Chapter 10: Gifting this Girl with Screws Loose with the Ultimate Explosion!
Part 1
"Explo-!"
"Counterspell!"
I wasted my limited mana resource on Megumin, who kept trying to unleash that cataclysmic spell on us.
"Kazuma! If I use Explosion now, then all our immediate problems will be dealt with! That is usually the case, isn't it? All of our problems so far have been cleanly resolved with the constant application of Explosion magic!"
"That was indeed the case before you levelled up that already uselessly powerful spell into-into a world breaking phenomenon!"
"G-Geez, Kazuma, if you praise me so openly-"
"What part of that was praise?! Go take a Skill Point reset already!"
"But, Kazuma, if we don't resolve this battle quickly, the peaceful life we both want will…"
A peaceful life.
What she confided in me, during the night we slept together.
Her confession during our intimate pillow talk.
"You're thinking something absurd right now, aren't you?"
"Megumin, surely, you must understand that the concept you so desire, a 'peaceful life', is antonymous to your solution involving that overpowered spell."
"Nonsense. Explosion magic is the solution to everything."
"Is this the head?! Is this the head of the one who is apparently the greatest genius of the Crimson Demon clan?!"
"Ow! OK, OK, I was just joking! For the most part."
With that settled, Megumin conceded, oh so very reluctantly.
Darkness had already reached the enemy frontlines, and was doing an admirable job of holding back Sylvia and the rest of the frontline fighters.
However, if it wasn't for Aqua applying constant heals and buffs, I was sure that Darkness would have already died at least once.
Darkness provided a temporary stop-gap measure, but even she wouldn't hold.
I turned to the miscellaneous cast of Crimson Demons behind me, sorting through them to find a familiar face.
I identified Arue and Megumin's school friends, who were attempting to provide long range support for Darkness.
Megumin and I joined them. Arue gave us a nod as we fell behind her.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked.
Only about half of the village's combat able were present.
"They should be here soon, probably equipping themselves before heading out. The NEETS...I mean, the militia force led by Buzucoily-san and Soketto-san, is also preparing to engage."
"I see. So that accounts for everyone, then."
Though, I couldn't shake off the feeling that we were forgetting someone.
"Our priority now is to identify the enemy mages," I said. "The Dimensional Anchor will disperse once we eliminate the enemy mages."
"Um, that's what we figured, too, Satou-sama," Funifura-said, "But so far, their mages have not countered our spells, or raised any Magic Barriers. And since we've already wiped out a substantial amount of foot soldiers, we think that their mages didn't come along with the assault contingency, for some reason."
Probably, Maouko chose to keep her mages safe in the encampment, or somewhere else, just so we couldn't disrupt the Dimensional Anchor effect.
She really wanted to keep us here.
That meant that she was confident in her victory.
For now, though, both forces were at a stalemate.
Back in Japan, when I played a certain popular RTS game, I was the type to go for cheesy rush tactics that take down the opponent in one move.
I had mained Pr*toss, in that certain game.
Thus, I barely had any experience in slow-paced battles.
But what I did know, from my varied but not at all extensive reading of historical accounts, battles of attrition depended entirely on the morale and collective willpower of the fighting forces, rather than any intricate strategic brilliance on the tactician's part.
In fact, any unnecessary administrative interventions often times served to deter military success, than evoke it.
...This was my excuse, I mean, reasoning, for not directly engaging in the battle.
Eventually, Buzucoily-san's 'militia force' made their appearance. They walked ceremoniously through the crowd, led by Buzucoily-san and a beautiful woman I've yet to meet, who carried a wooden sword and wore clothing that I'd associate with an atypical delinquent, rather than the beauty she was.
"The NEETS-I mean, the militia force," Arue said, "are some of the most powerful magicians in the clan. This is because they have a lot of spare time to grind in the forest full of powerful monsters."
Instead of grinding in an MMO, the NEETS of this fantasy world actually went out to grind real monsters.
But somehow, even the NEETS of this world were still viewed as unproductive.
How grossly unfair.
Buzucoily-san and this Soketto-san broke through the ranks to join Darkness in engaging the enemy.
After easily dispatching the soldiers who foolishly met their assault, they combined their magic to form some kind of fiery tornado, right in the middle of the Devil King army.
"E-Eh? W-Who is that beautiful girl beside Buzucoily-san?"
Behind me, I was met with an incredulous and heartbroken Rain.
Who was still, unfortunately, garbed in Crimson Demon attire.
I ignored her.
"Hey, Kazuma, even that no good NEET is showing off with flashy AoE attacks. Why won't you let me have a turn, huh?"
I hoped that the other Crimson Demons could end this battle before this Explosion addicted little girl finally loses it.
Part 2
"Fight for me~! Fight to your deaths~! Don't worry, because there's an afterlife for devils who give up their lives in combat, probably~!
From somewhere within the army, Maouko was still singing and giving status buffs to her army, though her lyrics were starting to lose it's optimistic themes.
"Uuuooooh! I will gladly die for Maouko-sama!"
This lot bought the propaganda eagerly.
Half an hour had already passed.
Breaking my expectations, Darkness was still going strong with engaging Sylvia.
With nothing else to do, I used Foresight and Lip Reading to spy on their battle.
"To withstand this much damage, even though you have missed all of your attacks so far...kuh! I have to begrudgingly give my respect to you, knight of Eris!"
"Thank you very much, Sylvia-san! Wow, I mean, it seems kind of weird that I'm flattered over an enemy's praise, but, listen to this, Sylvia-san, even if I do have...certain tendencies, I do appreciate being complimented sometimes, but you see my party often teases me and…"
"Gah! Enough! I don't care about your inter-personal relationships!"
"Heal...Heal...Protection from Evil...Blessing...Heal…"
Directly behind Darkness, Aqua, who had been casting restoration and status-buff spells non-stop, was starting to look like the undead she despised.
She had to persist, though, wait seemed that Darkness did not intend to give up.
Spells being thrown about.
Soldiers with magic resistance buffs tanking them.
The Militia Force penetrating an opening Darkness and Aqua created to unleash a brief burst of damage, before the tide of battle once again lulled into monotony.
"S-Somehow, this is getting kind of tiresome," Rain said.
Indeed, it was.
Megumin started chanting once more.
"That was not the cue for you to intervene!"
"Ouch! You don't have to hit me so hard everytime! I'm not Darkness, you know!"
She was not Darkness, which was why I didn't hesitate to deal out physical punishment, as I knew Megumin wouldn't treat it as a reward rather than what it was.
"Magic Missile, Magic Missile, Magic Missile, Magic Missile...I'm out of mana, I need a potion."
Even the Crimson Demons, with their seemingly endless magic power, were starting to fatigue from this prolonged battle.
But at Maoko's side, even if the Crimson Demons have wiped out almost half of her army, with their numbers, they still had more than enough to overtake the Crimson Demons, who were slowly losing mana reserves.
And with a Bard on their side, morale and spirits were still high.
"Kazuma, you need to come up with a plan, like you always do," Megumin said.
"You don't need to tell me, OK?! And with all your supposed genius, how come I'm the one who has to do all the thinking around here, huh?!"
"If you want my opinion so much, you already know what I'm going to say, right?! Explosion, Explosion, Explosion, that's what I want!"
"In that first battle with Maoko, you were so obedient, choosing to reign in your desires. What happened to that meek Megumin? I want her back!"
"I'm just backed up, OK?! If I don't do it once in awhile, even I will lose self-control and crave some kind of release!"
"Can you not say those words while fidgeting so suggestively?!"
I said this as I held the shoulders of Megumin, who had started to squirm against her staff.
"Actually, Satou-sama," Rain said. "Given our circumstances, I believe that deploying Megumin-san's Explosion is indeed our only answer."
I hated to admit it, but Rain was right.
Explosion was practically built to take out large mobs like this.
But, the same problem remained.
With the army so close to us, we couldn't cast Explosion, or else risk getting us all caught up in it as well.
If only we could use still use the Teleportation spell, but that wily Maoko chose to hide her mages in the encampment...
"!"
"...I know that look, Kazuma, you thought of something, didn't you, didn't you?!"
"Yeah, I did. Though, in hindsight, this was the obvious solution. OK, gather up, everyone, this is the plan."
As I finished explaining it to them, Rain raised a hand.
"Um...even if we do that, I don't think we should underestimate the AoE range pf Megumin-san's Explosion. Maoko probably took that into consideration when she left her mages behind."
"And I don't think you should underestimate your own capabilities, or that of the Crimson Demon clan's, Rain-chan, " Arue said.
"...Um, why are you adding '-chan' to my name. Aren't you younger than me?"
Arue stuck out her chest. "Oh, am I really that much younger than you, Rain-chan?"
"Ugh!"
Megumin placed a hand on Rain's shoulder in sympathy.
As they split off to tell the other Crimson Demons about my plan, I called out to Darkness.
"Oi, you useless Crusader who couldn't even land a hit once, it's time for you to retreat already!"
Even in the middle of battle, Darkness felt the need to retort.
"A useless Crusader?! Kazuma, I very much resent that! It was I who stalled this formidable foe since the beginning of this battle!"
"This formidable foe of yours isn't even attempting to do dodge your attacks anymore! Just do what I say and come back here!"
"Kazuma, Kazuma, what should I do?!" Aqua said. "Darkness doesn't seem like she wants to move at all!"
Aqua, who was desperate to retreat, began to pull Darkness back, but to no avail.
"Drag her here, if you have to!"
"Hnnnnn! I can't, she's too heavy!"
"I'm not heavy! Maybe you're just too weak!"
This battle starved Crusader, who hasn't contributed recently, was reluctant to leave the battlefield.
While the Crimson Demons were making their preparations, I needed to extract Darkness from the battlefield myself.
Learning my lesson from last time, I used the Escape skill without adding any additional speed modifiers, lest I lose control of my momentum.
I easily traversed the distance to the front lines.
While I was there, I called out to Buzucoily-san's NEET forces.
"Buzucoily-san, please fall back for now!"
He was in the the middle of casting another combination spell with Soketto-san.
Buzucoily turned to his group. "You heard Kazuma-kun, everyone, please full-attack for now!"
"I said 'fall back', not 'full attack'! How do you even mix that up?!"
With my plan, there was no danger of these guys getting caught up in the Explosion.
But it would have been vastly preferable if they had come along with me, and regrouped with the others.
I could deal with Darkness in the meantime, though.
"Create Earth, Wind Breath."
"Kazuma? What are you-gahhhh?!"
With her distracted, I pulled out a cloth from my carry bag and wrapped it around her mouth.
"Hmmm~Hmmmhhhhmmhhhhmm~"
As expected, she was squirming about in ecstasy.
"Drain Touch."
I got her in a Full Nelson hold while casting Drain Touch.
She stopped squirming as her body went rigid.
Darkness's opponent, who had been watching our antics incredulously, said this,
"...I don't really understand what's going on," Sylvia said, "but don't think that I'll let you get away that easily!"
"Aqua, cover our retreat," I said.
"I...can barely…*gasp*...breath... Darkness was too heavy…!"
"Drain Touch."
"Uuuooooohhh! You can leave it to me, Kazuma!"
I had given Aqua the vitality I stole from Darkness.
I also asked Aqua to cast some strength enhancing buffs on me, as I made to pull Darkness back.
With Aqua blasting Sylvia with holy magic, impeding Sylvia's attempts to chase us, we soon made it back to the others.
When I finally released her and untied the gag, Darkness looked up at me with a pleased and grateful expression. Her face was flushed and she was shuddering all over. "Shanks vewy mwuch mashter~!"
There was no limit to this fake noble's depravity.
"Satou-sama, we are ready on our end-wait, what happened to Dustiness-sama?!"
Rain said this as she looked at the squirming Darkness on the ground.
"Kazuma gagged her, drained her stamina, then dragged her disgraced body along the filthy ground," Aqua explained, as she caught up with us.
That was indeed what I did, but Aqua didn't need to dispense those details.
And now Rain was looking at me like a mother would to a naughty child.
Aqua was such a tattletale.
"Nevermind that, Rain. If you are all ready, then commence with the plan. I will join you all soon after I get this Depraved-tina here back into working order."
"...I'll tell everyone that you're ready."
She still didn't seem impressed.
As Rain left, Aqua asked me this question,
"You already came up with something, Kazuma? As expected of you! So, what brilliant tactic did you come up with?"
"Oh nothing," I said. "Just resorting to what we usually do."
The mana in the air started gathering into one spot.
"I am Megumin! Number One Mage of Axel! One who has mastered Explosion magic!"
"...Ah, so it's the usual," Aqua said.
"Yup, the usual," I said.
Part 3
"Satou Kazuma, have you finally lost it?! Casting Explosion magic at this range?! You'll kill us all!"
As Megumin began her chanting, Maouko had finally revealed herself among the crowd, flying up into the air with her wings unfolded.
"Oh my, if it isn't my 'master'. How are you doing, Maouko-sama? How can I be of service, Maouko-sama~?"
"...You're so petty! Are you doing all this just because I hypnotized you earlier?! I thought you were more rational than this!"
"Don't just go assuming things!" I said. "You think the world revolves around you, or something?! You're so vain, you probably think this Explosion is about you!"
"Grr! Just because I don't have my mages here, doesn't mean that I can't disrupt your little girlfriend's chanting. Counterspell!"
"Counterspell."
I raised my hand, casting my own Counterspell.
"...Did you just Counterspell my Counterspell?"
"Got a problem with it?"
"..."
"..."
"Counterspell."
"Counterspell."
"..."
"..."
"I hate you," she said.
"Um, in like a tsundere way, or…?"
"Gah! You insufferable little... troglodyte!"
"..."
I didn't know how to respond to such an archaic insult.
With Maouko's attention occupied, Megumin was able to finish her chanting...
"Kazuma, I have completed the evil ritual to unleash the reality breaking powers of Explosion magic. Just give your word, and the powers of a God Slayer shall be yours!"
...Or, rather, factoring in her improved spell-casting speed, Megumin had already finished her chanting a long time ago. Instead, she had been engaging in chuunibyou frivolities all this time.
"Whatever, just do your thing already!"
She turned her gaze, eyes shining a bright crimson, on Maoko.
"I am Megumin! Number One Mage of Axel! One who has mastered Explosion magic!"
"You're doing that routine again?! And from the very beginning?!"
In my anger, I grabbed and pulled on the hair of Aqua, who had the misfortune to be standing right beside me in my state of rage.
"Kazuma?! You'll pull my hair out?! I'll go bald?!"
"Just endure it! The hair of a self-proclaimed goddess like you is bound to sell well in some circles!"
"What kind of perverted market might you be referring to?! Let go of me!"
As Aqua and I were playing tug-of-war, Maoko eyed Megumin with hate in her eyes.
"So, you're the one who killed my father. Hmph. But from what I hear, you merely got lucky last time. Somehow, your party was able to strip my father from his Devil King armor, but…"
Maoko flicked her cape open, fully revealing the blood-red armor she wore underneath, which heavily resembled that of her father's.
Covering almost every inch of the armor where paper talismans.
Detect Magic made me aware that they were of a thief skill warding nature.
With those many wards, even my high luck powered Steal would have no effect on her.
"Fufu. You still think that this Explosion is meant for you? Did you really think that Kazuma would come up with such a plan that would endanger his friends in the process?" Megumin said.
Maoko shrugged her shoulders. "Quite frankly? From what I know of him, yeah, he would."
To that, Megumin had no answer.
Was my reputation really so bad that even the ruthless Maoko had the right to criticize me?
"Um...Megumin-san, like we told you earlier, we are all ready here. We're just waiting for you," Rain said.
"...OK, fine. Some of the momentum has been lost but, I'll skip forward a bit...My madness! My Distorted Reality! My Righteous Ego...and, um, ah, excuse me, I forgot my lines. This is why you shouldn't rush me! Hold up a second, I wrote this down somewhere…"
As Megumin patted down her robes, Maouko held her wings tight to her body and dove towards Megumin. "Don't think that I'll let you do whatever you want!"
"Not so fast!"
Darkness moved right in front of Megumin, blocking a rapier Maouko had pulled out.
"Hah! With this distance, there's no way you can launch your Explosion magic at me, you'll definitely die, too!" Maoko said, as she avoided an overhead slash from Darkness.
"Like I said," Megumin said, with a sadistic sneer on her lips. "This Explosion isn't meant for you. EX-"
As if sensing it for the first time, Maouko noticed the mana gathering in the air.
But it was nowhere near the battlefield.
It was above the general direction of the Devil King army encampment, in the forest.
Right where Maoko's casters were probably stationed.
Maoko turned her eyes to me, but instead of hate I only saw some mild amusement.
"...Not bad. But from this range, I calculate that the blast will still hit us...well, I say us, but I can still fly!"
"Just wait for it," I said.
"-PLO-"
Rain raised her staff, the Crimson Demons following after her. "Magic Barrier!"
A multi layered Magic Barrier appeared between the border of the forest and the village.
Maoko's eyes widened in frightened realization.
"...Ah, I screwed up."
"-SION!"
Megumin didn't hold back. The tremors knocked all of us down, even Maoko who had been flying in the air.
I told Megumin to aim for the encampment, and she did, but from what I could see, the entire forest and even the area beyond that was devastated by her Explosion.
And not only the ground, the sky and every cloud on it was engulfed by the inferno.
The magic barrier didn't even stand a chance. The layers were easily destroyed.
Thankfully, the last barrier held up, but considering the fact that every Crimson Demon in the village had cooperated to create twenty barriers layered together, and that Megumin's Explosion had easily broken through nineteen of those, was almost enough to make me go insane at the implications.
I had severely underestimated Megumin's power.
In those times we did the routine in the capital, she had obviously been holding back.
Eventually, even the last barrier fell. The Explosion had diminished at that point already, but those on the rear guard of the Devil King army's formation got caught up in the last dying flames.
Every one of us, Devil, Crimson Demon, human, and goddess, all turned our eyes to the little girl responsible for this inconceivable destruction.
She stood with her staff raised, her eyes now blaring violently, trailing a red streak whenever her irises moved.
"God, I love myself," she said.
And then she collapsed.
"..."
Silence fell among all of us.
And all this while, I was thinking:
If I hadn't taken her in.
If I hadn't contributed to her growth, allowed her to get all that EXP defeating high level bosses.
If I had confiscated her adventurer card after defeating the Devil King, and spent her Skill Points somewhere else…
Then maybe, I could have prevented the birth of this monster.
What have I done?
Part 4
"Teleport!"
"Gah! Stay still!"
"I'm behind you, Sylvia! Ray of Frost!"
"Ugh! I hate you Crimson Demons!" Sylvia cried.
The tides of battle dramatically shifted.
The Crimson Demons were flicking in and out of reality as they easily dispatched the enemy.
Maoko was hovering above the battlefield, surveying the condition of her army.
And even from the ground perspective, I could tell that it was not good.
I felt like taunting her.
"Maoko-sama looks quite troubled doesn't she? She might be a genius in strategy but she's surprisingly short-sighted isn't she? Get real, you greenhorn! There's no way that you, an upstart, can compete with a proven, veteran adventurer like me! Know your place!"
What began as a method to aggravate the opponent turned into an ego-tripping rant midway.
I was drunk in the afterglow of my perceived victory.
"I see that you are the type of man who enjoys seeing beautiful women fail in their pursuits, Satou Kazuma. Hmph. What a petty little virgin boy you are."
"D-Don't try to psychoanalyze me! Here, take this! Fireball!"
I extended an arm towards Maoko.
"Rain, can you cast a Fireball on Maoko for me, please?"
Rain reluctantly raised her staff.
"F-Fireball..."
"How shameless, asking someone else to fight your battles after boasting so much. Counterspell."
The spell died before Rain could launch it.
"Kazuma, stop bothering Rain-san. And why aren't you helping us fight? As long as a man has a blade in his hands, he should fight until the very end!"
Darkness said this even as she was in the middle of taking a brutal axe swing to her thigh, but not all showing any indication that she registered the pain.
Sometimes I forgot how frighteningly high her physical specs were.
"Please don't associate me with those other 'men' who feel the need to assert their masculinity with needless bravado. There is no need for me to display my prowess in a battle that's already been won."
"How uncharacteristic of Kazuma, setting off such obvious flags!"
Now that she mentioned it, I was indeed setting off flags left and right.
But no matter.
I was certain of our victory.
It didn't matter how many flags were set.
"Fine! If Kazuma refuses to fight, fall back and go join the immobile Megumin. Someone needs to protect her from stray projectiles, after all."
I shuddered.
"No, please don't make me go near that monster."
That monster who could unleash such a devastating attack.
And all the while cackling maniacally while calling herself a genius over and over.
Megumin had become way too scary!
"Calling your comrade a monster…no, actually, I have a feeling Megumin will just take that as a compliment."
Indeed, she would.
Because she was a monster.
"Hey, I can hear you two insulting me, you know?"
Megumin said, as she was lying prone on the ground with her face squashed against the dirt.
"And can someone help me up already?" she asked. "My face is going numb."
If my options were to fight, or have to be in close proximity with such a dangerous individual...
"..."
I drew my partner. and joined Darkness.
"...Some party members I have! Abandoning me after I made my important contribution!"
I ignored the cries of Megumin as Darkness and I entered the battlefield.
Aqua ran up to join us. "I'm starting to run out of mana," she said.
So even goddesses had their limits.
I gave Aqua a Manatite crystal. She gazed at it. "What am I supposed to do with this? Am I supposed to eat it? Is it tasty?"
"Why are you acting like Komekko?"
After retorting, I reminded myself that this was probably the first time Aqua had need for a Manatite crystal, considering her near limitless reserves. I showed her how to extract mana from the crystal, and allow it to flow into her reserves.
"This feeling is…! It's like getting drunk but without the inconvenient side effects! I can get used to this!"
I snatched the Manatite crystal from her. I read from somewhere that there were people who developed an addiction. These people grew a reliance on the initial rush of mana recovery, which was akin to the euphoric effect of hallucinogenic substances.
"Aqua, the Crimson Demons should be fine for now, so I want you to provide back-up for Darkness and I."
"Allow this beautiful Arch-priest to provide support! Nature's Beauty! Well, well. Are you inspired yet, Kazuma?"
"...I'm inspired to never again entrust you with any significant role. If you're just going to fool around, then go join the depleted Megumin!"
"No, please! Megumin scares me now, for some reason! I don't want to be alone with her!"
It seemed that I was not alone in fearing the human nuke that was Megumin.
With Maoko's soldiers already occupied with the Crimson Demons, including Sylvia, who was now wisely isolated from the rest of the army by Arue and the others, it was easy for us to get some quick and easy kills.
Darkness attracting the attention of the enemy.
Aqua casting status-buffs on me while I snuck around and finished off the soldiers Darkness was aggro-ing.
We were fighting along the archetypical styles of the RPG trinity of Tank, Healer, and DPS dealer, and the method proved almost frighteningly efficient, as we had mowed through at least a quarter of the remaining army by ourselves.
Their forces were dwindling, but Sylvia was still standing strong, tanking magic damage, while Maoko hovered from above, casting illusion magic when she could.
Some Crimson Demons tried taking her down with spells, but that armor of hers, the same type as her father's which survived a point-blank Explosion, easily absorbed the magical assault.
Aside from casting support spells, she remained largely passive.
From what I knew of Maoko, she didn't seem to value the lives of her soldiers, easily abandoning them to retreat by herself during our first battle.
Had she already given up?
After some time, there were only a handful of foot soldiers left. We had pushed them past the village's boundary.
The battle was now taking place in the wasteland Megumin had created.
"...I know a losing battle when I see it. Sylvia, it's time to retreat."
Maoko's looking down at the remains of her soldiers with cold eyes, said this.
"Maoko-sama! If you will allow me, please let me fight until the very end! I refuse to turn my back to my subordinates!"
"Don't be ridiculous. You are far more valuable than all of those grunts combined, Sylvia. I can't afford to lose a valuable asset like you so easily. Now, be a good boy and let's retreat."
Boy?
Perhaps Maoko must have been more emotionally distressed than I presumed, if she confused Sylvia's gender like that.
As Sylvia was about to respond, a bright light emerged from behind the retreating army.
And the light began to take form.
"I am Yunyun! One who will become the next village chief! Master of Advanced Magic! Halt in your advance, evil doers, for the true genius of the Crimson Demon clan will show you true destruction!"
Ah.
I knew I was forgetting someone.
Coming in at a dramatic moment, likely intending to steal the spotlight.
The usual Crimson Demon M.O.
The normally calm and composed Yunyun, the only normal girl of the Crimson Demon clan, had finally become corrupted.
"T-That strange Yunyun who had always been ashamed by her heritage is…!"
"Finally! The daughter of the village chief has finally awakened the Crimson Demon blood inside of her!"
"Fufu. A reluctant hero finally accepting their role in destiny. Perhaps there was once a story like that…"
Of course, her fellow clansmen were appreciating this development.
Yunyun tossed aside the Teleportation scroll she used, as hadn't learned Teleport yet, and drew her wand, pointing it at Maoko.
The skies that were filled with the smog of Explosion began to crackle with lightning as Yunyun raised her hand up in the air.
"Prepare to witness the technique handed to me by my ancestors! Light of Sa-!"
"Counterspell."
I was all too familiar with the impressive utility of Counterspell.
But as an Arch-Wizard who had superior spellcasting speed, all Yunyun had to do was quickly cast another spell, outspeeding Maoko's Counterspell.
"Get out of the way."
Maoko drew her rapier.
"Ah."
Yunyun looked down at her abdomen.
And the blade that was piercing it.
She fell.
Part 5
"Don't worry, I can take care of an injury like this," Aqua said.
She laid her hands on Yunyun, casting a healing spell.
Yunyun still hadn't died, but she was in critical condition.
"What a relief," Darkness said.
When I saw the blade piercing Yunyun, my heart had stopped.
The fact that we had a goddess whose only good quality was her healing spells, had momentarily slipped my mind.
The other Crimson Demons, enraged by what happened to Yunyun, were now engaging Sylvia and Maoko. They casted Planar Binding to ensure that the two wouldn't escape.
Maoko had casted Greater Dispel Magic on herself a few times, but she stopped doing so as as the Crimson Demons responded by continually recasting Planar Binding on her.
"Geez, Yunyun. What were you thinking? Although reckless stunts like that is expected of a Crimson Demon, even I have to question your decision making."
Funifura said this, as she Dodonko, and Arue fussed over Yunyun.
"I'm sorry for worrying all of you," Yunyun said.
"W-Why are you apologizing? W-We're friends, right?"
"F-F-F-F-F-Friends?! Do my ears deceive me?! I, Yunyun, was called a friend by Funifura-san?! Wah! Did I actually die and go to heaven?!"
"If you react that much, I will feel guilty about all sorts of things, you know?!"
Yunyun making a dramatic entrance.
Trying to take down the boss herself.
There were hints of it before, but I didn't know that she was this desperate to prove herself a worthy rival to Megumin.
And I was certain that was what Yunyun attempted to do.
"That Maoko is a coward!" Darkness said. "First, she chose to abandon her subordinates in battle, and now, even though the battle is already near its conclusion, she brought harm upon this pitiful child!"
"...Please don't call me a 'pitiful child'," Yunyun said.
While everyone was fussing over Yunyun, I decided to check up on Megumin, who, despite being faceplanted on the ground, must have heard the commotion about Yunyun.
When I came over, I finally helped her sit up.
"Hello, Kazuma. Thank you for finally removing my face from the filthy ground."
"...Yeah, sorry. But your display kind of spooked me a little. No offence."
"None taken. Inflicting fear in one's opponents is the calling card of the Crimson Demon clan."
"I'm not your opponent, though."
I told her about what happened to Yunyun, but assured her that Yunyun was being taken care of by Aqua.
"Please take me to Yunyun. I want to see if she's OK."
There was a blush on Megumin's face.
The tsun was finally showing her dere.
I helped her up and lenses her my shoulder as we walked over to where Yunyun was.
As we arrived, I heard Maoko speak these words,
"We can't handle this many, and I'm already out of mana. Sylvia, it's time to retreat."
"...Yes, Maoko-sama."
Sylvia and Maoko were eventually overwhelmed by the Crimson Demons.
With a flap of her wings, Maoko hovered over Sylvia and then carried her by the arms.
I didn't expect that Maoko would have the strength to fly with while carrying another person, but they were already specks in the sky by the time Megumin and I arrived.
Yunyun looked up from where she laid. "Ah, Megumin. Listen, I…"
"Hmph. Foolish Yunyun. This is why I will never acknowledge you as my rival."
"I-Is that so…"
Yunyun's face fell as she snatched her eyes away from Megumin.
"Oi, Megumin," I said, "Aren't you being a bit too harsh? You're the one who wanted to check up on her."
"I'm merely telling the truth! Rather than rival this and rival that...you know what I'm trying to say already, OK?!"
Ah, so it was like that.
What a tsundere.
"F-First it was Funifura-san, and now Megumin...am I really in heaven?! Uwaaaa!"
Still healing Yunyun, Aqua began chastising her.
"Stop moving around! You'll reopen the wound!"
We all looked at each other with coy smiles, each of us intending to tease Megumin.
"Ah, I always knew Yunyun and Megumin was Yuri, but to think Funifura would form a love triangle with them…"
Arue, of course, said those words.
"Why you…! Megumin, back me up here, tell Arue that we are not like that with...eh, where did Megumin go?"
As Funifura asked that question, I finally noticed that Megumin had left her position by my shoulder.
I turned around and saw Megumin walking ahead by herself.
No, that wasn't possible.
How was she walking?
She was suffering from mana exhaustion.
I had these thoughts even as I saw Megumin walk ahead in a confident manner.
But then I saw that Megumin had, in her hands, three Manatite crystal which were now empty.
She tossed them to the ground.
I opened my carry bag and examined its contents.
She had pickpocketed me!
"Hey, Megumin…!"
She took off on a sprint.
"Darkness, run after her! That girl is up to something crazy!"
"O-Okay!"
Darkness and I ran after Megumin, who ran at a surprisingly fast pace.
In fact, even with my Boots of Speed and Darkness's physical superiority, Megumin was still outrunning us.
It was then that I remembered.
Megumin had completely obliterated that forest full of high-levelled monsters, so powerful that even the Crimson Demons couldn't completely clear the forest.
And included in her kill total were the mages Maoko stationed in the encampment.
True to my suspicions, Megumin took out her Adventurer's Card.
"M-Megumin, what are you spending that absurdly high amount of Skill Points on?!"
In response to my answer, she pocketed her card after quickly swiping on it, and then raised her staff.
"Oh, the usurpers of reality, heed my call!"
"Gah! Darkness, retreat! Retreat!"
Darkness and I swivelled and reversed our advance.
"Expeditious Retreat!"
I further increased my speed.
"Oi, Kazuma, don't just leave me here!"
We stumbled into the others, who were giving us questioning looks.
"Why are you in such a hurry, Kazuma?" Aqua asked.
"M-Megumin, she's, she's…"
The impact came hard.
We were all sent sprawling into the ground.
But when I looked up, the Explosion hadn't even been cast yet.
There were waves of mana gushing out of Megumin, and the mere force and abundance of it were creating lacerations on the ground before her and sent shockwaves throughout the area.
This was just the preparation stage, and already, we were literally floored by her power.
"I was trapped in the space between worlds, but defied eternity."
The sky was now filled with a malevolent maelstrom of pure mana.
With Maoko out of mana, she didn't have enough to use the Teleportation spell.
I could just imagine her horror as she found herself trapped in the middle of that storm.
"In this eternity, I saw my mortality. What I once desired in violence, I now sought in peace."
The gravity that fell upon us was so great, I couldn't even lift my head anymore.
"And for this peace, I have become a monster."
I quickly said a prayer to Eris-sama.
May I be reborn into an affluent family.
May I have beautiful sisters who were not related to me by birth.
Please, let me resurrect into such a wonderful world!
"Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds!"
The force pressing upon us halted.
I looked up and saw Megumin's back. Her staff was still raised to the sky.
And I looked up above and saw that the mana storm had condensed into a black orb, which blotted out the sun.
It began to expand.
And it kept growing bigger.
Until it was like a balloon about to pop.
"EXPLOSION!"
Part 6
The aftermath of the battle was followed by a well-executed clean-up procedure led by the village chief.
The Crimson Demons were used to conflicts with the Devil King army, after all.
I felt kind of sorry for Maouko. She was so motivated, and tried so hard, and yet the Crimson Demons had treated the whole thing as if it was a chore, after the the fact.
As for me, I was still jittery with battle nerves.
Maouko was a powerful adversary. A thinker instead of a direct combatant.
And she had viewed everything as if it were merely game.
Sacrificing soldiers as if they were pawns.
Regarding everything with a calculative look.
Well, it didn't really matter anymore.
In regards to the clean-up, the corpses and dropped equipment were dealt with by the animation rock golems and the use of the Unseen Servant spell, to use for hard labor.
Rain was using an Unseen Servant now to pile up the body bags in the morgue.
With nothing to do, I took on the self-imposed capacity of Rain's assistant.
"It was already the consensus among some of the mage community," Rain said, "but now, there is no doubt that Megumin-san has become the most powerful mage in the world…"
The same girl who begged to join my party.
Who approached us with a growling stomach.
That same girl I attempted to ditch after learning about her inconvenient power.
To think that the same girl would actually make her boasting and arrogant words into an undeniable reality.
I felt a mix of pride, apprehension, and some insecurity.
If I thought about it, despite everything I said about how useless my party members were, at the key moments, it was their unique talents that managed to pull us out of sticky situations.
Aqua had already brought me back from death multiple times.
Our most powerful enemies were brought down from a single attack by Megumin.
And Darkness…
Darkness was…
"Ah, I suddenly feel better about myself. For a second I was feeling self-conscious about my place in the party, but I thought of a certain muscle-brained Crusader."
"Please don't speak about Dustiness-sama in such a way!"
Rain finished her task in about half an hour. She would have finished earlier, I must admit, if I hadn't been pestering her.
We made our way to the chief's house, where we promised to convene.
At the doorstep, we saw Megumin and her parents. They had luggage with them.
"Ah, Satou-sama. Thank you for your efforts in protecting the village," Yuiyui-san said, as she gave me a small bow.
No, this time, I didn't really contribute much.
Megumin seemed to agree, as she said,
"No, mother. I was the MVP of that battle. You witnessed my Explosion, did you not?! The magic that could shatter worlds?! If you look up into the sky, now, you can see that my Explosion was so powerful, that it made a tear in the fabric of reality itself!"
Despite myself, I couldn't help but look up at the sky to see if Megumin's words held any merit.
Of course, they didn't.
I pulled on the cheeks of Megumin.
"It hurts, it hurts!"
"Now, now. Kazuma-sama, since you're here, would you kindly help us with this luggage?"
"Sure, but where are we headed to?"
"To our home," she said. "The repairs are already complete."
Or so she said, but it had only been a few days since Megumin and Buzucoily-san's homes were destroyed by Maouko's forces.
Then again, if the Crimson Demons could use spells like Golem Creation and Unseen Servant, perhaps such a feat wasn't all that impossible.
Sure enough, when we arrived, both Buzucoily-san and Megumin's homes looked like they had been restored to their original state.
"..."
I should have expected as such, but Megumin's house was quite a sad affair.
"Darkness and Aqua are already inside," Megumin said, "we'll spend our last night in this village here."
The last night.
Although I was pushing for it before, because of the threat of Maouko, I didn't really feel the need to leave immediately, anymore.
I didn't mind if Megumin wanted to spend a few more days in her hometown.
She seemed to sense my thoughts. "I'm feeling really homesick," she said.
So she already considered Axel her real home.
I had some apprehensions earlier.
Seeing such an absurdly powerful magic.
One that could have wiped this part of the continent, had it been directed on the ground.
I didn't know if I could interact with Megumin normally anymore.
And yet, nothing had changed.
"I'm feeling homesick, too," I said.
"Yeah, so let's return quickly."
We both smiled and then shared a giggle.
Really.
Why had I been scared of Megumin?
"Ahem. Are you two just going to stay there making googly-eyes with each other, or what?"
It was Aqua, who had opened the door.
Darkness was looking between Megumin and I with the same suspicion she had been regarding us with, recently.
Yuiyui-san was giving me a knowing look.
Never mind.
I was glad to leave as soon as possible.
Part 7
Yuiyui-san served a 'dinner' of rice gruel and broiled soybeans.
Again, I felt the compulsion to give some much needed money to this family, but Megumin hindered my attempts.
Even though the meal was abnormal, the atmosphere was what you'd expect from any normal family.
Aqua didn't have any restraints, and she was soon telling stories about our adventures, not necessarily showing off about our achievements, like she usually would, but sharing amusing anecdotes from when we were inexperienced rookies.
Yuiyui-san was giggling along while expressing her mild disbelief that a team as powerful as our would actually struggle with toads.
I felt somewhat nostalgic, even though I wouldn't dare exchange the life I had now, with the life I had back then.
Sleeping in the stables.
Or living in comfortable luxury.
It wasn't a matter of principle, the choice was obvious.
Eventually, it got late.
Aqua had passed out after drinking wine she brought along. Darkness was tired after having fought Sylvia non-stop for the majority of that battle.
Komekko, despite her boundless energy, was showing signs of fatigue, as Aqua had played with her a lot.
"Well, then, Kazuma-sama, I will prepare Megumin's old room. You two may sleep there."
Again, Yuiyui-san was up to her usual antics.
"OK. Megumin, I will wash up and then meet you there. Yuiyui-san, please show me the way."
I said this as took out some toiletries from my travel bag.
Megumin frantically looked between me and Yuiyui-san, but knowing that she couldn't reason with us, she turned to her father.
"Father, did you hear what mother and Kazuma is saying?! Will you say something to them?!"
"...*snore*...oh, Yuiyui, you're wearing your old school uniform, huh? *snore"..."
"..."
"Oh my, it seems that your father is having some pleasant dreams."
Megumin was about to go over to Hyoizaburo-san, no doubt to wake him up.
I put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, Megumin, when I broke free from Maouko's Dominate Person, didn't you promise to do something for me?"
She froze.
"Ah, as expected of the top genius of the Crimson Demon clan. Your memory is impeccable. You promised that in order to cheer me up from my ordeal in the hands of Maoko, that you would sleep together again with me tonight. Remember?"
"...Even though I said that, I was clearly not in the right state of mind. Is this what I get for worrying about you?!"
"When you say it like that, it makes me look like a bad guy."
"Oh, so this bad guy has some self-awareness after all."
The argument was about to escalate, but Yuiyui-san intervened.
"Now, now. Megumin, from the last time you've shared a bed with him, Kazuma-sama had already proven that he is a gentleman who wouldn't do anything without the lady's consent. So what are you worried about?"
"Stop sugar coating it, mother. It's not because he's a gentleman. It's because Kazuma is a herbivore male who would not seize the chance to 'do it' even though one is presented to him."
Even though it was true, being called a herbivore male was too much.
"And why are you so desperate to hook us up, anyway, mother?!"
"Hm? It's only natural? I'm just trying to help my daughter. It seems to me that you like Kazuma-sama, don't you, Megumin?"
"..."
There was an awkward pause.
So far, I had been going along with Yuiyui-san.
But even so, I didn't have any clear direction in mind.
I wasn't so thirsty or desperate to do it.
I was just going with the flow.
Things like romance, however, my inexperienced mind froze at the implication.
Even though a romantic relationship with Megumin, if I were honest, since everyone kept bringing it up, I naturally entertained such thoughts…
Naturally.
And yet, I still haven't come to a conclusion in that regard.
Yuiyui-san continued when we didn't respond.
"Rather, even if Megumin were to say things like 'I don't like Kazuma, he is just a friend', wouldn't it be strange that she'd have such strong reactions to merely sharing a bed with this friend? Didn't Aqua-san mention earlier that she and Kazuma-sama have slept together many times when they lived in the stables? Friends shouldn't have problems with doing that with one another."
"B-But Kazuma is...he's a massive pervert!"
"But Aqua-san didn't have any complaints about Kazuma-sama assaulting her, did she?"
"...I'll say it again, why are you taking this so seriously, mother?!"
"Fufu. Like I said, I'm just trying to help my daughter. If you do like Kazuma-sama, then this is the perfect opportunity for you. And if you don't like him, then there's no harm done. We don't have enough rooms for everyone, anyways."
"You say that, but we already rented rooms from Funifura. You're the one who insisted that we all stay here for the night."
Megumin made a strong point.
"...Megumin, if you don't co-operate, I will cast Sleep on you and give Kazuma-sama the chance to have his way with you."
"What kind of mother are you, huh?! In fact, just saying all that could land you in court, don't you know?!"
Yuiyui-san must have realized along the way that arguing with Megumin was pointless.
I chose to speak up.
"Um, it's weird for me to say this about myself. But even I am not so desperate to do something that would land me in jail."
"So you'd do it if you didn't face jail-time?!"
Megumin took the chance to twist my words.
Yuiyui-san looked at both of us. She gave a weary sigh.
But just when it seemed she would give up...
"Very well. You leave me no choice. Both of you, Sleep."
Drowsiness overcame me.
Beside me, I saw Megumin losing her balance, before Yuiyui-san caught her.
And then my vision turned to black.
Chapter 10 END
Next Chapter: I Have Become the Strongest Mage! & Extras