With a deafening boom powerful enough to shatter every pane of glass within ten miles, a crimson pillar of light shot into the sky, and a massive mushroom cloud rose from the center of the rocky hills.
A violent shockwave swept outward, swallowing up the surrounding dust, rubble, and the Lizard Runners that had not even had time to react, reducing them all to powder.
For one instant, the world fell into deathly silence. Only the scorched air gave off a faint sizzling sound.
Kōichi and Kazuma Satou peeked out from behind the giant boulder, now cracked by the blast. They moved in perfect sync, both wearing the exact same guilty expression.
The air was thick with the smell of roasted meat and the sharp, choking stench of metal melted by extreme heat.
"…Hey, Kōichi." Kazuma Satou swallowed, his voice trembling a little. "Did you see that? For a second, I swear there was a golden shadow flying higher than the clouds in that red light… Darkness should… probably… be able to handle that, right? She's always bragging about being the kingdom's number one meat shield, isn't she?"
Kōichi looked at the massive crater beneath them, easily thirty meters across. The corner of his mouth twitched as he forced himself to sound reassuring. "She should be fine… Sure, it was Explosion magic, but Darkness is the kind of freak who can take Winter Shogun's attacks head-on. Besides, she looked so happy when she begged us earlier. If we hadn't blown her up, she'd regret it for the rest of her life."
"Exactly! Stop looking like a pair of murderers, you two!" Aqua brushed the dust off her skirt and stood up without a care in the world. "Even if she really did get blown to ashes, as long as her soul is still around, this Goddess can revive her whenever I want. Though… if Dust got blown up too, does that mean I don't have to pay him back?"
"Did a Slime eat your conscience?!"
Kōichi and Kazuma shouted in unison.
With uneasy hearts, the three of them slowly edged toward the center of the explosion.
At the bottom of the deep crater, which was still giving off waves of heat, they saw something that could only be called a miracle… or perhaps a nightmare.
Darkness's armor had been completely shattered. Only a few scraps of metal still clung to her body, and her once splendid cloak had been reduced to blackened rags.
She lay spread-eagled at the bottom of the pit, white smoke rising from her body, yet her face wore an eerie, almost holy, and unmistakably perverted smile of satisfaction.
"Haa… haa… This… this feeling… being completely wrapped in the white light of destruction… as if even my consciousness is melting away… Megumin… well done… This is… what I have always sought… the ultimate ravaging…"
She let out a frail moan filled with pleasure, then even rolled over comfortably. Her fingertips trembled faintly, as though she were still savoring the impact from that one instant.
"…She's actually not dead." Kazuma Satou stared down into the crater with lifeless eyes. "Not only is she not dead, she looks even more energetic than before. What the hell did this woman eat growing up to get defense like that?"
Kōichi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath. "I take back what I said. Darkness isn't the toughest person I've ever met. She isn't even human. She's a Mithril golem wearing human skin, isn't she?"
Just then, a charred hand suddenly reached out from a nearby mound of dirt, and Dust's weak voice came from underneath.
"…Help… help me… Why… does nobody care about me… I… got blown up too…"
As for the culprit, Megumin, she was lying face-down at the edge of the crater, snoring contentedly after completely entering magic-depleted sage mode.
...
By the time the setting sun had completely sunk below the horizon, several staggering, strangely shaped figures appeared before Axel's gate.
Kōichi and Kazuma Satou carried Megumin between them like a sack of potatoes. She had lost consciousness entirely, and drool dripped from her staff. Aqua hummed an off-key little tune called "The Goddess's Triumph" while dragging Darkness's armor fragments, which had nearly turned into scrap metal, with a rope. Darkness herself followed behind with a horribly twisted gait and a flushed face, stumbling along while occasionally letting out an eerie "Hehe… hehe…"
As for Dust, he was charred black from head to toe like a piece of charcoal, with only his teeth still white, and was limping along while trying to blend in at the back of the group.
When they entered the Adventurers Guild, the once-noisy tavern fell silent for three full seconds. Every adventurer in the middle of drinking stared wide-eyed at the party that looked as if it had just crawled out of a volcanic crater.
"Oh! Kōichi! Kazuma! You actually came back?!" Miss Sena rushed over with her briefcase in hand, disbelief filling the eyes behind her glasses. "What happened to the Lizard Runners? And what was that explosion from that direction just now?"
Kōichi calmly straightened his back and put on an extremely deceptive smile of honesty.
"Sena-san, please rest assured. The mission was completed perfectly. The process was dangerous, but everything was under our control. Using Darkness's iron will and unparalleled defensive strength, we successfully lured the lizard horde into our prepared ambush zone. Then, through the flawless tactical coordination between Kazuma and me, Megumin unleashed a precise fixed-point strike and wiped out every threat in one blow. As for the explosion… that was the roar of justice."
"Exactly!" Kazuma Satou chimed in without the slightest trace of shame. "Darkness especially. To protect Axel's farmland, she volunteered to stand at the center of the explosion and draw their attention. Her self-sacrificing spirit almost moved even me to tears."
"Haa… haa… No… no need to thank me… If it was for everyone… then please… by all means… do it again…"
Darkness let out a weak yet excited moan at just the right moment, and Miss Sena's suspicious gaze instantly turned into admiration.
"So that's what happened… As expected of the Dustiness family's heiress. What a noble knightly spirit!" Deeply moved, Miss Sena signed the form. "Here is your mission reward, 300,000 Eris in total.
In addition, considering your outstanding performance, the Adventurers Guild will provide an extra subsidy for equipment repairs."
Just as Kōichi was about to reach for the heavy bag of coins, a charred figure suddenly squeezed forward.
"Hey… wait a second…" Dust stretched out his trembling, hairless hand, his voice hoarse. "I… I helped too, didn't I? I spent half the day acting as bait… Shouldn't I at least get a cut of the money…"
Before he could finish, three gazes filled with chill, contempt, and a clear "try saying that again" locked onto him at once.
Kōichi gave him an extremely wicked smile, lightly stroking his staff with his fingers. "Dust, I seem to remember you biting through the rope earlier and trying to run away in the middle of the mission. If I told Sena-san about that, how much longer do you think your detention period would get?"
Kazuma Satou stared lifelessly at the area where Dust kept his wallet. "And we still haven't settled the matter of you leading the lizard horde straight toward Kōichi and me. How about we head to the back alley right now and have a friendly little talk?"
Aqua planted her hands on her hips and declared with a sanctimonious look, "You filthy, sweaty thug! You actually tried to use this Goddess as a shield earlier! As punishment, your share of the reward will be offered up as compensation for the Goddess's emotional suffering! If you dare object, I'll show you what divine punishment feels like!"
Surrounded by the three devils, Dust stared at those three pairs of eyes glowing with dangerous light, and his cold sweat instantly washed the soot from his face.
He shrank back, forced out two dry laughs, and hurriedly retreated. "Ah… haha… I was just kidding. My brain must've been fried by the explosion. The money and all that… you guys keep it, keep it! I'm going to the infirmary. Bye!"
Watching Dust flee in panic, Kōichi weighed the heavy money bag in his hand, exchanged a glance with Kazuma Satou, and both of them smiled the smile of victors.
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