AN: Updated chapter 6 by the time of uploading this.
[Chapter 7: A Quick End]
[Part 1: Let this be quick]
(3rd person POV)
The beam of holy got closer and closer to Vargus...
Until they suddenly get blocked by a hovering blue blade that quickly fades away afterward.
Vargus turned back and sees a ruckus behind some bushes.
"What was that noise?"
[We're under attack. Keep your guard on.]
"Ah...okay." Vargus lazily replied, most likely putting less than half a mind to his surroundings.
[Stop munching on the fruits.] Azure drops the fruit basket, spilling them all over the place.
The blue blade disappears silently or rather, becomes transparent. And a small whisper could be heard, "Ville, I'm in Stealth mode right now. I think we're about to have another fight, and this is gettin' old now. So can we try to make peace with humans now? Also, don't ya dare go all crazy like in the morning again, I'm ain't dealin' with that... again." X is nowhere in sight but Vargus could feel he's very close to him.
"Yea yea whatever. Just go deal with them, ain't that fond of battling them right now."
"Shut up, ya don't even bother to move while others hit ya anyways... Wait, are ya a masochist? Actually, that's for later. The point is, ya're gonna do this with me instead of sittin' at the back row." X said as he begins to pull Vargus along while being near invisible.
"Oh come on, isn't this YOUR idea?" Vargus grumbled but put no effort into his muscle to restrain.
"Yeah, and? That doesn't mean ya can stay behind and become slothful, trust me. Not a good idea, speakin' from experience." X stated and glanced at the screen for a split second with a judgmental gaze before sighing disappointedly.
[Note: It's directed to Xciozen the writer.]
By the time the humans are done with their ruckus, the demon and the (invisible) alien are a hundred meters away from them now.
"Aqua, please control yourself for once. We're asked to CAPTURE them, not KILLING them."
"What, why?! Demons don't even deserve to exist!; Luna also said that we can kill them if it's necessary and I see this as necessary!" Aqua argued.
"Aqua, please just listen to me for once." Kazuma calmly said before throwing out a "Bind!" toward the demon and then turning back before the rope could hit Vargus; he did not notice the rope getting cleanly cut in half.
"Megumin, get ready your Explosion -(Already done!)- we will need it if things go badly. Keith, Lynn and Yunyun, get ready to incapacitate that demon with Paralyze, Sleep, and whatever you have. Darkness, you stay back and protect them -(With pleasure!)- Taylor will try to not let him run away. I and Chris will assist him with that." Kazuma made a plan on the spot.
"Wait, Chris is here?!" Darkness asked as she begins to observe everything around her.
"Oh Darkness, I thought out of everyone (besides Kazuma) you would be the one who understand me." Chris winked with her lavender eyes, one that X noticed. "I wouldn't let any demon stays alive!" Chris charged in while activating Cloak, an advanced skill for thief job, one that makes the user become almost invisible if not straight up being that, with the cost of a rather large mana pool to maintain for a long time. Luckily, she isn't your everyday thief and is capable of manipulating mana.
Taylor and Kazuma seeing/hearing this, mentally agreed with eachother before going into action; they could see Chris charging in with her holy dagger in hand, however, before they get too close, something that no one could see stopped the dagger and bounced it back right after.
Seeing that, the duo hesitated while Keith unleashed a barrage of Fast Snipe. The sharp arrows travel through the air with immense speed, yet, all of them just get deflected into the ground by some kind of invisible force with swift silent wind everytime an arrow gets deflected.
"Do yar job, Od damn it," X harshly whispered to Vargus; while Lynn and Yunyun are ready to cast some spells but don't know if they should or not.
"I don't know man, I'm just eating these poisonous fruits while watching this world unfold itself. Ain't no threat at all!" Vargus said loud enough for everyone there to hear; X gave Vargus a disappointed face. "Hey, don't blame me, I totally tried my best."
"Not a threat?! You believe us to believe the words of a demon like you?" Chris said with Aqua agreeing, both having big scowls on their face.
[Oh my Helthus. Not agaaain] Azure gasped in boredom.
"Sigh, again with this bullshit. And pray to tell, what's wrong with me being a demon; demon slayers?" Deadpanned Vargus with a frown on his face.
"This city sure is racist." Xciozen mumbled with a tone of disappointment.
"Everything!" The 2 demon haters shouted in unison and Chris went to throw a Bind along with Skill Bind, and then a Wire Trap.
"Uh-um, guys. M-maybe we should listen to them first-" Yunyun tries to reason but she was quickly dismissed. "Yunyun, I know that you're a kind girl. But please don't stand for these disgusting creatures." Chris spoke with a sweet tone in the first sentence before spatting with a dark tone in the last sentence; the shy crimson demon girl was beyond terrified.
While Aqua starts beaming her god-tier Exorcism; Kazuma told Taylor to not interfere yet, as he noticed something strange around the ground that Vargus is standing on.
While Skill Bind and Wire Trap got cut in half with Bind getting deflected back to Chris, who narrowly avoided in the last second. Kazuma spotted grass getting flattened and footsteps getting imprinted out of nowhere.
Spotting the crucial detail, he quickly assumed that someone invisible is protecting the demon infront of him, which is most likely going to be the alien; Rather than a forcefield, Kazuma assumed that the alien is using an invisible sword to cut everything that comes near, just like what Luna told him about the alien using a sword.
Seeing this, it reminds him of the Rookie Killer's corpse in the forest and now he has 2 choices. Fight and do some fascinating tactics or flight and run away for his dear life.
Aqua's exorcism failed to touch the demon as a transparent mirror-barrier popped out of thin air and reflected the light back to Aqua, making the self-proclaimed goddess confused; She quickly tried to use Sacred Break Spell but a strong gust of wind came, luckily, Darkness blocked it in time with a rather indecent look on her face, she was blown away not too far away afterward.
Taking this chance, Kazuma and Taylor dashed in with Taylor infront and Kazuma behind with Lurk in action. While also ready to activate Drain Touch and do a combination of basic spells.
Something touched Taylor's shield and a second later, he got sent flying back, crashing directly into Lynn and Darkness.
Kazuma lunged in and touched something invisible, he wasted no time activating Drain Touch.
A figure quickly became visible, but before Kazuma could do anything more, an electric shock went through his body as if warning to not attempt to invade the alien; he got sent flying backward and crashed into Chris quickly after.
"Oh, so I have been revealed. No point in hidin' anymore, huh?" X softly said, "Ok so, this idiot right here (points at Vargus, who simply shrugged with a smug face) failed to convince for peace. I will just do it mysel-"
Chris helped him get up, "Oi! Is this one of those cliche plots where the alien came and says 'We come in peace?' " Kazuma jumped in and spoke something that no one understands except Eri- I mean, Chris and Aqua.
"Uhh... Yes...?" "Perhaps?" X and Vargus mused in unison.
"Hm, I see. Sorry not sorry, but I don't trust you two so you better drop your weapons and let us bind you real quick."
"But Kazuma!-"
"Now now Aqua, we were asked to capture them- Create Water, Freeze!" Kazuma quickly made a stream of water and froze it right after, aiming at X.
"Fiery Torrent; did ya seriously think we're just gonna give in like that? Nuh-uh, we ain't gonna volunteer to be lab rats, absolutely not." Deadpanned X, who casts a bigger stream of water with a rather high temperature.
"Wind Curtain!" Yunyun blocked the stream of water with a gust of wind after it collided with Kauzma's, who gives her a thumbs up, "Nice assist, Yunyun!" Megumin silently pouted and mentally noted to do something later after all of this is done.
"Guys, go!" Kazuma commanded. "Light of Saber!" [Yunyun] "Freeze Gust!" [Lynn] "Ethereal Snipe!" [Keith] "Exorcism! Aqua couldn't waste the chance to aim at the demon. "Bind!" [Kazuma Chris]
"Don't ya dare underestimate something ya don't understand, because it will be, Futile!" Xciozen slashed forward in a large arc with his sword, sending a wide wave of electricity moving at fierce speed, however, it was meant to eradicate all the attacks and not to cause harm. "If ya seriously wants to beat us, then please try something better than some cheap spells."
"Tch, fine, if you want something more challenging then- Create dirt, Wind Breath, Steal!" Kazuma held his hand out and uses his signature combo and skill; the dust combo wasn't very effective as a hand wave from Vargus was enough to disperse it. "Megumin, aim your Explosion somewhere to knock them out! You can hurt them but don't kill them."
Megumin proceeds to start casting her one and only ultimate spell, but suddenly the spell flickers off.
A bright light engulfed Kazuma's hand and dispersed. He felt something kinda small, yet heavy and hard in his hand. While he expected to steal the alien's blade, what he got was a totally different thing. Even though he was supposed to have high luck!
Opening his fist, he sees a necklace with a purple triangle jewel. The centerpiece is like a monstrous hand tightly clamping on the jewel, with three fingers holding each corner. Fascinated by its color, the royalty and the expensive look of it, Kazuma dangles it around before his eyes.
Seeing that, Vargus panicky checks his pockets, only to feel nothing.
Witnessing that, Kazuma holds up the necklace, "Ohhh? Looking for this, Mr. Demooooon?" He mused with a cheeky smile while the others are terrified, knowing something bad is gonna happen afterward, just like everytime he has done this.
Vargus narrows his eyes, his pupils constricted, appearing to be incredibly hostile towards Kazuma, "Give. That. Back. Petty human."
Kazuma and Chris sensed a big ping coming from the demon, indicating a large aura of bloodlust from him if the outside wasn't enough.
Aqua snatches the necklace, then she swings it around with a smug on her face, mocking the Demon, "If you say so then we won't give it back unless you surrender! Or perhaps I'll just sell it instead, might as well cash in some large amount of Eri-"
A sharp sound swishes in the air, and Vargus disappeared. Deeply dented the ground with a booming sound, it sounds like Megumin's explosion, but she didn't cast it. It wasn't any of the party members that did anything, nor even Xciozen. Confused, questions piling up after one another, Aqua confidently assumed that it was her presence that the demon ran away. Kazuma, on the other hand, did not feel so good, he feels like his body is going numb. Limb after another, it all felt very numb, it was as if he was getting a cramp that doesn't pain him. Then, he loses his ability to think. His vision goes dark, as the darkness starts to eat the light away from his eyes. Gathered all his might to take a step back, feeling like he was in deep danger.
At that very moment when he took a step back, cuts start to surface on his skin. Sharp pain bolts through his body, irritating his nervous system. He couldn't bring his throat up to speak, or even shout. The only thing he hears is his own blood coursing out of the cuts. Ringing sounds invade his ears, but he can't do anything about it.
The necklace in Aqua's hand disappeared, then a clear sharp cut appear on her arm, a second later, her arm fell down; Aqua's right arm has been severed before anyone could blink.
"...How does it feel? Being unable to do anything, as death creeps upon you?" Said Vargus with a low tone along with Azure, [Don't say we didn't warn you, low lives.]
Appearing behind Kazuma without a sound, leaving behind an after-image of where he stood earlier, Vargus lifts his hand, and the necklace is in his palm... Clean, safe and unharmed. Kazuma's body falls against Vargus's back with a dull, wet sound. Meat scraps flew past Vargus, blood started spilling out from Kazuma's lower spine. What is left there for Kazuma is from the lower abdomen and down.
The situation was too fast to be processed in time, Yunyun could only scream in horror, and the rest of the party could only stare at Kazuma's lifeless body in horror, for they weren't able to depict what just happened during such a short time.
Aqua's arm mysteriously regrows with a glitchy effect, and her memory of what happened just now somehow went along with the flying scraps of Kazuma's (the same glitchy effect also occurs around her head). All away, that is. It's not Xciozen's doing, mind you. Just as her arm came back, Vargus sensed a sudden disturbance around him, so he does a full spin slash. And it hits nothing.
Luckily, Xciozen was able to pull Aqua out from his range in time, saving yet another person, "What the fuck are ya doin'?!" Shouted Xciozen towards Vargus, who is still looking at the necklace, heedless of Kazuma's bleeding corpse. Aqua passed out due to the weird phenomenon earlier, but Xciozen doesn't care about that as he gently places her down next to him.
[Part 2: Oh my god. Vargus, what have you done?!]
To say Kazuma's party was breathless would be an understatement; Yunyun nearly fainted- Nevermind, she already fainted. And Lynn tried to not scream out loud, which in her defense, she did try her best. Resulting in a very audible muffled scream of terror.
Darkness, and Chris (Eris) are all extremely concerned and have a raging hatred toward the demon and the alien, mostly the demon who just did that to their dear friend. Eris was wondering if she should quickly hide somewhere and transforms into her goddess form as it should be obvious now that this demon isn't a normal demon, nor is he from this universe. But she also has to go back to the Heaven realm to send Kazuma back down when Aqua cast Resurrection on him.
Aqua, who has now gained her consciousness back; looks at Kazuma's corpse. Her eyes widened, her pupils constricted down. Rage takes over her, immense hatred thrown at the demon before her. Firing a sacred exorcism beam at him would be what she wants, but she knows better. It might trigger the demon's will to obliterate Kazuma's corpse, and he will be gone forever.
Keith and Taylor were beyond speechless as they could only watch their brother gets brutally butchered, murdered before their very eyes within a flash of a second. One of them might have pissed themself, they are frozen in shock, trembling in fear but also raging with hatred.
Megumin has multiple emotions, she was terrified, depressed as she has failed Kazuma again, guilty and blaming herself, hateful and wrathful towards the demon, and a little disgusted as she has never someone getting butchered like that before; She subconsciously chanted Explosion but she held it back, for now, as she doesn't want to destroy Kazuma's body and believed that he still can be revived. Tears could be seen leaking out, rolling down her cheeks.
Not wasting a second, Xciozen teleported right beside Kazuma, forcing himself to chant a force resurrection spell at a very fast rate. Even an ordinary person could realize that the air around him has a very thick layer of mana, even the air is glowing blue hue.
Vargus by now snapped back and realized what he had done, yet not a single emotion ran through him, not even remorse for doing so. It's the necklace that matters to him, not these people.
"S-Stay away from him!" Shouted Megumin with venom in her voice she wasn't having any of this, she was ready to cast the spell any second now, once she found the angle to safely do that without harming Kazuma further. But it was cut off by someone casting a spell, not Aqua nor anyone else from the party, but the alien.
"R-Resurrection!" Xciozen casts as he shouts at the top of his lungs, catching Aqua and Chris by surprise upon hearing the spell; a bright cyan light glows from Kazuma's body and once it faded, everyone (except Vargus) was surprised, again.
X quickly made a ghostly rope without batting an eye at anyone else, and threw the rope high into the sky with fast speed, until it suddenly catches something. He used all of the little strength he has left and pulled it down as the instant resurrection healing left quite a toll on his mana reservation and weakened him in contrast because he's a spirit.
Whatever the rope caught fell into Kazuma and an instant later, his body bounce back to left before collapsing again. After that, Xciozen slowly let the light goes through him, effectively disappearing from the scene.
And in contrast to that, Aqua fires a Sacred Exorcism beam at the unbothered Demon after her arm came back. Troubled not he is, he slightly tilts his head. The beam swooshes past him, though it burns his skin a little bit because of the heat. He effortlessly healed it back up.
"You came here to hunt us so-called 'monsters' down, right? Then why are you so surprised about an adventurer's outcome? The moment you had set out to face danger, you should've been prepared for death." Vargus spoke nonchalantly, still having his back turned back against everyone, as he locks his eyes on the necklace.
[Ah, this is the Vargus that I wanted to see!]
"That, I don't think I could argue with, but shouldn't ya spare his life and just take the necklace instead? Ya can chop his arm off if necessary, but not to this extent! What about the woman too!? Didn't ya say that ya don't hit women?!" Said Xciozen and Vargus simply shrugged, "Ughh, he's now sufferin' from a large amount of blood loss, thanks a lot, Vargus."
"If you're asking me to spare whoever takes my necklace then bring me 10 blue moons, and then, I will try to spare a life when that happens again."
"Oh, ya're challengin' me? Even though knowin' that I have a ton of incomprehensible unknown spells. Instead of ignorin' me, ya're comin' straight to me?"
Vargus smirked wide, "No shit, how can I beat the living shit out of you without getting closer?"
"Then, allow us to compare the speed of our spell barrages." X said as Azure emerges from Vargus and starts to barrage X-
Wait, wait, hol' up, cut that! cut that! Who swapped the script?!
Meanwhile...
Chris was slowly dragging the unconscious Kazuma back to the team and Megumin looks like she is going to explode any second now; everyone wanted to attack the demon and the alien but, by now, they should've realized that they are utterly powerless against them.
[Part 3: You reap what you sow]
(Kazuma POV)
A blackened vision.
I can't see a thing.
I can't hear a thing.
Am I in heaven now?
Did I run out of chances to get resurrected?
The one thing that I feared would one day happen.
Or is it the one thing that I always wanted to happen?
"...zuma! Kazuma...!"
Oh hey, I can hear. But my headaches... My heart feels numb (How did I even feel that anyway?)
I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't. I tried to remember what happened but all I got was the world's greatest headache.
I don't feel cold, but I don't feel hot either, nor warm, nor cool. In fact, I can't even feel anything right now.
"...ma...Plea...Wak...up!" Recognizable, familiar noises in the depth of darkness.
"Meg...Kazu...fine...he just suff...blood loss..." Yet, I can't do anything but lies in the darkness of agony.
"He jus...need rest..." Perhaps I should just stop trying and drifts to my long waited slumber.
"Demon...! Atone...for your sin...NOW!" A commanding voice tried to pierce through the darkness, but it wasn't enough.
"Sorry miss thief...But your guy stol...My most precious treasu...Can't afford to lose it..." "We recommend ya...Try to solve this with pe...And not violenc..."
"Not violence?!... Wasn't it you who... Committed such act first!?" "We know... And we sincerely apologize...But isn't this the life of adventurers...?"
"...What kind of 'knight' are you?!" "I may be a knight... But I don't think I act like one..."
"Expl-" "...ell Dispel...!"
"Alien! What did you just curs..." "Sorry, but that wasn't my fau...The little girl tried to cas...Fatal spell that could... potentially ends us..." "..ere's only yo...not us..." "Oh shuddup demon...Ya flex yar durabilit..."
Lost in faint consciousness, I could barely even think properly.
"...is he fine now?" ...retty sure he is...Alright, wake up!"
A blight light engulfed my vision, I quickly closed my eyes in order to not make them blind.
I heard a gentle soft voice from above me, mayhaps it is reassuring me. But I couldn't make out the words.
"Wait, how is he here? His soul I meant, shouldn't he go to the Heaven realm first?" Just as I was about to open my eyes again, the voice of a self-proclaimed goddess butted in, "My naive junior is probably freaking out right now for not seeing Kazuma's soul up there. Pfft." In truth, Aqua was panicking inside.
I felt the urge to wake up right now and pinch her cheek hard for badmouthing my favorite goddess, but I felt my consciousness slipping away.
"Hey! What are you doing now?" A defensive voice could be heard.
"Sendin' his soul to heaven. I'm not dealin' with the laws of Heaven and Hell again, nuh-uh. This is my break after spendin' so long workin' in the Council."
Laws of Heaven and Hell? The 'Council' ? What are those?
Ah, whatever, I'm ascending to heaven now. My consciousness is still intact unlike the times when I die, I just instantly wake up in here.
And then I suddenly feel something in my head, as if it was locking away something.
The Light Novel part starts here, aside from a few additions here and there about the OCs*
"Welcome home, master!"
I found myself in a very familiar white room.
The moment I opened my eyes, a cheerful Eris-sama was standing in front of me.
"...You seem to be enjoying yourself, Eris-sama."
"You've gotten used to coming here by now, so if I didn't do this, you wouldn't have a sense of novelty, right? Though, sorry, I suppose it's not really something I should say considering your current situation."
Saying that, she gave me a wry smile.
"...Can you do it one more time?"
"It's a little weird to say this since I'm the one who did this first, but I won't be doing that again."
And she's always so agreeable whenever she's Big Boss.
"...S-So what happened to everyone else after the demon...M-Massacred me?"
Eris-sama's mood quickly darkened... Oh no, did something really bad happen?! If it did then I don't think I can forgive myself after the stunt I just pulled. Thinking back about it, what the heck was I doing?
"Eris-sama, please tell me everyone else is fine."
The Goddess of Fortune quickly recomposed and says. "Aqua-senpai is tending you down there as the attack from the disgusting creature wasn't something too easy to recover from. Megumin-san is somehow scolding them and Darkness is keeping guard. Rest assured, everyone is fine... Physically, at least. That disgusting demon had caused quite an emotional toll on them."
I let out a tired sigh of relief after Eris-sama's words. Aqua is probably firing Exorcism into the demon every now and then.
This unreasonable world holds no mercy for those that are weak, so such is only to be expected, but is there really nothing I can do to stop dying so often?
Feeling the tension bleed from me, I collapsed to the floor and sat crossed legged... Still, it's been quite some time since I last died...
I can't help but feel down after being killed so easily. Getting used to dying isn't something that brings me much joy either.
I thought back to what brought me here. Why do I have to fight against the Demon King's Generals? Why do I have to deal with nothing but strong enemies since I came to this world?
And now there are aliens, fricking aliens coming to this world and it just had to be me, who will have to deal with this mess.
Ahh, what a pain...
"So... What happened to the alien and the demon? Did Big Boss already kill them?"
"You already grown to care about them?" Eris-sama teased me, "If I had that option, I would gladly take it. However, they came from a different universe, one that is really strong." Eris-sama took a deep breath, "I'm not supposed to reveal this but I figured the Higher-Ups wouldn't mind; when I send a request to the Higher-Ups to exterminate those things, I noticed their breath hitched the moment they laid their eyes on them... Almost as if they feared them."
I felt a quite strange aura coming from the demon's necklace...No, it wasn't strange, it was just straight up pure demonic energy. But it seemed more terrifying than anything I've ever seen before. Eris thought, But the alien... I sensed a faint heavenly aura from him, it was strange though. Eris-sama suddenly shakes her head for some reason.
"Ah...Is that so?" I sighed, "Then if it's what I think it's. It seems like we are dealing with something bigger than just mere aliens."
"You talk as if this is your everyday occurrence."
I let out a wry smile, "Ever since I came to this world, troubles always find me. At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if some crazy space creature is coming toward me. In fact, it just happened...! Ok, it was actually me coming to them but you got the idea."
Eris-sama let out a nervous laugh.
"Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I faintly remember that the alien revived me. Was that true, Eris-sama?" If I'm correct and the alien indeed did revive me, why? Wasn't it me being a prick and getting what I kinda deserve?
"...I suppose as a Goddess, I can't lie then." Eris-sama took a deep breath with a scowl on her face, "Yes, that alien indeed did revive you. He forcefully revived you, something that me and Aqua-senpai thought was necromancy at first but...When you faintly wake up, thanks to the alien, we did not sense the disgusting stench of undead from you because you thankfully were never one."
Eris-sama continued, "Turns out, it was a Resurrection, a forceful one, that is. No idea how that alien is capable of doing that..." Is he secretly a Higher-Ups? No, no one would stay with a demon. Then who is he? Eris thought before continuing, "He forced your soul to return to your body, completely ignoring the laws of Heaven and Hell. As far as I know, no one has done that before, their soul has to at least go to the Heaven realm first before returning back to the mortal world."
'I will have to ask the Higher-Ups later about this new discovery, I wonder if it has anything related to them cowering in fear earlier.' Eris thought.
"So...How did I end up here now?"
"Ah, about that...Well, after I say the words 'Laws of Heaven and Hell' the alien wasted no time recoiling back and threw your soul up here, then he keeps on babbling about not wanting to deal with this and that...He seemed to be in deep trauma about it. Hehe..." Eris-sama cutely giggles.
"Big Boss really is cute, you know? Have you ever considered quitting your work as a Goddess and eloping with me to a remote world somewhere?"
"Oh no, you dont! You're going out with Megumin-san. You're going to get divine punishment if you say such things to a Goddess while having a partner." Eris-sama sternly said.
"A-Ah, allow me to retract my statement, Big Boss."
She only pouted and, "Hpmh." at me before looking away.
Nooooo! I could see the world shatters before me. My life has officially been ruined- Wait, talking about Megumin.
"Eris-sama, you're not pulling any kind of strange strings to make something get in the way whenever Megumin and I are about to cross the line because you harbor secret affections towards me or anything, are you?"
"Of course not! I wouldn't do something that stupid!"
Staaaaaares*
"Ah! What's with that expression? Are you doubting me!?"
Ah, just seeing Eris-sama react to my teasing is breathing life back into my battered soul.
Sitting here for a moment, Eris-sama spoke.
"As much as I'd like to personally kill that damned demon, I, unfortunately, can't." She let out a disappointed sigh, "So, I wish you luck to never encounter them again..." Eris-sama looks like she is bothered by something.
"Big Boss, I could tell that something is bothering you." I said as I analyze her intensely, Big Boss blushed red before hiding her face from me.
"Sigh, it's just...There was no malice in them. All they did really was just self-defense, as unbelievable as it is, it's the truth...Well, until you pick up that demon's necklace, of course." Eris-sama stated, I remembered that I too, sensed no killing intent from them as Enemy Detection didn't seem to pick anything up from them, of course, that was before I do my little mistake.
"In that case, it must be important to him, huh? I guess I should refrain from using Steal anywhere near him-"
"Oh no Satou Kazuma-san. You. Are. Not. Going. To. Befriend. Them." Eris spoke with a tone that sent a chill through my spine, I could only stutter out.
"Y-Yes, understood. B-Big boss." I trembled as I solute...Not that I think I will befriend them in any way anyways, they are totally out of my league; her glare pierced my soul, this is the only moment when I really want someone to interrupt my visit with Eris-sama-
"Kazuma-san! Kazuma-san! Is everything done on your end? If yes then hurry up and come back."
For the first time ever, I felt thankful for the voice of the Goddess who isn't the slightest bit calm breaking into the room.
"I guess it's time to go back then... But after dying so many times, I can't help but be depressed. And when I think that I might die again, I just don't feel like going back anymore. I'm thinking that maybe it isn't so bad to get reborn into a new life."
"That's... Well, I suppose that's only natural. Simply dying once is already a pretty big deal... Well, Kazuma-san has died fairly clean deaths so far, so the shock should be quite minimal."
Eris-sama made a troubled expression for a moment, but eventually, she gave me a warm smile.
"...But, you've found wonderful companions in this world and created quite a few happy memories with them, haven't you? Don't you still have things you need to do? There, there, try and remember those happy days..."
I cast my mind back to the experiences I had in this world.
The harsh time I spent living together with Aqua in the stables back when I first came to this world.
The huge debts I got unreasonably burdened with.
Meeting companions who are good at nothing but causing problems, and cleaning up after them.
The town that's full of weirdos...
And me repeatedly dying as a result.
There's also the bit about how even though things have been going well with my companions, I still haven't managed to cross the line.
"...I really think I'd like to be reborn again..."
"Ehh!?"
Maybe I'd ask to get reborn as the pet cat of a rich person back on Earth.
Then I'd leisurely sleep and eat my life away.
"Kazuma-san! You should hurry up! Megumin is really concerned now!" Aqua's irritating voice broke into the room again.
I gave it my all.
I really gave it my all.
Even if I head back, I get the feeling like I'd end up back here in a jiffy.
"I've decided to be reborn! I'll leave the rest to you! Please tell the other two that I wish them happiness!"
"Eeh!?" Eris-sama squeaked in shock as I shouted that to no one in particular, by she eventually fell silent. And then...
"That man is saying stupid stuff again! Stop messing around. Why do you say such stupid things every so often? Do you really like troubling me that much? Are you stupid? Are you really stupid? Is that why you decided to play around with that damned necklace?!"
"Ah!"
Aqua's reprimand cracked through the air.
"You stop messing around!-"
"Eh, wait, Megumin, what are you doing? Huh?"
...Hey.
"That won't work on me anymore! I don't care what kind of pranks or whatever else you do with my body! Unless you start crying and begging me to comeback!" I shouted toward the sky, if it could be called sky, that is.
"Megumin, what are you doing!? No, wait, what are you doing!? Kazuma-san! Kazuma-san! Hurry up and come back! If you don't hurry up...!"
...I won't be fooled so easily. No matter what you do with my corpse now...
"Jesus Christ... I pity this guy, havin' to..." The voice of the alien suddenly came here, shocking Eris who is now wide-eyed if she hasn't already since a minute ago.
Yes, those kinds of threats will no longer-
"Kazuma-san! Megumin is...! Megumin is saying something about taking your first time or whatever and is doing something really amazing right now! Actually, Megumin, you really shouldn't be doing that sort of thing in broad daylight! Especially when there are others here!"
You're tempting me with erotism?!
"..."
Seeing me squirming on the ground, Eris-sama seemed to grow colder for some reason.
Ah, what should I do? If I don't go back, I'll become an adult before I even get to see the moment...!
But if I go back now, I will get teased as an easy guy who fell for Megumin's seductions easily... No, no, no, but...!
"Hey, Megumin, I don't think something that big will fit for Kazuma-san's first time. Kazuma-san's Kazuma-san will definitely break..."
... ( ͡ ͜ʖ ͡)
"Hey, by first time, you mean that!?"
"Megumin, you can't do that! That's food! You can't do that sort of things with food! You'll get punished!"
"Cut it out! Aqua, I'll head back right away, so stop her right now!"
"Aaah! Megumin! Megumin! You can't do that! He said he's coming back right now, so hurry up and pull his pants-!"
I immediately stood up.
"Anyways, Eris-sama, I have some urgent business to take care of, so I'll take my leave her."
I rushed over to the gate and pushed it open...
"Ah, have a safe trip... Wait, no, Kazuma-san! Sorry to bother you when you're in a rush, but there's something important I need to say-"
"Right now?! We had so much time before this, we even could cross the line before the time runs out! So why did you wait till now to tell me!? Just come see me as Big Boss after I've made it back!"
"Megumin, why do you always do such brash acts!? Come on, he's coming back soon, so hurry up and get rid of the evidence!"
"Holy shit..." The voice of the alien came once more but I was uncaring toward it.
I briefly turned back to Eris-sama. She gave me an apologetic look and said, "The truth is, that world is-"
"Megumin, don't remove it, put it back on! Oh no, we don't have enough time-!"
"Sorry, Eris-sama, I really can't afford to stay right now! Aqua! Stop her! I'll give you some pocket money later, so please stop her!"
There's just no way to maintain any sort of serious atmosphere with Aqua's voice constantly breaking in like this and occasionally the alien's.
"I mean, there's a lot of stuff you can't show to Kazuma...! Ah, Megumin, you can't! You can't! Aah!"
"Done give up! Don't you dare give up, Aqua! I will head back right away!"
"Worry less, mate. I've chased the other party away far enough. Now there are only yar party and us."
"That world is currently facing a crisis! At this rate, it's highly possible that the Demon King really will end up wiping out humanity! Please listen to me-"
The Light novel part ends here*
[Part 4: Jesus Christ!]
The first thing I saw when I opens my eyes was Aqua and Megumin staring into my face with Darkness nearby. The sound of the alien and the demon laughing hysterically on the floor could be heard, so much so that they might get a heart attack sooner or later. Which I won't mind if it happens at all, they can go die for all I care.
"This guy really fell for it-!"
"Azure, Azure! This motherfucke-!"
I swear I will kill them once I get the chance to.
"Ah! Welcome back, Kazuma! It really was a close one, wasn't it?"
"W-W-Welcome back."
Megumin was blushing slightly and seemed out of breath.
Additionally, she also seems to be hiding something behind her.
When I looked into her eyes, she quickly averted her gaze.
My trousers are in disarray and seemed to be hastily put on.
That really isn't something that puts me at ease.
And behind the two of them were Darkness snickering, as well as two little- Laughing their shit out.
Megumin quickly moved to Darkness's side, almost as if she was running away from me.
"I can't believe that he was actually goin' to leave his harem here."
I ignored the alien as I turned my gaze to Aqua who was exceptionally fidgety right now.
"Hey, Aqua."
"What? I stopped her, alright? The two of us looked at your little Kazuma-san, but we didn't do anything, alright!?"
… This-This girl…
After calming myself, I said to Aqua.
"…Say…Do you still want to return to heaven?"
...
Suddenly, the alien stopped giggling. Did I hit his nerves or something?
"W-Why do you suddenly ask that?" Aqua questioned me.
"Well... I spent some time with Eris-sama and she told me that... The humanity has a high chance of being wiped out by the Demon King... And what the hell are the alien and the demon doing here?!"
The alien nearby replies, "Ah, don't mind us here. And did you just say 'Return to Heaven' and 'Humanity getting wiped out' ?"
"Y-Yes, does it has anything to do with you?"
"...Most of it, I suppose."
"Huh?"
"But before ya ask me about it, I question ya. Ya're literally facing yar murderer, shouldn't yar reaction but anything but calm?"
That's... A fair question, I completely forgot about them being a threat after talking with Eris-sama!
Aqua realized what he was talking about and beamed Exorcism at the demon, predictably.
But the demon doesn't care, he just stood still and takes it, looking like he barely gets damaged. Jesus Christ, even Vanir has to dodge Aqua's exorcism, but this guy just tanked it.
"Ah, forgive my manners. I suppose we should've introduced ourselves first." The alien cough into his fist.
"Ehem, my name is Xciozen, Great Spirit of Lightning, you can call me X, if you will ever call me, that is." That latter was left unheard, "And the guy beside me is Vargus the Demon, who is an unhinged mentally unstable sonuva bitch." The guy who seemed like a knight, the alien, Xciozen introduced himself and the demon, Vargus stood beside him.
His hair had a seemingly unnatural cyan color. His eyes shine amethysts like Eris-sama's. His height is almost the same as mine. He wore an outfit that consisted of a long white scarf with orange and cyan stripes (The left side has orange hues that become lighter the nearer it gets to the white middle part and then it changes to cyan hues as it reaches the right side; the scarf tails are behind him, each side has its respective colors.) He wore a white long-sleeved shirt that has a symbol of a cyan lightning bolt in the middle of it. Atop the shirt is an open blue jacket with pockets. A sheathed cyan sword on his waist, most likely to be very sharp if it were to be unsheathed. White pants in light blue boots with white trim. A light blue belt matching the shades of his boots, and a long cape that nearly touches the floor, it is white on the outside while the inside is dark blue.
[Writer's note]
-Sword: (high-tech sword 3D Models in Melee 3DExport; you could search that on the browser.) but the green are also converted to cyan
"Hey, Cyan-obsessed guy, the 'Great Spirit of Lightning' my ass. You be looking like a portable electrical outlet for me to charge my damn phone!" The Demon, Vargus (?) retorted, his eyes shining azure.
"Too bad, ya lost yar phone long ago. Plus that watch of yours too." Xciozen shrugged with a smirk as he cast what seems like tinder with his finger. Vargus chuckled as his eyes changes to shining amber. They seem to be preferring something in the past.
The demon... Wasn't he being hostile towards everyone not even a few minutes ago? Why is he laughing as if nothing happened?! Maybe that necklace is capable of sealing his instincts, perhaps?
"Ah, I suppose it isn't normal for someone to just talk to their murderer after they just get resurrected," Xciozen said as nervously scratch the back of his head, "So um, sorry about what happened earlier. A certain someone couldn't control himself." X glanced at Vargus.
"Hey, this little thing is important to me, ok?"
X suddenly narrowed his eyes at the necklace for a few seconds before saying, "Hm, yeah, whatever is inside that thing surely is important."
He then turns to me, "So, what's your name, if ya don't mind me askin' ? Unless ya want to kick us out of yar mansion right this instant because to be fair, it seems to be a very reasonable choice."
"Get out of my house, tainted creatures!" Aqua screamed but to no avail, they completely disregarded her presence in this room.
If we ignore the fact that they can probably slaughter everyone here within a second, they seem to be some nice dudes. One thing though, the cyan guy definitely doesn't act too much like a knight. Oh well, an introduction wouldn't hurt right?
"My name is Kazuma, Satou Kazuma. And here is Darkness, and this is-"
"My name's Aqua. That's right, the goddess Aqua worshipped by the religious order of Axis! Now disappear from my sight, disgusting demon-" I quickly pinched her cheek, effectively sealing her ability to talk. And now it is Megumin's turn.
"My name is Megumin! My calling is that of an Archwizard, and one who controls the strongest offensive magic, Explosion...!"
"..."
"...Are you here to tease us?" X muttered, "Not even my chuunibyou-est introduction could be as chuunibyou as that." Megumin was about to respond but Vargus interrupted.
"Satou Kazuma... Is there by any chance that you are a Japanese?" Vargus suddenly asked me.
"!?"
What? How did he figure it out? Was he a Japanese too? But he came from another universe and he's a demon? I don't think Vargus is a Japanese name? Maybe he changed his name? Mayhaps a nickname?
A thousand thoughts race through my mind as Darkness and Megumin look between him and me perplexedly. Aqua is just as shocked as me if not more. Meanwhile, Eris on the Heaven realm, spying on the mortal world with her eyes widened, but she also has a frown on her face due to the fact that Kazuma dismissed what she said.
Xciozen, from the look on his face, seems to indicate that he got an idea of what's going on. Vargus, seeing my shell-shocked state, got the answer to his question; he sighed before sadly muttering, "Man, such a cruel end...Earth was so beautiful and that damned Entropy just had to devour it..." Vargus clenched his fist. Xciozen closed his eyes for a moment in grief.
...What are they talking about?
"Either way, we apologize for the mess we caused earlier. If there's any way for us to atone for our sins, please tell us, and we will gladly do it... Except for committin' seppuku, of course." X said as he kneeled before me, dragging Vargus with him who has an unreadable expression; he seemed to be sincerity about apologizing.
"...What's a seppuku?" Megumin timidly asked.
"It's basically a way to suicide with honor." I quickly answered.
"You should commit seppuku right now!" Aqua quickly interjected, ignoring the alien's latter sentence.
I sighed before saying, "Raise your head, there is no need for seppuku-" And then I got interrupted by a terrifying sight.
"Ah, alright then. Since this so-called 'Goddess' wanted me dead. Wanna see a magic trick?" Said Vargus, grabbing his own hair from the top. "I can't feel pain since I'm pretty much a maniac!"
Blades sink into his head, and blood falls out of his eyes like a broken dam. With just a pull, his head came off from his neck like paper. It was as if his neck willingly filed a divorce with his head
Everyone in the room looks at him wide-eyed, including a black archer outside.
"Ville...Just what the fuck is wrong with ya!?" Xciozen said with his jaw slacked.
Then Vargus holds his head up, and the head spoke, despite not having the muscle needed to move his jaw, "What? It's just a magic trick!"
"Dude! Not everyone here is capable of looking at gore!" X screamed as me and my entire party gets shell-shocked.
The archer who was spying outside puked really badly.
Vargus then places his head back on the spot. It made a slimy, yet dull sound upon contact. Merely a second later, the tear disappeared, and his head is back in the place where it belonged to.
A while later after a certain event...
"So like what I was saying. If you guys want to earn our forgiveness, you guys will have to assist us. A cooperation if you will. Though, you guys can probably just ignore us and we won't be able to do anything." I offered them, having two members that are actually functional would be really nice.
"You will never earn my forgiveness!" Aqua spatted.
"Sorry miss 'Goddess of Water', but we weren't askin' ya." X mocked Aqua as he shook my hand.
"Well, we are stuck in this world anyways, so I wouldn't mind." Vargus said as he shook my hand.
Judging by the look of others, it seems like they aren't too wary about the alien and the demon. They definitely still have their guard up but I'm sure that they will be friendly with these two in no time.
Even though I was sent here to inspect and possibly exterminate them. And here I am, creating an alliance with them, what an interesting turn of fate. I will probably have a whole lot of explanations to do once I come back to the guild.
Even though I don't know why or how they ended up in this world. I can definitely confirm that they are friendly and don't want to cause conflicts... I admit that stealing the necklace was my fault, and we came here to hunt for them in the first place so it's only right that they defend themself.
Besides, this would be too valuable to waste. I haven't seen the full capabilities of them yet, but the demon ending my life before I could even register anything and the alien magically reviving me, essentially taking away Aqua's role already proved to me that they will be useful assets in the road to getting a peaceful life for me.
Though I'm pretty sure that taking away Aqua's role will make her sad. So I guess I will talk with X about it. While I will never admit it out loud, I do care about Aqua and I certainly do want to see her happy.
A little bit further away from the trio:
"Darkness... I think my Kazuma has gone insane."
"Megumin, was that 'my Kazuma' part necessary?!" Megumin simply replied with a smug smile, "Sigh, but I gotta agree that he definitely has gone insane. No one can just forgive their killers that easily... But I wouldn't mind if these two bind me up and start to do indecent activities on me-!"
"Guys! Kazuma is hypnotized, we need to help that hopeless hiki-NEET! Sacred Break Spell!"
The spell took no effect on me because there was never a curse or anything like that on me.
"Lady, will ya stop that?!"
Note from Sohom, the proofreader:
I spent the entire day reading this chapter, which is approximately 24k words. What is the writer on? Bro split the chapters into smaller pieces PLEASE. I feel bad for Ville for writing this much; The grammar in this chapter didn't help my 104 fever at all.
Author note: Random update is the nature of this story so if you're annoyed by it, I apologize. Sometimes I need to take down a chapter because I (not) accidentally upload it without having a second thought; the formalities are and will be a mess, it could either be Japanese or English or none at all! And the writing style is nothing short of a mess. I'm trying to get used to it.
Updated chapter 5 by the time of updating this.