The mood? Tired, but happy. Aqua had healed anyone and everyone there for nothing, much to the extreme consternation of her party members… that were male. Plus, thanks to a miraculous new invention, anyone who didn't like how she talked about the Eris Church could have bought a mysterious 'Health Booster' back in town that healed light wounds and could even be alcoholic.
The people? The adventurers of Axel. Though they were the statistically weakest adventurers in Axel – the Guild kept track of the numbers, and despite some outliers, it was true – the growth of their town was giving them more jobs than ever protecting people and helping with odd jobs, forcing people who gave out those jobs to pay higher to get attention faster. Plus, with their higher earnings, no one even had to consider doing something near-suicidal like taking on Durian quests.
The gods? Scheming, as usual.
The grass? Green.
The plans? There were many.
Towards the back of the horde of adventurers that was walking leisurely back to Axel, Kazuma – with Megumin on his back, obviously – was thinking about how good things were going, despite Aqua's refusal to charge money for her services. He had extorted Serebryakov – and she'd delivered the promised goods yesterday, so he didn't have to worry about being ripped off after she admitted her feelings to Degurechaff. More than that, the Russian woman had then asked Aqua to do her a favor right after he'd extorted her, leaving their party with more than enough money to live on and Aqua with an inflated ego.
He was thinking that maybe they would go to Alcanretia. Aqua said that her 'one trillion' followers there were all complaining a lot, and if they were complaining, she would complain. Anything to get that annoying Goddess to shut it would be worth it…
Megumin was just happy to have used her Explosion spell on something worthy of it – a pair of One-hit Kill Bears. The fact that she wasn't worrying over whether Degurechaff would have her kicked out of Axel or put on trial for what Megumin had done to her made her nearly twice as happy.
Darkness was thinking of what kind of gift she should get Tanya. The Governor had explained a bit more of her past to Darkness, and Darkness was scrambling over what to get her for her birthday. The previous gift she'd had in mind – better equipment and materials – seemed paltry. Besides, if this was Tanya's seventeenth birthday…
It had to be big. And if it wasn't the right gift… maybe she'd get punished?
Aqua was skipping along. She'd found a cool looking rock on the ground, and they were going to get a bunch of money from this quest, so she could drink a lot later!
Meanwhile, Tanya, at the center of the group, stretching her spells to search their surroundings for possible attacks by lingering monsters, was feeling a small bit of latent anxiety. Alderp had been coaching her on how to act as a noble, and Darkness had confirmed on Friday that she was indeed getting good information. Other than that, plans for the party were going wonderfully, with her assistants – servants – bringing her more letters by the day.
Viktoriya, to Tanya's right, was much more nervous. The information that Tanya returned her feelings had destroyed a lot of her self control, and she was very distracted by all the thoughts she had about Tanya. And what she'd like to do to Tanya. And do with her.
And not all of it was raunchy!
Other than that, she had gotten all the materials she needed from the Reincarnates to begin her courtship of Tanya whenever she wanted. All she had to do now was…
Was ask.
Lorelei, to Tanya's left, was much more carefree. She'd finished all of the clothes they'd be wearing at the party, she knew what her part in Tanya's courtship would be, and she'd sit back and watch the fireworks go off, secure in her knowledge that she'd paid back their kindness to her.
Terry and Sophie were wondering if Rex would ever realize he'd developed a crush, while Rex himself was wondering if Tanya or anyone else had noticed how he'd taken out a One-Hit Kill Bear about to take out some rookies.
In Axel, Bill was finishing the remaining touches on his new shop. He hoped that Tanya liked how he'd named the first creation of his new enterprise after her, and how his bar's name, the Blonde Pixie, was also inspired by her. Wiz was crying tears of joy because she was sending money back to the Demon King for the first time while under his employ. The Succubi were giving everyone discounts, ostensibly due to the prosperity that Axel was enjoying; in reality, they were just happy they'd be getting the biggest meal of their lives in a few weeks, at most.
And, behind the adventurers, in the field that they had all abandoned, where the picked over remains of monster corpses lay, Evan watched Degurechaff with contempt thanks to some new spells.
There were many things he wanted to point out and sneer at. How she'd been bombarding him, day after day, as if he would just sit there and take it because the Demon King said so, and how, while participating in this 'Monster Rush,' she had looked so utterly… unfazed by the fact that she was attacking someone who could one day become a general of the Demon King.
He could mention how the constant pounding, the earth-shaking booming nearly bringing down the castle every time she fired on his fortress, had been grating on him, and he didn't even know why she was attacking him. Pique? Revenge? She hadn't told him, and she hadn't spoken a word to him, despite being instructed to do so by the Demon King.
He could mention how she'd bested him with magic, wounding him beyond compare. He could mention how, when he had first been raised, the first thing that had exited Verdia's mouth was, "It worked! Degurechaff's method worked!"
But he didn't. For one, he'd just be repeating himself, and for another, the allies that he had raised already knew very well exactly what he'd been through.
Evan took in a deep breath, looked over the field of scattered remains, and brandished his staff.
They would win.
Though the Demon King had been skeptical that Evan wanted resistances to holy magic – his recommendation of resistance to Degurechaff's fire-based explosions had been politely declined – Evan knew what was likely to happen.
If she was planning on fighting him, then she knew that he knew she used explosions, which did a lot of fire damage. Thus, she'd get an ally that could use holy spells.
Besides, he knew that there would be little reason to survive one of her pyromaniacally-inclined spells; if she managed to land one, she could land more in quick succession.
He took one more breath. "Undead Resurrection!" he shouted, watching inky black tendrils of power jerk through the air and, slowly, begin to touch the exposed, rotting corpses of the monsters that had just been slayed.
The use of this spell ensured that what he raised here would be weaker than normal, but he already had plenty of high-quality troops.
Evan grinned. "You all were just killed, yes? Then, I offer you a chance to get your revenge. Whatever portion of your souls still cling to your bones, take control of your bodies; rise to help me destroy those who want to use you all for nothing more than fodder."
And, as the jerking skeletons and corpses of monsters began to rise, Evan grinned.
He would get his revenge. For the noise. For being defeated and treated like he wasn't a threat.
His grudge would be settled.
-OxOxO-
Tanya sighed as the gates of Axel came into view. Her birthday party – and her job as Axel's Governor – was turning out to be much more of a chore than she had thought it would be. People to manage, contact, cater to, and meet, along with requisitioning supplies and learning etiquette…
It was almost like running the 203rd and the Salamander Kampfgruppe, with how much work she had to do. It was better in some ways – she didn't have to get shot at – and worse in others – Alderp's instructions were agonizingly precise, making the rules she needed to follow while at work or while schmoozing her bosses in her first life look laughably lackluster.
Still, things were going well. There wasn't anything she was forgetting, and she knew that for a fact, since she'd talked to Viktoriya and Lorelei to make sure 'Johanna' hadn't done anything to taint her
"Hey, Kazuma… I think I smell something fishy…"
"Aqua, not now, would you? I'm basking in the glow of a job well done and an ex-"
"No, really. You remember that I can smell Undead, right? I think-"
The ground disappeared from under her, and Tanya suppressed the urge to sigh. Was it too much to ask to be given a break?
Then, she did sigh as she landed on her feet. No, it probably was too much to ask. Being X or Eris or whoever was probably fucking with her – something would happen on her birthday, she was sure.
Lots of shouting surrounded her, though she quickly looked at Viktoriya and shared a nod. They, at least, weren't panicking.
"Owowowow! I must have twisted something…"
"Kazuma, there're undead everywhere! They're surrounding us!"
"Those must be…"
Unlike some people.
With another sigh, she stood up. "Everybody, look alive! Get into your parties and watch out for Gian-"
"Silence!"
Tanya, an eyebrow raised, looked up to the rim of the hole they had fallen into. Then, she began to study the entire rim of the hole they had fallen into.
Hmm. There were… quite a lot of undead around them. Dozens. Perhaps… even hundreds of corpses and skeletons of any and all the things she'd seen so far.
The skeletons of the Giant Frogs were scratchily shouting. The towering skeletons of the One-Hit Kill Bears roared. Kobolds were creaking, human skeletons were brandishing their weapons, and above them, the corpses of Crows and more flying monsters were hovering erratically.
And, as one adventurer had tried to point out, the festering corpses of Giant Worms large enough to swallow someone whole did line the edges of the hole, twisting and undulating as they guarded the earthen walls of the hole they'd been trapped in.
The adventurers around her were panicking, and even Aqua seemed to be somewhat… nervous.
The voice that had called out walked to the edge of the hole, showing itself.
Clad in dark robes and carrying a dark, polished staff that was undoubtedly made of wood, if Megumin's advice on the matter was to be trusted, the epitome of Tanya's forgotten promises revealed itself.
Right… she had been putting off meeting the Undead Mage that she'd sliced the limbs off of for a long time, hadn't she?
Powering up the Type 97 wasn't an issue in any sense of the word – though most everyone else seemed to be quite tired due to the Monster Rush they'd just participated in, she still had at least half a tank. Viktoriya, undoubtedly, was also doing as much as Tanya was as well.
She puzzled over the conundrum as he stared down and the adventurers around her began to take up defensive positions. Though she hadn't met him yet – formally, anyway; who could forget their first… encounter – she hadn't thought he'd attack the town just because she hadn't shown up.
She stepped forward. "Evan the Undead Mage, why have you attacked the adventurers of Axel?" she asked, hoping to appear neutral and to solve this peacefully.
If she tried to insult him, he might order his troops to attack, if he were emotional, and she didn't want word to get back to the Demon King that she was fighting his subordinates. If she acted too chummy, word might get back to the Princess that she might be a liability.
If she could solve this peacefully… perhaps he just wanted to demonstrate his power?
He, apparently, didn't seem to share her peace-seeking sentiment. "Oh, now you deign to speak to me? As the Governor, you should have come crawling to beg for leniency, but no…"
He chuckled darkly and slammed the end of his staff into the ground. "No, day after day after day, all I can hear is Explosion! Explosion! EXPLOSION!" he shouted, his hood falling as he gripped his hair. "I put up with it, despite the continued deterioration of the castle that Verdia inhabited before me and that I use now, sure that…"
Tanya wondered what he was talking about – a brief look at Viktoriya told her that no, she didn't know what he was talking about either. Who would attack a castle that had once housed a General of the Demon King?
He shook his head again, taking hold of his staff. "No, no more! I won't have it! I'm going to end you for this continued psychological warfare!"
Tanya prepared to raise a shield as he shouted, "Pa-"
"STOP!"
Tanya looked to the side to see that Megumin was standing up.
Or, she was trying to. She was furiously arguing in muffled tones with Kazuma as she got off of his back.
"Give me some energy with that new spell you learned!"
"Oh, now you- OW! Fine… Aqua, get over here."
"You HikiNEET, if you touch me… whatever toilet seat you sit on will always be- HEY!"
Tanya's next sigh was long and slow. However, Megumin did, eventually, stand up straight, twirl her cloak around her, and thrust her staff towards the Undead Mage.
"I am Megumin! Crimson Demon and Archmage, and one who wields Explosion Magic!" she shouted, making Tanya wish, for the first time, that she hadn't set up that agreement with Kazuma. Maybe they could have avoided this situation.
On the other hand, considering the personality of that girl…
Evan, meanwhile, was shaking in rage, still facing towards Tanya. Lifting a gangly arm and pointing towards her, he began to speak in low tones, "You… you would sink so low as to convince some poor child to take the blame for your misdeeds? How…"
"You miserable wretch!" he roared, his eyes alight with indignation.
Tanya and Megumin both balked at that. "Hey! I know that spell! I've been using it on your castle, and, furthermore, there's no way an idiot who only has the Adventurer class could ever do more than I, Megumin the-"
Tanya, meanwhile, got over her shock at the accusation and looked to Lorelei. "Go to the town. Get Mitsurugi, the Captain of the Guards, get Gerrard, get anyone that will help."
She opened her mouth, undoubtedly to ask how they'd get out of a hole in the ground that was crawling with monsters, but Viktoriya tapped her on the shoulder, and they both disappeared from view thanks to an illusion spell.
Meanwhile, Tanya turned back to where Megumin had finished her speech about being the best and having access to more power than anyone else.
Evan looked equally bored as Tanya felt. "Would you stop, already? I…" he said, trailing off. Tanya tracked his line of sight to… Aqua.
His eyes were widening, and then…
Tanya shuddered. His eyelids had receded so much they'd retreated into his skull. His shaking arm refocused on Aqua.
His gaze turned towards Tanya, and Tanya's nervousness exploded in size. That look…
Well, she'd seen it on the face of two people before, briefly, before she'd been nearly killed by the Siouxs.
His mouth chuckled nervously. "You know, I didn't even know my name until you chopped off my limbs. I guess I have you to thank for the recovery of the rest of my memories too."
He shrugged. "Hey, at least I know why you haven't actually joined the-"
Tanya spun her rifle into her arms and fired. That look on his face hadn't faded, and he was about to reveal some sensitive information. She'd been willing to let him talk in the hopes of resolving things peacefully-
Her internal dialogue stopped in an instant as something rocketed down from the air and blocked her shot, taking the explosion head on without so much as a flinch. Eyes wide and grip slackening, Tanya stared up at the beast…
She gulped loudly, while Darkness helpfully provided everyone with context. "That's… a Manticore! It has bat-like wings, the body of a Giant Lion and the tail of a Giant Scorpion…" she said, panting heavily.
Tanya didn't really have time to focus on the fact that Darkness was, of course, horny – it barely even registered, honestly, and that Kazuma was making such a big deal was really a waste of energy. She couldn't even really focus on how Evan was giggling incoherently to himself.
No, instead, she was distracted by the fact that the Manticore was giving her… a look. A very different look than the one on Evan's face.
She didn't remember where she had seen that look before, until the thing's head licked its lips, and then she repositioned her rifle so that she was aiming between its beady eyes.
It was giving her the same look those Orcs had given her. More worryingly, it was also giving her the same look he had given her while-
She crushed the thought and the flare of panic that had started to build, outwardly glaring at the creature, but the commotion and-
"CRAW!"
BOOM!
…that, on the opposite end of the sinkhole that Evan's army had made, gave her pause. She turned around…
Darkness was breathing much harder now as a creature with the head and forelimbs of an eagle and the body of a lion paced. "A Griffon… oh, to be forced to submit to the undead horde surrounding us~"
Tanya groaned again. They didn't have many Priests with them – the Health Boosters that Bill had created meant most people didn't need to hire them to come out on a quest, and Aqua was both kind and stupid enough to do it for free.
Thus, she'd have to rely on Aqua to ensure the people – who were starting to become increasingly terrified – in the sinkhole weren't destroyed. Meanwhile…
After confirming that, yes, the Undead Mage was still lost in his memories, she turned to Darkness. "Remember the Eris Festival?" she asked.
Darkness got a dreamy look on her face. "Of course. How could I forget something as wonderful as that?" she asked, seemingly torn between a frank question and ecstasy.
Tanya, very briefly, regretted asking – it kinda sounded like Darkness 'remembered' it several times a week in the privacy of her bedroom, along with other things – then she nodded and grabbed one of the Crusader's arms.
"Good. Aqua, get ready to cleanse the undead. Also, we'll need to test your Resurrection after this one. Kazuma, organize everyone so we can survive while I open fire."
Kazuma's party looked at Tanya in momentary confusion, but she just shrugged. "Reinforcement Spell: Strength. Reinforcement Spell: Pain-reduction."
Darkness gasped in fake horror. "Oh, you'd deprive me of the chance to-"
"Don't forget to use Decoy," Tanya shouted. With that, she spun around several times, getting up to speed, and threw Darkness upwards as hard as her enhanced body could.
All around them, the Undead watched Darkness fly up into the air, twirling end over end and screaming in glee. The Crows and Vultures all gave chase.
Tanya smirked – that would buy them a bit of time – and turned to Aqua and Kazuma, nodding.
Then, Tanya turned around to find that Megumin was, thankfully, already chanting. She smirked as she readied up a Napalm spell. It seemed-
Evan, while seemingly distracted by whatever memories Aqua had jogged, didn't seem distracted by Darkness's skill like the rest of the undead. His own staff was pointing down at them. "Paralyze!"
Tanya's eyes widened. "Active Barrier!" she shouted, managing to cover both herself and Megumin for a brief instant.
The spell washed over them, and Tanya mentally cursed as everyone around them froze. Kazuma had hardly moved, though he was now complaining – "Hey, why can't I move? Aqua, what kind of magic is this?" – and Aqua had managed to take out a swath of the Undead Giant Worms before being paralyzed – though, less than Tanya might have expected from someone claiming to be a goddess. Of course.
Above her, she heard the Undead Mage purse his lips as Megumin continued to ready her spell. Tanya opted to fire her Napalm off at the Giant Worms, since Megumin could-
"Well, I guess I should have known you'd have some bullshit like that…"
He smiled again. "Oh wait, I did. Paralyze!" he shouted again, seemingly overjoyed. He also appeared to be stuck in place, as were most of his troops. Tanya merely raised an eyebrow and her active barrier as Megumin-
"Magic Canceller!" shouted a new voice. Down from the sky, being chased by a camouflaged blur that must have been Viktoriya, a second Manticore descended, scrolls clasped in one forelimb and Darkness in the other. Darkness sped towards the ground, and the pieces of paper shattered-
Tanya's eyes widened. As did her barrier, along with their spells.
Not a moment later – too short a time to throw up a second one – the Paralysis spell hit them both, and Tanya's eyes almost widened as much as Evan's had.
She couldn't move. Her limbs couldn't move and she couldn't move anything at all nothing was responding she-
She snapped off that thought. Tanya's mind backed away from the panic at being restrained again, instead taking stock of their new, much worse situation.
The few undead that hadn't been caught in the radius of Evan's spells were crawling down, and more Undead Worms emerged from the ground, circling. Meanwhile, Evan was being brought into the pit by the Manticore, while the Griffon positioned at the opposite end had flown over the adventurers to stand next to the Undead Mage. Above them, she could hear the… vulgar swearing of the second Manticore, as well as gunshots and explosions that gave away Viktoriya's participation.
It seemed…
Hey.
Hey, wait a second. Wasn't Wiz the only person that sold the potions that paralyzed yourself and your enemies?
Tanya wondered, for a brief moment, if she should design some sort of internal intelligence agency so that she could keep track of things like that – things that weren't overly illegal but that might be suspicious.
A thought for later, perhaps, because it seemed as if Evan – still pointing his staff at them, with a look of intense glee frozen on his face – had arrived.
Tanya took a deep breath. She could technically flee, if she were fast enough, but those scrolls might work on her Flight spells. She had no desire to become a red smear on the ground if he canceled her spells while she was traveling over 200 miles per hour.
"Get the blue haired one and that hardy noble, too," he said.
"Hey, get Kazuma too! He's part of our party!"
"You- Shut up! I don't know who you are, you weird person who claims to be a Goddess!"
"Kazuma, how dare you! I am-"
Evan just rolled his eyes, settling on gazing at Tanya's frozen form. "Well, I was going to ask you several questions – what God you're beholden to to attain such power as to be able to destroy an Amalgamation – but new old my memories tell me enough, oh Atheist."
Tanya's eyes widened. "Then, you're-"
She smiled cruelly. "A Hero Candidate? Yes. In fact, I'm one of the ones you took the property of. It's because of you that I'm here – Aqua oversold how much you hated religion, and Verdia was only able to reanimate me because of your undead-raising technique," he said, glaring heatedly at Aqua, who had apparently decided that some rock on the ground was more important than his accusations.
Mentally, Tanya was trying to calculate how much she'd have to bribe people to be quiet if she won, because that was a lot of very secret information. Perhaps there was some sort of monster that needed taking down around Axel?
Of course, Darkness and Megumin were the only ones she had to really worry about – the other two could be bought with money…
Then, he shrugged again. "Of course, you also killed the only person I wanted to be undead for, back in Axel. Saki…"
His laughter was undoubtedly malicious. "Of course, it was Ragcraft who killed us in the first place, so I think I'll be leaving the Demon King's employment after this…"
First, Kazuma, sulkily, from several feet behind them: "Hey, could someone please tell me what's going on? Who are these people you keep mentioning? What did I get myself into by coming here? Plus, should you really be monologuing right now? Isn't that giving us a chance to get the upper hand?"
Then, Aqua: "Hey, I don't know what's going on anymore than you do, you stupid NEET! Ask Darkness, she's known Tanya for longer."
Groggily, Darkness, her body torn up: "Uh… he said something about his memories, right? I think Undead only remember stuff in proportion to the strength of their grudge."
THWAP!
They all shut up.
Evan, heavily panting and muttering to the Manticore standing above them all – "I don't care if ranting to my enemies is stupid, I've got some things I need off my chest, and therapy probably isn't a thing here." – had hit the back of Darkness's head with his staff.
Now that Tanya had a better look at it, it seemed that portions of the top of it were metal blades.
"Ehuu~ p- please, don't hit my friends! I'll take every blow~"
"What the fuck?"
Evan was glancing, with a very… perplexed, disgusted look on his face as Darkness pleaded with him. Tanya tried to shrug helplessly, and found that she had been able to move by the barest margin.
With a defeated sigh, he said, "We- ugh, whatever. That girl clearly was about to use an Explosion spell… but I'll kill you anyway – thanks for returning my memories. Undead, attack."
Tanya's eyes widened. Behind her, she could hear the moving Undead begin to tear into the adventurers. Shouting, pleading, prayers, cries washed over her, and she grimaced. From the corners of her eyes, she could see Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness all growing increasingly sick from the screams-
"H- Hey! That's no way for an underling of the Demon Lord to act! Where's you're speech to the heroes about why-"
And then, from below them, an Undead Giant Worm burst from the ground, swallowing Megumin's left leg and tearing it off.
Her party members screamed. They didn't scream as loud as Megumin.
Tanya, somewhat panicked, glared at Evan as he responded to Megumin. "No. Jake, beat her down, but I'm killing her in the end. You… can violate the others if you want, but wait until they're dead."
Tanya's eyes widened, and though she could… not hear Darkness groaning behind her – odd – she was much more focused on her own problems.
Jake turned towards Evan. "What about the blond? I'm achin' just thinkin' about-"
Tanya winced at that one. She'd come up with a half decent plan herself, and hopefully, she'd be fast enough to keep Aqua alive to cast Resurrection on everyone else…
Besides, with how Evan was able to move his head…
Activating a few Flight spells, she rotated her frozen body until her gun was pointing at the undead. She couldn't fire bullets, but you weren't really supposed to use bullets with…
More frantically than she would have liked, she shouted "NAPALM!" The sounds of surprise that she could move faded away as gouts of billowing flame burst from the front of her gun, torching the unprepared undead. She faintly heard Evan cursing and shouting, but she didn't have time to focus on that.
She spun herself again and burned up the Undead tearing into Megumin, before rounding on the Zombies approaching Kazuma and Aqua.
With an intake of breath… she spun again, towards the largest grouping of Undead, and applied a bit of magical pressure to the trigger of her gun and began spewing as many spells out as she could. Explosions rocked the world around her, blinding her in the dust and smoke as the hole began to resemble a crater.
She heard pained groans – and more screams. She grimaced, experimentally moved her limbs, and dove down.
Realistically, Tanya had two options. She could try and take on all of the undead at once in the confusion and win quickly – probably not impossible, but she was starting to run out of mana. Besides, the Griffon and the two Manticores looked like they wouldn't go down that fast – Viktoriya wasn't here, so she was still battling with one of them – to say nothing of Evan.
Her second realistic option was to save the one person who mattered in the long term, try and get a defense going, wait for reinforcements…
And play to her strengths. And her opponent's weaknesses.
-OxOxO-
As Evan coughed, he tried to squint through the smoke…
Until he gave it up and activated the special skill higher-level undead had access to to ascertain the condition of those that possessed souls.
"Ravenous Eyes," he muttered, checking…
His eyes widened. Degurechaff was no longer airborne. The blank silhouettes of his soldiers were missing from the pit as well. She was crouching down, next to-
His eyes sharpened. "Degurechaff. If that overblown-braggart tries to Heal you, I'll have the remaining Giant Worms kill you," he threatened.
It wasn't an empty threat, per se, as many of his Undead were still Paralyzed – and he had planned on using the spell after asking them to retreat, but finding out that he was from Japan, and that he'd been in love with another Reincarnate had somewhat… incensed him.
Of course, he was now a bit more calm, and, with his old memories helping to actively inform him of his path instead of nudging his subconsciousness…
As the smoke cleared, he grinned, his body becoming lighter in the rush of victory. The Atheist had a portion of her leg blown off, and the Goddess was about to help her.
He smirked widely. How amusing. "Now, let's be reasonable. I do think that, since I have adequately demonstrated my superiority, I can let you all live," he lied. Really, he just needed a moment to remember the chants for his next spell.
Degurechaff was starting to look faint. Her many comrades were defeated, lying in their own blood. He could hear the Manticore above him grappling with Viktoriya Serebryakov, but it wouldn't matter for long.
The pale waif looked up at him. "R- Really?" she asked. Aqua looked downtrodden-
And then, with a rush of feathers, he had a report to listen to. Not, unfortunately, through any of his humanoid undead – he hadn't gotten anything particularly useful or talkative in that regard, which had forced him to get creative.
No, he'd instead utilized dead Crows as communicators. They could be trained to speak a few sentences, and, in that regard, they were helpful. They'd kept him in contact with all of his forces, and they were updating him on the battle in the air.
He turned to the crow to his right, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
"TRAP! TRAP!" it shouted, cawing. His brows furrowed, and he whipped out a Magic Canceller scroll…
And the world in front of him changed. No longer was Degurechaff broken and beaten, but she was healthy, hale, and pointing her gun at his Griffon.
Aqua had finished clearing out the undead in the pit and was even reviving already defeated adventurers.
And the pipsqueak, though she was pale, had both of her legs and was charging another spell.
Evan shook his head – the pipsqueak seemed to be growing bold, and The Atheist seemed to be growing angry – and ripped another few Magic Canceller scrolls out from his clothing. "Magic Canceller," he intoned, stopping the girls in their-
"Magic Canceller."
The scroll in Evan's hand shattered, but the spells Degurechaff and the pipsqueak were powering up did not.
His gaze snapped up, searching-
And it was the other Reincarnate, sitting in a pile of-
"Are- are those mine?"
He shouted the words, indignant. Degurechaff and the pipsqueak seemed just as stupefied. The scrolls that he had had purchased with the funds the Demon King had provided him, the scrolls that were made by one of the strongest beings in all of Belzerg…
They were lying, in the dirt and mud, around that-
The teen nodded, thrust out a hand, and said, "Steal."
Evan felt himself get lighter again, and the teen had a handful of scrolls clasped in his hand, which he set down in the pile surrounding him. Evan began to grab another scroll.
"Mag-"
"Steal"
"Magic Canceller!"
"Magic Canceller. Steal"
"I didn't even-" Evan started to shout, only to shake his head. His options were becoming rapidly narrowed-
"Turn Undead!"
And his body burned, pleading with his head to let them move on-
And he crushed the thought. Degurechaff had killed his love, and he'd continue to fight until he avenged her, even if God and Heaven, the things he had previously devoted himself to, were waiting for him, to judge him for his sins.
He gestured with his staff as Degurechaff. "Fire-"
"Magic Canceller," the teen stated. His scroll – which he'd stolen from Evan – disappeared, and Evan's spell dematerialized. He panted…
The adventurers were almost all back. Though his undead were fighting, he couldn't win in these conditions – he couldn't even hope to kill Degurechaff at the cost of all of his forces.
He shook his head. "Fine, but you haven't-" he began raising his staff, readying a Teleport spell…
"Steal."
…only to have his staff, which he'd had specially constructed with the help of the Demon King's Generals, snatched from his hand.
He raised an angry fist. "Fireball!" he shouted. It would be weakened, but-
"Magic Canceller," the teen said, and Evan used a scroll of his own to halt the cancelation.
He turned and ran. He couldn't do anything, so he had to run, find a bigger threat, and then-
But the body of a Manticore blocked his path, and Serebryakov stood on it.
He shook his head. How…
How had it-
"We'll be taking you into custody, of course. Who knows how much ransom the-"
"EXPLOSION!"
And Evan felt his world fade away in a moment of searing pain followed by… nothing.
Nothing but sorrow. He'd gotten his memories back thanks to that Goddess. He'd charged ahead stupidly instead of falling back to reassess his options. He'd continued to fight when there wasn't anything to fight for besides…
He hadn't fought for his own life – even when he hadn't remembered her, he'd been fighting for the Undead Knight that Degurechaff had taken away from him…
"You, who forsook your soul for the chance to live the life you departed from, are cast out of Heaven. Your karma is void; your life is void; your soul is void."
His sorrow burned away.
With those words echoing through his head, Evan the Priest, Evan the Undead Mage, Evan the Soulless felt himself rushing downwards faster and faster until everything went dark, with only smoldering fury left.
-OxOxO-
This was perfect.
If that Nazi was dead, well… that was that, and he wouldn't have to worry about her again. He could defeat the Demon King for Heaven.
However, if she had managed to overcome the servants of the wretched Demon King, well…
He smirked to himself. He'd taken the time to explain what Degurechaff really was to Fio and Clemea, the Thief and the Spearwoman of his party. That they wanted nothing more than to subjugate everyone who wouldn't bow to their will. That they wouldn't rest until they killed or subjugated every last person who didn't fit into their narrow worldview. How they made the Demon King look more like the Cardinal in Belzerg's capital.
And the things he could now remember… even since he'd realized just how bad Serebryakov – and, by extension, Degurechaff – were, he'd begun remembering things the Nazi's had done.
Killing civilians. Pursuing endless war. Venerating an increasingly unstable leader. Indoctrination. Torture.
Indeed, he could see Degurechaff doing some of them. How couldn't she do them? It was-
He shook his head. Not now.
Yes, with Fio and Clemea as strong as ever – and, of course, wearing much more powerful equipment than usual – in addition to some… admittedly sketchy help he'd hired, they'd surprise the weakened lunatics and finish them off.
His plan after that was… less than complete. Hopefully, their ideology hadn't actually been spread too far… but if it had, he might have to go to the Princess-
Unless, of course, she had already been converted, and this town was simply a testing ground, in which case…
He nodded to himself. He could try and contact the King – but he was notorious for his privacy – which might mean using his eventual wish to help the Kingdom…
He shook his head. Now wasn't the time. He could hear… jubilant cheers. He frowned. They were fine, then. Plus…
He scowled. Considering the direction they were coming from, it seemed that they had gone all the way to the hospital instead of the Eris Church – another reason to despise–
He scowled again, at himself this time. When had he begun to think like that? He cared about as much about religion as the next Japanese person – not very much. So why…
He shook his head and looked at the help he'd hired, nodding at them. They were dressed in mostly black cloaks – fashionable at this time of year, considering the cold. He didn't know much about them, and he didn't really care. They were willing to take his money and help him, unlike everyone else – other adventurers, the depowered Reincarnates… they had all been tricked.
The hired help funneled out of the alleyway, joining the crowd that was cheering for the adventurers. Apparently, not one person had died – a good thing, of course, but how had Degurechaff pulled it off?
He heard his teammates grumble nervously, and he felt the urge to shoot them a glare – couldn't they see that this was important?
The crowds began to cheer louder. Degurechaff's name was being shouted, but so were others – "Viktoriya! Takashi! Rex! Darkness! Aya!"
He steeled himself, readying the Cursed Sword Gram. It was time.
The large group of adventurers were passing by, and…
Nothing. He frowned. They should have arranged a distraction. Why-
"There he is, Governess! That's the man who paid us to try and kill you!"
Hmm?
Kyouya's eyes widened. What? What?
The crowd parted. Pointing at his crouched form, holding a large bulging bag of money as well as the weapons that Mitsurugi had supplied them with, was the leader of the group of criminals. The rest of them were standing behind Degurechaff and her party, as well as-
His jaw dropped. Was- was that-
"Aqua?" he half-mumbled, half-strangled out of his own throat. What? How was she here? Shouldn't she be in Heaven-
"Hmm? Who calls upon the beautiful, magnificent, leader of the Axis Cult known as Aqua?" said the Goddess in question.
He stood up straight, walking forward. How was this…?
"Don't let him get any closer, Governess! He wants to murder you and your entire party! As the Wholesome Lolicon Defense Force: Axel, we're sworn to-"
Degurechaff's eyes narrowed. "Mitsurugi? Lolicon?!"
She glared at the man, raging hatred in her eyes. "I knew it. Why did I even entertain such an idiotic idea? If you wanted to be considered at least somewhat believable, you should have chosen to frame someone more unscrupulous. With a name like that…"
The crowd turned on the criminals Kyouya had hired – maybe he should have looked into them more if their name was that – and the killing intent she was pressing down on everyone was the only thing ensuring no one moved.
It dissipated in a moment. "I am not above the law… so I will ensure you are punished through legal means."
The criminals that Kyouya had hired were unceremoniously pushed out of the group of adventurers, with the threat of 'legal retribution' promised by the Governess. Instead, Kyouya and his teammates were welcomed into the group of adventurers.
He gave his teammates a signal – shaking his head back and forth four times – to call off the attack. He turned back around, smiling thankfully up at Degurechaff.
Slowly, he made his way over to Aqua. "G- Goddess Aqua?"
She turned away from some other people in the circle – a noble woman, a… Crimson Demon? – and looked at him, her eyes shining with joy and pride and…
He frowned, briefly. There wasn't a hint of recognition on her face. "Yes, mortal? What is it you require of me, the Goddess Aqua?"
What must have been her party began to chime up. "Hey, Aqua, are you sure you know this person? Those people just accused him of plotting to murder Degurechaff. She may not be nice, but she's given us a lot of money…"
"Yes, Kazuma the Feckless has told us about many scams, like someone pretending to know you for money."
The blonde noble didn't chime in, only staring at him distrustfully. He looked back at Aqua. "Go- er… I mean, Lady Aqua… why are you saying such things? It's me, Kyouya Mitsurugi! I received the Cursed Sword Gram from you several years ago?" he said.
In his long travels…
He shook his head. Some of the… haze that he'd been feeling since figuring Degurechaff's real goal left him as he remembered his past. He'd been in this world for years, joining up with his teammates two years ago, and searching for a mage to complement them and getting stronger ever since.
He'd looked into Aqua, and found, surprisingly, that she operated a Church that not only tolerated, but openly attempted to convert people like him.
She simply tilted her head, for a moment. He noticed that the male of her party – and… that hair, those eyes… was he a Reincarnate?
His thoughts were switched as Aqua snapped her fingers. "Ah, right! I remember someone like you. Sorry, I totally forgot! I've sent a lot of people here, so it can't be helped!"
He shook his head. If he remembered correctly, the research he'd done on Aqua and the Axis Cult did say that being carefree was part of their doctrine.
"I suppose it has been a while, Lady Aqua. Regardless, as your chosen hero, I've gotten stronger, taken the Swordmaster job, I'm already level 37…"
He stopped for a moment. Blinking. Wait, why was she here, actually?
He voiced his question, and the man opened his mouth to speak as the group of adventurers finally came into sight of the guild.
"Hey, can we go home yet? I don't want to be around that more-dangerous-than-our-loli loli anymore than we have to," she complained, pointing at Degurechaff.
At the mention of her, the haze that sharpened his focus on his newest goal returned. He eyed the girl…
"Hey, are you insinuating something about me? If you're trying to belittle the power of my Explosion magic, I'll make sure to-"
No, there was no way he'd be able to kill her now. She wasn't using magic to control people – from the testament of this man and his party, they seemed to think she was just another powerful adventurer. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he might be able to strike her down, but he'd immediately be taken down…
"Megumin! As a Crusader, I can't let an innocent come to harm, so if you're going to take your anger out, please use me-"
Along with his friends. He couldn't do that to them, no matter how dangerous she was.
With a smile he looked up as they entered the guild. "Well, it was lovely to talk to you again, Lady Aqua. I think that I'll go interrogate those thugs who tried to accuse me of trying to murder the Governor and figure out why they would accuse one such as I of such a heinous crime."
Aqua nodded absently, and while the other three shot him sidelong glances as he left, he ignored them.
He couldn't find reliable help here, and with Iris undoubtedly taking a shine to her to give her control of a town…
He fought the urge to curse. How was he supposed to take her down? Would he have to wait for her to go out on her own…?
He shook his head. He would ruminate on the matter. Perhaps his dreams would give him an answer…
Which gave him yet another question:
If Aqua was down here, then who had been giving him dreams about how to take down Degurechaff? He had thought it was her, but…
He sighed and spun out of the door. No matter what, he couldn't do anything about it today. He would have to retreat and find some other way of taking her down…
-OxOxO-
The partying echoing in from the main part of the guild made Tanya wish she were back at the mansion, filling out paperwork for her birthday, deciding on which modern contraption she wanted to construct with the use of her newfound Forge skill, or penning a letter to the Demon King about the 'unprovoked' attack on herself by Evan.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do those things. Currently, she was being stared down by Darkness and Megumin and putting on her best poker face. Meanwhile, Viktoriya and Lorelei were standing with her in putting on their poker faces, while Kazuma and Aqua were doing a very bad job of looking just as interrogative as the other two.
Megumin and Darkness shared a look. Both of them stepped forward, and they glared at each other.
"Hey. Didn't that look convey that I'm going first?"
"Of course not. I looked at you to confirm that I am going first."
They stared at each other testily, and Tanya judged they weren't close enough to communicate with just a look yet. Megumin raised her fist, and-
"N- no, please don't hit me… and use your explosion magic on me… which might hurt as much as Tanya's spells…"
Megumin just rolled her eyes as Darkness dissolved into mutterings as she stepped forward again. Tanya's face frowned fractionally. She had wanted Darkness to go first. "What, exactly, were those spells?" she asked, sounding, for once, deadly serious.
Tanya could, of course, simply refuse to answer the question, but Tanya did eventually want to ask her father for that magic item, and getting a bad reference from his daughter might make him unwilling to accept her money.
She cleared her throat. "Those are spells I've been researching-"
"Malarkey."
Tanya blinked. What?
At Tanya's questioning gaze, Megumin shrugged, while Darkness came out of her fugue to speak. "Anyone with the ability and skill to create such spells would have been noticed by the Magic Research Institute and trained, regardless of age, to help in creating spells to combat the Demon King."
Megumin nodded. "Even Crimson Demons, renowned for their ability with magic, have trouble with creating new spells. And those spells…"
She shook her head, staring directly into Tanya's eyes. "Crimson Demons haven't been able to make spells to confer flight like that. The closest are the spells we made that can be used to make carriages float, and even that takes special preparation. And that shield…"
"A moveable shield like that should be impossible. The shield around the Demon King's castle can only be sustained by the Demon King's Generals, and while shields that can't be breached by magic exist, they're exorbitantly expensive and take preparation to construct. Most importantly, those aren't even really spells."
Tanya fought the urge to grimace. How would she-
Darkness stepped forward. "Hey, don't forget the more pressing thing: that Manticore was really interested in you. Why was that?" she asked, slightly less accusatory than Megumin.
"Well, he was obviously-"
Darkness glared. "I can't imagine why, considering I was ready to be abused… Monsters like Orcs," she sighed dreamily imagining herself being taken advantage of by a horde of Orcs and succumbing to them, "and Manticores have enhanced senses to help them identify things like prey."
Well, shit.
Tanya looked up, raising an eyebrow. She needed time to think, which meant distracting them.
"But Darkness, remember what Evan said? Why did he call you a noble, hmm?"
Finally, Aqua began paying attention, while Kazuma seemed to be focusing on something other than trying not to laugh at Tanya's situation. Megumin had even glanced at Darkness, who was chuckling nervously.
Tanya sighed. Time to think…
Alright, her objective: keep her relationship with Megumin intact enough that her father would make her the item.
Obviously, lying about it was an option, and considering the kind of person Megumin was – prideful would be a kind way to put it – lathering praise onto the girl while making the bits about her past that she talked about seem as Chuunibyou as possible would likely work.
On the other hand…
She cleared her throat, sending a pointed eyebrow at the stammering Darkness. She shut up quickly, while Tanya simply crossed her arms.
"The place I'm from doesn't have magic like here, as you've probably guessed. The spells we do have are… hyper-focused on combat, with little thought given to utility outside of it. That is all I will say on the matter," she said, laying things out as truthfully as was believable.
Lying to Darkness had only resulted in misunderstandings of a very dangerous variety. She didn't want Megumin to try and blow up the city or something in an attempt to take her out for one contrived reason or another.
In addition, few would believe Megumin if she did try to tell anyone – although she hadn't been here for long, she was more infamous than even Tanya had been, and Tanya had tried to spread her name around – few would believe her, if she hadn't thought it possible before today.
Megumin looked like she wanted more information, but Tanya didn't really owe her much more of an explanation – and if she wanted more, Tanya would need assurances about how Tanya was presented to her father.
Tanya cleared her throat again. "As for why the Manticore was interested in me… I was cursed by…"
She smirked as a positively devilish idea came to mind "By a being that claimed to be the god of most of the people living in the land I come from, who I suspect was really just a powerful… Archpriest. I suppose he was afflicted by whatever disease plagues Aqua. Naturally, I didn't believe him, and he used his power to change me into… this," she said, gesturing downwards. Tanya could hear Viktoriya and Lorelei giggling next to her-
Aqua was throwing her head around, confused by the stares Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness were piercing her with. "Hey, why are you all looking at me like that…? Wait, do…"
She pouted at them all. "Kazuma, Tanya, Viktoriya… I am a Goddess! Don't look at me like that! I got you all here, and you're-"
"Goddess? What's that? Surely, it isn't something that spends all of its friends' money on alcohol, yes?"
"Goddesses don't exist, but if they did, I'm sure they'd be responsible, hardworking things."
"Sorry, Aqua, but Goddesses aren't pushy like you…"
Aqua seemed to be on the verge of crying, but Tanya didn't really care. She got up, stretching-
"Wait!" shouted Megumin. Tanya looked over curious, as did everyone else. She cast a cool gaze at Tanya. "What is the name of this charlatan? If we ever meet up with him, we should be aware, no?"
Tanya nodded emphatically. "The name he will go by is…" she said, pausing for a moment, only to have to fight off another wicked grin. "His name is Sanzai Ektsu."
While Darkness and Megumin nodded, she noted that Viktoriya and Lorelei didn't understand. Kazuma and Aqua…
Well, the former was mouthing the first word to himself, while Aqua wasn't paying much attention at all. With that, she spun around-
"Well, that Undead Mage who called himself Evan… he called you 'The Atheist,' Tanya. What does that mean?"
Tanya nearly blanched at the question, but…
She shrugged. "I just don't think that Gods or Goddesses exist," she said truthfully – if they could handle Aqua claiming to be a goddess, they could handle this. Honestly, it seemed like the amount of bullshit people would put up with here was much higher than she expected…
Wait, huh?
That, somehow, seemed to be the thing they were most disbelieving of. She raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, wondering how they were more concerned about that than the fact that she'd been cursed by something claiming to be god.
Darkness stepped forward, cutting off Megumin. "Err… where do you think the Priests get their power, then? And all of the testimony from people who've been Resurrected that they met Eris?"
"Well, while there might be beings that masquerade as deities that have lots of power, none of them are Gods or Goddesses," she pronounced.
Now, she was getting skeptical looks from everyone… e- even Lorelei…
She glared at them all, and the looks dissipated. With a harrumph, she left the backroom Luna had provided them, trying not to lash out at Darkness and Megumin, who were talking about how she came from somewhere very weird.
"Weird? The tween with a complex, thinks I'm weird? The masochist thinks I'm weird?"
They barged out into the party going on. It seemed Dust was participating in one of the favorite pastimes of the adventurers – arm-wrestling – allowing them to sneak out mostly unnoticed.
Lorelei cast a glance at Viktoriya-
Behind them, they heard Aqua shouting. "Oh, a Goddess is generous, is she? Fixing up that graveyard for Wiz doesn't count, huh? Well, then, tonight, DRINKS ARE ON ME!"
"AQUA YOU BITCH!"
"TAKE THAT BACK YOU-"
Viktoriya and Lorelei cast a look over their shoulders… and then shook their heads. Not worth it.
Lorelei cleared her throat. "Hey. If Aqua isn't a Goddess, what is she, according to Tanya?"
Viktoriya opened her mouth… only to sigh. "Well, from what she's told me, the reason she doesn't think God exists is that, if he… or, they, did, they wouldn't ignore all the injustice in the world. Thus, she concluded that Being X was simply a being of more power than herself."
Lorelei shrugged. "I… guess that is certainly… a way to look at things. Anyway…" she said, shifting the subject as a grin snuck onto her face, "What else do you need for the courtship?"
Viktoriya grinned as well, much more happy to be focusing on the future. "Oh, I think I've got most of it."
While she was definitely going to tell Tanya how she felt on her Birthday… she might as well have some fun, right?
Exactly how far would Tanya go to ignore her feelings? Would she catch on in four days of nothing but thinly-veiled hints? Viktoriya planned to find out soon.