The Explosion Beyond Control
The moment Alderp was gone—Chaos returned instantly. "MOVE!" Kazuma shouted, grabbing Darkness and lifting her into his arms without hesitation. Darkness flinched slightly and started to blushed. "K-Kazuma—!" "No time to argue!" he snapped, already running. "We're getting out of here!" Behind them— "STOP THEM!" "DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!" Alderp's men flooded out of the church, weapons raised. Kazuma pushed forward—Then stopped. "…You've gotta be kidding me." A line of guards blocked the exit completely. Swords drawn. No way through. Megumin, barely standing, leaned on her staff. "…I'll handle it…" Kazuma turned sharply. "Oi—don't tell me you're still—" Her eyes glowed. "…Explosion." The magic circle still formed beneath her. Clean. Controlled. Focused. Exactly as always. Her intention was clear—Not blow up the church. Create a distraction. Escape. But then—The mana changed. "…Huh…?" Megumin's voice faltered. The circle expanded. Bigger. And bigger. "…Wait…" The energy didn't compress. It didn't stabilize. It kept growing. Wild. Violent.
Kazuma's eyes widened. "…Megumin?" Megumin gritted her teeth. "I can controlled it… I DID… SOMETHING IS WRONG!" But it wasn't responding. The power kept increasing. Unnaturally. Beyond her limit. Beyond logic. Darkness looked up, fear in her voice. "…That's way too big…!" The sky above Axel turned crimson. People outside began screaming. "RUN—!" "THAT'LL DESTROY THE TOWN—!" Kazuma stared upward in disbelief. "…That's kind of explosion is not the size to blow up the church anymore…" Megumin's hands trembled. "…This… isn't mine anymore…" "IT'S THE SIZE TO EXPLODE AXEL!" The explosion—Had gone out of control. Because of something else. Because of the world itself. Because ever since—Ruko came. Everything had been amplified. Five times over. And now—Her Explosion reflected it. Unstable. Uncontainable. A disaster. And far behind them—Ruko lay flat on the ground. Arms spread. Completely still. Inside his mind—Silence. Warmth."…Luna…"
He stood in a quiet space. She smiled at him. Soft. Real. "…Stay a little longer my smoochy bun…" he muttered. Then—CRACK. A brick slammed directly into his face. "—OW WHAT THE MOTHERFUCKER?!" Ruko shot up instantly, clutching his nose. "…YOW WHO THE—?!" He blinked. The dream shattered. Reality rushed back. The broken church. The screaming. The panic. "…Huh?" "What the actual I I'm witnessing here." Then—He looked up. And froze. "…Wow... w-w-w-w-wow you've gotta be fucking kidding me…" The sky burned red. A massive explosion hovered above Axel. "…What's happen to Megumin…" His eyes narrowed. "…She didn't set a second cast…" Realization clicked instantly. "…Oh fuck! That's not controlled she can muster." He stood up slowly. Serious. "…Everyone's gonna die." A faint glow appeared. Yew. [Focused State] Ruko slowly pushed his hair back. "…Alright time t—." Another shift. [Finisher / First Stand]
"…What the fuck his this! Guess I'm doing of I don't understand." CLAP. A soft sound. Then—BOOM. Power exploded from his body. The ground beneath him cracked. He vanished—Leaving a fracture in the air. He reappeared—On a rooftop. Then another. Then another. Moving side to side—Fast. Precise. Clean. Kazuma look up. "Wait? RUKO WHAT ARE YOU DOING! He ignored him then—He jumped. High. Core Alloy shifted instantly—Cast Gloves. Then he use Eternal Thread. He fired them—Latch. Swing. Latch. Swing. Like a web. Like a slingshot. He accelerated upward—Straight toward the unstable explosion. Wind roared past him. "…That's way too big to begin with…" His eyes sharpened. "…Since I can't stop it…" "…Then I'll erase it." He raised his hand. Mana surged violently. The air trembled. Aqua shout out. "RUKO!" "RUKO!" Megumin shouted after. Then—"Ruko." Darkness said softly of looking at ruko high in the sky with a widen eyes of what he will commit.
He look down at everyone and saw the girls and his brother. "Kazuma." Said softly, giving a small smile. He look back at the explosion. He speaks the incantation of performing. "…EXPLOSION." A second explosion formed—Smaller. Sharper. Perfectly controlled. It collided directly into Megumin's unstable mass. BOOOOOOOOOOM. The sky shattered. Light consumed everything. The massive explosion—Broke apart.
Collapsed. Evaporated. Reduced into fragments of energy—Scattering across the sky. The remaining shockwave hit Axel. Windows shattered. Buildings cracked. People fell. Damage—But not destruction. The town survived. Then—Silence. From the sky—Something fell. Black. Burnt. Broken. Ruko. CRASH. His body slammed into the ground. When the party see this performance they run of looking for him. Darkness found Ruko corpse by calling the party.
Kazuma ran instantly carrying Megumin. "RUKO!" Aqua followed right behind. "MOVE!" They reached him—And froze. His body—Completely charred. Black like charcoal. His limbs—Gone. Completely gone. Nothing left. Kazuma's voice shook. "…No… no no no…" "RUKO! HEY!" he shouted, grabbing him. "ANSWER ME!" Nothing. Aqua stepped forward, panicking. "I-I'll fix it—!" She raised her staff. Light gathered—Then stopped. "…Huh…?" Her hands trembled. "…Why… why isn't it working…?" Kazuma snapped. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT WORKING?!" "I-I don't know—! I can't—!" Her voice cracked. "I can't heal or resurrect him—!" Megumin looked over weakly. "…This… is my fault…" Darkness dropped to her knees. "…It shouldn't have been him…" Around them—People gathered slowly. Whispers spread. "…He's dead…" "…Serves him right…" "…No… he saved us…" "…That guy… the Reaper…" "…I'm glad it's over…" Different voices. Different emotions. No unity.
Ruko lay there. Silent. Still. Gone. Then—Darkness. A void. Ruko stood within it. "…Tch…" A figure appeared. Familiar. Warm. "…You're still going. Your journey still not end yet?" the man asked. Ruko looked up slightly. "…Dad…" The man smiled faintly. "You're not done yet." Silence. "…Finish what you started."
Ruko exhaled. "…Yeah… I know…" The void cracked. A screen echoed. Yew. [Return Mechanism Activated] Regenerating via Return-by-Death… Light began to form—And everything went silent.