"Light of Saber!"
"Explosion!"
Bang—!
With a world-shaking blast, smoke billowed up. The Demon King's goons didn't even have time to scream before they were blown to smithereens.
"Shichen… quick, hold me…" Megumin cried, flustered.
"You were so cocky just now—one cast and you're wiped out?" Shichen chuckled, walked over, and scooped her up.
"Mm…" Nestled in his arms, Megumin looped her hands around his neck, let out a breath, and relaxed.
Watching from the side, Yunyun was a little envious. She almost wanted to learn Explosion herself—then she could enjoy the same treatment. She even suspected Megumin had learned only Explosion on purpose just to earn Shichen's pampering. So scheming!
"Shichen, I feel like I'm kind of useless lately," Darkness blurted, looking lost.
"How so?"
"I feel like they never need me anymore. I've got nowhere to show my stuff."
With Megumin's Explosion and Yunyun's high-level magic, Darkness didn't need to take the field; even the back line didn't need guarding—because Shichen was there. She suddenly felt a bit redundant… though, weirdly, that useless feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant.
"That's not true," Shichen said, comforting her. "There are too many grunts—you've gotta use magic. If a Demon King General shows up, you'll be up."
"Really?"
"You're a Crusader. How could you be useless?"
"Yeah… I guess."
"And you're plenty useful day-to-day—plus I can feed you till you're full."
"Shichen…" Darkness swallowed, lips pressing together.
"What do you mean 'feed till full'?" Megumin asked, puzzled.
"I mean keeping this noble lady as a pampered freeloader," Shichen said.
"Freeloader… mm~" Darkness shivered with excitement.
"Darkness looks like she's enjoying that…" Megumin said, speechless.
"You know what she's like."
"Fine, let's just ignore her."
"Shichen." Yunyun suddenly pouted at him, unhappy.
Unlike Megumin, she understood exactly what "feed till full" implied. She knew about Shichen and Darkness—and that Darkness had… bitten him. She'd even tried it once herself out of curiosity.
"Ahem, Yunyun—what is it?"
"I want you to feed me till I'm full, too," Yunyun said earnestly.
"…"
"Yunyun, you want to be a freeloader too?" Megumin asked.
"Hmph~ Megumin, you're still too young."
"Excuse me? You're not much older than me!"
"Really?" Hands on hips, Yunyun proudly thrust out her chest—bounce, bounce.
"Ugh, that cursed extra meat!" Megumin ground her teeth.
"That 'extra meat'—'Shichen-kun' happens to love it," Yunyun said smugly.
"Shichen-kun? How dare you call Shichen that?" Megumin didn't get the innuendo.
"See? Still too young," Yunyun said with a smile, turning back toward Megumin's house.
"Shichen! She's so smug! So what if they're big!"
"It's fine, it's fine—I'll help you grow, slowly."
"You didn't help last night! Tonight you've gotta help extra!"
"Can't wait to change your panties, huh?"
"Mm…"
With the Demon King's troops interrupting them like that, Shichen shelved the idea of meeting Megumin and Yunyun's old classmates. Odds were those guys would be back anyway.
Sure enough, a while later the village alarm sounded.
"Demon King's army incoming! Demon King's army incoming! Anyone idle, assemble at the griffin statue!"
For an alarm, it sounded totally relaxed. The Demon King's army was here and they were only calling for "anyone idle."
With nothing better to do, Shichen and the others headed to the statue too. Frieren and Aqua didn't come—no interest, and with Shichen around they weren't worried. Megumin came along; Shichen topped off her stamina and mana using the lich skill Drain Touch, passing his own to her.
Plenty of idle villagers had gathered; Shichen saw lots of Crimson Demons when they arrived.
"Well, everyone's here. You hateful Crimson Demons—listen up! I'm a Demon King General—Sylvia! Prepare to die!" Outside the gate, a dark-skinned woman declared loudly.
Her eyes were bestial, the lines in them twisted. At first glance she was a dark-skinned beauty. She looked a bit like a vampire, except vampires here can't walk in daylight; she also had pointed ears like a demon. Like a hodge-podge of features.
Shichen remembered her—Sylvia, a chimera who could synthesize anything, including her own body. Because she was a chimera, she'd built herself into a busty, flashy, tall yet well-proportioned beauty.
But in truth, she was male.
"What? A Demon King General?"
"Perfect—time to make a name for myself! Eat my Light of Saber!"
"Me too! Light of Saber!"
"Saber!"
Without a word, the Crimson Demons started blasting.
"You despicable Crimson Demons!"
"Gaaah—"
Sylvia herself was fine, but the grunts she'd brought were miserable. They couldn't withstand the Crimson Demons' advanced magic. Under the barrage, many died or were maimed—over half the small fry were wiped out.
"What? Why isn't our magic working?"
"As expected of a Demon King General—she's resistant to magic!"
"What do we do?"
"Resistance isn't immunity. Blast her down!"
Not a bad plan, but their mana couldn't keep up. One after another, Crimson Demons ran dry.
"Hahaha! That's all you've got? Listen up! I am Sylvia! Director of the Monster Enhancement Development Bureau! I have repeatedly synthesized and modified my own body! That's right—I am a growth-type chimera, Sylvia!"
"…" Shichen's mouth twitched. It looked like long exposure to Crimson Demons had infected this General with chūnibyō antics.
"She's a chimera? Shichen, what do we do?" Yunyun asked.
"Simple. She's resistant, not immune. You and Megumin bombard her together."
"Got it! Light of Saber!" Yunyun obediently loosed her spell.
Megumin began charging Explosion.
Shichen didn't plan to solo Sylvia; he wanted Yunyun and Megumin to make a name for themselves in the village. The two of them were a bit ostracized—not bullied, just… not understood. One was too "normal" and hadn't learned high-level magic first; the other had Explosion on the brain. He wanted the villagers to see how good they'd become.
"Hey, Demon King General—do you know me?" Shichen called to Sylvia.
"Hm?" While dealing with Yunyun's harassment, Sylvia glanced his way.
"Oh my, a handsome one. And you are?"
"Don't know me? Do you know Beldia and Hans? I took care of both," Shichen said with a faint smile.
"What? What did you say?!"
Sylvia's face changed. "I know about Beldia—but when did Hans get taken out? And by you both? Impossible! …Though, we haven't had our regular reports from Arcanletia lately. Maybe you're telling the truth…"
Crimson Village wasn't far from Arcanletia—two or three days—so it was normal for Generals to keep in touch. Hans had been dead since winter; it was hard for Sylvia not to believe him.
Sylvia stared at Shichen, face shifting. "Seems you're the bigger threat. Mind telling me your name?"
"Doesn't matter if I do—you won't be getting out to spread it. I'm Shichen."
"Shichen, huh. Noted. But you think I'm not getting out? What have you got—those despicable, useless Crimson Demons?" Sylvia sneered.
"You calling us useless?"
"And despicable?"
"Damn it—if only I still had mana…"
Shichen couldn't be bothered with these posturing edgelords. "I don't need them. Those two are enough."
"Those two?" Sylvia looked at Yunyun and Megumin. "Just these two little girls who haven't even grown all their hair?"
They clearly had grown just fine. Shichen didn't say it aloud—he only smiled and nodded. "They're more than enough."
"Heh. I'd like to see—hmm?"
Just then Megumin finished charging. Surging mana rippled the air.
"That—Is that Megumin's spell? It's that strong?!"
"And what's with Yunyun? How does she have so much mana?"
"When did those two get so strong?"
"Heh. Ready?" Shichen asked Sylvia.
"You think I'm an idiot?"
Sylvia wasn't about to stand still. But as soon as she tried to move, she found she couldn't; a barrier had formed around her, pinning her in place.
"What—what is this?!"
"Yunyun, Megumin—now!"
"Light of Saber!"
"Explosion!"
Fire and lightning intertwined and slammed into Sylvia. To be safe, Shichen tossed in a Holy Flame as well.
Bang—!
The blast rolled out like a nuclear detonation. The ground shook; a gale tore through; Crimson Demons couldn't even stay on their feet and were blown sprawling.
Shichen stood unmoving, holding Megumin and the others.
After a long moment, the smoke and dust cleared. Where Sylvia had been was a gigantic crater.
As for her—not a trace remained.
Their adventurer cards also showed Sylvia had been subjugated.
The Crimson Demons slowly got up. One by one they stared at the enormous crater, speechless—then looked at Yunyun and Megumin in Shichen's arms with eyes full of reverence.
~~~
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