The Devil's Rhythm
Ruko laughed while staring straight at the Devil King's throne. "This is gonna be fun." The throne room was massive, dark pillars stretching toward the ceiling while purple flames flickered across iron braziers. The pressure inside the room felt heavy enough to crush normal adventurers, but Ruko only squinted harder at the Devil King. "Wait… why does the Devil King look so old? Bro look like he in his mid-hundreds. At least he got human appearance except for the horns." Silence. The Devil King's eyebrow twitched. Aqua leaned closer and whispered nervously, "Um Ruko… don't you think you disrespect the Devil King already?" "What if it matters? I'm just disrespecting his appearance." Kazuma sighed while rubbing his forehead. "Ruko, I think you did. And I'm certain he is certainly pissed off right now." Ruko pointed directly at the throne. "I am not. Just look at him sitting on his throne thinking he some powerful entity, but he just a powerful shit washer wearing pitch-black clothes trying to farm aura." That sentence hit like a critical strike. The Devil King's face darkened instantly. "I had enough of your treachery, Kazuma Satou… and Ruko Satou." Kazuma froze. Aqua froze. Only Ruko looked unsurprised.
"So what bring you here?" the Devil King continued. "Oh right… to defeat me." "Yow what kinda bullshit metaphor you saying? You chat like crap." "And you chat like some flying insect constantly bothering my ears." Ruko smirked. "Heh. I roast people in their own nature. You no better either." "Enough. You are just as noisy as her." Ruko tilted his head. "Oh? And who is her?" "Kazuma whispered fast, "Ruko stop rage baiting him. It not gonna work." "The boy is right," the Devil King replied calmly. "It won't work on me. But perhaps… we can make a deal." Ruko instantly frowned. "I don't like where this going." "How about you join my side and become a Devil King General?" "Oh fuck no! Fuck you and your title." The Devil King tried again. "I can offer—" "Nope."
"Wealth." "Nah–nah." "Power." "I have my own." "Authority." "Your deaf." The Devil King stared blankly. Kazuma and Aqua slowly realized the two of them sounded less like enemies and more like two stubborn idiots arguing in a marketplace.
Finally the Devil King sighed. "Then what exactly would make you join my side?" Ruko actually paused to think. Then his eyes lit up. "How about your daughter?" The entire room went dead silent. Kazuma slowly looked at Ruko. "Wow… I never thought he would negotiate for somebody daughter. He definitely growing up as a man." The Devil King rose from his throne. Dark mana exploded through the room. "How dare you." "Oh?" Ruko grinned. "So the Devil King is a daughter lover?" CRACK. The floor beneath the throne shattered. The Devil King vanished. A second later he appeared directly in front of Ruko. Nobody saw him move. Not even Kazuma. The pressure alone froze the air itself. "To think I feared you may become a threat greater than expected," the Devil King growled. "But perhaps you are merely an insolent brat." His fist pulled back. Aqua couldn't breathe. Kazuma's instincts screamed danger. Ruko's pupils narrowed. Then— "Oi stop it you big oaf."
The fist stopped midair. Everyone blinked. A woman was suddenly standing there beside the throne. Black hair. Sharp crimson eyes. A long dark coat fluttering behind her. The atmosphere around her felt wrong… almost chaotic. "Little sis," the Devil King growled. "Why did you stop me?" She ignored him completely while pointing lazily toward Ruko. "Not that one. I wanna talk to him first." Aqua blinked twice. "K-Kazuma… did he just say little sister?" Kazuma looked equally confused. "The Devil King has a sister?!" Even Ruko's brain froze for a second. "Wait hold on… Konosuba never mention this shit." The Devil King rubbed his forehead. "Sister. Didn't I tell you to stay hidden?" "Oi you can't tell me what to do, you fucker. And call me Devilness." "Why you little—" "Go ahead and finish your sentence you white-black fuck." The siblings immediately began arguing like two angry neighbors. Ruko, Kazuma, and Aqua all stared at them with the exact same expression. What the hell is this? Ruko slowly twitched his fingers behind his back. Kazuma noticed instantly. Signal received.
Aqua immediately activated her sealing magic. Golden holy light burst across the throne room. The Devil King's eyes widened. "You—!" Kazuma slammed his hand forward. "Teleport!" Space twisted violently. The Devil King disappeared alongside Kazuma. "Ruko!" Kazuma shouted before vanishing completely. "Deal with that chick!" "Yeah yeah! Go teach him you not some ordinary character!" "Keh— you little—!" FWOOOSH. Gone. Now only Ruko, Aqua, and Devilness remained. The throne room suddenly felt much colder. Devilness cracked her neck slowly. "Well then." Ruko immediately looked at Aqua. "Aqua, leave." Aqua froze. "H-Huh?" "Get everybody far away from this castle. Right now." "But—" "You stay here you die." The seriousness in his voice stunned her. Ruko gently patted her head. "I'll be fine." Aqua's eyes watered. "I don't believe that…" "Neither do I," Ruko admitted honestly. "Now move." Aqua bit her lip before finally running out of the throne room.
Devilness watched her leave before grinning. "Good choice. Otherwise I would've gutted her." Ruko pull back his hair. "Idk what shoved itself up your ass these days and honestly I don't wanna find out." "Hah!" Devilness laughed loudly. "You definitely a man I like." The two lowered themselves into fighting stances. Silence filled the throne room. Then Ruko spoke calmly. "Yew! Activate phonk." [Yew: activated phonk — BRODYAGA FUNK.] BOOM. The bass exploded through the room. Heavy beats echoed against the castle walls. Devilness's grin widened instantly. "Ohhhh now THIS is hype." The beat dropped. A single pebble rolled across the broken floor. Both vanished. BOOOOM. Their fists collided dead center. The impact blew apart nearby pillars instantly. Ruko twisted sideways, redirecting wind beneath his feet while Devilness spun midair with an axe kick. CRASH. The floor exploded. The phonk synced perfectly with every movement. Beat. Punch. Beat. Kick. Beat. Impact.
Ruko ducked beneath a spinning strike and slammed three rapid punches into Devilness's ribs. One inch. Two inch. Three inch. Every hit exploded with compressed wind pressure. Devilness coughed violently before smiling wider. "Oh you're
FUN. And definitely my TYPE." She grabbed his shoulder and hurled him straight through three pillars. Ruko flipped midair and used Wind Breath beneath his feet—BOOM. He shot forward again like a missile. The bass intensified. Ruko's fist nearly connected—but Devilness vanished. A kick slammed into his stomach. CRAAAAASH. Ruko flew across the throne room and smashed into the wall hard enough to create a crater. The phonk ended. Silence returned. Dust slowly fell around him. Ruko coughed while pulling himself from the crater. His body screamed in pain. "Yeah…" he muttered while wiping blood from his mouth. "I'm definitely losing the advantage here."