Surprise! I've Transmigrated Again

Hearing Kazuma belittle himself like this, Vanir nodded in understanding.

"Oh? So I was underestimated, was I?" He wasn't angry at these adventurers' arrogance, but instead explained: "First of all, while I may be called a Devil King's Army General, I merely accepted that Devil King fellow's request to help maintain the castle's barrier. In other words, I'm just a General in name only."

One moment he was trying to intimidate them with his 『Devil King's Army General』 title, the next moment he was distancing himself from any connection to the Devil King's Army.

This kind of Vanir was truly a worthless Demon, making it even harder to feel afraid of him.

But they hadn't considered that true powerhouses don't care about empty titles. Sometimes, such titles actually diminish one's true value — powerful beings often disdain using them for intimidation.

Just like Vanir.

"I am a Demon, and though I am a Demon, I do not harm humans." It spoke words completely different from what Kazuma had expected, "You may find it strange, but the negative emotions humans emit are the delicacies I crave! Therefore, harming you would be the most unforgivable foolishness! On the contrary, whenever a human is born, I rejoice and celebrate in my courtyard!"

"I-Is that so..."

The unexpected declaration left everyone dumbfounded.

But after their brief stupor, they quickly came to their senses.

Kazuma said, "Wait, that's not right. You say you want us to emit negative emotions, which means you'll still harm us, right? Normal life doesn't produce negative emotions, so it wouldn't produce your food."

"Precisely so!" Vanir made no attempt to hide it, openly admitting it, "However, negative emotions come in thousands of varieties, and each Demon has different tastes. Some prefer spreading panic and despair, some prefer sadness and pain, and some prefer pranks... like myself."

"Pranks?"

"Transforming into a beautiful woman to approach men, doing everything possible to make them fall in love, then revealing my true identity right when they confess, saying things like 'I'm sorry, but you fell in love with me'."

"Hey, that's way too mean!" Kazuma couldn't accept Vanir's malicious pranks, "I'm starting to think we should just eliminate you."

In his mind, this self-proclaimed Archdemon was probably a General sent by the Devil King to investigate the Dullahan's death.

Facing such a powerful enemy, and such a malicious Demon, they should eliminate it by all accounts.

But hearing he was just a General responsible for maintaining the barrier made him Wiz's colleague—would it be right to eliminate him so easily?

After defeating the Dullahan last time, though Wiz had said many bad things about him, she couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes.

And Adam, as the party leader, had to consider Wiz's feelings.

He was unable to decide. But he hadn't even considered whether they had the strength to defeat this devil before them.

"Such arrogant words! When you're merely the lowest-ranked Adventurer!" Vanir was very displeased with this kid's continuous provocations, wondering who had given him such courage.

And Kazuma was about to tell him exactly who had given him such courage.

"Adam-senpai, what should we do?" He asked the party leader, hoping this reliable man would give them direction.

However, he received no response.

"Adam-senpai? Adam-senpai?"

Huh? What?

At this moment, Kazuma became afraid. The usually reliable Adam had suddenly gone silent, not responding even when called.

His previous brazen behavior now made him look like a complete fool!

With no choice, he turned to the still-fuming useless goddess beside him.

"A-Aqua, w-what should we do!"

"Haaah?! Do you even need to ask!" Aqua said viciously, "Of course we need to purify it and send it to heaven!"

"To think you'd try to defeat such a polite one as myself... how discourteous!" Vanir shouted angrily, "And to rely on that water-brained goddess who only thinks about living in the mortal world with her devoted followers, completely forgetting her mission to defeat the Devil King — do you really think I'd be so easily defeated?"

"Hey, what do you mean 'water-brained'?! How dare you talk about me like that! I'll definitely destroy you!" Hearing her arch-enemy mock her, she immediately started shouting angrily, vowing to purify him.

Aqua, being a goddess, was already used to that term and showed no particular reaction.

But Kazuma wasn't. He keenly noticed that key word in Vanir's statement.

—Goddess!

"Y-you just said it, didn't you? About her being a 'goddess'."

"Indeed, I did say that." Vanir stood tall and proud, introducing himself again, "As I said, I am a Demon who can see through all things. Such a small matter couldn't possibly escape my eyes. If you don't believe me, let me take another look."

With that, he made circles with both hands, forming a "telescope" gesture aimed at the group before him.

"Hmm, a water-brain and an empty-headed Sword Master... Hey, I can't believe you managed to make it this far, how disappointing!"

The 『Hero』 Party's bizarre personalities made Vanir question himself.

How could these kinds of adventurers get past the clay dolls he created?

He pointed at Kazuma and said, "You, you're truly despicable, absolutely despicable — stealing men's underwear in public, then repeatedly using it to blackmail them and extort money, how utterly despicable!"

"W-what are you talking about? I don't understand!" Kazuma's eyes darted around while he denied it, but this only made Vanir's claims seem more credible.

"..."

Yes, I often go to see Kyōya Mitsurugi and frequently get money from him. But that's just compensation for my mental suffering — how can you call it blackmail? This is a legitimate way of obtaining money.

How dare you make baseless accusations against someone's reputation?

Vanir then pointed at Darkness and said, "You trembling knight, after being confined at home for just two months, you've been thinking about the Sword Master in your party every day, your mind filled with indescribable scenarios. Are you that eager to have him do bad things to you? Your intense desires are truly surprising."

"W-what, w-what are you saying?! And here I thought you weren't such a bad person!" Darkness's neck and face turned bright red.

Though she enjoyed the feeling of those indecent scenarios being exposed, having them revealed in public was too intense a stimulation for her to handle!

Even though it felt good... Darkness's body trembled slightly.

So amazing—!

"Oh, well thank you for the compliment." Then Vanir pointed at Aqua and said, "As for you, despite being a goddess, you don't have a single divine quality. After being called down to the mortal realm by your companions, you don't even think about defeating the Devil King — you only want to live with your devoted followers. You're truly a disgrace to goddesses!"

Unlike his playful teasing of Kazuma and Darkness, his words to Aqua were filled with mockery. Being natural enemies, he showed no mercy in his words.

The mocked Aqua predictably exploded, angrily retorting, "Haaah?! So what! I'm a goddess, what's wrong with relying on my followers! Unlike you Demons who only hide in dark, damp dungeons, I live under the sky where my followers worship me!"

"W-what!" Vanir couldn't help but take several steps back.

He hadn't expected this unreliable goddess to be so sharp with her words, leaving him speechless after just a few exchanges. This was unacceptable for someone famous for their verbal warfare.

No, I must regain the upper hand!

Then he looked at the blank-faced one, activating his strongest eye power to forcefully break through his mental defenses, trying to see into his thoughts.

Let me see through you!

"I see, I see." Vanir finally pointed at Adam and said, "There's no need to hide it from me — such small tricks can't fool this Archdemon."

"Eh?" x3

The other three looked at Adam in confusion.

"Sigh~ So I failed, though I was prepared for this." Hearing these words, Adam knew his strategy had failed.

"Of course. I am an Archdemon who can see through the past — nothing you think can escape my eyes!" Vanir was very confident in his abilities.

Indeed, since he could even see through Aqua's true identity, how could such a small secret be hidden?

"Did you perhaps think you could defeat me with that goddess? Planning to have me possess someone nearby and then have that idiot goddess purify me... Don't underestimate me!"

"It's been exposed?!" Adam's eyes widened in disbelief, his expression showing genuine panic — as if he never imagined his plan would be discovered.

This reaction was completely unlike his usual calm demeanor. But as the party leader, he quickly regained his composure.

"Even if you saw through my strategy, with Aqua on our side, how could we possibly lose against you?"

"Heheh, hahahahaha, is that really so?" Even with a goddess before him, Vanir showed no fear as he laughed, "Indeed, as you say, with a goddess you need not fear me at all. However, you've made one grave mistake!"

"W-what... what are you talking about?!"

"I'm saying you've forgotten about yourself!" Vanir suddenly removed his mask and, before anyone could react, pressed it against Adam's forehead.

Then his body, as if losing all support, dissolved into sand and merged with the ground.

"Adam!"

"Adam-senpai!"

"Adam!"

The other three cried out in alarm, but the frozen leader showed no response.

After a moment of silence—

"Heheh, hahahahaha, hahahahaha! Success, this body is mine now!" The voice that emerged was nothing like Adam's usual tone, "This body is wonderful! How do you like my special power? Well? If you attack, all damage will be completely reflected back to this body!"

This was his scheme!

Unlike possessing an 「Adventurer」 or 「Crusader」, this 「Sword Master」 was the perfect choice. Moreover, as the party leader beloved by all members, they wouldn't dare strike a fatal blow against this body.

"H-how could this be!" Darkness looked at the possessed 'Adam' in disbelief, then said something completely inappropriate, "If you were going to possess someone, you should have possessed me! I want to experience that feeling too! Or rather, hurry up and possess me instead!"

Vanir: "..."

Kazuma: "..."

Aqua: "..."

The atmosphere turned frigid.

"Is this really the time to say such things, you idiot!" Kazuma scolded in exasperation, "Adam-senpai has been possessed, what should we do?!"

"Why are you panicking, Kazuma! We still have Aqua, his natural enemy, don't we?"

"Y-you're right." Kazuma had completely forgotten about Aqua.

To have forgotten about the goddess and to be reminded by this useless pervert of a knight — that was even harder to accept.

The three surrounded Vanir to prevent his escape.

Just then, the adventurers who had been scattered throughout the dungeon all gathered around.

"Hey, Kazuma, what's going on?" Sena, leading the other teams, noticed something was amiss as soon as she arrived.

She grew more confused seeing them seemingly surrounding Adam in an attacking stance.

"Is that Sena... Actually, Adam-senpai has been possessed by a Devil King's General, a self-proclaimed Duke of Hell named Vanir!" Kazuma quickly explained to the newcomers.

"What did you say, a Devil King's General?!" Sena's shock was evident.

Meanwhile, the adventurers behind her silently spread out, positioning themselves to either surround or retreat.

"Heheh, hahahahaha, so everyone has gathered?" Vanir laughed triumphantly, "Perfect timing, let's begin the subjugation of the Devil King's General... Huh?"

Hmm? What's with this voice?

The situation seemed to have developed beyond his expectations.

✧✧✧

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