"What the heck is thiiiiiis!?"
Kazuma shouted as he watched the Orcs pile onto each, and the structure of their combined mass began to take a humanoid shape. He then heard the sounds of feet landing on the ground and turned around to see Naruto carrying Megumin on his back.
"So… It seems the legends are true."
Megumin noted darkly, her glowing crimson eyes dancing with the flames that flickered all around them.
"Legends? What legends?"
Kazuma demanded, and the little girl's face grew grim.
"Upon the clan's creation, my ancestors waged war against the Orcs for this territory. With their power, a few Orcs were nothing but targets for spell practice. But much like today, the Orc tribes banded together against the Crimson Demons. We nearly lost."
Megumin continued, causing the others to gulp.
"But how? The Orcs are only this powerful because Sylvia made them more magic resistant."
Naruto asked, because he couldn't see how the Crimson Demons could potentially lose to these monsters. The Orcs were afraid of the eccentric clan for a reason.
"When backed into a corner, the Orcs are said to have the ability to combine into something ferocious. Our ancestors called it-"
Megumin replied as a shadow loomed over them.
"-Orctron."
"GROAR!"
A deafening roar shook the valley, nearly knocking everyone off of their feet.
"That's…"
Kazuma recovered and looked up at the behemoth that now towered over the village. The thing was as horrifying as it was ridiculous.
"H-heh… Heheh…"
Aqua stuttered and slowly backed away to hide behind Naruto, and the former NEET didn't blame her.
The Orcs locked together in a formation that was definitely reminiscent of a humanoid body, standing well over one-hundred feet tall. A familiar looking figure was at the "heart" of the creature.
With a name befitting its structure, this "Orctron" looked almost like a fleshy Gundam. Which was gross, lame, and terrifying at the same time. It was a little overwhelming to process.
"NARUTO UZUMAKI! WE WILL CLAIM YOUR BODY INTO US!"
Sylvia, along with every Orc that was a part of the formation, shouted in one unified voice. With the differing tones from each monster, the result was a terrifying harmonic sequence.
Naruto's face turned green, the imagery and sounds all burning into his memory. This scene would forever haunt his dreams, he was sure of it.
'For once, I'm not jealous of that guy's popularity…'
Kazuma thought from his own hiding spot behind Asahimaru. It was like the Orcs were working as a sort of hive-mind now, with Sylvia acting as the medium…
"D-don't worry, Naruto-san! I won't let those Orcs near you!"
Yunyun proclaimed while taking a defensive stance in front of the shinobi.
"M-me neither! Who knows what would happen if they got their hands on you… With so many sweaty Orcs taking turns within that mass of pure lust! Kuh! It's outrageous! Why couldn't it have been male Orcs…"
Darkness declared herself while muttering the last bit, earning a flat look from the ninja.
"I-I guess I should keep those grubby hands away from you. If only to keep that homewrecker from getting any more ideas!"
Finally, Aqua said her piece and moved next to Naruto while shooting Yunyun a dirty look.
"T-that was a misunderstanding, Aqua-san!"
Yunyun nearly cried with teary eyes. They weren't going to circle back to that nonsense, were they? Have mercy…
"Thanks, guys… I think?"
Naruto sheepishly said while handing Megumin off to a Shadow Clone, given Darkness and Aqua's questionable motives. But putting that to the side, he cracked his knuckles in anticipation.
Nightmare fuel or not, it was war!
"Let's do this!"
With that said, the group of adventurers sprung into action.
The final battle had begun!
The Orctron roared again and took its first step, causing those on the ground to nearly lose their footing from the impact.
"Kazuma, you attack from the left! Darkness and I will attack head on! Yunyun! Attack from the right! Aqua, cast some buffs on Darkness! Let's go guys!"
Naruto instructed before putting his hands in a cross shape. A dozen clones burst into existence next to him as the Orc monstrosity made its second step.
"Stealing the show again… But not this time! Come on, Asahimaru!"
Kazuma shouted, and the Forbidden Beast made a screeching noise before hauling itself to the left. He didn't know how he could tell, but the charg-Aqua had given them enough juice to last at least another thirty minutes or so. Maybe it was the Beast Bond or something.
But he could also feel that they would only be able to fire off a single mana blast before they ran out of power, so he needed to use it wisely.
Asahimaru bit into the "leg" of the Orctron, earning a yowl of pain from the monsters. A giant hand reached down to grab it, but the structure was intercepted by a Naruto clone who rammed it with a Rasengan.
"Thanks!"
Kazuma shouted, earning a mock salute from the distant shinobi.
'The flames are kind of obscuring my vision… I should probably get closer. Too bad I didn't have enough skill points to learn the Beast Vision skill.'
With that thought, Kazuma began to make his way down the hill towards the opening Asahimaru had created when passing over the circle of flames.
"Kyah!"
"Darkness!"
Naruto shouted when the Orctron stepped on Darkness with its massive foot, but his lips turned into a fine line when the entity lifted its leg to reveal that the knight was completely fine.
In fact, she now held a look of bliss on her blushing face as she lay in the Darkness-shaped imprint in the ground.
"You enjoyed getting stepped on, didn't you."
"No I didn't."
She readily denied while averting her gaze.
Why did this girl even bother trying to hide it anymore? Was that a sort of play to her too?
Shaking his head, Naruto's attention was drawn to a beam of light that pierced through the shoulder of the Orctron. He grinned upon seeing Yunyun, who was doing her best to draw the monster's attention.
But while the Crimson Demon's magic was powerful, it did little overall damage to their foe and was thus ignored.
'Come on, Yunyun… You gotta be more creative than that.'
Naruto thought as he could almost see the gears turning in the girl's head.
"Light of Saber!"
Yunyun fired off another spell, this time aiming for the "head". But once again, her spells were ignored. It didn't take a high intelligence stat to realize what was wrong. She simply didn't have enough firepower to be deemed a real threat.
'Firepower…'
Looking off into the distance, Yunyun found Megumin who was currently being held piggyback by one of Naruto's clones on top of Jerry.
Wait… Was Megumin watching her?
'Ah! She's smirking! She knows my firepower is lacking!'
Yunyun bristled upon seeing the smug smirk on her rival's face and turned back to focus on the enemy.
'Focus! I need to focus! Remember what Naruto-san taught you!'
Thinking back to all of the combat advice the shinobi had given her in the past, Yunyun found herself observing Naruto and his clones.
They were jumping around the enemy like fleas, each taking turns to attack/distract. While one clone shouted taunts and was chased by the enemy, another would charge in with a heavy hitting attack or allow the Wizard Predator to attack.
The Orctron stumbled upon getting hit by another one of Naruto's Rasengans.
Yunyun's face fell. Naruto was just too powerful… She would never be able to-
Another clone landed a Rasengan, and this time the Orctron staggered enough to nearly fall on its hands and knees.
'No, wait. Naruto-san isn't using nearly as much firepower as he could be. Then how is he… Ah!'
Yunyun's eyes widened in realization when yet another clone landed an attack on the increasingly frustrated behemoth, but this time she noticed where.
The doppelganger had aimed for the Orctron's joints! A weak point!
Resisting the urge to smack herself, Yunyun charged another spell and took aim.
"Light of Saber!"
The beam of light hit true to her target and pierced straight through the Orctron's knee.
The effects of her attack were instantaneous as the Orc formation couldn't support its own weight any longer. The monsters screeched as they fell to the earth with a rumbling "Thud!".
"Good job, Yunyun! Now, Kazuma!"
Naruto shouted, beaming with pride as Asahimaru opened its jaw.
'They're acting like a hive-mind, with the Demon King Army General likely being the brain… I'll aim for Sylvia!'
Kazuma thought before thrusting his thumb down.
"Now, Asahimaru! Sunrise Beeeeeam!"
As instructed, the Wizard Predator fired off its red mana beam directly into the heart of the Orctron.
A gaping hole in its makeshift chest, the Orcs spasmed a few times before going limp on the ground.
"...Pfft!"
Aqua stifled her laughter while staring at Kazuma, whose face turned red as a Crimson Demon's fashion sense.
"Did we get it?"
Opting to ignore the pesky goddess, Kazuma called out to Naruto who was helping Darkness out of a foot-shaped crater.
That pervert probably let herself get stepped on, didn't she?
"I think so! Great job, everyone! Now let's finish off the rest of the Orcs before they-"
Naruto began to say when a rope flew out from the mass of Orcs and wrapped itself around the shinobi's body like a lasso.
"Eh?"
The rope was then tugged. Hard.
"EHHHH!?"
Naruto shouted as he was dragged into the pile of Orcs, his screams drowning in the sounds of the Orcs screaming in rage. The monsters then began to squirm, retaking the shape of the Orctron once more as they started picking themselves off of the ground. But it only seemed to have enough Orcs this time around to form a torso.
"N-Naruto! At least take me with you!"
Darkness shouted and was about to be crushed by a giant hand when a long tongue stuck itself to her back and pulled her out of harm's way.
Out of habit, Jerry proceeded to pull the Crusader into his mouth. But after a second, the Giant Toad shuddered and spit the female knight onto the ground.
'He spit her out like bad food…'
Megumin and Naruto's clone both thought as they watched Eroness squirm in a pile of toad mucus.
"Guh…! T-to almost be crushed by the Orcs, only to be eaten by a Giant Toad! But then I was discarded by that Giant Toad like trash…! Mmmmfff…! T-this is too much!"
Darkness moaned while rolling around in the slime. The only thing that could have made this worse(?) was if the slime didn't have such a sweet scent. It almost smelled like… honey?
"Naruto! Just what do you feed this child!? Why doesn't his slime smell bad!?"
"Why are you asking me like it's a bad thing!? I'll have you know that I only feed Jerry the best of the best! Which you are clearly not!"
Naruto's clone barked in response while petting the back of Jerry's head soothingly.
"Poor fellow… That pervert probably tasted awful…"
"H-h-how dare you! I'll have you know that I probably taste amazing!"
Darkness barked back before she realized how that must have sounded, and she looked up to see Megumin's expression turn pitiful.
"D-d-d-don't look at me like that, Megumin! I didn't mean it like that!"
"It's okay, Darkness… We'll still love you no matter how depraved your mind becomes."
Megumin said with a supportive tone, and this was the final blow as Darkness fell to her hands and knees in defeat.
"T-this… This isn't the kind of humiliation that I desire…"
The Crusader moped while making circles in the toad slime.
Kazuma wanted to know a little more about the smell of that toad mucus as well, but now wasn't the time for such things.
"Aqua! Give Asahimaru more mana! We're almost out of power!"
"Noooo! I don't wanna go back on that thing! It's scary being thrashed around like that!"
Aqua whined and ran off to find somewhere to hide.
This girl…!
But Kazuma didn't have time to berate her as a shadow loomed over him, and the boy's face paled when he saw the Orctron was reaching towards him and his partner.
"Ahhhh! Asahimaru! Get us out of here!"
Latching onto the side of the Forbidden Beast, Kazuma called for a hasty retreat and even tried channeling some of his own mana to help charge the thing. But they were too slow, and the Orctron managed to grab onto the Wizard Predator.
"Ack… Asahimaru!"
Kazuma shouted after falling to the floor. He helplessly watched as his prized partner was lifted into the air by the Orc monstrosity.
"Light of Saber!"
A white beam struck the Orctron's "elbow", causing it to drop the metal snake.
Kazuma yelped and rolled out of the way as Asahimaru crashed into the dirt.
"Aqua-san! We need the Wizard Predator! P-please charge-eek!"
Yunyun, while pleading with the water goddess, shrieked when the Orctron pointed a "finger" at her with its uninjured arm. Orcs shot out of the tip like bullets, each crashing into the ground around her.
The Crimson Demon quickly constructed a magic barrier, but that only solved half of the problem. The Orcs that had fallen slowly started getting up and glowered at her.
'M-my location's been compromised!'
Yunyun thought, her face turning pale. Luckily, a Shadow Clone quickly appeared and made short work of the Orcs.
It only served as a moment for them to catch their breath though as the Orctron fired off some more Orc projectiles towards them, this time with both arms as the other had recovered.
"I'll go get Aqua, so try to hold off the Orcs until then!"
Naruto's clone shouted before taking off in the direction the goddess had gone.
Kazuma summoned Chunchunmaru and took a stance. He needed to defend his Wizard Predator while Naruto's clone retrieved Aqua.
"Don't worry, Kazuma. I'll protect you with my life!"
Darkness declared, taking his side. Her expression was confident as she tightly held her broadsword in both hands.
"Unless you upgraded your swordplay, then I have every right to be worried. Also, you really do smell like honey. I really want to know what that ninja feeds that toad."
"!"
While Darkness was strangling the life out of Kazuma, the Orctron took aim at the two and fired off a couple Orcs.
Yunyun quickly constructed a barrier above them, causing the Orcs to bounce off and land in various directions. She then followed up with a lightning spell that struck one Orc, but then it proceeded to bounce to the next and so forth until all of the monsters dropped to the ground.
"Focus, you two!"
"Y-yes!"
Kazuma and Darkness straightened themselves in the presence of the Crimson Demon. Was Yunyun always this scary? The timid mage hardly ever raised her voice.
It must have been Naruto's influence.
"We need to defend the Wizard Predator until Naruto-san's clone brings Aqua-san!"
Yunyun stated and raised her wand in preparation, and the other two fell back to back-to-back with the mage in a three-way defense.
"The Orctron can't stand anymore, so we only need to worry about the arm grabbing Asahimaru and the bullet Orcs."
Kazuma noted as Orcs rained down from above. He also noticed the strained look on the mage's face. Seeing as how she was fighting for so long earlier, it was safe to assume she was low on mana.
"Man… Man… A man…!"
One of the Orcs mumbled with hearts in her eyes as she crawled towards Kazuma like a mindless zombie, causing the boy to shriek in fear.
Darkness drove her blade into the back of the beast.
"Not just that, but this lot is also targeting Kazuma. They haven't taken their eyes off of him the moment they hit the ground!"
This sparked an idea in Kazuma's mind. A gruesome one, and it made him want to puke from the fear it brought. But it was something that needed to be done in order to buy them enough time for Naruto's clone to return with Aqua.
"I'm gonna draw their attention!"
"What!?"
The girls balked and looked at Kazuma like he'd grown a second head.
But there was no time to explain as the Orcs were really starting to pile up, so he broke into a sprint and shouted.
"Hey, you stupid Orcs! Look over here! I'm a powerful male who's defeated multiple high-bounty targets! That's right, catch me if you can!"
"The man is escaping!"
"Get him!"
The Orcs turned their attention away from Yunyun and Darkness and moved to capture the fleeing boy.
Kazuma immediately regretted his decision, as there were now at least thirty Orcs that were hot on his trail. One jumped out in front of him and tried to grab him, but his Escape skill activated which caused him to automatically roll under the creature's legs.
"Hah! My Escape skill runs on luck! You'll never catch me!"
The boy yelled and proceeded to swap out Chunchunmaru for his bow. Jumping off a large boulder, he took aim while in mid-air.
"Snipe!"
The arrow flung from his bow and landed right in the forehead of the lead Orc, killing the monster instantly and causing it to crumple to the ground. This caused a large number of Orcs to trip over their fallen comrade and crash as well.
"Hell yeah!"
Kazuma pumped a fist at his quick witted thinking. But his celebration was cut short when the earth around him erupted.
Rather, things were crashing into the ground all around him.
Looking up, Kazuma began to sweat when he saw the Orctron was pointing its finger at him.
"Man… Man… Strong man…"
The Orcs that had crash landed breathed as they stood up in their little craters. Their beady eyes locked in on him, lips curling into eager smiles.
"E-eeeek!?"
Kazuma wasted no time to unleash Snipe after Snipe, but there were too many of them and he was forced to abandon his bow to draw his sword for close quarters combat.
An Orc tried to pounce on the teen from behind, but Kazuma's Escape skill activated again which forced him into an impossible angle as he rolled around the attacker. This gave him an opening to stab the monster in the back.
Gathering some dirt in his palm with Create Earth, Kazuma activated a second Elementary Spell.
"Wind Breath!"
"Ah! My eyes!"
Several Orcs shielded their eyes as the wind carried the dirt right into their faces, and Kazuma proceeded to cut them all down.
'I feel invincible!'
Kazuma thought as he cut down yet another Orc, a massive grin on his face.
His Escape skill activated for the umpteenth time, causing him to bend backwards into a bridge position as an Orc made a move to tackle him. The adventurer proceeded to slick the ground in front of a large group of Orcs with Create Water before freezing it all with a cast of Freeze.
Kazuma cackled with laughter as he watched the monsters slip and fall onto their faces.
Compared to the impossible enemies he'd faced before like the generals and the Mobile Fortress Destroyer, these Orcs were childsplay!
Escape led into yet another kill.
"Fear Kazuma Satou, you mongrels! My time has… has… H-huh?"
Suddenly feeling extremely tired, Kazuma's vision blurred as he fell to the ground.
This sensation… Was this mana exhaustion!? Was he out of mana!?
'Oh no… I got a little carried away with the magic.'
Realization dawned on Kazuma's face, and he paled as the Orcs seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
They pounced on him without hesitation.
Shredded clothes flew in every direction as the Orcs fought with each other to get first dibs. They pinned the boy's arms and legs down with a strength he doubted even Darkness could match.
"L-let me go! He-wha-hey! My thing! My precious thiiiiing!"
"Oh my… Is this little one all tuckered out from the fighting? Don't worry, my special techniques will get him ready for round two~!"
An Orc cooed while smacking her lips.
"N-NOOOOOO!"
Kazuma squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst. This was it. He was about to lose his precious thing to a bunch of female Orcs.
'So this was the extent of my popular phase, huh? At least be gentle…'
Kazuma thought, a single tear falling from his eye as he resigned to his fate.
But just as all hope seemed lost, a loud buzzing sound could be heard and Kazuma felt a bright light wash over him. The Orcs looked up just in time for their heads to be evaporated by a ray of pure mana.
When the heat dissipated, Kazuma slowly opened his eyes to see Darkness and Yunyun running towards him.
"Kazuma! Are you okay!?"
"A-ah! He's naked!"
While Yunyun covered her eyes, Darkness rushed over to her party member and shoved the corpse off of the boy before draping a towel over him.
"T-they… They wouldn't stop… T-they were gonna…"
Kazuma stuttered as he rocked back and forth.
Darkness silently nodded and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, but Kazuma instantly shook her off.
"A-ah, sorry. My body reacted on its own."
Kazuma apologized and retreated back into his towel, earning a somber expression from the female knight.
"That's okay, Kazuma… It was probably a traumatic experience-"
"I guess my body registers Darkness on the same level as a female Orc. You give off that kind of vibe after all."
"...!? A-are you really traumatized!?"
Darkness barked and raised a fist as if to clobber the trash sitting in front of her.
"E-eeek! Orc!"
"You little…!"
Before Darkness could beat the boy to a pulp, however, Asahimaru slid up next to them.
"Hey, is Kazuma alright?"
Naruto's clone called down from the head of the Forbidden Beast, with Aqua holding onto him for dear life.
"Y-yes! I think…"
Yunyun replied with a bitter smile as she glanced at the boy in question who was currently being berated by Darkness.
"Good! I just got word from the boss… He wants us to blow up the Orctron with Explosion magic!"
The clone announced while scratching at his whisker marks, earning surprising looks from everyone.
"Explosion… w-while he's still in there!? Or rather, is Naruto-san alright!?"
Yunyun asked, voicing their concerns.
"Yeah… The boss is fine, for now. But he said the Orctron won't be able to recover its legs while he's distracting Sylvia, so now is the time to strike!"
Distracting…
Kazuma suddenly stood up, earning the group's attention.
"...Let's go."
If Naruto was willing to sacrifice himself to buy them time, he didn't have time to wallow in his despair. The Orcs needed to pay for the crimes they have committed today. The scars left in the bodies and souls of the men today would not be left unpunished.
"Naruto, can you and the other clones use Explosion magic?"
"We have just enough mana between the four of us that are left to cast one Explosion before we disappear."
The clone responded with a thumbs up.
"Alright, I'll channel some of Aqua's mana into Megumin in the meantime. Asahimaru, Darkness, and Yunyun will distract the Orcs while we make our preparations."
Kazuma instructed, earning a collection of nods. Save for Aqua, who scoffed.
"Why am I simply being treated like a battery!? This is unjust! Improper! How dare you treat me this way-"
"If we make it out of this alive, the boss says he'll make celebratory ramen."
The clone interjected, causing the Arch Mage to go silent.
. . .
"What are you all just standing around for!? You heard the hikiNEET! Move out!"
Aqua shouted while slamming her hand on the back of Asahimaru's head.
'So easy…'
Yunyun, Darkness, and Kazuma all thought in unison as the Arch Priest barked out orders.
Deep within the chest of the Orctron, an endless battle was underway.
Naruto slammed his fist into the face of an Orc, sending it crashing into a fleshy wall. He grimaced as the monster was then absorbed back into the mass by the others that made up the enclosure.
Two more Orcs then took its place as they fell down from the "ceiling".
The shinobi made a move to get out of the way, but found that one of the Orcs underneath him had a firm grip on his ankle. This allowed the falling Orcs the moment they needed to pounce on their prey.
Unfortunately for them, the Orcs were repelled by a burst of golden chakra. Kurama's power only seemed to make grow more excited though, as the entire room squirmed under the pressure of the nine tailed fox.
As the golden aura dissipated, Naruto felt Kurama shudder within his mind.
'I told you we should have eradicated this lot from the get go. This was already a ridiculous battle to begin with… Now you're stuck inside this knock-off Susanoo.'
'You're not wrong...'
The only silver lining in this entire situation is the fact that his friends, especially Yunyun and Kazuma, seemed to be getting a lot of experience from this battle. Hell, Megumin probably leveled up multiple times from the amount of Orcs her Explosion magic had taken out.
Speaking of Explosion magic, Naruto remembered the plan he'd relayed to his clones that were outside via Kurama. He only needed to fend off these Orcs until they fired it.
The only problem with that was-
"Naruto Uzumaki, my dear! Why do you resist our love!?"
Sylvia, after taking a direct hit from the Wizard Predator's mana beam, had combined with three other Orcs to recover. The Demon King Army General now looked like an inflated pile of rotted meat.
On top of this "room" already smelling just like how the Orcs looked, which was quite putrid mind you, it really seemed like Naruto was in hell right about now.
The only thing keeping him sane was the look of triumph on his friend's faces.
After all, he was well aware of how Yunyun and Kazuma had been feeling for a while now. On the Crimson Demon's part, she wanted to contribute more and feel like a part of a team.
Kazuma? Well, that guy was always complaining about being left in the crowd despite all of the accomplishments he had under his belt, and Naruto was partly to blame for that.
So, he let the Orcs "trap" him in here, leaving the rest of the group with the necessary puzzle pieces to finish the job.
'You and your bleeding heart… You better not regret the trauma this is going to leave on your mind.'
Kurama grunted before cutting off their mental link.
Naruto smirked.
Compared to watching his friends be sad and feel insignificant, he'd gladly take on these enemies for as long as they needed!
"Ahn~! Naruto! Look at what these feelings are doing to my body! This is all for you~! Come claim it! Come claim me!"
Sylvia moaned and tried to wrap their fleshy arms around the shinobi.
…Okay, maybe they could hurry. Just a little.
"Naruto clones! Are you ready?"
Kazuma asked, and upon seeing the collective thumbs up from the doppelgangers, he focused his attention back on Megumin. He had just finished channeling mana from Aqua to the Crimson Demon.
"The fate of the village is in our hands… Naruto's fate depends on this plan. Are you ready, Megumin?"
"Three Explosions within the span of a couple hours? I was born for this moment!"
Megumin replied with sparkling eyes, and the boy swore he could see tiny explosions going off in those crimson orbs of hers.
"Alright! Clones, fire!"
Kazuma issued the order to attack, and Shadow Clones let loose their Explosion magic.
As if sensing the incoming magic, the Orctron, who was trying to grab Asahimaru again, raised its arms just in time to guard itself against the mighty spell.
Boom!
The ball of condensed magic slammed into the colossal limbs, consuming the Orcs in a pillar of flames.
'Just as I thought…'
Kazuma thought as the smoke cleared, revealing a singed, but mostly intact Orctron. He didn't know how, but it seemed the Orcs were becoming even more magic resistant. Were they getting stronger?
"Good luck… You got this, Kazuma!"
Naruto's clones gave mock solutes before they dispersed from having spent their fill of mana.
"Do I fire now!? With Aqua's mana, I feel like I could actually destroy a mountain! Ahahaha! Let the Demon King bear witness to the fate that awaits him!"
Megumin shouted such dangerous things while waving her staff around.
Maybe he'd given her too much of Aqua's mana…
"Not yet! Your Explosion magic may be stronger than Naruto's, but I'd rather hit them when their guard is down. Asahimaru will create an opening."
Kazuma replied, prompting the girl's cheeks to flare up.
"O-of course my Explosion magic is more powerful than that cheat's!"
Yeah, she was totally going to use that against Naruto later.
Focusing his senses on his Beast Bond, Kazuma imagined circling around the Orctron. Asahimaru then made its way behind the behemoth, causing the Orcs to shift in their fixed position so that they could attempt to grab the Forbidden Beast.
Just why were they so fixated on his partner?
Something was nagging Kazuma in the back of his mind, but shook his head. Their pincer attack was ready!
"Alright, Megumin! On my mark!"
"Yes! Darkness shrouded in black…"
While Megumin chanted her spell, Kazuma raised his arm to signal for the attack.
Up until now, Yunyun had been doing her best to stagger the Orctron with her magic. But he could faintly see Darkness retreating with the Crimson Demon on her back.
'She must have run out of mana… I think they're trying to say something, but they're still too far. Oh well.'
Bringing his thumb down, Kazuma made the signal!
Asahimaru unleashed a mana beam, to which the Orctron blocked with its arms. Good!
At the same time-
"Explosion!"
Megumin released her third shot of the day, the condensed ball of magic hurtling towards Orcs at a breakneck speed.
Clang!
. . .
"Clang? That's weird… Hey, Megumin? Did your spell malfunction? Why is it making such a strange sound?"
Kazuma asked, his expression neutral.
"...Don't be ridiculous, Kazuma. My spell was flawless."
Megumin's muffled voice responded from the ground as a flash of light went off in the sky above them.
Boom!
Ah, that's right. It all happened so fast, he almost missed it.
While Megumin was chanting, the Orctron's body had shifted and formed a second pair of arms. The new limbs had then grabbed Asahimaru and proceeded to swing the Forbidden Beast to hit the incoming Explosion magic high up into the sky.
"-zuma! Kazuma!"
"Y-yes, I'm Kazuma."
Kazuma said out of reflex as Darkness ran up to them.
"The Orctron is absorbing the corpses of the scattered Orcs!"
"T-that must be how it was able to make those extra arms… Although I'm not sure how they're getting the dead ones to move."
Yunyun added as the female knight put her down.
Kazuma looked at the two girls, then back at the Orc monstrosity that was currently sweeping ground to collect its fallen comrades.
After having fired the mana blast, Asahimaru was low on power again and could barely move. Yunyun looked exhausted and was probably out of mana, Megumin WAS out of mana having just fired Explosion magic, and Darkness's brand new armor looked like it had gone through a compact compressor.
On top of that, the rest of Naruto's clones were now gone and the real one was still inside of the enemy. What the heck was that guy stalling for!?
'Ah. Naruto is probably using this thing to train us, isn't he… Sadistic bastard.'
Kazuma thought with a twitching eyebrow. But what did that guy expect them to do now!?
They were tired, and even if he gave Megumin more of Aqua's mana, the Orcs would just swat it away with Asahimaru. His poor partner…
"K-Kazuma!"
Darkness's shaky voice called out, bringing the boy out of his thoughts.
"What is it now… Ah! A-A-Asahimaru!"
Following the Crusader's finger, Kazuma's eyes bulged when he saw that the Orctron seemed to be merging with Asahimaru. It was like the very flesh of the Orcs were slowly melding together to make one single organism.
It was… Grotesque.
Kazuma fell to his knees. His starting partner… The thing that was going to make his life as an adventurer fun again… It was gone…
'Just kill me now…'
Bzzzzt…!
A low humming sound suddenly reverberated from within the Forbidden Beast, and the boy looked up to see Asahimaru was beginning to glow a bright white.
Kazuma's eyes turned from confusion to horror when he realized what was happening.
"No… No! No no no no no! I take it back! I didn't mean it! Don't self-destruct! Asahimaruuuu!"
"Self-destruct… Ah! Wait, Kazuma! If that thing is self-destructing, you can't go over there or you'll be caught in the blast!"
Darkness grabbed onto Kazuma's arm when he tried to make a run for the Orctron. He tried to fight her off, but her hold was too firm.
Damn this Orc-woman's brute strength!
It was like time had slowed down at that moment. With Kazuma kicking and screaming as he watched his Forbidden Beast glow brighter than the rising sun.
Darkness frowned as she held her party leader in place for his own sake.
Yunyun turned away, tears in her eyes as she could only imagine what Kazuma was feeling.
Even Aqua, who was now playing her game while laying on top of Jerry, looked up and silently watched the scene play out.
'Guess that's my queue…'
Naruto thought when the room suddenly started glowing, and he could feel the sheer amount of power being gathered on the other side of the "Orc wall".
"What is that? What is happening!?"
Sylvia, along with the Orcs that still had the ability to speak, looked around the enclosure with fearful eyes.
"Looks like Kazuma managed to figure something out, just like I thought he would."
Naruto responded as his body became shrouded in a golden hue.
"The boy from before… He activated something in the Wizard Predator before we could fully absorb it."
Sylvia deduced, revealing a flash of sanity in their eyes. That is, until they leveled their gaze back on the shinobi. The general's expression melted into that of pure lust, probably due to the nature of the Orcs they had absorbed.
It was almost pitiful.
"For what it's worth, I had some fun taking on your armies, Demon King Army General Sylvia. It's too bad we had to be enemies."
Naruto stated as he calmly walked towards the nearest wall.
"I had nearly given up on finding someone special, but I'm glad to have met you, Hero Candidate Naruto Uzumaki."
Another instance of sanity came from the Chimera, and Naruto found himself feeling guilty.
Was this the only way? Could this person be saved? Maybe if he-
"Now come here and become one with us before the end takes us both! Ah… To think I would go out while embracing such a strong and handsome man~!"
Sylvia roared and shoved their arms into the backs of some Orcs that made up the "floor", earning blissful moans as they were yanked out and swung like weapons.
'Nope, I'm out.'
Naruto formed a Rasengan in his palm and blasted his way out of the Orctron just as the Wizard Predator detonated.
"The Crimson Demons really are amazing…"
Naruto commented as he watched the Arch Wizards commence the reconstruction of their village. Potholes were filled, trees were raised from seedlings and then immediately chopped up for planks that were then carried off by groups of magically constructed Golems.
It was just like Aomidori reshaping the Nuzloft arena, but on a much grander scale.
It was the day after the conclusion of Sylvia's attack, as the group had nearly slept the entire day. They were now waiting for Yunyun at the Griffin statue towards the entrance of the village.
"That blacksmith is so skilled in his craft as well! My armor is as good as new, and in just a couple hours! Although, he seemed pretty grumpy about something… He kept mumbling about the fountain not granting his wish or something."
Darkness chimed while adding the last bit thoughtfully.
"I-I wonder why?"
Naruto stuttered and scratched at his whisker marks sheepishly. When the knight looked at him questioningly, he quickly turned towards Kazuma who was currently huddled in a blanket while sitting on the pedestal of the Griffin statue.
"Hey, how are you feeling? That Beast Bond can be quite nasty when it breaks…"
"Nowhere is safe… The outside world is dangerous…"
Kazuma mumbled as he rocked back and forth.
A bead of sweat rolled down Naruto's cheek. The poor guy was probably traumatized, and rightfully so.
Apparently, after the Wizard Predator had exploded, Kazuma had run off to try and find a piece of the Forbidden Beast to keep as a memento. But he ran into an Orc survivor. Seeing as he was only wearing a towel, and was suffering the effects of the shattered Beast Bond, he didn't stand a chance.
Luckily, Darkness had chased after him and was able to save him before anything actually happened.
But needless to say, Kazuma was ready to go home.
Naruto turned towards Megumin, who was currently looking out into the distance with a smile on her face. This was a complete turnaround from her behavior prior to their Explosion competition.
"What are you so happy about?"
"Oh, uh, my level of course! After winning our showdown, again, I found out that I leveled up six times! I can't wait for our next showdown…"
The little girl responded before turning back towards the sky again.
Suspicious…
"Why do I get the feeling you're- leaving out some important details? Also, where did you put Deidara's body? It wasn't there when I came to get you to fight the Orcs."
Naruto asked with narrowed eyes, prompting the Arch Wizard to avert her gaze.
"...He was carried off by the wind."
Megumin replied with a monotone voice.
"...Huh? What do you mean he was-Hey! Did something happen!? Where do you think you're going!?"
Naruto barked when Megumin suddenly took off running.
"I forgot something at my parents house! Be right back!"
Megumin shouted back to the fuming shinobi while waving her staff.
That girl…!
Before Naruto could chase after the girl, he noticed Aqua walking up to Kazuma.
"Here! I found this in the rubble earlier, but you can keep it."
Aqua chirped and plopped a metal sphere into the boy's hands. It was dark, and had a faint red glow in the center of the object.
The light seemed to return to Kazuma's eyes upon realizing what it was.
"Asahimaru's… core?"
"Yup! I heard that Ancient Cores from the Forbidden Beasts are worth a lot, but I'll let you keep that one. You can praise me now if you want."
Aqua boasted while sticking her chest out with pride.
"Wow, that's very kind of you Aqua."
"Yeah, what's your motive?"
Darkness and Naruto both said, and the Arch Priest nodded along as she absorbed their praises. That is, until she realized what Naruto had said.
"H-hey! The kind and generous me was just giving Kazuma something to remember that metal snake by. It did save us, after all."
Aqua shouted before adding smugly.
"Unlike a certain fake ninja that was probably having a good time with that busty Chimera in the Orctron. I heard about their true nature from Kazuma, you know? And the memory from Megumin's father's magic item too. To think Naruto has only ever kissed men… Puhihihi!"
"W-wha-!? Lies! That magic item was broken! Faulty I say! Kazuma's also just lashing out because I made him take the lead this time around! You lazy man! Why bother asking for more time in the limelight if you're just gonna complain!"
Naruto barked while glaring daggers at Kazuma, causing the boy to snap out of his wistful thoughts with a start.
"Huh!? Of course I'm lashing out! You left me to be devoured by those Orcs! Not just once, but twice I nearly lost my precious thing… I'm scarred for life because of your sadistic idea of training! I take back what I said last night, I never want to train with you again!"
Kazuma jumped to his feet and roared.
Naruto took a step back, his expression reflecting just how shocked and offended he was. The nerve of this guy! Aqua too!
"N-now now… We all worked hard this time around, and we managed to defeat another Demon King Army General! That should be enough cause to go home and celebrate together, right?"
Darkness said with her hands raised in an attempt to pacify the situation, but flinched when all eyes turned on her.
"We all worked hard? Give me a break! At least Aqua made for a good battery for Megumin and Asahimaru!"
"I still need to slap you for that, Kazuma. But the only thing Darkness did to contribute this time around was getting stepped on by the enemy."
"Right? Didn't you guys say Darkness was sweet talking the enemy to try and find the location of a male Orc? Maybe her bloodline is secretly descended from Orcs…"
Kazuma, Aqua, and Naruto said, causing the Crusader's face to turn bright red.
"It would certainly explain the hard muscles."
"Her breathing becomes erratic when uncultured men are involved too."
"S-s-s-stop! The Dustiness family is from a long line of perfectly normal nobles! A-a-also, stop commenting on my muscles! I'll kill you all right here and now!"
Darkness shouted and made to pounce on them, but Kazuma activated his Escape skill while Aqua and Naruto were simply too fast for the female knight to catch.
"Ah! Her Orcish instincts are taking over! Naruto, Kazuma, run!"
"I-I'll show you Orcish instincts! Come here!"
"E-eek!"
As Darkness chased Aqua around the Griffin statue, Naruto chuckled as he watched from above.
Leaving aside the troublesome hiccups, their trip really had been fun. But it was high time to go home.
'I wonder how the meeting with Alderp went…'
Naruto thought when he noticed two figures walking down the road towards them. It was Megumin and Yunyun, and they each seemed to be holding a large basket.
Hopping down from the statue, the shinobi met the two girls halfway.
"Hey Yunyun! You sure seem to be in a good mood."
"Yup! Our friends gave us a farewell gift!"
Yunyun beamed while showing off the basket in her hands. It contained fruits, handkerchiefs, a bathrobe, and various bottles of what looked like skincare products.
Naruto grinned, happy to see his party member in such a good mood. But he wondered who these friends were…
"Yeah, they told us we needed to take care of ourselves for our rigorous party activities. I wonder what they meant by that? Any idea, Naruto?"
Megumin asked while smirking at the shinobi.
"G-gee, I wonder… Hehehe…"
Naruto laughed awkwardly as Yunyun walked on ahead towards the Griffin statue, then quickly pulled Megumin to the side when his party member wasn't looking.
"Call a truce?"
"Truce it is."
Megumin replied with a thumbs up, and the two nodded in understanding.
"Alright guys, let's go home! But first, thank you Yunyun for saving us from the trip home!"
Naruto announced and gave the startled mage a bow.
"Thank you, Yunyun!"
Kazuma, Darkness, and Aqua said in unison while Megumin rolled her eyes.
"Y-you don't have to thank me… I-I'm just happy to help!"
Yunyun stammered while hiding her steaming face behind her gift basket, earning chuckles from Naruto and Darkness.
'Okay, I changed my mind. I am definitely jealous of Naruto's popular phase.'
Kazuma thought with a twitching eyebrow as the cute and adorably timid mage of Naruto's party activated her Teleport spell.
He was definitely not leaving his room for a week! A WEEK!
A/N: So long Crimson Magic Village, and farewell to Sylvia! Time to go back home to Axel!
What started as a simple quest to sell a knock-off Pokeball, led to the re-reformation of the Axis Cult, taking part in a beast taming tournament, facing off against a masochistic clone, and finally, a load of misunderstandings in a village of chunni wizards that was under siege by a thirsty Demon King Army General!
Only our group of problem children, am I right?
Next chapter, let's see how things have been in Axel.
Spirit out!
