The weakened Demon King started to intone another spell, but I didn't let him finish. "I'm finally the hero! Snipe".
I unleashed my spell.
"Uhhh?" As if time had slowed down, I saw a faint and pure, yet mischievous, smile on the Demon King's face. Then everything disappeared. Finally, I accomplished the objective given to me in this world.
Then, my vision started coming back. After my death, I probably will appear in front of the Eris… For the last time… maybe I'll tell her how much I liked her… maybe not… maybe simply a friendly goodbye… And will I get the chance to say goodbye to Megumin and Darkness… and Aqua.
"Mmm… WHAT?" I was still in the dungeon. Did some luck-based effect allowed me to survive? Was It maybe a hidden effect of Eris' blessing? Or maybe something related to sacrifice? "This is confusing". I looked around. No Demon King in sight, but there were definitely signs of the explosion though and the dungeon looked brighter than expected, probably an effect of the explosion. If only there was a spell to have such effect without killing everyone in the dungeon, now that would be useful.
"Wait!". Did Aqua lie to me about the reward of killing the Demon King? "Naaa, I'm probably jumping to conclusions". There is a chance that I need to go back to Aqua to get my reward and then…
"Oh well, I should teleport back to the others". While chanting the teleport incantation, something felt off. The dungeon not only seemed too empty but also comfortable and familiar. "Teleport".
As expected, when I appeared in the throne room, all the Demon King warriors were vanquished. Then I looked around, searching for the others.
"Oh, there… you.. are…"
"Uhhh?"
"Ehhh?"
"What?"
Then, we all said in unison. "What the hell is going on?"
As I stood there, stunned and extremely confused, I tried making sense of things.
"Aqua, when did you change clothes? And dark blue? Really? Are you stupid enough to do some party tricks during a fight?". Without giving her a chance to reply, I looked at Megumin, astounded. "Did Aqua do something to you too? Although that dark red does look good on you but would fit more a Demon King General than a Crimson Clan member". For some reason Megumin wasn't replying, just looking at me. Darkness looked the same and blushed a little when I ignored her. So, I continued looking around for the rest. Yunyun was helping Kyoya, but didn't move. Both of them, as well as Kyoya's party were also looking a me in confusion.
"Ok, what hell were you all up to while I fought the Demon King?". Suddenly, coming back to my senses a little more. "Oh, by the way, I defeated him, so you can all admire me, you new hero, the savior of…"
"Kazuma… what the hell did you do?!" Aqua jumped at me, knocking me onto the ground. While fighting off Aqua, Megumin came to her senses in the worst way possible. "That can't be Kazuma. Explos…". Suddenly, she got tackled by Darkness. "W-w-what are you doing Megumin?" Meanwhile, Yunyun, Kyoya, and his party were still standing there, reactionless.
Without a moment to spare, the door flew open and a bunch of the now-dead Demon King minions tried to enter. Then they stopped, looking at me. Damn it, now we were screwed. Not time to teleport and I was still trying to fight Aqua off. But… they just stood there, looking at me… Am I going to die right after becoming the hero that defeated the Demon King. "Just my freaking luck".
All the minions dropped to their feet. "All hail to the new Demon King!"
Ok… let's back up a second… "What?". As I pointed to myself and saw the minions nodded with their heads. "Whaaaaaaaat?".
Aqua stopped fighting, allowing me to at least sit up,thenlooked at me. "Kaaaaaaazumaaaaaaaaaa".
Then, I felt Darkness' stare. "Emm, K-k-kazuma". That's my name.
And, I felt the gaze of Megumin. "Ka-su-ma". I know, I know how to spell it.
Then I realized that Yunyun, Kyoya and his party were not confused but horrified. I looked at myself. My clothes did become dark green. I looked at the minions, again. Pointed at myself, again. They nodded, again… "Whaaaaaaat?".
I was starting to connect the dots, so I pointed at Darkness and looked at the minions, questioningly. "A fine addition to the Demon King generals". Without a word, I pointed at Megumin and looked at the minions, questioningly. "Another fine general, my king". Still without words, I pointed at Aqua and looked at the minions, questioningly. "That's…"
BAM! Before I could confirm what happened to Aqua, a beam of light smashed into the room, from which a panicked Eris came out.
"Lady Aq… u… a…".
"Eriiiiiiisssssss!" Screamed a crying Aqua while jumping onto Eris.
"Auch auch auch. Lad-dy Aq-qua, you're hurting me". The moment Aqua released her, Eris moved back a few steps.
"Waaaaaaaa! Eris, what is going on?!"
Eris looked at each of us. "Emmm, it appears, hmmm, how to put it, that Kazuma became the new Demon King. It also appears that Darkness and Megumin became his generals. A-and, it se-e-ems that, Lady Aqua, you became a d-demon". Even I didn't know how to react. So, trying to digest what had just happened, we all stood there, in silence.
After a moment, I broke the silence. "Eris, was this supposed to happen?". Her look of panic and confusion said it all.
So, I was there, in the throne room. The minions had left under my command. On one side, Eris holding distance from Aqua, who stood there half-fainted and held upright by my two generals. On the other, the others had fainted, falling on top of each other as if they had dog-piled Kyoya. I approached them to see if they were alright. I could hear them murmuring stuff, as if they were in a nightmare. "C-c-can't be. M-m-megumin became a general before I could become chief". I felt sorry for her. "Now there is a Demon King that also plays dirty, the world is doomed". Hey! You're probably right, but still. "T-t-the world w-w-will now be terrorized by a panty-stealing Demon King". Mmm, not a bad idea. What am I saying? These two will spread accurate but out of context rumors about me, again.
I turned around and approached Eris. "Sooooo, what now? And how did you even find out that something happened, so quickly?"
"Actually, there was a tremor in heaven and no one knew what happened. When looking at this world, we were horrified because suddenly, the entire Axis cult began emitting dark energy, as if praying to a demon." After a short pause, Eris seemed horrified. "SoI took a look at Arcanletia and s-s-saw them going crazier than usual. And then, I saw the hot springs had converted into a poisonous substance, in which all of the Axis follower bathed with pleasure." Ohhh, that explains the panic. "So I rushed to see Aqua as soon as possible and saw that Lady Aq-qua became a demon". Eris started crying.
Allowing Eris to calm down, I approached Aqua. Even if Darkness and Megumin had many questions, they were more preoccupied for Aqua, who was also murmuring something. "I became the same filth as Vanir… a d-d-demon". I felt sorry for her, kind of. Then I though, I definitely won't miss her bragging constantly about her goddessy powers…
Wait a second. "Eris".
"Yes Kazuma?".
"What will happen to the powers of Aqua?"
"Emmm, I think they inverted". Darkness looked at Eris, confused. "I mean, instead purifying water, she will make it undrinkable. Instead of purifying the undead, she will create more. Instead of entertaining people with her party tricks, she will be terrorizing them". I put a hand to my mouth, hiding my expression, thinking… this will be hilarious when she wakes up. "Eris, Darkness and Megumin, for her sake, please don't tell her anything about this. It will be too much of a shock".
Then, it clicked in Megumin's head. "Wait, does that mean my magic is different too?". She looked at me with googly eyes. "And that means you can increase my power even more if you have the same effects as the previous Demon Kings". Oh crap, as if she couldn't be more terrifying. Eris found a way to worsen Megumin's madness. "Meguimin, I think your explosion spell is now the Cursed Explosion". Not even a millisecond later, Megumin started creaming "I, Megumin, the most powerful mage in…". But then Darkness interrupted. "W-w-wait, then what about me?". Again, Eris continued worsening the situation. "Since you still believe strongly in me, it seems that your spells affect both monsters and people, so be careful with them. For example, if you use decoy, both monsters and humans will attack you". Almost instantly, Darkness was squirming with pleasure. This can't be happening. My party got even crazier. Damnit.
Having had a ridiculously eventful and tiresome day, we all decided to calm down and digest what had happened. Eris went back to Heaven. We teleported Yunyun to the Crimson Village with a note stuck on her saying she needs some rest. We teleported Kyoya and his two companions in front of the police station in Axel, hopefully so that they can help them. As my party, we quietly went back to the mansion, without letting anyone spot us. Then, went all to bed, hoping that we'll make sense of the next day.
Waking up around noon, I heard multiple people eating. I could barely hear that Megumin and Darkness were talking to someone. Did my hearing improve, now that I became the Demon King. I'll test it out later. In the meantime, I better go join them.
"You shouldn't do it, it will create mayhem and destabilize the entire country, if not the world". Ok, that sounds serious. Why is Darkness saying stuff like that?
"Good morning Kazuma".
"Morning Darkness and Megumin… and Darkness' father? To what do we owe the pleasure of a visit?". They seemed to think that I haven't heard part of their conversation.
"Thanks to scouts and mages, the news that the Demon King was defeated have already spread around the region. So, I rushed here to see if Darkness was alright."
"So very thoughtful of you". Still, it didn't add up with what I heard moments ago.
"Only to find out, from Darkness, that she became a Demon King general, while you became the Demon King". My face stiffened. "Which is why I pledge my full support to you and your party". Wait, what? "And why I want to make Axel your new fortress". Wait wait wait.
"Father, I'm telling you we don't need that and it will have major repercussions everywhere". Ohhh, that's what it was about. Wait, still, this is crazy.
"A father has to do everything to help his children, so I won't take a no for an answer". Ok, this is gettingout of control.
"Wait a moment sir, you said that the news traveled around already?".
"Well, yes. In fact, it…"
Suddenly, the door flies open and Yunyun appears. "Megumin, there is trouble!". What now? What could possibly be worse that the destabilization of the region if not the world? "This morning, when I tried to explain to the Crimson Clan what happened, they misunderstood and think that Kazuma enslaved you". Don't tell me. "So they started making preparations to hunt Kazuma down". Oh shit. This is bad. This is really bad.
Megumin turns to me. "Kazuma, what do we do now?".
BAM! A beam of light smashed into the room, from which Eris came out. Déjà vu? However, this time she looked extremely tired. I approached her. "Eris, a restless night?". She nodded heavily.
"Kazuma, how is Aqua doing"
"No idea". I looked at Megumin and Darkness. "I checked on her recently… she still looks traumatized".
"Son what's up Eris, any news?"
"Well, how should I put it… The daughter of the previous Demon King found out that Aqua was in your party, and thinks that the Axis Cult has something to do with this. So much so, that her and her followers started praying to me". Now this is chaos.
"And Kazuma, there is something else". I looked at Eris and tilted my head. "Princess Iris was imprisoned by Claire". Now this is going too far. "Apparently, when Iris found out that you became the Demon King, she wanted to support you". My little sister, how dare they. "And now, there is fighting within the empire". Hopefully Iris is fine. I have to save her first.
Suddenly everyone felt quiet. All were looking at me. Do I have something on my face? Wait, they are looking at something behind me. What now? I turn around.
"Nyaaa. Good morning my love". A cat-girl approached me and hugged me. This feels nice, finally. Wait, who is she?
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh". Everyone in the room had the same reaction.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away from me. "Hey mam… lady… girl… whatever… who are you?". I suddenly felt a violent stare from Darkness and Megumin.
"Oh, I'm… well, that girl over there called me Chomusuke. I'm the evil Goddess of Violence".
"…"
"Whaaaaaaaaaat?"
Megumin suddenly jumped. "Can't be. You were sealed. And you didn't look like that. Who are you? And what is that about you loving Kazuma?"
"Oh, well, the new Demon Lord came and touched me, releasing me from the seal. He was so tired that he simply went to bed". I can't remember much from last night. "Then I slept next to him all night, he was so warm and radiating so much evil energy". I thinkDarkness and Megumin will murder me. "As for the looks, I took it based on the Master's overwhelming desire to have a cat-girl". Yup, I'm dead. "Every time, he played with me in my cat form, he couldn't stop thinking about it". I felt a stare of disgust from Darkness and Megumin. "Finally, he's the Demon King, of course I would love him, as all Evil Goddesses would". Mmm, maybe it isn't so bad.
So this is how my life got turned around… again…