A faint purple light flickered, and Megumin, Aqua, and Darkness appeared on a high hill. With a kind smile, Megumin stepped forward to get a better view of the scene below and gestured behind her.
"Aqua, give me some sunflower seeds."
"Oh," Aqua responded, handing over a bag of seeds she had casually taken from Wiz's shop. Squatting down beside Megumin, Aqua gazed at the scene below and couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Hahaha! What's going on down there?!" Tears streamed from her eyes as Aqua pounded the ground, rolling with laughter.
Below, Satou Kazuma was frantically leaping from tree to tree. Dodging yet another lunging beastwoman, Kazuma's tearful cries filled the air.
"Noooo!!! Let us forget each other and part ways!!!"
His hoarse voice cracked as he looked back, tears streaming down his face. "Stay away from me!!!"
"Handsome human boy! Stop running!" a braided beastwoman called out, stretching her hands toward him. Drooling as her tusks gleamed in the sunlight, she panted, "Your voice is so lovely! You've completely captured my heart! Come home with me and create children together!!!"
"No, have children with me!" cried another beastwoman with purple skin, chasing close behind. "You can start a perfect harem in our village and live happily ever after!"
"Noooo!!!" Kazuma wailed, pushing his limits as he leaped from branch to branch, propelled by sheer terror.
"I want to go home!!! Megumin, save me!!!" he screamed.
Aqua clutched her stomach as she rolled on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. Wiping away tears of laughter, she finally managed to sit up, pulling out a chair to sit on. She turned to Megumin, still gazing intently at the chaos below.
"Megumin, what's going on here?" Aqua asked curiously. "With Kazuma's strength, he shouldn't be getting chased by beastwomen. Could it be that Kazuma has some… peculiar preferences?"
"Hmph!" Megumin swallowed a sunflower seed angrily and smirked as her eyes glowed red. "That's because I sealed Kazuma's powers before we got here."
"It's a pity," she added. "Vanir's sealing talisman couldn't completely suppress Kazuma's strength."
Aqua hugged herself and backed away from Megumin by five meters, a forced smile on her face. "I see… Haha…"
Standing beside Megumin, Darkness frowned as she observed the dust-filled chaos below. "Why are all the beastwomen female?" she asked. "Where are the male beastmen, the supposed nemeses of female knights?"
"Extinct," Megumin replied nonchalantly.
"What?!" Darkness turned to Megumin, disbelief written all over her face.
"The males went extinct a long time ago," Megumin explained calmly. "Even if a male beastman is born occasionally, they don't live long. They're drained to death by the females before reaching adulthood."
Darkness's eyes lost their shine, and she collapsed straight to the ground. Megumin sighed and dragged the lifeless Darkness back from the cliff edge. Taking a long sip of juice, Megumin let out a satisfied sigh and smiled at the chaos below.
"Such a delightful scene," she murmured with a chuckle.
Boom!
Kazuma landed heavily on the ground after leaping from another tree. Glancing at the horde of beastwomen hot on his heels, he bolted again, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Nooooooo!!!"
Dodging a sudden ambush from behind a rock, Kazuma scanned his surroundings, his face twisting in despair.
"So unlucky!!!" he roared, narrowly avoiding yet another pounce.
With a smirk, Kazuma sidestepped an attack. "Back in my shut-in days, I was a gaming pro! Simple ambushes like these are child's play!"
Twisting his body to dodge another pair of grasping hands, Kazuma taunted, "Missed me! Try harder next time!"
Accelerating, he slapped his backside and shouted at his pursuers, "You think you can catch the great Kazuma?! Come back after a hundred years of training!"
Confidence radiated from his face as he sped through the forest. However, his bravado faltered when he passed a skeletal corpse, prompting him to pick up the pace.
"That kind of death is NOT for me," he muttered, shivering.
Although, he mused, if it were a beautiful elf maiden… perhaps he'd consider sacrificing himself for the sake of diversity.
Spotting the distant sunlight and what appeared to be the village's edge, Kazuma's eyes gleamed with hope.
"The way out! It's right there!"
Just as he took a confident step forward, the ground beneath him erupted. A massive hand shot out, grabbing his ankle.
"Ah, it's hell mode," Kazuma muttered as he was dragged down. Looking up, he saw a pink-skinned beastwoman emerging from the ground, her eyes glowing red.
"Darling! I finally caught you!" cried Swiqi, her eyes filled with red hearts. She leaned in, her body trembling with excitement as she stared at Kazuma's panicked face.
Massive hands reached out from all directions, pinning Kazuma in place. Swiqi's eyes burned with desire as she addressed her sisters.
"Sisters, he's too fast! Hold him down properly!" she commanded. "According to our agreement, I caught him first, so I get the first turn!"
Drooling uncontrollably, Swiqi licked her lips with her oversized tongue and whispered passionately, "Darling, here I come!!!"
Kazuma struggled desperately, tears streaming down his face as he felt his limbs firmly restrained. Watching the light fade from his view, he screamed in utter despair.
"Megumin, save me!!!"