Chapter 78 – Road to the Crimson Demon Village
The morning air in the Mansion carried that strange mix of excitement and impending disaster that always followed this party whenever they decided to travel. Bags were packed—poorly in Kazuma's case, overpacked in Aqua's, and filled with exactly one item in Megumin's: her staff. Darkness carried enough equipment for a small army. Yunyun brought emergency supplies for every possible scenario. Ruko carried almost nothing visible but standing dumb, which made Kazuma deeply suspicious. They stood in front of Wiz's shop, the door creaking open as the lich greeted them with her usual gentle smile. Vanir stood behind the counter, mask gleaming, clearly already aware of everything they were about to say. "You're going to the Crimson Demon Village i persume," Vanir said before anyone spoke. "Which were probability of chaos: absolute."
Kazuma groaned. "Ow! stop doing that." Wiz clasped her hands. "Oh is that then I can teleport you part of the way, but I don't have enough mana to take everyone directly to the village. You'll still need to travel on foot afterward." "That's fine," Megumin said quickly, clearly eager to show off her hometown. Ruko watched the teleport circle form, analyzing the spell structure, the mana flow, the dimensional anchor points. His system recorded everything. Long-distance teleportation in this world was inefficient, unstable, and heavily dependent on the caster's emotional state. Wiz's kindness stabilized the output more than her technical precision did. Vanir leaned toward Ruko slightly. "Try not to die in a way that inconveniences my future predictions." Ruko shake his head of no expression. "Noted."
The teleport activated in a flash of blue light. The world folded. For a brief moment there was no ground, no sky—just compressed space and a sensation like being pulled through a narrow corridor of cold wind. Then gravity returned, and they landed in a forest clearing miles from Axel. Aqua fell first and immediately complained. Kazuma stumbled into a bush. Darkness landed perfectly. Megumin stuck the landing like it was a dramatic entrance. Yunyun checked everyone for injuries. Ruko simply adjusted his balance and looked around. "Hmm... this is not how they got teleported before?" His system pinged instantly.
[NOTICE: Hostile presence detected]
They heard it before they saw it—heavy footsteps, low growls, branches snapping. "Oh fuck!" Female orcs. They emerged from the trees in a loose formation, eyes locked directly on Kazuma and Ruko with predatory focus. "Um Ruko... Why are they looking at us!" Their intent was obvious and deeply uncomfortable. Kazuma pointed at Ruko. "Take him instead!" Ruko stepped sideways. The girls stepped forward at the same time. Megumin raised her staff. Yunyun began chanting. Darkness moved to the front like a living shield. Aqua lifted her staff, glowing with divine energy. The orcs didn't retreat. Normally, the presence of powerful female adventurers would have discouraged them. Today, however, the combined "target male" of Kazuma's absurd luck and Ruko's unknown system made them unusually persistent. "Why aren't they running?!" Kazuma shouted. "Because you smell like fear and poor decisions," Ruko replied calmly.
The first orc charged. Darkness intercepted, armor ringing as she absorbed the impact with visible excitement. Aqua cast purification blasts that forced several back. Yunyun coordinated mid-tier explosion variants—controlled, precise, not the village-level devastation they preferred, but enough to scatter the formation. Ruko moved last. He didn't attack immediately. He watched the movement patterns, the hierarchy among them, the hesitation when facing multiple targets. Then he stepped forward and released a narrow sealing strike—not lethal, just disruptive. The lead orc collapsed, unconscious, the rest faltering as their momentum broke.
Kazuma used the opportunity of using mana drain while running behind the group and provide what he called "tactical moral support." Till they end up capturing Kazuma and Ruko by surprise, pinding them to the ground and start removing their clothes leaving their boxers.
"Wait why me too and why your taking my clothes off!" "Male produce. We make male orcs run away. We need a male to porduce us female orcs." "Oh hell no somebody HELP ME!" Kazuma screamed in the top of his lung. "It's futile now time for a snu-snu." The leader of female orcs ready to snu Kazuma. " NOOO!!" The girls save kazuma in time of getting assualted by the leader of female orcs in which Kazuma felt relieve, but they forgot someone 'Ruko'; the female orc almost snu Ruko in which he dodge his head left and right since he haven't kiss a girl since came to this world and about to be taking by a female orc. Due to of losing it Ruko scream out of dread till a wave of mana burst out sending the female orcs backward. In that state Ruko goes on a rampage which the fight ended quickly after that. The orcs, now facing coordinated resistance instead of isolated prey, retreated into the forest.
Kazuma put his close on with tears on his eyes. "I hate traveling." Ruko didn't respond and put on his clothes. His system had already issued a second alert.
[NOTICE: Additional hostiles approaching]
Smaller shapes moved through the trees. Goblins. Dozens of them. Unlike the orcs, they moved with chaotic aggression, weapons raised, eyes gleaming with opportunistic intent. The party was still recovering from the first encounter, mana reserves partially drained, formation loose. "We're at a disadvantage," Yunyun said, voice tight. Megumin clenched her staff. "I'm sorry... I can't use my Explosion here since everyone will get in the crossfire." Aqua looked around. "There are too many!" Darkness stepped forward anyway, ready to hold the line alone if necessary. Kazuma actually drew his short sword for once, expression serious. Ruko analyzed the terrain, looking for retreat paths, mana recovery rates, probability of injuries. The goblins were spreading to surround them, cutting off escape routes with surprising coordination. In way they are targeting the female orcs who which attack the goblins turn into a big war.
Then—A distant chant echoed across the forest. Loud. Dramatic. Overly theatrical. "Behold! The bearers of crimson power! The masters of advanced magic! The unrivaled geniuses of the arcane!" Multiple advanced magic circles ignited at once. Smaller than Megumin's explos8on power but far more numerous—detonated across the goblin and female orcs formation with surgical precision. Fire, lightning, and wind spells followed in rapid succession, wiping out the encirclement in seconds. Figures in elaborate cloaks and some with eyepatch and bandages stepped from the trees, striking poses mid-battle like performers on a stage. Crimson Demons. Megumin's eyes lit up. "My people!" Kazuma stared. "What the hell... they talk and act like you." "They are me," Megumin said proudly. Ruko observed silently. Their casting speed was high, their mana control exceptional, their tactical coordination hidden beneath layers of dramatic nonsense. Individually eccentric, collectively efficient. "Damn... what quite a strong clan here."
One of them pointed at Megumin. "Sister of explosions! You have returned!" Another pointed at Ruko. "Who is the quiet one radiating ominous energy?" Ruko adjusted his stance and said nothing. The goblins were gone. The forest fell quiet. The sudden shift from danger to theatrical victory left Kazuma emotionally exhausted. He collapsed onto the ground again. Aqua immediately started praising herself for "strategic support." Darkness looked disappointed the battle had ended too quickly. Megumin stood taller, visibly more confident than usual. Yunyun looked both relieved and slightly anxious about being back among her own people. Ruko looked toward the distant direction of the village, where his system continued to detect that faint, buried signal beneath the layers of ambient mana. Relic fragment: confirmed. But he said nothing. For now, the party regrouped under the watchful, dramatic protection of the Crimson Demons, the road ahead no longer hostile but far more chaotic in a different way. The journey to the village had truly begun.