Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~

… … …

Since it takes quite some times to prepare for that magic, our opponent can easily kill me during that time.

Reiji-tachi is the one who was filling those gaps, and I managed to complete that magic.

「Thank you, Spirit-san」

Rino unsummoned her spirits after we confirmed our victory. The forms of Snow Queen and the Thunderbird become more transparent and eventually vanish.

「Did we kill him … Should I finish him off with my own hands …」

Shirone is saying so with a sad face.

「It’s the same for me, Shirone. At any rate, he should be heavily injured right now」

Reiji is saying so while looking at the entrance of the cave where Diehart was.

We couldn’t confirm his death with all that smoke from that explosion.

The smoke is gradually receeding.

「NO WAY!」

As the first one who noticed the situation, Nao is shouting loudly.

Diehart still standing right there on that place.

「NO WAY!? THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!」

I’m screaming. He shouldn’t be able to survive from the collision with the magic into which I poured my entire magical power head on.

「How can he survive that kind of explosion …」

Even Sahoko is showing a face of disbelief.

「No, this is the end. Look closely」

Kaya is saying so while pointing at Diehart.

I take a close look at Diehart with magic. There are cracks on his armor and helmet. And then, it seems he was in pain to the point of using his sword as a cane.

「Fuh! As expected, it seems he won’t die just from that attack! But, this is the end!」

Reiji is pointing his sword at Diehart.

「Wait, Reiji-kun!」

I’m trying to stop him in panic.

「What’s the matter, Chiyuki」

Reiji is turning around with a dissatisfied face. That’s natural since I stopped him when he tried to put up a front.

「What’s the matter, Chiyuki-san. Are you trying to save him?」

Rino is asking me.

「She’s right! He is dangerous, you know! We should finish him off right here! This is strange, why are you trying to save him!」

Shirone said so.

「Save him? As if I would! There’s something that I wanted to ask him」

「Something that you wanted to ask?」

I nodded in hearing her question.

「You want to ask him too, right? It’s about that masked man」

I have a debt I want to repay to that masked man. Thus, I want to know the information about him.

「That’s why, let’s keep his life for a little while longer」

We won.

「… If you say so, I have no choice then」

Shirone and Rino agreed to my request.

「In that case, maybe we should enquire several things that we want to know about. Even if we have to force him to spit it out」

Reiji is laughing. It seems he’s going to torture Diehart.

「… Do it moderately, you’re in front of girls after all」

Though I’m quite used to it after coming to this world, I’m still hesitant to use torture, even toward demons.

Nevertheless, it’s a completely different case if he’s not going to be obedient.

I went toward Diehart with smile on my face.

=== === ===

◆ Dark Knight, Kuroki

Reiji is yelling something.

Though my consciousness is hazy, I heard him.

It’s as he says. There’s no goddess who will come to save me.

This is the difference between Reiji and me. An absolutely unsurpassable wall for me.

I’m alone facing against seven of them. To be honest, that’s quite unfair.

I couldn’t help but think about such things after going this far.

The magic from before was too much. It’s already a miracle that I’m still alive after receiving such magic head on.

I’m placing my hand on my chest. I can feel the breath of fire dragon inside myself.

「You saved my life … Thank you … But then … I guess I’m done for」

I muttered disappointedly.

I could withstand the flame explosion thanks to the fire resistance I got from the soul of the fire dragon. This is the reason why I survived that attack.

But, I couldn’t withstand the shockwave from that explosion. Thanks to that, my armor is tattered right now. I’m barely standing on my feet.

I see them approaching me. All of them are smiling delightfully.

They might be delighted being able to defeat me.

I know that I’ll be in a deep quandary if things keep going on like this, but my body couldn’t move.

Why am I still okay after all of those attacks? They might spare my life as long as I reveal my identity and apologize properly to them.

But, I couldn’t bring myself to do such things. Though my life is already in jeopardy, I wonder why I am such a blockhead.

Because I know from the sign behind me that Glorious is ready to pounce at me at anytime.

「Stop it, Glorious … Keep yourself hidden in there」

They shouldn’t be able to find Glorious in its hiding place. That should at least save the life of Glorious.

They are …

My body is staggering, and I shook my head to keep my consciousness.

「Ah …」

By the time I noticed, it was too late.

It might be because I shook my head. My heavily damaged helmet fell to the ground.

=== === ===

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

Diehart’s helmet falls on the ground at the same time as his body staggered.

At that moment, Diehart’s face is exposed to us.

「Eh … A human」

I’m surprised. I’m sure that it was the face of a demon behind that helmet.

His face is not that of a demon nor a monster; it was the face of a normal human. His slender features and that black hair. His slightly flushed red face.

「A――AAAH！ ! ! 」

Rino suddenly screaming while pointing at Diehart.

「What’s matter!? Rino-chan!」

I look at Rino.

「AH! I’ve seen him before, you know!」

Rino has met Diehart before.

「Ku, roki…?」

Shirone is muttering in a low voice.

Upon hearing those words, everyone is looking at Shirone.

「W-WHY ARE YOU HERE, KUROKI――!」

Shirone scream reverberates throughout the surroundings.

「AH! ! THAT’S RIGHT, HE’S SHIRONE-SAN CHILDHOOD FRIEND! ! 」

「「E――EEEEH！ ! 」」

Nao and I are screaming in response to Rino’s words.

Come to think of it, Rino did say that she had seen Shirone’s childhood friend before. And to think that the he was Diehart.

That person might be him, right?

Why Shirone childhood friend is here?

My head is in chaos.

「Why’s Shirone’s childhood friend here? 」

Reiji is asking that question. I want to know that, too.

After that, I look at the childhood friend.

Indeed, that’s the face of someone who is one step away from his grave.

「Ah, he is falling!」

Rino is shouting.

His body is swaying, and then falling backward.

「AH, KUROKI!」

Shirone is about to rush toward him.

But, a gigantic shadow comes out from the cave even faster than her.

「EH, A DRAGON!」

The one that came out was a jet-black dragon.

After that dragon picked him from the ground and placed him on its back, it flew away at a tremendous pace.

We couldn’t move due to such an absurd development.

「Eh, what … WHAT JUST HAPPE――――NED!」

Shirone continues to scream. It seems she was at a loss about what just happened.

The dragon that took him had already became a dot in the sky.

I couldn’t do anything but to watch that dragon flying away with dumbfounded face.

=== === ==

◆ Dark Knight, Kuroki

I’m flying on Glorious back.

「You saved me there, Glorious」

It seems Glorious jumped on reflex upon seeing me fallen.

As a result, Glorious saved my live.

I have no Goddess of Victory, but I have a dragon who saved my life. That’s why, even if I lost, I survived.

For some reason, Reiji-tachi isn’t chasing after me. I don’t know what their reason.

I placed my hand on my face. My helmet is no more. It’s my bare face.

「My identity is exposed huh …」

I’m no longer Diehart, just an extremely despicable person called Kuroki. At any rate, I was the one who cut down the one they love, after all. There’s no turning back for me.

「As I thought, I really can’t win, huh …」

If such a sense of rivalry is useless, I wonder for what reason I am fighting.

「I really am an idiot, aren’t I…」

I snickered on my own foolishness.

Then, I touch the horn of holy dragon king on Glorious’ back.

「I wonder if a goddess will come to me with this …」

I might be able to defeat them the next time we meet.

My consciousness is getting fainter by moment. As expected, I’m worn out.

「Sorry, Glorious … I’m going to sleep for a while」

My consciousness is fading away on Glorious back.

Glorious is flying under a vast, blue sky. Flying above the clouds, the sun is shining upon us.

Thus, I fell asleep on Glorious’ back.