The initial battle against the lower-tier demons led by the mid-tier demon Manmon began with a fight against the Harpy sisters, who excelled in wide-area attacks from the air.
The dense barrage of feather blizzards shot from the Harpies’ wings prevented the other demons from advancing into the combat zone.
It seemed the enemy planned to wear us down with this merciless, indiscriminate attack, then surround and trample us with the physically superior Centicores and Lycanthropes.
Furthermore, the Centicores and Lycanthropes, who were to follow up, considered us their kin-slayers, so a fierce battle was expected.
Their commander, Manmon, maintained a composed demeanor, but was undoubtedly an unsettling presence.
Since the attack from the Harpy sisters was a long-range aerial assault, our defense and counter-attack also primarily consisted of long-range attacks.
Ultimately, we were subjected to a ferocious onslaught of exploding feathers from the eldest sister, Ira=Izah Quarter. While enduring it with defensive magic, we managed to pin down the second sister, Ime=Kura Quarter, with concentrated offensive magic.
Furthermore, the three Vampire sisters, who possessed flight capabilities, intercepted the third sister, Inn=Lan Quarter, and knocked her to the ground.
It’s remarkable that “Princess Harem” has so many rare mages.
One reason for this is that these royals and royalty have inherited excellent traits cultivated through marriages with outstanding individuals since ancient times.
Perhaps this is why many possessed magical aptitude.
Among the mages in the true sense of the word were Vice Leader Elise, who could wield all four elemental magics up to the forbidden spell level; Dietlinde, a Fire Spirit Mage; and Shera, a Fox Beastkin known for her affinity with magic.
Though, in Shera’s case, her father is the Human King of Sazania, making her strictly a half-blood, but she appears more pure-blooded.
We must also not forget Eria has bloomed her talent as a Water Mage after studying under Elise.
Furthermore, among the precious Healing Mages, there is me, who can even use “Resurrection Magic,” and Mai, who can use basic “Healing Magic.”
And then there were the remarkable actions of Ly, Liliana, Tirna, and Alicia, who became “Magical Breast Princesses” through a magic tool discovered in the ruins of the Ancient Magical Civilization Era, which we stumbled upon by chance during our journey.
It was also fortunate that Ly and Elise discussed and divided us into offensive and defensive formations before the battle.
We also eagerly await the return of Swan Hilda, the trump card of “Princess Harem,” though she is not present here.
Swan Hilda’s true identity is a lesser deity that the demons fear, calling her a Valkyrie.
She is a skilled user of powerful Holy Magic, proficient in both offensive and healing magic.
By the way, Holy Spirit Serena could also inflict significant damage if she attacked them, but she was hidden in the clouds, invisible.
Perhaps she dislikes it because the瘴気 (miasma) and Holy Aura cancel each other out, causing significant physical damage.
As the battle commenced, we managed to defend against the enemy’s fierce attacks with defensive magic, even having enough surplus to attack.
Furthermore, the act of detonating the 瘴気 (miasma) accumulated within the Harpies’ large breasts, using it like gunpowder…
This attack, conceived and executed by Dietlinde, was truly meritorious.
“Still, Harpies are troublesome enemies. They fly freely in the sky, and their launched feathers explode…”
“Hal-sama, that is not entirely accurate.”
“What do you mean? Astarotte.”
“The 瘴気 (miasma) contained in Harpy feathers can be explosive, but also paralyzing poison, neurotoxin, and even aphrodisiacs. That’s why they are so troublesome.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, it’s true. From my assessment, Ime=Kura Quarter, the second sister, was affected by the paralyzing poison, and Inn=Lan Quarter, the third sister, by the aphrodisiac.”
“I-I see… so they were more troublesome than I originally thought.”
“Yes, Hal-sama. One must be that tenacious to survive in the Demon Realm…”
As I summarized the initial battle, Astarotte, who was behind me, offered her opinion.
In this battle, our feather attacks were mostly limited to Ira=Izah Quarter, but their feather attacks were more varied than we had anticipated.
We will need to be cautious when fighting Harpies in the future.
The battle then moved to its next phase.
From the left, Dan Tsetsen and Yan Kurgard of the Centicores appeared in their true forms and charged.
Dan Tsetsen is the older brother of Tsun Tsetsen, whom we had defeated, and Yan Kurgard, running alongside him, is apparently their cousin.
Dan Tsetsen’s fur is calico, and Yan Kurgard’s is black and white spotted.
Their visages, with their sharp gazes reminiscent of razors, and their supple bodies possess the ferocity unique to large felines.
It was Mai and Sharon who bravely faced them.
Mai’s weapon was a short sword, and Sharon wielded kunai in both hands.
The Centicores’ attack method seems to involve toying with the enemy with nimble movements and attacking with their fangs and claws.
It’s believed they also use miasma to enhance their physical abilities, similar to demons.
However, as they are lower demons who have incarnated into the Human Realm, unless they are instantly killed as Dietlinde did, they will attack even in a state where their bodies disintegrate and they lose their intellect.
Demons are more tenacious enemies than regular demons.
Shifting my gaze to the right, the Lycanthropes Buchi Plune and Moni Plune came charging.
Buchi Plune and Moni Plune are apparently the older brother and sister of Pru Plune, whom we had defeated.
Buchi Plune’s fur is a shining silver, and Moni Plune’s fur is a light brown.
Buchi Plune has the appearance of a bipedal werewolf.
In contrast, Moni Plune, the only female among the surviving lower demons, seems to have intentionally retained human characteristics.
Her limbs and lower body are covered in light brown fur, but her upper body, excluding her arms, is the naked torso of a young beautiful girl.
Her hair is shoulder-length straight brown hair, and her energetic blue eyes give her a cute face.
Her older sister, Pru Plune, possessed breasts so large they reached the level of demonic milk-sacs.
And this magnificent demonic milk-sac has been inherited by her younger sister, Moni Plune, whose intensely shaking breasts are a sight to behold.
Although her set age upon incarnation is apparently younger than Pru Plune’s, her breast size is slightly smaller, but it is still comparable to Ly ‘s in terms of size.
As a result, she seems to be poor at fang attacks, but is there some reason for this?
Whether it’s the Vampire sisters or Astarotte, who was a succubus, they are all quite attached to their incarnated bodies.
This means Moni Plune is likely also very fond of her incarnated body.
Shera-nee-san, wielding a Zantou with its lengthy blade in both hands, and Edeleia, holding twin swords, are heading towards these Lycanthropes.
The reason Shera is in her “Shera-nee-san” form, which excels in close-quarters combat, instead of her “Shera-onee-sama” form, which is adept at magical attacks, is due to Elise and Freya.
In her “Shera-onee-sama” form, she apparently has two fox tails, perhaps to release powerful magical attacks.
There was also the circumstance that Elise and Freya were targeting those fox tails.
Now that we have overcome the battle with the Harpies, Shera-nee-san’s form, which excels in close combat, will likely be advantageous.
Meanwhile, an empty space existed between Manmon, who maintained an eerie silence, and us.
“Hey, Astarotte. Do you know anything about Manmon’s true identity, his favored attack methods, or his weaknesses?”
“I’m sorry, Hal-sama. I was a low-ranking member, so I wasn’t informed. However, if their species is revealed as demons after shedding their human disguise, they might know something.”
“In that case, perhaps I should ask the Vampire sisters?”
“I doubt they would know either. We are already part of a community of fate… if they knew, they would have told us.”
“That makes sense too…”
“Personally, I wished they had used them as disposable summoned beasts for a suicide attack… but effectively, they have been promoted to comrades. Their will to live is also quite strong.”
“Did you say something?”
“No, just talking to myself.”
“…I see.”
Of course, Elise and Ly were fully aware of such a precarious situation.
They have directed most of their attack targets towards Manmon but are refraining from direct action.
They likely want to avoid the foolish strategy of “poking the hornet’s nest and stirring up trouble” by provoking Manmon at this stage.
Furthermore, looking at his attitude, it’s highly probable he won’t move until the final phase.
In other words, the situation of being surrounded from three sides remains unchanged, and we want to at least prevent being completely surrounded.
Moreover, the second act of the battle seems likely to be dominated by close-quarters combat.
In high-speed close-quarters combat, it is difficult to provide support with offensive magic from the rear.
Then, Mai and Sharon leaped before the enemy.
Shh, Crack, Clang, Clang
Mai’s short sword flashed, attempting to slash Dan Tsetsen’s flank, but it was deflected by sharp claws.
Mai retreated momentarily, then seemed to attack again.
Or so I thought, but she twisted her body, took a shuriken from her bosom, and threw it towards his back.
She even threw two in rapid succession.
However, Dan Tsetsen’s fur is calico, reminiscent of a house cat, and although the shuriken hit, it bounced off.
No, did he deflect it by slightly shifting the trajectory?
This time, Mai decided to create distance and regroup.
Clang, Clang, Gash, Gash
Sharon threw the kunai she held in both hands, aiming at Yan Kurgard’s eyebrows with a time lag, but he easily brushed them away with his forearms.
Immediately, Sharon drew the scimitar from her back and bravely lunged, slashing.
Yan Kurgard also deflected the blade with his extended claws.
Sharon rotated the deflected blade and counter-slashed without pause.
However, Yan Kurgard also moved with supple grace, aiming for Sharon’s neck.
Sharon narrowly avoided the deadly claws and slashed Yan Kurgard’s right arm, but the blade slipped due to his coarse fur.
“Wh-what’s with the hardness.”
“Yeah… that.”
Sharon frowned and cursed.
Mai also agreed with Sharon’s assessment.
Both Mai and Sharon’s attacks were likely just preliminary probes, but the enemy was formidable…
Perhaps their light weight resulted in light attacks?
To defeat them, powerful offensive magic or weapons with high impact, like Shera-nee-san’s Zantou, seemed necessary.
Dan Tsetsen and Yan Kurgard, who now seemed to have identified Mai and Sharon as their first prey, opened their mouths, saliva dripping from between their sharp teeth and fangs.
Mai and Sharon, on the other hand, maintained a distance, observing their opponents’ next moves.
They were gauging each other’s distances and looking for openings to attack.
However, even in their initial clash, they had expended considerable concentration, and Mai and Sharon were breathing heavily.
The Centicores, on the other hand, seemed consumed by their hunger.
Thank you for reading.
Episode 49-10, “Use Holy Aura with Caution! ②,” is scheduled for pre-release at 0:00 on May 18th.
