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 room was expansive. Magical equipment was found everywhere, including a large black oval object in the middle of the room. Researchers stood around the massive objects while they reviewed the results of their many tests.

"Sir, are you sure about this? Our tests have shown an array of results that could be considered positive, but we still have yet to iron out all the other issues. This project could boost the magical abilities of any living being beyond normal standards, but we can't proceed without considering the possible effects." A green-haired woman said as she stood before the leading researcher of the whole operation.

The black-haired man smiles as he spreads his arms wide. "Why wait any longer? We have worked on this project for close to 7 years. It is time to take a step forward. The gates to a new era in which magecraft breaks through and challenges the very gods are upon us. We can't doubt anymore. We ran the tests; we saw no problems. It is time to take the steps necessary for the sake of us mortals. Monsters will be an issue of the past as we take this world into a new era."

The man removed his lab coat as he decided to step forward and offer himself as the test subject.

"Sir Kyoichi. Please hear my pleas. We shouldn't rush this. We need to be careful." The woman pleaded.

Kyoichi Yasaka smirked as he turned to face her. "Catherine, everything will be fine. Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Kyoichi turned around after that before he approached the massive object, which reacted to him as a door opened up. Kyoichi didn't doubt as his ambition was restless. He had been given a new chance at life in this wonderful world and sought to take a step beyond any other mortal.

He sought power.

He sought freedom from the chains of death.

He sought to overcome the mortal boundaries and challenge the ruling of the very gods.

His ambition had gone overboard as he saw the potential of magic in this world. He was stronger than any mage that had come before, but he wanted more.

He remembered her face.

"Kyoichi, I offer you a new chance at life."

Her smirking expression as she offered him a new life.

"Live free in this world and make the most out of your new life. This world will welcome you with open arms."

Her beauty, her smile, she was indeed beautiful, but something deep inside him had awakened as he saw how many blessings she was offering him. So much power in the hands of a single being broke something in him.

"Why do you have so much when I had so little? Why was I struggling while you possessed so much power? Why didn't you help me back then?"

Resentment, pure and uncontrollable resentment against Aqua and all other godly beings who had watched him struggle in Japan to survive. Not a single blessing was offered to him back then. Not a single helping hand from these so-called gods.

He played along and received his blessing, but deep inside, he knew what he would do.

Kyoichi vowed to free himself from the mortal bindings and challenge the gods who didn't care about him or any other mortal. He put his mind to it, and now he was just about to achieve his goal.

As he steps inside the mysterious black oval, a voice calls out to him after so long.

"Kyoichi, what are you doing?" Aqua asks.

"Oh my, you finally called. It has been years. Have I finally gotten your attention?"

"Kyoichi, I'm a goddess. I'm not supposed to interfere with the lives of mortals. I have responsibilities, and I can't keep track of everything that happens in the world. But you have raised alarms. What are you doing?"

"You told me to make the most of this new life, and that's precisely what I'm doing. I'm going to take this world into a new era. An era in which you can't interfere anymore. We'll be free from you so-called gods. You don't care about us and so we'll change our future with our own hands."

"Kyoichi…. Things are not like that. You mortals are free to choose your own paths. That's the greatest gift mortals have been given."

"Free? Gift? Aqua, I ate crap and shit for 47 years in Japan, and not once did I ever receive a sign of a so-called God. I crawled through life while being a good citizen, but it was never enough. My wife died from a disease at the mere age of 40, and my daughter left home, never to return while I was left all alone. My job overworked to the bone while offering a salary that was nowhere near what I was supposed to get. I pleaded and prayed, but nothing changed. I did everything right and was never blessed with a single blessing. Now, I thank you for this chance. I won't make the same mistake again. I will make my own future without ever praying to gods who never cared about me."

"Kyoichi, don't do this."

Sadly, her pleas fell on dead ears as Kyoichi took the step of no return, which sealed his fate and started a war like no other.

Several hours later.

Kyoichi opens his eyes only to find complete and utter destruction around him. "What happened? This was not supposed to go this way!"

Kyoichi tried to stand up, but as he did, he noticed a disturbing realization. His body was no longer human. His skin was dark as the night, with red jewels adorning it all around; his legs resembled a goat's, while a newly formed demonic tail possessed a malformed head stretched out from his lower back. His arms were muscular, while his hands ended in sharp claws. Finally, his head had been twisted beyond recognition as four crimson horns adorned it, while his mouth had been twisted to resemble that of a carnivorous beast with zero human resemblance.

He was no longer Kyoichi, the human. He was something else, the first of his kin—a monster born from uncontrollable ambition and resentment.

"What have you done, sir?"

A voice called out to him. Kyoichi looked around only to watch as several abominations arose from the ruins. Each one is more monstrous than the other. All as twisted and as horrible as him. Their number was unknown.

"Catherine? Is that you?" Kyoichi asks as he approaches a monstrous spider humanoid.

"..." The creature didn't say anything.

"What have you done to me? Why can't I control my movements? Why can't I speak? Kyoichi, what have you done to me?" Catherine's voice screams directly into his mind.

"Catherine, I can fix this. Just give me time. I just-" Kyoichi stopped himself as he felt the presence of many arriving beings.

"Monsters do not move an inch." A voice shouted.

Kyoichi recognized the appearance of the new arrivals as part of the armed forces from the kingdom of Belzerg. "Hey, there's no need to-"

Kyoichi saw the fear in their eyes as they pointed their swords and spears at them. Their mages were already preparing the spells necessary to defend themselves.

He knew right then and there that they weren't seen as human. They were seen as monsters, and in his mind, there was no way he could speak his way out of this situation.

"What have you done, Kyoichi Yasaka?" A voice asks as she steps forward.

Kyoichi saw the mask and realized that the Black Daggers had also come. "This is bad. She's here. Their leader is here."

"Kyoichi Yasaka, surrender. You have caused enough damage as it is. Your actions nearly destroyed the world as we know it. Don't make it hard for us, and surrender without any objections. We will investigate this event and past judgments based on our results. Don't make a choice that we'll both regret." Chris said as she faced him while keeping a safe distance.

Kyoichi said nothing as his mind ran a million scenarios only to come up with a single answer. "I need to escape. I can't be imprisoned." The newly born demon lord lifted his hand to the sky before he activated his magic. "I won't surrender to anyone."

He felt an immense new power that towered over anything else he had done before, as if his limits were broken and a new realm of power was opened to him.

The newborn demons around him reacted to his will as they cried in fury before they pointed their claws and fangs at the soldiers and agents who sought to imprison them.

With those words, the First Demon War began with a single mortal who allowed ambition and resentment to dictate his path.

Present Day.

*Metallica- The Unforgiven*

Rephilis I sat upon his throne within his massive palace, where he ruled over thousands if not millions, of servants who obeyed his every wimp. Long having abandoned his humanity and reason, Rephilis felt overjoyed with power as he sought to spread his so-called blessing across the land.

Demon supremacy was his will, and he had the power to achieve it, but he quickly figured out the limitations of his condition.

He was the center of a hive mind, but it wasn't easy to control as more demons joined his ranks. One demon lord wasn't enough to control so many servants, so he sought candidates to join him.

More people like him. People with enough resentment, ambition, and desire that could be used to turn them to his side.

The targets were, as expected, the so-called heroes Aqua had summoned. Each one was powerful or at least above average due to their blessings. Some took years to convince, but in the end, all joined him as he offered them everything they wished.

Power, longevity, freedom to do as they pleased, dominions to control, they were all offered the same treatment, so he gained allies as twisted as him, but now that strong alliance had been affected by a single event that shook him to the core.

"Who are you, mysterious reaper? Why have you come to this world?"

Rephilis had questions about the mysterious reaper he saw through his fallen ally's eyes. His cold expression and words made him feel something he thought impossible.

Fear, pure and undeniable fear.

The first demon lord believed himself unshakable, but that night in which he felt Talus's last moments alongside the other demon lords, he tasted fear once more. He felt threatened by the reaper as his scythe achieved the impossible task.

He couldn't sense Talus's soul anymore. A pillar of his master plan had been taken down, and now he saw it as a turning point in this war.

"I need to talk to him. I need information. I need to know his name. I might be able to replace Talus with him, but if that fails….. I need to eliminate him."

The path was set for Rephilis as he chose to acknowledge the existence of a threat to his goals. He had faced other so-called heroes before and turned them into allies; he expected the same with this one.

Yet, the reality is often disappointing as Rephilis thought that he was facing another hero sent by Aqua, but the truth was soon going to turn his entire world around.

This unforgiven mortal was soon going to learn a lesson.

Nobody runs from death forever.

Death will always come to claim its prize and one day, his head is destined to meet the edge of Kazuma's scythe.

Undeniable Sin 1: Twisted Ambitions of a Resentful Soul