Kazuma grumbled at their intrusion, neatly piling the catalogs without even flipping open the pages. Much to Megumin and Darkness's dismay.
"You two... Anyways sorry to disappoint you both but Aqua and I do not intend to rush, but thanks for the thought."
"Aww."
The dejected Crusader and Arch Wizard sighed in unison.
"Anyways, the bonus granted by the cafe owner was just barely enough to for us to scrape by, not to indulge in any luxuries by any means. As such, we do not even have enough money to host these occasions yet."
...
Megumin's crimson eyes lit up with joy as an idea spontaneously floated into her mind.
"You could always go back to kill quests! Join us Kazuma!"
Despite the tempting offer made by Megumin, leaving Aqua behind was selfish and out of the question.
"No, it would be too dangerous for Aqua, I will remain here and look after her well-being."
Aqua's vein burst at that remark. After all she was tired of Kazuma's constant protests and babysitting, to reinforce her stance even further, she pinched his ear and articulated her words clearly into them.
"Sheesh, who do you think I am ... I am a goddess of water! G-O-D-D-E-S-S. I will be fine just by myself, you go out there and enjoy yourself."
As if by fate, Aqua's hands tightly clutched onto her abdomen, a sickened expression splayed out across her face. Aqua's frenzied dash towards the washroom was nothing more than a blur. With the resulting noises from Aqua's regurgitation crumbling the silence rendered by the sudden turn of events. A rush of deep guilt and remorse slammed against Kazuma's psyche, helplessly witnessing this pitiful scene.
She deserves more than this...
If I save enough money, I could bring her for a vacation to ease her stress...
Maybe just maybe, I can make her life a little better.
...
...
With what seemed like Kazuma finally caving into his desires for adventure, he diverted himself towards Megumin with glee, giving them a thumbs up in agreement with her suggestion.
Darkness turned her head to Megumin, giving her a wink.
"Megumin, lets show Kazuma how much stronger we have become."
"Right!"
...
A barbarian outpost four miles from Axel had been terrorizing travelers and traders alike, plundering their belongings and compromising the safety between popular trade routes. As such, the spoils from their constant pillaging allowed them to continuously update and replenish their weapons arsenal. While the barbarian numbers lie only around twenty five, their chieftain has been known to hold a powerful magic weapon at his disposal. As such adding on to the difficulty of the already demanding kill quest.
"This looks pretty challenging, going up against twenty five brutes without a healer..."
"Twenty five men coming down hard on me with their heavy, clunky weaponry. What a feeling to behold, probably much more than I could possibly comprehend."
Megumin folded her arms, firing skeptical glares towards the quest bulletin while Darkness wrapped her seemingly fragile body with her arms, shuddering in pleasure at the mere thought of facing these battle-hardened warriors in mortal combat. Unfortunately for the both of them, Kazuma did not take any heed to either of their concerns. Instead, his eyes were fixated onto the rewards, ignoring the numerous red skulls that littered the quest parchment.
Twelve million Eris, and a legendary weapon to boot, the sword itself would probably worth much more given its legendary weapon status. That was enough money to fund the vacation, while still leaving behind a substantial amount for the baby.
Making his decision, he ripped the paper from the quest bulletin board and stuffed it into his pocket.
On the other hand, Megumin and Darkness were taken aback by Kazuma's decision, it was unlike him to select a dangerous quest without a proper assessment of their party beforehand.
Megumin arched forward to make a protest, but Darkness discouraged her with a pull on her shoulder.
This could be the perfect opportunity to show him how much combat prowess we had attained since our last kill quest together.
...
Kazuma's muttering prompted Darkness and Megumin to redirect their gazes towards them.
"I think we would need one more person to file in for Aqua to increase our chances of success, and given the current circumstances, I might know who that person is. Meet me at the city gate in fifteen minutes."
The ringing of the wind-chimes snapped Wiz out of her stupor, following through her routinely motion, bowing her head towards the entrance to greet a potential customer.
"Hi welcome to Wiz shop! How may I... Kazuma what are you doing here?"
Wiz's deprivation of energy was evident from her greeting, which was barely louder than that of a whimper.
"Yo."
Kazuma glanced around the shop, realizing that nothing much about it has actually changed. Instead, it was Wiz that had slimmed down tremendously, her poor income having driven her to the brink of starvation. Feeling rather pitiful, Kazuma proceeded to meet Wiz at the counter, audibly muttering a few words that made Wiz dipped her head in disappointment.
"I assumed you didn't make a profit recently?"
...
"Yea. I have not been eating well either because of that."
It figures...
Kazuma heaved a sigh, retrieving the quest bulletin from his pocket and handing it over to her, Wiz's widened her eyes in horror as she scanned its contents.
"These vile barbarians are causing trouble for many of the townsfolk, I hope that you would like to join us to dispatch these malevolent beings. Of course a portion of the money would be credited to you. Which would mean ample food on the table for months or so."
Kazuma's expression was dark with a sly smirk stretched across his face, like a shrewd business man dealing with a high risk business transactions. His intimidating complexion made Wiz nervous, consequently stuttering her sentences.
"Well, if they are as evil as you had described, I...I...will gladly help you in your quest."
...
Three kilometers away from the bustling trade routes was a valley predominantly populated by tourists due to its breathtaking scenery, a sheet of lime green thinly cascading across the entire landscape, emitting a radiant hue when exposed to sunlight. Unfortunately, its beauty was shattered when the barbarians implanted their tacky encampment along the ridge-lines: red brown and black paint splattered across the gates of decomposing wooden logs that surrounded the encampment, held together by tight-knitted rope knots and lashings. Several straw huts were erected within, accompanied by an ugly black smoke column that rose from its center. Screaming out an invitation for any daring adventurer seeking a brawl of their lives.
"HOII, WE HAVE A CARRIAGE MAKING COMING RIGHT FOR US! I CAN SEE AN ADVENTURER, ONE ARCH WIZARD, ONE NECROMANCER AND A CRUSADER.
The burly chieftain glanced up once at the guard perched along the walls. Nodding one before climbing off his seat, picking up his trademark weapon off the ground. He smashed the pommel of his sword onto the ground once. A signal for all the barbarians within the encampment to bear arms and flood out of the main gate.
...
...
I will show Kazuma what I can do!
They took up position along the high ground, with the full view of the hotblooded, bloodthirsty pillagers hungrily stampeding towards them. Clad in hard-leather armor and wielding various types of conventional weaponry, leaving Kazuma slightly more anxious than usual.
Kazuma's time away from the field has taken its toll on him. While he was affected by a small amount of anxiety, it was enough to influence his thought processes.
...
"Alright! I will use my Snipe skill and take out some of the barbarians. Hopefully, they will notice their comrades fall, resulting in massive confusion. Megumin, you have one shot at clearing them all out including the leader! Wiz! Darkness! stand in front and try to slow them down."
Kazuma proceeded to mount his armed bow, firing off arrow after arrow in rapid succession
"Snipe! Snipe! Snipe!"
The arrows were finding their targets, everyone could distinctly notice several barbarians crumbling and collapsing onto the dirt.
However, he had overlooked a major detail.
It was because they were brutes. That was why the strategy was ineffective.
Sure, while a surprise strike towards an organised, professional army would leave them perplexed at their fallen comrades, granting a small window of opportunity as they recovered their bearings. These barbarians were anything but organized. Rather, they were like a pack of wild dogs chasing for a single bite of juicy steak. It had never mattered to them that their buddies beside them perished in combat.
By far, this has been Kazuma's weakest attempt at strategy. Everything had been rashly put together to complete the quest as fast as possible. Something was affecting Kazuma and it was definitely more than just mere anxiety issues.
For the first time, Megumin and Darkness did not heed Kazuma's instructions. Instead giving each other a nod in understanding before breaking off into their formations.
It was the classic formation in the rule-book. The damage dealer behind with the valiant tank in front.
Much to Kazuma's and Wiz's surprise, Megumin began her chanting without any of Kazuma's input.
However, it was not a chant that Kazuma was usually accustomed to.
"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech the alignment of the constellations, combine with my deep crimson fire. The dawn of new light come fourth. Justice, carried upon the comets of the cosmos. Align now as an intangible distortion! I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: A destructive force without equal! Reduce the whole of all creation to ash! Explosion!"
...
There was no visible explosion, instead twelve crimson red orbs the size of her head were mystically conjured, orbiting around Megumin, radiating with an intense heat if one gets too close. Shooting her hands out, directing the fiery glowing balls in a volley towards the charging horde, as if showcasing its destructive capabilities.
The crimson orbs self destructed on impact, creating a chain of lesser explosions. Reducing the brutes to mere ashes, while leaving nothing notable behind other than smoldering craters.
The fight seemingly over before it had even began, leaving Kazuma in utter disbelief at Megumin's stellar performance.
"Megumin! How did you...?"
...
"Hmph, while you were having your lovey-dovey time with Aqua, both of us had been honing our skills with kill quests. Thus giving me the great opportunity to augment or create even more explosive magic! On a side note, this condensed explosive spell allows me to cast it three times a day before I fall."
Megumin beamed triumphantly at Kazuma before continuing, the smug look of hers refusing to disappear.
"Anyways, Darkness too has improved tremendously!"
...
"Look! there's more!"
Wiz pointed her fingers at another horde coming in hot from their right flank. Prompting her to release an ice spell, creating deadly spear like hailstones that skewered the barbarians on contact. Unfortunately, they were not enough to slow down the advancing mob. Their beefy muscular builds implied high Strength stats, which would mean high vitality and resistance.
The difficulty of the quest combined with Kazuma's greed had backfired on them.
...
Darkness didn't care.
She leaped directly in front of the mob of barbarians, tanking several hits from their aggressive swings before drawing out a sword of her own. Parrying the strikes gracefully and forcing several of them back despite their daunting figure, eventually creating adequate space for her to take up her fighting stance.
She placed both hands on the pommel, leveling it with her waistline, perpendicular to her body. Meanwhile, her eyes were darting across those of the barbarians, preparing to exploit a weakness by mounting a quick and precise offensive.
The barbarian on her left moved in first, followed by the one on the right.
But Darkness was faster.
She swerved her body sideways, dodging his clumsy swing before spinning back and running her blade through the barbarians chest. Sliding it off, Darkness retrained her gaze at the barbarian on the left, instantly ducking downwards and narrowly missing the cleave from his axe. Peeling off the sword from the wounded target, she thrust her sword upwards at the barbarian's abdomen, stabbing him.
Darkness seemed to be enjoying the seemingly orgasmic treatment, but Kazuma's mouth was just gaping in pure awe at her combat prowess.
"You all can hit on me Ueegh...but don't overdo it please!"
...
"OH MY GOSH DARKNESS CAN HIT STUFF!"
With the valley finally cleansed of vicious, cruel and sadistic barbarians, all that was left was to retrieve the banner from within the encampment.
At last I can finally finish this quest, take my money and bring Aqua for that vacation I had promised her.
They trudged towards the front gates, stopping to meet a lone figure which stood at its center. While he was donning the traditional barbarian armor, his hand held a weapon that the three of them were unable to distinguish.
While the sword looked similar to that of a middle eastern Scimitar, but it had a more junky theme to it. On the side of the blade was a small gun barrel extending all the way down to the rain guard. The cross guard was a giant hollowed out rusty gear with burning amber at its center. Its brightness relative to the speed of which the gear rotates.
This guy and his sword means business.
Kazuma gingerly laid an exhausted Megumin onto the ground, scanning the surroundings for any sign of traps. He then proceeded to draw out his sword and take up an aggressive stance.
"Your reign of terror is over, move over and hand us the banner."
The burly figure directed the tip of the weapon towards Kazuma, muttering two words that sealed his fate.
"Ashbringer, Incinerate."
The world went black.
...
...
(Play the music video above, if your feel that you are reading it too slowly, use this link: watch?v=7qtQBzGbPEI)
"Back here again huh?"
Why did I have to die?
Of all times, why now?
Kazuma opened his eyes, unveiling a beautiful girl with long silvery hair, and blue eyes wearing a loose white Hagoromo seated directly opposite him.
"Welcome again, Satou Kazuma to the afterlife."
"Yes I am familiar with this place."
Eris being the ever benevolent goddess, was greatly disturbed by the tinge of regret embedded within his voice.
"If it lessens your burden I wouldn't mind listening to your problems?"
...
"Firstly, tell...me how...did I die."
Despite Kazuma's best efforts to hide his sorrow, he could not help himself from stuttering mid sentence.
"Well, the sword of the chieftain was capable of releasing searing hot ash clouds through the gun barrel. You were burnt alive before you hit the ground."
...
Kazuma slumped against the chair. For some weird reason, spontaneously letting a reassuring grin edge onto his face.
...
Eris bright smile was enough to calm Kazuma down a little.
"I shouldn't have accepted this kill quest. I broke a promise because of my need for money."
Eris left her seat and closed the distance until she was directly in front of him, tilting her head inquisitively at Kazuma's remark.
"What promise?"
Kazuma looked at Eris in the eye, allowing himself to embrace a wave of melancholy. Once again plastering the look of anguish across his face.
"A promise I made to Aqua."
"After all."
"Aqua is pregnant with my child."
...
...
...
"AQUA-SAMA IS PREGNANT?"
Eris face went as white as her hair, her hands making their way to her chest. Seemingly suffering a cardiac arrest purely out of shock. Taking some time to regain her composure, she was overwhelmed by an enormous wave of curiosity. However, she made the decision to put her questions on hold after scanning Kazuma's sullen expression again.
...
"Yea, and the fact was that I was unable to return to them safely meant that I broke our promise."
...
"I just wanted her to be happy, as a result I became greedy and picked the hardest quest without even questioning my own abilities, or the abilities of my team..."
Kazuma arched his back forward, staring at what seemed like clear viscous fluid splattering against the checkered flooring.
Were those my tears?
Guess its over huh?
Just like that.
...
Eris gave a gentle tap on his shoulder, bringing her into his attention.
"I am sorry for your loss, but I have many other souls to attend to... We all have to move on..."
Kazuma lifted his head up at her in response, bloated with regret and ready to accept fate's cruel punishment.
Lets get on with it then.
...
...
...
A sharp voice pierced the tranquil silence.
If memory had served me well, it was the type of voice that drove countless people insane.
But It was a voice I recognized anywhere.
...
"HEY ERIS STOP DISTURBING MY KAZUMA!"
...
"EH AQUA SAMA?!"
Eris was caught in utter surprise once again.
"YEAH ERIS THAT'S RIGHT! ANYWAYS KAZUMA..."
"DON'T DIE HERE YOU HEAR ME OR I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! I WILL GO INTO THAT GODLY REALM AND KILL YOU AGAIN FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION."
A pillar of blinding light slammed onto his seat, forcefully dragging him towards its radiant source.
Kazuma found himself smiling in what felt like a lifetime ago.
...
...
As Kazuma's eyes fluttered open, greeted only by the faces of his three female compatriots gazing down at him. Kazuma's head was lying neatly against Aqua's lap cradled within her arms, his body against the soft strands of grass.
Darkness cleared her throat, being the first to speak.
"We managed to drag your corpse and Megumin's limp body quite a fair distance away while Wiz was engaging the barbarian chieftain, suppressing him from range. In order to resurrect you, I took the carriage back to rendezvous with Aqua. God only knew how broken she felt when I broke the news to her. Anyways, his sword is too powerful and we can't take him on at our current state."
...
Wiz nervously spoke next, her voice was barely audible but was riddled with anxiety.
"I managed to pin the chieftain to the wall with my Ice spells. But I don't think they will be able to last any longer."
What should we do?
Kazuma?
...
Kazuma's state prevented him from speaking properly. Only a soft murmur was allowed to escape from his lips.
"Thank you Darkness, Wiz."
...
Kazuma's eyes darted to Aqua's teary ones, greeted by the pair of cerulean orbs he had missed so much. He weakly reached up for Aqua's wet cheek, stroking it delicately. Missing the feeling of her skin against his own.
"I am...sorr..."
...
Aqua slapped Kazuma's hand aside, violently grabbed his Lapel and pulled his face up; Forehead colliding into hers. Despite her angry bulging eyes separated apart by mere distance, the sadness behind them felt more overwhelming for Kazuma than anything else.
"BAKA DONT APOLOGISE ANYMORE YOU STUPID NEET!"
Her voice was hoarse from all that crying, all those tears.
"I wanted to give you more... Guess I was too greedy huh?"
Aqua did not respond to Kazuma's question, prompting Kazuma to continue.
"Aqua..."
Kazuma's voice was soft and raspy, it reeked of much pain and anguish. Which was enough to send sharp needles deep into Aqua's heart. Seeing Kazuma; Her dear companion in such a pitiful state was simply too painful to bear.
...
Eventually releasing his lapel from her grasp, She gingerly rose from her kneeling position after laying Kazuma's limp body against the grass, turning around to direct her anger towards the barbarian encampment.
Everything was in slow motion.
Everything was too surreal.
...
Aqua's fists were clenched, her back facing Kazuma.
"Spare me ... That brute is out there... He reduced you to such a sorry state... I will never forgive that monster...as much as I will never forgive you...!"
...
Witness the tempest of the Goddess.
...
Aqua rose up from her kneeling to face the the direction of the encampment, conjuring her staff and Raiment out of thin air and hoisting the staff upwards towards the very heavens. The ground shuddered as she merely consolidated her power. Followed by a vibrant blue aura and permeated through her skin, coating her in a sort of soothing mystical veil. The sight was beautiful; Unlike the likes of which he had ever seen before.
The power of a goddess embedded within her voice felt real.
...
Disappear.
...
The swift downward motion from her staff.
Felt like the movement of a colossal tidal wave.
...
"SACRED!"
...
"CREATE!"
...
"WATER!"
...
The barbarian chieftain feeling something amiss, turned his head upwards only to be greeted by his inevitable demise.
He probably didn't even have the time to note his final words.
...
The world plunged into a transient silence, forfeited by a torrential blast of water that descended from the heavens themselves, delivering a thunderous crackle upon impact, with force and power shaking the very foundations of the earth. Any form of terrain within the proximity of the target zone was churned inside out, creating dozens of massive fissures that lead towards the base of the valley, effectively guiding the water downwards as they were carried bits and pieces of the encampment along with them. It was as though the contents of a half digested garbage were flushed down the toilet, back into the sewers where they belonged.
...
The goddess's rage.
The goddess's power.
The goddess's love.
Births a strength so great that transcends the entirety of creation.
AN1: Congratulations on following me to the halfway mark! I could only say so much to thank you all for your constant support throughout this journey. DO PLEASE LEAVE A VOTE AND A REVIEW (Negative but constructive or positive) as they give me motivation to write better stories for you guys :)
AN2: One thing I didn't like about the anime was that the characters except Kazuma did not gain any sort of development in their combat skills, so I decided to correct it here. Hope it was a good decision.