I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

21 – This Order Needs a Great Warrior (4)

The mirror was clean without any distortion.

A knight dressed in luxurious armor with gold accents on a black base was reflected.

Although luxurious, it was not the kind of luxury meant for decoration. The twisted horns and the spikes on the gauntlets suggested that this armor was forged for battle.

The black armor possessed the elegance of a weapon, a fierce impression that induced fear, and solid protection.

He imagines adding weapons to that figure. A blackened greatsword. Or perhaps a horned sword, crafted from the original bicon’s horn, exuding a somewhat sinister aura.

If not that, then a magic sword with a blue glow overlaying its ashen blade.

No matter which weapon is added, the image of ‘justice’ does not emerge. It would be better to take off the armor and walk around in plain clothes for a more favorable first impression.

[Master. That’s a splendid outfit.]

Hmm.

It’s ruined. Anyone can see this is a dark knight.

“Uh, Criel?”

Morgina approached hesitantly, holding something like a black cloth in her hand.

“This… is a cloak we give to our order’s holy knights?”

Having half given up, I accepted the cloak without resistance.

[Aha. Because it’s the goddess of ravens, the cloak is black too!]

The end of the cloak was finished in a somewhat wild diagonal shape, rather than a neat straight line, as if to represent feathers. Black armor with a black cloak.

Now, with every step I take, it will seem as if shadows are flickering.

It gave the impression that passing monsters would bow their heads and gatekeepers in every city would come out and resist with their lives.

One might believe I was a mid-boss from the Abyss faction in the Tirnanog RPG. Should I say it’s the epitome of a dark knight?

“…Can I return it?”

“Wait a moment. I didn’t expect it to turn out like this either.”

Morgina’s tone was also one of bewilderment. Wasn’t she the one who made it?

“Damn. I designed it in a half-dazed state.”

I decided to take off the armor. It was well-balanced, not feeling heavy, and the fit was excellent.

But.

[A wise decision, my friend! Walking around the temple in that wouldn’t be a good choice!]

As Orisin said, if I were seen by a diligent worker engaged in abyss extermination while wearing the armor, catastrophe would await.

This time, even Morgina couldn’t be angry at Orisin’s teasing. She just held her forehead and bowed her head.

As I was taking off the armor with a clank, Morgina started picking up things like the helmet and gauntlets.

“Hey. Put it back on.”

“Was there a misalignment in the plate connections?”

“That’s not it. Just put it back on for now.”

I put the armor back on. Morgina sighed and lightly tapped each part of the armor with her hand.

It was a kind of laying on of hands. Originally, it was a procedure where a clergyman would touch the head of a believer and pray, but now it was an act of contact to bestow blessings on the entire armor.

First was the helmet. Morgina stretched her legs and raised her arms to touch the top of the helmet. As the divine power was bestowed, a strange sense of pressure was felt.

The second was the shoulder. Strangely, it seemed as if the warmth of the hand beyond the plate armor could be felt.

That strange warmth remained like residual heat even after the fingertips had left. Morgina continued the laying on of hands on each part of the armor. From the arms, chest, waist, thighs, to the tips of the feet.

After Morgina’s touch had passed over all parts of the black armor.

“…I can’t make it any better than this anyway. Eve Kaha. Proceed!”

“Proceed with what?”

Morgina closed her eyes and brought her hands together in front of her chest. The backs of her hands facing forward, with the thumbs of both hands crossed. The other four fingers stretched out, somehow reminiscent of a bird’s wings.

At that moment, a red light spread from the armor and cloak. When the red light subsided, I felt my body somehow become lighter.

The same was true for my vision. The field of view, which had been somewhat reduced by wearing the helmet, was now wide open. The armor I had been wearing until just a moment ago had disappeared somewhere.

[…No. Does God listen to such a prayer? What is this?]

Orisin’s muttering. Morgina briskly passed by the tilting horse’s head and approached behind me.

“Sit down. It’s hard to arrange the cloak because you’re tall.”

When I pulled a chair near the mirror and sat down, she knelt and began to calmly arrange the hem of the cloak. A strange tickling sensation. Morgina’s fingertips brushed over my back covered by the cloak.

It was different from a random sweeping motion. It felt like a sacred gesture of the Eve Kaha sect.

Standing up, Morgina reached over my shoulder and re-fastened the cloak.

Unlike usual, she excluded unnecessary emotions, including playfulness. Her current actions made me instinctively feel that this was not just a simple tidying up, but part of a ritual with some significance.

“There, done!”

“What about the armor from just now?”

“It’s stored inside the cloak. You can take it out if needed.”

Morgina explained that this was a special function of the armor given to the great warrior. The black-winged cloak, shaped like the wings of the crow goddess, borrowed the shadow of the goddess’s wings to store the armor in between.

“Just in case, this only works with items from our sect, so you can’t use it as a universal storage for anything else. That armor is all.”

“Amazing, can something like this be done?”

“Should I say it’s a power exclusive to the great warrior? Do you want to officially join?”

I smiled and was about to shake my head, then recalled the shape of the armor that had disappeared.

“…But can’t the appearance of the armor be modified?”

Morgina avoided my gaze.

“Morgina.”

“The creation of sacred weapons reflects the creator’s mind. I imagined what would suit you best. Even if I make it again, it will come out similarly.”

“If that’s the case.”

I quickly accepted the situation. On careful consideration, I realized that I had received a luxury armor, which would be hard to obtain even if I paid for it, for free. To get armor of similar quality, I would have to seek out dwarf artisans.

I couldn’t just throw away such precious armor because I didn’t like the design.

“I’ll use it gratefully.”

“Huh? Oh, sure. It’s customary for the saintess to provide the full set of equipment for the champion she appoints. I should also provide a weapon, but for now, you have that horse head.”

[Oh. So, can I also enter that mysterious space inside the cloak?]

“No. You are tainted by the abyss. How dare you try to defile the goddess’s wings.”

[That’s unfair!]

As Morgina exchanged jokes with Orisin, she clicked her tongue softly as if she had remembered something she had forgotten.

“I should tell you how to retrieve it. You’re wearing the champion’s necklace, right?”

I lifted the raven ornament hanging around my neck to show her. Morgina smiled with satisfaction. Since Morgina had fastened the cloak for me, a stronger divine power had been flowing through the champion’s necklace.

No, this wasn’t the divine power imbued in the necklace.

“Oh. Your observation skills are impressive. You can access the subspace through the necklace. Focus on the item you want and channel your energy into it, and it will come out.”

As a test, I targeted the right-hand gauntlet and infused it with energy. In the next moment, with a red flash, a black gauntlet was equipped on my right hand.

“Impressive!”

It was a feature that I couldn’t help but admire. From the outside, it was no different from transformation!

It was a feature reminiscent of Earth’s TV show heroes. After practicing summoning specific parts of the armor, I finally summoned the full armor set at once.

A red flash swirled inside the room. Feeling the stability of the armor that enveloped my entire body, I turned around.

It was then that I met my own eyes in the mirror.

“…..”

[Kriel. Can I say just one thing?]

“No.”

[Honestly, didn’t that look like a scene where a demon of the abyss, hiding its true nature, revealed itself?]

I kept my mouth shut.

[It’s okay, master. I think it looks cool.]

Tuon’s voice was deadly.

*

Morgina finally saw Kriel off. In her heart, she wanted to join the journey to the empire to find a cure for that horse head, but she couldn’t leave immediately as she had a reason for coming to the main temple.

“So, grandmother. Why did you call me?”

The high priestess closed her eyes in front of Morgina. Where should she start explaining?

“Originally, our order was always the first to notice the movements of the abyss. Where they appear, war is sure to follow, and war brings death again.”

“Damn, it really was a serious matter.”

“It’s not unrelated to the mission you carried out at the request of the Priest King this time.”

The cult leader observed the celestial signs. The constellation of the abyss was stirring. Behind the reappearance of the Seven Great Demonic Weapons, which had long been hidden, there were surely the Six Great Demons.

“Originally, given the situation, I was thinking of appointing the Great Warrior as soon as possible.”

Morghina looked at the cult leader with a strangely sullen gaze. The cult leader brushed off that gaze with a laugh.

“Since that matter seems to be resolved, we should move on to the next story.”

The cult leader’s gaze turned eastward. Not looking out the window, but further, towards the empire in the east.