As the night wore on, I was in a deep sleep, but it seems to not be deep enough for me to not wake up by the loud alarm of the crimson demon village. "Attention! The Devil king's army is attacking, they are IN the village."
I groaned, staying down and murmuring "Five more minutes, then I will wake up."
In this half-asleep state I couldn't quite differentiate my thoughts from the physical world, what I was consciously dreaming about was getting the factory for Vanir done.
But something always had to make noise! I can't get a nice rest. I sit up and look out of the window, seeing Kazuma, who had his face in between the milk jugs of that general lady.
"What the fuck is this...?" I say with a low and sleepy voice.
"EY! Wasn't one gunshot enough?!" I barged out of my creation, falling like a ragdoll on my back as I trip.
The lady just looked at me weirdly. Actually - everyone looked at me weirdly.
Kazuma was struggling to get out, but then he just stopped... and relaxed. I stood up, dusting myself off and seeing this weird action.
"Honey, time out. Stop breathing so hard. You are making it so i'm heating up something fierce-" The lady said, holding Kazuma.
"Sacred Exorcism!" Aqua yelled, a pillar of energy coming from the ground beneath the lady.
The woman screamed, dropping Kazuma. As the smoke cleared she stood slightly hunched. "How sneaky. But I have bad news - I'm not a pure blooded demon, so your spell won't kill me." She stood up, waving her hand forward and presenting herself. "My name is Sylvia! Chief of enhanced monster development, and I have augmented and modified my body to suit me. I'm Sylvia, the growth chimera, and this boy is now mine."
Suddenly four tentacle thingies came out of her back, they were the same color as her skin. "Come. Let us be one again."
Kazuma stood up and spread his arms, the appendages wrapping around him and pulling him back into her clutches.
"Bro, are you fucking serious?!" I say, throwing my hands forward.
"What, you can't blame me." He said quietly his head getting squeezed.
"I can."
"Well if you guys appreciated me more, because unlike you - Sylvia does. I mean it's that easy to get a guy to defect to the Devil King's army."
"A person gonna ask you about why you joined and what will you say? 'titties'." I mock him.
"Shut up, you flat chest lover." Kazuma replied defiantly.
"Unlike you I'm not compensating with other resources for my size." I reply.
...
"Delightful, dear, but you shouldn't be so harsh with your friends. Stay with me and I will teach you how to understand the female." Sylvia pat Kazuma's head.
"What could a demon know about a human woman?" Darkness stepped up, sword drawn.
"I actually know a lot about women and men... In fact I'm a part man myself."
Kazuma looked up sweating profusely. "Sorry, what?"
"Weren't your cute little ears blocked? I'm a chimera, sweetie. I added all sort of thing to my body. Like those breasts you love so much."
I snorted, understanding the implication, the girls on the other hand looked in shocked.
"I must say, you are fine stack of man. Holding you like this has my body all tingly."
"Sorry... Sylvia. It feels like something is pocking my butt." Kazuma said.
I was trying to hold back my laughter, because this revelation was very amusing.
Sylvia smiled down at him, "That's because... Something is."
I immediately started laughing.
---
Simple said she gave us a pass to just leave, and so we did, leaving poor Kazuma to fend off for himself.
---
We rushed to get help from town, but only Bukkororii and the female, from the first four we met, came.
I prepared for a battle, exo-suit on, sword and revolver out. Approaching the end of the staircase which was within the mysterious facility, we found Kazuma, who seems to have managed to deal with Sylvia pretty well... But she is locked up with the weapon. Aqua was smart enough to mention it, but not enough to keep her attention to it. I slowly walked up the stairs.
Like I expected, something happened - my friends came running and right after that lasers cut through the building unleashing Sylvia, who seems to have gotten just a tiny bit taller... That's cool.
"I never told you how I'd use the weapon. Behold - my power to assimilate anything, weapon or otherwise, into my body. For I am Sylvia, the growth chimera, and I am the ultimate weapon." She rose high and showed off a white tail made out of some metallic ball chain structure.
"Yeah, pretty cool, let's get this over with. I want to go to sleep." I say, placing the sword onto my shoulder and walking forward.
"I will deal with you later." She said, crawling away towards the village with impressive speeds.
I point my revolver at her and shoot, but unsurprisingly - I missed.
What came after were many dust clouds, and her climbing onto the tallest structure within the village. From there hell broke loose.
I looked at Kazuma. "How did you do this?!"
He didn't even bother answering.
"No matter... We will have to deal with this while she is in this state."
We quickly rushed to a cliff, where most of the crimson demons have gathered.
"Sorry you had to see our village burn out." The chief - Yunyun's father - said, as Kazuma called him, while we were running towards them.
"That's it then... All is lost." Arue said, her eyes glistening as she gazed down at the destruction.
"Magic cannot destroy the mage killer, but there is something... that CAN!" She said dramatically turning towards us(the crowd)
"The monument of the Indecipherable inscription tells of it."
"Then we are going there! Come on, show us the way to this monument!" Kazuma said, looking at Megumin.
Sylvia shot a laser which was too close to Megumin's home. "Komekko is there!"
"Leave this to me. You take Kazuma and the others to the monument. Do not worry - I will protect your loved ones, it's my duty, after all."
"I will head and fight, while y'all are searching for the monument. See you later!" I a salute with two fingers and jump off the edge, turning around and running down the wall, before finally reaching solid ground. I was able to survive in this harsh condition with ease, because I converted all the heat and smoke into harmless air and mana.
The problem is that quite a few got there before me, shooting a team combo, which created a hurricane. At least the hurricane brought in some fresh air and removed all the fire, but now - I could see. This village is leveled... Truly sad; and it was quite nice.
I yawned and closed my eyes for just a second. The moment I opened them again some barrier was rapidly expanding. Hitting me. As well as many others. Funifura tried to cast a spell, but failed. I tried to make light from my hand, but this also failed... Then I revved up my sword. For some reason it still worked...
Realization struck me, the mage-killer prevents us from mimicking the natural pattern that out bodies use to cast spells, but since my older creations have a system which works on logic and engraved patterns, the mage-killer couldn't stop it...
I smirk. "Guess I'm going full on melee."
"Ey, Sylvia, wanna go for a 1 on 1?" I smirked holding my sword in front of my face, as if inspecting the blade. I could tell that the crimson demons were proud of me.
"Don't listen to him, Lady Sylvia, we will deal with him." One of the goblin soldiers said.
"Nah, I don't want a poor fellas blood on my sword, all though I did slaughter you all with that one explosion..." I weight my options.
Sylvia tilted her head as my words rang out, her gaze predatory.
"Oh? Brave and stubborn. I like that in a man." Her voice purred. "Yes... I'll face you myself."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I already have The Woman for me. I don't need... whatever mess you've stitched together."
Without another word I launched myseelf forward in a burst of steam. "Boys, run." She said down at the goblins, staying stationary. Good enough. I pulled my revolver and shot at her again, she dodged this time. "You won't get me with this thing again." She glared at me. Once her army has retreated to safely, they began cheering her. She whipped her tail, which I quickly jumped over, though It managed to caught my foot the second time.
"Look at you. So tiny, what could you possibly do?"
"Like so many things, you might have deactivated my magic, but I still have things that work."
"Is whipping that tail around all you can do."
"Oh, darling, I can do so many things-" She said in a tone that I didn't like - it was a mix of seduction and whatever.
"Shut it." I instantly whip out my revolver and shoot at her.
"Didn't I sa-"
I shoot again, hitting her shoulder.
"So that's how it's going to be..." She said, as if the butter was nothing.
Her belly inflated like a balloon, after which she blew fire in my direction from her mouth. I managed to escape in time... This was a great adrenaline boost.
I manage to jump and run up her tail and towards her, but when I swing, she blocks it with the thin end of her tail, she grabbed me by the neck, threw me down and moved her tail in such a way, that she hit me into flying.
My body bounced a few stuff, was it a leg, was it an arm, but the worst part was when it was the head... I was still barely alive, reaching back I felt warmth in the form of a liquid... blood.
Everything went black and I fainted.
---
A few moments later, I was in the afterlife. The usual dead calm atmosphere... Eris sat there. Her eyes carried that soft, almost motherly worry.
I sighed and leaned back. "You are right. Not even sure why I'm fighting like this... Feels stupid."
Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn't scold. "You always throw yourself at the impossible," she said quietly, hands folded on her lap. "I wish you'd think of yourself more."
"Yeah, well..." I chuckled, looking to the side. "I guess I keep forgetting I'm not invincible. Or maybe I just don't care."
Her expression softened, but her eyes shimmered with unshed emotion. "You should care."
"Yeah..." In that moment something tugged at my soul, suddenly I began floating quickly. I shrug and give her a cheeky smile. "See you later, love."
Her eyes widened as this happened. It wasn't by her hand, not by protocol, but by something else entirely. She gasped, truly shocked.
And then the light swallowed me whole.
---
My eyes open, my vision returning to normal, I sit up and look down at my hand... I really don't even have a purpose to be fighting right now... I mean, I had no purpose in coming here neither... No progress done. I feel stagnant. A thought occurred to me, a memory, to be more precise. It was of the angel. "If one succeeds in killing the Devil king, then they would gain a wish."
My thoughts lingered on that for a second, and then on Eris... Maybe I could use the wish on her, to free her from her duty, or more over - give her the ability to choose when to work and when not to.
"Lady Sylvia!" All her goblin troops yelled and pointed at me.
She looked at me. "Well, you don't know when to give up, do you?"
I wasn't even listening. What interested me now was how did I get pulled back to life, if not revived... My head... I placed a hand on it, the crack was gone, all fixed... But how...
The answer is the enchantment Memory. A while back i theorized that this enchantment would remain active as long as mana flows through me, and if I am a mana generator, then It will always be active... Does that mean that I can regenerate?
But if I was in the afterlife, then that means I died momentarily.
Sylvia shot a laser at me, almost hitting me, I quickly stood up and rushed her down.
"Didn't you learn?" She asked, wiggling her tail around in an attempt to hit me.
I replied with: "No." Before blocking the attack, sparks flying from my blade and her tail.
I dashed and managed to run up her tail, as much as she tried to escape, I prepared to strike again, and she tried to block it, but I switched it, from a swing to a pierce. My sword struck her in the chest, piercing deep. "You!" She said shocked.
"Me?" I pressed the button, the pressure growing, releasing steam from the little exits and allowing me to cut her in half.
This problem was solved... She died on the spot.
The crimson demons cheered, the weapon that was preventing magic usage stopped...
One step closer... I close my eyes, sitting on the metal tail, I was tired. So what I did next was just leave and go sleep, screw celebration, everyone else can deal with the shit I left behind.
I placed all my gear in my astral storage, and called upon Acat to pick me up.