~~Chapter 5~~

"Facing Against the Witch"

Part 1

In front of us in the middle of this dark forest was one of the leaders of Hanzo's army, Angellica.

She was once part of Hanzo's harem as one of the main characters of Bane of Tartaros. In the series, she was an immensely powerful mage who knew a hundred different spells, which is absolutely bonkers.

Back in the anime, she was known as the "Divine Wizard". That's why I didn't think of her when I found out we were facing the "Witch". That's probably a nickname she adopted after getting corrupted by demonic magic.

Yes, her eyes are red. There's no doubt that she's being corrupted.

"Tee-hee. A bunch of low level adventurers like you dare to challenge a high level mage like me?"

Looks like she still retained her bitchy attitude from the anime.

"Ah, I see you're all at a loss for words. That's understandable, considering you're in the presence of the Angellica, after all!"

"Who the heck are you?"

Sana's oblivious question, although it meant no harm, somehow managed to strike the Tartaros mage right in the pride.

"Y-you must be joking, right? Surely you must've heard the tales of the Angellica, the most powerful mage in the land, right?"

"Err, no."

"E-eh?!"

I deepened my eyebags at this anticlimactic scene when Sana shifted her question to me.

"Seriously, Kaito-kun, who is that? Is this weird feeling that I'm having coming from her?"

Sana must be talking about this stupidly strong presence of magic power.

"Yeah. Her magic power is insane. Listen you two, our opponent right now is one of the leaders of Tartaros. Angellica is basically the strongest mage in Ischyos, so we're gonna have to come up with a plan. Sana, since you're the warrior, you'll be going in the front line while I support you from the back. Both of us will try to distract her until the perfect time arrives. When it does, Agame, you-"

"With the power of the gods, I shall cast divine judgement onto you, foul being! Be purified in the name of Apollo, my Holy Bow!"

"-You moron! Wait for my signal, you impatient little..!"

It was too late. Agame had already finished chanting her dumb spell.

"Take this! Hyah~!!"

"Oh-ho? Is that a divine weapon? My, my."

An arrow flew straight from Agame's bow and landed directly onto the Tartaros member and caused a flash of white light to engulf the area.

..or so it seemed.

"Wahahaha! Puny weakling! Your rank means nothing to me, Agame, the wielder of Apollo, the Holy Bow! Kaito-san! Kaito-san! Look! I took her down! Aren't I awesome?"

I showed her how impressed I was by strangling her.

"Yeah, I'm left without words, Agame-sama! Your Holy Bow is awesome! Oh? Hey, look at that! The light's fading! Whoa, Angellica is standing still like nothing happened! Total shocker! Did not expect that coming! You are really amazing Agame-sama!"

"B-b-b-but how..?"

"Idiot. You don't just shoot an arrow at a powerful target who's standing still, expecting an attack. She obviously had a trick up her sleeve. Angellica knows a hundred different spells so she probably used holy magic herself to cancel out your arrow."

"Wha-? A hundred?!"

The bodacious Tartaros member in front of us laughed out loud in reaction to our conversation.

"You seem to have done your research, boy! I'm impressed. Then again, my name is known all throughout the land."

Okay, now's not the time to be fooling around, Kaito. Your enemy is the most powerful mage in Ischyos.

"Enough games. Now's my turn to attack. You, archer girl."

Agame flinched when Angellica called her out. She was at the verge of tears.

Damn it, the gap in her mood change when she's unable to fire her bow is too large. She's such a cry baby!

Can I kick her out of my team? I wanna kick her out of my team! I don't give a crap if she's the wielder of a Holy Bow! This bipolar attitude of hers is too high maintenance of a task for me!

"Bold of you to use a Holy Weapon on me. Unfortunately, your weapon is too weak. I'll give your other friends here an example of how terrifying I can be by turning you into ashes first, okay~? Here I go! Fireball!"

No, that's-!

"Agame, get out of there!"

That's a high level spell, Fireball! Despite the plain ass name, it's still a giant ball of flames that could instantly disintegrate that archer girl. I won't be able to heal her with magic if only her ashes would remain!

Crap, she's just standing there, crying! Move, damn it!

This Agame! This bipolar disorder of hers could be the death of her!

"Good bye~!"

A stream of blonde hair passed by my eyes, and right before Agame was burnt to a crisp, Sana had pushed her out of the way. The giant fireball flew straight forward, leaving behind a burning wake in the forest until it disappeared from plain sight.

"Fooey. I thought I casted "Fireball", not "Farball". Hmph!"

Ah yes, I also forgot about how this girl also has the habit of making terribly bad puns.

Damn it, I should really focus some more.

"Agame-sama, are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"

"S-Sana-san.. Thank you. No, I'm fine."

Right when things were getting warm, I noticed another burst of magic being cast. I looked towards Angellica, and she was casting a Lightning attack.

"Hey, you guys-!"

"I might've missed earlier, but this time you're sitting ducks! Lightning Strike!"

I tried running towards them to push them out of the way, but the lightning strike was too fast for me.

A direct hit on Sana.

Part 2

"Gaaaahhhhhh-!"

"Tee-hee! This time, you moved too late-ning to dodge my strike!"

Sana, no! If I rush to cast Instant Heal on her, will I be able to save her at all?!

Sana..

Saddened, I got down to my knees and started to pray.

You were useless, but you were also a-

"-ahhhhhhhhhh...huh? It doesn't hurt at all."

"Huh?" x2

Both Angellica and I were dumbfounded, surprised that Sana wasn't damaged one bit.

I thought she would've died for sure!

"Y-you're immune to magic? No way! Could you possibly be a half dragon?!"

What?

"Oh, I get it now. Dragons are one of the most powerful creatures in this world. They're giant flying beasts that can breathe different kinds of elemental magic, while being resistant to magic themselves. It's understandable if Angellica came up with that theory."

However, I know for sure that Sana isn't a half dragon. She's a blonde highschool student who had boring dreams and wanted to have a boring life. She's no dragon.

"Dragon..? What are you talking about? Oh! I have been using the soap an old man sold me made of dragon scales for 800,000 nillos. I never knew it'd help me resist magic. I just thought it'd give me softer skin."

Hearing this stupid yet helpful comment from Sana, everyone else in the area fell silent.

I don't even know anymore.

So not only does she have insane physical stats, now she's also immune to magic?

She's become too overpowered.

...

"Hey, aren't I supposed to be the main character of this story? Why am I stuck with stupid support spells? In this scenario, I feel like I'm more useless than Agame, who's hugging her knees over there!"

Nobody was listening to my rant but I kept going anyways.

"So you used soap infused with magic proof dragon scales in preparation to face me, huh? I applaud you for going that far."

I'm sorry, but that's not the case. Our blonde is just clueless, that's all.

"I also applaud you for your bravery of using yourself as a meatshield to protect your fellow teammate. Such a strong friendship you must share."

Again, I'm sorry, but she doesn't view Agame as a friend. Our blonde is just a lolicon, that's all.

"Things have gone sud-denly tricky for me! Mhm, I guess I'll have to clean up this battle quicker than I thought. I'll have you bathe in your blood, warrior girl! You're a worthy opponent! Come, face me!"

I screamed in aggravation.

I was already feeling down because of how Sana has suddenly become way stronger than me, and how much better of a class Agame has than I do, but the fact that she acknowledged Sana's strength on top of those terrible puns made me snap.

"Gahh! That's enough! My name is Aoki Kaito! The strongest support in the world! I shall be the adventurer who shall defeat Tartaros and surpass Hanzo! You dare fail to notice my mighty presence?! For that, you'll pay!"

A brief silence followed my introduction.

"...Have you been here this whole time?"

"O-of course I have!"

She really did fail to notice my presence! That's rude! Plain rude! Even for a corrupted host of a demon!

"Fufu, I've been sent here by the gods to defeat your army! I have accepted my destiny so you Tartaros scum should accept yours! I applaud you for fending off for yourself against my two minions here, but now-"

"Kaito-san, I'm not able to be of much help without any arrows on me so I'll be in the witch hut to drink some tea, okay?"

"Sure, sure. But now! You're gonna have to face me, the leader of this team! I suggest that you give yourself up right now and let us subdue you, otherwise I'll-"

"Kaito-san, there's enough tea for the three of us in here. Want me to brew you a cup for later?"

"Oh, thank you. Otherwise! I'll unleash my wrath onto you and I promise you I'll show you no mercy!"

...

Oi, why is she wearing a blank expression even after my badass speech?

"Hey, warrior lady. Let's get on with it."

"Stop acting like you didn't hear me!"

I shouted in frustration.

"Oh, I heard you. It's just that your joke wasn't funny, so I didn't laugh."

"I wasn't joking! And I don't want to hear about jokes not being funny from you!"

This stupid Tartaros member! Just because she's hot and has huge breasts, she thinks that she can treat me like one of her corny jokes? I'll show her..

"Hey, Angellica-san."

"Hm?"

I took a step forward.

I know everything about Ischyos. I know all about the cities, the monsters, the dungeons, and the characters.

And you, Angellica, are a main character of Bane of Tartaros. That means I know a whole bunch about you.

"It's June, Angellica."

"Yeah, so?"

"Aren't you leaking some red?"

"..!!"

I hit a mark.

Yes, that red face of hers is priceless. Mhm, it's weird for the fansites to provide even the smallest details like the female characters' period schedules, but I sure am glad that I memorized everything.

"What are you saying, you mere perverted support?! I-I'm not leaking anything!"

I'm just getting started, Angellica-san.

I eyed the black bra strap that was slightly overlapping from her clothes.

"Oh, what's this? Are you still wearing the same daring underwear you bought from that shady shop that one time? You know, the ones you bought because you thought you could seduce Hanzo. Hm?"

"Wha-? Hey! How do you know about such things?! I mean- I've never tried to seduce his majesty all my life! Stop making up false information!"

She covered her body with an absolutely red face.

I don't care if I'm getting trash looks from Agame and Sana, I'm having lots of fun tormenting this chick.

"That's right, you didn't get to! That's because the moment you came into his house, you saw him with.. What's her name? The other side chick.. Oh yeah! Lucy! Oh damn, you cried so much that night too!"

"Noooooo!!!! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

I laughed maniacally while the white haired girl in the fur coat in front of me was shaking her head rapidly with her hands covering her ears. I heard Agame and Sana conversing in the witch hut behind me.

"How does he know about these things, Sana-san?"

"He told me that he reads the manga."

"What's a "manga"?"

"Beats me. What matters is that person is trash."

Oh? What's this? Angellica looks really pissed right now. Serves you right for insulting me.

"You've embarrassed me in my own territory, you little squirt! Don't you dare think I'm letting you go this time! Fireball!"

That's scary, Angellica-san.

However, unfortunately for you..

"What?! He passed right through?! That's... A shield spell?! No way! There shouldn't be a shield spell in the world that can block the strength of my magic!

...you're facing the greatest support in Ischyos.

"This shield spell that I can cast on myself that Mimi taught me is created by using a varied amount of mana. The more mana I use, the bigger the shield. Since I have a stupid amount of mana, I'm able to create a thick ass shield that can even withstand your spells. How's that for a mere support?!"

I ran straight towards the panicking Angellica.

"You think that shield makes you a man-a steel huh?! It'll wear out eventually! Hydro Vortex!"

Heh! Not even this rushing water can penetrate my protection!

"N-not even a dent?!"

"I don't like being underestimated, Angellica-san."

I approached her with a clenched fist.

"Take this! Blazing Inferno!"

"You can use magic, too?!"

She fell for the bluff and put on a defensive stance.

"Of course I can't!"

"Wha-?"

Right as it seemed like I was about a throw a fist of burning flames at her face, I reached for the silver arrow that was by her feet and threw it to Agame.

"Agame, now!"

"Wahh! Good job, Kaito-san!"

"N-no! He was aiming for the arrow this whole time?! No matter.. All I have to do is cancel it out like earlier-"

Toot.

"Kyaaaaahhhhhh~! Where do you think you're touching you pervert?! Only Hanzo-sama is allowed to- H-huh? I-I can't move!"

By touching her soft tushy, I managed to cast another spell Mimi taught me, Stun.

If I touch someone at a certain part and suck out some mana, they lose the ability to move for a moment.

I don't know why all the vital points are lewd areas but I'm not complaining. It's times like these that I'm happy that I'm a support.

"With this Holy Bow gifted by the powerful gods, allow me to purify this corrupted soul! Hyaaahhhh!"

With Angellica not being able to move, this battle was as good as over.

"No! Hold on! It's not my time yet!"

A shriek echoed throughout the area after the shining arrow pierced right into Angellica, covering the forest in a bright light once again.

As the light faded-

Clank

Along with the silver arrow, an object that looked like a blue earring fell to the ground in place of Angellica, who was nowhere to be found.

As expected of that freakishly overpowered bow.

Agame and Sana walked towards me soon after. Laughing, Agame picked up the arrow with a smile and said-

"This quest we had was a blast! Kaito-san! How'd I do? Did I do good?"

"You did great, Agame."

I patted her head and smiled. If she doesn't act like a manipulative douche, she can be really adorable.

"How about me, Kaito-kun? Compliment me too!"

"Piss off, you didn't do anything this quest."

"Ehhh?! I did save Agame-sama from that fireball earlier! Hey! Compliment me too!"

I'm losing my patience for this blonde..

"Huh? Hey what's that blue thing over there?

Agame pointed at a sparkling blue earring that had little white wings at the sides. I picked it up and placed it in my pocket, which made Sana frustrated for some reason.

"Huh?! Why do you get to keep it?! If you're gonna sell it, at least split it up between the three of us!"

"I'm not selling it! Since Agame obliterated Angellica, this earring itself should help us confirm we completed the quest at the guild."

"Oh.."

"Come on, let's head back. It's getting late."

With Angellica the Witch slain, I have taken one step closer to defeating Tartaros and surpassing Hanzo.

I actually had a blast today.

This fantasy world's amazing.

Part 3

Later that night...

Back at the inn, I started to divide the hefty reward of 3,000,000 nillos between the three of us.

It was late out, so Agame decided to spend the night here rather than at Annalea's place much to the delight of Sana.

We actually managed to defeat a Tartaros member.

I mean, I was sure that our power was efficient to finish the quest, but I had doubts about our teamwork. Things went surprisingly well between the three of us.

Hah, I still remember the faces of everyone in the guild when we announced that we defeated Angellica. They were all speechless. It just sucks that I overheard comments saying that I was a freeloader who relied on Agame and Sana though. Meh, those guys must still be having a nice Sleep now.

"A million for Agame, a million for Sana, and a million for me. There you go."

"Wow! I'm finally gonna be able to afford one of those quivers! I'm so happy I joined this team!"

Agame said with a wide smile. Everyone was happy tonight. We scored a huge bounty and now we're finally back on track on the financial side.

"Hey, why don't you buy some ammunition instead? What good is a quiver if you only have one arrow?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Normal arrows can't be used on Apollo. It can only use specially made silver arrows. There aren't any available in town."

Well there's that.

I stood up from the bed we were all sitting on.

"Where are you going, Kaito-kun?"

"Man's business. You guys sleep on ahead."

Sana looked at me with a pout.

"You better not do anything to Agame while we're sleeping."

"I should be saying that to you, you lolicon."

And with that, I headed to the restroom downstairs.

Part 4

I closed the wooden door behind me so I could start to pee.

Zip..

Ahhh.. That's much better. I've been holding it for hours already.

Huh? Hey, what is this sensation? I'm not supposed to feel this while urinating.

No, this isn't normal! This is magic power!

Wha!

I yelped a bit after I noticed that my pocket was glowing a bright blue.

Damn it, of all the times for something weird to happen, does it have to be at this moment of urgency?!

"Tee-hee-hee. Finally, I've restored enough magic power so I can go back to my physical form. Sheesh, that was tire-earring."

That voice..! No way..!

As the light started to fade, Angellica sat before me on the toilet seat with her head down, eyes closed and arms crossed.

"Impossible..! You're alive?"

"That's right. I'm not the strongest mage in Ischyos for nothing. I hid myself in my earring. Clever right? You thought I was dead? Well, I'm alive and kick- k-kick.. ki.. k-ki.. kick.. ki.. k-k-k-ock.. kock.. ko.."

She finally opened her eyes and started trembling at the thing that was right in front of her face.

"Are you okay?"

Before I knew it, she collapsed on the bathroom floor, as red as a tomato.

You could say that she was flushed red.

Part 5

Outside the bathroom in one of the corridors, Angellica and I were facing each other, leaning against the opposite walls. Her face was still red after that unfortunate incident earlier.

Both of us have been silent for about five minutes already.

"Did that turn you on?"

"Shut up, you pervert! It did not! If anything, it grossed me out! Gah! Let me forget about it, please!"

Angellica rapidly slammed the back of her head on the wall she was leaning on.

Anyways..

"So? Are you here for revenge or something? If that's the case, my team and I can always defeat you all over again. I'll warn you, that wasn't my full strength."

"I'm not here for revenge or anything trivial like that! Here! Take a look!"

She pointed at her eyes.

Oh, what's this?

The red eyes that she had earlier.. It's been replaced by the yellow ones that she originally had in Bane of Tartaros! Does that mean..

"The demonic magic that corrupted you.. Has the curse been lifted?"

"That's exactly it. I'm no longer under its mind control. I'm not a hundred percent sure of what triggered it, but I definitely think it was that arrow from Apollo."

That makes sense. Demons are weak to the "Holy" attribute after all.

"Your name was Aoki Kaito, right?"

"That's right! My name is Aoki Kaito, the world's best support, and the one who shall subdue all of Tartaros and surpass Hanzo! Huh?"

At the middle of my awesome pose, Angellica knelt down to the floor and did a full bow.

What was going on?

"Please. I beg of you. Please don't kill any of the remaining members of Tartaros. You managed to help me break free from the corruption right? You purified me right? That means you can purify them too. You don't have to kill them. They're good people and they'd never do anything evil if it wasn't for the demonic magic that's corrupting them."

..

Angellica..

"I know it's hard to believe, but I never wanted to hurt you or your friends. I know that even if I say sorry, you won't forgive me. But at the very least, please believe that they're good people underneath the demonic magic. They're.. They're my friends."

I had nothing to say.

She's trembling, shaking, crying on the floor, pleading with her life to me.

I'm not good at comforting people but..

"Hey, stand up."

"H-huh?"

Yeah, those tears in her eyes are no good.

"I know that they're good people. You don't have to pleade for their lives to me."

Flashbacks of the main cast of Bane of Tartaros who've all been corrupted by the devil came to my mind.

They were all weird, but they were all good people at heart.

Even Hanzo. No, especially Hanzo.

"I also forgive you, Angellica-san. I knew from the very beginning that you couldn't do anything against the corruption. Don't you worry. I won't kill any of your friends. I promise that I'll purify all of them."

"I.. I.."

And then, the now defected Tartaros member burst into tears.

...

Scoreeee...! Plus one to the harem!

Part 6

"What?! What did you just say?!"

Back at the room, Sana stepped back in shock, not believing what she just heard.

"Angellica here is gonna join our team. Why, do you have any complaints?"

I gestured to the bowing girl in the fur coat beside me.

"Duh! Of course I have complaints! Have you forgotten that she's the very same girl who tried to kill us earlier?!"

"In her defense, it was us who tried to kill her first.. Besides, she was being corrupted by demonic magic that time. She didn't really want to hurt us."

"Ugh.. Sigh, I don't understand anything about corruption or demonic magic or whatever so I can't really judge."

I then looked at Agame, who, like Sana, was in her pajamas and was aiming her large bow at Angellica the moment she stepped in. I tried to get her to lower her weapon.

"Agame, you understand right?"

"Kaito-san, I don't know what's gotten into your mind. There's a possibility that that woman used magic to recolor her eyes. We can't be fooled easily."

"Hey now."

I was about to chew her out, but then I noticed Angellica wanting to say something.

"Agame-san.. I.."

The three of us looked at her in expectation.

"I.."

A drop of sweat came sliding from the side of Agame's cheek.

"I Apollo-gize. WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

As Angellica was rolling on the floor laughing at her own joke, the three of us stiffened, not knowing what to think.

I decided to kick the idiot who was making a fool of herself in front of everyone.

"The hell are you doing?! How are you supposed to get their trust when you act like that?!"

"Guh! Hey, why did you kick me, you mere support?!"

"What the hell is your problem?! You were supposed to make a good impression!"

"I-I'm.. Pfft.. Sorry! Nah, it's alright. That arrow can't hurt me anyway."



Agame, who was insulted by the remark Angellica gave, put on a pissed look on her face.

"Oh? Is that so? So you wouldn't mind me using you for headshot practice, you mammary monster?"

"Oh-ho, Agame-chan, don't drag my breasts into this. You'll lose the argument."

"What did you say?!"

Ah, these two are gonna end up bickering a lot.

Sana and I just chuckled, avoiding the dangerous battlefield.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to have her aboard, Kaito-kun?"

"Don't worry. They'll get along. Sooner or later."

I noticed Angellica looking around the room curiously.

"So all three of you sleep in this tiny room?"

I laughed in reply.

"Kinda. Agame usually sleeps at her own home by the fields with her older sister though."

Seeing the opportunity to tease Agame, she immediately turned to the loli.

"Ahh, Agame-chan is a big sister kind of person? That's so cute~"

"Shut up! Stop pulling my cheeks! And get your fat breasts off of my face!"

Honestly, these two..

I turned my attention to Sana, who was looking out the window. Judging by the way her face is, I say she's missing home.

Sucks to be her though, she's stuck here.

"Hey, Kaito. I have an idea. Back when I wasn't corrupted yet, I owned a resort house here in this city. How about after I register at the guild hall tomorrow, we pack our stuff and move there?"

That's right! I remember! Angellica was a super rich girl here in Oranea before joining Hanzo in his journey!

The blonde was the first to react.

"Wah! A resort house?! For real, Angellica-san?!"

"That's right."

"Oh my gosh, I love resort houses! I used to enjoy spending my vacations in them with my family back home!"

...

Still, she's stuck here. Nothing she can do about it.

"What do you say, Kaito?"

"Rent?"

"Free of charge."

"It's a yes for me."

Hey. Dont call me an easy man. If you were given an option to stay in a resort house for free with a bunch of girls, would you refuse? Resort houses and girls are an amazing mix. I can already imagine the boing boings.

Agame, being the only one who hasn't agreed yet, sighed in defeat.

"It can't be helped. Majority wins."

With this, Sana and Angellica all hugged her and placed her in a sandwich of breasts, much to her annoyance.

"Thank you, Agame-sama!"

"I promise to buy you a swimsuit so we can swim together, Agame-chan! I can already picture you in a cute bikini!"

"Get off of me you perverts! Wahhh, this isn't the kind of attention I want! Kaito-san, save me!"

The sight before me reminded me of something.

I never got to socialize with anyone in my previous life, not even with my family. But now, I'm living with three girls who all treat me like I exist. Perhaps it was really for the best that I got sent here to this amazing world.

I smiled.

"Shut up and turn off the lights, I'm going to bed."

End of Volume 1: Chapter 5