"It is nothing too original. Ah, where are my manners?" The thing curtsied.

Aqua grit her teeth, seeing through the falsehood wrapped around it.

This is wrong.

It is something that should not exist. A spiral that reflects its sphere of boundary infinitely within itself. A snake biting its own tail, delineating the circle. A collection of edges and thresholds defining each other. It can't be real. It is something that looks like a human but is not, something that acts like a human but is not, something that speaks like a human but is not, it is something that is but should not be and it is unnatural and wrong-

Aqua turned her eyes away from the thing masquerading as a woman.

Just looking at it makes her feel sick.

Everything about it is wrong.

It shouldn't exist.

How could they not see-

They did not, but they felt it nevertheless.

Megumin's grip around her staff tightened, and Darkness's hand had started creeping towards the hilt of her sword.

The light falling through the windows began to turn oddly as space rippled in miniscule ways. Aqua caught the glint in Kazuma's eye.

And then the woman simply walked out.

"What. Was. That?"

"Oh, did that weird woman come again?" Komekko poked her head out from the back of the store.

Two steps and Kazuma lowered himself to face Megumin's sister.

"Komekko, this is very important. Do you remember what that lady bought?"

"...Do you have any more of that candy?"

Kazuma took out a stack of them from his cloak. He caught the warning look in Aqua's eyes, guessed her question, then shook his head. Projecting food to eat was one of the stupidest things to do unless it is used as a tool of assassination, and even then it can be easily detected by a sufficiently paranoid magus. When the projection finally wears off, the World will attempt to correct the molecules taken by the body and put to use, resulting in symptoms not dissimilar to extreme radiation poisoning as cells are torn apart by suddenly-missing atoms.

"A few portable barriers. Usually, she just comes to discuss magic theory with dad."

Again, barriers. What could a Sorceror be trying to accomplish? An experiment involving Spatial Refounding or a derivative field is possible but utterly pointless since the Age of Gods has yet to end here. And the allusions to other magi. Could be a warning that there are others out here or a red herring? Does she intend to use us to get rid of a problem for her? As leverage? Or she is like her colleague Zelretch and did this to 'provide entertainment', but instead is used to subliminally manoeuvre us into taking one course of action over another several months or years down the line?!


Megumin's father stared at the young man before him with a stern expression.

At a glance, he looked like a normal middle-aged man with black hair, but his sharp eyes had been emitting an oppressive pressure. But that was good because it showed that he cared for his daughter. It was good because it wasn't the cold, dead gaze of his own father.

"… Thanks for taking care of my daughter. I express my sincere gratitude for that." Hyoizaburo bowed lightly.

Beside him was a beautiful lady who resembled Megumin, with a head of black hair and slight wrinkles on the corner of her lips and eyes.

"My daughter has troubled you very much. I learned much about Kazuma-san from the letters she sent back." Megumin's mother, Yuiyui-san bowed deeply toward him.

"It's no burden. Megumin has been a great help to us."

Komekko had Megumin off somewhere, and Aqua and Darkness were engrossed in a rather intense game of poker. He would be getting no assistance from them.

"Well then. What's your relationship with my daughter?" Hyoizaburo stiffened his face.

"I've already said it many times, we're just normal friends and comrades."

After Hyoizaburo heard that, he looked as if he couldn't bear it anymore, moving quickly to the table where Aqua was performing and reached out.

"What did you say?!"

"Don't flip and damage the table! Our finances are really tight this month!"

The mind of a Crimson Demon mage was a strange thing indeed.

Hyoizaburo sipped the tea his wife made for him and sighed.

"Pardon me, I was too agitated. All because you kept playing dumb and saying you're just friends."

Because that's all we are. Time to change the topic.

Kazuma took out the wrapped bottle of wine.

"A simple gift for your hospitality."

At that instant, Hyoizaburo and his wife grabbed the package I was handing over at the same time.

"… My dear, this is a gift from Kazuma-san to me. Let go."

"Oh, really now hubby. You were just addressing him rudely as 'you', and you suddenly change it to 'Kazuma-san' after seeing the gift, just how thick-skinned are you?"

Kazuma drank his tea and pretended that everything was normal.

"From the letters sent by my daughter, I thought the two of you were close, right…?" the madam smiled warmly at him.

"What do you mean by 'be with your daughter'? Didn't I just explain that we're just friends? May I ask what was written on the letters?"

"Well, she wrote about how she always gets covered in smelly goo, and how big the blast of your explosions are." Yuiyui coughed.

"A simple misunderstanding. The quests we take can get rather unusual at times."

"The letter also states many things about you and your comrades. Well, do you still have a lot of debt? This concerns the team my daughter's in. We want to help, too, but we're not that well off…"

She said apologetically…

"Ah, no, the debt's already been cleared. If sales for those air conditioning units goes well, we should be able to get a large amount of money after this trip, so there are no problems."

And so the pseudo-interrogation went on.


Written on the flashy pink sign hanging above the entryway were the words 'Succubus Lingerie Pub'.

Since there's an actual Succubus service in Axel, it wouldn't be too surprising for there to be such stores outside of Axel too. What was unusual was why a general of the Demon King's army would visit such a place.

"Sorry, the bar is closed for today."

Contrary to that statement, the establishment was filled with people.

A suit of black armour and a woman were sitting on stools, while the local mages were standing a good distance away, wands and staffs aimed at them.

"Oi, Nerimaki! Give me another refill! You sure you don't want some?"

"I'm metal. Does it look like I can drink?" The voice sounded familiar.

Tucking a strand of brown hair behind one ear, the dark-skinned woman glared at the armour.

"Didn't stop you when you lost your head, so why should it now?"

With the speed of a striking snake, she was on him, one hand twisted around the helmet and prying open the visor while the other grabbed a mug of beer.

The armour reacted in an instant, metal creaking as one hand grabbed the woman's neck while the other drew the greatsword from his back, striking her head.

The front part of her head and most of her neck had been crushed, but there was no blood. Instead of flesh, a viscous mixture, like black clay, laid beneath skin, congealing and knitting back together in a few seconds.

"Well, you were never this touchy before." she muttered, not the slightest bit bothered by the near decapitation.

"And your sense of humour is still shitty, Sylvia."

Only then did the two spot the new arrivals.

"Ah, Kaleidoscope and friends."

"We have names you know."

"My job here is done. Take care of Beldia will you? He bitches a lot if his joints get rusty. And... this should cover the cost of the roof." Sylvia continued on as if she hadn't heard Megumin.

She took out a small bag of coins, then shifted. Soft skin hardened into chitin, and structures similar to muscles and tendons burst forth and extended. A fly the size of a carriage, with six wings and seven mouths, burst through the roof of the bar and shot into the sky.

Mass discrepancy, but how? Possible suppression effect?

With a clank, the armour stood up, the sound ringing in a way that indicated that nothing was inside. A suit of possessed armour, instead of a Dullahan.

"Well, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but first-" The helm tilted in Darkness's direction.

"I request a duel between Lalatina of House Dustiness and myself."


"It's just the male ego talking. He's still sore about his defeat earlier and wants to save face by doing this." Aqua was rather resolute in her judgement.

Kazuma sighed. "That may be the case, but it can't be the sole reason. All this feels deliberate. Planned."

"So this is supposed to be a demonstration of some sort?" Megumin narrowed her eyes at the figures readying themselves on the field.

"Perhaps, or to manoeuvre us into a certain position. We can't be sure until we question Beldia."

The crowd suddenly hushed as the two met in the middle, facing each other.

Darkness made for a rather intimidating sight, dressed in full plate. Equipped with a longsword and a white tower shield, she completed the crusader image.

The black knight had forgone a shield, instead, wielding a weapon nearly too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick and heavy, it was made for cleaving through the armour of knights as well as their mounts.

"I must say," Beldia began with a light tone. "You seem rather eager for this."

"It's a rare opportunity to test myself against a skilled foe," Darkness responded in kind. "I want to see how I fare without support from my companions."

From what she had experienced the last time they fought, going on the offensive was likely impossible. Beldia was faster, more agile, and more skilled than her. It would have to be defensive, to bait him into a range where her low accuracy would be mitigated.

"Shall we?"

They slammed into each other like landslides, the ground shaking and cracking with the impact. Between the warriors, however, Darkness was most definitely the stronger, and earth cracked around Beldia's feet as he struggled to hold up against the crusader's strength.

The armour somehow gave an impression of grinning. "Been a long time since I found someone stronger than me."They stood still for a split second before Beldia continued his attack, transitioning into a slash in the opposite direction. It was blocked readily by Darkness's tall shield, and she retaliated by lashing out.

Beldia stepped expertly to the right and began his offensive.

The enormous blade in his hands became a blur as he rained down blows onto his opponent's shield. Darkness blocked the blows without hesitation, her shield barely moving despite the power behind each slash. If she faltered for even a moment, then she would be open.

Taking a gamble, Darkness thrust out her shield in a bash, connecting solidly with Beldia.

As expected, the possessed armour barely faltered before recovering.

His blade slashed up, so close to her ear she could feel a few strands of hair sliced through, but it did not touch flesh; her own sword slashed out in reply, aiming for the seams of Beldia's blackened armour. He snapped his elbow down on the flat of the weapon, lowering the strike to collide with solid metal instead of the weak point she had been aiming for, piercing only a bare inch, never touching his body… and trapping the weapon, however briefly, while his greatsword descended again.

Her own armour could not block a strike from that blade and she did not have enough time to block with her shield. If one cannot block, one must dodge. If one cannot dodge, then one must make the blow survivable. So she did something that no swordsman would ever expect her to willingly do: she released her grip on her sword, leaping back.

Beldia's sword slashed down through the space she had vacated, striking up a gale that sent the ribbon in her hair flying from the sheer force of it, and Darkness smiled. With a burst of strength, she leapt up and slam her armoured knee into his helmet.

Beldia was caught off his guard when he was essentially struck in the face by a speeding truck, the product of her prodigious strength. He was sent tumbling backwards, his armour clanging with each impact as he skipped along the ground like a hurled stone. She reached down to lift her fallen sword back into her grip, even as her enemy slid to his feet, armoured boots striking up dirt.

"Very good. You have improved much from our last fight." Beldia praised, readying himself once more.

Darkness decided to initiate this time around. Her shield led the way and Beldia had to dodge to the side to avoid the shield bash. She took the chance to strike out with his sword, slashing twice in quick succession.

Beldia blocked the two augmented slashes with his own sword. Retaliating with several strikes of his own, the swordsman forced Darkness back onto the defensive, setting the pace once again. If he had been a fast before, now he was a hurricane. The speed of each attack was insane, experience and skill allowing him to strike at both her and deflect her sword strokes with perfect precision. If this continued, she would lose. The gap in their skills was simply too high. It was hard to predict her opponent's attacks, while all of her openings were being read.

Then perhaps… a fake opening would do?

The shift was subtle, but Beldia didn't miss it. Darkness's eyes narrowed, her balance changed and her guard changed as well.

Yet her openings, different as they might have been from before, were still glaringly obvious. Adeptly he went for these new holes in his opponent's guard. A thrust towards the throat was predictably deflected. Darkness's ability was at least good enough to sustain the first layer of his offense but faltered from the second layer onward.

With sword arm still stretched out, Beldia twisted it in a way that would have broken it if it were still flesh, seeking the weak point - and was instead met by a defence like a steel wall. Darkness's shield had moved into the way of the blow, efficiently closing the previously wide-open gap.

Beldia didn't give himself time to be surprised and went straight for the next opening and from there to the next one.

Again and again and again he sought the obvious weaknesses and an equal amount of times his attacks failed, which served only, he realized in hindsight, to open his own guard to a counterattack.

Unable to predict her opponent's moves because of their disproportionate levels of ability, Darkness took control of the flow of the battle by offering openings of her own choice, exposing herself to even the odds. It was a dangerous way of fighting, reckless to the point of idiocy. Yet, in spite of that, the crusader had reached him, much to his disbelief, through sheer conviction alone.

Almost.

Before a slash could actually connect, Beldia caught the sword with a gauntlet, mere millimetres from the landing point, before using all of his strength to land a crushing blow that ripped both sword and shield from Darkness's hand, sending her tumbling across the field.


"Ugh," Darkness moaned happily, twisting her back in pain. "That didn't go very well."

"… No," Beldia replied after a moment of pondering silence. "It was certainly an ineffective attempt but the theory was not wrong. Controlling the flow of the battle like you did is certainly an effective way to achieve victory but it isn't something that can be mastered in a single try. However, there should be no need for me to say how reckless this fake opening style actually is, Lalatina. Do you realize that?"

"Yeah," the blonde groaned, dragging herself to a seated position. "Do you think I should drop it?"

"No, polish it until you can confidently control the direction of your opponent's attacks, and only then develop your counters. Furthermore, being able to predict your opponent is still a necessity for you."

As Darkness pondered his words, Kazuma walked over to them.

"So, what now?"

"Now I can tell you what the Demon King's army has been trying to accomplish. What do you know about The Creation War?"


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AN: Fabro Rowan