Two streaks of light, one ahead of the other, burst out of the encirclement of the three factions, disappearing in an instant.
The commotion drew the attention of the three factions, all trying to determine what had happened. They discovered it was Jibril, the infamous monster of the Heaven's Faction, on yet another hunt.
Seeing her crazed demeanor, it was likely that the unknown individual she pursued was done for.
With no further interest, the factions returned to their respective duties.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi flapped his wings again, breaking through the space disturbed by Jibril. He glanced at Jibril, who was still close behind, and flew towards the distant mountain range.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening roars echoed as Jibril unleashed waves of black lightning and spears, interrupting Hiroshi's movements. An excited grin spread across her face as she relished the thrill of the hunt.
"Oh? Why did you stop running?"
Jibril halted, her flushed face gazing at Hiroshi. She sensed the surroundings carefully and smiled. "So we've arrived."
Clenching her hands, two pitch-black scythes appeared in her grasp. Floating mid-air with her massive wings spread, Jibril stared at Hiroshi, her lips curling. "Let me clear out the pests first, then we can start over."
"Hey! What are you rambling on about, chicken?"
Satou Kazuma ascended from below, landing beside Hiroshi and shouting at Jibril, "Do you want me to confiscate those weapons of yours?!"
"Steal!"
Kazuma opened his hand, and in a flash of white light, he grabbed towards Jibril.
"Oh my!"
Feeling the familiar texture in his hand, Kazuma couldn't help but grin. Gleefully looking at the dumbfounded Jibril, he laughed, "What on earth is this?! Hahaha!"
Waving his arm, a strip of white cloth fluttered in the breeze. With one hand on his hip, Kazuma laughed wantonly, looking at Jibril, who began to tremble, and shouted, "Weren't you so arrogant earlier?! Where's all that arrogance now?! Hahahahaha! If you apologize to Lord Kazuma nicely, maybe I'll give this back to you!"
Seeing Kazuma's insane grin, Hiroshi quietly stepped back about ten meters, as if to say,
I don't know this guy!
A flash of lightning later, Keqing appeared beside Hiroshi. She raised her hand to greet him but turned her head at the sound of Kazuma's mad laughter.
"Pervert!!!"
A loud shout echoed from behind Hiroshi and Keqing. Lumine, her face filled with fear, hugged herself tightly, visibly shivering, as if her hair stood on end.
Staring in disbelief at Hiroshi, Lumine pointed at Kazuma, who was dodging Jibril's frenzied attacks, and asked, "Isn't Kazuma supposed to be a hero? How could he fight in such a twisted way?!"
"Hm?"
Hiroshi looked at Lumine curiously and asked, "Didn't you watch Kazuma's Fate Archive?"
Lumine shook her head. "I was so busy last month, I didn't have time for that."
Suddenly grabbing the stunned Keqing beside her, Lumine watched Kazuma running around wildly and said fearfully, "I wondered why Kuroneko didn't come to fight with you, and now I understand why. He's insane!"
"Hey, hey, don't just stand there! Come and help!!"
In the sky, Kazuma weaved intricate paths, doing his best to dodge Jibril's crazed onslaught. He looked back at the three standing still and shouted, "This chicken is completely mad! Come help, now!"
"No way!"
Lumine loudly refused, turning and running while holding the stiff Keqing.
"Fighting alongside you like this would scar me for life. I'm out. You guys handle it."
Watching Lumine run off with Keqing in her arms, Hiroshi couldn't shake the strange feeling. He glanced at Kazuma, who was being chased relentlessly by Jibril wielding two scythes, scratched his head, and charged forward.
"Domain Expansion!"
A five-colored space enveloped both Kazuma and Jibril. Hiroshi raised his right hand and pressed down on Jibril, who was suppressing Kazuma.
Wielding her scythes, Jibril furiously attacked Kazuma, who was still swinging her underwear around. At this moment, her anger reached an unprecedented level.
A damned monkey dared to snatch her undergarments in such an odd way, and even more hateful was that he swung it triumphantly in the air—a massive humiliation.
Dark spirit power gathered atop her head, forming a small black halo. Jibril glared at Kazuma, who had been evading her attacks with strange techniques, and said, "Die, disgusting monkey!"
"Heaven's Strike!!!"
A black energy sphere descended from above. Kazuma looked up at the falling Heaven's Strike, chuckling. He spoke sideways, "Hiroshi, enjoying the show?"
The five-colored domain enveloped them, and the black Heaven's Strike, which warped space around it, was fixed mid-air. Hiroshi appeared next to Kazuma, glancing at the white cloth still tightly held in his hand. He rolled his eyes and said, "You looked like you were having fun, so I let you be. Besides, the scene was... too beautiful, I couldn't join."
"We're about to start fighting for real. Aren't you going to get rid of that thing? Aren't you worried Megumin will come after you once we're back?"
"No problem! Megumin won't care—it's for the mission, after all."
Kazuma gave Hiroshi a thumbs-up with his right hand and raised his left hand towards the oncoming Jibril, who was resisting Hiroshi's domain suppression.
"Domain Expansion."
A blue-golden domain unfolded, overlapping with Hiroshi's, boosting each other's effect.
Seeing Jibril's increasingly labored movements, Kazuma's lips curled into a smile.
"Steal!"
A pair of warm socks appeared in Kazuma's hand. Disgusted, he looked at the item in his hand.
Standing before the now black-aura-covered Jibril, Kazuma clicked his tongue and tossed the socks back.
"I don't want your stinky chicken socks."
"Aaaaaaahhh!!!"
The dark aura surged, and Jibril's eyes glowed with a maddening red. Her black wings spread wide, and a massive black halo appeared above her head.
"Domain Expansion."
A new domain emerged, with countless swords appearing mid-air.
Shirou Emiya appeared in the sky, raising his right hand. Countless swords shot downwards, pinning the space around Jibril.
"Now, get ready!"
Riku flew up from below, raising his hand as he looked at Jibril, who had been completely suppressed by the three domains, and shouted, "Domain Expansion!"
"Amber of World Condensation!" x4
Four domains intertwined, sealing Jibril, who had unleashed her full power, including her consciousness, transforming her into what seemed like an amber encased in resin.
This move had been developed after Hiroshi comprehended the power of the five elements. It was a collaborative technique born from the collective wisdom of everyone.
Using the five elements as the foundation, four overlapping domains were used to seal the enemy—along with their consciousness, time, and even the surrounding space—turning them into a small, transparent amber.
Raising his right hand, Hiroshi extended it before him. Breathing heavily, he smiled at the three around him.
Exchanging glances, the four clapped their hands together.
"Yay!" x4
Riku picked up the small amber that floated mid-air and smiled at Kazuma. "Kazuma, your acting was incredible. You drove Jibril to insanity. Otherwise, if she noticed something was wrong and tried to escape or didn't go all out, things would've gotten tricky."
"No problem, no problem."
Kazuma poked the amber containing Jibril in Riku's hand, laughing mischievously. "It's just an angel. I, the great Lord Kazuma, am Axel's most popular man on Succubus Street. No woman can resist me!"
"Riku, next time there's a plan like this, just leave it to me. Any female enemy will end up bowing before me!"
Shirou Emiya's mouth twitched twice as he looked at Kazuma, who was boasting with his hands on his hips. He glanced at the chat group messages scrolling by, then stepped forward, patting Kazuma on the shoulder and said, "Kazuma, stay strong!"
"What?"
Still smiling, Kazuma looked at Shirou Emiya, who had a sympathetic expression. His heart sank as he felt the fabric in his hand and remembered his triumphant words.
Kazuma struggled to maintain his smile as he watched the other three suddenly move away from him. "Hey, why are you moving so far away?!"
In unison, Riku, Hiroshi, and Shirou Emiya bowed slightly to Kazuma.
"Farewell, brave warrior!"
In disbelief, Kazuma opened the chat group that had been buzzing with notifications since earlier.
Moments later, tears welled up in Kazuma's eyes as he tilted his head back and screamed to the sky.
"Unlucky!!!"