is fast. It should be impossible for a human to avoid them.
　I think so, but the knight suddenly stops.

'Huh? What's going on?　Now cut your head off.

　I command the knight, but the knight won't move. What could have happened?
　I look at those in front of me.
　They are like knights in shining black armor. They are just like the dark knights that Master Zand told me about.
　Did this dark knight stop the headless knight (Dullahan) from moving?
　That dark knight has one woman behind him.

''I'm sorry, could you please stop?''

　The Dark Knight bows and says quietly to me.
　His manner is polite, but with or without power.
　I can feel the fear from the headless knight as well. What does it mean when you're supposed to be headless and emotionless?

What do you want?

　I answer grimly so.

'Well, ....... I mean, ....... I'm pretty sure that body is Marcias, right?

　I am amazed. This dark knight seems to know that the headless knight (Dullahan) is actually Marcias.
　It was just a few minutes ago that he made Marcias a headless knight (Dullahan), but how do you know that?

'Yes, but. How do I know that?

　He glares at the Dark Knight. I can't see his face because of his helmet.

'Oh, I knew it. ...... I felt something happened to Marcias, though. I didn't think it was going to be like this.

　The Dark Knight shook his head.

'I wonder if you know Mr. Marcias?

　What was he doing here?
　Could it be that he has come to avenge Marcius?

'Well ....... When I say I know you, I mean I know you ....... Huh ...... What's up with that?

　I can't see the dark knight's expression, but I can feel his confusion.
　I'm a little annoyed with his attitude, not knowing what he's doing here.
　Then I suddenly see the woman with the dark knight.
　The woman is shaking when she sees me.
　Then I realize.

'Oh, and you?　It's been a while.

　I smile at the trembling woman.
　I've met the woman before.
　She belonged to the same company as Marcius, I believe. Her name is Sienna.
　Shenna is looking at me with her eyes wide open. Her face is blue.

"Shenna. Do you know her?

　The Dark Knight asks Shenna.
　Shenna nods shakily.

''Ha!　Yes, sir!　Straight ahead!　I'm going to join a theater company!　I'm the girl who came!

　Shenna doesn't seem to be able to speak well, probably because her mouth is trembling.

'Was it just your neck from then on?'
No!　S-so, I was a normal human being at the time!

　The dark knight nodded as he heard Shenna's words.

'I see. ...... It looks like someone made her look like this. I'm sorry, but could you tell me about the one who made you look like this with only your head?

　I don't know if I can tell you about Master Xand. I sense hostility from the Dark Knight.

"Why should I tell you?

　As I say this, I leave the arms of the headless knight (Dullahan) and fly through the air.
　This dark knight is dangerous. I think we should run away.

Sorry! I'll make you throw up, even if it takes force!

　The Dark Knight takes a step towards us.

'My servant!　While I get away!　Hold that one back!

　I order the headless knight to
　Blackened blood spurts out of the headless knight's headless place.
　The darkened blood flies around the headless knight (Dullahan), emitting a blue light as if it had an independent will.
　The darkened blood is called cursed blood (cursed blood).
　Those who are exposed to this blood will be condemned to die in seven days.
　The cursed blood will be on its way to Shenna.
　Perhaps the cursed blood will not work on the dark knight. So, I will create an opening for Shenna.

''Black Flame Barrier!

　Black flames erupt from the dark knight's body and protect Shenna.
　Normally I would have used magic to cover the headless knight (Dullahan), but it would be better to run away while we're still here.
　Let's give up on the headless knight. We can make it again.
　I fly through the air and try to hurry away.

'You think you can escape?'

　Suddenly a voice comes from behind me and grabs me by the back of the head.
　The one who grabbed me turns me towards himself.
　There is a beautiful woman with silvery white hair.
　I can sense a dangerous power from that beauty.

"Master Xand!

　I ask Master Xand for help.
　But there's no answer, even though our spirits would normally connect immediately.

'To no avail. "There's no use. Kuna has placed wards around the place. You cannot escape. Now let Kroki tell you everything.

　The silvery white beauty laughed coldly as she said that.




◆Dark Knight Kuroki

　The black flames burned Katia's neck.
　I got all the information out of Kuna's power. So there's no problem.
　The reason why he burned it was because he couldn't look at it any longer.
　The girl, Katia, didn't consider her situation to be unhappy at all.
　Rather, she thought she was happy.
　That was what she couldn't see. She burned it because she couldn't see it. It was selfish, I know, but I couldn't help it.

'Such a ....... Are you telling me this is Marcius?

　Shenna says, stunned at the sight of the headless Marcias.
　It's not surprising. A friend of mine turned out like this. It must have been a shock.
　When she said she was going to go to Marcias' place, he told her to take him with her, so she brought him with her.
　But I didn't expect Marcias to look like this.
　His face is blue and trembling.
　There is something a little tight for me too.
　Marcias, who became a headless knight (Dullahan), is stuck with black thorns.
　I gave Marcius my power in return for guiding me to Zeal.
　The power I gave him is to increase his resistance in various ways.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work for you.
　And as long as you're giving it power, you can connect with it a little bit.
　So I knew something had happened to Marcius.
　But I didn't think it was going to happen.
　Marcias's body is only half alive. It's like being a vampire (vampire) in between life and death. He'll be able to have children.
　According to what Kuna has learned from Katia, Marcias cannot be turned back because he has already become a different being than a human being.
　And he has no head. You can't even bring him back to life with this.
　Also, when headless Marcias leaves Katia's control, he is said to become a wraith that continues to hunt other people's heads to find them.
　He grits his teeth.
　It's my own fault. I gave Marcias the power to do this, and that's how it happened.
　I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it.

'I'm sorry, Marcius: ......

　I let out a black flame myself and burned Marcias.
　I couldn't let Marcias stay like this.

'Kroki?　What are you going to do now?

　Coona looked at her and called out in concern.

'I'm sorry Coona. I didn't mean to worry you.'

　Petting Coona's head.
　So, what do we do now?
　Xand would have been aware of the fact that I had eliminated Katia.

　Xand.

　The name of the person who turned Katya into a head. Probably not human.
　Someone who could give Katia, an ordinary girl, this much power. He must be of the gods.
　And although I've never met him, I can sense something creepy from him.
　That his collection of Katia was erased. Perhaps we have turned against each other.

'Kuna, I'm sorry I came to visit you. I'm sorry I came to visit you, Kuna, but I had to go. Could you take Shenna and go back first?

　I say to myself, pointing to a trembling Shenna.
　I have to go and make sure. You should ask Xand, and Ainoe to Zeal, too.

'All right, Kroki. You can do what you want, Kroki.

　Coona replies with a laugh.
　'I don't know why, but it looked like a lot of fun.

'Thanks Coona. I'll be off then. I'll be quiet and wait for you.

　I patted Kuna's cheek and flew through the night sky.



Kuna, Goddess of Moonlight

　Kuroki flies away over the city in the night wind.

'I'm sorry, Kroki. I'm not going to be quiet.

　He muttered as he looked in the direction Kroki had flown.
　I wasn't happy coming to this human country.
　It's fine to walk with Kuroki. But why do we have to act with restraint to humans?
　You don't have to shy away from those weak people.
　Kroki is always like that. He is always holding something back. He is always holding back.
　He's also somewhat reserved with Kuna.
　That's not good enough for me.
　Kuroki is strong. So Kroki should let himself go more.
　I want to see Kroki acting as an absolute strongman.
　What should I do?
　I look after the head-only woman and the headless man disappear.
　I think about Xand, the master of these guys.
　I thought he would be interesting. Toying with the obnoxious people of this country. It's a clean sight.
　Couldn't we use this guy?
　Good, I decided, let's make this guy useful to Kuna.
　He smiles.
　I'm sure Kuna has a bad smile on his face. I don't think Kroki would be able to see this face.

'Deep in the Dark Forest of Nargol. O shining white butterfly of Pushkea, who dwells in the garden of Aedin. Answer the call of the Kuna.

　Concentrate your mind and call the bugs.
　The ability to use bugs is an ability once possessed by Kuzig the Ogre.
　Coona has taken this ability from Kuzig.
　The power of this pollywoman is subtle and dependent on the power of the polly she controls. In other words, no matter how powerful the magician is, if he can't use strong bugs, he remains weak.
　The bugs that Kuzig had didn't have very strong bugs.
　So Kuna decided to look for a strong bug.
　And she found it.
　Butterflies appear out of nowhere around Coona, shining white.
　These butterflies are special bugs that live in the dark forest of Nargol.
　This butterfly has a magical power as great as that of the gods, and is excellent at detecting them in addition to being able to work magic.
　In addition, because it can move freely in space, it can easily invade the place where a ward has been set up.
　It has little offensive power, but depending on how you use it, it will become a powerful weapon.
　It was hard to learn to use this butterfly.
　But even if the ogre can't use it, Kuna can. That's why he tried his best.

''Go!　Butterflies!　Search for those who lurk in the darkness with their light!

　The butterflies disappeared into the night, their wings glowing white.

'Well, that should do it. By the way, how long are you going to shiver, Shenna?

　Kuna goes to Shenna's place.

'Meh Goddess?!'

　But Shenna remained trembling and unmoving.
　Perhaps Dullahan had the power to terrify those who saw it. It didn't work on Kuna or Kroki, but it seemed to be quite powerful for Shenna.
　Shenna seemed to be stuck in that fear.

'You can't help it, man. Look at Kuna's eyes.

　This woman taught me how to dance. So I'll take care of you for a bit.
　Shenna's complexion returns as she uses her magic.

'Thank you ....... Goddess .......'

　Shenna thanked him with tears in her eyes.

'Now let's get back, Shenna. We're going to be busy now.

　When Kuna laughed at that, Shenna made a puzzled face.




The black-haired wise man Chiyuki.

Are you okay, Chiyuki?

　Nao asks, lending me a shoulder to lean on.

'It's okay Nao. I just got a little sick.'
Are you sure you're all right, Master Sage? What on earth did you see?

　Decius, walking beside me, asks with concern.
　But I can't say what I saw.
　We are in a place that is lined with innkeepers and taverns.
　I had used my clairvoyant magic to look inside the inn to find Marcius.
　But that was a mistake.
　All of them, this guy is a sakari .......
　I almost muttered that to myself.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of men and women who are in the middle of working hard on the second floor of each inn with the magic of clairvoyance.
　And some of them were of the same s*x and were doing their best. I'm not going to complain about the form of love because it's different for each of us.
　If it's between men with good looks, I'd rather recommend it.
　But when I saw five hairy uncles stacked on top of each other, I felt bad indeed.
　If you think about it, this neighborhood is lined with such shops. It's natural to see such a figure if you are clairvoyant.
　As I turned red and almost collapsed, Decius wisely decided to end the search.

'I'm sorry, Sir Decius. We'll go back first.

　I apologize to Decius.
　Decius plans to stay here as one person stays behind to find Marcius.

''Yes, sir. I'll be fine on my own for the rest.''

　Decius leaves us and disappears into the night.

Let's get back, Nao-san. For now, we have one clue. Let's meet up with Reigi and his friends for once.
Yes?

　We walk through the streets at night.

'Hah ....... A little pathetic, if I do say so myself. ......

　I'm self-loathing.

That's not true. This is just like Chiyuki-san.

　Nao says with a laugh.

'It's kind of a tricky thing to say,'

　I think I'm playing the solid guy. What does Nao think of me?

No, no, it's nothing. We're going back.

　Nao laughs and covers it up.

'Already ......'

　We returned while exchanging such an exchange.



Shirone, the maiden of the sword.

What do you think, Lord White?

　I received the script from Commander Midas in the theater and read it.
　Chiyuki had told me the content of the story earlier, but it's a stilted story.
　It's a story about a princess who goes to rescue a prince who has been kidnapped by a witch.
　According to Chiyuki-san, the story is called Perseus-type mythology, although the genders are reversed. In Japanese mythology, this is also the case with Susano's defeat of Orochi.
　Well, this is the kind of story that is popular with everyone.
　However, that's not the point.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to go to ....... Isn't this a strange costume?

　I say, looking at the costume.
　It's a thin, fluttery outfit. It's very revealing. I'd be in a lot of trouble if I wore this.

'Is it?　I think that's normal, don't you?

　Midas tilts his head.
　I hold my head up. I can't get through to Commander Midas. Some of the girls in the troupe are even more amazingly dressed.
　Unless you're a very devout Feriah congregation, you probably don't have any hesitation in exposing your skin.

'I think it suits you well, Shirone.
'Yes. You have beautiful feet, Sirone, and they look good on you.

　Rage-kun and Reno-chan say happily.

'Hey Rei-kun and Lino-chan. I feel bad for Shirone-san.'

　Sahoko, my only conscience, stops me.

'Um, I think I'd look good too,'

　That's what the playwright, Alto, said.
　He plays a prince who is kidnapped. He looks like a girl, so he is perfect for the role.
　By the way, he is Kurio's son-in-law and now his girlfriend.
　When I first heard this, I was surprised, but I heard that it's possible for elves to live a long life and never change their appearance.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it.
　But what do you think about making him your lover?
　Incidentally, there are those who forcibly abduct human children among the elves. They are so-called changelings. One day, I heard it was the work of the elves if my child had suddenly changed into a log.
　Clio-san is lucky that he didn't force himself to do so.
　Alto-kun is looking at Rage-kun with sparkling eyes. I'm sure he admires the brave man, Rage.
　It's the same as the girl who is with Mr. Rage.
　If you think about it, it's unusual for a man to admire you, isn't it?
　Most of all, Mr. Rage looks a little confused.
　He looks like he's having trouble figuring out how to handle him.
　The princess knight is my role in rescuing this princess-like prince, but can't I get a little more exposure?

'Hmmm. I'd like to keep it a little more contained if I could: ......

　I don't think the request will be granted, but I'll say it just in case.

'No problem!　White!　If anyone looks at Shirone differently, I'll take care of it!　I'll save White!　So don't worry!

　Rage-kun laughs with a huff and puts his hand on my shoulder and says with a serious look in his eyes.
　I can't say no if you say it like that. This is my weakness. I'm not good at being pushed.
　I let out a sigh.
　In the end, the only person I can get my will across to is Kuroki.
　What is Kuroki doing now?
　I was thinking about this as I looked out the window.



Zand, the god of sleep and dreams.

"Master Xand!　It's your sister!　My sister!

　My fairies dance and scream through the darkness.

'I know, I know. You've done it. ...... 'The Dark Knight.'

　Katia's connection to Katia, who had gone out for a night walk, suddenly disappeared.
　And a short time later, the Dark Knight appeared in the shop.
　It was there that he realized what had happened to Katia.
　Perhaps the dark knight had done something to Marsyas. It was careless.
　He seemed to have come straight to me after extracting the information from Katia.
　I'm confident we'll win the battle, but there's always that chance. So I decided to run.
　It's a pretty close call, but my fairies bought me some time and I was able to escape.
　The fairies are much weaker than the Dark Knight, but for some reason he seemed hesitant to fight the fairies, so that helped.
　He'll still be looking for me.
　But I'm confident in hiding and running away. He's not going to be easy to find.
　So what are we going to do about it?
　I will have to pay him back for killing my fairy.
　Shouldn't I have his silvery white goddess to redeem me here? Yeah, you should.
　I've decided she's going to take the elves' place. I'll get her head.
　The thought of it makes me smile.

'Well, I'll have to change my schedule quite a bit too: ....... 'Hmm?'

　I felt as if a glowing butterfly had crossed in front of me, though only for a moment now.
　This place is unknown to anyone but my fairy. The space is closed off again by a ward. Not even a single insect should be able to enter.
　The butterflies have quickly disappeared. I search for any sign of it, but I don't feel anything.
　What's going on? I wonder for a moment.
　Oh well. I guess it's in my head.
　I have to think about the future.
　I was going to go after one of our heroes, a saint. I'm going to use her to lure the heroes to me. Then he would use Zeal to lure the Dark Knight to fight them both.
　Then, when both sides are wounded, we will crush them together.
　But there's been a change of plan. First, I'll go after the Dark Knight's silver goddess. We've got to repay the fairies for their kindness.
　Let's get moving.
　Zeal has been sent to Talavos. Maybe we can use Ulvald for something.
　I've been thinking about the future.