1 Afterlife!

Out of nowhere, a voice spoke to me in a pure white room, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Welcome to the afterlife," the voice said. "Unfortunately, your life has come to an end."

I looked around and saw an office desk, a chair, and a beautiful woman sitting on it. If there was a goddess, she would definitely fit the bill.

She had a slim figure with ample breasts, long legs, and waist-long blue hair that was partially tied into a loop with a water-molecule shaped clip. Her clothes were predominantly blue, with a vest, detached sleeves, thigh-high boots, an extremely short miniskirt, and a transparent underskirt completing her outfit.

I couldn't help but stare in awe at her beauty, even as her words sank in.

As I looked at the woman before me, I realized that the reason for my shock wasn't just her stunning beauty, but also the fact that she was none other than Aqua - the lovable yet stupid goddess from that anime I used to watch.

[Photo]

Without thinking, I blurted out, "Aqua!"

Aqua tilted her head and asked, "You know of me?"

I immediately regretted my outburst. What was I supposed to say now?

As I tried to gather my thoughts, the memories flooded back. I had died, hit by a truck. It was all so clear now.

I let out a sigh. Whatever, there's nothing I could do about it, I thought as I regretted nothing.

But what did this mean? Was I going to reincarnate in the Konosuba world? But And why was I here? Did my God from Earth send me to this afterlife?

As I pondered these questions, I realized that in the end, they were probably pointless.

After all, I was already dead.

I had only watched the first season of the anime, but I figured I might as well try to curry favor with the baka goddess before me.

"Sorry, Aqua-sama," I said, bowing deeply. "I was just mesmerized by your beauty. My grandpa always said I was your biggest fan."

Aqua smiled, clearly pleased. "Of course! You know of me. After all, I am the Great Goddess Aqua. Hehe, praise me more!"

I knew her well enough to know that all I needed to do was shower her with praise for a few minutes, and I could earn an extra wish from her.

"Yes, yes, Aqua-sama," I said, playing along. "Without a doubt, you are the best among all the goddesses. Banzai!"

"Hehe, I know I am," Aqua said, standing up from her seat and pointing at me. "My biggest fan, I am pleased. I would love to chat a little longer, but I have more souls to guide. I'll make this quick and let you in on a little secret."

As Aqua walked towards me, she leaned in close and covered her mouth before whispering, "Heaven isn't as great as you humans imagine..."

My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn't help but notice how good she smelled.

Aqua went on to explain how boring Heaven was, but I already knew what was coming next. So, I put on a look of shock and shouted, "No way!"

Satisfied with my reaction, Aqua stood up straight, flicked her silky smooth hair, and put her left hand on her waist. She pointed straight at my face with a smile.

"You don't want to go to a boring place like Heaven, do you?" Aqua asked. "Do you like games?"

I nodded, intrigued.

"Well, since you are my number one fan, I have good news for you."

With that said, Aqua confidently began to deliver her good news.

"The people who died in that world were killed by the Demon King's army and were very afraid, saying that they didn't want to die like that again.

"Therefore, almost all of the people who died rejected reincarnating in that world again. More specifically, that world will end if this continues since babies will cease to be born there. Hence, we'll solve that problem by sending the dead from other worlds over, right? That's how it is."

"And since we're sending people over, we should find people that have died young and still yearn to live and send them over with their original body and memories. It'll be meaningless if they were to die immediately after going over, so we'll grant a privilege to all of those going to that world, allowing them to take one thing they like. It may be a powerful ability, an exceptional talent or a god-level weapon."

"What do you think? It might be another world, but you can live once more. For the people of that world, someone will appear who can fight immediately. However, since your my number one fan, I can't have you dying anytime soon. So, I will let you pick two."

"Thank you so much, Aqua-sama! You're the best!" I gushed, thrilled that my plan to suck up to her had worked.

"I know, I know," Aqua said smugly, conjuring a catalog of cheats out of thin air and handing it to me. "Please choose. It can be a powerful unique ability, or perhaps a legendary weapon. Anything you want. You have the privilege to bring this one thing to the other world."

My heart raced with excitement as I started browsing through the catalog.

[Excalibur, X-ray vision, Growth acceleration, Master swordsman, Elemental affinity...]

As I pored over the abilities and equipment, I realized that I had no idea what to choose. There were so many options that it would take me days to decide. So, I sorted the abilities I liked into a pile and set aside the ones I didn't.

I then closed my eyes and picked two:

[Super Magic]

[Abnormal mana]

"I've made my decision, Aqua-sama. I choose these two," I said, handing her the two cheats I had selected.

"I understand. Well then, please stand there and don't move out of the magic circle," Aqua replied, surprising me by actually doing her job for once.

A blue magic circle appeared beneath my feet, and I started floating slowly. I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement - I was about to be transported to another world!

But at the same time, I felt like I was forgetting something important. What could it be?

In the end, I decided to put it out of my mind for now. "Ah, whatever," I thought. "I'll think about it later. Right now, I need to figure out what to do first. Should I go to the adventure guild or explore the city?"

Meanwhile I was lost in my thoughts, Aqua was doing her scripted grand speech. "You'll be heading to another world now and will become one of the hero candidates to defeat the Demon King. You'll receive a gift from the gods the moment you defeat the Demon King. Hero, may you be victorious among the many hero candidates and be the one to defeat the Demon King���! Well then, I bid you farewell!"

***

Darkness surrounded me as I struggled to move. It felt like I was swimming in water, but everything was pitch-black. Was it nighttime in Axel? Was I in a river?

No, something was definitely wrong. I could barely move, and I had no idea where I was.

And then, just as I was about to come to a terrifying conclusion, all the energy drained from me, and I fell asleep.

Day 1

The next time I woke up, the sensation was still present, and I felt a surge of anger building up inside me.

There was no way this was happening. It couldn't be real.

Was this some kind of sick joke?

Did I seriously just...

Day 2

When I woke up again, I had finally calmed down enough to start thinking about why this had happened.

It was clear that Aqua had messed up - I should have expected as much from the Useless Goddess.

But, at least I was still alive.

The bigger question now was whether or not I would still receive my cheats.

Day 3

I can't help but wonder how much longer I'll be here.

Despite the uncertainty, I feel a sense of excitement bubbling up inside me.

Who will my new parent be?

Will they be kind and supportive? And what about siblings? Do I have any waiting for me on the other side?"

Day 4

I'm so bored.

Should I train like those protagonists in fantasy novels who gain skills while still in their mother's womb.

But how would I even do that? I can't exactly go out and kill monsters to level up.

Maybe I should have asked for a system.

Day 30

If I wasn't asleep most of the time, I would probably

Bite my own tongue and become a fetus.

I think I'm seeing things.

Day 35

Yep, I'm definitely seeing things.

Well, I might as well tell you my back story while I'm stuck in this place:

It was a dark night, I and my parents just came out of the theatre through the back alley.

We encountered a hitman and he killed my parents while I was left alive.

After that, I was never the same.

All I had left was my butler Redfla and the inheritance my parent left me.

For years I shut myself out from society.

When I finally had the courage to go outside, I was hit by a truck and died.

At least I was able to donate all my money to charity before I died.

Sad story, I know and I swear I didn't copy it from my favourite superhero.

But, none of that matters now. I have been another chance to live and in this life, I will be better and go on an adventure.

Day 69

The wind is howling like this swirling storm insi...

Don't let them in, don't let them se..

Be a good gi...

Day 100

I've already sung all the songs I know.

What should I do now?

Day 125

I'm so bored. I'm so bored.

I'm so bored. I'm so bored.

Mom! sing me a song please, I softly kicked against my mom's abdomen.

At this point, I had enough, I had almost forgotten I was being reborn.

If it weren't for my mom singing a song for me once in a while, I would have dropped dead by now.

Fortunately, I saw light and hope.

It was as if I was a miner stuck under a cave and I finally found my way out.

I was like Rabbit eating its carrot.

I was like a boy losing his virginity.

Yay! hooray!

I was celebrating and naturally what came out of my mouth was the sound that of a baby crying. I finally emerged from the depths of hell, tears streamed down my face.

I was finally free.

Suddenly, a voice rain in my ears. "Grandpa, is my baby a boy or a girl?" the voice exclaimed, brimming with excitement.

I turned to see a man in his late twenties, with dark brown hair and piercing crimson eyes. He stood tall at 6'2, with sharp, symmetrical features that could only be described as handsome.

The man wore long black pants, neatly tucked into his brown leather boots, and a simple white button-up long-sleeved shirt, tucked into his pants.

Beside the man, a woman lay on the bed, covered by a soft fur blanket. Her hair and eyes were a perfect match to the man's, and her face was strikingly beautiful, reminiscent of Aqua's grace and elegance. Yet, it was clear that she surpassed Aqua in intelligence, radiating an aura of wisdom and understanding.

Despite her beauty, the woman looked exhausted, as if she could collapse at any moment. I realized with a jolt that this woman must be my mother, and the man beside her my father.

But who was the girl holding me? As I turned my head to look, I saw a gentle smile on her face. She couldn't have been more than 15 years old.

I couldn't help but wonder, is she my new sister?

"It's a boy," the girl said, answering my father's earlier question.

Wait... But, why would she reply?

Isn't she my sister?

No way, how could she be my grandma?!

She's too young.

Is she a vampire? Immortal?

Maybe, she does have red eyes like the ones in twilight.

Or maybe, my grandpa is just a lolicon?

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, grandpa also looks the same. Where is he anyway?

As I took in my surroundings, I couldn't help but notice the medieval vibe of the room. It was then that I spotted an old man leaning against the wall beside a door. He stood an imposing 7 feet tall, with muscles that looked like they could rip his clothes to shreds.

The old man glanced at me and then turned his head away with a dismissive "Hmph."

I was stunned. Was he really a tsundere? I needed to calm down and think logically.

But the feeling of familiarity wouldn't go away. As I looked at my new family again, I realized that they shared the same hair color and eyes as Megumin. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

And then it hit me. Oh God, I think I've been reborn into the Crimson Demon Clan!