Chapter 896: The Sudden Explosion
They looked quite handsome at first glance.
If you ignored the ridiculous poses they struck, as if they had something wrong with their brains.
"Oh, Megumin, you're here too?"
When the two arrived, they saw Darkness and the other two rushing over in a flurry.
"We heard the broadcast before we got home. Even though the clan leader said that, we're still a bit worried..."
Darkness explained, still unable to let go of her concerns, even though Megumin and Aqua looked completely carefree and unworried.
"There's no need to worry at all."
Megumin declared nonchalantly.
"But if you want to see how the Demon Lord Army gets crushed, you're welcome to watch."
This was quite a slap in the face for Eiji, the Demon King, but that wasn't what he was concerned about right now.
His gaze swept into the distance, clearly taking in the approaching line of troops a kilometer away, a scrutinizing look appearing in his eyes.
"The Demon Lord Army is here! Everyone, get ready!"
"Damn demons! With me, Teacher Puchi of the Crimson Demon Elementary School here, you won't set foot past the village gate! Take this—Light of Saber!"
"Dammit, he got to say the cool line—and me too! Inferno!"
"Same here! Lightning Strike!"
A sword of light descended from the sky, dark flames swirled like a vortex, and bluish-white lightning split into dozens of branches as if with a will of its own... In the blink of an eye, over a dozen advanced spells surged toward the Demon Lord Army like a tidal wave.
Eiji: ( )
This is just fucking ridiculous!
Although he had long known that the Crimson Demons were incredibly strong, this was the first time he had witnessed such an absurd scene!
Even in the Demon Lord Army, grand mages capable of advanced magic were as rare as phoenix feathers, but among the Crimson Demons, they seemed utterly commonplace!
It felt like these dozen or so people alone could hold back an army of ten thousand!
"Lady Sylphiette, run—ah!"
"Eek!!"
Under the endless bombardment, the front lines of the Demon Lord Army were like ants being crushed by elephants, groups of them being burned to ash or charred to coal. Their already small numbers were instantly halved!
Sylphiette looked on the verge of tears—these were all her precious assets!
She stretched her arms toward the village entrance, desperately trying to shout something, but soon got a mouthful of mud.
"Boss, she's calling for you, right?"
"...What a subordinate who never lets me worry."
Eiji sighed.
He was going to rescue her.
To be honest, he was quite moved.
He never expected Sylphiette to take his words so seriously—just an hour after he gave the order, she immediately brought her subordinates here.
"Strange."
Eiji suddenly felt something was off.
If she came here to die, she could have come alone. Why bring her subordinates along?
Was Sylphiette the type to not care about her subordinates?
"...!...!"
In the distance, Sylphiette spat out the mud from her mouth and shouted something anxiously toward the village entrance. However, the distance was too far, and with the constant roaring and rising smoke, it was impossible to hear her or read her lips.
"Is that one of the executives? What is she doing?"
"I don't know..."
The surrounding Crimson Demons also looked bewildered.
Doing it like this makes it really unsatisfying for us!
The coolest scene would be putting up a life-or-death struggle, giving it your all before falling!
"Bzzzzzzz——!"
Suddenly.
A scorching magical wind swept through.
The temperature between heaven and earth skyrocketed abruptly, as if they were inside a furnace.
"This magic power..."
The Crimson Demon elementary school teacher holding a book frowned, sensing the flow of magic in the air.
"Oh no!"
"Danger!"
"Retreat quickly!"
At that moment, the Crimson Demon archmages' expressions drastically changed.
They all abandoned the Demon Lord Army, forgetting even their cool one-liners, and rushed anxiously toward Megumin, Kazuma, and even Eiji.
At the same time, a massive fireball suddenly floated above everyone's heads.
It was intensely compressed magical flame, glowing with a crimson hue like a red dwarf star.
"Teleport!"
"Teleport!"
Streaks of white light flashed.
The twenty people at the village entrance vanished from their spots in the blink of an eye under the effects of teleportation magic.
Then—
"Explosion—!!!"
Following a powerful, spirited shout, the intensely compressed flames descended from the sky!
"BOOOOOOM——!!!"
The enormous fireball instantly blasted the ground to smithereens. The griffin statue was caught in the blast and evaporated completely without even lasting a second!
The atmosphere was violently churned, and scorching hot winds surged outward in all directions like a tsunami!
The Crimson Demon village was instantly flooded with massive gusts of wind. Roofs, clothes, and other items were swept up like rootless duckweed. Tremendous tremors shook the entire village, plunging it into violent chaos.
Meanwhile.
Eiji and the others appeared on a cliff, with the Crimson Demon village—now caught in the explosion's aftermath—visible below.
"Dammit, how dare they do this to our village!"
"Unforgivable! The Crimson Demons never back down from a challenge!"
"We absolutely have to retaliate!"
Wiz and the others trembled with rage as they looked at the completely destroyed village entrance.
A massive crater now lay before the village entrance—over twenty meters in diameter and at least ten meters deep. The sight was terrifying, more frightening than any advanced magic they had seen before.
"Megumin, why did you destroy your own village? Have you really betrayed us?"
"That's not it! That wasn't my doing! Aqua, stop looking at me like that!"
"But that was clearly the signature of Explosion magic..."
"I'm not the only one who can use Explosion magic! Wiz can do it too, have you all forgotten?"
Megumin yelled at Aqua and Darkness, veins bulging on her forehead.
Damn it, why does everyone assume it's me whenever they see an explosion? I didn't even raise my wand just now, are you all blind?
"Still, if we're grading that Explosion magic, it would undoubtedly get 120 points!" As much as I hate to admit it, that Explosion magic was far more powerful than mine!"
Megumin bit her lip, glaring resentfully into the distance.
"Among the Crimson Demons, aside from Megumin, no one else can use Explosion magic."
Puchi crossed his arms, letting his cloak stretch taut in the wind, his expression cold and stern.
"Megumin is a student I taught. Although she has many problems, she is undoubtedly an outstanding graduate of the Red Magic Elementary School. I believe she would never do such a thing—it must be the work of an outsider!"
"This guy is still trying to look cool even when he's angry!"
Kazuma muttered under his breath.
"Dammit, Puchi, you bastard!"
"Why do you get to say all the cool lines?!"
"This only proves that your training is insufficient!"
Faced with the envy and jealousy of the villagers, Puchi proudly lifted his chin.
It seemed that, in the eyes of the Red Magic Clan, words like "believing in one's comrades" were considered incredibly cool.