Farewell to This Wonderful World: Loss and Rebirth in Axel - At the Place Where the Crimson Flame Vanished

The sound of footsteps on grass reached his ears with startling clarity. 　Kazuma stopped and looked up at the ruined castle sinking into the twilight. The crumbling walls cast black shadows against the madder-red sky. Ivy coiled around stone pillars, and the gate—once sturdy, no doubt—had one side torn away and driven into the ground. What had happened here a year and a half ago? The traces of it remained, still raw and vivid. 　This castle, once a front-line base of the Demon King's army, was now completely dead. Even the sound of the wind came only from somewhere far away. Kazuma straightened the collar of his threadbare black adventurer's clothes and resettled the green mantle on his shoulders. The short sword at his hip swayed faintly with each step. 　(I haven't told anyone.) 　He hadn't even been able to tell his companions he was going to "put away the staff." Aqua had cried too much to use her powers, and Darkness was trembling, clutching the staff that had been Megumin's keepsake. If he had told those two he was coming to this place, he had no idea what would have happened. 　No—he knew exactly what would have happened. He was the one who had least wanted to come here. 　Kazuma ran a hand through his unkempt black hair and narrowed his strong amber eyes. The small scar on his left cheek rose faintly to the surface, lit by the setting sun. With his fingertips, he gently stroked the red cord charm wrapped around his right wrist. Megumin had made it for him. He hadn't taken it off once since she disappeared. 　He passed through the gate. 　Inside was even quieter. Part of the ceiling had collapsed, and the light pouring through stained the pile of rubble orange. Broken stone fragments and shattered weapon remnants littered the floor, and black scars of magically scorched walls remained. The air was cold and musty. And just slightly—just a little—it smelled of gunpowder. 　His footsteps echoed through the corridor. 　With every step, memories were dragged out. This was the place that had become the fiercest battleground of the Demon King subjugation, on that day. Kazuma and his party had broken through this castle and carved a path to the Demon King's fortress. Together with his companions, laughing, sometimes crying, risking their lives in battle. 　And in that final battle, she— 　Kazuma bit his lip and pressed forward. On the corridor wall, the banner of the Demon King's army—once displayed there, presumably—hung torn and drooping. He passed beneath it and walked deeper and deeper. The altar was in the deepest part of the castle. 　Though there was no wind, his mantle fluttered softly. 　Kazuma stopped. He turned around. No one was there. Only the twilight sky spreading beyond the collapsed wall. 　(...Just my imagination.) 　He walked on. His heart was strangely loud. 　He reached the altar around the time the sky began to turn indigo. 　It was the place that had once been the castle's chapel. The ceiling had completely caved in, and one, then two stars were beginning to show their faces. Rubble piled on the floor, and cracks ran through the walls. But the altar alone was strangely intact. A pedestal of white stone stood quietly in the crumbling space. 　Kazuma slowly approached the altar. 　He lowered the cloth bundle from his back and carefully untied it. What emerged was a single staff. One point two meters long, made of ebony, with a ruby set into its tip. A magic staff passed down through generations of the Crimson Demon clan, dedicated solely to Explosion magic. 　Megumin's staff. 　When he lifted it with both hands, it was heavy. This weight was her life itself. Five hundred twenty-seven Explosions. Each use shaved a year off her lifespan. She had chanted it over and over, laughing, proud. 　"...You idiot." 　His voice trembled. Kazuma held the staff as if embracing it and stood still for a while. 　The Crimson Demon clan. A race living in the Crimson Demon Village, located in the mountains of the Crimson Ridge, northeast of the Axel territory. All possessed high magical aptitude, and among them existed bloodlines specialized in Explosion magic. Characterized by red eyes and silver hair, with a lifespan of about two hundred years. But she hadn't even lived half of that. 　She had always said it. "Explosion magic is my reason for living." 　Kazuma had heard those words countless times. At first, he couldn't understand. Why cling to a single spell to the point of shaving away your own life? But the moment he first saw her Explosion, he felt he understood. 　The world changes. 　He still remembered that scene vividly. When the incantation began, the air trembled. The surrounding magical energy gathered, and the ruby at the staff's tip began to shine. And the moment she shouted the final word— 　Everything was dyed white. 　Enough power to form a crater a hundred meters in diameter. The highest-order attack magic of the Crimson Demon clan. That was Explosion. 　Kazuma stood before the altar and quietly laid down the staff. 　The ebony staff lay across the white stone. The ruby at its tip reflected the indigo sky, seeming to glimmer faintly. 　(Is this really okay?) 　Even he didn't know. Leaving Megumin's keepsake in the place where she had fought her final battle. Whether that was the right thing, or just self-satisfaction. 　Kazuma released the staff. 　That was the moment. 　The ruby flickered faintly. 　Kazuma caught his breath. He strained his eyes. The ruby was—as if breathing—slowly, but certainly, emitting a red light. There was no wind. The castle interior was dead silent. And yet, the red light wavered. 　(No way—) 　Kazuma instinctively reached out. Just before his fingertips touched the ruby, the light vanished with a soft puff. 　As if nothing had happened, the staff lay quietly on the altar. 　Kazuma stood rooted to the spot. His heart pounded deep in his ears. Sweat seeped into his palms. 　(An illusion. It has to be.) 　He told himself. But deep in his heart, another voice was speaking. 　(She's still here.) 　Kazuma shook his head. That couldn't be. Megumin was dead. To defeat the Demon King, she had shattered her own soul and vanished as particles of light. Her soul had been completely annihilated. What remained was memory, and this staff, and— 　Kazuma stared at the red cord on his right wrist. 　Her warmth was nowhere anymore. 　Kazuma turned his back to the altar and slowly sat down on the floor. Through the collapsed ceiling, countless stars were visible. The indigo sky deepened into a dark navy with the passage of time. 　(Don't remember...) 　The day he was summoned from Japan by Aqua. 　Back then, Kazuma had been an ordinary high school student. No—to be precise, a shut-in high school student who loved games. One day, suddenly wrapped in light, he found himself in another world. Before him stood Aqua, the self-proclaimed High Priestess. 　"I am Aqua. The goddess who will guide you to another world." 　He still hadn't forgotten her, smiling as she said that. Blue hair, blue eyes, and somewhere, a certain airheadedness. She had told Kazuma she would grant him a cheat ability. But what Kazuma chose was not a cheat ability— 　(I dragged Aqua along.) 　To be precise, Kazuma had brought Aqua into this world. Her, with the power of a goddess, as an ordinary human. Because of that, Aqua couldn't fully use her powers as High Priestess, and together with Kazuma, they registered as the weakest party at the adventurer's guild, "Silver Wing's Proof." 　The Adventurer's Guild "Silver Wing's Proof." Founded two hundred eighty years ago, with fifty-two branches across the continent, the largest adventurer mutual-aid organization in this world. Fifteen percent of quest completion rewards were collected as fees. Ranks ranged from F to S, eight tiers. Kazuma and his party, of course, started from F rank. 　The town of Axel. Population thirty-five thousand. Located in the center of the continent, this town was now known across the land as the birthplace of the heroes who defeated the Demon King. Agriculture and commerce were its main industries, and in the center spread the adventurer's guild headquarters, the shopping street "Silver Coin Avenue," the temple district, and the residential district. 　It was in this town that Kazuma met Megumin. 　"I am Megumin of the Crimson Demon clan. She who has mastered Explosion magic." 　The girl who introduced herself that way was small, with red eyes and silver hair. Short, slender, always wearing a black robe. And above all, her eyes were strong. 　(Those eyes got me.) 　Kazuma smiled wryly. She had said she could do nothing but Explosion magic. In truth, she couldn't properly use even simple magic, let alone everyday magic. And yet, she was full of confidence. 　"My Explosion is the strongest." 　Those words drew him in. 　After that, Darkness joined. She was a beautiful blonde female knight in appearance, but inside she was a hopeless pervert. Her attacks never landed. When they did, she was delighted. Rather, she wished to be attacked. A companion who was, in many ways, hopeless. 　But even so, the four of them, as the weakest party, kept moving forward while being laughed at. 　(Those days were the most fun.) 　Kazuma looked up at the sky. The stars had increased since before. 　Fighting with Aqua, being exasperated by Darkness, being laughed at by Megumin. Those days had been irreplaceable. 　But then the Demon King subjugation began. 　After three years of battle, Kazuma and his party stormed the Demon King's castle. What waited in the deepest chamber was the Demon King himself. Overwhelming power. Kazuma and his party were cornered with no recourse. 　And then Megumin said it. 　"This Explosion of mine will be the final blow." 　She was smiling. 　"Kazuma, everyone, thank you for everything." 　She raised her staff and began the incantation. The surrounding magical energy swirled, and the ruby blazed with dazzling light. Kazuma screamed. Stop. But she didn't stop. 　"Explosion!" 　The world was dyed white. 　The Demon King was annihilated. The castle crumbled, and the battle ended. And Megumin— 　Became particles of light, and vanished. 　At the very end, her voice reached him. 　"I'm glad I met you, Kazuma." 　Those words, Kazuma had been unable to tell anyone. Not to Aqua, not to Darkness. 　(How could I?) 　If he said them, he felt he would truly accept her death. 　Kazuma slowly stood up. 　"...Time to go home." 　His voice was swallowed by the silent ruins. 　He looked once more at the staff on the altar. The ruby was no longer shining. Just a black staff, lying on white stone. 　(I'll live for your sake too.) 　He murmured it in his heart. 　Kazuma left the ruins behind. 　When he stepped outside, the sky had shifted from madder red to indigo, and night was about to fall. The lukewarm late-summer wind brushed his cheek. The sensation of grass underfoot was strangely soft. The voices of insects were beginning to sound from here and there. 　Fifteen kilometers north to the town of Axel. On foot, about an hour. 　Kazuma began retracing his path. 　He had walked for a while when it happened. 　He felt someone's gaze on his back. 　Kazuma stopped. His back grew warm, slowly. Someone was watching. Certainly, someone. 　(...Just my imagination?) 　He tried to turn around, and stopped. 　If he turned and no one was there. No—if someone was there. 　Kazuma was afraid to turn around. 　The wind blew. The grass swayed. In the distance, a bird cried. 　(Megumin...) 　He called that name in his heart. 　Without turning around, Kazuma began walking again. The presence he felt behind him did not disappear. No—rather, it was growing stronger. 　(Is that you?) 　There was no answer. 　In the twilight darkness, something faint drifted in the air. The presence of a girl, bearing Megumin's traces. It was so faint, as if it might vanish at any moment, and yet, it was certainly there. 　"...Just my imagination." 　Kazum

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Episode 1

Name: Farewell to This Wonderful World: Loss and Rebirth in Axel
Author: Novelia

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