Waves of intense magical energy rippled across the sky, completely clearing out the already sparse clouds. A black domain appeared, blowing away the surrounding sword formation. From within Axel City, one could see a massive black sphere in the distant sky, growing ever larger, stealing away the sunlight. The city was plunged into darkness; even candlelight seemed to lose its glow.
A sword light emerged, initially like the dim glow of a firefly, but in the blink of an eye, it ascended into the sky, transforming into a new sun that illuminated all of Axel. Mu stood with his hands behind his back, standing upon the sword light.
Below, the disarmed Death Knights were completely wiped out by Kazuma Sato. Without the protection of magical armor, the knights were easily picked off one by one as Kazuma kited them.
Lifting his black sword, Kazuma sliced Beldia in half. He called Aqua over and unleashed dozens of Divine Exorcisms on Beldia's fallen body, ensuring his soul was thoroughly purified. Panting heavily, Kazuma sheathed his sword and plopped down on the ground.
"Kazuma! Kazuma! We just wiped out one of the Demon King's generals! We're gonna be rich!" Aqua's eyes turned into coins at the thought of the bounty placed on Demon King's generals by the Adventurer's Guild.
Footsteps approached from behind as the others, having finished off the monster army, gathered at the city gate.
"Big brother Kazuma, I'm sorry," Luo Xiaohei walked up to Kazuma with his head lowered, not daring to meet Kazuma's eyes. "We arrived too late."
Seeing Xiaohei blaming himself, Kazuma got up and walked over, looking at him. "This isn't your fault, Xiaohei. You shouldn't blame yourself. In the end, all of this happened because of me. If I'd invited Megumin or Aqua to join the fight earlier, none of this would have happened. Or if I were stronger, maybe things wouldn't have gone this far."
Kazuma looked down at his hands, his heart full of regret. Although he usually seemed carefree, his kind nature made it impossible for him to forgive himself for the great damage caused to Axel.
Quietly stepping forward, the weakened Megumin blushed as she grabbed Kazuma's hand. She looked at him and said, "I made mistakes too. I'll stand by you when we apologize to everyone. Whether or not they forgive us, I'll bear the consequences with you."
Boom!
A loud noise echoed, and a powerful shockwave rippled across the land. Luo Xiaohei flew forward, blocking the shockwave, and glanced at the flashing light in the distance. He turned to Kazuma, "Big brother Kazuma, please protect Axel here. My master has gone to help hiroshi, and I need to go assist too." With that, Luo Xiaohei turned into a streak of light and shot into the distance.
Ruri Gokou, watching the distant battle, bit her right index finger, her face conflicted.
"Sister Ruri, go ahead," Hinata Gokou gave Ruri a push and smiled, "The [Fallen Angel Dark Cat] I know would never stand by and watch while her friends are fighting."
Encouraged, Ruri let go of her finger and swept her hair back, revealing her blood-red right eye. She smiled at Hinata, "Of course. I am the [Fallen Saint Black Cat Who Wields the Power of Creation]. No mere Demon Duke can be my match. Wait for me, dear sister; I'll be back shortly."
Ruri crouched down beside Klee, who obediently waited. She patted the small elf, who was around the same age as her sister, and smiled. "Wait a bit longer, little Klee. I'll be back soon with the tardy one."
"Mhm," Klee nodded, handing one of her Dodoco toys to Hinata beside her. She patted her small chest and said to Ruri, "Klee will wait for everyone here, Sister Ruri. Don't worry, Klee will protect little sister Hinata."
"Thank you, Klee. You're such a good child." Ruri patted Klee's face before standing up. She looked at Kazuma and Megumin, who had suddenly gotten into a romantic scene, and said, "I'll leave things here to you guys."
Holding Megumin's hand, Kazuma looked at the many adventurers emerging from the city and nodded. "Don't worry. As soon as I finish apologizing, I'll go over and support you. Things should be fine here with Megumin and the others."
Ruri glanced at the crowds coming out of the city gate, her face complicated. Wrapped in white light, her Gothic Lolita outfit glimmered as she flew into the distance.
"Kazuma, why are we apologizing?" Aqua finally snapped out of her thoughts of gold, looking puzzled. "We protected the city from a general of the Demon King and all those monsters, right?"
Kazuma didn't answer Aqua. Instead, he looked at the adventurers gathered around them—many familiar faces. He had drunk with them at the Adventurer's Guild, chatted with them about the girls in Succubus Street. And now, because of the disaster he had caused, everyone was giving him strange looks.
Feeling his right hand tighten slightly, Kazuma turned and saw Megumin looking at him worriedly. He smiled, bent over, and bowed deeply to the crowd before him.
"I'm sorry, everyone. My carelessness has caused great damage to Axel. If there's anything I can do to make up for your losses, please tell me, and I will do my best. I know that this can't compensate for the loss of your friends or loved ones, but I hope I can do what I can as a way of atonement."
The adventurers gathered around Kazuma exchanged confused looks, then burst into laughter.
"Kazuma, you can't blame yourself entirely for this. There have been many towns destroyed by the Demon King's army." Dunn, holding only the handle of his broken axe, stepped up and helped Kazuma stand, pointing at Axel. "What's important is that you and your friends protected our city from the Demon King's forces."
"Look at everyone's faces," Dunn said to Kazuma, "In this world, plagued by the Demon King's evil, we all knew that someday we could die. Axel is just a small beginner's town, one that could be destroyed at any moment."
Seeing Kazuma's confused face, Dunn pulled him into a hug and shouted, "We are truly grateful, Kazuma. You are a hero of Axel. You've protected our city."
"But the monster army attacked Axel because of me, and it's because of me that everyone lost friends and loved ones," Kazuma said, disbelief etched on his face.
Hans stepped forward and pulled Dunn away from Kazuma, saying, "But you protected the entire city. Besides, Kazuma, do you really think there's anywhere in this world that's completely safe? Axel is a small city without a powerful army or adventurers to protect it, so it could've been wiped out by passing high-level monsters at any time."
"Besides," Hans whispered in Kazuma's ear, his face a bit sly, "We didn't lose out completely. After all, we got to see the goddess up close."
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Kazuma asked, confused.
Aqua tugged on Kazuma's arm, her face full of pride. "With me around, I brought back those who died. So, let's go get our reward! I want to drink all the high-class sake. And Kazuma, you better not stop me this time!"
She paused, looking puzzled as she added, "That idiot Eris, she even got the souls of the dead ready ahead of time, saved me a lot of trouble."
Eager to collect her reward, Aqua pulled Kazuma toward the Adventurer's Guild. Standing still, Kazuma replayed Aqua's words in his mind. He looked at the adventurers surrounding him, many of whom he recognized as having died in battle.
Raising his head to the sky, Kazuma's voice cracked slightly, "So... no one actually died?"
Hans patted Kazuma's shoulder, looking at the boy with tears in his eyes. "That's right, kid. So there's no need to blame yourself anymore."
"So, I really saved the city?"
"Yes, kid. You're the hero of the whole city."
Kazuma wiped his eyes with his sleeve, his usual mischievous smile returning. He looked into the distance, waved at the adventurers behind him, and shouted, "Then Kazuma the Hero is off. After I defeat the other general of the Demon King, you guys better buy me drinks—and I mean the good stuff!"
"Oh, don't worry. Tell your companions that while Axel can't help you in battle, we'll make sure to give you all the proper ceremony you deserve for saving us. Thank you for saving our city!"
Under the shining sword light in the sky, the adventurers at the city gate bowed deeply to the warriors still fighting, wishing them a safe return and praying for Axel's safety.
With a leap, Kazuma shook off the shadow in his heart and charged toward the distant battlefield.
On this day, Kazuma finally understood the meaning of responsibility.