"Not even a scrap of flesh will remain! The Dark flames Born from my ebon heart will Scorch you!"
"Slumber for eternity in the frozen embrace of my ice!"
"I… Kill… You…"
"Now… it is born…"
The four of them spoke up. It was obvious they weren't chanting spells—just pure chuunibyo talk.
Crimson Demons, after all. Totally normal.
Not only did Shichen have zero reaction, even Darkness and the others didn't bat an eye. Everyone knows the Crimson Demons are… not exactly normal.
After the chuunibyo lines, the four began chanting the exact same incantation.
The Demon King's minions panicked and bolted.
"Run!"
Too bad for them—before they'd taken two steps, the four Crimson Demons finished their spells.
"Light of Saber!"
"Light of Saber!"
"Saber—!"
"ber—!"
They shouted one after another, each louder than the last. They fired off the same spell like it cost them nothing, but it was more than enough for these underlings.
In the blink of an eye, the Demon King's minions carpeting the ground were chopped into chunks, their corpses reeking of burnt flesh.
If you didn't know better, you'd think the four Crimson Demons were the Demon King's army. Ruthless, no mercy at all.
"The Crimson Demons really are amazing," Darkness couldn't help but sigh.
"Well, they're a bit… off, but they're undeniably strong. Even the Demon King is wary of them," Aqua said.
"It's not that big a deal…" Megumin, lying on Shichen's back, scratched her cheek, embarrassed.
"Nobody said we were talking about you," Shichen swatted her pert backside.
"Mm… what's that supposed to mean, Shichen? I'm not amazing? If I could've fired off one more Explosion just now, we wouldn't have needed them at all!" Megumin huffed.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the greatest… They're coming over."
"I heard explosions in the distance and brought a guerrilla squad over, and—wait… aren't those Megumin and Yunyun? What are you doing here? Why are you in a place like this?"
The first chuunibyo speaker was the one who addressed them.
With one arm around Shichen's neck, Megumin waved with the other. "Isn't that Bukkororii? Long time no see! Yunyun and I heard the Crimson Demon Village was in danger, so we rushed back."
"Danger?" Bukkororii tilted his head, baffled.
The other three looked at each other and shook their heads as well, then quickly turned their attention to Shichen's group.
"Anyway, Megumin, are these your party members? Why's there only one guy? Don't tell me he's your boyfriend?" Bukkororii asked.
"B-Boyfriend…!" Megumin suddenly flailed, face blazing red.
"Hello, I'm Shichen, Megumin and Yunyun's adventuring companion," Shichen said with a smile.
"Oh—total heartthrob, but that self-intro was kinda plain," Bukkororii shook his head.
Shichen: "?"
Bukkororii's expression turned solemn. He flicked his cloak dramatically and boomed, "I am Bukkororii! The son of the foremost cobbler among the Crimson Demons! Arch wizard, and wielder of advanced magic!"
"…," Shichen's mouth twitched.
He knew what they were like and had braced himself, but seeing it in person was still a little embarrassing.
Chuunibyo types don't feel embarrassment; if they don't, the embarrassment just transfers to everyone else.
Shichen stayed silent, but Bukkororii stared at him, blinking expectantly.
…Was he supposed to introduce himself the same way?
He kind of wanted to try it, but his shame wouldn't allow it. Still, these were Megumin and Yunyun's clansmen—maybe he should play along to make a good first impression?
"I am Aqua! A being revered and worshiped by all, the one who will one day vanquish the Demon King! And my true identity is the Goddess of Water!" Aqua suddenly launched into her own chuunibyo self-intro.
"Aqua, you…?" Shichen stared, dumbfounded.
"Ehe~ The mood swept me up; I couldn't help it," Aqua said, flustered.
"I see…"
"Whoa—so cool!" Bukkororii and the others were thrilled, still staring at them expectantly.
An utterly mortified Darkness forced herself to speak. "I—I am Dustiness Ford Lala… ti… na. I-I'm from Axel and I… uuu…" She couldn't finish; her pretty face was crimson.
"Shichen, am I supposed to do it too?" Frieren asked.
"Looks like it," Shichen said, noting the four still watching with shining eyes.
"Sigh, fine. I kind of wanted to try it anyway."
"Hm?" Shichen blinked at her.
Expressionless, manga in hand, Frieren said, "I am Frieren, an elven mage, a seeker of all magic."
Shichen gave her a look. That line didn't sound improvised. "Seeker of all magic"? More like "reader of all manga," right?
"An elf, huh? I see. Would've been even better with more oomph in the delivery," Bukkororii nodded, then fixed his gaze on Shichen.
"…All right then. I am Shichen, slayer of several of the Demon King's Generals, Hero Of Axel. Pleased to meet you," Shichen said, deadpan.
"Whoa—! You've taken down several Generals? A hero? For real? That's incredible!" Bukkororii was ecstatic.
"I-It's true. Shichen's really strong—he's already defeated multiple Demon King Generals," Yunyun added.
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" Bukkororii didn't doubt him for a second.
"Shichen?" Megumin called out, unhappy.
"What?"
"You got all buddy-buddy with Bukkororii and the others right away, yet you never respond to me like that!"
"You're jealous over this?"
"I don't care!" Megumin huffed and turned away.
"Come on, it was the mood. It's not like I wanted to."
"But you still played along…"
"So what do you want?"
"Tonight… come sleep at my place," Megumin muttered.
"That's it? Sure," Shichen chuckled.
"Megumin, Yunyun—your companions are great. This is the first time I've met adventurers willing to play along with us. You're awesome!"
Bukkororii said excitedly. "I approve of you. Come, I'll lead you to the Crimson Demon Village. It's a bit of a trek from here, so I'll use spatial teleportation to send you partway."
"Much appreciated."
"No biggie—Teleport!"
As soon as he spoke, Shichen's vision warped. The scenery shifted, and the barren plain vanished.
In its place stood a quiet, peaceful little settlement.
Bukkororii stepped forward, back to the village, spread his arms, and beamed. "Welcome to the Crimson Demon Village, outsiders—and welcome home, Megumin and Yunyun!"
"So this is the Crimson Demon Village? It feels… different," Aqua craned her neck, looking around.
"You've never been here. Different from what?" Megumin asked.
"With the Crimson Demons' reputation, I expected it to be more… lively."
"I kind of thought so too… And weren't we told there was a crisis? Why's everything so peaceful?" Darkness wondered.
"Um…" Yunyun looked at Bukkororii.
"Hm? What's up?"
"Isn't the Demon King's army attacking our village?"
"What Demon King's army? As if they'd dare! We're heading back on patrol. Bye!"
With that, the other three gathered around him. He began chanting, and the four vanished into thin air.
Shichen frowned. He hadn't felt any spatial fluctuation.
"…What on earth is going on?" Darkness asked Yunyun.
"I don't know either… I'd better go ask my dad," Yunyun said awkwardly, feeling like she might have been duped.
"We should ask… But wow, you Crimson Demons really are something. No wonder they're Archwizards—using teleport to leave like that is pretty stylish," Darkness said.
"Darkness, that wasn't teleportation," Megumin said.
"Huh?"
"They just used a light-refraction spell to hide themselves."