Legend of the Crimson Demon

Explosion Magic is the strangest of the three "independent magics."

To learn Explosion Magic, you need 50 skill points. And even after you learn it, you can't use it in dungeons due to its overwhelming power. Worse still, it drains all of the user's magic and physical strength—leaving them completely incapacitated after a single blast.

Their teacher had told them more than once: Explosion Magic is a joke.

And yet, Explosion Magic is also the strongest magic.

Dragons, demons, gods, demon kings—none of them can escape its wrath. It is, in a sense, humanity's final trump card.

...That might sound like an exaggeration, but later on—when both the Evil God and the Demon King bowed to its might—it was hard to argue otherwise.

The explosion's shockwave uprooted all the trees directly beneath the blast. Zunzun shielded Komekko, Yunyun collapsed to the ground screaming, and Megumin… laughed with unrestrained glee, completely unfazed by the roaring wind and deafening boom.

The surge of magical power continued to rage.

Under the overwhelming force and absurd violence that defied reason, the monsters that had once filled the sky were completely annihilated.

Then—

Megumin fell over with a dazed thump.

As the smoke cleared and the view widened, not a single monster remained in sight.

Gone. All of them.

"T-This…" Yunyun's voice came out hoarse and broken, as if she were groaning from the soul.

"This is Explosion Magic…?"

This wasn't something that could be described with phrases like 'very strong' or 'powerful.'

She'd done it without even using a staff—a magical conduit to stabilize mana and amplify spells. And still it was this destructive.

No wonder Megumin was obsessed.

Even Zunzun hadn't expected this level of devastation.

And to think, this wasn't even half its true power.

It was a fact: any magician needs a staff to help organize and concentrate their mana. Without one, the spell's power drops significantly. But in that emergency, where could Megumin possibly find a suitable staff?

"Megumin? Hey—Megumin!" Yunyun shook her urgently.

Megumin had fainted with a peaceful, glowing smile on her face—like she had finally achieved her dream and could die happy.

Yunyun screamed in panic.

Zunzun quickly stepped in, checked her condition, and let out a breath. "She's fine. Just passed out from magical and physical exhaustion. Probably relaxed too much after being tense this whole time."

He and Yunyun stayed by her side.

Soon, the adults of the village arrived—having noticed the giant mushroom cloud of magical energy—and rushed in.

And then… they scolded the hell out of them.

Well, two of them.

Megumin was snoring blissfully, so only Zunzun and Yunyun got yelled at.

For now, Megumin's new skill was kept secret by the teacher. But the principal and faculty were well aware: Megumin had finally learned magic. Yunyun had mastered intermediate-level spells.

Their teacher later informed them that, now that both had completed their magic training, their graduation ceremony would be held this weekend.

Zunzun had hoped to graduate with them, but was persuaded to stay.

A new problem had emerged.

The three of them were back at the wishing pool, killing time as usual.

Yunyun looked worried. "Megumin… What should we do? That vengeful goddess the teacher mentioned—she's been unsealed! The seal was in the same place where you released that spell. And after that, the goddess vanished! What if we messed up something huge!? Tell me what to do!"

She grabbed Megumin's shoulders and shook her violently.

Megumin's brain had clearly crashed. She stared into the void like someone whose soul had exited her body.

According to the adults, the Evil God's seal had awakened the nameless goddess of vengeance, who defeated the Evil God in single combat. The explosion swept away the servants of the Evil God, and the goddess disappeared without a trace.

It sounded cool, sure.

But those who had witnessed the actual events knew better.

Megumin had already confessed everything to them.

Like how Komekko had accidentally helped break the seal. And that the army of monsters was targeting Chomusuke, the kitten. And how Chomusuke might actually be half of the Evil God or something equally crazy.

Zunzun sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I need to grow another brain…"

"It doesn't matter," he said at last, waving a hand like it was too much trouble. "No one was hurt. Everything ended well. If the villagers believe their version of the story, let's just go with that."

Honestly, the villagers just thought the story of the Evil God and the goddess was super epic and wanted to keep it that way.

"That's... the only way," Yunyun agreed.

She wasn't the type to rat people out. For friends, she could stay quiet about anything.

(Though, to be clear, this was not meant as a compliment.)

Yunyun looked down at Chomusuke, nestled in Megumin's lap, her expression complicated.

"What is Chomusuke, anyway? Why were the monsters after her? Is she really related to the Evil God? And why was the seal broken?"

...Right. Yunyun's a top student.

Smart enough to connect the dots.

Fortunately, she hadn't reached the final conclusion yet.

After all, who would imagine a tiny, curious child accidentally triggered the seal's undoing?

(Though if Megumin hadn't done the exact same thing when she was younger, she might not suspect Komekko at all.)

Like older sister, like younger sister.

Megumin had originally wanted to scold Komekko—but when the girl innocently handed her the ancient fragment and asked, "Wanna play?"…

She just didn't have the heart.

In the end, since no one was hurt, Komekko didn't get punished at all.

Congratulations.

"I say!" Megumin turned to Zunzun suddenly. "Now that Yunyun and I are graduating… what about you? You schemer! You're still milking the benefits of being a student!"

"What does that have to do with me?" Zunzun rolled his eyes. "I told you not to leave the house, didn't I?"

"It was Chomusuke who got taken by the monsters! Yunyun was the one who insisted on saving her!"

"Y-Yeah… sorry." Yunyun looked down sheepishly.

So why had they gone to the forbidden area?

Well… Yunyun's overflowing sense of justice kicked in when Chomusuke was abducted. She couldn't ignore it. Megumin had no choice but to follow her.

That's how the two ended up at the sealed area… and found Komekko.

"Honestly, I did want to graduate with you," Zunzun admitted. "But the teacher stopped me."

Once you graduate, you can't return to school or enjoy any of its perks.

The teacher couldn't bear to let such an outstanding seedling like Zunzun leave prematurely, so they'd been cramming magical theory into him nonstop these past few days.

Even Zunzun—with his high IQ and photographic memory—was reminded of the terror of forced studying.

He shivered just thinking about it.

Yunyun offered a sympathetic look.

Megumin laughed like a villain.

"What about you two?" Zunzun asked. "Got any plans now that you're official magicians?"

Yunyun paused, then said, "I'll probably take over as clan leader. I thought those tests my dad made me do were just for fun... turns out they were real."

Her expression was complicated.

Megumin puffed out her chest.

"I'll train Explosion Magic every day! I'll become one of the top Explosion Magicians of the Crimson Demon Clan! Then I'll become an adventurer, defeat the Demon King, and become the next Demon King myself!"

"Oh. Cool. Good luck with that."

"So cold!?"

She pouted, clearly dissatisfied with Zunzun's lack of enthusiasm.

Three kids.

One aiming to be a clan leader.

One aiming to be Demon King.

And one aiming to… stay a student.

All had bright futures ahead.

The next morning.

There was a knock at Zunzun's door.

He opened it—

To find Megumin kneeling dramatically on the ground.

"——Please! Please support me!"

"…Ah!?"

-End Chapter-

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