Back with Mythos Hearts and Fatebreakers after Nemesis was defeated, the group managed to catch up with Hans as he was near the Hot Spring Source.
"Not one step closer to the source, Hans!" Ethox called, stopping Hans before he could touch it.
"What?! How are you here?! That Nemesis guy should've taken you all out easy!" Hans exclaimed.
"We left him to our friends. They've probably beaten him by now. So now it's just you and us." Nemo said.
"Ha…yeah. That's not gonna happen." Hans said.
"Wait…how did you even get in here?" Theo asked.
"Easy. I impersonated the hot springs owner." Hans said.
"And…where is he?" Cobalt asked.
"Easy. I ate him." Hans said. "It's what we Poison Slimes do. What's it to-?"
"Cursed…Crystal Prison!" Wiz declared as a path of ice shot out and froze one of Hans' arms.
"Wiz?! Wait, hold on-!" Hans pleaded.
"I stayed out of the Devil King's affairs under one condition. That those who posed no threat to his subjects would not be killed. Adventurers and knights know the danger, and accept it. But that man…he posed no threat to you!" Wiz said, her voice filled with rage.
"Whoa. I've never seen Wiz like this before." Ethox said.
"Guess when it comes to innocents getting killed, she really switches gears." Grantz noted.
"Think we should leave her be?" Emerald asked.
"Don't think that's an option. Look!" Catarina said, pointing to the angry mob coming up the mountain.
"Dammit, they followed us up here!" DJ said.
"If Aqua's followers make it up here, they're gonna be caught in the crossfire."
"And Aqua is busy trying to purify the source." Theo said.
"Wait…I have an idea." Luz said as she ran ahead to the mob.
"Out of the way, kid. We have business with that impersonator." one of them said.
"That impersonator is busy trying to cleanse your water from that!" Luz said, pointing to Hans, who has taken on his true slime form.
"A Poison Slime?!" another follower asked.
"He's the one responsible for the trouble with your hot springs. And that imposter is trying to save you in the name of your goddess, so I beseech ye to pray to your goddess like there is no tomorrow." Luz said.
The followers looked at one another before they knelt down and started praying.
"Wow…can't believe that worked." Luz said.
"Guess it just goes to show you how devoted these guys are. All they needed was some convincing." DJ said.
"Aqua! Your followers are behind you, so you should be good to go!" Nemo called.
"Thanks, guys!" Aqua said, continuing to purify.
"But how are we gonna deal with Hans? He's too big now, Wiz can't freeze him!" Catarina said.
"Wait… look inside him." Mirror Match said, everyone seeing the skeleton of the hot spring manager inside him. "The manager's corpse hasn't been fully digested yet."
"Wait…then….ugh…this is gonna suck but…" Kazuma said as he grabbed some of the followers soap and tossed it at Hans. "Hey, big and gooey, desserts over here!" he said taking off as Hans followed after him.
"That idiot…" Tanya said. "Megumin, charge up your Explosion spell! Darkness, protect the citizens! Wiz, once Hans is cut down to size, freeze him solid!"
"I get to blow him up? Yes! I'll wait for the right time!" Megumin said running off. "Detonation, Detonation, Detonation! I am Megumin, wielder of the most glorious, most powerful, most grand Explosion magic! The blow I am given to strike turns a blind eye to thy kindreds fate, renders hope of rebirth into anguish, and judges all forces!"
"I bet you thought youd have an easy time destroying this town. But you never should've messed with us!" Kazuma declared, jumping off a cliff into a sizeable crater for Megumin to detonate her spell as Hans was right behind him. "The rest is up to you guys…!" he called as he was consumed by Hans's entire body and was reduced to a skeleton on the spot.
"Now, Megumin! Let it rip!" Ultra said.
"Pitiful creature! Be one witht the crimson smoke, and become one with a torrent of blood! Burst forth! Explosion!" Megumin called, detonating her explosion inside the crater and cutting hans's body down to size, reducing him to his bones as well.
"Cursed Crystal Prison!" Wiz called out freezing the slime in solid ice, reducing him to his internal structure as it cracked apart.
"So…we did it?" Megumin asked.
"You…" Hans' voice called out as some ice shattered as he crawled out as a slimy jellyfish. "Doesn't matter. All I gotta do is eat all of you and I'll be back and ready."
"Don't think so." Ethox said. "Because for the sins you've committed on this town, your judgment isn't to be passed down by us. We'll leave that part to her."
Soon approaching Hans was Aqua, backed by the prayers of all the citizens of Alancretia. And boy, did she look serious.
"I am Aqua, Goddess of Water, worshipped by the Axis Church of Belzerg." Aqua said as her hand was covered in a burning flame. "It is my sacred duty…to help the summoned hero, Kazuma Sato, defeat the Devil King! God Blow!" she declared, hitting Hans with all her power.
"Gah! I don't know where you get your power, but if you think a punch is enough to destroy me… think again, you pathetic priest!" Hans roared as he began crawling up Aqua's arm.
"Her god blows not strong enough, as usual!" DJ said.
"She still has one good arm! All she needs is enough juice!" Luz said, turning to Aqua's followers. "The time is now! Send your revered goddess your devotion and worship, so she can slay the demon who plaques your town!"
"Heed the Cat-hooded girl's request! Chant the creed, faithful!" a priestess called.
"The Axis Church always manages to get things done! And if it doesn't go well, don't blame yourself!" the crowd declared.
"It's society's fault if you fail!"
Some of the followers repeated Aqua's "advice", and that worked, because within Aqua's other fist, even more power than her last punch was gathered, charged up more by the crowd's chanting.
"No… this is impossible! How can these maniacs be giving you so much power?!" Hans asked, bewildered.
"It's nothing special, they just love their goddess way too much!" Ethox siad. "And you sealed your fate the minute you decided to poison their main attraction. You don't get the honor to have your fate broken… because you deserve everything that's coming to you because of your crimes against humanity!"
"Now, repent! God…Requiem!" Aqua called, slamming her good fist right into Hans's face.
"I can't believe this…! All that planning, all that collaboration with another Demon Lord… and it all comes apart at the hands of a DAMN ARCH PRIEST!" Hans called out.
"The goddess Eris pads her chest!" one of the followers called out.
"Wait…the goddess these idiots follow….is you?! Damn it!" Hans cried out before he was completely obliterated.
And that was how the battle against Hans the Deadly Poison Slime ended. After all the trouble Mythos Hearts, the Fatebreakers and their Fodlan allies went through, some thanks were to be given. However….
Aqua went completely overboard. Her massive God Requiem, powered by her own followers faith, purified every single one of Alancreita's hot springs, reducing them to nothing but plain hot water. And because the Axis Church relied on their hot springs for income, the Devil King got what he wanted in the end.
Some people were hoping that Wiz could teleport them all home, but she was barely able to hang on to the mortal plane after Aqua's spell. So of course, regular wagon transportation was required as everyone was pelted out of Alancretia. Easily the worst Hot Spring trip anyone in the guild has ever taken.
But despite all that… There was still no place like home, as the group were gathered in Axel's Adventurer's Guild, celebrating their victory.
"Well, despite the…hiccups, I'd say that trip was a success!" Ethox smiled. "Four of Zenos's strongest demons are gone, Nemesis is gone, another of the Devil King's generals is gone, we now have a whole alliance to help us find Zenos…we really got a lot accomplished!"
"And to think this all began because Cadzuma thought it was a good idea to take a vacation here." Ram said.
"No need to thank me." Kazuma replied sarcastically.
"Actually Kazuma… if you think about it, this really WAS a vacation for us." Ethox said.
"Yeah, he's right! After all the stuff we've been through these past few months or so, staying here in your world for a few days is just the change of pace we needed." Kumoko said.
"This world is unfair, and cruel to you, Kazuma. But it is also a wonderful place." Mirror Match said. "You have friends, a wonderful home, and of course, a guild to have adventures with every day. I'd be proud to have this life if I were in your shoes."
"Yeah… you're right." Kazuma smiled. "Sometimes, I really hate that I ended up here. But other times, I can't help but enjoy the life I have here. Though, there is one thing that would make it perfect."
"Oh? What's that?" Le Kraken asked.
"Me finally getting my popular phase, of course!" Kazuma replied, a chorus of groans echoing across the table. "Hey, don't give me that! Some of you guys already got 'em! Hell, Cat's got one!"
"Wait, everyone here likes you, so aren't you already popular?" Catarina asked.
"That's…right, your dense." Kazuma remembered. "Point is, just once, I'd like to finally get some! I refuse to be left behind!"
"Look, while we…laugh at the enthusiasm, I don't really think it's going to happen." DJ said.
"Yeah, there's no way that any girl in Axel is just gonna come right up to this table and ask you to be your boyfriend right this instant." Ultra said
It was at that moment that the door to the guild burst open, as Yunyun suddenly powerwaked her way inside, and up to the guild's table.
"Uh, hey Yunyun, what's up?" Ethox asked.
"I… I have a request to ask of Kazuma." Yunyun said.
"Uh…sure, name it." Kazuma said.
"W-Well…I…" Yunyun paused, looking mortified and embarrassed all at once, before she took a deep breath. "I want to have your baby!"
…
"EEEEEHHHHH?!"
The reaction from everybody else was warranted, but inside Kazumas head, he smirked as he only thought one thing…
"My popular phase… begins!"
To be continued in Fatebreakers: Legend of Crimson