Darkness held Kazuma close, fast asleep on her shoulder. She watched his chest rise and fall with every breath. They were slow, warm on her chest. Usually, she would expect to be extremely aroused in a situation like this, the adventurer pressed against her body, but unusually, she felt nothing but a strange comfort from holding him so close, a warm feeling rising up her chest. She stared at his lips, she tried to imagine how soft it would be on her own. She leaned closer…
.
closer…
.
.
.
"Darkness,"
She jerked back and looked behind her towards the direction of her voice.
"W-W-What are you doing up Megumin!?" She whispered harshly as the mage stared at her judgingly. "How long have you been awake?!"
"Shh! You'll wake the others!" She hissed as she sat next to Kazuma. "I've been up since you put Iris to sleep,"
"Then that means…"
Megumin gently brushed Kazuma's hair, smiling as she looked at the adventurer slumber undisturbed, still held onto by Darkness.
"I didn't know he could be so regretful," She whispered. "He was so kind to Komekko,"
She picked up Kazuma's right hand, noticing it was cold to the touch. The mage slowly interlaced her fingers around his. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, sighing as she nuzzled against his arm.
"He always seems like the kind of man to live in the moment, to always avoid looking behind him, but he glances behind his shoulder when we're not looking," She moved closer to Kazuma's head. "You can have a little sister if you marry me you know," She whispered into his ear, "I'll always be there behind you if you ever look back,
"Megumin," Darkness whispered, not moving an inch.
"Yeah?" Megumin responded, her eyes closed as she still rested against Kazuma.
"You love Kazuma alot, don't you?"
"I do,"
.
.
.
.
.
.
Darkness could feel her eyelids get heavier with every blink, Kazuma's body feeling warm and cozy against her. She rested her cheek against the top of Kazuma's head, sighing as she glanced down at Megumin.
The mage looked back at Darkness, her crimson eyes slightly illuminated her face, hiding how pink the crusader's cheeks were.
"Are you sleepy?"
"No… I can stay up a bit longer…"
Megumin raised her hand up to Darkness' face, she pinched her soft cheek, making the crusader wince.
"What happened to our invincible crusader?" Megumin giggled as squeezed harder.
"It hurts!"
"You should sleep,"
"It's alright, I have to protect everyone by watching guard,"
Megumin frowned as she squeezed her cheek even harder, causing the blonde to let out a quick moan. She quickly let go, a judgmental stare on her face as Darkness turned bright red.
"How could I forget?" She sighed.
"S-Sorry,"
"You should still rest, I'll wake up Raemis and we'll keep watch,"
"A-Alright,"
Megumin squeezed Kazuma's hand tightly as she rose up, and placed a small kiss on his cheek. Darkness stared in shock as Megumin gently shook Kazuma, causing him to slowly stir awake.
"Kazuma, I'll take over watching guard with Raemis, so get some sleep, okay?" She softly whispered, placing another kiss on his cheek.
"O-okay…" He replied as he got up, rubbing his eyes as he looked to his left. Darkness was petrified with shock and terror. Megumin giggled to herself as Kazuma excused himself to his sleeping bag.
"Good night Megumin, Good night Lalatina," He tiredly grumbled as he laid down and promptly fell back asleep.
Megumin moved closer to Darkness and squeezed her cheek once more, smiling as Darkness sat frozen.
"Don't you need to sleep too? Noblewoman?" She teased as Darkness snapped back to reality.
"Y-Y-Yes!"
The blonde got up and moved to her sleeping bag next to Kazuma's. Megumin watched as she sat on folded legs, looming over Kazuma as she intensely gazed at Kazuma's sleeping form. She leaned closer to his face, just inches apart, before she quickly retreated into her sleeping bag.
Megumin couldn't stop giggling as she tiptoed over to Raemis. The demon was fast asleep, her mouth wide open as she snored, the blanket tossed aside as one hand rested on her stomach, the other atop Aqua's face.
The mage shook Raemis, causing her to blink open her golden eyes, scratching her stomach as she sat up slowly. She stretched as she let out a big yawn, before making eye contact with the crimson demon.
"H-Huh? What's wrong? Are we being attacked?" She yawned out.
"No, but we need to watch guard,"
"Oh,"
They both stood up, Raemis grabbing her coat and throwing it on, quickly sitting down and Megumin quick to follow. Raemis scratched her back as she lazyly scanned the area with half open eyes. Megumin followed suit, unsure of what to say in such a situation. She still was a little unnerved by the demon, the images of an injured Darkness still fresh in her mind. She could still remember the dark ashes that were smeared onto her crimson skin, the smoke of the explosion still fresh on her body.
Raemis scooted closer and gently ruffled Megumin's hair, making her jump in shock. She chuckled as she pet the mage on the head.
"Still a bit scared of me?"
Megumin didn't respond, unnerved by the demon so quickly reading her emotions. She nodded silently, a bit embarrassed to admit it to the older girl.
"It's alright, It's reasonable to be scared of me," Raemis whispered, looking away into the fire. "I won't hurt you, or your friends, promise,"
Megumin continued to stare deep into the forest, Raemis following her example. The pair was content with just keeping watch.
The mage crossed her arms and hunched towards the fire, trying to receive more warmth from the flame as it danced through the winter night. The demon moved even closer to Megumin, seeming to notice her discomfort. She draped her cloak around her, and gently wrapped her arm around her small frame, pressing her side against her's.
Megumin felt the effects of the warm cloth around her body instantly,
"Thank you…" She whispered.
"It's no problem, it's getting cold as of late,"
"Aren't you cold?" Megumin glanced up and down Rameis' body. "You're practically half naked…"
"I can make fire, remember?" She replied, breathing a small flame from her mouth as an example. "I can just store some in my body when it's cold,"
"That's… neat, seems useful,"
"It's not really, I have to let it out before it builds up too much, it's such a pain,"
"Like my explosion magic!?"
"Y-Yeah, sure,"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Hey Raemis?" Megumin spoke, still looking at the forest. "We have a lot in common, don't we,"
"Mhm," She agreed. "Especially our love of Kazuma,"
"H-How did you know?"
"You're pretty terrible at hiding it you know,"
Megumin fiddled her thumbs and looked down at her feet, embarrassed by being so easily read.
"Is it that obvious?"
"I'm shocked Kazuma doesn't know by now," Rameis chuckled, tossing some nearby twigs into the campfire. They watched as the wood quickly burned to ash.
"He knows,"
"Y-You sure?"
"Kazuma isn't stupid, or dense," Megumin whispered as she kicked a pebble into the flames. "He probably realized I had these feelings before I did,"
"Then why won't he…"
"I don't know," The mage sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "What an indecisive man,"
The pair sat in silence for the rest of the night. The only sounds being a soft breeze that made the embers from the fire dance through the night.
The party packed up their gear, the bright morning sun reflected brightly against the white snow. The quest had been, as Kazuma predicted, uneventful.
"Sorry it wasn't very exciting Iris," Kazuma apologized as he struggled to roll up his mat.
"Not at all big brother!" Iris exclaimed as she easily rolled up her own. "It was a lot of fun. It was like we were camping!"
"I'm glad you had fun,"
"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin called out as the party finished packing up their gear, pulling on his sleeve to grab his attention.
"Yes, I'm Kazuma,"
"Before we head home… do you think… I could let one out?"
"Go ahead, it has been awhile,"
Megumin smiled. She eyed a nearby empty field, picking up her staff as she chuckled under her breath.
"You're in for a treat," Kazuma whispered, looking down at the princess, who was watching with bated breath.
"I am Megumin! Most powerful of the Crimson Demons…"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"ION!"
The sky was painted with hues of orange and red as the embers from the blast flew gently through the air, falling like the white winter snow. The party struggled to stay on their feet, the blast from the explosion, at least Kazuma thought. In reality he was the only one trying not to lose his footing while the girls leisurely enjoyed the view.
The spell faded quickly as it appeared, the orange sky returned to its usual blue. Megumin stood triumphant for a moment, admiring her work as she began to fall forward, azuma quickly catching her before she slammed into the ground.
"How many points was that, Kazuma?"
"A solid ninety five,"
"Didn't it feel more impressive this time?"
"It's probably cause you didn't do it for a while," Kazuma chuckled as he picked her up, carrying the mage on his back. She quickly settled into her new position, wrapping her arms as tightly as her tired arms could around Kazuma.
"How did you like it princess?" Megumin asked Iris, who was staring up at her atop Kazuma's back.
"It was amazing…" She replied, starry eyed as Megumin giggled to herself.
"I'm glad you liked it,"
"Wasn't it amazing, Raemis?" Iris turned to the demon, who was glancing around. "Is something bothering you?"
"We're being watched," She whispered. "I hear their breath,"
Darkness drew her sword, scanning the area around the party as she pointed her weapon into the forest. She motioned for Iris to get behind her, Iris moving as quietly as possible, her hand hovering over the grip of something-caliber.
"There's five, no seven enemies," Kazuma whispered. "They're almost here…
.
.
.
Darkness to your left!"
The crusader redacted quickly, turning around and swiftly blocking the swipe a rookie killer threw savagely with her arm. She shook the beast off, thrusting her sword at the beast as it tried to stand.
"I thought we dealt with all these rookie killers," Kazuma uttered as he watched as Darkness predictably missed the prone wolf. He dropped Megumin to the ground and quickly drew his bow, finishing the foe by sniping an arrow to its eye. "Sorry Megumin!"
Raemis was busy dealing with a pair of the beasts, spiking one to the ground with her fist she dodged the other. She immediately realized her mistake, allowing the rookie killer to charge towards Iris, who was still behind the crusader.
Iris reacted quickly, drawing Something-caliber from her side with blinding speed, her sword gleaming like a blade of solid light. The princess cut the beast down with blinding speed, faster than Kazuma could snipe the rookie killer.
The remaining rookie killers emerged from the forest, their eyes aimed solely on Iris. The crusader and demon moved to protect the young princess, but hesitated as they saw Iris raising her sword high above her head, both hands tightly gripping the holy blade as it began to emanate a blinding light.
"Ex-" Iris cried as her blade of light seemed to extend into the heavens, a powerful pressure making even the rookie killers flinch. "-terion!"
The princess dropped the blade onto the group of rabid wolves, a massive pillar of divine light emerging from the ground. The party covered their eyes from the blinding light, looking back only once the ground beneath them was no longer washed with a yellow hue.
The attack had decimated the rookie killers, turning them instantly into a pile of ash. The princess' attack cut a sizable gash into the ground where it landed.
"W-Wow," Megumin whispered as she struggled to pick herself off the ground, Kazuma rushing over to help her up. "That was… incredible,"
"I concur," Darkness agreed. "Your technique was breathtaking. It somehow made me feel a little less fatigued just by witnessing it,"
"It stung me a little bit, but it was amazing, Iris," Raemis added.
Iris sheathed Something-caliber to her side, turning towards the crimson demon with an embarrassed look on her face, her cheeks flushed with a bright pink.
"Do you really think so?" She bashfully asked.
"It's not as impressive as my explosion of course, but with a bit of practice, I think you can at least capture a small amount of the power I possess," Megumin smugly replied.
Before Kazuma could scold the mage for belittling his younger sister, his train of thought was interrupted by a loud yawn. The party turned to see Aqua was sitting up, her legs still under the covers as she rubbed her eyes awake.
"Kazumaaaaa, what's for breakfast?" She groaned as she scratched her back.
"Oh good you're not dead," Kazuma said in a deadpan tone. "How did you sleep through the fight?"
"There was a fight?" She replied, letting out another loud yawn.
"You're amazing Lady Aqua…" Iris muttered.
Iris sat atop Raemis' shoulders, enjoying the view as the party walked back to Axel, ready to report back to the guild. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned ear to ear. The snow under their feet crunched with every step, the slight breeze shook the snowy leaves above them. The rest of the group followed behind the pair, Kazuma fiddling with the fangs of the rookie killers in a small cloth pouch, calculating the payout Luna would hand him when they returned.
He stopped when he felt Megumin wrap her hand around his, her gloved hand grasping his gently.
"Don't tell me you're cold," He hissed, not looking down at the mage. "It's too cliche,"
"I'm not cold," She replied, moving a little closer to her party leader as the two continued walking. "I just want to hold your hand,"
"A-Alright,"
Kazuma felt the mage squeeze his hand a bit tighter, the corner of her lips forming into a small grin. Her cheeks turned a little warmer as she glanced up at Kazuma's face.
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?" Kazuma asked, looking down at the explosion mage.
"It's alright," She replied. "As much as I like being carried by you, being side by side like this… holding your hand… is much better,"
Darkness watched from behind them, walking beside Aqua munching on a breadstick. The Goddess was just about finished when Darkness nudged her to get her attention.
"Mphm, wa?" Aqua asked with her breakfast still in her mouth.
"You've known Kazuma for longer than the rest of us, Aqua," Darkness whispered to her. "Tell me, do you know anything about his family?"
"Hmmm yeah," She replied as she finished her meal.
"What was his sister like?" The blonde asked as she bribed her with another breadstick.
"Sister? He doesn't have a sister," She replied as she snatched the food away from Darkness. "He has a younger brother I think,"
"Huh?"
"KAZUMA DO YOU HAVE A SISTER?" Aqua yelled out the adventurer in front of her, making the party look back at Aqua.
"O-Of course I do!" Kazuma exclaimed, a little pink in the cheeks. "I have Iris,"
"Thank you big brother!" Iris beamed from atop Raemis, before Raemis back turned around to continue walking.
Kazuma and Megumin both began to continue walking too, leaving the Priest and Crusader behind.
"How strange, Kazuma mentioned a sister he left behind when he came to Axel," Darkness muttered under his breath as the two began to follow the rest of the party.
"Oh I remember," Aqua mentioned a few minutes later. "There was an idol he liked,"
"An idol?" Darkness asked, "Like the Axel Hearts?"
"Something like that. That neet was a massive fan of hers, he would even call her his little sister, isn't that embarrassing?" She snarked as she suppressed a laugh.
Darkness stayed silent, staring at the adventurer holding hands with Megumin.
The sun set early in the middle of winter, the sunlight quickly disappearing as the party finished up cleaning up their victory feast. Kazuma had already turned in for the night after tucking in a very sleepy Iris.
Megumin knocked on Darkness' bedroom door, her knocks being quickly responded to by the opening of her door, revealing the crusader in her pink nightgown.
"Good evening Megumin, can I help you with something?" Darkness asked, looking a little confused on why she decided to show up so late to her room.
"Can I come in?" Megumin asked, her eyes avoiding the crusader's.
Darkness moved aside, allowing the crimson demon to enter. She sat down on the crusader's bed, picking up a spare pillow and laying it gently on her lap.
"Is something the matter?" Darkness asked as she joined Megumin, sitting next to her.
"I overheard what you were talking about with Kazuma, about his family,"
"Sorry… I wasn't trying to talk behind your back," Darkness sheepishly replied.
"It's alright," Megumin assured her. "I'm just confused,"
"So am I," The blonde sighed. "He didn't seem like he was lying about his sister last night,"
"He's never been so… so…"
"Vulnerable?"
"Yeah exactly,"
.
.
.
.
.
"Do you think he was lying?" Darkness muttered.
"Kazuma wouldn't lie about things like that. He only lies to look cool,"
Darkness chuckled and nodded, agreeing with the crimson demon. "I guess I should trust him more,"
They were interrupted by another knock on the door. The two looked at each other before Darkness got up and opened the door to be met with Aqua and Raemis.
"Oh, Megumin's here. That saves me the trouble of finding her," Raemis said. "Can we talk? The four of us,"
"Of course, please come in,"
Rameis entered the room, followed by Aqua. She sat down on the floor, her legs crossed as she fixed her still damp hair from her bath, combing it with her fingers to no avail. Aqua grabbed a chair and took a seat, facing Raemis. The only sources of the light in the room was the quiet crackle of the waning fireplace, a few candles on the noble's desk, and the soft golden glow of Raemis' horn.
"I've already discussed this with Kazuma," Rameis said as she took a comb that Darkness had handed her before the crusader took a seat atop her bed. "But in the case that I… lose control… I need you to kill me,"
The party stayed silent, even Aqua was surprised by the unexpectedly morbid topic. Ramis looked up at the trio, carefully examining her their faces.
"I-I am a demon, I live off fear.
.
.
.
You surely must have noticed by now… I hate the taste of fear. It makes me sick, thinking about how I must feed off the terror of innocent people to sustain myself. I try my hardest to suppress it… but…"
"But?" The group looked over to the doorway to see Kazuma standing there in his signature dark green tracksuit.
"I-I thought you were asleep," Raemis stuttered as she watched Kazuma sit down on Darkness' bed next to Megumin.
"I couldn't sleep with you talking without the door closed," He bluntly replied. "But nevermind that, what's wrong?"
"R-Right…" Raemis replied, looking down at the floor. "I try to suppress my body's need for fear to maintain itself.
.
.
.
But I can only hold back it for so long,"
"W-What happens when you can't hold it back?" Megumin whispered.
"The last time I couldn't, I… I…"
"Raemis, you don't have to talk if you don't feel comfortable sharing," Darkness assured her. "We can have this conversation later if you wish to,"
"No!" Raemis exclaimed, making the party jump slightly. "I need to tell you! We don't have time!"
The demon sighed and apologized for scaring the group. They insisted it was alright, and that she could continue speaking whenever she felt comfortable.
.
.
.
Raemis took a deep breath.
.
.
.
.
"I lose control,
.
.
.
.
My body… moves on its own, like it's trying to sustain itself.
.
.
.
It does terrible things…
.
.
.
I went to the Demon King's because I believed that he was the only one powerful enough to kill me.
.
.
.
.
Instead he locked me up, starved me of fear.
.
.
.
He dragged me to a raid… made me kneel in front of a man with a sword to his throat…
.
.
.
.
Once I tasted his fear…
.
.
.
.
I lost control.
.
.
.
Everything went black,
.
.
.
.
And when I came to,
.
.
.
.
My hands… no my… my whole body was covered in… in blood.
.
.
.
.
I was surrounded by… corpses… burning homes… the moans of the dying…
.
.
.
.
.
I ran, as fast as I could… before the Demon King could capture me again.
.
.
.
.
.
I burned my clothes.
.
.
.
Stole a cloak.
.
.
.
.
Hid my face.
.
.
.
.
I heard of a party that was taking down the Demon King's generals left and right, so I set out to find them… and I did,"
The group was speechless, Rameis unable to hold back her emotions. She furiously turned to wipe the tears rolling down her face, unable to catch them as they fell one by one to the rug underneath her.
Aqua stood up, kneeling in front of the sobbing demon. She pointed her empty palm towards Raemis, with a straight face she began to speak.
"I knew you were no good, I thought for once I could overlook a demon's heritage, but I see you have no right to live,"
Raemis looked up at Aqua. Her palm began to glow a holy golden light, her expression unchanged as she stared right back into the demon's eyes.
"I will fulfill my duty,"
"Aqua what are you doing?!" Kazuma exclaimed as he grabbed Aqua's arm, wrestling it away from Raemis' direction.
"Get off me! She's dangerous!" Aqua shouted back. "She said so herself!"
"I won't let you!"
Megumin and Darkness were frozen, unsure of what to do as the adventurer and goddess continued to wrestle.
"Scared exorcism!" Aqua exclaimed, a beam of light blinding the party as it shot out in front of her outstretched palm.
Raemis cried out in pain, clutching her arm as she hunched forward. The spell had hit her right arm, a sizable chunk of her upper arm now missing from her body.
Crimson red blood began to seep between her fingers, falling onto Darkness' rug next to her tears. Her breath began to become harsher, more rapid as she struggled to breathe.
"WHAT THE FUCK AQUA?!" Kazuma cried as he pushed her away from the injured demon. He crouched down to get a closer look at her injury, slowly moving her bloody hand away from the wound. "S-Shit, this is bad,"
"Aqua, please heal her!" Megumin begged, she was beside the demon now, along with Darkness.
"N-No! I c-can't be healed…" Raemis shouted, her voice growing weaker with every word. "It'll o-only hurt d-demonspawn like me m-more… I-I need m-mana…"
Aqua got up and stared down at the demon. Her hand shaking as she raised it again.
"P-Please, I c-can't die here…" Raemis stuttered, struggling to speak as Kazuma tried to wrestle her away from Demon.
"You're dangerous! You killed all those people! I won't let you kill anyone else, especially my family!"
"I-I must a-atone first…" Raemis replied her breathe heavy as she struggled to speak, "T-Then I m-must die…"
"We don't have much time," Kazuma muttered. "Megumin! Aqua!"
"Y-Yes!" They both replied, standing up as Kazuma moved back to Raemis' side.
"Find as many towels and bandages as you can!" Kazuma commanded, throwing off his tracksuits' jacket. "Grab my spare shirts if you have too!"
Megumin ran out of the room as fast as she could. Aqua was frozen in place watching Kazuma rip his shirt off and tear it into makeshift bandages.
"Aqua I swear to God if you don't move I'm converting to Eris and giving all your bubbly to Wiz!" Kazuma threatened as he tied the cloth around Raemis' arm.
Aqua ran out as fast as she could, flying down the halls as she looked for anything that could be used to help the demon's wound. Darkness turned to Kazuma, getting his attention by grabbing his wrist.
"Kazuma, use drain touch on me to give Raemis some mana,"
"Good idea!" He quickly placed his hand on the back of Darkness' neck, the other on Raemis'.
"K-Kazuma," Raemis struggled to push out.
"Don't talk Rameis. Relax as much as you can," Darkness replied.
"Use m-my horn… it's more effective than… than my neck… to… to transfer m-mana… "
Kazuma grasped her left horn, his fingers wrapped around where his hand had left a golden mark just a few days ago.
"Drain touch!"
He could feel mana being transferred from the crusaders to the demon through his body. He watched as the bleeding seemed slow down, the flesh regenerating at a snail's pace.
Megumin returned her with a small mountain of towels and bandages in her arms. She carefully laid some towels underneath Raemis' arm and gently removed the makeshift bandages that were already soaked in blood. The mage wiped off the blood around the wound with a wet towel then tightly wrapped a fresh bandage around her arm.
Aqua rushed in shortly after holding yet more towels and a glass of water. She handed Megumin the towels, the mage's hands already covered in blood. The goddess held out the glass to the demon.
"Here, you should drink some water," She muttered. "You lost a lot of blood,"
"T-Thanks," Raemis whispered as she held out her blood soaked left hand to take the glass. Her weak hand shook too much for the demon to properly grasp the cup.
"Here," Aqua whispered as she put the glass to the demon's lips. "I'll help you out,"
The blue haired Goddess helped Raemis drink from the glass, the demon's lips struggling to take in any water. She patiently waited for her to finish her drink, quickly refilling the glass with create water.
The bleeding slowed to a crawl, enough to where Megumin could replace a final bandage around her arm. The flesh had almost fully returned, her face looking a fair amount more healthy and less pale. Kazuma let go of Raemis' horn and Darkness' neck, stopping the spell. The crusader gently lifted the demon, and laid her on her bed. She laid a fresh towel underneath her injured arm.
"You can sleep here tonight, get some rest Raemis," She said as she brushed some of the demon's hair out of her face.
The party stayed silent for a moment, taking in the situation and catching their breath as they decompressed. There was blood all over the floor, their clothes and hands covered in it. Megumin was the first to break the silence.
"I want a bath,"
The party was too exhausted to respond, but they could all feel in the atmosphere that they all agreed.
"I'll watch over Raemis and clean up some of the blood on the floor," Kazuma sighed. "Aqua you're helping me,"
"Y-Yes Kazuma," She quietly whispered, a little teary eyed as she got straight to work, rolling up the bloodstained rug.
Darkness and Megumin thanked the two before leaving for their bath. Darkness seemed to struggle to walk, almost falling over before Megumin caught her. The young mage shouldered the crusader's arm, helping her walk to the bathroom.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"T-Thank you,"