The sky before dawn was still dark. Rubble dug into his knees. The taste of blood filled his mouth. When he licked his lips, iron. Kazuma pressed both hands against the stone ground and slowly pushed himself up. His entire body ached. Stomach, back, head—everything. But the commander was still there. From deeper in the city, screams echoed in the distance. He could hear Darkness bracing herself. Aqua's voice reached him too—casting recovery magic on someone. Megumin was somewhere in a pile of garbage. Kazuma looked at the commander. Something glowed inside the hood. Purple. ——Steal. A skill that randomly robbed the target of their possessions. A basic skill, nowhere near the upper-tier classes—a half-baked power. Success rate depended on luck stat. And Kazuma's luck stat was, for some reason, abnormally high. He positioned his fingers. Activated it. "[surprised]——Huh?" Something flew into his hand. A small wooden whistle. Old and cheap. The kind of child's toy you could find anywhere—a wooden whistle that fit perfectly in Kazuma's palm. Kazuma stared at it for three seconds. This——was controlling two hundred bodies. "[sarcastic]……A wooden whistle? Seriously?" He couldn't help but feel let down. He'd imagined something far more sinister. The swarm fell into chaos. The monsters' movements, which had been coordinated across the city, suddenly scattered everywhere. Without orders, they spun in circles in the same spots. Monsters crashing their heads into walls. Monsters freezing suddenly in place. The commander's body wavered slightly. ——For the first time, he showed doubt. But the next instant, a hand emerged from inside the hood. Something was pulled from the chest. Purple light. A crystal. A palm-sized crystal pulsing with violet light. The moment it was raised, the scattered monsters' movements began to regain coordination. Something clicked in Kazuma's mind. ——First episode, the kitchen. The turnip glowed purple. ——Third episode, the farmland. When Aqua used purification magic, the same patterned crystal emerged from the soil. The instant the purification touched the crystal, the turnip swelled up to the ceiling. Which meant——it reacted. ——The crystal right in front of him now. They were all the same. "[serious]Aqua's purification magic" The words came out. He hadn't even realized it. The crystal's weakness——Aqua's purification magic. Back then, when the purification touched it, it reacted. That was the only way to neutralize it. The commander looked at Kazuma. "[cold]You figured it out" "[serious]Darkness!" He shouted. Thirty seconds later, heavy footsteps thundered from the direction of the guild. Golden wavy hair swayed in the night wind as Darkness ran toward him, her armor dented in places. Blood seeped from the seams of her right arm's armor. "[serious]What is it, Kazuma!" "[serious]Go get Megumin. She's in a garbage pile in the alley" Darkness stopped for a moment. "[serious]……A garbage pile?" "[serious]Explanation later. Can you run?" Darkness glanced at her own right arm. Blood dripped from her fingertips to the ground. Seeing it, she slowly raised her face. "[serious]I cannot fight. But——running, I can do" She turned on her heel and sprinted away at full speed. The heavy sound of armored footsteps echoed across the night's stone pavement and faded into the distance. Kazuma faced the commander. "[serious]I need to buy time. I'll do it" He added it only in his mind. Aqua was on the opposite side of the city right now. Treating residents. It would take time for her to arrive. So I'll hold the line. Drain Touch——a skill that siphoned magical power from whoever you touched. A dirty technique. Not overwhelming strength. But right now, it was all he had. He lunged forward. Grabbed the commander's right arm. The sensation of magical power flowing in. Slowly. Bit by bit. The commander's response was fast. He wrenched his arm free, and his left fist caught Kazuma's cheek. Crack!! His face snapped to the side. The corner of his lip split. Blood spread across his tongue. Kazuma stumbled but pressed forward again. "[cold]Persistent" This time a kick came. The stomach. The same spot he'd been kicked yesterday. Thud!! He collapsed. His knees struck the stone pavement. It hurt. Really hurt. But he stood. "[serious]……Hey, crystal or whatever. Show me it up close for a second" He went for Drain Touch again. Grabbed the edge of the commander's cloak. Magical power leaked out faintly. The commander shouted. "[angry]Don't touch it!!" Consecutive punches. Cheek, jaw, shoulder. Slammed into the ground. As he tried to get up, a foot came and he rolled again. Cheek pressed against the stone pavement, Kazuma looked up at the sky. Still dark. The sky before dawn. A few stars visible. Blood dripped from his mouth. ——Aqua, where are you. He stood. He stood again. "[sarcastic]You don't stay down" "[serious]If I stay down, my friends die. Don't care" Before the next kick came, a voice reached him. Distant. But he heard it. "[crying]Don't hog all the glory——!! Don't you dare leave me behind, you absolute worst——!!" A crying voice. Running while crying. Her nose was stuffed up. She was completely running while sobbing. From around the corner of the alley, aqua-colored long hair whipped in the night wind as Aqua burst through. Her twin tails were completely disheveled. One hair accessory was crooked. Her eyes were red. Snot was running. The goddess who'd sprinted at full speed didn't look like a goddess at all. "[crying]Kazuma, you're covered in blood!! What are you doing!! Call me when you need me!!" "[serious]You got here fast" "[crying]I asked another adventurer to take over treating the residents and came right away!! You got a problem with that!?" The commander looked at Aqua. "[cold]……You came, goddess. But too late. It's already over" Aqua stood beside Kazuma and looked at the commander. Her clear blue eyes were still wet with tears. But those eyes never wavered from the commander. "[serious]That crystal——how do we break it?" Before Kazuma could open his mouth, a voice came from behind. "[serious]I will analyze it" He turned around. Darkness had returned. Megumin was on her back. Megumin couldn't move. Magical exhaustion from casting explosion magic. But her red eyes were wide open. A piece of garbage sat on top of her head. A cabbage leaf. "[serious]That crystal——it's recorded in the ancient texts of the Crimson Demon clan" Still carried on Darkness's back, Megumin spoke. "[serious]It's a magical amplification technique used by the Demon King's army. The crystal's core has only one point where the defense is thin. If you pour purification magic directly into that spot——a chain collapse will occur" "[serious]Where is that point" "[serious]The bottom surface of the crystal, slightly offset from the center. You can see it" Darkness said quietly. "[serious]I will get you close. Even if attacks don't land——I can take them" "[serious]You're bleeding right now" "[serious]It has stopped. I am fine now" He thought it was a lie. But no words came to counter it. The commander raised the crystal high. "[cold]Interesting. Go ahead and try" The light grew stronger. The purple pulsing accelerated. From all across the city, the monsters' voices began to rage again. "[serious]Let's go. Darkness, I'm counting on you" "[serious]Yes, sir" Darkness stepped forward with Megumin still on her back. She began taking the commander's attacks with her body. Punched. Kicked. But she didn't retreat an inch. The sound of armor clanging—bang, crash. In that opening, Kazuma and Aqua circled around. The bottom surface of the crystal. Slightly offset from the center. "[serious]Can you see it" "[serious]I can see it!" A tear traced down Aqua's cheek. She must have been crying the whole way here. Her eyes were red. But those clear blue eyes had locked onto the crystal's core. She moved into position for purification magic——and stopped. She tilted her head. Plink. A single tear fell onto the bottom surface of the crystal. In that instant. White light exploded. Crack——!! The sound of fracturing. Cracks raced across the crystal's surface. White light spread in lines. The purple pulsing became erratic. "[surprised]……!" For the first time, his voice wavered. Kazuma pressed both hands against the rubble and watched the light. Aqua's tear. A goddess's tear. Aqua's purification had reacted with the crystal in the farmland. Not the magic itself—Aqua herself had compatibility with the crystal's magical power. So——even a tear would work. "[laughing]What the hell……a goddess who came crying, and her tears crack it" He laughed. His whole body hurt, but somehow he laughed. Aqua sniffled. "[crying]Don't laugh! I was doing my best too!!" Darkness set Megumin down on the ground. Gently. Carefully. Megumin lay on the stone pavement, staring at the crystal's cracks. Her red eyes glowed softly. Even if she couldn't move——she'd been useful. On her face, there was faint relief. On the rubble, Kazuma's and Megumin's hands touched slightly. Neither said anything. ——The commander shattered that silence. "[angry]Naive……!! That alone won't shatter it!!" His grip on the crystal tightened. The purple light swelled all at once. From all across the city, the sound of buildings collapsing came in succession. Residents' screams began to overlap again. The monsters were growing savage once more. The cracks had formed. But——it wasn't shattered. Kazuma stood up, blood covering his face. He looked at his friends. Darkness was re-bracing her shield with an arm that was nearly broken. Megumin lay on the ground unable to move, glaring at the crystal's cracks. Aqua wiped her tears and still hadn't given up. They were all falling apart. Every single one of them. But——no one was running. Kazuma wiped the blood from the corner of his lip and began to think. The cracks had formed. They'd reached the core. One more push. He still had one last move.