[ Seeing the two trapped like turtles in a jar, the other knights seemed to think the outcome was already decided. Claire charged forward with her sword raised: "Enough talk!"
Kazuma easily dodged Claire with a twist of his body, then raised his hand to grab her arm, and then… Lich skill, Drain Touch, activated!
"Aaaah—" The moment Claire touched Kazuma's arm, she instantly let out a scream, trembling all over as she collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
"Wh… What did this guy do!" Seeing Claire collapse, the guards surrounding them were so frightened that they stepped back.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph, hahahaha! Wonderful, truly wonderful! Tonight, I'll show you all my full power!"
At this moment, Kazuma looked just like one of the 'Laughing Four' of the Uchiha clan, rushing towards the surrounding soldiers while letting out a maniacal laugh.
"The Silver-Haired Thief Group is coming through! If you don't want to suffer, get out of the way quickly…"
Kazuma took down several more soldiers with just a wave of his hand. Chris, watching the scene unfold before her, suddenly felt something was wrong: "The Silver-Haired Thief Group sounds terrible! You be the leader! Change it to the Masked Thief Group or something."
Kazuma moved through the group of soldiers with ease, blowing the crushed earth tightly gripped in his hand with wind magic, then grabbing the hands of the blinded soldiers to use Drain Touch and suck away their stamina.
The knights cried out in alarm: "So strong… Does that thief possess magic power rivaling the Crimson Demons…?!!"
Kazuma, who had incapacitated his opponents in mere seconds, turned his head nonchalantly and replied: "I refuse. That makes it sound like I'm the mastermind!"
Chris let out a tragic cry: "I don't want to be treated as the mastermind either!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"No way… so you actually know how to fight! Shouldn't your level be totally crushed? How can you win so fast? You even insta-killed Claire?"
Watching Kazuma, who was still laughing maniacally with ease while charging into a group of knights, the crowd outside the video felt not only surprised but also a sense of unfamiliarity. It was truly too unfamiliar!
Isn't the Kazuma we know only good for moving bricks, mixing cement, and fighting his lifelong enemy, the Giant Toads? Who is this guy before our eyes, coming and going freely among the knights, looking handsome beyond measure!
.....
〜KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World〜
"Damn it! I was too careless,"
Claire said through gritted teeth. As the Princess's bodyguard, being defeated in one move was simply humiliating.
That being said, Claire had to admit she had indeed underestimated this cowardly, brutish, and perverted guy. He wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface.
Iris shook her head:
"Demon King Generals who hadn't been defeated for so many years fell at his hands one after another. Doesn't that already explain the issue?"
"Princess, are you saying he is the true Hero?"
Claire was somewhat appalled, not expecting the Princess to evaluate Kazuma so highly.
This brutish, lecherous, unscrupulous guy with no bottom line to his methods had absolutely nothing to do with being a Hero! If you said he was on the Demon King's side, I'd believe it.
"However, the Royal Capital isn't that easy to storm. The Hero, Mitsurugi-sama, hasn't made his move yet, right?"
Claire was full of confidence in the Hero Mitsurugi.
Especially with her own failure as a warning, Mitsurugi-sama wouldn't be careless. Combined with his powerful Magic Sword, how could this unarmed Trashzuma possibly win?
〜A Certain Magical Index World, Academy City〜
Watching Kazuma's performance, even the Board Chairman, Aleister, fell silent for a moment:
"Clearly, he's using petty tricks, but on him, it seems different…"
Crushed earth plus wind, water plus ice; these were clearly beginner magic spells. To use the other world's terminology, these were tricks only children would play with.
But he was able to combine simple magic to achieve different effects in different situations.
Combined with that ridiculous Lich spell… allowing him to constantly replenish stamina and mana within a crowd, he actually has some skill.
Meanwhile, in Tokiwadai, Kuroko also felt a slight unfamiliarity with Kazuma:
"Onee-sama, has his account been hacked?"
"Not at all!"
Railgun said with absolute certainty,
"Didn't you see he still didn't forget to frame Chris just now? He reeks of scum."
Naming it the Silver-Haired Thief Group… you really have some nerve! Even at a time like this, he didn't forget to dump the blame on Chris. Where is Chris supposed to hide with that head of silver hair?
.....
[ Just as the two were arguing, Rain had already healed Claire, and the situation didn't seem to have changed.
Meanwhile, the Hero Mitsurugi placed his hand on his Magic Sword and assumed a stance, staring cautiously at Kazuma: "Miss Claire, I'll leave that silver-haired boy to you! Leave this seemingly strong masked man to me."
Chris and Kazuma each looked at their respective opponents, issuing a query from the soul: "Assistant-kun, do I look that much like a boy?"
"It's probably because of your flat figure." Kazuma then comforted the somewhat depressed Chris: "Cheer up, the main event starts now!"
Kazuma slowly raised his hand towards Mitsurugi's Magic Sword, secretly thinking of a strategy… Mitsurugi belongs to an advanced class and has a high level. Even if I steal his weapon, he could probably last a long time even if hit by Drain Touch.
"Is that motion steal?" Mitsurugi still didn't take him seriously. Beneath his cloak, numerous different dolls were hanging.
"Unfortunately, after losing to a certain man, I came up with a countermeasure against Steal. You just…"
Before Mitsurugi could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Kazuma's freeze magic. Since it was just beginner magic, Mitsurugi thought it was merely a distraction and remained on guard against Kazuma.
Then, Kazuma walked openly towards Mitsurugi.
"What are you trying to do? Take this…" Just as Mitsurugi was about to unleash an Iaido slash, he froze.
Because the scabbard had been frozen by ice magic, he couldn't draw the Magic Sword for a moment.
Taking advantage of his moment of daze, Kazuma covered Mitsurugi's nose and mouth with his hand, and then: "Create Water!"
"Gurgle gurgle—" Mitsurugi's mouth was forcibly filled with water. Almost drowning, Mitsurugi grabbed Kazuma's hand in return!
"Can you please admit defeat and step down?" Hearing Kazuma's question, Mitsurugi struggled and clenched his fists, swinging them towards Kazuma's face!
"Gah…" Kazuma directly activated ice magic, freezing the water inside his nose and mouth into ice, and then Kazuma let go.
Mitsurugi clutched his throat with both hands, kneeling on the ground in pain, unable to fight any longer…
"If you unfreeze it right now, you might not suffocate! And for those guys stronger than him, come at me!"
Seeing the situation before them, the surrounding knights stepped back in fear, and even Chris was dumbfounded: "I really can't figure out if you're strong or weak…" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Hahaha, Mitsurugi is confirmed tragic. Daring to call the Goddess of Fortune Eris a boy, your luck in this life has come to an end."
"Hiss—what do you call a PVP boss! Another one-shot kill.Your serious mode is so different from your usual vibe—boldly limitless."
Watching Kazuma's performance, everyone outside the video stood frozen in place. It turned out that when this guy got serious, he wasn't just brave, he was terrifyingly strong!
.....
〜Type-Moon World, ██████ Worldline, Chaldea〜
Da Vinci swallowed hard:
"I take back what I said earlier. This guy can actually win."
If Claire was defeated because of the 'first-time encounter killer' nature of the Lich skill, then the act of insta-killing Mitsurugi relied purely on his own hard skills.
Relying solely on intelligence to analyze the pros and cons of the situation in an instant, formulate a battle plan, and execute it—this guy is invincible in a duel.
Mash covered her mouth in fear:
"Filling the nose and throat with water, then using ice magic to freeze it! Even through the screen, I felt suffocated!"
What ruthless methods. Freezing the windpipe after filling it with water; if not thawed, he really would die of suffocation.
Dr. Roman sighed slightly:
"Mitsurugi is clearly very strong, but he's never won against Kazuma…"
Perhaps it's because he called the Goddess of Fortune Eris a boy. Stepping on landmines like crazy—what an unlucky guy!
〜OVERLORD World〜
"Water magic and ice magic!"
Seeing the lethality of these two beginner spells, even Ainz fell silent.
These low-level spells, which he wouldn't usually even spare a glance at, were actually used so creatively by Kazuma that they could cause an instant kill effect.
"Honestly, I can't figure out if you're strong or weak either, Kazuma-san…"
If you say he's strong, he struggles to fight a few giant frogs in the novice village… but if you say he's weak, he can insta-kill Mitsurugi, who defeated a dragon.
He simply jumps repeatedly between strong and weak, making it truly confusing.
If Kazuma's level were a bit higher, and without his teammates dragging him down, Ainz did not doubt that in an LV 1 situation, even the Demon King wouldn't be his opponent.
〜KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World〜
"Kazuma-san! Kazuma-sama!"
Aqua found Kazuma hiding in Wiz's shop, tugging at his robes and starting to wail.
"Is your usual behavior all an act? Since you're this strong, go defeat the Demon King for this Goddess!"
"This guy…"
Kazuma looked at Aqua with a face full of disgust. It's easy for you to say; I'm already too busy cleaning up your messes usually, and you still have the nerve to talk!
In the Crimson Demon Village—
A group of chuunibyou Crimson Demons expressed their approval of Kazuma's actions:
"Single-HANDEDLY STORMING THE ROYAL CAPITAL IS WAAAAY TOO COOL!!!"
"Ahahaha! That's my son-in-law…"
Megumin's father was incredibly satisfied. Not only was he strong, but the key was that he had money; he was very rich!
Meanwhile, in the Royal Capital, Claire, who had been vowing solemnly just moments ago, had her eyes popping out of her head:
"Mit… Mitsurugi!-sama! Lost…?"
Are you kidding me?Mitsurugi-sama is an existence capable of killing a giant dragon with one strike, and he lost just like that? And in a one-on-one battle.
"It doesn't matter, as long as we don't engage in close combat! We still have the mage Rain!"
Rain, also being a bodyguard, had strength that Claire knew very well.
Kazuma only won before because he had the advantage in close quarters. Attack him from a distance, and he'll be helpless, right?
Rain, having been named by Claire, suddenly had a bad premonition. Looking at Claire, she smiled somewhat forcedly:
"Claire… do you know what a 'flag' is?"
.....