CH 16

Change of Plan!

“Is there nothing wrong with ……? Although the surgery should have taken care of the old injuries from before, but you didn’t feel anything strange, right?”

Chrono whispered while investigating in order to confirm if there was anything abnormal in her whole body.

Hakuto and his friends came in the middle of “Chrono Surgery” due to bad timing, so I will hurry but focus on accuracy.

Her peach-coloured hair became even more gorgeous, her scarred skin became as bright as snow, and her thin, slender body became appropriately healthier.

He was relieved to see this, even though he had known it was unlikely to fail.

“…… Yes. I’m sorry to have worried you. I’m really sorry, Black Knight-sama, Lilia is fine ……”

Then looking up with a cute messed up expression, Lilia responded to Crono.

The expression was like a drunken, mesmerized look, and her cheeks were flushed in the moonlight.

“……”

But who is …… Black Knight-sama?

For a moment, though he forgot what it was all about, he immediately remembered that it was the perfunctory name he had just given to the salon man.

“…… Hey! What have you done to them!!!”

Faced with this unbearable atmosphere, Hakuto shouted with a full heart.

Just as Chrono had planned, he formed a party with Erika and Oswald and set up the formation quite smoothly. Hakuto, who used a sword, and Erika acted as the front guard, while Oswald, who raised his bow, acted as the rear guard, not daring to look at Chrono with the slightest carelessness.

The way they looked at each other was like seeing their sworn enemies.

“Grrrrrr……”

The beastman girl stepped in front of Crono’s body, showing her fangs and growled.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Anxiously, Crono stroked her head.

(If I use this child to face them, the hero party I created will turn into meatballs in just 2 seconds, it’s really dangerous ……)

“I will never let you …… do anything to Black Knight-sama!”

And on top of that, even the child …… Lilia, who had just finished her surgery, was still a little trembling but opened her arms to block Chrono’s body.

“Black Knight, huh?” (Oswald)

“Maybe the Demon King’s minion? I wonder if he has finally reached the kingdom in earnest.” (Erika)

“…… Although this is not quite clear, the possibility that he is an ace under the Demon King is very high. …… Just by looking at him, you can see that i

he is …… too strong.” (Hakuto)

“…..”

“Lilia!”

“Yes. May I ask if you have any orders!”

Chrono, who was standing there, gently stroked the heads of Lilia and the beastman girl who responded happily.

“These are my guests. You guys may leave us alone.”

“…… I, I understand.”

“Okay…”

He deliberately turned his tone into a rather deep one, and takea a role to be a mysterious black knight.

In the face of that overly imposing demeanor, Lilia and the beastman girl felt a tremendous sense of majesty.

“…What an intimidating feeling …”

“This is … bad.”

“I feel like running away.”

The three looked terrified as they were engulfed by Chrono’s overflowing aura.

So, Chrono decided to change his route here.

From the ‘Evil Lord Subjugation Route’ against the fat guy who had fainted over there ……

“If the enemy gets a little stronger, will all of you really run away?”

“”–?”

Changed into “The Route of the Battle Event That Must Fail.”

With this decision, he began to channel his magic power like the breeze of an air conditioner.

♢♢♢

Hakuto and the others were bathed in the waves of that horrible and dense evil magic power.

“How come….”

“Ha… ha… ha..”

“I feel…. dizzy…”

Hakuto pokes the floor with a sword to support his trembling feet, clenching his teeth and holding back his hazy consciousness.

Black flames began to rise from the man’s armor, revealing an even stronger sense of oppression than before.

“Ugh…. ugh…”

“Guh……”

Lilia and the beastman girl, who were engulfed by the aftermath behind them, were also scared because of the aura the Black Knight brought with him.

“Kuh, I have to do it before I’m knocked down….. -I’m going to go!!”

“Ha.. ha.. Aaahh!!”

“Are you serious !? …… Okay! I’m going out with you!!”

Oswald shot a preemptive arrow for Hakuto who had rushed past with the consciousness of death during that period.

Oswald shot a preemptive arrow for the Bai Dou who had rushed past with the consciousness of death during that period.

This was both to attract his attention and to limit his movements by making him evade or defend.

“……”

“What?”

But the Black Knight stood there completely still, only raising his hand and flicking it at the arrow – with a snap of his fingers.

“How!”

The arrow that had fallen as helplessly as a twig …… was bounced back to his.

The arrow swept past Oswald’s cheek and through the wall behind him.

At the moment of that finger flick, magic was injected towards the arrow …… and only at its front part. That was really quite a thick portion.

“……”

Under the combination of the unimaginable skill gap and the fear of being swept across the face by that arrow of death, Oswald lost the will to fight and sat down on his butt.

“Haaa!!”

“Uryaaa!!”

Hakuto and Erika swung down the magically infused swords.

The armored man, however, only matched them with a gentle wave of his right hand.

“…..”

“What……!?”

“That’s a lie…”

The hand that the Black Knight slowly raised …… was directed towards the swords of Hakuto and Erika.

Could be said that the plan is to clamp the sword swinging at him with his fingers and break it into two pieces, and both of them together ……

Looking at the duo, whose faces were full of dullness and frozen in place out of cowardice, the Black Knight sighed.

Then ……

“–too weak.”

With those words full of disappointment, he crushed the incoming sword blades straight away, and then released a black wave from his fist.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

“Ah….”

“Ugh..”

The immature 3 were completely unable to withstand the black shockwave and were instantly blown to the edge of the room.

“Too weak. You’re really too weak. There’s nothing you can protect. There is nothing you can change…. Remember this. A powerless justice is worse than evil.”

Completely different from what was expected, the Black Knight’s mouth wove such wondrous words.

As if to remind them carefully not to make the mistake again.

“Tsk, damn it…”

He turned around dashingly, leaving Hakuto who fell down and moaned with regret.

Hakuto and the others, felt very shameful for themselves who felt relieved to see him leave, and also felt a million sorrow for their smallness and immaturity.

Then, as the Black Knight left, he said to Lilia and the beastman girl in a voice that Hakuto and the others could not hear.

“I’m right there at [Vajra Wall].”

“Ah….. okay! I see..”

“Uh?”

Lilia, who had just curled up in some fear, quickly stood up to show that she understood.

“Also. I come from the dark side, I don’t think I need to explain further…”

“Yes, I understand all that.”

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes a little moist, and she nodded solemnly.

Lilia had made up her mind.

She wanted to follow this man.

Even if that meant becoming a family member of an evil god.

Then, as if reading her thoughts, the Black Knight told her of his abode.

He agreed with her that she wanted to devote herself.

The original despair was completely turned around. She savoured the happiness that made her want to cry out, while feeling sad for this temporary separation.

The full moon was obscured by clouds.

The view, which had been starkly opened by the moonlight, was now fading.

“Oh, right…..my business here is done – farewell, my Hero.”

“Uh…”

The Black Knight said to Hakuto and others who were about to lose consciousness, and then his posture quietly disappeared into the darkness.

Towards the departing Black Knight, Lilia bowed her head for a long time.

Lilia’s chest was filled with emotion and joy, and that heart was now beating violently, rapidly, almost to the point of some pain.

♢♢♢

Two days later.

Hakuto and his party embarked on their way home to the royal capital.

Oswald, who had decided to go with them because he feel match with them, was also took the trouble to talk to Lilia, who was travelling in the same carriage.

“Lilia-san, are you sure you don’t feel anything unusual? That black knight-”

“-nothing. Please don’t come near me.”

For the first time in a long time, she refused coldly with a single word.

“You suck.”

“Well, you’re amazing. You’re so cute, but you’re so cold, Lillia. And, next to Lillia-chan….

Even in these plain long-sleeved trousers for travel, Lilia was still very cute.

And next to her…

“Hn…”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Miss. Did I wake you up?”

“Grrrrrr!!!”

“I’m very sorry.”

The beastman girl sitting next to Lilia growled in displeasure and Oswald rushed to escape back to Hakuto.

Changing from one end of the carriage to the other.

Beneath his green hair, cold sweat could be seen running down his face.

“Phew~, it’s a bit too hasty. She got mad at me.”

“I will take the children back to the capital to find out what the Black Knight was doing to them, this trip, I didn’t expect to be so close to death … I thought I was almost killed.”

Because black magic flowed over their heads, they were brought back to the capital to investigate this.

Since they had taken action to protect the Black Knight, it was time to investigate in detail.

“If that’s brainwashing, a normal healing methods won’t work.”

“Would someone as powerful as him…… really need to do something like brainwashing?”

He seems to be able to solve all his problems with his power alone.

“……”

From now on, if a threat of that magnitude were to reappear, what would happen to the country …… no, to humanity, Hakuto felt anxious and worried.

Then, there was another thing.

“Farewell, my Hero.”

The words he heard exactly when he was about to lose consciousness made him feel very much concerned in any way.

The number of people who knew that he was a Hero should be counted on one hand.

In other words, it was the person related to the “Black Demon King” that King Light and his father had mentioned.

However, ……

Not only unnaturally let go of himself and others, but he also punished lord Seeley who had committed evil deeds.

And then, there was that gentle look that made it seem as if he was nurturing them, which somehow felt very gentle.

Is that man really a minion of the Demon King ……

♢♢♢

As Hakuto stared blankly out of the window, troubled by the maze of thoughts that had no exit, Lilia and the beastman girl ……

“…… Hey..”

“What’s wrong?”

The beastman girl was staring at her with very sharp eyes as she calls her.

They really weren’t much good for sitting next to each other.

“Really, can I meet Black Knight-sama again?”

“Don’t come along if you don’t believe me.

“…… tsk.”

Lilia and the beastman girl, had no intention of following to the royal capital.

It was only to travel to the Black Knight’s side and use it as a means of transportation until the journey.

The beastman girl was by no means close to Lilia, but was merely stuck to her so that she could fulfill her desire to see the Black Knight again.

Although the swaying carriage was shrouded in sinister atmosphere, the two of them, one raised the corners of her mouth in anticipation and the other whipped her tail around with a whoop and a holler.

(…… Now, please wait a little while.)