chapter 16

Our battle had raged on for nearly ten minutes, and although I was focusing on enjoying the fight, we were still at a stalemate.

"This is going on far too long for my liking. If you wouldn't mind..." Vanir grinned at me, an unsettling gleam in his masked eyes. I had a feeling he was about to pull something, and I prepared myself to take advantage of whatever move he was planning.

Suddenly, Vanir's body crumbled into dirt, disappearing as quickly as he had spoken. Simultaneously, I pulled Aqua and Megumin back, allowing Darkness to approach him. As she got close, Vanir's mask sprang to life, latching itself onto her face.

"Hahaha! Now, let's see how you deal with—" Vanir began, but his speech was abruptly cut off.

"What do I do now, Gil? My body has been taken over!" Darkness cut in, her voice flush with excitement rather than fear.

Vanir's irritation was palpable. "What now, brat? Are you able to attack her?"

"Don't mind me at all, just attack me! Quickly! This is the perfect opportunity!" Darkness interrupted again, her voice trembling with a mix of excitement and pleasure.

Vanir's frustration was growing. "This is so noisy! What's wrong with you?" he roared, his annoyance echoing through the ruins.

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "Hahaha! Go on, Vanir. Do what you will with Darkness—she won't mind, right, Darkness?"

"So you're just abandoning—" Vanir started, but once again, Darkness interrupted.

"Hey! I don't like it, you know. I don't like that he would make me do what he wills with my mind and let his manly instincts take over and indulge," Darkness moaned, her voice laced with a mix of pain and pleasure. "I'm a Crusader! I wouldn't let you use my body in your malicious ways!"

Vanir's frustration boiled over. "Shut up!" he shouted, clearly at his wits' end. "I didn't even—how is this possible? What's wrong with this woman?"

"How headstrong is she?" Vanir muttered in disbelief as Darkness continued to enjoy the situation.

"I'm a good example of a Crusader!" Darkness proclaimed proudly, her voice shaking.

"This is so annoying!" Vanir huffed, his exasperation growing. He paused, his voice now laced with disbelief. "She's extraordinary to be able to resist my control!"

"It was nothing," Darkness replied with pride.

"The more you endure it, the more painful your body will be," Vanir warned, trying to regain control.

"What?" Darkness asked, her voice trembling with both anticipation and defiance.

"How much longer can you keep it up?" Vanir sneered. But then, he faltered, confusion creeping into his voice. "What's happening? This feeling of joy..."

"I won't yield to this mere pain!" Darkness declared, her determination unwavering.

"You're very bold! But you'll go insane if you endure it any longer… Are you enjoying this feeling by any chance?" Vanir asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

We stood there, watching as Vanir and Darkness went back and forth. Their bizarre exchange had lasted long enough. "Shall we wrap this up?" I asked, summoning a sword into my hand.

"Hold it right there!" Vanir commanded, desperation seeping into his voice.

"Don't mind me, Gil! You go first!" Darkness urged, her voice eager.

"Actually, in your heart—" Vanir began, but Darkness cut him off once again.

"I've always wanted to say that!" she exclaimed with excitement.

Vanir's frustration reached a breaking point. "You don't want to harm this cute girl, right?"

Darkness let out a surprised sound, momentarily caught off guard.

"If she keeps on enduring my power…" Vanir began, but Darkness quickly interrupted again.

"Gilgamesh, this self-proclaimed all-knowing demon said something that I minded very much just now!" she declared, her voice tinged with both excitement and defiance.

"This is so annoying!" Vanir finally snapped, completely losing his composure. "I'm getting out now!"

"No, you're not," I said calmly, placing a special seal on Vanir's mask. This seal was different from what had been used in the anime, as we hadn't met Sena yet.

"What talisman is this?" Vanir asked, confusion evident in his voice.

I grinned. "It's just a special seal I created."

The purpose of the seal wasn't only to prevent Vanir from leaving Darkness's body; it was designed to help her develop muscle memory from Vanir's movements. Granted, due to her skewed stats, even with muscle memory, she could easily revert to her aimless fighting style. That's why I added another precaution—a skill I bought from the system called Reversal Instinctual Response. It essentially helped her retain her muscle memory, and whenever she started to lose her aim again, the skill would activate and reverse her aimless instinctual response, turning it into accurate strikes. To put it simply, it was an aimbot. For example, if she tried to hit a target on the right but her instincts told her to slash to the left, the skill would reverse her instincts, allowing her to hit the target accurately.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to make use of you, Vanir, if you wouldn't mind," I said as I began to attack the fused Darkness and Vanir.

"Ah! And Darkness, it would be good for you to follow Vanir's lead for now," I added.

---

We spent the rest of the night fighting, only stopping at the crack of dawn. It was a good thing I had sent Megumin and Aqua back home; I never imagined it would take this long for Darkness to adapt to Vanir's swordsmanship. But, in the end, it was worth it.

I looked at the exhausted Darkness and the Vanir mask I had sealed in a jar. *Sigh.* "I guess this is it for now," I muttered to myself. In the Konosuba world, I had already gained significant rewards. Since those gods hadn't even bothered searching for me, it was time to leave. After all, when I travel to another world, time in the world I leave stops, so I don't have to worry much about them.

*Another sigh.* I dragged both Darkness and Vanir back home and prepared for my next journey to another world