RE: Ankoku Kishi Monogatari - Volume 3

Act 3 : The Silver Witch

Act 3 – 1 : The Dwarfs’ Capital

The country where the Gods lived, Elios.

Elios was the name of a certain country built on top of the clouds above the peak of Elios mountain, the tallest mountain in the world; a country befitting to be inhabited by the most powerful existences.

Since this was the most important nation in this world, only three methods could be used to enter it, each more difficult than the other, all filled with deadly obstacles to hinder any intruder.

The first method was airborne, which could only be achieved by using flight magic, a power only few possessed. Moreover, even if someone did possess it, they could only enter Elios with this method if they had a permit from the Holy Knights’ Order, who all served the king of the Gods, Oudith. Without this important permit, they were likely to be seen as an intruder and then killed on the spot by the Holy Knights patrolling the area.

The second method was by climbing the mountain. The steepness of the mountain aside, there was the Great Forest, which spread out throughout the foot of the mountain and was known as the Elven Kingdom. Any visitor needed a permit from the Elves to enter this forest or their end would be the same as the intruders of the first method, which was quite common as elves were not creatures that were prone to mingling with outsiders.

Finally, the third method was by entering an underground passage. Similar to the other routes, this channel was protected by the Dwarves, and a permit was also needed from this race to use the passage.

Regarding these three routes, Kuroki chose to go with the third option, the underground tunnel.

After the scenery before him warped for a moment, he realized that he was already inside another room, different from the one he was in a moment ago. The magic circle beneath his feet was still letting out a pale light.

「Where are we, Dario-dono?」

「This is a small temple on the outskirts of the Great Forest, Dark Knight-dono. We’ll go to the dwarven capital through the underground passage hidden here. It’s just a little bit away from our current position.」

Though the man who replied to Kuroki was only as tall as his shoulder, his width was twice as big as his.

A Dwarf.

That was the name of his race.

Dwarves had longer lifespans compared to humans, and were known for excelling in craftsmanship. The best tools in this world were all made by them.

Many of those dwarves were coming in and out of Nargol since their God, Heibos, had a good relationship with the Demon King, Modes. And, since Nargol was a land rich in minerals and ore, the dwarves were also profiting from this trade.

Dario was one of the dwarves who came in and out of Nargol, and he was currently acting as Kuroki’s guide.

The reason for Kuroki’s visit this time was to meet Heibos, who resided at the very bottom of Elios, the nearest place to the peak of the mountain. He needed to request a new set of armor from the God as his previous one had been completely destroyed during his battle with Reiji and co.

「Well, let’s go…」

Dario spoke as he began to walk. There was an underground tunnel in the inner part of the temple where Kuroki and Dario teleported to, and that underground tunnel went straight towards the dwarf capital.

「Let’s go, Kuna.」

Kuroki looked to the woman by his side, Kuna, and urged her to start walking. She quickly replied with a nod and hugged his arm as they started to head out. As she took the first step, her porcelain white face and some of her silver locks peeked out of the hood meant to hide her.

Kuroki was once again bedazzled by her beauty, he walked side-by-side with her, matching her pace as she couldn’t walk as fast as him.

（I finally got the beautiful girl I always yearned for. Walking slower than before? Not a big deal at all! In the first place, have I ever been liked by a girl as adorable as her in my entire life?）

Though it was only natural for Kuroki to receive Kuna’s unconditioned love since she was created to become his partner, the first time Kuroki saw Kuna’s appearance after her creation, all those reasons became trivial to him. All he knew was that he would overflow with various kinds of emotions every time he saw her. He had been through a lot after all.

「Kuroki, are you… crying?」

Kuna looked up at Kuroki’s face with an upturned gaze as she asked him. That gesture was simply too adorable.

「No… it’s just that sweat is trickling into my eyes. Anyway, let’s go, Kuna.」

After walking for a while, they arrived at a place where a strange looking, small vehicle was parked, it looked similar to a ship.

「We’ll ride this vehicle from this point onwards, Dark Knight-dono.」

「What’s the name of this vehicle, Dario-dono?」

It wasn’t floating on a water surface, nor was there water in the tunnel. It was just left right there on the ground; Kuroki found it odd.

「Fufufu, you’ll understand once you ride it.」

Dario boarded the ship with a humorous grin on his face.

Kuroki tilted his head, wondering what kind of vehicle it was, he then boarded the ship with Kuna. Once they were both safely on it, the ship suddenly floated in the air.

「Oooh!!」

Kuroki couldn’t hide his amazement. It was only natural since this was his first time boarding a flying ship. After the ship floated in the air, it moved forward on its own.

「Hohoho, even the mighty Dark Knight is surprised by this flying ship.」

「Yes. I’m really surprised.」

Kuroki agreed with Dario.

Kuroki was really surprised by the technology of this world. In a sense, it was far more developed than the technology back on earth.

The ship advanced even faster than before.

The dwarves’ sacred ground was right at the end of the tunnel. In a sense, except for the races acknowledged by the Elios Gods, which were the Angel race, Elven race, and Dwarf race, no one could enter this place. Much less to say Kuroki, the embodiment of Elios’ enemy, a Nargolian.

The ship kept advancing along the tunnel. Due to the passage’s sheer size, the sacred ground, located far underground, had yet to be seen even though they had been travelling for a long time.

Truthfully speaking, transfer magic was way faster, but since transfer magic was sealed in the entire sacred ground, including the air, this ship was the only means to reach it.

They could finally see the entrance an hour later.

After the ship stopped at the pier, Kuroki and the others descended from the ship, then continued walking along the passage beyond the pier.

The place they arrived at after coming out of that passage was an extremely spacious place.

Various kinds of light sources were shining above their heads. Though the passage they came from was also illuminated, this place was on a completely different level.

The colour of the streets varied in accordance to the light illuminating them, so if the light being used was red, then the street would be coloured red, if it was green, yellow or another colour, then the street would also match it. Each light brightly reflected itself on the same coloured surface during the day.

The city itself was decorated with various kinds of ornaments, and every single one of those ornaments shone in a different colour, creating a fantastical scene.

「OOOH This is…」

「Welcome to our capital, Volundr, Dark Knight-dono.」

Kuroki couldn’t help but raise his voice in admiration upon seeing the fantastical cityscape. Seeing his astonished expressions, Dario revealed a satisfied grin.

The capital of the dwarves, which was located beneath Elios mountain, was named Volundr and was a city that was built with the most sophisticated magecraft.

The city was made of many levels, one couldn’t see the end of it. It was impossible for outsiders to even imagine the number of floors just by looking up, it was even harder to determine where the center of the capital lay. One could only see an elevator-like vehicle without a rope upon entering the city, that and moving floors, every single one connecting to a different district in the city.

A city like this didn’t exist in Human territory, and never will.

That was only natural since the magecraft that the dwarves could handle was already thousands of years ahead to that of the Human race.

From the streets to the buildings, the city was shining in prismatic colour due to the magecraft’s glittering gems. Moreover, despite being located underground, because of the carefully made infrastructure, the city didn’t feel cramped at all.

There were approximately ten thousand dwarfs living in Volundr. That number was far less compared to human cities of the same scale; humans would consider this capital as a slightly desolate place. However, they couldn’t be more wrong with this assumption, to all dwarves, Volundr had a special meaning to them—it was the city in which their God, Heibos, lived.

Kuroki passed by so many dwarfs as he walked along the main street. It was only natural since this city was their capital. Yet, this didn’t mean that they were its only inhabitants. Kuroki would pass by other races once in a while as he walked along the street.

A few moments later, however, after taking a closer look, Kuroki realized that this other “race” he saw every once in a while wasn’t actually a living being. Rather than having lively bodies and faces, these creatures had cylindrical bodies and disk-like face.

They were dwarf-made golems.

Golems were moving dolls made from materials such as iron, timber, or rock. In a sense, they were similar to robots in Kuroki’s world. Those golems were either the attendants of the dwarves or simply just the cleaning crew of the city.

Kuroki had heard about golems from Loughas before coming to Volundr. These creatures were multifunctional tools, they could do everything from housework to combat.

The golems sweeping the streets right now we’re cleaning golems.

「A surprising sight, right Dark Knight-dono?」

Dario watched Kuroki as he kept looking around restlessly.

「Yeah, Dario-dono. I’m truly surprised knowing that the dwarves can create such an astonishing city underground.」

Dario looked even more delighted upon seeing Kuroki’s honest reply.

「Fufufufufu. But, if this scene alone is enough to surprise you, be prepared for more surprises once you enter further on in the city, Dark Knight-dono.」

Dario spoke with a slightly serious face.

Kuroki was even more surprised upon hearing that.

「Kuna, hide your face.」

Kuroki urged Kuna, who had been walking in silence all this time while hugging his arm, to better hide her beautiful face.

「I understand, Kuroki.」

Kuna nodded to Kuroki as she adjusted her hood.

Kuroki and his travelling companions then got on one of the floating stones, bringing them to a higher location in the city. From there on, they had to move carefully because the way ahead was the most important place in Volundr, the dwarves’ workshop. Moreover, Heibos’ workshop was also located above this workshop.

Kuroki and co entered the workshop area. That area was the exact opposite of the city, the building was simple, and the lighting was dreary as if to say that having the simplest of things was enough for a place meant for working.

The majority of the dwarves living in this workshop area were also moody, not the chatty type they had witnessed at the entrance of the city.

In addition, some of the dwarves who lived in this workshop area disliked the presence of women in this space. Not bringing Kuna along with him would have been the best choice, but Kuroki ended up bringing her along since she had refused to leave his side.

Her anxiety was related to the former princess of Algore, Regena.

After picking up Regena from Akeron mountain as he had promised, she had ended up becoming his maid in the Demon King’s Castle. From then on, Kuna seemed to hate Regena’s mere existence.

Kuna’s hatred for Regena was one-sided though as Regena herself didn’t hate Kuna, that’s why Kuroki felt anxious about leaving them alone in the Demon King’s Castle—he had no idea what Kuna would do to Regena during his absence.

Thus, he took Kuna along with him.

After walking for a while, Kuroki and his companions were now close to the other end of the workshop area.

Though Kuroki was curious about what the dwarves in the workshop were working on, he kept his curiosity at bay since he knew that some people hated having trespassers in their working space.

After a moment of musing, they finally arrived at the stairway leading upward at the end of the workshop area. At the end of the stairway was a strange room.

Once in the room, they were met with various kinds of papers, tools, and ores, all crammed together into that room. Any person who saw the room’s arrangement wouldn’t be able to tell whether the room was originally small or wide due to all those messy obstacles.

This was Heibos’ workshop. Meaning that this place was the boundary between Elios and Volundr. According to the stories he heard before coming, Heibos lived in the lowest location of Elios, which was also the highest place in Volundr.

Kuroki and co kept advancing even deeper into the room.

Finally, they arrived in a slightly spacious space inside the room, and found Heibos working on something.

「Heibos-sama. I brought the Dark Knight.」

The man then turned around towards Kuroki.

Normally, after seeing him one would mistake the man for having a weak constitution due to his crooked body and tuffy beard. But, the eyes of the man in front of Kuroki contained a sharp glint in them. Kuroki felt like he was a new recruit facing a veteran general with a long military history.

「Welcome, Dark Knight. I’m Heibos. It’s nice to meet you.」

Heibos started introducing himself with a stern look on his face.