CHAPTER 70.5 - Kei vs The Heroines. Part 2.
Kei was now surrounded by the heroines, a perfect circle of death, except for Luna, who was still with Eris.
The moment she saw Drin emerge from the ground, Luna instantly realized she was a real demon, and Eris informed her of the situation immediately. She did it just in time, because Luna was already about to activate her skill to kill her. In fact, she had made a mistake; she should have told Luna about Drin seconds earlier, but seeing Kei withstand an attack from Near left her in shock. Yes, they had trained with Nirfei; she knew about his ability to absorb damage and return it, but she had huge doubts about its effectiveness against the heroines. Now she confirmed that he really is capable of absorbing the attack of the most powerful heroine.
"¡She's Drin, she betrayed the demons to join Kei, nya! Her loyalty to Kei is absolute, I swear on my tail, nya!"
Luna was left in shock. A demon as Kei's girlfriend? She imagined Kei's harem full of different races, but she never imagined that would include a demon. She wanted answers to her hundreds of questions, but there was no time.
Eris leaped and ran straight toward Drin, while being chased by Luna. Unfortunately for her, her presence was completely unnecessary. Gabrielku wouldn't come out with a heroine present.
"Luna, go kill the hero Kei, I'll take care of that disgusting shit demon that smells like paws! Puaj, she makes me sick just looking at her! How horrible!"
Drin got angry at her comments and made a mental note: Torture Eris in secret. She knows it's Eris, not Kei, but it hurts to hear the voice and appearance of her beloved Kei calling her so ugly.
Luna, catching the hint without needing further explanation, nodded seriously and turned around to rejoin the rest of the heroines.
At last, after more than 12 years, they were all reunited again.
It would have been a beautiful nostalgic scene, if it weren't for the fact that they hadn't even spent 5 minutes together, nor had he even exchanged words with most of them on his first day in that world.
"I demand a long explanation," Luna told him.
"If I get out alive, we'll talk."
Kei took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and clapped a couple of times. An innocent little lamb surrounded by ferocious starving wolves—or at least that metaphor works for comparing power. As for cruelty and evil, Kei is the worst of them all, far surpassing even Near.
She looks down on him, like an insect she could crush with ease, but while she's thinking those silly things, Kei is always analyzing the surroundings, preparing to dodge.
"Well, well. What a lovely reunion. It's been years since I last saw you all. Has anyone gotten married or had kids yet? Don't you want to grab a coffee and talk like the civilized people we are?"
In less than a fraction of a second, Near punched him in the face and he went flying. Yes, Kei had always been focused, but Near's speed was incomparable. Kei had improved his senses to be able to see his surroundings in slow motion, but even with that, he wasn't able to see Near's attack.
If it weren't for Nirfei, who can absorb damage and return it, Kei would have died, but he wasn't completely saved from the damage. Broken bones, teeth flying, blood everywhere. His face was completely disfigured and crushed in such a disgusting way that anyone would think it would be impossible for him to survive. Like a plastic doll hit by a huge rock.
Fortunately, it wasn't the first time that had happened to him. And, in fact, this had been planned.
Nirfei's ability is incredible and quite convenient, though of course it has a limit, and considering that Kei's head almost exploded into pieces, that limit had already been reached. Kei's cold sweat confirmed it. One more attack from Near and it's certain death.
"I guess you don't want coffee…" Kei said, regenerating his own face that had become unrecognizable.
A tiny wound appeared on the tip of Near's nose. A very, very small wound, just enough to draw a single drop of blood. Officially, Kei has become the second person, after Sei Molfer, to injure her outside the heroines' group.
"Counterattack? Hehe. Like an anime character," said Gelisha, looking at the wound.
"Want to see another anime technique? Well, watch this!"
An enormous amount of fire erupted from his body and the heroines went on the defensive. The fire had been able to stop an attack from Near; underestimating it would be stupid, so they gathered side by side to combine their power, and unknowingly left a huge opening behind Kei.
The enormous flame took on its own shape and began laughing as diabolically as possible.
"Behold my great secret weapon! Tremble before the greatest and most spectacular technique that my ancestors have passed down from generation to generation!"
The heroines swallowed hard, for they sensed no lies in his words. They braced for the worst, ready for anything… Or, well, not quite anything.
The fire suddenly went out and Kei was gone. Was he behind the heroines, with an anime-style transformation? Had he turned invisible? Would he emerge from the ground like Drin and attack one of them?
What he did was… run away in the opposite direction at full speed. Kei's great secret weapon.
"Fleeing like the coward I am! "¡Adiós, señoritas!" (Goodbye, ladies!)"
"…Huh?" almost all of them said in unison, between disbelief and absolute disappointment, except Gelisha, who was just laughing and getting excited.
"What a great reference!"
•
•
The Queen was watching Kei escape and smiled quite satisfied, because Kei wasn't the only one who had planned for this.
"Everything is going well. Now it's my turn."
She slowly turned her head toward the main door. At the same time, sharp screams of pain and the metallic sound of armor crashing against the floor began to be heard. A massacre was taking place.
"Terkiana? Eris perhaps?" she thought.
No. It was neither of them.
The enormous double door was violently smashed inward, using as a battering ram the dying and mangled bodies of dozens of elite guards and bodyguards. Through the cloud of dust and blood appeared Mio, in her animal form.
The guests began to flee, terrified. Yes, it's well known that noblewomen train from a young age to be powerful, but it's common sense to run from any being with demonic magic. Most people in that world believe that only the heroines could defeat a demon. Noble families like the Molfer family and the Churs family are almost unique cases. Average noble families are at A-rank level.
All the remaining guards tried to form a defensive line, but a single howl was enough to paralyze them with fear. Had Mio become that powerful? Her power had increased, yes, but what gives her that advantage is the demonic magic flowing through her veins. Humans, not being used to being near demonic beings, their bodies enter a survival state, wanting to be as far away as possible from those beings. Uncontrolled adrenaline, tachycardia, terror paralysis. Body and mind screaming "Run or die!" at the same time.
The demons' grudge against humans turned them into their natural predators, and Mio was making the most of her biological advantage.
"Half-demon? What a diverse and cliché harem. Worthy of you," thought the Queen, whose words carried far more meaning than it seemed.
Then came the finishing blow.
Mio gathered air and let out a powerful bark that left everyone present with their eyes rolled back and unable to breathe, knocking them unconscious.
"Interesting…" she murmured with delight.
The Queen analyzed the reaction. How could a bark be enough to defeat them? The guards and bodyguards are in those positions because they have great power, between A and S ranks. Were they really defeated by a simple bark? No, the explanation is far more complicated, and only someone as intelligent as the Queen could understand it.
She took a deep breath and smiled. The air wasn't pure.
"Let me guess. You used refined Gerieum, the mineral that reacts violently with the demonic attribute, to synthesize a highly volatile variant of nitrous oxide. And its combination with pure demonic magic made it so that, upon contact with humans, its effect was instantaneous and far more potent due to being an incompatible magical attribute, leaving their bodies much more vulnerable. The initial howl dispersed the microparticles throughout the area, and the final bark generated a subsonic shockwave that acted as a catalyst, causing instant polymerization of the compound in the pulmonary alveoli."
The Queen looked at the bodies, which were still breathing.
"Result: direct absorption into the bloodstream in less than 0.8 seconds, collapse of the central nervous system, total unconsciousness without permanent damage. Very elegant. Drin outdid herself this time, but I don't know if you're aware that it was an invention of Akane's. Don't try to patent it."
Mio returned to her human form and calmly walked among the unconscious bodies toward the Queen.
"Are you the one who's going to fight me? I thought they'd send someone… more competent. You don't look that stro—"
Mio didn't let her finish speaking. Her fist impacted directly into the sovereign's stomach with enough force to double her over.
The Queen's eyes widened as a jet of blood spurted from her mouth. Real pain. Real blood. "She… hurt me?" she thought, incredulous, until a sweet, metallic scent reached her nose. She understood instantly.
Mio grabbed her by the neck with one hand and lifted her off the ground as if she weighed nothing.
"Let's begin," she said, smiling.
The Queen coughed up another mouthful of blood that splattered Mio's face, and her lips curved into a smile.
"So cliché. I love it!" she thought, excited.
•
•
Drin, Nisei, Terkiana, Eris, Mia, and Nerka were gathered in a distant forest, a very important location. The location of an entrance to hell.
Eris was returning to her normal form, while Terkiana and Mia checked some notes and crossed out certain written actions.
"Area security increased by 340% after Kei's appearance. We can assume that the extra security that showed up isn't human," said Terkiana.
"The dark elves have detected a 550-meter distance pattern, so it would be a 500-meter detection margin. We can assume that those detected outside that area are demons," said Mia.
"Don't forget our main objective, let's not waste time on them," said Drin, crossing her arms.
This mission has two objectives.
Secondary objective: kill the Queen.
And the main objective: gather information on a certain demon.
Kei and the others strongly doubt that only the Royal Family of Turger is connected to the demons. Their hypothesis is that there is at least one important family connected to demons in each country. Their goal is to obtain the surnames of those families and destroy them before they spread further. Destroy your enemy from within, the most effective strategy.
"Nirfei has reached his limit. Kei's distraction always worked on us, so let's hope it works on them too," said Nerka, looking in a certain northern direction.
"For now, we must focus on…"
The air suddenly became heavy.
The entire place was filled with terrifying silence. Every hair on their bodies stood on end at the same time. Their hearts began pounding so hard it hurt in their chests.
Nisei was the first to recognize it. Her eyes filled with tears of pure instinctive terror.
"It's… 'him'…" she whispered, trembling.
Gabrielku had appeared.
Mia fainted, unable to withstand the pressure. Yes, all of them had been trained by Drin to withstand demonic pressure, but Gabrielku's power and bloodlust were… indescribable. Not even Drin could compare to him. The danger he represented was abysmal, like a starving lion in the habitat of newborn gazelles.
Almost all of them fell to their knees, crying from fear. Eris bit chunks out of her own arms, refusing to lose consciousness, while Terkiana and Nerka clenched their teeth until they nearly broke them.
And Nisei, who had witnessed the atrocities committed by him, stood firm, staring at him. Terrified, yes, but her hatred was so great that she would rather die than give him the satisfaction of seeing her on the ground.
"N-no… I-it's Gabrielku," said Drin, in shock.
"Demon Drin, the traitor. You are a disappointment to the demons. You preferred a simple penis over your own race. And your punishment will be death."
Drin fell to her knees, eyes empty, a hopeless expression.
"W-we can't beat him. H-he has the power of a commander… We're dead. Dead, dead, dead…"
Gabrielku sensed genuine fear in all of them and sighed, quite disappointed. After all, Kei and the others had had two months to prepare, and this was all they managed? It was so disappointing that Gabrielku only felt pity for her. As a generous gift on his part, he decided to end their suffering, starting with Drin.
He raised his hand to finish her off, but before his first attack could begin, a low, confident laugh stopped him dead in his tracks.
A laugh coming from Drin. She smiled and quickly stood up from the ground. Her expression, previously one of terror, was now filled with adrenaline and amusement. Her eyes now conveyed total confidence, as if she already knew beforehand the outcome this battle would have.
"Well, that's what I would have said in the past. Now I'm different."
"Have you finally lost your mind?"
"Shall we begin?" said Drin, as small blue lightning bolts began to come out of her pupils, which were gradually changing color.
Gabrielku's eyes widened and he smiled, full of excitement.
A power that not even he has been able to achieve.
Drin's great advantage: not having the demons' curse.
"This just got interesting," said Gabrielku, smiling for the first time.