The battle against the demon monster, Rowville, had begun.

Shiori and Chika had always intended to lose here—gathering information to gain an advantage when trying again later. Also, sometimes losing after a close match was more exciting than just losing outright. So the two began to engage in a relatively serious battle.

"Hmm!"

Rowville launched an attack, swinging his sword downward from above. Shiori and Chika spread left and right to dodge. As the impact of the swords striking the ground echoed through the hall, the two immediately launched their counterattack.

"Thunderbolt!"

"An attack like that won’t work!"

Chika moved first, unleashing a swift lightning strike, but Rowville deflected it head-on by swinging his sword to the side.

"Slash!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Without hesitation, Shiori used her high agility to her advantage, moving behind Rowville and using a skill-enhanced attack.

"Whoa...! I won’t fall for that easily!"

But did he sense the pursuit? Rowville immediately turned around and accurately deflected Shiori’s attack.

"Ugh...! Damn...!"

As she regained her balance after her attack was deflected, Shiori considered counterattacking but chose not to force it and instead jumped back.

"Water Cutter!"

"You’re not getting away... Hmph!"

Rowville attempted to pursue the fleeing Shiori, but Chika cast another spell, forcing him to stop in his tracks and swing his sword to deflect it.

"Accelerator Bullet!"

"Ugh...! Ugh...!"

Then Shiori attacked again. This time, instead of using her rapier, she instantly equipped an air rifle in her free hand and unleashed a powerful, skill-enhanced shot. She managed to counterattack at the exact moment Rowville deflected the spell, and the shot landed perfectly on his stomach.

That attack was skill-based, so it didn’t seem to cause much damage. Rowville only stumbled slightly.

"Guh...? Fina—"

"Wind Sword!"

Chika continued to attack, inflicting additional damage. The attack made Rowville stumble even more.

"Slash! Ha! Yah! Haaah! And... ’Shot Strike’!"

"Guuuuh...!"

Shiori then approached further and launched a series of rapier attacks, including more skills. Rowville took the assault without resistance. Finally, Shiori delivered a thrusting attack that sent him flying from the spot.

"...It doesn’t seem like they’ve done it."

"...Yeah, it looks like it."

"Thank goodness... he didn’t collapse."

"I thought I might have gotten carried away and gone too far..."

"..."

For a moment, Shiori and Chika felt they might have gone too far—but the blown-away Rowville didn’t even fall to his knees. Seeing him clutching his stomach after the thrust, they outwardly looked disappointed but inwardly breathed sighs of relief.

Leaving aside their inner thoughts, Rowville took his hand off his stomach and began to speak, chuckling softly.

"Heh heh heh... Well, well. I’m surprised you managed to attack me this much. I didn’t realize you were that skilled. That’s wonderful news—women with real power, huh? I like strong women. The feeling of conquest when I subdue them and have my way with them is more satisfying. Therefore... let’s get serious from here on out."

"Ah...!"

"Hmm... ’Stone War...’"

As soon as he uttered those words, his desires seething, Rowville raised his sword to his waist. Seeing that stance, Shiori held her rapier ready to swing at any moment. Chika deliberately left the final note unsaid, keeping her spell ready to be cast instantly.

"...Mmm!"

Seeing the two take their positions, Rowville moved. He tensed his body and his legs—and the next moment, with a loud bang, he instantly appeared in front of them.

"Ugh... Ugh!?"

"...Ru’!? Agh!?"

"Hmph!"

While marveling at his lightning-fast movements—as if he were teleporting—Shiori immediately prepared to swing her rapier, and Chika chanted the final note of her magic, beginning to unleash it. But before that blow could land, Rowville swung the sword he had been holding at his waist as if performing a quick draw. The sword strike didn’t directly hit them, but the sheer force of the wind generated by the swing was enough to blow both of them away.

"Ugh, ugh... ’Accelerate, ugh!?’"

"I won’t let you."

Rolling across the floor, Shiori regained her balance before Chika. While still holding the air rifle, she launched an attack and tried to switch back to her rapier. However, with a loud bang, Rowville instantly moved to Shiori’s side and snatched away both her rapier and air gun before she could even attack.

"I’m going to discard this... Hmph!"

"Ah, ahhh...!? Ugh, ugh..."

Looking at the weapons he’d taken, Rowville snapped the rapier’s blade in half at the base and smashed the air rifle to pieces. Shiori was shocked that her weapons had been destroyed, but as she jumped back, she equipped her remaining weapon—the bow—and took a fighting stance.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Arrow Strike!"

Together with Chika, who had regained her balance, they launched an attack. Since she wasn’t wearing the [Archery Shrine Maiden Outfit]—the equipment for bows—aiming was quite difficult, but Shiori still managed to fire at Rowville.

"Too bad. You’re wrong."

"Ah...! Ah, ugh...!"

However, with a bang, Rowville dodged the attack, reappeared beside Shiori, picked up her bow, and broke it in half.

"No way...! In that case, at least try to confuse me with your movements..."

"Ah, ahhh!"

"One person secured."

Now Shiori had no weapons left. Since there was nothing else she could do, she considered at least acting as a tank to draw aggro for Chika’s sake—but Rowville’s left hand grabbed her neck and lifted her up, rendering her unable to do anything.

"O-older sister...!? Uh... ah!?"

"You’re under arrest too."

"Huh...!? Uh, Chika...!?"

Chika had been about to cast a spell, but seeing Shiori grabbed made her panic, and she was a little slow to react. Without missing the opportunity, Rowville moved to Chika with a bang, grabbed her neck with his right hand, and lifted her up. He then put his free hand into Chika’s uniform pocket, pulled out her student ID-shaped weapon, and tore it up.

With this, Shiori and Chika’s weapons were destroyed. They had completely lost the ability to fight.

"Ugh, ugh... uh, uhh..."

"Uh, uh, uh..."

"This is the end."

Chika in his right hand, Shiori in his left—he grabbed each of them, lifted them up, and pressed them against the wall. Rowville said this calmly.

"Uh, uh... that’s as far as we can go, okay... ♡"

"Ahhh... I lost... ♡"

While being stared at by Rowville with a look of superiority, Shiori and Chika secretly trembled with excitement at their defeat.

"Now... let’s have some fun."

Rowville, who had managed to capture the stunningly beautiful sisters with their perfect figures, also wore an excited smile. His hands were already lifting the two of them, but he raised the extra hands on each side of his body.