Clang!
Swiss!
Over and over again.
Cling!
Meeting me in the middle of the dirt road, mister samurai and I clash blade against blade. It only took an engagement or two for him to realize I wasn't even close to the same person as last time.
"Tch. This strength…How!?"
I push against him, and his feet drag backward, helpless to stop me.
"I've been working out."
"Don't you dare make a fool out of me!"
Disengaging, he leaps back and in one motion draws his bow and aims it right at me.
"Aw come on."
Thwp!
The sound of several arrows flying through the air reaches my ears and I cartwheel out of the way.
The hell? These arrows look like they've been dripped in something. Poison? Or just slime? Either way, it's completely disgusting!
I run forward and leap onto the roof of the house he's on and pressure him once more.
Every swing of the blade.
Every movement of his muscles.
The way he darts his eyes, trying to read my movements.
I can see it!
I can see everything!
I parry a slash and bring my foot up, smashing my heel into his jaw with enough force to send him hurdling to the ground.
"Uagh!"
"Nice one Kazuma!" Darkness shouts.
It's the first decisive hit I've landed this entire fight, and I'm not about to let up.
Jumping off the roof I bring my knee down in an attempt to crush him, but he barely dodges it by rolling away.
"Oho, where'd all that confidence go? You said something about me going up a level or two right?"
He slowly stumbles back, unable to speak. And given how he's tenderly rubbing at his jaw, I probably broke it.
He looks down to his belt, where a potion lies, probably a healing potion, not like it would do him any good here.
Deciding to try his luck some more, he rushes at me as fast as he can and leaps into the air, sword held high.
I easily block his downward slash with my blade and place my left palm on his chest.
"Greater freeze."
From that place of contact, a sudden burst of cold wind blast him back several meters. When he just barely manages to get up, it's clear as day that his upper chest is already starting to suffer from hypothermia.
"Gonna give up?"
Not sure why I even asked. The bounty wants him dead…but for some reason killing a person seems weird when all we've done so far this week is kill creatures or monsters.
"Uogh wehy! Iugh naught done yet!"
He quickly takes the bottle hanging on his belt and takes out the cork. Letting all its contents drop into his mouth.
As I guessed, it was probably a healing potion, as he stands back up like nothing happened.
Oh well, I wanted to try some way to end this peacefully, but guess that ain't gonna happen.
He takes a few steps toward me and breaks out into a sprint.
All I do is wait where I am, and at the last moment…
Shhnt!
I duck his diagonal cut and run my blade right through him. The difference in coloration between his blood and my Adamantite is largely noticeable.
For a moment, I just stand there unmoving. I think I hear Darkness get on her knees and begin to pray. But when I turn my head to look-
"Kazuma!" I see Megumin point and feel something in my lower gut.
"Ghk? The hell?"
This bastard, impaled me…
"I hit a vital spot, how are you not dead?"
Like some zombie out of hell, he leaves his sword in me and walks backward, freeing himself and drawing his bow.
"Shit!"
I try my best to dodge, but with my injury, I'm like a sitting duck. I weave around two arrows, but one hits me in my leg and knocks me to the ground.
"I'm going in!"
As I try my best to get back up as quickly as possible, I see Darkness charge in, then stop suddenly.
"What's wrong? You good?"
"He's…"
I raise my head back forward and sure enough, mister Samurai is slumped over like a lifeless doll. Bleeding from his heart.
He'd dead. Considering the fact that I put a hole in his heart, he should have died in seconds. Maybe it had something to do with that vial he drank.
Getting a big of a breather, I look over at his unmoving body. The image disturbs me. I'm over here all tense and high alert, which makes sense since the fight just ended, but there's an odd feeling coursing through me.
Do I take his blood too?
"...So are y'all gonna help me up or what?"
"EeeEW! This stuff feels icky!"
"I don't know. It's kinda fun to play with!"
While Aqua laments over her sticky hands, Megumin slaps and squeezes a pile of goo like it was playdough or something. When the arrow hit my leg, the slime expanded like a foam grenade, pinning it to the floor. It took all four of us a while to get all of it off.
"Stuck and trapped by slime..oh Kazuma, you must tell me how it feels!"
"Well, if we're lucky, I might not have to."
Walking past everyone else, I look down at his body and check our quest form.
Quest Completed!
That's what matters the most, now let's see here…
His armor and weapons are still intact, but there are no arrows left. Guess Darkness will have to get her dose of slime fetish elsewhere.
I look back at the girls, still talking and probably ready to head back to Axel, then I turn again toward his body.
Jeez, is this like, evil or something? I didn't even take the blood of those guys I looted the other day, and they weren't dead bodies. I just hope there's no curse of desecration or whatever.
So without any more hesitating, I lean in and take a hard bite from his neck.
Oh…oh. That's much better than the occasional wildlife. I never even noticed before but there is a difference in taste. A big difference! This has to be the best thing I ever tasted in my life.
I continue sucking on his neck, and the hole in my gut closes up nicely.
Oh god, I'm turning into Hannibal Lecter. Well, no not really, right? This guy had a bounty. I know I found it weird at first, but I mean as long as we're only killing people that deserve it, I don't have anything to be guilty about drinking blood from guys like these.
"AgH! Kazuma's lost it! He's gonna suck all our blood! I knew it! I knew this day would come!"
"D-don't say stuff like that, he wouldn't turn on us right!?"
"Kazuma's going to suck our blood!? When!?"
After licking my lips clean, I turn around with an annoyed expression.
"You shut up I'm just fine. No I'm not turning on you. And no, I'm not biting you so stop asking."
"I!? I don't ask for that ever!"
"Alright, that's two and a half million each."
I internally scream as the ten million Dessidia reward is divided into four parts, despite the only support they gave was clawing slime from my leg.
At the same time, I did say we should divide rewards like this, so I can't be that mad over it.
"Oh we're feasting tonight! Waitress!"
It's started.
I sit and watch along with Megumin as a witness to the inevitable drunken end of everyone in the guild. Now that I think about it, there are a lot more people in here than usual.
"Hm? Are you not going to order anything?" Megumin asks.
"What for? I can't get drunk off this stuff."
"Good point."
There's a weird concerned look on her face as she continues to eat her food. In fact, everyone seems to be in a hurry to get drunk.
"Well uh, I'm looking forward to going on another quest tomorrow."
"Nn…"
All three girls stop and stare at me for a second. They exchange glances.
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
After some time, Darkness shoots me a pitiful smile and just says-
"I've greatly been enjoying our time together. And I hope we continue to do so."
"What kind of response is that? Mind te-"
"Here's your drinks!"
The waitress slams down several large glasses full of frothy ale. Hell, I'd probably be staring at it the same way the girls are if I could actually feel the desire to drink this stuff anymore.
'I hope we continue to do so'
Something about that rubs me the wrong way.
September 14
"Megumin!? What are you doing out here this late?"
Like usual, after everyone else went to bed, I went out and took a quest. This time it was a set of giant spider eggs that were reported nearby. A little bit of fire and a quick bit of exterminating on mom, and I was already on my way back to town. Except in the middle of this dark forest, I run into this girl out of nowhere.
"I couldn't sleep, so I followed you out here…"
"Well that's great and all but I was just heading back."
"Wait. I haven't used explosion today remember?"
"Is that a joke? Can't you tell what time it is? If we're going to go on another quest tomorrow I don't wanna hear your complaining about being tired."
"Yeah…a quest."
"Alright, enough with the red flags. What the hell is going on here?"
"Nothing! It's just, maybe we can do something else? We can wake up extra early and find something to do around town."
I narrow my eyes into slits.
"Okay, what's your game? You of all people want to skip out on a quest?"
"Tch. Can't you just get the hint already that maybe we just want to spend time together!? It might be the only chance we get!"
Immediately after spouting that, her eye's open and she freezes up. Realizing what she just said.
"Only chance we get? You going to explain what in hell that means?"
After thinking it over, she begins walking toward out usual spot, as if already deciding what we're going to do.
"You're new here, so we didn't expect you to know. We didn't want you to do anything dumb and hurt yourself, that's all."
Cursing my curiosity I decided to go along with her.
"Hurt myself doing what?"
"Haven't you ever wondered why the town itself stays relatively safe? Sure there's the cabbage incident that happened, but no monsters ever get too close to the town."
"Maybe it crossed my mind once or twice, why?"
"Axel, like all cities in the kingdom are under the protection of the empire. But it's not unconditional protection. We pay in our own ways."
"Oh no…don't tell me. Tax day!? But I thought taxes weren't a thing anymore!? Damn empire. I'll make them pay!"
The moment I start making a bit of money of my own, it just has to be tax day.
"Pfft! Hah!"
"What? You're going to be paying just as much as me…right? Is it a flat tax rate we're talking about?"
Ignoring me, Megumin walks ahead to the clearing overlooking the castle that we always go to.
"Alright, before the light show begins, you gotta promise me one thing."
"Sure, what?"
"Tomorrow, wait for Darkness and me to meet up with you before you go anywhere."
Before I…go anywhere?
An evil grin stretches across my face. That's my ticket out of this mess!
September 15
"Closed? What do you mean the quest board is closed? Isn't that a 24/7 thing?"
After blowing up the castle once again, we took a stroll back to town in mostly silence. Some things just aren't adding up. Not to say I was being dumb, but I wonder what taxes have to do with me and the girls not getting more chances to be together…
Wait, is there some reason that I would be taken in on some sort of tax fraud? This is totally unfair! I just got to this world, I don't know how it works!
"Yo, can't you help me out here? You should be able to help me with my taxes right?"
If anyone can help me out, it's gotta be Luna. She basically runs the whole adventurers guild here, so there's no one better suited.
"Taxes?...today is lottery day…" She says with a solemn, almost depressed look on her face.
"The lottery? You mean like, drawing tickets to make big money? That kind of lottery?"
Slam!
"I knew he'd be here! I told you girls!"
"K-Kazuma! You promised you'd be waiting with Aqua at the stable!"
Barging into the guild super early in the morning, all three girls approach me with serious looks.
I'm a bit sheepish since I did say I would wait, but it's still an hour before the time we always go on our quest, so I'm a little caught off guard.
"Woah woah, I was gonna head back before our usual time. What's the big deal? What the hell do taxes have to do with a lottery? You never mentioned that."
Before any of the three could answer me, a bright purple glow caught our attention from within the staff rooms Luna works in. I heard her mutter a quiet "It's time" and then a sound that filled me with some anxiety began to fill the streets throughout the town.
It was the siren alarm.
We watched as Luna bent over a table and fixed a microphone into place before speaking.
"Attention. Remain calm. Lottery day is officially starting. Please exit your homes and wait patiently. The…the empire thanks you for your cooperation."
She shut off the microphone and closed her eyes, almost like she was praying.
Now if the flag wasn't red before, it was crimson enough to make a bull blush.
"Okay you three, enough with the BS, what's going on here?"
Darkness suddenly grabbed my hand and led me outside with everyone else. She gave me a quick and formal-
"You'll find out soon enough."
"Whatever you see or hear, don't do anything stupid okay?" Megumin told me as we exited the guild.
Damn it! Every alarm in my body is going off at once. Outside, the streets are pretty much filled with the townspeople. Not a single one of them look even remotely close like people about to play some innocent "lottery".
The siren is turned off, and from the looks of it, every person in Axel is out and waiting for…something.
"Son. You remember what I told you last night, correct?"
I overhear a man begin speaking softly to his family. When he speaks up, I soon begin to hear very similar conversations spread all around.
"Mhm?"
"If I draw black, it's up to you to look after your mother and sister."
"...Yes."
I feel something grab my hands, and it's the girls, all four of us holding onto each other. Aqua is the first to speak up.
"Her lackey is here."
People look up and when I do the same, I see…it. Whatever it is.
It's not exactly a person. It looks like a thousand jet-black slugs formed together in the shape of something humanoid, wearing purple priest robes over it in a vein attempt to look human. Black tentacles sway around it as it floats above the streets.
"What is that thing?"
"That's the Envoy. It always appears to herald the coming of its master." Darkness answers.
When it passes over us, its aura glows and separates into hundreds of little pieces of 'paper'.
One floats down and suspends itself mid-air in front of me, the same with the girls and their 'tickets' I'm guessing? They're all grey, is that good? I barely even understand what's going on, but I have a feeling there are no rewards that are going to be handed out.
After about ten minutes, I heard a voice come from that thing that gave us the tickets, it doesn't even have a mouth, but it was loud enough for the whole city to hear.
"Citizens of Axel. The fifteenth has come. And so does your payment to lord Musabori."
Some people begin to cry, others fall on their knees and bow down in reverence to this Envoy and its lord.
"Think not of the price, but of the infinite wisdom and kindness that lord Musabori bestows upon you each day. For it is by her whim, that your meaningless lives continue. And now, let the lottery begin."
When he becomes silent, the clouds high above the sky part in a circle like an explosion went off, and a flash of purple light forces me to shield my eyes for a second.
It's…a person?
"Yo guys, something's coming down from the sky."
Aqua gulps.
"Musabori."
Megumin actually smiles, but fights to keep it in check. And when she speaks, she sounds like a kid talking about a villain from some damn anime.
"Musabori is one of the Tyrant's strongest enforcers. Her signature ability lets her feast on the essence of any living thing. Even deities."
Darkness holds my hand tighter as if telling me not to move a muscle.
"That's right. It's why she has gained the title known as, The Devourer of Gods."
"Pfft. Devourer of Gods? She looks like-"
Woah, she's actually kinda hot…
Musabori, whatever her name is, descends onto the city street looking like a character out of a sci-fi comic.
Her space-like purple armor, her long pink hair. None of it looks remotely like it belongs in a world of fantasy. And she has this toothy grin to her with fangs like mine. Oh, the red flags are starting to look a bit orange from here.
She looks to one side, then another, as if enjoying the fact that everyone's either worshipping her or absolutely terrified. Me? I don't know what to think. No one here is a vampire lord that's for sure, so I don't blame them.
"So, do we have any volunteers?"
She sounds a bit…younger than I imagined.
"Didn't think so."
Snap.
With a snap of her fingers, everyone's little 'ticket' begins to glow brightly. And then the sea of white flowed. When our four tickets turned white, the girls exhaled and relaxed their grip, small smiles making their way onto their faces. Everyone else followed suit. Small cheers, and families hugging each other.
And then we heard the first scream.
Musabori looked over with a disgusting smile on her face, thoroughly enjoying the sound. Doing the same when the second scream happened, another outburst of tears, and so on and so forth.
"What's happening?"
"Shhh!"
Aqua shot me a glare and hushed me. Yeah, I'm annoyed but maybe it's best to listen for now.
I heard ten distinct outbursts of some sort before the Envoy returned to our street. Its tentacles dropped ten different people onto the open road.
I didn't know who any of them were except…she's one of the maids from the guild! I've seen her work in the mornings. I don't exactly know who she is really but, I can't help but feel something pissed off in me growing.
Musabori lifts a hand and motions with a finger for her to approach.
When she doesn't, one of the Envoy's tentacles brutally pushes her forward.
Whatever is about to happen, I'm just going to stand here and watch? I got all this power and I'm going to act like some random citizen?
Kneeling down, Musabori caresses the poor girl's face, then presses her lips to her…huh?
The result becomes clear. The maid lets out a muffled cry as her body slowly disintegrates into bright pink particles floating in the air. And like me sucking blood, Musabori inhales through her mouth and absorbs every bit of the girl who was just there.
"Fuck this!"
Breaking free from the girl's grip, I leap out of the crowd and draw my sword.
I don't care who this bitch is, like hell am I going to watch her kill these people right in front of me and not do anything!
Time seems to slow down, and in my increased focus, I find myself pulling moves without really thinking about it.
I swing my sword across as a feint and quickly take her back, bringing my blade down on her undefended neck. One hit and it's over.
With all the ease of an adult playing with a child, she raises her right hand and catches my sword without even turning around.
I put all my force into moving it down, and it doesn't even make her arm twitch.
After what seems like an eternity, she slowly turns her face to me with that same smile.
"It appears we have a volunteer."
"Tch!"
She's…strong! Really strong!
I see the girls take a few steps forward from the corner of my eye before the Envoy blocks their path. They don't even attempt to fight it. I don't blame them. If it's anything like this girl, it's completely out of their leagues.
My mind goes back to the cave, and the vampire who turned me. Comparing the two, it's like night and day. I'm certain of it. There could be a hundred of him, and they wouldn't have a chance in hell to defeat this absolute monster.
Musabori swats my weapon away and pulls on my arm, bringing our faces close.
Damn it! If she touches me with her lips it's over! But…being this close to a girl this hot is making me freeze up…
Chu~
Or that's what I thought.
I open my eyes and she does the same...
She kissed me on the lips again…then again.
I'm…feeling a bit lightheaded.
She pulled away and looked at me like I was a broken toy, then went back in for seconds. This time the kiss was far deeper.
Mom, Dad. Forgive me. I didn't mean to lose my kissing virginity to a psycho, but ya know what? I don't even care anymore.
I hear her make a strange grunt of frustration and that's when I feel a tongue enter my mouth.
Oh well, all or nothing right?
I wrap my arms around her and hold her close-
And get the most painful knee in the stomach of my life for my effort
"Ghuh!"
From my spot on the floor, I can see this great and powerful Devourer of Gods blushing up a storm.
"You! What the hell is wrong with you!? Why can't I…it doesn't make sense."
"M-maybe you weren't trying, gh, hard enough?"
I raise my arms toward her, close my eyes, and pucker my lips. Probably not the best action.
I feel a hand grip hard onto my throat and start choking.
It's when she notices my lack of reaction that her eye's open wide.
"You…bastard! You are cursed of the night, but you live among the people?"
In shame, she spits on the ground and wipes her lips with her hand aggressively.
"Now I know what you're thinking, but hear me out-"
"Die."
Still holding me up by my throat, she places another hand on my stomach and fires some sort of beam attack.
"Fguh!"
It went right through me…
With my vision getting blurry, I feel gravity and wind go topsy-turvey. Ah, I get it, she must have thrown me across the damn city.
Smash!
Oh, that's nice. I landed in a crater.
Euugh! Face is…burning.
With all the remaining strength I have, I fix my cowl back up and go limp.
Guess I'll just…take a nap.
Lick, slurp
What's that? It tastes, amazing. Reminds me of what I had yesterday. Assuming that was yesterday. Am I dreaming? Must be, if that's the case then…
I bite down hard and hear a high-pitched, muffled cry.
"H-hey! Don't suck too much! Megumin look's like she's gonna turn as pale as you!"
That's…
My vision slowly returns, and after a few blinks, I realize Megumin is practically lying right on top of me, my fangs deep in her neck.
I quickly let go.
"M-Megumin!? You're all here?"
Wherever 'here' is. It looks like a guest room at an inn.
Megumin, blushing and tearing up from pain, gets off and Aqua goes right to work healing her.
"Didn't we tell you not to do anything stupid! You're lucky you didn't die. I didn't want to move, but you're lucky that these two were so worried about you."
Aqua glances at both Darkness and Megumin.
"I was ready to battle even the Envoy if it meant saving you. But luckily, they didn't seem interested to follow us."
Megumin, after getting her bite wound all fixed up, walks over to the side of my bed and looks down at me with a mixture of emotions. Then pinches my arm as hard as she can.
"H-Ow! What the hell is that for you little demon!?"
"You complete degenerate. You were enjoying that monster's kiss, weren't you?"
"I- I had to make a distraction right? I was just using the time to think of my strategy- Ow! Will you stop that!"
"You better not do anything stupid like that again…I thought she was going to kill you for sure."
My leather chest piece and shirt have a gaping hole, but my guts are all intact. Just how much blood did Megumin let me suck on?
That bit of info, combined with the face she's making right now, I'm finding it pretty hard to say anything snarky. So I swallow my pride for the moment.
"Yeah yeah, you guy saved me. I guess I owe you one."
"You better."
I go limp on the bed and think for a moment. Does this happen every fifteenth of each month? Or scratch that, there are way more important things here to discuss.
"Alright, so first off. What the hell was all of that?"
