Ethox's Journal, Entry #6:

Well, it's been three days since my last entry, and we've all been preparing for the upcoming battle with Verdia. Seiya's been looking for more skills to master, even though he could probably one-shot the guy (not that he'll agree with that.), Ultra and his partners have stepped up their training, and Match and I have started to practice our sword fighting together. As for the others… Well, right now, Aqua's complaining about being broke and her part-time job.

I know I said that I want Kazuma to join, but honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about Aqua. Sure, she lifted the curse on Darkness, but other than that, she really hasn't been useful, or even acted like it. I don't just want to abandon her here on this world, but I don't want someone like her to be roped into this dangerous adventure with us.

I wonder if my brother would let her join Mythos Hearts? If he was here, would he get along with her? For that matter, would he have been as awed by Seiya as I was? Or would he be more equal to him? Well, I guess those are questions for later. Either way, I'll probably make my next entry once we beat Verdia. Wish us luck!


Ethox looked up from his writing to see Aqua and Kazuma fighting near the job board. Curious, the Nobody got up and made his way over to the two.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Ethox asked the two.

"Aqua's broke, so she wants to take a job. But I don't want her taking any super hard ones." Kazuma said. "Like this one: kill both a manticore and a griffin at the same time?! No way!"

"B-But… 500,000 Eris…" Aqua whimpered.

"What's the point if we get torn to shreds?!" Kazuma said. "Pick another one."

"Okay…" Aqua grumbled as she scanned the board until her face lit up. "Oh! How 'bout this one? Need to purify the town lake. It has become so polluted, no one can drink from it and brutal alligators have made it their home. The alligators will leave once the water has been purified, so you won't have to kill them. 300,000 Eris reward."

"Purifying water, huh?" Ethox said. "That sounds like a perfect quest for you."

"Huh? Why would it be perfect for her?" Kazuma asked.

"Uh, hello? Water goddess?" Ethox asked. "What, her blue hair and wearing all blue didn't give it away? How about her literally being named Aqua?"

"Oh yeah… I forgot with all the antics she gets up to." Kazuma said. "Fine we'll take it. Better yet, Aqua, you take it, then the reward is all yours."

"Oh…" Aqua said, giggling nervously. "I think the monsters will attack me while I'm purifying the water, so… I sorta need protection."

Ethox thought about it. "(Hmm, this might actually be a good chance to see if Aqua's good enough to let on the team. I mean, she is a Goddess, and we haven't seen a lot of her skills…). Okay Aqua, we'll escort you to the lake."

"No offense, but unless any of you can walk on water, I don't think you'll be able to be as helpful as you usually are." Kazuma said. "Luckly, I think I have an idea."

"Really? Well, let's hear it!" Ethox said.


"A Shark cage? Seriously?" The Nobody asked as the entire group was with Kazuma, Aqua out on the center of the lake inside a cage.

"Look, this way it'll keep her safe while she purifies the lake." Kazuma said. "Besides, I did my homework; anything short of a full-blown dragon can't break those bars."

"Okay, that I understand." Ethox said. "But explain to me why Ultra's Kartana is on the top?" he said, pointing to the Ultra Beast known as Blade stood on the top of the cage.

"Well, he's kinda been wanting to use his training on an actual target, so when he heard about these alligators, he wanted to join." Ultra said.

"That creature looks so small. And it's made of paper. Are you sure it will be fine?" Darkness asked.

"Blade's species is actually pretty lethal. Kartana are masters of slicing and splitting." Ethox explained. "I once heard of a Kartana that sliced a meteor in two."

"Plus, Blade's not stupid." Ultra spoke up. "A little gung-ho, but not stupid. He wouldn't go out into the middle of a lake if he wasn't sure he'd be fine."

"Well, if you say so…" Rista said, still looking unsure.


A bit of time passed, and everyone was waiting, Aqua getting bored.

"No monsters have appeared yet." Darkness said.

"I noticed that too." Megumin added.

"I'm surprised that you haven't done anything rash yet." Mirror Match entered the conversation.

"Huh?" Megumin asked.

"You have not bragged about how powerful you are yet, and attempted to cast Explosion to blast this lake." the king inquired.

"He's right. You would." Darkness asked.

"Is that what you think of me?! That I'm that immature?!" Megumin sputtered.

"Oh no. If anything, you're acting your age… around, thirteen." Ultra said.

"Hey! I'll have you know that… I'm not going to waste my spell on mere alligators. It's far too precious." Megumin explained.

"And yet, you have no qualms with using it on cabbages." Mirror Match replied. "Or anything else for that matter."

Megumin simply turned away, embarrassed.

"Hey Aqua, you doing okay in there?" Kazuma called out to the Arch Priest. "You've been in there for a bit! Don't want you to catch cold! How's the purification coming?!"

"Going well, thanks!" Aqua responded.

"She's been in there for about 2 hours. Think she needs to use the bathroom?" Seiya asked.

"Whoa, Seiya! That's a bit much to ask of a girl, you don't ask if she needs to use it!" Ethox said. "Besides, I'm not sure if she needs to. She looks fine."

"Speaking of waste, how do you think this lake got so polluted anyway?" Ultra asked.

"Perhaps it's just a problem with waste disposal." Mirror suggested. "This lake connects with a river on the other side. Perhaps the townsfolk inadvertently polluted the lake by washing themselves in the river."

"Yeah, that would do it. Someone should probably build a bath in their town." Ethox said. "Probably explains how the alligators got here too."

"Ah! Hey, guys?!" Aqua called up. "Something's coming! A lot of somethings are coming!"

A large group of alligators surfaced and headed towards the cage, bashing against it as Aqua screamed.

"Speak of the devil, there they are." Ethox said. "Maybe we should help."

"No, don't worry." Ultra said, looking at Blade, holding it's two katana-like arms. "Blade's got this."

Blade then jumped up and off the cage, landing on one of the alligators that had its teeth on the cage's bars. It then performed a Night Slash, decapitating the alligator in one fell swoop before it jumped off, aiming at another of the beasts.

"Whoa! That little guy just took off one of their heads!" Kazuma marveled.

"I told you. Kartana's live to slice." Ultra said.

"Well, he better watch out." Mirror said, pointing out one of the gators having noticed the little Ultra Beast. "He's been noticed."

After cutting another one of the monsters down, Blade jumped away, only for the highlighted gator to leap towards him, mouth open wide, prepared to make the Ultra Beast a meal.

"There's no way he can get out of the way in time!" Megumin said.

"Oh, don't fret." Ultra said as the Katara suddenly sped out of the jaw's way before he turned around and removed the offending alligator's jaw with an Air Cutter. "Kartanas are the second fastest Ultra Beast, and his paper body lets him move with the wind for an extra boost."

Soon, only one of the alligators were left as it tried to bite the bars off the cage. Blade managed to land right on the monster's snout, letting the monster see it before it positioned its arms in such a way that Ultra knew what was coming.

"No way for that monster to get away in time…" Ultra said. "It's the last move a Kartana can learn naturally. Guillotine."

The beast then dashed through the head of the gator, and it seemed like nothing would happen. However, the beast then slacked, its bite ending as it sank into the water, blood pouring out of its vertically split body.

The battle itself scared Aqua so much, she stopped sitting and casted purification on the water like crazy. She was able to purify the lake and clear the quest with Blade's help, but she was a little traumatized afterwards.

"Hey, uh… you okay Aqua?" Ethox asked as the group approached the now purified lake. Aqua merely sat in the cage, dead to the world.

"Oh no… is she traumatized again? This happened the first time we took on those toads." Kazuma said.

"Hey Aqua, you purified the lake. You know this means you can have 300,000 Eris all to yourself." Ultra said.

"You can come out of the cage now. Blade took care of the alligators." Mirror Match added.

"No… I'll stay here in the cage." Aqua said silently. "The world is too big… too scary. I will never leave this cage again."

"(Poor girl… but then again, she has been up in the divine realm all her life and only sent people to this world, not been here herself.)" Ethox said. "(Somethings for some people are just a little harder to get used too.)"


After making it back to the village, the group walked alongside the horse and cart carrying the cage Aqua was in, the goddess still traumatized and now singing to herself.

"C'mon, Aqua, you can't stay in the cage forever." Ultra said. "Please, would you come out?"

"No." Aqua said softly. "This cage is my sanctuary now. It's too scary out there so I'll stay in here."

"Poor Aqua…" Ethox said sadly.

"Well, she was the one who wanted to take the quest." Mirror said. "And even through all that, she didn't beg us to rescue her. It was rather brave of her, even if it was just for the money."

"I just want these people to stop staring at us." Kazuma said, looking around as the townsfolk looked at the sight. "It's making us look bad."

"MILADY!" a voice called out in horror. The group looked towards the voice's origin and saw a man in blue armor with blond hair running up to the back of the cage and grabbing onto the bars. "Don't fear, milady, I'll get you out of there!" he declared as he pushed and broke the bars into a makeshift opening.

"Dang, I think that was a rental." Ultra said.

"What're you doing in this cage, milady? You're a goddess!" the mysterious man said before his arm was grabbed by Mirror Match.

"Excuse me, sir, but perhaps you should slow down and explain why you broke the cage our friend chose to be in?" Mirror asked.

"Hey, Aqua, you know this guy?" Ethox asked the silent Aqua. "He knows you're a goddess."

"...I am?" Aqua started before she instantly snapped out of her funk, back to her usual self. "That's right! I am a goddess, aren't I?!"

"(Whoa, just like that, she's back to her old self!)" Ethox asked.

Aqua climbed out of the cage and presented himself to the man. "How can this goddess be of service to you, good sir? ….Wait, who are you?"

"Wha-? Don't you remember? It's me, Kyouya Mitsurugi! You reincarnated me into this world and gave me Gram, the magic sword?" the hero asked.

"So it wasn't just Kazuma you summoned here, huh?" Ethox asked.

"Y-Yeah, I sent him here too! Now I remember him clearly! I helped so many cross over, I have forgotten a few people." Aqua replied.

"Oh…. well it has been awhile, Milady. I've been working hard to save this world as its hero. But… if you don't mind me asking… why were you in a cage?" Kyoya asked.

"It's kind of a long story…" Ethox said.


The group recapped everything to Kyouya. Suffice to say, he didn't take it well.

"WHAT?!" Kyouka gasped before he grabbed Kazuma by the shirt. "You locked Milady in a cage then dumped her in a lake?!"

"With her permission." Ethox said. "And her name is Aqua."

"You monsters! How could you do such things?!" Kyouka demanded. "Have you all no shame?!"

"I think you're misunderstanding the situation here. Aqua wasn't locked up in the cage against her will. She was in there to purify the lake as part of a quest." Ultraman corrected.

"I see, but that doesn't change the fact that nobody dragged her into this world." Kyouya turned his attention to Kazuma, the latter starting at his sword.

"(Nobody, huh? Look at this guy, with his magic sword. I bet his life in this world has been hassle free. Meanwhile, here's me, having to work for everything I have. Now this jackass is judging me? Screw him! At least David's not all preachy like this jerk.)" he thought.

"Is there no end to this man's rudeness?" Darkness asked.

"I could blow him up with an Explosion…" Megumin said.

"Please don't, you'll blow us up too." Kazuma said.

"An Archwizard and a Crusader, eh?" Kyouya asked. "You're all blessed to have such excellent allies. And yet you treat Lady Aqua this horribly."

"(This guy is really thick headed. We haven't done anything wrong, but he's judging us for all the wrong reasons.)" Ethox said.

"(And these three? Excellent? No way! Ethox may be all smiles with them, but since when have these three been excellent?)" Kazuma thought.

"Look ladies, I'm a Swordmaster, and I would love to have you in my party. I'll treat you well with the best gear." Kyouya requested.

"Sorry man, but I'm not up for giving up members of my party." Ethox declined. "Plus, no offense, I'm sure you didn't mean it to sound like this, but you're coming off as kind of a jerk."

"You heard him man. It's a no go. See ya." Kazuma said as everyone turned to leave. They walked a bit ahead before Kyouya got in the way. "You're blocking the way."

"I'm sorry, but I can't leave Lady Aqua in a party that mistreats her." Kyouya mentioned.

"(Oh boy… he's one of those types that doesn't know when to take a hint. I know what's coming up next…)" Kazuma thought.

"Let's spar for her." the swordmaster declared.

"(Called it.)" Kazuma nodded.

"If I win, Lady Aqua comes with me. You win, I'll grant you any one request-" Kyouya started.

"Okay, you're on, readysetGO!" Kazuma said dashing towards Kyouya head on.

"W-Wait a second, I wasn't ready yet!" the hero said.

"STEAL!" Kazuma called the thief skill as it did its work. When the light faded, Kyouya's sword was gone from his hands… and bonked over his head as he fell unconscious.

"That was highly uncalled for." Mirror Match said.

"Hey, he was probably way higher level than Kazuma. If the fight started equally, he'd be trounced." Ethox noted.

"It's what I would do. Making the first move before your opponent does." Seiya added.

"HEY!" a girl's voice called out as the group saw two girls in an alley.

"You coward! Coward, Coward, Coward!" the red haired one declared.

"Lemme guess, you guys are with him?" kazuma asked.

"That's right you jerk! You… jerky coward!" the green haired girl replied.

"Ladies, please. This is a misunderstanding, Kazuma didn't cheat at all." Ethox said.

"He did! He attacked Kyouya when he wasn't prepared!" the red haired girl said.

"Give Gram back to him right now! That's his sword, and only he can use it!" the greenette declared.

"So that sword can only be used by this hero?" Mirror Match asked.

"What a waste." Seiya crossed his arms. "What happens if he dies? All that sword can do then is sit around and collect dust."

Kazuma considered these words and looked at Gram. "Nope. I won, so it's mine now." he said, dragging the sword on the ground as he started to walk away.

"Wait, you can't just walk off with it!" the red haired girl said.

"You didn't win, you took him off guard!" the greenette protested.

"Ladies, I don't think you should protest any more. Kazuma's not afraid to fight women." Ethox said. "And he's got a habit of snatching up something precious below the waist with his Steal Skill."

"Of course, I wouldn't do that to any girl who didn't deserve it… then again, you two are going that way quickly." Kazuma spoke up as he held his hand out, as if to prepare to use Steal. "Go on. Make my day."

At this, the two girls screamed and ran off. Kazuma seemed to have a very conflicted expression on his face.

"(I feel so dirty.)" Kazuma thought to himself. "(David must never know about this.)"


The next day…

"It's so different, being with Kazuma and Aqua." Ethox said.

"Yeah, compared to me and Seiya, that Hero/Goddess duo is a little off balance." Ristarte noted, as Aqua shook Luna because almost all of her reward had to go towards paying the repairs for the cage.

"Damn, I knew it was a rental." Ultra said. "We're gonna need to find that guy and have him pay for the cage."

"Ultra, I don't think that guy is just gonna show up and-" Ethox started.

"There you are!" Kyouya said, appearing with his party.

"Oh." Ethox said.

"I've heard some wild rumors about your friend! A thief tells me that Kazuma steals panties! I also heard a rumor that he likes dousing people in slime! Kazuma the Cad, they call him!" Kyouya declared.

"Look man, I know you're a bit upset, but seriously. Aqua isn't gonna join you." Ethox said.

"But I swore to her I'd defeat the Devil King! And Kazuma has my sword, I can't keep my promise without it!" Kyouya said. "Does he still have it?"

"Yes, well, about that….." Mirror Match said.

"He sold it for capital." Seiya said bluntly.

"WHAT?!" Kyouya sputtered.

"The buyer was heading out of town. If you hurry, you still might be able to catch them." Ethox said.

"DAMN IT!" Kyouya shouted as he ran off, his two companions following after him.

"Well, that's that." Ultra said. "Ah! Damn it, we should have told him about Verdia! Maybe he would have agreed to help."

"Eh, maybe." Ethox said. "But now that he doesn't have his magic sword, he may be unable to help."

"Yep." Seiya said. "I could tell. Without that Graham cracker Sword, he's completely useless."

"Still, I wonder if selling that sword was the best idea? Then again, it's not like Verdia's gonna show up right this second. We still have three days and-" Ethox said.

"Emergency, emergency! All adventurers arm yourselves and prepare for battle." Luna announced over the loudspeaker. "Ethox and Kazuma Sato, your parties are needed especially, so please hurry!"

"He's here early?!" Ristarte asked.

The group rushed to the main gate, seeing Verdia on the top of the rock he was on before. The dullahan wasn't in a good mood. In fact, he was downright pissed.

"You wretches…" Verdia quivered. "What is wrong with you people?! WHY DO YOU KEEP BOMBARDING MY CASTLE!?" the dullahan roared as he surrounded himself with a dark purple aura.

Ethox knew exactly what was going on the minute Verdia said 'bombarding". At this revelation, only one reaction came to mind:

"Goddammit, Megumin!"