Megumin squeezed a strained expression onto her face.
"Is it some kind of seal?"
"Oh, sorry, I was lying. I just wear it as an accessory—"
Before she could even finish her sentence, Sato Kazuma was already preparing to put Megumin in a guillotine choke.
Beside them, Yuji Itadori tilted his head slightly:
'Eh? So it was a fake?'
Just as Sato Kazuma and Megumin were about to start their mortal combat, Aqua spoke up from the side:
"The Crimson Magic Clan is born with extremely high intelligence and magical talent. Most of them are masters of using Magic."
"Exactly! I am an Archwizard! An Advanced Class that uses magical attacks!"
An incredibly smug look appeared on Megumin's face, and she struck a strange pose to go with it.
Sato Kazuma looked at Megumin with a frown.
This girl is definitely a weirdo too!
Normally, if they were truly short-handed, he might consider letting Megumin join the party.
However...
They already had Yuji Itadori as a companion now.
Even though he certainly couldn't have Yuji Itadori come to this world frequently, they couldn't afford to have any more eccentric 'god-tier' people in the team.
Aqua alone was already enough.
"Order whatever you want to eat, but we already have an Archwizard in our party—"
"You already have an Archwizard?!"
Megumin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's right. Our Group Leader—Senior Itadori is an Archwizard!"
Sato Kazuma raised his head, introducing Yuji Itadori's identity with a smug face.
"You're Yuji Itadori?!"
"That's right. Nice to meet you."
Yuji Itadori nodded politely.
He hadn't expected his name to become known so quickly.
"I heard earlier that a remarkable figure had appeared at the Guild here—but let me show you something!"
As Megumin spoke, she struck another pose that looked somewhat bizarre.
"Though we are both Archwizards, there is a fundamental difference between us! You became an Archwizard because you have the power of one—but I became an Archwizard simply because an Archwizard is the only Advanced Class there is! That forbidden Explosion Magic is something only I can use!"
After finishing her speech, Megumin struck another pose she considered very cool.
In response, she only received looks of utter disdain from Aqua and Sato Kazuma.
"This kid has chuunibyou, doesn't she?"
"She certainly does."
The two looked at each other, reaching a rare consensus in their hearts.
Only Yuji Itadori nodded at Megumin with an 'I see' sort of expression.
"Senior Itadori, don't play along with this kid too much!"
"Please don't call me 'this kid'! My name is Megumin!"
Even as Megumin said this, her stomach betrayed her by letting out a loud growl.
"Um, let's eat first."
"Mm..."
Meanwhile, Sato Kazuma also opened the Chat Group.
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: This is bad. Another person with a dysfunctional brain has shown up here.]
...
After eating and drinking her fill, Megumin became hyperactive again and immediately insisted on taking Yuji Itadori and the others on a mission.
She couldn't wait to show off her power in front of everyone.
And the objective of this mission was, once again, to subjugate Giant Toads.
"Is there no escaping these Giant Toads..."
Arriving at the grasslands where the Giant Toads lived, Sato Kazuma looked at a Giant Toad in the distance and let out a helpless sigh.
However, he was also somewhat curious about the true extent of Megumin's strength.
"Explosion Magic is the highest-level Magic, so the chant takes a long time. Until then, please help me hold back the Giant Toad!"
"There's one in the distance and one nearby. Megumin, you target the one far away!"
As Sato Kazuma spoke, he drew a small shortsword from his waist.
"As for the one nearby, leave it to us! Aqua, as a former goddess, can you make yourself useful?"
"Hey, what do you mean by 'former goddess'! I am a goddess in the present tense!"
"Former goddess?"
Megumin asked in confusion.
"This person is a poor child who calls herself a goddess!"
"How truly pitiable..."
"Kazuma!"
Aqua looked indignant, then took out her staff and aimed at another Giant Toad not far away.
"Watch closely! The power of a goddess! Sleep amidst your trembling! God Requiem! This Requiem is the ultimate form of a goddess's love and sorrow!"
As Aqua shouted, she charged toward the Giant Toad.
The next second, she was once again held in the Giant Toad's mouth.
"As expected of a goddess, she actually chooses to use her life to stall for time..."
Sato Kazuma was now completely mortified.
At the same time, Megumin had begun casting her Magic.
Majestic magical power surged from within her body, and a black light swirled around her staff like a vortex.
"—Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark."
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it was strangely clear, as if every syllable was exploding in the air.
Her hair began to flutter slightly, though there was no wind.
Her red right eye suddenly lit up, with something burning deep within the pupil.
Yuji Itadori looked at Megumin's back; he could feel a powerful force surging from within her.
"—The power of explosion residing in my crimson eyes—"
A small point of light began to condense at the tip of the staff. At first, it was just a glimmer like a firefly, then it rapidly expanded, turning into a fist-sized, crackling dark red sphere of light surrounded by black electrical arcs.
"—Bloom at the bottom of the abyss!"
She suddenly pointed her staff forward.
"—Ex-plo-sion!!"
At that moment, the world fell silent!
A blinding column of crimson light erupted from the tip of the staff, tearing through the surrounding air and surging into the sky! Then, in the next second, the terrifying pillar of fire cascaded like a waterfall, striking the Giant Toad head-on!
The blinding light was so intense it even made the sun's rays appear somewhat dim!
When the flames finally dissipated, the Giant Toad was gone, leaving only a patch of scorched earth over several meters in diameter.
"Th-That's incredible!"
Just after Sato Kazuma exclaimed in admiration, several more Giant Toads burst forth from beneath the ground nearby.
"Were they attracted by the noise? Megumin, can you still—"
Just as Sato Kazuma turned his head, he saw Megumin lying flat on the ground, sliding slowly down the slope like a piece of trash:
"My ultimate art, Explosion Magic, consumes an immense amount of magical power due to its great destructive force. Right now, I can't move—"
Megumin's face was almost buried in the dirt, her voice somewhat muffled.
Yet she still used all her strength to turn her head slightly, looking toward Yuji Itadori:
"O fellow Archwizard, take a good look! This is Explosion Magic!"