In front of Axel City's gates, a massive army of monsters gathered, surrounding the entire city. The deafening roars of beasts echoed continuously.
Step! Step! Step!
The sound of horse hooves rang in unison. The monster army parted, and a troop of Death Knights marched in formation. Leading the way was Beldia, the Headless Horseman and a general of the Demon King's army, mounted on a horse and carrying his severed head under one arm. He rode to the forefront and drew his sword, pointing it towards the crowd of adventurers gathered at Axel's gate.
"I am Beldia, one of the Demon King's generals! Surrender the treasure that appeared last night, or I shall slaughter this entire city until I retrieve it!" Beldia shouted.
As his voice echoed, a pitch-black domain expanded from his body, enveloping the surrounding area. The hooves of his horse ignited with black flames, exuding the aura of death. Behind him, the Death Knights raised their massive dark swords, their eye sockets ablaze with gray fire.
With the expansion of the domain, the entire squad merged into a unified force. An overwhelming deathly aura surged into the sky, and slower monsters in the vicinity collapsed, turning to ash. Space began to distort, revealing glimpses of an underworld crossed by a dark river.
Sato Kazuma, who had just arrived at the city gate along with a large group of adventurers, looked at the seemingly unstoppable Death Knight army, feeling an intense fear in his heart. No words were needed—one charge from this knight troop, and a beginner's village like Axel would be obliterated, leaving nothing but pools of blood and rubble.
"Oh~ isn't that Beldia?" A mocking voice sounded from above. A man wearing a black-and-white jester mask descended from the sky, landing beside the knights. With the playful mask on his face, he smirked and said, "Don't tell me you're also here for the treasure that appeared last night, containing infinite knowledge?"
"Vanir!" Beldia's severed head spoke with a serious tone. "As one of the Seven Archdemons of Hell, you also seek that treasure?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Vanir posed in a dramatic stance, raising his masked head. In an exaggerated, almost euphoric voice, he declared, "I am Vanir, one of the Demon King's generals, Duke of Hell who commands the demons, and the great demon who sees through all truths! But last night, I suddenly sensed that there existed something I didn't know. That treasure, containing countless mysteries, is precisely what I desire! So—"
Vanir changed his tone and bowed politely towards the adventurers gathered at Axel's gate. "Could you hand over that treasure? Of course, I won't take your valuable item for nothing!"
He reached into his robe and pulled out a spatial bag, from which an abundance of wealth poured out like a golden mountain. Vanir spread his arms wide, shouting, "Come on, hand over the treasure! I shall reward you with enough wealth to last you a lifetime. Moreover..."
He raised a finger to his lips, a wide grin appearing beneath his mask. "The monster army will also retreat. I give you my word, as long as you uphold the agreement."
The eyes painted on his mask looked straight at Sato Kazuma within the crowd. Vanir's voice echoed directly into Kazuma's ear, "I keep my word, oh terrifying novice adventurer. You hold something even I cannot see through~"
Kazuma shivered violently, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He grabbed hold of Megumin, who was trying to get a better look, and began pulling Aqua along as they tried to retreat.
"Kazuma! What are you doing?! Now is the perfect time for me to shine!" Megumin protested, her face flushing as she recalled certain things from her destiny fragment. She struggled even harder, exclaiming, "Let go of me! I need to use my Explosion Magic to destroy the Demon King's general and save Axel! Then everyone will recognize me as the number one magic user of the Crimson Demons!"
"Megumin!" Kazuma stopped, staring into her eyes.
Megumin, blushing even deeper as Kazuma gazed into her eyes, looked away in embarrassment, her ears turning red beneath her hat. She stammered, "Oh, Ka...Kazuma, what's wrong?"
"We can't beat them!" Kazuma grabbed her head and turned it back to face him. He said sternly, "This isn't an opponent we can handle alone. No wonder the chat group issued a quest. That guy with the clown mask is unbelievably terrifying. We need to wait for everyone else to arrive and plan our actions."
"Kazuma, what are you saying?! He's a demon! As a goddess, there's no way I can run away! Just you wait, I'll go purify them all right now!"
"Hey! Vanir, are you really going to get involved in this?" Beldia roared at Vanir. "This treasure is my tribute to the Demon King, proof of my loyalty! I won't allow you to interfere!"
"And you there, brat!"
A piercing sound filled the air as Beldia's massive black sword shot towards Kazuma, Megumin, and Aqua, who were still struggling with each other.
Hearing the whistling behind him, Kazuma turned back, finding himself amidst the adventurers sprawled out in panic as a dark shadow shot towards them.
"Aqua-sama!!!"
A young adventurer wielding a magic sword dashed forward, positioning himself between Aqua and the oncoming attack, shouting, "I will not let the Demon King's generals harm Aqua-sama in the slightest! I swear it as Mitsurugi Kyouya, the Hero of the Sword!"
"Don't make it worse." Kazuma grabbed the chuunibyou hero Mitsurugi Kyouya, pulling him aside and, with a swift kick, deflected the massive sword. The shockwave from the clash between Kazuma's foot and the black sword carved deep trenches on either side of him, the destruction extending to Axel's towering city walls, leaving huge gashes.
"Kazuma?! How is that even possible?!" Mitsurugi Kyouya gaped, pointing at Kazuma in disbelief. "I must be dreaming! How could an adventurer like you be stronger than me, a master swordsman wielding the magic sword Gram?!"
"Who else would it be but me, Kazuma?! Honestly, you all just keep making things worse!"
Kazuma casually tossed aside the stunned Mitsurugi Kyouya. He yelled towards Beldia, "Hey! Don't you know that could've killed someone?!"
Beldia summoned his sword back to his hand, his severed head glowing red as he sneered, "Heh, if you hand over that Crimson Demon girl beside you, I might just spare this city."
His crimson eyes shifted towards Megumin as his voice echoed ominously through the death domain, "Am I right? You, Crimson Demon girl, still tainted by the aura of that treasure."
The overwhelming aura of death surrounded them, and Megumin, who had been lost in her thoughts, snapped back to reality. The icy sensation of death seemed to seep into her very soul, as if she were being dragged into a dark abyss.
It felt as if her entire being was falling into the depths of death itself. The light in Megumin's eyes began to fade, the darkness closing in around her.
"Hey, you headless corpse, what do you think you're doing to my partner?!"
A silver-white glow appeared, and Megumin felt as if her consciousness was being pulled back by a familiar presence. She opened her eyes, seeing a platinum-colored space enveloping her, driving away the encroaching darkness.
"Kazuma~"
With a soft murmur, Megumin adjusted her hat, then stood up and walked to Kazuma's side. She raised her staff high, her eyes gleaming with a deep crimson light, like molten lava. Her voice was filled with determination.
"My name is Megumin, companion of Sato Kazuma, and the strongest magic user of the Crimson Demons! I wield the ultimate magic—Explosion Magic. Demon King's army, prepare to be reduced to ash under my Explosion!"
"Heh, heh, heh! Demon scum!" Aqua, who had initially been terrified by the massive black sword, stepped forward to stand beside Kazuma. She placed her hands on her hips, pointing at the two Demon King's generals with an air of superiority. "You foul-smelling demons and undead! Prepare to be purified by the great Aqua-sama, Goddess of Water!"
"Oh my, oh my." Vanir clapped his hands in applause. "I'm moved—is this the passionate bond between companions?"
Grinning beneath his mask, Vanir said excitedly, "I just can't wait to taste the flavor of despair! I'm very much looking forward to it!"
"Hey, Vanir. These are my prey. Stay out of it!" Beldia, riding his undead horse, approached with his sword aflame in black fire, pointing it at Kazuma.
"Heh, by all means, take the lead." Vanir, intrigued by Kazuma's platinum-colored domain, took a step back, graciously allowing Beldia the opportunity. "Since you were here first, I'll let you make the first move."
"Oh, is that so?" Beldia's head raised a brow, then nodded. He urged his undead horse forward, the flames around its hooves blazing with intensity. The Death Knights behind him followed the path of fire left by Beldia, marching ahead in perfect formation.
Kazuma watched as the knight formation began advancing, their death domain rapidly expanding. He quickly expanded his own domain to repel the encroaching death.
Within his green-gold domain, Kazuma, already sweating profusely, let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally, they're here. If they had taken any longer, I'd be done for."
Smack!
"Who do you think you're calling 'done for,' Kazuma?!"