That night, once everyone had went to sleep (or more accurately, Yuiyui knocked them out herself by spiking Darkness and Hyoizabuuro's drinks), Ethox and Kazuma once again found themselves locked inside of Megumin's room.

"Great…this again. Oh well…least Megumin can escape through…the…" Ethox said before seeing the window now frozen. He then shot a glare at the one person who could've done it in the room. "Kazuma…"

"Hey, that's not on me! For all I know, you casted Blizzard in your Sleep!" Kazuma defended.

"If I used one of my Ice spells, this whole house would be frozen. On the other hand, your Freeze skill's perfect for freezing a window shut." Ethox said. "So, you're finally gonna buy into Yuiyui's scheme and get some of Megumin, aren't you?"

"I am not!" Kazuma protested.

"If I look under the sheets right now, will your pants be on?" Ethox asked.

Kazuma scoffed, lifting the sheets to show that his pants were, indeed, on. "See? I'm not a predator."

"...Right. Sorry." Ethox said. "It's just…I'm a little on edge, considering…well, this whole situation."

"Yeah. I mean I know you don't have feelings for Megumin. Even if she is kinda cool." Kazuma said.

"You think she's cool, huh?" Ethox asked. "A little contradictory compared to when we first bumped into each other. You said she was "Borderline useless"."

"Only because back then she knew just how to blow things up with Explosion. Now she's able to hurl grenades thanks to our trip to Rapture." Kazuma said.

"Do you…like her?" Ethox asked.

"What? I dunno…" Kazuma said. "I mean…I know I just say you don't love her, but…she's always seemed closer to you. But…"

"You're right about her being close to me. She was the first one to ever join the party when we came to Belzerg. She always brags about it, but… I think she was happy that she was the first to get picked. I dunno how long she spent her days being alone after every other adventurer party turned her down just because of how she built herself up." Ethox said. "It's not easy, finding friends when the only offensive skill you've got is basically a magical Nuke, y'know?"

"Yeah…but you gave her a chance, when I definitely wouldn't." Kazuma said. "And it worked out! As much as I whine about her, Aqua, and Darkness, I…honestly wouldn't be where I am now without them. Without you all. I owe her a lot. Hmm…maybe I will…" he muttered before an alarm started going off. "OH COME ON!" he growled. "That's it! I'm giving that general a piece of my mind for messing with my popular phase."


Despite the alarm going off, Sylvia continued to sneak quietly through the area near Megumin's house, this time trying to get into the village on her own. But unfortunately, being near Megumin's house meant she was very close to the entire guild, even enough when Kazuma suddenly burst onto the scene, in his adventurer gear and Chuhchunmaru drawn.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Kazuma yelled, frightening Sylvia. "How dare you interrupt me when I was about to decide to have a night of romance and passion! Why'd you gotta come around here spoiling the mood?! You're gonna get such an ass-whooping!"

"Im so sorry, I-!" Sylvia aplogized, before realizing she was acting afraid for reasons not befitting of her stature. "Wait a moment… no one speaks to me like that, especially you!" Sylvia then saw Megumin and Ethox walk out, the former a little embarrassed "Oh, I see… did I interrupt your copulation ritual?"

"NO!" Megumin cried, completly flustered.

"NO!" Ethox exclaimed, appalled.

"Big time!" Kazuma called out.

"Oh my me, do you people know what time it is?" Aqua asked, lazily walking out.

"Aqua! Sylvia's here, wake up the others!" Ethox called.

"O-Okay!" Aqua acknowledged, snapping awake and rushing into the house.

"I don't care if you're hot! You'll get no mercy!" Kazuma said, charging straight at Sylvia. "You messed with the wrong guy tonight, I'm a firm believer in gender equality, and I'm gonna throw down on your ass!"

"Kazuma, wait! With its length, your blade doesn't have the reach it needs to-!" Ethox started before Kazuma swung Chunchunmaru too late, Sylvia simply catching it between her fingers. "...Put so much as one scratch on her." he reluctantly finished.

Sylvia then burst into laughter. "You are a funny one. What's your name?" she asked Kazuma.

"My name is Kazuma Sato, and the last thing I need is a bounty on my head!" Kazuma said.

"You are the silliest thing ever!" Slyvia chuckled.

At that moment, the rest of the guild and the Fodlan allies came out with Aqua.

"Kazuma!" Aqua called.

"You there! The people of this house have gone for assistance, surrender now!" Darkness said.

"And don't try to do anything stupid. As you can see, we've got you outnumbered." DJ said. "Bad move coming here without any backup."

"I may be out numbered, but you've all been outsmarted." Sylvia smiled. "Since this silly boy recklessly charged in to attack me and I have him now… it's simple enough for me to take him as my hostage."

"The hell it is!" Grantz said, leveling his gun at the Chimera.

"Wait, you might hit Kazuma!" Matheus cautioned.

"This lady's taller than him, I can hit her with a headshot!" Koenig said, pulling out his gun.

"You have no idea how to handle a guy like him." Theo said.

"...Guy?" Kazuma asked.

"Theo, you need to get your eyes checked? She's a girl, no doubt about it." Nemo said.

Sylvia chuckled a bit. "Well, you're both right in a sense. I'm a chimera, remember? I added all sorts of things to my body."

"...One of those things wouldn't have happened to be…?" Ultra began to ask.

"Uh…Sylvia…it kinda feels like something is poking me in the butt." Kazuma said.

"Oh my dear…that's cause something is!" Sylvia said with a demented smile.

"...Oh." Kazuma said slowly, before he turned to the group. "Guys…PLEASE HELP ME!" he shouted.

"Hang on, Kazuma!" Ethox called, charging in.

"Oh no you don't!" Sylvia said as lumps grew from her back into tentacles made from her own skin and wrapped around Ethox before pushing him back. "I've grown rather fond of this boy…I think I'd like to keep him a little while longer." she smiled.

"...I'm flattered, but also not interested!" Kazuma said.

"Look, we're civil beings here, is there any chance you can let Kazuma go?" Mirror match asked.

"I might be persuaded to release him… if you all can escort me to the building where the Mage Killer is in storage." Sylvia said. "The truth is, im supposed to meet an interesting party there."

"What interesting party? The only member of the Devil King's army who's interested in this village is you, last I checked." Nemo said.

Sylvia, realizing something, chuckled. "Oh, you mean to tell me you haven't found out yet? There was one other person here. A traitor to your army."

"A traitor? Who?" Dimitri asked.

"Interested in finding out are we? Take me to the storage facility and you'll find out for yourself. And believe me when I say you're in for a shock." Sylvia said.

"Why should we trust you?" DJ pointed out. "You could just be playing us."

"But if you don't take me, how do you not know I'm lying?" Sylvia retorted.

"She has us there. If there really is a traitor in the alliance, we must know if it's true." Edlegard said.

"...Fine." Ethox said. "We'll take you to the storage facility. As long as you release Kazuma."

"Of course." Slyvia said.


A short trek later, the group had made it to mysterious building, where the Mage Killer was being stored.

"Alright, we're here. Now what?" Nemo asked as Slyvia approached a door inside.

"Now, I'll use this barrier breaker and…" the chimera said, applying it to the door, only for nothing to happen. "It didn't work? Then this door isn't sealed with magic."

Kazuma then spotted a control station with some Japanese writing on it, and inside the control box was an old school video game controller. "Enter the K command?"

"You can read that ancient writing?" Sylvia asked.

"Yeah, it says to unlock the vault, you have to input this old cheat code every gamer know-!" Kazuma said before covering his mouth.

"You are a crafty one arent you? To think it was that simple." Sylvia laughed, actually good natrudly. "You are the gift that keeps on giving, my dear."

"Hold up! I may be a scumbag, but I'm no traitor!" Kazuma said. "You can't get the code out of me!"

"Yeah, you tell her!" Subaru said.

"Oh, I don't need to use threats or torture to make you tell me." Slyvia said seductively. "I can make you submit with pleasure to rival a succubus-"

"Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, and we're in!" Kazuma said quickly as he punched the code in, causing the door to open.

"Way to hold under pressure, Sato." Tanya said.

"Does your shamelessness ever bother you? Oh well." Slylvia said, making her way inside. "The weapon is mine now."

"(Dammit, she got me so unnerved I punched in the code. I suck.)" Kazuma thought.

"It's so dark… I can't see a thing." Sylvia said.

"(But she underestimates how crafty I can be.)" Kazuma perked up.

"Hey, do one of you have a light i could use…?" Sylvia began to ask before she was pushed down into the chamber. "How dare you push me!"

"Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right… nice knowin ya." Kazuma said, causing the door to close.

"When I get my hands on you, you little… wait no! Curse you!" Sylvia called as the door closed on her.

"And the day is saved. You all can thank me now." Kazuma said as Sylvia banged on the door.

"Everyone!" a voice said as Wholks arrived alongside a couple of Crimson Demons. "The parents of your teammate told us Sylvia confronted you. I came as fast as I could. Where is she?"

"In there." Kazuma said, pointing to the door. "In a month or two, she'll be in no condition to be a threat."

"Wait, you caught Slyvia? We've been trying to do that for months!" One of the Crimson Demons said.

"You locked her in…with the Mage-Killer?" Wholks asked.

"Oh, don't worry, Rosenguard!" the other Crimson Demon assured the older man. "If we Crimson Demons couldn't get it working, then she sure can't! If she activates it, I'll run back to the village doing a handstand!"

"They have point. She is rat in cage now." Molotok said.

"Uh… Kazuma, I just realized something. Sylvia is a chimera, and she's capable of absorbing anything into her body." Ethox said.

"Yeah, what about that?" Kazuma asked.

"...Did she say she could only absorb organic material?" the Nobody asked.

"...Oh crap." Kazuma realized as the room began to shake.

"I suggest we all run." Wholks said.

The group got out of there just in time before multiple lasers pierced through the building and causing it to explode. Then, rising from the rubble was Sylvia, her upper body now attached to a metal serpentine structure as most of her clothing was stripped away.

"For a collective guild, you aren't very bright at first. I never told any of you how I would use the weapon." Sylvia said. "Behold! Just as you discovered, I can absorb anything into my body, be it organic or otherwise! I am Sylvia the Growth Chimera! And as of this moment having assimilated The mage killer, I have become the Ultimate Weapon!"

"Well…we are officially screwed." Theo said.