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
The arena was covered with the corpses of many monsters; some were burned to ashes, others were electrocuted profusely until their insides were fried, and others were nothing more than pieces that Kazuma and Darkness had cut up.
The corpse of the Nightmare Goliath rested without its head nearby.
The towering snake body of a Royal Lamia, which possessed multiple arms, showed signs of the electric attack that had defeated it nearby.
The monstrous Chimera was nothing more than pieces that Kazuma and Darkness had butchered as they cut each of their heads and body to ensure its death.
And now, a single humanoid stood as the team's final challenge as multiple blood projectiles now rested buried deep into the ground across the arena.
"Why did it have to be a vampire!?" Darkness shouted as the creature of the darkness slashed her shield with a blade made of pure blood.
Its appearance resembled a Victorian noble with a face that matched the beauty of a prince, yet its eyes were like those of a beast, while its mouth was filled with sharp teeth that could tear through the flesh of its prey.
"Forsake thy blood, beautiful maiden. Give into mine eyes!" The Vampire said as its eyes tried to hypnotize Darkness.
"Don't you dare try that with my teammates!" Kazuma shouted as he rushed in with his scythe to slash the eyes of their opponent.
The vampire cried as the blade damaged its eyes, although it began to regenerate within seconds.
"Accursed wretched bastard!" The vampire shouted as it dashed away while it covered its face. "Die!" Multiple spears of blood were shot toward Kazuma, who began to evade each one with his insane speed.
"Megumin, Yunyun, Aqua, how much more?" Kazuma asked as his body started to feel the strain of so many waves. He kept pushing its limits, but he could feel the end was near as his heart rate was through the roof. Each motion ache, and even breathing was becoming more challenging, but the reaper couldn't stop until he accomplished his goal and ensured the team's safety.
"10 seconds. We only need that much, and everything will be over." Megumin shouted as she accumulated her energy for one final spell. One of her legs was slightly bleeding after the snake tail of the Quimera took a bite out of it. Thankfully, Aqua had taken care of the venom, but there was no time to finish the healing process.
"We're almost ready!" Yunyun said as she tried to endure the pain. Dry blood covered her left arm due to one of the attacks she had received from the Royal Lamia.
"Just a few seconds." Aqua joined in as she helped her allies to prepare the spell.
Kazuma and Darkness nodded at each other as they pushed against the Vampiric Monarch. The monster had the speed, the magic, and the attack power required to take the team down, but they were tired after so many waves. They were so exhausted that they wouldn't play around anymore and just chose to end the final wave with a final attack that would finish it all before the monster had time to take the team down.
It was all or nothing, and the team knew it.
Kazuma took the left side while Darkness followed suit from the right as they engaged the vampire while pinning it from both sides. Neither adventurer lost their timing as they went on the full offensive against the agile vampire, who started to evade their attacks while it grinned at them.
"Thou dares to challenge me? Death will be thy destiny!" The Vampiric Monarch began to play with them as it danced with its blade. Its attacks were gracious yet deadly as the blade clashed against the duo.
Neither could deny the vampire's strength as both felt the weight of its attacks, but they couldn't turn away. It was now or never, as any more of this would surely lead to a party wipeout if they took any longer to defeat the monster.
"Cover your eyes!" Megumin shouted.
The duo backed away from the monster as they covered their eyes.
The vampire looked confused until its eyes saw a small golden sphere that began to levitate on top of the trio that had created it.
"Bring for its holy light to this world." Yunyun.
"Blessed this land with thy grace." Aqua.
"Erased all darkness, Golden Sun!" Megumin shouts as the mini-sun releases a massive wave of holy light that reaches every arena corner.
No shadow could hide anyone from its reach, and no monster could escape its might. Sadly, this also includes the Vampiric Monarch, who tried to block the attack with its cape, but the light pierced through it as it incinerated every inch of its body until nothing remained.
Once the attack was done, the team began to open their eyes slowly. They looked around for signs of the Vampiric Monarch, but not even ash could be found, thus symbolizing its end. Their eyes then turned to the timer, which stopped at 2 minutes and 45 seconds, thus symbolizing the end of the 100 waves.
"... We did it," Yunyun said.
Megumin nods as she relaxes. "We completed the final wave. Is over."
"Finally, I'm so tired." Darkness said as she hugged Kazuma.
"You have strength left for this?" Kazuma asked as he tried to escape her embrace.
"Don't push me away. It has been so hard. My body aches." Darkness said as she took a sniff of Kazuma's scent. "So manly."
"Darkness, stop that." Kazuma pleaded with his teammate.
"Pervert," Aqua said before she scanned the area for any mimic chest. Sadly, none could be found in the vicinity. "No mimic around. That's a disappointing result."
Kazuma smiles at her. "There's nothing to do. At least we got to raise our levels. We should-"
The reaper stopped talking as he felt a presence. His eyes began to look around until he watched as a titanic gate started to take shape on top of them. "Yunyun, use the teleport spell right now."
"What?" Yunyun questions the reaper.
"Do it now!" Kazuma shouts as he feels the presence getting closer.
The spell caster starts to chant the spell as the gates begin to open themselves. "Heard me spirits and obey my order."
"Why are you running?" A voice calls out to the team.
Everyone's eyes turn to see the hologram smiling at them from the sidelines. Yunyun continues to chant the spell.
"The party has just begun. I prepared this challenge just for your team." The hologram says as it points its finger at the gate.
"Yunyun, do it now!" Kazuma shouts as he sees six massive multicolored eyes behind the gate.
The team's eyes beside Yunyun look at the gigantic beast that comes from behind the gate in pure fear as its massive body comes forth with its titanic presence. Its body is larger than any other monster. From afar, one could notice stitches covering each corner of its huge body as limbs and pieces of different dragons seemed to have been stitched together to create the beast. It was as if Frankenstein, in person, had made this abomination, which possessed six limbs with sharp claws and two wings that were obviously from different dragons. Its tail was a creepy sight to behold as it ended in a creepy rusted cleaver knife.
Although they couldn't accurately calculate its level, anyone could tell that its level was beyond level 100. It was a boss that they couldn't face and hope to win.
Yunyun turned her eyes to face Kazuma one last time.
"Do it. I'll take care of this." Kazuma said.
"Yunyun, don't listen to him." Megumin pleads.
Yunyun's expression showed complete remorse as she finished chanting the spell. "I'm sorry. Teleport."
"Don't do-" Darkness didn't get to finish her sentence as her body and those of the rest of the team were transported away from the arena.
The dragon descends into the arena, which widens itself to house the titanic body of the beast. Kazuma notices as the hologram walks around, grinning from ear to ear while the beast's eyes remain focused on Kazuma.
"Oh my. I thought you trusted your team more. I even created the perfect boss for all of you to face off, but you pushed them out before the fight even began. Why would you do that?" The hologram asks as it sits on top of the Frankenstein Dragon's head.
"You cheated. We finished the 100 waves, and instead of giving us a choice, you pushed the boss into us without giving us time to rest or get ready. You never wanted us to survive this challenge." Kazuma argues as he points his scythe at the hologram. His expression is cold as he tries to seek weaknesses in the beast before him.
"Oh, you know I wanted your team to fail, yet you kept pushing on and on, no matter how much I planned your downfall. You were meant to die at each point, yet your team achieved victory without losing a single party member. That annoys me; since my creation, no party has survived this long without losing anyone. The very existence of a party like yours is a cheat on itself. How dare you push so far against the odds with a mere five-member team? I carefully planned each challenge to counter your team, and you found a way to surpass them. The Vampiric Monarch should have been a challenge that took at least someone down, but you're damn spell casters incinerated its existence before it could do anything. It is not fun when only one side is having fun." The hologram claims.
"This was not a game. We didn't come to this dungeon to have fun. We came to this place to raise our levels and have a fighting chance against the demon lords. It was never about the treasure." Kazuma says as he spreads his wings and starts to fly.
The hologram looks at him with joy. "At least you still have a fighting spirit. That pleases me, so let me see your final moments. Showed me how long you can last on your own." The hologram vanishes.
The dragon roars as its master allows it to go all out against its single opponent.
Outside the dungeon. General POV.
*Shiro Sagisu feat Yoko Takahashi- Who will know-Furasato*
The girls couldn't move an inch as a window appeared before them. A live feed showed them the confrontation between Kazuma and the dungeon's final boss.
The hologram sat before the main door while it smirked at them. "He took you out, and I couldn't just keep each of you from seeing this spectacle."
None of them besides Aqua couldn't understand its words, but just the fact that it was showing them what was happening was enough to transmit its intention to the team.
Kazuma engaged the beast with all odds against him. The massive dragon showed no mercy as it used its titanic tail to try to slam Kazuma into the ground, but the reaper got away only to be faced by an energy beam that shook the entire mountain.
"This is madness. He can't survive that thing on its own." Megumin said as she tried to approach the door. The spell caster did its best, but the door remained shut.
"Nobody can go inside once a challenger is in. I'm sorry, but none of you will ever get in as long as he remains alive." The hologram said.
The team watched as Kazuma forced his body to get up from the ground after receiving a direct hit from the beam attack. His eyes remain determined as he doesn't let go of his weapon. His body was already showing gruesome injuries, and one of his legs was twisted in a way that no leg should be.
"No, there has to be a way to help him. This can't be the end. We can't just let him die inside that place. We don't know if the Forbidden Ressurection can work on him if we don't have his body with us." Darkness approached the gate before she began to try to cut it open with her axe, but no matter how hard she attacked the gate, the door remained intact.
Aqua turned to face Yunyun. "Is there no way to get us inside? Are you sure the spell can't be reversed?"
Yunyun shakes her head. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do about it. I can't use the spell without a magical beacon to use as a target."
Aqua fell to her knees as her eyes glared at the hologram. The pain was draining the life out of her eyes. "Let him go. We didn't want to face that boss. You cheated and forced that thing on us."
The hologram shrugs. "Why should I? I'm enjoying the spectacle. Look at him. He continues to fight, although he knows he can't win. It is glorious to see such an expression—a madman who can't run away in the face of such an unfair challenge. I'm enjoying every moment."
Kazuma is slammed against the ground again but stands up once more before going on the offensive.
"Where else can you get such a challenger?" The hologram continues.
Kazuma buries his scythe into one of the dragon's eyes.
"I waited so long for another team to challenge my dungeon, but I got the jackpot instead. I haven't seen someone so desperate in ages." IGA laughs.
The dragon roars as it shakes Kazuma away before it traps Kazuma within one of its claws. The dragon begins to crush Kazuma with its massive strength.
The team listens as the bones of their leader crack under such much pressure while his eyes bleed rivers of blood.
The sight is enough to break Darkness, Megumin, and Yunyun, who can't control their tears as the dragon crushes Kazuma, yet he doesn't scream.
Not even a single grunt or scream.
He glares back at the dragon even when his body is crushed.
Aqua feels indescribable pain as she witnesses such a sight. Her mind can't endure the weight of her own actions as she recalls how she was the one who prevented Kazuma from moving on to heaven. "Is all my fault. I shouldn't have intervened. I should have allowed him to move on. Why do I keep making these mistakes? Why can't I fix anything?"
The goddess remained motionless and silent while IGA's laugh continued. The hologram was enjoying every single moment.
Each second broke Aqua's defenses until she could no longer endure it. Her face was looking down. "You cheated."
The hologram faced Aqua. "And what are you going to do?"
Aqua lifts her face to face IGA. Her blue eyes glow with pure divine energy. "I'll balance the battlefield." A divine halo takes shape behind Aqua as she uses her power despite her restrictions. "I won't let him die."
Inside the dungeon. Kazuma's POV.
It hurt, but he rejected the idea of letting the dragon hear his screams. The feeling of being crushed under such insane strength was indescribable. He wanted to escape the beast's grasp but had no way out.
"I don't want to give up."
The dragon seems annoyed as it begins to charge its beam attack.
"I can still fight. My heart is still beating within my chest."
The massive metallic jaws open before the accumulated energy is released, but before it can reach Kazuma, his body vanishes from the dragon's grasp before reappearing on the floor behind its massive body.
Kazuma gasps for air as his chest is allowed to expand. His body aches as his bones start to heal themselves. A pair of ethereal arms place themselves around his neck.
"Kazuma," Aqua calls his name as she embraces him. Drops of water start to fall across the battlefield.
"Aqua. Why and how are you here?" Kazuma asks with difficulty as he tries to stand up.
"I'm still a goddess even if I'm under several restraints. I'm breaking the taboo to aid you."
"You shouldn't do that. There's bound to be consequences."
Aqua's ethereal form seems to smile as she continues to embrace him. "It doesn't matter. I'll face it. I won't let you die in this place. If the dungeon wants to cheat, we'll also play our cards. I'll give you enough power to defeat this abomination."
The rain gets stronger while the dragon turns around.
"Are you sure about this, your holiness?" Kazuma asks as he stands up. His body is still weakened and injured, yet his will remains unbroken. His hair starts to grow as Aqua's power blesses his body.
"You're my partner. I wouldn't entrust this to anybody else." Aqua reassures him.
"... Very well." Kazuma turns around to face their opponent. His blackened eyes glared at his opponent while his scythe began to shine with an azure glow.
*King gnu-One Way*
~Lend me your strength one last time~
"We'll finish this, my reaper. This taboo will give you the power needed. I'll entrust everything to you." Aqua said with a determined voice as she matched his determination.
The rainstorm grew stronger as the cold drops accumulated at an unnatural speed.
~Then I won't ask for anything more~
The dragon roars before trying to crush Kazuma with its massive tail, but the reaper disappears as the tail slams into the ground. The dragon looks for him, but it's unable to track Kazuma until it receives a devastating slash that strikes the left side of its face.
The beast's massive body is sent flying before it crashes against the walls of the enormous arena.
The dragon's eyes face its opponent as it recovers from the attack. The reaper walks on top of the cold water without sinking as its body emanates a deadly aura.
~My future, my past, and my everything~
The beast felt threatened by Kazuma's expression, which seemed to transmit a single message.
'You're dying by my hand.'
The dragon started to fire beam blasts quickly as it sought to eliminate Kazuma before the reaper could finish the job it started.
Kazuma evaded every single projectile as he took flight with his wings. Before long, he closed the distance, swung his scythe, and severed the wings of his prey with deadly precision.
The dragon cried in pain as his options for mobility were cut short.
~I'll have no regrets if it's completed with you~
But its fighting spirit wasn't broken yet. The dragon went on the offensive again, using his limbs to move across the ground while trying to take the reaper down. Be it by using its claws, tail, jaws, or destructive beam attacks, the dragon used its entire arsenal against Kazuma.
But the odds were no longer on its side. The rules of the world were no longer binding the reaper.
The power it wielded was not what a mortal should wield.
"Let's go, my goddess. Until we claim its head!" Kazuma shouted as he started to slash the body of his prey like a predator that had abandoned all sense of the hunt. He no longer sought to defeat the dragon; Kazuma sought to obliterate the beast until nothing remained.
The rising level of the water consumed the chamber until everything was submerged. The dragon tried to escape its watery prison by swimming to the top, but the surface seemed to disappear as complete darkness took over.
It almost seemed as if an ocean had been summoned into the battlefield.
In the depths of the cold, watery prison, the dragon searched for its opponent as it tried to move, but nothing could be seen as complete darkness took over.
The beast felt each cut that his opponent delivered upon its body. As its limbs were cut one by one, the dragon felt genuine fear as there was no hope to be found in the depths of this prison.
Its only mercy came as one final attack severed its head, which put an end to its misery. As the head sank, its remaining eyes caught a mere glance of a creepy figure barely illuminated by the ethereal body that embraced it.
It was a glance that scared the beast until its last moment. A creepy reaper that hunted within the depths of an endless ocean in the company of a smiling goddess who offered no mercy.
Indeed, it is a sight that could inflict fear upon anyone.
Outside the dungeon. Darkness POV.
The doors to the dungeon burst open as tons of cold water spilled out. The girls flew up, carrying Aqua's unconscious body and awaiting Kazuma's return. Water continued to spill out for several moments, carrying along past opponents' remains until the reaper's unconscious body finally showed up.
"Release me." Darkness said.
Yunyun did as told before the fallen knight fell to the floor and ran to the body of their leader.
Darkness gripped his cold body within her arms while checking for his vitals. "Please be alive."
She had many questions, but at that very moment, she only cared about ensuring his survival.
After checking his vitals, she calmed down. "Thank Eris. He's alive, cold, and unconscious but alive." Darkness said as she continued to embrace him.
"That's a relief….. What do we do now? How can we explain what we saw?" Megumin asks.
Yunyun shakes her head. "I don't know if we can even explain it. But do we really need an explanation? We know they came to take care of demon lords. Mysterious powers were bound to be needed against such challenges."
Megumin looks at the unconscious priestess in her arms. "I guess everyone is bound to have their own secrets. Kazuma and Aqua already did enough to gain our trust…. We might just wait until they are ready to talk."
"... That's for the best." Darkness said as she caressed Kazuma's face. "You did great, my reaper. I'm…. getting more attached to you with each moment."
"Darkness, we're here," Yunyun says.
"Are you really falling for him?" Megumin joins in.
"I'm not ashamed of showing my feelings." Darkness replies with a blushing expression.
But their chatter had to wait as the hologram appeared before them.
"Oh no, you don't." Yunyun points her weapon at the hologram.
IGA seemed annoyed as he faced the team, but his expression softened as it summoned a small metallic golden orb. The orb floats towards Yunyun. "Take it and get out of here. It should be useful to your team. …. I'll admit…. You won…. Tell that boy I'll await his descendants and all of yours, too. I want to see what the next generation can do." The hologram then disappears before the doors to the dungeon close themselves up.
A new timer appears before the door with at least 50 years in hours.
"... Did it just talk in our language?" Megumin asks.
"... It did. All along, it could, but it chose not to. What a bastard." Darkness says.
Yunyun remains silent as she finally grabs the orb. "Just what are you? A tool or maybe something else."
The mystery would have to wait.
Notes of the author:
Initially, I intended for the entire team to face the dragon as the spell was meant to be blocked by the dragon's eyes, but I decided to discard this idea to show a more simplified battle against the broken final boss of the dungeon. I also couldn't make sense of how the girls would survive in this watery prison since Kazuma is the only one getting blessed by the powers of Aqua, so it was for the best that this was the final result.
Also sorry for the few changes I made between what I wrote on chapter 13 and this one. I felt that this one made more sense than what I initially imagined.
Anyways, the next chapter will lead to the first demon lord and more dramatic events for the team. I'll try to finish it today or tomorrow if the New Year's celebrations don't get in the way. See ya next time, and happy New Year to everybody.