Dueling with the Dullahan
Part 1
The team hurriedly rushed to the main gate.
The lightly-armored Kazuma led the way, with Aqua and Megumin following shortly after. Only the heavily-armored Darkness was lagging behind.
"Oh, just as I suspected. This guy's here again."
There were already many adventurers gathered by the time Kazuma managed to reach the main gate.
And the source of all they commotion was present again, standing quite some distance away from the crowd of adventurers. Though, it's more like the adventurers were keeping a respectable distance from him. 'Respectable' was too short of a word, but at least they weren't running away.
Indeed. It was that Demon King's General that had returned; the Dullahan.
Kazuma had been a bit curious when he'd saw the troubled faces of the adventurers preceding him, but he quickly understood why when he took a glance at what was behind the Dullahan.
Because unlike the last time, he brought a whole army of monsters with him.
It was a group of knights wearing tattered armor. They seemed emaciated, and the cracks in their armor and helmets were visible if you looked closely. If you look too closely, you might even catch a glimpse of the rotting flesh underneath. As such, with just a glance, it was clear too any of the adventurers that the armored knights were undead.
The Dullahan, after seeing Megumin and Kazuma roared:
"Why didn't you come to the castle, you inhuman–!"
Kazuma walked in front of Megumin to protect her and faced the Dullahan.
"Well… You invited us to the castle, but that doesn't mean we must go. And what do you mean by 'inhuman'? We stopped casting explosion magic, so why are you angry?"
The Dullahan was furious when Kazuma's words left his mouth, and was on the verge of throwing the thing in his left hand onto the ground.
… Lucky for him he remembered that that was in fact, his head, and instead shifted it to his abdomen:
"Stopped casting explosion?! You say it stopped?! Stop lying to me! That crazy Crimson Demon girl is still visiting every day!"
"Huh?"
After hearing that, Kazuma turned to look at Megumin, who averted her eyes immediately.
"… Did you do this? I told you not to, but you still went?"
"Ow! Ow! Ow! It hurts! Stop! No, listen to me, Kazuma! I was satisfied with casting spells on an empty plain not so long ago… But after I knew the charm of attacking a castle with magic, my body changed and I could only accept big and hard things…!"
"Don't fidget around while saying that! And you can't move after casting your big spells, so that means you have an accomplice! Who in the world…"
Kazuma pinched Megumin cheeks while attempting to interrogate her, and this time it was Aqua's turn to avert her gaze this time, hoping Kazuma wouldn't catch her.
But remember. Her luck is trash.
"It was you, wasn't it–!?"
"Wahahaha–! That Dullahan was the reason we can't get any good quests, so I wanted to vent some of my frustration! I was lectured by the store owner every day because of him!"
You were lectured because you didn't take your work seriously.
Kazuma visited Aqua on her shifts, and so he knew that since she still had many of her needs taken care of, she didn't work as hard. Even though she still had to repay him. As this thought appeared on Kazuma's mind, he grabbed harder on the collar of Aqua who attempted to escape. The Dullahan continued:
"I'm not furious because of the explosion magic! Don't you all have the will to save your comrade? I might be this way now, but before I was executed because of unjust reasons and morphed into a monster, I was an honorable knight! Where I stand, that Crusader who was cursed while protecting her companions was the classic model of a knight, but you abandoned her…!"
Just as he said that, Darkness who had lagged behind because of her armor quietly made her way to Kazuma's side.
The Dullahan locked eyes with Darkness, who surprisingly was blushing because of the compliments she received.
"… Err, hey…"
Darkness looked a bit guilty, timidly lifting a hand to the Dullahan in greeting.
"… What, what's up with this–!?"
Seeing her, the Dullahan yelled in surprise.
No one couldn't see his face behind the helmet, but if they could they would've meet with quite a shocked expression.
"It's been a week since Darkness was cursed but she's still alive. He must be really shocked, right, right? That Dullahan must have thought that we would head to the castle to break the curse and was waiting for us in vain, huh? He didn't even know I broke the curse in no time after he left, right? Puhehe! This is hilarious! Super funny!"
Aqua pointed her finger at the Dullahan and laughed nonstop. After all since Aqua broke the curse, they had no reason to visit the dangerous castle.
Still, laughing at someone else misery is not goddess like at all! Even if it's an undead! Hey, didn't she laugh like this at me too…?
Kazuma dangerous thoughts left when he returned his gaze at the Dullahan. While he still couldn't see his face, just judging from the way his shoulders were shaking, then he assumed the surprise must have been replied with fury. Yes, he looked quite furious indeed.
"… Hey, you there! If I get serious, I could kill every single person in this town! Don't think I'll keep letting you off! As an undead, I won't ever tire! You bunch of rookies won't be able to even scratch me!"
Aqua's taunt pushed the Dullahan's patience to his limit. He seemed to be quite serious.
But before the Dullahan could do anything else, Aqua extended her right hand and shouted:
"I'm the one who has no reason to let you off! I won't let you escape this time! How arrogant for a mere undead to act in this manner! Disappear, Turn Undead!"
A bright, white light emerged from Aqua's outstretched hand.
Even though he saw Aqua casting a spell, the Dullahan didn't flinch nor stutter.
As one would expected of a Demon King's General, he was confident.
"You think a Demon King's General wouldn't be prepared to fight priests? Too bad. Including me, all the undead knights in this band have received the protection of the Demon King…"
The gentle light which came out of Aqua closed in on the Dullahan while he talked…
"We have a very high resistance against holy spells- Ahhhhhh–!"
After getting blasted by the magic, black smoke started emerging from the Dullahan. The Dullahan that was so confident just before was smoking all over. He was shaking and couldn't even stand properly, but he still put on a strong facade.
Aqua shouted when she saw this:
"Hey, hey Kazuma! This is strange, it's not working!"
No, it looked pretty effective to me, he was screaming 'Ahhh–' so loudly…
The Dullahan took unsteady steps and said:
"Hmph, how rude!… Wait for me to finish! I am Beldia, a Demon King's General, Dullahan Beldia! With this armor that was enchanted by the Demon King and my own powers, Turn Undead from a normal priest won't work on me!… It shouldn't work at all…"
As he spoke, the Dullahan shifted the head in his hand so it was slanting to one side. He was probably trying to tilt his head.
"… Never mind that! Because our diviner was raging on about a strong light descending near this town, I came here to investigate… In the beginning, I thought it was too much of a hassle and considered destroying the entire town…"
Beldia held his head with his left hand and pointed his empty right hand towards them.
"Hmph, you're not worthy enough for me to do it in person… Go, my brothers! Let them know what hell tastes like!"
"Ah! That guy was scared because Aqua's spell was unexpectedly effective! He's planning to use his minions to attack us while he escapes by himself!"
"T-That, that's not it! This was my plan from the very beginning! A Demon King's General is not a weakling who escapes on his own! You wouldn't fight the boss at the very start. Of course, you would need to defeat the underlings first! Don't you know that's been the tradition since ancient times-"
"Sacred Turn Undead!"
"Yahhh–!"
Beldia was one again interrupted by Aqua's spell. This time a white magic circle appeared at Beldia's feet and shot a light straight to the heavens.
Beldia's armor was fuming black smog, and he rolled on the ground as if he was attempting to put out his fire.
Aqua said in a panic:
"W-What should we do, Kazuma!? This is strange! My spell isn't working at all."
Looking at the way he is screaming his head off, I think it was effective,
… No, due to Aqua's goddess status and overpowered base stats, Turn Undead should've been able to destroy him in one shot. And she used a 'Sacred Turn Undead' too.
"Damn, damn you…! Let someone who's talking finish! Enough! Hey, my brethren…!"
Even though smog was coming from all over his body, Beldia stood up slowly and lifted his right hand as he ordered:
"All the people in this town… Kill them all!"
Part 2
They were what's known as 'Undead Knights'. A monster one tier higher than zombies. Even though it looked like they were wearing tattered armor, in fact they were possessed strong defensive gear, it was a threat to novice adventurers. And almost all of the adventurer present in the battle were novice adventurers. This was Axel the 'Beginner' town, after all.
"Ahhh! Priests! Get the priests here!"
"Someone go to the Eris church for holy water, get all that you can!"
Faced with such formidable army, the adventurers shouted in disarray as the undead knights invaded the town.
Still, the brave adventurers tried to intercept them. But as if to mock their efforts, Beldia laughed loudly:
"Hmph, hahaha! Come, let me hear your screams… of… despair…?"
As he was laughing,
"Wah, wahhh! Why just me? I-I'm a goddess! A goddess, so I always do good deeds! What did I do to deserve this?!"
"Ahhh! How, how sly! I'm the one who always does good deeds and helps the party the most, so why are all the undead knights running over to Aqua!"
Aqua said something not goddess-like, while Darkness said something that was hard to comment on with an envious face. If it weren't because he was trying to wrap his finger around the situation Kazuma would have reprimanded her. But he was currently too baffled by the sight.
For some reason, many (almost all) of the undead knights didn't lay their hands on the adventurers and were instead chasing after Aqua. And while it was hard reading their undead faces, they looked quite… enthusiastic in doing so.
"You, what are you doing!? Don't just chase that priestess, cover this town with the blood of the residents instead!"
Beldia shouted in panic when he saw the situation.
Kazuma wondered if these mindless low-tier undead were seeking salvation, and gathered at the side of the goddess Aqua because of their instincts.
But they aren't all going after her…
As one would expect from a Demon King General, he had a big number of undead at his behest. While many were following the goddess in despair, many followed their orders and attacked the adventurers. Despite now being outnumbered by the adventurers, they still looked as if they were pushing the adventurers line back. If they would have fallen at full force, then it truly would have been a massacre.
One of those knights came after them just as Aqua ran away, and Darkness moved in to intercept it. She blocked the attack from the monster and retaliated with her sword, her sword hitting true two times.
One hit landed on it's already tattered but supposedly enchanted armor, and surprisingly made a sizable scratch on it. The other one went to the monsters flesh, and while it did some damage, it was not really much to take it out.
"Undead Knights were already strong before, only high level magic and magic weapons could defeat them easily, normal weapons took a long time in finishing the job," Megumin analyzed the battlefield and filled in Kazuma. "But it what the Dullahan says is true, then now they should be even more durable. With magic armor equipped they should be buffed so Darkness hit don't do as much damage. Though I'm surprised she managed to damage the armor… It should be super strong… See?! Aqua's purification doesn't work on them!"
Just as she said, a surprisingly fast Aqua was launching spell after spell at the undead horde, but it didn't purify them as it should, although those that she hit noticeably lost strength and speed in the chase, so she still had some effect.
Damn it! Is this the protection of the Demon King that Beldia mentioned! But to think even the knights can resist… Without her how are we going to take them out…? No, wait. Wait a minute…!
"Hey Megumin, do you think any of your spells will be enough to take down that bunch of undead knights?"
"Eh!? W-well, even with enhances Detonate should be enough to take some out, but all of them? That group is so big only Explosion will work! At least I'm certain that it should kill all of them!"
Great! Although I don't know why the undead are chasing after Aqua, this is a great opportunity! Thanks for this chance Aqua!
"But even so, they're too dispersed right now, I might miss some of them! And if those attacking the adventurers remain I don't think that we'll be able to take them out!"
At this moment, the blue goddess came rushing back "Wahhh, Kazuma-san! Kazuma-san! Help me! Please help me Kazuma!" and she brought a large crowd of undead knights with her.
"Hey, don't come this way! Use this chance to lure them away from town and weaken them with your spells or something!"
"This is why I'm coming back! They're weird! I couldn't purify them with Turn Undead! It shouldn't be this way! Wahhh!"
I already know that! Why is it that in normal battles you're super helpful but suddenly here were it's the most important you're unreliable? At least you're rounding up the undead… Yes, yes that's it!
"Hey Darkness! You should have some kind of luring skill right?"
Darkness was still trading blows with the undead knight, though despite how it looked in the beginning Darkness had turned the tables on it. Thanks to her crazy defense, all the attacks she received didn't translate into damage nor broke her armor, they only brought her the pain that she desperately craves for. The undead knight still got damaged and pieces of his armor were being destroyed, but even with Darkness strength it wasn't enough to do it quickly.
She blocked a strike and turned to Kazuma. "Y-yes I do! But it only works if the target is free– Hmm!" She muffled a moan as she received a blow. "–S-so those that are distracted in battle won't react much!"
"Don't worry I have a plan! Use it now!"
Darkness nodded and shouted her skill 'Decoy', making some of the battling undead to take a look at her, but they remained on their spots.
"Megumin, wait outside the town and standby with Explosion!"
"Huh? Got… Got it!"
"Hey Aqua, keep distracting them! We'll join with you soon!"
"Sure Kazuma, but do it fast! They are approaching fast! Wahhh!"
Kazuma finished shouting and grabbed Darkness wrist and pulled her towards the remaining undead force.
"W-what's are we doing Kazuma?" A surprised Darkness fixed her footing and followed after him.
"We're going to pull all of their focus on us. When I approach then you hit them alright?"
Darkness nodded and attacked the undead, with the plus of her skill, the undead hit had parts of their armor eliminated, and left their previous duels with the adventurers and started following them, and now they had a smaller horde that made the remaining undead knights.
"Uuh! To be used as bait for the attention of these fierce monsters, thank you for this chance Kazuma!"
"Hey don't say those things now you perverted crusader!" Kazuma tightened his grip, which just caused Darkness to moan more. "And to be handled like this by the even more fierce party leader, I truly must thank you Kazuma!"
Kazuma just rolled his eyes and charged out of town. Aqua had surprisingly managed to keep all of the trashing undead at bay. The group that had been following Darkness changed their targets immediately to Aqua, and were now right on her heels.
Aqua also changed her trajectory towards them and soon the three were running reunited against the undead horde.
"Took you long enough Kazuma! Is everything going according to your plan!? How does it look behind me!? Because I think we got all the undead knights in town to follow us!"
Kazuma turned back and the undead knights chasing Aqua had turned into a large crowd, this time all together, almost running over each other, those hit with Aqua's Turn Undead being completely stomped, but somehow still managing to give chase.
Weighting his options, Kazuma decided that there was going to be no better chance.
"Megumin, Explosion! Do it now!"
Under his command, Megumin took off her eye-patch, striking a pose and raising her staff with her eyes shining.
"What a wonderful situation! I'm afraid I'll have to leave the rest of the battle in your hands, but I'm truly grateful. Thank you Kazuma!" She tipped her witch hat to him as an acknowledgment and began her Explosion spell, not without doing her over-the-top introductions.
"You lot! Listen and listen well! I'm Megumin! The elite mage of the Crimson Demons, master of the Detonation series and wielder of the most powerful among them: Explosion magic! Demon King's General, Beldia! Behold my power! Explosion!"
The Explosion created a crater right before the main gate, blowing all the undead knights away. The adventurers had advanced to the gate and went silent because of the power of the spell.
"Hmm… Everyone came to see my greatest performance yet and now they're all at a lost for words after witnessing the power of my explosion… Fuahh, all this… Feels so good…"
Megumin could be heard saying proudly, despite being face down in the ground like a carpet.
"Huff, huff… Good job Megumin. Want me to give you a piggyback?"
An mana exhausted Megumin accepted, and so Kazuma hurried over her and lifter her up, ready to make an escape with her on his back, as the big enemy was right there…
That thought was soon drowned when all the adventurers in town cheered for them, More specifically: Megumin…
"Woah! That's awesome! The weird girl took all of them out!"
"Isn't she the one that's famous for her Dungeon exploits?"
"Yes! That's the famous 'girl with a screw loose' that just saved us!"
"Hurrah! Even though she has a weird name, the Crimson Demon girl with a screw loose is reliable when it comes to battling!"
Or better: Girl with a crew loose.
I knew you were something, but you really have one hell of a reputation Megumin…
"Sorry for this, but I'm sure I still have enough mana to cast a Detonate on those people. Please bring me over there."
"No you don't! You've used all your mana. You did a great job and looked cool, be confident and have a good rest. Thank you for your hard work."
Hearing Kazuma say that, Megumin sighed and hugged onto him with her heart at ease.
Kazuma had a feeling there were more urgent thing to attend, but he once again got derailed when he felt something soft on his back.
Ah yes. In all our Explosion travels she has never pressed against me like this before. So I never had the chance to feel the sensation of her soft…
…
Her soft…?
…
Well, it was to expected of a loli.
"Anyways, we should-"
"Crimson Demons have high intelligence."
Megumin suddenly interrupted him in a tone that sent shivers down Kazuma's spine.
"Do you want me to guess what you're thinking?"
"… I'm thinking that Megumin has never hugged me like this before…?"
Megumin easily saw through his halfhearted answer, and now emanated an even more menacing aura, forcing Kazuma to take his eyes out of her and into his surroundings.
Both Aqua and Darkness were rearranging themselves after being knocked by the Explosion spell. One complaining and the other panting respectively.
And at the center of the town entrance, Beldia stared directly at them.
Oh yeah. This was the thing I was supposed to be on edge for but forgot...
… This is bad…
"Fuhahaha! Interesting! Very interesting! To think my minions would be wiped out in a novice town like this! All right, I'll keep my promise!" Beldia couldn't help but have his shoulder tremble at the excitement he was having.
… This is really bad…!
"I'll personally handle you all!"
Beldia lifted his great sword and charged at them…
Only to be met by a serious looking Darkness.
Part 3
Darkness took a combat stance, as if shielding the rest of the town. If one were to see her now, they would never believe someone who told them that she was a pervert, they only saw a cool, aloof and dependable Crusader.
Beldia charged recklessly at the Adventurers, and such his great-sword collided with Darkness's one, and he took a step back to study his enemy.
After witnessing Aqua and Megumin's strength, Beldia probably thought Darkness was powerful in her own way too.
Beldia also assumed a fighting posture against Darkness, keeping on guard without losing sight of the other adventurers.
"Kazuma, take Megumin to a safe spot, I'll handle this guy for now!"
Without losing sight of the Dullahan, Darkness spoke to Kazuma. Her sturdy white armor glittered under the sun, in contrast to Beldia's black armor, making her and the scene look even more epic.
"You're the Crusader that took the hit from my curse before right? Then I assume you will also attempt to defend your companions right?"
"You'll be right in assuming that! I won't let you hurt them!"
The Dullahan moved his head to look at the adventurers and then to Darkness, a smirk plastered on his face. (Though nobody could see it)
"Yes, your conviction is truly admirable! As a Dullahan, it's only expected that I should come to blows with a Crusader looking to defend her cause. All right, here I come!"
Beldia lunged at Darkness who barely had time to block his charge. She retaliated with two fast strikes but they were parried and avoided by Beldia.
As they kept fighting, Kazuma took the change to slip out of the front with Megumin on his back. He reached a safe place inside the town and carefully placed her down there.
"Sorry to leave you here Megumin but I have to return to the battle." Kazuma looked back at the fight, somehow Darkness seemed to not have lost any ground.
"I should be the one apologizing. I won't be able to help you out any more, and in this crucial time too. But I know all of you will do great there." Megumin gave him a reassuring smile and thumbs up, that made Kazuma lessen some of the nerves he was carrying.
"That's right. Megumin already did her part. Now it's our turn."
With a reassuring wave he ran back to the battle as fast as he could. The adventurers smiled at him and also gave him a thumbs up, but they looked nervous. And Kazuma soon saw why.
While Darkness hadn't ceded any ground in the fight against the Dullahan, none of her attacks managed to connect. And Beldia was barely attacking her, only doing so to test if she was still entirely focused on the fight.
While neither of them managed to land any of their attacks, it was obvious that Beldia had the upper hand. In fact it looked like he was toying with her.
But soon Beldia's eyes saw him just briefly. He blocked one of Darkness attacks and turned his head to fully look at him, taking in the fact that Megumin was no longer on his back.
But that brief moment was enough for Darkness to attack once more and finally strike the Dullahan's armor.
A gap was formed on the waist of the Dullahan's armor. He was clearly surprised at her accomplishment, just as much as she was. But Beldia recovered first, a full sickening smile full on his face, this time somehow clearly visible.
"You really are something Crusader!" He placed his head on his armpit and grabbed her wrist with his now free had, taking Darkness completely by surprise. He began spinning in place, gaining speed as he did so, and he eventually launched her far away from her spot as a wall for the adventurers. "Rest assured, you have more than proven yourself worthy! I'll have a proper duel with you later!"
"Darkness!"
Beldia turned his head and looked over Kazuma and the adventurers, his eyes only stopping slightly over Aqua and him, who had shouted for the Crusader. His eyes shone with anticipation.
"After all… I still have to tie up loose ends!"
And once again he launched himself against the two. But long before Beldia reached them lots of armed adventurers surrounded Beldia at a distance to protect them, approaching him slowly.
Despite just having being present in the show of power of the Dullahan and literally watch Darkness get tossed aside from the battle, the Adventurers rose to oppose him confidently. As if they somehow weren't in the gates of death.
When Beldia saw this situation he slowed down, held his head in one hand and his sword in the other and shrugged happily.
"Oh? The targets I prioritized should be those two over there…" He pointed at Aqua and Kazuma through the adventurers as if they weren't there. "But… Hmph… I suppose that if you all somehow manage to defeat me, you will get a hefty bounty! So come, novice adventurers dreaming of getting rich instantly. Charge at me at once!"
When they heard him talking about getting rich instantly, the adventurers who were closing in started discussing among themselves. And then a man who looked like a warrior on the flank of Beldia shouted:
"Hey, no matter how strong he is, he doesn't have eyes on his back! Surround him and attack!"
You just raised an obvious death flag. And in the worst possible moment too!
"Hey, the opponent is a Demon King's General. How can such a simple tactic take him down!?"
Kazuma tried to warn the male warrior who recited the script of a victim.
Kazuma drew his sword and started to think of ways to help the adventurers. He was about to tell Aqua to buff them or hit Beldia again when another adventurer shouted.
"Don't worry, it's fine! After hearing the emergency broadcast, the ace of this town will rush over! Darkness already gave us plenty of time so he should be here any second! If that guy's here, the Demon King's General will be done for! Hey brothers, let's go together! Aim for his blind spot and the crack of his armor! All at the same time!"
So that's why they were so confident…
Facing the man who shouted this as he attacked, Beldia just tossed his head high into the air with one hand.
Kazuma's mind thought about who could be the ace of the town and how strong would he be to defeat the Demon King General, but he then focused on Beldia's head that was high in the sky and looking downward. He felt a chill when presented saw this scene.
Not just him, the adventurers around all around him realized it too.
"That's not good! Aqua! Hit him, quick!"
"Sacred Turn Undead!"
Aqua did as told and launched a spell at Beldia's body. His eyes bulged out in alarm up in the air and his body jumped out the way of the spell. He managed to avoid it just slightly, and he returned to catch his head before it hit the ground.
"You again! I was in the middle of-!"
"Fireball!"
Beldia was once again interrupted, this time by one of the mages in the adventurer group. And that mage was soon followed by other mages all launching spells at him, following Aqua's lead.
"That's enough! I've had it with you all!"
Despite still being surrounded, Beldia stuck his sword into the ground to free up his right hand, pointing at the mages who were chanting.
"All of you will in one weeks' time! You will all die in the streets!"
Beldia cursed all the mages chanting spells with premonitions of death.
The mages who were cursed lost their nerve and stopped chanting.
The other mages who were planning to join in stiffened their faces after seeing their compatriots get hit with a premonition of death, not daring to cast their spells.
"You… You trash! How dare you! Take this!" The adventurers surrounding him charged in fury after witnessing their fellow adventurers being cursed.
But in just a split second before they could strike him Beldia launched his head once more and freed his sword from the ground.
The many adventurers tried striking him, but Beldia seemed to have eyes on his back, dodging the attacks of all the adventurers masterfully.
"Huh?"
That was the sound the adventurers slashing at him uttered.
Beldia dodged all the attacks easily, and wielded his great-sword in both hands. Reading for a strike.
Kazuma saw this and had been preparing. If the adventurers were hit it they wold loose their last vanguard and be easy picking for the Dullahan. But now that he wasn't going to dodge, Kazuma had a golden chance to use his ultimate skill.
"I won't let you do that! Steal!"
In a blink of an eye, Beldia slashed at all the adventurers who attacked him while Kazuma used Steal.
A loud sound came out.
It was the sound of bodies falling limply onto the ground.
The people who were alive just moments ago were now dead.
Such illogical things made Kazuma realize the reality of the situation, as well as the world.
Beldia listened to these sounds with satisfaction and raised a hand into the air, taking his head safely into his palm.
Beldia didn't think much about these series of actions and said leisurely:
"… That wasn't a bad idea. Unfortunately, I'm a Demon King's General. Such is the difference between our levels. If our powers were a bit closer, it might've gotten dangerous for me."
Steal had been ineffective against Beldia. As expected from the Demon King's General.
Just as he and the other adventurers recoiled in despair, one girl said in a high pitch: "Trash, trash like you…! Trash like you will be done in with just a slash from Mitsurugi!"
… Huh?
Kazuma's mind went into overdrive. After all, the Mitsurugi she mentioned was the one whose sword was taken by him and sold.
"That's right, just hold on a bit longer! When that magic sword guy comes, he'll definitely take on the Demon King's General…"
"You're Beldia, right? Let me tell you, there's a powerful and high-level guy in this town!"
"Where is that guy? He should have been here by now!"
… Nononononono…!
Kazuma was once again filled with anguish as he thought of how he had inadvertently caused the ruin of quite possibly, the town.
He turned to look at Aqua with a pale face, but Aqua was already gone from that spot.
Other than Mitsurugi, Aqua was the only one with the ability to be an ace. She didn't even look at Beldia, however, as she ran to the side of the killed adventurers, doing something as she stayed close to their corpses.
"Still holding some hope, huh? Well then. I suppose I shall correct that!"
Beldia reached out his hand and pointed at Kazuma who was closest to him.
Kazuma's mind, now filled with remorse could only surrender in the face of his second death.
And just as Beldia was about to curse him…
"Don't harm my comrade!"
A familiar voice echoed on the battlefield. Beldia could only grasp his sword in time for a furious Crusader to slam into him.
"Darkness!"
"You!"
With her sword grip tight on both hands and a furious fire in her eyes, Darkness stood between Kazuma and Beldia. Darkness, who was normally cool and collected, displayed her emotions at this rare moment.
She was panting heavily, but for once, it wasn't from her perverted mind, but because she came running back all the way here, and with all that heavy armor of hers.
Darkness saw the adventurers lying dead next to Aqua, and her expression got even more serious. Still, she didn't charge and attack recklessly as she would do just yet, instead covering Kazuma.
She was still wearing all of her armor in basically top condition, not having them damaged in her previous encounter with the Dullahan. But the adventurers who attacked Beldia were all wearing armor too, and the General still slaughtered them despite their armor.
Darkness was always boasting that she was tougher than anyone. But Kazuma didn't know if she could withstand Beldia's attacks. The only reason she hadn't being hurt is because she had barely being attacked at all.
"Darkness, this guy is in another level! You won't be able to defeat him!"
As he was attempting to stop Darkness, she noticed his concern and announced confidently to him and Beldia.
"Don't worry Kazuma. In terms of toughness, I won't lose to anyone. Not even a Demon King General. And I can use my skills on my weapon and armor too. Beldia's sword might be powerful, but do you really think it can cut through steel armor like paper? From how these adventurers were killed, Beldia probably possesses powerful attack skills. But I already confirmed that he couldn't just pierce my sword. So I want to find out how the rest of my defense does against him!"
Darkness is aggressive today. That's not exactly good…
"Don't do it! You already saw that not only he hits hard, he's great at dodging too! He blocked and avoided all of your attacks, and he did the same for the all the adventurers. Even when they were attacking at the same time couldn't hit him!"
Even after hearing what he said, Darkness remained in place to oppose Beldia.
"… As a Crusader… As someone with the job of a guardian, there is something that I will not back off from. I already got careless and let you down once. I won't let it happen again. Let me protect you and everyone else."
Although he didn't know why, Darkness seemed to have a reason why she didn't want to retreat. And the way that she was carrying herself left Kazuma speechless for a moment. Yes, I forgot this is my reliable teammate. Despite everything she's still a Crusader!
Darkness maintained her posture and charged at Beldia.
"Ah, I was planning to have a final showdown with you who I found worthy after I finished my revenge on this stupid town. I would have received you with a mountain of corpses at my back, so that you would unleash your fury at me with no restraint, but it looks like that will never be. Does this town always have to sour my mood?" Beldia said nonchalantly despite Darkness charging ahead at him. "But at least this time you're taking the initiative! Come at me with all you've got!"
Darkness reached him and slashed at Beldia consecutively, while he focused on dodging all of the attacks. He looked amused, but was putting his all in avoiding, as a furious Darkness attacks were quite formidable.
"You might think you're thought because you managed to match me before, but you must have noticed that I wasn't giving it my all then! You parried all of my attacks, so I wasn't able to properly hurt you then! See this hole in my armor? That armor was enchanted by the Demon King, so it's invaluable. I believe it's time you repay me tenfold!"
Beldia avoided Darkness once more and he raised his sword and slashed diagonally down at Darkness with extraordinary might.
"That will teach you- Huh?!"
Beldia had the confidence to basically neutralize Darkness with one powerful strike.
But his sword only left a large scratch on the surface of Darkness's armor with a loud screech.
Darkness pulled away from Beldia temporarily.
"Ahhh! I just got my armor from the shop! Did yours actually meant that much to you?!"
Darkness looked at the scratch on her armor sadly and glared at Beldia. Although her foe left a deep scratch on Darkness's armor (coincidentally where she had left on his), her body wasn't hurt.
Which meant that she could withstand that strike witch had killed many fully armored adventurers.
"You, what is it with you…? Why aren't you hurt after being hit by me…? I mean I understand if you're though but… Not even one bit?! Is that armor made by a powerful artisan? No… It's not possible even with that… That Arch-priest and that Arch-wizard that has a screw loose too, who the hell are you people…?!"
Using the chance when Beldia was mumbling lost in thought, Kazuma approached with other adventurers, and Aqua left her place with the fallen warriors and joined next to him. Kazuma turned to see many adventurers in disarray thanks to Beldia's attack, and said to Darkness:
"Darkness! You're the only one who can keep that guy's pace! Leave the thinking to me, I'll find a way to defeat him!"
Hearing what he said, Darkness focused her eyes on Beldia and nodded.
"I leave it to you! But please create a chance for me to get back at him, all right?!"
Kazuma shouted 'Got it' to Darkness before turning to Aqua and asking. "Hey Aqua, since your spells didn't work on him do you have any other ideas on how to take him down?"
"Well… your steal didn't work either right? That skill uses your mana and the more mana you concentrate, the stronger the power of the skill, and so increases the chance of success. Yours failed, but that's to be expected since you're the weakest class there is. But if he was weaker or something and you put your all maybe it could work!"
Kazuma repressed the urge to lash on her and decided to keep on asking. "And do you know if he has any other weaknesses? Something that can weaken him as you said. If I can use steal on his sword, then we have a solid chance of winning!"
Aqua began to think and she scratched her chin. "Well, my Turn Undead was able to weaken him and his troops, it just didn't translate into actual damage. I could keep launching my spells but he keeps avoiding them. As much as I hate it, that dirty Dullahan is actually pretty good at fighting. Ah! But I think Dullahan's had another weakness. What was it…?"
Just as Aqua was trying her hardest to remember Beldia's weakness, he who had been having trouble fighting Darkness just shouted:
"All right, I'll attack seriously this time!"
As he said, Beldia threw his head high up into the sky, he held his great sword in both hands and attacked Darkness.
The head in the sky was facing the ground like before. And he was probably overlooking the entire battlefield with that head in the air.
If Beldia used this, he would have no blind spot, and could easily see where his opponent planned to dodge or strike.
"Ka-Kazuma! Darkness, she's…!"
Aqua broke from her 'deep' thinking and screaming behind Kazuma. She, along with almost all the adventurers in town held their breaths at the sight of that move. All of them were gathered behind them.
The people whose faces Kazuma knew.
That guy who told me the weak point of a monster.
The girl who pulled her bow fully but is afraid of hitting Darkness was the one who told me about the beverage called Neroid.
The old man holding a long spear who was attempting to flank behind Beldia once chastised me for not drinking beer.
If Darkness fell and Beldia willed it, everyone present would be killed. And all of the signs seemed to point that he was going to do just that if given the chance.
Darkness probably understood this better than anyone, and switched the grip on her sword with the broad side facing forward, using it as a shield without taking a single step back.
She seemed to be saying, 'Except for my head, you're free to attack any way you like'.
"Oh, how straightforward! Okay, how about this?"
Beldia raised his great sword steadily with both hands, and repeatedly slashed at Darkness. His speed is far greater than anything a human is capable of.
She successfully blocked some of them with her sword despite the posture change but was completely overwhelmed anyway.
The slashes that managed to hit Darkness exceeded double digits in no time, with every blow making the armor screech and scarring it.
In the face of such attacks, it wouldn't be a surprise for normal adventurers to be cut into pieces. But Darkness remained unmoved, every blow that she failed to block with her sword being blocked by her body.
A few strands of Darkness's long blond hair were cut after encountering the blade and scattered into the air.
Beldia stopped his fierce consecutive attacks for a moment and caught his falling head with one hand. He switched back to holding the sword with one hand while seemingly impressed with Darkness's tenacity.
Seeing how Darkness endured all these hits, those mages and the people whose faces turned pale and couldn't move steeled their resolved and started chanting.
But just at that moment, something warm sprayed onto Kazuma's face.
He wiped with the back of his hand and his body almost fainted when he found out what it was.
"Hey, Darkness you're hurt! Enough, come back! All the adventurers will scatter and come up with a new plan!"
Looking closely, Darkness was bleeding from her face and the cracks in her armor.
Kazuma desperately began to think for ways of holding the Dullahan in place so that he could get Aqua to cast Turn Undead on him. He considered using Create Water and then Freeze to hold him down, but if he noticed that Aqua was chanting then he would use his strength to break though. Then how…?
As he furiously thought for a way to defeat Beldia, Darkness who refused to back down said.
"Crusaders will never retreat when protecting someone! I won't ever compromise on that! Also!"
Speaking such cool lines, Darkness's face blushed as she defended with all her might.
"Also! This Dullahan is very skilled! He has been chipping my armor off slowly bit by bit! He didn't strip me naked directly, but left pieces of armor behind, making it more sexual than being naked. He wants to humiliate me in public!"
"Huh?!"
Beldia stopped momentarily when he heard what Darkness said and backed off a little. Kazuma couldn't help but scold the pervert who was showing her true nature at such a critical juncture.
"Look at the time and place, you unrepentant pervert! Why are you ruining your image at such a time!"
Darkness trembled for a moment when she heard him lecturing her.
"Ugh…! Ka-Kazuma, you should be the one watching the time and place! I'm at my limits as I'm being ravaged by the Dullahan in public, and Kazuma is humiliating me too! What are you trying to do to me, ganging up on me with the Dullahan like that!?"
Why are you doing this?! That image! That shiny perfect image of you being cool and collected as you protected us even if it hurt you, it's disappearing! My mind it's forgetting it! I'm being forced to remember you like being hurt! Why did you do this you perverted Crusader!
Kazuma was about to erupt at Darkness for ruining his most precious memory of her thus far when he saw Beldia, just as if not more distraught than him. It was then when he had a desperate idea.
"Darkness! Shut your perverted and dirty mouth up for once in your life and hear me well! Hold the Dullahan down with all your might or else I'll-…!"
Kazuma didn't even finish his sentence and she did as he said. She unconsciously reacted to his harsh words and abandoned her long-sword, grabbing the wrist of the Dullahan, one hand firmly on the wrist of the hand with his great-sword, and the other the one with his head, now squashed due to the Crusader's pressure.
Having snapped out of his confusion, Beldia looked at her and attempted to break free. "You think this will keep me down? You must really be stupid if this is the best you… could come… up with… Ugh… Why is your grip so… strong?!"
Darkness wasn't even listening to him, instead her face fully red and panting, as she talked to herself.
"Hah… Hah… To be ordered to abandon the sword and hold on to the enemy that had been undressing me!" Darkness let out a moan and held her thighs together, not lessening her grip in any way. "I'm being forced to do such terrible things by Kazuma in front of everyone! And I can't refuse, can I? After all, the Dullahan will most certainly see that their perverted fantasies are accomplished! He must have planned this with the Dullahan since the beginning, only then could they develop such a heinous plan!"
As she kept talking her grip on his arms kept getting more fierce. She was putting so much strength into it that his gauntlet started cracking. It was honestly surprising how he still managed to not drop his great-sword.
"How can this be?! I threw you into the air earlier without much effort didn't I? Then why can't I break out now?! What's wrong with this woman- No! What's wrong with this town?"
With his head squished on his armpit, Beldia was trying his hardest to free himself from Darkness. Considering how he had managed to throw her around earlier, he maybe could have moved around a bit. But at his current status…
"Now Aqua! Now's your time!"
If he truly gets weaker with this attack, then I should be able to use Steal. If I fail here then Darkness will be in serious trouble. I'll probably only have this chance so…
"Sacred Turn Undead!"
"I'll definitely snatch your weapon this time! Take this-!"
"Stop torturing me with- Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Steal!"
Aqua launched her spell to a terrified Beldia, followed by Kazuma's Steal.
Kazuma placed all his mana into the Steal. He felt something hard, cold and heavy in his hand as he used the skill.
This raised the thought of 'Did it work?' from Kazuma and all of the adventurers, which might've become a flag for failure.
"Ahhh…"
Nobody knew what had happened and it became quiet. Even Darkness regained herself after being blinded by Aqua's spell.
At this moment, everyone heard a voice that sounded a bit troubled and panicked.
"Ex-Excuse me…"
It was Beldia.
Beldia said in a whimsical voice that no one would have ever imagine coming from him:
"Ex-Excuse me… Can you return my head back to me…?"
Beldia's head said as it lay in Kazuma's hands.
Part 4
Kazuma was inspecting the Dullahan's head all around. He curiously noticed how the head was shaped very much like a ball. In fact, the thought of playing football with the head was about to come into reality when…
"Argh, I'm tired of this! You may had taken me by surprise but no more I say! This ends here!"
The Dullahan's body, who was still being held in place by Darkness, struggled once more into reckless actions. Darkness also struggled to remain stable with her hold, but the body kept trashing and moving around.
"Hey stop that! I have your head, so don't try anything funny!" Kazuma had gained a boost of confidence after managing to take the Dullahan's head, so he took the head and turned it away from the body so that it wouldn't see what was happening.
"This won't stop me! My precious body, come to me!"
The Dullahan's body without any head on top of it was as tall as Darkness. While still on her grip, the body slammed it's chest on Darkness head. Despite being superior in being durable, that hit was what made Darkness hold of the body crumble at last.
With a moan and perverted word coming from her at the action, of course.
At least the adventurers screamed in terror when they saw it's movement.
The body gained distance with Darkness, and then turned slowly and threateningly facing Kazuma. All that being done with the lack of eyes (and head) made it all that more unnerving.
And then the body just fully sprinted into Kazuma, with the great-sword dangerously raised in the air as if it was nothing.
"Huh? What are you doing- Hey wait! Stay back! Tell your body to say back!"
Kazuma similarly sprinted with all his will in an attempt to escape the furious body.
"Hey Aqua! Stop standing there and help me! Darkness made a gap in the armor didn't she? Purify him!"
"Ah it's moving so fast! I don't think I can!" Aqua proved this by launching a spell at the body. It missed by a long shot. If she had to hit just that small gap while moving then it would be practically impossible.
"But listen to this Kazuma! Sometimes when separated a Dullahan's link between head and body breaks. The body should be semi-autonomous. Yet his body can't see you, and the head can still order it around. So all you have to do it's block the head's view and eventually the body won't find you. I'm a goddess so I know this things!"
"If you're a goddess then remember the weakness of the Dullahan! Why do you remember this but not it's weakness?!"
Aqua shouted a retort back but Kazuma was to focused in blocking the head's eyes. His hands felt weird against the undead rough skin. But kept the grip firm. He thought of smashing his eyes but he probably couldn't even pierce the eyelids. And that was sad.
Yet the body continued it pursuit. Kazuma even zigzagged and took sharp turns, and sometimes the body ran in the wrong direction, but it soon came back towards Kazuma.
As if sensing his desperation Beldia talked from his hold in his hands: "Who do you think I am?! I'm a General of the Demon King! This obviously isn't the first time that I had my body chase my own head. There was a female General in the castle that I used a self-made secret technique to… uh… Do General things! Sometimes my head was separated for longs period of time thanks to her and my body had to retrieve it. That plus some… incidents with other females in the army have made me more than prepared for this!"
"Shut up! Shut up! I don't wanna hear anymore of your depraved lifestyle! Hey Aqua! Please tell me you have something!"
Aqua was still thinking. She was so determined she started punching her own head to try and remember. "Don't attempt to speed this Kazuma! I almost have it. It's on the tip of my tongue! I'm at least pretty sure it had something to do with me! Obviously because I'm the most pure goddess there is but… Ugg! What was it?"
I don't think the 'most pure goddess' would be found drinking wine till she passes out and has to be carried to the inn…
Kazuma turned around and saw that the body was almost at arms reach of him.
Oh no, oh no, oh no!
What should I do?
I don't have any special power or hidden talent.
I have nothing to be proud of, or any skills that were useful in this situation.
I only possess great luck which I was born with, and I already technically used it.
In his moment of desperation, Kazuma had an awakening. While he had exhausted every resource, friend and tactic, he was still at hair's reach of defeat. Yet he still had one thing. He was a man from another world. And not any man. But a Gamer.
He had knowledge of games accumulated since childhood. He neglected all other things and immersed himself in games.
And while this world was no game, as he had realized in this battle, he could still take advantage of what he knew from the other world.
Think! Use your gaming knowledge and think! The foe is a Dullahan, what was its weakness in RPG's?
Kazuma had many strong points in gaming-related skills. One strong point would be finding the attack style his opponent despised the most when fighting with other players in online games.
Aqua was still cracking her brain trying to remember the Dullahan's weakness. She had stated that it had something to do with her and purity. Of course, since it was an undead, purity and purification was an easy one, but the rest.
If only this goddess would get her act together we-
If only this goddess…
Goddess… of Water…
Water was a universal mean of purification.
And in games even the major undead type monster, vampires, were afraid or weak of water.
So, what about that Dullahan?
Kazuma looked behind his back at the body. One arm held the sword and the other was attempting to reach him, and it was really close too.
I guess I have no choice!
"Create Water!"
"It's water!"
Just as Kazuma used his spell on the head, a victorious Aqua shouted at him the answer he had come to deduce himself.
And sure enough another scream came from Beldia. Kazuma rolled to the side just after using the spell. And the body just ran along in a straight line while the head screamed in pain.
"Hey Kazuma! It's water, water! This fellow's weakness is water! You must be really grateful that I reminded you right?"
"You Idiot! How could you forget something as easy as that in the first place! And you're a goddess of water, right?! Or are you just a phony goddess? Because which goddess forgets that someone's weakness is her own field she's goddess in!"
"Wahhh! How could you say that Kazuma! After all I worked in an attempt to remember and you go and say that! Apologize Kazuma, apologize!"
A teary-eyed Aqua ran aver him and was about to shake him when the body did a spin and ran back at them.
"All mages! His weakness is water! Use water-elemental spells!"
The adventurers had been watching the pursuit while holding their breaths. And so when he said the order, a rain (literally) of water spells came splashing down on the Dullahan's body.
A soaked body stopped on it's tracks and just stood there unsteadily. A now uncovered Dullahan head was watching (and feeling) all of that damage, earning yet another scream.
"Well, that was intense. I think it's time we end this. Hey Darkness, want to do the honors?"
Darkness picked up her sword on the ground and walked toward them. Breathing heavily and dripping blood everywhere, Darkness lifted her sword, heading slowly towards Beldia's body.
Being witness and guessing what was going to happen, Beldia attempted to move his body, only to be met with another barrage of water. This time with Aqua adding a little of hers to. Being cornered he became even more desperate.
"H-hey, that last attack didn't make me feel any pain. Must be because of my body's broken link with me. So… uh… you should take me with my body so that damage it's equally distributed…"
Darkness kept silently approaching to his body, who was now on it's knees and having forgone the great-sword.
"… Um, hey don't be reckless now. Think what you're going to do over. Since my body is separated you cold trap it and keep my head as a… mark of you accomplishment! Yes! You could brag to all your friends about your cool trophy! Just imagine the prestige that will come with it!"
Darkness stopped in front of him and raised her sword up high.
"This blow is for the people who took care of me but were killed by you! I don't want to hit too many times, so take all of their share with this one hit!"
And she swung down mightily.
"Wahhh!"
The muffled scream of Beldia came from the head that was being held by Kazuma.
Darkness once again proved she was very strong, shattering Beldia's dark armor in one blow and opening an obvious gap in the chest area of the armor that was enchanted by the Demon King.
"Great. Aqua, the rest is in your hands."
"Leave it to me!"
Aqua lifted one hand, aiming at the crack in the armor of Beldia that had been weakened by water.
"Sacred Turn Undead!"
"Wait no, hold on…! Hyaaa–!"
After getting hit by Aqua's spell, Beldia's scream could be heard near the legs of the adventurers.
It seemed like Turn Undead was effective this time.
Beldia's body was covered in a white light, turning translucent and gradually disappearing. Kazuma felt a weight dissipate from hands, as Beldia's head also disappeared.
And so, without even knowing what he was doing in this place, or by what cruel twist of destiny he had to meet the worst possible match-up for him ever, the Demon King's General was purified.
Part 5
A roar of victory came from the adventurers, so loud that even Megumin in the distance heard it. She had been able to watch some of the fight from her place near the town. Without any energy to go that way and join the celebrations, she just let out a sigh, a huge weight being lifted from her consciousness. They somehow had won.
When she heard the cheers of victory from the adventurers, Darkness, who was wounded all over, knelt on one knee, praying with her eyes closed at the spot the Dullahan disappeared.
Seeing Darkness act this way, Kazuma asked her hesitantly: "… Darkness, what are you doing?"
Darkness replied as if she were reciting a monologue in her heart.
"… I'm praying. The Dullahan was a knight who was executed unjustly, and turned into a monster because of his grudge. It might be weird to say this after smashing him with my sword, but there's no reason not to pray for him…"
"I see…"
Kazuma was stunned once gain at Darkness being a normal Crusader. He softly replied silently wishing that she was like this more often.
"… Cedre's arm strength was weaker than mine, so he spread an idiotic rumor that my body was full of muscle…"
Kazuma realized that she was talking about some of the warriors that had been slain by the Dullahan. Despite being someone she knew, and had some not pleasurable memories, she still talked of him in the same respectful and mourning manner she did with Beldia.
"Heinz was one of the first adventurers I partied up with when becoming a Crusader, and he always liked to tease about the manners and speech I used to have… and he'd laughed like a moron while doing it too… And Garilhe, I joined his party once and made him yell, asking why I kept charging into the middle of the monster hoards… They were all killed by that Dullahan. Thinking back, they might not have been great guys, but I didn't really dislike them…"
After Darkness said that. Kazuma couldn't help but just give her the moment to mourn the people who had passed away.
"… If I could meet them again… Just once is enough, I would want to have a drink with them…"
"O-Okay…"
Behind Darkness, some bashful voices sounded out.
Darkness shivered for a moment. Behind her were three embarrassed looking men.
Kazuma was shocked, as he remembered them being murdered by Beldia just now.
Finally, one of them spoke apologetically, followed soon by the others:
"How should I put this… It's my bad. I didn't know you thought of us that way…"
"That's… That's right, I'm sorry for spreading that weird rumor because I lost to you in arm wrestling… I-I'll treat you to a meal next time…"
"Actually… Were you really conscious about your manners? I thought that you just acted that way to stay in character… I-I'm sorry about that…"
As she listened to the three of them talk, Darkness, who remained in her praying posture with her eyes still closed, started to blush. And Aqua, unable to read the mood, said excitedly:
"Darkness, leave such things to me! At my level, fresh corpses that haven't passed on too long ago can be resurrected by me easily! This is wonderful, now all of you can drink together again!"
Aqua didn't mean any harm. She really didn't. In fact, what she just did was something wonderful.
But when Darkness heard what Aqua said, she remembered her monologue with the subjects in question standing behind her. She covered her red face that was on the verge of tears and sat on the ground in a heap.
"Isn't this great? Meeting everyone once again… Let's go and drink with everyone."
Kazuma said to Darkness heartily and also without any bad intentions, but she continued to cover her face and said softly:
"… I want to die…"
Kazuma sighed at seeing her loose her Crusader mask and remorse. She probably had been blaming herself for failing to defend them earlier. But now everything had returned to normal, including Darkness. And thanks to everyone, nothing had gone wrong. Kazuma smiled now that they had won.
And he couldn't help but celebrate bye teasing a Darkness who was still embarrassed beyond belief:
"Don't you prefer when others humiliate you with words? You did great this battle, so I think you deserve a reward. Don't hold back, I'll keep bringing this up for the next three days."
"This… This is not the kind of humiliation I want…!"
Part 6
A day had passed after Beldia defeat.
Kazuma was thinking seriously about what to do in the future as he walked to the guild alone.
It was his obligation to take down the Demon King as a summoned hero. But that meant he'll had to take on strong enemies like Beldia in the future.
After all other Generals and the Demon King himself would be targets that he'll need to face in order to ascent to the heavens and be ranted one wish. And yet many would doubtingly be stronger that Beldia. And Beldia had been plenty strong already.
Who would have thought that an ex-goddess turned Arch-priest; an explosive loli Arch-wizard that would definitely get in trouble if it were his old world; a perverted beyond belief masochist Crusader, and a gamer with the weakest class: Adventurer; were hard counter-picks for a Dullahan.
Kazuma had been extremely lucky this time around, and his luck was one of his only strong points after all. That and his knowledge from his old world gave him some of an edge.
But he still had the weakest job, and hadn't actually gained any levels from battling Beldia, so his level was still fairly low for a now 'experienced adventurer'. And luck could only get him so far, so he wouldn't be so lucky as to be able to win all the battles he would face. And this world had destroyed his beliefs of fantasy adventures, and so he didn't know what to expect any more.
Yet he still had a plan.
He couldn't hold on his own, and his party was going to need all the help they could from him if they were to ever had some hope in defeating the Demon King.
He would use his knowledge of Japan to start a business. Having a lot of money would certainly help him in taking more challenging quests, with bigger reward on money, and so on and so forth.
H opened the adventurer's guild doors as he was planning my life. A strong smell welcomed him as soon as he opened the doors.
The passion of the crowd and the strong scent of alcohol flowed out from the guild. The adventurers held a party in broad daylight to commemorate them defeating the Demon King's boss.
"Ah! You're too slow, Kazuma! Everyone's already starting to get smashed!"
Aqua, who was in a great mood, signaled Kazuma as he entered the guild. "Hey, hurry and collect the bounty, Kazuma! Almost all the adventurers have claimed their rewards for defeating the Demon King's boss! I did too! But as you can see, I drank a lot of it away!"
Aqua was happy, opening her money pouch for all to see. She then took an a shot and laughed cheerfully.
This… this girl is drunk. Again.
On a closer look, many of the adventurers inside the guild were so drunk that they couldn't even walk steadily. A reward had been sent to all the adventurers that participated in the battle from the crown. So now they were wasting it all and enjoying themselves.
Ignoring those drunkards, Kazuma headed for the counter. Darkness and Megumin were already there.
"You're here, Kazuma. Quick, collect your reward."
"I waited really long for you, Kazuma. Listen to me, Darkness is really petty, saying it was too early for me to drink…"
"Wait, it has nothing to do with being petty. That's not what I meant…!"
The two of them started bickering, so he ignored them and approached the counter lady.
"Ah yes… Satou Kazuma-san. We have been expecting you."
The guild lady had a full smile as she welcomed him,
"Well… First will be the rewards for these two ladies."
The counter lady then gave two small bags to Darkness and Megumin.
"… And actually… The guild has decided to present a special reward for Kazuma's party."
"Huh, why just us?"
When Kazuma asked, someone answered him.
"Hey, MVP! If not for you guys, there's no way we could have beaten that Dullahan!"
In response to that, the drunkards agreed rowdily.
Kazuma was a touched by everyone's kindness.
So, I represented all four people on my team to receive the special reward.
The counter lady cleared her throat and stated:
"Ahem– The Demon King General Beldia was a high class danger, and so his reward was to be given equally among all of the adventurers who faced him… But a general consensus between the guild, the crown and the adventurers reached that you're the most worthy of this reward! And so to honor Satou Kazuma and his party's victory over the Demon King's General, Beldia… The guild is pleasured to award them the bounty of 300 million eris!"
"Three…"
Kazuma, Megumin and Darkness were speechless. The adventurers also turned silent when they heard the amount. But then they erupted in cheers.
"Hey, 300 million, it's your treat Kazuma!"
"Woah! Kazuma-sama, treat us! Treat us!"
The counter lady handed Kazuma a paper, of which he assumed was the check of this world.
"We hope to witness more of your great accomplishments in the future!"
And with that the guild erupted into one loud cheer, and another would follow when Kazuma ordered everyone a round of drinks.
"You know I feel kinda weird about this check here." Kazuma took another sip of his Neroid while carefully examining his check. Apparently they were only handed for transactions of more than 100 million eris.
"Oh, how so Kazuma?" Darkness questioned him, next to a brooding Megumin that wasn't able to drink any alcohol.
"Well, I feel like I didn't do much in the fight against Beldia. But at the same time I believe that without me there we wouldn't have won."
Kazuma thought about how he didn't really have that much of an impact in the fight, compared to Megumin destroying all of the Undead Knights, Darkness basically solo-dueling Beldia and Aqua finishing.
"That being said, I'm not going to reject this check. In fact I'm going to use it to the fullest."
"Only Kazuma would say something like that. Yet I'm not one to talk. I felt really left out of the 'defeat Beldia' achievement." Megumin took a sip of her drink. "Yet I still defeated all of his minions, so that's that. I'll definitely have another chance to make a Demon King General taste my spells!"
"Ah. I'm glad everything is back to normal." Darkness said with a bright smile that stemmed from the bottom of her heart.
Kazuma silently agreed with her, glad that the everyday peace returned to their lives. And now that he was rich, he would be able to enjoy peace and leisurely tackle quests. And with any good luck. No other crazy event will trigger for him, like another end-game boss character ending on their doorsteps.
And his luck was always good right?
Here's the next chapter. Unfortunately a lot later than I would have liked to. I wanted to have Megumin use her spells and participate in the battle, but I just couldn't find a way of doing that with the undead army in mind. I had to rewrite the battle a lot, but in the end I like what I ended up with, and I hope you like it too.
Thanks for all the reviews and support you shown me! Some reviews asked if I was going to include a pairing in this story. Well… I don't know? Depending on how I move it around, the pairing (if any) will depend on how the story goes. Hell who knows? Maybe I'll go 'Screw it' and make a harem route. So yeah, I don't know yet. I do know that the pairing won't chance the story, but rather the story will change what the pairing is.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time!