Arc 2 - Chapter 11: The Crimson Demon Clan
The duo walked past the entrance and into the village. Kazuma saw multiple people with brown hair, deep crimson coloured eyes, and over the top fashion.
He saw many people with ridiculous hairdos, capes that were way too long and flashy, and he saw far too many people wearing the same eye patches. It reminded him of Japan, where people were chasing the same fashion trends, resulting in everyone looking exactly the same and unoriginal.
"I guess we should start by meeting my father," YunYun said as they walked past a trio who were currently playing make-believe with their newly bought staffs.
"Already?!"
"Yes. Why?" They could faintly hear them mentioning on using some powerful and advanced spell.
"Well it's just that, what impression would your father have when you bring a man with you?"
"You're not a man."
"Gkgh!" Kazuma could feel his pride shatter into a million pieces as he held his chest with his hand.
"It's not gonna be that bad Kazuma-san. My father is really nice." YunYun said it with a smile.
"Yeah, well, anime dad's are usually really chill, or fucking scary y'know." Kazuma could hear the trio at the back yelping in pain and someone saying 'Aha, I, Dokudokido, have defeated the demon king!'
"Anime?" YunYun tilted her head and placed a finger on her bottom lip in confusion.
"You don't have to know." Kazuma shook his head in dismissal. "So where is your father anyway?"
"He's actually close by. That house at the front is actually mine." She pointed at the house that they saw up ahead at the end of the road.
"It's pretty damn big." He commented. He guessed it was because he was the chieftain of the village after all, so they needed a big headquarters for a big title like that.
"How about we go now since these children at the back are starting to annoy me." Kazuma was motioning at his side the trio of chunnibyos laughing maniacally at their little play.
The two walked hurriedly forward, trying not to hear anymore of the play they had just listened to in the background. Kazuma could feel some stares darting right at him. He could see the people that he walked by would look at him with both their eye-patch covered eye and their exposed one.
He figured it might be due to him being out of the norm. He could guess that the village didn't really have that many visitors, and that any foreigners coming in to sightsee would look weird. With his green cloak and hood covering his overalls, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Hey YunYun, can we walk a bit more faster?" Kazuma said in a harsh whisper to her ear.
"Hmm? Why is that?" Kazuma was about to answer before they were interrupted by a girl in the most over the top looking magician's outfit you've ever seen.
"Aha! A foreigner dares to come to the crimson demon village?" The girl grabbed the edge of her cape and flung it upwards, trying to mimic the motion of a cape flowing in the wind. "It is such a shame that you would soon regret your decision in coming here!" She then turned her body away from them quickly and struck a pose with her right hand on her forehead, and a smirk.
"uuuhhh, what?"
"Playing dumb? Ho ho, you clearly don't know how intelligent us crimson demons truly are." She said with a smug voice.
"Um, Kazuma-san, I'm really sorry you had to see this!" YunYun frantically said as she pushed Kazuma away from her spot and intended to move him past the chunni girl in front of them. However, she was stopped dead in her tracks as the girl then looked back at them and halted their attempt to flee.
"Tch tch tch, running away? You truly are a coward." The girl crossed her arms and closed her eyes, still keeping that annoyingly smug grin.
"What?" Instead of confusion, his question was laced in anger.
"Did this girl really had the audacity to call me a coward?"
"... What the hell did you say to me?" He moved just a bit forward towards her, the girl being oblivious to his tone of rage brewing inside him.
"Wow, you didn't even hear what I said? You truly are an inferior race to us Crimson demons," she said it with a pompous attitude, clearly in favor of her own race.
"Why this little-"
"Eheh, Kazuma-san, how about we just forget her and move on, shall we?" YunYun was already sweating bullets like she just ran a marathon. She could tell that the man beside her was not taking the insults well, and the ignorance in front of them was fueling the fire even more. She needed to stop this or else it could turn disastrous.
"What do you mean forget? This girl literally insulted me right in my face!" Kazuma turned around to face YunYun and complained in a harsh whisper.
"Kazuma-san, it just isn't worth it. Please, let's just leave her be." She looked at him with pleading eyes.
Is there was one thing Kazuma had a weakness for, it was boobs and thighs, but the other thing was a girl's cute face. And this girl's face, was definitely cute, and with her eyes that sparkled like the stars above, he couldn't say no to a face like that.
He huffed and sighed.
"Fine, let's go meet your dad."
YunYun gave a bright smile at this. The two then walked away, leaving the girl behind.
"Ha, I knew you would be scared. That's why you're leaving. Take this mercy as a lesson to never come back here aga- Whaa! Where the hell is my panties?!"
Kazuma obviously had little patience when it comes to people like this, so behind YunYun's back, he pointed his arm towards her and secretly said steal. With his cloak hiding his hand, it hif the light that shone within his hand, and concealed the panties that are now within his grasps. He silently giggled when he heard the girl behind them screaming in confusion.
He tucked the stolen panties in his pocket for 'later uses'.
After that little incident, Kazuma and YunYun were currently seated in the living room at YunYun's house, aka hes father's house, aka the headquarters for the crimson demon clan. Right now, they were currently waiting for the guest of honor as her father was just notified that her daughter was here and wanted to meet him.
"So this is your father's house right?" Kazuma asked.
"Yes it is." She says as she grabs the jar full of snacks that were on the coffee table Infront of them.
"It's pretty big." He looks around the spacious room that is the living room which is also the waiting room. He understood it as such since he was the chieftain after all. He saw YunYun grabbing the snacks out of the jar and opted to take it out from the same one as well. YunYun saw this gesture and moved her hand away from the lid and offered him the jar graciously.
"So what does your father do usually?" He asks and then plops a biscuit into his mouth, chewing it and savoring the taste of it.
"He usually manages the economics of the village. Overseeing on what items should be exported to other neighboring towns and what goods should be bought. He also manages the clan's defenses. Making sure the perimeters of the village isn't attacked by unknown invaders." She swiftly explains.
"Is there like, foreign affairs as well?"
"No. We don't have that division."
"Right..." He looked away. He knew exactly why they didn't have it. Though, he wasn't sure if she knew why. She probably did.
After waiting for a couple of minutes now, the duo who were idly eating away the snacks on the table were suddenly interrupted in their mukbang as they heard a doorknob being twisted, and a door being opened.
They looked at where the noise came from and saw that it was the door that led to the office, indicating that YunYun's father had just finished his job and was about to meet them in just a moment.
Kazuma tucked the snacks away on the table and swallowed the remaining food in his mouth, and YunYun straightened out her skirt, preparing to meet her father after so long. They psyched themselves up, preparing to meet the chieftain of the village, and the father towards the crimson demon girl.
"So, we finally meet eh?" The man of honor came walking down towards them, his voice obviously trying to impress. Kazuma couldn't help but cock an eyebrow. While YunYun was starting to sweat for what's to come.
"To think my daughter would come home, with a man beside her." His hair covered his eyes while he makes a large smirk on his face.
"What's your name boy?" He finally looks up, the duo getting a view on how this man looks. His voice didn't change at all as he tried to sound as intimidating as possible. Kazuma just guessed that this is how crimson demons greet each other.
"Hai Kazuma desu." He just shrugged his shoulders.
"Kazuma eh?" He suddenly got very close to him, his face inches away from him. Kazuma could only look away out of awkwardness at this gesture, while YunYun was starting to cringe in her stance.
"Father stop that please! it's embarrassing!" YunYun couldn't take it in any longer as she shouted towards her father to halt the act. She went up to him and proceeded to punch his right arm with her two fists. Of course, it didn't hurt.
"Hahahaha! Ah man, I'll stop I'll stop." The man then laughed out loud wholeheartedly, his chest bumping up and down with his laughs that could be heard from a kilometer away. He placed both of his hands on his hips and gave a hearty grin towards the two.
"Sorry about that kid. Had to tease my precious girl somehow." He chuckled to himself. "Anyways, nice to meet you Kazuma. I'm DanDan. YunYun's father!" He winked as he pointed his thumb towards his face.
"Uh, nice to meet you too, DanDan-san." He awkwardly bowed as he was trying to contain his laughter at such a misfortunate name.
"Father, please don't tease me like that again. It's embarrassing!" YunYun was still complaining at her father's way of greeting guests. Her cheeks tinted red and at the corner of her eyes were little droplets of tears.
"No can do, miss. Need to see that embarrassed face all the time when I'm with you." His mouth was a now a thin line as he shook his head slightly.
"Anyways, what brings you here?" DanDan eventually sat down and asked as he sat down on the sofa that was across to them. Curious to know what brought his daughter back home, and with a man at that.
"I just wanted to see you is all." YunYun and Kazuma had also sat down on their chairs. "After I got your letter, I guess I wanted to pay you a visit." She reached her bag and got the letter out from it, and gave it to him.
"Ah, so it seems you got my letter." He smiled while looking at it on the coffee table. "Well, it's nice to know you still care about your old man haha."
YunYun just looked away out of, you guessed it, embarrassment. Yeah, you're going to see that a lot.
"Of course I care about you father..." She whispered to her side, hoping he wouldn't hear that. Luckily, he didn't.
"So, Mr. Kazuma," DanDan moved his eyes towards the perverted neet. "What's your acquaintances with my daughter?" His eyes suddenly went from a chill father to a sharp, mean Looking eyes. Kazuma, obviously caught off guard by this sudden change, shifted in his seat. But he still composed himself as he knew the truth since-
"There's nothing between me and your daughter. She's just a friend." He said with a straight face.
"Oh really?" He leaned forward, his stern expression and voice not changing in any way.
"Y-yes really." Damn it, he stuttered. No matter, he recovered pretty quick as his voice matches the tone oh his. Albeit, sounding a bit insecure.
"You two, please stop it." YunYun just looked at the two boys Infront of her with a bead of sweat dropping down her forehead. She really didn't want these two fighting over something so trivial.
"No YunYun, this is something really important that involves your future as chieftain and your life." He looks back at her daughter with his still stern expression. YunYun just shook her head in disappointment.
"Now then." Her father looks away from her and back to the man Infront of him. "Back to the topic. She's really your 'friend'?'"
"Yes. She is."
"That's impossible. YunYun doesn't have any friends!" DanDan suddenly slammed his hand on the table and raised his voice, startling Kazuma with his enemy detection activating for just a split second.
"Father! I thought you had a bit of faith in me!"
"Anyways! Listen hear kid, I know what you're relationship is like with my daughter. And I want you to know that she really likes sweets and rolls a lot in her bed."
"What are you talking about father?!"
"I see I see, I change my mind. In fact, me and your daughter are actually more than friends." Kazuma, seeing the sudden change in DanDan's attitude, quickly sides with him with some negotiations.
"What?!"
"If you want to know, my daughter also likes stuffed bears and other kinds of plushies, so please spoil her with them." Kazuma nodded diligently, taking in mental notes on how to please YunYun.
YunYun meanwhile, was starting to get embarrassed. But it had another effect on her; fed up. She looks towards them with a scary expression.
"Haha really? Well, I'll be sure to buy her lots of it."
"Ah, I see we finally come to an agreement eh? Well, let's shake hands on this fine occasion." DanDan smiled gleefully as he raised his right hand to shake with him.
"Hai hai." Kazuma, seeing the kind gesture Infront of him, also raised his hand. As they were about to joyfully connect their hands on this wonderful exchange, they were stopped by the immense pain that was met on their ears.
"Ow ow ow ow! Stop YunYun!"
"Ow please stop my daughter, I beg mercy!"
Both Kazuma and DanDan yelped in pitiful cries as they begged YunYun to let go of their ears which were twisted in ways that were not supposed to. She twisted it some more to really run it home. The two boys cried in pain as they were eventually let go of their ears, rubbing them to ease the pain.
"Hmph, that should teach you two a lesson." She pouted as she saw her handy work in display as the two boys bobbed their heads up and down to let her know they understood her.
"Sorry YunYun." They both said in unison.
After a few minutes of recovery, the two boys went back to discuss topics more worth discussing instead of teasing YunYun palooza. With DanDan back at his seat, and Kazuma at his original spot beside YunYun, the father decided to ask first.
"Well, what are you gonna do now that you're here? Our village isn't really a tourist attraction for foreigners."
"I guess I'll try and look around. See if there's anything worthwhile." Kazuma shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess there is some things that are worthwhile. YunYun, do you remember the village guide broucher?" DanDan scratched his chin as he looked at YunYun for an answer.
"You mean that broucher that we printed out a lot but never got to give away one?"
"Yeah... that." "You don't have to rub it in YunYun." DanDan grumpily thought.
"That brochure contains all the attractions we have in the village. At least, what we deem is attractive. YunYun, how about you bring this kid go sightseeing in the village would ya? Get him to know what our clan is like and all." DanDan offered. Honestly, it sounded pretty good. It wouldn't hurt to be knowledgeable about a clan that harbors some of the greatest mages out there.
"I'll do it if Kazuma-san is interested." She gave the greenlight as she looked at Kazuma for the final verdict.
"Eh, I don't see why not." He shrugged. "Let's do it."
"Awesome to hear!" DanDan said enthusiastically. "Well, since i don't really have any more questions, you two are dismissed." With that, he got up from his chair. Seeing as he saw how Kazuma wasn't speaking up, same with YunYun.
"Got it father. Come Kazuma, let me show you around." YunYun had also eagerly got up.
"We're doing this now huh? Oh well, don't really have anything to do so let's go."
Kazuma and YunYun were now walking around the village. After meeting up with her father, Kazuma was given the suggestion of sightseeing and getting to know the crimson demon village a lot more better. With YunYun as the tour guide, Kazuma was ready to learn just what made this village so special - and weird.
"This right here is where the great water fall resides. It's believed that if you drop an eris in the river, it will grant you your wish." YunYun explained as Kazuma observed the waterfall before him. It loooked pretty picturesque with how it flows from the top, and how it splashes in the river below. It wasn't too high where the little water droplets would get on you and make yourself wet, just enough for it to make a splash that was relaxing to see.
"The coins the day after would actually disappear. People believe that this is a sign that their wish has been granted."
"And do their wishes actually happen?" Kazuma squinted his eyes, raising an eyebrow.
"No."
"Ah, and yet people still believe them." He pities them quite a bit. To think that a superstition would stick to someone so much even after it was proven false was quite sad. He wondered who was the thief that steals the coins in there every night. He didn't know if he should label them heartless or smart. Probably smart.
"Let's move on shall we."
The two moved on from the beautiful waterfall and onto the bustling streets of the village. Here, he felt like he was walking through a convention center with all the odd fashion choices. It's like they were cosplaying a character of some sorts from their favorite franchise. Though, while he may call them weird, it was ironic seeing how he was technically the odd one out. He was dressed up like his usual self.
"Where to next tour guide?"
"eh... Please don't call me that. Anyway, were going to the shrine." YunYun looked away slightly and said about their next destination.
"A shrine?"
"Yes. You see, there was a deity long ago that visited our place and blessed us with our first ancestors." She explained. Kazuma can only look at her with squinted eyes.
They arrived at their destination, and to see what this deity actually looked like was, something he least expected. When they arrived, he saw YunYun do the standard procedures which you would do at a japanese shrine. It was odd since he was sure japan didn't exist in this world nor would the people here have any influences from it, but he guessed it came from the Japanese that were reincarnated here. The evidence coming from that guy named kitsurugi or something. And that asshole who designed the Destroyer.
After they did the procedure, what Kazuma expected was to see a pagoda or even a statue of a buddha of some sorts, but what he didn't expect was-
"Is that Hatsune Miku?!"
Yes. It is indeed, Hatsune Miku.
For some weird reason, the holy deity this village worshipped was a fictional idol that come from a country that didn't even exist in this world. He couldn't grasp or figure out how Miku even came to this village, let alone this world. Now he was really sure a japanese had come here and spread their ideas seeing how the shrine had japanese influences and this god damn figurine.
"You're familiar with the statue? I didn't know you had come to our village before." YunYun, obviously being clueless, was surprised at how Kazuma knew of the well perserved figure of Miku.
"No I haven't been to this place! It's just that, I didn't know you guys were worshipping Hatsune Miku for christ sake!"
"So that's her name. We didn't really know her, we just called her the 'girl gifted from man'."
"Ugh, another day, another japanese to ruin everything." Kazuma walked up the Miku figure and inspected it. He couldn't deny, it was a really good figurine. It was made of wood. He could tell that whoever created this took great care with deciding the best material to make it and the craftsmanship behind such amazing display. They must've spent all their skill points into wood making.
"Shall we move on to the next stop?" YunYun had walked up to Kazuma and suggested leaving the shrine and go someplace else.
He gave a sigh and agreed, the two leaving behind the figurine in it's place, ready to be worshipped once more.
After travelling around the village area for the whole day, YunYun concluded their little tour with one final stop; the library. It was decided since this was the only place worth mentioning that had any historical value behind it. They did go to various shops, schools and all, but they just looked at the outside and soon left. This time however, YunYun would at least explain their history and go inside for once.
"And finally, we have the village library. Here, all recorded history of the clan is written in books which you can read here. If you want, we can spend the rest of the day learning about our history." YunYun proposed as she turned around to look at him as Kazuma observed the library before him.
"Hmm well, I'll probably do it tomorrow. I don't really have the brain power after this lengthy day." Kazuma gave out a tired sigh as he looks at the building in boredom. He didn't really have the mood to learn history right now.
"Oh well, I guess we could." YunYun was slightly bummed out he didn't want to hear their history but she brushed it off. "With that, concludes our tour. So, did you like it,?" She eagerly asked to know about his opinion. Curious to know if she did a good job or how eye-catching the village is.
"I guess I did." Kazuma just scratched his cheek. Honestly, he didn't really know what to say. Yes the village was nice, but that's pretty much it. You could only have so many attractions for a village that's isolated from the kingdom.
"Hey YunYun?"
"Yes?"
"Is there an adventurers guild here?" It was out of curiosity really. He didn't see one as they were strolling by so it got him curious.
"Sadly there isn't. The only one nearby is just a couple of hours from here." She was gesturing towards the nearest town which was Obsidio. The town which was recently liberated and the closest one to the borders between the kingdom and the empire.
"Ah I see. Bummer."
"Well we don't really need one as this village is actually quite peaceful. Even if the demon king is just nearby." Right, he forgot. The village is really close by with the empire. He wondered just how close they are though.
"Right. Anyways, do you know any place to rest?" Kazuma asked as he was starting to feel tired from all the walking. Plus, he hadn't thought about his temporary place to stay before going to this village.
"Oh. There's an inn nearby my house. I guess you can afford a night or two there." She answered. She didn't know how long Kazuma would be staying as she just thought about it just now. She guessed with how fast their decision was to go here and go sightseeing had pushed back the question. "Actually Kazuma, how long are you staying here?"
"Oh yeah. I guess I'm staying for..." Looks like he himself had just realized this as well. He thought for a moment on how long until he finally answered with- "A week."
Perfect. A week would do. To him, it's the perfect length to know and explore a place before you go. Not too short where you miss out on a lot of stuff and not too long where you get bored of it.
"A week? I guess we could... hang out..." She said that last part so quietly he couldn't even hear it.
"Well YunYun, I'm done for today. I'm gonna go and take a rest." He says as he walks off to where she told him the inn would be.
As he was walking however, he had a sense that someone was closely behind him. He nudged his head around slightly and saw YunYun at his back. Right, she did say it was close to her house, so it made sense why they were going in the same direction. He honestly forgot about that.
"Hey Kazuma-san?" She spoke up from behind. He slowed down his pace to match the speed with her at the back. He loooks at her in anticipation.
"Do I seem annoying to you?"
"Eh what?" He had to double take her on that. He was curious, what type of situation did she go through to come up with this question?
"D-do I seem annoying to you?" She asked again, this time, with a stutter on her first word.
"Um, No. No I don't." He scratched his head. It seemed like he was lying, but truth be told it was indeed the truth. He was just nervous about it for some reason. "Why do you ask that?"
"I-its nothing. Just forget what I asked." She lookes down at the ground, the cracks on the walkpath being visible. Truthfully, she didn't know as well. She just thought that maybe with her dragging Kazuma to her home village just so she couldn't be lonely was enough of a reason to be questioning herself. Her words.
"YunYun."
"Huh?- Ita!" She looked up in confusion and was met with her head hitting his back. Kazuma stopped walking as he turned around to face her. Her eyes looked confused as she rubbed her forehead from the impact. With how the day was nearing its end and the sunset's light lightly tapping her face, she looked way too adorable for her own good. It was definitely a sight to behold.
Kazuma shook his head slightly. He was getting distracted.
"YunYun. Please, don't ever think your annoying or a nuisance."
"Deja Vu." He felt like he had this conversation before with her.
"You're YunYun. The shy but lovable YunYun. I never thought that you were some hinderance or annoyance. Your actually really cool to hang out with."
"God what the fuck am I saying? I sound like some trashy protagonist whose a goody two shoes!" He thought internally. But hey, if it meant that with these cheesy words could potentially change the mind of a socially anxious girl for the better, than he would bite the bullet.
"Your my friend, YunYun. And don't ever think that it's a lie."
"K-Kazuma-san..." YunYun, was taken aback. She couldn't even formulate words with how genuine and sincear he sounded. She could even feal her heart skipping a beat or two.
"K-K-Kazuma-s-san..." She was a stuttering mess. To think that these words of kindness and reassurance would impact her this much was astounding. She was confused, surprised, embarrassed, maybe even lovestruck.
Lovestruck. Could that be a possibility? She shook her head internally. No, that couldn't ever be possible. It is idiotic to think that. There was just no way she ccould feel that way towards a man with a reputation for stealing the undergarments of women and even dropkicking if they were to piss him off or hit him.
And yet, her heart fluttered at that thought. She could feal butterflies in her atomach to the point where she was convinced that there were. She didn't know how to react to this new feeling. It was all alien to her. Something that she experienced just now. She felt her legs slightly tremble at the foreign feeling she was experiencing.
"Um, YunYun, you good?"
"Huh!? O-oh... I'm sorry K-Kazuma-san. I was spacing out..." Caught off guard by the sudden call of her name, YunYun darted her eyes to the ground as she apologized for her behavior. A habit she grew to have from an early age.
Kazuma only sighed. Frankly, he was getting kinda tired from hearing her apologies. Though, he didn't have the heart to call her out on this. He just knew it would sink her further into the deep end.
"Kazuma-san." She took a deep breath, gaining the courage to voice her thoughts out after having that mini event transpire in her mind. "I'm very thankful that you think that way about me. A-and thank you, f-for being my f-friend..." She clutched the end of her skirt with her two hands, her face matching her deep crimson iris as she closed her eyes tightly to not look at him.
"Your welcome, YunYun." He smiled as he gave a simple yet genuine response. Clearly, he was having much different thoughts than her.
"Kazuma-san..." She whispered in awestruck as she looks at the smile on his face. She didn't know it yet, but this face ignited a burning fire inside her that would last till the day she gives out her last breath.
"Did you say something?"
"N-nothing! Anyways Kazuma, how about you go to your inn? I'm going to head home now!" She stammered as she ran off from him and went to her house.
"... I could've sworn I heard her say something. That girl..." He put his right hand on his hip. "Welp, there's nothing here worth standing for. Guess it's time to sleep in another inn." He said to himself as he started walking at a brisk pace.
He arrived at where the inn was, got a room for one week, and settled inside his temporary home. It was the run of the mill, standard room. Nothing to write home about. He got his cloak off of him and unbuckled the belt that held both of his weapons, settling them down on the table that was provided to him. He knocks off the boots from his legs and layed down on the cheap yet comfy bed.
"Ahh." He moaned in satisfaction. After a long day of walking and learning about the village, it was soothing to finally lay down and rest a bit. His back definitely thanked him for it.
"Hmm" He hummed, "What am I gonna do tomorrow?"
"You know what? It doesn't matter. I'll think about it after sleeping for a bit." Right, the important part.
He didn't bother to change his clothes since they were all the same. Plus, he was just too lazy to do it right now. He closed his eyes, ready to sleep. Of course, his brain racked him with thoughts before going down to slumber, so that was annoying.
Eventually, after a few minutes of twisting and turning, he went to sleep.
"Imagine..."
"What one wish could do..."
"Don't you get it? The power to wish for anything in this world, I would do anything for it..."
"And yet..."
Flames. Fire and fury spread across the path which he trampled under. His steps bringing trembles across the land and fear across everyone that saw him.
"Ahhh!!!"
"Help me please! I beg of you!"
"Everyone! Get to higher ground!"
Screams of terror were heard as the village heard the footsteps of doom slowly approaching them.
"Aaaggghhh!"
"Aaaahhhh!"
"Guggh! Ahhh!"
Unfortunately, some couldn't make it. They were met with flames that reached higher than buildings as he walked through it like it was nothing. Some were squashed under his footsteps, while others were burnt to a crisp under the intense heat he produced.
"Joyous! Wonderful! Truly, our savior has punished the non-believers! What a joyous day this has been! You people do who not understand our saviors purpose and accuse him of such horrid and untrue things! Now, suffer as you beg for mercy towards our savior!"
The ramblings of a madman could be heard towards the unfortunate souls that were on the brink of death. Their last remembrance of life, tainted by the foul creature that praised him.
The village was quickly destroyed as he marched through it and left. The madman following suite in the flames.
"No... my home..."
"What? What did we do to deserve this...?"
Many villagers cry out in confusion as they saw the beast that destroyed their village in an instant leave. Silently thanking the god above that he didn't see them.
"My my, what do we have here?"
"Non-believers, still tainting the world? It seems that I will have to do his work. Not that I am complaining of course."
"You, who are you?"
A man shouted in anger, demanding to know the identity of the man before him.
"Now now, you don't have to know me. Just know that you filthy creatures must be punished for not believing in our savior!"
"Wait, please have mercy on the children. They didn't do any-"
The man was cut off as flames engulfed on all the remaining survivors of the village. No man, women, children or elder were spared. They screamed in agony as the hot fire burned their skin, and slowly took them away to the sweet release of death.
"I did your work, savior. Shall I gain praise as your humble disciple?"
"And yet..."
"You wasted it. A powerful wish, gifted from the gods, wasted..."
"What a hero you are."
An amalgam face that melted down towards the ground, horns sprouted out his head, a mouth that hung open and showed razor sharp teeth. Eyes that didn't have a soul in them. In fact, they were empty, black as the night sky. it was aface that screamed terror, and struck everyone that seen it with fear. And his scream. Oh his scream. Anyone who heard it, was traumatized from a scream that harbored all the unfortunate souls he took.
It was an undescribable terror.
"aaaAAAGGGGHHHHHHRRROOOAAARRR!"
"All of you will soon learn the truth."
"Agh!" Kazuma woke up in cold sweat. His heart pumping much more than normal, his breathing faster than it should've been.
"What the fuck. What the hell was that?" He touched his face, he could feel his hand getting wet from all the cold sweat he formed.
He saw a face. A face which he could only describe as demonic. It definitely belonged somewhere in hell. It was so terrifying that, just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.
He was scared, but also confused. What was that? Whose face was that? He was sure he hadn't met someone whose face would be a nightmare for him. He didn't know. It was definitely the weirdest dream since he had in forever.
There were people talking about wishes, people dying, a man spouting some cultist nonsense, screaming. A lot of screaming. Though, there was one detail he was familiar with.
Hostis' last words.
Maybe that was truth he needed to hear, but it wasn't satisfactory. He felt like there was more to it than just a strange nightmare.
It was a hunch, but maybe it could be it.
"I need to go to that library tomorrow."
To be continued...
Side story 3: Hanging out with the girls
Currently, Rosalina was walking down a familiar dirt path towards a place which she hasn't been before. Beside her, was Megumin. How did the two end up with one another? Well, let's rewind a bit.
Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Hello? Megumin? Can I please come in? It's me, Rose." She kncoked on her bedroom door.
After recovering from her learning more about the party she's in, she still wanted to help in whatever turmoil the girls were going through. And after asking Darkness on what Megumin and Aqua liked to do in their free time, she decided that by doing the things they liked to do, it could potentially improve their mood or better, help them in their respective problems.
So right now, Rose was inviting Megumin to good old fashioned explosion. She didn't really see how this was a hobby or past time, but Darkness said she apparently liked doing it when she had the chance. She said she used to do it with the previous leader, which, she didn't really have a good image of.
No matter, right now, she just wanted her new party members to be happy. And luckily, Megumin was willing enough to open the door.
She heard the door creak open and saw the disheveled mage on the doorframe.
"Hi Rose. What do you want?" She asked. Her voice coarse as sand, with Chommusuke walking out of her room beneath her feet.
"Hello Megumin! I just wanted to ask, um, would you mind uh, going out for an explosion?" She asked, sounding pretty eager, even though she wasn't interested in the slightest. Maybe because of the opportunity about her hanging with Megumin was a reason.
"Explosion?" For a second, a glimmer of sparkles shone on her crimson iris. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared, leaving dark and lifeless eyes.
"Yes, explosion. I heard from Darkness that you used to go out on times like this to practice it. I myself have been pretty interested since I haven't seen anyone perform it before. So... Wanna impress me?" She also heard that Megumin had an ego for anyone interested in explosion magic, so saying that she's interested would fuel her pride up and making the chances of her going out exceptionally higher.
"Umm uh..." She paused for a moment, not sure if she should do so.
After the event where Kazuma left, his words stuck to her like super glue. Forever ingrained in her mind. Him dissing her about her use of explosion had basically traumatized her into not doing it anymore. Especially after her explosion magic had, in some way, killed him on that fateful day. She swore to herself to never use it again. Though, she couldn't lie, she did miss it.
But hey, it wouldn't hurt to go out with her right?
"I guess, but I'm not going to use explosion."
"Huh?" Rose was pretty confused. Then what are they going to do exactly?
"We could, hang out I guess. Maybe we could know about each other better." Honestly, this was went way better than she thought it would.
"Yeah that sounds like fun. So, want to go now?" She proposed, being enthuastic for real this time.
"Yeah. But let me chang first."
After a few minutes of waiting, Megumin got dressed in her usual attire. Her outfit of which she hadn't put on in quite a while, since she was in the mansion all the time. Now that she has a reason to go out, she dawned the the cape and oversized hat on.
It wasn't long before the two girls were walking on the dirt path with Megumin leading the way. It has now been a full month after Kazuma had left, and Megumin was still recovering from that fact alone. Her attitude had drastically changed since then, but slowly over time, she has been turning into her old self again.
Before, she would be quiet. Not speaking a word to anyone other than herself. But now that she's only with Rosalina right now, she was forced to come out of her shell.
"So Megumin, I wanted to ask." The former looks at her. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to but, what was Kazuma like in your party?"
She knew that Kazuma was basically the sole reason everyone was depressed now. But she didn't really see why or how after Darkness's little explanation of the man in question. She just wanted to make sure she wasn't going crazy. If these women were brainwashed, or that they are insane for being so down bad for a man like him.
"Oh um..." Megumin runbed her arm, trying to gain courage to speak about him again. "He was... definitely something."
"Go on."
"While he was a bit of an asshole sometimes, I still liked him."
Now, Rosalina was really trying not to scream at her. Saying that she's either insane, dumb, or naive. It took a lot of willpower to do so.
"... Why do you like him?" She asked, a bit of unrestrained malice seeping through her teeth. Clearly not understanding how there are two women who liked this guy.
"He accepted me for who I am." She said, which completely stunned her.
"While I was still doing explosion runs, he didn't stop me one bit. Sure, he bugged me about it, but he never forced me to change." She continued, "That's what I liked about him. Plus, he was the one who always knew what to do, how to get out of tough situations. Without him, I'm pretty all of us would've been dead." Her voice had much more life to them than it ever was
"But, after... a quest we had done, which ended up with him dead, I guess that was the final straw." But now, she went back to that depressed state, reminded by that incident.
"What happened?" Rosalina's intrest had peaked at that moment, curious to know what series of events led to their falling out.
"We went to an extermenation quest, to clear out some bandits. Before that, me and Kazuma had a fight which led to me being angry in that trip. So, when Kazuma was away from me, I..." Megumin could feel her whole body shiver, tears started to form on the corner of her eyes. "I set of an explosion."
"Darkness was severely injured, and Kazuma went to help her. While trying to save her, he died from arrows and stabbed by the bandits." She finished her story, she was strong enough to not cry this time.
"I... was useless. You know what happens after using explosion right?" She nods. She heard from her former teammates what explosion did to you. "I layed on the ground, oblivious to the fact that I killed Kazuma. I was still savoring that explosion I ignited, which... ended up ruining our entire party." Unfortunately, she couldn't contain it any longer, as she fell to the ground, and the flood gayes opened. Tears fell from her eyes as she retold the story.
"Holy Eris! Are okay Megumin?" Rose, shocked from the sudden action, went down to her level immediately to try and comfort her. "It's okay Megumin, let it all out." She rubbed her back, hoping this action would comfort her in some sort of way.
"Kazuma...gugh!"
"Kazuma... *Sob*... No. I'm stronger... than this." She sobbed, but soon enough, recollected her thoughts. "I'm stronger than this. I'll try and change, for me, and for you... Kazuma." She talked to herself, the words not reaching to Rose.
"I'm okay now, Rose." Megumin said as she got up, wiping her tears away with her sleeves.
"Are you sure." Just wanted to make sure. Megumin answered with a nod.
"Hey Rose, I know I won't do explosions anymore, but, want to see me practice other spells?" For the first time in her life, she was finally going to break out of her shell and perform spells other than explosion.
She did feel a bit wrong doing so, but, she needed to grow up. She isn't a kid anymore. Sure, she is 15 now, but like everyone else, she grew. She's going to grow up to become a better version of herself. For her sake, and for Kazuma.
She wonders what her younger self would think if she sees herself like this in the future.
"Sure Megumin. Do whatever you want." Rosalina didn't know this, but this was a huge stepping stone for Megumin. They both went to spot where she once did her daily explosion, to now performing and practicing new ones.
"I finally did it Kazuma. I tried new spells. Are you happy for me? I hope you do. Since, I love you."
Megumin, after a month of solitude in the mansion, was finally out and being happy once again.
After Rosalina hung out with Megumin, the next day, she was standing in front of Aqua's door this time. With her being very proud of herself in achieving her goal yesterday, especially after seeing Megumin pumping her chest out and declaring Infront of Darkness that she learned new spells, she moved on to try and cheer up Aqua this time.
Aqua had occasionally gone outside to Axel, but she always went home late, and always reeked of alcohol. She assumed that she went out drinking all day and night and comes home late all drunk. While she didn't mind anyone drinking, she also cared about responsible drinking. And seeing how Aqua wasn't taking care of her liver so well, she decided to step in and, not change, but encourage her to be more responsible.
Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Like yesterday, she knocked on the door three times, before calling out her name.
"Aqua? It's me, Rose. I want to talk to you about something."
Soon after, she heard footsteps from behind the door steadily approaching her. The door opened and revealed Aqua with her pajamas still on and hair very unkempt. It appears she was still asleep before she arrived. Her visible bags being an indicator.
"What do you want, Rose?" She groggily asked, rubbing her soft blue eyes.
"Uh, Aqua, how about we go out to Axel today?" Rosalina was fidgeting with her fingers below, trying to repel the absolute stench of alcohol reeking from the goddess.
"Today?" She looks at the window behind Rose. "But it's soooo early. Can't we go out after a few hours?"
"Aqua, it's noon. You've slept long enough already."
"Oh come on, it doesn't hurt to sleep a few hours more right?" Aqua asked, trying to justify her horrible sleeping schedule.
"Please Aqua, can't we just go now? I promise I'll be the one paying." She really wanted to help her out of her bad habit, so far as to risking her bank account. Which, she knew later was a mistake.
"Okay fine, you got me on that one. I'll go take a shower and change." She says as she walks away frrom the door frame.
"... please do." Rose mumbled under her breath.
With Rosalina waiting in the living room for Aqua to ready herself up, Darkness was coincidentally there as well and decided she wanted to know what Rose and Megumin did yesterday.
"Oh, I just wanted to talk to her is all." Rose said as she conversed with Darkness.
"That's really sweet of you. Oh, and I never thought I'd see the day where Megumin used spells other than explosion. How did that happen?" She was curious about this one. She remembered how dedicated and prideful the crimson mage was for sticking to and learning explosion through and through. Never breaking her promise on herself. Heck, she herself admired Megumin for that. But now, seeing how she abandoned that life long dream just yesterday, she wondered what happened to make her change her mind.
"I don't know."
"Eh? Really?" Darkness was surprised to say the least.
"When we were walking, she just said she wanted to try other spells. I went with it and saw her doing it. I gotta say, it was entertaining seeing her being so nervous about learning her second spell." She remembered an image on her mind of Megumin sweating profusely on her adventurer's card, her finger hovering above the skill 'fireball'. How nervous she was to swipe and learn it.
"Hmm, I guess people are like that sometimes." Darkness was more of saying this to herself.
"You betcha!"
It was a couple of minutes now with Rosalina and Darkness conversing with each other. Which was stopped as Aqua came down the steps of the living room, her attire looking the same as it usually did. Luckily for the blonde crusader and the brunette warrior, Aqua had lost the smell of alcohol stemming of her.
"Alright Rose, I'm ready." She said, her usual energy from before, gone. To Rose, it seemed normal, but for Darkness, she could feel herself cringe at how fake she sounded. Like she was putting up an act for everyone. She didn't confront her about it however.
"Awesome, let's go Aqua. I know just the place we could hang out at." Rose said as she eagerly grabs her hand and went outside the doors. Darkness looks on at the two leaving before going back to read her book.
"Where are we going?" Rose did let go of her eventually, and Aqua just followed her from behind.
"I discovered a bar with a really cool atmosphere around it. Why not give it a try right?" She looks at her.
"What's the name?"
"I think it's called like 'The Redemption'. Something like that."
"... phew, it isn't one where I was banned luckily." Aqua whispered to herself.
"What was that?" Rose thought the blue haired goddess said something to her.
"It's nothing!" Rose just lookes at her confused before shaking her head and looked at the road again. Aqua only sighed in relief.
Rose didn't know this but, after Kazuma left, Aqua went to every bar there is and drank herself till the owners couldn't stand her any longer. She would go to a bar or pub, order drinks, proceed to make debt, and after the owners find out she's in mountains of debt and couldn't pay, they just gave up and banned her from never entering their place ever again. She has been banned from countless bars, and until she pays them, she wouldn't be able to drink there. So the number of pubs she could go dwindled drastically.
The two arrived at their destination. It was exactly like what Rosalina described; a bar with an atmosphere. The atmosphere really was that the furniture and walls were high quality, and that's pretty much it. Tough the attendees weren't just drunkards drinking their life away to bliss, so Aqua definitely didn't belong here.
The warrior and the goddess both took their seats, sitting near the bar top with the bartender servicing drinks. The man himself saw the two beauties sitting down and immediately went to them to take their orders.
"Hello there, what can I serve for you two~." The man asked, clearly trying to impress the women in front of him.
"I would like a glass of milk please." Rose, didn't drink. She prefered water or any other drinks that didn't contain alcohol. However...
The woman to her right, was the complete opposite.
"I would like your strongest liquor please!" Aqua requested, slightly shouting at the bartender. He just nodded with smile before going back to serve their drinks.
"Liquor huh?" With the bartender busy making their drinks, Rose wanted to know a little bit more about the fallen goddess beside her.
"Yeah, I actually never drank liquor before. I usually drink wine for the most part. But..." Suddenly, aqua had a downcast expression. "After Kazuma left, I guess I wanted to try it."
Rosalina leaned in close to her. "Aqua, what do you think about Kazuma?" She knew what Darkness and Megumin thought about him, now she wanted to know what Aqua thinks. Honestly, she was still conflicted.
On one hand, Darkness described him to be an irredeemable man. A menace to society, men, and especially women. She thought he was disgusting. But after hearing what Megumin had to say, it was very clear she adored him, maybe even loved him. The way she talks about how he's so brave, smart, while sometimes mean, he still doesn't look down on them. How he accepts her for who she is. Honestly, it reminds her of her old teammates, especially with one man she remembered. Anyways, now she really doesn't know what to think, so maybe with Aqua's perspective, she could finally make up her mind.
"Kazuma huh... that damn hiki-neet..." She could hear her first words, but she mumbled that last part to herself, maybe even a hiss at the end. Could Aqua not have liked Kazuma? She theorised internally.
"It's been so long after that pedo-neet left I don't even want to remember. He should've respected me for the goddess I am. So ungrateful." Aqua sulkeed as she placed both her arms on the bar top, her hands balled into fists.
"Ah haha yeah..." Rose awkwardly laughs at the mention of her being a goddess. There's really no way this girl would be so stuck up think of she's one of the gods, she thought. She just shook her head, maybe this is one of the character traits Aqua has. A self proclaimed goddess of water.
"Here you go madame's." The bartender got back to them with their drinks in his hands. He sets them down Infront of them before leaving to take more orders. Rosalina grabs her glass of ice cold milk. Drinking it and appreciating the fresh taste of the milk they served here. Aqua looks at her drink for a moment before grabbing it and gulping down the liquid. She left the glass on the table, empty.
"Bartender, another one please!" She called out to him again. He grabbed it and proceeded to refill it.
"Goodness Aqua, you should really slow down you know." Rosalina adviced out of concern. The former not taking her advice into consideration.
""Whaat are yoouu talking about huh? I'm the goddess Aqua, you should giive meee every ounce of respect!" She truns to face her and slurred her justification towards her. Rosalina's nostrils invaded by the stench of alcohol coming out of her mouth.
"Yeah uh huh. Got it."
"Yoouu remind me to much of that Kaazuuma. That damn neet! Leaving this poor goddess to dust!" Aqua, after one drink of liquor, was already hammered by it's contents. Albeit, she did ask for the strongest one they had.
"Here you go miss." the same man from before placed the drink Infront of her. And as an added bonus, the whole bottle as well. Guess he was being generous?
Aqua, like before, dowend the liquor down her throat. Not even flinching at the burning after effects in her neck.
As Aqua was about to reach the liquor bottle to refill, Rose swooped in last minute and took it. Leaving Aqua to grab the air instead.
"Huh? Where's my-" Aqua looks around, trying to find the missing bottle. She then sees her bottle being stuck between the fingers of the girl beside her. "Hey! Give it back!"
"Nu-uh, you are not drinking anymore." Rose said with a stern voice. Almost like a mother scolding her kid.
"Give me back my bottle!" She whined as she lept forward towwards her. Rose only stopped her by holding Aqua's face with her free hand.
"Grr, you remind me too much of Kazuma!" Aqua stopped as placed her hands back on the bar top, resting her head on both her arms. "He was always scolding me about drinking!"
"Looks like he did have some sense..." Rose mumbled to herself as she placed the bottle down. Luckily, Aqua didn't hear or see it.
"I used to drink all the time after we finished a quest. I begged him for money. While he was being really mean towards me about it, he always gave it to me at the end..." Aqua, without realizing it, was listing off her time with the shrewd man.
"Everytime we went out to drink, he would always be there to watch out for me. Patting my back as I vomited out all the alcohol."
"Then one day, I got into trouble with a bartender. I didn't pay my tab so he threatened me that he would come to my mansion the next day. I begged at Kazuma for money, asking him to pay it. He eventually did, but we had to take a quest that day." Her demeanor had suddenly change. Before, she sounded like she reminisced all the memories she had with the man. But now, her voice was laced with deep regret.
"Things didn't go well. Kazuma was killed by some bandits. I revived him but he didn't seem the same as he was before. Later... he told us he's gonna leave the party." Aqua shrunk her arms in, a few tears leaking out of her eyes.
"I was so mad back then, yet... I also felt guilty. He said some words to me and... it stuck ever since." She could hear a few hiccups forming from the goddess before her.
"He said *sob* that I always made problems and got us into debt. *sob* I always made problems for the party, gugh. I'm so sorry Kazuma! I wish I was a better teammate for you!" Suddenly, Aqua exploded and cried her heart out.
"Aqua are you alright?" Rosalina, like with Megumin, lept to comfort her by hugging her.
"K-K-Kazumaaa... I swear I'll repay all the debt I caused for us... I promise I won't be useless anymore *sniff*..." Aqua. cried as she regretted every decision she made.
Normally for the goddess, she wouldn't act like this. She would never admit or say that she felt sorry for all the things she caused. But now, under the influence of much stronger alcohol, she deeply regrets and feels depressed for all the things she's done. In a way, alcohol was the gateway to show her true feelings.
"There there Aqua, it's fine." Rose said as she patted her shoulder.
"You'll always be *sob* my friend, K-Kazuma...*sniff*" Aqua let out her final cry before huddling down into her arms. The onlookers, plus the bartender, looked at her with pity.
An hour had passed, and Aqua was feeling much better than before. She had never showed out those emotions before. So letting it out fellt satisfying to say the least.
"T-Thank you, Rose. I never thought I would say tose things..."
"It's fine Aqua. We all have our inner struggle right?"
"Y-Yeah..." Aqu rubbed her arm. "Don't say anything about this to Darkness or Megumin okay?" Aqua's cheeks were tinted red as she faced Rosalina.
"My lips are sealed." She says as she swipes her mouth.
"Hehe, thanks." Aqua looks down. "Kazuma was... always there for me." Rose, still on the fence about the man, leaned closer to Aqua.
"When we first came into the world, he was the first one who took me in. We've been together ever since then."
"Odd choice of words but okay." Rose thought.
"He is disgusting at times. A perverted neet who chickens out at the end, but he was there for all of us. Sacrificing himself for victory. I would never say this to him but..."
"He's the friend I always wanted." "But never had."
"Wow..." Rosalina looks down as well. "I guess I was wrong. He really is good, no, decent man at least."
"Oh don't get me wrong, he was still a disgusting man, but, he had his shining moments." Aqua said with a smile on her face. Guess they really were friends after all.
"Hey Aqua, why not get the party together and do a quest for once?"
"Sounds like a good idea! I haven't done a quest in ages." Aqua seemed to like that idea. Her energy was back like it usually had been.
With Rosalina paying the bartender, they head back to the mansion and asked if the residents there if they wanted to take on a quest. They agreed to it and did the quest, just like old times.
"Phewy, I forgot how scary quests could be." Aqua said as she drank the ale she ordered.
"Haha, I never thought launching fireballs at zombies were so fun!" Megumin, while eating the meal Infront of her, said with enthusiasm.
"Did you see how much damage I caused at those zombies after I punched them? They really didn't stand a chance." Rose puffed her chest out in pride.
"Hmmm~ especially those slimes. They showed no mercy towards my body. Oh, how much I would pay for it to happen again ahh~!" Darkness, was still the same. The other three girls stopped what they were doing and just looked at her, before sighing and continued on with what they were doing.
"Thank you, Rose." Darkness looked at Rosalina, who was in the middle of eating her meal.
"Oh uh, what for?" She swallowed the remaining food in her mouth, and asked for some clarification.
"For them." She motioned towards the two girls Infront of them. One was about to drink some beer, while the other, quickly grabbed it, saying that she's too young to drink.
"I really thank you for taking the time out of your day to comfort them in our problems. You really shouldn't have." Darkness talked in a more serious manner this time. She really was an odd switch huh?
"Oh it really isn't that big of a deal really. I just wanted to get yo know them is all." Rose smiled at her.
"Still, you helped them nonetheless. Thank you for that." Darkness smiledd as well.
The four proceeded to eat, their energy back again like it was before.
After they finished eating their dinner for the night, they payed and bid farewell to the lovely Luna at the receptions desk, who, was really glad that the trio is back in action. Or in this case, the squad. Rosalina decided she still wanted to know more about Kazuma as Luna mentioned about him to them, so she stayed behind, leaving the other three to go back home without her
As the trio were leaving however, they were met by a man who stopped them in their tracks.
"Hello, sorry for bothering you but, where is the reception desk?" He asked, trying not to annoy the girls Infront of him.
"It's just behind us." Darkness was the one to answer.
"Thank you,. I'll be on my way. Sorry for bothering you." He thanked them before heading past them. The three girls just shrugged before walking again.
As the man approached the counter, he saw two women talking with each other. He stopped dead in his tracks, his face full of shock, amd a few tears formed in his eyes.
"... Rose?" He spoke, his face full of confusion yet hope. Hope that what he was seeing right now, wasn't a dream.
"Huh?" Rosalina looks around, trying to figure out who called her name, before landing her eyes on the man behind her. She too, stunned like him. With the feeling of shock going through her, she asked him the same question.
"... Ferdinand?"
Author's Note:
Hey there everyone, sorry for not updating after like, a month. I was really not feeling as I was writing it. Like a hundred words a day. But recently, I've been feeling it again wrote the last couple thousand words this week, and finally finished it.
I guess I had a writer's block that time.
Anyways, to me, this chapter wasn't really a chapter for Kazuma. What was important for me in this one was that Kazuma has a reason to learn about the history of tthe world, YunYun having more of a connection with Kazuma, and concluding the original party's arc. This chapter was more about Rosalina and the girls character development rather than Kazuma. So forgive me if you thought that the chapter felt like filler. It was more of a buildup towards Kazuma's dream.
In my opinion, this chapter felt really weak and I don't want a repeat on the next one and beyond.
I hope some of the characters doesn't feel to ooc. Like Kazuma, Megumin and Aqua. I felt like they were on tthe verge of going out of character so I hope that isn't tthe case.
Anyways, That's all from me. I hope you like this chapter and comment on anything that's on your mind. See you on the next chapter!
Ps: They fucking removed autocorrect and now i have twice as many spelling mistakes as before!
"Hey, why is he called the demon king? Shouldn't it be the demon emperor? With the demon king empire and all that."
"I don't know, it sounds cooler."