The massive wolf claw, powerful enough to shatter granite, tore through the air with a vicious howl. It stopped less than five centimeters from Kazuma's face, which plainly screamed, I'm too young to die.
At that moment, time seemed to freeze.
"Wait!! The hero has something to say!!"
Kazuma unleashed an eardrum-splitting shriek. Then, in the very next instant, he displayed reflexes that surpassed all human limits.
He did not draw his sword. He did not counterattack. He did not even bother trying to roll or scramble away.
Instead, he used the momentum of the charging wolf to drop onto both knees and slide across the battlefield. Sand and gravel sprayed everywhere as he carved a three-meter-long trench through the ground, coming to a perfect stop directly beneath Garlu.
Thud!
Kazuma slammed his forehead against the ground, clasped his hands behind his head, and assumed a flawless prostration. His voice was sincere enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes.
"Great and wise Garlu-sama, whose fur is so wonderfully smooth! Please accept my humble submission! I only dared approach you because I wished to admire the radiant majesty of the Demon King's Army from up close! The one who created that sandstorm, that guy over there, Kōichi, is the real mastermind! I'm just an innocent bystander B whom he kidnapped and forced to act as his guide!"
The technique known as the Light-Speed Sliding Kneel was executed with such perfect fluidity that even Garlu's raging magical power seemed to stall for a moment.
The Demon King's Army vanguard officer had lived for decades. He had seen humans fight desperately to the death, and he had seen them fall to their knees and beg for mercy.
But he had never seen anyone beg with such professionalism and confidence, all while shamelessly selling out his companion.
"Hoh? You little..."
Garlu looked down at the trembling black-haired boy beneath him. The claw he had been about to bring down remained suspended in midair, and his voice carried a trace of baffled hesitation.
"You're saying the fellow waving that baton around and putting on airs is the mastermind?"
A short distance away, Kōichi still had his staff raised. The sadistic grin on his face had frozen solid.
As he watched Kazuma betray him with the smooth expertise of a seasoned professional, the veins in his temples throbbed so violently they looked ready to burst.
Kazuma, you spineless piece of trash! What happened to our sixty-forty split?! Did that sandstorm blow your heroic spirit straight into the toilet?!
Kōichi screamed internally, but his expression changed at once.
Kazuma had already entered full shameless mode. As a tactician, Kōichi knew that if he failed to play along, he really might end up as the giant dog's lunch.
"Ahem! Please calm yourself, Garlu-sama!"
Kōichi quickly lowered his staff and replaced his expression with the polished smile of a professional businessman. He even gave an elegant bow.
"Just as my guide said, that sandstorm was actually part of the welcoming ceremony we prepared for you. As you can see, the Royal Capital's defenses have already been worn down by that perverted knight and insane mage. The two of us are actually peace-loving agents operating undercover among humanity, and we were just about to offer you a detailed map of the Royal Capital's treasury..."
As Kōichi spun his ridiculous tale, he frantically signaled to Kazuma with his eyes.
Hey! While it's confused, use Steal or some other skill and do something already!
Garlu's less-than-brilliant canine brain had clearly been overwhelmed by phrases like "detailed map" and "peace-loving agents."
It opened its enormous mouth, revealing a crooked row of yellow teeth as it prepared to burst into laughter.
At that moment, Kazuma, who had been lying beneath it like a dead dog, suddenly raised his head. A fierce, resolute light flashed in his eyes.
"Now! Die, you filthy mutt! Drain Touch!!"
Kazuma clamped both hands around the wolf's furry forelegs. His previously submissive posture suddenly erupted with a powerful suction force.
Garlu felt the violent magical power deep inside its body being dragged into a bottomless void, pouring out through the soles of its feet.
"Awooh?! You despicable human! You dare..."
To Garlu's horror, its swollen muscles rapidly began to shrivel. Even the flames covering its curved blade flickered out.
"Nice one, Kazuma! I knew my best friend wouldn't let me down!"
This was the moment Kōichi had been waiting for.
He lunged forward. The staff in his hand was no longer a mere prop, and every last trace of his remaining magical power gathered at its tip.
A magical attack from this distance was no laughing matter.
"Witness magic's ultimate finishing move! [Blazing Jet]!!"
BOOM—!!
A scorching pillar of flame pierced straight through Garlu's massive chest at point-blank range.
With a piercing howl, the Demon King's Army vanguard officer and its wolf mount vanished in the explosion, leaving behind nothing but a charred, unrecognizable lump.
The battlefield fell silent.
As the smoke cleared, Kōichi struggled to maintain an inscrutable pose, his staff still smoldering in his hand.
Kazuma, meanwhile, collapsed beside the charred corpse. He wiped the soot from his face and reached for the fallen gem-encrusted scimitar.
The two of them looked up, ready to receive the thunderous applause they had been expecting.
Instead, they found thousands upon thousands of eyes staring at them from the city walls and across the battlefield.
There was no admiration in those gazes. No awe.
Only bewilderment and disgust, as if everyone's entire worldview had just been shattered.
"Hey, did I see that correctly? That black-haired guy... didn't he slide three meters on his knees and call that dog-headed monster 'Garlu-sama'?"
One Knight stiffly turned toward his companion.
"I saw it too... He even claimed he was an innocent bystander who had been kidnapped and forced to act as a guide. He looked so practiced that it was painful to watch."
"And what about the guy with the staff? Was he trying to sell it a map of the Royal Capital's treasury? Are these two really heroes who saved the nation? They look more like a pair of perverts and spies hiding in the hero party!"
The murmurs spread across the battlefield like a rising tide.
The image of Aqua as a Holy Maiden, Darkness as a role model, and Megumin as a Great Sage had all been carefully built up.
Now, thanks to Kōichi and Kazuma's Light-Speed Sliding Kneel and tactical deception, those glorious reputations were visibly crumbling.
"K-Kōichi..."
Kazuma gripped the gem-encrusted scimitar, his hand trembling slightly. He lowered his voice, despair creeping into his tone.
"It looks like... everyone saw us. Are our reputations completely ruined?"
Kōichi glanced into the distance. Aqua was surrounded by worshippers bowing reverently before her while she grinned like an idiot.
Then he looked at the Knights' Order, who were pointing at him and whispering with undisguised disgust.
He silently lowered his head, hiding the sadistic expression he was struggling to keep under control.
"Stay calm, Kazuma. As long as we aren't embarrassed, they're the ones who should feel awkward. Listen carefully. That wasn't sliding to our knees. It was a low-profile assault tactic. That wasn't betrayal. It was psychological warfare designed to disrupt the enemy's judgment. Now put that sword away. We need to regroup with Aqua and the others... assuming they haven't already decided to pretend they don't know us."