Chapter 522: Oh No, the Protagonist Died!
The mother manticore held Kazuma hostage with its front claws, using him as leverage against the adventurers.
The adventurers were immediately hesitant, their normally free-flowing magic now restrained and cautious.
On top of that, they were undisciplined mercenaries to begin with, making it even harder to form an effective formation under these circumstances. As the mother manticore relentlessly charged, one after another, they were sent flying.
The thick-skinned warriors had their bones shattered, while the frail mages were nearly all knocked unconscious—some were even barely breathing.
After all, a monster of this caliber was far beyond what the rookie adventurers of this town could handle on impulse!
The air had unknowingly filled with dense mana, gathering in the distance and forming a massive, colorful wave of energy.
Someone was preparing an ultra-large-scale spell.
"Die already!"
But just then—
Eiji appeared on the scene and swung his staff.
Having witnessed just how monstrous the manticore was, he didn't even want to waste words on this chimera.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the manticore took the seemingly light tap without any resistance, then rolled its eyes and plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground with a cloud of dust.
"Incredible! He took it down in one hit!"
"So cool!"
"What kind of magic was that?"
"Must be a magic item, right? Isn't he only Level 1?"
The adventurers erupted in cheers, showering Eiji with gratitude.
"No way…"
Only Megumin reluctantly lowered her staff, staring at the scorching magic sphere condensed at its tip with an expression like she had phlegm stuck in her throat—unable to spit it out or swallow it.
"Where's Kazuma?"
"That guy got caught so easily and made things so hard for us!"
"N-no way… Kazuma's dead!"
Wait, what?
Eiji froze for a moment before rushing over.
Kazuma lay in the manticore's claws, a hole in his forehead gushing blood, his neck bent at a horrifying angle. There wasn't a trace of life left in his eyes.
"He… actually died?"
Eiji was dumbfounded.
Unable to move while being crushed by the manticore, he hit the ground during the fall and fatally bashed his head… Was this really how a protagonist was supposed to die?
Did I accidentally kill the protagonist?
Wait, are you even the real protagonist?
"Kazuma!"
Megumin shrieked and dashed forward, kneeling beside him and desperately calling his name.
"What happened… Kazuma's dead?!"
Darkness and Aqua also ran over, their faces twisting in grief at the sight of Kazuma's corpse.
"How did this even happen?"
Eiji was at a loss.
From Kazuma's aura, he was truly dead—beyond even the revival of Elixirs, completely beyond saving!
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, the griffin collapsed nearby, barely alive.
Airi Yasaka jumped off its back, exhilarated, her minor wounds healing on their own without even needing recovery magic.
"That was satisfying!"
She waved a hand, signaling for Eiji to take care of the rest.
The whole point of taking this quest was to help Eiji level up, so the final blow had to be dealt by him.
In this world, every living being possesses its own soul. Therefore, even food items like vegetable sticks have self-awareness and aggression.
If one terminates their life activities, they can obtain a portion of their soul's memories—in other words, experience points.
Accumulate enough experience points, and one can level up.
Incidentally, adventurers level up much more easily than any other profession. The amount of experience required for each level-up is the lowest among all professions.
Eiji stepped forward, raising his wand.
"—Explosion!"
Suddenly, a massive burst of flame descended from the sky, striking the griffin and finishing off the already dying creature.
The enormous magical flames erupted, unleashing a scorching gust of wind and leaving behind a massive crater roughly twenty meters in diameter!
Eiji stood dumbfounded in the wind.
His raised wand hovered awkwardly, unsure whether to lower it or keep it aloft.
"Pfft!"
Airi, having just put her cloak back on, couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight.
"Hiss…!"
Eiji took a deep breath.
His gaze gradually turned cold as he turned to face the black-haired, red-eyed loli.
"…Why are you lying on the ground?"
"Mana exhaustion."
Megumin lay limply on the ground, flashing a proud smile despite her state.
"Explosion Magic is humanity's strongest offensive spell and the very pursuit of my soul! It's just a shame the mana cost is so high. Even with my status as the Crimson Demon Clan's top genius, I can only cast it once a day. What a pity!"
"So, do you have a problem with me?"
Eiji nodded in understanding before pressing further.
"Not at all."
Megumin shook her head earnestly.
"Then do you hate me for accidentally getting Satou Kazuma killed?"
"Kazuma died because he ran off alone and got caught by the mother scorpion-lion. In other words, he brought it upon himself!"
Huh.
This little girl might be young, but she had a surprisingly clear sense of right and wrong!
"Then why did you steal my kill?"
"Because I was holding onto my Explosion Magic!"
"?"
"As a great mage dedicated to mastering the pinnacle of Explosion Magic, how could I possibly hold onto it without casting it? And with an incredibly powerful monster right in front of me, on the verge of death, I thought taking down the griffin might earn me the title of 'Griffin Slayer'… So, my hand slipped…"
"Grit!"
Eiji heard the sound of his own teeth grinding.
"If you've got a grudge, just say it outright!"
"I really don't…"
Megumin, knowing she was in the wrong, spoke weakly.
"Fine. Then let me have a little 'slip' too!"
Eiji rolled up his sleeves, his face dark with irritation as he strode toward Megumin.
"W-what are you doing?! At most, I'll pay you back with another griffin! Stay away from me!"
Megumin panicked, trying to flee but unable to stand up.
The mana in this world differed from that of other worlds. In DanMachi and Rakudai, mana referred to mental energy, but in this Konosuba world, it referred to life force.
In other worlds, mana exhaustion would lead to unconsciousness, but here, it resulted in complete physical exhaustion.
"Whap!"
"Eeek!"
Eiji hauled Megumin up from the ground and smacked her bottom.
"Sexual harassment!"
Megumin wailed tearfully, drawing a few odd glances from onlookers.
"Absolutely not, stop slandering me!"
Eiji flew into a rage and delivered several more smacks to her bottom.
"With your flat figure that could rival a witch's, if I had even the slightest reaction I'd consider it my loss!"
"Hey! Don't drag me into this! And I've got more curves than her, okay!"
"If you have any complaints about my figure, just say it to my face! I'm all ears!"