It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Satou Kazuma couldn't stop thinking that over and over as the Demon King pointed at him and summoned an insidious magical circle underneath Kazuma's own feet. Though he wasn't very knowledgeable about magical incantations, Kazuma knew enough to know that whatever his enemy, the dreaded and all-powerful Demon King, summoned, it would likely wipe him from existence.

He was out of tricks. He couldn't Lurk or Escape away from this, he couldn't Steal the Demon King's panties, and Drain Touch wouldn't even work on the literal incarnation of all evil the world. Satou Kazuma was caught flat-footed. He was stunned. It had been a very long time since he was truly bested.

His adventuring party had evolved since his days in Axel. Kazuma became even more adept at carrying Megumin away after she unleashed nuke after nuke onto this poor world and apologizing for whatever trouble Aqua caused. Darkness grew stronger and stronger, to the point where adventurer's in the Adventurer's Guild joked that if Darkness tripped, she would break the world. Aqua learned even more entertainer's skills, wasting away her skill points and dumping what little XP she accrued.

The Demon King's generals were whittled down one by one, up until the Demon King's daughter was defeated and captured by Kazuma himself. That had prompted a rage-fuelled offensive from the Demon King, ripping apart Belzerg's army and callously slaying multiple heroes like Katsurugi Kyouya and Prince Jatis himself. Kazuma felt responsible for this rampage and volunteered to kill the Demon King himself. His friends naturally backed him up, volunteering alongside him. He went to the Capital to receive one last tear-filled hug from Iris, and then set off with his party in the direction of the Demon King's castle.

The journey itself was perilous, encountering allies and enemies alike. Kazuma ran into Chris of all people, who dragged him away one night to pilfer another Holy Relic from a dragon's hoard. Naturally the dragon had awoken at the most inopportune time, and Kazuma's screaming rapidly awakened his own party who arrived in the nick of time to slay the dragon and claim its hoard for themselves. Kazuma and his friends were attacked by yet another rare mob, a group of bandits who demanded their money and valuables until they realised who exactly they were robbing. After Kazuma swindled every last drop of gold from the suddenly apologetic bandits, he and his friends continued on.

Their plan for killing the Demon King was simple. Kazuma would sneak the entire party into the Demon King's castle, and then Darkness would draw every guard's attention away from the Demon King so Megumin could have one clear shot at him. Aqua would presumably be doing something elsewhere but Kazuma didn'r plan for her doing anything productive.

The plan had gone well in the beginning, with Kazuma pulling the group unnoticed through the castle's sewers and past several guards. Darkness then ran into the castle's courtyard and issued a loud challenge to the Demon King, one that he had to respond to, lest he lose face. This allowed Megumin to aim her greatest Explosion yet at the Demon King, obliterating him into nothing but dust and mana.

Yet, that didn't happen. The Demon King survived, and even worse, seemed energized by her attack. That was when Kazuma sensed a looming presence behind him. It was his worst mistake.

His worst mistake was assuming Aqua would do something rational and not something completely insane, like rushing at the Demon King and charging an inevitably ineffectual God Blow. Which she did. Not even thinking, Kazuma dashed out and pushed Aqua away from the Demon King, forcing the enemy's attention on himself. Then, he arrived at his current predicament.

Darkness was busy holding off, or getting off on, the Demon King's guards who were beating on her. Megumin, characteristically, was face down due to mana exhaustion. Aqua was pushed away, unable to do anything while she flailed for balance. Kazuma was now the sole target of the Dark Lord. He was now on his own.

As light began to shine out from underneath him, Kazuma met Aqua's eyes one last time before the Demon King wiped him from this world. Kazuma witnessed the dawning realisation that this would be their last fight. Their last adventure. She reached a hand to him but Kazuma couldn't see it. He was already consumed by the light.

Aqua was broken.

Kazuma was gone. Her Kazuma. Her bastard Satou Kazuma, the one who what felt like a lifetime ago pointed at her in the Afterlife and brought her along with him to this magical world. Her Kazuma, who cared for her and protected her even when they were the worst of friends. Her Kazuma… who she could tentatively admit she loved.

Before her very eyes Kazuma was obliterated. Deleted. Simply erased from this world with the wave of a hand from the Demon King. Killed while saving herself from such a fate.

Aqua stumbled to where he was standing before… she couldn't bring herself to think it. She groped blindly, hoping to whatever god gods prayed to that there'd be some scrap of Kazuma left. A strand of hair or even a scrap of skin. But there was nothing.

Aqua sat on her knees, her eyes welling with tears. She-she couldn't accept what she had just seen. She began to laugh wildly, calling out, "Kazuma! Kazuma! Come out already! It's a great trick but you just Lurked away right? Just like what you did in Keel's dungeon. Or maybe you used Escape, or some kind of magical item to whisk you away somewhere safe? You… you had to have used something."

The last part was strangled. The lack of an answer, biting or otherwise, forced the truth into Aqua's mind. Kazuma was gone. And she wasn't getting him back.

The Demon King laughed, watching a foolish girl cry over the death of a comrade she herself caused. Already his guards were subjugating the foolish crusader and capturing the… rather pathetic Arch Wizard. This would be written off as yet another attempt on his life from poorly prepared adventurers. Still chuckling, he turned away so he could return to his quarters. He had a nation to run!

As he walked away from his balcony, when he felt a dangerous presence behind him. He turned and caught a glimpse of the blue haired girl who was crying over the death of her comrade leaping in mid-air towards him. Her fist was charged with dangerous, holy energy. The Demon King quickly backed away, but the blue haired girl shouted something incomprehensible and punched him. The holy energies pervaded his body, and he could feel himself breaking down. The last thing he saw, ever, was the tear-stricken face of the women, no, the goddess whose heart he broke.

Aqua sobbed where Kazuma last stood. Darkness had somehow defeated the guards, or more likely they just ran away after their leader was killed and had picked up Megumin and brought her to where Aqua was. When they both realised what Kazuma being missing and Aqua crying meant, they were silent.

Trying to stem the flow of tears, Aqua thrust her hand where Kazuma was and shouted over and over again, "Resurrection! Resurrection! Resurrection!"

Darkness tried to pull Aqua away, but Aqua shrugged off the crusader and continued trying to futilely resurrect her leader. She didn't care about returning to Axel. She didn't care about returning to the Afterlife. She just wanted Satou Kazuma.

Searching for a solution, Aqua realised there was one last thing she could do. She could use her own godly essence to return Kazuma to this world, at the cost of herself.

Could she do it? She didn't know. It had never been done before in the history of godhood.

Would she do it? For Kazuma, always.

With a deep breath, Aqua began to pour parts of herself into her spell. A bright light suffused her as she began to cast. The fallen goddess began chanting, gritting through the pain that thrummed through every fibre of her being.

As a goddess, Aqua's whole life was composed of godly essence that defined who she was. Pouring that into one final Resurrection spell would empower it greatly but would likely sacrifice herself. Despite the steep cost, Aqua continued. She refused to see a world without Satou Kazuma.

Darkness and Megumin sat beside her, watching as she literally unravelled before their eyes. Slowly, Aqua turned into pure energy as more and more of herself as poured into the Resurrection.

Finally, when nothing but a slight glimmer of herself was left, Aqua finished incanting her spell and cast it with all of her hopes.

There was a bright light. It was a Resurrection spell never cast before in the history of time. And from the brink of oblivion and nothingness, Satou Kazuma was brought back into this world.

Understandably confused, Kazuma looked around before realizing Aqua was fading before his very eyes. The enormity of what Aqua just did hit him. He fell to his knees and tried to grasp her hands, but they passed through each other. Kazuma looked up shakingly at Aqua as the final bits of her essence faded away.

Before she was fully gone, Aqua opened her lips to say her last words of existence.

"Love you."