Legend of the Crimson Demon

While Arnes was being chased across the horizon by a pack of insane Crimson Demons, Zunzun leisurely stood up from the ground and dusted himself off.

She might've been a high-level demon, but… her brain was probably low-level.

Honestly, with that IQ, there's no way she'll be back anytime soon.

"Zun—Zunzun! Are you okay!?"

Two figures burst out of the nearby bushes: Megumin, holding her tiny black cat, and Yunyun, out of breath and flustered.

"Why are you two here?"

Zunzun blinked, and then immediately realized how dumb that question was.

After all, that explosion had rattled half the village. Of course they'd show up.

"By the way…"

He glanced suspiciously at Megumin, who was carefully avoiding eye contact.

"Don't tell me you two were here the whole time, just… watching?"

"It's not like that!" Yunyun yelped. "We didn't just hide on purpose—the village adults wouldn't let us go out!"

"That's right!" Megumin chimed in self-righteously. "Zunzun, you know I use Explosion Magic! What if I hurt you by accident?!"

You absolutely watched from the sidelines!!

The friendship is over! OVER!!

Then Megumin puffed up angrily.

"But seriously, Zunzun! Why did you blow her cover!? That demon paid me in advance!"

"…Huh?"

"She gave me 300,000 Eris! We had a deal! What am I supposed to do now!?"

Zunzun's jaw dropped.

He hadn't expected Megumin to go full capitalist on him.

"W-Wait, you made a deal with a demon!? And used Chomusuke!?" Yunyun shouted, shaking her small shoulders in horror. "Have you no conscience!?"

"I didn't know she was a demon!" Megumin shot back. "And besides, I'm about to leave on my adventure. If I take Chomusuke with me, it could get hurt! Giving it to someone strong is better!"

She… conveniently left out the part where Chomusuke was the evil god's clone.

Yunyun would 100% shut the whole thing down if she knew.

Thus began an intense Crimson Demon-style quarrel.

Meanwhile, Zunzun stood quietly, deep in thought.

He didn't actually hate demons. Neither Host nor Wiz had ever caused harm to innocent people. Even Arnes, despite being a demon, had tried to negotiate first.

If anything, the truly chaotic force in this world…

…was the Axis Church.

Suddenly, Yunyun blinked. "Wait. Since the demon escaped… does that mean the deal's off?"

"Nope!" Megumin declared smugly.

She pulled a heavy coin pouch from her robe.

"She left the deposit behind. All 300,000 Eris! I'll use it for teleportation fees."

"That's too much!!" Yunyun screamed in moral outrage.

But Megumin was unmoved. "Demons don't have good credit scores. And besides, it was the Axis Church who taught me to be like this."

She said this proudly. Like it was an achievement.

Then, with a pause, Megumin turned serious.

"Zunzun, Yunyun. I've decided. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"That's way too fast!!" Yunyun shouted.

But for Megumin, it was already overdue.

She'd wasted half a year in the village. If not for arranging things for Komekko, she would've left long ago.

At that moment, Yunyun mumbled something about needing to grab something and sprinted off—leaving Megumin and Zunzun alone.

"What's with that look?" Megumin said, eyes sharp. "You got something to say?"

Zunzun folded his arms.

He expected her to ask him to take care of Komekko and Chomusuke. He'd even rehearsed how to politely refuse.

But—

"No, I'm leaving Chomusuke with Yunyun. As for Komekko…"

She paused, her voice softer.

"Komekko's still young, but she's smarter than I am. More independent too. If anything happens, I've already told her to find Bukkororii or Soketto."

…Why'd she deliberately skip over me?

Zunzun caught the faint glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"…I won't see you off."

"Ah, really."

Her eyes dimmed.

Then, almost like trying to lift her own spirits, she added:

"I met the person who taught me Explosion Magic. Since then, I decided—I'm never coming back."

"I'm going to travel with strong, reliable companions… defeat the Demon King, and become the next Demon King myself!"

"Zunzun, your dream is to conquer the world, right? Be careful or I might get there first!"

I have never said I wanted to conquer the world! And with only Explosion Magic, you'll be lucky not to blow up your own party!

"What did you say!?"

Megumin pounced, and the two began wrestling, sparks of crimson absurdity flying in all directions.

Eventually, Yunyun returned and handed Megumin a brand-new set of great magician's clothes.

Megumin was touched.

She thanked her profusely… and solemnly declared that Yunyun would be a cadre in her future Demon King Army.

Yunyun, without hesitation, rejected her on the spot.

Finally, after taking a long look at Zunzun, Megumin left with a lonely silhouette.

"Goodbye, both of you."

"Bye, Megumin."

Yunyun looked like she was about to cry.

…But she hasn't even left yet.

Zunzun watched her figure grow smaller in the distance, didn't really listen to what Yunyun said after that, and headed home.

That evening, Sister Soketto had prepared a huge feast.

"Something good happen?" Zunzun asked.

He casually recounted the incident with Arnes and Megumin's plans.

Sister Soketto nodded with a soft smile.

"So Megumin's finally leaving. That's good—now she can help you, right?"

"…Help me?"

"Yes. Zunzun, your wish isn't to conquer the world."

"Megumin was worried she couldn't help you, so she was always conflicted about learning Explosion Magic. I told her—if you have Explosion Magic, at least you won't be powerless. You'll always be able to protect your allies."

"She was so happy when she heard that…"

Sister Soketto kept talking.

But Zunzun wasn't really listening anymore.

"…Sister Soketto. I want to become the Demon King."

"What?"

"But not like this. I want to be the kindest, most righteous, strongest, most supreme Demon King!"

He struck a dramatic JoJo pose, mimicking the Fluffy Head Execution Song character.

"I am Zunzun! Greatest magician of the Crimson Demons! The one who shall ascend as the future Demon King!"

"…You really are my little brother."

Sister Soketto clapped her hands, eyes proud.

"Your dream will come true. You've worked hard for this. And you've already found some great companions."

Yes. She must've seen it coming.

Maybe this feast was her way of saying farewell.

Zunzun stood in his room, gripping his adventurer card tightly.

"You never do good deeds. You just show off…"

"You plant vegetables. You harvest fruits…"

"You train in the Crimson Demon Village. And today—you discover who you are!"

He stared at the 80 unused skill points on the card.

"I got here all on my own! Through genius! Grit! And over ten years of suffering!"

He raised the card high to the heavens.

"System—cough, I mean, Adventurer Card—ADD POINTS!"

With a dramatic cry, he dumped all his skill points.

And learned Advanced Magic.

-End Chapter-

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