Bless This World With A Stranger

by RhineWrites

Arc 7: Darkness Hour (chapters 32-36)

35. A7-4: To Save Darkness

Chapter 4: To Save Darkness

==================={Part 1: The Most Important Puzzle Piece}===================

My body, specifically my head, did not feel at all comfortable when I finally woke up. Light streamed through the curtains into the room I was in. It took only a few moments before my still somewhat asleep brain was finally able to wake up enough to realize I wasn't laying in my bed, nor was I inside my room.

No, I was in the dining room with my head resting in my arms which were folded and resting on the large table. Sitting up and looking around, I spot Megumin beside me and Cielo and Lynn opposite us, still asleep with their heads resting upon folded arms as well. We also had Chomusuke sleeping away, as always, at the center of the table and Anna floating over us, also appearing to be asleep.

OK, so we're all down here. But why? Oh, right... we were waiting on Darkness to get back. But isn't it supposed to be night outside? I mean, it was all dark out when... We all fell asleep waiting for her, didn't we?

I then look again at the light filtering into the room. I wonder what time we all ended up falling asleep. And on that topic, had Darkness returned after the fact? If so, then why didn't she wake us up? Probably wanted to postpone her explanation with us. Well, better get my ass up, get her down here and wake the others up so we can have that talk. Not necessarily in that order.

I go to stand and begin to move away from the table when I notice it from the corner of my eyes, an envelope which had been carefully placed beneath Chomusuke. Or maybe she had chosen to rest upon it in order to make sure it didn't fall onto the floor and be missed by us.

I reach out and carefully pull it free from under her small paws. After examining the envelope, finding nothing written on it itself, I open it and pull the letter out. It was a small strip of paper with only a few words written on it, but those few words said worlds worth of information to me.

[I've decided to leave the party. Thank you all for everything, and I'm sorry. Signed, Darkness]

I read that over and over, probably for as long as a full minute, unable to believe what it was I was reading here. This had to be some kind of joke on her part. I mean, not just the fact she would do this, but the fact that she was doing this in this manner without even saying anything to us first. Not even an explanation as to why, just a goodbye with thanks and apologies.

I then quickly wake the others up and share with them this sudden and unexpected news. Suffice to say, they were just as shocked, confused, and angry, as I was right now.

[M] "That idiot, thinking she can just go do whatever it is she pleases here. Kazuma, we have to go find her and really give her a scolding for being such troublesome child."

[C] "While I agree with your assessment, don't you think it rather harsh to just go say she can't do anything without first talking to us about it?"

[M] "Not when she's been acting all weird over these last few days. I mean, getting Kazuma killed then doing... something to us to make us break our promise to Kazuma like she did."

[L] "Agreed, if she really wants to leave the group, that's her call. But she owes us a serious explanation first before she goes doing that. So, what do we do now, Kazuma?"

"I think what we do here is obvious, we go and find that damn idiot and drag her ass back here and make her explain herself. Like Megumin said, she doesn't get to make such a big decision without first talking with us about it. Now, let me think here a moment, you guys."

And think I do, considering just where it was she could have gone too. I then say-

"First, I need to ask you all something. Do you guys think I made a mistake yesterday with her? Making her walk back so she could take the time to think about her actions, hoping that it would make her realize that she did need to open up with us about what was going on. Would it have been better if I just brought her back along with the rest of us?"

The three of them look at each other, with Cielo then speaking up-

"In all honesty, it probably was the wrong choice in hindsight to leave her by herself. But there was no way we could have known that this was going to be the outcome here. I confess that at the time, I was feeling the way you were Kazuma. That she should be made to walk home so she could have time to reflect upon her actions over the last few days."

"In any event, what's done is done. We can't change the past now, can we. All we can do is move forward and hope our past decisions, regardless of if they were right or wrong, will still have a positive outcome by the end."

Megumin nods in agreement to Lynn's words. I thank them for that before saying-

"Alright, now here's the game plan. Lynn, I want you to teleport us right to the guild. Once there, I'm going to need you to head over to the transport depot and see if Darkness was there or not. Megumin, go to the teleportation station. Cielo, check with the Erisia Cathedral to see if she went there for prayer. I'll check inside the guild first and if needed, go over to Wiz's shop to check with them. Once we have the information needed, we'll meet back up at the guild and take things from there."

[M] "What if one of us finds Darkness, Kazuma?"

"If I find her, I'll use all the cords I have to Bind her up nice and tight and use Drain Touch if she tries to resist. If any of you find her, don't engage her. Instead, come find me so I can capture her myself. Given that defense of hers as well as her brute strength, I'm probably the only one who could subdue her."

[C] "My strength stat is higher than hers, so I should be able to knock her out if I hit her with a hard enough blow to the head."

[L] "And I do have a few spells at my disposal that could immobilize her... at least for a few minutes."

[M] "And I... well, OK. I CAN'T really do anything to her myself but..."

"OK-OK, I get it. Just... use your best judgments should you find her. Now, let's hurry over to Axel."

Once Lynn had teleported us to Axel, the girls broke away to do their individual searches for Darkness while I head inside the guild, finding Luna in the middle of putting up the newly made bounties for the day. I quickly approach her and say-

"Luna, have you seen Darkness at all since we last talked yesterday?"

My suddenly speaking up makes her shriek, dropping the papers she was holding as she was clearly so lost in the moment, perhaps lost in thought, that she had failed to hear my approach. She then yells at me while picking up the papers which I ignore.

"Scold me for nearly giving you a heart attack later. Just tell me have you seen Darkness at all following our last talk."

Perhaps it was because of the serious, perhaps even panic sounding tone I was speaking with, Luna's eyes became one of worry as she says-

"No, not yesterday nor this morning either. What's going on, Kazuma?"

"A lot of things, bad things. Top of the list right now is the fact she left us a message saying she was leaving the party. No explanation, no proper goodbye, just a simply letter with a quick and to the point message. Nothing more. We need to find her and yell at her for being stupid. You understand, right?"

Luna nods in agreement as she quickly turns and ask one of the girls behind the counter, probably someone who had been on shift longer than Luna had, if they had seen Darkness or anyone matching her description. Just then...

"Miss Luna... mister Satou, I saw Darkness as I was coming into work earlier."

We both turn and see one of the waitresses; Reiko I believe her name was. She was a curious girl, looking kind of like a gender-bent version of me as we both had the same hair and eye color. Dust had even asked us once if we were secretly siblings or at least related to one another in some fashion.

I give Reiko my full attention as I ask her-

"You saw Darkness earlier? Where was it, where did you see her?"

"It was outside the governor's mansion. She had some bags with her and was greeted by lord Aldarp."

"The governor's mansion... Aldarp... FUCK!"

I screamed out as it had finally been revealed, the last piece of the puzzle I had been missing that would make everything click. And just like I knew it would be, I was immediately cursing myself for not having thought of that before.

"Damn it (x9), why didn't I make that connection before. That fat assed bastard used some sort of manipulation magic back during my trial in an effort to get me put to death. Of course, he would also be able to manipulate Darkness to do anything he wanted here. But how did he... and when...?"

It had to have been over those few days following our return from Veridae, when Darkness had left to go visit her father. Somehow, Aldarp must have gotten to her during that time. Well, now I at least know what to do here.

"Luna, when the others get here, tell them to come to the governor's mansion. I'm going to need some back-up here."

"Understood, but what are you going to do, Kazuma?"

"What else. I'm going to save that damn pervert and kick some less than noble ass while I'm at it."

I then run out of the guild, ready to do whatever it takes to see this thing resolved quickly.

(X amount of time later)

"... You must have a thing for getting yourself thrown in jail, Kazuma. Seriously, apart from Dust, I've never known anyone who has spent more time in the slammer than you have."

said Lynn with a giggle as the four of us come walking out of the Knight Guard Station.

After I had left the guild, I had made my way over to the governor's mansion and after several failed attempts to get inside, including an attempt to bribe the guards at the front gate, I MAY have gotten a little rowdy with them which resulted in the Captain being called over alongside a healthy number of guards who were forced to arrest me.

In truth, I was supposed to have been detained for a few weeks, on the orders of Aldarp himself. But seeing as the Captain and I were on good terms, he allowed me to explain everything to him in private which allowed me to be released after only a few hours into the custody of the girls.

"Shut up Lynn, I don't want to be told something like that, even if it is true."

[C] "Well, at least we know what's going on now with Darkness. You don't think that Aldarp guy is manipulating her into doing... certain things with him?"

"I don't know and I personally would rather not know. Now's not the time to be thinking about that. We have to move quickly here if we want to save Darkness."

[M] "Kazuma's right, we can only hope no matter how strong his manipulation of her is, Darkness will still be too stubborn for Aldarp to be able to just have his way with her without issue. So, what do we do now, Kazuma?"

"Simple, I need to get back to the mansion in order to make preparations."

"Preparations?"

they all asked together, making me nod.

"Seeing as we can't get in the proper way here, I'M going to have to sneak in all thief like here in order to find and rescue Darkness. While I'm doing that, I need the three of you to go do something for me. Cielo, I want you to head back to the Erisia Cathedral and start praying to Eris, asking her to send Chris back from wherever it is she's at right now. This will be a lot easier if we have her backing me up."

Cielo nods while Lynn ask-

"And us, Kazuma? What do you need us to do here? And what do you mean by it just being you who's going in... ALONE? We're all going in with you, in order to save Darkness."

"No, it's just going to be me here and only me unless Chris shows up. I know you all want to help too but apart from Chris, I'm the only other member of the group with thief like attributes that can benefit a mission such as this. I know you guys want to come along, but it'll be easier for me here if you all stay behind, especially if I have to go it alone."

Lynn looked like she wanted to argue on the matter more, as did Cielo. But Megumin, who I had expected would be the most adamant about coming, was surprisingly the one to agree with me on this.

"Kazuma's right. As much as I hate to say this, we'd only get in the way if we went along. Anyways, what is it you need me and Lynn to do while Cielo's praying for Chris to come back quickly and you're preparing for the break in."

"I want the two of you to go down to Records and Archives and get a copy of the architects' blueprints for the governor's mansion. Knowing what the internal layout for that place is will greatly help me with getting around, possibly even determine which room Darkness would most likely be staying in."

[L] "Understood, but I doubt they're going to give us said blueprints so easily, considering what ones we're wanting here."

[M] "Do we have permission to get a little rowdy ourselves should the need arise, Kazuma?"

"Do whatever you have too though try to avoid getting thrown in jail if at all possible. Regardless, we're going to need those blueprints if there's to be any chance of success here. Now, if there's nothing else. I'll go grab some additional items I'm going to need for this thing. Once you two are done, go collect Cielo and teleport back to the mansion. We'll start figuring out the rest then."

The three of them nod as we break apart in order to take care of our assigned task.

Just be patient and wait a little bit longer here, Darkness. We'll get you back where you belong before you know it, I swear.

======================={Part 2: Preparations for a Chivalrous Night Raid}=======================

Following the purchase of several more top-quality cords I could use with Bind, I decided to make a side trip over to Wiz's shop, in order to procure both a few others potentially helpful items as well as ask Vanir if there was anything else of importance I should take into consideration.

"Welcome to my shop, how can I... Kazuma, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

"First off, it's not all that early unless you consider being past nine in the morning still early. As for the why I'm here, I'm going to need a few things. Also, is Vanir here. I need to pick his brain about something important that's going down tonight."

"Sorry Kazuma, but Vanir actually left just a few minutes ago. Said he was heading off to collect those special requested materials you had ordered through us, alongside the fact he needed to be somewhere during a specific time in order to make sure a 'valuable asset' isn't lost to us, or something like that."

"Seriously? Well damn, he should have been able to foresee that I would be coming by, what with that foresight power of his. Makes one think he left intentionally so he didn't have to answer my question."

"Speaking of which, what was the question, Kazuma? What brings you here this morning?"

I explain the situation to Wiz, her expression turning from curiosity to concern, and I think even a little anger by the time I finish telling her of the situation.

"So that explains that weird feeling I've been having over these last few days. To think the cause of it all was... never mind that. Tell me what you need here, Kazuma. I'll do everything in my power too... wait, perhaps that is what that item was for."

"Come again?"

Wiz reaches down below the counter and pulls out a curious looking item. The item was some kind of crystal in a pyramid shape, the top of it being the only part that wasn't a crystal but some kind of metal. Honestly, it looked rather cool, like some kind of precious collectable one would have somewhere on display in their home.

"Before he left, Vanir told me to hold onto this item. Said to give it 'to the right person' once they came around. He said I would know who that right person was and after hearing what's going on, I'm sure he must have meant this for you, given what it can do and all."

"You sure he was talking about me? He could have said MY name to you instead of being so damn cryptic. Forget it, we can yell at him later for that. Go ahead and tell me what this item does."

"Well, this item has the power to unleash a powerful light that turns anyone into a mindless zombie for about ninety seconds. During this time, they will do pretty much anything they're told so long as they don't have any particular strong will against doing such an act. An example would be trying to make someone cheat on their lover. Using this won't let you make anyone do such an act unless they're already in the mindset which would see them do such a thing to begin with normally."

"They'll return to normal after the ninety seconds are over, not remembering anything about what they did during that time. It's also a onetime use item, for both the item itself and for the person it was used on as they can't be affected by such items like this twice."

I nod before picking up the two items and examining the item. I then look at Wiz and ask-

"Was this item created by Hyoizaburoo? If so, then is it a new item of his or part of the older defective line and if so, what dangers come from using it?"

Surprisingly, Wiz shakes her head before saying-

"You'll be surprised to hear this but this item here wasn't created by master Hyoizaburoo. Believe it or not, it was made by Vanir himself, if you can believe it. As for why it has such a limited usage here. He said it would only be needed for specific things and thus shouldn't outstay its welcome. Also, this isn't a massed produced item either. He only makes items like these for 'special occasions' as he so claims."

"Guess I can a agree with that. Anyways, I better get going. I have to meet up with the others so we can start planning the little home invasion I'm going to be partaking in."

"Do you need any help with that, Kazuma?"

"Thanks for the offer, but this is something I need to deal with personally. However, if you hear of me... and the others too getting in over our heads, feel free to come in and save our butts."

Wiz nods followed by me saying my goodbyes. Once done, I make my way over to the guild. I didn't need to wait long after that before Lynn and Megumin joined me, with Lynn flashing the rolled-up paper that had the blueprints for the governor's mansion upon it. I beckon them in close then quietly ask-

"So, any trouble with getting it?"

[M] "Of course there was trouble. We were told such information couldn't just be given out to anyone there. Something like that had to be approved by the governor first and there was no way that was going to happen."

"Understood, so how did you end up getting it?"

[L] "I put the lady behind the counter to Sleep, of course."

"Eh? Since when did you learn Sleep, Lynn?"

[L] "Since before I joined up with you guys. Have you forgotten; my former party had a shameless guy in its ranks. One who like peeping and drinking in excess alongside gambling and conning others into paying for him so he didn't have too. Having the ability to knock his ass out quickly really came in handy on multiple occasions, let me tell."

I couldn't help but smirk at hearing that. I then ask them if there could be any issues to worry about once the counter lady woke up. After all, it was likely she would go to check if the plans were still there or not and seeing that they were gone, she would probably go alert the Knight Guard, maybe even Aldarp himself. While an acceptable reaction, it was still one I would prefer to not have to deal with.

[M] "Don't worry about that, Kazuma. The original is technically still there. We saw a blank piece of paper, so I used a little trick from my Red Prison Academy days to copy the image on the blueprints onto the blank piece of paper. If we're lucky, that counter lady will simply think she dreamed us up."

"Wait, you know a spell that can copy something into a blank object? What happened to being an Explosion only mage when we first met?"

[M] "And that still holds true, Kazuma. It wasn't a spell but a magic quill I have in my possession. All I need do it activate it, touch it against any piece of paper that has something inscribed onto it then touch the quill over a blank piece of paper and it will create a perfect copy. Pretty useful when you think about it."

I hope this isn't some indirect way for you to admit to cheating back during your school day studies here, Megumin as that would create more questions I really don't want to be asking here.

Lynn then asks if we should start going over the blueprints, with me telling her no. We'll wait till we return to the mansion before we do that as Aldarp could have eyes and ears here inside the guild. Now, we just needed to wait for Cielo which luckily for us, wasn't too long of a wait as she arrived soon after.

"So, do you think you got through?"

[C] "Maybe? I did hear a voice in my head answer my prayer, but it didn't sound like lady Eris. However, I was told she would handle the rest and have Chris come to help us as soon as she could get back."

"It must have been Clover you were talking too then. She's Eris' angle assistant who I met when I died a few days ago. Anyways, now that we're all here, let's get back to the mansion and get to work."

After using teleport, we quickly enter the mansion and roll the paper out onto the dining room table and begin to look it over carefully.

[M] "To bad these blueprints don't tell us how many guards patrol the halls and which room Darkness would likely to be in."

[C] "True, but we can at least rule out which rooms she won't be in, at least at the late hour we'll be sneaking in at. What do you think, Kazuma?"

"Hm, I could be wrong but there are three rooms here I can see that would be the most likely. The first is obviously the master bedroom though I'm really hoping she isn't in there as that would likely mean something none of us want to think about it. The other two would be these two rooms, as they have their own personal bathrooms attached. I could be wrong about this assumption, but these three will be the first ones I'll be looking inside when I go in."

[L] "Don't you mean when WE go in, Kazuma?"

I turn to look at the girls, seeing both Lynn and Cielo looking at me with strong determined eyes. Megumin, on the other hand, was turning her gaze from me to them and back to me. Unlike those two, who's desires here were very obvious, I couldn't quite grasp at what Megumin was thinking right now.

"No, I mean me here and only me. Look, I know you guys want to go in with me. I really do, but neither of you are trained for this sort of thing. Sneaking into someone place to steal something. In this case, an entire person. One who's probably going to be a handful getting out of there now that we know she's being mind controlled by some unknown object on her person."

[M] "I'm actually in agreement with Kazuma here. Perhaps it would be best if the three of us just..."

[L] "What are you talking about, Megumin. You should be the most adamant about going. Besides, what do you even mean, Kazuma? It's not like you have any of those skills either."

[C] "Lynn's right Kazuma. You may have a few thief skills taught to you by Chris, but that doesn't make you a master thief. If Chris shows up before we have to make our move here, then we'll do as she feels is best. But if she doesn't...

[L] "Then like it or not, we won't be letting you do this all on your own. Understand?"

"What choice do I have, what with you two being stubborn. Fine, you guys can come along but remember. I'm in charge unless Chris shows up. You'll all need to do as I say when I say to do it, no exceptions."

The two of them nod as we begin planning our route onto the mansion grounds itself. However, there were two things I couldn't help but take notice of. One was with the blueprints. I noticed that between two bedrooms was a void where there was nothing even though it looked like there could be enough room for a smaller room in-between, like a storage closet or something.

The other was the fact that Megumin was being strangely quiet throughout all of this. What's more, she looked like she was lost within her own thoughts while I was talking with the others about the plan. I wondered what was up with her, not that she ever elaborated anything to us.

Once that had been taken care of, and following lunch, I spent much of the afternoon down in my workshop tinkering with the Sheng Biao as, despite its current cumbersome design, could still prove useful if the need arises.

Soon, night had fallen and dinner had come and gone and I had made a decision here. While I knew it would anger the girls, I was going to sneak out a little early and head to the mansion. Hopefully, by the time they took notice of my absence, I will have already both gotten there and maybe be on my way back with our troublesome crusader as a tag along.

I reach under my bed and pull out the box containing my Chivalrous Thief attire, working quickly to put it on. There was just one little problem though. My mask was missing. Just as I start to panic a little, running around my room in search of it, a knock against my door makes me freeze.

"Kazuma, I'm coming in..."

"No, wait just a second. I'm not..."

My bedroom door opens and Megumin quickly steps inside before shutting my door and locking it. I stand there looking at her, practically freaking out as I was worried she would recognize the garments I was wearing here as it hadn't been that long since that night at Louview Palace.

"Isn't it a little early for you to be heading out, Kazuma?"

She asked me, no hint of anger present in her voice. I hesitate for a moment before saying-

"Yeah, I kind of need too. I'm sorry Megumin, I know you and Lynn and Cielo want to come as well but..."

"We all want to come. But I understand that we'd only be in the way if we did come, as much as I hate to admit it. Anyways, you don't need to worry about them right now. I... may have used a little sleep potion on them just a few minutes ago. They'll be out for a few hours so plenty of time for you to take your time if you need too."

Seriously? Well then, I guess I owe you for that one, Dynamite.

"Thanks for doing that, Megumin. And also for understanding as well. However, seeing as I'm already dressed and ready to go, I might as well go and get it over with. The sooner I get Darkness out of there, the sooner we all can have some piece of mind."

"Yeah... oh, by the way. Don't tell me you're going to be leaving without the most important piece here."

Megumin, who I just realized had been keeping her hands concealed behind her, suddenly reveals she was holding my special mask the whole time. I look at it, then at her radiant smiling face. After a moment, her smile shifts into being a smug grin as she says-

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't figure it out, Kazuma? I mean, you did call me Dynamite that night and who else but you would know to call me that nickname."

"Heh, you have a point. Truth told Megumin, Chris yelled at me a lot for saying that after the fact. Asked me if I was crazy for sending you such an easy to figure out clue. But I had a feeling you would figure it out sooner or later regardless of any clues being given or not."

"Well of course for I am the smartest of my clan. And I pretty much figured that Chris was the other person with you. I mean, who else could it have been."

said Megumin as she takes a striking pose. She then steps forward and presents my mask to me. As I go to reach for it, she pulls back ever so slightly then asks-

"I do have a request, Kazuma. I know it can't be for this one but do you think that maybe one day I could join you and Chris on your chivalrous path... boss."

I look at her for a moment before smiling as I take the mask into my hands.

"Yeah, I think that will be OK. I'll need to give you some special training to help you be ready for this life before you can join us, but that shouldn't take too long to do. You'll also need to get yourself a special Chivalrous Thief attire that can be enchanted in order to make working with us easier as well."

"Does that mean I can also get my own cool looking mask too, Kazuma?"

"Yeah, I'm actually working on making it right now. Got the unpainted version down in my workshop actually. I just need a certain someone to decide on the color scheme and any additional designs patterns she would like to have on it, as well as the enchantment to do what our mask can do. Think you can help me with that one, Dynamite?"

Megumin nods enthusiastically at my request. Something told me she was going to be running right down to the workshop as soon as I was done to find her unfinished mask and try it on. Maybe even start working on the other details and her chivalrous outfit as well.

"Well, I better get going. I'll be back soon and, if everything works out, I'll have the troublesome child in tow."

Megumin nods before suddenly stepping forward and pushing herself up as high as she could, planting a kiss on my cheek before pulling away to show a blush covered face and a gentle smile.

{Insert Image 1}

"That was my good luck charm for you, my masked hero. Now go out there and be cool."

I nod as I put the mask on before leaping out my window while Megumin watches me go with stars in her eyes. Right now, I felt like nothing could go wrong...

========================={Part 3: Desperate Plea...}=========================

I moved under the clouded night sky like a phantom. The night was my ally as I reached the eastern wall of Axel. Thanks to the small amount of light only coming from the lanterns that acted as streetlights in the city, getting inside and reaching the governor's mansion unseen was extremely easy.

I climbed up a tree along the western side of the mansion, taking a moment to observe the grounds with the aid of my Night Eye skill. To my surprise, there was very little in the way of guards out and about patrolling the grounds. In fact, the only guards I could spot were the ones at the main gates and two others who were walking in opposite paths around the mansion.

Either the security was being incredibly lax this night or Aldarp was very confident that no one would ever try to invade his space. It could also mean that the bulk of the protection was focused on the inside of the mansion. Well, I'll soon find out, won't I? Now, where in this place could you be at, Darkness?

As if I was being aided by some sort of invisible force, a window within my line of sight suddenly opens and the very form of Darkness appears for a moment, staring out into the night before turning away, leaving said window open.

There was no way that was just a coincidence here. I refuse to believe it. Despite that, I can't just call this all off now either. I'll just need to be even more careful and cautious here. Now, about getting in here? Sure, I could make use of the very window Darkness oh so kindly left open for me but even I'm not so foolish as to go making use of that one if I can avoid it. After all, it felt like a trap.

Damn it Chris, why can't you be here to take the lead on this one? I scan the mansion grounds, finding another window that was open down on the lower floor opposite the side of the mansion the window Darkness had opened just moments ago.

Seeing no other open window apart from those two, at least from this particular side. I had to either go with the obvious trap or the long way approach. I make my choice and move to enter the mansion. Once inside and ensuring that the room I entered was empty, I activate Lurk and carefully exit out into the main hall.

As I stealthy move around, it quickly became obvious to me that something really was off here. I was expecting that there would be far more guards present than what I was seeing. In fact, I hardly saw any making their rounds at all. Instead, some were hanging out inside one room playing a game of cards and another set were inside some makeshift bar having drinks. Geez, I was almost feeling sorry for Aldarp here, having such worthless morons as his personal security.

Once I made it upstairs, it took me a few moments before I found the room Darkness was in. In one particular room, I found a drunk guard passed out in his own vomit on the floor, making me shake my head.

Once inside Darkness's room, I find her with her back facing away from me, sitting before a vanity and combing her hair. I carefully close the door behind me and lock it before standing and slowly making my way towards her, preparing to unleash a series of binds upon her.

"Took you long enough to get here, Kazuma. I had honestly expected you to come rescue 'me' much earlier this morning. But I suppose I can't blame you as you would've needed time to prepare. Coming in the dark of night would also make sense."

Wait, Darkness knew I was me here? But how could she... damn it, Chris. You tell me to keep this whole thing a secret here and then you go behind my back and let Darkness know I'm one of the masked thieves. Sure, I guess I kind of told Megumin here too, but I don't think that counts. Anyways, you could have told me in that message you left that Darkness was in on the secret. I swear, when we next see each other, I'm so going to...

Darkness then turns back towards me and adds-

"Also, why didn't you just come in through the window I ever so kindly left open for you? There was no need to take the long way around. What's wrong, my words not what you expected from me?"

"Among other things. Mind telling me why you're being so nonchalant about all this? And also knowing why you just left us the way you did would be nice to know too."

While I make it look like I was letting my guard down here, I was still more than ready to take action here in a moment's notice. Darkness then puts her comb down before standing.

"Because I knew you'd be coming for 'me'. I was expecting it, wanting it to happen. That was the whole point behind why 'I' left to begin with. The whole thing with Golden Nemean was also part of the plan, to create a rift and imply something was off with 'me'. I confess that the whole getting you killed wasn't part of the plan but luckily that was corrected by that Accord girl."

Huh, what the hell...? What are you on about Darkness? You're being weird now. Darkness then begins to walk towards me, making me take a few steps back in response.

"Have you figured it out yet, Kazuma. All of this was to get you all alone here, so that he could finally deal with you once and for all."

"BIND!"

I shout, sending multiple mithril cords flying at Darkness, wrapping tightly around her gown wearing frame. With that much high-quality cords wrapping her, even Darkness won't be getting free anytime soon. As Darkness struggles to free herself, I approach her with plans on using Drain Touch to steal away her mana and then activate teleport to send us both back to the mansion.

"Sorry about this Darkness, but it's clear that you aren't in your right frame of mind here. Don't worry though, once we're back at the mansion, we'll figure it all out and get you back to your usual you."

To my surprise, Darkness burst out laughing as I go to touch her, preparing to start siphoning off her mana. I ask her what she found so funny here.

"You keep calling me Darkness and you are indeed correct. This is her body, no mistaking that but who said it was lady Dustiness that was at the driver's seat?"

The next thing I knew, I was being head butted by Darkness... HARD. The force was enough that my masked shattered like it was glass and blood poured from my broken nose as I stumbled back. At the same time, all the cords that were wrapped around her went slack and the next thing I knew, I was feeling an incredibly sharp pain coming from my side.

Somehow, a dagger had appeared within Darkness' hand, and she used it to stab me. Almost immediately, my vision begins to blur as I find myself being pushed onto the floor as Darkness gets on top of me, keeping me pinned down even though my suddenly sluggish feeling body wasn't in any position to fight back.

And then, Darkness breaks both my arms without a second thought. It took all my self-control to not scream out when she does that.

"Sorry about this, Kazuma. But we can't have you trying anything funny before your important meeting with him now, can we? I'm sure you must be wondering what is happening with your body here. I'm also sure you'd like to know why I am doing all this too you as well."

"In regard to your body, the dagger I summoned into my hand is coated in a liquid that causes short term paralysis in one's body. Nothing harmful, I assure you. It'll wear off soon enough as well, but not before the big meeting happens."

"As for why I'm doing this? Well, in case you failed to hear my words from just a moment ago, this is the body of Dustiness Ford Lalatina, but she is not in control of it right now. Instead, the one who's talking to you is none other than I, Maxwell, Duke of Hell and master of manipulation."

Darkness... no, Maxwell then raises Darkness' right hand, showing off a ring with a glowing stone.

"I'm sure you must be wondering why the Accord girl's Sacred Break Spell didn't work on Darkness? It's because of this ring she wears. So long as it remains on her, she'll forever remain under my control and all for the sake of his wishes. And now that this body is in such close proximity to the Devil Artifact I gave to him, I can control her fully. Now then, how about we..."

Suddenly, Maxwell goes silent as I notice a change in Darkness's eyes. Tears then begin to fall as a strained look comes over Darkness's face as she clearly fights to get out-

"... kazuma... Malyais... my father... save my... father, please..."

{Insert Image 2}

The look on Darkness's face and in her eyes change again, going back to what they were before followed by-

"Hm, now that was unexpected. I guess what I've felt from her was true. This girl really does have a strong resistance to magical manipulation. Quite impressive to be able to do what she just did despite the power I can exert over her. No matter though, it's time to go meet..."

"APATHY!"

My exposed eyes unleash the light that immediately causes Darkness's body to go rigid. I guess even when controlled by a Devil, it still has to follow the rules of the mortal room. I'll need to thank Darkness once we save her as those words she was able to get out gave me the strength and motivation to unleash that Apathy.

Then, using all the strength and willpower I have within me, I shift my body which knocks Darkness's body off me and I somehow manage to get back onto my feet. I was surprised I was able to move in this moment, despite that paralysis drug in my system. Perhaps that wisp of Entropy was helping me, or maybe the awakened Lich curse had something to do with it.

I then look back at Darkness as her body begins to regain its ability to move and say to her-

"Just hold on Darkness, I'll be back before you know it and I will save you... you and your father."

I then somehow activate teleport and send myself back to the mansion.

(Maxwell POV)

As I manipulate this body into standing again, I knew my friend wasn't going to be happy about this but there's be another chance, so long as this young woman is in our possession. I then turn my attention to the spot Satou Kazuma had just been standing in before he had used teleport.

"That was quite an unexpected action there, Satou Kazuma. Using such a high-level Lich skill like Apathy on this body. Add to that the strange feeling I was feeling when I was in such close proximity to you too. Perhaps... you'll be the one to help me claim my long-awaited payment here...?"

========================{Part 4: Point of Corruption}========================

I once again have found myself awakening in my bed, feeling some degree of pain and discomfort though thankfully it wasn't all that much. Hovering at my side were the concerned faces of Megumin, Lynn, and Cielo who was in the middle of healing me it seems.

To be honest, while I don't mind have several beautiful girls present when I awaken, I am getting really tired of getting my ass handed to me and waking up in a less than ideal manner like I have been doing here as of late.

"Kazuma, you're finally awake."

said Megumin, looking very relieved. Cielo then follows up by saying-

"Are you feeling OK? You weren't looking to good when you got back."

"Sure, nothing like having my nose and arms broken and being stabbed in the gut while out for a stroll. How long have I been out for?"

"Not long, probably not even a full hour has passed since you got back home. Anyways, try to stay still and I should be done with healing you here in a few more minutes."

So, it hasn't been that long since that little encounter then. That's good to know seeing we have a lot of work to do once the sun rises and I'm really wanting to stay in bed right now. I then turn my attention back to the others, asking-

"So, what happened after I blacked out? In fact, what happened before I blacked out. Last thing I can remember is activating teleport to get the hell out of dodge."

"Well, after you left through your bedroom window, you looked so cool by the way when you did that. I made my way downstairs and seated myself before the front door, waiting patiently for you to get back with Darkness in tow. And then..."

"... and then me and Cielo woke up and seeing Megumin sitting before the door with her back to us, we went over there and grabbed her by her ears and dragged her back over to the couch...

"Which really hurt by the way. I honestly though you two were going to rip my ears off back there."

"And if we had, I would have reattached them using healing magic at once."

"Anyways, once we had Megumin sitting on the couch, me and Cielo gave her quite the stern lecture over when it's NOT OK to slip a little sleeping potion into your friends drinks. FYI, don't think you're not in any trouble here Kazuma. Once you're at one-hundred percent, we'll be yelling at you too over leaving without all three of us."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at hearing that, followed by me once again saying I was better off on my own in this matter with both Lynn and Cielo saying at the same time-

"And how did that end up working out for you here?" (x2)

Megumin then says-

"After a few minutes of getting a tongue lashing from these two, we hear a loud thump hit the door and immediately we were up and running to the door. As soon as we opened it, you came falling inward all injured and such and you pretty much know what happened next."

I nod before closing my eyes and thinking back to that encounter with Darkness... no, with that devil named Maxwell who was controlling Darkness. I then hear Cielo ask me what happened while I was out on the rescue mission and I tell them everything that happened. Clearly, they were both shocked and angry with what they heard.

"So, the reason my magic didn't break Darkness free was because of that ring she's wearing."

"If that's the case, we just simply need to get it off her."

"Won't work, Megumin. If that ring is connected to a devil, then only the wearer can remove it. I doubt even Kazuma's steal skill could snatch it away. No, in order to free Darkness from it, we'll either need to somehow find a way to get HER to remove it herself or we'll have to slice her finger off."

Lynn was right, those were our only two available options with Darkness right now. But that wasn't all.

"There's something else as well. According to Maxwell, all of this is about ME here, for some reason. It seems Aldarp wants me for some reason. I was thinking that maybe he was still wanting to see me dead after everything that happened with his 'favorite mystery mansion' being destroyed. But Maxwell also said that my death at the hands of the Golden Nemean wasn't part of the plan."

"It could simply be because that fat ass wants to kill Kazuma with his own hands."

"True, Megumin. That might be what he wants but I don't think Aldarp would care about such a detail. If anything, having Kazuma die in that fashion would be better for him as it would be harder to trace his death back to Aldarp under that circumstance. What do you think, Kazuma?"

"I agree, Cielo. While the natural thought would be that he wants me dead, the way that Maxwell framed it makes me think Aldarp has other plans for me. Who knows, maybe he just wants me to sign over the eris in my account to his name before having me offed. Although, in that case, he could just as easily manipulate Megumin as, if in the event I die, she's next in line to assume control of the money."

"Oh, so I would be the one to get all that eris should you die suddenly? So very tempting..."

"Don't even think about it, legal dwarf."

Megumin gives me a playful smile, letting me know she was only kidding here. Maybe so, but I think I'll keep an eye on you all the same. By now, Cielo had finished up healing me followed by her asking-

"OK, so what's the plan now, Kazuma?"

"First, we should all get some rest. I don't know about you three, but I'm dead tired after the events of this night. Besides, we have a lot of work to do once morning comes and I do mean A LOT."

"Like what?" (x3)

"First, we're going to make a quick trip to Malyais and check in on lord Ignis. Remember, I said Darkness was able to regain control long enough to ask me to save her father. I have a feeling his current condition is a key component here behind her current situation. After that, we'll be coming back here to make preparations for our second visit to the governor's mansion."

"And we will be coming along with you this time, right Kazuma?"

"Don't worry, Lynn. While tonight had been a sneaking mission for me alone. There's no longer a reason to do that. Once night falls tomorrow, maybe even before then, we're going to kick down the front gates, bust our way through the front doors, and smack around any guards that get in our way. And we won't be leaving till we have Darkness with us and a black and blue Aldarp ready to be tossed in jail for his crimes. ALL of his crimes. Now, you three get to bed because I want us ready to go once the sun rises."

The next morning, we ended up not leaving as early as I had wanted us too, mainly because of the fact that getting three beautiful girls to wake up was a pain in the ass. But they did finally awaken and once dressed, Lynn teleported us to the guild and from there, we walked down to the teleportation station.

"I'm sorry, but lord Aldarp has ordered that all teleportation's to Malyais be blocked until further notice. I'm also told no carriage is being allowed to go there either."

Well, didn't see this turn of events coming.

"And why not? Is there a reason why we can't go there, ma'am?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know the reason. All I know is that lord Aldarp gave the order and that alone is enough for me to follow it."

Megumin huffs as she begins to berate the poor woman behind the counter while Cielo and Lynn look at me, with Lynn asking-

"Well, what do we do now? Should we try to teleport there ourselves?"

"Not a good idea. While I have been there before, it was only the one time and my memory of the place isn't good enough to make using an uncheckpointed teleport safe here."

"Then should we consider stealing a carriage and ride there?"

"We can't do that Cielo. Mainly because it would take us until tomorrow before we arrive."

As Lynn and Cielo continue to throw options between each other and Megumin continues to yell at the poor woman who looked like she was wanting to call for Knight Guard aid, I take a moment to think myself, recalling then the item Vanir had left with Wiz to give to me. I reach into my pouch and pull it out before reaching and placing my hand onto Megumin's shoulder, pulling her back over to me.

I then have the girls huddle close together with me as I say-

"I have an idea. As a safety precaution though, I need you three to close your eyes."

Without asking me why, the three of them do as I ask and close their eyes while I turn back to the lady behind the counter, close my own eyes, and say-

"Sorry about this."

Despite my eyes being closed, I knew that a bright flash filled the room the moment I activated the item I had been given. Once the light had faded, I opened my eyes and looked at the lady, seeing her standing there in an almost trance like state. I tell the girls it was safe to open their eyes before turning my attention to the lady and saying-

"We need to be teleported to Malyais. Is that going to be OK?"

"Of course sir, just wait one moment."

She then steps away, moving over to a device situated behind her. As she does whatever it is she needed to do here, Lynn ends up asking me-

"Kazuma, what did you just do?"

"Used a little toy Vanir left for me. Can make anyone who's hit by the flash do ALMOST anything they're told right after being affected by it. Won't work if a person is strong willed about something. Example, if I used it to make Megumin swear off using Explosion magic, it naturally won't work there."

"Damn right it won't. In fact, anyone ever tries that with me, I'll explode them on the spot."

"Heh. Anyways, the effect only last around a minute or two so we'll..."

"I have finished preparing the teleportation stone for you, sir. Will there be anything else?"

"Yeah, as soon as we're gone. Make sure you forget about sending us, OK. After all, what you don't know means that Aldarp doesn't know thus you can't get in trouble with him, right."

The lady nods before guiding us into the room with the awaiting crystal. Once we we're all touching it, the lady activates the stone and we find ourselves appearing right outside the main gate of Malyais.

"Pardon me, but under the orders of Lord Dustiness, I'm afraid that no one..."

"SLEEP!"

said Lynn, putting the two guards standing before the gate to sleep. When the gates refuse to open, Cielo gives them a little punch to force them into opening for us. As I lead the girls to the Dustiness mansion, several other guards try to stop us only to also join their friends in getting a little extra sleep time.

The citizens watch us as we go, with Megumin cheerfully saying to them-

"Don't worry, we aren't here to cause trouble... at least not today. We just need to speak with the local lord. You know, nothing too big to worry about."

Soon, we reached the Dustiness mansion and by this point, the guards stopped trying to stop us, instead being very gracious with helping us make it inside with ease. Either they knew they couldn't stop us here or they were cowards. Maybe both?

The first person to greet us once we made it inside the Dustiness estate was Morris, the head butler. Naturally, he tried to halt our advance, even calling for the guards to come stop us which never happened, probably because they were afraid of us. He then took a moment to look at me and after some consideration...

"Say, you wouldn't happen to be milady's servant boy by any chance?"

"You know, geevs. I could put the fear of Satou Kazuma into you like I did those pathetic excuses you call guards out there."

I said as the girls couldn't help but get a laugh at my assumed title that Morris had given me here.

After a quick explanation behind the reason for our visit as well as alerting Morris to Darkness's current status, he was more than willing to lead us right to old man Dustiness' room.

"So, is there any reason for the city to be closed off, geevs? One of the guards said it was under pops orders."

asked Megumin, getting a noticeable vein to pop onto Morris' head. Clearly, he didn't like anyone referring to his master as pops. Despite that, he didn't rebuke Megumin but instead say-

"Lord Dustiness did indeed make such an order, saying only milady Lalatina or any other person who was expected should be allowed in. This of course was issued around the time his health took its serious turn here. I just assumed it was solely a security reason."

"Understandable. So, apart from Dark-Lalatina, did anyone else come here who was given special permission to enter Malyais?"

Morris takes a moment to think about Lynn's question, to recall, before saying-

"Only lord Aldarp who had come along with some of his personal healers."

"That must have been when Aldarp made his move. Tell me, was Aldarp still around when Dar-Lalatina arrived to check in on her father."

"Yes, yes I believe he was."

We finally arrived at lord Ignis' room and before Morris could even open the door, Cielo said-

"I can feel it, an incredibly powerful dark mark flowing within the room just beyond that door."

Hearing that made Morris start to shake a little as he opened the door and as we stepped inside, I was able to 'see' it. It was like a miasma was enveloping Ignis, flowing around the room like a river with Ignis being its source. I must have been making a face as Megumin asked me-

"Kazuma, what's wrong?"

"I can see the curse... somehow. Man, I can tell you it looks like one serious piece of work here."

Was it because of recent developments connected to my now awakened Lich curse? I was aware my senses had started to become keener, thanks to that failed attempt at rescuing Darkness last night. It makes me wonder what else I might be able to do in the here and now.

"So, you can also perceive it, Kazuma. I agree, it does look rather scary, huh?"

Lynn's words make us all look at her with Megumin asking her how she could see it. In fact, she asks me how I was able to see it. My response was to shrug my shoulders and say "I don't know, really." As for Lynn's response-

"To answer that question would require me to talk about things I'm not comfortable with talking about with you all now. Maybe one day, but not today."

Megumin looked like she wanted to argue that, but Cielo tells us to save it for another time as she steps forward and places her hands above lord Ignis.

"OK everyone, please stay quiet till I'm done here. For something like this, I'm going to need total concentration here."

And so, Cielo began to use Sacred Break Spell on lord Ignis. At first, it was a rather tense scene to watch as the curse visibly lashed out at Cielo from what I could see, so much so that it made her visibly flinch whenever the dark tendrils it made smacked against her. But still, she soldiered onwards.

At some point, Megumin tugged on my shoulder and when I looked at her, she pointed towards Cielo then looked to me again before making a curious motion with her hands. I was confused for a second before I realized what it was she was trying to tell me. I then walk forward and place my hand gently onto the back of Cielo's neck. She looks at me, confused but before she could ask what it was I was doing here...

I activate Drain Touch and send her some demi-mana to give her a power boost. With that, her eyes begin to shine as she gives me a big smile before returning to her work. The curse, now appearing to be in intense pain, began to grow smaller and smaller and smaller, until there was nothing less that I could see coming off lord Ignis.

I had to catch Cielo from collapsing as the act of removing the curse had clearly left her winded, and I gave her a little more mana to help give her a second wind, which earns me a grateful look. As for Ignis, it only took a minute before all the color had returned to his dull and near lifeless face alongside him finally opening his eyes. He looked at us for a moment, clearly confused by what happened.

"Master Dustiness, you're... I'm so relieved."

"Ugh... Morris and... Satou Kazuma? What's going on, why are you here and who are these..."

We explained the situation to lord Ignis, who was understandably NOT happy with the news he heard. So much so that he had to be restrained in his own bed by not only Morris but several maids who had joined us as he was quite riled up but the news. Once he had calmed down, he looks at me and says-

"Satou Kazuma, I have a request I wish to make of you and your team. As much as I wish I could go do this myself, I'm afraid I must acknowledge that I'm in no condition to take any action here. So, in my place, will you..."

"You really have to ask, Iggy? We're already making plans to get Darkness out of the trouble she's gotten herself into before the sun rises tomorrow. Just sit back, relax, and get that strength of your back. Leave the rest to us."

I send Ignis an encouraging smile, one he returns by offering me his gratitude. I confess, I didn't tell him everything about what had happened over these last few days. I had left out the whole being eaten by that Golden Nemean as it wasn't something one would want to talk about in such times. Or ever.

"By the way, lord Dustiness. Just how did you end up in that situation to begin with? And do you have any idea how Darkness got her hands on that ring that's keeping her under control?"

Ignis nods in response to Cielo's question before saying-

"While my body may have been suffering the effects of that curse, my mind was still very much my own, even if it was trapped within its own haze. I believe Aldarp may have cursed me during the marriage meeting, when he asked me to consider Walther with becoming my daughters' husband."

"Back during Kazuma's trial period, right?"

asked Megumin, getting a nod from Ignis.

"I had felt something odd after shaking hands with Aldarp though I didn't think much of it at the time. It wasn't long after that when my health started to fail me. At first, it was simply just a cough with some mild cold like symptoms. But then, following the big meeting all us nobles had to attend at the capital, things started to become worse."

"Not long after returning home here in Malyais, I found myself being confined to bed as my health took a serious dive. I then found Aldarp paying me a visit, where he forced me to put on a ring he had been wearing on his right hand before. The moment I did, that's when my sickness truly began."

"That ring he made you wear has to be that Devil Artifact of his. But how did it end up with Darkness then?"

wondered Lynn aloud.

"I believe it was when my daughter came home to check in on me. Despite my current physical and mental state, I was able to hear myself ask her to wear that very ring, saying it was a precious memento from her mothers, which was a lie of course. The moment she put it on..."

"That must be when that Devil Maxwell took control of her and since then, everything Darkness has done has either been Maxwell himself in charge or him being able to influence Darkness enough to get her to act on his, and Aldarp's by extension, behalf ever since."

"I'm so sorry for my family's weakness in not being able to overcome this matter ourselves. To have caused you all such trouble..."

"Now-now, none of that. Getting ourselves into trouble seems to be the mantra of this party. Like I said before, just sit back and take it easy and get back to full strength. We'll take care of the rest. I do have one request though, if at all possible."

I said to lord Ignis, getting him to reply with "Anything."

"If you can, please become the next lord of Axel once we've dealt with fat assed Aldarp here. Having you in charge of the place will make things way easier for us... I mean everyone in the long run."

The girls look at me, having grinning and half groaning, while Ignis smiles and says-

"I think I can do that for you. Now please, go save my daughter and see Aldarp brought to justice."

========================{Part 5: Storming the 'Castle'}========================

Upon returning to the mansion, we wasted no time in making our plans for the second attempt at saving Darkness within the coming hours.

"OK, here's what we're going to do. Lynn, I want you and Cielo to make another trip to Axel. Cielo, I want you to send some more prayers Eris' way, see if we can get Chris to join us for our little assault on the governor's mansion this time."

"Understood."

"Lynn, I'm going to make a list of things I want you to pick up while Cielo does her thing. Also, I want you to make a quick stop by Wiz's shop to give her a little something for me."

"Sure, I can do that. But shouldn't we ask her if she can join us tonight as well. Having the legendary Ice Witch backing us up would certainly help us out."

"Yeah, you're right... maybe we should ask her? Go ahead and ask her if she'll be available to join us. If she can't, then tell her to not worry about it. We'll make do with just us here."

"Not a problem. What time should I tell her to join up with us, Kazuma? And how long should me and Cielo stay gone for?"

I give Lynn's question some thought. I then look at my pocket watch to see what time it was before looking back at Lynn and saying-

"Be back here within two hours so we can have lunch. After that, we'll all get in a few hours of sleep before we take off. I'm hoping I'm wrong about this, but my gut is telling me we're going to be having a late night tonight."

Cielo then asks me-

"Should we also go ahead and visit the guild, ask Luna if she'd be willing in talking to some of the other party's into joining us for that initial assault. After all, there's strength in numbers as they say."

"True, but I'd rather not drag anyone else into this if we can avoid it. Go ahead and tell her the situation but don't make this an actual quest. If she doesn't hear from us by dawn, then she's free to do whatever she feels in necessary."

Everybody nods as I pull out a piece of paper and begin writing down anything I could think of that I knew I was going to need. Mainly more cords I could use with Bind. I then pass the paper to the others so they could add their own needs. Once finished, Lynn takes the paper in hand, then she activates teleport to send herself and Cielo over to Axel.

"What about me, Kazuma? What do you need me to do?"

"Well, we could pass the time with me giving you some demi-mana."

"Really? Well, I'm OK with doing... no, now isn't the time to be having fun here, as much as I really want to do that."

"I guess you're right. Let's head down to the workshop for a few. You can help me make some adjustments to the Sheng Biao. After that, you can assist me with making lunch."

"OK, I can do that. But you do know my cooking skills aren't really all that great, nothing compared to Yunyun."

"What's this, is the great Megumin saying that there's something she can't actually do. Gasp, is the world coming to an end here or something?"

"Hey, I never said that. Let me in that kitchen and I'll show you what the greatest of the Crimson Demons can do when she gets serious."

I can't help but chuckle as I have to forcibly stop Megumin from running into the kitchen to get started with making lunch. I remind her that it was a little to early for that and we should instead focus on the task that awaits us downstairs.

To Megumin's credit, she was a surprisingly quick study, as befitting her claim at being the best of her clan. She was quick to pick up with item was what when I asked for her to grab a part off the shelf. And when it came time for us to make lunch, she was as quick at learning things as Yunyun. Gotta admire that competitive spirit shared between those two.

That evening, following some much needed rest for the four four of us, we were up and dressed and ready for action. Lynn then activates her teleport and we were finally on our way to save Darkness.

Dark storm clouds cover the night sky as we wait for Wiz to arrive and join us. I turn to look at Lynn and say-

"Are you sure she said she was going to come?"

"Yes, I told her the meeting time and everything. I wonder what's taking her so long?"

(Elsewhere in Axel, Wiz found herself being rather overwhelmed as a sudden rush of customers had descended upon her magic shop, leaving the poor woman to be suffering a combination of sheer joy at having so many people wanting to buy stuff and overwhelming terror at having to deal with so many people at once. Suffice to say, she had completely forgotten about her meeting up with the others.)

(C) "Then should we continue waiting for her, Kazuma?"

After a moment to think about it, I say-

"We'll give her ten more minutes. If she hasn't shown up by then, we'll..."

A sudden crash sound and a female voice yelps in pain. But it didn't sound like Wiz's voice making the yelping sound. Turning back, we see Chris in a very awkward position, groaning before picking herself up and giving us a sheepish look.

"Ow... that was embarrassing. Um... could you guys pretend you didn't just see that?"

"Nope!" (x4)

Chris grumbles at our response before getting back on her feet. She then approaches us and asks what the situation here is. Cielo responds by saying-

"We're ready to go here but we're giving Wiz a few more minutes to join us before we make our move."

"Wiz is going to join us? Well, her being here would definitely be useful. Did you guys remember to tell her when to be here?"

(L) "Of course I did. Truth is I told her to be here fifteen minutes ago. I can't help but feel like she's either forgotten or something came up that's keeping her busy."

(M) "By the way, what took you so long with getting here, Chris? Cielo sent a prayer to Eris yesterday and we all assumed she would work a little goddess magic to help you get back to Axel quickly."

"Yeah... Eris was... in the middle of doing something important so it took her a little more time than what she's happy with to respond. But, that isn't the only reason. Before sending me here, she had me go get some additional backup to help us out with this little rescue mission of ours."

"Really? And that additional backup would be?"

"She's talking about me here."

In response to my question, a figure emerges from the shadowed alley way, revealing himself to be Walther. We all smile as he joins us as well.

"So Wally, you going to be getting in on all the fun here, huh?"

Walther nods, though my choice of nicknames for him here did leave him looking a little irked from the looks of it. He then says-

"Of course I am. How can I leave Darkness hanging at a time when she really needs help here. Besides, I think it's time for me and Aldarp to have a little talk about my true lineage, now that I'm confident that he's responsible for my parents deaths."

I nod while the sound of thunder rings out across the night sky. After waiting a few minutes more, I sigh before saying to everyone-

"Looks like Wiz isn't going to be joining us. Either that or she's seriously running late. Anyways, we've waited long enough here. Let's get in there and save Darkness. Hopefully, if Wiz does eventually show up, she'll consider that we went on ahead and come running to join us."

The others nod before we all turn our attention to the governor's mansion and begin our approach.

As we approached, the two front gate guards brought their weapons to the ready, yelling at us to stop at once. I guess they had been warned about our potential return by Maxwell. When we didn't listen, they gave us another warning, saying they wouldn't hesitate to attack should we come any closer.

In response, Cielo and Walther rushed them with one guard taking a serious punish to the get by Cielo while the other received a serious conk to his head curtisy of Walther's sword hilt. With the two of them unconscious, Cielo punches the front gate open, probably breaking it from the looks of it and we found ourselves stepping onto the mansion grounds where a ton more guards were waiting for us.

After getting a little exercise with the guards, we entered the mansion and found Darkness standing in the middle of the main room, clearly having been awaiting us. I sigh is heard before a voice that sounded like Darkness' with a mix of another mixed in says-

"I hope you weren't too rough on those men out there. They were just doing their assigned duty after all and good help can be hard to come by these days."

"Put a sock in it, devil. We're here to take Darkness back as well as deal with Aldarp."

I said matter-of-fact like with Walther quickly adding-

"Where is my former father at anyways? I would think he would have been here in the hopes of stopping us himself. Despite him having let himself go over the years, I know he's still has plenty of skill with the sword."

The devil called Maxwell laughs at hearing those words and I find myself needing to stop Chris from suddenly rushing in for the attack. It was obvious her dislike of demons and devils was driving her here but with Darkness' future on the line, we couldn't be careless now.

"Aldarp? Ah yes, my friend. I'm afraid he had other matters to attend to this evening though he did say if you could find him, he'd be more than willing to fit you all into his tight schedule."

"Enough games devil. I demand you let my friend go at once. If you don't, I shall see the wrath of the goddess Eris brought down upon you."

Chris's yell only makes Maxwell laugh again. Chris then gets a twitch in her eye while Megumin points out to us all by saying-

"I wonder if this Maxwell guy knows Vanir by any chance? That laugh of his does sound a lot like the one Vanir likes to do."

"Yeah, it does. Speaking of, just why is it Vanir had to be all MIA during a time like this? Maybe he could have talked his fellow devil out of doing this right now."

Hearing Cielo's words seemed to do it for Chris as she suddenly breaks away from me, running right at Darkness. At first, it looked like she was going to attack, with Maxwell manipulating Darkness' body to have her prepare to strike back against Chris with the sword she had in her hand.

Instead, Chris dodges to the left, lining herself up perfectly so she could-

"STEAL!"

A flash of light fills the room and, for a second, it looked like her sudden action may have born fruit. And then... I had to jump in between Chris and Maxwell, just barely having the time to activate my Shield skill to protect both her and myself from being cut down.

Lynn quickly fires off a Lightning spell with both Walther and Cielo going in for a close-range attack which Maxwell dodges before retreating back a few feet. I meanwhile look back at Chris and say-

"Damn it boss, I know you can't stand those underworld guys but even you have to admit that you were being stupid just now."

And in response, Chris says-

"What's going on? My Steal skill should have taken that damn ring Darkness is wearing off her. Why did it fail?"

Clearly, Chris wasn't paying me any attention. But she's brought out of her musings as we all hear Maxwell laugh again before saying-

"What's wrong, most curious thief. Did your failure to take this ring surprise you? Shall I explain why your broken Steal skill actually failed you this time? You see, this ring is what you would call a Devil Artifact. The same one my friend used to manipulate the whole court proceedings for one Satou Kazuma not too long ago. When worn by someone, they can gain access to the power I grant them or be fully controlled by me... depending on my mood of course. And once this ring is on one's finger, only the wearer can ever hope to remove it. So you see, only this girl can take it off now and seeing as she's under my control here, that won't be happening any time soon."

As laughter rings out across the room, I can feel Chris scowl behind me as Megumin comes running up, asking-

"Kazuma, what are we going to do? If the only way to get Darkness back is to remove the ring then..."

"Damn it, I guess there's no choice then is there."

Chris and Megumin both look at me as I say loudly-

"Cielo, I'm going to need you to knock Darkness onto the ground. Once done, everyone hold her down so I can cut her ring finger off her... her whole hand if need be. Once done, it should be possible to remove the ring then, right Chris."

"... Yeah, it should... but Kazuma..."

"Kazuma, we can't just go hurting Darkness while she's like this. There has to be another way."

"I don't like it either, Megumin. But what other choice do we have to work with. Besides, once we remove the ring, Cielo can use healing magic to reattach her missing finger or arm right?"

Cielo gives me a nod then prepares to do as I asked. The others still didn't seem too sure about this though which I don't blame them for seeing as I wasn't liking this one either. Maxwell looks at me and gives me a devious smile-

"Hm, a willingness to maim a friend in order to save them. I had heard you could be quite devious, Satou Kazuma, but not that devious."

"Wait, there's something I want to try first before we go do something like that."

said Walther as he begins to approach Darkness, even going so far as to toss his sword off to the side as he does so. Lynn asks him what he's doing here as he gets closer and closer while Maxwell says-

"And who are... oh yes, I recall now. Walther, one of the candidates... the one not chosen. How kind of you to come here tonight anyways. After all, having a spare on hand is a good idea after all."

"What are you talking about, Devil?"

"Wouldn't you like to know. Anyways, what is your plan here I wonder."

"If you want to know, just stand still a moment and you'll find out."

Surprisingly, Maxwell doesn't move as Walther finally reaches her. Was it curiosity that made the Devil keep her from moving away. And exactly what was it Walther had in mind here? After a moment, we found out as Walther says loudly-

"Damn it, Lalatina. Just what is wrong with you here. I thought you were a strong-willed girl who wouldn't let some devil go around hurting your friends. What, is you need to be dominated really that strong that you would let yourself be controlled by a Devil of all things. And even more so, don't you know Devils have no gender to help add to the domination play here."

We all blink, including Maxwell who then says-

"That's it, that was your plan. Well, I certainly wasn't expecting... who said I like being dominated. Don't go misunderstanding this Panty... HM? Curious, did this girl actually just...?"

Walther then takes another step forward and adds-

"I'll tell you what, Darkness. If you are a good girl and take that damn ring off right now, I'll..."

Walther then leans in close and whispers something into Darkness' ear. As this is going on, the rest of us just stand there, wondering what it was that was being said. And then, I notice that both Lynn and Chris' faces go a deep shade of red before they immediately try to hide their faces from sheer embarrassment? And even Darkness' face looks horrified as Walther pulls away, followed by-

"WHAT THE HELL! And you humans say we devils are evil. I mean sure, we have done some questionable things in the past, but to say you'll do stuff like that to this woman. You're move of a devil than me here, kid... eh?"

As Maxwell had been saying that, Darkness' left hand suddenly begun to move without warning, immediately reaching towards the right hand and grabbing hold of it.

"Wait, that's actually working here? Is she just as depraved as you, boy? Is humanity really so... hey, stop trying to take that ring off, you'll ruin every..."

Maxwell's words go silent as the ring, with much effort, finally comes sliding off. The moment it was off completely, Darkness unleashes a war cry before chucking the ring with all her might across the room, making it smack against the wall before clattering onto the floor.

Darkness then takes a few moments to catch her breath before her eyes turn to Walther. She then brings her face very close to his and says-

"You better not have been lying to me about that, Panty Raidy. I expect you to do EVERYTHING you just said one of these days. If you don't, I'll never forgive you."

"Heh, of course I'll do all that if you want. After all, have you forgotten that's I'm a closet sadist. And also, between you and me here. My special magic assessory, the one that belonged to my biological father that can replicate all skills stored on it. I recently discovered my father may have added in a few specialty skills, the sort of skills that have only one kind of use to them and they aren't the kind you show off in public."

At hearing that, Darkness gets the most perverted look on her face any of us had ever seen her have before. Clearly, whatever it was Walther told her was a dream come true for this hopeless pervert of ours. Chris then clears her throat to get their attention, then says-

"Can you both just forget about all that for right now. We have far more important things here to be focusing on right now."

The two of them blush, looking all shy and embarrassed now as they look away for a second. Darkness then looks at us, finally truly realizing that we were there. She then says with a more desperate sounding tone-

"Wait, what about my father? Is he..."

"Don't worry, thanks to Kazuma telling us about what you said before, we were able to reach him and I was able to use Sacred Break Spell to remove the curse he was under. He'll need a little time to regain his strength, but he'll be back to full strength here soon."

"He will, that's good. Kazuma..."

Darkness then becomes hesitant as she looks at me, her eyes watering up. Clearly, she was aware of everything that Devil had made her do while it was controlling her. I then step forward as she adds-

"Kazuma... I'm so-so sorry. Because of me, you..."

"Because of that Devil, because of Aldarp. Not you, Darkness. Now, what do you say we go find that fat assed bastard and end this once and for all."

Darkness looks at me for a few moments more, then nods her head while Megumin ask-

"By the way, just where is that disgusting man at anyways? Is he hear inside the mansion somewhere?"

"No, I think he's currently at his secret getaway mansion. The one he claims was destroyed when the Stellar Coronatite exploded."

"Do you have any ideas where it could be at, Darkness? I mean, seeing as you did have that Devil inside your head for a time, surely you saw something that..."

Darkness shakes her head to Lynn's question.

"Sorry, but that wasn't information that was shared with me. All I do know is that there's some kind of teleportation crystal somewhere here inside the mansion that can send us directly there, but I don't know where it is exactly."

"Then I guess we start searching the place then."

We all agree with Walther and prepare to start looking downstairs first when Chris says-

"You guys go ahead and start without me. I want to see to destroying this damn Devil Artifact here first so it won't harm anyone ever ag-OOF..."

As Chris had been talking to us, she had walked over to the DA and was bending down to get it when it suddenly started glowing before shooting into the air, smacking into her forehead hard before it goes flying up towards the second floor... and moving rather slowly for some strange reason.

Chris then begins to curse up a storm while rubbing the bruise she now had on her forehead before telling us to not just stand around. We need to follow that DA and see where it was it was going here.

We moved up to the second floor, following the slowly moving floating ring around a corner down a long hallway. It then suddenly comes to a stop before a section of the wall that had a strange looking glow manatite holder sticking out before slowly passing into the wall.

We move to stand where we had last seen it, our eyes gazing at the wall and strange glow manatite holder for a moment before Lynn says-

"Say Kazuma, isn't this the spot on the architect blueprints that looked like there should have been a room here because the walls of the two rooms along this side didn't appear long enough to fill this space."

I nod in agreement before stepping forward, placing my hand against the wall for a moment before rapping my hand against it, hearing it make a hollow sound in response. Chris does this as well before looking at everyone and saying-

"Yeah, this is definitely a fake wall. Correction, a door disguised to look like a wall. Clever, very clever indeed. Now, let's see what lies beyond shall we?"

"Just stand back everyone. I'll..."

Cielo, who was preparing to punch a hole inside the door-wall is stopped as Chris reaches up and turns the glow manatite holder, revealing it to be a secret switch. The fake wall pops open and Chris looks back at Cielo, telling her sorry if she just ruined her fun here.

We then step inside, finding a small room that was probably a walk in closet at some point. The room was more or less empty, save for the single pedestal at the center with a strange glowing orb situated upon it. Chris has Lynn and Megumin come to a look at it and after a moment, they look at one another a nod before looking back at us with Lynn saying-

"It's a fixed teleportation stone. One can use this to go to a specific location within seconds. It can also be used as an beacon to allow someone to come straight here, provided this stone is anchored to another stone, likely at or close to the point of arrival."

"Where do you think it goes too?"

asked Cielo. Darkness says quickly in response-

"No question about it. It has to be Aldarp's nonexistent third mansion. The one he claimed was destroyed by the Stellar Coronatite even though the official records of it existing don't themselves exist."

"I agree. I also think this is were we'll find it; all the evidence that could see him finally brought to justice for his crimes."

said Walther. I agree with that before stepping forward while saying-

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's use this thing and bring this whole affair to an end already."

"Wait, Kazuma... everyone..."

We all stop and look at Chris as she continues-

"... We can't just go in there all willy-nilly like this. We need to be prepared. For one thing, there is no way we WEREN'T just led here intentionally by that damn DA. The way it was moving, how slow it was moving. It was planned for us to find this room, to go to that secret mansion of Aldarp's. Clearly, this is a trap."

"I agree with you on that one, thief girl. We also have to assume Aldarp isn't going to be alone either. Seeing as it's clear he's made a pact with a Devil, we should expect some resistance awaiting us once we arrive. Likely in the form of demons under this Devil's command."

Hearing Walther's words gives us all pause, with Cielo than asking-

"Should we hold off going then? Maybe head to the guild and alerting Luna of the situation? Maybe even see if we can get some backup from the other adventurer's or maybe even tell the Captain so he can mobilize the Knight Guard into joining us?"

Darkness shakes her head, surprisingly then says to explain her thoughts.

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree but we have to consider that Aldarp may not give us much time to arrive before he comes to the conclusion that we went to get help, which will likely lead him into going into hiding. While us going now is the riskier plan, it's also the one that can give us the best chance to end this before he can escape and potentially cause us even more trouble in the future."

"Looks like its settled then. We'll go ahead and deal with this now. Let's just hope we don't end up regretting it later."

The others nod at my words and we all reach out to touch the stone when Megumin suddenly says-

"Wait, maybe Kazuma shouldn't be coming with us."

"Why?"

"Remember before, about how this Devil told Kazuma when he went to save Darkness alone that his death wasn't part of the plan, or at least him dying in that fashion hadn't been. Maybe I'm being paranoid here, but I can't help but feel if Kazuma comes along something terrible will happen to him."

Megumin's words gives everyone pause. It was true that we were no longer sure of what Aldarp wanted with me exactly. Was his aim still to kill me here, but just by his own hands. Or was there something darker at play. To calm Megumin's worries, I reach out and place my hand onto her shoulder, getting her to look my in the eyes as I say-

"You may be right, but there's no way I can stay back and not take any action here either. Besides, so long as we're all together, there's no way whatever plans he has will succeed, right?"

"Kazuma's right. We'll be sure to stick together and that one, Aldarp won't be able to do anything. Even if he tries to control us again, there's no way he'll be able to affect us all now. Of that I have no doubt."

I wonder what made Chris so confident there. Maybe Eris had gifted her with an item, or a power, that will make a repeat of what happened back in the courtroom not happen again. Regardless, our words restore the confident look in Megumin's eyes as she nods in agreement. We all then touch the orb and find the world around us becoming a spiral of swirling lights.

And then, we emerge just within an open area. Around us were disturbing statues that showed figures being impaled on pikes. Around us where a sea of tall trees and an ominous looking structure.

"Where are we?"

asked Cielo with Darkness saying in response-

"Ibexia Forest. It has to be based on the looks of the trees. Damn that Aldarp, he really did build his hide away in a protected area where such acts are forbidden."

"That's not all, even if it isn't visible, I can sense the presence of a powerful barrier around this place too. One that not only is keeping it hidden from anyone from outside the barrier, but also shielding it from any external attacks. I guess it must have saved this place from that explosion from before."

Lynn agreed with Chris's assessment before turning her attention back to the structure and saying-

"Say, does anyone think Aldarp has some strange design taste here. I mean, having a bunch of statues with sticks shoved up their butts and coming out of their mouths is disgusting enough for sentries along the path, but that mansion he's got set up... it looks so damn creepy."

"That's because it isn't a mansion, I don't think. Perhaps it may be the size of your typical mansion, but the outer appearance is like that of a palace. The blood smeared over black stone look... yeah, this guy is more messed up than I first thought he'd be... and don't go saying you find this look to be cool in any way here, Megumin."

"Don't worry about that, Kazuma. Even I'm feeling disgusted from just looking at this place."

Good to know. Chris then steps forward before looking back at the rest of us and says-

"OK people, it's time we go in there and put this whole thing to bed. Remember, we're going into his territory here so expect anything and everything to happen. Don't leave each other's sides and keep your wits about you. So long as no one fucks up, or lets their inner pervert take control..."

"Hey, why are you all looking at me when Chris said that. Even I know when NOT to let myself go wild like that."

"Really? (x6)"

Darkness slumps as Chris turns back to look at the creepy palace.

"OK people, let's do this..."

And with a determined look on all our faces, we step forward. Ready to face the evil that awaited us.

{Insert Image 3}

============================{to be continued...}============================

Image 1: Megumin giving Kazuma a little 'chu' on the cheek.

Image 2: A beaten and bruised Kazuma and a crying Darkness sitting upon him.

Image 3: A group shot of Kazuma, Walther, and the girls looking defiant as they head into the palace.