What Remained After Victory
Axel did not sleep this night. Fires were put out, walls shored up with hurried magic and raw manpower, and the wounded filled every corner of the guild hall, the chapel, and the streets between.
Healers moved until their hands shook, Aqua included, her earlier hysteria replaced by relentless focus as she worked through one adventurer after another, snapping at anyone who dared interrupt her rhythm. Kazuma was dragged into helping whether he wanted to or not, carrying stretchers, running messages, and complaining the entire time while still doing the work anyway.
Darkness disappeared for hours under the excuse of "guard duty," which suspiciously aligned with the most dangerous and unstable sections of the ruined outer wall. By morning, the town was still standing.
That alone felt unreal. Ruko woke on a cot inside the guild hall, the smell of smoke and medicine thick in the air. His body felt like it had been crushed and poorly reassembled, every movement pulling at muscles that had gone far past their limits. He stared at the wooden ceiling for a long moment, grounding himself in the present before trying to sit up.
The Sealer seal was quiet now, locked back into place, its pressure distant but unmistakable, like a warning hand resting on his shoulder. "You're alive," Kazuma said, slumped in a chair nearby, eyes half-open. "I lost five bets on that, so don't you dare die the second time later."
Ruko let out a dry breath that almost passed for a laugh. "You bet against me?" "Against everyone," Kazuma replied. "It's called emotional hedging." Megumin was asleep on a neighboring cot, wrapped in blankets like a corpse prepared for burial, staff clutched protectively against her chest.
Aqua hovered nearby, arms crossed, watching her with exaggerated suspicion as if expecting her to explode again without warning. Darkness leaned against a pillar, armor partially removed, covered in bandages and looking far too pleased with herself given the circumstances.
Word spread quickly once Ruko was seen awake. Adventurers stopped by in awkward pairs or clusters, offering thanks, nods of respect, or half-muttered praise they clearly weren't used to giving. The guild receptionist bowed deeply, eyes shining, already talking about reports, compensation, and how Axel would remember this day for generations.
The town guards followed, helmets tucked under their arms, their captain offering a stiff salute that carried more weight than any speech. Beldia was gone. The Demon General's curse had vanished with him. Those affected felt it lift all at once, like a weight pulled free from their bones. The fear that had choked Axel for days finally loosened its grip, replaced by exhaustion and something dangerously close to celebration.
By midday, repairs had turned into rebuilding plans, and by afternoon, barrels were being rolled out despite the damage, because Axel had never been a town that knew how to mourn quietly.
Ruko stayed mostly silent through it all.
He listened, observed, and smiled when required, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the fight. To the moment Beldia's composure cracked. To the flash of recognition in the Demon General's eyes just before fear took over him.
Whatever Beldia had seen in him hadn't been random. And whatever Ruko had glimpsed in return still sat heavy in his chest, unanswered. His guild card was updated later that evening. Kazuma watched over his shoulder as the numbers settled, whistling low. "You know," he said, "for someone who doesn't spend skill points like a normal person, that's i found downsided for you."
Ruko shrugged. "I prefer efficiency."
The card reflected steady, controlled growth. Nothing flashy. Nothing that screamed danger. Exactly how he wanted it. The staff tried to push him toward choosing new skills formally, offering lists and recommendations, but he declined with polite finality.
He already knew what he needed. He had copied what mattered when it counted or just triggered an event to get them, and the rest would come in time.
When night fell again, the celebrations dulled into smaller pockets of noise, laughter echoing through damaged streets as lanterns lit up spaces that shouldn't have felt safe yet—but did.
Ruko slipped away while no one was paying attention, moving carefully toward the edge of town where the battlefield still lay cordoned off. The crater was quiet now. Scorched earth had cooled, the air no longer humming with cursed residue. Guards patrolled the perimeter but gave him space when they recognized him, turning away out of respect or simple discomfort. Ruko stepped down into the crater alone, boots crunching against blackened stone, eyes scanning the ground until he found what he was looking for.
The object sat exactly where it had before. Small, Unassuming, and Dark. He crouched and picked it up. The moment his fingers closed around it, a faint vibration ran through his palm. The surface warmed, responding not to mana, but to him. It looked like a simple phone at first glance—smooth, seamless, no markings but the weight felt wrong in a way he immediately understood. This wasn't technology from this world. It wasn't magic in the conventional sense either.
Information stirred. Ruko slipped it into his pocket without ceremony, straightening as if nothing had happened. No light, No announcement. No one noticed a thing. That was fine. Whatever this was, it wasn't meant for the town. It was meant for him so it wouldn't draw a conclusion.
He looked back toward Axel, lanterns glowing against the night, voices rising in tired but genuine relief. They had won. They had survived. Tomorrow would bring paperwork, praise, probably trouble, and definitely Aqua demanding credit she didn't earn.
For now, though, the town breathed.
Ruko exhaled with it, shoulders relaxing just a fraction. The fight against Beldia Dullahan the weakest demon general was over. And something new had quietly begun to chaoticor amusement.