I don't own anything. All characters and all rights belong to Natsume Akatsuki*
M for mature topics. No children allowed. *
Konosuba (Not): Thanatos Blessing Upon This Broken World
By Try Another Time
Crash site
Kazuma holds the right side of his face as he tries to get up. As they appeared in this world, they found themselves high above the clouds, and like it was expected, they started to fall. Thankfully for Kazuma, the cape of his armor transforms into a pair of jet-black wings, which allows him to control his descent, but his lack of training and Aqua's screaming while trashing around lead to a complete and utter crash against the ground.
Luckily, those same wings acted as shields, blocking almost all damage.
"I told you we would crash if you kept moving like that. Come on, you're a goddess. Being afraid of heights should be my business, not yours." Kazuma said as he moved away to allow Aqua to get up.
"You're an idiot. I'm still a lady. I'm allowed to be afraid of things even if I'm immortal." Aqua replies with an angry tone as she gets up. "I'm also not excited about this because the skies of this world are usually-"
A loud screeching sound made them both turn around, only to face a group of ten massive crimson eagle monsters.
"Crap!" The duo screams as they try to sprint away, but a single voice stops them in their tracks.
"Is this what you're going to do before the opportunity to learn the basics of how to fight?" The duo could hear Thanatos' voice, but as they looked around for the source, they couldn't find it until Kazuma noticed a small skull pin resting on his chest.
"Lord Thanatos?" Kazuma speaks directly to the pin.
"Fool, don't ask foolish questions and focus on the enemies before you. You have a weapon I made, so let it guide your movements until you get the hang of it." Thanatos says as the monsters rush forward with their talons ready to strike.
Kazuma doubts for a moment, but his mind recalls his mission, so he lifts the scythe and lets it guide his movements.
The scythe takes over and makes Kazuma jump on the way to evade the monsters' initial assaults. The movements are rough yet effective, as he can avoid any of the ten eagles.
"Aqua, Kazuma is not here to do all the work. Concentrate and listen to the scepter. It contains all the spells you need to support Kazuma and protect yourself. For now, you only have each other, and unless you want to experience actual hell, you better act as a proper dark priestess." Thanatos says.
Simultaneously, the eagles turned around and prepared themselves for another assault.
"You have to be joking, Lord Thanatos. I can't do something like this. I'm a goddess. I'm not a dark priestess!" Aqua doubts and trembles as she holds the scepter in her hands.
"Then you're going to have a long path ahead of you," Thanatos says disappointedly.
The eagles detect her fear; before long, they lock into Aqua before they go after her.
Aqua trembles and even closes her eyes, leaving herself utterly open to the attack. But the attack never hits as Kazuma rushes forward at the last moment and tackles her to the ground, thus evading the damage she could have received.
"Are you an idiot? Why did you freeze up?" Kazuma questions her as he forces her to get up before he runs alongside her.
"I have no experience with this! I'm not supposed to be here!" Aqua exclaims.
"Neither do I, but now we are both stuck in this mission until we defeat the 12 demon lords. I don't care what experience you have or not, but I need you to help me because those things are out to kill us, and even if you're immortal, I doubt that you want to be ripped into pieces by those things!" Kazuma screams as he points at the bloodthirsty monsters chasing them down.
"Running won't help. You need to fight, my reaper. Fighting is the only way to win in this world. Is eat or be eaten." Thanatos says with a creepy tone.
Kazuma feels the cold weight of his words before he bites his lips and pushes Aqua out of the way before he turns around and faces the eagles.
"This better work," Kazuma tells himself before he takes a stance and allows the scythe to guide him.
His movements remain rough as he dodges the first eagle to the left before jumping to evade the second and third, which try to pin him down from the side. While in mid-air, his body twists in ways no human could do naturally before he buries the scythe on the head of the fourth eagle.
Purple blood spills in all directions as the first of the ten birds falls down, but Kazuma gets zero time to celebrate as he cannot evade the fifth, which rushes forward from behind before piercing his entire chest with its sharp talons. Kazuma spits blood as he experiences the cruelty of this broken world for the first time.
Aqua's POV.
The goddess was amazed at the movements of Kazuma as he faced the ten eagles on his own. At first, she felt hopeful since he was able to kill one of the damn monsters, but then, her dreams were shattered as the eagle pierced Kazuma from behind.
Her eyes could see the blood spilling as the beast lifted him up and slammed him into the ground with tremendous strength.
Aqua's eyes began to tear up, but it wasn't due to fear. Instead, it was due to the pain that was directly inflicted upon her due to her connection to Kazuma. Her eyes examined her chest for any injuries, but the pain was vivid,d and it got worse as the others joined the eagle before they started ripping into Kazuma.
"I hope you're happy because this is all due to you. You sent so many "heroes" to this world, hoping that one would take care of everything while you sat and watched from the safety of your post, but now you get to experience it alongside him. Every injury he suffers will also be yours to endure. It would be just the pain for now, but I can likely increase to receiving the damage he endures. So tell me, what are you going to do, Aqua?" The pin in her chest speaks as it questions her.
Kazuma screams as the eagles rip into him like the animals they were. Their beaks waste no time as they take chunks of his flesh without a drop of mercy.
Aqua continues to receive the pain until she can't endure it anymore. "... Just tell me what to do."
The scepter speaks directly into her mind with mysterious forgotten knowledge before Aqua recites the arcane spell.
"Accursed Bone Stakes!" Aqua shouts.
Several sharp bone stakes rise from beneath the ground around Kazuma before they pierce the eagles that are closest to him and force the others to create distance between them.
The scepter continues to speak to Aqua, who is still enduring the same pain as Kazum before she chants another spell. "Arcane Operation!"
A dark figure resembling a humanoid torso with 17 arms holding needles appears on top of Kazuma before it starts to repair any damage received by Kazuma and his armor. The process is quick yet painful, like an advanced surgical procedure that ignores anesthesia and forces the body to heal too fast for the patient's comfort.
"Kazuma…." Aqua vomits as she can't endure the pain anymore. "This is horrible."
"I…" Kazuma holds it in. "I know." The young reaper stands up feeling a bit dizzy, as his new body is not accustomed to all of this. One moment, monsters are ripping him apart, and the next, a creepy torso is stitching him together.
"No time to waste. It is time to continue the practice. Those things won't stop until you're dead. Come on, show them what you got." Thanatos continued.
And so the fight continued.
An hour later.
The last of the eagles finally fell to the ground, and the duo was tired beyond relieved.
"Nice trial by fire. There are good basics, but you both need practice. You're both newbies but will get the hang of it with more fights." Thanatos comments.
"This is madness, Lord Thanatos. How can I face this? Even the healing spells hurt. There's no way we can fight like this." Aqua argues with an expression that shows how close she's getting to the edge.
Her hands can't stop trembling as she holds the scepter.
"... Where should we go next, Lord?" Kazuma asks as he decides not to argue and bites the bullet.
"Good question. Based on my overall vision, you're five days away from Axel. It would be best if you went to the north. You will need to cross the forest before you get there. In Axel, you can genuinely start your mission. You can gather intel, buy supportive items, and maybe even recruit allies, but the forest won't be easy. You're still weak, so going on missions to fight monsters will aid you in growing in strength. Gear such as weapons and armor won't be an issue for you two since you have all you need, but the rest will be up to you to gather. Also, a compass should be hanging from your belt alongside an infinite bag for storage. Make sure to gather materials from those monsters for later. Good luck." Thanatos then goes quiet as Kazuma observes the corpses that surround them.
Aqua covers her face with her hands before she starts to sob.
Kazuma turns to her but decides not to say a word, as he can tell that is far worse for her since she has never faced adversity of any kind. The reaper then turns his attention to the corpses before he takes a deep breath. "Just like chickens."
Two hours later.
The last of the corpses was finally dismembered or as close as Kazuma could do while using a scythe as a knife before he put it into the bag for storage.
"It feels like I'm using the best vacuum machine ever made. This will be really useful…. I shouldn't let people know until I figure out if it's common to have it amongst the people of this world." Kazuma says before he turns his attention to Aqua.
The expression on her face seems lost as she doesn't move an inch.
"... Gode… no, Aqua. It is time to go. I doubt we want to be in the open when it gets dark." Kazuma offers his hand to her.
Aqua's expression remains lost, but she grabs his hand and stands up. Yet she doesn't let go for some reason.
"Aqua… alright. I'll allow it for now." Kazuma hags his scythe on his back before he grabs the compass, which, to the surprise of nobody, was also skull theme. "Thank you, Lord. At least this thing works like in my world. Alright, Aqua, we're going North. Keep your eyes open for enemies and any place we could use to settle for the night. We're going to have to do with what we have."
Aqua slowly nods as she continues to hold his hand in silence.
Thus, they begin their trip across the open plains of this parallel world. Luckily for them, no more enemies showed up.
As they continued, the sun startled to settle until night had arrived. The duo decided to make camp next to a large rock that offered some cover.
"Burning Head." A skull rose from the ground before it set itself ablaze.
"Nice, at least we have a source of fire now," Kazuma said as he sat next to Aqua. "Let's use my cape to protect ourselves from the cold."
Aqua nods as she gets as close as she can to him.
The cape seems to react as it transforms into wings that enclose the pair.
"Thats…. I need to learn how to use these things. It would be useful if I could fly with these." Kazuma says before he pulls a small piece of meat from the bag.
"... You're going to eat that?" Aqua questions her 'partner.'
"I only need to think it is a rare chicken from another world. It might have purple blood and weird-colored meat but is still a chicken." Kazuma says as he places the meat on top of the skull. "I'm just going to cook it as close to well done as possible. Hopefully, this doesn't kill me or give me a weird disease."
Aqua remained silent as her eyes observed the mysterious meat for a few minutes until she had the guts to ask the questions popping into her head. "... Why are you so fine with all of this?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Kazuma turns to her with a questioning look.
"You know what I mean. This world is not like yours. We just fought giant birds, and you almost got ripped into pieces, yet you're holding it together as if it were nothing." Aqua questions the reaper with expected concern.
Kazuma quiets down for a moment as he formulates his answer. "... I want my life back. I left things unfinished. I'm not enjoying this, I can assure you that. I prefer not to have any more monsters taking a bite out of me, but I need to face it if I want my life back. As long as I can sense this heartbeat within my chest, I can't stop. I can't allow myself to back away from my accord with Thanatos."
"But that life of yours was nothing near perfect. I saw the reports. Besides your brother, nobody else cares about you. Most of your family, besides your brother, has ignored your very existence for years. Your company treated you like a slave; you had no friends or significant other, and yet you want to go back?" Aqua asks once with a concerned tone.
"... Even if only my brother acknowledged my existence, I would be alright. I… learned to accept the solitude that surrounded me. I didn't fit in at my school, and those I once considered friends didn't last as long as I expected. I'm alright with that life, even with its struggles." Kazuma said.
Yet his answers didn't inspire confidence in Aqua. She didn't know why, but as their eyes met, she found a void behind Kazuma's eyes. A void that couldn't be filled so easily as it had grown with time. "... You're empty. So empty that you're blind to your own pleas for help."
Aqua felt a bit worried about when this void would finally swallow his last will to live and lead their mission to a tragic end. Yet she didn't know how to approach it.
Before they could continue with the conversation, their noses detected the scent of the monster meat sitting on the burning skull.
"Are you sure about eating that thing?" Aqua questions her partner as she tries to cover her nose. "It doesn't smell like something that should be eaten."
"It's just like chicken, it's just like chicken, it's just like chicken," Kazuma repeated as he tried not to think about the disgusting scent.
It was a weird scent combination between a putrid egg of 1000 years and burnt flesh. Not appealing at all.
Aqua covers her face in annoyance as she shakes it from side to side. "That thing will kill you if you eat it. There must be a spell in this scepter to help us." Aqua grabs the scepter which was lying next to her, before she starts pleading with it. "Please help us; give us something to make it edible."
The scepter's eyes shine as it understands the request of its owner before its arcane knowledge is transmitted into Aqua's mind.
"... Will this work?" Aqua questions the scepter.
The scepter eyes' grow dark as if saying, 'Take it or leave it.'
"Alright, no need to be fussy about it." Aqua turns her attention to the meat before she chants the spell. "Forbidden transmutation."
The spell activates, and the mysterious nasty meat starts to change in tone and color, gaining a reddish tone while its horrid scent disappears.
"... What did you do? It doesn't feel like it's the same meat anymore." Kazuma asks with concern as he pokes the meat with the tip of his scythe.
"Hey, it is better than testing your luck against a putrid piece of flesh. Try it out and let me know how it is." Aqua says as she crosses her arms.
"... Why should it be me?"
"You're the man. So man up and face this challenge."
"I was willing to face the previous putrid meat, but this is not the same thing anymore. Also, that excuse of men should go first because they are men won't go down in this team. I believe in gender equality, so you'll eat some of it too." Kazuma recovers the meat with the tip of his scythe.
The juices of the mysterious magical meat drip down as soon as Kazuma lifts it up.
"No, I won't do it unless you do it!" Aqua tries to get away.
Kazuma stops her as he grabs her shoulder. His eyes widen as he glares at Aqua. "We're doing this together regardless of your position, Aqua. I don't like to use force, but if I have to, I will follow Lord Thanatos' ways."
Aqua glares at him. "You wouldn't dare hit a goddess such as I?"
"Test me out." Kazuma glares back.
The duo remains like this until Aqua starts to tear up.
"Why are you so cruel to me? I shouldn't be treated like this. I'm a goddess, a beautiful lady; I should be treasured and res-" Her rambling quickly stops as Kazuma shoves a piece of the mysterious meat straight into her mouth.
"How is it?" Kazuma asks as Aqua chews on the meat with a crying expression.
"... Is bland…. Too bland. Why is it bland?" Aqua cries out as she shakes her scepter.
"Hey, bland is good." Kazuma takes a piece of the juicy meat with his fingers before trying it out. "... Is too bland…. How could something so juicy be so dull? Lord Thanatos, have you forsaken us?"
Kazuma spreads his arms as he pleads to the dark sky above, but no answer comes.
Another 20 minutes later.
With a full belly, Aqua quickly settled for the night as she leaned against Kazuma's shoulder.
"I'm so sleepy, Kazuma, Kazuma."
"Yes, that's my name. What is it?"
"Can I go to sleep first?"
"We need to decide how we're going to do this. Both of us can't fall asleep. We need to take turns to watch out for monsters. Unless you want to-"
The reaper stops as he begins to hear the peaceful snoring of the goddess.
"How dare you!?" Kazuma was about to shake her up, but his hand stopped when he saw her expression.
Aqua's face still held the marks of the many times she cried out, yet she seemed so peaceful and calm as she used his shoulder as a pillow.
"... Useless goddess… this won't be an easy mission with your antics," Kazuma says as he carefully moves her from leaning against his shoulder to resting on his lap.
Aqua smiles in her sleep as she finds this position much more comfortable.
"I know. Shoulders don't make the best pillows to sleep on. I know that from experience." Kazuma's mind recalls the many times he ended up leaning against other overworked salarymen late at night when he took the train home in Tokyo.
It was such a sad view as he and many others lived their existence as slaves without a way out. They all looked similar as they had dark circles around their eyes, while some, like him, looked much older than their actual ages.
The lifestyle was rough as few had families that could go back to, even less a warm meal that could revive their broken bodies.
Kazuma then moves a hand to his chest before he feels the rhythmic movement of his heart back 'home.' His only consolation was knowing that even after so much, he was still alive.
"I will return. I… won't break my promise."
His eyes then turn to the flame of the skull as he takes in the silence of the night.
Or that was the plan until he began to hear steps approaching.
Kazuma's right hand reaches out for his scythe as he detects the approaching presence. His body tenses up as he thinks it is an enemy. "Aqua-"
"Don't wake her up." A voice calls out from the darkness. "Is better if we speak while she sleeps."
Kazuma examines the darkness until he finds the approaching figure of a woman covered in a tight, dark, armored suit that resembles those of assassins in some of the games he played back home.
At first, the female's face is hidden behind a mask, but once she puts it away, Kazuma learns her identity.
"Goddess Eris? What are you doing here?" Kazuma questions the goddess. Although she seemed very similar to her other self, a particular aspect made Kazuma doubt as he examined her body.
Eris lifts a finger before she denies it. "In this world, I'm called Chris, Leader of the Black Daggers. Don't use my real name. It would be troublesome if you did. Let her know that calling herself a goddess in public is a bad idea."
"Ok, but that doesn't explain what you're doing here."
Eris smiles as she sits beside him. "I told you I was going to offer aid. To tell you the truth, I've been doing this for quite a while. I infiltrated this world with a mortal body to keep an eye on Aqua's acts as a goddess. Normally, gods don't interfere with each other, but other higher gods gave me the task of 'aiding' Aqua by discretely interfering when needed."
Kazuma looks at Aqua, and his mind understands the concerns of the other gods. "She's an idiot, isn't she?"
"Careless like no other and rather childish if you want me to be blunt about it. Her tasks were straight to the point, but everything changed 200 years ago. This world was relatively calm until Aqua offered a chance to reincarnate to a particular mortal." Eris admits as she recalls the day everything changed for this world.
"... I have time. Give me the information you have. I'd like to know what I'm facing." Kazuma says with a serious tone.
Eris nods. "I'm already liking you." Eris opens her infinite storage bag before she pulls out two maps. "This world looked like this 200 years ago. A large connected continent made up most of the mainland, with small islands making up for the rest. Many races lived here then, and conflicts were relatively small as the Kingdom of Belzerg controlled the continent. There were issues, but nothing was too severe. A few reincarnated individuals would arrive and leave marks in the historical reports of this world, such as the one behind the creation of the Crimson Demons, who hold no association with the real demons you're going to be fighting."
"I see," Kazuma says as he inspects the first map.
"Everything then changed 200 years ago with the arrival of the first demon lord, Kyoichi Yasaka, now known as Rhephilis I, the first Demon Lord. At first, he was a rather ambitious mage who presented no threat to the world at first, but his madness revealed itself one day when this happened." Eris opens the second map, showing how the massive continent was split into four mismatched pieces.
"What happened here? How can one continent change so much?" Kazuma asks.
"Rephilis happened. There was once an academy of mages that the kingdom supported right at the center of the continent called the Royal Academy of Belzerg. Inside its walls, young mages were trained into proper magic users while also helping to explore the different mysteries of the world of magic. Rephilis rose in the academy relatively easily; before long, he was a respected researcher within its walls. His research dwelled on how mages could become more powerful and the creation of artificial life." Eris explains.
"You're telling me that one guy did all this?" Kazuma questions Eris.
Eris nods. "Rephilis's research led to the event known as the Great Cataclysm, which shattered the continent, but its effects were much worse than simply breaking the world as we knew it back then. Demons, the ones that now threaten humanity and the other races, were once students within the academy walls. Rephilis was once human, but once the cataclysm happened, he was reborn as the first Demon Lord, the father of all demons. He dwells in the continent's farthest north and hasn't been seen since the war began. Also, everyday creatures and animals became far more dangerous as the cataclysm infused them with demonic energy."
Kazuma covers his face as he takes all of this in. "You're telling me that the biggest boss who shattered an entire continent in four pieces is chilling in his kingdom in the north?"
Eris shakes her head. "I tried to infiltrate the dark continent to gather information, but it was nearly impossible. I have only gathered rumors and whispers since the dark continent is like an unbreachable fortress. Demons also have the unusual ability to reproduce quickly and turn others into demons, so you can imagine how bad the situation has become."
"They can turn others?"
Eris nods. "And we don't know how to reverse the process. The only salvation is that the process can't be forced upon others. Subjects must be willing to accept demon blood to turn into one."
"Great. So where are we?" Kazuma asks as he examines the new map.
Eris points at the continent farthest south. "We're here in the south. The fallen capital of Belzerg is on the north edge of the continent, while we're close to Axel in the south. There's no government in charge anymore after the capital fell to the Traitorous Blade of the Fallen Hero, Fulcan."
"Let me guess, this fallen hero is one of the demon Lords?" Kazuma asks as he makes notes in his head.
Eris nods. "Kyouya Mitsurugi was a hero who claimed to fight for justice but betrayed us and sacrificed the capital to the demon horde. He slaughtered thousands, and his very sword cut the head of the previous king and his son. He is one of four Demon Lords located on this continent. The other three are Romeo, the Lustful One, to the east; Talus, the Spider Aberration, to the West; and finally, Geldas, the Mad Creator, which has a floating base not far from the fallen capital. We need to take down these targets before we seek to cross into other continents."
"Four demon lords…. It wasn't going to be easy. Anything good that I need to know?"
Eris sees the serious yet determined expression on Kazuma's face. "... Irene, the golden Blade could be your key ally. Although few know of this, Fulcan did not finish the job. He couldn't eliminate all of the royals; the princess escaped alongside the relic sword that her family inherited. Blood of past heroes flows through her body, and she's growing into an outstanding swordmaster. She needs allies that can fight alongside her as much as you do. My fellow agents aid her occasionally, but we can't fulfill the tasks of the hero's party. Irene needs someone who can show her the path forward. She's a queen without a nation or a crown, but with the right party, she could be an ally like no other. Like her, there are others who lost too much to this war; they have outstanding abilities and skills that could aid you in reaching the dark continent. You're going to need as many trustful allies as you can get. There's a limit to how much I can do to help you since I'm not the most powerful being while controlling this body, but I can assure you that I'm ready to support you until the end."
Eris pulls out a small book, a coin pulse, and a shining silver badge before she presents them to Kazuma.
"This book has all the knowledge you could need regarding the lives of people and the towns and villages that now act as independent nations. If you have questions or concerns, the book can answer most of them. Read it; you're going to need it." Eris says with a serious expression.
"I will. I promise." Kazuma says as he picks up the book.
"Good. This coin purse holds around 250 silver coins. This is the most I can give you. I have other agents who also need resources, so please understand why I couldn't do more. The book will explain how money works in this world."
"Understood and be at ease. I know that you're doing a lot as it is." Kazuma says with a calm and considerate expression.
Eris nods with a slight blush as she meets his gaze. "Finally, the badge is from my group. We're known across the continent, and by wielding it, you'll have an easier time getting into most places. It would also allow you to register as an adventurer with few issues. Your appearances will draw attention; some might even take you for shady people, but the badge will be helpful in those cases. Now give me your hand." Eris grabs the badge in one hand and Kazuma's hand in the other.
The badge, which is metallic and resembles a black dagger piercing a realistic heart, shines brightly as Eris places it on top of Kazuma's hand. The metal fuses into his skeletal armored glove until the badge is one with it.
"We used to make much simpler badges before, but some nasty individuals dared to copy us and even tried to use our name for their benefit, so we made these to prevent any more fake badges going around," Eris says. "I have a few basic everyday spells that I want to teach you, so I hope you'll be willing to offer me a couple of hours."
Kazuma nods. "I'll take all the help I can get." His eyes turned to the sleeping Aqua. "I'm going to need lots of it with her around."
Eris shakes her head in disappointment. "I pray to the higher gods that she matures after this experience. It would be easier if I didn't have to babysit her as much."
And so the night continued with Kazuma learning as much as he could from Eris while Aqua continued to sleep without a care in the world.