Explosion Magic was already terrifyingly powerful to begin with—and Megumin's Explosion Magic was several times stronger than normal on top of that.
This wasn't Berdia's castle, protected by defensive barriers. The moment the Explosion detonated, a massive mushroom cloud surged skyward. The ground in the surrounding area collapsed completely, and thick smoke swallowed everything in sight.Several undead knights who had also been caught in the blast were instantly reduced to ashes.
"How… how could this happen… Ren Kuroda is dead…"
Staring at the massive crater carved into the earth and the smoke that still hadn't fully dissipated, Luna's legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground.
The expressions on the other adventurers of Axel weren't any better.
As for Mitsurugi Kyoya—after learning from his two beautiful companions how he had been rescued—he stared at the crater with a face full of guilt, repeatedly pounding the ground with his fist.
"You've got to be kidding… That good-hearted idiot really went and died together with the headless knight?""Damn it! Wasn't he Axel's strongest adventurer? He was handsome and insanely strong—how could he die so easily?!"
Kazuma hadn't actually interacted with Ren all that much. In fact, because Ren had deliberately avoided them most of the time, they had barely exchanged more than a few words.
But as a fellow visitor from another world, Kazuma had always seen Ren as someone from the same hometown. After arriving in this world, Ren was also one of the very few people who had willingly reached out to help them.
Even after being dragged into trouble by Kazuma and Aqua, Ren never blamed them. Instead, he quietly went off to hunt monsters to pay off debts. In Kazuma and Aqua's eyes, Ren was the textbook definition of a good-natured, hopelessly kind idiot.
So now—watching Ren sacrifice himself to protect the town, dying together with the headless knight under Explosion Magic—Kazuma's emotions naturally boiled over.
And it wasn't just Kazuma. The other adventurers were feeling much the same—anger, regret, grief, and despair spreading through Axel's ranks.
Ren hadn't been in Axel for very long, but when it came to popularity, he was second to none.
Overwhelmingly strong, with an exceptionally good personality—his reputation in Axel was worlds apart from Kazuma's group.
And the way he had just ordered Megumin to use Explosion Magic without hesitation, fully prepared to die alongside Berdia to protect the town, made his image loom even larger in the eyes of the adventurers.
People were emotional creatures—especially adventurers who lived on the edge of life and death, constantly battling monsters. To them, the bonds between comrades meant everything.
Ren's actions had taken that sentiment to its absolute extreme. Even as he prepared to die together with the headless knight, he hadn't forgotten to throw Mitsurugi Kyoya out of danger first.
"Wow… that Explosion Magic really is something else. Seriously powerful.""So it really was you who kept bombarding my castle earlier, huh?"
Just as Axel's adventurers were still mourning Ren's sacrifice, clear hoofbeats echoed from within the crater.Moments later, a nightmare-like figure slowly emerged from the thick smoke, its voice reverberating through the air.
"No way… He took that Explosion head-on and he's still alive?""Damn it—if that's the case, doesn't that mean Ren's sacrifice was completely meaningless?!"
As if to prove that he truly hadn't perished in the Explosion, Berdia's silhouette gradually reappeared from the smoke not long after his voice.
Berdia wasn't completely unscathed—but after taking an Explosion of that magnitude head-on, he was undeniably still in decent condition.
The resistances of a headless knight were extremely high. Aside from water and holy-element attacks, most damage simply couldn't affect him much at all.
"Did you really think I would die together with that adventurer?" Berdia scoffed."Don't make me laugh. I am a commander of the Demon King's Army—how could I fall so easily?""And this armor of mine has been personally blessed by the Demon King himself. Even a strengthened Explosion Magic can hardly deal fatal damage to me."
"Still," he continued, "although that adventurer died, as his opponent, I must acknowledge his noble character.""Fearless in his charge, willing to sacrifice himself—Berdia cannot deny that he was an excellent warrior, much like myself in life.""But sometimes, sacrifice does not guarantee reward. Just like now—what you have gained is nothing but deeper despair."
Berdia's words undoubtedly enraged Axel's adventurers. Yet cruel as they were, the situation they now faced was indeed grim.
Megumin's Explosion Magic had wiped out a large portion of the undead knights—but Axel's adventurers were also in terrible condition.
More importantly, after both Mitsurugi Kyoya and Ren had fallen, Axel could no longer find a third adventurer capable of stopping Berdia.
"Hey, hey, hey—could you stop treating someone who isn't even dead yet as a heroic sacrifice?""So what exactly are you all talking about on your own?""Do I really look that weak? You think one enhanced Explosion Magic is enough to take me out?"
Just as Berdia rode his warhorse forward, emerging from the smoke and preparing to finish off the remaining adventurers, another calm, unhurried voice echoed from the depths of the crater.
A moment later, a figure gradually became visible—emerging clearly before everyone's eyes, to their overwhelming surprise.
In truth, Ren could have climbed out of the crater much sooner. However, while he was down there, he had inexplicably been flooded with system notifications—alerts informing him that he was gaining Prestige.
Judging from the names, almost all of that Prestige had come from Axel's adventurers—Berdia himself had even contributed a fair amount.
Although Ren had no idea that Axel's adventurers had already mentally enshrined him as a self-sacrificing hero, with Prestige pouring in nonstop, he was more than happy to linger in the crater a bit longer.
Compared to the undead Berdia, Ren—who had taken the Explosion head-on with a body of flesh and blood—looked far worse.
His upper clothing had been blown to shreds, and he was covered head to toe in ash and grime.His bare torso bore burns of varying severity from the intense heat, making it obvious that although both had been hit by the Explosion, Ren had suffered far more damage than Berdia.
"So I really misjudged things," Berdia said slowly."The strongest adventurer in this town wasn't the master of the magic sword—but you.""To withstand my blade earlier, and then survive that Explosion… it seems your strength surpasses my expectations.""If you and the magic sword wielder had fought together from the start, you might have had a chance at victory.""But now that you're covered in wounds—what can you possibly do?"
To be honest, Ren surviving had genuinely surprised Berdia.
The Explosion cast by that Crimson Demon girl had possessed enough power to instantly kill high-level monsters and severely injure Demon King commanders.
Berdia's survival was entirely thanks to his racial traits as a headless knight, combined with the Demon King's blessed armor.
But Ren was clearly a living, breathing adventurer. And yet, without using any defensive magic, he had survived.
That alone was baffling.
"Are you joking?" Ren snorted."You call this an injury?""I've had my heart nearly pierced clean through before. These pathetic burns don't even count as surface wounds.""And you're saying I can't keep fighting?"
"…Enough talk.""I've got a rough idea of your strength now.""So let's begin the real battle."
Berdia was just about to tell Ren to stop running his mouth—when his words abruptly caught in his throat.
Because he saw the burned areas on Ren's body begin to hiss and steam, white vapor rising as the wounds visibly regenerated.
Charred, dead skin peeled away. Fresh skin grew back beneath it.
In the short span of their conversation, the burns across Ren's torso had already healed almost completely.
"Are you really human?" Berdia demanded in disbelief."Is there any human class that possesses regeneration like this?!"
Staring at Ren's rapidly healing body, Berdia was stunned.
He had thought that, after the Explosion, the undead one—himself—would be the one with the advantage.
But now, it was painfully clear who was actually losing out.
No wonder Ren had been so confident in letting his companion use Explosion Magic. With regeneration this absurd, as long as he wasn't killed instantly, he could simply recover over time.
Ren kicked off the ground, shattering it beneath his foot. His body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, his speed no slower than before.
Seeing Ren charge straight at him, Berdia soothed his warhorse and yanked the reins, spurring it into a charge of its own.
In Berdia's eyes, Ren's incredible speed suggested a thief-type class—fast, but lacking in raw power.
With a mounted charge, Berdia wasn't at a disadvantage in speed. And for Ren to dare meet him head-on—
That was suicide.
He was a headless knight. With the momentum of his mount, he had been confident enough to clash head-on even with the master of the magic sword.
Let alone some speed-focused rogue.
This charge was decisive.
Berdia was absolutely certain that, just like before, he would overwhelm Ren through sheer power and crush him completely.