Dark Knight Kroki

　We are going to the elven city of Arceidia.
　The reason is to deliver the dwarves, including Kuna, to Arceidia.
　The dwarves in Kutar depend on the elves for their food. For this reason, they must regularly travel to the elves.
　But since transference is forbidden, they must travel in a magical dwarven car.
　The chariot is a sturdy iron box with wheels, and appears to be quite sturdy and does not need to be driven by a horse or deer.
　However, it is not very fast, probably because it is heavy.
　If only I could get there before nightfall.
　With that in mind, myself and Kuna, along with the dwarves and the cat people, get into the car and head down the road to Arceidia.
　Originally, I was not planning to go to Arceidia.
　However, I'm curious about the state of the forest, so I decided to accompany them to the middle of the road.
　I have to return after observing the forest to some extent because I am also concerned about Ferion.

''Kroki. I feel like we're going a long way.

　Coona tilts her head as the car rocks forward.
　It sure feels like it. The car is taking a slight detour from the straight line.

'Dark Knight-dono. That's actually true. As long as Ferion's seal is weakening, the Fang people will become violent. In order to avoid them, I'm taking a relatively safe path. Normally, we wouldn't take a detour.

　The dwarf I'm riding with explains it to me.
　He is a dwarven warrior who worships the god of war, Sprig.
　Sprig is a dwarf who once fought alongside the Demon King Modes to save the god Heybos from being captured by the Minotaur.
　His exploits earned him the status of the dwarven god of war.
　This is why the guardians of the dwarven treasure are called sprigans.
　Equipped with the axe he had taken from the Minotaur and with the horns he had taken on either side of his helmet, the statue of Sprig is still revered in the dwarven settlements alongside the god Heybos.
　And, as he explained, he too wears a helmet with a bull's horn on it and is equipped with a battle axe (battle axe).
　The dwarven warrior is slow moving but robust. They won't lag behind the Fang People either.

''I see that was the case ....... So you've been taking a detour.
Goodbye. This road isn't exactly safe, either, but it's a short distance from where the fang-bearers roam. We can reduce our chances of running into them.

　The dwarves nodded yes and no.
　Those of the fangs are werewolves (wolfmen) and werewolves (werewolves).
　This forest was their home even before the elves lived here.

'I see. ....... Certainly, the wolves seem to be far away.''

　I look out the window of the car and close my eyes to search for signs of wolves.
　I can feel the presence of the wolves from a distance. Perhaps it was because of my fretfulness, but it was easy to probe.

'Huh?'

　That's where I find myself in a lot of trouble.

'What's going on?　The Dark Knight?
It looks like someone's been attacked.

　Someone was being attacked in the distance. I could feel it so clearly that even I, who wasn't that good at detection, could see it.

'What!　I do not believe that our people would take that road. Are they elves?　But why?　Those men shouldn't be visiting our village nearly as often as they do: ......

　The dwarf tilts his head.
　But there is no time to think about it.
　We should go help them.

"I'll go help. Coona. I'll leave you here. Maybe there's no danger, but be careful.
All right. Kroki.

　Coona nods.
　Now Kuna is disguised as a cat person, with cat ears and a cat tail.
　If you look close enough, you'll realize it's a fake, but if you hide behind it, you won't recognize it.
　The elves wouldn't notice it either.

"I can't send the Dark Knight alone. How many are you going with?
Hey!

　Some of the dwarves with crossbows stand up.
　He is a dwarven ambush (ranger). He can move quickly by wearing a magical grass-skiing board.

Then I'll go.

　I myself jumped out of the iron car and headed for the ones who were being attacked.



◆Lucien, Princess of the Elves

　A car towed by Keluneier drives through the forest with five of us in tow.
　Around it are multiple shadows, gray-furred and tusked ones.
　They seem to be calling out to their friends and appear one after another.

'Master Rouxien!　I can't shake those wolves!

　Tess looks at me and screams out in grief.

'You're really persistent!
Absolutely.

　Piera uses wind magic and Oleola returns fire with her bow.
　The arrows fired by Oleola, strengthened by wind magic, pierce the fang people.
　However, the fang people do not seem to be scared.

''Um ....... Is there anything I can do to help myself?

　I hear the koukies on my lap scowling.
　I feel like I can't do anything about it. Very, very cute.
　But I won't be able to do anything with Kouki now.
　The reason why I brought Kouki here is because I want to keep him away from me as much as possible.
　I need him to watch me as much as possible.

'Good boy. Good boy, Koki. But that's all right now, you're going to be a good boy. I'll get rid of the bad wolf.

　I laugh to reassure Kouki. But inwardly, I was a little impatient.
　If it's only the noses of the fang people, I can cheat them with magic.
　So I tried to hide and get away with it many times.
　But they had found out exactly where we were.
　What do I mean by that?
　But I'm not going to get an answer if I think about it.
　Maybe we should have bypassed their range of activity.
　I regret it, but it's already too late.
　I used my magic to calm my thoughts and made Kelluneier rush forward.
　We should be able to manage if we escape to the well-defended dwarven village.

''Lucien-sama!　Oh, my God, we're being led around!

　Tess's shrill cry again.
　I can certainly feel the presence of the Fang ones from ahead.

'Give blood to the great Ferion!
"Let the blood of Ferion be sacrificed!
"Let the blood of Ferion be sacrificed!
"Let the blood of Ferion be sacrificed!

　The tuskers call out the name of their own god, Ferion.
　This will not allow us to go on as far as we would like.
　We stop and get out of the car.
　The Fang People are surrounding us.

"You think you can escape from the Lycans?　O princess of the elves!

　One werewolf (wolfman) comes out of the fang people.
　The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that you can't get away from the fact that you're a werewolf.
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
　It seems that this old woman was leading these fang people.

''Princess!　That's Casiga!　The head of the fangbearers who nest in these woods!　Please be careful!　He uses witchcraft!

　Oleola exclaims.
　I know about Khaziga from rumors.
　He is said to be good at magic, a rarity among the Fang people who only know how to fight directly.
　Now, where do we go from here?

Oleola: "Oleola ....... How would you get out of this situation?

　Oleola is the one who knows the most about fighting in this one.
　It is most correct to follow her instructions.

'We can't get away without making sacrifices. Princess, I will draw them to you. In the meantime, you must flee.

　What came back was the worst possible answer.
　There was no way I could leave Oleola like this.
　It was a poor decision on my part to get us into this predicament in the first place.
　I have to take the blame for it.

'No, Oleola. ''No, Oleola, I'll take it from here. I will show you the power of an Elf princess.

　I draw my sword and I step forward, ready.

'Get it over with!　You guys!

　Seven werewolves (wolfmen) simultaneously challenged me from the front and right and left.
　I ducked their claws and fangs with a paper-thin line, then turned my body and swung my sword.

''What!''

　Casiga's surprised voice.
　It's only natural. For in the blink of an eye, the seven that had attacked me had fallen.
　Even the Fang ones seem surprised.

'This isn't the end!　Seven rows of light bullets!

　When I create seven light balls, I hit those in front of me.
　I've heard that it's difficult for a human to create even one lightball, but as an upper (high) elf, I can release seven of them at the same time.
　Avoiding the light bullets that automatically track the target should be difficult even for those with excellent physical abilities and fangs.
　In the blink of an eye, it clears the enemies in front of me.

''Princess. You were able to raise your arm.''
The amazing Lady Rouxien.
It's really amazing. Maybe this will make it easier for the Fang people: ......

　I hear a surprised voice behind me.
　It's like the girls didn't know what I was capable of.
　Well, I can't blame them because I rarely fight them.
　In fact, I am stronger than Oleola, who is a warrior. This is purely due to my bloodline.
　The upper (high) elves are stronger than the other elves.

''Don't be alarmed, boys. There are many of them.

　I look around at my guard.
　I don't know how good Casiga is, but I don't think he's stronger than me.
　I'm going to make you regret letting me take you seriously.

'Huh?　Nice to see an elf looking up. Then I'll be your partner. Right, old woman?

　A huge red-haired werewolf (wolfman) comes out of the fang people or one huge red-haired wolfman.
　In his hand is a huge barbaric sword.
　It has horn-like spines sprouting from its head to its spine, and its spines are adorned with countless skulls.
　It's a very odd appearance.

The great Ferion-sama's great appearance. It's true that you are favored by the great Ferion, so you should be able to deal with the High Elves. It's all right, girl. But this old woman will help you.

　Khaziga looks at me without a care in the world.
　This werewolf called Yasab (Wolfman) looks very strong.
　But I hope you won't underestimate him.
　You can't be beaten by a mere wolfman.

"Come out of the darkness of night and protect your family.

　A black haze emerges from Kaziga and falls on Yasab.

'Protection against light magic!　A mere wolf could do such magic!

　I let out a surprised cry.
　It won't completely nullify it, but it does weaken the effectiveness of my magic.

'Don't underestimate this old woman, please don't underestimate her. It's not the first time I've fought you guys. And even if you use water magic to eliminate the smell, you can usually tell if you can sense the unnatural smell of water. It's like you've never fought an old lady before, so next time you'll be more careful. But that's only if there's a next time.

　Khaziga giggles.
　Not good, this old woman seems to be used to fighting.
　She knows how to fight the upper (high) elves.
　I look behind me.
　Oleola and the others must have those surrounding them in check.
　If that is the case, then Khaziga and Yasab will have to be fought by me.
　I will go further forward.
　I can't involve Oleola and the others in the fight.

'Let's go!　Elf princess!　Be an ornament to me, called the headhunter!

　Yasab approaches with his barbaric sword raised.
　He is fast.
　But it's not so fast that you can't avoid it.
　I try to dodge by spinning myself around.

''What?''

　However, he couldn't help but let out a surprised cry.
　Yasab's barbaric sword had changed its trajectory and was coming towards me.
　I twist my body in a hurry and catch it with my sword.
　The sword flips off as the impact is felt in my hand.

''Sweetheart, you elven princess!　Stop!

　Yasab scoffs at him, and he swings his barbaric sword again.
　However, I can't get hit with this.

''Seven rows of light bullets!''
'Whoa!　What!

　The light bullets released from my hand hit Yasab, but only made him retreat a bit.
　The wounds would also recover quickly if it was a werewolf (wolfman) with a high automatic recovery ability.

''Princess!''

　Oleola tries to come over here.

'Oops!　All of you!　Stop that elf!

　Kasiga's voice interrupts Oleola and the others from the Fang ones.

'You'll see the last of the elven princesses there!

　Kajiga's mockery.
　Not good.
　Sweat runs down my forehead.
　The light bullets can't be released so many times. What am I supposed to do?
　I ponder.

'That's it!'

　But Yasab won't wait.
　He raises his barbaric sword.

''Whoa!
What?

　Suddenly a voice rises from behind you and a small shadow flies by.
　The shadow hits Yasab as it heads straight for him.
　Yasab is caught off guard and loses his stance and falls to the ground.
　The small shadow stands in front of me.
　It's Kouki.
　Everyone present looks at Kouki in silence.
　Of course, it's natural, because the small, helpless-looking Kouki has pushed down the powerful Yasab.
　I'm surprised too.

'Kah, I made a promise to my mother!　He's going to be a great knight!　Ki, a knight has to stand up to this kind of situation!

　Kouki screams, biting his tongue.
　His body is trembling.
　Kouki fought to protect me.
　I feel my navel tingle underneath my navel at that.
　I want to hug him and perk him up, but I'll have to hold back.
　I'm so glad I'm magically cooler in my thoughts.

'Grrrrrr!　You did it!　The kid!

　Yasab gets up with a snarl.
　He looks pretty pissed off.
　We're not out of the woods yet.
　Kouki's movement has stopped them from moving, but they'll be moving soon.
　Kouki picks up my sword, which has fallen.

'Ko-Koki!　What?!
I'm gonna fight you.

　Kouki shakes and swings his sword.
　It's impossible.
　No matter how much, there is no way you can win.
　I was just caught off guard earlier.
　In fact, Kouki's sword swing seems to be a mess.
　With this one, I can fight better than you, having learned a little bit of the sword.

''Kid!　What the hell!　That stance is going to beat me at that!

　Yasab roars and swings his sword.
　It is a sharp flash that seems to cut off even the air.
　This werewolf (wolfman) called Yasab seems to be quite a swordsman, unlike his appearance.

''I'm going to make you a great Wesen, ...... hmm?''

　I look surprised when Yasab suddenly stops speaking.
　His gaze is directed behind me.

'Yes, you're right. You can't swing your sword like that. You need to relax your shoulders more, and grip the sword softly.'

　A voice comes from behind me.
　You turn around in surprise.
　There is someone standing there, wearing a hood.
　When did it appear?
　He looks like a human man, though the hood doesn't give him a good view of his face. But I don't think there is a human being deep in the woods like this.
　Who is he?
　When I was wondering this, the hooded man approached Kouki and crouched down to teach him how to grip his sword.

'Ready?　Don't swing the sword with just your arm strength. And hold it tightly for the moment it hits.

　It's a very, very gentle voice.
　I feel like a father teaching his children.

"Oh, um, ......, who are you?

　Kouki also looks at the man in surprise.
　Kouki isn't the only one who is surprised. We and the Fang people around us are also surprised.
　That surprise is even greater than when Kouki pushed Yasab out of the way.
　After all, he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

'I'm here to help. You did a great job.

　It's a very gentle voice.
　For some reason, hearing that voice makes me feel safe.

'You!　Who are you?!

　Yasab swung his barbaric sword at the man in the hood.
　The blow was fast and seemed to slice through the hooded man's head.
　However, what rang out was not the sound of slicing flesh, but a kinked metallic sound.
　The man who should have been crouched down a moment ago was standing up, and he was holding a sword in his right hand.
　When did he draw his sword?　
　I couldn't see it at all.
　The sword of the man in the hood has the glow of a magical alloy (Orihalcon).
　The hilt of the sword was probably made by the dwarves.
　If so, this hooded man may be related to the dwarves.

I'll take care of it from here on out.

　The man in the hood said this, and thrust his sword at Yasab.