Power Corrupts: Divine Enemies (ch. 85) (Patreon)

"He's actually going through with it," Megumin realized with some awe as construction began around Axel. It was foundational stuff, like digging out level foundations for houses and roads and that kind of thing. It was happening all around Axel, whose citizens were being paid to work to build a city around the city of Axel.

It was the single greatest act of spite that Megumin had ever witnessed. It was stupid. And completely wasteful. Who knew how much money Jericho was just throwing away? But, the incredible thing was that Jericho didn't care.

He hated the city of Axel so much that he was willing to burn mountains of cash to inconvenience the city. Megumin knew that if she were to ask him, then Jericho would say that it was absolutely worth it. And he would actually believe it.

It was honestly incredible.

"Is this how Axel was before the crazies came?" Hestia questioned, walking beside her. They were about the same height, so it was especially unfair it looked like she was smuggling water balloons in her dress. Megumin's gaze lingered on her bouncing chest for a moment before she looked out at the city of Axel.

It was a lot emptier, for starters. Almost half of the city had picked up and left after Kazuma a few weeks ago. So, while Axel was still larger than most cities, the population was really thinned out. Not only that, but Megumin saw a person walking with a headset on, skipping past them with his arms outstretched as if he were running through a field of wheat or a meadow of flowers.

"About the same, more or less," Megumin answered as she walked with her new goddess. That was pretty weird, but getting a divine blessing, even if it was in the form of a back tattoo more than made up for any reservations she would have had about the whole 'goddess' business. Megumin liked to keep it simple -- messy topics like gods and life after death… if the answer didn't involve explosions, then Megumin had decided that she didn't care.

Leave the theology to theologians, and leave explosions to explosion mages.

That opinion had been reinforced after the Axis cult invaded Axel. Though, it wasn't all bad. All she had to do was say that she was friends with Aqua, and they let her practice her explosion magic wherever she wanted. The law really was about who you know rather than what was right or wrong, . A part of Megumin rebelled against the knowledge of how corrupt and unjust the legal system really was, but that part of her was drowned out by the knowledge that if she did somehow manage to set things right, she would have to go back to only being able to practice her explosion magic where it was 'safe' and 'legal'. The very idea of restricting where and when she could create explosions made her teeth itch. So the corrupt and unjust system would just have to remain until she stopped benefiting from it.

"Huh, it reminds me of Orario. It was filled with oddballs too," Hestia remarked, watching as another man with a headset on lashed out with an invisible sword. He appeared to be fighting and felling imaginary enemies. "Jericho's invention really caught on," she noted, spotting another person wearing one. A group of children that were playing in the same vicinity, but they all seemed to be playing different games.

Megumin nodded, "I'm seeing them everywhere," she agreed. Her name was on the list to get one, but there was a huge backlog. It would be weeks until she got a headset of her own since Jericho was super stingy and refused to give her special treatment. "Is that how he's affording the second city?" She questioned, earning a chuckle from Hestia.

"Jericho was a pretty prolific adventurer before he became a craftsman," Hestia answered. "He used to travel across the land delving into ancient tombs and finding treasure." Megumin nearly fell flat on her face when she heard that. That sounded…

"Cool!" Megumin gasped, just picturing it now -- it was hardly news that Jericho was an experienced Adventurer, but she hadn't realized just how successful he had been at it. She pictured him wandering into tombs, fighting off of hordes of undead and their commanding lichs , ransacking their burial grounds and claiming their treasure as his own.

Hestia flashed her a sunny smile, "Of course! Jericho is my first child, after all," she proudly proclaimed, as if the fact that he was awesome was a forgone conclusion. Her first, and her favorite, Megumin noted. She didn't really care though. It'd be pretty weird otherwise if Jericho wasn't the favorite, but it did make her a little jealous. Mostly because it seemed that the favorite could get away with absolutely anything they wanted.

"What made Jericho pick Craftsman of all things? He's good at it, but it seems to be a weird choice for someone like him," Megumin questioned. She, like everyone in the city, had heard about the Adventurer with incredibly high stats. All of them in the thousands, according to rumors, which made him the equivalent of a team of elite Adventurers all on his own. That he was twelve feet tall, he wore the armor of a demon, and that he wielded an obviously evil cursed sword.

He had sounded so cool that Megumin had just had to meet him. Which made it a huge shock when she later found out that his class was Craftsman. The most generic of all of the crafting classes.

Hearing her question, Hestia's good mood seemed to bleed out of her, leaving the smaller woman looking deflated. "He died," she answered shortly. "And a lot of his friends did too. So… he gave it up," she explained, and now Megumin regretted asking, because it was obviously a sore subject. Even though Hestia did offer a feeble smile, "But he's going to get back on that horse eventually."

She sounded convinced, so Megumin chose to believe her. For her, being an Adventurer was… fun. Exciting. She got to use explosion magic, she got to show off, and… the only down side of it was that no party would see her brilliance. They all ended up abandoning her when they learned that she collapsed after one use of explosion magic. Which made it hard to feed herself, so she was forced to rely on the food gathering skills that she had perfected in her childhood to get by.

Death seemed… permanent. It wasn't. Especially not with a Divine Cleric around. But the effects of death had a lasting impact.

Jericho felt like someone that had been existing for the sake of existing until Hestia arrived. She hadn't seen it until then, but comparing him now to the Jericho she had met, the contrast was obvious.

So, Megumin smiled, "I can't wait to blow up bad guys with Jericho! It's going to be so much fun!" She said, hugging her staff to her chest at the glorious explosions that awaited them in the future. Hestia smiled in response, before pointing out that they had arrived at their destination. Megumin looked over to see Wiz's shop.

Everyone had known Wiz in the city. She used to be a super powerful adventurer before coming to Axel and setting up a shop. The magical items she sold were super incredible, but they came with a price tag to match. Megumin had never stepped inside before since she didn't even have the money for food, much less super cool magical items with really awesome effects.

Pushing the door open, Megumin saw that Wiz was helping a customer. There was a bright look on her face, a glow of joy, as she passed along a headset to her, one that Megumin recognized as one of the ones that Jericho made. "Here is your order!" Wiz said, as the girl took it.

"It's so light!" She said, "thank you!" Her voice sounded familiar. Megumin realized who it was a split second before she turned around. Megumin’s eyes widened as her gaze connected with Yunyun, a fellow member of the Crimson Demon Clan and an old... acquaintance of hers . Yunyun’s eyes widened, a bunch of expressions crossing over her face as she recognized her in turn .

Yunyun was… weird for a Crimson Demon. That word probably summarized her character best. When she had first declared herself as Megumin's eternal rival, Megumin had thought she was making fun of her. Megumin's family was so poor that her clothes could have been considered family heirlooms, because they had been passed down so many times that it was entirely possible that they could have been worn by her great, great, great grandmother. Yunyun, however, was the daughter of the Crimson Demon chief.

That changed when Yunyun had saved her little sister Komekko. But, after that… it became hard just to speak to her. Simply because she hadn't hesitated to spend her precious class points to save her little sister.

"Ah! Megumin," Yunyun began, going to strike a pose, only for her back foot to catch itself on the back of her leg. Megumin winced as YunYun fell flat on her face, the headset falling from her grasp where it bounced a few times before skidding to a halt on the floor.

"Ah…" Megumin uttered, eying the broken eyepiece to the headset. It had been about a year since they last met, but it seemed some things never changed.

Yunyun quickly righted herself, dusting off her skirt, and struck the pose successfully on the second try, even if she was blushing hard from the embarrassment. "A-At long last, we meet again, Megumin!" She said, her crimson eyes glowing.

Hestia looked at her, "You know her? You two do look alike," Hestia noted, making Megumin's gaze dip down to the obscene tits that were on display. Did Yunyun's breasts get even larger since the last time she had seen her? Her dress pushed them up, making them appear even larger and left the top half of her cleavage on display. If you pulled down the dress even an inch, her boobs would pop out.

"They're both members of the Crimson Demon Clan," Wiz answered, sporting even more powerful breasts, but at least she had the decency not to flaunt them. The buckles holding her coat closed , were like the seals on some some ancient and unfathomably dangerous monster.

"Ohh!" Hestia said, sounding excited. Megumin's eyes ping-ponged back to her, and she realized that she was surrounded on all sides. This was a battle that she couldn't win. No matter how much milk she drank.

"Hm. She's my self-proclaimed rival, Yunyun," Megumin offered, her tone flat. She didn't dare look down at her own body, knowing the disappointment she would find if she did so. She hadn't grown a millimeter since leaving the village.

Yunyun pouted, "I'm not self-proclaimed! We've had plenty of duels! You challenged me all the time back at school, beat me up, and then took my lunch!" She pointed out, and Megumin pointedly ignored the looks she got from Wiz and Hestia. They didn't understand that those duels had been a matter of life and death!

Yunyun's lunches were the only thing keeping her and her sister alive!

"Oh…? Looking to settle the score, huh…?" Megumin intoned, settling into a stance of her own as she got ready to settle things the Crimson Demon way. Even better -- she could use her Explosion Magic inside the city now. Hestia could bring back anyone that died, and Jerchio would approve of the destruction wholeheartedly.

However, before she could unleash the mighty power of Explosion Magic, Megumin felt someone pinch her cheek. "Friends shouldn't fight!" Hestia scolded her.

""You think we're friends? /We aren't friends !"" Megumin and Yunyun shouted at the same time, one with far more excitement than the other. Hestia just smirked at Megumin and let go of her cheek, leaving her to rub the rapidly fading red mark until the pain went away

Hestia walked forward and scooped up the headset before presenting it to Yunyun, "A friend of my children is a friend of mine," she said.

"Thank you! Wait- child?” Yunyun recoiled, almost as if she had been struck, “Megumin, you can't just denounce your family like that!" Yunyun said, switching from overwhelmed with elation to scolding her for abandoning her family in a heartbeat.

Hestia chuckled, "Megumin hasn't disowned her family," she said, even though Megumin totally had. She had to. Her destiny was to fight the most powerful creatures in the world to display the power of Explosion Magic! She couldn't afford for her many enemies to discover that she had a family and use them against her as a weakness! "She's a member of my familia."

"Oh...?" Yunyun uttered, sounding like she wasn't sure what that meant. "I see," she said, even though she obviously didn't.

"It means that I’ve been blessed by a fallen god. I even have a cool back tattoo called a 'falna' made with her blood,” Megumin explained proudly. Every Crimson Demon would be green with envy when they heard that.

Yunyun made a face like she was grossed out at the idea of using someone's blood to make a tattoo , then she quickly caught herself and there were stars in her eyes.

“An entire back tattoo? W-well… I have… this!” She said, presenting the headset in her hands proudly, and Megumin wasn’t jealous at all. Well, maybe she was a little jealous. “It’s a special edition that I got reserved for-... uh…” Yunyun looked away, blushing in embarrassment. Then that expression became one of abject horror when the broken eyepiece fell out and fell to the floor. The sound of shattering glass echoed out in the store.

“Ah…” Megumin uttered, looking at the shattered pieces of the eyepiece. It had already been cracked, but the fall had completely destroyed it. Yunyun couldn’t even bring herself to look down, choosing to slowly turn around to look at an increasingly distressed-looking Wiz.

“Er…,” Wiz began, “I’m so sorry! We… we don’t have any others…” she said, looking like she was on the verge of tears for Yunyun. She looked to Hestia, distressed, who caught the hint. She walked over, patting Yunyun on the back.

“Don’t worry, Jericho can fix it for you,” Hestia said, volunteering Jericho for the task. Despite his strict ruling that he only did one batch a week, and that reservations had to be done through Wiz. But, because it was Hestia asking, Megumin knew that he was totally going to cave. Yunyun looked more puzzled than anything, cradling the broken headset to her chest. “He’s the creator of those things.” Hestia explained.

Wiz nodded, “He is. He has a bit of a poor reputation, but he’s actually a very kind-hearted individual. He’d be happy to fix your headset for you,” And… Megumin didn’t think that was true. It really felt like everyone in the room was ignoring the fact that Jericho was building an entirely new city around Axel with the intention of quarantining the city. Sure, Jericho was nice to people that he liked, but…

Megumin eyed Yunyun, who looked more hopeful and offered her a bashful look -- Yunyun fell under the category of a weird girl back home. When she lost her chance to use advanced magic as kids, everyone else excluded her because she just couldn’t do what everyone else could with Advanced Magic. Megumin had been in the same boat, but only because she didn’t waste her time with lesser magics.

Would Jericho like her? For Yunyun’s sake, and whoever she was getting that headset for, Megumin hoped so.

"Thank you…" Yunyun offered a bow to Hestia, her eyes flitting at her for some reason.

"I actually have business with Jericho as well," Wiz informed as she swept up the broken glass. They looked at her expectantly, and she responded by taking out a single Eris that she displayed proudly. "I've made my first Eris. I wanted to thank Jericho for his help because I couldn't have done it without him. My investors were so surprised when I didn't ask for another loan this month," she said, sounding positively giddy.

They all chose to ignore the worrisome part of what Wiz had just said and focus on the fact that she was making money instead , "That's fantastic!" Hestia offered in congratulations. "I was just going to check up on you, but let's go tell him the good news." Hestia decided, choosing to ignore all of their other errands. Not that Megumin was complaining -- her strength and endurance stats were super low, and Hestia always got massive amounts of food to bring home each week.

Megumin wasn't sure where it was going.

With that, they decided to head back to the manor. Wiz locked up -- it was easy to see that she was a little upset that she could just leave her store after selling the final headset in stock, but that was overshadowed by her joy as she clutched the Eris in her hands. Proof that her store could make a profit.

Megumin swallowed her nervousness as they neared the manor that seemed to loom in the distance. She clutched her staff in her hands until her knuckles turned white beneath her fingerless gloves. Almost as soon as they stepped past the gate, Megumin felt an unnatural chill race down her spine.

"Don't worry. Hestia is here. She'll protect us," She remarked to Yunyun, who eyed the mansion with apprehension. Instead of being reassured, she looked more apprehensive, wondering what they would need protection from.

They didn't have to wait long to receive their answer. The lights flickered as they entered, every door swinging open at the same time, and Megumin saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Hestia offered a hand for her to hold. It galled at her Crimson Demon pride, but she accepted it and gripped Hestia's hand like a life line.

The mansion was haunted. Super haunted. It started had off small, but in recent weeks, it had gotten way worse. She had actually started hearing screaming coming from the library at odd hours of the day and night.

The only safe places were near Hestia and Jericho. The former called the spirits. The latter… well, they were afraid of him so they didn't bother him. Oh, and Aqua. She blasted them with exorcism magic every chance she could.

Yunyun grabbed her hand, while also holding hands with Wiz, forming a human chain. With Hestia leading the way, Megumin was able to closer her eyes-

"AHHHHHH!" Yunyun screamed at the top of her lungs, too brave or too stupid for her own good.

"That's just old Farmer Brown, he's a really sweet ghost," Hestia reassured her as they walked through the haunted mansion. There were jump scares around every corner. And Yunyun screamed at every single one of them.

The worst part of it was that they ended up going to the back yard when they found that Jericho wasn't in his office. So, they endured it all for no reason at all. Megumin quickly let go of Hestia's hand in favor of fixing her hat and calming her racing heart.

Yunyun walked forward on shaking legs that seemed to be made of spaghetti noodles , going as far as to fall in a heap the moment they left the building. Megumin looked up from beneath the brim of her hat to see that Jericho was working out in the yard.

"Jericho!" Hestia greeted, making the humongous man pause what he was doing. He had been doing squats, the leads of a wagon in the palms of his hands as he pushed up, lifting the contents of the wagon. Which seemed to be nothing but metal bars.

Sweat dripped down his body in rivulets, and there was a really cool set of black rings on his fingers. He actually seemed faintly surprised to see them -- rare for him since he always seemed to know where everyone was with pinpoint accuracy.

"Hestia!" Aqua said, poking her head up from inside the wagon to reveal herself. She adopted a stance, showing that she was ready for combat at a moment's notice. Hestia did the same, the two goddesses glaring at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move. Wiz, however, completely ignored the growing tension. Probably because she was used to it at this point, though Yunyun looked between them with bewilderment.

"Jericho, I've made my first Eris," Wiz announced and presented the Eris proudly before she offered a bow. "Thank you for all of your help. I couldn't have done it without you. If there's any way I can repay the favor, then please let me know." She said, sounding like she was absolutely determined to pay Jericho back for helping her save her business .

In response, Jericho shrugged as he stepped away from the wagon, nearly making Aqua fall over with the action.

Speaking of Aqua, she was somehow everything and nothing like Megumin had imagined the patron deity of the Axis Cult would be. But, that was a matter for another time. Her attention shifted back to Jericho as he dismissed the idea with a shake of his head.

"It's fine, you don't have to worry about repaying me for anything," he said, waving her off. Megumin looked up at Jericho -- it was quite a feat given that he was way too tall and the brim of her hat was too wide. Most of the time she couldn't even see his shoulders, let alone his face. He sounded like he meant it, but…

Wiz shook her head, proving to be surprisingly stubborn on the matter of repayment. "I do owe you a great deal. I gave you every reason to wish to see me fail, and instead, you chose to help me," she insisted, not budging an inch.

"It's… alright. If I ever need a favor, I'll come to you," Jericho finally agreed, giving in a bit too easily, but he probably just saw that Wiz wouldn't let him get away without getting him to agree with her . Then his gaze slid over to her and Yunyun, who looked absolutely everywhere but at Jericho's bare and glistening chest. "Care to introduce your friend, Megumin?" He asked her, and this was the moment of truth.

Yunyun, surprisingly, stepped forward, "I'm Yunyun of the Crimson Demon Clan, wielder of Intermediate Magic, and Megumin's arch-rival!" she introduced herself, managing to give a proper Crimson Demon greeting for possibly the first time in her life. "Nice to meet you… I dropped my headset, and it was meant to be a really important gift… I'm sorry to bother you, but… can you…" she lost steam the more she spoke, ending up trailing off as she awkwardly presented the headset to him.

Internally, Megumin shed a silent tear for the brutal rejection she was about to receive-

"Sure, no problem," Jericho said, stepping forward and taking the headset from her. Yunyun's face lit up, while Megumin's morphed into one of absolute disbelief. Eh? Eh?

Ehhhhhhhhhhh?!

"Ohoho-" Megumin laughed hollowly, looking up at Jericho with wide, angry eyes, pinning him with a ferocious glare. "I see, I see. So you have time to redo a headset for someone you just met, but not for a member of the familia I see," Megumin said, earning a dull look of incomprehenshion from Jericho as all the pieces clicked into place. "This is discrimination!" She proclaimed loudly, much to everyone's surprise.

"I'm going to need an explanation. How am I discriminating against you?" Jericho asked. Megumin tsked, the sound unusually harsh and contemptuous as she shook her head.

Talk about being blind to one own's faults.

"I haven't forgotten those burnt pancakes that you gave me!" Megumin began with the most grievous offense, even if it had happened weeks ago.

Jericho cocked an eyebrow, "Those were meant for Aqua." He defended himself, sounding unimpressed.

"Hey! I never got any pancakes!" Aqua exclaimed, looking up as she and Hestia circled one another, still waiting for the other to make the first move. "Why would I get the bad ones?!"

Megumin had the answer, "This Harem of a familia, being so nice to Wiz, and now to Yunyun, but treating me and Aqua so badly-- your intentions have never been clearer!" Megumin jabbed a finger at Jericho as she delivered her accusation, "You're discriminating against small breasts!" She shouted forcefully, and Jericho looked up at the sky, clearly anguished that his secret had been revealed.

It made too much sense for it to be anything else. Everyone that had huge tits was treated better! Well, except for Darkness... but that was her thing, so technically she still counted!

Aqua gasped dramatically, cupping herself before she began shooting dirty looks at every D-cup in the backyard, realizing that they were surrounded by all sides.

"Hm. Yeah, that's probably what's happening," Jericho dismissed, sounding unimpressed with the accusation. "Or, maybe, I'm trying to feel them out to see if they would want to join the familia," he rebuked, making Megumin's jaw drop.

Instinctively, as if her body was moving of its own free will, she grabbed Yunyun and shielded her with her own body. Yunyun, however, latched onto something said earlier, "A Harem?! I'm not, I'm just… you would want me in your harem…? " she asked, her entire body heating up at the thought.

Megumin shot a fierce look at Jericho, her feelings of betrayal worsening tenfold. "You said I had to strip naked and bark like a dog in the middle of town just to join your party! Why does Yunyun get to join right out the gate?!" Megumin protested, earning a gasp from Yunyun.

"I never said that. You said that," Jericho pointed out quickly. "I just wanted to teach you a lesson about latching onto men you just met. I was trying to help you."

Megumin puffed out her cheeks, opening her mouth to respond, however, she caught a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. At first, Megumin thought it was another ghost. And she was almost right.

Aqua let out a scream as something fell out of the flash that had appeared from thin air, landing next to her. Instinctively, Aqua hid behind Hestia for protection as everyone turned their attention to the mysterious object that hit the ground. There was black smoke drifting off of it, carrying the awful scent of burnt hair. A few seconds passed before the smoke thinned out enough that they could see what it was …

"Shit," Jericho cursed, as they all recognized the figure at once. There was no mistaking it. The body might be charred and blackened, but anyone in Axel would be able to instantly identify the unique clothing of the city's … used to be living legend.

The charred corpse of Kazuma the Legend stared up at the sky, his armor warped and broken at the chest, a shattered white blade in his grip. His fingers fused to the hilt. Megumin recoiled at the grizzly sight, but Jericho didn't.

"Aqua! Hestia!" He snapped, snapping the two gods out of their shock. Aqua raised her hands and took in a deep breath.

"Sacred Heal!" She said, making the body glow brightly as it was enveloped in healing light. The corpse's burnt skin smoothed out and regained a healthy hue, its brown hair grew back, and when the light faded, Kazuma's green eyes snapped open.

Kazuma lurched up, his gaze wild as he looked around for the threat had killed him, only to pause when his gaze landed on Jericho. The large man dropped to a knee, his expression grave, more serious than Megumin had ever seen it before. Kazuma opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the words, but they just wouldn't come.

Then, he just forced them out in a frantic voice, "Senpai…! The Demon King is a nobody. He's just some old guy and we beat him up super easily, but…! Then… then…! Then out of nowhere, we got attacked and they… they all had… super OP weapons!"

Aqua went very still, an expression of encroaching panic on her face. Jericho frowned deeply, and his frown only deepened as Kazuma continued to ramble, the words falling out one after the other, "They were all dead. Like really dead, but there were so many of them and there was this leader guy who gave us this super dumb speech about how he's going to invade the multiverse now that he has enough OP items because of the gods, and how we were all going to join his army of undead, and I was all like 'no way'-" Jericho raised a hand, making the rambling stop short.

"How many undead did you see?" He asked, his voice dangerously calm.

Kazuma fought to calm down while Megumin fought to do the same. "Hundreds. Maybe a thousand? Maybe more? I couldn't tell," he admitted, his tone ashamed.

Jericho nodded slowly, "During this speech of his… did he say what his next move was? Beyond… invading the multiverse?" Megumin didn't even know what that was, but it sounded cool, and frightening.

There was a beat of silence before Kazuma swallowed thickly.

"He… he said he's coming here. To thank the one who made his dreams possible."

"Ah…" Aqua mumbled, cupping her head in her hands and beginning to make sounds of distress.

Megumin clutched her staff. She had missed out on defeating the Demon King with Explosion Magic, but that just meant that she could blow up this other threat instead. She turned to look at Jericho, expecting to see him wearing an expression of easy confidence like always, but instead, she saw one of amusement.

"I really hate always being right sometimes."