"Oi, do you expect me to believe that?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" ​​

"So, we came here, in the middle of nowhere, under your suggestion and guidance, found a weirdo in a formal suit calling himself an Arch Devil, and after all of this, you don't know anything?"

"The world is full of surprises. The more you go, the more you see. In the end, you'll realize that what you call nonsense and absurd is just related to your limited knowledge."

"How inspiring."

"Thank you, I just try my best."

In the middle of the clearing, the Arch Devil Vanir watched in silence as Kazuma and Kaguya were having a 'nice' conversation, but the increase of 'friendliness' on their smiles was worrying.

In the eyes of the group, these two were head-to-head, stubborn, and refusing to back down. While Kazuma swore he'll rip off this blatant lie, Kaguya didn't want to admit anything. It was so childish, but such quarrels are very common between these two.

"Um, can you two cut it out?"

Misaka pushed in and tried to interrupt this 'friendly' conversation.

"Why should I stop? I'm just asking a genuine question about very important matters, for example how this weirdo-looking guy appeared suddenly? Even if that person doesn't want to answer, unfortunately."

"I see no reason to stop. As a princess, I'm more than happy that my wisdom could be of help to someone else, even if that person doesn't want to believe in my honesty"

"You two…"

Suppressing her anger, Misaka tried to calm down and not join the quarrel. Usually, she would ignore this; however, the location and the timing here are way off

.

She could clearly see that the red gleam in that guy's (Vanir's) eyes intensified each time he got indirectly insulted by Kazuma and Kaguya. Even Leone, who was calm a moment ago, backed away a little as her hair stood up a little, akin to a scared cat in danger.

"Okay, miss Kaguya, could you 'please' tell me who is that guy and why did you bring us here"

"Oh my, sure you're polite Kazuma, but unfortunately you're not intelligent enough to see that I have no information about such a thing. It's sad to see you're doubting my sincerity."

"Splendid, splendid, quarreling in front of moi, unaware of any danger is amusing. Yet, why I'm getting feeling art thou are ignoring moi. Must be my imagination..."

In the middle of the conflict, Kazuma and Kaguya heard something, but they chose to ignore it.

"Sincerity, huh? I wonder if calling yourself an Arch Devil a few minutes ago counts. Oh, would you look at that, we even have a person calling himself an Arch Devil, isn't that just nice?"

"An Arch Devil? Thou sure is courageous to spout such lies, my ears are rejoicing to hear that thee is disguising as my kind. Although thou lack any charm to be my own kin, I welcome you with open arms"

"These coincidences are what make the world interesting. Who would have thought we are going to meet an actual Arch Devil in our little journey?"

Once again, Vanir tried to enter the conversation, but he was selectively ignored by Kazuma and Kaguya. The gleam in his eyes shone even brighter.

Misaka starts to wonder if that gleam will become a red flashlight at some point. Maybe a laser vision from anger? Can devils do that? In any case, Vanir's mask eyes are resembling a car blacklight for Misaka right now.

{I suddenly can't take this devil seriously}

Misaka was having a problem of her own while Leone felt she should leave and come back later because she didn't like the aura from Vanir's eyes at all.

"Hahahaha, you're very amusing, Kaguya, but...do you think I'll believe that?"

"Fufufu, I can say the same, Kazuma, but you know what they say. When in doubt, always remember that the words of the Moon Princess are the absolute truth. If you feel it's some nonsense, always keep in mind that the Moon Princess' rules make everything logical. In any case, if you feel pain or injured, recall the Moon Princess' words and you'll be fine, even if you're going to die...yeah"

Kaguya put her hands together and floated a little higher like she's ascending, even if she flinched a little at the last part.

"I really want to ask who the hell says that, but why do I feel this is some sort of creepy propaganda? Did this happen on the moon? Oh god..."

Terrified by his own speculation, Kazuma decided to shut up because he was getting more creeped out by this.

*Clap* *Clap*

Suddenly, Kazuma and Kaguya flinched at the sound of clapping before they saw Vanir clapping his hands slowly as the gleam in his eyes almost blinded them.

"Tsk-tsk, how unfortunate"

The gleam in Vanir's eyes darkened slowly before he shook his head and covered his mask with his hand in a dramatic pose.

"Thou spouting lies from her mouth more than that follow, the Demon King, pleading for the mental health of his subordinates."

"…"

"…"

"Oh? Did thou decide to stop expressing their idiocy and face moi, Vanir, who some say is stronger than the Demon King?"

"Who are you again?" x2

"Hmm?"

Vanir was about to start a new round of monologues, but the sight of the duo looking at him with confusion made him halt. If he wasn't a devil, those puzzled expressions would have fooled him easily. He has just introduced himself… again.

"We are having a very important conversation here; don't you have any manners? You even called yourself a duke or something, can't you act like one?"

"Yeah, Vanir, was it? Why are you wearing a business suit in a fantasy-sitting world anyway? Did you think it's cool? Wait, don't tell me that the chunni has rubbed on the devils too..."

Kazuma and Kaguya started again as the complaints rained on the clueless Vanir's head without stopping. In all his life as a devil, he saw a lot of shameless and irritating people, but this is pushing it to the top.

"Not again..."

Misaka covered her face from shame again. Enemy or not, this is already embarrassing for her. She kept asking herself, why does this always happen with these guys?

"Guys, maybe you should stop..."

Leone didn't like the feeling that Vanir gave her. It was like he had seen through her completely and this was very annoying for her.

"Why?"

"He started it!"

The duo retorted immediately as Leone laughed dryly and pointed at Vanir before the duo followed her vision to see Vanir shaking.

"FUHAHAHAHAHA!! Amusing, very amusing! Fuhahahaha!"

Breaking into loud laughter, Vanir arched his back before he leaned forward. His eyes were gleaming red like blood as Kazuma felt fear from them.

"Um, on another thought and after careful consideration, maybe we should go and finish our work here. And about this guy, let's just forget we saw him. He's clearly having fun, so let's not disturb him and leave quietly."

Without even finishing his words, Kazuma already took a few steps away from Vanir's sight while giving a thumbs up to the others like he's saying 'You got it, I believe in you'.

"Waste time later, let's locate the new device position."

Shaking his head, Whitebeard decided to leave. He has no idea why Kaguya decided to stop here, but now he can see it was just one of her bad habits acting again.

"I haven't laughed like this in a while. Oh? Don't be in a hurry giant looking man, moi assures you that the action of the rude lady over there wasn't pointless. If moi sees it correctly, thou is looking for the weird spider made of metal."

"Hm?"

Whitebeard's eyes widened a little before he halted his steps and turned back. The atmosphere directly went from awkward, because of Kazuma and Kaguya, to stern and heavy as Whitebeard faced Vanir.

{Did he read my mind?}

As that thought flashed inside Whitebeard's mind, his grip on the naginata tightened. It isn't that important if Vanir read his mind or not, but it was a fact that this devil is picking a fight now while also having important information to provide.

"Slow down, thou who resembles a giant. No need to hurry. Thou are worried about his party's safety and want to go first into battle, but thou doubts aren't needed. If thou desired, moi could lead thee to that spider..."

"Hmph!"

Closing his eyes, Whitebeard released a breath from his nose. Just when everyone thought he's thinking about the offer, the naginata backend hit the ground.

After getting his mind read twice, this devil...IS CLEARLY PICKING A FIGHT WITH HIM!!

Whitebeard's expression shifted from a calm one into a face of absolute anger in Kazuma's eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait, how did you reach the conclusion of fighting just from a proposal!?"

Kazuma felt the ground under him shaking before Vanir jumped up a few times sensing the vibrations before he raised both his hands.

"Please calm down. I didn't come here to pick a fight with thee. It's because that fellow, the Demon King, asked moi to investigate something. Also, from what I have seen, there's no other reason for people 'not from around' to appear here, except for that weird creature that killed moi once. It isn't that complicated of a deduction."

Vanir emphasizing on 'not from around' made Kazuma flinch. Of course, such a phrase is common and all, but hearing it from this devil gave Kazuma an absurd thought.

{The devil who sees through everything in the world. Don't tell me he knows that we aren't from this world. People can know that? Doesn't this Chat Room have some security measures?! Wait, maybe he doesn't exactly know the truth, but this is already bad...hold up, why should it be bad?}

On second thought, Kazuma found that it doesn't really matter if they found out they aren't from this world or not. It isn't that much of a big deal anyway… for someone in the range of Whitebeard's earthquake!

{Do it, old man, turn him into a devil pancake. I believe in you!}

Kazuma turned towards Whitebeard with anticipation clearly written in his eyes as it made the latter slightly speechless.

"Oh? Quite the dangerous thoughts from the boy who is so helpless and lazy about his situation that he didn't find a way out except for being a freeloader. Might as well look up to the thing that gives you confidence now."

Sensing the clear hostility in Kazuma's gaze, Vanir shook his head like he's very troubled by this, but it only led to more anger.

"Don't insult the way of a freeloader! Being a freeloader is even harder than doing something productive!"

Kazuma raised his hand like his entire cause had been insulted.

"Thou who I can't really see what lies behind him keep screaming and moi only stating the truth, how rude. However, fear not! I bear no malice to thee, so you don't have to be worried about falling behind again."

"What?!"

However, when Kazuma was taking his gun out to shoot Vanir, Kaguya opened the Chat Room.

{He can't see it, well, it was expected. I guess I can rule out that he knows our origin exactly, but why didn't he seem to be speaking about Kazuma?}

Thinking about it, Kaguya typed a private message in the chat room for Misaka.

[NEET Princess: Mikoto-chan, can you see if you can locate PE-SS-26-13287 on the map? Try not to move if you can.]

Misaka flinched while watching Kazuma losing it against Vanir's psychological attacks before she started checking the map.

[Bri-Bri: It's a mess like always, but… shouldn't PE-SS-26-13287 be in one position or at least in one area? This one seems to be moving all the time]

[NEET Princess: Moving, huh? Thank you, Mikoto]

"Enough playing around. Spit out everything you know about the...spider?"

Whitebeard's voice carried some doubt at the end because he doesn't know if PE-SS-26-13287 avatars come in different shapes. To be honest, they don't know much about PE-SS-26-13287, except the information that was deliberately exposed by the World's Will.

"Hmmm, oh, right! Thou are really here for that creature that even made moi felt weird about"

Vanir smacked his fist onto his palm before he faced Whitebeard and spoke in a funny tone.

"Why should we listen to you anyway? We are wasting too much time here."

Misaka interfered as Kazuma was reloading his sniper rifle to shoot Vanir in the head after he failed to hit him five times.

"Waste of time? A time with moi is the most fulfilling time ever! No need to worry about the creature, it isn't going anywhere. Of course, I see my offer is slightly lacking to grab thee's attention considering that you should have a way to track that creature."

"You...who are you?"

Looking at Vanir's playful smile, Misaka stopped messing around as electric arcs flew around her, but even so, the opponent didn't take such a hostile stance seriously.

"Art thou deaf? Moi has already introduced himself, unlike thou who lacks manners. Well, thou is more concerned about being in doubt and confusion about her current situation more than moi. This makes moi sad, but don't you realize that coming here is enough proof of having a way to find that creature?"

Vanir shook his head like he's disappointed about Misaka not realizing a simple fact.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Misaka tilted her head as she was confused by Vanir's words. But strangely, she had this uneasy feeling of being seen through. It was ten times more annoying than that Mental Out.

{Wait, mind-reading? Telepathy? No, no one should be able to read my mind in Academy City, but...I don't know much about magical abilities}

"Thou are overthinking it. Moi can see through you easily, you...the girl who keeps wondering why her two companions almost explode from laughter each time they see her holding that green gem in her necklace"

"…um?"

Misaka turned to Kazuma and Kaguya, and they turned their heads away immediately.

"What a nice view today."

Kazuma admired the night sky and didn't look in Misaka's direction, even if he felt something burning onto his back.

"Hm? What's wrong, Mikoto-chan?"

Kaguya put on a smile that could only be described as angelic like she isn't involved in this at all.

"You two…so, it wasn't my imagination..."

Misaka's face darkened as electric arcs jumped around her before she raised her clenched fist.

"Sorry, I have to break your expectations, but that matter isn't related to the size of your chest."

"HUH?!"

Misaka raised her voice as electricity flew from her forehead like a bolt towards Vanir, but the latter already took a step to the side, dodging the bolt entirely.

"Why is thou so conscious of the size of her chest? I can't fathom why art thou are so angry, but moi heard it isn't good for your health despite how poor your chest is-"

"It's none of your business!!!"

Misaka was already burning with anger as she was about to drop an entire lightning storm on the head of Vanir.

"Oi, Misaka-san, calm down. He's just trying to agitate you!"

"I know! But…but…I'll give him a beating no matter what!"

"Oh? Thou wish to defeat moi? Vanir, the devil that sees through everything? Despite your poor, flat chest that can be used as a cutting board for a housewife, moi doesn't think it'll be of help for thou quick anger problems."

"You…you…you… AHHHH!!!"

"Easy, easy, Mikoto..."

"Let me go! I'll break that stupid mask on his damn head!!"

Leone moved quickly and caught Misaka from behind as the latter was struggling to rush and beat the living crap out of Vanir.

"Tsk, tsk, thou really have quick anger issues...don't you agree? The lion-looking girl has a hard time blending in this place. It's hard for thee to actually find a goal to keep going after something happened in her life, but to see that you're doing your utmost best makes even a devil like me so overjoyed!"

"W-w-what?!"

Leone was flabbergasted as she almost lost her grip on Misaka, but nothing would have happened because Misaka was confused by her friend's reaction.

{Ah…this is hopeless. She's very angry...no, this whole situation is bad. This devil is clearly playing with our minds and emotions. As I expected of a devil, they can play with other people's minds easily. Well, Whitebeard and Kaguya are fine, so it's all right… I think}

Kazuma sighed secretly as he decided to wait and see how this farce would end before he saw a strange sight.

"Ahhh, what a high-quality negative emotion of shame. It's indeed a fine treat for today!"

{HE ISN'T HIDING IT AT ALL!!}

Kazuma was shocked looking at Vanir opening his arms wide and breathing deeply.

"Oh? Why art thou surprised? The best delicacies for devils such as myself are the negative feelings produced by humans. In my eyes, humans are the producer's of delicacies, so I won't perform stupid things such as killing or harming you. Whenever a human is born, I feel so happy that I'll dance in the courtyard..."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Kazuma's facepalmed himself. Why does he feel this is very ridiculous, and this devil is just playing around...maybe because it's the truth? He can even see Kaguya watching the play with a lot of interest.

*Boom!*

"Eh?"

Out of nowhere, the location near Vanir exploded. The ground cracked like spider webs, and debris flew everywhere.

"Enough. You have wasted enough time."

"I feel thou entire party is full of quick-to-anger people. If your goal is intimidating moi, then I think thou have a problem in his brain."

Vanir took a step off to the side in advance, avoiding the naginata blade from falling on his head before he spoke to Whitebeard, who suddenly appeared next to him.

"Thou should learn to be more patient and wait for moi to finish. Hmmm, it's noble of you to put yourself in danger and always go first, but moi see that your muscle head isn't very suitable here, maybe you should try ramming into boulders instead? Moi heard that headaches are good for people like you."

Despite Whitebeard giving him a death stare, Vanir just lightly traced the edge of the naginata slightly with his finger before he walked forward, or else, he would have taken a punch to the head according to his predictions.

"Now, listen to moi, adventurers! Despite that creature losing interest in me after one kill, I became even more attracted! Rather than playing cat and mouse with that sneaky creature, I have another offer!"

Arching his back a little, Vanir clapped his hands before announcing in a loud voice.

"I, Vanir, have a dream! But for that dream to be true, I need to prepare several things and who better than thee, who caught my interest, to test them!"

"Hah? Do you take us as lab rats, seriously? Old man, can you just send him flying?"

"On it."

Whitebeard raised his naginata as he was going to launch Vanir flying to the next Kingdom, but Kaguya raised her hand and floated forward.

"Mr. Vanir, was it? Assuming that your dream is about committing suicide with extra steps, will you perhaps guide us to the spider?"

"Oh? The lady whose mouth is filled with lies and wishes to be my kind despite the lack of qualification knows moi very well. Yes, I want you to test how my final fight in my dream will go. I wanted to prepare a whole dungeon, but because of the Demon King and the weird creature, I'm more interested in this place!"

"Huh? Why do we need your guidance anyway?"

"Good question from the boy who's good at talking but mediocre in performance. But this is troubling, especially because your companion is the one who brought you here"

"...sorry, my skills are plain, okay?"

Kazuma received more damage because of the psychological attacks.

"You can...see it? The spider, I mean."

"Hm? Not exactly, it's the most difficult target moi eyes can land on, but lately, it became easier to-... why are thou looking at me like that?"

Kaguya's eyes sparkled while looking at Vanir as she gave the latter a bad feeling.

"I see, then I accept your offer. Shall we start?"

"Are you seriously going to play along with this? Why? Just why?"

Nodding, Kaguya accepted Vanir's deal without many questions as Kazuma dropped his hands in disbelief.

"Wonderful! Although this lady whose moi eyes can't see clearly because of the power she holds, the smell of the explosion magic from you is clear as day. This might prove to be troubling with the crescent mustache man behind me!"

Vanir put his hand on his chin like he's thinking deeply. It didn't take long for him to raise his hand as his eyes gleamed red.

"I have a better idea!"

Clapping his hands suddenly, Vanir smiled slightly before the ground cracked open.

Dolls, a lot of dolls jumped from the cracks, even some of them fell from trees. In less than a second, the whole area was filled with dolls that can turn into grenades at any moment.

Misaka's expression collapsed and Leone smiled in defeat, while a drop of sweat slipped Kazuma's cheeks as he saw the dolls swelling in mid-air.

"FUHAHAHAHA!! This one of moi traps prepared for that creature, but thou can have it!"

*BOOM!!* *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!*

The dolls started to explode everywhere. At first, it was a few of them, then the chain reaction made the whole area into a bombing zone, making seeing almost impossible because of the fire and smoke.

"Hmph!"

But it didn't last for long as a huge airflow hit the area. Whitebeard swung his naginata, clearing the whole area from fire, smoke, and most of the dolls that hadn't exploded yet.

"Oh? Thou power has surpassed moi expectation. As I thought, you should consider using your head to crack boulders."

In the middle of the smoke and fire, Vanir already started moving with a funny smile on his face.

"…"

Whitebeard didn't speak at all before he used Soru, catching up to Vanir and slashing. The slash carried an intense force capable of crushing boulders and reached Vanir's back instantly.

Despite Vanir's appearance to be completely oblivious to the attack, Whitebeard frowned and thought this devil had a trick up his sleeve. However, this didn't stop him as the full strike landed on Vanir.

*Crack*

But… In the deadpan expression of Whitebeard, Vanir's body was severed in two under his strike, as the upper body went flying and the lower one crashed and rolled on the ground.

"Eh? Why is the world spinning?... I-Impossible!! It can't be…"

Rotating in mid-air, Vanir, or at least his upper body, was screaming in disbelief before it hit the ground and rolled a few times near Kazuma.

"..."

Stopping his attack, Whitebeard looked at Vanir's lower body crumbling into dust before looking at the upper body screaming in 'pain' and wiggling on the ground.

"To think that I, the great Vanir… dammit… It seems that I have underestimated your power, adventurers. Is this how it'll end for moi… curses"

Slowly and under some long monologue, Vanir's upper body crumbled into dust, even the suit vanished, leaving the mask lying peacefully on the ground.

"So…that's it? What was the point of all of that?"

Kazuma tilted his head looking at the dramatic end of the Demon King's general as he felt more speechless than happy.

"Are you sure he died?"

Misaka wanted to get a stick and poke the mask on the ground, but she restrained herself… maybe she should drop a lightning bolt on it?

"I hope so, but what about that whole deal thingy?"

Leone hugged herself after remembering the nasty feeling Vanir gave her, but then, she saw Kaguya smiling.

{No way}

Leone's expression crumbled again as a loud voice echoed in her ears.

"Too bad!! Thou hopes are nonexistent as that perverted Dullahan cavalierly!"

Startled by the voice, Kazuma turned to the side to see the mask on the ground rising up-no, it was the earth moving under the mask towards him.

In a few seconds, the plain earth and dirt started to change color and shape, until the earth and dirt became an annoying suit-wearing devil.

"The look on thou face is priceless! Did you think that I, the great Vanir, would 'die' from just a strike? Ahhh, the negative emotions from thee are a delight…!"

"Suddenly, I really want this guy to die…"

No idea why he is pissed off, but Kazuma felt that this devil's entire existence is mocking him.

"Thou shouldn't be daydreaming facing moi despite how fascinating I may appear."

"Hm?... oi, seriously?"

Raising his head, Kazuma found that Vanir was very close to him, and he was running towards him with red gleaming eyes.

"Thou wished to kill moi, right? Isn't this a perfect opportunity to show off? Sadly, thou mediocre skills are of no help, and neither your companion's explosion magic can work here. Well, maybe she wants to take you down with moi. A noble sacrifice to take the evil moi! Isn't this an honor?"

"Sacrifice my ass, your honor can go to hell! There's no way-... what are you doing?"

Kazuma raised his gun aiming at the advancing Vanir only to see Kaguya preparing the explosion magic before hiding it quickly when he looked over.

"FUHAHAHAHA!! Thou can't hit moi, even if you practice for hundreds of years!"

Kazuma shot several bullets at Vanir, but the latter dodged them effortlessly, even if Misaka added several lightning bolts to delay him.

{Dammit, can't the old man finish this guy?}

"FUHAHAHA!! Art thou begging his companion for help again? The brat who still wondering why that crescent white mustache man gave him a chance and agreed to his risky, illogical plan that he fully realizes how dumb and stupid of a decision that is. Moi can't fathom the confusion thou is experiencing, even after getting something that gives you confidence and safety now!"

Vanir's words seemed to strike Kazuma like a hammer as he spaced out for a moment. This isn't just a psychological attack; this has reached the level of a personal attack as Kazuma felt seriously attacked and ashamed.

"You bastard…goodbye!"

Kazuma clenched his fist as Vanir smiled before he turned away instantly and ran away as the devil's smile froze.

"Don't thou have no ounce of shame to do this in front of his party?"

"I sold my shame and dignity to pay off my debts yesterday, and believe me, they weren't enough in the slightest-...wait, why are you so fast?!"

"..."

Misaka dropped her hand slowly and canceled her ability as she watched this scene in front of her…yup, she really can't take this devil seriously anymore.

"HA! Thou shamelessness won't save him from moi! But I have no desire to play with thou like this, observe moi, Vanir, special skill!"

"Shit! WHY ARE YOU ALL WATCHING WITHOUT HELPING?!"

Whitebeard heard Kazuma plead before he sighed and sat down. Like that devil said earlier, he has no intention of killing a human, so this is kinda a good opportunity to train.

If nothing except real danger would make this brat (Kazuma) move, then Whitebeard will throw him into one. This is all for his sake.

Unable to outspeed Vanir, Kazuma was forced to stop and take on this special skill, which sounded very bad in his head.

{No, think Kazuma, I need to do something… special skill… right!! I need to time this}

"Behold, moi Vanir's special!"

Vanir put his hand on his mask and started to take it off slowly, but he didn't notice that Kaguya was taking a golden color talisman from her sleeve.

"Now, STEEEEEAAAAL!!"

Looking at Vanir in the range of his skill, Kazuma focused as the skill's light blinded everything in front of him.

"FUHAHAHAHA!! Steal? Thou think such a useless skill can defeat m-"

Vanir's words came to halt as the skill light made it hard to see anything for a second before it dimmed down slowly.

"Did it work? This is the first time I'm using this skill seriously on… anything else except that PE-SS… hm?"

"What just happened?"

Looking at his previously empty hands, Kazuma found himself holding a dark-white mask as Vanir's body crumbled into dust in the distance.

"It actually worked...neat."

Kazuma found that Steal might be more niche than he thought. It actually stole the devil mas-... this is bad.

"Hmmm, it seems that the moi mask counts as an item by thou skill. How surprising, this didn't happen before. Either way, moi doesn't mind this development! Observe!"

Kazuma tried to throw the talking mask away, but Vanir's mask launched itself without any warning and landed on Kazuma's face.

"AHHHHHH!!"

"FUHAHAHAHA!!"

Kazuma held his head and screamed like he's experiencing a huge amount of pain as Vanir's laughter echoed.

"Kazuma!"

Misaka was surprised by the sudden development, but then she saw a person appearing next to Kazuma.

"FUAHAHAHAHAHA!! Listen up, adventurers! This is the power of moi! And you, brat! Resistance is pointless, the more thou resists, the more horrible the pain you'll experience. Just give your body to moi!"

Explaining his power, Vanir was laughing loudly as Kaguya appeared quickly next to Kazuma and raised a golden talisman.

"AHHHhhhhhhh... to be honest, I didn't feel anything new."

"Eh?"

Hearing Kazuma's words, both Vanir and Kaguya, who were about to put the talisman onto Kazuma, froze.

"What do thou mean by no pain? Also, how is thou mental state perfectly fine?"

"Why are you asking me? But when is this pain supposed to start? I just screamed for no reason and now I feel slightly embarrassed."

"This is n-"

Just as Vanir was about to call nonsense and bullshit about the situation, the world in his 'eyes' flipped over before his vision shifted. The entire forest and scenery became a calm blue sky dotted with several peaceful white clouds.

To his surprise, there was no ground, no, it was just that the sky and earth were identical and you can't see any difference between them.

"What is this? I'm in...that brat's mind?"

Dropping the funny tone and weird way of speaking, Vanir looked at the place only to notice that he has a body now. Not exactly true, but this body looked very much like his original body that exists in hell.

"This is...surprising"

Vanir hardly contained his surprise before he heard something from above. It was like a person frozen in one pose, but it had a very low quality of vision?

The devil had no idea what was happening, but his confusion didn't last long before an object gradually vanished into light, leaving only a weird, ever-changing, fragment of platinum light falling slowly.

"What in the world-!"

The fragment of light descended slowly as Vanir's mind was thrown into a mess. It was clearly an unidentifiable object, but why did he start to think of it as a 'feather'.

In the eyes of the astonished Vanir, the 'feather' landed on the 'ground' as it produced ripples like a lake before it shined. The light was so strong and bright, it made Vanir try to close his eyes before it engulfed everything, leaving nothing except brightness.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

Kazuma had a deadpan face while looking at the mask that slipped off his face effortlessly and dropped to the ground.

"Um, what just happened?"

Kaguya dropped her hand holding the talisman that was supposed to control and seal Vanir as she observed the motionless mask on the ground.

"No idea, and stop asking me these things. But...is he dead?"

Kazuma used his sniper rifle to tap on the mask, but he receives no response.

"Dead? Are you saying your face was so horrible it killed an Arch Devil?!"

"Oi!"

Kazuma snapped at Kaguya, who was looking at him in shock. But before he continued, the earth underneath him moved as it almost made him jump away.

However, earth and dirt did nothing more than gather under the mask, and in seconds Vanir's body was created once more.

Despite that, Vanir didn't move or talk. He kept lying on the ground, his hands rested on the abdomen while clasping his fingers. This looked very much like a dead person's position in a coffin.

After that, everyone gathered around Vanir's motionless body as their expressions varied.

"Are you sure you didn't kill him?"

Misaka already grabbed a stick and poked Vanir, but she also didn't get any reaction. It was as if this devil really was dead.

"I didn't! Do I look like someone who can kill a devil?"

"Yeah, you're right. That's impossible for you."

"...I'm happy you believed me instantly, but couldn't you have at least said it nicely?"

"That ability he used...he should have been connected to your mind. What did he see?"

Whitebeard thought about it as he didn't understand how this devil was knocked out like this.

"Maybe he saw something very horrible in your mind?"

Leone turned towards Kazuma, as the latter just kept a deadpanned face and decided to not answer anything.

"*Sigh*...to think I, Vanir, would have such a day…"

When the group was in confusion about the 'death' of Vanir, the said dead devil suddenly started to talk, startling almost everyone near him.

"Eh?! He's alive!!"

Kazuma and Misaka jumped away to keep as much distance as possible, but Vanir stood up slowly and raised his hand.

"Please calm down. I have no desire to continue this battle"

"Hm?"

Ignoring both Whitebeard and Kaguya, Vanir stood up on his feet calmly and brushed his suit from dust and dirt despite it being made from them before bowing slightly.

"I, the duke of hell and the archdevil that can see through anything in the world, Vanir, offer my apologies to the apostle of his excellency and your companions"

"Excuse me?"

"I had no idea that you were the apostle of his excellency. Although moi actions won't change, a proper greeting is a must"

After confirming that he regrets nothing and he'll do it again, Vanir just sighed while shaking his head.

"Are you sure you're okay? I think you hit your head when that mask fell down..."

Kazuma blinked his eyes at Vanir, who became very formal for a second before he looked at everyone else. They shared the same expression and confusion.

"How rude. Moi can't see such a rude individual receiving the blessing and protection of his excellency. The world is surely full of surprises."

The more Vanir spoke, the more confusion he caused. This was just so sudden to process, and Vanir's ambiguous words aren't helping.

"Who the hell is this excellency? And when did I become an apostle? Dude, what did you see in my mind, just tell me…"

"Protection...excellency...and this guy is a devil…"

Kaguya thought for a moment before a blank expression surfaced on her face. She turned to look at Kazuma.

"Kazuma…"

"What?"

"Do you remember the other day?"

"The other day, what do you mean...oh."

In an instant, Kazuma had the same expression as Kaguya as they stopped moving and looked at the sky speechlessly.

In his imagination, the stars in the sky transformed into a very annoying face of someone and gave him a thumbs up. A vein popped on Kazuma's forehead at that moment.

"Do you mind sharing with us what you know?"

Misaka wanted to ask, but Kazuma took a deep breath before he raised his head and shouted into the sky.

"IT WAS THAT BASTARD ALL ALONG!!!!"

In the middle of the quiet night, the screams of a young man reached the sky as his friend, a devil, just watched in silence.