Dark Knight Kroki

　The vanguard female mantis lady led me through the corridors of the Demon King's Castle.
　The corridor is so wide that even a giant can walk down it.
　Perhaps this corridor was really built for someone the size of a giant.
　After all, some of Modes' companions are over 10 meters in length.
　The corridor must have been made wide for such people as well.
　Eventually you will come to a large door.
　This door is also wide enough for a giant to fit through.

''Come in, my lord. Your Majesty is waiting for you inside.

　The female mantissa officer bowed her head and the door opened on its own.
　As expected, the inside is quite large.
　It was probably the largest room in the Demon King's Castle.
　The hall is decorated with shining jewels and is very bright.
　You step into that great hall.

''You've come well, Kroki. Everyone is already here.''

　When you enter, you are greeted by the Demon King Modes.
　In addition to Modes, there are Lugas, the vizier, and Herkert, the great witch, the blacksmith god Heibos, and Lanfeld, the leader of the Dark Knights, in the great hall.
　There are other xenomorphs looking at me.
　These xenomorphs are the god race. They are the gods of Nargol, with the Demon King Modes as their leader.
　They are about to begin a meeting of the gods.
　Therefore, all those in this great hall are only the gods, or those who are considered to be equivalent to the gods.
　Heybos is a god belonging to Elyos as well as a god of Nargol, that is why he is here.
　Lanfeld is not of the god-tribe, but he attends this meeting as one who is equal in power to the gods.
　And although they are the gods, these men are positioned as companions of the Modes.
　With the exception of a few such as Lugas, they are not subordinates of the Modes.
　Therefore, Modes cannot give them orders.
　This is the case with Herkert, for example. Modes does not give her orders.
　Modes is only their ally, and if something happens, they only request it.
　This seems to be the same for Elios, and Odis doesn't have absolute power either.

''Kroki-sensei!　It's been a while~!

　After entering the hall, Polen, the princess, comes running up to you after a while.
　It seems that the transformation is not yet stable and not in the form of a beautiful girl.

''It's been a long time, Your Highness. Is Your Highness going to be in attendance as well?
'Yes sir. Your father said it was time for me to attend as well, and also to take your mother's place.

　Pollen is right, there's no sign of Morna.
　Apparently she's not in attendance.
　Well, somehow I know why.
　Pollen scurries over and looks around him.

'Sir. Is Master Coona not here?''

　Pollen nods his head.

'Oh, Kuna's not here.

　Coona is also a divine race that belongs to Nargol.
　He is able to participate in the meeting.
　However, she is not interested in the meeting or she is staying at Sweet Castle.

I see. It's a shame. I haven't seen you in a while.

　Pollen says ruefully.
　For some reason, Pollen is pining for Kuna. However, Kuna doesn't seem to think anything of Pollen in particular.
　Of course, she can't tell that to Pollen.
　It was when I was talking to Pollen.
　Suddenly, a shadow appears overhead.
　When I looked up, I saw a huge merman there, more than six meters tall.
　The merman was fat and had a protruding belly.
　The merman looked down and smiled at himself.

'This is the second time I've seen you. The Dark Knight. Do you remember me well, Dark Knight? Daraugon.


　Sea God Daraugon.
　That's the name of the god in the form of a giant merman. This is the second time I've met him.
　He is a friend of Modes.
　Daraugon is looking down at himself, scratching his belly.
　He does not normally live in Nargol, but far to the west, on the inland sea of Caird.
　He seems to have come to this Nargol for a meeting.
　That Daraugon is scurrying around himself.
　What's wrong with him?

Of course I remember. Lord Daraugon. It's been a long time. What happened then? Look around you.
No. I don't think the beautiful girl you were with is here.

　I see, you came all the way down here just to say hi to me because of a coona, huh?

Ah. Oh, I see. ...... If it's Kuna, he's not here.

　When he said this himself, Daraugon held his face in his hands and looked up at the ceiling.

'Kuha!　Yeah, right!　Well, that's too bad!　Morna wasn't even here.　There are no flowers!

　Daraugon looks disappointed.
　Pollen is looking at him with zit eyes beside him.
　The male gods other than Daraugon who heard it also look somewhat disappointed.
　In fact, Kuna didn't attend because she didn't like the male gods of Nargol. Perhaps Morna did not attend for the same reason.
　But I can't tell you that.

'Excuse me, Lady Daraugon. If it's flowers, there's me and Lady Herkert.

　The head mistress Enshema, who had been listening to the conversation between herself and Daraugon, interrupts the conversation.
　Enshema, known as the Female Mantis Empress (Empusa Empress), is not only the head matriarch, but also a subordinate to the Great Witch Herkert.
　Although she is not explicitly of the divine race, she attends the same as Runfeld.

''Eh? Um. Well, well. I guess so. I'm sorry, Mr. Enshema.

　Daraugon laughs hahaha.
　He doesn't really mean it by any means.
　Enshema has the appearance of a beautiful woman, but I've heard that she is a giant female mantis with bronze legs.
　I've never seen her in her true form, but she seems to be quite fearsome.
　Even as a flower, it has too many thorns.
　However, most of the gods here are male.
　The gods of Nargol, who were originally part of the Modes, have few goddesses.
　There are still more goddesses in Gipsyll.
　By the way, the ones present today are Polen, Herkert and Enshema.
　And then there's only Mumi, the valley goddess who is the daughter of the trolls' goddess, Trolla, the mountain goddess.
　Mumi is also a goddess worshipped by the trolls and is called the Green Lady because of the soft moss that covers her body.
　She has a very gentle nature, and many of her trolls are also of a gentle nature.

"Well, I don't mind.

　Enshema turns away, looking disinterested.
　I guess she's just saying it and not really angry.
　According to Polen's story, Enshema is actually quite fond of beautiful boys.
　With that in mind, the middle-aged, overweight-looking Daraugon shouldn't be to his liking.

''More importantly, you all seem to be in line. I think it's time to begin the meeting. May you and the Princess be permitted to join us?

　Myself and Polen nodded at Enshema's words.
　The gods participating in the meeting are of different sizes, so no seats are provided.
　Therefore, each of them stand in their own place or sit on the floor as is.
　I'm in line with Pollen.

It seems we're all here. Let's get started. This time, as you all know, Zarxys has regained his power. Enshema, tell us what you have gathered about him.

　When Modes, our ally, says that, the gods get upset.
　That's how famous Zarxis must be.
　Enshema steps forward.

'Yes your majesty. That reaper is said to be in the land of Luvania. Presumably, he has returned to Maudgar, his own former capital. What shall we do?

　Then the Enshema looks around.
　Some gods have places that are their own dwelling places.
　For example, Lavrus is the labyrinth city of Lavrus, and Sekmetra is the golden city of Arnak.
　And we are told that Modgar, the City of Death, was once the dwelling place of Zarxis.
　Apparently he hadn't returned even after it was confirmed that he was alive, but now that he has regained his strength, he has finally returned.

''Luvania?　That land was originally ruled by Zarxys. I wouldn't be surprised to see it return.

　Lugas says, touching his beard.
　'I've never heard of a place called Luvania. We'll find out later.

I'm sure you're right. Hey, Rugas. What are we going to do now?

　Modes ponders.
　Modes and Zarxys are hostile to each other.
　In the first place, Zarxis lost his power because he was defeated by Modes.
　That Zarxys has regained his power. He might try to take revenge on Modes.
　However, since we know where he is, it is possible for us to attack him.

'I don't think we'll have to do anything about it. The first thing they'll be after is Elios. Zarxys is a cool guy. He won't go after us. He'll go after that. Just make sure they beat the shit out of each other. Guess I'm gonna have to go puke puke.

　Herkert laughs.
　Herkert doesn't like Elios.
　Therefore, he doesn't seem to care what happens to Elios.
　But that would put Heybos in danger.

'Heybos. Obaba says she's going after Elios, but what about Elios? Are you dealing with it?

　Modes asks Heybos anxiously.

Odis is on the move. Heavos is unaware of this, but he is probably aware of Zarxys' presence in Luvania. The holy knights are making a lot of noise. But they wouldn't want to attack that miasma-ridden land. It's too dangerous.

　Heybos says, touching his beard.

'Indeed it is. The land is a good place for Zarxys. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. But that doesn't mean it's safe to leave them unattended.

　Modes ponders.
　Is this something that's bothering him?

Vomit? What's going on?　Boy?　Is there something on your mind?
'It's Obaba. I'm wondering what Zarxis and Deirdona are up to. I have a feeling that they are about to do something extraordinary.

　Modes says in a very serious tone.

'Guess I have nothing to worry about. 'Guess there's nothing to worry about,' he said. The freezing power of Zarxys is powerless in front of the boy's black flames, even with Deirdre. Even with Deirdre around. Guffaw. And then there's the Dark Knight over there. There's nothing to fear.

　Herkert is optimistic about Modes, who looks serious.
　The icy power of Zarxis is not effective against those with black fire.
　That was the reason why he was the only one who could move normally in the Roxx Kingdom.
　In other words, I would be able to resist Zarxis.

'Obaba. Can you say that when they want to resurrect my mother?
Vomit?

　Herkert sounds surprised by Modes' words.
　That's not all.
　The gods present begin to make a commotion.
　This time, Modes doesn't stop them either.

'Boy is ....... You think they're going to resurrect that man?

　You can see the oil sweat running down Herkert's face.
　The other gods have expressions of horror on Lugus and Daraugon's face as well.
　That's nothing compared to when they heard that Zarxis had regained his power.

'That's right, Obaba. That's right Obaba, I don't know how. But Zarxys has regained his power. I don't believe there is any way to resurrect him. What do you think, Lugus?

　Modes looks at Lugus.

Surely it is not impossible. It's not impossible, because there are things that Lugus does not know. And whether it is possible or not, it is something that Deirdre and Zarxys would consider resurrecting, your majesty.

　Lugas shakes his head and replies.
　His face is somewhat uneasy.

'Gerot. That's a big deal, and I'd like to make sure it's a big deal. I'd really like to check this one out. Is there anyone who can go into Modugal and see what's going on? Vomit.

　Herkert looks at the gods.
　But almost everyone turns away.
　Daraugon is whistling deliberately.

'Lord Herkert. It's called recklessness. That land is probably filled with the icy power of Zarxis. I believe that only our allies with their black fire can resist that power.

　A single god steps forward.
　Sajtaris, the wise god of the wind, a male god whose lower body was turned into a horse.
　Sajtaris is the youngest brother of the four brother gods worshipped by the centaurs.
　He is the only one who is rational, unlike his older brother, who is colorful and violent.
　Sajtaris normally lives on the Plain of Xonia, but like Dallaugon, he came to Nargol to attend a meeting.
　Sajtaris is also well versed in martial arts, and is said to be as good as Alfos, especially when it comes to archery.

Sajtaris is right, Obaba. "Sajtaris is right, Obaba, it's dangerous to go directly into that place. It's not safe to enter the area directly. Then we'll share our knowledge with each other.
'But that may be too late for you. Boy.

　Herkert lets out a sigh.

'Please wait!　Mr. Herkert!　I'll go!　I, with my black fire, can stand against the Reapers.

　It was Lanfeld who came out.

'No!　Lord Llanfeld!

　But Modes stops him instantly.

'Zarxis is strong. He may be able to resist the freezing power, but his power is not the only one. He cannot be defeated by the Lord.

　Lanfeld looks frustrated.

'You're right. 'You're right, Llanfeld. You're strong. But Zarxys is even stronger. That's why it's impossible for you to do the job. But what about the Dark Knight over there? Geez, geez.

　When Herkert says this, he looks at himself.
　I can see from his eyes what he's trying to say.
　In other words, it looks like he wants to tell me to go to myself.

'Well ....... Then I'll go myself?

　When he says this, Herkert smiles.
　Modes gives him a worried look in response.

'It's Kroki. It is true that if there is anyone in the land that can defeat Zarxys, you are the only one other than Modes," he said. But that doesn't make it any less dangerous. I wonder what they're up to, but I can't force them to do it.

　However, he shook his head at Modes' words.
　As far as Modes and the gods here are concerned, it's definitely dangerous to leave Zarxys alone.
　I think about it for a moment.
　When I confronted that reaper, I felt a very dangerous feeling.
　An existence that is the complete opposite of life. It's just the opposite of life.
　I'm wondering what that Zarxys is thinking.
　That's why I want to go check on him.
　Because I am one of the people who live in this world.
　Perhaps Herkert was right, I am the best person for the job.

'No, I'll still go. Of course, if I feel it's too dangerous, I'll retreat immediately.

　I say clearly.
　And then my own and Modes' gazes cross.
　A few moments pass.

'Well, be careful where you go, Kroki.

　Modes lets out a sigh as if he's given up.
　Apparently, he knew he was serious.
　I nod at Modes' words.
　Now, what shall I say to Cuna?