- "They took their name from the book the Epitaph of the Twilight. However, in the original text, the Cobalt and Crimson Knights were diametrically opposed, representing the forces of light and darkness. In The World, however, the two groups had little contact with each other and conducted very different missions."
- — Albireo —
The Crimson Knights (紅衣の騎士団) is an unofficial Player Character governed group that hopes to bring order to "The World." They keep the order that they desire sheerly by intimidation with their vast numbers. Although unofficial, they are sometimes used by The World's administration.
Formation
The Crimson Knights were formed by Crim and Subaru by what at the time seemed to be a joke made by Crim because both he and Subaru both wore red-clad avatars at the time. Subaru, empowered by the strength of Crim's words and actions, decided to form a guild of players that helped settle disputes among players.
Crim's Resignation
Crim resigned after a conflict with Silver Knight about how the Crimson Knight's had lost their way. He quit so that he no longer had to be "Lord Crim of the Crimson Knights" and back to just "Crim".
Disbandment
The World's situation had steadily gone out of hand and Subaru, the leader of the Crimson Knights, couldn't be affected more. Silver Knight's influence within the guild grew, and he began to question Subaru's leadership, feeling she was too lenient and incapable of bringing justice to offenders in The World. Unable to resolve the differences in their ideals, Subaru decided to disband the Crimson Knights in the SIGN episode Declaration.
After Disbandment
Salu, one of the Crimson Knights, tried to talk Subaru into taking back her decision and reforming the Knights but she still refused. Silver Knight temprorarily took over the newly disbanded Knights to continue on with his own ambitions. The few who were loyal to Silver Knight followed steadily behind. Lacking the influence it once had, the group soon disappeared entirely from The World. During this time the era of self-governed order ended and PKing steadily grew in numbers. CC Corp took action and temporarily removed PKing altogether from the game after .hack//ZERO.