12 Chapter 12

"Clear! Heal!" Aqua cast recovery spells and the paralyzing electricity around Chris completely faded, before the Thief was healed back to full health.

Chris opened and closed her fist a few times to check how well she can move. Seemingly satisfied, she looked forward, back toward Darkness.

"Alright everyone," Chris spoke getting the groups attention. "This time, we go as one, we hit her hard and fast." Chris paused for a moment, before quickly continuing. "We don't give her a moment to rest. We keep switching attacks, while I keep trying to get the sword. Lady Aqua, can you keep the Clear spell continuous on me, so I don't stop from a paralysis stat effect?"

"Are you ordering me?" Aqua narrowed her eyes at the Thief.

"Errr, please?" Chris stepped back warily.

"Just do it, Aqua. The faster we finish this, the quicker we get home and forget this stupidity." Michael grumbled, his arms crossed over his chest, like a sullen child.

"Fine," Aqua rolled her eyes and cast the spell, keeping it ongoing. Chris now had a magic aura around her.

"So," Chris turned to Michael. "Are you going to help, or just keep pouting there?"

"Obviously, I'll help." Michael pouted. "Also Aqua, remove the defense buffs on Darkness."

"Wait, they're still on her?" Yunyun asked.

"Alright," Aqua said happily and pointed her staff at the Crusader. "Break Spell!" A lazy magical energy went into an arc from Aqua's staff to the Crusader, like a weak water hose, and then the sound of glass breaking was heard as the buff spells on Darkness were gone.

"Hmmmph! I can feel Master again." Darkness shivered as she felt the Sword's thunder spell in fullness again.

[Thanks for the help, Useless Goddess, and good job with that quick thinking, Flop Creator]

"Who the hell are you calling, Useless Goddess!?" Aqua was about to run off and attack Darkness and the Sword herself, before Michael held her back.

"Woooah, calm down, that's just what it wants. Besides..." He looked at the sword with a raised eyebrow. "It's gonna be in pieces soon anyways. Hell, it might be glitching and mentally breaking anyways, given that it can't come up with new or good insults."

[Hey, your actions literally made everything worse. That's called a 'Flop', Dumbass Michael.]

Michael felt annoyed as he could literally imagine a mirror image of himself, saying those words while shrugging nonchalantly.

"...Yeah, let's just go break that thing." Michael said with a bored frown.

"Alright," Chris nodded, now seeing everyone on board. "All the guys, go!"

Dust, Sedol and Hienz dashed forward to engage the attentive Darkness, while Michael went a little slower behind them.

"Schwanhild, please support Megumin and keep her safe. Yunyun with me. Lady Aqua, um, can you cast some speed buffs on us please?" Chris gave her orders before she turned to Aqua nervously.

"All Swift Up!" Aqua cast the buff spell in a wide range getting all their party members, even Megumin that didn't need it. "Now, go. Shoo, shoo." Aqua said with a hand shooing motion.

"Thanks Lady Aqua." Chris run forward pacing with Yunyun, while giving her instructions on how to fight in a party, and for this situation.

"Hah~ I'm being ganged up on~." Darkness panted and blushed and she attacked the adventurers and took hits.

Then the electricity around her intensified enough that the other adventurers jumped back.

[Hey! Don't you dare think of letting them get free hits on you, or I'll cut off the shock spell]

"Sorry, Master~ HA!" Darkness fight again with purpose.

Darkness moved and weaved between strikes, parrying and counterattacking when she could, and blocking and deflecting when she couldn't. She moved under the Sword's electricity, using the intensity as a guidance, moving into whatever pose or action that would keep the intense electricity high, and righting herself whenever the electric pain lowered.

Truly, the Sword and Crusader were one...in a very dysfunctional way.

"AAAAAAH~, AM I DOING GOOD MASTER~?" Darkness moaned as she panted while fighting.

It definitely demoralized her opponents. Michael still held a stoic forcibly bored expression as he attacked, slashing more at the Sword than at Darkness.

"Hmmg!" Before Darkness was able to fight Michael as an equal, now as she felt every exchange result in her arms vibrating from the force, she realized he had been massively holding back against her.

All while fighting the male adventurers, Darkness would occasionally block or jump away from a magic spell cast by Yunyun. The Crimson Demon couldn't use any of the bigger spells in worry of hitting her allies.

"Steal!" Chris used her skill and stole Darkness's chest plate.

The Sword meanwhile...

[Good job, Pet. I'll be sure to do something suitably humiliating to you later, like parading you around town naked or something]

"HMMMMPH!"

[This dumb thug wannabe on the other hand is just fucking painful to look at]

"The hell does that mean?" Heinz sword locked with Darkness.

"Steal!" Chris used her skill and stole Darkness's armor, leaving her in her under armor black bodysuit. "What the hell?" Chris look at the full knight armor in her hands, then back at the red faced, and still active and moving Darkness.

[It means you sorry looking delinquent ass motherfucker can't swing a sword for shit. I mean, holy crap, this bitch is basically orgasming, and still has better form than you]

"Hmmmph! To be humiliated from my Master and my best friend, yet also backhandedly praised."

"That's not what I'm trying to do!" Chris shouted uselessly.

The sword lock was broken, and the Crusader and Swordsman exchanged rapid blows that sang from their steel meeting.

[Why don't you crawl back to which ever Boss guy or Boss Lady, and get back to sucking their dick]

"You damn shitty sword, how dare you talk about Big Sis like--ARRRGH!"

Heinz was caught by surprised when Darkness dodged a hit, that made Heinz overextend himself before Darkness slammed him in the face with the flat side of her blade. Heinz was launched in the air and landed away from battle unconscious. Aqua healed him.

"MUSCLE SLASH!" Sedol jumped high and slashed downward.

Darkness blocked the oncoming down swing, while angling her blade so the momentum will carry Sedol's strike into the ground.

"Steal!" Chris used her skill and stole Darkness's shoulder cloth and pauldron.

[And then there's this idiot] Saying toward the muscle focused Warrior.

Dust couldn't enter the fray and get a hit in with how wild Sedol's swings were.

Sedol's attacks were less precise than Heinz but they held more power, that Darkness met with eagerness.

Then Darkness's expression went down.

"It's not as hard." She noted as she compared the force behind Sedol's hits to that of Michael's.

[That's because bodybuilders tend to suffer from erectile dysfunction from all the "juices" they pump into their bodies]

"W-Wha--I would never dishonor my body with such--" Sedol was shocked and offended by the Sword's words. He actually paused for a moment in his attacks.

[Of course, I knew Pet was talking about the power behind your hits, but see, while this bitch is dumb and full of muscles, at least she has a use]

"M-Master, saying it like that makes it sound like I'm a gorilla. My body is that of a normal maiden." Darkness stuttered actually embarrassed by being told she's "full of muscles".

[You're as much of a maiden as I'm a Holy Sword. We both know what you really are, totes]

"Hmmmph!"

"I'll show you the result of the effort I put into these muscles!" Sedol shouted as he rised his sword and swing it down. "RELENTLESS STRIKE!"

Darkness raised hers up to take the hit full on, and supported her blade with both hands.

CLANG.

CLANG.

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

Sedol's strikes came one after another, decending on Darkness's sword with swift motion, and bouncing off before coming down again, and again like a rain of metal.

"Steal!" Chris used her skill and stole Darkness's arm warmers. "Oh come on!"

Darkness gritted her teeth as her feet starting digging and cracking the ground, from the force of the attack.

[This is what I'm talking about, you are literally Dumb Muscles, but Darkness...]

CLANG.

Another slash bounced off the Sword, and just as Sedol began pulling his blade up to use the momentum to continue his Skill, Darkness used the power of his attack this time, to let her sword go down, hold it with both hand, gather her strength.

"GAH-HA!" And slice upward meeting Sedol's downward slash.

Sedol's sword shattered.

"Wha..." Sedol looked in shock at the flying broken pieces of his sword. "GA-KAH!" Then he was blown back by a thrust of Darkness's weapon straight into his chest.

Darkness used the Sacred Smite's aura to dull the tip of her sword so it would feel like a steel pole instead.

"Fireball!" Yunyun shouted, launching a fire spell at the "possessed" Crusader.

Darkness twisted out of the way, swung her blade arm out, and hit one of the many metal sword pieced in the air. The sword shard flew and zipped past Yunyun, only getting her hair.

"Eeeek!" The Crimson Demon jumped back in surprise.

"Yunyun, fall back to Aqua and the others for the moment." Michael told her, to which she seriously nodded and did so.

"Steal!" Chris used her skill and stole Darkness's armored boots.

Both Crusader and Thief looked at the stolen item and then at each other awkwardly.

[And then we have you, Thief... Seriously, what the fuck is up with your Skill? WHY CAN'T YOU STEAL ME?]

"Umm, Chris this is, how should I say, thank you for indulgence me, and striping me of my clothes piece by piece. I'm really thankful to have such a considerate friend." Darkness coughed bashfully into her fist, while smiling with closed eyes at her friend's actions.

"That's not, I'm not trying to--GAAAH!" Chris dropped the boots she held her head, nearly ripping her hair out, before going "to hell with it" and just pointing at Darkness. "Steal!" Chris used her skill and...nothing happened.

Darkness and Chris looked at the Thief's empty hands, then tilted their heads in confusion.

[ARE YOU TRYING TO SUBTLY SAY SOMETHING, BITCH!?] The Sword's voice oddly sounded tearful, but surely that was just Darkness's imagination.

"Yeah, she's saying you're worthless." Michael's voice spoke from behind the Crusader.

[MOVE!]

Darkness began to turn and jump away. Michael had already summoned and stabbed multiple Black Keys into where her shadow was and would have been with her movement, even though such a thing surely wasn't needed.

As if my an unseen force, the Black Keys were launched out of the ground.

Michael frowned as she looked at Darkness with a holy aura surrounding her. "...Really?" He said annoyed.

"M-Master, this is...?"

[If you can cast Sacred Smith on me, then I can transfer it back to you. If I recall those things are holy in nature, so a holy aura should stop them working]

"That's not how..." Michael sighed and shook his head, before bringing his sword up, taking his fighting stance. "Forget it, doesn't change how this is gonna end."

Michael moved and Darkness alarmed at her opponent's speed and power, went into the attack, actually focusing on the offensive for the first time in this battle, rather than only counterattacking.

Darkness would thrust her blade, only for Michael to divert it with the barest movement, and turn his parry into a slash at her body. Trying to dodge or deflect didn't work, Michael always seemed to anticipate her, and her only option was to fully block the hit, which vibrated into her core, or take the hit in a way that wouldn't throw her off balance, or the pace of the fight.

Darkness could only block, or roll with the attack, just avoid being full incapacitated and knocked out. She had to go on the attack to stand a chance at prolonging his battle. All meanwhile her Sword would learn more and push her on how she should conduct herself in the fight, so she can improve and not immediately lose.

"Fighting you is the best, Michael!" Darkness cried out, a wide happy smile on her face.

[Oi! No admiring the enemy. Your Master is right here, slut.]

"Sorry, Master~"

"Steal!" Chris used her skill and once more, nothing happened.

[Would you stop that!? If you want to swear at me, use your words, dammit!]

"I'm not trying to insult you, I'm trying to steal you!" Shouted Chris.

Michael and Darkness clashed again, and ended up locking blades.

[And you, don't think I haven't noticed what you're doing?] The Sword said at Michael.

"Oh?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? What are you taking about, Master?" Darkness asked.

[Throughout this entire fight, he's been hitting me in the same spot over and over again. Intending to specifically weaken me in one point to break me. To bad sucker, Darkness is so willfully under my control, I can control her spells for her. Meaning I just use Sacred Smite to strengthen that point specifically] The Sword shouted, glee in it's tone, assured of it's eventual victory.

Michael frowned, he would have to reconsider his plan. He supposed working on disarming Darkness would be the next step to go on for now.

[Then again I suppose that's to be expected for someone who was essentially a glorified sidekick to the real Heroes he traveled with]

With a mutual push, both fighter jumped away from each other, keeping a small distance, while making sure to be alarm to their opponent's actions. Chris used her Steal skill all the while in the background and got nothing. She was ignored.

"Eh? Sidekick?" Darkness looked between the Sword, and the Dark Paladin.

[Oh yeah, Aqua might be calling this guy a "Hero" but all he did was give orders to the real Heroes] The Sword said in a smug tone. Michael could imagine a mirror copy of himself, talking down on him with a condescending expression.

"...Doesn't that make him a Commander of Heroes?" Darkness actually blinked a few times as she proceeded this, and looked back at Michael with wide-eyes.

[No. Stop making the Flop Creator sound cool]

"You know, if you're trying to anger me, you are really failing at that." Michael noted, with a look of just being done with this situation.

[Oh please, if I wanted to piss you off, all I need are three words]

"Oh really?" Michael said with loop-sided smile, not believing the Sword that thinks it knows-it-all. Michael had come to see that the Sword really is just doing shit by the seat of it's pants (hilt?).

[Mash isn't cute]

And suddenly the atmosphere on the battlefield changed. Previously, there was this feel of adventurers striving against a tough opponents, all to save a precious comrade.

Now there was silence.

"...Oh shit." Aqua spoke. She likely didn't intend for others to hear her.

Her voice was clear enough in this silent field, that the two Crimson Demons, the Priest, and Chris's enhanced hearing heard her. Dust just felt like there was suddenly a danger in the air, he shivered, as he slowly backed away toward the spellcasters group.

"...What?"

[Yep. She's bland, boring. Quite literally her personality is to be nothing but a cute robot that states the obvious. Honestly, as far as people go, she's the most generic person to have ever existed]

The more the Sword spoke, the more the feeling of danger increased.

"Umm, Master..." Even Darkness felt uncomfortable.

[And don't get me started on Olga]

"Master, I think this might be going too---EEEEK!" Darkness looked at Michael's face and flinched, nearly jumped back.

His eyebrows were pulled together, his eyes for a second looked blue and fire flickered from one of them, his teeth were barred open, grinding together.

"Okay, Sword." Michael spoke through his teeth, saying the words slowly. "Congratulations. I'm. Pissed!"

Then he turned and walked away.

Everyone blinked at the action in confusion, before looking at each other for clues to find, no one knew what was happening.

Tepidly, with nervous steps, the adventuring party (even Sedol and Heinz who work up toward the end, Aqua having healed their injuries), and Darkness followed the enraged Michael at a distance.

They saw Michael reach the gate of Axel. The City Guard upon seeing him tried to say something, only to jump back when Michael growled at him.

Michael reached one of the giant iron gate of the city's entrance, and grabbed it.

"W-Wait, is Michael..." Yunyun said nervously.

"GRRAAAAAAAAH!" Michael shouted, and ripped the metal door and the pillar acting as it's frame.

"Holy shit, is he gonna beat her with the city gate?" Asked Dust while looking in horror. "Darkness, I think you should run."

Magical energy enveloped and cracked around the metal gate and the rock pillar, and they shifted and transformed by Michael's Alternation.

Sedol and Heinz felt inadequate and scare.

Michael instantly created a blade as wide as he is, and twice as tall. He didn't seem bothered by it's height or length in holding and wielding it, as he took sharp stomping steps toward the Sword. Which just happened to be wielded by Darkness.

"Sooo coooool." Megumin said wide-eyed while being helped walking by Schwanhild, whose mouth was open in horror.

"Umm, Michael, I think you should relax. Think happy thoughts, happy thoughts!" Aqua shouted, trying to calm the Dark Paladin down to no avail.

"I'm so hot right now." Darkness panted.