"Alright Aqua, it's coming up on the left."

'After all the level ups I had, I just knew I had to give a certain someone a visit. Even with all this blood magic, it never hurts to have tricks up your sleeve here and there'

"Make sure whatever you do, that you stay calm, alright?"

"Why are you talking to me like that? Just what do you take me for? Hey don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!"

Entering the shop without pause, Kazuma took off his hat and met eyes with the familiar face he was looking for.

"Oh, hello! Welcome to- AAA!"

"YOU!"

Her!?

'Huh?'

"Come here you undead basta-rd.."

Kazuma helped the now slumbering Aqua into a seat before she could cause a scene.

'Oh sleep spell I love you! Now run that back on me old man'

It's her, Wiz. I didn't believe she actually would be in a town like this

"I-I'm sorry for any trouble I cause her!"

"No! Don't blame yourself, this zealot can't keep her bloodlust to herself when it comes to undead stuff."

'What do you know about her?'

She's a legendary adventurer. An ice mage of no equal, I heard that she once managed to destroy the devil king's barrier all by her lonesome.

'Really? She's THAT strong?'

Before she became a general herself

'...YOU DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS IMPORTANT INFORMATION BEFORE?'

I didn't know she was living in Axel!

'You can read my memories!'

I have better things to do than scour every corner of your perverted mind

Wiz, seeing the wide range of emotions Kazuma seemed to go through without context, took a couple steps back before a harsh gaze fell on her.

"Hey Wiz, what do you think of my defeat of Verdia?"

"Oh, I'm really surprised actually! Among the generals, his swordsmanship was second to none!"

"Really? I find it odd that you would know something like that about the generals."

"Haha, to tell you the truth, I'm actually a former member myself!" she replied with an innocent smile, as if what she said wasn't a bombshell to anyone else what would have heard it.

'...Well I guess that rules out my theory of her trying to hide it'

Kazuma's features softened when he realized she appeared to bear no ill will as a general.

"Alright, but I have a few questions."


"That's all you know?"

"Yes, I promise."

'Damn it, another dead end. Turns out she didn't even have much connections with the devil king after arriving in Axel. She said that one day the barrier was broken with complete ease, and the devil king died shortly afterwards. That doesn't give me anything!'

"Do you have any ideas of who it could have been?"

"Nope. I'm sorry…or actually, now that I think about it, on the day of the attack, there were five powerful signatures that attacked the castle. I believe one of them is the one you're looking for!"

'...That's no help at all!'

"Well, thank you I guess."

The wooden door swung open and an old man in robes stepped through.

"I apologize if I'm interrupting anything, but lady Wiz, I need your help!"


Kazuma and co. now stood outside the gate of a large estate. Each carrying their personal set of belongings.

"Will you get over it! I put you to sleep because you would have done something stupid!"

'And if she learned that Wiz was a general, she probably WOULD have tried to kill her'

"mmmMM! Just be glad I'm in a good mood!"

"This place used to belong to an important aristocrat, or so I've heard."

"Well ladies, guess we'll be keeping those few hundred million huh!?"

All of Aqua's pouting left her body when she realized the significance of that. Now that they have an honest to size mansion as their permanent home, they get to keep the spoils for anything they could possibly want!

"Hehe, whatever spirits are lurking around in here, it'll be a cinch for me! This place is as good as ghost free!"

"Except for the fact that they tried exorcisms before and it never worked."

"Did they have a goddess exorcize this place before? Hmm? Nooo? I wonder why that is?"

"Alright already I get the point."

"Nope, I want you to say it! Hey, where are you guys going!?"


After spending the rest of the day cleaning, (while Aqua remained outside reciting some odd drama story she must have read), each of Kazuma's party decided to become well acquainted with their new room.

'Oh man I thought the inn was nice after sleeping at the stables, but having a place to call my own is even better! This mansion rocks!'

I wouldn't even call it second rate. MY castle remains out there, hopefully still standing if that witch hasn't destroyed it to spite me

'If it's anything like the castle in my head you made, I wouldn't mind dusting it off sometime. But having an actual city to live in is kinda important to me'

And yet you never left your home, we aren't so different

'I died OUTSIDE my house! And besides, I need to live next to shops and stuff…for things'

No, you don't NEED anything. You're changing ever so slightly, you're becoming more accustomed to people acknowledging your existence positively, or at all

'Goodnight'

"AAAAA!"

'Oh come on'


"WHY DID IT COME TO THIS!? AQUA OPEN UP!"

Pathetic. Just use your blood cleansing ritual

"THAT MOVE TAKES LIKE A MINUTE TO SETUP AND I'M NOT SITTING THERE WITH THOSE DOLLS TRYING TO MURDER ME!"

I used to have entire nations cower in fear of my very name. And now my progeny is running in terror from children's toys

Kazuma nearly ripped the door off the wall trying to get in, and what awaited him was

"Hhhhhhuuuhhhh"

"AAhh what the hell!"

"EEEEP!"

"Megumin what are you doing here!?"

"I can ask you the same thing, this is Aqua's room!"

"Yes I know! That's why I'm here! A bunch of killer dolls chased me out of my room."

"Y-yeah, same here. I was hoping Aqua could walk me down the hall…y'know. Guard while I, nnbathroom."

'Guess crimson demon's do pee after all'

"Well I'm not heading out there with those things, I'll turn this way and you do your thing out in the balcony or something I guess."

He felt a tight grip wrap around his arm.

"Hhhhh, alright, what's up, what's the deal, you good? We good? Cool, so let go, or go"

"There's no way I'm going outside by myself, not with you right here to watch over me! We're a party right!? Which means we watch each others back! Even if we pee together!"

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that!" Kazuma began fighting with her as she comically tried to push him towards the glass.

'I should probably just put her to sleep…wait but then she'd piss all over herself!'

I can't physically throw- nevermind

'Stop being useless and give me ideas!'

"Uhm…Kazuma."

"Huh?...oh there's a whole bunch of them behind me isn't there."

"Mhm!"

"And I don't even have a scooby snack." He said, defeated.


Kazuma worked to control his breathing after a hasty chase, standing outside a hallway restroom.

"U-um, are you there?"

"About as here as I can be."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. What kind of question is that?"

"How do I know it's the real you?"

"Would you prefer I wait in with you!? Maybe we can share it huh!? Just hurry up, I don't wanna be caught by these things!"

"This is humiliating. Can't you like, I don't know…sing?"

"Yeah, sure."

"R-really?"

"NO! Like hell am I gonna be busting it down thriller style while the actual undead come after me!"

Speak of the devil, as Kazuma noticed from the corner of his eyes as the dolls from before began to creep around the hall, watching him intently before making slow movements forward.

"Uhhh Megumin! We got a problem here!"

"Look I know you probably have to go, but you just gotta wait your turn okay!?"

"I don't pee you idiot! I'm talking about something bigger than bladder problems!"

'There's gotta be something…wait! The platforms I used when fighting the Shogun, I can shape things right!? Then it's this or nothing!'

Extending his arms left and right, he summoned a great deal of blood which took the form of a wall that sealed off his entire section from the rest of the hall.

"Oh hell yeah! It actually works!"

However even if he couldn't see, he could feel the growing number of spirits and objects that begun to violently bash against his crimson constructs.

"Woah…ten, twenty, forty…that's a lot of dolls."

Small cracks began to form onto the wall he made with the increasing pressure.

"DaRkNeSs. BlAcKeR tHaN bLaCk!"

Kazuma ripped open the door to find that she was already finished and simply hiding in the corner.

"AAAhhg!""

"You idiot! You're gonna blow the place up! And if you're done just say so!"

"I-I wasn't done!"

"Then why are your panties on!?"

"Don't worry about it!"

*CRUSH*

The dolls grew closer and closer to breaking down Kazuma's barrier.

"We got no choice, as soon as I retract the barrier, I'll use a hardened fist to make a path and we run for it! Ready!?"

"Mhm!"

"Alright! TIME TO SHOW YOU HOW A REAL DEMON DOES BUSINESS YOU SONS OF BITCHES!"

As he absorbed the blood in the barrier and threw a wild mean right hook, it connected on exactly the opposite intended target.

"A-Aqua! Are you alright!?"


'It took a while but everything managed to resolve itself, turns out SOMEONE was causing spirits to invade the mansion due to a magical barrier they put up on the graveyard. But in the end the land lord decided to let us keep the mansion as means to show his appreciation.'

"Huh?" Kazuma, on a walk to alleviate some boredom, ran into a couple of familiar faces.

'Keith and Dust. These are the guys that wanted to party up with the girls a while back. THAT didn't end so well'

"Yo, what's up?"

"Agh! Don't sneak up on us like that Kazuma!"

"Y'all are acting weird, is something…"

'I sense demonic energy coming from this hallway, nothing malicious though'

Suddenly he was pulled to the side and into a huddle up.

"Look man, if I tell you, you gotta keep it a secret from all the chicks alright?"

"Yeah sure."

"There's a special brothel down there, ran by succubae! For a price, they'll give you the kinkiest, most realistic wet dreams in your life!"

"Tell me more." He replied without missing a beat.


His senses didn't lie, this was a brothel run by actual succubae, low level demons in the grand scheme of it all. They had a pretty good racket, with men lining up in droves, ready to pay whatever it takes.

An ingenious idea, however, don't get your hopes up boy

'Huh? Why not?'

"Alright gentlemen, right this- oh I'm sorry sir. Our service doesn't affect vampires. I do offer my sincerest apologies."

'JJBBJBDJBAJB'

"I…understand! Thankyouverymuch" He replied in a pitiful hushed tone. Dust and Keith gave him that sympathetic look only men understand, and with a pat on the back, he walked out the brothel.

'AAAAAAGH THIS SUCKS! VAMPIRES CAN'T DO ANYTHING FUN! I CAN'T DRINK, I CANT HAVE KINKY DREAMS! I DON'T AGE! WHAT'S THE POINT!?'

Stop your crying. If you wish to have that type of fun, you have a range of options muAHAHA!

'Oh yeah I got the choice selects alright! A masochistic weirdo, edgy jailbait, and a complete idiot!'

I live in your mind boy, your true thoughts aren't hard for me to read

'I don't know what you're talking about, whatever I have better things to do than sit here and complain anyway. Maybe Megumin has something happening'


"You wanna go back? But we already destroyed it. Completely!"

"I'm talking about exploring it!"

"For what? Soot?"

"Why are you complaining if you're already walking there with me?"

"Because I got rejected from the uh…the bar."

"Huh? At the guild?"

"No, you wouldn't know about it."

"Are you trying to say something!?"

"What!? No I'm just saying it's not at the guild is all. But now that you mention it yeah! You wouldn't know about a bar because you can't drink!"

"Grrr, the only ones that care about that rule seem to be you and darkness."

"Well its for your own good!"

"..."

"..."

"You got rejected cause you're a vampire huh?"

"Hngh! Maybe."

They continued to walk in silence for a bit. The now caved in ruins of the old castle came into view.

"Kazuma?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like being a vampire?"

"Huh? Of course I do."

"Are you lying?"

"No? Why would I…" The way she stared at him already told him that she wasn't gonna be fooled so easily.

Kazuma Sighed and adjusted his tricorn hat.

"I do like it, I mean why wouldn't I? I came here with nothing. I was nothing Megumin, and now i'm like, a total badass! I beat the winter shogun, Verdia, and all those other kill quest without breaking a sweat. I just wish everyone else liked it as much as I did. And maybe I mean life and not everyone else but…"

"You mean there's things you don't like about it."

"Yeah like, I'm never going to truly enjoy food and drink again. I'm never going to feel a cool breeze the way I did before, or the warmth of being near a fire, or the way the sun feels on your skin when it's not too hot. That's something I realized I missed out on before."

"Because you don't feel temperature the way you did before."

"And don't even get me started with the whole stuck in this body for eternity thing. I'm still keeping that off my mind for now. I'll let it hit me when it hits me." He stated with a frown and crossed arms.

"Kazuma?"

"Uhuh?"

"When you said before, you meant like before you became an adventurer, and not just a vampire."

"Maybe. How would you know?"

"Aqua talks a lot when she's drunk."

"Oh that alcoholic bimbo! I'll-"

"Kazuma, you didn't have a happy life before coming to Axel did you?"

'What the hell? When did everything get so tense? I feel like im in a visual novel cutscene!'

"Let me guess, she told you I was a shut in and didn't have friends and didn't do anything useful, and didn't do anything but-"

"I noticed because of how you felt when that jerk and his dumb girlfriends called you freak, and all those other things."

"Well..."

"Each time, you made a face like you were remembering something painfully."

"..."

"Axel's doing better I think, but there's still people that look at you in a certain way. That's why I wanted to talk about it is all."

'Oh thank god we're here'

"Heads up! Destination arrived, nowheresville!"

"Very funny. There might be treasure or something!"

"Yeah there might have been, before it was flung in some random direction at 100 miles per hour."

After a slight climb up a trail, they found the entrance, the metal doors torn open violently as the dirt and ground before them became increasingly covered in soot. Then the walls, and leftover broken furniture, and little bits of hanging ceiling left.

"This place is a skeleton. Kinda cool but I hardly think we'll find something interesting here."

"You know Kazuma sometimes we can just have fun looking around, even if we don't find anything."

'Yeah yeah, you're not wrong. Not like there's anything better to do'

There's a magic seal on the floor here

'...yeah I feel it now that I focus. I can't sense below it'

There could be something interesting below, or dangerous

'I have a good idea for when we start to leave'

"Hey Kazummaaaaa!"

"Yeah?"

"Guess what I got!?"

"A moon rock?"

"What? No dummy! I found a journal!"

"What!? With writing?! Is it Verdia's!?"

"Woah I haven't even read it yet, here take a look. I found it underneath a burnt out bookshelf."

'Damn, a lot of this is burnt away, I can barely read any of it but…'

"Oh hell yeah!"

"What!? I wanna see too! Lemme see!" Megumin playfully clawed at Kazuma's arm as he intently read a fully untouched passage.

'-which is why I made my way out here, when the decision was betrayal to what I once believed in or annihilation. Even if we all fought as one, not even the self proclaimed god killer 'Dev' would have been challenged. The choice was simple. I chose Axel as the adventurers shouldn't bother me way out here. All I can do now is gather strength, numbers, and try to communicate with Wiz. The Tyrant won't stand forever.'

"Megumin, we have a name now!"

"Dev?"

Dev? In all my years I have never heard of such a thing. But any being that could battle all generals at once, and who has the title 'god killer' is not something to trifle with

"I think we're getting closer. We can keep hunting the remaining generals and learn what they know."

"Hey, give me some credit, i'm the one who wanted to come here in the first place!"

"Yeah you were!" Kazuma praised as he hugged and raised her up for a few seconds, already a few seconds too long for the heavily blushing crimson demon.

"H-hey! Give a girl a warning before you touch her like that!"

"So, why don't we blow the joint and book it?"

"Blow it up again?"

"Aim it at the floor center this time."

Megumin thought about the reasoning for a second before shrugging, not like she needed a reason to ignite one of her explosions after a job well done.

"Here's a good distance. Let Darkness grow, blacker than black, as the final tears of a sullen goodbye erupts on blackened ground, let the void burn away the embers of what still stands! And return all to dust! EXploooooSHUUUN!"

*kaaaaBOOOOOM*

'Jeez! Now that I have the castle (or lack of it) for comparison, her explosions look way stronger than all those months ago!'

"Nice going Megumin, you caved the place in on itself!" He kept her from falling onto her face, then hoisted her up on his back like usual.

"Pretty good huh, all that extra adventuring we did over winter has been coming in handy."

"Well, coming in handy as in making a boom a bigger boom, sure."

"That is handy."

'Alright, now to see what's hidden underneath'

Kazuma walked to the edge of a dropoff, as the rubble of the destroyed castle lay at the bottom of a premade pit of sorts.

'Hmm, you know I could have handled this a lot better…'

While pondering over whether he should start digging through rubble, his eyes hardened at a new sensation.

"Megumin, hold on tight no matter what, got it?"

"Huh? What's happening?"

"I think we messed with something we probably shouldn't have."

"GWOOOOAAAAAAGHHHH!"

From the bottom of the pit came a horrific roar, one that had Megumin gripping twice as tight as before.

As pieces of the rubble began to shake intensely, a large, muscular, amphibian arm with razor claws pierced through, then the second. Pulling itself out completely was a strange creature that could only be described as an mutated giant toad with arms larger than its own body.

'I do NOT want to be on the receiving end of that'

"Ka-Kazuma, I think you should run! Please!"

When he took a few steps back away from the cliff, the toad creature managed to leap out of the pit with ease. Aggressively snarling at Kazuma and pounding the ground with its fist as it moved carefully.

"This thing isn't gonna let us run. That's okay. Try this on for size big boy."

Kazuma's right hand glowed in a familiar manner, before a red and white orb floated just above his hand.

"Here's a red sun for your trouble!"

He reeled back his right arm and threw the ball pitcher style as hard as he could, but before it could make contact the creature gripped the ground with its fingers and threw itself out of the way. The red sun expanding and exploding in the distance.

"Tch."

'Crimson Venus could accidentally pierce Megumin, so I can't use that. Wait, I got it!'

"Alright, just hang on a second Megumin, I got a plan."

Not wanting to wait anymore, the mutant uprooted a nearby tree and tossed it at the vampire, which Kazuma broke through with an enlarged blood arm. This left him wide open to a set of razor claws that slashed through his torso and sent him skittering on the ground as he struggled to remain balanced, not wanting to crush Megumin in a fall.

"Ghuh! That fucking hurts!"

"Kazuma! Are you okay!?"

"Yeah, i'm fine."

"Here it comes again!"

Not wanting to hurt the girl on his back, Kazuma was forced into a defensive as the mutant moved around the battlefield erratically, landing slashes across the arm or leg as it tried to wear the vampire down. The way it moved, it was almost as it was hopping horizontally, instead of vertically up in the air. It's feet dug into the ground and unleashed at a high velocity in a forward direction.

This next time, it dug in with both arms and legs, waiting a few seconds as its muscles began to bulk up in readiness.

"That looks bad Kazuma!"

It let followed through, flinging itself so fast that the crimson demon didn't manage to react at all, to her it was if it was in one space in one moment, and now in front of them struggling the next.

"Awww, having trouble moving?"

Upon closer inspection, a crimson chain wrapped around its leg ran to a skull placed several meters behind.

"Guess you should have been paying attention." Kazuma said in revelry. With a snap of his fingers, three more skulls revealed themselves from hidden locations. Their mandibles opening up as more blood red chains fired and looped around a chosen limb.

"Red Skull: Capture Party."

"Wooaaah. Where did they come from?"

"While this thing was leaping around and playing cat to my mouse, I was moving between the same few locations. These skulls require a certain amount of work to complete, so I had to do it all disjointedly."

The monster, now in chains, fought violently to now end, and to no avail.

'Verdia was keeping something like this hidden underneath his castle? Or was it always here? Either way, I need to kill it now'

"This is a good moment to practice. So long freaky toad thing! Vlad's Impalement!"

An outstretched hand tightened into a fist as an evil looking spike tore through the ground underneath the defenseless creature, skewering it like a marshmallow for smores.

Smiling under his half mask at a job well done, Kazuma's knees shook, before buckling completely as he fell prone onto the ground with a thud. Megumin now lay motionless on top of him.

"A-ah! Did you lose all your mana?"

"O-oh, I thought I was doing it right this time but uh. I must have messed up somehow."

Perhaps you're not so hopeless after all

'Shut up!'

"I uh, I can't move a muscle."

"Me neither…should we like, take a nap or something?"

"A nap? Out here?"

"Do we really have a choice, come on its not so bad. Don't tell me a crimson demon is scared of sleeping outdoors."

"I am not scared of sleeping outdoors! I've slept without a roof more than you know!"

"O-oh. I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"No it's not a big deal. There's nothing wrong with taking a nap out here, I just…you know. If someone came out here and saw us…"

"Oh, yeahhh. Well I hey they should mind their own business, right?"

"Yeah, right." Megumin couldn't stop blushing at their predicament. Her face was essentially buried in Kazuma's chest, doing her very best to move her chin so that she could face off to the side.

Kazuma could feel the thumping inside her.

"Your heartbeat is fast."

"H-hey don't tell me that!"

"Well, good…nap I guess."

"Yeah, good nap."

Kazuma fought to keep down a devious smile as the girl closed her eyes and relented. Though with the peacefulness of it all, he mentally shrugged and followed suit.


"Hey, you're finally awake."

Kazuma rustled slowly, stretching and wiping at his eyes as he roused awake. He noticed his hat and mask were off, giving him suspicions that he decided to let go for the heck of it.

Megumin laid right beside him, staring up into a deep dark sky. Without all the torches lit throughout the night in Axel, the stars were far easier to see.

"Hey Kazuma, while you were asleep, I was thinking."

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to focus on all the bad things having to do with your transformation. Because I don't think you're a freak. I don't think of you differently, and after seeing that-" She points to the sky. "It's not so bad avoiding the sun, cause if you ever want to go out at night, you know, I-i'll be there too if you want."

Kazuma stared at her silently for a few seconds, unsure of how to respond. His cold heart felt a jolt of warmth, this must have been the nicest thing someone has said to him in his several months of his new life.

'Am I gonna tear up!? Gah I am such a loser!'

Looking away to hide his eyes, Kazuma stood up, and once more lifted the girl onto his back.

"Thank you Megumin, that means a lot to me."

"Uhh, Kazuma, I don't need to be carried home."

"Oh! Sorry, force of habit." He awkwardly let her down as they stood around wondering what to do.

"Kazuma! I almost forgot, Darkness said her family was sending gifts to us to celebrate us moving into the mansion!"

"Really? Should have said so earlier! Lets head home!"