Back to the Battlefield
"Brr, it's creepy."
"Yeah, gives me chills."
After getting plenty of rest, Kairan and her party left the inn and headed straight for the Demon King's main stronghold.
"The snow woman was cute, right?"
"Super cute. She was clinging to our ankles and crying."
"Well, we spoiled her rotten after that, so she's probably satisfied."
Maybe, once everything was over and they returned to the inn, they'd get to meet Snow Woman 2.0. The snow woman had said time flowed differently inside and outside the inn. It was a perfectly plausible idea.
"The hot springs... I wanna enjoy them more..."
"Huuuung... I wanna play more too..."
"Snap out of it, you two! Aaaah! Kairan! Eli! Help!!"
Nairah and Nia, still moping over the hot springs they couldn't forget, were being dragged along by Karni. Eli chuckled at the sight of the trio, who looked just like her own onahole crew.
"I wonder if our baby will grow up that big too?"
"Gonna need to add a few more onaholes or dildos to the mix there."
"Pfft! Yeah, you're right!"
Eli burst out laughing at Kairan's words. In her eyes, she could already see their second generation running around. Just imagining it filled her heart—this was happiness!
"...Gives me even more solid motivation now."
Back in the canyon that had turned into a desert, she'd told Kairan exactly that. Fighting to reclaim lost glory. That was her reason for subjugating the Demon King. That resolve hadn't changed. She still wanted to recapture that hazy glory etched in her memory.
But more than that, she wanted happiness. To be with the one she loved, have kids, build a family... She craved the happiness of an ordinary person. Not as the Saintess or some heaven-sent prodigy, not as "Saintess Elena Serenia," but the real Eli—loved and cherished by her.
"I love you, Kairan."
"Huh? Outta nowhere?"
"Just felt like saying it."
Eli's face flushed red as she turned and walked ahead. Her cheeks burned hot.
"Eli."
Kairan caught up, wrapping her arms around Eli from behind.
"I love you too."
"..."
"Love you, Eli."
"...Yeah. I love you too."
Eli placed her hand over Kairan's, murmuring softly.
'Ahh, I hate this.'
She wanted to stay like this forever.
"...So sappy."
"I-I like you too, Karni!"
"...Huh? Haha. I like you too, Nia."
Nia hugged Karni, who had been watching Kairan and Eli.
Caught off guard, Karni laughed and patted Nia's head.
"...Couples. Die."
A lonely dark elf muttered from within Karni's shadow.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Demon King's main stronghold.
As they trudged through a forest devoid of any life, Kairan cautiously spoke up.
"The foliage is so thick, but I don't feel any life at all."
"...Yeah. It's just decoration."
"Hmmm. Decoration, huh."
Kairan reached out and plucked a small flower. Its scent and texture screamed real. But there was no life to it, creating an eerie disconnect that sent shivers down her spine. She understood now why Eli called this place "decoration."
This land was already dead. The soil, the plants, the bugs and beasts scurrying about—all of it. They were merely enchanted by some magic to appear alive. This was the land of the dead.
"Gives me the creeps."
"Yeah, seriously bad vibes."
"Doesn't make sense."
Nairah grumbled from the shadows. As an elf close to nature, she felt the land's grotesqueness more acutely.
"Let's pick up the pace. Something feels off."
Eli nodded at Kairan's words. With the party's main heavy-hitters in agreement, the onaholes had no choice but to follow.
"We're just extras?"
"Quiet. I'll use you later."
"...Okay."
Karni's little whine was brushed off lightly. Eli glared at her briefly, mentally reserving Karni's womb, then quickened her pace.
"Guess that means I need to reserve Nia and Nairah."
"Using two already?"
"Can't help it with their lame pussies."
"Well, true."
The two onaholes bristled at the words, but what could they do?
"...Eli."
"Yeah."
"Karni felt it too, right?"
"...Yeah."
The two locked eyes on the same thing, chatting with one onahole in tow. Karni swallowed hard and looked at Kairan.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Kairan took point, Karni right behind. Eli and Nia in the middle, Nairah at the rear. Without a word, they fell into perfect formation and moved toward the overwhelming aura.
A spine-tingling sensation. Not as intense as facing Rahatrik, but close. Like being reduced to ants in an instant. Instinct screamed that everything they'd walked could vanish with a single flick of a finger.
"Dangerous."
"At least one of the Four Heavenly Kings? Those rumors about a new recruit were true...!"
"You didn't believe the snow woman?"
"Even if she's pretty and cute, she's got a peace treaty with the Demon King's army! Believing her would be weird!"
"You used her just fine."
"Shut up!"
Karni got smacked for chiming in unnecessarily, while Eli and Nia focused entirely on scanning.
"Nia, see anything?"
"S-St-Straight ahead!"
Guided by Nia, whose detection was the sharpest, Kairan's party raced forward at full speed. Beyond the dense dead forest lay a massive clearing—and Necoma's party, already in the thick of it.
"Ah! Eli-nyang?!"
"Necoma?"
"Kairan too, nice to see ya-nyang!"
Necoma dodged falling debris and spells raining from above, greeting them cheerfully. Her cat ears and tail bristled sharply.
"Grahhh! Boss! Focus!"
"W-We’re getting pushed back!"
A massive dragon claw. A knight blocking it with all his might bellowed. Joy at seeing Eli and Kairan's group was fleeting; Necoma dashed back to her knight.
"Eeeeek! Don't mess with my comrades, you jerk-nyang!!!"
Necoma's body soared high into the air. Enhanced by mana, she spun once midair, channeling power into her right hand.
Aerial Maneuver. A B-rank Unique Ability that made maneuvering in the air smoother. Similar abilities only extended hover time or offered minor aid. But combined with catfolk physical prowess and spatial sense, Necoma moved freely through the skies.
"Yaaahhh!!"
Boom!
Her mana-charged palm slammed down on the dragon's head. Dust billowed, and its roar shook the earth.
"Nyaaack!"
No visible wounds. But Necoma's strikes focused on impact over slashing—even the toughest exoskeleton couldn't shrug off internal shockwaves unscathed.
"Karni!"
"Got it!"
The staggering dragon struggled to right itself. Seeing the opening, Kairan and Karni closed in fast.
Scraaaape!
Sword strikes raked the dragon's thick legs. Slashes that felled thick trees effortlessly left not a scratch on its scales.
"What...?!"
"Uwaaaah... M-My sword broke..."
To make matters worse, Karni's blade—striking where Kairan's had hit—chipped entirely, turning into a dungeon-rusted relic. Karni clicked her tongue at the sight.
"Tough bastard."
"Use this."
Kairan pulled a sword from her inventory and tossed it over.
"Yours didn't break."
"Yeah. 'Cause of my Unique Ability."
The ability to make any held weapon a Holy Sword. Unlike Karni's chipped blade, Kairan's was pristine. She sighed, gazing at it.
She drew up mana, converted it to magical power, reinforced her body. Leftover power flowed into the sword, boosting its cutting edge. Even that full-process strike did zilch.
"Least it could do is treat me like a mosquito bite."
Kairan lamented softly, assessing coldly.
"Aim for eyes or joints."
"Got it."
Exchanging glances with Karni, she timed her move to Eli and Nia's bombardment.
Boom boom! Magic blasts. Holy bolts streaking in radiant light. Kairan eyed the roaring dragon taking hits.
'Magic barely works either.'
Two options: strike unprotected spots like eyes or joints, or shatter internals like Necoma. For Kairan and Karni, only the first was feasible.
"Nia!"
"Y-Yes...!"
Her slaves were stickier than expected. Just calling her name conveyed the intent—Nia unleashed a barrage.
Magic circles filled the sky. Countless spells rained down like biblical water droplets the size of human heads.
"Let's do this. Dragon hunt."