The night he returned from the farmland, Kazuma stood in front of Wiz's magic shop with the crystal still wrapped in cloth inside his bag. At the edge of the merchant district. The sign reading "Wiz's Magic Tool Shop" was slightly peeling at the edges. It was a dark night with almost no moonlight. "[serious]Why are we coming at night?" "[excited]We should get it analyzed as soon as possible!" Kazuma pushed the door open. Karan karan—a bell chimed. The inside of the shop was as chaotic as ever. Cursed items lined the shelves, armor with price tags leaned against the walls, and dolls that looked like they might move were inside glass cases. A shop with monthly sales of thirty thousand eris but fifty thousand eris in rent—completely finished from a business standpoint. Wiz emerged from behind the counter. Translucent white skin, a gentle face. Nothing like what you'd expect from a former high-ranking officer of the Demon King's Army, a former lich—she had an air of unreliability about her. "[gentle]Oh, Kazuma. So late at night..." "[serious]I need something analyzed. This." He pulled it out from his bag along with the cloth and placed it on the counter. Beside her, Vanir was organizing the shelves. A demon in doll form—a high-ranking demon called a Demonlord, and Wiz's business partner. A being that fed on emotions, always carrying an air of composure. "[sarcastic]Hmm. Quite an ominous way to wrap something." Wiz lifted the cloth slightly and peered at the crystal inside. "[gentle]I'll analyze it. Let me touch it for a moment." —Her finger touched the crystal. The next instant. Gatan!! The entire shelf shook. The doll inside the glass case kicked through from the inside and flew out. Armor rose up on its own from the shelf and began walking with clanking sounds. A poison perfume bottle rolled out from the back shelf on its own, fell, and shattered. Parin. Purple mist began spreading. "[scared]E-eh, wait—!" Wiz tried to pull her hand away from the crystal, but the next shelf toppled over, and a cursed rope flew out and tangled around her legs. Sounds of magic tools activating came from everywhere. "[angry]Why'd you touch it!!" "[scared]I was just trying to analyze it—!" Megumin struck a pose in the mist. The red ribbon around her neck looked purple in the haze. "[excited]...Fantastical." "[angry]Not fantastical, it's poison!!" Darkness took a direct hit from the armored magic tool. Gon!! "[serious]This...weight...!" "[cold]Don't get lost in it!!" Kazuma coughed while covering his mouth with his sleeve. The poison mist was thick. His eyes were stinging. Wiz kept saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" while trying to suppress the rampaging magic tools one after another, but each time she touched something, something else started moving. Then Wiz breathed in the poison mist directly and collapsed on the spot. "[scared]Wiz!!" Aqua rushed over and crouched beside her. She spread both hands and cast purifying light. White light thinned the mist slightly. In that gap, Kazuma saw the crystal that had fallen on the cloth. It was pulsing. Doku, doku, doku. Purple light flashed from inside like it was surging. Much stronger than when he'd seen it in the farmland. "[serious]This is bad, get it away—" He reached out, right before— Doon!!!! The crystal flashed brilliantly. A pillar of purple light shot upward—straight up, literally breaking through the roof of Wiz's shop. The sound of wood shattering. Fragments fell and hit Kazuma's head directly. "[angry]Ow!!" Night sky was visible through the hole. From it, a pillar of purple light stretched high, high into the night sky. Screams of passersby echoed from outside. Vanir glanced at the pillar. "[cold]...Hmm." Everyone looked at Vanir. "[cold]This crystal has the residual magical power of Dullahan, a high-ranking officer of the Demon King's Army, woven into it." His voice was quiet. The lighthearted atmosphere from moments before vanished. "[serious]Dullahan...you mean that one" "[cold]Yes. The residual magical power of an already-defeated officer. Someone intentionally sealed it into this crystal. Now that the pillar of light has been released, this is equivalent to a signal flare." Kazuma's mouth didn't move for a moment. A signal flare. Light meant to tell someone where he was. "[serious]We're going to the guild." --- When they rushed into the Adventurer's Guild Axel branch, a few adventurers were still there despite the late hour. Luna was checking papers in front of the bulletin board and turned at the sound of the entrance door opening. Luna, the receptionist—a woman with black hair tied back, always carrying a calm atmosphere. But tonight, she had a clearly different expression. "[scared]Kazuma, perfect timing—we just got a report from the observation tower outside—" "[serious]Tell me." "[scared]From the forest south of Axel...we've detected the presence of over two hundred monsters. They're being drawn to that pillar of light. They're heading toward this town right now." Kazuma looked around the guild. Young adventurers holding E-rank request tickets. Apprentices whose equipment was still falling apart. Some of them couldn't even stand from their chairs after hearing Luna's words. Pale faces. Trembling hands. Axel is the "town of fledgling adventurers." Five days south-west by carriage from the royal capital Granbell. A town with mostly low-difficulty monsters, perfect for young people just starting out to hone their skills. But tonight, that became the worst weakness thrust before them. There were almost no veterans in this town who could handle two hundred. Kazuma spread a map on the table. "[serious]Seal the south gate, funnel them to one location. If we gather them within range of Megumin's explosion magic—" "[excited]Leave it to me! I'll purify them all with the power of the goddess!!" Aqua stood up. Her light blue twin-tails swayed softly. Her clear blue eyes were already fixed on the exit. "[angry]Wait, you idiot! Listen to me—" The door opened. Aqua was already running. Kazuma set down the map. "[cold]...It's always like this." --- When they reached the south gate, Aqua was already unleashing Turn Undead repeatedly. Turn Undead—an advanced holy magic that Arch Priests could use, with the power to purify undead monsters. Every time white light was released, skeletons shattered and zombies vanished. But. More than half the horde didn't stop even when hit by the light. Orcs, wolf-type magical beasts, giant insects—living monsters weren't affected by purification. They kept advancing from outside Aqua's holy magic range. "[scared]Huh? Why isn't it working—Kazuma! You're too slow!!" They were surrounded from three sides. Kazuma activated Steal—an initial skill that randomly took items from targets—on the magical beasts while running. Success rate depended on luck stat, and thanks to Kazuma's abnormally high luck, they kept landing. Claws disappeared, fangs disappeared, and the beasts froze for a moment. "[serious]Darkness, provoke!" "[serious]Understood!" Darkness stepped forward. The Crusader's provoke skill activated. The monsters' attention snapped to Darkness all at once. Body slams came. Consecutive hits. The sound of armor denting. On the second hit, blood seeped from the gaps in the armor. "[serious]I'm fine—this much" "[angry]You don't look fine!" Megumin stepped forward, and Kazuma put out his arm to stop her. "[serious]Wait, don't use explosion magic. The south gate will disappear." Megumin closed her mouth. "[serious]...If I used it, I could wipe them all out. But the gate would disappear too. Explosion magic can't adjust its range—a two-hundred-meter radius becomes wasteland." Her face looked pained. A rare expression. The frustration of not being able to use explosion magic radiated from her entire body. Kazuma counted the monsters with his eyes. They weren't decreasing. More kept emerging from the forest. Using it would protect the town. But the gate would disappear. —Kazuma still couldn't put that judgment into words. Then. A human figure appeared from the depths of the monster horde. A person in a deep hood, lit by torchlight. Face invisible. Their gait was calm. They walked through the wave of monsters like they were strolling through a park. The horde avoided that person's area. A quiet voice echoed through the night. "[cold]Welcome, Kazuma. For a hero who has defeated so many high-ranking officers of the Demon King's Army—I've prepared a much grander stage." Kazuma glared. "[angry]Who are you" There was no answer. The hooded figure didn't respond. They simply raised one finger. And snapped it quietly. Pachin. —The monsters all turned at once. Not toward Kazuma and the others. Toward the open gate doors. They ran. "[scared]This is bad—!!" He was too late. The horde of monsters slipped through the gate. They poured into the main street. They scattered through the merchant district. They rushed into the residential area. Two hundred monsters melted into Axel's streets. Screams began rising from deeper in the town. One, two, three—spreading in a chain. Kazuma stood frozen at the gate, unable to move. The strategy he'd laid out in his head became meaningless. The sealed south gate no longer functioned. The monsters were inside the town. Scattered like this, there was no way to gather them in one place. The hooded figure had already dissolved into the darkness. Only the torchlight swayed. "[scared]Inside the town...they got in." "[sad]My Turn Undead wasn't effective against so many magical beasts...I'm sorry." Aqua's voice was unusually small. There was no room for self-justification—exhaustion mixed into that voice. Megumin clenched her fist. The frustration of the explosion magic she couldn't use took physical form. Kazuma looked toward where the screams came from. Each one was happening somewhere in the town. There was a commander. They were moving things intentionally. And now, they'd pinned them to the south gate while funneling everything into the town. Everything had been read. From deeper in the town, screams overlapped again.