Chapter 11 The Dungeon Litch
Disclaimer: I don't own Konosuba or Kamen Rider, they belong to their respective owners.
Note: I'd like to make one thing clear. I decided to make this fic because I wanted Kazuma's group to really evolve in the story. Having cool skills and developing into a "Normal" person in this crazy world. But anyway, let's get started.
Chapter 11 The Dungeon Litch.
(Morning.)
Haruka and Megumin were walking along a road in the middle of the forest. Megumin was humming happily as she walked alongside Haruka.
"I still don't understand, why do I have to come with you?" Haruka asked, snapping Megumin out of her thoughts.
"I usually come to fire my explosive magic together with Kazuma, but since he had things to sort out with Aqua and Wiz and since Darkness isn't here to carry me..." Megumin gives Haruka a mischievous smile. "My big brother will carry me."
"Ahh..." Haruka sighs. "You treat me like a donkey..." Haruka walks over to Megumin, picks up her mage hat and rubs her head. "But you're really cute."
"Stop it!" Megumin takes her hat back. "You treat me like a child." Megumin puts his wizard hat back on his head.
"You're still a child to me." Haruka mocks Megumin. The girl gets a little angry and pats Haruka on the arm.
"Um..." Megumin thinks of a tease. "Even that round little ass of yours is cute." Megumin scoffs.
"Stop it!" Haruka turns around, trying to hide her ass.
"By the way, why didn't we come to Junglaider?" Megumin asks the boy.
"Since we still haven't settled things with the noble Aldarp, we need to keep the dust down. And since the Janglaider attracts a lot of attention, I thought it best not to use it for a while." Haruka explains to Megumin.
"All right, but I still want to fly it!" Megumin says excitedly.
The two walk for a while until they reach a small mountain peak. Just ahead on top of the mountain is a giant castle.
"Is that the castle Beldia complained about you blowing up several times?" Haruka asks, looking up at the huge castle.
"That's right!" Megumin says, striking an extravagant pose. "Now as a Crimson Demon, I, Megumin will use the most powerful magic."
"But you only use explosive magic." Haruka mutters.
"And since this castle belongs to the demon king, I will purify it!" A huge magic circle appears around Megumin and Haruka. The boy next to the magician is impressed by the magical power. Megumin points his staff at the castle and shouts with all his might. "EXPLOOOOOSION!"
A magic circle appears around the castle, a glow appears and an explosion appears in the castle, making a huge noise and a bang, a strong breeze comes to Megumin and Haruka, and the exploding mage falls to the ground.
"So what did you think of that explosion?" Megumin breathes heavily as she lies on the ground.
"Really, it was amazing!" Haruka says excitedly. He approaches Megumin and crouches down beside her. "That shot was pretty amazing."
"Yes, I know very well." Megumin says proudly. "Now... can you carry me?"
"Okay, let's go back home." Haruka takes Megumin in her arms and starts walking back home.
"Ahh this feels so good..." Megumin snuggles into Haruka's arms, enjoying the ride.
"What are you doing?" Haruka asks Megumin.
"It's just nice to be carried around like a princess..." Megumin closes her eyes, enjoying the walk.
"See? A child." Haruka mocks Megumin.
"Hey!" Megumin gets frustrated, but calms down a bit. "Tell me, is it true that you've become friends with Yunyun?" Megumin asks her companion.
"Yes, it's true. Why do you ask?" Haruka asks Megumin.
"It's just..." Megumin looks a little jealous. "It's just that I..."
"She just seemed really lonely and sad. And you know very well that I don't want to see people close to me sad." Haruka, remembering the golden apple. "And you're still my little sister, I won't stop paying attention to you." Haruka says to Megumin, making her a little happier. "Even when am I going to meet your little sister?"
"Ah... I'll take a rain check." Megumin shrugs, seeing that they're getting close to Axis. "Let's wait for Kazuma and Aqua at the guild." Megumin suggests and Haruka nods.
[...]
(Noon.)
Haruka and Megumin were in the guild, sitting at a table and eating. Haruka was eating a hamburger and Megumin was eating a chicken leg. Luckily the guild was empty, with no adventurers around.
"I don't think that was a good idea." Haruka says, finishing her burger.
"What?" Megumin asks with her mouth full of chicken meat.
"I carried you here." Haruka says with a slight chill in her voice.
"Why?" Megumin asks nonchalantly.
"It's just that it seems strange for a boy to carry a younger girl in his arms while walking through the city." Haruka says to Megumin.
"And what of it? We're group mates." Megumin says, finishing her meal.
"Yeah, but still..." Haruka is interrupted when Kazuma and Aqua sit down with them.
"What's up, guys!" Aqua says excitedly. "What are you doing?"
"We've been waiting for you. Hey Kazuma, where were you?" Haruka says, greeting her friends.
"We went to talk to Wiz about finding a way to make money, but we're still thinking about it." Kazuma explains with a sigh.
"What about the jewelry?" Megumin asks Kazuma. "Have you given up?"
"No." Kazuma says. "I'm still planning it. But apart from that." Kazuma signals Luna. "I did some research with Luna and it looks like there's a secret passage in a dungeon."
"Yes, that's right." Luna says, greeting the group. "Recently, a secret passage was discovered in this dungeon. And at Kazuma's request, you have priority in this mission."
"That's really good news." Haruka enthuses.
"You mean there might still be treasures there?" Megumin asks, also excited.
"Treasures! Did you say treasures?" A blond adventurer appears out of nowhere.
Kazuma quickly stands up and whispers to the adventurer.
"Listen here my friend, this is supposed to be a secret." Kazuma shows a coupon from the house of Succubus.
"But Kazuma, this coupon expires today." The blond says to Kazuma.
"Then make good use of it." Kazuma says to the blond with a smile.
The blond takes the coupon and leaves the guild in shame. Kazuma salutes the adventurer.
"What was that guy's name?" Haruka asks, drawing Aqua's attention.
"I don't know, I think it was Muld..." Aqua says, not taking much notice of the adventurer.
[...]
The group was making its way to the dungeon, all mounted on the Junglaider to get there faster. As they reached the entrance to the dungeon, Haruka stopped his motorcycle, causing Kazuma and Aqua to fall to the ground because they were on the back of the bike.
"Come on, why did you stop so suddenly?!" Kazuma shouts indignantly.
"Sorry about that. But you should hold on better." Haruka gets off the bike, Megumin and Chomusuke get off soon after.
"Hold on, my ass!" Kazuma approaches Haruka. "I almost ate dirt."
"But I did." Aqua said, spitting out the dirt that had gotten into her mouth.
"Sorry guys." Haruka apologizes as Chomusuke climbs on Haruka's head. "But on the bright side, we got here pretty quickly." Haruka points to the entrance of the dungeon.
The group begins to prepare to enter the dungeon. Haruka takes his Amazon Driver and puts it on his waist. Kazuma prepares Haruka's backpack to take whatever he finds valuable. Aqua is trying to get the sand out of her hair. Megumin is a little bored.
"Why can't I come along?" Megumin asks, sitting down on a rock.
"You'll definitely want to blow up the dungeon." Kazuma says to the explosive mage.
"I can't disagree with that." Haruka says in agreement with Kazuma.
"Hey!" Megumin is indignant.
"Sorry." Haruka giggles. "But anyway, ready?"
"Ready!" Aqua and Kazuma speak at the same time.
[...]
"Tell me, can you really see in the dark?" Aqua asks Haruka, who is now transformed into a Rider.
"Yes, I think that's one of the skills of being a Rider." Haruka says to the Goddess.
(I speculate that he can see in the dark because of one of the animals on which he is based. The Abyssal Fish lives in the depths of the sea, so I speculate that the Amazon Rider can see in the dark. Affirmed by KAIQUE-AF.)
"Let's concentrate on what's important!" Kazuma says angrily to the two of them.
Thanks to Kazuma's new skills such as Detect Enemy and Peek, it makes it easier for him to move around the dungeon, as well as the Foresight skill, which helps Kazuma move around dark places very easily.
"Even Haruka?" Aqua continues talking to the boy. "How does your... Driver?" Aqua looks curiously at the Amazon Driver, whose eyes are glowing red.
"It works so I can control my powers." Haruka explains to Aqua. "But I'm still puzzled. Can you really see in the dark?"
"Haruka, you silly boy." Aqua says with a slight sneer. "Have you forgotten who I am?"
"The Water Goddess?" Haruka asks the Goddess.
"That's right! I may be in the mortal world, but I still have my tricks up my sleeve." Aqua speaks in superiority, but stumbles and falls to the ground.
"I see, the Goddess Aqua..." Kazuma said ironically, crouching down and helping Aqua to her feet.
"Everyone better be careful. This dungeon has already been explored, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have monsters." Haruka says, staying alert.
"You don't have to tell me about that." Kazuma says, concentrating on his surroundings. "Wait..." Kazuma signals with his hand.
"What?" Aqua is curious. "What is it Kazuma?" Aqua turns to Haruka and notices that he has stopped too. Kazuma makes another hand signal and takes a step back. "WHAT'S THAT KAZUMA?!"
"THERE'S A MONSTER COMING!" Kazuma shouts, as he hears an extremely loud roar.
A monster jumps at Kazuma, but Haruka quickly hits it with a punch, throwing the monster into the wall.
"That was close..." Haruka sighs and looks at Kazuma and Aqua, who are hugging each other, trembling and expecting the worst. "It's all right, guys."
"What a relief..." Kazuma lets go and approaches the monster. "What kind of monster is that?" Kazuma mutters.
"He's a low-level demon, a Gremlin." Aqua explains, approaching the boys. "Sometimes they're found in dungeons."
"Now things have gotten sinister." Kazuma swallows dryly.
[...]
The group takes a short break from exploring, stopping in a room with bookshelves.
"That leaves about 40% of this secret passage." Kazuma says, looking at the map.
"We haven't found anything valuable yet." Haruka says, picking up a book. "Everything here is old."
"Guys, look!" Aqua says pointing to a chest. "Surely there must be treasure in there!" Aqua tries to walk over to the chest, but Kazuma grabs her shoulder.
"Wait a minute. Such obvious chests are not a good thing." Kazuma holds up his Enemy Detect. "That's strange, my Enemy Detect didn't pick up anything."
"It's probably a mimic." Haruka approaches them both. "I don't sense a threat coming from the chest either."
"Wait a minute..." Kazuma picks up a stone and throws it into the trunk.
A huge monstrous mouth appears, devouring the chest and chewing on the stone. When it finishes eating the stone, the mouth spits the chest back out.
"... Shall we keep moving?" Haruka asks the two and they agree without hesitation.
[...]
Kazuma and Haruka were inside a magical, sacred circle made by Aqua. The Water Goddess was purifying the souls of beings who had died.
"Is it just me or..." Kazuma said, observing Aqua. "She looks more like a goddess."
"Really, she's not crying or screaming, and there seems to be a calming aura around her." Haruka replies, observing her surroundings.
More Gremlins begin to arrive to attack the group, Haruka and Kazuma prepare to face the Gremlins, but Aqua casts a holy magic on him making him disappear.
"Don't worry, kids. I'll take the part of purifying them." Aqua intensifies his holy magic, causing several souls in the room to be purified.
"Now that's the power of a Goddess" Haruka is impressed by Aqua's power.
"There. With that, all the souls nearby have been purified." Aqua says, finishing her magic and relaxing her body.
"Really, with you here it's made exploring a lot easier. I think if it was just me and Haruka it could get complicated." Kazuma said, approaching Aqua. "But I think there's something strange..."
"Something strange?" Haruka approaches them both.
"Yeah, with so many little demons and undead, it would be quite difficult for an adventurer to explore alone or even in a group, if they didn't have a priestess." Kazuma explains with his hand on his chin.
"That's probably because it's a new area." Haruka says, trying to justify it.
"It could be. But we saw some bodies of adventurers on the way and..." Kazuma is interrupted when Aqua speaks.
"There are more undead nearby..." Aqua says, walking into a dead-end corridor and starts sniffing each wall.
"Are there more around here?" Haruka asks, approaching the walls and touching them.
"You look like a puppy sniffing the walls." Kazuma says, drawing Aqua's attention.
"Hey! Don't call me that..." Aqua leans against a wall. The wall disappears, causing Aqua to fall to the ground.
"Aqua!" The boys run over to Aqua to help her up.
"Is a priestess among us?" A mysterious voice speaks from the bottom of the passage that has opened up. "I am the wizard Keele and I build this dungeon, come closer."
Everyone looks into the passage and there is a room with a throne and a Litch sitting on the throne watching the three of them.
[...]
In an ancient kingdom, a wizard visited the royal court with a request for the king, that his beloved might be happy and not be used in political affairs. But because the king was greedy, he ordered the magician to be imprisoned, and because the magician couldn't let his beloved suffer at the hands of the kingdom, he decided to take on the whole kingdom.
"So, you're telling me that in order to marry your beloved, you had to fight an entire kingdom?" Haruka asks Litch.
"That's right! Hahaha!" Litch laughs comically. "Ahh what glorious days."
"So, you're saying you're a good wizard?" Kazuma asks Litch.
"That's right, I'm a good wizard!" Litch says proudly.
"That's her too!" Litch points to a skeleton wearing women's clothing lying on a bed. "Doesn't she have the most beautiful jaw!"
Aqua approaches the bed and looks at the skeleton of Litch's beloved.
"Well, at least she died in peace." Aqua approaches and touches the skeleton's skull.
"Look, do you mind if I make a request?" Litch asks the group. "Can you purify me? She's a priestess with the power to do that, isn't she?"
The group just blink, processing the Undead's request.
Aqua picks up a chalk and starts to draw some pictures on the ground while Litch is holding the skeleton's hand.
Kazuma watches the scene while thinking. "A man who, in order to protect his beloved, had to become a Litch, and even after the death of his beloved, he's still a good guy. In my opinion, this guy is much more than a kind magician."
"Everything's ready." Aqua says, approaching Litch.
"I really appreciate it." Litch stands up, but hesitates for a moment. "Hey kid!" Litch directs his voice to Haruka.
"Me?" Haruka asks, turning her attention to Litch.
"You're not a wizard, are you?" Litch asks Haruka.
"No. Actually, my class is Rider." Haruka says without understanding what Litch is getting at.
"Rider... that brings back memories of an old knight in pink armor... or was it another color?" Litch walks over to a cupboard, opening a drawer and taking out a triangular-shaped jewel with an arrow symbol stamped on it.
"Take this, boy." Litch hands the jewel to Haruka.
"What, why?" Haruka is confused as to why Litch is giving him a jewel.
"Keep this jewel well. When the time comes, you'll know." Litch turns to Aqua, kneeling in front of the water goddess to receive the goddess' purification.
"Don't worry Keele, in the name of the Goddess Aqua, your sins will be forgiven." Aqua recites a few words and the room lights up with a sacred glow. Kazuma and Haruka just watch, impressed by Aqua's attitude.
"Now your soul can rest in peace... purification." An enormous glow appears in the room and both Litch and his beloved's skeleton begin to fade.
"Thank you..." Litch thanks before disappearing completely.
"...Let's go back." Kazuma grabs Aqua's shoulder.
[...]
The group is walking through the corridors of the dungeon to get back to the surface. Kazuma is carrying the backpack full of jewels and treasures that Litch gave them, Aqua is humming as she walks behind Kazuma, Haruka is looking at the jewel that Litch gave him.
"Haruka, did something happen?" Kazuma asks, seeing that his friend is very quiet.
"It's nothing..." Haruka thinks about Litch's words. Rider... pink... what he meant.
"Hey guys!" Aqua said, snapping them out of their thoughts. "What are we going to do with all this reward?!" Aqua asks, sounding very excited.
"First, we pay off part of the debt, and then we can..." Kazuma tries to explain, but a bang and a deafening noise appears near them.
"What was that?" Aqua asks a little startled.
"Maybe it's another Gremlin..." Kazuma uses Detect Enemy to find out what it is, but... "Guys..." Kazuma speaks in a low tone of voice.
"What is it Kazuma, why are you shaking?" Aqua asks, still confused.
"We have problems!" Haruka looks in the opposite direction from where the group is walking.
Aqua turns around and is startled by what she sees. A herd of undead and Gremlins are coming towards the group, the monsters like a tsunami.
"What, what..." Aqua tries to process what she's seeing.
"No time!" Haruka quickly picks up Kazuma and Aqua and puts them on her shoulders.
Haruka starts to run towards the exit, but it still seems a long way off. Aqua processes what is happening and starts screaming in fear at the sight of the herd of demons coming towards her.
"Aqua stay calm!" Kazuma tries to calm Aqua down as he thinks of a plan. "Can Haruka keep up her running pace?"
"I'll do my best!" Haruka keeps running, making a detour to the stairs he starts to climb.
"Damn it, it's still a long way..." Kazuma tries to think of something. "Aqua!" Kazuma shouts the Goddess's name, drawing her attention.
"Aqua, can you still use your divine magic?!" Kazuma asks with apprehension and the Goddess nods indicating that she can. "Good! Purify as many demons as you can!"
"R-right!" Aqua prepares her magic in her hands and casts it at the monsters. "Purification!" Aqua hits the monsters, making some disappear and others scream, but they are still following him.
"Good, keep it up!" Haruka shouts, jumping off the stairs and running back down the corridor.
Aqua continues to cast her holy magic on the demons, but more and more seem to appear as they rise. Haruka runs faster and feels her legs burn a little.
"Long way to go!?" Haruka shouts to Kazuma.
"We're getting to the entrance!" Kazuma shouts, holding up the map of the dungeon.
"Please finish soon!" Aqua shouts as she continues to fire her holy magic at the monsters.
"I can smell Megumin!" Haruka makes a detour, Kazuma and Aqua almost fall off her shoulders, but they hold on tightly to Haruka.
Haruka sees a ladder and starts to climb it, seeing a faint glow at the top of the ladder he keeps running.
"We're coming!" Haruka shouts, getting closer to the exit he jumps, kicking the wall of the dungeon causing some stones to fall.
They manage to get out of the dungeon and the entrance is closed because the stones that fell blocked the entrance to the dungeon due to Haruka's kick.
"Guys!" Megumin shouts, approaching her group. "What happened?!"
The three of them are lying on the ground breathing heavily from the adrenaline of what has just happened.
"A lot..." Kazuma says, trying to recover from the events.
[...]
(Night. Guild.)
"Ahhh we made it out alive!" Aqua shouts as he takes a drink of beer.
"Idiot! We almost got killed by those demons!" Kazuma shouts drunkenly along with Aqua and they both start laughing.
"What a funny thing..." Haruka says dejectedly.
"Come on Haruka, enjoy it!" Megumin reaches for a glass of beer, but Haruka snatches the glass from her hand. "Hey!"
"You're still too young to drink." Haruka and Megumin start fighting over the glass. Megumin wanting to drink the beer and Haruka not letting her.
The adventurers were in the guild celebrating something Haruka didn't know about, or they just wanted to drink. Haruka moves away from her group's table and goes to a window to take a breather.
"Ahhh fresh air!" Haruka sighs, turning towards a window he sees a familiar face on the other side. "Yunyun?"
Haruka goes to the window and without Yunyun realizing his presence he opens it.
"Hi Yunyun! What are you doing?" Haruka speaks to the girl who is startled by the boy's sudden appearance.
"Ahh H-Haruka!" Yunyun stumbles and falls to the ground. "It's really me, me, I was..." Yunyun is too nervous to admit that she wanted to be able to take part in the celebration with Haruka's group.
"Are you busy? Do you want to chat?" Haruka asks the girl.
"Don't you... don't you want to celebrate with your friends?" Yunyun is confused by Haruka's question.
"Well..." Haruka ponders. "I really want to, but looking after them drunk is too boring and..." Haruka looks back and realizes that Kazuma used the Steal skill just as Chris walked in, and now Kazuma has Chris's panties in his hands.
"Not that one! We'll talk about it later... KAZUMA!" Haruka rushes over to Kazuma to try and stop him from doing anything more stupid.
"We... I want to talk more..." Yunyun becomes a little more determined and enters the Guild.
Yunyun sees the adventurers drinking and Haruka running after Kazuma as he runs away from him.
Yunyun buys several drinks and goes to the table where Megumin was sitting.
"Megumin!" Yunyun goes over to Megumin and places the several glasses of beer in front of the explosive mage. "I want a duel!" Yunyun challenges the explosive magician with a smile.
End of chapter.
Note: Well, as you can see, thanks to Haruka, Kazuma didn't realize that the various demons chasing them were the fault of the Water Goddess. But what about that jewel Haruka received? That will be answered in the future.
And another thing, Yunyun, now she's not confident, she's more confident. Because she has a friend, she can be more confident. If you've ever made friends with someone shy, you'll realize right away that they're very loving and friendly towards you.
That's all for today, see you in the next chapter!