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*******
For once, things were calm.
The multiverse wasn't collapsing (for now), no one was fighting in the simulation room (mostly because it was still smoking), and Makima hadn't filed any new documents (a miracle in itself).
It was hot.
Not just summer hot. Not just "global warming" hot. It was "Kazuma's face is melting" kind of hot.
"Bro, I can see your will to live evaporating," Denji said, sprawled across the penthouse floor, sweat glistening like a glazed ham. "Where's the AC in this damn place?"
Silence went by.
They all thought to themselves. "So that was the catch. Electricity was."
"We're on an experimental private island," Subaru said, fanning himself weakly.
"You think Lloyd had time to install central air while building simulation arenas that don't collapse under Saitama?"
"Then let's go to the beach," he added.
Everyone paused.
"…Still gonna be hot, genius," Kazuma muttered, peeling himself off the floor like he was molting.
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Kazuma shouted, dragging his sunburned self toward the massive chrome building that looked suspiciously like a refrigerator. "I'm going in!"
"Everyone here has cheat abilities! You know what I got? Molting. Freakin' molting! I'm shedding like a lizard going through puberty!"
Inside, chilled air blasted across his face like salvation. Darkness and Megumin were already there, lounging in beach chairs beside a vat of frozen sake. Darkness shivered and grinned. "The sting of frostbite… exquisite."
Further in, Kazuma spotted Frieren sitting cross-legged in front of an open freezer, surrounded by discarded cartons of ice cream, puddings, and a half-eaten frozen melon.
She opened the coffee jelly shelf.
Kazuma's eyes widened. The world froze.
"That," he said with the most serious tone he'd ever used, "is for Saiki. No one touches the coffee jelly."
Frieren blinked. "Oh. Okay."
Crisis averted.
---
Back at the penthouse…
Rudeus splashed his face with a conjured ball of water. Steam rose instantly.
"...This is ridiculous," he muttered. Then his eyes lit up. "Wait."
A few minutes later, he gathered Kazuma, Subaru, Denji, Darkness, Megumin, and Frieren.
"This better be amusing or helpful, dude," Kazuma said, leaning on a popsicle like a cane.
Rudeus stepped back, focused, and chanted. A blue glow pulsed through the Aqua Heartia staff.
The sky darkened.
A cumulonimbus formed above the island. Wind howled. Shadows stretched.
Kazuma screamed and immediately ducked for cover. "I SWEAR IF I GET STRUCK BY LIGHTNING AGAIN—!!"
Megumin watched with sparkles in her eyes. "So this is what it looks like before an explosion…"
Frieren nodded, arms crossed. "Hmph. I've seen better."
Thunder rumbled.
"…It's just to block the sun," Rudeus explained. "The heat should drop, and it'll clear in five minutes."
"Still dramatic, though," Subaru said, impressed. "Can you do a version that doesn't sound like Ragnarok?"
From a distance, Saiki observed the clouds forming and teleported over.
Subaru waved him off. "It's fine. Rudeus did weather magic. Beach day's back on."
Saiki squinted, then vanished again with a sigh.
---
Meanwhile… somewhere off the shore...
"This is… paradise," said Ryusui, wearing a custom-made swimsuit worth more than most people's homes. He licked a fancy ice pop shaped like his face.
"YAAAAAHAHAHAHA!" Ryusui's laugh echoed across the waves as his hyper-luxury yacht, emblazoned with his own face, cruised past a pod of startled dolphins. He popped champagne and pointed to the beach.
"I claim this sand in the name of infinite freedom!"
---
The beach preparations began.
Within minutes, tents popped up. Cold drinks flowed. Someone made a floating grill.
Lloyd built a sand fort for "strategic recon."
Gojo laid down sunglasses and declared himself king of the sun.
Power cannonballed into the water. "BLOOD SURFING!!!"
Choso, standing knee-deep in the ocean, sighed. "You can't surf blood if it dissolves in water..."
Makima and Reze watched from a distance. Makima scribbled on a clipboard. "So this is what they do when not destroying private property."
Power floating in the water. "I PEED HERE!"
Choso immediately walked out.
...But peace, like Kazuma's luck stat, never lasted long.
Within fifteen minutes, the cool breeze gave way to a smoldering wind. The cumulonimbus cleared, and the sun returned with a vengeance.
"OH COME ON!" Kazuma yelled, throwing his drink into the sand. "I THOUGHT RAIN MAGIC FIXED THIS!"
"It was temporary!" Rudeus shouted back, frantically fanning himself. "Magic has limits!"
Gojo dropped his sunglasses. "The beach betrayed me…"
"IT'S TOO HOT!" Denji screamed, bolting across the sand like his feet were on fire. "WE'RE GONNA DIE OUT HERE!"
Everyone scrambled toward the shaded areas like dehydrated rats fleeing a sauna.
"G-get under the umbrellas! Dig holes! Sacrifice Kazuma if we must!" Subaru shouted, completely serious.
Kazuma blinked. "Huh?"
Then, just as panic began to bubble over, a gentle wave of cold swept through the air.
The entire group turned to see Frieren, standing in the center of the beach with her hand raised. Her eyes glowed faintly as shimmering snowflakes danced across her palm.
"Freeze Border."
A translucent dome of cool mist enveloped the camp, and instantly, the heat vanished. The sand beneath their feet cooled. The sky itself dimmed slightly, as if the sun had been politely told to tone it down.
Everyone stared.
"WHAT was THAT?!" Denji asked, jaw slack.
"That wasn't in any magic textbook I've seen," Rudeus muttered, absolutely shook.
"Are you manipulating climate?" Subaru said. "Wait—is this legal? Are you God?"
Kazuma bowed. "Please cool my bath next time."
Frieren blinked. "Hm? It's nothing special. I just recreated Earth's natural protective shield."
"…You mean the ozone layer?" Rudeus asked.
She nodded. "Yes, that. I studied the environmental data you had saved in your penthouse library. It seemed simple enough—just lower the upper air temperature and allow oxygen to circulate. It stabilizes the heat. Humans used to have one before you… ruined it."
Everyone slowly turned to Saiki.
He sighed. I wasn't even involved in that one.
"Anyway," Frieren said, nonchalantly pulling another pudding from her sleeve, "I just mimicked the ozone thing. Not perfect, but it'll hold until sunset."
The group collectively collapsed into their beach chairs in relief.
Power popped out of the sea again. "Did I miss something? Why is it cold now?"
Choso stared at her. "I thought you drowned."
"Should we be worried about someone trying to destroy the universe again?" Yuji asked, slathering sunscreen on Denji's back.
"Nah," Denji grinned. "I got the Chainsawman skin for summer. Unkillable and moisturized."
"Where's Saiki?" Chrome asked, poking the sand with a stick like it was science.
"Bro's avoiding us," Chrome said, sitting under an umbrella like an anime introvert.
Saiki, of course, was on a far-off rock, sipping coffee jelly under a parasol. He had pre-warped 43 meters away the moment someone mentioned "beach games."
Meanwhile…
Reze and Asa were both lying on towels glaring at each other from opposite ends of the beach.
Makima, sipping a cold drink, looked unbothered. "So much chaos. And no one's died yet. I'm impressed."
Gojo, Jinwoo, Shadow, and Saitama decided to play volleyball.
Unfortunately, their first serve split the ball into plasma.
"Okay," Gojo laughed. "New rule. No actual power use."
Shadow summoned a volleyball forged from his weapon that looked like a slime. "Fair?"
Jinwoo cracked his necked and stretched. "If you keep up."
Saitama served. The ball was never seen again. It may have entered orbit.
Senku and Light hosted a Beachside Quiz Show.
Senku: "First question: What is Saiki's food?"
Light: "Irrelevant. Everone knows that."
Senku: "...You can't just do that."
Frieren raised her hand. "Can we go back to playing Uno?"
Then came the beach games.
Kazuma, always scheming, organized a tournament: "Battle of the Beach Gods."
Tug of war: Denji and Reze vs Aki and Power.
Power looked smug. "Hehe, they will never notice how I keep winning."
The rope is soaked in blood.
Power Disqualified.
Watermelon smashing: Yuji went first, hit Shadow's beach ball.
Smash.
A crater formed.
"Dude, I think you won." Subaru grabbed the bat off Yuji's hand.
Shadow passed by, "Huh? He destroyed it with ease?"
Kazuma thought, "I shouldn't provoke Itadori."
Sandcastle competition:
Senku made a working sand drone.
Light built a sand L. "Maybe, just maybe if you were here, we could've been friends."
Lloyd built a sand fortress complete with defense turrets.
Chrome stacked rocks.
Saiki (telekinetically) sculpted Mt. Fuji with everyone's faces.
He still lost because Ryusui bribed the judges.
"You bribed the judges of a sandcastle contest?!" Subaru shrieked. "There's not even a prize!"
Gojo looked like something was bothering him.
"Where have you been, Gojo? You good?" Jinwo asked.
"Just trying to find my glasses their missing." Gojo said without looking.
Jinwoo intrigued tried to take a peak. "Woah dude."
"I know, right? Six eyes." Goko with a smug smirk. "Where is Makima anyways?"
Jinwoo pointed. "Oh, they're getting dressed, over there, It seems like Makimas getting out."
Makima walked out in a pochita bikini. "Hey Reze... These don't fit me. Especially tight on the chest part."
"Do- don't say that." Reze siting inside the changing room. "I wonder if Denji would prefer me.."
Gojo stunned. "Wa- Wait, are those, are those my glasses?" Gojo asked
Makima indirectly kissed Gojo, putting a lollipop on his mouth. "These are yours, huh."
Nobara on the side. "Wow, she's really stealing the spotlight."
---
As the clouds finally cleared…
The beach gleamed under a softened sun. The temperature dropped just enough to not cook everyone alive.
Saiki, seated under a perfectly symmetrical umbrella, sipped his coffee jelly with a calm expression.
He didn't want to admit it… but this was actually nice.
Too bad it wouldn't last.
Evening fell.
Bonfire. Food. Fireflies. Laughter.
Senku lit a lantern. Subaru roasted marshmallows. Ryusui made gold-crusted shrimp.
Gojo floated above the fire, telling a horror story that somehow turned into a flex. "...and then I opened both eyes."
Lloyd strummed a stringless guitar. Reze considered drowning Denji for fun. Power tried to roast a live fish.
Shadow stood on the cliff, whispering to the moon. "So begins the era of black flames…"
"Shut up and eat before anything catastrophic happens," Megumin said, pulling him back.
Oi don't say that.
Saiki sat on the far end again, sighing peacefully.
But just as he took a spoonful of coffee jelly—
A new rift cracked in the sky. Two figures tumbled out, crashing into the water with a giant splash.
Shadow stood. "Our peace was... fleeting."
Power cheered. "NEW FIGHTERS!"
Makima sighed. "And here we go again."
Saiki stood up, wiped off his sunglasses, and muttered:
"You just had to jinx it"
---
To be continued.