Chapter 2: Darkness Wants...

================{Part 1: An Interrogation for these Crimson Demons}================

The room was dark, pitch black even.

The sounds of nervous rustling could be heard close by. The sound of two sets of footsteps walking in a circle could be heard as well.

The air was choked full of tension while someone could be heard breathing out labored breathes.

And then, a single blinding light explodes from the ceiling of the darkened room, revealing a table right beneath where Megumin and Yunyun were currently both sitting.

Walking around them, and the table, were Cielo and Lynn, dressed like two hardcore agents of some sort of secret government organization. Or maybe they were trying to pull off looking like P.I.'s here.

I wasn't really sure. As for me, I was sitting in a chair still concealed in darkness with Chomusuke sitting on my shoulder and Anna hovering at my side, acting not unlike a bodyguard here, I think.

I take a moment to look around, admiring the work Cielo and Lynn had done. I was still impressed with how quickly they managed to convert the basement storeroom, opposite my workshop, into a makeshift interrogation chamber to be used for current matters.

And people say the Crimson Demons are the fastest when it came to doing stuff like this.

As Yunyun's fidgeting becomes more obvious and Megumin's look of confidence grows even more noticeable, the duo of Cielo and Lynn finally stop their walking around the table, their attentions focused completely onto the crimson duo before serious words are finally spoken by Lynn.

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"So, do the two of you know why it is you both find yourselves here this day?"

"Is it b-because Megumin had me learn Sleep and then use it on you t-two?"

Meekly asked Yunyun, getting Megumin to shoot her a glare that probably meant "Shut up, you fool!"

"No, we are here because... wait, what did you just say?"

When Yunyun didn't respond and Megumin averted her gaze away from them, Lynn slams both fists down onto the table, the sound reverberating through the room and making those two who were being given the third degree here jump in surprise.

"What did you just say, Yunyun. Are you admitting that you used magic to incapacitate us so the two of you could then enjoy a little drink behind our backs? You two do know that those at the tender age of fourteen are prohibited from drinking ANY form of alcohol."

"I... well, that is... what I mean is..."

"Don't feel you need to defend yourself here, Yunyun. Clearly these two have forgotten that by Crimson Demon customs, the two of us are considered old enough to marry. By extension, this means we are also old enough to drink any and all forms of alcohol as well."

Megumin did have a point, I have to admit. It was well within their right to do both, if they so choose too.

Sadly, for them, that argument didn't seem to change the opinions of the interrogation duo here as Cielo says-

"And need I remind you two that we currently aren't within the Crimson Demon village here. While such things may be customary for your kind within the village, you will still be expected to follow the customs of outsiders when outside your village."

Megumin turns away from their gaze defiantly while Yunyun meekly pokes her fingers together while pointing out how the two of them also like drinking the adults drink here, making Megumin turn to look at her with pride for a moment before looking back at their interrogators and giving them a smug filled smile of victory.

"Our situation is different here than it is with you two. For one thing, we're older. I, as a sixteen-year-old, am considered old enough to drink. As for my partner, while it is true that she's fifteen and thus, not considered old enough to drink like you two, it is however important to note that as a noble born, there are certain exceptions she's allotted in matters such as these."

said Lynn which only earns a scowl from Megumin.

"Sounds like a flimsy excuse if you ask me."

I said absentmindedly from my little corner of the room, earning to quick annoyed glances from the interrogation duo and two thankful looks from the crimson duo. Lynn then mutters something under her breath while Cielo simply sighs before saying-

"Why don't we push this topic off to the side for right now and get back to the main topic at hand."

After a moment of silence, Lynn agrees while Megumin leans in close to Yunyun and says-

"Remember what I told you before. Like Kazuma told me once if I ever found myself in a situation like this one, always plead the fifth. They have no real evidence of wrongdoing here so that don't have anything they can charge us with. Just keep quiet and we'll be back on the streets by lunch."

Yunyun nods her head, understanding what it was she needed to do while Lynn yells out-

"No evidence? NO EVIDENCE? We found you both in bed with one Satou Kazuma. Clearly, the two of you while in your drunken stupor made advances upon that poor innocent, weak willed man. Forcing him into doing Eris knows what to satisfy your lust filled desires."

I couldn't help but grin over the whole situation. Under normal conditions, it would have been me here who was being given the interrogation treatment. Instead, it was the two of them. I wonder what made Cielo and Lynn decide to go this particular route. Not that I'm complaining here, mind you.

As Megumin remains defiantly silent, Yunyun begins to panic as she tries to come up with some sort of explanation for their actions.

"I... we... we didn't try to seduce Kazuma. I know how it all must have looked to the two of you when you found us this morning, sleeping in his bed and clinging to him like we were. But I'm sure it wasn't what you're thinking it was there. I know we didn't have engage any anything s-s-sex-ual..."

Yunyun suddenly goes quiet, her cheeks blazing red hot while I'm pretty sure I saw steam shooting from out of her ears. Clearly, her attempt to say neither of them had sex with me last night must have caused her imagination to create images of that very act within her mind. Oh, to be able to see what she was creating within that perverted head of hers right now.

Lynn and Cielo look at each other and sigh before turning their attentions onto Megumin. Cielo then ask Megumin if she would care to try explaining their reasons for doing what they did last night.

"I have no idea what you all are talking about."

Eh? Well, that certainly wasn't the response anyone was expecting. After taking a moment to recover from her shock, Lynn points out-

"But we found both yourself and Yunyun in bed with Kazuma..."

"Like I said, I have no idea what you're talking about. Clearly, Kazuma must have learned some illusion-based magic here, creating realistic images of both Yunyun and myself to pretend like he had taken us to bed there."

The silence that hangs over the room for the next few moments felt like it lasted for an eternity, ending when Cielo says-

"Is that the excuse you're going to try out with us? Couldn't you at least make the claim Kazuma lured you two into his chambers while you were both drunk and talked you into joining him in bed. Or maybe say he must have taken you both after the two of you fell asleep. At least those would be halfway believable here."

"And besides, if those two in bed with him really were illusions, then why is it you both are down here being interrogated right now? Neither me nor Cielo ever entered your rooms to see if you both were actually really in there. There was no need for such a search."

"Sure... OK, let's go with either of those then."

said Megumin, making the interrogation duo stare at her for a moment before finally sighing while rubbing their temples. While those two recover, Megumin nudges Yunyun, bringing her out of her stupor and tells her to add something onto their defense here. After taking a moment to think, Yunyun offers up these words to the interrogators.

"Shouldn't the two of you be asking Kazuma over there why he didn't try to resist our advances by any chance?"

I go rigid as Yunyun's question makes Cielo and Lynn stop their actions and look at me suspiciously. Clearly, neither one of them had even considered that question. Yunyun sends me an apologetic look while Megumin offers up a big grin, probably impressed that Yunyun would throw me under the bus like that. The interrogation duo then asks me in unison if I had anything to say as a counter to that question. My reply was-

"As if there was anything I actually could have done at the time. I was facing off with two female Crimson Demons, who were very drunk I must stress that point here. Either one of them alone has a higher strength stat than I currently do so me stopping just one of them would have been difficult. But the two of them together? There was no way I was going to win that fight."

"You could have used Drain Touch."

said Lynn, making me sweat a little in my seat.

"Y-Yeah, I could have done that. But what if my attempt had backfired in some way. I mean, I've never dealt with a drunk Crimson Demon before in my life, save for that one time in Arcanretia which can't be counted as we were both drunk. For all I know, trying to drain their mana could have made them even hornier than they already were. No, it was way too big of a risk for me to have tried at the time."

I know my reasoning for not using Drain Touch was about as flimsy of an excuse as one could have made at this time. So, I decided to add in this final little bit of defense for myself here.

"Also, I am a guy and if a guy has a beautiful girl appearing before him, dressed as they were last night, it's going to be very hard for him to turn any offer down. And in my case, I had two beautiful girls approach me and say they wanted to thank me for all I had done for them. In my defense, I did try to talk them out of it, saying that they should wait till after they had sobered up before we did anything like that. But they were both very adamant with continuing while saying they wouldn't regret it."

After hearing that, Lynn and Cielo move back out of the light, followed by sounds of them whispering to one another. Probably debating on what it was they should do here, with all three of us. Finally, the whispering stops and they walk back into the light. And then came their words.

"Clearly, this is an open and shut case, don't you agree detective Lynn?"

"Indeed I do, detective Cielo!"

They then tell me to get up and go stand between Megumin and Yunyun which I do reluctantly. I'm guessing I was going to be taking a 'L' here along with these two. Chomusuke hops off my shoulder to sit on the table while Anna, who had been quiet this whole time, looks on excitedly with bated breath, clearly anticipating how all of this was going to end here.

"After our deliberation, we have both decided that..."

"Hey, I'm back. Is anyone here?"

The loud shout from Darkness brings Lynn's verdict to a stop. Cielo then opens the door and shouts out that we were all downstairs and will be up in a few moments to greet here. She then looks back at Lynn and says-

"So, before we render judgment here, should we bring Darkness in on this case and let her add her two cents to it all?"

"Hm, might as well, seeing as she's back now. I'd like to hear her opinion on all this as well. OK you three, let's go upstairs and we'll continue this with Darkness."

Me, Megumin, and Yunyun look at each other, knowing that things were probably going to become worse here for all of us.

================{Part 2: Letting this Masochist Offer Her Two-Cents}================

"I see, so this is the kind of mess that goes on whenever I'm not around. I am truly ashamed of you all right now."

said Darkness as she paces back and forth before us, who after explaining the entire situation to her, had made us all sit together on the couch like a group of children awaiting punishment for having done things that could result in spankings or being made to stand/sit in a corner to 'think about it.'

Darkness finally stops her pacing after a moment before looking at us and saying-

"OK, so let me see if I understand the events of last night here correctly. After Cielo and Lynn had been put to sleep by Yunyun, on Megumin's orders. The two of them returned to their respective rooms, changed into more revealing and mature attire, then proceeded to Kazuma's room where they then 'forced' their way inside and locked the door behind them. Am I right so far here?"

Yunyun nodded meekly while Lynn Cielo, and I gave more simpler nods, and Megumin just averts her gaze, continuing her plan to plead the fifth here.

"Kazuma, you said as they helped themselves into your room, you couldn't help but take notice of a certain smell coming off of them. To be more specific here, the smell that comes from those who have had a bit too much to drink, from alcohol."

"Y-yes, that is correct, Darkness."

Seeing Yunyun shrink down from my words made me feel really bad for her here. Considering how much of a hard on Darkness has for the two youngest members of the party over not drinking till they had reached what was considered to be the legal age of acceptance as set by the kingdom, they both were surely going to be getting quite the earful.

I kinda feel sorry for Megumin too, or at least I wanted to but her stubborn defiance over acknowledging any wrongdoing on her part was really making the act of feeling sorry for her hard here. I have to say though, Megumin sticking to her guns here like she is. It was rather impressive, I'll admit. Almost praiseworthy, not that I'll ever praise her under these sorts of circumstances.

Darkness closes her eyes, a look on her face indicating that she was really about to give these two quite the tongue lashing here. And then...

"Well, can't be helped now, can it? Anyways will you tell me in your own words what came next, Kazuma."

Eh? Wait Darkness, aren't you going to say anything to them? Yell, scold, scream even?

I look to the other girls as they to each other and to me as well. Even Megumin was clearly taken aback by this sudden and unexpected turn of events. We all then look back to the still waiting on me to say something here Darkness as Cielo speaks up first, before I could say anything here.

"Darkness, are you feeling OK?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine. Why wouldn't I be, Cielo?"

We take a moment to look at each other again then once more back to Darkness with Lynn being the one to speak up this time.

"Well, the thing is... You're taking the news of hearing how Megumin and Yunyun used your being away as an opportunity to help themselves to having a little drink, the adults drink here at that."

"Hey, do I need to once again remind you all that technically both me and Yunyun here are considered adults by Crimson Demons standards. We can drink adult drinks, get married, and start having babies whenever we so choose now and have had such a right given to us since we were thirteen."

"And I thought we told you in response before that we aren't inside the Crimson Demon village right now. I know this all sucks for you both, but when outside the village, you have to follow the rules and laws set forth by the kingdom as a whole. No if and-or buts about it."

Megumin sends Lynn a stoney glare while Yunyun laughs at her reaction with a little nervousness present, or I think it was nervousness there. Lynn sighs before looking back at Darkness and continues from where she left off.

"Anyways, the point is you've always been so hell bent on the two of them waiting till they were of legal age by kingdom laws before they could start drinking so to see you being so nonchalant about them helping themselves to the drink while you're gone is just... well, it's just damn weird is all."

Cielo and I nod in agreement, as does Yunyun. As Darkness considers this, which is strange as anyone who knows her would wonder why she needed to consider it, I find myself suddenly asking a question within my mind over certain details regarding Crimson Demons. As I run this question through my mind, Darkness finally comes out of her own consideration, looks at Megumin and Yunyun, and says-

"You two were bad children while I was away. You should feel ashamed of yourselves. Yes, shame-shame. I'll be sure to have 'him' punish you in time, if I remember."

Once again, we find ourselves looking at Darkness, for multiple reasons. First, there was the lack of seriousness in her tone. Quite the opposite as her response seemed almost absentminded in its delivery. And then there was the whole 'have him punish you in time' bit. She was talking about me here, right? Then why not say 'have Kazuma punish you in time' instead?

Man, Darkness must be really worn out from her trip. We should probably let her rest today and save doing a quest, as well as my planned events with them, till tomorrow. Darkness finally looks again to me and asks me to continue telling her what happened after those two locked my door.

"After they locked my door, they pushed me onto my bed, making sure to take a few moments to get me all comfortable before crawling onto my bed as well, one to my left and the other two my right. As I told Cielo and Lynn, I considered trying to resist but knew I would lose. I also considered Drain Touch, but I was worried it could somehow make matters even worse."

"Admit it, Kazuma. You wanted what you knew was coming more than you wanted to stop it."

teased Lynn, making me blush madly as I furiously deny her claim. Yunyun was also blushing hard while poking her fingers together and even Megumin had a shy blushing face while occasionally sending quick glances my way. Darkness clears her throat, signaling for us to not get distracted here.

"Anyways, they then said how they wanted to thank me for everything I had done for them. Said all I needed to do was lay back, relax, and they would take care of the rest. They then lowered themselves down towards me, and then..."

"And then? AND THEN!?"

For the first time since getting back, Darkness was starting to act like Darkness again. Perhaps she really was just tired, but not so tired that her inner pervert wouldn't still rear its masochistic head when given enough motivation. The others listened intently as well, despite already knowing what I was going to say next.

"And then their heads came to rest upon my pillow alongside me, both having instantly fallen asleep."

"Are you sure that's how it all happened, Kazuma. There wasn't anything else said or done by either of them before falling asleep?"

asked Cielo, getting a nod from me which makes her and Cielo, as well as Megumin and Yunyun who couldn't recall the events of last night, all sigh in relief. In truth, the only reason those two had found out about what Megumin and Yunyun had done, or tried to do, was them finding those two in bed with me when they had come to my room for... wait a damn second?

Just why had those two come to MY room for anyways? Now that I think about it, it was still dark outside when they had shown up and they didn't know anything had happened until after Lynn had used Unlock on my door and saw what awaited them inside. Were they also planning on a night raid as well? I'm going to talk to them both in private later once this is over, maybe even borrow that damn bell I hate so much for that little talk we'll be having.

Anyways, nothing more happened other than what I said. Well, there wasn't any sex or anything else that I would call adult in action that happened. They may have said something more, done something more before falling asleep, but neither were relevant to the matter at hand. Certainly nothing these three needed to hear. As for Megumin and Yunyun themselves go. If they don't remember, then maybe that's a good thing as it could make things awkward for all three of us, at least in the short term.

I'll wait till they're ready, till the time is right in MY opinion, before I share the missing details with them and them alone.

"So, their virtues are still intact then? Good, that's very good to hear..."

I'm pretty sure I heard Darkness mumble those words quietly to herself, or something of a similar note. I wonder if the others had heard her say anything here as well. Before I could ask Darkness what she meant by all that, she turns her attention to us and says-

"Well, seeing as there was no real harm done here and I'm sure these two have learned their lessons, what do you all say we go out and do a quest together. I have been gone these last few days and I fear I may be getting a little rusty so hurry up, get ready, and we'll be on our way to the guild."

OK, this is definitely unexpected. She just drops the matter so quickly and moved on to something else. And also, having just gotten back from Malyais as well. Surely, she would want to take a few hours to rest up before we head out to do anything here. There's definitely something wrong with her.

"Darkness, are you sure you're feeling OK?"

asked Yunyun, getting an affirming nod and "Yes" in response. Megumin then presses the question again.

"Look guys, I said I'm fine here. Why do you keep asking me if I'm OK? Isn't my word here enough?"

"It's not that. It's just that... ever since you got back, you've been acting a little off is all. The way you reacted to hearing what Megumin and Yunyun did seems out of character for you. And you seemed more concerned over the two of them still being virgins than how you normally would have responded, that being you asking them all sorts of perverted questions like how it felt and such."

So I'm not the only one who heard what Darkness was mumbling there. Thanks for confirming that for me, Cielo. Lynn then says-

"Did something happen to your father? I know you told us before we started this little scene that he was doing fine, just a little bug he caught do to overworking himself. But is he REALLY OK, Darkness?"

"My father? He's... he's... he's totally fine. Like I said. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. Now, are we going out to do a quest together or not?"

There was something wrong with her father. Of that, I had no doubt here. Clearly, it was something she didn't want to talk with us about. Possibly a deeply personal matter she was uncomfortable with. For now, I guess, all we can do for Darkness was to be patient with her and hope she'll open up to us here eventually. I then stand up and say to everyone-

"Looks like we have no choice here. Before we head out and do a quest, I think it's time I give you guys some new skills to test out. We'll save doing this quest till after, maybe wait till after lunch. This way, you'll have a good chance to try your new skills out."

Hearing that gets Megumin, Yunyun. And Cielo all excited as they had been waiting for this day, to find out what it was I had been making for them. Lynn, meanwhile, sent me a confused look which reminded me I had yet to tell her about this particular matter. Darkness, on the other hand...

"Can't that wait till after lunch, Kazuma. I really want us to go do a quest together now."

"Any reason for the rush?"

asked Megumin, getting a no from Darkness though it was a hesitant no.

"Then it can wait till after lunch. Come on Darkness, don't tell me you aren't curious about what it is Kazuma had concocted for you here?"

said Cielo. Darkness fidgets for a moment, mumbling to herself.

"Well, I am but... I really want-need to... alright, I guess I can wait a few hours longer."

"Great to hear. Anyways, if you'll be excusing us Darkness, we'll head upstairs and get dressed. We'll be back down here in a jiffy."

Darkness nods as me and the others leave the dining room, making our way up the stairs. Once we had reached the top, I motion to the others to join me in a huddle and then quietly say to them-

"Something is definitely wrong with Darkness. My gut is telling me her father may not be as well as she's letting on."

"So, what should we do here, Kazuma?"

"Keep an eye on her for now. Keep your ears open too. See if she lets slip any information here over the next few days. If we can't get her to open up with us within the next week, then we'll make our way down to Malyais and personally check in with her father and get the truth from him directly."

The girls nod before we all break away from each other and head into our respective rooms. In truth, the wise thing here would be for us to go ahead and go to Malyais as soon as possible and check in with the old man directly.

But I was wanting to give Darkness the benefit of the doubt, to trust her judgment on this matter. I wanted to see if she would trust us with the truth. As such, I will give her a week to open up. Perhaps that was too little time here, but something in my gut told me waiting any longer would be a big mistake.

I just hoped I was making the right call here.

================{Part 3: Gifting These Girls with New Powers}================

The trip to where the girls would be trying out their new skills wasn't a quick one. We had left the mansion just a little past 8:30am and by the time we reached the wild lands, located far to the northeast of Axel, it was coming up on noon. And everyone was dead tired too.

By this point in the trip, a few questions were starting to be asked here. Did we really need to go out THIS far for this? Why couldn't they have gotten in some practice with their new skills while doing the quest Darkness was wanting to go do? Should we wait till tomorrow before we do said quest?

You know, stuff like that. As for my answers, first I said that this area would have the most appropriate monsters to do the test with. The second questions answer was would they feel confident with relying on untested skills while on the quest Darkness had chosen which got them to stop their complaining. As for the last question, I simply said that would be up to Darkness if we do it today or wait till tomorrow.

Anyways, we had arrived and while the girls take a moment to sit and rest, I scan the area and see most of the beast I had hoped to see out and about. If we're lucky here, maybe the missing ones will appear once the actions starts.

I then join the others with resting, we all decide to go ahead and have ourselves a little picnic lunch here while we recovered from the walk. Thank Eris we played it safe and packed a meal for such a situation, huh.

Once we had finished, I have the others hand me their adventurer's cards, touching each one against mine before transferring the skill I was gifting them with before offering their cards back to them, finding them having shocked looks on their faces, which confused me, so I ask them-

"What? Did I do something strange just now?"

"Kazuma... what did you just do there?"

asked Yunyun, making me explain to them how I transferred the skill information from my card onto theirs, which makes them all freak out for some strange reason.

"Kazuma, that's not possible. No one can just gift a spell to someone else like that. You have to show it to them first, sometimes once and sometimes a crap ton of times before it can be learned. What you did was just... it's just not supposed to be possible."

Megumin's words catch me off guard. Was what I just did really supposed to be impossible? Huh, I never gave it any thought seeing as the option to transfer had appeared upon the completion of these skills, so I just assumed...

"Megumin... Yunyun... is it possible that Kazuma was only able to do what he did because he's the one that made these skills to begin with? Perhaps this feature is only available when a skill is created for the first time, in order to pass it around and/or maybe a necessity in order for it to become part of the skill pool."

Lynn's suggestion on what had just happened makes the two Crimson Demons take a moment to give it some thought. Seeing as it has been centuries since the last skill was created, maybe that bit of knowledge was lost to the ages. In the end, all they could do was shrug and say it was something that would need investigating here. Cielo then suggest that we move on and start seeing what it is these new skills could do, which gets everyone to nod in agreement.

Once we were back on our feet, I once again scan the area to see which monsters were available to use as target practice dummies for the girls. Once I was done, I then turn back to look at them, telling them the strategy here.

"OK Darkness, I'll have you go challenge that Boxer Congo over there. Your skill, in order for it to activate, will require you to take a fair beating which is something that guy can give you."

Boxer Congo's were basically oversized gorillas with equally oversized hands that look like boxing gloves and was sporting a mohawk. It was said that they just LOVE hitting things with their fist. In fact, I'm pretty sure that how they find suitable partners to mate with though I'd rather not know the details there.

"I'm fine with that, Kazuma. But don't they usually ignore humans and other creatures smaller than them?"

"You would know better than me here, seeing as I haven't had much of a chance to read up on these guys. What I do know is that they tend to be rather prideful over their physical strength. If you walk up to it and challenge its belief in itself, it'll probably start attacking you just to prove a point."

Hearing that makes Darkness's eyes light up as she does the whole fist to palm pound motion. She then asks me to explain her new skill so she'll know how to use it properly.

"The skill I've made for you is called Retaliation. When first activated, you'll find a little counter appearing on the knuckle side of your dominate hand. As you take hits, this counter will begin to fill up with energy. The better the attack, the quicker it'll fill. Once fully charged, you'll be able to unleash Retaliation in all its glory, sending the stored-up energy created by your opponent's attacks right back at them. Be advised though, you'll still be taking damage during this so be mindful of that."

"Really? This is incredible. Not only can I still take a significant beating here, but I can then throw it back in anyone's face once I get bored with them. I can't wait to try this out."

"Wait a second, Darkness... Kazuma... What about her crappy accuracy? Won't Retaliation be worthless if she can't hit her target when all's said and done?"

asked Cielo, getting me to grin.

"Not a problem here. One of the perks that comes from Retaliation is the fact it will fix her accuracy problems seeing as it is considered an offensive skill. I guess from now on, Darkness will have to try to miss a target intentionally instead of it being what it is... or was. Oh yeah, one last thing Darkness. Even after you fully charge up Retaliation, you can still choose to hold back with your attack, in order to overcharge your attack. Just be warned the greater the overcharge, the higher the chances you'll suffer injury yourself from the kickback Retaliation can produce."

Darkness nods before looking at her dominate hand, having already activated the skill and was salivating at the thought of using it. I next to Cielo and Lynn and say-

"OK, for you two, how about we make those oversized Vulture Hawks your targets."

Vulture Hawks, as their names suggest, had the heads of vultures and the bodies of hawks with massive talons and razor like tips on the edge of their wings. Scavengers mostly but they won't have a problem with grabbing a person who looks like they're near death should they see one.

"Lynn, I'll have you start off by using your new Equilibrium skill to disorient them and cause them to fall from the sky, at which point Cielo can use her new ranged based Monk skill to blast them from the sky as they're either falling or being all wobbly. It'll be a good test to see how good with accuracy you are with your new ranged skill, Cielo."

Cielo nods before asking me what her skill was. Lynn also asks me to clarify hers just a bit more here.

"Well, with Equilibrium, you can cause your opponent to become disoriented, so much so that they won't even be able to stand proper. Once you're able to improve your proficiency with it, your targets won't even be able to stand, much less take any actions to counter you or your allies."

"Oh, I am SO going to enjoy using this one on Dust here in the future should he ever try to get all touchy feely with me again whenever he's drunk."

I'm glad to see Lynn was liking what I made for her. Probably best I keep quiet about the fact I had to put hers together right quickly in order to make sure she didn't feel left out here so here's hoping it actually works like it should and doesn't have any drawbacks, like it being able to affect the user just as easily, or instead of, the target. Or if it has an unintended area of effect aspect to it, where it could mess with the senses of allies as well as enemies. Well, we'll all have a better idea here soon.

"Now, for your skill, Cielo... or should I say skills as I made two for you. One for your Monk class and the other for your Priestess class. For the Monk, I created a ranged attack called Hadoken. Basically, it's a ball of kinetic fire you form in your hands which you can then launch outwards to damage targets at a distance. Be aware that the further away a target is, the less power it will have alongside it having a maximum distance range of one hundred feet away from you though I'm sure that can be improved with training. This also means a point-blank hit on a target will really tear them up something good."

Between me and myself here, I think Cielo would make an excellent addition to the ranks of the Street Fighters. Hell, she and Ryu... or perhaps Ken would probably get along well together, Androphobia aside that is.

"As for you new Priestess skill, I call it Regen. Basically, it's an area of effect spell that places a regenerative aura around those within the AOE circle. Once cast, those it was used upon with gain thirty seconds of magic healing being down constantly to their bodies. With time, you should be able to increase the time it will remain active. Pretty useful when in harrowing situations if I do say so myself."

Cielo nods before thanking me. Just as I was going to move on to Yunyun, Lynn suddenly asks me-

"Kazuma, I just noticed something curious. When I went to learn the skill, it didn't take away any skills points to learn it with. Was that supposed to happen?"

Darkness then comments that she also noticed that when learning Retaliation as does Cielo, once she had finished learning Hadoken and Regen. My response was-

"I wouldn't think using skill points to learn them is required, seeing as they're new skills and all. Plus, you guys are going to be the first to make use of them, to awaken them into the greater pool of available skills so it would only make sense that you get them as freebees. Don't you agree?"

No one could argue with that. I then move over to Yunyun before pointing towards the large, horse like beast with ram like horns on their heads and lightning like stripes along their bodies.

"You'll be using your new skill on those Ixasteeds there, Yunyun. I feel bad for asking a few of them to be sacrificed here, seeing as they're known for being rather docile, but training is training after all."

Yunyun agreed, especially about not wanting to target them. However, she really wanted to try out her new magic spell which she had already unlocked. She then asks me what it can do.

"Your new skill is called Sakura Storm. In its basic form, it will create a flurry of sakura petals that will spiral around you. You can then mentally command them to fly out and strike down a target, using the motions of your arms and hands to lead them. While the sakura petals will appear harmless, consider each one to be like the blade of a sword, a razor-sharp sword at that. At first, you'll probably only be able to create a few hundred of the petals, I'd day between two to three hundred tops. But one day, you may be able to create as many as millions of them at one time."

"Amazing..."

"And furthermore, you'll also be able to one day condense them into a sword you can wield, its destructive power and size being based on how many sakura petals goes into making it. You'll also be able to make walls and domes with the sakura petals to act as a shield for both you and your allies as well in the future, once you can create enough petals and have enough control over them."

The next thing I knew, Yunyun was hugging me tight, thanking me for my gift and saying she was always treasure it and use it. That she will think of me when she uses it. I'm not sure how long the hug lasted, but I know it came to a quick and embarrassing end when Megumin says-

"So, when are you going to come tell me about MY skill here, Kazuma? I know you were probably wanting to save the best for last here, but don't you think I've waited long enough?"

I chuckle as I walk over to the obviously impatient Megumin, noticing once I reached her that she hadn't actually learned the skill I gifted her with yet. I ask her why she hadn't learned it yet, reminding her that it wouldn't cost her any skill points to do so.

"I know that. It's just that... I would rather know what it was I was going to learn before I learn it. As I've told you before, Kazuma. I want to be a mage who uses Explosion magic only and thanks to you, I've gained a second variant in that through Hyper Explosion. While this third spell you made for me is... I'd still like to know the details before I commit to having it as part of my roster of exclusive spells."

"Megumin, don't you think you're being a little too picky here?"

asked Cielo. Before Megumin could respond, I speak up by saying-

"I had a feeling you would say something like that, Megumin, which is why I chose a spell that could also be considered a worthy part of the explosion family. If you want to see what I mean, then you know what it is you have to do here."

Megumin puffs her cheeks out in annoyance then sighs as she unlocks the spell. She then turns to me and asks me which monster she was going to be targeting here.

"I'm actually not seeing the monster I had planned for you to use as target practice at the moment. Hopefully, all the commotion that the others will be making here within the next few moments will be enough to get its attention and bring it out into the open. If not, we'll either see if we can find it or find an acceptable alternative to take its place with. Anyways, I wrote down the chant you'll need to perform for this spell. Unlike with Explosion, you'll most likely need to say it each time you go to use the spell but knowing you, you'll probably be able to fire it off without warning in no time."

The smug, confident look Megumin sent my way told me she would definitely go beyond the need to use a chant in the sooner with the spell. She then begins reading over the chant, in order to memorize it.

"I'll give you credit with one thing right now, Kazuma. This chant does sound pretty cool."

Just wait till you cast the spell itself, my little Dynamite. I have a feeling you may end up liking it so much that you'll end up using it more than Explosion itself here in the future... or maybe not but use it just as often at least. I then tell everyone it was time to begin so make sure they put their all into it.

"Wait Kazuma, aren't you going to give us a demonstration of these skills first?"

"Yeah, wouldn't it help us use them better if we saw you do them yourself, seeing as you already know in your head what they should look like and do in the proper sense."

At hearing Yunyun and Cielo's words, I scratch the back of my head nervously, sending the girls a sheepish look which makes Darkness say-

"Let me guess. When you transferred them to our cards, you lost the ability to use them yourself."

"Yep... that about sums it all up. Guess I should have done the demonstration first, huh?"

"YOU THNK!?"

they all yelled at me. Oh well, too late for that line of thought now, am I right? After that moment of annoyance had passed, all the girls save Megumin went to their respective spots and began. Megumin, seeing as her target wasn't here yet, chose to stay by my side while we watched the others do their thing here.

Darkness, once she had reached the Boxer Congo, was quick to start sending insults its way. At first, it tried its best to ignore her, seeing as she was only just a human. But then, Darkness said something that hit below the belt... in a more literal way which quickly pissed the monster off. The next thing we knew, she was laying on the ground, laughing happily, as the Boxer Congo wailed on her repeatedly without restraint.

"Darkness, you did remember to make sure Retaliation was still active before insulting that oversized monkey, right?"

yelled Megumin, not getting a response which makes us both sweat just a little here. We'll give it five-ten minutes and if she hasn't done anything by then, we'll go ahead and step in to save her.

We then look over at Lynn and Cielo, seeing all the Vulture Hawks moving around all wobbly in the air, some of them even having fallen onto the ground. Cielo was unleashing Hadoken after Hadoken into the sky, hitting some perfectly and missing a few. They both seemed excited though as Lynn cheered a joyous Cielo onwards. The sight made me smile before turning my attention to Yunyun.

A pink aura had arisen around Yunyun who had her hands pressed firmly together before pulling them apart, revealing a flurry of petals wrapped into a sphere which quickly explode outwards into a spiraling dance around Yunyun, who looked like she was lost in the wonder and beauty of the sakura's.

She then turns her eyes towards the Ixasteeds. After a moment, she pushes her arms out before her, sending the petals racing towards the nearest one. Before it could react, it was enveloped within the storm of sakura petals while Yunyun allows it to remain as such for just a moment before closing the space between her hands, making the sphere of sakura petals around the Ixasteed crush inwards.

When the sakura petals finally move away, there was nothing left of the Ixasteed, save for its horns and its tail. The other Ixasteeds, having watch this all, immediately freak out and make a run for it with an elated Yunyun chasing after them, asking them if they would like to 'play' with her too.

I guess even Yunyun has a sadistic side to her, if given the right motivation to let it come out. Good to know. I then feel a tug on my sleeve followed by me looking to where Megumin was pointing.

As I had hoped, all the commotion the others were making had caught the attention on a massive Steelskin Troll. While most trolls preferred to stay indoors during the day, due to them having very sensitive skin that sunburns easily, Steelskin Trolls were one of the few exceptions. There was also the fact they were known to be man eaters and right now, it had its eyes on Yunyun who was too busy chasing after the terrified Ixasteeds to have taken notice of it.

"OK Megumin, here's your target. Better get it before it either gets Yunyun or she takes notice of it and decides to take that kill as well."

"As if I'm going to let that happen. Just stay right there and watch me, Kazuma. Time to see if this new spell you gave me is worthy of my time and usage here."

As Megumin begins her chant, the Steelskin Troll turns to look at us before bellowing out a deep growl, then it pounds the ground hard with its fist before charging right at us, either because it knew Megumin was a threat to it, or maybe because we looked like a tastier meal for it. I wonder which it actually was.

As Megumin chanted, her body began to glow with a flaming red aura. In her hands appeared a ball of blazing fire that resembled the sun. And her eyes were glowing with such an intense shape of crimson that it honestly scared me. Just standing by her, I could feel the sheer power coming from both her and the spell and knew it was going to be a force to behold, so much so that everyone else stopped what they were doing, both the girls and surviving monsters, in order to watch what was about to happen.

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows.

Buried in the stream of time where your power grows.

I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand

before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand.

Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed

by the power you and I possess...

Dragon Slave!"

The Dragon Slave flew from Megumin's hands, the ground beneath becoming immediately scorched by its sheer power. The Steelskin Troll, realizing the danger it was in, tried to run in its panic, but it was too late it it was quickly hit and annihilated in the singling biggest explosive blast Megumin had ever created, with only her Hyper Explosion being superior.

The shock wave that came from the blast came hitting everything within range like a wrecking ball, easily sending the other more monsters who were still alive flying off into who knows where. As for us? We were also sent flying and ended up in a pile, with me of course being at the bottom with Darkness on top of me, followed by Yunyun, Lynn, Cielo, and finally a very happy Megumin on top.

{Insert Image 2}

"That was amazing, Kazuma. That spell was so cool. I confess I may have thrown ALL my mana into it in order to get the most out of it, but I can say I'm now glad I learned it. Thank you, thank you, Kazuma. So, how many points would you rate that explosion variant?"

"I'll tell you once I'm done being crushed to death here so please... everyone get off me. I'm tapping out here and no offense, but you all together are really heavy, especially the one in the heavy armor."

Perhaps I should have stopped at asking everyone to get off me as while they did get off me, they went about taking their sweet ass time doing it. Anyways, once we were all sitting on the ground, or laying as was the case with Megumin, Cielo decided now was as good a time as any to try out Regen.

"I have to say, Kazuma. This Regen spell really is helpful. It'll make fixing all of you up either during or after a battle much quicker. That Hadoken was also fun. Thank you for creating it."

said Cielo before she hugs me. As soon as she's done, I then feel a kiss being placed on my cheeks from Yunyun who says to me as I look at her-

"That was my personal thank you, Kazuma. Alongside my Light of Spear, I'll be sure to train with Sakura Storm often."

The bashful look she was giving me made me feel a little warm inside. Truth told, whenever I see these girls happy makes me feel happy. I can't help but wonder though if it's because it could lead to 'special' times with each of them later. I may be a nice can, but even nice guys have their fantasies, right?

"Like I said before, that Equilibrium spell will definitely have its uses in the future. So, how about you, Darkness. Did Retaliation meet your expectations?"

When Darkness didn't respond, we all looked at her which makes her look away sheepishly. When Cielo asked her what's wrong, Darkness's replies by saying-

"Well... I actually may have gotten so into being thrashed about by that Boxer Congo that I may have forgotten to strike back before that shock wave sent it flying off. That was my bad."

We all deadpan at Darkness who then says-

"Well, we've done all the damage we can do here. Let's hurry back to Axel and do that quest I wanted us to do, alright?"

================{Part 4: Hunting a Beast of such Majestic Nobility}================

After using teleport to send us back to the mansion, we had quickly cleaned ourselves up and were now out the door, making our way to Axel.

The others had asked Darkness why it was so important for us to go do this mystery quest she wanted us to go do right now when we could just wait till tomorrow morning to do it. After all, it was the early afternoon, and everyone was feeling rather tired. In fact, Megumin was forcing me to carry her so she could have as much recovery time as needed, just to be prepared.

I had thought about saying no but after she whispered to me, saying I had her permission to 'touch her butt if I needed too', how could I possibly refuse. Of course, this meant we needed to bring up the rear, no pun intended of course, otherwise Lynn and Darkness could start poking fun at us for their own amusement.

Once we reached Axel, I returned my hands to the usual holding spot with Megumin, namely going under her legs at the knee. We soon reached the guild where Luna waited for us.

"Darkness, you finally arrived. I was beginning to worry that you..."

"Yeah, there was a bit of a distraction awaiting me back home. Nothing to worry about though. So, do you still have the special quest awaiting us?"

Luna nods as she turns to one side and hands Darkness a piece of paper. With it in hand, Darkness lowers her head in thanks before turning and leading us back outside the guild. As we went, I couldn't help but think something was a bit off with Luna's tone. Maybe it was just me here, but she sounded rather hollow and drone like. Not unlike how Darkness had been acting a little out of character when she got back this morning. Maybe they were both tired for one reason or another.

Not long after, we had left the safety of Axel behind and on our way to see to this quest Darkness wanted so badly too do here. Now that I think about it, just what exactly was this quest even about anyways? Just as I was going to ask her that very question...

"Say Darkness, just what exactly is this quest we're doing here anyways? Neither you nor Luna said anything about it."

asked Cielo. You must have been reading my mind there, Cielo. Thanks for saving me the trouble.

"Hm? Oh yeah, I guess I haven't talked about it yet. Tell me, have any of you ever heard of the Golden Nemean?"

Golden Nemean? Can't say that I have personally, though I am familiar with the name Nemean, because of the Nemean Lion, a boss from my favorite MMO. If memory serves me here, the Nemean Lion was one of the twelve labors that Hercules had to complete in order to be freed from his sin, the first labor I believe.

Yunyun is the one who answers Darkness, saying-

"I've heard the stories. The Golden Nemean is said to be a massive golden beast that greatly resembles a lion, even though it's considered to be a member of the manticore family. It has a body of pure gold, a majestic mane, two long whip like tails, and claws that can even pierce tempered steel armor. I also heard it is highly resistant to both physical attacks and magical ones."

Wait, seriously? Then why are we hunting such a monster then? That sounds way outside our current skill range, even with the magical firepower we currently have at our disposal.

"Wait, I'm confused, Darkness. Why would we need to hunt down a Golden Nemean for? If I recall correctly, Golden Nemean's are said to be rather peaceful beast, if not honorable. They never attack humans. In fact, they'll come to the aid of humans if they see any in danger. Wouldn't that make this creature a friend, not an enemy."

"Under normal conditions, yes. But there have been reports that a Golden Nemean has been spotted near town and we've been tasked with dealing with it."

Lynn then asks Darkness-

"So, wouldn't that be considered a good thing? They're not only friendly with humans but can be protectors as well. Don't tell me this is some stupid noble who's wanting to get themselves a Golden Nemean as a trophy here, like a rug or something?"

"Stupid noble..."

yelled Darkness suddenly, making us all come to a stop as we look at her, surprised to see her looking angry. She clenches her fist and grits her teeth for a few moments before she breathes out a sigh and says-

"Sorry about that, everyone. Guess I must be more tired than I would like to admit to here."

"Should we go back home then? We can always come back out here tomorrow to do this if need be."

Darkness shakes her head to Cielo's suggestion, then says-

"No, we need to deal with this creature now. You see, the thing of it is... this particular Golden Nemean... it's a man eater."

"A man eater!?"

the other girls, even Megumin, shouted out. Suddenly, I found myself really not wanting to do this quest. I also noticed the pause during Darkness's reply. For some reason, I couldn't help but feel like she was making it up on the spot. But that wasn't something Darkness would do here, right?

"I don't know the details, but it has been attacking people out on the road recently, dragging off any prey it can. We only know where its hiding because some foolish, yet brave soul tracked it back to a cave it was using. It needs to be dealt with as soon as possible, less it decides to become bold enough to come close to Axel, even try to enter Axel where it can have a buffet awaiting it."

"If that's true, then you're right. It does need to be stopped. But are we even equipped to handle a quest like this one. Shouldn't this be something the royal army would be dispatched to do?"

asked Yunyun.

"Normally, yes. But it will take a few days more for the army to be able to get here from the capital. Luna fears that may be too long a wait for the citizens of Axel so she asked me if we could try to handle this one right now. Given our past success with dealing with Devil King Generals here, our team is without question the best Axel has to offer. I figured we should at least try to deal with it, right?"

Wait, something didn't sound right to me. First, saying it will take a few days before any royal army solders can arrive? Why the delay when the teleportation stations for both Axel and the capital are finished? At least I'm assuming the capital one has been completed too as it wouldn't make sense to get any other location done beforehand, right?

And then there's Darkness said that it was Luna's idea for us to do this quest. Back when we were at the guild, it sounded like this had been on the wall and Darkness had asked for it to be held back for us to do exclusively. Now that I think about it, how would Darkness have known about this so quickly? Given the time she got back to the mansion this morning, why would she swing by the guild as soon as she got back to Axel. Something isn't adding up here. So, I guess I'll ask her myself.

"Dark..."

"Darkness, do you really think we can handle something like this, just us six I mean? Sure, we shouldn't have a few other party's come along to back us up?"

said Lynn, her question pushing ahead of my own here.

"Yes, I believe we can. Besides, when I said it was a man eater just a moment ago, I meant that literally here as it has currently only attacked men. As far as I know, it has yet to kill any woman in its thirst for blood."

"Then that means that the only one in real danger here is..."

The girls all look at me, making me sweat drop. I then say what any guy with at least half a brain would say in a situation like this one.

"Well, you guys have fun killing yourselves the target here. I think I'll head back to the mansion and start getting ready for supper tonight. Don't be too long with getting back."

"I'll go with Kazuma... to keep him company..."

said Megumin absentmindedly.

Darkness then approaches me and says with all earnestness-

"Kazuma, you can't leave now. I... we're going to need you there, to come up with the strategy that will allow us to beat it. I know it's asking a lot out of you to put yourself in danger like this, but please... you're the only one we can count on to make this quest a success. Besides, we'll need you to use teleport after we're done to send us back home."

"You know Darkness, I also know the Teleport spell. I even have the guild set as a fast travel spot. I could just as easily..."

Lynn's words are cut off as Darkness covers her mouth, another strange act coming from her. Yeah, no doubt about it now. Something had happened when she was away, something that was making her act all weird. While I wanted to turn her down and leave, as I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, I also wanted to keep an eye on her, to see if I could figure out what's going on here with her. And so...

"Alright, I'll come along... but on ONE condition."

"Anything."

"I am in charge here. No one, I mean NO ONE, does any kind of action, apart from defensive, without MY OK here. That means if I say we run, there is no discussion about it. We run no matter what. Is that clear everyone?"

All the girls nod. I then turn to Darkness specifically and say it again directly to her-

"YOU understand, right. I say run, we ALL run for it. No debate about it."

"Yes Kazuma, I understand. I promise I'll do as told, no matter what. Why are you saying this to me specifically? I'm not the one you have to worry about here."

"Are you saying the rest of us are the issue, Darkness?"

said Megumin, giving Darkness a strong glare.

As the girls started yapping over that little remark, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I hope I'm wrong, but my gut was telling me that this was going to be a big mistake.

We continued on our way and soon, as the twilight hours of the day were in full swing, we reached the cave where the Golden Nemean was said to be living.

And almost immediately, I could feel it in the air; something dark... no, something oppressive and evil in nature. It was coming from within the cave itself. And whatever it was that was the source, it was not of this world, perhaps even realm?

And I clearly wasn't the only one who could feel it as Lynn was visibly shivering, like it was still mid-winter and she was dressed for the summer. Cielo couldn't help but shrink back while a nervous Yunyun said-

"You know, maybe we should reconsider this one. Maybe Kazuma was right with us bringing some backup for this quest, just to play it safe and all."

Instead of giving a reply to Yunyun's words, Darkness just silently walks into the lion's den without fear or concern here. We all look at each other for a second before cautiously stepping inside ourselves. Well, almost all of us as I have Megumin hang back outside, making ready a spell of her choosing to send into the cave should she see us come running out in a panic.

Once inside, we saw the beast laying down in slumber on the far side of the cave. Seeing as we appeared to have a moment here to strategize, I beckoned the others to come in close as we began to whisper amongst ourselves. Yunyun was the first to speak, asking me-

"So, what's our plan here, Kazuma?"

"This is going to be a bit risky, but me, Darkness, and Cielo will move in close. Once we reach the Golden Nemean, I'll grab onto it as use drain touch to suck as much energy out of it as I can. Darkness and Cielo, I'm going to need to two of you to grab onto it and see if you can pin it down till I'm done."

"You can count on us, Kazuma."

I nod at Cielo's confidence before turning to Yunyun and Lynn.

"As for you two, use whatever intermediate level magic you feel would work best here and send spell after spell flying into its face. Hopefully, it will be enough of a distraction to keep it from being able to think clearly. With Darkness and Cielo holding him down as well, I should hopefully drain enough energy to either incapacitate it or maybe even kill it, seeing as drain touch can be fatal if used right."

"Question Kazuma, why not use bind on that guy, first. That could also buy you some time."

I look at the Golden Nemean for a moment, then back at Lynn and say-

"Considering the size of that guy, as strong it looks, I seriously doubt even my best binding cord will last any longer than a few seconds. Plus, we'll lose the element of surprise if I do that. I know my plan is risky but again, just by seeing our target in the flesh, I already know any plan I can come up with will have serious risk apart from just giving up and leaving right now. Anyways, is everyone ready?"

"Yeah." (x3)

"Darkness, what about... Darkness?"

We all then notice Darkness wasn't huddled in with us anymore. We quickly pull away and look around, spotting her a split second later, walking oh so casually towards the Golden Nemean like she was out on a stroll. We all start whisper shouting at her to stop and get back here, as I wasn't sure if she had heard the full plan or not.

She does look back after a moment, to give us an annoyed look as she not so quietly says-

"What? Shouldn't we be focused on-AAAHHHH..."

The moment she had turned her head back to respond to us, her foot had caught on a rock, and she was sent falling forward onto the stone ground. The impact was as loud as you would have feared it would be from someone decked out in full body armor hitting the unforgiving stone flooring inside the cave.

The rest of us all froze in terror as the Golden Nemean's eyes slowly opened followed by it lifting its head from off its front paws. It yawns then begins to scan the room to see what could have caused the noise. It looks at Darkness, then over to Lynn, Cielo, and Yunyun, and then to me where its gaze lingers.

A cold sweat runs down my back as it stares at me. For just a moment, I feared it would go into the attack at once, seeing as Darkness said it was a MAN eater. Instead, it just yawns again before laying its head back down and seemingly returning to its slumber, making us all breathe out a sigh of relief.

"What just happened? It was looking right at Kazuma but ended up going back to sleep."

"Maybe it's still to asleep here to have recognize Kazuma as a guy, or maybe it only attacks when its hungry."

"Or, maybe the reports about this guy really are just mere rumors and nothing more. Should we proceed, Kazuma?"

Good question here. Even if it appears to have gone back asleep, it could all be a ruse to get us to lower our guards just a little bit. Still, when I look at the Golden Nemean, I don't feel that dark energy I felt from just a few minutes before. Was it possibly what I had felt was mistaken? With my nerve to see this quest through now faltering, I decide to go ahead and abort for now and return to Axel so I can...

"Darkness? Darkness, what are you doing?"

yelled Cielo, bringing me from my thoughts to look as our Crusader had returned to her feet and had continued to proceed towards the Golden Nemean, reaching it then reaching her hand out and touching its forehead.

I then see her mouth move though I don't hear any words come out and, for just a split second, I felt that dark aura surge forth again. It may have been a trick of the light filtering into the cave from outside, but I could have sworn I saw a shadow jump from Darkness's hand into the beast.

Not that I had time to really process this as the Golden Nemean's eyes quickly shoot open, now glowing red as it immediately takes action by standing and sending one of its front paws into Darkness, sending her flying back into the wall.

"DARKNESS?"

yelled Cielo as she charges forward recklessly while Lynn and Yunyun then send their best spells flying around her out at the beast.

"Lightning..."

"Light of Saber..."

Their spells hit hard against the body of the Golden Nemean, but like we were told, they did no noticeable damage to it. Lynn this uses Equilibrium to try to disorient the Golden Nemean as Cielo reaches it and begins slamming her fist into its body. Thanks to the Blast Gloves, every impact released little explosion burst, creating a ton of smoke. But despite this, there still appeared to be no sing of injury appearing on the beast. By now, it was obvious that we weren't going to be able to do this.

The Golden Nemean, having already grown tired of this, quickly sends one of its tails and wraps it around Cielo's arms while the other goes around her waist before it lifts her off the ground and tries to use her like a hammer to strike down at Lynn and Yunyun, who just barely jump clear in time before being hit. Cielo, luckily, managed to adjust her position and free herself in that moment to avoid taking any injury herself while escaping from being held by the beast tails.

Darkness, having finally recovered, goes on the offensive here as she jumps towards the Golden Nemean with her sword at the ready, only to be sent flying into the ground before me before she could land a hit.

"Sakura Storm..."

yells Yunyun, sending out a barrage of sakura petals which momentarily distracts the beast, but shows no sign of doing any damage, forces me to make the call.

"Everyone, this quest is over. We're pulling out NOW. Get outside and get Megumin. Once we're all together, I'll use teleport to send us back to Axel. Tell Megumin to fire her spell into the cave the moment we're all outside."

The three sensible girls quickly nod as they turn to run towards the exit. I then go to try using Brain Freeze here, hoping it could buy us a few quick seconds when I notice Darkness moving towards the Golden Nemean again.

"Darkness, I told you this fight is over. We're leaving NOW!"

"I refuse, we can still do this, Kazuma."

"There is no refusal, you idiot. I set the conditions here, you agreed to them. Now stop being so damn stubborn and-OOMMPPHHHH..."

I run up to Darkness, trying to pull her back, which she responds to by backhanding me and sending me flying off to the side. As I pull myself up, I see her trying to strike the Golden Nemean. While her attacks were indeed landing, they weren't doing anything to hurt it.

The Golden Nemean finally does something new, unleashing a powerful roar which create visible ripples in the air. The lingering Sakura Storm around it is immediately dispelled while Darkness sent flying off her feet and flying back towards the entrance. Despite this, she still tries to go at it again as the Golden Nemean then lunges at her, clearly going in for the kill now.

"DAMN IT DARKNESS. WE'RE SO HAVING WORDS WHEN THIS IS..."

{Insert Image 3}

Those words were my last as I collide with Darkness, pushing her out of the way, seeing her look back at me with shock and realization before I feel the weight of the Golden Nemean come down on me, followed by intense pain, the feeling of ripping and tearing...

And then, darkness and nothingness...

================{Bonus Short: Stop the Press's}================

Kazuma and Megumin were sitting at the dining room table, enjoying their breakfast. Cielo was out back, doing her morning training workout while Lynn was still in bed, as far as they were aware. Kazuma was busy reading the morning paper as Darkness comes walking in from the kitchen, giving each of them a cup of her favorite tea before taking a seat beside Kazuma. She then looks at the paper and asks-

"So, anything interesting talked about today?"

"Nothing major, apart from the actions of the Chivalrous Thieves back in Verdiae finally being mentioned."

Megumin spits up her tea upon hearing that before turning to Kazuma and asking him with desperation in her tone.

"Kazuma, Kazuma, can I have the part of the paper that talks about those thieves once you're done with it?"

"Sure, I'm actually done with it now. Here you go."

Kazuma pulls the section of the paper with the subject in question clear from the rest and hands it to Megumin who immediately snatch's it away from him, looking at it with the eyes of a child who had just been given their dream present. Darkness gives Megumin a smile while asking her-

"What's this about, Megumin. Starting a scrap book that focuses solely on their exploits as talked about within the papers?"

"Yeah, I am their biggest fan after all. I want to keep track of all their adventure's if possible. I'll be back in a moment."

With that, Megumin jumps from her chair and goes running towards the stairs, clearly heading to her bedroom. Once she was gone, Kazuma looks at Darkness and says with plenty of humor in his voice.

"She can be such a kid sometimes, huh?"

"True. It's rather cute in a way, don't you think."

Kazuma nods as he takes a sip from the tea. He then looks back at Darkness and asks-

"Say, can I ask you a question here?"

"A question. What is it?"

"It's a way for someone to obtain information that they currently lack, but that isn't important right now. Anyways, before I ask my question, I'll need to give you a hypothetical scenario here in order to give context to my question."

Darkness gives Kazuma a deadpan look starting off, which switches to curiosity as she tells him to go ahead.

"OK, let's say I had 20 billion eris to my name and I decided to offer ninety percent of that amount to either a single charity or broken into multiple charities. Would such an act be considered newsworthy? To be put into the papers?"

"I would say so as I've never heard of anyone ever giving that much before. I'd dare say it would even be front page news unless there was a lot of war stuff that needed to be talked about. Why do you ask."

"Because our mutual friend Chris told me she had won twenty billion eris while she was out in Elroad and she told me she had given ninety percent to charity, yet I haven't seen anything mentioned about it in the papers. I wanted to check with you to see if something like that would be considered newsworthy before I start making any assumptions here."

Darkness takes a moment to think on my words before asking me-

"Are you sure you didn't mishear her when she told you that, Kazuma. Perhaps she meant to say twenty MILLION, not billion. Ninety percent of twenty million could still be considered worthy of being in the papers but not a guarantee. Or maybe she plans to give out that ninety percent but not all at once as someone who isn't a noble or a royal would certainly draw a lot of attention onto themselves when doing that. You know, people hounding her for charitable donations and such."

"Maybe, it could be that or another possibility is that she meant to say she gave ten percent to charity and kept the ninety percent for herself though I want to believe that isn't the case."

"Agreed. So, when we next see her..."

"We'll have a little talk with her about that subject. And to play it safe..."

"I'll have the lie detector bell ready to go for her."

Elsewhere, up within her throne, a certain goddess of fortune suddenly found herself having a cold chill running down her back. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt her life was in great danger for some reason...

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

Image 1: Top image is of Lynn and Cielo looking hardcore, bottom image of nervous Yunyun and defiant Megumin, and side image of Kazuma, Chomusuke, and Anna just watching it all go down.

Image 2: Darkness being pounded, Cielo firing off Hadoken's with Lynn behind her, Yunyun surrounded by sakura petals, and Megumin unleashing the Dragon Slave.

Image 3: Kazuma leaping at Darkness, pushing her away as the Golden Nemean comes at them.

AN: I'm sure you all probably already know what's happening here, or at least have a good idea. Anyways, in the next chapter, we'll finally learn just what is going on with Darkness to make her act as she is. And, as a bonus, we're also going to learn a curious little secret about Crimson Demons, specifically the female members of the clan that's going to explain everything behind why they seem to get such a sexual thrill whenever Kazuma gives them mana.

Until then, feel free to speculate on what that reveal is going to be...