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

Countdown before next wave: 5 days

Sparks danced as their weapons met in a brilliant clash. In the vast, open space of the endless hallway, the two could unleash their full power, free from worries about accidentally hurting anyone nearby.

"You're faster than before." Darkness said with a grin across her face.

"And you're not holding back with your magic weapon," Kazuma said as he pushed harder against the immovable Darkness.

Their engagement had continued for more than 30 minutes, but both felt that the time to end was coming closer. Both were tired and sweaty after clashing without giving each other a break.

Each attack they exchanged showed their abnormal potential as neither showed the will to give in to the other. They couldn't help but smile at each other as they felt their connection growing stronger alongside their skills on the battlefield.

Kazuma, who had begun to swing his scythe around mere weeks ago, was catching up to Darkness, who felt excited to engage him and guide his training regime as he sought to become stronger and sharper as the team's main attacker.

"Is that all you got?" Darkness asked as she changed weapon forms before delivering a wide swing with her axe that forced Kazuma to use his wings to propel himself back to safety.

The reaper smirked. "Oh, I'm far from done!" Kazuma charged back into the fray. He began to twist his body before delivering a series of decisive cuts as the blade of his scythe was engulfed by dark energy.

Darkness used her axe to block most of the attacks, but her eyes started noticing how some of the ones she blocked pierced through her defense before leaving deep cuts around her chest armor. "That's not normal. This hasn't happened before."

The Fallen Knight was curious about the weird occurrence, so she backed away before changing weapons. "Come at me again, Kazuma. Attack me as much as you can. I want to test something out."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow but decided not to object as he charged forward before spinning like a tornado, which offered no chances to breathe as his attacks became restless. The reaper went mad as his attacks aimed to overwhelm his opponent's shield.

Darkness was amazed at the sharpness of her partner as Kazuma's attacks had become far deadlier and more precise compared to the early waves they faced. Her eyes could keep track of each attack, but that didn't make it easier as Kazuma grew stronger. Yet her mind had to put that aside as the sharp pain of several cuts alerted her to the dangerous situation she found herself in. "Kazuma, stop! Something is wrong."

Kazuma stopped moving as he heard her voice. "What's wrong?"

Darkness put her shield to the side before drops of blood began to fall from beneath her armor. "I'm injured…. I blocked the attacks, but I was still hurt….. Your attacks ignored my defenses."

Kazuma's eyes widen as he drops his scythe and rushes to aid Darkness. "How? You weren't missing my timing?"

Darkness shook her head as she dropped her own weapons. "I have no idea. Just help me to take this armor off."

Kazuma wasted no time as he aided his ally in removing her chest piece. As soon it was off, both could see several deep cuts around Darkness's chest and arms. "This makes no sense."

"I know. Get Aqua before I bleed out." Darkness says as she places a hand over her most significant injury. The cut was clearly visible even through the undershirt she had worn under her armor.

Kazuma rushed to find Aqua while Darkness smirked at the growing strength of her partner. "Ah, he's growing sharper with each day. I wonder if this was his abilities or something else interfering."

Several minutes later.

"How did you do this? I thought you two were sparring, not killing each other." Aqua said as she used her power to cure Darkness's injuries.

"We were. Trust me, we didn't go for killing blows. I know it, but somehow, his attacks ignored my defenses. This has never happened before since we started training together." Darkness explained as the torso got to work on her.

Kazuma sat in the traditional Japanese form while everyone looked at him suspiciously. "I didn't intend to injure her. Darkness is an expert at blocking my attacks with her shield, so this event also surprises me."

"I see," Yunyun said as she examined Kazuma from head to toe before her eyes were driven to the pendant around his neck. "You do have that mysterious pendant now."

Megumin turns to her. "You think the pendant had a hand in this?"

"Is a possibility. We know these items are rare drops from mimic chests. My boots allow me to fly, but I can also tell that my movement is far faster than before. I haven't tested it yet, but I could try to match Kazuma in terms of speed with these things." Yunyun said.

Kazuma points a finger at himself. "Me?"

Yunyun nods. "I always wanted to be a bit faster since I can't engage enemies in close combat, so getting away is necessary for me." Her eyes then turn to Darkness. "Your weapon is likely due to your desire for something new and powerful to replace your axes and shield."

Darkness nods along. "Makes sense. I did wish for a weapon that gave me power and defense."

Yunyun then turns her eyes to Megumin. "And you…. Maybe you wanted something related to your spells?"

"Not using so much energy when casting Explosion Magic would be great….. Wait… I haven't thought about it, but…. I don't get drained so fast these days when using my spells." Megumin admits as she recalls the past. "... Gravitational Armageddon should have left me drained as well, but I didn't feel that when I used it."

"See? We haven't paid too much attention to our items since we got them. We ignored the possibilities since we lacked the skills to verify each one. This mysterious pendant might have an ability that allows Kazuma's attacks to ignore defense or an ability that delivers the intended damage to the target regardless of defense." Yunyun says with an inquisitive look as she kneels before Kazuma and examines the pendant. "Is truly a mysterious item... I wonder if my theory is right."

"That… would explain a lot, but we've been training for a while, and this didn't happen until a few minutes ago," Kazuma argues.

"Maybe there's an activation trigger. If Yunyun's explanation is correct, your pendant will only activate after certain conditions are met. What do you recall from your sparring match?" Megumin asks as she kneels beside Kazuma.

"... We started slow. There were a few attacks here, and after a while, we increased the speed of our attacks. One attack became a combo of three and more as we went all out." Kazuma says as he recalls the entire engagement.

"So the intensity increase…. Maybe the trigger is based on how many attacks you make. A higher number of attacks may lead to the activation of the skill…. We'll have to wait to test it out against the following waves. We can't have you cutting Darkness into pieces." Yunyun jokes.

"I would never do that to her!" Kazuma shouts.

"Relax, Mr. Reaper. We know that. You'll take an attack head-on for us before you hurt any of us. This was an accident due to our carelessness in figuring out what each item does. We shouldn't put them on before checking them out, but the situation doesn't allow that now. Anyway, take the pendant off before you train with Darkness again. We wouldn't want another accident. It would be best if you also took a shower; you're sweating profusely. Maybe a shower will calm your fears." Yunyun recommended.

"Darkness, let's get you to bed. You must be tired after all that." Megumin said.

Darkness shook her head. "I'll accompany Kazuma in the bath. I'm also sweaty."

"Pervert!" Aqua and Megumin said in unison while Yunyun blushed.

"Whyyyy are you so okay with sharing a bath with Kazuma?" Yunyun asked with a trembling voice. "A maiden shouldn't share a bath with a male before marriage."

Darkness shrugs. "I enjoy chatting with Kazuma in the privacy of the bath. He listens to me while not doing anything perverted."

Megumin turns to glare at Kazuma. "Why do you allow yourself to be dragged around by this pervert?"

"... I enjoy our talks," Kazuma says as he tries to look to the side.

"Oh, and we also kiss each other a few times." Darkness says with a devious expression.

Silence takes over as those last words escape her mouth.

"... Didn't you say that you had no time for romance? What is this, Kazuma?" Megumin asks as she grabs his cheeks and starts pulling them apart.

"Auch, stop it. My face is not a toy!" Kazuma pleas.

Darkness smirks. "He's not the main mastermind. I am."

"You?" Yunyun questions her.

"Yes, me. I like him, and I want him to fall for my charms. I… want to see how far we go and if I can make him stay once all is over." Darkness touches her mechanic arm. "I'm not the feminine type, yet he finds me attractive. I also like his appearance and mentality. I feel like I can follow him to the end of the world, and somehow, we'll make it back. In my eyes, he's a man like no other. Come on, how many times have you seen a man like him? He has wings, a scythe, and a mysterious past that just thugs at me to get closer."

Kazuma blushes as he listens to this while Megumin pulls his cheeks even harder.

Yunyun can't hide her surprise before her eyes turn to Aqua. "You knew?"

Aqua nods. "Kazuma and I have no secrets. I told him not to let feelings get in the way, but what he and Darkness do after that is not my business. I'm not his mother. He's an adult like Darkness, but I disapprove of such open perversion. If they want to be proper adults, they should be going through the right process… like meeting each other's parents and having dates while being supervised…." Aqua says as she starts to play with her fingers with a blushing expression.

"We can't do that, Aqua. My parents are dead, and based on what Kazuma has told me, the case is similar for him." Darkness says.

"You shared your past with her?" Megumin moves from his cheeks to Kazuma's neck as she starts to playfully strangle him (Don't do this at home).

"We… talk a lot," Kazuma says as Megumin continues to strangle him.

"Stop it with that Megumin. It hurts me, too!" Aqua says.

"Right, sorry." Megumin releases Kazuma. She thinks about what to do as she glares at her leader and the lioness. "... Yunyun!"

"Yes?" Yunyun replies.

"We're… sharing a bath with these two. I'm curious to know about our leader's past." Megumin declares with a blushing expression.

"What?" Yunyun screamed.

A couple of minutes later.

"Why are we doing this?" Yunyun questioned her friend while she carried Chomuzuke in her arms. Her face couldn't get more red.

"We're… getting closer as a team." Megumin declares with an expression that tries to seem at ease, but she can't hide her shame. "I'm… going to kill him and myself after this."

"Aqua… can I just get out before this turns for the worse?" Kazuma asks as a towel covers his eyes. The reaper was covering his private parts with his hands.

"Sorry, but you did this to yourself. I told you for many days that you shouldn't let Darkness do as she pleases." Aqua said as she led Kazuma.

"This is only happening because someone was jealous." Darkness said as she walked past Megumin.

Megumin glares at her. "Pervert!"

"If that's the title that defines my forwardness, then so be it." Darkness says before she hugs Kazuma's arm. "Let me help you get clean." She softly said as she leaned into his ear.

"Don't do that….. This is already dangerous. Anymore and Megumin might just shoot me down with a spell." Kazuma said as he gulped down.

Megumin's cold stare wasn't making it easier for him.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll keep you safe from her." Darkness says as she glances back at Megumin with an expression that screams, 'He's mine, and you'll never get ahead.'

The One Eye Sage couldn't understand why she hated Darkness's teasing, but something told her she shouldn't let her get away with it.

"Eris, Thanatos-sama, please have mercy on me. I might get killed today." Kazuma pleaded to the heavens.

Sometime after.

The entire team sank into the warm waters of the bath with Kazuma still covering his eyes.

"Nothing better than a warm bath to heal your aching muscles. Are you enjoying yourself, Kazuma?" Darkness asks as she leans against the wall while sitting on his right side.

"A warm bath has never been my enemy. I remember going to a bathhouse late at night after work near my tiny home in the city. My home lacked a proper bath for me to sink in after showering. Nothing was better than sinking in its warm waters and closing your eyes without thinking about anything…. It was one of the few bright moments of my days." Kazuma admitted as he recalled his days back in Tokyo.

"Your homeland is well known for them, so there's no surprise there," Aqua adds as she sits on Kazuma's left side.

"Tiny home? You were living by yourself back in your homeland?" Megumin asked as she got interested in his memories.

"I did. I left my hometown in the countryside before moving to one of my nation's largest cities to study." Kazuma continues.

"You went to school? What kind? Magic school?" Yunyun joins in.

"Meow?" Chomuzuke joins in with a questioning look.

Kazuma shakes his head. "My homeland…. Doesn't have magic. My homeland surrounds technology and what people learn to get through the day. Kids go to schools for years to learn core knowledge that will help them later, but once a child turns a certain age, they must either continue into higher education or work to care for themselves. Higher education is the optimal choice for most, but getting accepted into schools is already bad. Tests play a big part as only the best are accepted, and your future will vary depending on your school."

"No magic? Your homeland…. It sounds bizarre, but I wonder how your lives differ from ours." Megumin says.

"It differs… a lot. Parents in most families put a lot of expectations on their children to achieve success. Be it by taking over a family business, marrying the partner chosen for them, or achieving success after joining the most prominent schools. Some cases even involve all three combined. Life for people my age could range from horrible to pure joy as the choices and benefits each one has will play a big part in how it goes. The biggest companies will likely hire those with good schools, while those with 'bad' schools will have to crawl until they find a company that's willing to accept them; those with a family business must be ready to take over or be shunned by their families for going against their wishes, and finally, those with arranged marriages have the worse fates because freedom is not a choice." Kazuma continues.

"... I see. Even lands far away have things such great expectations that the youth needs to meet…. Kazuma, were you expected to meet such things?" Darkness asks.

"... They…. My parents were farmers. They lived in the countryside and made a living by selling their products. They raised me and my brother with the expectation of being proper members of society. Everything they did was to raise two proper men that would go out into the world and be part of society." Kazuma says.

"Proper members of society? What does that mean?" Megumin asks.

"It can vary…. Either working on the farm, attending school, or marrying someone and settling down somewhere. My family was traditional, but they offered us freedom regarding what we could do…. Yet I hadn't met any of them for some time. I took too long to become the adult they wished me to be." Kazuma admits as his memories return. "My dad took it the hardest… he felt ashamed of his oldest son who couldn't do anything with his life."

"... You don't have to continue. Is alright, we don't need to speak about it." Darkness says as she leans against his shoulder. She could sense the tension rising as Kazuma's voice turned regretful. "We… all made mistakes that we can't change. We can only continue to move forward." A knight who couldn't even fight to protect her nation or her family.

"... Forward is the only path." Megumin placed a hand over her scar. The pain had never gone away as she relieved those memories often. The so-called strongest disciple of the goddess of Violence could not protect her village.

"Turning back is not a choice." Yunyun looks at Chomuzuke. "We…. must carry on for the sake of those no longer here. Even if we fail 100 times, as long as we get back up, we'll be able to accomplish our goals and meet the hopes of others."

"Meow…." Chomuzuke softly purrs as she melts with Yunyun's attention.

"Right…." Megumin clears her throat. "Thanks for telling us a bit about your past. I didn't want to believe Darkness, but you seem a gentleman. I might have gotten ahead of myself by thinking the worst."

"Oh, right before I forget. Kazuma, turn this way for me." Darkness says.

"Why?" Kazuma asks with a questioning look hidden by the towel.

"I'll do it myself then." Darkness says before she grabs both sides of Kazuma's head and forces it to turn to her. Once she has it in the perfect position, she leans in and kisses him with complete shamelessness.

The three remaining girls can't speak a single word as Darkness marks her territory before them by 'devouring' Kazuma.

Once she releases him, she leans against his shoulder with a cocky smile. "This is my message to all of you three. This man, our leader, is the object of my interest and affection. I will make him fall for me, so do your worst because I won't lose."

"Pervert!" Megumin said with an angry expression.

Aqua could only shake her head. "Didn't I say I don't see Kazuma like that?"

"Mom, Dad, is this what you call a kiss between adults?" Yunyun asked as she tried to remain calm.

Then suddenly, a single towel fell into the bath. Everything froze as Kazuma's eyes witnessed heaven in full uncensored glory.

His brain and eyes worked faster than his body could react as a single idea came to him. "Run!"

The reaper stood up before he jumped past Megumin, giving her and the rest a full view of his private parts before he dashed towards the door.

Yet, as soon as he reached for the door, he found it frozen. His head turned slowly only to see the two spell casters standing up with dark auras surrounding them.

"I'm getting out of here! I'm not at fault." Kazuma shouted as he did his best to open the frozen door.

Magic started accumulating in their hands as they sought to achieve a single goal: eliminating a pervert who dared to see them naked and show them such a peverted sight to them.

"Where do you think you're going, you pervert-" Neither got to finish the sentence as blood started to drip from their noses before they fell unconscious in the water.

Darkness approached the pair before checking their vitals. "Well, look at that. Neither of them can deal with too much stimulation or heat simultaneously. Come back into the water, Kazuma." Darkness said as she pushed both girls outside the pool.

"Eh? I thought this was going to end another way." Kazuma said.

"How?" Darkness asked.

"Me dying to their combined attack," Kazuma replies.

Darkness shakes her head. "I don't know where you get those ideas from. Just come back into the water and let us enjoy our time longer. Also, good to know that your 'sword' fits the bill when unsheated."

Kazuma blushed before he walked bath into the pool. "You're a pervert."

Darkness shrugs. "I just know what I like. I'm not trying to play around."

"Ha, says the person who was teasing Megumin and Yunyun." Aqua jokes.

"That's just letting them know what's up and reminding you what I think." Darkness pulls Kazuma back into their original position.

"Suit yourself, crazy lioness," Aqua said to herself as she went back to enjoying the water.

Chomuzuke approaches the trio before Kazuma picks her up and places her on top of his head.

"Better?" Kazuma questions the cat.

"Meow…." Chomuzuke replies as she settles in within his unruly hair.

"At least you like me," Kazuma says before he closes his eyes and enjoys his time alongside a goddess with alcoholic problems, a jealous lioness, and a cat that is not a cat.

And with nothing left, the rest of the bath goes in peace with just two spell casters out due to overstimulation.