KonoSuba: Blessing This Wonderful World! IF Route - Kazuma Becomes a Dark Hero of Vengeance - Bonds of Counterattack - A Life-Threatening Rescue of the Useless Goddess, Perverted Knight, and Explosion Maniac

KABOOOOOOOOOOM!! The colossal black gates of the Demon Lord's Castle, Volgana Fortress, shattered into splinters with an ear-splitting roar. Fragments of jet-black debris tore through the air of the throne room as if in slow motion. Amidst the swirling dust cloud stood a single female knight, her body battered and bruised, a smile on her scarred face — the one who had just shoulder-charged the gate into oblivion. "Haaah... haaah...! That... that sound...!" Her waist-length blonde ponytail was disheveled, her once-expensive knight's armor hideously dented, and blood seeped from her shoulder. Yet her blue eyes were glistening with a rapturous, ecstatic gleam. "Ahh... ngh... what an incredible impact... my shoulder bones, probably two or three of them are gone... This... this is what I wanted to feel...!" "Somebody stop this pervert already!" A shrill voice rang out from behind her. A goddess with a translucent, light-blue ponytail, carrying a petite girl on her back, was shouting with tears in her eyes. "Megumin's on my back and she's barely alive, you know!? Be careful! Honestly!" "M-My apologies... I just... fell into my usual habit..." Darkness hung her head, looking deeply embarrassed. "...Ngh." On Aqua's back, Megumin let out a small groan. Her blunt-cut black hair was matted with blood and grime, and her crimson eyes looked as if they might close at any moment. She was so gravely injured it felt like every bone in her body was about to fall apart. But — even so. "...Kazuma... is he...?" With a hoarse voice, Megumin asked only that. Aqua's eyes welled up with tears. "We're going to save him right now! Hey, Kazuma, where are you!?" Aqua shouted into the vast darkness of the throne room. The chamber was filled with a violet miasma. Just breathing made your lungs burn. The black stone floor beneath their feet pulsed faintly, as if it were alive. "This way! The presence... it's getting stronger!" Darkness raised her shield and pointed deeper into the corridor. The three of them ran. Eerie phosphorescent light flickered along the walls. The long corridor echoed strangely with nothing but their footsteps. Aqua nearly tripped countless times, and each time, Megumin on her back let out a pained breath. "S-Sorry, Megumin! I'll run properly this time, I swear!" "...This reminds me... of how Aqua always came in dead last... at the marathon races back in the day..." "Did I...?" "No! That was because Aqua started eating rice balls at the water station!" "Is that really important right now!?" Aqua screamed. But — that stupid exchange, just for a moment, lightened the hearts of the three of them. "—Found him." Suddenly, Aqua's feet stopped. Her large blue eyes widened. "My goddess intuition... is telling me where that idiot is..." At the end of the corridor. A pair of double doors, larger than the rest. The darkness leaking from within was deeper, denser, and swirled like a living creature, more so than anywhere else. "The throne room...!" The three of them passed through the doors without hesitation. —And then. "...Kazuma!" A scene of despair unfolded before them. In the center of the vast throne room. A single boy lay collapsed, his entire body enveloped in a black aura. His black hair was messy with bedhead. His deep brown eyes, usually characterized by an exasperated, half-lidded glare, were now — vacant and wide open. The cursed seal engraved on the back of his right hand pulsed grotesquely, a murky, chaotic throbbing. The black aura covered the boy's entire body, erupting further from the cracks in his skin. "Kazuma! Kazuma!" Aqua entrusted Megumin on her back to Darkness and rushed over to Kazuma, practically tumbling towards him. "I'll heal you right away! I, the greatest goddess, will personally heal you, you hear me!" She held both hands over him. A pale blue light enveloped Kazuma's entire body — healing magic, Sacred Heal. "Ngh...!" Sweat beaded on Aqua's forehead. It was clear she was pouring every ounce of her magical power into it. Kazuma's cracked skin began to close, little by little. The bleeding stopped. "...It's working!" A faint glimmer of hope rose on Aqua's face — in that instant. BZZZZZZZT!!! "KYAAAAAAAH!?" The black aura exploded. It repelled the healing light, blasting Aqua's body all the way to the wall. SLAM!! "Gahah...!" Slammed back-first into the wall, blood sprayed from Aqua's mouth. "Ugh... uuuh..." "Aqua!" Darkness shouted. But Aqua, still collapsed — began to cry. "Kazuma... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!" Collapsed on the floor, her face a mess of tears and snot, she screamed. "I was an idiot! I screwed everything up! I was the one who leaked the plan to the enemy, who dropped the fifty thousand Eris in the river, who got drunk at the tavern and blabbed all our secrets!" She pounded the floor with both hands. "Of course Kazuma's angry! I always thought I was the greatest goddess — but... but I only realized it after you were gone! I'm just a useless, good-for-nothing goddess who did nothing but rely on you, Kazuma...!" Her tears soaked into the stone floor. "Uuu... *hic*... So... so please, Kazuma... come back...!" At the sound of her voice — Kazuma's fingers twitched faintly. But. The next moment. "—Ah." From the black aura enveloping Kazuma, countless black blades were unleashed. Crystallizations of hatred. They surged straight towards Aqua, who sat crumpled on the floor. "Eep...!" Aqua reflexively shut her eyes. —CLAAAANG!! "...Ngh!!" Darkness stood before Aqua, her greatshield raised. The black blades shattered the shield. But — Darkness did not retreat. A second strike slashed her left shoulder. Blood danced in the air. "Aaah...!" Even so. "Kazuma!! If... if I'll do, then hit me as much as you want!!" A third strike gouged into her side. The sound of armor denting, of flesh tearing. "—Ngh! Hah, hah... good... more...!" A fourth strike pierced her thigh. Her knees buckled and dropped. Even so. "More, hurt me more...! But —" Darkness, tears streaming down her face, was smiling. "Don't run away anymore!! Don't abandon us, Kazuma!!" THUD. A fifth strike stabbed just below her right breast. Blood formed a large stain on the floor. But — still. Her blue eyes stared straight at Kazuma. "Without you... without you... I'm just a pervert... just a useless masochist knight...! But! Because you... because you were my comrade — I could become someone's shield!!" Did those words reach Kazuma's heart? The black aura wavered for a moment. But — that was all. Even more blades were generated, poised to tear Darkness to pieces at any moment. "D-Darkness... run...!" Aqua screamed from the wall. But Darkness did not move. —It was then. "...The splendor... of my Explosion magic..." A faint voice was heard. From Darkness's back, Megumin slowly climbed down. "M-Megumin!? What are you — your body can't take it!" The blood-soaked Darkness turned around. Megumin stood up on trembling legs. Her broken left arm hung limply, and blood still flowed from her temple. Every breath she took was accompanied by the creaking sound of broken bones in her chest. Even so. "I still... haven't told Kazuma..." Her crimson eyes gazed at Kazuma. "My Explosion magic... is not merely a spell of destruction..." Megumin readied her staff. Her magical power had long since run dry. But — even so. "Explosion magic... is the radiance of my very soul! Why I cast it every single day... why it is my reason for living... I haven't properly told you that yet, Kazuma — to you!!" She shouted with all her might. "Darkness! Draw Kazuma's attention even more!" At her voice, Darkness's eyes lit up. "...Understood." Darkness slowly stood up. Even as blood poured from her entire body. Even so. "Kazuma!! Hit me!! Because I love you, hit me!!" —The moment she shouted. Every single black blade converged on Darkness alone. GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!!! "AAAAAAAHHH!!" Her shield shattered, her armor was torn apart, her entire body dyed crimson with blood. But — even so, Darkness was smiling. In that single moment's opening. Megumin took one step forward. Her legs trembled. Her broken bones creaked and groaned. But. She aimed her readied staff at the black aura enveloping Kazuma. "EXPLOSION!!" The last of her magical power. A single strike unleashed by shaving away her very soul. —In that instant. The world was painted white. KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! A scorching explosion that shook the entire throne room. The blast wave blew everything away. The black aura swirled as if screaming, and then — dispersed into mist. "—Ah." After the roar. Silence arrived. The black aura that had enveloped Kazuma had vanished without a trace. Kazuma's deep brown eyes — slowly, regained their focus. "...Everyone..." A hoarse voice. Before his eyes were — A perverted female knight, covered head to toe in blood, yet still smiling. A useless goddess by the wall, battered and broken, crying her eyes out. And — a tiny Explosion maniac, collapsed from expending all her magic, yet staring at him with crimson eyes. "Everyone... why..." Tears overflowed from Kazuma's eyes. "You guys... really are idiots..." "You're the idiot, Kazuma!!" Darkness shouted, crying and laughing at the same time. "Kazumaaa... I'm so glad...!" Aqua approached on all fours. But — "Wait, Aqua!!" Darkness grabbed Aqua's shoulder. Her gaze was fixed — on Kazuma's right hand. The cursed seal engraved there was still, faintly, glowing. Faintly, ever so faintly — but it had not yet disappeared. "...Heh heh." Kazuma laughed weakly. "Seems like... it hasn't completely vanished yet..." Aqua still tried to reach out her hand. But — Darkness shook her head. "...As we are now, we can't purify it completely. But — even so, we're one step closer." "...With this, finally... I can tell you... about my Explosion magic..." Still collapsed, Megumin gave a small laugh. And then — closed her crimson eyes. "Megumin!" "She's alright. She just lost consciousness." Darkness, with her own wounded body, gently lifted Megumin up. Aqua stood up. With her blue eyes wet with tears, she stared at Kazuma. "I will... absolutely, definitely save you, Kazuma. Because I'm the greatest goddess, after all." At those words, Kazuma — smiled, just a tiny, tiny bit. "...Yeah. I know, you idiot." —Further in the depths of the throne room. In the shadows. A girl with long, braided, pale purple hair stood frozen. Maria. Her golden eyes were wide open. Her usual faint smirk was gone. "...Why." She murmured in a trembling voice. "Why... people should only be able to connect through hatred..." Right before her eyes — the four of them were thinking of each other. Even when Kazuma had turned hatred into power, his comrades never gave up on him. That sight — was far too stark a contrast to what she herself had once lost. She, who had been deceived by Aqua, cast down from the heavens, and lived only on hatred. "I... was wrong..." For the first time, tears spilled from Maria's golden eyes. "I... truly... just wanted to be with someone..." She quietly turned on her heel. So that no one would find her. Silently. But — her back seemed just a little smaller than it had before. —At that moment. "My, my... my castle is a complete mess." The Demon Lord, still seated on his throne, muttered in exasperation. An 800-year-old Demon Lord in the form of a young man with black hair. "Ah! You're the Demon Lord!?" Aqua pointed at him. "Well, I suppose I am. But — for now, mediating your quarrel comes first. I'm perfectly content as a mere bystander." The Demon Lord leaned back on his throne and waved his hand dismissively. "N-Never mind that! You know a way to save Kazuma, don't you!?" Aqua pressed him. The Demon Lord smiled quietly. "

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Episode 6

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

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