{|} Chapter 7: On the Eve of an Ending {|}

} A-Part {

Cracks begin to form on the building as the deafening roar from within rang out. At an ever-accelerating pace, the cracks grew and spread and grew and spread till the structure started to creak and shake. Then came the sound of cracking and breaking.

And then the building came crashing down, loudly, and producing a large amount of dust and smoke.

Then from out of the cloud of dust came Chris and Kazuma, with Aqua hanging onto Aqua for dear life as they find themselves stumbling from their unsteady escape attempt. Picking themselves up, they look back to see other, neighboring buildings had also started to fall. An unexpected domino effect created by the Prime Geist roaring with the force that it had done.

Probably didn't help that the surrounding buildings were old and not well maintained either.

A low growl comes from the dust cloud, followed by the Prime Geist slowly emerging, like it wasn't taking this little hunt all that seriously. Like it was allowing itself to have some fun playing around with its prey before going in for that final kill.

"Ah, what are the two of you doing? Don't just sit around like a bunch of idiots. Start running for it already."

cried Aqua, not that she was doing anything there either, as she was expecting Kazuma to continue carrying her around. Still, her words spur the two more competent individuals into action as they finally get to their feet and make an attempt at running towards the nearest alley.

"Hey, what about me? Don't leave me behind."

yelled Aqua when Kazuma didn't pick her back up, thus forcing her into becoming more active herself now. It didn't really matter, seeing as the Prime Geist was faster than them, having already lept into the air, landing between them and the alley they were trying to enter.

Prime Geist then shows it had some level of greater intellect as it begins wagging a finger at them, letting them know it wouldn't allow them to escape so easily. Chris grits her teeth while Aqua ends up slamming into Kazuma, then says-

"Damn it, looks like we have no choice now. We're gonna have to fight this thing, at least to some degree, if we hope to escape and survive."

"What? Are you stupid, Eris? You should know that as we are now, we can't hope to take that thing on right now and live to talk about it."

"Well, if you have any HELPFUL suggestions on what to do here, besides saying let's run away as that's clearly not going to be an option, then please... don't be afraid to tell us, goddess of uselessness."

"What did you..."

"DODGE!"

shouted Chris, already jumping clear of the Prime Geist as it tries to pounce them. Aqua, not being all that fast when it came to the quick actions, would have been flattened if not for Kazuma grabbing her arm and pulling her along with him to safety at the last moment.

"NEE... Kazuma, you... you saved me."

said Aqua, her voice that of surprised. Kazuma nods at her, then says-

"It's a little too soon to say I saved you here. Now, how do we..."

Before he could finish, the Prime Geist turns to look at them before charging towards them.

"Aqua, go that way and I'll go this way."

ordered Kazuma, getting to complaint from Aqua who was already in the process of running. Kazuma goes the opposite way and finds the Geist following after him specifically. Chris sees this and, with her currently unenchanted dagger in hand, goes running towards the Geist back in the hopes of getting in a sneak attack on its back.

'Something feels weird here. Why is it targeting Kazuma more than us? Surely it would see either me or Aqua as being more of a potential threat, seeing as we're goddesses. Maybe because we're currently powerless, it isn't able to see us as a threat. Wait, is it possible that it can sense...'

It had to be the power Kazuma had inside him, either his Lich power or possibly Entropy. Either away, this Prime Geist was targeting Kazuma and that was more than enough reason for her to find a way to stop it before it could hurt him.

Chris reaches the backside of the Prime Geist and leaps up to send her dagger stabbing down onto its back as hard as she can manage, but the Prime Geist immediately turns its head back to look at her before swinging its tail around, swatting her like a fly and sending Chris slamming into a nearby building wall.

This causes Chris to cough up blood as she slides down onto the ground, her movement sluggish and slow. Kazuma, deciding to throw caution to the wind, leaps at the Prime Geist in that moment when its attention was on Chris, grabbing it with both hands as he shouts out-

"Drain Touch!"

In truth, Kazuma wasn't sure if this was going to work or not, seeing as he didn't have any mana to work with. Still, seeing as Drain Touch was an undead skill, he hoped that maybe he could still somehow activate and use it.

Not surprisingly, nothing happened.

The Prime Geist turns back to look at him, slowly at that, like it wasn't worried at all. Kazuma can't help but smile a sheepish grin as he lets go of the Prime Geist, then scratches the back of his head nervously. The Prime Geist just looks at him as he says-

"Well, can't blame a guy for trying, right?"

Prime Geist response is to slam a hand down hard on top of Kazuma, crushing him against the ground. The Prime Geist then lifts its hand up, seeing Kazuma laying on the ground and sending out a weak groan, then proceeds to send slam after slam of its fist into the ground, crushing Kazuma in further.

"No... Kazuma..."

says Chris, in a weak voice as she tries to get back onto her feet but finds her body not yet ready to respond.

After a few moments, the Prime Geist finally stops its assault and takes another look at Kazuma. He was still more or less intact, but he was now unconscious, bloody, and broken in multiple ways. Seemingly satisfied with what it had done, the Prime Geist appears to go in for the kill as a sphere of energy begins to take shape from between its two largest horns on its head.

The intention was clear. It was going to completely destroy him.

"Stop right there, you sad excuse for a knock off Xenomorph thing. That NEET still owes me big time and until he's paid up in full, plus interest, I won't let anyone kill him!"

screams Aqua who comes charging in, swinging a large mace she apparently found somewhere. The Prime Geist turns its attention to look at her, then goes to swat her again. But Aqua surprisingly ducks under the attempted swat, then actually manages to land a powerful looking blow against the Prime Geist face, which actually sends it stumbling back while its little sphere of energy is sent flying off and away from them, exploding against something in the distance.

Aqua, surprised that she actually landed a hot on the creature, begins celebrating her success with a jump cheer.

"Aqua, what are you doing? Now's not the time for that. Keep pressing your attack."

"Huh?"

said Aqua, in response to Chris's yell. Aqua doesn't have time to really thing about it as the Prime Geist had recovered, followed by it sending a devastating blow into Aqua, sending the poor girl bouncing across the ground over an impressive distance before coming to a stop, unmoving.

Then, instead of going back to finishing Kazuma off, the Prime Geist decides to turn its attention to Chris, slowly approaching her as Chris does her best to get back onto her feet.

She knew it was coming towards her now and it would be best for her to make a run for it, yet she knew doing so would be pointless. She no longer had the strength to run. Hell, she barely had enough strength left to stand as it was. Besides, she realized now that there was no escape for them.

The Primal Geist finally reached her, towering over her. Its shadow cast upon her as it leans its head in closer and closer. Perhaps it was going to eat her here and now. Filled with a growing fear, Chris can't but close her tear-filled eyes as she prays a prayer, hoping that someone would at least save Kazuma and Aqua before it was too late for them too.

She waited and waited and waited for the end... waited far too long in fact.

"Kr... Kr... Krys?"

'Huh?'

Chris opens her eyes, finding the Primal Geist was just looking at her with an air of confusion about it. He continues to repeat the name of her sister over and over, making her come to a shocking realization.

"Fa... father?"

"Krys... Krys... my daughter..."

"No, it isn't Krys, father. It's me... Eris!"

"Eris... Eris, my little..."

Was it possible? Was this thing, this Prime Geist, was it really what the Praegem turned their father into after they had made their ultimate escape all those years ago? A tear slides down Chris's face as she carefully reaches up and places her hand onto the Prime Geist face. She then closes her eyes and lets her senses begin searching within the psyche of the entity before her.

But try as she might, she couldn't find any trace of her father's soul. Not surprising, really. His soul had likely passed on long ago. All that was left within this thing now was...

'Just some residual memory from fathers' old body, from when he had been turned into this. I... I need to set you free somehow.'

Chris continues to look at the Prime Geist as it continued to look at her, probably uncertain on how to proceed now. With the Praegem having long since left this world, the commanding force that controlled it was gone, leaving it to function on base instinct. That instinct was now in conflict with a deeper element from its past existence. A parental bond that was fighting for control.

A pressure wave cuts through the air, making the Prime Geist immediately turn to face the source of the wave. Chris looks as well and is shocked to see the source. It was Kazuma, his broken body appearing to be healing itself as he floats in the air, surrounded by a strange aura.

'Wait, that aura. I've seen it before. The same kind of aura that it had that day when we came face to face. The main body of... Entropy.'

Indeed, this was so. Kazuma had seemingly been restored by the Entropy within him and was now in a trance like state. Even his eyes were glowing like the eyes of Entropy on that day, outside the Labyrinth when the aspect of Entropy had nearly succeeded in stealing away Kazuma's soul.

The Prime Entropy lets out a roar as it goes running towards Kazuma, making Chris shout out for it to stop. At the same moment, she hears a voice speak up in her head, telling her-

"You may want to move, unless you wish to join this creature in death."

Throwing all her strength into her legs, Chris pushes away from where she was currently at while the Prime Geist goes to leap onto Kazuma. Kazuma, for his part, simply raises a hand up and speaks a single word in response to the Prime Geist attempt at attacking him.

"ENTROPY!"

It had not been Kazuma's voice that had spoken when his mouth had moved, not really. Sure, there was a hint of his voice present, but it was clear that it had been the Entropy inside him that had been doing the talking, that it had been Entropy that had been in control. And as for the Prime Geist?

It was just gone! There had been no blinding flash of light, or any kind of light to speak of. The Prime Geist had simply burst like sand being blown away by a strong wind after being tossed into the air. And not just the Prime Geist, but everything that had been beyond it within a straight line, stretching so far that Chris couldn't even see where this action might have ended.

She then looks back at the Entropy possessed Kazuma, find him floating before her. She wonders if she was going to be ended now too. Instead, the Entropy controlled Kazuma simply smiles at her and says-

"I have grown tired of watching you all fail this one, again and again and again. I had thought that maybe, just maybe, you all might have been different. That you all actually care for him."

"But we do care for him. Look, I know things haven't been perfect, especially to the standards you clearly hold here, but you've done the best we could, given the circumstances and situations we've all found ourselves in. Surely even you can understand that Entropy."

"What I understand is that I was a fool to expect better from you. From any of you. I am DONE giving you all a chance to prove yourselves to me. Enjoy what little time you have left with him while you can, SISTER Eris..."

'Wait, did she just call me... SISTER Eris?'

"... You should all enjoy the little time left for I shall be coming for him NOW! And there's nothing you can do to stop me from taking him back home, where he belongs. Even Rubrikt can't stop what's coming now."

"Wait, what do you mean about Rubrikt? Don't leave yet Entropy. I need to know..."

It didn't matter as the aura faded and Kazuma's eyes return to normal before he falls the the ground, Chris barely managing to catch him in time and hug him close to her body. She quickly asks-

"Kazuma, Kazuma, are you alright. Please say something."

"... ugh... You know, boss... I'm REALLY starting to get tired of all this crap that comes my way."

Chris closes her eyes while hugging him even tighter against herself. A few tears manage to escape from her tightly closed eyes as she says-

"I know, I know you are. I hate seeing you have to suffer like this too. Don't worry, Kazuma. I'm not going to let Entropy take you from us. I'll never let you go."

After that, Kazuma shifted his position on Chris so they could support each other as they make their way over to Aqua who was still laying on the ground. Once they had reached her, Chris asks-

"You still with us here, Aqua?"

"... Are we done here yet? I wanna go home."

{|} B-Part {|}

"At long last... freedom... thank you, foolish child... for releasing me... Draugr Lord!"

Serena struggled, trying her best to free herself from the hold this Draugr Lord had on her, but her attempts didn't seem to matter. This... thing had a strength she hadn't seen before. What was even weirder, there appeared to be no indication that this Draugr Lord was having its own neck choked out like hers was currently experiencing.

But she wasn't dead yet, something she felt would be easy for this thing to do and while her throat was being gripped hard, it wasn't quite hard enough to keep her from speaking. As such, just might as well find out what was going on while thinking of a way out of this.

"What... is this? Why were... you inside that... coffin? I thought... lady Regina...?"

"What's this? Did you actually... think it was possible to seal away a GODDESS?"

The Draugr Lord then begins to laugh, a creepy and eerie laugh that echoes across the room. He then tosses Serena off to the side of the room like she was just some child's toy. The Draugr Lord takes a moment to examine the room, its glowing eyes looking at the wall.

"Interesting... someone has been rather naughty, changing the warning and all. And these poor little children. You must be a true accolade of Vengeance."

The Draugr Lord then begins to walk towards her, a smirk forming on its decayed face.

"I can sense it in you, girl. You revived the path of Vengeance, the very power that selfish Regina wanted to keep from me."

"What did you say? Lady Regina... she wanted to keep the blessing of Vengeance from... why?"

"Why indeed? Perhaps you can ask her that should you be lucky enough to meet her on the other side. Now, I think I shall claim your Vengeance, your vitality, a move one step closer to being made whole again."

The Draugr Lord was almost upon her, and Serena found herself now backed into a corner. But Serena wasn't done yet as she still had one last trick up her sleeve. Pulling out a potion vial, she quickly drinks it, making her body shine with mana. She then tosses the empty vial to the side before thrusting her hands out before her.

"Like I'm going to let anyone take ANYTHING from ME! Undead PURGE!"

An intense light blasts forth from Serena's hands, a light so blinding that the entire room is enveloped in it. Even Serena is forced to close her eyes to avoid being blinded, which meant the power was especially strong.

Undead Purge was an especially powerful spell to destroy undead creatures, something meant to be used against the most powerful of demon or devil. The problem with the spell was it required a tremendous amount of mana to empower it, more than most people have.

Far more than she herself had on her, hence the vial of mana booster she had just drank.

After a few moments, the light from her spell had started to fade and Serena slowly opened her eyes. She begins to scan the room, looking for any sign of the Draugr Lord. There was no sign of it anywhere, making her smile victoriously.

'Victory for me, I guess. I am so glad that thing didn't have Vengeance itself... speaking of which, why wasn't its attempt at strangling me not impact it? Was it because of it being undead. And what did it mean when it said what it did about lady Reg...'

Before she could finish that thought, the ground before her explodes upwards followed by her feeling cold all over. The next thing she knew, the Draugr Lord was standing before her, unharmed. What's more, her chest suddenly began to feel funny, making her look down. It was then she saw it, the reason she was now feeling cold and weird.

Her chest had essentially been ripped open by the Draugr Lord when it had emerged from below.

Serena's vision begins to blur as she feels the loss of blood from her chest wound starting to kick in. She collapses onto the ground as her enemy chuckles at her plight. She tries to use healing magic on herself, but nothing happens. It takes her a moment to remember that she was now out of magic.

The Draugr Lord takes hold of her, pulling her close as it grins a disturbing grin.

"Nice trick, that spell you did. Had I not dived beneath the earth to avoid that light, I might have actually died there. Now, give me what is rightfully mine. My VENEGANCE!"

The Draugr Lord then opens its mouth wide, creating a sucking wind that was flowing over Serena's body. She could see wisp of energy starting to emerge from her body, being pulled into the creature's mouth. She didn't need to ask, not that she could in her current state of being, as she already knew what was being taken from her.

She wanted to fight back, to do something... anything. But she knew there was nothing she could do, even if she was at full strength. As her vision began to fade, Serena allowed herself to think one final thought as her world became darker and colder.

'Damn it, I was such a fool. How could I have possibly made... I'm sorry, my lady Regina.'

"I think that's far enough... Magiro!"

The sudden voice, familiar in sound, spoke up suddenly before the room is once again filled with light. Not as blinding and absolute as the last light, but still bright... and strangely beautiful. Serena finds some strength coming back to her as both she, and the Draugr Lord, turn their attention to the source of this new light.

It was Melissa, her body shining with a bright, almost holy like aura.

"Who are... is that you, Regina the selfish? I had heard you had ran away."

"I'd prefer the use of the term RETIREMENT myself, but what can you do."

said Melissa, Serena realizing it wasn't exactly Melissa's voice that was speaking here, but a mix of Melissa's and someone elses. Was it... the voice of Lady Regina?

The Draugr Lord begins to chuckle again as it turns away from Serena fully and begins walking towards Melissa/Regina.

"Call it what you will. I should be thanking you, though. For coming back here at this time, and in the form you are in now. Because of that, I can finally take all that I need, all that I shall ever need, from YOU directly. This... is my Vengeance for what you did to me."

Draugr Lord then unleashes a war cry before charging Melissa/Regina with its arms raised to strike her down. Melissa/Regina just lets out a sigh and shakes her head while saying to herself-

"I see being sealed away hasn't changed you, Magiro. Guess that's on me, thinking someone like you could change if given time to think about their choices and see the faults in them. Looks like I have no choice here. I must do what I should have done years lifetimes ago."

"REGINA!"

screams the Draugr Lord as it leaps into the air, intending to pin Melissa/Regina onto the ground. Before it can reach her though, Melissa/Regina simply waves her arm before her, making the Draugr Lord's entire being just vaporize into nothingness. And like that, the monster was no more.

Melissa/Regina then looks at her own hands, then at the bodies of the other girls and Dust, then lets out a sigh before walking towards the still on the ground Serena.

"You have done some very bad things, child. Such things that will require you to receive PROPER retribution as payment. But before all that..."

Melissa/Regina then holds her hands out, releasing a cleansing light over Serena that heals her fully of her injuries. Serena, now back at full power, checks herself over before getting back onto her feet again and looking at her one-time friend, slash goddess, and asking-

"Melissa? Lady Regina? I don't... what's going on? I mean, who are... are you really...?"

"Yes, I am here and no, the one named Melissa and I are not one and the same. I am simply borrowing her body for the moment in order to explain things to you. Now listen closely as I tell you the truth."

Melissa/Regina then waves her arms around, causing the entire inside of the building to change. It was just an illusion of course, in order to give Serena a little visual aid to go along with the verbal explanation. With that done, the reveal finally began.

[] "Once, long ago, I watch over the children of this world alongside side another, the goddess Kismit. Together, we two sister goddesses were the power that guided the children of this world. Kismit had one side of the globe and I the other, though we did have a few followers located within each other's territories, not that we saw that as an issue."

"For me, my mine followers were the Faea race, who lived over on the continent located on the opposite side of the world, opposite this continent. I won't go into to much detail there as it isn't relevant to this tale, beyond saying that after they were lost, all I had were the few human followers who saw me as their goddess over here in Kismit's lands." []

"Wait, who are the Faea, lady Regina? What happened to them?"

"I already told you. That part isn't important. Now, moving on..."

'If it isn't relevant, then why even mention it at all?'

mentally pouted Serena, showing that while she may be an adult now, there was still a part of her that was like a child. Melissa/Regina notices this, but don't say anything about it. She does consider this to be one of the reasons for Serena's mistakes though.

[] "Anyways, I one day decided to gift my human followers with a power, a blessing. The same kind of blessing I had once gifted to the Faea in ages past. Something that would make the job I tasked them with easier than what it would be otherwise. The name of that blessing was..." []

"Vengeance?"

"Retribution! This was your first mistake you made concerning me, Serena. I am not the goddess of Vengeance. There has never been one of those walking around. I am the goddess of justice and retribution, always have been. Well, technically, just the Goddess of Retribution, but the power was meant to be used in the service of justice, hence why I add justice to my calling card. Yeah, I know it's not accurate to my proper description here... but I digress."

"Retribution... What was this power? How was it meant to be used.?"

"Followers of my faith would travel around, searching for those who committed acts of evil, listening for any rumors or darkness being done in the world. Using their special sight, which came with the power, they could tell the difference between those who were guilty and those who had been falsely accused. When one who was in need of punishment was found, my champions, who were like wandering knights by the way, would then use the power of Retribution upon them, insuring they were made to face the proper punishment most deserving of their evil deeds."

"Wait, I don't understand. If the true form of your power was this Retribution ability, then how did it become what it is now? How did Retribution become Vengeance?"

"Remember your undead friend from earlier, the Draugr Lord whose real name is Magiro. He had once been a priest in my order, made so because he was exceptionally skilled by others in the faith. Quick little side tangent, I wasn't the one who gave out my blessing to every single person. Rather, I gave that gift to those who earned the rank of high priest or priestess within my faith. I trusted they would have good judgment there when it came to selecting the worthy to gift the power to. That was a mistake."

"How so?"

"Magiro wasn't no saintly man. He was anything but, in fact. Cold, cruel, and all together evil. He was the kind of person most in need of being punished by the Retribution of my followers. Instead, he managed to trick his way into my faith, gain the power of Retribution, and corrupt it into the form you know it as now; Vengeance."

"How? I mean, how was he able to even trick his way into the order to begin with and how did he corrupt your blessing and make it what it is today."

"Now that would be a long explanation for me to give... too long, in fact as I do have a time limit here. The basic and most important bits, though, is this. Magiro, on top of being pure evil, was also a genius. He had managed to escape several of my followers in the past and, due to his encounters with them, actually managed to create a kind of aura around himself that could block the evil registering eyes of my followers, making it that he would be seen as a saintly man instead of a sinner."

"Wishing for the power, having seen a darker potential behind it, he came and gained the power by tricking my high priest using the aura that shifted the sight, tricking it to see good when in fact there was evil. Then, with the power, he turned to dark magicks... devil magicks to twist the Retribution, corrupt it into the form you now know as Vengeance. Once he had finished, he went around, killing my followers while sharing the corrupted power with others of his own choosing."

"No way. I can't believe it. All this time, I... my people were the heirs to the evil side. How did I not even... wait. If this was all happening, then why didn't you do something sooner?"

Melissa/Regina looks away sheepishly, using a finger to scratch the side of her head behind an ear.

"I... well... I might have been a little distracted back in those days. So much so that I gave the ability to share the blessing with others to my high priest and priestess, so I didn't have to do it all myself. What I was distracted with isn't of any importance so..."

"I must respectfully disagree there, lady Regina."

"... Moving on. I soon became aware of what was going on with my followers, thanks to Kismit. I returned, finding almost all of my faith wiped out by Magiro and his followers. I quickly realized what his scheme there was. He was trying to ascend to becoming a kind of dark god by stealing the life force of everyone killed through the power of Vengeance by himself or one of his own followers."

"Wait, Vengeance can... steal the life force of another?"

"Yes, it can. Surely, you've felt it yourself by now, as often as I can sense you've used it. It's more than turning an attack onto the one making it. It's more than making for an easy kill using the special Death magic that part of the package. It's stealing what belongs to another and making it part of yourself. Enriching your very being, as it were."

"I... actually, I think I have felt stronger immediately after the power is used on another. Felt a rush of power upon making a kill. I figured that was one of those rush of the moment kind of things."

"No... well, maybe that too. But no, what you've been feeling was that stolen life force and power of your victims flowing into you upon their deaths. Back in the past, all of Magiro's followers would gather power within themselves, store it, and then pass it onto Magiro himself when they presented themselves before him on an annual basis. As for why no one tried to turn against him using that power? Simple, Magiro had charisma and had the loyalty of all his followers."

"Anyways, I stepped in at last, took out all of his followers... or at least I thought I did. As for Magiro himself? I knew back then I should have ended him right then and there. Instead, a sealed him away down here in this place as I figured a nigh eternity of being sealed away like this would do him some good before eternity in Hell came along. The state you saw him in when you met him earlier, the Draugr Lord, is what his body shifted into after being sealed away all this time. The same for those other Draugr who you encountered... his old honor guard whose bodies I sealed down here as well."

"Wait, before we continue, I need to know. How did they awaken anyways? Those lesser Draugr, I mean."

"I suppose you could say Melissa did that accidentally when she started poking around in here after you went topside. But it was you, with the power of Vengeance within you, that actually triggered their rise; the intention being to force you to this place so you could gift your accumulated power stored within you to their master."

"Well crap! So, what happened after you were done killing and sealing them all?"

[] "I decided that, seeing as it was my fault for becoming lax and lazy with my job, I would enter the god's version of retirement. What that means in mortal terms is that I would give up my divine power and become just a regular soul like any other and go on to live mortal life after mortal life until I was either ready to pass onto to living in Heaven or the end of the mortal universe came around, where living in Heaven would become mandatory for everyone not being sent to Hell."

"Before I left though, I gifted the leader of the resistance against Magiro and his followers with my power of Retribution, making her the new high priestess of my faith. While I wouldn't be around no more, I felt there should always be those who could have the power to do good. I would have Kismit keep an eye on them for me and I told my high priestess that only she and her successors should be trusted with the power, no other. The rest can bring the vile before her so she can do the punishing herself. It would be safer that was. After that, I gave up my powers and became mortal." []

"If you're no longer a goddess, then how are you here now, lady Regina? And how did Vengeance survive if you wiped out and sealed Magiro and his followers?"

"Oh, that's easy to explain. How the Vengeance is still around is because one young, and naïve member of my faith found a book, written by Magiro himself that explained how to turn Retribution into Vengeance, assumed it was a surviving bit of text from my faith, because the cover was designed to make it look so, and brought it back to the village and placed in inside the library. I believe you would find that very book centuries later, long forgotten, and upon reading it, got the delusions that have led you to this very moment."

"Damn it!"

"As for how I am here now. I have my old friend, the goddess Hestia to thank for that. She became aware of the fact Vengeance had been reawakened, not sure how she found out as she didn't tell me, and seeing as my current mortal self is living her life over on Hestia's world, she kind of bent the rules a little to allow me the chance to come over here so I can properly resolve this little matter. Speaking of, my little explanation I gave you has taken to long here and with my time running out, we need to wrap this up before I have to go back. Besides, I don't want to leave Bell alone with those other sluts any longer than I have too. Can't let them be stealing any wins now, can I."

Serena finds herself beginning to shake a little, already having a feeling she knew what was coming.

"I'm going to die here, aren't I, lady Regina."

"Sorry Serena, but it's the only fair amount of Retribution you can offer now. Like I said before, I have seen the things you've done, like using a combination of death magic and Vengeance to wipe out your village under the belief that they had betrayed me when in reality... you have been the betrayer all along. There's also the things you have done since then, such as what you did here to all these poor souls."

"But I've done some good here too, haven't I? I mean, I have helped people with my healing magic and saved people from evil. Surely that has to count for something, right?"

"Yes, you have saved lives, helped many. But the good you have done can never counter the weight of your crimes when placed on the great scales. Even one death, one murder, can never be outweighed by a lifetime of good. That said, I suppose you don't have to worry about Hell... at least not yet. You'll be given a chance to redeem yourself, a chance to cleanse you soul of its sins. But not in this life. This life of yours, I'm afraid, has to end now. You will instead be given a chance at redemption in your next life so I pray your next you will be a good person. And, if it makes you feel better, I'll ask Hestia to see that you are reborn on her world. Maybe, if you're lucky, my current me will find you and help guide you on the right path... not that either of us will remember this conversation. Rules and all that."

"I... but... (sigh) I guess it can't be helped. I did bring this upon myself though. What about the Retribution power? What about... all of them?"

"The power of Retribution is dead and gone now. I will not pass it onto another while I am here. I actually can't as I don't really have it myself anymore. As for those poor souls you used foolishly sacrificed, Melissa included, I will use your life force to reignite the flame of life within them so they can continue living their lives as they see fit. So, are you ready, Serena?"

Of course Serena wasn't ready. She didn't want to die, not now, not yet. Now that she understood the truth, she wanted to travel the world with 'new' eyes, start doing some real good for once. But she knew that wasn't an option. Instead, she just nods and says-

"Ready or not, this needs to happen. I can only pray that in my next life, I will be a better person. A wiser person who will follow the correct path."

"I believe you will. That's what it means to have faith after all. And now..."

Melissa/Regina holds out her hands, summoning forth a bright light that fills the room. Serena smiles one last time as she feels herself beginning to fade away. At least her end, in the end, felt nice and warm.

The feeling of poking against her cheek brings Megumin back to consciousness. It takes her mind a few moments to recall the situation she and the others had been in, making her rise up quickly and look around. She couldn't see Serena anywhere, but she could see the others as they too were beginning to stir. She then looks down at Chomusuke and picks up the black cat.

"What happened here, Chomusuke? Did you somehow defeat her for me?"

Chomusuke simply turns cocks her head in confusion before breaking free from Megumin's hold to go rest on her head. Megumin can't help but smile as she retrieves her hat and places it back onto her head. She then goes help Yunyun up while Darkness and Cielo get back onto their wobbly feet as well.

"What... just happened? Weren't we... just dead a few moments ago?"

wondered Cielo. Darkness quickly says after shaking her head around a bit.

"I think so. I remember being before a shining throne though I can't recall if anyone was sitting upon it."

"There wasn't, just a little sign that said 'Stepped out for a bit. Be right back.'"

said Yunyun. Megumin then asks-

"So, what do you all think happened here after we... after we died? Did Serena actually..."

"I think I can answer that one?"

The four girls turn to see Melissa walking over to them, a piece of paper in hand. The older woman then says-

"I found this on me when I awoke."

she then holds the paper up at them. Cielo says-

"A letter from Serena?"

"Let's find out..."

And with that, Melissa began to read the contents of the letter to them.

{|} C-Part {|}

"This is where you used to live with that sister of yours, Eris. Gotta say... NICE!"

Currently, Aqua, Chris, and Kazuma were standing outside the massive mansion that had once been the home of the sisters Eris and Krys and their family once upon a time.

"I guess so. I remember it looking even better than this once upon a time though. Truth be told, Aqua. I like my other older home more, the one over in Sala Village."

"What? Why, compared to this place, that other was so... small and plain."

Kazuma, who was leaning on Chris for support, says-

"That's not always a bad thing, Aqua; having a smaller, more compact and comfy home. Takes less time to clean for one thing."

"That coming from a guy who owns his own mansion outside Axel."

retorts Aqua. Chris smirks then says-

"Sounds like someone's a little jealous here. Maybe if you didn't waste all your money on booze and snacks at every chance you got, you could possibly save up enough eris to buy a mansion all your own."

"But that would take so long..."

"Can we just go inside, you two. It's starting to get cold outside!"

The two girls stop their banter and look at Kazuma, realizing her appeared to be shivering just a little. He also appeared to be turning an ever so slightest shade of blue. Chris even realizes he felt like he was getting colder too.

'Is it because of us being on Arbel as it now... no, that's not it. Because the Entropy inside him had taken control to finish off the Prime Geist, her own father, the act of doing that had done something to his body, had impacted it in some mysterious way.'

With that, Chris strengthens her hold on Kazuma as they begin to walk forward. Aqua, after a moment of uncertainty, begins to follow behind them. Not surprisingly, the large double doors into the mansion were locked but this wasn't an issue for a master thief to get around.

It also didn't hurt she somehow still had her own personal house key in her possession, getting Aqua to scream that didn't count when it came to showing off her skills.

Once they were inside, they come to a stop as Chris takes a moment to look around the large main room. Aqua walks up to her side, asking-

"You doing OK there, being back here after so long?"

"Yeah, like walking into a memory I haven't thought about since forever. Anyways, if what Rubrikt said was true, the clue should be somewhere inside my bedroom. Follow me, we need to go up to the second floor first to reach my room."

After heading up the slightly decayed, but still fairly ornate looking stairs, they begin walking down a hall, taking glances at the various paintings that lined the wall. Soon, they had reached the onetime bedroom of a girl named Eris. They then step inside, followed by Aqua letting out a whistle.

"Damn Eris, after seeing your old bedroom and how it was set up, I have to say... I never knew you had such a girly side to ya. I mean, even at your daintiest, you always gave off this tomboy like impression."

"I never asked, or wanted, my old bedroom to look like this. Back then though, I didn't have much of a choice as I was a very sickly girl who rarely left her bed."

"You were a sickly girl back before you became a goddess?"

"Yeah, because of the divine power I had been born with was double-edged. I was capable of doing so much with that power, even working miracles if needed. The downside to having power like that was it caused my body to have a weak constitution. It wasn't till after becoming a goddess that I finally had a body strong enough to handle the power I had been born with."

"Really, is that true? That's strange. I remember being born with divine power too, yet I never once suffered from a weak constitution like you did. Hm, I wonder why?"

"...Speaking of feeling sick, would you mind if I make use of your old bed for a while, Chris. I'm starting to feel a little dizzy now too."

said Kazuma, his voice a little shaky. Chris nods, moving him over to the bed and helping him to get under the covers. She also saw no sign of the clue being present on her bed but was still confident it was in here somewhere.

"Hey NEET, you doing OK there?"

"Sure, I guess. Maybe I just need some sleep to get my energy back... though I guess I've already slept enough since getting here, huh?"

"No at all... well, maybe just a little bit. Still, if resting for a bit longer can help ya, then don't hesitate to do that. Aqua, I'll start searching my room, see if I can find that clue. Could you head back downstairs and check the kitchen. It may be a long shot, but there could be something there we can use for food..."

"Or drink? Not a problem, Eris. You can count on me. I'll go now, see what I can find, and be back in a jiffy."

Aqua does a military style salute before spinning around and confidently marching out of the room. A moment later, Kazuma says from beneath the covers.

"You realize the only thing she's going to be looking for is booze."

"Yeah, I know. She'll probably start drinking without us too, if she can actually find the wine cellar that is. No matter as it will give us some time to talk with one another."

Kazuma partially emerges from beneath the covers and sits up so that they can talk properly.

"I guess a talk between us was coming. So, how are you doing, boss. I mean, after everything that's happened over the last few days, ever since things in Axel started to get so..."

"I didn't mean we should talk about THAT, Kazuma, though I guess a talk about Axel is needed. No, I was talking about you specifically. I mean, after you entered your Lich Reap and took out Cec... the Liberation, you fell into a kind of a coma for a few days. Then, we you woke up, you were acting rather strange for a moment before passing out again. Then, when we were attacked by fath... by the Prime Geist, you... well, I think you know what happened."

Chris then moves to stand at Kazuma's side, wishing she knew where the stool that had once been in here at disappeared to. Kazuma hesitates for a moment, his clenched fist shaking before he lets out a sigh. Chris says to him, more serious and showing her worry and concern again-

"Kazuma, please... tell me. How are you REALLY feeling?"

"I... I... I'm feeling... disconnected. Disconnected... from everything. When I said before that I was feeling cold, I didn't mean air cold, but a different kind of cold. I don't know if I am being accurate here, but it feels like I'm having trouble with feeling things... anything really. Like now..."

Kazuma then reaches up and touches his hand against Chris's.

"Even now, when I'm touching you, I can just barely feel the sensation of your skin and mine making contact. Numb... yeah, maybe that's the proper word to use here to explain how I am feeling. I feel... numb."

"Kazuma..."

Kazuma pulls his hand away while he averts his gaze to the window. He then says-

"Going back to before, when I first woke up, it was after having a dream I'm sure was given to me by Entropy. I'm pretty sure it was a memory, but whose memory was it. Maybe my own? Maybe the memory of another Kazuma, Entropy's Kazuma? I don't really know for sure. All I do know is that when I woke up and saw you, this impulse came over me. One I just had to act upon."

"That's when you kissed me."

said Chris, bringing a hand up to touch her lips. Kazuma then turns his gaze up to the ceiling, adding-

"I'm afraid, boss. Here recently, perhaps even going back to the day I did my first Lich Reap, I've been feeling it happening; my consciousness being pulled down, into this emptiness, this never ending cold. What's going to happen to, Eris? Will I become lost in some darkness that exist within me? Will I become whatever it is Entropy wants me to become for her? I don't know what's going to happen, or even when. That's what scares me here, the not knowing. But I do know this. Whatever is going to happen to me, it IS going to happen soon... because I know she's coming. Entropy is finally coming for me."

Chris responds by leaning in while placing her hands over his. She then says with a determined voice-

"Nothing's going to happen, Kazuma. I swear that it won't. I won't let you be lost to us, not in any way. Even if Entropy does come, I will do everything in my power to stop it from taking you away. Not just me, but everyone too. Together, we will keep you here with us, where you belong. With your family."

Kazuma smiles at hearing that before looking at her. At the center of his pupils, a distance light flickers for just a moment. Not long really, but long enough to go along with these words being said.

"Such confidence... from such a foolish child."

Fearing that Entropy had taken control of Kazuma, Chris follows her instincts and pounces him, pinning him to the bed. She quickly realizes what she had done, seeing Kazuma's surprised expression. She then realizes her current position on him would send all kinds of wrong impressions to anyone else that would seem them in this embarrassing situation.

"Kazuma, I... ah... I..."

"Wow, that was... unexpected. When did you become so... bold..."

The two of them then go quiet as they look into each other's eyes for a moment. Feeling one another's heartbeats like the sound of a clock ticking away. And then...

Downstairs, Aqua lets out a groan before letting herself rest against a wall, then sliding down onto the floor.

"What's with this place? Why don't they have any booze anywhere? Hell, at this point, I'd settle for some juice to drink. I wonder if there's any secret room around here where Eris's family would keep all the GOOD STUFF! I know, I'll go ask Eris about this."

With that, Aqua gets back onto her feet and quickly makes her way back to the second floor and to Eris's room. As she goes to open the door, she says-

"Say Eris, you wouldn't..."

She stops, realizing she was hearing some strange noises coming from within. Confused, she slowly opens the door and peeks inside. What she sees going in within, the source of the strange noises, makes Aqua go red in the face. She quickly shuts the door and runs quickly to the very end of the far hallway, where she then leans down while holding her head.

'What... what did I just see Eris doing with that... with Kazuma. She can't be doing something like that with him. That's against the rules. And also, she appeared...'

Aqua stops holding her head as she realizes something important.

"Eris... looked so happy, so blissful, as she and the NEET..."

A sly smile comes onto Aqua's face as she gets back to her feet. She then quickly, yet quietly, makes her way back to Eris's room and once more taking a peek inside. Her smile growing and growing.

'Well, seeing as they're putting on one hell of a show for me to watch here, it would be rather rude of me to NOT watch it. Heh-he, that's right. There's nothing wrong with this at all!'

{|} Intermission {|}

"I think Aqua may be right about all these Kazuma that are here are those who suffered from some form of betrayal... because this Kazuma here... he was betrayed too. At least, I think he was... kinda?"

The others look at each other, then back at [Shy] Yunyun, with [Complex} Iris asking-

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

[Ego] Aqua takes a step forward and takes a moment to look at the Kazuma contained within the crystal. Right away, she realizes something was off about him, compared to the others they were seeing. [Passion} Darkness verbalizes the thoughts Aqua was having by saying-

"Is it just me or does this Kazuma look way older than all the others. In fact, he looks REALLY old, even older than old man Hagan, my family's long serving butler and I can say without a doubt that he's old."

"That's because of you go by his looks alone, then you would think he's in his eighties. However, the truth of it all is, believe it or not, he's only twenty-four."

said Yunyun, getting Iris and Darkness to look at her with a shocked expression. Aqua, wanting to understand what Yunyun was saying to them, reaches out and touches the crystal herself. After experiencing the same memories that Yunyun had likely seen, Aqua pulls her hand away and looks back at the others, making Iris ask-

"Well, what's the deal with this one? Why does he look so old if he's only supposed to be in his twenties?"

"Because he was cursed when he defeated the Devil King of his timeline."

Aqua then began telling Darkness and Iris what she and Yunyun had seen from touching the crystal.

The life of old looking Kazuma was such. Like with so many other timelines, this Kazuma had found himself in a climatic one-on-one final battle with his timeline's version of the Devil King. After winning, the Devil King seemed to undergo a massive personality change, becoming kinder and remorseful.

He explains to Kazuma that he had been cursed after beating the previous Devil King, with him being the fifth in the line. And now that Kazuma had defeated him, he would find himself taking on the curse and potentially become the sixth Devil King. The fifth then explains to Kazuma the nature of the curse.

First, all memory of his existence and the relationships he had would be forgotten by all those who had known him. Furthermore, if he tried to build new relationships and memories with his friends and family, it would all be rendered meaningless when the sun rose on a new day. No matter what he did, he would never be anything more than a stranger in the minds of all for the rest of his life.

Two, he would never be allowed to remain in one place for more than few days at a time. He would be made a vagabond, a wanderer; always having to live a life of homeless poverty until he closed his eyes for the last time.

Third, he would find himself aging ten years for every year that passed till his day to meet the Reaper.

There was a way to escape this fate, sort of. That way was to embrace the inner darkness of the curse and allow himself to become the new Devil King. While no one would ever remember him as Satou Kazuma again, they would come to know him as the enemy in time. He would be able to settle once more, and his mind would be driven into a kind of evil madness that would see him seeking conquest over all life upon this world.

Kazuma, naturally, proclaimed that he will never watch that path. The fifth just shakes his head sadly in response, saying he had also thought like that once. However, after going through a few years of suffering the harsh reality of the curse, he had eventually broken and allowed himself to become the great enemy of the world.

After the fifth had finally faded away, Kazuma went out and confirmed his words to be true. No one remembered him. Even the words they may have written about him in diaries and journals had faded into nothing, leaving just strangely written sentences and paragraphs. Seeing as he had no other choice, Kazuma had to begin his lifetime of wondering, though he would always come back around from time to time to check in on everyone and make sure they were doing fine.

Naturally, Eris became aware of what had happened to Kazuma and went to go find him so she could break the curse on him. However, she made one little mistake. That mistake... taking on her mortal form as Chris went she began her search, which caused her to suffer the effects of the curse as well. Even worse, the curse remained in effect after she returned to the Heavens as her true self.

For some reason, the other gods didn't do anything to see her memory fixed up or help Kazuma themselves. Perhaps it was because if no one save for Kazuma himself remembered what he had done, then they wouldn't need to actually reward him for his heroic deed. Typical god behavior.

And so, for the next seven years, Kazuma was forced to live a hard life always on the move, all the while being forced to accept his friends moving on with his life; some of them even entering new relationships because they couldn't remember their feelings for him. This hurt Kazuma deeply, but there was nothing he could do. He was determined to make sure this curse died with him.

There were only two things that he feared once his end had come. The first was that he was wrong about all this, about the curse dying with him if he didn't embrace it. That it would still be passed onto another poor soul. The other was that once he was gone, that the others really would remember him then which would only cause them unending pain and regret. He hoped beyond hope that remembering him wouldn't do any lasting damage, or damage in general, to their current lives.

"From what I can sense, I believe Entropy found him just when he was on the verge of dying."

"Geez, that's... imagine having that happen being your reward for saving the world. That's not fair."

said Darkness with Iris following up by asking-

"Aqua, what about you? Is there anything YOU can do for him?"

"I... think so. I'll see what I can do."

Aqua then cast Sacred Break Spell, making the old Kazuma's body glow for a few moments. It seems despite being sealed inside the crystal; he could still be impacted by healing magics. Aqua then uses her strongest healing spell on him too. Once she was done, Yunyun takes a closer look before saying-

"He's still looking old..."

"Yeah, there's nothing I can do about that, unfortunately. I was able to break the curse so everyone back in his timeline should finally be able to remember him once he's returned. I've also given his life force a little boost. It's not much, sadly, but he can at least have the time to spend with his us... for a little bit longer."

Iris then looks around at all the Kazuma's, then asks-

"We have to get them all out of here. We need to send them back to their own timelines."

"Iris is right, we need to..."

"While I agree with getting them all out of here, I'm afraid getting them back to where they belong is going to be impossible."

"But why, Aqua?"

"Do you know how many timelines there actually are out there. Way to many. In fact, I'm pretty sure we have yet to visit even ten percent of the total number. Think about it, just finding the home timeline for one of them could take eons, far more time than even we have to work with. I hate to say it, I really do, but getting them back to where they belong is going to be impossible for us to do."

"Even so, we still have to..."

Before Yunyun could finish, a powerful pressure wave blast through the air, followed by a familiar smokey like chaos suddenly form above them. A face then forms within that chaos, followed by a voice speaking out to the four girls.

"I thought I sensed some weeds had appeared within my precious garden. You are being quite naughty, you know that, right?'

"Entropy!"

"What's your deal, Entropy. Why are you doing this? Why did you kidnap all these Kazuma's from their homes. Sure, I can get not being happy with how many of them were treated, but still..."

"Why explain what you wouldn't even begin to understand. I believe you all have been allowed to roam free for far to long, much like Rubrikt. And like Rubrikt, I think it's time I remove you from the board!"

And with that, the battle between Entropy and the Outsiders had begun.

{|} D-Part {|}

["To the mortal children who had to suffer because of the foolish choices made by my wayward follower. I regret all the trouble she made you have to deal with. Rest assured that she had been made to face the consequences for those actions and is now facing penitence in order to redeem herself. Because of this, you shall not be seeing her again, at least not within this life you won't."

"Now, there's a few things I would ask of you here. First, Melissa, I must thank you for loaning me your body for a brief time, though I didn't really ask for consent first (sorry about that but, in my defense, you were dead at the time so... yeah). Second, I ask you to head to the designated location written down at the bottom of this piece of paper. There, you'll the very book Serena used to corrupt my true blessing, changing it into the Vengeance power she relied on for so long. While there are none left who bare my blessing left, better to be safe than sorry than risk leaving that cursed tome around, less someone else comes along who finds a way to recreate it and use it for their own evil designs."

"Now, to the Crimson Demon, Megumin. I have a request of you. If you would be so kind, I would like for you to use your Explosion magic to destroy this place, this lost city. Wipe it from the face of the world. Well, I guess I should say the underworld, but I digress. To aid you there, I have reversed the little condition you are currently suffering from that prevents you from regenerating mana. You'll find you can now use magic again, not be forced to wait till the side effect of the potion you drank to wear off."]

"FUCK YEAH!"

cheered Megumin as she pumped her hands in the air victoriously. The other girls congratulate while Melissa sends her a smirk before returning to reading the rest of the letter.

["Please note I would recommend you refrain from using a full powered Explosion to destroy this hidden city for me as I fear using a full powered Explosion could cause the ceiling of this place to collapse, thus causing a great deal of chaos within Axel, potentially killing many in the process. To that end, I need you to hold back a bit. I believe an Explosion fired at only forty to fifty percent will be enough to do the job without causing any unwanted issues, either immediately or in the long term."]

"Here that, Megumin. You need to make sure you hold back when you..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry, Yunyun. As much as I love Explosion magic, even I can show restraint when it's needed when using it."

"I'll take the Vegas odds on that being true, like Kazuma would say if he was here now."

"What was that, Cielo?"

"Everyone, save it for later. Please finish the rest of the letter, Melissa."

"Thank you, Darkness. Let's see, where were we..."

["As for the one called Satou Kazuma. Rest assured that he is indeed safe right now and should be returning to you sometime within the next day or two. Till then, please do your best to stay out of trouble as I know how you all can be without him around to keep you all in check. Once again, I apologize for the trouble Serena caused and hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive her. Until we meet again, if that day were to ever come, fair well. Signed, Regina!"]

Melissa then roles the letter up and places it into her pocket. She then looks into the dark sky of the massive cavern, making Darkness place a hand on her shoulder.

"Will you be OK, Melissa?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'll be OK. Despite what Serena did back there and all, I still think of her as my friend. Still, knowing that all this madness is all over is comfort enough for me. Perhaps, if I ever see her again, either in this life or the next, we can have a chance to get things right between us."

"What will you do now?"

asked Cielo. Melissa takes a moment to think about it, then says-

"Guess I'll go back to treasure hunting. I've always loved traveling around, see new places, and discover lost ruins and all the mysteries that are hidden within. In truth, my little break to help Serena has gone on longer than expected... and planned. Now, I feel the itch for adventure calling me again and once I take care of that little request from lady Regina, I'll be getting back to that thing I love so much... finding that sweet, precious LOOT!"

Darkness and Cielo smile, a nice little moment that quickly fades as they hear Yunyun scream out-

"Wait Megumin, not here... not yet. Wait till we're almost out of this oversized cavern before you fire off your Explosion."

"Let me go, Yunyun. Do you realize how many days its been since I last fired off an Explosion? Far to long for someone like me to be forced to endure. Now let me go so that I can..."

A few minutes after being tackled by the others, Megumin had finally calmed down enough to agree with waiting till they had reached the top of the steps before she did her thing. With that done, the five girls begin to make their way out when Cielo realizes something was off.

"Say, has anyone seen Dust anywhere? I just realized he hasn't said anything yet. In fact, I'm not seeing him anywhere either."

"Because he's still laying on the ground back beside the stone coffin."

said Melissa. Sure enough, when they looked back inside the inner chamber, they saw that Dust was indeed still laying on the ground. Darkness wonders aloud-

"Was Dust... not revived by lady Regina like we all were?"

"Sucks for him if he wasn't. I'll be sure to tell Luna to add him to the list of fallen adventurer's once we get back. Now, let's stop wasting time and get to higher ground. If we don't hurry, I might just throw caution to the wind and fire off my Explosion."

"Megumin, why are you always so heartless. We can't just leave Dust body down here to be blasted into... well, dust. Let's just grab his remains and see that he's at least given a proper burial."

Yunyun then goes to collect Dust body, but stops right before it, her face twisting into a look of wary disgust. Curious, the others walk over to join her, to see what was making her look at Dust body like she was. Once they saw his face, they understood.

"I can't believe this shameful man. I mean, seriously!"

groaned Melissa. Dust was very much not dead as he had opened an eye ever so slightly to look at them while keeping his lips in a puckered state. It was clear what he was doing here and in response, Yunyun says-

"Actually, on second thought. Let's just leave him down here."

"Agreed, Yunyun. I've heard the latest Axel cemetery is starting to run out of space so leaving him to burn will save some room for another, more deserving, soul."

said Cielo as the girls turn to walk away again, making Dust quickly sit up and shout out-

"Hey, what the hell's wrong with you all? Surely you know that when the prince lies sleeping, it's the duty of the heroine to come wake him with a kiss. Surely one of you knows how fairy tales are supposed to play out. I bet you'd all be doing it if I was Kazuma."

"Dust, get your ass in gear unless you really do want to die down here because Megumin isn't going to wait for you to join us."

warned Darkness as they moved further and further away. Dust begins to panic, quickly getting back to his feet as he begins to run after them, begging them to not going blasting him along with this place too. A few minutes later...

"Now remember, Megumin. Only a half-powered Explosion is needed here."

"Quit being such a worry wart, Yunyun. I remember what was asked of me. Heh-he-he, I've been waiting for this. Now, behold my power... EXPLOSION!"

Up in Heaven, Regina lets out a sigh as she watches the resulting blast and what it caused. Hestia comes walking at her side and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Didn't you tell her to NOT use a full powered Explosion?"

"I did... I think I understand now why so many have issues with that one. So..."

"Yeah, yeah, leave it to me. I'll use my powers to reverse all the death and damage that idiot just caused."

Yes, as you can imagine and expect, Megumin got carried away at the last second and unleashed a full powered Explosion, causing half of Axel to come falling into the cavern and killing many. Thankfully, Hestia was kind enough to fix all that so there wouldn't be any lasting damage.

{|} E-Part {|}

"I'm starting to get bored. I wish they would hurry up and finish up their business in there already."

complained {Glutton] Komekko, sitting on a chair that had originally been inside Eris's old bedroom, but she had grabbed to sit on outside the mansion just before the threesome had reached said room. She was currently leaning forward, elbows resting off her knees, and chin resting on her open palms.

"I know you're bored, Komekko. Just give them a little more time. I'm sure they'll be finished up soon."

said [Know-It-All] Eris, attached to Komekko's side, still in her book form.

"But it's been two hours already... maybe even three hours since they went inside. Surely they would have found whatever it is they're looking for within that time."

"Well, it is a big mansion. Maybe it just takes time to inspect every nook and cranny. If we haven't sensed them finding anything once we reach the four-hour mark, then we can consider giving them a little help."

"You mean like we helped them when dealing with the strange looking monster back there. Oh wait, we didn't help them at all. We just remained off on the sidelines, watching the whole thing play out... at your insistence, I might add."

"Things worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"Well, yeah. I guess it did, but only because big bro was being controlled by the Entropy within him. Considering what that must have done to him, I think us helping out would have been preferable."

"... Yeah, I know. Hindsight, twenty-twenty and all that."

[Glutton] Komekko then lets out a huff before finally throwing her hands into the air, then telling her book formed companion.

"That's it, I'm going to sneak a peek and see how they're doing right now."

"Komekko, what did I just..."

"I didn't say go help them, just take a little look at what's going on. Surely that will be fine, right?"

Not waiting for a reply, [Glutton] Komekko waves one hand before her, creating a little screen that allows her to see what was going on inside. The moment an image appears, her cheeks begin to shine, and her eyes go wide. A moment, her cheeks puff out as an annoyed look forms on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing is wrong here... apart from me missing out on all the action in there."

"The what?"

Inside the mansion, a strange sound brings Chris back to consciousness. Her confusion on the strange sound she was hearing is momentarily forgotten as she realizes she was feeling unusually warm right now. Furthermore, the ground beneath her kept rising and falling.

'Weird, what's going on. What was I doing before falling asleep?'

She then looks around, quickly spotting the sleeping face of Kazuma directly above her.

''Oh... Kazuma. He looks so... wait, why is he... and why am I... OH!'

She then remembers what had been happening before and why she was as she was right now. For a split second, Chris goes to panic, but doesn't instead. She smiles happily before resting her head back upon his chest. She then considers falling back asleep, wanting to enjoy the moment here for a bit longer. Then she recalls the strange sound that had first woke her up.

'Is that... music? When did... I don't even recall ever having a music box in my room before.'

Chris sits up and looks around her room, finding a strange looking ornate box sitting on a table opposite the bed. Curious, she gets up and realizes her current state of dress, or lack thereof but doesn't let it bother her as there weren't anyone here to see her in this state. Well, no one that she felt any shame at seeing her like this now, that is.

Reaching the musical box, Chris picks it up and looks it over.

'Was this here when we first came into the room? I don't recall seeing it before, though I guess my attention wasn't on finding anything at that time. I was more focused on Kazuma's current state of being. Wait, I think I can...'

Chris realizes that the music box can be opened at the top. As she goes to open it, she sees Kazuma was beginning to wake up as well though doesn't say anything. She opens the lid and finds it this music box was also part jewelry box too, except instead of jewelry inside, there was a piece of paper. Pulling the paper out, she opens it up and reads what was written on it.

"In times of old, the ladies watched all. A secret that must be kept. Beneath the place where they parted ways, true terror can be found slept. Find me here, if you dare, a truth to be revealed. For if to late, your world forsaked, and all life brought to heel! Why do I feel like this whole thing may have been a big, fat con."

"Chris?"

said Kazuma, having gotten out of the bed and had walked over to join here.

"Kazuma, are you feeling better? Are you doing OK now?"

"Still a little tired, but other than that, yeah. I'm actually feeling really good right now. Not to surprising when you considered I was TOUCHED by a goddess."

"Watch it, assistant-kun, less I bring down divine punishment upon you."

"Well, if it's anything like what you did before, then please... punish me my goddess for I have been a very bad boy."

Chris lightly punches his shoulder for that remark. She then hands him the paper, allowing him to read it.

"Save that kind of talk for another time. Tell me, you have any ideas on what this could be about?"

"Hm, I think the words ladies and parted ways could be important, because they're a shade darker than the other letters. Apart from that, I have no idea."

Chris takes the paper back and looks at it again. Sure enough, the words Kazuma said were indeed darker than the other words written down. Chris places the paper back onto the table before looking back at Kazuma who asks her-

"So, assuming that was the clue we were sent here to find, I guess our next task is to figure out how we get back home. Any ideas there, boss?"

"Hm, I wonder if I can get Clover to do something to help us. Hopefully, she's been keeping an eye on..."

Before Chris could finish, the room is filled with light which forces them to cover their eyes for a moment. Once the light had dimmed a little, they are able to see that a portal had taken form upon one of the walls.

"Ask and ye shall receive, I guess."

"Seems like it. Let's go grab Aqua and get ourselves through that portal before it closes on us here."

"Do we have to? I mean, she seems so happy here."

said Kazuma, making Chris send him a coy smirk. Truth is, however, she had that thought as well but wasn't that mean to go do that to her sempai... at least she wasn't that mean yet. After getting dressed, Chris and Kazuma step outside as Chris goes to yell out Aqua's name. However...

"Do we really need to ask?"

wondered Kazuma aloud, seeing Aqua laying on the ground in a daze. It seems they weren't the only ones to have found something to keep them busy for a little while as Aqua looked like she had been plenty busy herself.

Once they had brought Aqua back to reality and explaining everything to her, the threesome stepped back into the room and stood before the portal. Aqua, after looking at it for a bit, looks back at the others and asks-

"Are we sure this thing is actually safe? I mean, what if it sends us off to another, unknown world where we have to go on another wild goose chase?"

"Well, would you rather stay here in this place, where there's no food and substandard booze to drink."

asked Chris, making Aqua look back at the portal again before jumping inside it without any more hesitation. Chris then looks at Kazuma as they both smile at each other. Hand on hand, they step into the portal together.

Back in Axel, the girls had chosen to wait for Kazuma's eventual return from inside the governor's mansion, seeing as they didn't really have any other place to go right now, considering a certain something Cecily did they knew Kazuma wasn't going to be happy about.

The sun had risen by now and it wouldn't be long before lord Dustiness would find himself dealing with all manner of request and demands from the residents of Axel; most of them likely concerning asking the high council of Belzerg to bring an end to the Axis cult for what had been done during the Eris Festival.

In truth, lord Dustiness was actually leaning towards doing that already, if not for Darkness telling him that it had been the work of a single member of the cult and it wouldn't be fair to punish the whole for the actions of the one... even if she also wanted to punish the whole herself for enabling Cecily to even do what she had done; to be what she was.

As Darkness and her father were busy attending to their duties, the others waited in large living room. Cecily and Yunyun were keeping themselves busy by playing a game of cards while Megumin was all sprawled up over on a sofa, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

"How much longer do I need to wait for him?"

she complained to the open air. Cielo looks at her and says-

"Maybe you should find something to preoccupy your time. Doing nothing and thinking about it constantly isn't going to make him get back any faster."

"Come on, Megumin. Come over here and join us. Cheat to get the win against us like you always do."

Megumin bolts up and shouts out-

"What did you just say? I'll have you know I have never cheated at a game of..."

Her words are cut off as they see Chomusuke, who had been napping on a small table, suddenly perk up. She sniffs the air for a moment before scrambling into action, quickly running out of the room. Realizing this could mean only one thing, the three girls get to their feet as well, following after the black cat.

"Darkness, we think Kazuma's back."

shouted Cielo as they reach the front door, finding Chomusuke desperately scratching the wood. The moment the door is opened, she quickly goes racing out with the girls right behind her. As they step outside, the see a portal opening up with Aqua emerging a few moments later. And then, Kazuma and Chris finally appear.

Upon seeing him, Megumin, Yunyun, and Cielo start tearing up as Darkness finally joins them, breathing out a sigh of relief at seeing them safe. Chomusuke runs over to Kazuma, hopping onto his shoulder and begins to nuzzle his cheek happily. He reaches up, scratches her ear, then looks at the girls before walking forward. They run forward themselves, meeting halfway in a warm and comforting hug.

There was no need for words to be said, not now, not at this moment. Just being here, together again, that was more than enough form all of them.

Chris then steps forward and joins in the hug with Darkness being last so she could include Chris with her hugging touch. Aqua watches the scene for a moment before walking over and joining in the hug as well, creating a somewhat awkward moment. Off to the side, lord Dustiness, who had joined them, just smiles happily at the scene presented to him.

And then another portal opens overhead, sending Lia, Erika, and Anna falling hard onto the ground with their eyes all spinning around like crazy.

"Ah, no more spinning please. I've had enough of that experience, thank you."

cried Anna while Lia and Erika were just glad they were finally back after spending who knows how long trapped inside a never-ending tornado.

And thus, this little family of oddballs were finally together again.

{|} F-Part {|}

The large room, set up to look an olden time theater began to shine with light as multiple individuals began to appear one by one. They were various Gods, Goddess's, and Angel, all present as a special meeting had been called that everyone will want to be present for.

Once everyone was gathered, or almost everyone, one figure with the appearance of an older man stands and addresses the rest.

"Thank you all for coming this day. I'm sure most of you may be wondering the reason behind this little meeting here. Perhaps some of you may have an idea, just like I'm sure that some of you are aware of events that have been happening on the world overseen by the Goddess Eris. Before we begin, let it be known that this is neither a trial, a witch hunt, or even a blame game. Merely to bring up certain topics that need to be dealt with. Now, will Goddess Eris and Goddess Aqua please take your seats at the center there."

Two flashes of light later, Eris and Aqua had appeared within the circular room. They then take the seats set up for them, also at the center of the room. Both looked nervous, Aqua especially so as she feared this would be it for her, given she was once again showing signs of being a failure.

"Now, I shall turn the rest of this little topical discussion over to the god responsible for bringing these two into our little family. Pathos, if you would."

Pathos nods before warping from his seat alongside the others to standing down beside Aqua and Eris.

"Thank you all for coming today. Now, the reason we have been called is becau..."

Before he could finish, Aqua had jumped to her feet and decked Pathos with a punch to the nose. The older god immediately collapses onto the ground with a bloody nose while everyone else present had looks of surprise and shock. Eris quickly screams out-

"Aqua, what... why did you just do that?"

"Back on Arbel, I finally regained my old memories, the very memories I lost when this guy forced me to drink that damn elixir. While I understand the reason why he did it, and I even agree that it was the right call in the end, the fact still remains he forced me to drink it against my will. Because of that, I swore to myself the next time I saw him, I would punch him what good as my way of thanking him."

Many of the gathered deities, all the gathered goddesses to be more exact, nod in agreement over Aqua's actions, as they felt this was long overdue for this troublesome sis-con minded creep. The god that had first spoken converses with a few others before saying-

"We are OK with this, Aqua. Let's carry on now."

Pathos, finally recovering and getting back to his feet, heals his broken nose before saying-

"I'm impressed, Aqua. To think your punch could actually do some damage now. I guess when you are serious, I mean TRULY serious about it, you can do some serious damage."

"I'm willing to do it again if you think I can do better there, BIG BROTHER!"

Aqua then cracks her knuckles, showing she wasn't joking, which makes Pathos sweat a little.

"Ha-ha, no-no, there's no need for us to do that. Before we truly begin, for those of you not in the know, a few hundred years ago, Aqua suffered a terrible mental breakdown when her world, Arbel, was ravaged by a dark beast, a Destroyer-class enemy. To help her recover, she was made to drink the Alka-ma elixir, against her will, of course. The fact you remember that now means you have regained your memories. So, what does that mean for you going forward, Aqua?"

"What do you think? I'm going to keep moving forward, obviously. Do my past mistakes still haunt me? Yeah, obviously. But unlike back then, when I was mentally and emotional at my worst, the current me is ready and willing to do what I need to do to step forward and become a better person... though I confess having Eris around to help me there is a nice bonus too."

"Yeah, maybe try to be more independent there than not, Aqua."

said Eris, not quite so sure about helping Aqua now, knowing that Aqua would probably rely on her a little too much over doing things herself. Pathos smiles, then says-

"Now, for those not in the know, I shall go over recent events concerning these two, in order to give context before we hand out the final verdicts concerning their future within our order."

"I though this wasn't a trial or a witch hunt, Pathos."

"... Now, let's begin. You see, it all started when..."

Pathos then began to explain everything. He told everyone about how Aqua had been sent down to the mortal realm, being watched over by a girl named Erika, in the hopes living amongst mortals again would help her grow and become a better her. He shared her various misadventures, including the entire Eris Festival disaster and the events that happened on Arbel.

Likewise, he talked about Eris's long mission to recover all the Divine Relics that were left behind following the death of their masters, her issues with hunting down one relic, that being the Charisma Choker, which shouldn't have been sent down to begin with. He talked a little on the topic of Vlad Tepes, a little more on what happened during her festival and Arbel and brought up the topic of the mysterious man named Rubrikt.

Once he was finished, there was plenty of chatter going on about what had just been talked about and revealed. And many were not happy either. Not happy with Eris and her handling of everything, but with the leadership and how they made her job so much harder by not allowing her to use the Divine Archives to help avoid all these issues.

Pathos clears his throat, making everyone go quiet. He then says-

"Your issues, complaints, and anger are understandable and noted. Now, we shall talk about what the end result of all this shall be. First, we look at Aqua."

Aqua goes stiff, thinking that this is the moment she would be kissing her status as a goddess goodbye.

"One of the reasons we allowed what happened during the Eris Festival to happen was so that we could test you, Aqua. That was the wrong choice on our part. Putting that aside though, it has been determined that while you do indeed still have quite a ways away to go with becoming a proper goddess, the fact remains is that you have shown some growth and maturity. Good job there."

"So, I get to continue being a Goddess then?"

"Yes, you get to continue being a Goddess, Aqua!"

"HELL YEAH! I mean, that's great."

This earns a few chuckles from the gathered crowd.

"That said, Aqua. There are a few caveats you need to be made aware of. While you will continue to be a goddess, we would still like for you to spend a few years living down there alongside mortals so that you can continue growing and improving. Now, you will be allowed to attend to your duties as a Goddess from time to time, such as addressing your followers when needed and aiding Eris should the need arise. Other than that, you will be living a mostly mortal life. If it helps, think of it as being on a vacation, just you are expected to work on improving yourself as you do alongside having fun."

"I can do that. So, how long will I need to do this before I can return to being a full-time goddess?"

"We'll get to that in a minute. Also, just so you know, we will be making it so you don't have to remain stuck with Erika going forward, if that's OK with you."

"That's fine. More than fine, actually. I might still hang out with her from time to time, but being able to have some distance with miss CUTE will be a nice change of pace."

"Moving over to you, Eris. First, we would like to apologize to you for what happened during your festival. You'll be happy to know we have taken it upon ourselves to collect all the remaining master-less Divine Relics, thus saving you from having to worry about finding them. Also, we've made certain all active Relics will automatically be returned upon the final death of their owners."

"That's good to know. That means I'll have a bit more free time, once I'm finished dealing with other matters."

"How's that going by the way, Eris?"

asked out Gaia, one of the two main gods that watched over Earth.

"It's been... difficult, though it could be a lot worse. Because of what happened during the festival, around 18% of my followers have left while around 36% are still feeling rather shaken by what has happened. My high priestess, Clerica, feels she shouldn't be high priestess anymore though I feel I have convinced her that she is wrong. I have used my powers to recreate most of what was lost during the incident, but there are some things that can't be restored. I've decided to be content with what is still here for me."

"It should also be noted hostilities against Aqua's followers has increased to over 40% as well, though not all is from Eris followers. Naturally, those from the Axis have said they weren't involved with what priestess Cecily did and have even condemned it. Of course, there are some who think it's unfair they are being treated as they now are. It'll take time but we believe a day will come when things will become better between the two faiths."

said Pathos, getting some talking to happen between the others.

"Now, in regard to finding this Rubrikt fellow, Eris still isn't being allowed to make use of the Archives. This isn't us being difficult though, but us simply wanting to see if she can figure it out before resorting to that option. If Eris hasn't been able to find the answer within one month's time however, then she'll be allowed to use the archives in order to preserve her world."

This reveal got a lot of shouts going on; the nature of these shouts saying that Eris should be allowed to use the archives now instead of having to wait, even if that wait was only thirty days. Pathos ignores this, now saying-

"The final topic we'll be having concerning Eris is her actions with one Satou Kazuma during their time on Arbel."

Eris goes stiff at hearing that, then really begins to panic at what is said next.

"Now, for those of you curious about what I'm talking about, let me show you... THE VIDEO!"

"Wait a moment, Pathos. That scene is private. Please don't show..."

Pathos does it anyways, making Eris quickly goes into a ball, hoping she could become invisible from her newfound embarrassment. To say the other gods and goddesses were shocked was an understatement, though one Aphrodite can't help but smile with glee as she says-

"NICE Eris. I never knew you had it in you."

"Man, I really should have brought some popcorn for this little show."

said another goddess. Once the video came to an end, Aqua was patting Eris on her shoulders.

"Oh yes, and here's what are little Aqua was doing at that time."

A few minutes later, a now embarrassed Aqua was being comforted by Eris.

"Now Eris, I'm sure you know the rules in place concerning what you did with one Satou Kazuma, do you not."

"I do, just like I know doing what I did would mean I broke the rules and will likely be expelled."

"And yet you still did what you did. Why?"

"Because... because it's something I've been wanting to do for a very long time. An entire lifetime, in fact. I don't regret what I did, and I can say with full confidence I would do it again without any hesitation."

"Here, here!"

shouted another goddess.

"Eris, are you ready to hear what will happen to you because of what you did on Arbel? (Eris nods) After much deliberation, it has been decided that you, goddess Eris, shall be... given a full pardon."

"WHAT?" x?

Pathos then takes on a sheepish look, then says-

"Well, it turns out Eris's insane good luck worked for her as she made use of a little loophole any one of us can use. You see, the law says we a god and goddess can't engage in such actions with a mortal. The key word there being a GOD and a GODDESS. Because Eris was technically mortal when she and Satou Kazuma... took time to get to know each other a little better, she can't be punished for doing what she did. In fact, so long as she's in her mortal form, she's free to do what she did going for too. The same rule applies to ALL of us, of course."

"Then you mean...?"

"That's right, Eris. So long as you're in your mortal form, feel free to do that with him as much as you like. Just a fair warning though, if doing that with him results in you becoming pregnant, you won't be allowed to return to your goddess form until after you have given birth to your child. This rule also applies to all you goddesses. I mean, we can't be going around and creating new demi-gods after all. We don't want a repeat of the Nephilim incident again."

Eris breathes out a sigh of relief, not that being forced to become a full mortal wasn't a bad thing in her mind, so long as she was allowed to stay with her friends with her memories intact, that is. Aqua hugs Eris and says-

"Isn't that great, Eris. You and the NEET can continue doing all those creepy things with each other again and again."

"You call it creepy, but it still got you turned on, Aqua... in case you've already forgotten."

"No one asked you, Bast."

"Now, before we end this, there's one final matter to bring up, concerning you, Aqua."

"About me? I wonder what it could be."

"Well, let's just say it concerns your time down there in the mortal realm going forward. You see, you being freed from having to stay beside Erika does have another reason behind it. You see, we heard what you declared back there on Arbel. About what you said concerning yourself and one Satou Kazuma."

"Oh no..."

said Aqua, having started to shake. Eris can't help but giggle, knowing that Aqua's words were going to come back to haunt her. Pathos then shows everyone the scene he was talking about, allowing everyone to know what he was talking about.

"... And seeing as you said what you said there, Aqua, it has been decided that you will be..."

"NOOOOOOOO!"

{|} Epilogue {|}

"My mansion... that bitch burnt down my mansion."

repeated Kazuma over and over as Cielo rubbed his back to comfort him.

"There, there, Kazuma. It'll be alright. We'll be back to living in our home here soon."

After the reunion between Kazuma and the girls, they had returned to the mansion with the intentions of getting some much-needed rest, only to find that there was no mansion no more. It had been then, at that moment, the girls had remembered that after Kazuma had been captured, Cecily had brought them back to the mansion, collect their things, then join her in setting the place ablaze before returning to Axel to start living in that new fancy mansion she had taken ownership of by way of the Charisma Choker's power.

Cecily's reason for doing that, you may wonder. Simple, it's because of just how creepy it looked!

"Damn that Cecily. Making us burn that perfect work of art like she did. If it wasn't for the fact she's already confirmed to be dead, I would hunt her down like the dog she is and kill her without mercy."

"You mean alongside getting vengeance for what she did to us and what she put Kazuma through too, don't you Megumin?"

"Yeah, yeah, that too. It's your turn so hurry up and make your move already."

Currently, Megumin and Yunyun were playing some kind of card game, the reason being so they could determine which one of them would have the honor of comforting Kazuma once it came time for bed. Kazuma takes a moment to look around the living room of the governor's mansion, where they were currently staying, then asks-

"Has anyone seen Anna? Her absence I'm finding to be rather alarming."

"She said she was going to be hanging out with Idol Hearts in order to take her mind off the loss of HER mansion, I use quotation marks there. At least I think that's what she's doing and not having disregarded the fact Cecily is dead by starting a witch hunt for her already."

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She'll come back once she becomes hungry. So, anyone want some tea to drink?"

asked Darkness, walking into the room with a tray filled with tea she hands to everyone. After handing the tea out, she takes a seat opposite Kazuma and Cielo then admits-

"Honestly, I'm more worried about Chris right now. I mean, she was called away so suddenly and she HAD to take that Aqua girl with her for some reason. I wonder what's up with that?"

Before anyone could respond, Chomusuke, who was currently resting on Kazuma's lap, suddenly lifts her head up before tapping Kazuma's lap with her tiny paw. This tells Kazuma one thing here.

"Perhaps you can ask her yourself right now. I think she just got back."

Chomusuke, knowing what Kazuma needed her to do, quickly relocates to being on his head so he can stand and make his way to the front door. The other girls join him in heading to the front door. Moments after reaching the door, a knock against the wood is heard, making them all smile before Kazuma opens the door while saying-

"Nice of you to finally join us here, Chri...?"

Kazuma stops before finishing saying Chris's name. It wasn't because she wasn't outside because she was, but it hadn't been her who was standing at the door. Instead, the person at the door was...

"I... I home, ma-ma-master. I'm sorry for... for being gone so long and I'm re-ready to... to... to serve... Damn it all, I can't do it. I'm going to need to drink a few bottles before I can probably say the proper lines here."

shouted Aqua in annoyance before forcing her way past Kazuma, asking where the wine was kept as she does so. Everyone was quick to notice something interesting about Aqua. She was dressed in a maid costume now, though it had the usual blue color theme Aqua was known for wearing. Kazuma looks back at Chris and asks-

"OK, any idea what that's all about? I mean, why is Aqua even here now and..."

"I explain everything in a bit. After I get a chance to rest up."

"Is everything OK, Chris. Your mystery bosses didn't scold you too badly, right?"

asked a worried Darkness. Chris gives her a thumbs up before saying-

"Don't worry, I'm good. It's all good, in fact. While there are some... MOMENTS I would rather forget about happening, I can at least say I left in a better mindset than I went in with. For one thing, I know longer need to worry about that one little job I've been needing to worry about for a while now. There's still one more little matter that needs dealing with but once that's done, I'll be having a lot more time I can give to doing things with everyone here and believe me, I intend to use it."

Hearing that makes everyone nod happily before they all turn and head back into the mansion. As the others enter the living room, Kazuma stops Chris back at the entrance and asks-

"Will things really be OK for you, boss?"

"Yeah, things will be fine. In fact, I think things are going to be perfect from this moment onward. And assistant-kun... (Chris then leans up and kisses Kazuma on the cheek) Thank you!"

"What are you doing, Chris? Trying to steal MY man while my back is turned?"

growled Megumin as she comes marching back towards them. Behind her, Yunyun had a shocked look on her face, Cielo looked surprised, and Darkness was grinning from ear to ear over what she just saw could possibly mean going forward.

Instead of getting embarrassed, Chris instead gets a smug look on her face as she says-

"Funny, I wasn't aware that you and him being a thing was official now. Sure, I know you and he had sex that one night, but I was under the impression nothing concrete and final had been decided upon after the fact."

"I... well, it's true me and Kazuma haven't made anything official yet, but that doesn't mean..."

"What that means, my dear Megumin, is that Kazuma is still on the market for any one of us to claim. Until then, any wink-wink nudge-nudge inducing stuff can just been seen as any one of use being sex friends with him. That also means that Yunyun, Cielo, Lynn, Darkness if she decides to go there, and any other girl can have some fun with him too if they want without anyone having to feel any guilt."

"I can... actually have proper sex with Kazuma?"

said Yunyun as she begins to have a daydreamy look on her face. Cielo doesn't say anything, but she does avert her gaze while a blush forms on her face and a happy smile appears too. Megumin, on the other hand, wasn't so happy about what Chris just said.

"Now wait just a minute there, you..."

"I'll tell you what, Megumin. Let's play a little game with each other, a special game that will be a best out of five. If you win, then you can have Kazuma ALL TO YOUR SELF! If I win, then you agree to SHARE KAZUMA WITH ANY GIRL WHO WANTS IN ON THE ACTION!"

"I... I don't know. I mean, you do have a higher luck stat than I do and..."

"And to sweeten the deal, how about this. Win or lose, if you agree to play this ultimate game with me over Kazuma, then when I set off to finish that last bit of business I have to deal with, I'll also recover a little magic item I know of, one that will give your magical power a serious buff in its destructive potential."

"DEAL! So, what kind of game will we be playing?"

No one was surprised Megumin caved so quickly there. Chris reaches into her adventurer's pouch and pulls out a strange black/blue colored rectangular object. She then says-

"This will be a true game of strategy all the way from Kazuma's homeland. They call it... BATTLESHIP!"

Intrigued by the name, Megumin and Chris head inside while Chris begins explaining the rules of the game. The other girls just shake their heads before Yunyun and Darkness follow after them. Cielo hangs back with Kazuma, who says-

"I think I know how this is going to end, so I think I'll head to my room to catch a nap before dinner."

"Are you feeling OK, Kazuma?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired is all. Could you go check on Aqua for me, Cielo. Make sure that one isn't causing any trouble for anyone."

"Can do... and Kazuma..."

Now it was Cielo's turn to reach up and plant a kiss on Kazuma's cheek.

"Sweet dreams!"

Kazuma watches Cielo walk off to look for Aqua, making him smile before he heads upstairs to his room. Once in there, he lays Chomusuke down on the pillow before laying down himself. He then begins to think about a little something of important to him.

'I wonder if I should have mentioned that today is my birthday. I'm sure Chris knows, being a goddess and all. But the others... no, I won't say anything for the moment as that'll make them feel bad for not getting me anything. Besides, I'm not really feeling like celebrating my birthday anyways... even if it could be my last one. OK, enough depressing thoughts, Satou Kazuma. Just close your eyes and...'

Before he could finish, a flash of light fills the room, followed by a figure stepping out. It was clearly a girl from the outfit she was wearing though her face was hidden behind a mask. At her side was a book, a very familiar looking book Kazuma had made use of a few times in the past.

Sitting up, Kazuma looks at the girl and says-

"What's going... look, I'm feeling rather tired right now so can we do this tomorrow or something."

The girl takes the mask of, revealing her face to Kazuma, who realizes right away he had seen this girl before. She was the same Crimson Demon girl who had appeared at the hot springs with him back in Arcanretia; the girl who seemed to have no shame limit about her.

[Glutton] Komekko smiles at him, then says-

"Sorry, big bro, but no can do. Like I know you would probably say in a moment like this. Come with me if you want to live!"

{|} Arc 13... end {|}

Next Arc: We have three arcs left in our little fic here. The next arc is going to be a little different from the past arcs of this story in that we will be taking a break from the main story in order to allow the characters a chance to have a bit of fun as things will continue to be more serious, especially the final arc. Think of Arc 14 as the calm before the great storm. So, what will Arc 14 be about? Well, I'm going to keep mum there, instead let the contents of said surprise you. I will at least tell you the name of the Arc though.

Arc 14: Fantasia Tales (it will all be Aqua's fault)

I'm currently planning on releasing chapter one of Arc 14 on December 1, though there's a chance I could start releasing arc 14 at any point during the month of November if I can reach a certain point with my writing of the arc. December 1 is just the latest I would wait before releasing chapter 1 of the arc. Till next time...