KonoSuba: Blessing This Wonderful World! IF Route - Kazuma Becomes a Dark Hero of Vengeance - The End of the Rampage — Shattered Bonds and Trembling Hands

The foothills of the Veltran Mountains were dead silent. No wind, no birdsong — everything was smothered into an unnatural stillness, and only the biting cold air stabbed at the skin. "So you've come, adventurer." He stood there. A suit of jet-black armor covering his entire body — the Frost-Curse Armor. It froze the air around him, spreading frost across the ground. His own severed head, tucked under his arm, swiveled its eyes toward me with a glare. "The Headless Knight Beldia... a general of the Demon King's army." My voice didn't tremble. That, in itself, surprised me a little. The back of my right hand throbbed — *thump, thump*. The curse mark Maria had carved into me pulsed with heat, aching. That voice echoed in the depths of my mind — *hate more*. (*Aqua...*) I called her name in my heart. Instantly, the mark stabbed with pain. Her grinning face surfaced in my mind. *"Ehehe, sor~ry."* She dropped fifty thousand eris into a river. Got drunk and blabbed our entire strategy. Three hundred thousand eris in debt. (*Megumin...*) The mark flared brighter. *"My name is Megumin!"* Every single day, firing off Explosion magic, collapsing, and making me carry her back. No matter how many times I told her to stop, she never did. I'd lost count of how many streetlights she'd blown up. (*Darkness...*) *"More... insult me more...!"* Every battle, she deliberately took hits, wrecking her armor every single time. Pervert. Do-M. But whenever I was in danger, she always became my shield — "—Don't screw with me." My voice dropped low. Cold enough that even I could tell. "What the hell did you all think my trust was...?!" I thrust my right hand forward. [[Grudge Weaponization]] *FWOOOOSH—!!* A pitch-black aura erupted from my entire body. It swirled violently, gathering into my right hand, taking the shape of a longsword. A black, ominous blade that trembled in the air. "...Hoh." Beldia's eyes widened slightly. "That power... it's not mere anger. It's something deeper... grief, and resentment." "Shut up!" I kicked off the ground. I closed the distance in an instant. Leaving even the sound of cutting wind behind, I brought the black blade down. "You're first, Beldia—!" *CLANG-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GIN!!!* Impact. The Frost-Curse Armor shattered into pieces in a single strike. Jet-black fragments danced through the air as if in slow motion. Beldia's torso was cleaved diagonally in two. "—Gu, ugh...!" A death cry. But — it didn't end there. The moment I swung through, the ground exploded. *DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!* The shockwave unleashed from the grudge-blade gouged the surrounding rock walls, tore the earth apart, and shook the very atmosphere. A thunderous roar. A blinding flash. Dust clouds billowed up, stealing all visibility. "So this is... this power, is my..." My right hand trembled. The mark pulsed more violently than ever before. The voice in my head grew louder — *yes, this is fine. You are right. Hate. Hate more.* "...Magnificent." Beldia spoke as he crumbled. "But that power... will one day devour you as well. Hatred is the same as a blade. The more you swing it, the more your own hands... will be cut apart." "I said shut up!" I shouted. But — somewhere in my heart, those words snagged. (*Devour... me?*) A split second. "—KAZUMAAAAAAA!!" A voice came from behind. I turned around. A small shadow sprinting up the mountain path with all her might. Long black hair flowing down to her waist, crimson eyes fixed straight on me. "Me...gumin...?" Why, here—? "I have not yet finished extolling the magnificence of my Explosion magic!" She shouted, out of breath. "If you are not here — my, Explosion magic is —" At that moment. The rock wall that had collapsed from my earlier strike was slowly tilting — right above Megumin's head. "—!!" I reflexively swung my sword. But — I was too late. Or rather, this sword — my anger — I could no longer control it. *GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!* The instant I swung, the blast wave generated blew away everything — the rocks, the dust, and Megumin's small body. "—Ah." Megumin's body soared over ten meters through the air. And then — *CRASH!!* She was slammed against the rock face. "...Huh?" My mind went completely blank. The sword fell from my hand. It vanished into black mist. "Me-Megumin...?" I rushed over. She lay limp on the rocks. Her left arm was bent in a wrong direction. Her chest area made a strange sound with every breath. Broken ribs. And — from her temple, something red flowed endlessly. "Hey... hey, this is a joke, right..." With trembling hands, I touched her small shoulder. Megumin's eyelids faintly opened. "...Kazu...ma." A voice mixed with blood. "My... Explosion magic... to Kazuma, still..." Her words cut off there. The light faded from her crimson eyes. "...Megumin...?" I shook her. No response. "Hey, Megumin! Hey!!" I shook her again, harder. But her head just lolled limply. Like a doll with its strings cut. "—I... did this...?" I looked down at my own hands. The mark on the back of my right hand glowed a murky, twisted black. Almost as if it were laughing. "I... Megumin..." My voice trembled. My body trembled. The voice echoed in my head. — *Yes, you did this.* (*No... I wanted to protect her...*) — *Protect? Don't make me laugh. You swung your sword in blind rage.* (*No... that's not...!*) — *It's the same. Whether anger or the desire to protect, your power only creates destruction.* "—SHUT UUUUUUUUP!!" I clutched my head and screamed. But the voice wouldn't stop. Inside my head, someone else's voice — not mine — echoed round and round. The mark on my right hand hurt. Burned. Painful, like it was on fire. "Ah... aah..." I collapsed to my knees. I could do nothing but press my forehead against the rock and tremble. "—Fufu." A laugh came from the darkness. Long, pale-purple hair. Cold, golden eyes. Wearing her usual thin smile, Maria slowly walked closer. "Good... what wonderful eyes you have, Kazuma." She crouched down in front of my trembling form. "Does it hurt? Are you sad? Blaming yourself?" "Ma...ria..." "Then — hate more." Her cold fingers touched the mark on my right hand. "Hate Aqua. If she hadn't screwed up, you wouldn't be here. Hate Megumin. If she hadn't chased after you, she wouldn't have been hurt by your hand. Hate Darkness. That useless crusader who couldn't do anything." "No..." "It's no different. What drove you here was your anger. And — what gave birth to that were those wretched companions of yours." Her voice was gentle. But that gentleness made it all the more terrifying. "Only hatred will make you strong. Only anger will become true power. Now — stand up, Kazuma." "—" I couldn't say anything. The mark glowed even brighter. The voice in my head overlapped with Maria's voice, merging into one great surge. — *Hate.* — *Hate more.* — *Kill.* "...Haha." Before I knew it, I was laughing. I couldn't tell myself whether I was crying or laughing. Just that a pitch-black emotion welled up from the depths of my body, leaking out in the shape of laughter. "Fufu... yes. That's fine." Maria stood up. "Next is the Demon King's castle. Let's go confirm the true meaning of your anger." Saying only that, she vanished into the darkness. What remained was — just my trembling self, and Megumin, collapsed and bleeding. "..." I don't know how much time passed. Eventually. "—Megumin!!" A voice came from afar. "Kazuma!! Where are you, Kazuma!!" The two of them ran up the slope. Aqua's translucent, light-blue hair was disheveled, and Darkness's blonde ponytail swayed. Both of them had dirtied clothes and were completely out of breath. "Ah... Me-Megumin...!?" Aqua spotted the fallen Megumin, her face turning pale. "Why... why is this...!?" "H-Healing —" Darkness pushed Aqua's back. Aqua hurriedly rushed over to Megumin, holding her hands over her. "I'll heal you, I'll heal you right now, Megumin!" Her palms glowed with a pale blue light. Healing magic. But — *BZZT!!* "Kyaa!?" The black aura overflowing from my body repelled Aqua's magic. "Wh-what... is this..." Her large blue eyes turned toward me. "Kazu...ma...?" I — could do nothing but tremble. "I... I, Megumin..." My voice came out as barely a mosquito's whine. "Kazuma... you..." Darkness tried to take a step closer to me. But — Her feet stopped. Because she saw my face. A face messed up with tears, yet with a pitch-black aura overflowing from my right hand — a face that I myself couldn't tell was laughing or crying. "Kazuma...!" Aqua screamed my name, crying. "Please, Kazuma! Come back! Come back to us!!" "..." I — stood up. Unsteadily, with faltering steps. "...Sorry." Saying only that, I turned my back. "Wait!! Kazuma, wait!!" "Where do you intend to go, Kazuma!?" Their voices stabbed into my back. But — I couldn't turn around. Because if I turned around, I felt like — I would stop being myself. "I... can't go back anymore." I clenched the mark on my right hand tightly. It hurt. But this pain alone was proof that I was still alive. Maria's words echoed in my head. — *Only hatred is true power.* "...Yeah." I muttered, and took one step forward. "KAZUMAAAAAAA!!" Aqua's scream echoed through the mountains. But I — no longer turned back. Into the darkness. Into a deeper darkness. Aqua and Darkness, holding the gravely injured Megumin, could only stand there rooted, unable to chase after me. From my right hand, the black aura never faded, steadily scorching the darkness.

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Episode 4

Name: KonoSuba: Blessing This Wonderful World! IF Route - Kazuma Becomes a Dark Hero of Vengeance
Author: Novelia

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