Just as Kōichi was still quietly congratulating himself on his stroke of genius, Sylvia's face had already darkened completely.
She looked at the Crimson Demon Clan villagers striking bizarre poses and muttering embarrassing incantations, and a flicker of disdain crossed her eyes.
"Hmph. A pack of fools who only know how to toy with Fire. Since you're so eager to die, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Before she had even finished speaking, pitch black magic surged from her fingertips and formed several sharp energy blades that shot straight toward the Crimson Demon Clan villagers.
But to Kōichi and Kazuma's utter shock, the Crimson Demon Clan members, who had looked so ridiculous and chuunibyou a moment ago, now displayed astonishing combat skill.
"[Explosion Barrier: Pitch-Black Shield]!"
Chekipepe, who led the group, let out a low shout. He slammed his staff down, and an ink black magical barrier instantly unfolded in front of him, forcibly blocking Sylvia's energy blades.
The energy blades crashed against the barrier with a piercing screech, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"I am the Messenger of Darkness, the embodiment of magic! [Evil King's Inferno: Scorching Abyss]!"
Another Crimson Demon Clan woman joined in. She pressed her hands together and spat out a scorching black flame. The fire twisted as if it were alive, rushing straight toward Sylvia.
Sylvia clearly had not expected these Crimson Demon Clan villagers to be so powerful.
She flickered aside and nimbly dodged the black flame, but it brushed past the edge of her clothing and instantly scorched a patch of fabric.
"Damn it! These people... they actually have this much magic!" Sylvia's expression turned ugly.
She knew that although the Crimson Demon Clan were all eccentric lunatics, every last one of them was a natural born magical genius.
If it were only one or two, she naturally would not have cared. But the group in front of her worked well together and had plenty of magic to spare. If she got dragged into a prolonged fight, it would probably draw even more members of the Crimson Demon Clan.
If her identity as a Demon King's General were exposed then, things would become a real mess.
"Kōichi! Kazuma! Run!" Chekipepe shouted while holding back the attack. "This is a battle for the honor of the Crimson Demon Clan! You mortals, retreat at once! Do not taint our aesthetic of explosive beauty!"
Kōichi and Kazuma did not dare waste another second.
Kazuma scrambled up from the ground in a mess, half crawling and half stumbling, crying as he hid behind Kōichi again.
Kōichi took advantage of the moment while the Crimson Demon Clan and Sylvia were clashing, grabbed Kazuma, and sprinted toward the village.
Seeing this, Sylvia realized that staying tangled up with them would bring her no benefit and only invite unnecessary trouble.
Reluctance flashed in her eyes, but in the end, she chose to retreat.
Before leaving, she suddenly looked back and gave the fleeing Kazuma a charming smile laced with malice.
"Hehe. Young man... don't forget, you'll be mine sooner or later~"
Her voice carried clearly through the air and pierced straight into Kazuma's ears.
Kazuma staggered and nearly fell flat on his face.
He looked back and saw that Sylvia had already turned into an afterimage and vanished into the depths of the dense forest. The Crimson Demon Clan villagers, meanwhile, were striking victory poses as though they had just completed an epic battle.
"Waaaaahhhh!!" Kazuma let out a despairing wail, grabbed Kōichi by the shoulders, and shook him violently. "Kōichi! Did you hear that?! She's set her sights on me! She really set her sights on me! My life... my chastity... waaah..."
Kōichi patted Kazuma on the back. Although his own heart was pounding, he still tried his best to look calm.
"There, there. Stop crying. At least we're safe now, right? Besides, didn't you call her an Abyss? Now that she's gone, the Abyss is gone too. Isn't that great?"
Kōichi comforted him, though the corners of his mouth could not help rising slightly.
"Great my ass!" Kazuma suddenly lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot. "That look in her eyes! That smile! That line about me being hers sooner or later! Kōichi, you don't understand at all! My life has been completely corrupted by that Abyss!!"
By the time Kōichi dragged Kazuma Satou, who had practically turned into a lump of Kazuma, back to the central square of Crimson Demon Village, they happened to run into Aqua crouching by the roadside eating some strange snack, Megumin striking a chuunibyou pose, Darkness looking serious, though her gaze was drifting, and Yunyun.
"Yo! Everyone, come take a look at this Hero! He just accomplished a feat worthy of being recorded in the history of the Fantasy World!"
Kōichi slapped his thigh and howled with laughter while pointing at Kazuma behind him, whose eyes were hollow as he kept muttering that boobs were a lie and the world was empty.
"Oh, Kōichi, what took you two so long? What happened to Kazuma? He looks like a hundred zombies took turns draining the life out of him."
Aqua brushed the snack crumbs off her hands and leaned in, observing Kazuma like he was some rare creature.
"Did he finally realize he's a hopeless loser and decide to give up thinking?"
Kōichi laughed so hard his stomach hurt, then vividly recounted the shocking romance they had just encountered in the forest.
He described everything, from Sylvia's peerless beauty to that suffocating secret, then Kazuma activating his sleazy seduction mode in order to survive, and finally that worldview shattering line, "You'll be mine sooner or later."
Of course, he left out the part where he had fallen for it too. Kazuma was also in no state to argue.
"Pfftahahaha!! A peerless beauty with a dick?! Kazuma, you actually tried to seduce that kind of monster just to stay alive?! That's so you! Your standards are even lower than my intelligence... no, lower than a Slime!"
Aqua laughed so hard she rolled all over the ground, without a shred of Goddess dignity left.
"Peh!" Megumin spat on the ground in disgust, her red eyes filled with contempt.
"To commit such a shameless act with that kind of Chimera... Seduction? Do you have any pride left as a human? You're a disgrace to Crimson Demon Village. Stay away from me. That perverted aura of yours will contaminate my Explosion Magic!"
"B-being forced down onto the ground... and having your secrets explored in depth?"
Darkness's breathing suddenly grew ragged. A strange blush spread across her cheeks as she hugged her own shoulders and trembled slightly. "That kind of... extreme humiliation and physical impact... Ugh, why? Why didn't something like that happen to me...? I want to be treated that way by a Demon King's General too..."
"Darkness, that's enough!" Kōichi rolled his eyes, then looked toward Yunyun, the only one who still seemed somewhat normal.
But Yunyun's expression was unusually serious. She had not been swept up in the ridiculous mood at all. Instead, her brow was tightly furrowed.
"Everyone, please calm down! The important thing isn't Kazuma's chastity. It's that Sylvia, a Demon King's General, appeared near the village! She's a dangerous figure known as the Chimera. Her showing up here is definitely not a good sign. I have to tell my father right away!"
The moment he heard the words "Demon King's General," Kazuma, who had been lying there like a corpse, sprang up as if electrocuted. He grabbed Yunyun by the shoulders and shouted hysterically.
"Yes! Go tell your dad! Get the whole village out here! Blast that Abyss away! I don't care about the Demon King's Army or anything else! All I know is that thing has her eyes on my butt! I never want to see her again!!"
Yunyun was startled by Kazuma's reaction. She blushed and nodded, then turned and ran toward the village chief's house.
"I'll go right now! Everyone, please prepare for battle as quickly as possible. If Sylvia really is attacking, Crimson Demon Village may be facing a fierce battle!"