Monsters entered the city. That fact kept spinning in his head. The moment the hooded man snapped his fingers in front of the south gate——Kazuma's entire plan fell apart. Two hundred scattered creatures. The main street, the shopping district, the residential area. The words "Axel, the beginner adventurer's town" took on the worst possible meaning tonight. The four of them were separated. Megumin moved first. "[serious]Deep in the alley——something big is heading toward the residential area" Her crimson eyes fixed on a single point. A massive shadow. A magical beast kicking through walls as it advanced toward the residents. "[serious]I'll handle it" "[angry]Wait, explosion magic——" "[serious]It's deep in an alley away from the houses. Nothing in the blast radius will be caught" Megumin's red ribbon fluttered in the night breeze. It rippled at her neck, then stilled again. Kazuma checked the terrain for just a moment. The corner of the alley. A dead end. The residents were indeed fleeing. "[cold]……Do it" Megumin spread both hands wide. Her magical aura began to shimmer. Her crimson eyes glowed. The incantation started——her voice echoing low and deep through the night streets. Explosion magic——the highest-tier attack spell, said to have fewer than fifty practitioners across the entire continent. Incantation time: roughly ten seconds. Blast radius: two hundred meters, reducing everything to rubble. And after use, she'd be drained of all magical power and unable to move. That was Megumin's full strength. BOOOOOM!!! The depths of the alley flashed white. The shockwave shook the walls. Heat washed across Kazuma's cheek. Smoke rose up. The magical beast's cry stopped. "[serious]……I got it" And then Megumin crumpled to the ground right there. Magical power exhaustion. It always happened. Every single time. "[cold]Don't move, stay there——" He called out. But Megumin couldn't move. That was just how she was. Lying in the darkness of the alley, she gave a small "……I understand." Right after that. There was a crash. A garbage bin stacked up deep in the alley lost its balance from the shockwave's aftereffect. It tilted slowly——and its contents rained down on Megumin with a soft patter-patter-patter. Silence. Megumin couldn't move. Only her face was visible. Her expression was blank. Only her right foot stuck out from the pile of garbage, twitching slightly. A child passing by stopped. Looked at Megumin. Megumin looked back. Neither said anything. The child ran away. This wasn't a situation to laugh at. Absolutely not. But Kazuma's mouth twitched for just a moment. He forced it down. "[cold]……I'll come get you later" He ran. --- Three alleys later, he heard Aqua's voice. "[excited]Turn Undead!!" White light spilled from deeper in the city. Skeleton-type monsters crumbled in the light. Aqua——her holy magic as an Arch Priest was the real deal. It was overwhelmingly effective against undead. But the next voice was much smaller. "[scared]No, this one——Turn Undead doesn't work on you——!" Holy magic didn't work on living magical beasts. That was Aqua's weakness. An old man's groan echoed from somewhere distant. The sound of a house wall collapsing. Aqua's footsteps. She was running. Running without stopping. And from the direction of the guild, dull impact sounds repeated at regular intervals. Thud, thud, thud——at steady intervals. Darkness. Using her Crusader's provocation skill to draw the monsters, taking the hits with her body. Not giving an inch. Her footsteps weren't moving. Just standing like a wall. Kazuma faced a group of monsters at an alley corner. "[serious]Come on" Steal——a basic skill that randomly took items from a target. Kazuma's luck stat was abnormally high. Even against monsters, claws vanished, fangs disappeared, and disarmed creatures froze for a moment. In that gap, Drain Touch——a skill that absorbed the target's vitality through contact. One creature. Then another. But there were too many. One-on-one, he could manage. But three at once was impossible. His body was getting torn up. Claws grazed his shoulder. He was pressed against the wall. His feet tangled. How much longer could he last? That's when he heard it. Footsteps. Not from a monster. Quiet, human footsteps. "[cold]So you were here after all, Kazuma" A hooded figure stood at the alley entrance. Walking slowly from a place the torchlight couldn't reach. The monsters around them avoided this person's vicinity. Kazuma kicked one monster away and put his back to the wall. "[serious]……It's you" "[cold]You're exhausted. Naturally. One person has limits" The face beneath the hood wasn't visible. The voice——whether male or female was unclear. Just calm. That composure, like taking a stroll through a park, made his stomach turn. "[cold]Let me tell you. Aqua——purification and healing are first-rate, but her direct combat ability against living magical beasts is zero. She's probably running around crying by now" Kazuma said nothing. "[cold]Megumin——explosion magic is certainly strong. But it's one shot and done. She should be immobilized somewhere by now" He remembered the garbage pile in the alley. No words came to counter that. "[cold]Darkness——provocation and defense are genuine. But her attacks don't land. Wear her down and she falls. It's only a matter of time" The footsteps came closer. One step. Then another. "[cold]And you——Kazuma. Steal, Drain Touch. You use them skillfully. But in the end, it's just a combination of basic skills and dirty tricks. Meaningless against upper-tier opponents. You can't use magic. Your swordsmanship is above average at best. Nothing about you stands out" Each word was accurate. He couldn't argue back. Because it was true. "[cold]A worthless mob who can't do anything without his companions, acting like the hero who defeated the Demon King's generals. Pathetic" A kick came. It hit his stomach. THUD——!!! All the air in his lungs expelled at once. He lifted off the ground. The next moment, his back slammed violently against the stone wall. CRASH!! The back of his head struck the wall. His vision went white. He collapsed, sliding down. Rubble dug into his knees. The taste of iron spread through his mouth. Blood. "[scared]Cough……" He dropped to his knees. Both hands on the ground. The stone felt cold. "[cold]Your companions are all useless too. Four useless people gathered together. Still useless in total" The Commander turned away. Walking off. Kazuma opened his mouth. Tried to talk back. But no words came. His throat hurt. His stomach hurt. ——More than anything. He had no words to say back. Before reincarnation, he was just an ordinary middle schooler living in Japan. No special talent, no outstanding ability, nothing. Even in this world, he was still the same. Things had worked out because his companions were strong. Things had moved forward, chaotic as they were, because his companions were interesting. If he'd been alone, he might have just picked a quest from the guild's bulletin board on his first day and that would've been it. That's when. ——The wind blew. Aqua's voice reached him from deeper in the city. Distant. But audible. She was crying. Running while crying. "I'm sorry" "I should be able to do more"——not words of self-justification. Pure frustration, pure shame, her voice continuing as she ran and cried. From the direction of the alley, a hoarse voice reached him. "……Blaze……Burst……" Megumin. Buried in garbage. Unable to move. Still whispering fragments of an incantation in a hoarse voice. For the next shot. Even though she had no magic left. From the guild, another dull impact sound echoed. Thud. Darkness's footsteps hadn't moved an inch. Kazuma, still gripping the rubble, heard each sound one by one. ——They're all useless. Every single one of them is useless. The Commander was right about that much. But. Aqua running while crying——she's my Aqua. Megumin chanting from inside garbage——she's my Megumin. Darkness not giving an inch——she's my Darkness. They're my useless ones. Kazuma clenched his teeth. The taste of blood filled his mouth. His hands trembled. Slowly, he raised his knees. Gripping the stone wall, he stood up. "[serious]……Hey" The Commander turned around. "[serious]Everything you said was right. I'm not good at anything. I can't do anything without my companions. I won't deny it" His voice was quiet. Not shouting. Not crying. Not trembling. Just quiet. "[serious]But they're still moving. So I move too. That's all" The Commander said nothing. Something moved beneath the hood. But then he turned on his heel and vanished into the night darkness. The torchlight flickered. Kazuma, holding his stomach, began walking toward the depths of the alley. First, he'd pick up Megumin. Then find Aqua. Support Darkness. The Commander was still somewhere in the city. Megumin was alone in the alley, unable to move. Too much to do. His body hurt. It was a pain. But his feet kept moving.