For the Glory of the Rodina
United forever by friendship and the Goddesses,
Our mighty land will ever endure.
The Kingdom of Belzerg will live through the ages.
The Royal Blood of Heroes our fortress secure.
Belzerg National Anthem, Revised Edition
Lying on her belly, Yunyun had to remind herself that it was OK to keep breathing. She was hidden by both spells and a physical camouflage, and the enemy was too far away to sense them either way. Still, seeing the forces of the Tomb marching forth from their fortress made her heart pound in her chest.
"How many of them do you think there are?" Sero whispered. "I can't count them all, but it looks like tens of thousands."
"At least that," Yunyun agreed. "That's Evil Lord Envy, there, at the head of that column of demons. And behind them, Guren, the Lava Slime. They're Demiurge's most powerful lieutenants. And...and somehow Pandora's Actor is there too, leading the entire army. We thought he was dead…"
"How'd he come back?" Sero demanded.
Yunyun shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe we killed a double. Maybe that's a double there. He is a shapeshifter, it wouldn't be hard to have someone take his place. But either way, even if that's just a double, he's sure to be strong, and we can't risk treating him as though he were anything less than the real thing."
"Right, so how screwed is Axel then?" Sero asked.
Yunyun shook her head. "Sero, those would be hard for us to fight. Axel has a bunch of low level humans with weak gear. Guren alone would be enough to reduce Axel to ash. He burned entire kingdoms on his own when Nazerick invaded originally. Anything that gets close to him bursts into flame. That's why he's moving along with the hellspawn and demons; they're immune to his heat. And that's not even covering Pandora's Actor. You saw him fight Iris and Bakugo; he's one of the strongest of Nazarick's generals, almost as powerful as the Demiurge."
"So, what do we do?" Sero asked. "We're going to help them still, right?"
Yunyun sighed. "Yes. We have to. It doesn't look like we managed to lure Demiurge himself out, but this is a majority of his forces. They've almost…" Yunyun trailed off, her eyes going wide.
"Almost what?" Sero hissed, sounding worried.
"...almost left themselves totally defenseless here," Yunyun answered. She bit her lip. Demiurge was cunning, and cruel. Was this a trap to lure them into his own domain? She didn't know. One way or the other though, they had to keep a close eye on him.
The gate shut at last as the legions of Dreadnights, liches, demons, slimes, trolls, and a myriad of other horrors from beyond the world sallied forth. It was days yet before they would reach Axel, but that made Yunyun suspicious. Nazerick was capable of powerful teleportation magic. One of their primary strategies during their conquest had been to teleport powerful monsters to the center of cities and utterly obliterate them after bypassing all defenses. That was why the Crimson Demon clan had only survived by teleporting at least once per day, never staying in one place long enough to be tracked down and slain.
"That's all of them, come on," Yunyun whispered, and they crawled back from the top of the hill to a depression, where Yunyun teleported them three times before returning to their camp, to throw off any potential pursuit or tracking. They really didn't know what Demiurge was capable of, but over the years he'd tracked down the Crimson Demon survivors more than once, and each time the results had been bloody.
After the last teleportation, they had to walk for a mile to get to their campsite, keeping careful watch for any sign they'd been followed. As they did, Sero used his tape to snag several wildflowers from the forest floor, braiding them into a bracelet of sorts, which he handed over to Yunyun.
"There ya go, don't say I never gave you anything," he teased.
Blushing, Yunyun put the bracelet on, trying not to show just how pleased she was to receive the gift. It was a bit strange, hanging out with Sero. He was goofy and irreverent most of the time, always trying to get Yunyun to laugh at his antics or jokes, and most of the time managed to succeed. He was just so different from the overly dramatic Crimson Demons, laid back and relaxed whenever they weren't in a battle, but focused and determined when they were.
They talked about all sorts of things as they walked, what it was like back in Sero's strange world, where everyone had odd powers, but somehow no magic or gods. Yunyun talked about the long ago days she'd spent with Megumin at school, or the Adventurers they'd shared together or with Megumin's party.
"They sound like pretty cool friends," Sero observed. "Man, that's just what I imagined when I started at UA! Having a bunch of people together, going on kick ass adventures! And I mean, I told you about when we fought the League of Villains. That was pretty cool. And then the Sports Festival, but…"
Yunyun walked closer to Sero, reaching down to take his hand and giving it a squeeze. He looked at her with an expression of shock, his face going beat red.
"It's OK, Sero. We'll win, and then, you'll get to return to life, and go home," Yunyun said, trying to keep the pain from her voice. That was the hardest thing about all of this. Sero wasn't going to stick around. He was going back to his own world one day. That hurt whenever she thought about it, so she tried not to.
"Yeah, well, I mean, I don't have to go, right?" Sero asked nervously. "You know. Maybe I could stay. With you."
That made Yunyun go beat red. "W-what do you mean!? Y-you said you were going to go back to your world, to be a hero!"
"Yeah, I mean, I can, it's just...Yunyun, beating Demiurge isn't going to be enough to fix everything. There's still going to be monsters. You're going to need heroes here. And...and I don't know if I can turn my back on that. Especially not since…" Sero swallowed and looked away.
"S-since what?" Yunyun asked, her heart now thundering in her chest.
"I sort of, you know. Like you. I mean, I know it's stupid," Sero mumbled, trying to pull away from Yunyun."You're an immortal Demigod, and the Chief of the Crimson Demon Clan. I'm just some kid from Tokyo. Plus, you're way too pretty for someone as ugly as I am."
"You….you really think I'm pretty?" Yunyun found herself asking. It was, in her option, just about the stupidest thing she'd ever said. She wasn't even wearing her normal outfit, just some standard brown robes that blended into the background fairly well. Her hair was a mess, as there was little time to worry about such things on the campaign trail, and she knew she needed a bath, badly.
Sero looked back at Yunyun, and she could tell from the way he started her eyes had to be glowing, but he didn't try to run away. From what he told her, glowing red eyes were actually somewhat common for humans from his world, as odd as that sounded. "What? Of course! You're really cute. I mean, your eyes are so bright, and, um, I like your hair and er, well, you're sort of stacked, even in that robe."
That made Yunyun giggle. "That's sort of a crude thing to say, you know."
"S-sorry! I just, I mean, oh, never mind, this is stupid. I know I'm going to have to go back to my world, and-"
"Sero," Yunyun said quietly, nervously shuffling her feet. "If...if you wanted to stay...I could use your help, and, um, well, I do sort of need a deputy chief and all."
"What?! You, you mean that?!" Sero gasped. "You'd let me stay?!"
Yunyun giggled again. "Well, I'd have to talk to Eris, but they did let Kazuma stay in Belzerg after Megumin and him defeated the Devil King, so I don't see why not."
They ended up holding hands as they walked the rest of the way to camp, which made Yunyun absolutely giddy with delight. She could not wait to tell Megumin about-
Right. Megumin was still in the Divine Realm. Well, maybe she could say some prayers to her or something. Apparently, Komekko had been teaching the Crimson Demon Clan that her sister had ascended to godhood in a massive fireball for nearly 200 years now, so it wouldn't even be that strange.
"Hey, Sero, Yunyun. What's the news?" Bakugo demanded, stepping out from behind a tree and stalking towards them as they reached the camp.
Sero and Yunyun quickly let go of each other's hands and stepped apart, blushing. Bakugo had been acting rather oddly ever since Iris had named him her shield, by which Yunyun mostly meant that Bakugo appeared to be making an effort to be nice.
"Well? Speak up! You two dumbasses go deaf or something? You're supposed to be tracking the fucking enemy, not making cow eyes at each other!"
Well, trying was good, right?
"There's over 10,000 dreadnights, thousands of demons, a legion of mountain trolls, and several full cabals of liches," Yunyun reported. "Pandora's actor is back, apparently in command, and he brought Guren and Evil Lord Envy."
Bakugo chewed on a stalk of grass he had clamped between his teeth for a long moment, then spat it out to the side. "Shit. Alright. Come on. We gotta talk to Iris about this. That's more heat than we can fucking handle."
Iris was standing with Komekko and several of the freed human slaves that had been selected as their officers around a large tree stump that was being used as a table.
"They're acting like they emptied the place," Bakugo growled as he walked up, pointing to the capitol on the map they had spread out. "We ain't got good intel on what all forces they got inside of there. Undead don't need rations or sh-stuff like that, and demons feed off emotions and you can summon 'em up real quick. Plus, that got that portal they can pour reinforcements through."
Sero gave a rundown of what they had seen, and Iris pursed her lips. "They intend to force a battle at Axel. Demiurge has likely guessed our plan, and knows we wish to draw him out. He hopes that if we fight at Axel to save it, he will crush what few forces we have with overwhelming numbers. Even I cannot fight Pandora's actor again and hope to win. Even with my Shield, that would be a taxing fight for the two of us, to say nothing of their army, which has a myriad of powers that would slow us. Or Guren."
"We could take him," Bakugo growled, eyeing the piece one of the Crimson Demons had placed on the map to represent the Lava Slime.
"Indeed, between the two of us, we could defeat Guren. But not at the same time we faced the army, or Pandora's Actor," Iris said, leaning over the map and frowning. "Even were we to unite our forces with those of Axel, they would be insufficient. This army is simply too large to fight head on."
"So we f-, so we don't," Bakugo snapped. I pointed a finger at Yunyun. "How many of you people can use Explosion?"
Yunyun blinked. "Um, well, not all the Crimson Demons have mastered Explosion, but a dozen can cast the spell. It's not very useful in a pitched battle though, because you can only do it once, then you're basically useless."
"That's fine. We ain't gonna fight a pitched battle, 'cause we'd lose," Bakugo said.
Iris suddenly nodded. "Yes. We fight a battle we can win: hit and run tactics."
"Yeah. You zap in, shoot your load, then have your buddy get you the hell out of there," Bakugo said. He pointed to the road between the capitol and Axel. "That's a long ass road. Take weeks for a big army to make the trip, even one that ain't human."
"And in that time, we wear them away. Any time of the day or night, a pair of Crimson Demons could arrive, cast Explosion, then vanish. With twelve, we can easily rotate it," Iris agreed.
"Make it random. Don't get predictable. We do that, they ambush us back," Bakugo explained.
"What about Axel? Even doing that, a couple Explosions won't kill Guren," Komekko said with a shake of her head. "We've tried that."
"This Wiz bi...person. She's the Ice Witch, yeah?" Bakugo asked.
"Um, yes, that's what we used to call her," Yunyun agreed. "She ran the shop in Axel for a long time, but she was also one of the Demon King's generals. I used to go to the shop with Megumin all the time, I never even knew she was a lich, she was so kind...but when she uses her Ice Magic...there's no one who can match her. She personally froze Hans the Poison Slime, another general. He wasn't as strong as Guren, but Lava Slimes are weak to Ice magic."
"How many of you can cast ice magic?" Bakugo demanded.
Komekko snorted. "Boy, we are Crimson Demons, master of Advanced Magic. All of us can cast powerful ice magic."
Bakugo's nostrils flared at being called boy, but a quelling look from Iris made him take a deep breath. "So. You know what happens to something hot that gets super cooled?"
"It becomes brittle," Sero said, rubbing his chin. "That happens, one good blow is enough to shatter it."
"Right. And I got a hell of a hammer here," Bakugo said with a grin, lifting up his axe. "Me and you, Iris. We smack that bastard, together."
Iris raised an eyebrow at Bakugo, who blushed faintly. "I mean, together, we can kill that thing, your majesty. Or whatever. Shit, I don't know. Sero, what's the fancy way to say this shit?"
"Er, 'your Majesty, I propose we combine our strength and together attack the foe?'"
"Right, yeah, what he said," Bakugo said, jerking a thumb at Sero.
Iris gave him a level look. "I think I would prefer to hear you say it."
Bakugo gave Sero another glare, and he sighed heavily. "Your majesty, I propose…"
"Your majesty, I propose," Bakugo repeated.
"'That you let me take you out on a date."
"That you let me-YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Sero sniggered and launched a stream of tape, yanking himself out of the way before Bakugo could leap over the table and attack him.
"YOU COME BACK HERE SERO! THAT'S LE MAJESTY OR SOME SHIT! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!"
"Oh come on Bakugo, if you ask her maybe she'll say yes, you know you want to," Sero teased as he swung from tree to tree using his quirk.
"FUCK YOU!"
Bakugo tried to keep up with his explosions, but in the forest Sero's mobility was nearly unmatched, and Bakugo just ended up smacking into several trees before Sero fell down laughing. Bakugo for his part, yelled at Sero for a bit, then gave up and laughed himself, before sitting next to his comrade and talking to him for a long while. About what, Yunyun could only guess.
"They are quite the pair," Komekko observed. "Reminds me of Kazuma, actually. He was rather the experience himself, from what I remember when I was a girl."
"Perhaps," Iris said, a faint smile on her lips. She turned to Yunyun. "Dine with me, Chief. I would speak with you in private."
"Oh! Um, of course, your majesty," Yunyun hastily agreed, dipping a quick curtsy.
Their meal was not a grand affair, nor were there any servants to attend to them. Instead, Iris and Yunyun shared a pot of stew in the shade of an old oak tree next to a babbling brook.
"What do you think of our divine champions?" Iris asked abruptly after they'd discussed supplies and plans for moving the camp the next day.
"Oh! Um, I mean, Sero's, nice. He, um, well, he sort of asked if he could stay after we win, and, um, I guess I said that I maybe thought that was a good idea and would like him to stay with me," Yunyun admitted, tapping her pointer fingers together and blushing.
"Truly? You are that fond of him?" Iris asked, appearing surprised.
"Um, well, I mean...he's sort of away from his home too, and," Yunyun swallowed, glancing over at the camp, where the Crimson Demons were performing various chores, such as repairing clothes, making magical potions, or tending to their few chickens and goats they took with them. "This...I mean, these are my people, but...but they're also not. I only know Komekko, and, well, she was a little girl when I knew her. She's not really the same person. Everyone I know is dead. Really, I feel like as much of a stranger in a new world as Sero does. And...and, well, he's a good friend."
I shadow passed over Iris' face, and she bowed her head. "I too understand what it is to be alone, Yunyun. You are the only person here I knew before I was sealed away, and we were only passing acquaintances. Everyone else...they are gone. The world we find ourselves in now is a terrible place."
"Iris...are you? You know...OK?" Yunyun asked quietly. "I had a long time to accept that my friends and family were dead. You...you haven't really had any time at all."
"Truely?" Iris whispered, tilting her head up slightly. Yunyun could see tears trickling down the other girls face. "No. No I am not. There is a reason I knew nothing but rage for days after I was awoken. All that I had known, all that I had loved...It was gone. I thought all that was left to me were ashes, death, and vengeance."
"But...but you have us, Iris. We're your friends. You, um, you know that, right? I mean, I know you're the queen, so we can't really be friends, but, um, we could try?"
Iris laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Do you know something? When I was a little girl, I dreamed of having friends, of going on Adventures with them and fighting monsters. I hated being trapped in the palace and treated like a doll all the time. I wanted to explore, to fight, to simply be a girl. That was why I loved Big Bro so much. Kazuma was...different. He never treated me like a princess. I was just...his little sister."
"I just wanted to have friends too," Yunyun admitted. "I was the richest girl in town, the daughter of the chief. Everyone was kind to me, but...no one wanted to be close to me. Except Megumin, but sometimes that was just so she could steal my lunch."
Iris frowned. "Steal your lunch? I know you were rivals, but why would she need to take your food?"
"Well, her family was the poorest in the village. They didn't have much food, and Komekko...well, I mean, she's really old now and still skin and bones, but you've seen how much she can eat. She was that way when she was little, except more so maybe. So, Megumin would give her little sister her own food, and well, I'd give Megumin mine. We graduated at the same time. Did I ever tell you about the time I learned Intermediate Magic to save her and Komekko?"
They ended up sharing a number of stories from their past, often about Megumin, Kazuma, Darkness, and the strange goddess that accompanied them. Iris shared about how she'd kidnapped Kazuma once to be her playmate, and even the time they'd accidentally swapped bodies. They also remembered times with their families, the moment when Yunyun's mother had first showed her how to cook, when Iris' older brother had taught her sword play. For a brief moment, the two girls were allowed to simply be girls.
"Chief, we are ready, the Dark Goddess calls to us!" one of the Crimson Demons said, bringing the conversation to a close.
"Right," Yunyun said, standing and taking up her staff. "Let's show them the power of Explosion magic." That brought a smile to Yunyun's face as they headed for the teleport point. Megumin would have been proud.