Clash… Clash… Clash…
The sound of iron clashing with iron resonated at the open ground, only getting stomped by both the wind and the cheering crowd around.
The entirety of Axel was watching, and he wasn't losing this time around. After both Aqua and Megumin took care of the undead army, and he landed two clear strikes onto Beldia, the fight was in his favor.
It felt like hours, which actually was nothing more than 10 minutes after that, as Beldia seemed to be on his last leg.
Orion dodged, used his sword to pivot the upcoming attack, and then used the intangibility of his dodge to take a silent step forward, barely matching the iframe to evade the incoming sword swing by Beldia before plunging his Uchigatana directly at his rib.
The sword, bathed in golden holy lightning, plunged deep inside Beldia's chest, earning a groan from the undead.
"Goooo, Orion."
"Beat him… Beat him…"
"You know I taught him swordsmanship."
"Get him for good, Orion. You can have my shiny bubbly if you do."
"Idiot, don't distract him." Kazuma knocked at Aqua's head with irritation.
"Such a manly fight, ah, it should have been me. I could only wonder how it would feel like getting beaten in front of everyone like this." A sizable flush was on Darkness' face.
"YOU TOO, DON'T DISTRACT HIM…!" Kazuma chided.
Orion, of course, was ignoring them all. In his mind currently was only Beldia, who was writhing in pain in front of him.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA…. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, ONE OF THE GENERALS OF THE DEMON KING ARMY AND I AM LOST HERE LIKE THIS." Beldia laughed, not showing a hint of tension about impending death.
"Well, don't fret about it too much… It took many trial runs for me too to come this far." Orion huffed, his sword still plunged deep inside Beldia.
The Dullahan's head had fallen to the ground, and Orion spoke to him by the side glance of his eye.
"So stand proud, you have really been a pain in the ass boss."
Beldia didn't understand what that meant, but he didn't care. The holy light was fading his body, and there was no saving him at this point.
"I SEE… THEN I'M AT PEACE…"
And with that, Beldia's body turned into ash under the power of the sacred light of the Erdtree.
And with that, his first level-up boss came to an end.
"HE DID IT."
"HE WON !"
Among the cheers and rushing companions toward him, Orion saw a little crimson girl being carried by Kazuma, berating him to take her to him faster. And laughed.
'This place really put a smile on my face.' He chuckled before his attention was finally grabbed by the notification appearing in front of him.
—<>—
UNDEAD SLAIN.
OBJECTIVE CLEARED
LEVEL UP AVAILABLE !!!
DISTRIBUTING REWARDS…
—<>—
Orion blinked, almost forgetting in the last two months he was here that he even had a system. Before he could do anything about it though, like checking out what kind of new things he got from leveling up or opening up his own status,
he was tackled by a rushing Aqua with the speed of a bullet train. Followed by the entirety of Axel's adventurers coming to congratulate him one after another.
Needless to say, he had to bury the curiosity inside until he safely got out of this situation.
Marika had her hands folded under her large breasts, looking at her Tarnished getting tossed up by the adventurers of this town like he was a sack of potatoes, with a fond smile on her face.
In her golden eyes, she could see the strength of her Tarnished increasing. His connection with the grace had straightened, if that was even possible. Seeing among all she had seen, his connection with the grace was the strongest, not just among Tarnished, but even among her own kin. Perhaps only second to hers.
[But why ?]
A small frown appeared on her face. Ever since she came to this world, met her Tarnished, there was something in her mind which she couldn't shake out.
Her Tarnished definitely knew of things. Knowledge of the Lands Between which even she was unaware of. Knowledge that even stories couldn't describe.
You have to be a warrior of renown to know those things, and yet… he had no skill when she met him.
He was weak when they first met, weak enough that even a gremlin could beat him. Weak enough that perhaps he couldn't even stand up to one of Godrick's soldiers.
And yet, he knew everything. Her children, there they were, which of her kin held which shard of the Elden Ring.
And of course, what they desired. None could know that without facing them in mortal combat.
So the question was how? And why?
If he was weak, if he didn't fight them, then how come he knew everything? And if he indeed fought them all, even slew the Elden Beast itself, then how come he was so weak?
And if those questions weren't enough, they both were in an unknown world, and he knew about this world as well.
Then there was the way sometimes he looked into the distance, or just dozed off… like he was gazing at something in midair unseen to her.
He knew powers and abilities he had even before sometimes she updated the Falna, another thing peculiar to this world.
She had paid attention. Back in Orario, deities indeed could bestow powers to humans with a Falna, just like he told her. However, she had never seen a single human being able to gaze at his own Falna.
Only gods could do that.
And yet, she had a feeling that her Tarnished could do that. He never told her, however. It was obvious sometimes by the way he seemed to know he had gotten stronger, or perhaps sometimes he never even asked for an update. He seemed to know things already.
And then there was his unusual knowledge. For a human, for a mortal, he knew far too much.
From the Lands Between, about the world they found themselves in… Orario, and then there was this world. This silly, childish world.
He seemed to know it all.
How?
She so wanted to know it. The question at times snarled inside her. However, asking him directly didn't feel right. Something told her that he'll tell her someday.
Perhaps?
So far, besides never mentioning this, he had hardly kept anything secret from her. So, even she wasn't certain.
[Sigh… what secret you hold…]
"Alright… alright, put me down, you all. I'm getting dizzy, don't blame me if I puke on…"
Before Orion even completed his sentence, he was thrown down to the ground like he was a Melania old disease.
'Damn you all.' He gritted his teeth, glaring at the dodging faces of everyone around.
"If you guys don't know how to safely put a man down, then why play volleyball with him to start with…" He almost growled, nursing his aching back as he got up.
By the time the entire group reached the guild hall again, the celebration began before the coins even finished clattering onto the counter.
The moment Luna announced the reward for defeating the Dullahan, the guild hall exploded into noise. Cheers, whistles, tables being slapped, and Aqua screaming loud enough to shake the windows.
"WE'RE RICH! WE'RE ACTUALLY RICH THIS TIME!" Aqua dove toward the payout pile like a starved raccoon, arms flailing. "I CALL DIBS ON—HEY! WHY IS MY SHARE SMALLER THAN HIS?!"
Kazuma snatched his bag before she could grab it. "Because you screamed at undead and got chased. You practically did nothing…"
"No way… I was the one who dealt with the undead army," Aqua protested. "Orion… Orion."
"Yeah… I'm Orion." Orion sighed at the antics.
Aqua's glistening tears made her look a bit less divine, but more cute. Troublesome, but cute. "Kazuma being mean."
'And what do I do about it.' He sweat-dropped.
"Kazuma… don't be so mean to Aqua…" He said, not expecting it to change anything.
Megumin stared at her coins with wide, sparkling eyes. "So… this means I can afford better explosion reagents, right?"
Kazuma paled. "Please don't say it like that."
Orion's mouth twitched at Megumin's line of thinking. "How about you first afford proper two-time meals for yourself, Megumin… shouldn't that be better."
Megumin pouted immediately, ready to go on a tyrant about explosions as usual, but then her pout got bigger when she recalled Orion stood up for her.
"Hmph…"
Darkness, meanwhile, was blushing furiously while gripping her bag. "To think… I was on the battlefield, facing death itself… and now this reward feels like society acknowledging my suffering—"
Everyone collectively decided to just ignore the masochist crusader.
Orion watched the chaos with a small smile. The noise, the ridiculous arguments, Aqua trying to negotiate a loan she clearly wouldn't repay and sooner or later would lose all her money, which would lead to her asking Kazuma for more… sigh—it all felt strangely warm.
He cleared his throat. "Ahem… This victory is not just our team's. But everyone here won it… So, I'm throwing a party, everyone. Bills on me."
Silence.
Everyone slowly turned to him.
"A party?" Aqua echoed.
"For the guild," Orion continued. "Food, drinks. Everyone."
The silence shattered.
"YOU'RE A SAINT!" Aqua lunged at him and was immediately restrained by Kazuma.
The guild hall erupted again, adventurers cheering, slapping Orion on the back, someone already shouting about free booze. Even Luna looked relieved, like she'd been waiting for someone else to foot the bill.
Only Marika watched him closely, her eyes narrowing slightly at his calm expression.
That was when it happened.
A translucent screen bloomed before Orion's eyes.
—<>—
System Reward Acquired.
—<>—
His breath caught. This was what he was waiting for… He hurriedly read further only to get more hyped…
—<>—
Golden Order Greatsword.
An ethereal blade forged of golden grace, imbued with holy lightning.
Beldia's Undead Legion.
Spirit-class summoning ability. Controlled invocation permitted.
Divine Miracle: One-Time Resurrection.
Aqua's revival authority. Single use. Absolute effect.
—<>—
Orion froze.
His pupils shrank as the weight of it hit him all at once. His hands trembled slightly before he clenched them at his sides.
'Revival.'
That word stuck to his mind like sticky chewed-up gum, refusing to come off.
This was revival. Like bringing people back to life.
He himself had done so many times, but to be able to bring someone else back to life. That was insane…!
Only once, true. But still insane. If people back in Orario learned about this… He gaped…
"Holy shit…"
Marika tilted her head. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."
"…Nothing," Orion said quickly, forcing a laugh. "Just tired."
She didn't believe him. But just like always, she let it be.
Aqua, oblivious as ever, hopped onto a table. "ATTENTION EVERYONE! DRINKS ARE ON ORION! PRAISE HIM!"
Kazuma groaned. "Why not just use the money to pay off our debts."
Megumin raised her staff. "I dedicate tonight's explosion to our generous party leader!"
Kazuma blinked. 'Me ?'
But apparently no one was looking at him; their eyes were on Orion.
'Oi oi oi… wasn't I the leader?' Kazuma was baffled. Just as he was about to defend his leader position, his cunning mind clicked.
'Wait a minute, doesn't that mean that I'm no longer responsible for Aqua's debts or when Megumin blows up something. It's all on Orion…'
Like a light bulb lighting up in his mind, he mechanically closed his open mouth, ready to protest, and sneakily went back to his drink.
'Yup… it's no longer my problem anymore. Yes… I'm a free man now.'
Orion had a feeling that someone was plotting against him. It was one of those feelings that come only to those who have seen how much of a bitch life could be.
He couldn't prove it, though, so for the time being he let the feeling fade.
'Okay, back to the reward…
A sword of divine order.
An army of the dead. (But it's essentially summons, nothing more)
And the power to bring someone back.'
For the first time since arriving in this absurd world, he felt something heavy settle into his chest.
'Guess coming here was worth it after all, huh…' He grinned.
'However, it's time to go back now.' He pursed his lips.
Honestly, he liked this world better than Orario. However, he had to go back.
'Sigh…'
xXx
A/N : Yeah… I'll be ending Konosuba arc here, but not permanently, consider it paused if anything. I intent for him to come back. Partly cause I wished to do more development in Orario and partly cause I can't remember what happen after in Konosuba, gotta see the anime again.
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