AN: I'm back with a new chapter after a long health-related hiatus. I can't promise faster updates anytime soon, but I'm glad people still have interest in my little story. I even got somebody to help me with feedback and corrections.
Big thanks to LiteratureFan47 for the work.
I really appreciate it.
KONOSUBA!
Impatience reigned in the command tent of the royal army.
The lineage of Belzerg wasn't known for their calm temper. The royal princess, Iris Belzerg, stood as a shining example for the complete lack of such virtue in the monarchy bloodline. Most would agree that the thick of battle was no place for a twelve year old girl, but those people have never met this little firecracker. Beneath the exterior of a petite girl with golden locks and porcelain skin beat the heart of a warrior.
A warrior who had been denied her rightful place at the frontline against the demonic hordes threatening her kingdom.
When pressed, her family had always given her the same excuses; she was too young, too important should something happen to her family in battle. Especially her father, the king of Belzerg, used to joke how Iris would have all the time in the world, since war against the Devil king had endured for generations and would for many more.
And then it ended.
One day they had woken up with the evil armies smashed and scattered to the wind, the demonic entity that led them forced to hide like a rabbit in its burrow. All that remained for total victory was cracking the force field surrounding his fortress.
The blight of this world was put under house arrest and It shook said world to its core.
Iris Belzberg remembered the feeling of emptiness and disappointment. The knowledge that she would never get the chance to carve out her own name in history. A safe but mundane life as a figurehead looking pretty for the crowd.
"You have that hungry look again."
Her eyes fell on the boy sitting opposite of her at the map table. "I have waited my whole life for this. Excuse me for getting excited about something you promised."
The smile she got in return spoke of confidence. "I think the giant metropolis inhabited by monsters in your kingdom's backyard proves my promises are more than hot air, princess."
"It does, Mr. Satou."
"Please, call me Kazuto."
Iris rolled her eyes then smiled. Old habits and years of etiquette training were hard to lay down. Using the given name of the boy who promised her the fight of a lifetime suited Iris just fine. Not with him, because even for his young age, the brunette looked exceptionally scrawny. Kazuto Satou had come to her court with info about his brother, somebody they already knew about from the adventure card reports.
Kazuma Satou, an adventurer located in the city of beginners and pushing level hundred at the point of report last week. All adventurer guilds sent reports about promising members to be scouted for the royal cause. It was in the best interest of the kingdom to put individuals with talents to good use.
The officials would have acted sooner, if the news of the devil king's defeat hadn't overshadowed everything. Now, a week later, this Kazuma sat on the top of the axis cult with a city full of monsters that rivaled the capital in its splendor and military might.
"You're smiling again."
Iris knew and didn't care to hide her giddiness. Time was of the essence when it came to military responses. Threats like this had to be dealt with quickly and she was the highest ranking leader available. The foreign heroes were staying around the devil king castle, waiting for an opportunity to strike against him. Her brother and father were scrambling to get back as fast as possible, but for as long as they were not, Iris Belzerg had the authority.
The opportunity to prove herself against a mighty foe.
"Your highness, we have enemy contact!"
The attention of the princess laser focused on the random soldier giving rapport. "How many?"
"One, your highness. Kazuma Satou demands to speak with the one in charge."
"How did he get close enough to make those demands in person?"
The soldier swallowed. "Some of our forces who engaged him managed to get back in a state healthy enough to talk."
Shivers ran down her spine.
"You wanted to fight him." Kazuto said dryly, watching the princess almost glow with bloodlust. "Then what are you waiting for?"
KONOSUBA!
The tent flap was drawn aside and the royal procession strode out the command structure in confident steps. Iris Belzerg felt the confidence that the young boy at her side could only fake. Shaky legs barely managed to keep him stable on the short march towards the outskirts of their siege formation.
Kazuto Satou was nervous. Thrust into a situation outside his depth, adapting became a necessity. Death had come sudden and without warning, shoved in front of an oncoming train after school. The memory of his final moments before impact haunted him every night and the satisfaction of having his murderer dragged down to her death with him by the sleeve gave little comfort.
The chance to get back to his world did that better.
"Defeat the Devil king, get my wish from the gods, and reunite with mom and dad, easy right?"
Not that he had other options. The angel greeting him had made it pretty clear how much they would appreciate him dealing with his sibling. Reincarnation was a thing and his brother created uncharacteristically big waves in the world. The lazy bastard wouldn't be here, if he has had even a fraction of his current ambition.
Him, a lethargic piece of human waste, the spiritual leader of a world religion?
The behaviour among the soldiers became more frantic and disorderly as they got closer to the siege line. Panicked men and women of the royal army had built a defensive ring around a single person crashing into their formation.
"He doesn't look like much," Iris said with a pout.
She was right. Kazuma Satou sat on a footstool with a bored expression, still the same lazy layabout he's been for years in their home. The slob even wore the same clothes, his worn-out green tracksuit. A glance and a quick widening of his eyes were all the reaction Kazuto got from his brother. The barest form of acknowledgement of his existence and recognition before Kazuma turned his attention back to the princess.
"I assume you're the one in charge? The fancy dress and the respectful distance of your entourage kind of gives it away."
"I am Iris Belzerg, princess of this kingdom and highest authority on this battlefield." Iris introduced herself with a look of hoodlum in front of her didn't satisfy the grandiose delusions of facing a second devil king.
Kazuma scoffed. "Battlefield? Aren't we a little too eager to start a war?"
A quick look around to the mountain of wounded soldiers earned him a raised eyebrow from the princess and he sighed. "Listen, I want you off my lawn and massacring thousands of people isn't my idea of time well-spent."
Kazuto watched the wall during the exchange of words between the two leaders, seeing more and more forces gather on top and the numbers already looked to be about equal in strength when you factor the advantage of fortifications. At this point, a siege could take weeks and the victor was too uncertain for his taste.
He had to appeal to his opportunistic tendencies. "Then maybe a more practical solution? Something that is quicker and more economical with lifes?"
Directly addressed, Kazuma had a hard time ignoring his sibling. "What do you have in mind... brother?"
The word came awkwardly from his mouth, as if unfamiliar to his tongue. Kazuto couldn't remember the last time he heard himself addressed this way by him either, but there was really no time to analyze the nature of their sibling bond.
"A fight between the two factions seems pointless when their figureheads are the strongest in the respective army. No matter what side wins, remaining forces will perish either against you or the princess."
"A duel between us to decide the fate of a nation?" Kazuma eyed the princess with curiosity. "Are you that confident in her?"
The smug grin Kazuto gave in return was like looking in a mirror for the elder brother. "Of course."
The chest of Iris swelled with pride and his brother stared vacantly into the distance, the telltale sign of him mulling over the proposition and analyzing the situation.
As much as Kazuto hated to admit it, Kazuma's mind could work wonders when it was forced to work. He used that ability frequently in the old days to maintain his lazy lifestyle, like exploiting onlines games to make real money, finding loopholes in the education system to study from home and deflecting any attempt from his family to get him out of the room.
"Well then," Kazuma's smile returned. "This suits me just fine. I have to get back as soon as possible to buy booze and snacks for my goddess."
The two contenders squared off in a circle with all eyes transfixed on them. Kazuma upgraded the princess to an opponent in his mind and mustered the girl closer, noticing the lack of armor and the ornate sword at her side. The large blade radiated with energy, making his skin tingle from mere proximity to it.
"Brother, one more thing..." Kazuto said, ripping Kazuma out of his musings and startling him when he noticed his sibling had closed the distance and stood directly before him.
"What?"
Two arms wrapped around him for a hug. "I missed you."
For the first time since the meeting started, Kazuma was thrown off guard. Affection from any part of his family came too far out left field to process in the realm of possibility. Kazuto's hug became tighter and he whispered two words into Kazuma's left ear.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry it had to be this way."
The faintest glow enveloped them both before Kazuto pushed himself away and Iris attacked with the speed of sound, sword drawn and ready to decapitate her enemy with one strike.
"Banzai!"
Left hand fumbling in his breast pocket for something, Kazuma used his right to backhand the princess out the air, hitting her at an awkward angle against the shoulder. The small girl bounced off the ground like a volleyball and slid several yards through the mud, leaving a human sized trench.
"My apologies, you startled me," he said absentmindedly, finally pulling out his adventurer card. One glance at it and towards the grinning face of his brother told him everything he needed to know.
To her credit, Iris Belzerg was back on her feet right away, dirty and battered with one arm hanging limp and dislocated from her body, but full of vigor nonetheless. "I was told it is japanese custom to make a surprise attack against the back of your opponent."
"Is that so?" Kazuma glared at his brother before inspecting her mangled arm. "You might want to get this looked at."
"Self Heal!" Iris put the hand of her good arm over the injury and undid all the damage in the matter of seconds. The girl looked a bit winded afterwards, but nothing more than her ruffled and dirty clothes would suggest she had almost lost a limb.
What a broken skillset. A tank with healing abilities like her could form an adventuring party by herself.
The only thing missing was the damage dealer.
"Take this! Sacred Explode!"
Ask and you shall receive.
A shockwave of blinding light hit him, engulfing the half-devil and setting him on fire. Kazuto had a grim smile on his face. The death of his brother was regrettable but necessary for things to return to normal. Once back in the real world, he would visit his grave and show proper reverence for Kazuma's sacrifice.
A shrill scream pierced the field. Iris averted her eyes with a blush as a figure emerged from the pyre of holy fire, Kazuma completely unscathed but only in his birthday suit.
"Why are you naked?!"
"Because my tracksuit isn't fire resistant, your highness."
"Put something on!"
"You seem upset." Kazuma enjoyed the cold air on his skin after getting roasted by sunlike heat. "Might I inquire why?"
The princess began to stomp her feet like a child. "I wanted a fight! Not this farce!"
The ensuing temper tantrum interested Kazuma very little. A glance at the sky and position of the sun told him he had wasted more time than expected. There were so many things on his plate today, not including the aftermath of this nuisance.
"You want me to take this seriously?"
"Yes!"
Kazuma made a deep sigh and equipped his blue vestments. From the same inventory, he summoned chunchunmaru and unsheathed the katana. Somewhere along the line, he had just accepted the name and moved on with his life. Worrying about a cool name for your demon sword seemed trite in hindsight.
His new attire and weaponry had the desired effect of shutting the whining princess up. Iris wiped her snotty nose at a sleeve and took a fighting stance with a smile.
"Ok then," Kazuma smirked in return and invited her with open arms. "Attack me."
One thing became abundantly clear at the second their blades clashed; Iris Belzerg was the most powerful opponent he had faced thus far. Her strength, speed and technique were beyond human abilities, striking against him faster than the eye could see in a blur of steel. Darkness may have been tougher, but nothing could compare to the force this little girl could put into her swings.
Without his gift, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Fortunately he had it, and that made this whole duel pretty pointless. They flew apart after another exchange of blows, Iris breathing heavily and leaning on her sword, while Kazuma wasn't even winded.
"What is this bullshit?!" Kazuto screamed and the two sword wielders spared him some attention. "I drained at least a hundred levels! How are you still this strong?"
Level drain was a powerful ability, basically crippling any adventurer exposed to the skill into uselessness. Iris was more furious than Kazuma had been about this revelation, a disgusted look of betrayal on her face for his interference. Kazuto didn't care about hurting her pride while faced with a guy who could shrug off a surefire death sentence and manhandle the strongest warrior in the kingdom like a misbehaving toddler.
The eerie calmness of his brother only fostered those feelings. "You had me concerned for a moment. The little trick you pulled managed to negate my passive experience gain and bumped my level back to three digits."
Kazuto rubbed his face to combat the developing eye twitch. "Are you trying to be cool?"
"I'm trying to tell you that losing a hundred levels isn't a big deal when you have over a thousand."
Iris felt tingles all over her body. Three digit levels were rare among adventurers. Getting into four digits was unheard of even from legends.
"You are level 1000?"
Kazuma produced his adventurer card. "Back to 900 again, your highness."
The princess grabbed the item from his hand and hungrily scanned for any information, salivating at the mountain of skills and stats. She kept scrolling and scrolling without getting to the end of this enormous list. Kazuma Satou was like an all-you-can eat buffet of techniques, some Iris never even heard of before.
What the hell was "aquatic entertainer" supposed to be? 50 levels in parlor tricks? Advanced masseuse first class? Last Will?
"How did you manage to do that?" she asked, all animosity forgotten in her child-like excitement.
Something Kazuto noticed with a frown. "By cheating as far as my big brother is concerned."
"I would call it an exploit of badly designed party mechanics." Kazuma said, the unsubtle insult of his sibling not registering on an emotional level and the saccharine pride in his voice was the last bit that broke the camel's back.
Kazuma always spoke about outsmarting the system and living a carefree life, but the only solution for achieving that had always been making others care for him. Parents who had to burden themselves with an underachiever, a sibling who had to live with the shame of getting compared to a loser.
"That's why mom and dad gave up. You never applied yourself and always took the easiest route!"
A wave of nostalgia washed over Kazuma. He had heard permutations of these exact words hundreds of times from his parents, teachers, classmates and even random strangers on the streets. All kept going on and on about how they expected so much more of him and couldn't comprehend wasting his potential. Most got the message after a while and left him alone, but his family wouldn't stop their pestering until two weeks before his death.
"Do you hear that?" Kazuma asked.
"Don't change the subject!"
"No seriously, what is that noise?" Kazuma's hearing as half-devil was better, but not that much better to be the only one noticing. "Sounds like somebody screaming."
A few seconds later, normal ears could pick up the strange sound that didn't come from anywhere on the battlefield but from above. Gazes turned upward to an approaching dot in the sky, the identity masked by the sun in its back while it descended like a crashing meteor.
The object hit with the same force as a flaming rock, separating into three entities. A blonde crusader with full armor and man-sized greatsword, holding two other girls under her arms.
"Did you just jump all the way down from the city wall?" Kazuma asked, watching the body of Darkness tremble from the impact.
"Kazuma, you need to know something important!" she replied, taking wobbly steps towards him.
Right past the princess of her nation.
"Lady Lalatina?"
The tall blonde stopped midstep. "Your highness."
"Uhm, Darkness?" Yunyun interrupted the silent staredown between two aristocrats while Megumin flailed and kneed Darkness repeatedly in the kidney. "Could you catch up after letting us down?"
The crusader did just that, and just in time to find herself face to face with her royal cousin, who had a lot of questions.
"Why are you here? Are the silly rumours of your new loyalties true? Did you turn your back on the nobility and country? What's your affiliation with this man?"
In that moment, the feelings of Darkness as a woman battled against her upbringing as a noble. Appearances had to be upheld and proper conduct be retained. Her eyes made eye contact with Kazuma, almost able to read his mind from the resigned expression. He understood now and had understood back at the mansion. The moment of hesitation from her showed something ugly from deep within herself, something Kazuma wanted to spare her from realizing.
And thus, he spoke up.
"She's a party mem—"
"I'm… I'm his woman! Body and soul!"
Dustiness Ford Lalatina would rather lie dead and buried in cold earth before proving Kazuma's concerns about their relationship right. She wouldn't become the type of person to put status above what really made her happy, consequences among high society and her lineage be damned.
Iris blushed from the bold declaration.
Megumin and Yunyun burned with unbridled jealousy.
Kazuma was taken back by the bold claim, then smiled.
Kazuto sneered at the happy expression of his brother. "Somebody actually likes you? Did you blackmail these poor girls into tolerating your company? What sick, perverted stuff do they have to endure?"
The two crimson demons took note of the small boy and their eyes went wide. Both recognized Kazuto from Kazuma's nightmare and the implication of him being here didn't play well with their hopes of his dreams being exaggerated.
Darkness had no connection to the boy, besides her immediate dislike for his attitude. "We all are happy to have him. Don't talk about things you don't understand, child."
"Yeah, what she said!" Megumin did a dramatic pose with her index finger pointed at Kazuto. "We don't take kindly to people badmouthing our man, you cheap Kazuma knockoff!"
Yunyun didn't show any hostility, fixating the young boy with a calm expression. "Do you really not care about Kazuma? Were you all really glad he was gone?"
The older Satou stood a bit straighter after the question hung in the air like poisonous gas. She was asking for Kazuma's peace of mind as much as for her own. Yunyun's biggest nightmare, being unwanted by her family and peers, was his reality and the tiniest admission of love towards their eldest son would be welcome as relief from the anxiety.
True or not, Kazuto wouldn't give that satisfaction either way. "They celebrated for days after you croaked, poppin champagne and everything."
The smallest of twitches ran through Kazuma's left eye. A blink and you would have missed it, but Yunyun had seen the telltale sign of something breaking just beneath the disadvantage of showing somebody to act confident was the inability to fool that person anymore. Yunyun had learned from the best and as such, knew a mask when she saw it used as cover up.
Yunyun signed Megumin to follow her lead and the smaller girl nodded with a blush.
Operation "Save Kazuma from himself" was a go as they approached their party leader. The half-devil experienced a soft, warm and slightly damp feeling on his cheek, followed by the same sensation on the other when Megumin stood on her toes to reach his face with her lips.
"Lady Lalatina, those two are kissing your man."
"I know, your highness."
The lack of action on Darkness's part confused the monarch. Jealousy was apparent in her eyes and through her gnashing teeth, yet there was no attempt to break up the two girls as they marked the older Satou as theirs. Instead she walked to stand among them and waited patiently, until they finished showering the spellbound Kazuma with affection.
"We haven't had an explosion walk for a while."
"I still need more confidence lessons and life advice."
"There's nobody else more suited for sword practice."
"Aqua has the most fun drinking with you."
All three stared at him with big pleading eyes, which confused him as much as everyone watching. Something wasn't right and them clinging on to Kazuma was the only thing stopping him from questioning their behaviour. The bodies of three beautiful girls against your skin had the effect of changing your priorities.
"What do you think about forgetting this whole war and getting back to being adventurers?" Megumin asked with a pout, supported by her two companions assisting in perfect synch.
"I thought my popular phase would start way differently to be honest." he said dryly but with a smug smirk that was reminiscent of the old Kazuma, the lazy but ultimately goodhearted glue of their party.
The offer was tempting to him in many ways. A few more weeks and Arcanretia would be an impenetrable fortress, making his presence for defense obsolete and freeing his time again to
wander the world, seeing new places and spending quality time with his group. He was especially anxious to see how their dynamic had changed after their relationship reached a new level.
Settling down before twenty and starting a family sounded like a dream come true.
There's really not much left standing in the way of fulfilling this wish and currently only a minor nuisance in the form of a warrior princess, standing with noticeably less enthusiasm about facing him in combat.
"Are we still doing this duel? After you realize how strong I am?"
The shaky tone of her voice didn't match the princess' answer. "T… That only fuels my conviction! A Belzerg never backs down from a fight!"
Only pride and her sense of duty kept her feet rooted at the spot as Kazuma approached. Princess Belzerg was braver than he would have been in the same situation.
"Fine, don't complain afterwards when you get your—"
The deafening sound of glass shattering echoed across the battlefield.
Kazuma toppled over and barely managed to catch himself by getting on one knee, grabbing his chest in pain and battling against the burning nausea. Shaky hands fumbled to get into his shirt, pulling out the holy symbol from Aqua he was wearing around his neck. Since receiving it from the goddess as proof of her favor, he had refashioned the pin into an amulet with a chain made of gold.
The ocean blue gem edged into the fine jewelry had cracked right through the middle.
The symbol of their connection broken.
Two strikes opened a portal in a second, Kazuma was already through after another, and what he found on the other side filled him with icy dread. The hotel room he'd been an hour ago with Aqua was completely trashed, shattered glass and busted furniture all around. The fragrant stench of spilled blood hung in the air. Two people were in the bed with its white sheets soaked red, Eris hunched over the still form of Aqua with both hands pressed against a gaping wound on her chest and aglow in a fierce light.
"I'm supposed to be the goddess of luck… so where the fuck is it!?" Eris noticed the shaken half-devil in the room. "Kazuma, stay on guard! The attacker might still be around!"
The moment Eris made him aware, Kazuma pushed his detect enemy skill to the max and instantly felt two opposing emotions when the results came back empty handed. Relief to have his loved ones out of immediate danger and endless frustration to let whoever did this escape scott free.
Eris' description of events pushed them to the lather. "The girl appeared out of nowhere, ramming her blade into Aqua before I could even blink!"
Imagining the scene made his chest hurt. Aqua lying in bed, punch-out drunk and completely defenseless against an unseen attacker while he wasted time with pointless blustering against an inferior foe. The more the goddess of luck revealed, the more opened a pit in his stomach, reaching the abyssal size from the final revelation.
"She was from japan like you."
"Are you sure?"
"The school uniform was a dead giveaway."
He joined them on the bed and held his goddess close while Eris worked her magic, silently fuming in self-doubt and self-hatred. Mei had hurt somebody he loved and it was his fault for not dealing with her back then. The subservient way his former classmate acted at the Dustiness estate had completely dulled his sense of danger. What would have happened if he hadn't brought Eris into Aqua's room? After all his planning and scheming, the survival of Aqua came down to dumb luck.
Unacceptable.
That was the scene which demon general Sylvia and highpriest Zesta stumbled into with their troops. The two stood frozen on the spot at the door, unable to move a muscle out of shock.
"She's waking up," Chris stuttered, finishing the last incantation of healing magic and frantically trying to wipe off the blood from her stained hands. "Keep it short, she's still very weak."
That much was obvious at a glance. Aqua was ghostly pale, her ocean blue eyes cloudy and unfocused. Even her usual boisterous voice rose barely above a whisper.
"K… Kazuma?"
"I'm here. Everything is fine." Kazuma fought the lump in his throat. "Take a nap and look forward to a great breakfast in bed afterwards."
"Booze?"
He kissed her forehead. "As much as you want."
"I love you…"
"I… I love you too…"
She lost consciousness with a smile and the second her eyes closed, any warmth left his face.
All the windows in the room cracked and any words of consolation died in Eris's throat from the sudden pressure. Kazuma had trouble breathing, his mind trying to put the pieces together, make a plan, find a strategy. Despite unending rage smothering him like molasses, the half-devil managed to articulate his orders towards Zesta and Sylvia with calm demeanor and relieve the tension for all innocent bystanders. "I want her guarded and protected around the clock by every measure possible. Don't disappoint me."
"Of course!"
"To my dying breath!"
The axis highpriest looked livid and ready for a holy war. Sylvia seemed deeply embarrassed to have failed as newly appointed general and protector of the city. He lacked patience to deal with either of them. Patience was running thin in general when he stepped back on the battlefield through his portal.
Every time he lowered his guard, this world found a new way to screw him over. In a masochistic way, he even accepted this as fundamental truth and payment for finally living among people who could love him. Taking the blows against him in stride came as natural as breathing.
Then the world decided to harm those close to him, the reason he endured all this bullshit, making his efforts pointless.
This was where he drew the line in the sand.
This far, no further.
Intended or not, princess Iris would get a glimpse of Kazuma at a hundred percent, all his anger and frustration put in a single strike with the clear goal to vent those feelings in the most visceral way possible.
The girl was dead before she realized the metal had connected with her neck.
"I won." Kazuma said without any satisfaction. He felt a cold numbness when the ground around him flooded with the royal blood of his freshly slain opponent.
Darkness rushed past him to fall on her knees besides the decapitated body. "Why did you kill her? You could have beaten Iris easily without ending her life!"
He certainly could have. "Her death is more convenient to get this army off our backs and send a clear message."
She shot up from the ground and grabbed him by the collar. "That's your reason? Convenience!?"
Another source of anguish added itself like a knife twisting in his gut. The hatred and disgust in her eyes hurt more than any venomous words from his brother.
"I almost lost Aqua because I was wasting my time playing nice." Kazuma said, dangling in the air by her outstretched arm. "I'm done with that. No more middle ground. No more compromise. They either comply or cease to exist."
Darkness dropped him like a hot piece of coal, disturbed to the core as much as Megumin and Yunyun by the frigid cold in his glare. Those piercing red eyes were hauntingly similar to something they had seen in the crystal, a first sign of Kazuma becoming something different.
"You need to stop."
"No Darkness, I need to end this. Permanently."
A clone of himself, made of blue flame and light, detached from his back. Then it changed, morphing and growing into a giant amalgam from the deepest pit of hell, easily thirty feet tall and towering over the royal army like a mountain of muscle, scales and teeth
Kazuma's voice bellowed from the demonic entity that eclipsed the battlefield.
"YOUR CHAMPION IS DEAD! FLEE OR DIE!"
The demon clone had been one of his favourite abilities of Vergil. He had hoped to use it during a more fun occasion, although the monsters on the walls seemed ecstatic about its appearance, cheering like mad for their master. Kazuma didn't feel like celebrating as the extension of his will started raining demonic retribution onto the fleeing soldiers.
Two girls sprang into action and smothered him in a double hug, Yunyun at the back and Megumin from the front, holding onto him as if he'd vanish into thin air if they let go.
Darkness pulled out the black crystal ball and pushed the magical object into his face. "Look at this! This is what you will turn into, if you don't stop!"
Vanir's memory of the future played and Kazuma watched, locked in place by his three companions. They witnessed him go through a multitude of expressions. Starting with confusion at his future self sitting on a throne, continuing with shock and grief when Devil-chan appeared and recapped the tragic loss of his party, and ending with an eerily calm gaze once he opened the way for an invasion of heaven.
"Be our Kazuma again!" Megumin buried her face into his chest. "Don't become this weird evil guy!"
Kazuma's eyes were glued to the last image of him and Devil-chan standing at the balcony. He was thinking, pondering the scene at all angles. The demonic avatar had stopped spitting fire and brimstone on the royal army, allowing the last stragglers to retreat in safety.
Victory was all but assured
Kazuma didn't care.
Something didn't add up.
The half-devil removed the girls from his body with the gentleness of a parent handling a toddler, giving each a reassuring smile before switching his attention to Kazuto. He approached his little brother in a calm gait. The younger Satou stumbled backwards, the sudden death of princess Iris still rattling his mind, flinching when Kazuma showed him something in the crystal.
"Do you know this person?"
A singular image appeared of a plain looking girl in a school uniform with brown hair put into twintails. The reaction was instant, the twelve-year old boy trembling and hyperventilating, unable to look at it for longer than a few seconds.
"She killed me," he stuttered before recognizing the antiquated interior of the Dustiness estate in the picture as something from this world and his voice became almost hysterical. "Why is she here? Why would the gods reward a monster?"
Although distraught from trauma, his brother had instantly realized the discrepancy of the situation. Kazuma did as well from this new piece of information, although he wished couldn't see two simple facts that turned his whole world upside down.
Murderers don't go to heaven. The gods didn't bring her back.
"I'm going off to do something, I will most likely regret. Nothing new, really."
"Kazuma?"
"Take care of Aqua for me. I might not make it back for breakfast."
"Kazuma!"
The portal opened and closed behind him before anybody could react to his departure. The young man didn't trust himself to stick with his decision, if he'd taken a single glance back. A single thought entered his mind as sudden heat prickled skin and the smell of sulfur entered nostrils.
Hell wasn't a nice place.
And a sinner didn't leave it without help.
