57 Lizardman (1/2)

Dark Knight Kroki

”Great dragonborn. I follow you.

Saying that, the lizardmen get into a large figure with their bellies down. It's what's called a five-body throwing ground.

There are eight lizardmen. They are all slaves who escaped from the arena.

In the morning, I entered the labyrinth.

Of course, I entered the labyrinth, but only on the surface.

This land was once the capital of the Minotaurs.

However, they were attacked by Modes, the Demon King, and fled underground.

As a result, the surface portion was abandoned.

The surface part is also quite magnificent, as it was built by the god Heybos.

The city is built around a temple built on a small hill.

Even though the city was supposedly built long ago, most of the buildings are still in their original form.

The ornamentation of the stone buildings is beautiful, and it seems that the city was quite prosperous.

But that was a long time ago.

I used the magic of flight to land directly into the center of the city alone.

Syrone and the others aren't there.

Syrone wanted to follow along, but if they entered the wards together, Lavrus could find out that the Dark Knight and his heroic companions had joined forces.

It would be better to keep it a secret if they wanted to rescue Rage.

Besides, Silone is the one who stands on the side of the humans. I can't let Shirone and the others, my brave companions, get away with this.

This must be done by my own hands.

With that in mind, I came here in the form of a dark knight.

Ligeena wanted to come with me, but Silone stopped her.

Last night, she tried to stay in the room with her and got into a fight with Silone.

In the end, Regena ended up sleeping in Kaya's room. Incidentally, Kaya apparently stayed in the room with her master, Kyouka.

The reason why he took the form of a dark knight was because he wanted to make her listen to his words by force in some cases.

However, that worry turned out to be unfounded.

When I appeared in front of them, Lizardmen easily listened to me.

Apparently, Lizardmen seemed to sense the dragon's power within him.

Like Nargol's lizardmen, he had faith in dragons, so he was quick to talk.

When one lizardman pledged his allegiance, he gathered all the lizardmen in the land.

And all the lizardmen bowed down to him.

'I'm sorry ....... I need you to move out of this land for a while. I'm going to have to deal with the evil gods of this labyrinth from now on.

He wakes the lizardman up from his five body throw and says

He is not a revered being.

So there is no need to bow your head.

''Dragon Man-sama, do you want to deal with the one who is deep in the labyrinth?

One of the lizardmen asks himself.

'Yes. It's hard for us to move with you guys around at the time.'

The lizardman looks at each other as he says this.

”I think I'm not going to be of any use to you.

The word surprises me a little.

'What do you mean?'

The maze is connected to the river. We are able to navigate the river. I'm not going to be able to help you.

I listen and think about what the Lizardman said.

Then I remember the blueprints for the labyrinth given to me by the god Heybos.

There is a lake in the underground garden on the fifth level where Rage and the others are trapped. Where did that water come from?

The blueprints only showed the structure of the labyrinth, not what was outside the labyrinth. God Heybos also didn't dare to explain the outside of the labyrinth because the terrain might have changed since the labyrinth was built.

Apparently, God Heybos used the water from the nearby river when he built the garden.

Hundreds of years have already passed since the labyrinth was built.

But maybe the terrain hadn't changed that much.

Maybe it would be better to listen to the Lizardman's detailed story and check it against the blueprints.

''By the way, is it possible to enter the labyrinth from the river?''

The lizardman shakes his head as he listens.

”There is an invisible wall that prevents me from entering. The water will pass through, but I will not enter.

From the lizardmen's talk, I assume that the wards are set up.

It seems that the five levels of the labyrinth have been turned into a prison.

But it wasn't a prison to begin with. It's not a prison at all.

And the wards on the Kish River may have been put up to fill in the gaps.

Maybe it would be better to go back and discuss it with Shirone and the others.

That's what I was thinking about.

You can feel the air vibrating, if only slightly.

What was that ......?

Ryujin-sama. Who is here to protect you, Master Ryuujin?

When in doubt, a lizardman will explain it to you.

This labyrinth has a strong ward on the surface of the ground.

When someone comes in, the air outside the ward comes in.

Therefore, it is said that the air vibrates a little bit when someone comes in.

Lizardmen have better sensory functions than humans. They can sense even the slightest vibration of air.

As long as they are in this labyrinth, lizardmen can take the initiative against intruders.

On top of that, some of the lizardmen in this labyrinth are able to change their color to match the surrounding landscape.

It seems that the freedom fighters so far have also ambushed and defeated them.

'I see. ......'

When I say that, I let my gaze fly. The magic of distant vision can be seen by those within the wards.

And I saw it.

The ones who broke in are the freedom fighters I met yesterday. Novis is there, too.

There are more men than when we met yesterday.

A man with a bow and a man with a spear. I'm sure they are as good as Novice, from the looks of it.

”Why are they here?

Conceivably, it would be to kill the lizardmen here.

''Ryujin-sama. We will repel the intruder. Is this the right time to leave this place?

I can hear the anger in the lizardman's voice as he says this.

They were captured by the humans and made slaves. They were forced to fight and made a spectacle of themselves.

And from what I've found out, there were times when they were forced to fight with the same lizardman comrades.

Their anger towards humans is understandable.

Yeah. Somewhat understandable: .......

But I don't share their anger.

Even if they want to take revenge on the humans, I won't be able to lend a hand.

I feel I can't be on the side of the humans or the demons.

That's why I'm not sure how I'm going to act.

I may be the worst, acting without any particular belief.

I don't have a sense of justice, nor do I have any particular ideological beliefs.

Rather, I'm a selfish person. He's a dark knight who follows the Demon King for his own greed.

Helping the Lizardmen is sometimes just a whim.

'No, I'll go myself. You guys will have to stay back: ......

He shakes his head at the lizardman's words and replies.

'Oh!　Ryujin-sama, you're going to go on your own!

The lizardman bows his head when he says that.

I hope he doesn't bow at that.

He walks towards Novice and the others.

I'm going to use some magic I just recently learned.

I walk forward with that in mind.

To be honest, I don't know which one I'm going to protect myself from.

The men with Novis seem to be pretty strong.

And the lizardmen are also fierce men who have survived the arena.

I don't know what will happen if we fight.

I walk towards Novis and the others.

But I dare to say that I'm on the side of the lizardmen here.

It's lucky. It is the job of the dark knight to interfere with the brave.

If it's true, it should be strange to help a brave man.

So let me get back to my original job.

The freedom fighter girl, Sisyphe.

I was waiting for everyone to get together, but it's getting late.

It's bad enough that Novice is sleeping in, because the four brave men are not going to celebrate the banquet in good company.

We headed to the labyrinth with the four brave men of earth, water, fire, and wind leading the way.

Other than the brave ones, it's me, Keina's sister, Maddy, Nora, and Leiria's usual companions, and this time Justy is with us.

And this time, Justy followed along with us.

Justy isn't a freedom fighter, but he can also fight.

He brings a huge Morning Star, which is his brother Gordan's backup weapon.

That Morningstar is so heavy that not only I, but also my sister Kayna, can't lift it.

Maybe Justy, who can lift it with ease, is more suited to being a freedom fighter than I am.

The only thing I can think of is that he doesn't look like an Ishtia congregation by any stretch of the imagination.

The warrior maidens who serve Master Ishtia can use a special technique called the War Dance Battle Dance.

The weapons used by that war maiden could be a curved sword scimitar, a war fan battle fan, or a belt made of soft iron.

The Morning Star was not among those weapons, I'm sure.

I don't think it's very pretty to dance with the Morning Star.

It's not like the Ishtia congregation to be expected to move gracefully.

But I can't say this in front of her. I'm not a fan of this.

While I was thinking about this, I arrived at the gate to the surface of the labyrinth.

”Pull yourself together from here on out.

Zephyr the Wind Brave looks at us and says He is our commander.

We nod and enter the gate.

The air changes as we enter. It's the effect of the wards, just like before.

The only difference is that it's very quiet.

Last time, we were suddenly attacked by goblins and cockatrices.

You can't feel any sign of the huge structure.

'By the way, brave man of the wind, how will you find the lizardman?　It's pretty big.

Gordan was right, the surface portion of the labyrinth is large.

After all, it's bigger than the city of Thessia.

There were eight lizardmen that escaped. It will be quite difficult to find them.

''No, we're not going to look for them. We're waiting for them to show up. So everyone grab your weapons and get ready.

When Zepha said that, she guarded her bow with an arrow and made sure that it could be released at any time.

Nephim, the water hero, also holds his spear.

''Hey, what do you mean by that?

Novice asks Zephyr.

'Don't get so worked up, Fire Brave. From what I've learned, all the freedom fighters who have come to slay the Lizardmen have been ambushed and beaten back. And within a few seconds of entering. I'm sure it was the ones who managed to escape, because that's what they said. They don't know how, but they know when an intruder is coming.

Zepha says, wary of his surroundings.

'I see, so you want me to take up arms. 'Sisyphe, guys. I guess we'd better get our weapons so we can deal with them any time we get attacked.

At the words of Kayna's sister, we each take up our weapons.

I, too, draw my sword and hold it ready.

And so we proceed.

Gordhan leads the way with Maddy, Nora and Zepha in the middle. Then me and Justy. Novis and Nephim on either side. Lord, that's Sister Kayna and Miss Leia.

I wonder where they are: ......

Maddy says anxiously.

'Don't rely too much on your eyes. They change color to match their surroundings. That's why I'm relying on my ability to find them. And I'm relying on the help of that elven lady over there.

Zephyr says to Nora.

'That's a lot of responsibility: ......

Nora, who is always ready to release an arrow, replies.

Nora's long ears twitch. Her long ears twitch and her ears twitch, as if she will not miss the slightest sound.

The elf Nora has a keen sense of smell.

Then I hear that Zephyr, the brave man of the wind, is also an excellent ranger.

'Hey, Zephyr!　I wonder if we can really win!　It's not going to be like when we lost to the centaurs, is it?

Zephyr asked anxiously, and Zephyr said, ”Guh! I moaned.

'Don't say that, Kayna ....... I let my guard down before, but this time I won't lose. They're not your average guys to begin with. They were survivors in the arena. You can't think of them as normal people. But this time it's different. I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not the only one. And you know what? ......

Then Zephyr looks at Nephim, Gordan and Novis.

”I ain't gonna lose with all these guys.

Then Zepha chuckles.

Hearing that, the brave men in the place laugh.

When you think about it, they certainly have an amazing face.

The title of a brave man is the highest even for a warrior. That's why four of them are gathered here.

I'm not sure if they are the strongest, except for Rage-sama and the others.

It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

Nobis, a fire hero who can use high firepower attack magic, attacks and defeats the enemy.

Nephim, a water hero who can use water magic and healing magic, heals his friends.

Zephyr, the wind hero Zephyr, who has a sensing ability comparable to that of an elf, discovers enemies and uses his bow, his specialty, to cover his companions in battle.

If the four of them worked together, they would be able to defeat some pretty strong demons.

I really hope that's the case. ......

Sister Kayna says something watery to say to him, do it.

She doesn't seem to be willing to praise Zephyr by any means.

In the first place, sister Kayna is not as enthusiastic about this lizardman extermination as I am.

With the exception of the 4 brave men, we can only deal with goblins at best. Anything more than that and it's pretty tough.

I heard that if we kill the lizardmen, we'll get a pretty good reward, but if we still die, we're done.

Still, the reason I joined was partly because Novis pushed me to join, but also because I wanted to help save Rage-sama as much as possible.

It's a loss to lose someone so awesome and cool to be gone from this world.

When I met him, the world seemed to shine on me. It's impossible for me to get close to him. But I was happy just to see him.

Do you want him to stop right there?

Suddenly, they call out to me.

And they all look ahead.

There is a wide staircase in front of me, and at the top of that staircase, someone who looks like a knight in jet black armor is standing.

A jet-black knight wearing jet-black heavy armor and a black cloak.

The knight's armor is magnificent even from a distance, and it looks like it's tinged with some kind of magic.

The figure seems to have been cut out of the darkness of the night.

The knight wearing the jet-black armor is standing in front of us like a ghost.

The moment I see the jet-black knight, a shiver runs down my spine. I'm sweating even though I'm not supposed to be hot.

It seems like everyone else is the same and they all have surprised faces.

'Stupid ....... What time is ....... I didn't feel a thing.

Zepha mutters as he grunts.

Zepha's ability as a ranger is outstanding. He should have been wary of his surroundings even as he spoke.

When I look at Nora-san, she also has a look of disbelief on her face.

'What the hell was that?　I shouldn't have felt any sign of it at all. The moment you show up, the air is tingling.

Nora shakes her head and replies. She looks pale, mindlessly.

I'm the same way. I didn't notice it at all. After noticing, I can't take my eyes off of it.

Then the presence of the jet-black knight releases catches us.

''What. This feeling: ......

It was an unpleasant feeling. A dark and heavy feeling, one that seemed to envelop the world in darkness.

The knight in front of me seemed to be the exact opposite of Rage-sama. The moment you meet him, he turns the world into darkness. It's that kind of existence.

''Who are you?　It doesn't look like a lizardman, though.

Sister Kayna is right. Lizardmen don't wear armor. It's because if they wear armor, they can't use their mimetic abilities.

What are they really?

He wears a helmet that completely covers his head, so we can't see his face. And the eyes of the helmet are inlaid with what looks like red jewels, or perhaps a glowing red gaze is directed towards us.

''Hey, brave man of the wind!　Look at that sigil around his neck!

Nora points to the jet black knight.

I can't see a little farther with my eyes.

''Hey there ....... Isn't that the Demon King's coat of arms?

Zepha grunts.

The eight-pointed star, the emblem of the Demon King. Does wearing armor with that painted on it mean you're a demon king worshipper?