Chapter 13 The Lord of Foresight.
Disclaimer: I don't own Konosuba or Kamen Rider, they belong to their respective owners.
Note: This chapter may be a little longer than I wanted, but I think it'll be fun. As you can see, the story is already taking a different turn, but anyway. Let's go!
Chapter 13 The lord of foresight
"Kazuma Sato, Haruka Kazuya!" Sena said, staring at the group in front of her. "We were investigating the monsters that have appeared around the city, and we discovered that the dungeon they're coming out of is the same one your group investigated earlier."
"Sorry about that, but you can't blame us." Kazuma says, trying to explain. "I'll ask just in case. Do you know anything?" Kazuma asks, turning to his group.
"You shouldn't ask me that, it has nothing to do with my explosive magic." Megumin explains as she holds Chomusike in her arms.
"Neither do I." Darkness states. "I didn't do anything that could cause trouble."
"And I never set foot there again." Haruka says, finishing her steak.
"What about you?" Kazuma asks, turning his attention to Aqua.
"Of course not!" Aqua replies, looking indignant. "You've been doubting me a lot lately." Aqua changes her posture to one of pride. "If anything happened because of me, it was when I left that place with fewer monsters." Aqua says, sounding very proud.
Kazuma looks at her with a grimace, knowing that she must have done something stupid again. Kazuma approaches Aqua and pulls her into a corner reserved for them to discuss.
"Spit it out. What did you do?" Kazuma whispers close to Aqua.
"You know?" Aqua says, sounding excited. "That magic circle I drew in Litch's room was well reinforced. It should be intact and no evil entity will be able to get near it." Aqua says with a smile on her face.
"What did you say?..." Kazuma processes what Aqua has just said.
"And what's wrong with that?" Aqua says confused. "The reinforced magic circle I made should certainly keep the monsters away." Aqua speaks proudly before Kazuma shouts.
"YOU IMBECILITYYYYYY!" Kazuma shouts while holding his head so he doesn't explode right there.
[...]
(Night.)
Everyone is walking through the forest towards the dungeon where they found Litch. The group is in their normal clothes and Aqua is walking while crying.
"I'm *so* sure that *so* wasn't my fault..." Aqua walks with her group while crying a little, as the Goddess has a bump on her head.
"It's because of your magic circle that we're in trouble!" Kazuma shouts at the Goddess. "It's incredible, it's incredible! Do you have a problem? Because every time you try to help, you ruin everything!"
"Calm down, man." Haruka tries to calm the discord. "She probably didn't know this could happen."
"Don't try to defend her!" Kazuma says indignantly. "I managed to work it out with Sena, but if we can't erase Aqua's magic..."
"Haruka!" Aqua hugs the boy's arm. "Please defend me from that bum Kazuma!"
"Don't worry, Aqua. I'm sure he only hit you in the heat of the moment." Haruka laughs nervously.
"Ruh... heat of the moment..." Kazuma mutters as he looks at Aqua.
[...]
The group arrives at the entrance to the dungeon and sees something that looks like little blue-haired figures wearing a black and white mask, half black and half white.
"So these are those monsters..." Kazuma looks closely at the monsters.
"What kind of monsters are they, puppets or..." Haruka tries to think.
Sena approaches Kazuma's group, just behind her are some adventurers who have also been called to help
"Kazuma sato, Haruka Kazuya." Sena says, approaching the group. "Thanks for coming, it's like someone is summoning these monsters." Sena observes the monsters and then turns to Kazuma. "Then defeat the person responsible for this, and place this seal on the summoning circle." Sena hands Kazuma a piece of paper.
"And what's that?" Kazuma takes the seal and looks at it.
"It's a powerful sealing talisman." Sena says to Kazuma, but shifts her gaze to Haruka. "I'm sure you can solve this problem with this." Sena says, staring at Haruka.
"She's really trying to find out something..." Haruka speaks in her thoughts as she stares back at Sena.
"Something about those dolls' masks is making me sick." Aqua crouches down to get a better look at the dolls. "What could it be?..." Aqua picks up a stone and stands up. "I just know it's making me very angry!"
Before Aqua throws the stone, a doll turns to Aqua and starts walking towards the Goddess. Aqua is confused and the doll latches onto her leg.
"Ah? What? What?" Aqua stares in confusion at the doll clinging to her leg. "What's that for attention? Ouch... looking at that mask bothers me, but for some reason I'm starting to think it's cute..."
Aqua speaks before the doll EXPLODES out of nowhere, making a small cloud of dust. Aqua's group worries, but sees that everything is fine as Aqua is just lying on the ground with a bit of dirt on her body.
"As you can see." Sena adjusts her glasses. "These little monsters have a habit of sticking to others and exploding."
"Ah, you see." Kazuma says.
"Why are you so calm about this?" Aqua asks Kazuma indignantly.
"Beauty and how we..." Haruka tries to think of something, but is interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Haruka?" A girl catches Haruka's eye, which makes the boy turn around and recognize the girl's face at the same moment.
"Oh, Yunyun?! Hello!" Haruka greets the girl, who gives a slight smile in response. "But what are you doing here?"
"Oh!..." Yunyun realizes what's happened and hesitates a little to speak. "It's me, it's..."
"I went to find you at your house, but you weren't there," Sena says to Haruka. "I just saw her waiting outside the mansion, and since she's a skilled mage I decided to call her."
"hmm..." Haruka looks at Sena to understand. "But anyway!" Haruka turned her attention to Yunyun. "But I think you'd better stay here. Since these dolls explode, they could cause a lot of damage." Haruka speaks, Aqua hears this and gets angry.
"You... you're worrying about me?..." Yunyun is a little shocked.
"Of course, you're my friend. And friends worry about each other." Haruka says to the girl, who seems to have gotten a star in her eyes.
"Hey, Haruka." Kazuma says, catching his friend's eye. "Do you think you can get past these dolls if you're transformed?" Kazuma says, indicating the entrance to the dungeon.
"Look..." Haruka considers the possibilities. "I can try, but I might-" Haruka stops talking as he sees Darkness walking towards the dolls.
A doll jumps on Darkness and explodes, but the knight doesn't seem to have suffered any damage. In fact, she seems perfectly fine.
"Or this..." Haruka points to Darkness. "That could also work."
"Let's go! I'll lead the way to clear the path." Darkness starts walking towards the dungeon.
"Okay..." Haruka walks towards the dungeon, but feels a tug on her shirt.
"Haruka..." Yunyun gathers his strength to speak to his friend. "...Be careful..." Yunyun says, and Haruka smiles in response.
"Alright then. Aqua and Haruka, let's go!" Kazuma starts walking towards the dungeon.
"Wait, why do I have to go?!" Aqua asks indignantly.
"And I think I'd better not go anyway..." Megumin points to her friends.
"I'll explain that one." Haruka raises a hand to get the girls' attention. "Aqua should come for one simple reason, you turn the circle. And Megumin, you'll want to use your explosive magic, but since it's in a dungeon you won't like it."
"Hey!" Megumin gets angry because she knows it's true.
"Actually..." Kazuma ponders for a moment. "I think it's best if it's just you, me and Darkness." Kazuma suggests, looking at Aqua and knowing full well what she can do to ruin everything.
"If you insist." Haruka shrugged.
"Ahh it's just me and two boys, who could be more dangerous than those dolls..." Darkness gives a little moan of excitement, thinking about the possibilities.
"Dear God..." Haruka frowns at Darkness. "How could you stand her at the beginning of the team?"
"That's just it... I couldn't." Kazuma simply replies.
[...]
Kazuma, Haruka and Darkness enter the dungeon along with a small group of adventurers who have come in to provide support.
"Haha take that!" Darkness swings a sword at one of the dolls, managing to hit it. "Did you see that? I hit him!" Darkness says with an excited expression on his face.
"Oh yes, of course we did." Kazuma says in a 'super excited' tone of voice.
"I think that's the first time I've seen Darkness strike a blow with his sword..." Haruka puts her hand to her chin.
Kazuma looks back and sees the other adventurers who accompanied them at the entrance to the dungeon. The guys were trying to deal with the dolls that were surrounding them.
"I don't think they're necessary..." Kazuma says mentally.
"Fine..." Haruka clips the Amazon Driver to his waist. Clenching his fists, Haruka concentrates and makes a crust of black armor along with claws on his fingers.
"Ohhh you've managed to control it?" Kazuma looks impressed by Haruka's new ability. "And you've put that jewel Keele gave you on the Driver!" Kazuma says, looking at the jewel Litch gave Haruka attached to the side of the Driver.
"Yeah, that's right!" Haruka says excitedly. "And I've decided to call this new skill of mine Amazon Boxing's," Haruka says excitedly.
"That really is a good name..." Kazuma says, dodging a doll that was about to jump on him. "And that's in case you're without the Driver, that's what you said before, isn't it?"
"That's right." Haruka says, slapping another doll that was trying to jump on him. "But it's just to save my energy, because using my Rider form wears me out a lot."
"Guys, look!" Darkness strikes another blow with his sword at the dolls. "I feel it, I feel it..." Darkness hits another blow. "I feel like I'm doing my job as a knight for the first time!" Darkness says, sounding much more excited than usual.
"Let's go!" Kazuma shouts to his companion.
[...]
The three of them moved away from the other adventurers and went deeper into the dungeon.
"Okay, we just have to erase the magic circle that Aqua made and everything will be fine." Kazuma murmured to Haruka.
"But what if they find out that there was a magic circle here, and that we erased it?" Haruka mutters back.
"Then we'll make up an excuse." Kazuma mutters, he senses a presence and uses his Detect Enemy. "There's someone ahead."
The three of them hide behind a wall to observe the subject. They see a man wearing the same mask as the dolls, the same clothes and even his hair is the same color and style... so the dolls are him in miniature.
"What are we doing? He's probably the one making those dolls." Haruka mutters to the two of them.
"We can-" Kazuma tries to come up with a plan, but Darkness takes the lead and goes over to the man. "No, Darkness!" Kazuma whispers in the hope that his companion will come back, but she doesn't listen.
"Are you the one behind this?" Darkness approaches, speaking strictly.
"For those of you who have come this far..." The man stands up and opens his arms in a pose: "Welcome to my Dungeon, adventurers! I am the root of this evil, the source of your problems!" The man bows in greeting to the three of them. "I am a commander of the demon king's army and a duke of hell who leads an army of demons that penetrate this world." The man raises his head and gives a frightening smile. "My name is Vanir."
(Emergency Mission)
(Defeat the commander of the demon king's army, the archdemon Vanir.)
"One of the demon king's commanders?!" Kazuma thinks, shocked to hear Vanir's words.
"Okay... now we're screwed pretty good!" Haruka shouts internally.
"We need to get out of here soon!" Kazuma shouts at them both, Haruka agrees, but Darkness refuses.
"A servant of the Goddess Eris doesn't back down when faced with a demon." Darkness raises his sword and points it at the demon.
"Hahaha, so you want to challenge Vanir, who is said to be even more than the demon king." Vanir scoffs at Darkness' attitude, and the knight gets angry. "But calm down, I may be a commander of the demon king, but my duty is to maintain the barrier around the castle. I have to follow orders. The demon king asked me to check what happened to Beldia." Vanir says and Kazuma doesn't react, because he helped kill Beldia.
"While I was in Axil, I decided to pay a visit to that shifty saleswoman who seems to have a talent for working hard and earning little." Vanir says, referring to Wiz. "I'm what you call an entity. What's more..." Vanir puts his hand on his mask dramatically. "It's those dark emotions that you humans are too ashamed to feel. With the birth of each new human, that's when I run for joy through the garden!" Vanir gives a huge smile as he looks up.
"Even so, those dolls keep coming out of this dungeon and disrupting our lives outside." Kazuma says to the demon.
"Is that so?" Vanir returns to his normal posture. "I had thought of using them to get the monsters out of this dungeon. Come on..." Vanir takes a thinking pose and his puppet in front of him takes the same pose. "If they're leaving, that means there shouldn't be any more monsters here. So..." Vanir holds out his hand, making his puppet turn to dirt. "On to the next step of the plan!"
"What's your plan?" Kazuma asks without patience.
"How rude! Coming from a guy who was doing nothing in his room just because he was late for the girl in armor." Vanir says.
"Wow, wow cut it out! How can you say that if you weren't even there!" Kazuma, his face slightly red, interrupts Vanir. Darkness looks embarrassed at Kazuma. "And there's no point in getting excited!"
"So that's why it took you so long to get to the guild?" Haruka asks Kazuma.
"Come on!" Kazuma shouts, trying to deflect the subject.
[çç]
"You know what?" Vanir says, drawing the attention of the three. "I have a sublime death wish. First; obtain a dungeon, then place demons in the rooms with various traps, a group of well-equipped adventurers appear to challenge, after passing through various challenging trials the brave adventurers reach the deepest and most difficult, the Dungeon Chamber! And of course I'm there to welcome them!" Vanir says in an excited tone. "You've done very well adventurers, now defeat me and receive incredible rewards!" Vanir fills himself with a purple aura and begins to speak in a narrator's voice. "And finally the battle begins! And after an electrifying confrontation, they find the treasure chest sealed behind my defeated body, and when these hardy adventurers open the chest!... They find a piece of paper 'You lose!' and I watch as they are devastated by this ending. This is how I wish to die!"
Kazuma and Haruka can't believe the crazy goal of this general of the demon king's army.
"And in order to make this plan a reality, I was going to use a friend's store to save up to buy things to build the dungeon. But then I passed this place and it looked empty, so I thought 'hmm I could use this dungeon. But there's this really annoying magic circle behind this door, I can't even get into the chamber." Vanir explains to the adventurers.
"There she goes again." Kazuma says mentally.
"Huh? Was it your friend who placed the magic circle?" Vanir asks, leaving Kazuma and Haruka in total confusion.
"Well, that's interesting." Vanir makes a picture sign with his hands and one of his eyes glows red. "Sensational that priestess friend of yours who created that annoying magic circle! I can see it clearly! I can see her drinking tea while talking to a crimson demon!"
"Damn!" Kazuma thinks to himself.
"Bastard!" Haruka thinks, thinking that he'll go after Aqua and Megumin.
"And you lost a bet with a man, you feel suffocated because you don't know what he's going to tell you to do, do you or don't you?!" Vanir says excitedly, pointing at Darkness.
"I'm not suffocating, nor am I squirming! Don't talk like that!" Darkness says, but looks at Kazuma and blushes with embarrassment.
"And you're the man who's nervous because you're going to tell that girl to do something as soon as they've sorted everything out around here!" Vanir says, pointing at Kazuma.
"Me, I'm not nervous! I'm not nervous at all!" Kazuma says embarrassed.
"And you!..." Vanir stops his theater and looks confusedly at Haruka. "Why doesn't my ability affect you?..."
"I don't know, maybe I'm not affected by horns." Haruka states bluntly. Darkness and Kazuma laugh lightly.
"I see..." Vanir makes a frightened expression. "...but I don't kill humans, I don't kill humans... But for your little joke and that damn magic circle, I'll make that priestess friend of yours pay!"
"As if I'd let you!" Darkness raises his sword. "I won't let you touch Aqua."
"Count me in." Haruka approaches Darkness and gets into battle stance.
"Well, well! Looks like your head is as hard as your muscles, young lady!" Vanir points at Darkness. "If you leave now, I'm sure you'll enjoy the crazy things you expect him to do without interruption." Vanir points at Kazuma, and Darkness blushes.
"You don't hear what he's saying!" Kazuma quickly defends himself. "It's a temptation from the devil, don't let him distract you!"
"And he's not distracting me!" Darkness snapped. Darkness gets nervous. "It's you who needs to know the right time for certain things..."
Kazuma looks slightly flushed at Darkness, while Haruka observes the awkward situation.
"That's enough of that! Listening to you talk is driving me crazy!" Darkness shouts, advancing against Vanir.
Vanir dodges the attack and laughs.
"So why don't you make a stop in that room before you leave?" Vanir asks, making fun of them both. Kazuma observes the situation, still blushing and with inflated cheeks.
"Kazuma, get a grip!" Darkness says to the boy.
"Focus on what's important!" Haruka shouts, lunging at Vanir to throw a few punches, but the demon dodges. Haruka and Darkness go at Vanir at the same time to hit him.
"Haha! It gets better, your attacks aren't hitting me!" Vanir easily dodges both of their attacks.
Haruka and Darkness pull themselves together to attack Vanir again, the demon steps back and looks around.
"Hu? Where did the boy with the sneaky look go?" Vanir looks around trying to find Kazuma. "Someone like him must be a much smaller threat than you two, but..."
~~~~~~]
Kazuma used Sneak to hide behind a pillar.
"Look ahead!" Haruka lunges forward, trying to slash Vanir with her claws, but the demon dodges.
"Haha You missed!" Vanir mocks the boy in a comical tone.
"Now's my chance!" Kazuma gets off the pillar and runs to Vanir.
But he stumbles over a stone on the ground and throws it at Vanir.
Haruka senses something coming and quickly ducks. Darkness slashes sideways with his sword, managing to hit Vanir.
"It can't be... they've beaten me..." Vanir begins to melt and turn to clay.
"Did I finish him off?" Darkness asks, breathing heavily.
"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Haruka screams and grabs Darkness's armor and starts swinging it from side to side. "YOU ALMOST CUT MY HEAD OFF!"
"Ahhh Haruka..." Darkness snaps and Haruka lets go of the girl, letting her fall to the ground.
"Did we manage to beat him?" Kazuma gets up from the floor and smiles at his victory.
"And just when you were getting excited..." Vanir's mask moves towards Haruka. "You lose!"
Darkness throws himself in front of Haruka, and Vanir's mask fits his face.
"Did you really think you'd hit me?" Vanir says as Darkness writhes trying to get the mask off. "Too bad, because I'm not even hurt."
Darkness writhes trying to get the mask off.
"Darkness!" Kazuma shouts worriedly at the girl.
"Darkness, take off that mask!" Haruka approaches the Crusader.
"Ahh your dark emotions are so tasty." Vanir speaks and Darkness gives a high-pitched scream and stops moving.
"Darkness! Hey, answer me!" Kazuma shouts, trying to summon Crusader.
"Heheh... hehehee" Vanir laughs, controlling Darkness's body. "Oh, boy. Listen very well, thanks to my power you-"
"What do I do, Kazuma? He's controlling my body!" Darkness said excitedly.
"Speak up, kid. I want to see if you have the guts to attack that girl-" Vanir says, but Darkness interrupts him.
"I don't care! Go ahead, it's the perfect time to finish him off!" Darkness says excitedly.
"Shut up!" Vanir says angrily. "What are you trying to do?"
Kazuma frowns at Darkness, while Haruka thinks of something.
"I thought all that stuff about her having strong mental strength was bullshit." Haruka thinks without believing that Darkness is resisting Vanir's mind control.
"Impossible what is that?"
"Charming!"
"What's that? Her mind is too strong!"
"Focus on knowing that I'm a model Crusader."
"Ouch! Shut up, shut up!" Vanir looks nervous. "You have impressive power to resist my control, girl."
"Oh, shoot."
"Only the more you resist, the more your body will be punished by pain."
"What did you say?!"
"Hahaha! So, how long can you resist?" Vanir says and Darkness does nothing. "What's that? Is she enjoying it?..."
Kazuma and Haruka walk to the room where Aqua drew that magic circle to erase it.
[...]
"All right, Darkness. Let's go see Aqua-" Kazuma says, leaving the room with Haruka, but Darkness points his sword at Kazuma.
"Not another step." Vanir says to Kazuma.
"Kazuma, Haruka, leave me here and go."
"Don't think things are going to be that easy."
"Ouch! All my life I've wanted to say that!"
"I don't think you want to hurt this girl you find so attractive, do you?"
"I don't." Haruka grimaced.
"Hey!" Darkness shouts indignantly.
"But if she keeps resisting my powers-"
"Kazuma, that mind-reading demon told me something that caught my interest."
"Oh, shut up!" Vanir said indignantly. "What a mistake to take that body."
"There," Darkness said indignantly. "Don't you think it's rude to call other people's bodies a mistake?"
"Aii, stop it girl!" Vanir is distracted for a few seconds and Kazuma puts the seal Sena gave him on the mask. "Ouch, I need to get out of here."
"Sorry, but I won't let you."
"What's this business?" Vanir touches the seal, which sends out small shock waves.
"Hold on, Kazuma." Darkness says. "Isn't that it?"
"The sealing talisman Sena gave us. I'll take you out and Aqua will purify you." Kazuma says coldly.
"What?!" Darkness and Vanir speak at the same time.
[...]
The three of them start running towards the exit Haruka, Kazuma and Darkness are running at the same speed.
"Boy, that girl's assistance to my power makes her body feel constant pain. That way her mind will be destroyed." Vanir explains.
"Did you hear that?" Darkness asks excitedly. "This is the most intense situation of my life. I expected this from a commander of the demon king, I can fall in love!"
"Hang in there, when we get to the surface you'll feel better." Kazuma says as he continues running.
"Take your time." Darkness said calmly.
"What did you say?" The three men question the girl's words.
"Take your time." Darkness repeats calmly.
The three continue walking until they reach a ladder and start climbing.
"You're holding up well." Kazuma says, complimenting Crusader
"Even I'm impressed." Haruka says to Crusader.
"Darkness?" Kazuma asks, drawing the girl's attention.
"Hahaha now my domination is complete." Vanir laughs in celebration. He starts running faster than the boys. "Now I'm going to teach that priestess a lesson she'll never forget."
"Darkness you must resist!" Haruka shouts at the Crusader.
"It's no use, kid. It's time for an exciting reunion, after I get out of this dungeon!"
"Not that one!" Kazuma mutters as he continues running.
"Kazuma!" Haruka catches his friend's eye and picks him up. Carrying Kazuma on his shoulders, he starts to run faster and gets very close to Aqua.
"Damn, he'll get out first!" Kazuma mutters.
"If so, we'll give him a warning..." Haruka takes a deep breath and gives a huge shout. "AQUAAAAA!"
(Aqua POV.)
Aqua was sitting by a fire while drinking a cup of tea. But when she saw a familiar face approaching, she stopped sipping her tea.
"Oh, hi Yunyun! Do you need anything?" Aqua asks, watching the archmage approach.
"And, and... me, can I sit with you?" Yunyun says looking a little nervous.
"Of course." Aqua replies as she goes back to sipping her tea.
Yunyun reluctantly sits down opposite the Goddess, gathering her strength to talk.
"Aqua... can I ask you a question?" Yunyun says, sounding less nervous.
"Uh? Sure." Aqua stops sipping her tea and pays attention to the magician.
"And... what..." Yunyun gathers her strength. "It's just... about Haruka..."
"Haruka?" Aqua looks at Yunyun. "Ah, yes. He told me you'd become friends."
"Really?!" Yunyun asks looking excited.
"Yes, he mentioned how much fun it was talking to you," Aqua says, putting a sugar cube in her tea.
"Really? He enjoyed my company?!" Yunyun asks excitedly, approaching Aqua.
"Ahh... yes..." Aqua bows as Yunyun is too close. "Yeah, he said it was a lot of fun."
Yunyun perks up at Aqua's words, and a smile appears on the girl's face. Megumin watches Yunyun a little warily.
"And what else did he say about me?" Yunyun asks Aqua excitedly.
"He said you seemed really sad, and he thought you were a nice person and wanted to cheer you up because he understood your feelings." Aqua says without thinking. Aqua says without thinking. "He always says that he doesn't want to see sadness on the faces of his companions."
"Someone... sad..." Yunyun returns to his seat and hugs his legs. "Still... he comforted me when I cried on that street..." Yunyun murmurs. "Understand me... he seems like a nice guy too." Yunyun gives an embarrassed smile that is hidden by his knees.
"Even, Yunyun." Aqua speaks, drawing the magician's attention. "I was wondering, how do you feel about-" Aqua stops speaking, feeling a strong evil presence approaching.
Everyone hears noises coming from the dungeon, and a scream erupts. "AQUAAAA!" Aqua quickly gets up and prepares her divine magic and hits three figures that have just come out.
(Haruka POV)
The three came out at the same time, a huge beam of holy light appearing between the three. Kazuma and Haruka weren't too badly affected, but they can't say the same for Darkness
The Crusader screams at the holy magic, as she was being controlled by the Vanir.
"What the fuck was that?!" Kazuma asks indignantly.
"I felt an evil presence and decided to act!" Aqua shouts, still feeling a strong evil aura.
"Hahaha! So that's the power of a priestess?" Darkness asks in a masculine tone of voice.
"Hey, it doesn't count! I want to wear that mask too!" Megumin says, impressed by the black and white mask.
"Stand back!" Haruka shouts to the others. "She's being controlled by a general from the demon king's army!"
"Do something! The imprint!" Sena shouts to the adventurers.
The adventurers take the lead and head towards Darkness to attack her, but Vanir manages to take them down easily.
Haruka and Kazuma approach Aqua.
"Hey, Aqua!" Haruka shouts, drawing the Goddess' attention.
"Aqua, can you free Darkness from possession?" Kazuma says as he follows the boy.
"That's what we'll see!" Aqua raises her hands and prepares her magic. "Holy Exorcism!" Aqua casts his magic.
A glowing magic circle appears at Darkness' feet and a strong burst of holy light emanates from it. The Crusader screams, feeling the power of the magic.
"Haha, you're quite a skilled priestess." Vanir laughs as she stands up with almost no damage. "But as long as I'm in this body-"
"Ahh Aqua, do it again!"
"Shut up, girl!" Vanir shouts, taking control. "You seem to have the strength to resist my mind control, but if you carry on like this, your brain will soon melt!" Vanir threatens and Darkness stops reacting. "Is she... enjoying it?..."
Vanir is confused, while the group gets together to draw up a plan.
"What do we do?" Haruka mutters.
"I can try my magic again." Aqua suggests.
"If it doesn't work the first time, it won't work the second time." Kazuma says. "Haruka, can you stand up to Darkness?"
"I have no idea, she's very powerful and I've never fought her." Haruka explains to her companions.
"Enough of that!" Vanir lunges at the three of them, driving his sword into the ground. But Haruka manages to dodge in time and pull Aqua and Kazuma with him.
"That was close!" Kazuma shouts, getting up and pulling himself together.
"I think you'd better defeat me soon, or this Crusader will suffer as-"
"Don't mind me, you can come with me!"
"Shut up, you sick girl!"
"Ahh you're so mean to me!..."
"This is no time for that Darkness!" Kazuma shouts at the girl.
"What do I do?!" Haruka shouts mentally, seeing Vanir watching them.
"Don't worry about me!" Darkness says with a slight groan. "I can take your blows!"
"Ouch! Shut up, girl!" Vanir shouts, taking control of Darkness's body.
"Haruka!" Yunyun approaches the boy. "Are you all right?!"
Haruka nods to the girl and sees Megumin approaching.
"Haruka!" Megumin shouts, approaching the boy. "Can you stop him?!"
"Of the majority here, you're the one who has the best chance of standing up to Darkness." Kazuma says while still watching Darkness.
Haruka looks at Megumin and Yunyun, at Kazuma and at his friends. without much choice.
"Stay here!" he says before turning the Driver's left lever making it speak "OMEGA-" Haruka shouts "AMAZON!" leaping towards Darkness he is engulfed in green flames. The Driver starts chanting "EVO-E-EVOLUTION!"
(Play Emil - Despair ... NieR:Automata.)
Vanir is about to strike a blow at an adventurer, he is blocked by an attack from Haruka. Vanir walks away not understanding what has happened.
"Oh, I see. That's why my magic didn't work on you. You're one of them." Vanir points his sword at Haruka.
"One of them?" Haruka asks confused, as he prepares to advance.
"Yes, you're one of those strange creatures that appeared two months ago." Vanir explains to Rider.
"Two months?... was that the same moment I arrived in this world...?" Haruka mutters to herself.
"And apparently these creatures aren't affected by holy magic, or demonic magic." Vanir says excitedly. "I've never been able to see people, but now I see how intriguing it is!"
"Do you think I'm a lab rat?" Haruka asks angrily as he gets into combat position.
"Oh boy, I've never seen someone who can resist those two types of magic." Vanir raises his sword. "Then let's fight, and I want you to show me how intriguing you are!"
"Darkness, I beg you to forgive me for what I'm about to do..." Haruka said, hesitating a little.
"Don't worry, Haruka!" Darkness said cheerfully. "You can go with anything, I can handle it!"
"Stop it, girl!" Vanir says angrily.
"I guess if Haruka fights Darkness he won't have so much trouble..." Kazuma thinks looking at the two.
Haruka and Vanir stare at each other for a few seconds, until they advance against each other. Vanir tries to hit Haruka with a slash from his sword, but the Rider defends with his left arm. Haruka tries to hit Vanir with a right hook, but Vanir defends the attack.
Haruka steps back and tries to slash Vanir with his claws, but he manages to defend with his sword. Vanir delivers a quick blow with his sword, causing Haruka to lose his balance for a few moments.
Vanir is about to slash Haruka in the side, but the Rider throws his body backwards, resting his hands on the ground and raising his legs to kick Vanir in the chin.
"Uh..." Vanir steps back a little. "Ota, looks like you've done it-"
"Do it again Haruka!" Darkness groans slightly.
"I said knock it off!" Vanir grabs Darkness's body back. "As I was saying, you did good, kid."
"Your opinions are irrelevant to me." Haruka says without hesitation.
"How rude!" Vanir said, looking crestfallen. "But as I've said before, I'm extracting the maximum potential from this rider. And I don't think you can hold out for long."
"I can do this all day!" Haruka prepares to advance again.
"I get the reference!" Kazuma says mentally.
Haruka somersaults, using his arms to propel himself forward. He slashes out with his claws, but Vanir defends with his sword.
Haruka lands on the ground and launches several attacks in a row at Vanir, but he manages to parry them all.
[~.,ç.,ç]
"Shit, if he's extracting the maximum potential from Darkness I'm going to have complications!" Haruka shouts as she defends a side slash from Vanir.
"Well, well. You seem to be more skilled than I thought!" Vanir says in a comical, excited tone.
"I have to think of a plan!" Haruka tries to think of something, until she realizes they're near a forest.
"And what are you going to do? Kid-" Vanir is interrupted, seeing a huge rock being thrown in his direction. "Do you think that's going to stop me?"
Vanir uses his sword to break it, the stone shattering into pieces with Vanir's attack. But he doesn't realize that Haruka is below about to punch him in the face. Vanir tries to dodge, but is hit in the shoulder and stumbles.
Haruka seizes the chance and grabs his foot and throws him into the forest. Vanir falls into the forest and gets up quickly.
"Ahh as I can see, it looks like you have a plan." Vanir says excitedly.
"Maybe..." Haruka grabs onto a tree, jumping to another, jumping from the tree he goes towards Vanir and hits him.
"I think that Amazon Toad's strategy might work..." Haruka continues to jump between the trees and sometimes hits Vanir.
Vanir tries to defend, but since he can't predict where Haruka will be, it's a bit difficult.
"Grrr..." Vanir growls. "Do you think you'll win by jumping around?!"
Haruka lunges at Vanir, throwing several punches in an attempt to hit Darkness in the face. Vanir dodges, but stumbles and begins to fall.
Haruka grabs Darkness's leg and tries to hit his head, but Vanir dodges the punch by moving his head.
"Ahh that's so embarrassing!..." Darkness blushes, seeing the position she's in.
"Shut up!" Vanir and Haruka shout at the same time.
Haruka moves away from Vanir and he stands up. Haruka seems to be breathing heavily.
"Well, it looks like you're reaching your limit." Vanir says in a mocking tone. "It looks like you went all out at the start of the fight, and now you're getting really tired."
"Damn... he's right..." Haruka breathes heavily.
"Next time, try to take it easy at the start of the fight and only go all out when you know you're going to win." Vanir explains to the boy, who is a little confused.
"Why are you telling me this?" Haruka asks cautiously.
"Well, I already told you." Vanir says to the boy. "You have me so intrigued that I want to know more about you and why holy and demonic magic doesn't work on you."
Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, Yunyun, Sena and the other adventurers run into the forest. They see Haruka looking tired and Vanir who is controlling Darkness' body still looking whole.
"Damn, Haruka can't take it..." Kazuma tries to think of something.
"Kazuma, what do we do?" Aqua asks in astonishment. "My holy magic hasn't managed to expel him from Darkness's body."
"Haruka... hang in there..." Megumin and Yunyun think, watching the boy get back on his feet to continue fighting.
"As much as I don't want to..." Sena thinks, watching the boy. "I hope you win this fight..."
"Tell me, boy, why do you still fight?" Vanir asks, sheathing Darkness' sword
"Why more serious? For my friends, of course." Haruka says sounding a little more relaxed.
"Oh, the old power of friendship. If this were a fairy tale, it would be plausible." Vanir mocks the boy.
"Then drop down." Haruka gets into a fighting stance. With his fists closed and raised in front of his body, he prepares to punch Vanir.
"Uhm..." Vanir gets into fighting stance in the same way as Haruka. "All right, let's go-"
"Oh Haruka, go with me please!" Darkness says, sounding excited. "I can't wait to be beaten by a strong adventurer like you!"
"Stop it girl!" Vanir says before noticing Haruka coming towards her.
Haruka throws a right hook, but Vanir manages to parry it. Haruka continues to throw punches while moving quickly around Vanir.
Vanir laughs and kicks Haruka, sending him flying a few meters, but Haruka grabs onto a tree and gets back up.
The others watch the fight worriedly.
"Have you noticed?..." Aqua asks the others.
"What do you mean?" Kazuma asks looking worried and confused.
"Haruka's not going all out." Aqua says and the others are confused. "He looks tired, and even though Darkness is very tough, Haruka is also very strong. But Darkness's body isn't that badly hurt."
Kazuma, Megumin and Yunyun look confused, but realize that it's really true.
"Really... even so Haruka is holding back from hurting Darkness..." Megumin watches the fight.
Kazuma worries, until he sees Haruka look at him and wave his hand in Kazuma's direction. Kazuma remembers the sign.
(Flashback.)
The two friends stood outside the mansion before heading towards the guild.
"And what do you want to make that sign for?" Kazuma asks, watching Haruka make a sign with his hand. Haruka extends her little finger and curves her thumb, making it look like a telephone.
"That signal is more for an emergency plan." Haruka says to Kazuma.
"Emergency plan?" Kazuma questions.
"Yes. You know that Megumin is fanatical about her explosive magic, right?" Haruka asks Kazuma.
"Yes..." Kazuma says, still looking confused.
"That sign is good for both of us. If Megumin hasn't used her Explosive Magic yet, one of us makes this sign to indicate that the explosion will be necessary." Haruka explains.
"And that... serves not to alert the enemy of the explosive magic!" Kazuma says, realizing the purpose of the Signal.
"Exactly!" Haruka confirms excitedly. "That way you can draw up an emergency plan in the heat of the moment."
"Man, I never thought someone like you would think something like that." Kazuma says, mocking the boy.
"There!" Haruka slaps Kazuma on the shoulder and they both start laughing.
(End of Flashback.)
"Megumin!" Kazuma shouts, drawing the attention of the explosive mage. "Prepare your explosion."
"O, what?!" Megumin asks startled.
"Trust me. Prepare your magic." Kazuma says, moving closer to the fight.
Haruka and Vanir are still fighting hand-to-hand. Haruka dodges a right uppercut from Vanir.
"Hun, you're kind of skilled, kid. But as you can see, you're no match for this rider's body." Vanir is interrupted when he hears Kazuma.
"HEY! DARKNESS!" Kazuma shouts, drawing the rider's attention. "How about a new bet? If you lose, I'll do something crazy to you!" Kazuma says as he flicks his tongue suspiciously.
"A crazy thing!?" Darkness looks startled and excited at the same time.
But Haruka doesn't give the girl time to think, kicking her in the back and sending her flying towards the entrance to the dungeon. Now in the open, Haruka begins her plan.
"Now, Megumin!" Haruka shouts as she rushes at the knight.
"Sorry, Darkness... Haruka... But I know you can take it!" Megumin takes courage and begins to summon her explosive magic, reciting the incantation to fire it.
"Well, it looks like I'm going to be blown up..." Vanir mocked the mage before seeing Haruka advancing. The Rider throws several punches, but Vanir easily dodges them, Haruka jumps back and faces the general of the demon king's army.
"It seems you're much more tired, you're even forcing yourself to stand up." Vanir says in a comical tone.
"It could be..." Haruka takes a deep breath. "But if you're the demon of foresight, and you can't predict me, I guess what I thought would work..."
"Hun? What do you mean-" Vanir is interrupted when a blade hits his back, he looks behind him and sees something that looks like a scythe.
It seems that the moment Haruka stepped back, he managed to throw the Amazon scythe without Vanir noticing.
Haruka quickly advances against Vanir. Turning the Driver's left lever, making him speak. "VIOLENT STRIKE!" Haruka gathers strength in his fist, but not enough to pierce Darkness. He throws a powerful punch at Darkness' stomach, trying to hit her diaphragm to knock the air out of her.
Darkness moans slightly as he feels Haruka's punch. (Apparently it wasn't enough to hurt him.) Haruka grabs Darkness's arm. He punches Darkness in the face, then elbows her in the back of the head and punches her in the face again.
Haruka holds on to Darkness' arm, turning his own body to pull Darkness up and throw her into a rock.
"Now!" Haruka shouts to Megumin.
The explosive mage doesn't even want to fire the magic, so she uses it. Looking at Haruka and Darkness with tears in her eyes.
Haruka sees the magic circle forming around them and looks at Darkness.
"You're persistent, kid..." Vanir says, still trapped in the stone and Darkness' body. "But can you and that knight stand it?"
"Of all the people in Axis City, Darkness is the strongest, she just can't use her full potential..." Haruka explains, waiting for the explosion.
"And you?..."
"I... I'm not-" Haruka says, but a huge flash appears.
"EXPLOOOOSION!" Megumin fires her magic at them both.
A huge beam of light occurs, a huge bang appears and a gigantic fireball explodes in the forest.
[...]
(Next day.)
Kazuma's group is in the guild, facing Sena who seems to have a smile on his face.
"Adventurer Kazuma Sato." Sena speaks for everyone in the guild to hear. "As well as handing over this award, and this letter of thanks from the city. I would like to apologize for the suspicions that have been raised against you." Sena bows giving the award to Kazuma.
After that battle between Haruka and the Vanir, people began to be less suspicious of Kazuma, and especially Haruka. For he seemed very much a monster to people... Which technically he is, but he's still a good person.
"Next." Sena speaks. "Lady Lalatina Dustiness Ford." Sena indicates Darkness, who looks very embarrassed. "The dedication you showed in that confrontation was magnificent. And for your efforts that do justice to the Dustiness family honor, the Royal Family comes bearing a letter of Gratitude and this high-quality armor. It will replace your lost set."
After Darkness and Haruka were hit by Megumin's magical blast, Darkness was badly injured and weak and his armor was completely destroyed. But by far the worst hit was Haruka, as he was exhausted and the explosion had more effect on him than on Darkness. Megumin and Yunyun were the most worried about him, Megumin even cried and begged him not to die, even though she knew Aqua could revive him, and Yunyun... was the one who cried the most. But luckily there was still time for Aqua to use her healing magic on both of them.
The adventurers in the guild celebrate the group's achievement by calling out Darkness' real name while clapping and celebrating. Darkness seems to have been embarrassed by the attention she has received.
"This kind of embarrassment is not what I was expecting!" Darkness covers her face with her hands, wanting to cry.
"Stay calm, Darkness." Aqua tries to console her companion. "I think the name Lalatina is very beautiful. Then I'll fight with Kazuma because he told everyone your name as a joke."
Darkness cries at Aqua's allegations.
"Even where is the adventurer Haruka Kazuya?" Sena asks, looking around.
"Oh, about that..." Kazuma says. "He was so exhausted from the last battle that he's sleeping in the mansion... including Megumin."
"Hu?" Megumin replies, expecting the question.
"Did you leave Haruka alone?" Kazuma asks.
"No, I left someone to look after him..." Megumin looks away from Kazuma. Kazuma nods, knowing who is with Haruka.
"And finally!" Sena calls out to the group. "To the adventurer Kazuma Sato and his group, for your invaluable help against the Destroyer Mobile Fortress and in defeating the general of the demon king Vanir's army, it would be impossible without your contributions. Your debt and all the other costs of repairing Feudal Lord Aldarp will be subtracted from the total amount of your prize. But even after deducting your debts, you have received 40 million eris to celebrate your conquest!"
The adventurers and Kazuma's group celebrate with great gusto for a long time in the guild.
Kazuma leaves the guild and raises his arms to his own, shouting with all his might as he cries.
"I've earned the wings of freedom!"
(Dream.)
A light... a strong light... am I dead? No... I can't die yet... or should I? But this place is... so warm... a warmth... comforting... it feels like I'm being held by a deity... a deity... a divinity... but I think that if I'm going to die "again", I think it should be by protecting the one who's with me... but still... I don't want to die... I don't want to die... I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!
(End of dream.)
"Ahhh!" Haruka wakes up very startled, realizing that he is in a bed. In his bed, he looks around and realizes that he is in his room.
"Haruka..." A weak female voice speaks to Haruka.
"Uh?" Haruka looks over and sees Yunyun who is sitting on a chair with her head resting on the bed. "Yunyun?..."
"Hmm..." Yunyun rubs her eyes and sees Haruka awake. "Haruka... HARUKA!" Yunyun jumps on Haruka and gives him a big hug.
"Wow! Easy there!" Haruka is startled by the magician's attitude.
"I'm sorry... it's just... it's just..." Yunyun looks like she's about to cry. "It's just that I thought you might die..." Tears began to flow from Yunyun's eyes. "And I don't want to lose my only friend..."
Yunyun begins to cry as he continues to hug Haruka. The boy isn't sure what to do, but he hugs the girl back to try to console her.
"No need to cry, Yunyun..." Haruka hugs Yunyun to try to comfort her. "I'm not going to die."
Yunyun calms down a little, releasing Haruka from her embrace, she wipes away her tears and looks into her friend's eyes.
"Promise?..." Yunyun looks at Haruka while still wiping her tears.
"Yes, I promise." Haruka smiles at Yunyun. The girl calms down and smiles at her friend, even though the tears are still in her eyes.
(End of chapter.)
Note: This chapter was longer than I expected, but I still really enjoyed writing it! And about the next chapters... I'm planning something special Hehehe...
That's all for today, see you in the next chapter!