"Everything is ready," Shiroko reported to Sensei as she approached. He turned his attention away from the Shittim Chest, which was carefully monitoring the school grounds for any ambushes or tricks from the Kaiser Corporation. Beyond him, students huddled behind makeshift barricades of sandbags and abandoned cars, anxiously awaiting the next move.
"Ayane, how fast is the target approaching?" Sensei asked, stepping forward to position himself beside her.
Ayane glanced down at her tablet, eyes narrowing as she tracked the movements of their mysterious enemy. "It was circling the outskirts, just at the edge where the city meets the desert. But now it's advancing at full speed, straight toward us," she replied, her gaze never leaving the screen. "What is that thing?"
"Is something wrong, Ayane?" Nonomi asked, her voice tinged with concern as she noticed Ayane's expression.
"One of my drones caught an image of it inside the city," Ayane replied, her voice laced with a touch of disbelief. "It… looks like a fortress."
"A fortress?" Serika repeated, visibly confused.
"Yes, a massive fortress that moves on eight legs." As Ayane described it, Aqua turned to her, her expression a mix of recognition and apprehension.
"And its head," Ayane continued, "it resembles that of a spider." Her revelation prompted both Megumin and Darkness to exchange uneasy glances, understanding the ominous implication. "It's loaded with autonomous weapons, too."
"Alright, that's… different," Aqua muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
"Yes, this is a first for us," Ayane agreed, unaware of the full weight of Aqua's remark.
Sensei's face tightened as he thought back to his discussions with Himari back at Millennium. "If I had to guess, this might be connected to Decagrammaton."
"Deca-what now?" Aqua asked, clearly puzzled by the term.
"Decagrammaton," he repeated, "an extremely advanced AI with several powerful robotic subordinates. We could be dealing with it right now. Ayane, show us the target." 'I should talk with Himari after this, she most likely will know why the aggression of this creature.'
"There's no need, Sensei," Hoshino interjected, squinting into the distance. "It's close enough now for us to see."
Following her gaze, everyone turned toward the desert. There, emerging on the horizon, was a colossal, gleaming white fortress, its towering form advancing steadily on eight mechanical legs. Each step the machine took the concrete under it cracked and fractured.
'That is the Destroyer. What is it doing here? We dealt with it twice now but we had more people and magic. We are done!' Aqua exclaimed inside her own mind as panic overtook her. "Yeah that is it, I should have gone with Kazuma." She said as small tears started to run down her face. "No, there is nothing a Goddess can deal with. I just need to calm myself. Yes. We will deal with that with no trouble," she insisted, forcing a confident expression to cope with her rising fear.
"There's no need to be so worried," Nonomi reassured them, her grip tightening around her
minigun. "If we fight together, we can handle anything."
"If we can find its weak point, it will just be a matter of time," Shiroko added, wearing a determined smile, undeterred by the looming threat.
"Everyone, take cover! It looks like it's about to fire. Sensei, please stay back!" Hoshino called out as she raised her shield. In the distance, the Destroyer began firing its smaller weapons, unleashing a chaotic storm of bullets that tore through the air, hitting everything in their path.
As Ayane took cover, she noticed bullets peppering their makeshift barricade, while many more soared skyward or struck the buildings around them. "I see," she murmured, peeking out from behind cover. As expected, none of the bullets hit her. She observed the machine's movements, noting the way its massive body shook with each step. "Everyone, it seems the machine trades precision for the sheer volume of firepower. As long as we remain behind cover, we're unlikely to get hit. Just make sure to go back to cover whatever you need to reload."
The other students nodded, slowly peeking out from their hiding spots as the fortress drew ever closer to their position.
"It looks odd," Aqua said to herself, scrutinizing the Destroyer.
"Why does it have a halo?" Her brow furrowed as she gazed at the yellow halo floating above the Destroyer's head, which featured an orb at its center, surrounded by two spikes protruding on either side.
The halo wasn't the only change, the Destroyer's color had shifted from black to white, with piercing orange eyes now glaring at them.
"We need to stop this thing before it gets any closer," Sensei said, watching as the Destroyer effortlessly demolished the buildings it encountered. "Shiroko, Megumin, do you think you can disable its front legs?"
"I've been waiting for something like this!" Megumin replied, already mounting the launcher on her shoulder.
"Yes, Sensei, we'll get it done," Shiroko added, her confidence bolstered as she saw her drone primed with rockets.
"I'll provide cover for you," Hoshino said, positioning her shield in front of Shiroko, aware that the drone was far less durable than any student.
"Megumin, stand behind me!" Darkness shouted, suddenly leaping from cover and spreading her arms wide in front of Megumin, ready to shield her from the incoming fire.
"Hey, give me some space! I don't want my only rocket hitting you." Megumin leaned to the right, carefully aiming her launcher. The targeting system locked onto the approaching fortress. "My name is Megumin! I am the one who bends explosions to my will. Reach forth, extension of myself, to strike down those who threaten those beside me! With flames and force, crush the ambitions of this wicked machine. EXPLOSION!" As she finished her chant,
Megumin pulled the trigger, sending her rocket streaking toward the massive, lumbering fortress.
"Megumin, watch out!" Serika yelled as she saw debris tumbling down above her. With barely a second to react, Megumin dove to the side, dodging the falling rocks but landing awkwardly with her launcher pinning her down.
Meanwhile, Shiroko launched her drone, which fired smaller rockets toward the Destroyer's left leg.
The rockets, weaving through the storm of bullets, managed to strike the machine's front legs, causing it to lurch forward and collapse as its balance gave way. The massive form of the Destroyer hit the ground with a resounding crash, sending a cloud of dust spiraling into the air.
"Wait, was that it?" Aqua asked, squinting toward the Destroyer's silhouette in the haze. As the machine paused momentarily, she let out a sigh of relief before euphoria overtook her mind. "Ha! Look at that! Even that oversized tin can can't keep up with us!" Aqua boasted with a triumphant smirk, though she still kept one eye nervously on the Destroyer.
"No," Hoshino said, her eyes narrowing as the dust rapidly dispersed, revealing a relentless
barrage of bullets tearing through the air. "Everyone, back to cover!"
As the Destroyer resumed its assault, the students quickly dove back into cover. Aqua's confident expression faltered, and she plopped onto the ground, her triumphant smirk slipping into a nervous laugh. "Uh… okay, maybe it just needed a second wind? N-no problem! It's just a hunk of metal, right?" She tried to bolster her courage, but her voice wavered.
The Destroyer, with all its weapons blazing, desperately tried to create enough space to pull itself upright. Its front legs were heavily damaged, but it managed to stabilize itself, though now hobbled and moving slowly, with much of its ability to sprint lost.
"Megumin, shoot it again!" Aqua shouted toward the red mage, who was still lying beside her.
"Sorry, but I only had one rocket, and I'm stuck," Megumin admitted, lying flat on the ground, her face pressed against the dirt as her launcher pinned her down.
"Megumin, we'll get you out of there," Sensei called, ready to assist, but his position was pinned down by the Destroyer's barrage.
"There's no need. I'm safe enough here, and I can't do much without ammunition anyway," Megumin said, waving her free hand to dismiss any worries.
"Are you sure?" Sensei asked, concerned.
"I'm used to that," she replied with a weak grin.
"All right then. Nonomi, Serika, Shiroko, Aqua. You four focus your fire on the machine's eyes. Hoshino, Darkness, cover them. Ayane, assist anyone in trouble," Sensei ordered, readying the Shittim Chest in his hands.
"Yes, Sensei," the girls responded, springing into action against the towering mechanical fortress.
"I'll teach you never to return to Abydos, you stupid machine!" Serika shouted, her voice fierce as she unloaded her weapon.
"Serika's certainly gotten more spirited since Sensei came back," Nonomi teased her friend
with a gentle smile on her face.
"I have not!" Serika paused, her face flushing as she turned toward Nonomi, flustered.
"Serika, it's impossible to hide your embarrassment, especially from someone as old as me," Hoshino chimed in with a playful grin as she glanced back at the cat-eared girl.
"This isn't the time for this!" Serika yelled from the bottom of her lungs, her irritation mixing with embarrassment. Determined, she aimed her weapon and emptied her magazine in rapid succession.
Nonomi, Hoshino, and Shiroko joined her. Jumping in and out of cover they pressed the attack and focused their fire on the machine's many eyes. But despite their combined efforts, the damage they managed to do was minimal because of the armor the machine had.
"Okay, let's do this!" Aqua declared as she braced her weapon against her cover. Using it as
support she aimed her weapon and started to shoot in short bursts against the walking fortress. Yet, like the others, her bullets seemed to do little to the Destroyer's thick armor.
"Darkness, don't just stand there and do something!" she yelled, glancing over to see Darkness not far away, standing with arms wide open.
'This is the best!' she thought to herself, savoring the moment before responding to her companion. "Very well." Darkness drew her revolver and fired six shots, somehow missing every time. As she lowered her weapon, she began reloading it, fully absorbed in the thrill of the more and more bullets hitting her.
"Did she just miss every bullet?" Sensei asked, watching the situation unfold in front of him in complete disbelief.
"Yes, it surprised us the first time too," Ayane replied, momentarily losing her composure and adjusting her glasses back into place to try to regain it.
"This isn't going quite as planned. The machine's more durable than I'd expected." Sensei looked over at the group by his side. "Ayane, how many explosives does the school still have?" he asked, hoping they might have a trump card he hadn't yet considered.
"I have some grenades, and I believe Shiroko has a few as well, but I doubt it'll be enough," Ayane answered as she tried to remember anything else that might help their situation.
"We need to plan out something fast," Sensei said, pausing to strategize a way to defeat or at least drive back the enemy.
"Sensei, I have an idea," Shiroko called out, dodging bullets before leaping over to stand beside him on the cover. "I'll explain it."
Kazuma dashed through the streets of the Abydos District, doing his best to put distance between himself and the explosions echoing from far off. As he wove through the silent streets, he had managed to spot other civilians, who, like him, decided to run to find any safe place to hide from the ongoing attack.
"Huff… puff…" Kazuma gasped, coming to a sudden stop to catch his breath. "Who knew having such short legs would make running so rough? I wish I wasn't stuck as a raccoon at a time like this," he muttered before hearing another explosion in the distance.
"If the problem was to steal a bank. I would be able to come up with something to help out but this ain't it." Kazuma told himself as he rested one hand on his chest.
Looking toward the school's direction, he saw smoke rising close to where it was located.
"Are they alright?" he asked himself, feeling the tension build as the situation continued to escalate. "If I had my abilities, I could help give a little help, but like this, I'm more useless than Aqua…" He sighed, frustrated by his helplessness yet eager to support the students, his friends, and even that lucky bastard.
Realizing that standing around wouldn't help anyone, he made up his mind. "If I go back like this, I'll just cause more trouble for them than help. I'll go talk to Master Shiba. He seems like someone who could come up with a way to help everyone." With that, he turned around and started heading toward Shiba Seki Ramen.
As he ran, Kazuma rounded a corner and smacked into something soft, landing squarely on his backside. He knew it wasn't a pole or a wall he'd hit; this was definitely something or even someone. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry," he said, looking up to see who he'd run into.
"Those clothes…" said the person in front of him. The person was a student with a large golden weapon at her side and wearing dark robes with golden highlights.
"No way."
The Destroyer stood its ground, firing every weapon and turret in its arsenal, but it struggled to maintain balance due to its heavily damaged front legs.
"Hoshino, Shiroko, are you both sure you can pull this off?" Sensei asked as two bags of grenades were handed to Shiroko.
"It'll be no problem. The enemy is a sitting duck. You can trust me, Sensei," Shiroko replied, a confident look in her eyes.
"With Darkness and me in front, Shiroko will have a clear path," Hoshino added, preparing Iron Horus.
"All right. Take care." Sensei nodded, and the girls returned the gesture before getting into position.
The three moved to the edge of their cover with their weapons ready. "Going in," Shiroko announced as they sprang forward together.
"Let's suppress this bot," Serika called out, and the remaining students, minus Megumin, started their collective effort to focus their fire on the machine, aiming to disable the weapons strapped to its back, even if just briefly.
The team used their team and moved forward. Darkness and Hoshino ran in front of Shiroko, shielding her from stray bullets.
Darkness, a paladin through and through, relished the chance to protect while fulfilling her urges. "Oh! This is so good!" she shouted, her voice accompanied by heavy breaths.
'I've never seen someone so thrilled to be shot at,' Hoshino thought as she glaced at the girl beside her, who took several hits from the Destroyer, and even occasional friendly fire from Aqua, without flinching.
"Hoshino, this is good enough," Shiroko said as she halted her movements.
"Darkness, get ready!" Hoshino signaled, advancing a few more steps before turning her back to the Destroyer and aiming Iron Horus toward Shiroko. Darkness quickly stepped in front, providing extra cover.
Shiroko sprinted forward, leaping onto the shield. As she prepared for a second jump, Hoshino swung Iron Horus, launching Shiroko into the air over the Destroyer's head with tremendous force. Spinning mid-air, Shiroko hurled both bags of grenades down onto the war machine, landing them on its right side.
As she began her descent, Shiroko raised her weapon, took aim at the bags, and fired a single shot. The bullet hit its mark, triggering a massive explosion that shrouded the Destroyer's head in a thick cloud of smoke, causing the machine to stop its relentless attack, and cease all of its movements.
"Darkness, quick!" Sensei shouted from behind. The young paladin responded instantly, dashing toward the falling Shiroko and catching her in open arms before she could hit the ground.
"Thank you!" Shiroko took a breath, hopped out of Darkness's arms, and gave Sensei a thumbs-up. "Mission accomplished!" she said with a triumphant smile.
"We did it!" "Thank goodness that's over!" "Shiroko, that was incredible!" "Uh, could someone please help me? I'm still stuck here." "Kazuma, you should've been here to witness my glorious victory!" The students began chatting excitedly, the air filled with relief and celebration.
"Fantastic work, all of you," Sensei said, smiling as he approached the trio.
"Hehe, guess I'll be sleeping well tonight. These old bones aren't what they used to be," Hoshino said playfully as she stretched her back.
"That was exhilarating," Darkness added with a grin. "Though I think I'll need a new set of clothes." She looked down, noticing the bullet holes and tears covering her uniform.
"It wasn't as tough as I thought," Shiroko added, but her smile quickly faded as a chill ran down her spine.
Everyone's laughter died down as they noticed light beginning to pulse within the smoke cloud around the Destroyer's head. "Sensei, Shiroko, Darkness. Behind me!" Hoshino shouted, raising the Iron Horus and leaping to the front.
A powerful energy blast erupted from the Destroyer's front cannon, heading straight toward them. Hoshino braced herself and managed to deflect it with the Iron Horus, redirecting it toward the Abydos School, where it slammed into a small building on the school grounds.
"It… it hit the janitor's room," Shiroko said, staring in shock as stone, wood, paper, and many more utensils were launched away.
"Well, it could've been worse," Aqua commented dismissively.
"Wasn't that where Mr. Kazuma was living?" Nonomi asked, a bit worried.
"Oh… I totally forgot about that," Aqua replied, suddenly remembering that Kazuma had recently finished converting the janitor's quarters into his personal space.
"This is bad. We're out of anything powerful enough to take that thing down," Sensei said as he watched the battered war machine steady itself.
The blast had cleared the remaining smoke, revealing that half of the Destroyer's head was nearly obliterated, though its left side and remaining eyes were still operational.
Before anyone could react, the giant fired its main cannon twice more. However, due to its weakened state, both shots missed the students entirely.
"Sensei, get behind me. I will be taking you to safety!" Hoshino shouted as light began accumulating at the Destroyer's cannon once again. "It's charging another volley!" But before it could fire, a sudden explosion rocked the machine's head, staggering it briefly and interrupting its charge.
"It looks like I managed to get here just in time," Kazuma said in the distance with a mysterious figure beside him carrying a downsized golden autocannon.
Author's Notes
This is the second chapter of the Abydos arc, featuring an old friend of the Konosuba crew.
For anyone wondering about Binah, fear not she is still around and is still in the Abydos desert. As for the Destroyer's new color and its matching Halo with Binah, don't worry; Himari will explain everything in Episode F.
My fic I will be working with 2 different kinds of arcs. One will be original arcs with original enemies and the like, the other will be stories that touch the main story of the game.
The original arcs when it comes to timeline sometimes will be happening alongside some of the canon events and others might end up in their own pockets of time like some of the events.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts, and let me know if you spot any mistakes.