A giant creature appeared, its head almost touching the ceiling of the underground passage, nearly filling its entire width.

Her nun’s habit, burnt to tatters like sackcloth. Her disheveled white hair fluttered.

With crimson eyes glowing where eyeballs should have been, and skin so shriveled it was indistinguishable from bone.

The creature’s identity was a C+ rank monster, a Hell Sister.

Its appearance, as if burnt black by fire, and its grotesque moans instilled fear in anyone who heard them.

The creature screamed, oozing black bodily fluids.

"Everyone, Assemble! Prepare for battleeeee!"

Only then did the women awaken. Lumina and Aki were startled as they woke up.

"What the? Fuck, what is that, all of a sudden!"

"Oh my, excuse me, but you’ve been burnt to a crisp!"

The current situation was indeed a bit serious. First of all, a Hell Sister isn’t usually that big. They’re only slightly larger than an average person, but that one was giant-sized, wasn’t it?

"According to the scenario, Hell Sisters are monsters related to the Abandoned King. But this isn’t the one that appears in the annihilation event...."

He drew his sword and focused his mind. This wasn’t the time to think, but to act.

He stepped forward to protect the heroines, raising his sword.

"Everyone, get back!"

"Lucian?!"

His auntie looked at him worriedly. He smiled and shouted.

"Dawn Guardiannnnn!"

He always thought when watching manga or anime: Why don’t they use their ultimate moves right from the start?

To build up the atmosphere? What if they lose a fight they could have won and croak? That’s why he always went all out from the very beginning.

Dawn revealed its true nature as a holy sword, enveloped in light. A golden aura burst from the blade, engulfing the Hell Sister in a wide fan-shaped arc.

The light that covered the Hell Sister’s entire body vanished.

"Geheeeeel!"

Surprisingly, the Hell Sister was unharmed. Black energy boiled up from its entire body, then it swelled into a giant inverted cross and absorbed the sword energy.

"Ah, so that’s why they don’t use it from the start?"

Still, he was surprised. Even though he’d held back a bit, it blocked that. Unbelievable.

Tatata-tat!

In the meantime, Lumina rushed in and landed a haymaker on the Hell Sister.

Surprisingly, the Hell Sister staggered from a single punch. It shouldn’t be able to do that, normally?

As it staggered, black energy could be seen draining from its body.

"It’s hurt by a punch? Did it use up a lot of power blocking my sword energy?"

He smiled and slowly approached. Then, he saw something graze his cheek.

It was an arrow.

He turned around and saw Aki nocking and firing arrows from a bow made of energy. They looked mystical, perhaps because they were made of energy.

"Aki, what’s that?!"

"Hehe, that’s my ability. The Bow and Arrows of Spirit Energy!"

She even unleashed rapid-fire. The Hell Sister, with arrows embedded in it, reeled back then swung its arm.

"Aargh!"

Lumina was hit and pushed back.

"Crazy, what kind of power...!"

Lumina should be fine, right? He handed her a whetstone.

"Lumina, this! Rub it on your fists!"

"Damn it, now you’re making me do all sorts of crazy things!"

Lumina rubbed it not only on her fists but also on her arms and shoulders. "Hey, you’ll wear it all out! It’s precious!"

Lumina threw the whetstone back to him and re-entered the battle.

Her punches began to land with powerful effect. The Hell Sister, though staggering, gripped the inverted cross like a scepter and swung it.

"Heu, Hyaa!"

The inverted cross sliced through the air and approached. Lumina dodged and elbowed the Hell Sister in the side.

The inverted cross, as if by magic, changed its trajectory in mid-air, aiming for Lumina’s back. Lumina dodged it fluidly, as if dancing, and landed a backspin blow.

Half of the Hell Sister’s face was caved in. Only then did he see her true level.

"Lumina has grown a lot compared to before, too? When did she become an Expert Mid-stage?"

She was always stronger than him, but becoming an Expert isn’t something that just happens because you want it.

Lumina, she was a woman who truly strived. Whoa, super likable!

He also closed the distance again and swung Dawn Guardian. He slashed the Hell Sister’s thigh.

"Kkhyahahahak!"

The Hell Sister shrieked and tried to grab Dawn with its hand. As he moved aside, Lumina landed another blow to its side.

Aki’s rapid-fire arrows struck into the gap between the two of them. The Hell Sister was struggling unexpectedly.

This thing is usually a fucking strong bitch. And now it’s a Black Legion member, even infected with Kahleum?

[Crystallization]

His auntie delivered the finishing blow to the staggering Hell Sister.

The Hell Sister’s entire burnt body gradually crystallized and hardened, like a river freezing over as winter arrives.

The Hell Sister, completely crystallized and hardened, shattered into pieces without even being able to scream.

He was inwardly astonished.

"Even if ganging up is an eternal truth. My heroines were this strong? Fucking awesome."

He swallowed dryly. It was comparable to yesterday’s fight.

"Yesterday was a chaotic melee, and now the terrain is narrow and they’re prepared, so this kind of coordinated attack is possible. Still, it’s truly amazing, haha."

He realized anew that this world wasn’t one where the Hero alone became omnipotent.

That’s right. In this world, there’s the Demon Lord, and there could be countless things even worse than the Demon Lord.

"Phew, everyone worked hard!"

He approached the fallen Hell Sister. Then, he noticed a change occurring throughout its body.

"Eh?"

A yellow shimmer was overlapping around its entire body.

He knew exactly what this was.

"Uh, this is a sign it’s going to self-destruct, isn’t it?"

He doubted his eyes. A Hell Sister self-destructing? Fuck, what the hell is this!

"Everyone, hide! Anywhere is fine, just hide yourselves!"

When he suddenly shouted, the women, who were about to rest, tilted their heads. Lumina clicked her tongue.

"Hey, what’s with the sudden fuss?"

Overwhelming energy erupted from the Hell Sister. It exploded in an instant, engulfing everything around.

He quickly threw himself backward. Even so, the explosion’s range spread faster.

Damn it, he hoped the women were safe.

Just as the entire clearing they were in was about to be engulfed by the explosion.

A frozen barrier protected them from the Hell Sister.

He fell to the ground with a thud and lifted his head.

[Saintess of Severe Cold - Absolute Defense]

Thin, pale blue glaciers enveloped them on all sides. It was his auntie who had used her power.

It was thin enough to see outside, yet it blocked that explosion?

"A-Auntie!"

"Still don’t know your auntie? Hehe♥"

Seeing his auntie smile, he felt as happy as if he’d met an archangel in hell.

She seemed to have used her ability without much effort, yet it was this powerful. Haa, indeed. He seemed to have known too little about the heroines.

"The heroines are strong even without me."

He had always thought he had to take care of them, protect them.

It was his pathetic fixed idea. Now, they were strong.

Even this battle, the Hell Sister was neutralized by their combined attack. He hadn’t done much.

The explosion faded, and he looked back at where the Hell Sister had been.

There, a gaunt nun had collapsed. He quickly approached and examined her.

The nun gasped for breath with difficulty, yet her chest was wide open, revealing bones burnt to a crisp.

"Kkeoheuk, L-Lord...."

Damn it, a nun alone is enough to get him horny. Who would do this!

"Are you conscious? Weren’t you a monster?"

The nun, having been questioned, looked at him, then glanced at the women behind him.

She shed tears. Even her tears were black.

"Be careful, the Those Who Recite Sins Cult... gasp, they kidnapped, imprisoned, ugh... injected energy, black stuff, ugh, gasp, Kkheuaaaak!"

The nun, who had been struggling to continue speaking, had a seizure. Her body trembled violently, then in an instant.

Pang!

She burst like a firecracker and vanished into ash.

It was exactly like the end of a Black Legion member. They were flustered. His auntie shook her head, looking at the pile of ash.

"No, she’s dead."

A sigh spread through the group. It was as if gloom had taken over the clearing.

He made a decision. He headed for the carriage.

"Everyone, let’s leave for now. I don’t want to stay here any longer."

He got into the carriage and talked with the women. Aki’s face turned grim.

"Could it be related to the Those Who Recite Sins Cult?"

"Probably. From what she said, it seems she was kidnapped and even imprisoned. They’re bastards capable of such things."

At his words, his auntie rested her chin on her hand.

"And then she took Kahleum?"

"Yes. It seems that’s how the Those Who Recite Sins Cult create the Black Army. They kidnap goblins or people, forcibly inject them with Kahlum, and if successful, they become Black Army members."

"If they fail?"

When Lumina asked, he hesitated for a moment before answering.

"If they fail, they either die on the spot, or if they’re lucky, they become like the Young Lord."

The Young Lord was actually lucky. If it had gone one step further, if the Kahleum had been more potent.

They might have encountered the Black Army earlier.

"If that had happened, our territory might have been scorched earth."

The Black Army was a concept whose outcome was unpredictable from the start.

Didn’t mere goblins keep moving even after their heads were blown off, and didn’t they turn an ordinary nun into a C+ rank monster?

His anger towards the Those Who Recite Sins Cult grew. All he could think about was beating those bastards senseless right then and there.

His auntie spoke as if drawing a conclusion.

"Hmm, I hope we can get to the capital soon. Because these filthy, wicked heretics... it seems they need to be judged."

His auntie spoke, chewing on her words with a cold expression. She was endlessly terrifying, but precisely because of that, she looked noble as a saintess.

Aki also agreed.

"Evil-doers must be punished! I’ll do my best!"

"Aki, you were amazing just now."

"It’s my power as a shrine maiden! Hehe♥"

Lumina also cheered up.

"Alright everyone! I’ll do my best to knock them all down!!!"

He felt good seeing the capable and strong heroines putting in so much effort.

They were truly reliable women.

He chuckled, looking around at the women. With these women by his side, they might even be able to defeat the Demon Lord.

With that thought, he breathed a sigh of relief.