160 Konosuba Side Part 45.
*Drop* *Drop*
The sound of water drops echoed in a dark space absent of any light, sending ripples through the endless obscurity.
Despite not being visible, the water drops were the only thing that gave this place novelty as the eyelids of a young man tumbled with each dribble.
Lying motionlessly on the ground, Kazuma closed his eyes as a feeling of weightlessness filled his body and mind before it all started fading alongside his other senses.
His eyes felt so tired and heavy as he couldn't open them at all. Where is he? How did he arrive here? These questions didn't find an answer or sense to him.
The feeling of sinking slowly and losing grip on himself. The echoes of each water drop stroking his ears and the wet feeling on his cheeks. The faint whispers coming and going. Kazuma couldn't make any sense out of this situation.
Despite how hard he tries to recall, he could only remember getting into a fight with something, a bunch of hazy figures, a bright creepy eye, then nothing…
But, even so, he didn't mind not opening his eyes. He was just tired… so exhausted. This feeling filled every corner of his mind. Just sleeping and forgetting about everything was all that he could think about. Maybe he should just sleep like this?
As his eyelids became heavier, the whispers and echoes slowly faded away, leaving nothing behind. But just as when they were about to vanish, an icy cold sensation hit his face.
It was like someone grabbed a bucket of cold water and splashed it on his face while sleeping! Shocked and startled, Kazuma's entire body shook before he opened his eyes.
Meanwhile, in a room inside a mansion in Axel's town. The sunlight slipped from the window, illuminating the vacancy and raising the faint dust.
The room didn't have many decorations or furniture, except a desk with a sword on it and a bed, where a young man could be seen.
Sleeping on the bed, the young man kept moving around as sweat fell from his body, drenching the sheets. The low painful grunts that escaped his mouth showed that he wasn't in a good condition before his entire body kicked up.
"HMHPH!!"
With a gasp, Kazuma opened his eyes immediately and stood up. His right hand tightly squeezed the white sheets as his left hand held his beating chest. The cold sweat rolled from his forehead while those frightened eyes scanned the surroundings.
As his eyes drifted, trying to make sense of this place, they quickly halted. A desk, a fluffy bed, a window, his blessed(cursed) sword lying around. Not many items and stuff, but the familiar layout made Kazuma's thoughts clear.
This is his room, which means...
"I'm… back?"
Whispering doubtfully, Kazuma's rushed breath slowly calmed down as looked down at his chest. His left hand rested on his beating heart, but he was wearing a new shirt unlike the one he remembers.
{Nothing… Not even a trace}
Raising his shirt, Kazuma looked at his chest as he found nothing at all. He could swear he got pierced by PE-SS front leg, no, his entire right chest was torn apart.
Could all of that just be a bad dream? The doubts slipped into his thoughts as he felt the soft mattress underneath him, but they were quickly denied. The piercing and sharp pain of getting his chest ripped apart are still vivid in his mind.
He couldn't help but shiver each time he remembered that scene before his hand rested on his chest again. It was a subconscious action just to determine that nothing is wrong.
{It's like I can still feel it…}
Remembering the eyes filled with hatred and hordes of monsters trying to kill him, Kazuma shook his head before he stood up from the bed.
Surprisingly, his body was in perfect condition, even the pain in his legs after all the running last time had vanished completely. This surprised Kazuma before he noticed the sword lying on top of the desk.
The sticky feeling because of all the sweat was annoying, but he didn't care much. Kazuma walked towards the desk and grabbed the sword.
The sword had a normal scabbard and grip, except the pommel of the hilt had a tiny green heart decoration.
Despite the innocent look, Kazuma didn't dare to remove the scabbard or his ears will be gone for good. He's well aware of the curses contained in this forsaken thing.
The mere screams from each swing were enough to immobilize any monster he found around Axel in fear. Even his ears and reputation weren't spared from the terror. He didn't use it in the last battle because he thought it wouldn't help, but now… Kazuma is glad he didn't.
If he recalls correctly, Whitebeard's naginata was smashed to pieces, so what would have happened to his sword? This is an easy leveling item!
"Hmmmmm…"
The more he looked at it, the more Kazuma got the feeling that this sword is a 'living' thing and it's looking at him… maybe he should have reconsidered taking it there, just for assurance.
*Step!* *Step!* *Step!*
"Hm?"
As Kazuma inspected the sword, the sound of rushed steps reached his ears. They got louder and faster until they stopped at the room door before he heard a 'knock'.
But when he says 'knock', he means a KNOCK! With a slamming sound, cracks spread through the door almost splitting it in half as the small shards flew away.
Kazuma stared in astonishment as the door of his room was broken open by a flying kick from a blue-haired goddess.
At that moment, Kazuma only got the chance to blink his eyes before Aqua turned into a blue blur and rushed towards him.
"KAZUMA-SAN!!!!"
"UGH!!!"
Despite strengthening his body using the chat room, Kazuma wasn't able to even react before Aqua body-slammed him so hard that he almost threw up.
His eyes almost rolled backward as Aqua's head landed on his chest and threw him on the bed with a huge force that almost broke the frame.
Feeling the pain that rolled his insides, Kazuma entered a state of shock briefly, but Aqua directly grabbed his collar and shook him up and down with tears streaming from her eyes.
"Kazuma-san!! Kazuma-san!! Please! Don't die!"
"Eh… what happened?!"
Under the intense shaking and screams, Kazuma woke up with anger from the pain, but then he saw Aqua crying streams of tears.
With tears dropping on his cheeks, he got the weirdness of Deja Vu. Did this happen before?
{Yeah, in that weird nightmare… wait}
The sudden realization coupled with his past condition from the battle made Kazuma freeze in his place, unable to move or stop Aqua, who was shaking him with a tearful look. He wondered how ugly is his current expression was, but no word came out of his mouth.
"*hic* Kazuma-san!! *hic* Please! They said all those horrible things! I'm a goddess, a goddess! Yet, aren't they afraid of divine punishment!? You have to help me! They are going to do all those horrible things to me! Please, Kuzuma-san, don't die, please, help me!! Aaaahhh!!"
Kazuma, who couldn't say anything because of the weird feeling of guilt, froze in place when he heard Aqua before two figures came rushing to the room.
"Don't try to run away! Eh? Kazuma, you're awake!? Wait, it's not important now!"
"Aqua, there's no need to involve Kazuma… No, this might work better!"
Megumin and Darkness came charging inside the room before they sprinted at Aqua and grabbed her, attempting to take her, but she was clinging onto Kazuma as her life depended on it!
"Let go of me, you heartless monsters! What did I do to deserve this? It's the explosion maniac's fault!"
"HAH?! I have nothing to do with this at all!"
"Both of you, calm down and learn to take responsibility for your actions"
"Responsibility! No! Never, I don't want to! You can't make me!"
"I did nothing wrong! I was just following my sacred duty as an Archwizard!"
The chaos and quarrel grew larger and louder as the three were throwing blame at each other.
Kazuma got caught in the middle of this as he stared blankly at the ceiling. Megumin and Darkness were pulling Aqua, who was clinging to him tightly, causing him to shake over and over as a few veins popped on his head.
"You guys…"
Saying with suppressed anger, his words got no reaction as the trio continued the quarrel before Kazuma's eyebrow twitched, and took a deep breath.
"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE!!!"
The ear-deafening scream echoed throughout the whole mansion, reaching the outside and scaring birds away as the people in the neighborhood shook their heads. 'Those noisy brats are at it again' was what they thought before they left for their business.
…
"Now, from the start. Tell me everything, a word by word"
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kazuma stared emotionlessly at the trio kneeling on the ground and lowering their heads like they committed a crime.
"Ah! You see, Kazuma-san, the thing is…"
Aqua raised her head quickly and started mumbling quickly, unable to find a proper way to start under Kazuma's calm, but angry eyes.
"Shut it, I didn't mean you. Darkness, can you explain?"
Glaring at Aqua as she silenced immediately before he turned towards Darkness, but his emotionless face cracked at a certain sight.
"Ha~ I did nothing wrong, but I'm getting treated this harshly and interrogated"
"Ugh… Megumin, explain, please, someone, just tell me what happened"
Looking at Darkness blushing and breathing heavily, Kazuma covered his face before he said in a pleading tone to Megumin.
"Fine, this is how it went…"
Megumin cleared her throat before she began to tell the tale of her adventures as Kazuma stared at her blankly.
The start was normal at the least. The trio woke up, found no one at the mansion, went to look for them, but to no avail. The only thing they found was a letter from Kazuma, telling them he'll go on a special and urgent quest with the rest of the group.
"So? It was a clear letter. Don't tell me you can't read?"
"No, that's not it!"
Megumin refuted Kazuma's sarcastic remark before she coughed and continued. However, Kazuma, who wrote that letter to not make them worried, didn't know it was a big mistake.
Pretty pissed off because she wasn't invited, Megumin went to the equally angry Darkness for the reason that Kazuma left without informing and taking them, his companion and party! The archwizard and Crusader formed a new alliance to show Kazuma the price of underestimating them.
As for the last person, Aqua shrugged at this and went back to sleep. This is a great opportunity for her to laze around without any work. However, slowly but surely, she awoke to the bitter reality… she has no money.
Most of her money was forcibly taken by Kazuma to pay back the debt of the liquor store. Now, no money means no alcohol and food, no alcohol and food mean the goddess of water feels like a beggar.
A bit depressed by the harsh reality, Aqua heard Megumin and Darkness talk about money and quests, which made a few screws in her head work bizarrely and connected dots between money and Kazuma's special quest.
Under her own reasoning, Aqua's fury ignited at the fact Kazuma was making money without her and she'll not get anything from it. So, she joined the duo on a quest mostly because of pure spite.
"....."
Clasping his hands, Kazuma stared in silence as they averted their gazes, but they didn't stop talking.
The first mission they received was escorting a merchant's wagon to the next town. Knowing about the trio's high-rank jobs, the merchant was very delighted and treated the party very well. He even gave some liquor for Aqua to taste.
This pleased Aqua greatly and began to speak about her godhood, which he took as signs of mental retardation and didn't want to delve further into it.
But this blissful state didn't last long because the goblins attacked, and let's say, someone, forgot that friendly fire was on and fired explosion magic at a close distance because the Crusader couldn't hit anything with her sword.
This resulted in the wagon turning into a wreck and almost arranging a private meeting between the merchant and Goddess Eris.
"....."
Kazuma's chin dropped at the story of the poor merchant. The pitiful man only wanted to reach the next town in peace! It wasn't even far from Axel! You'll only run into two waves of weak monsters at best!
Noticing Kazuma's state, Megumin became slightly ashamed as her voice lowered a bit.
Luckily, with the help of Aqua, the merchant's free Eris' meeting ticket was forcibly revoked by the healing magic. The poor man woke up from the death door just to see his source of income burned to the ground. Megumin had a hard time speaking when she mentioned the tear that slipped from the merchant's eye.
"....."
Kazuma took a deep breath and closed his eyes without saying a word.
What followed after the grief and sadness was anger as the merchant reported the trio to the guild. Aqua wanted to run away, but she was forcibly caught by Darkness and Megumin was too guilty to run away.
After hearing the story, the guild declared the trio guilty instantly and began to calculate the damage.
'Why the hell would you use Explosion magic at close range? And why use it on some goblins?' Megumin couldn't forget how the receptionist gave her the weird look all the time and those faint whispers as Aqua was struggling under Darkness' iron grip.
Calculating the damage, the guild proceeds to call the person responsible for the merchant's goods, and for Aqua, it was a very friendly and lovable old acquaintance that made her pale from joy.
The merchant is the young brother of the liquor store owner. The same store where Aqua turned 70% of all liquor to water and received a massive debt.
*Visible concern*
Kazuma put his palms together, close to his face, and took a slow, but a very deep breath before he spoke "Continue"
Knowing that the people that owe him money almost sent his brother to greet Eris, turning the store owner's business smiling face into rage pressured the trio to pay the compensation plus the debt immediately. If not, he'll call the guards and have them all locked up behind the bars.
"And here you are… still here"
"Hey! What is that supposed to mea- sorry!"
Kazuma looked down and said with a hint of disappointment while Aqua, who wanted to refute, silenced immediately under his gaze.
"So, how did you escape? Don't tell me you're running away now? Hahaha… seriously, don't tell me that''
"No! Well, we thought of that, then Darkness helped us out?"
"Huh?"
Kazuma turned to look at Darkness whose blush vanished and was replaced with a long face. While Megumin was patting her shoulders, Darkness' entire look became gray, almost making Kazuma think she's depressed.
Quite surprisingly, after the store owner put the trio under the spot, Darkness was the one that stood forward. Under the watchful eyes of the whole guild, she began announcing several events and occurrences that made Kazuma remember several fucked up doujinshi he read in the past.
Darkness heroically stated she'll bear(gladly accept) all those horrible acts from the store owner and his brother to repay the debt. As a knight, she'll never let her companion suffer under their filthy hands followed by several inappropriate descriptions that made the girls in the guild blush.
However, to Kazuma's already dead inside expectations, things went completely south for Darkness. The store owner and his brother actually comforted her and blamed Megumin and Aqua for using their loyal companion like this. They called them scums and trash while offering help to Darkness.
Confused, Darkness tried to explain that she's willing to accept any punishment, but she was showered by care and concern from the store owner.
He was even impressed by her 'loyalty' he let go of Aqua and Megumin and delayed the debt collection, but insisted for Darkness to look for him if those two did anything to her. And so, the trio returned from this adventure with both Megumin and Aqua's reputation ruined, Darkness feeling depressed, and of course, more debts on their heads.
"I understand…"
Listening to the whole story, Kazuma sighed and showed a kind smile.
"You do?!"
"Of course, NOT!!"
"OUCH!"
Kazuma hit Aqua on the head as the latter rolled on the ground as Megumin and Darkness flinched for different reasons.
"Now, why did you barge into my room in the morning?"
"It's the afternoon though"
"... I didn't ask"
Megumin turned her head away immediately while whistling under Kazuma, who seemed on the verge of exploding from rage.
"That's because they want to use me as bait!"
"Is that new?" Kazuma tilted his head at this common and unsurprising reason.
"You don't understand! They'll put me in a cage and throw me into the lake! Hopeless and weak, to those vicious monsters! AHHH!!!"
Aqua caught Kazuma with her huge strength and began to shake him left and right again while crying.
"Hah? Who do you think made us suffer from the debt of the liquor store? This is just a natural course of actions to use yo- I mean, your talent efficiently"
"Um, Aqua, I can take your place, no, I want to take your place, but… I can't use purification magic. Sorry"
Megumin and Darkness held Aqua's arms again and tried to take her away, shaking Kazuma further, and making him sick. Under this roller coaster, Kazuma wanted to cry.
"All of you… let me go and listen for a second!!"
With another scream, the trio finally calmed down again and looked at Kazuma fixing his clothes.
"Listen, for me, the solution to your problem is easy…" Putting his hands together in a praying form, Kazuma's kind smile devolved into a blank look and said " Please, go and suffer alone. Concealment"
Entering Concealment, Kazuma vanished under the watchful eyes of the trio, leaving them completely alone in the room before two hands landed on Aqua's shoulders.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
As another ear-splitting scream was heard outside the mansion, no one in the street seemed to care anymore.
…
"Those bastards… Can't they let a patient rest in peace"
Across the empty halls of the mansion, Kazuma exited the concealment state as his figure became visible again.
"At least I got some peace now, but…"
Kazuma's eyebrow twitched when he remembered what happened in his room. However, why was he one who left? It was his own room! They even broke the door!
{Did my mind burn out from all that happened yesterday and begin to accept this?}
The thoughts circled in Kazuma's head as he wanted to grab DIO's sword and smash it on the trio's head, but it all vanished with a sigh. The faint feeling of Deja Vu is still lingering in his mind.
{Those water drops…} Touching his cheek, Kazuma recalled Aqua's crying face before he lowered his head and went to the bathroom.
"Give me a break. I'll absolutely work them to death after this... and also fix my door!"
…
However, after cleaning up, Kazuma went downstairs to be met with yet another strange sight.
"Ugh, why are you making all this noise in the morning?"
"It's afternoon"
"...."
Misaka was walking half-asleep in the hallway before Kazuma's blunt remark made her frown as she recovered and said "What brought you here?"
"Can't I walk in the hallway? Or do you have some weird rule?"
"....."
"You might also want to clean your face again and wake up properly" Kazuma added from the side as Misaka took a deep breath.
"So, is everything alright? Where is everyone?"
Misaka gave Kazuma a stare before she sighed and said "Grandpa Whitebeard is in the courtyard as for Leone… she went to drink"
"Now?"
"Yes"
"... I see"
{Is this the life of a heavy drinker? Wait, are assassins supposed to drink like this? Shouldn't they keep their mind clear or some shit?} Kazuma had several questions, but no answers, so he didn't care.
"Oh, what about, Kaguya?"
"Who knows. I haven't seen her since yesterday ac-…"
Mentioning yesterday, both Kazuma and Misaka stopped as an awkward silence appeared between them. They continued in this quietness as Kazuma didn't know what to say.
Everything that happened yesterday still sends shivers down his spine. He can clearly recall what happened to Misaka as he subconsciously asked "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. I was really surprised about what happened, but it's not like something like this can stop me. I'm Academy City Rank Three Level 5" Misaka smiled before she followed with a question "Um, and you, are you alright?"
"... Me? Absolutely. To be honest, I would have been better if my door didn't get smashed by those idiots" Kazuma answered casually with an easy smile.
"Hm? Did they break your door? Is this why they were asking me where Aqua was? She worked a lot yesterday"
Misaka laughed a little, but Kazuma was trying his hardest to not show his emotions.
He could only look at the dark circles under Misaka's eyes and how her shoulder, the place that evaporated under PE-SS-26-13287 attack, shivering and flinching at the topic. But even so, she still had that smile that made Kazuma swallow his words back.
{This only happened because I was in the way…} Kazuma sighed secretly before he flinched and said "Wait, worked a lot? Are you sure you're talking about Aqua?"
"Hm? Yeah, she was the one that healed all our injuries, even yours… So, you better thank her properly. Oh, also be sure to thank Grandpa Whitebeard too"
Kazuma blinked his eyes several times before he entered some sort of denial stage. Misaka could only stare in silence as he was muttering 'impossible', 'the useless goddess did something good?', and 'maybe I'm dead and this is a death dream?'.
Rolling her eyes, Misaka shook her head at Kazuma's reaction before she walked away.
Even if Aqua also turned her perfume to water, Misaka couldn't help but speak good about her after what she witnessed. Unlike all of them who recovered with one or two spells from Aqua, Kazuma's condition was the worst.
No, it is better to say too miserable. Aqua's spells fixed his body, but he didn't wake up at all. Misaka heard Aqua panicking and mentioning how she couldn't sense his soul, not even in the afterlife.
Unable to understand the circumstances, Aqua didn't know what to do. She couldn't even contact Eris because Kazuma's soul is not even there! It didn't even leave for the afterlife! She became desperate and kept casting healing magic while crying.
However, after a few moments, Kazuma's soul slowly appeared again before Whitebeard pushed Aqua away and directly used the Chat Room healing option. The power of the chat room returned Kazuma to normal condition after consuming more than 20,000 points, giving them peace of mind.
It was a quick and intense series of events that made Misaka so stressed. Seeing a person she knew on the verge of death while unable to do anything, left a bad taste in her mouth and… fear.
"Hey, wait for me… Uhhhh, was the courtyard always this foggy?"
Kazuma woke up from his continued denial before he noticed something outside.
"Fog?" Misaka frowned before she looked from the window to see the smoke ascending to the sky "... Huh?"
…
"Oh, you two are awake."
In the courtyard, Whitebeard flipped a massive piece of meat on a huge grill. Kazuma and Misaka sat on the side and stared blankly at this scene.
"If you want some, you'll have to wait"
"I'm good" x2
Without any hesitation, Kazuma and Misaka refused. Just staring at the giant piece of meat made them sick. Where did Whitebeard even get that? At this point, Kazuma was too afraid to ask.
"Hm" Whitebeard didn't care about the refusal as he flipped the meat again, causing the smoke to fly again.
"*Cough*, *cough*"
Coughing from the hot smoke, Kazuma felt his eyes tearing up and wanted to leave, but the sudden screams stopped.
At the mansion's front gate, Megumin and Darkness are dragging the struggling Aqua against her will as her desperate screams fill the area.
"What now?" Kazuma said expressionlessly before Misaka stood up and went towards the trio " I'll go with them. Remember what I said, scumzuma"
"Oi, what is that nickname? Hold on!"
After a few attempts to no avail, Misaka didn't turn back and Kazuma just sat down in the smoke without a word. He watched Whitebeard cooking the massive piece of meat before he noticed his right arm.
{If I recall correctly, his arm was severed in that battle… Aqua actually did something right} Unable to accept reality, Kazuma scratched his head.
"Do you want to say something, kid?"
"Huh? Oh, no, nothing. By the way, why are you cooking now?"
Startled by sudden conversation, Kazuma denied it instantly and changed the topic.
"I still have some dragon's meat that I didn't sell for the guild. It would be a waste to throw it away"
"Dragon's meat…"
Staring at the big piece of meat, Kazuma swallowed and moved away. Isn't this some super grade stuff? Is it okay to just cook it like this? In any case, Kazuma prefers to not touch it at all.
"Hey, kid. It wasn't your fault" Putting the piece of meat down, Whitebeard looked at Kazuma, which made the letter anxious for a moment.
"Yeah?"
"That wasn't something under your control. No need to hold any guilt about it"
"....." Kazuma froze in his place before he lowered his head, smirked, and said " What are you mumbling about, Old man?"
"The creature might have targeted you, but it wasn't truly your fault" Whitebeard didn't care about Kazuma's fake expression and denial.
His stare was enough to stop Kazuma. The smirk and calm tone gradually vanished, replaced with an ugly face and awkward silence.
Kazuma just sat there unable to figure out what he should say. The scenes from yesterday played in his mind, shadowing the loud sound of grilling. The blood flew as he stood alone facing a monster whose sole purpose was taking his life.
Just because he was in the way, just because it aimed for him…
"How could you say that? Maybe if I wasn't there, you would be able to defeat PE-SS. At worst, you and Kaguya can push it ba-..."
"Maybe and if, words of regret have no meaning now. What happened has happened and no one can revert time to try your thoughts, although I'm not confident in that claim after seeing this multiverse and its possibilities"
Smirking, Whitebeard increased the flames under the grill as the heat and smoke made Kazuma's eyes tear.
"Stop it, Old man! If it wasn't for me holding you back, you would have defeated it and wouldn't have lost your ar-...*cough*, *cough*, damn this smoke"
Kazuma stood up, but the smoke made him cough again.
"Defeat it, you say? I don't think your presence and whatnot would have changed the outcome. That thing was stronger than me, there's no doubt in that. I might have fallen much faster if you weren't there"
"..."
Kazuma sat down as he lowered his head and didn't dare to look Whitebeard in the eye.
"In the end, it was also our fault for advancing recklessly, but the situation with green glow spreading in the forest didn't give us any spare time. We had to act fast and we paid the price. Guhahahah, we all messed up one way or another"
Laughing cheerfully, Whitebeard didn't mind failing and almost dying against PE-SS-26-13287, but Kazuma remained silent as if he couldn't hear him.
"But if this is what you want to hear, then yes, this is also your fault. If you were more competent, then we might have made a plan revolving around you, but unfortunately, we couldn't"
"..."
Clenching his fist, Kazuma didn't say any word as his nails dug deep into his skin before he loosened it.
"Now, if you're satisfied, you might also turn this feeling into motivation and push forward"
"Huh?"
"Hm? Why are you surprised? You brat, did you think this is over just because you almost died once? From here and on, you'll face these situations all the time."
Although he still didn't see much from this world, Whitebeard is sure that situations like this would repeat themselves as long as they are involved with the Chat Room.
Their main objective from this whole thing is combatant one. Fight the threat that endangers the world. Fights are inescapable, neither death.
Looking at his right arm, Whitebeard remembered how the PE-SS-26-13287 front leg pierced through his strongest shockwave and severed it. His quake-quake fruit that gave him immense power, his Haki, and his techniques, everything fell apart when facing PE-SS-26-13287.
Whitebeard wondered if the situation would be different if he was stronger, or if it was 'someone' different. Although he saw them briefly and not for long, the two scenes are still engraved in his mind.
The unstoppable punch from the bald man with the cape and the burning golden planet descending from the sky above the kid, who he already fought with before. Whitebeard asked himself several times what would happen if he faced one of those two forces.
The answer is always an absolute defeat.
For him now, those two are unstoppable forces that he cannot contend with. To be honest, he doesn't need to look too far. Even Kaguya can defeat him swiftly using her time manipulation. He truly isn't a very strong person compared to others in this chat room.
Sometimes, he even feels funny for having 'The Strongest Man In The World' as a username. Is it a bad joke from those World's Wills? Maybe, but for him… He prefers to prove this username. Isn't that much more interesting?
{After all, even at this age, I still have a long way to go…} Recalling his broken old friend(Murakumogiri), Whitebeard shook his head.
"If you desire to continue, you better make up your mind, boy. Hmmm, checking those, what are they called? Ah, notification in the chat might be a good start, although you still have some time to think"
"Notification…"
Kazuma frowned before he pulled the chat room and saw several notifications under the mission tab.
[Congratulations for extinguishing PE-SS-26-13287's avatar (Main/Core)!]
[Advocate of Gender Equality received 10,000 points!]
[Mission update:
With the main core extinguished, the connection between the rest of the avatars has been severed.
The standpoint and stabilizer of their Ego have been broken, resulting in a massive decrease in their abilities and power, and leaving no path besides perishing for them.
Remaining avatars: 1
Location: Alcanretia
Estimated time for natural extinguishing: 6 days and 10 hours.
Mission status: Completed. Chat members may submit the mission result and return to their worlds or solve the last avatar to raise the final evaluation(?)]
"... It's over?"
Kazuma raised his eyebrow as a sense of relief filled his body. His tightened-up body and tense mind finally had the chance to relax.
{Finally, this nightmare is over, but…} Breathing a sigh of relief and collapsing on the chair, Kazuma wanted to cheer up, but he remembered something and said " You… what are you guys still doing here?"
"If you do something, make sure to finish it properly. Now, try it"
Whitebeard grabbed a big blade to cut down a piece from the dragon's meat and put it in front of Kazuma. However, that piece size is still larger than Kazuma's upper body.
"Um, no, I'm good" Kazuma swallowed and refused as he wanted to retreat.
However, a large hand landed on his shoulder as he raised his head to see Whitebeard grinning and saying "The best way to recover is by eating well"
"No, please, I'm absolutely, completely, no doubt in the best condition ever!"
Honestly, all that meat made him sick, not to mention this big piece. He'll die before he finishes half of it.
"I heard you can get Experience and levels by consuming high-quality food. As someone who mainly relies on them, this also counts as training!"
Under the temptation of easy levels and the encouragement(threat) from Whitebeard, Kazuma swallowed again and reached for the meat.
This is it. If PE-SS-26-13287 and everything he went through didn't kill him, this would surely do. Kazuma thought as a tear slipped from his cheek… Dragon meat is delicious.
…
"Give me one more!"
Meanwhile, when Kazuma was both happy and sad to see his levels and stomach rising, an empty cup was slammed on top of the table in the adventurers guild.
"Leone-san, it's not good to drink like this at the daytime"
"*hic*, I know, I know, just this once, kay? I really need it"
With a blush on her face, Leone blinked and smiled at the waitress before she collapsed on the table.
"*Sigh* Just this once, okay? And be sure to take better care of yourself"
"Yes, yes!"
Leone answered with a funny tone as the waitress shook her head and went to another table.
Chugging another large beer, Leone took it down with one breath, surprising the adventurers around before falling on the table again.
"Getting drunk at this hour? Something tells me you don't take your assassin job seriously"
When Leone was about to order another drink, she heard a voice from her side to see Kaguya suddenly appear in the seat next to her.
"Drunk? Pfff, nah, *hic*" Raising her head up, Leone answered with a vague voice and a silly smile "I'm just a bit tipsy, nothing more"
"I see"
Kaguya glanced at the rosy cheeks of Leone before she nodded and didn't pay more attention to the subject.
"And we already finished our job, so why not take it a bit *hic* easy? Have some fun in a while, will ya?" Leone felt lightheaded as he could barely sit properly.
"Not just yet. There are still things to be taken care of"
"Haaah? You're still going at it?" Leone slammed the table and said " C'mon! *Hic*. We have already finished this mission. Why do you want to bring it up again?"
"There's no helping it. This World's Will is moving freely with its incomprehensible missions. Despite finishing this mission, I have no idea what this was all about. The goal? The result? All unknown"
Kaguya rubbed her temples from the headache and said " It told us we can leave, but left a PE-SS avatar alive? I know it'll die after a period, but seriously? Do you know what could happen in this period? Hmmm, maybe it betting on that… this is so annoying"
"Yeah, yeah, so annoying…*Hic* and you're just lazy"
Kaguya's eyebrow twitched while Leone got a big hiccup from drinking.
"You know, I know you have infinite stamina, but can't you take it easy with the rest of us?"
"Hm? Isn't this the reason we took this day as a vacation?"
"No, you *hic* don't understand" Leone shook her head to focus a little before she said " At least after what happened yesterday, consider slowing down. Some of us can't keep up after all"
"..."
Kaguya quieted as the corner of her eyes landed on Leone, who almost fell on the table again, and said " If they can't, then they shouldn't come, although I don't see that as a positive sign. After all, if they can't take this, how are they supposed to continue?"
"..." Leone twirled her empty cup before she said with a faint voice "Jeez, you're a cruel one, aren't ya?"
"What you are doing has already been done by a certain fool, but how much can you two keep it up? A time will come where they'll collapse no matter what. Isn't this truly cruel?"
Kaguya stared expressionlessly at Leone like she doesn't care about this conversation at all.
"... *Sigh* I wonder if this is what immortality does to people. Truly annoying and funny. Alcanretia, was it? I'll see what I can find"
Leone finally couldn't hold on and fell on the table as Kaguya's expression didn't change.
" Maybe, but... I'm the Moon Princess, even if this title hold a little to no value now"
With those words, Kaguya vanished from her place, leaving Leone on the table alone, however, her drunken expression almost completely vanished as she stared at the empty cup.
"Yup, I really don't want something like immortality" Mumbling to herself, Leone closed her eyes and recalled yesterday.
Misaka holding her knees and trembling on the bed at night. Even if she didn't hear the sound of crying, Leone recalled the few rushed breaths here and then as her mood turned for the worst immediately.
"*Sigh* At these moments, I really miss those cute fellas in Night Raid. At least they won't make me remember these things" Leone sat up again and whispered " It's annoying that I can't help but agree with that time controller"
"Hey, give me another one!"
She might need more than a few drinks to forget about it today.
"Ah! Leone, are you still drinking?!"
"Ugh…"
Looking at Misaka entering the guild with Megumin and Darkness dragging Aqua, Leone held her head. It seems that alcohol won't save her today.
…
Time passed quietly on the town of Axel until the blue sky was dyed with burning orange-red as the dusk arrived.
"I'm… I AM ALIVE!!"
At the mansion courtyard, Kazuma fell on his knees as he screamed to the sky. He did it! He overcame the chunk of the dragon meat.
Although it wasn't so bad, Whitebeard's grilling technique isn't the best, so the whole situation relied on the taste of Dragon's meat. It was so strong and made Kazuma almost collapse, but the sound of experience raising pushed him forward until he finished it!
Well, it wasn't comparable to Whitebeard, who finished that massive piece of meat alone. It was only because Kazuma was too slow he left for training.
"Ugh, I still feel sick… Would the EXP vanish if I throw up? I need to go wash or get something to clean my face with"
"Certainly, yes, but not to the degree thou are imagining"
When he was struggling to get up, Kazuma noticed a hand giving him a napkin " Thanks a bunch, you…"
"Thou are welcome"
Kazuma cleaned his face and smiled, but then a shadow was cast on his face and an icy cold hand on his shoulder.
" Why art thou pale? It's just moi… I bet thou missed moi"
An upside-down head appeared right in front of his face. It was covered with a black and white mask as the sinister smile that would make kids cry and the gleaming red eyes sent chills down Kazuma's spine.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!! WHAT THE HELL?!"
Kazuma fell down rolling and jumped away from Vanir's side before he said " You damn bastard, did you want to give me a heart attack?!"
"Tsk, tsk, I know that no heart can resist my charming look, but thou disappointed me. Rolling and avoiding me. Did you forget all the hardship that we went through together and the unbreakable bond that w-" Vanir whipped the nonexistent tears from his eyes and spoke like he was so betrayed as Kazuma snapped "Screw off!"
"Heeeeh, thou can't even take a joke. Oh well, I'm surprised to see thou are completely fine. I have to say that these days have been no short of unexpected events for moi, the all-seeing devil. Such novelty is indeed welcomed"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Wait, how did you come here?"
"Walking, duh? Did thou intelligence become lower after almost dying? Fear not, I know an efficient trick that involves a hammer and a lot of hammering from moi, although I'm not responsible for any misshape"
Vanir shook his head in distress again as Kazuma felt his blood boil just by talking to this guy.
"*Sigh* It's my fault to get all worked up with you. I feel I wasted my energy"
"Hmmm, is this a new realization? Sounds dumb, as expected from thou"
"...."
Kazuma stood up from the ground and stretched a bit before he said " So, are devils famous for sneaking into people's houses?"
"Nonsense, I'm a fair trader. I got permission from the crescent mustache thou who was cooking dragon's meat. I had to walk over a long distance to reach here because I have no clone near this newbie town and yet, this is how you people treat me? I even sacrificed my 'life' for you. You are worst than us devils, count me impressed"
Vanir whipped the 'tears' from his mask again before he returned to the sinister smirk before he said " But this isn't too bad. I already wanted to visit an old friend here, so I might as well do it now"
"Friend? I feel sorry for them" Kazuma shook his head at the thought of tolerating Vanir as the letter confirmed it with a nod "I'm also feeling sorry for them"
"By the way, Vanir. Isn't it the time you tell me what you know?"
"I know something? How weird…"
Vanir wanted to drag the talk, but meeting Kazuma's silent gaze he sighed with annoyance.
"Jeez, I thought thou would be frightened and crying about his situation, but here you are, getting more annoying. Follow moi, I know a better place for this small talk"
"A better place?" Kazuma was confused, but Vanir already walked away, so he had no choice, but to follow, even if he had a bad feeling about this.
…
"Welcome, Kazuma-san. Its been a while"
"Ah, thank you, Wiz-san, you didn't have to"
Receiving the cup of tea from the Lich, Wiz, Kazuma thanked her before he looked at the Vanir, who was casually sipping tea, next to him.
{This place is too shabby. What the hell is she doing?} Glaring at Wiz, Vanir promised himself to set this place straight or he'll not be named a devil.
Wiz suddenly got an unexplained chill despite being an undead lich.
"Now, thou can start his questions…" Vanir said as Kazuma became happy, but he got stopped as the devil continued his words " But I have to remind thee, I don't have answers to everything. Do you still take my word for it?"
"Do I have a choice? Tell me, what did you see in my head?"
"Starting with that, huh? Well… " Vanir took a sip from the tea before he said " I saw light"
"And?"
"More light"
"... Are you kidding me?"
"No, my eyes still hurt at this moment"
Kazuma rubbed his temples as Vanir drank his tea happily. After clearing his headache, he said " Then, what did you see in the light"
"..."
The smile vanished from Vanir's face. He put down the cup of tea as the sudden serious atmosphere made Kazuma and Wiz nervous before Vanir shrugged and said " More light, duh. I became blind. Hard time for a devil-like me, don't you say?"
*Thud*
Kazuma slammed his head on the table while Wiz smiled wryly at the snickering Vanir.
"Honestly, I don't mean to hide anything from you, brat, but I truly don't know much. What I saw in your mind is the only thing his excellency allowed me to see. A bunch of information about your party path, which isn't necessarily correct, and a small explanation about what is left in your mind, nothing more"
"... *Sigh* I understand, but why isn't it correct?"
Kazuma gave up and drank some tea before he asked because he felt Vanir wasn't playing around anymore.
"How do I explain this? Although the general path was calculated, there was nothing about thou party receiving gratitude from the Elroad Kingdom. Also, all the information about those creatures from back then are omitted"
{So, Leo did indeed calculate almost everything, but in the middle, new changes happened. And he couldn't count PE-SS avatars in his calculations? No, he must be aware of them or he'll not know our destinations} Kazuma felt a headache just by thinking about this {Ugh, this is annoying. Leo hasn't been online not even once in this period or I'd have just asked him. Did something happen to him because of the world traveling attempt?}
"It seems that thou know his excellency very well. This is a surprise"
"What is the surprise in knowing him?"
"Hahaha, thou is indeed full of surprises, but I can't even see anything about his excellency despite you casually thinking of him. As I expect from such a horrifying individual" Vanir said some confusing thing for Kazuma, then nodded as he took it for granted.
"Horrifying individuals? Aren't you exaggerating? He's mostly an annoying sadist that enjoys other people misery"
"....."
"What's wrong?" Kazuma frowned because of the sudden quietness of Vanir.
" It seems thou know much less than I thought, but I have to disagree. For me, Vanir, the all-seeing devil and the duke of hell, his excellency is the most horrifying, terrifying person and thing that I ever came across"
"...."
Listening to Vanir, Kazuma became speechless and didn't know what to say because this is the first time he saw that look in Vanir's eyes. Full seriousness and also… fear?
"Thou asked me what I saw in the light, but you still didn't ask the correct question. Let me do you a favor and say it… what was that light" With a smirk, Vanir's eyes glowed with a blood-red gleam, making Kazuma flinch and Wiz worried.
"That light was… I confronted it as I couldn't see or understand anything. There are no better words to describe it than unstoppable horror."
"From my clone in this realm to my true body in hell, there was no escape. I felt no better than a bug ready to be squished. Funny, it's just a tiny amount of spirit, but I stood helplessly ready to be slaughtered"
"Humans fear nature's wrath because they are completely helpless against it. I guess this is the same scenario, but for me, I met a monster in form of a disaster"
The more he spoke, the more worked up Vanir became. He even stopped using those weird words. Even so, Kazuma didn't get a chance to talk.
"Luckily, it didn't bore any malice towards me. It only sends me away after giving me some information"
Wiz covered her mouth in shock looking at Vanir's state. All her life, even when she fought with him, she never saw Vanir in this state.
"So, at that time I indeed tasted it…" Vanir's body began to shake before he said " A long lost feeling, fear. I felt fear to the bottom of my soul in the deepest parts of hell"
"Yet, besides fear, I also felt curious. Too much for my own good. Questions filled my head as I couldn't contain my inquisitiveness. Why is it here? Why is it doing this? What is its identity?"
Vanir put the teacup down as the gleam in his eyes made Kazuma's eyes hurt.
"I remember thou wondering why I refer to 'his excellency' as his excellency? I'm afraid of it. Too afraid that I can't help but admire its horrifying, but beautiful glory. Not just power, but just its existence left me in wonders"
"This is why I helped thou and his party because I wanted to know more about his excellency and maybe see that 'light' aga-"
*Thud!*
"Are you done?" Slamming his hand on the table, Kazuma said with annoyance " Jeez, I told you to tell me important stuff and you began to simp for that asshole?! Dude, you didn't even see him once!"
"Simp? But indeed, I got carried away for a bit" Vanir cleared his throat before returning to drinking tea normally.
Wiz took a breath of relief when Vanir recovered.
"Yet, I wonder. What are your thoughts after listening to moi?" Smirking, Vanir glanced at Kazuma with his usual annoying smile.
"My thoughts? My thoughts are that you talk too much! His excellency this, his excellency that, couldn't you make it short? It's not like anything would change from listening to you. Also, if you don't have anything important, I'm leaving"
"Pffff, thou ignorance is indeed a blessing" Vanir laughed cheerfully before he said " Very well, I'll tell thou something important. Whatever left of his excellency spirit in your mind has already been consumed"
"I see" Kazuma nodded before he looked out of the window. The sun has already set and night has arrived. It was time for him to leave.
He put down the cup of tea and prepared to leave before he heard Vanir again.
"Art thou not surprised?"
"After all what happened, I would be more surprised if it was still there. I might also call hax at that point. Thank you for the tea, Wiz-san"
"Take care, Kazuma-san"
Wiz bowed politely as Kazuma felt this world needs more good people like this wonderful Lich, but sadly, it's filled with people like Vanir.
"Hahahaha! Thou are indeed interesting for someone with a trash nickname in this town. By the way, there's still one last message his excellency wanted moi to convey"
"Hm?"
"He said…" Vanir cleared his through before saying " Clairvoyance go, brrrrrrr"
"*Sigh* I knew it!"
With a sigh, Kazuma left Wiz's store feeling helpless about this useless venture. He should have known better and didn't follow the damn devil here.
"Hmmmmm, are you fine or pretending to be. These days have been too amusing indeed. I'm very pleased" Vanir smiled cheerfully before he said " I should prepare for my last assist tomorrow, but for now, you good for nothing, Lich"
"Eh?!" Wiz flinched at Vanir, who suddenly turned and glared at her before he said " How about we talk about your useless business plan now?"
"Ehhhhhhh?!!"
Kazuma walked in the street as he heard Wiz's screams from behind, but he didn't turn back. Another sigh escaped his mouth after he recalled what happened today.
Under the night sky dotted with tiny sparkling stars, he walked back home as he confirmed his thoughts. He truly feels sorry for Wiz for being stuck with Vanir. May she find peace.
With his half-assed prayer, Kazuma continued his walk towards the mansion as he had no idea what he'll face tomorrow.
