KonoSuba: Blessing This Wonderful World! IF Route - Kazuma Becomes a Dark Hero of Vengeance
Sato Kazuma, an adventurer, was fighting against the Demon King's general Beldia with his party members Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness.
But just before the final battle, their strategy leaks to the enemy because of Aqua's blunder. Kazuma finally snaps, yelling, "You guys are the worst!" He banishes his party and decides to fight alone.
"I'm never trusting anyone again."
With that vow, Kazuma joins the dark guild 'Shadow Stalker.' There, he meets Maria, a former goddess turned dark priestess who
KonoSuba: Blessing This Wonderful World! IF Route - Kazuma Becomes a Dark Hero of Vengeance - Throne of the Demon King — Me, Consumed by Hatred, and the True Enemy
The hidden chamber in the sewers smelled exactly the same as it had that day.
Mold, earth, and something deeper—probably the scent of blood and hatred.
The back of my right hand throbbed, pulsing with a dull, heavy beat.
The curse mark Maria had carved into me was aching.
"…I… Megumin, I…"
My voice trembled.
My knees were shaking.
Burned into the back of my eyes, impossible to shake—that small body slammed against the rock face. Her left arm bent at a grotesque angle, blood streaming from her temple, the light fading from her crimson eyes—
"You hurt a precious comrade with your own hands."
Maria's voice was cold.
Her long, pale-purple hair, braided on one side, swayed gently. Her golden eyes held their usual faint smirk as she looked down at me.
"So? What do you intend to do now?"
"…………"
"Go and apologize? 'I'm sorry I almost killed you'? Fufu… don't make me laugh."
She crouched down, bringing herself to my eye level.
Her cold fingers touched the mark on my right hand.
"Listen, Kazuma. There's only one path left for you."
"…………"
"Hate them more. Aqua. Megumin. Darkness. Those wretched women who drove you to this point."
"Stop it—"
"I won't stop. Your kindness made you weak. Only hatred will make you strong."
A voice echoed inside my head.
—Hate them.
—Hate them more.
—Kill them.
The mark on my right hand blazed with a twisted, chaotic light.
"Defeat the Demon Lord. All the answers lie in the Demon Lord's castle."
"The Demon Lord's… castle…"
"That's right. Volgana Fortress—the Demon Lord's stronghold, built on Danmatsu Cape at the southernmost tip of the Eldina Continent. If you go there, you'll understand the true meaning of your rage."
Maria rose to her feet.
"I'll be watching from here. Watching… just how far you fall."
With those final words, she vanished into the darkness.
—Just how far I fall, huh.
"…Heh."
I couldn't help but laugh.
I've already fallen as far as it gets.
I staggered to my feet.
The mark on my right hand throbbed.
But… this pain was the only proof I had that I was still alive.
I made my way from the underground back to the surface.
When I climbed out from the bottom of a dried-up well in the commercial district, the sky was heavy with clouds.
The town of Axel was bustling as usual.
Merchants calling out, the rumble of wagon wheels, the sound of children laughing somewhere.
But… it all felt like a world impossibly far away.
(I can't come back here anymore.)
I passed through the south gate.
Walking alone along the grassy road.
Six hundred kilometers.
Straight south from Axel to the Demon Lord's castle—six hundred kilometers.
Over the Veltran Mountains, cutting straight through demon territory, all the way to Danmatsu Cape at the southernmost edge.
(How many days is this going to take?)
But—I had no choice but to walk.
And as I walked, I stopped thinking.
Because if I thought about it—I'd probably break.
Several days passed.
When I passed through the Veltran Gate Fortress, the guard at the gate took one look at me and went pale.
"Y-you… you're going into demon territory alone?"
I walked past without answering.
The demon territory was desolate.
Gray earth. Withered trees. The air was heavy, scraping my throat raw.
Monsters attacked from time to time.
Deadly Poison Slimes. A flock of wyverns. An army of Skeleton Knights.
But—every single one of them fell in a single blow.
The black aura spilling from my right hand seized its prey.
"You're in my way."
With those words alone, the enemy was blown away.
(I'm strong, huh.)
No—this power isn't mine.
Hatred is what moves me.
That's fine.
That's fine now.
And then, at last, I saw it.
Volgana Fortress.
A colossal castle of black stone, built at the very tip of Danmatsu Cape.
Total height: 120 meters. Grounds spanning two square kilometers.
The absolute stronghold the Demon Lord had spent 800 years constructing.
The castle was shrouded in a violet miasma.
Just breathing made my lungs feel like they were burning.
But—the mark on my right hand absorbed that miasma.
Darker, deeper, stronger.
(With this power—I can make it.)
I passed through the castle gate.
Inside, it was dark.
Violet phosphorescence flickered along the walls, casting eerie shadows.
The corridors were long and winding, rigged with traps everywhere.
Poison arrows. Pitfalls. Cursed barriers.
I destroyed them all with the Blade of Grudges.
First floor. Second floor. Third floor—
Guardians of executive rank appeared one after another.
But—none of them could stop me.
A single flash.
When it ended, the enemy was nothing but dust.
"…Next."
My voice sounded cold, like it belonged to someone else.
Fourth floor. Fifth floor. Sixth floor—
The miasma grew thicker.
My body felt heavy.
Breathing was agony.
But—the mark on my right hand throbbed even harder.
Screaming at me to take more power.
(I know.)
Seventh floor.
The top level. The throne room.
I blasted the massive black doors apart with the Blade of Grudges.
GIIIIIIIIIIIIII—
The doors swung open.
Inside—it was quiet.
Vast.
A great hall big enough to fit a soccer field.
Purple magic circles floated across every wall.
The ceiling was so high it seemed to swallow into darkness.
And—at the far end, there was a throne.
A huge chair of black stone.
And seated upon it—
A young man with black hair.
He looked to be in his mid-twenties.
Sleek black hair fell across his forehead, and deep violet eyes gazed at me calmly.
He wore simple black clothing. No ornaments of any kind.
But—his presence alone made the air feel heavy.
"So you've come, human adventurer."
His voice was low and quiet.
"You're the Demon Lord—aren't you."
I thrust my right hand forward.
FWOOOSH—!!
A pitch-black aura erupted from my entire body.
It swirled and gathered in my right hand, taking the form of a longsword.
The Blade of Grudges—black, ominous, trembling in the air.
"I'll defeat you. And then—I'll get an answer for this hatred."
"I see."
The Demon Lord rose to his feet.
But—he didn't draw a sword.
Didn't even take a stance.
He simply gazed at me in silence.
"But let me ask you one thing. That hatred of yours—is it truly directed at me?"
"…What?"
"Who is it that you hate? Me? Or—your comrades?"
Throb.
The mark ached.
"…Shut up."
"There are two versions of you inside. One is the you who hates your comrades. The other—is the you who wants to tell them 'I'm sorry.'"
"Shut up!!"
I screamed.
I raised my sword.
But—my legs wouldn't move.
"Why be silent? Your true enemy isn't me. It's the cage of hatred you created yourself. Weren't you—simply lonely?"
"…………"
No voice came out.
In my mind, Aqua's face surfaced.
Megumin's face surfaced.
Darkness's face surfaced.
*"Kazumaaaaaaa!!"*
Aqua's scream echoed deep in my ears.
"What was it you truly wanted to tell Aqua and the others?"
The Demon Lord's voice was gentle.
And that—somehow, was terrifying.
"…………I'm sorry."
Before I knew it, my mouth was moving.
"I'm sorry… that's all I wanted to say…"
My voice trembled.
"I—I wanted to trust them. But I was scared to trust. So I tried to protect myself—with hatred."
The hand holding the sword shook.
"But—it's too late now!! I—with my own hands—Megumin—"
"So that is the path you chose."
The Demon Lord spoke quietly.
"You protected yourself with hatred, and that hatred wounded what you held most dear. If so, then what lies beyond it is—"
At that moment.
The mark on my right hand—burst.
"—Guh, agh…!!"
Pain.
An intense pain unlike anything I'd ever felt.
The mark pulsed. Throbbing, throbbing, in a rhythm separate from my heartbeat.
Black aura erupted uncontrollably from my entire body.
From my arms. From my legs. From my chest. From my eyes. From my mouth—.
"Wh-what is—"
I tasted blood.
The inside of my mouth filled with the taste of iron.
I coughed violently, and black blood splattered across the floor.
"A runaway Grudge Weaponization, is it."
The Demon Lord didn't attack.
He simply watched me with sorrowful eyes.
"Hate your enemies, hate your comrades, and in the end, hate yourself. That is the essence of that power. A blade of hatred will, without fail—eventually devour its wielder."
"Ah… aaaaaah…!!"
My skin cracked.
From the surface of my right arm, fissures spread with a dry, snapping sound.
From those cracks, black aura spewed forth—
"Stop… please, stop…!!"
I screamed.
But—it wouldn't stop.
A voice echoed inside my head.
—Hate them.
—Hate them more.
—Kill. Kill. Killkillkillkillkillkillkillkill—
"SHUT UUUUUUUUP!!!"
I clamped both hands over my ears.
But—the voice resonated directly from inside my skull.
There was no escape.
I looked at my hands.
The cracks on my right hand had spread across my entire arm.
Blood dripped steadily from my fingertips.
(What's… going to happen to me?)
My knees buckled and I collapsed.
The sword slipped from my grasp.
It vanished into black mist.
But—the aura wouldn't stop.
It corroded my entire body, destroying me from the inside out.
"I can't… take this anymore…"
Tears spilled over.
I crumpled onto the floor.
The cold sensation of stone.
My vision blurred.
My consciousness faded—.
—In the shadows, far away.
Maria was trembling.
Both hands pressed over her mouth, her golden eyes wide open, staring at Kazuma's form.
"…Ah."
A sound escaped her.
In her hand, the same curse mark she had carved into him blazed with a twisted, chaotic light.
"Was I… wrong…?"
Her usual faint smirk was gone.
What surfaced on her face was—agitation. And regret.
"Back then, deceived by Aqua… hatred was the only thing that kept me alive… But… but…"
Kazuma's figure overlapped with her past self.
Surrendering to hatred, drowning in power, and in the end—destroying oneself.
"Kazuma…"
Her voice trembled.
In the throne room—Kazuma lay collapsed.
His consciousness was hazy.
Fragmented images flickered through his mind.
—Aqua's crying face.
*"If Kazuma's gone, I'll just go back to being a shut-in goddess again!"*
—Megumin's smiling face.
*"I haven't finished extolling the wonders of my Explosion magic yet!"*
—Darkness's worried face.
*"I'll bring him back!"*
—The stupid, ridiculous days spent with the three of them.
A life of poverty, drowning in debt.
Aqua messing up every single quest.
Megumin blasting Explosion and becoming immobile.
Darkness breathing heavily over her shame-fueled delusions.
And me, delivering the straight-man retort every single time.
(Ah…)
(That was fun, wasn't it.)
Tears slid down his temples and fell to the floor.
"Everyone… I'm sorry…"
He murmured in a hoarse voice.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
The black aura engulfed his entire body.
His vision closed into darkness—.
—At that moment.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!
A thunderous roar echoed from the distance.
The entire castle shook.
"…So they've come."
The Demon Lord smiled quietly.
"It seems your true comrades—haven't given up on you after all."
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
From far away, a familiar voice rang out.
*"Kazumaaa! Hey, Kazuma, where are yooou!?"*
That was Aqua.
*"This castle's like a maze, I got totally lost—!"*
*"I told you not to take the lead, didn't I—!"*
That was Darkness.
*"We have no choice but to destroy the walls with my Explosion magic."*
*"Don't you dare—!"*
Megumin—!?
(Megumin… she's alive…)
Kazuma's fingers twitched faintly.
"…Those idiots."
They really are idiots.
But—that idiocy, right now, felt warm.
The Demon Lord settled back onto his throne.
"That goddess—Aqua—is she still doing nothing but causing blunders?"
He said it with exasperation, but also with a hint of amusement.
"You still have something you must do. Before hatred devours you—find what will truly save you."
Footsteps approached from the distance.
Three silhouettes—.
Tears wouldn't stop streaming from Kazuma's eyes.
But—those tears were no longer born of despair.
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