Chapter 12 - "Let's settle this long fought war."

Act 1 - Over the Sea We Go

"Amazing! So this is the sea?!"

"You've never been to one before?"

"No, not even back on Earth! This is a first!"

A couple of days had passed since Ren had decided to meddle in the invasion of the demons in the western archipelago, mostly thanks to his two wives convincing him. Along with his family, he also brought along Sahnper's hero, Arthur who, despite losing by a landslide to Ren in their duel, was still a force to be reckoned with.

The four of them were hanging around in the docks of Warspite, waiting for their ride that will take them across the sea. As they were waiting, Arthur was sightseeing around the place, meanwhile Karis, and Kurumi were simply sitting with Ren on an empty crate.

"I'm bored..."

"Me too..."

"Just a little more. Our boat will be here soon... at least I hope it would."

As they await the arrival of their ride, they distracted themselves by watching people work in the docks, carrying crates, and transporting some shipments on merchant ships. Ren noticed that there were a lot more demons here compared to when he last visited. It seemed like demon manpower was pretty demanded these days.

"Can't we just wait in the inn?" Karis suggested.

"Hey, I know what's on your mind, and forget it. We'll completely miss our boat if we went along with your antics," Ren denied.

"Oh? Well if it isn't our boy wonder and his demon wife. Been a while since I've seen you around these parts," a man cut in as he approached Ren and his party. The man walked with a cane in his hand, aiding him to stand as upright as possible.

"You are... oh it's boss man. How are you doing?" Ren replied, noticing the face of the person that he used to work for back in his early days in Warspite.

"Well, I'm pretty much retired from any physical labor now. Hurt my back pretty badly and I was advised to take it easy. I'm just mostly on supervising duty nowadays. Doesn't matter though since these demons have been quite invaluable here."

"I see, seems like age is catching up to you."

"Damn right. So anyway, who's this girl? I believe I haven't seen her before," the man said as his gaze set on Kurumi who was looking at him curiously.

"This girl is Kurumi, an old friend of mine."

"Friend?!" Kurumi exclaimed.

"Fine, fine. I guess you could also call her my second wife," Ren corrected. Kurumi made a satisfied smile in response.

"Hoh, another wife huh? Then again it's you so there's no point in questioning about it. Nice to meet you young miss."

"Nice to meet you too."

Kurumi bowed slightly as she said her greetings to which the man also bowed in response even though he was unfamiliar with the gesture.

"It's rare to see you here in the docks. What are you here for?" the man asked Ren once again.

"We're going to the Western Archipelago," Ren gave a straightforward answer.

"The Western Archipelago huh? That's quite a strange choice of destination. From what I heard, that place has been under demon siege for more than a year now. We even delivered a shipment of weapons to them if you remember from back then."

"You mean that huge shipment we had that one time?"

"Yep, the one where you worked way overtime."

"I see, well that's exactly why we're going there or rather I was persuaded to."

"And that young lad in armor is with you?" the man said as he looked at Arthur who was catching too much attention as he ran around like an overly enthusiastic child.

"That's right. This is a huge battle we're going to. His help would be invaluable."

"Him only? Aren't you going to recruit more? The king's knight order? Any other fellow heroes?"

"I'm more than enough to fight that war, I only recruited him so that I wouldn't be worried about anything else. As for the other heroes, I don't even know where they are, except for this one right here, but she's no fighter."

"This young miss is a hero as well huh... as expected of you. You attract quite a set of interesting people around you--"

As the man was speaking, a large honk was heard all throughout the docks. Ren, Karis, Kurumi, and the man turned their heads to search for the source of the noise. Arthur followed along as well.

"Looks like that's your ride," the man spoke.

"Seems like it. Well, it's been nice catching up to you. We'll be taking our leave now," Ren replied.

"Yeah, go ahead. I'm praying for your victory. I hope this is the last battle that we'll have to face."

"Take care of yourself now."

After saying his farewell, Ren and his group gathered together and headed towards their boat. They carried along their luggage full of emergency rations, and canteens of water. They have to be prepared on their trip after all and food wasn't included on transportation fee.

"Hey, hurry it up."

"Oh, coming Senpai!"

Ren motioned for Arthur to come over who was still marveling at the sights at the docks. They headed for the caravel that was being prepared to board passengers by the crew. A plank was placed down in an incline to allow Ren and the others to get on the ship from a lower position.

"Welcome," a demon with four arms greeted as they hopped on the deck of the ship.

"Welcome your highness," he said to Karis when his eyes met hers.

"Geez, I said there's no need to address me with that," Karis pouted.

"Sorry but you're asking for the impossible. I simply cannot address someone of your status so casually."

"How long till we get to the place?" Ren asked.

"Will take about 3 days, counting possible storms on the way. Although we won't be taking you there entirely."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll take you a fair distance away from land, then bring you the rest of the way to the island on boat," the crewman explained.

"I haven't heard of this..." Ren said, surprised as he turned his gaze to the demon.

"Hey don't ask me, I was just told to say it to you. If you have any questions, go speak to the captain."

As advised, Ren and his crew went to the bridge of the boat where there stood a man in gaudy clothing. He had an eye-patch on his right eye, and some golden earrings dangling on his ears. He was overseeing all of the crew on board, ordering commands, and making sure that everyone was doing their job well. He saw Ren's group approaching him and immediately came to greet them.

"Ahoy there, you Drake's friend?" the man asked.

"Ah yeah, that would be us. Pleasure to meet you captain," Ren greeted back.

"I see, I see, welcome aboard. Keep yourself comfortable. Any friend of Drake is a friend of mine. So, how can I help you?"

"I heard from one of the crews that you're not going to take us all the way to the destination?"

"Oh yes. We're going to anchor out at sea nearby the outermost islands and have one of our crew take you the rest of the way by boat," the captain explained.

"Why is that?"

"It's been that way since the demon invasion son. We can't have our ship get anchored on the immediate territory else we might get plundered. That place has been dangerous for us seafarers because of those demons."

"I see, that's understandable. As long as we get to the place it doesn't matter."

"Great! Now just sit tight, and after all preparations are done, we can set out."

Ren shook the captain's hand and went on to one of the cabins along with his group. Ren, Karis, and Kurumi were assigned to one cabin, while Arthur was separated from them on his own. As soon as they entered their rooms, they plopped their luggage down at the floor then Ren went and threw himself on the bunk bed. Karis and Kurumi followed right behind, sitting on the bed right beside Ren.

As they sat down, Karis noticed a gloomy atmosphere around Kurumi. Karis approached her and held her hands.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah."

"It's fine, whenever you feel scared just come to us."

"I know. Thanks... I'll try my best not to cause trouble for you since I can't fight anyway."

Karis pulled Kurumi's head over to her chest and started patting it to calm her down. Kurumi happily received the act of affection and just allowed herself to drown in the calming scent of Karis' bosom.

"You two looked more like married couple than me and any of you," Ren remarked as he turned his back on the bed and set his gaze on the two before him.

"Well, you suck at comforting," Kurumi pouted as she pulled Karis' body closer to hers.

"The hell didja say?!"

"Oh? Then prove me wrong."

Accepting her challenge, Ren snatched Kurumi's head away from Karis' chest and began patting it in her stead.

"There, there. It's alright you crybaby," he said as he ran his hand behind Kurumi's head.

However, instead of comfort, Kurumi could only feel irritation while she felt Ren's heavy hands, and suffocating hug enveloping her.

"Can't. Breathe."

Kurumi summoned all of her strength to break free from Ren's grip, pushing him away and causing herself to fall back a bit from the recoil.

"Dummy! Are you trying to kill me?!" Kurumi exclaimed.

"You're the dummy, you can't die remember," Ren snapped back in a nonchalant attitude.

"I can still feel pain! And in what culture is what you're doing comforting? I knew it, you suck at comforting people! Except...in bed of course..." Kurumi shyly admitted.

Karis happily watched as the two of them argued against each other, although it was just a one-sided argument as the other party wasn't even responding properly. She let out a soft giggle which made the two turn to her. Kurumi then followed after with a soft laugh as well and Ren merely smiled as he saw his two wives having fun with each other.

"Gloomy atmosphere gone," he declared.

A few minutes later, the three of them felt a sudden jerk as they feel the boat began to move.

"Oh, looks like we're setting out," Ren said as he noticed the boat's movement.

Karis and Kurumi went out to the nearest window wherein they saw that they really did left the harbor. Warspite was moving farther and farther away as the current of the seas, and the blow of the wind carried them westward. The two girls brought their heads out the window to savor the scent of the sea breeze, brushing against their faces. Ren approached them from behind, taking a look outside but not squeezing himself in between the girls.

"Careful now, you don't want to fall here," Ren warned.

"It's fine, even if we did fall you'll save us right?"

"Still, I would prefer to avoid that alternative... also Kurumi?"

"Yeah?"

"Just curious, will you die by drowning?"

"Ahh, how insensitive. Why yes I did drown before but I just lived with the water in my system until it either burst out of my body or I just simply spat out the water."

"I see..."

"What's with that line of questioni~ ahn!"

Kurumi's question was interrupted as Ren swiftly removed her undergarments and began licking her down below while she was hunched on the window. Kurumi felt her grip on the window frame weaken as waves of sudden pleasure invaded her brain.

"My, it's rare for you to make the first move. Don't forget about me," Karis said as she noticed Ren's sudden offense. She then followed through by removing her own garments, letting her bare crotched exposed to Ren.

"Well, we've got time to waste now so why not," Ren replied in a muffled voice as his tongue was currently occupied. He then followed through Karis' invitation by using his finger to pleasure her.

Ren's journey to the western archipelago proceeded through peacefully as the days were filled with the sound the waves, the enthusiastic singing of the crew, and the occasional passionate noises in one certain room down below.

It was the calm before the storm.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act 2 - The Goddess Returns

Days had passed by on the high seas without much trouble. There were some storms along the way which the crew had easily handled thanks to their long experience onboard. Apart from that, it was all clear skies, and sunny days.

"Senpai, you awake?"

A knock came on the door of Ren's cabin, along with the voice of his fellow hero, Arthur who was calling for him.

"Senpai?" he knocked again.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Ren groggily replied as he stood up from his bed. He grabbed his shorts, littered on the floor, and put them on. He then covered the naked body of his two wives with the blanket before proceeding to the door.

"What is it?" Ren asked with a yawn while rubbing his eyes.

"We're about to leave soon. The captain said to get ready in a few hours," Arthur replied.

"I see, I'll go wake them up and we'll be on deck shortly."

"Alright, I'll go tell them. Also, try not to sneak in anymore of those... morning sessions... the captain wants to leave this place as soon as possible."

"You don't have to tell me."

Ren then closed the door in front of Arthur and went back to his wives while stretching his arms, and body on the way. Before waking the two of them up, Ren first made a detour to the window and took a look outside. Sure enough, an island was in sight a fair distance away from their current location. Boating to it would be no trouble, and would take a small amount of time. He then made his way back to the bed and shook the bodies of the sleeping girls.

"Wake up you two. We're here," he called out. No response.

"Hey," he repeated, putting a bit more force in his shaking. Karis showed signs of waking up as she rolled her body on the bed. Kurumi did the same, rolling her body to face towards Karis. Now the two of them were facing each other.

"Hehehe, morning ki--" Karis puckered out her lips and pushed her face forwards, pressing it into Kurumi who was in front of her. However before they could make contact, Ren blocked her path with his hand.

"Alright stop right there. We can't make any more delays."

"Mmm... so stiff... Hmm? Oh, Ren? Mlem."

Recognizing that Ren's finger was on her lips, Karis gave him a playful lick as she began to wake up. She sat up from her position and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes.

"Morning," she greeted with a yawn while stretching her body.

"Help me wake up Kurumi, we need to depart soon."

"Okaaay! How about a wake up kiss?"

"I literally just stopped you from doing that because we don't have any time to spare."

"Fine..."

At Ren's request, Karis started shaking Kurumi's body to wake her up. In the meantime, Ren was gathering all of their belongings near the door so as to have an easier time going out.

A few minutes later, all of the departing crew had finally gathered on the deck, though Kurumi was still half asleep for some reason. The captain prepared the boat that was to be used for the rest of the way.

"Let's see... judging by the weight balance, Yan-kun, you're assigned on departing duty," he ordered.

"Roger!" a man stepped up. He was the same man, or rather demon, that greeted Ren's group as they boarded the ship.

"Good! Alright, all of you board the boat now! We're going to start lowering it!"

At the captain's orders, Ren, along with his group and the crewmate assigned to them boarded the small boat, hanging on ropes at the side of the caravel. As they got on, everyone on the ship gently lowered the ropes, letting the weight of the boat pull itself down onto the sea ever so slowly. The crew was so coordinated that the boat didn't even go off balanced on the way down. Finally, on the last few feet down, the boat was let go all at once, making it drop down onto the sea with a splash. The boat rocked a bit but immediately balanced itself without effort.

"Alright, let's go," the demon called Yan said as he started rowing the boat. Thanks to his four arms, he was able to row the boat with double the amount of power one man would normally do as he used two pairs of paddles. Everyone on the ship waved goodbyes to the passengers leaving them.

"Good luck out there lads!"

"We're rooting for you!"

"Make it out alive then we'll have a drink back at the docks!"

They all shouted. Karis smiled as she heard the cries of the men on board. She waved her arms back towards them as she said her farewells. Kurumi waved her hands as well along with Arthur who was in fact so enthusiastic by their cheers that he was feeling a bit conceited about himself. Ren on the other hand, didn't think about it to much. He's not the type after all to warmly receive such attentions.

Soon enough, the voices of the crew can no longer be heard, and the calm waves of the sea was the only sound that reached the boat.

"So, what's our plan here Senpai?" Arthur asked, attempting to strike a conversation.

"You're on guard duty. I'll handle the demon army alone. Simple as that," Ren bluntly replied.

"Wha-, Senpai, surely you didn't bring me here just for that lame job. I want to go have some fun too."

"Oh, you'll be doing an important job alright. Karis, and Kurumi here are going to handle evacuating the inhabitants of that place into safety. However, I don't exactly trust those guys that they'll just quietly follow orders from two random girls, one of them being someone that they did wrong before. And that's where you come in, you make sure none of my wives get hurt. Are we clear?"

"But I want to go help fight in the war too. That's more important right?" Arthur complained.

"Don't get me wrong here Arthur, I'm not giving you a run-of-the-mill job. I assigned that to you because I have some degree of trust for you. I won't be able to fight in the frontlines properly if I'm not confident of my wives' safety."

"I see... so... this is an important job?"

"Extremely."

"Alright! Then leave it to me my great Senpai! I shall live up to your expectation!" Arthur proudly declared his commitment to the job.

"Oh, also... if ever one of them gets hurt, yep even Kurumi who can heal anyway, I will personally put you to the brink of death, wait for you to recover, and do the same thing over and over again until you break your mind and wished that you were never summoned in this world. Clear?" Ren threatened which made Arthur curl up a bit.

"Even a scratch?"

"Even a scratch."

"R-right, I'll do my best to protect them..." Arthur declared once again although quieter this time.

"Good, now let's get there in peace," Ren said, officially closing the conversation.

A few hours had passed, and the group had finally reached one of the most outermost islands of the archipelago. They landed on a quiet beach, far from civilization in any direction. Ren sharpened his senses for any possible surprise attacks, but he didn't detect anything of that sort at all.

"Well, this is as far as I can take you. Good luck to all of you. Karis-sama, I hope you succeed on uniting our race," Yan said as Ren's group finally left the boat and set foot on the sandy beach.

"Yes, I shall do my best so that this conflict will finally reach its conclusion, even if I have to bet my life on it," Karis replied.

Although Karis intended to state about her determination, Ren couldn't help but feel uneasy about what she just said. He tried to say something but decided against it as he might just cause a morale drop to the group.

After saying their farewells, Yan turned his boat around and went back to the ship. Ren and his group proceeded to the jungle area just before the beach. With Ren in the lead, they pressed onwards as they set out to first search for any signs of civilization.

They traversed through the unfamiliar land, passing through the tropical jungles, crossing large rivers, and climbing small hills. They took a few short breaks along the way for some quick snack and water break then continued onwards. Weirdly enough, even though it was a jungle, there were no edible fruits around, nor any sign of animals. The place was as barren as it possibly can. The sun was still high in the sky so they still have a lot of time to spare before night falls.

"Damn, I wasn't expecting a jungle safari trip when we get here, how far away is the nearest settlement?" Ren complained as he used one of Karis' katana to slash through the branches that got in his way.

"Kurumi-san has been here before right? Doesn't she know where the place is?" Arthur asked.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been outside much during my time here, and when I did get stowed away, I was placed inside a bag, then got took away by cart," Kurumi explained.

"If that's so, then why haven't we seen any roads nearby?"

"That's most probably on the western edge of the archipelago. They did land on Sahnper after all when she got taken away. However the demon army is coming from the northern part of the central continent, meaning they're mostly going to attack the archipelago's west side fir--"

As Ren was voicing out his thoughts, he stopped as he noticed a strange smell coming from the air.

"This is... hey, don't you guys smell something burning?" he asked as he turned his head to his companions. They then smelled the air intently, trying to figure out what caught Ren's nose.

"It's true, something's burning," Arthur confirmed Ren's observation.

"It's coming from that direction, let's go!" Ren said as he quickly ran to the northwestern direction, slashing through the trees as fast as he could with the rest of his team following right behind.

After running some more distance, they finally reached a clearing from out of the jungle wherein they witnessed an ongoing raid. Demons clad in armor were ransacking a small village. They burned the houses and fought with people who seemed to be the village's defenders. Most of the demons attacking were very similar to what Ren had fought back during the Ironblade Capital siege; killing machines who were behaving in a linear manner.

"Savages!" Karis exclaimed.

"What's going on here? How did they make it this far? Was the main defense force already wiped out? Anyway, get ready everyone, seems like evacuation is out of the question, we're charging head on!" Ren said as he gave Karis her katana back.

Drawing their weapons, Ren, Karis, and Arthur rushed to the scene with Kurumi following right behind. They needn't worry about her being injured since she's practically immortal but she still wouldn't want to be left behind. One of the villagers saw her running along with the group. His eyes widened as tears began to form in his eyes.

"Am I dreaming?!"

Ren, and Arthur intercepted the enemy's frontlines, with Arthur slashing through the enemy ranks with his great sword. Ren on the other hand was simply bashing through the enemies with his metallic umbrella and shooting out some LE(Late-explosive) shots that blasted the backlines. Karis was on cleanup duty, picking off the few stragglers that managed to get through the two's line of defense. Kurumi was on moral support duty, not like she can do anything else.

"There's so many of them! Senpai, what do we do now?!" Arthur asked Ren, seeking him for any strategic advice.

"Buy me ten seconds, I'll clear them all out in one shot," Ren replied.

"How?"

"Let loose your ability, surely you aren't a Hero for nothing right? Use that thing you used against me back then. You're on guard duty anyway, might as well use everything you have here."

At Ren's suggestion, Arthur let loose his fighting spirit, extending the reach of his blade and his armor started glowing with a golden color.

"[Unbreakable]!"

With his enhanced form in effect, Arthur began sweeping off the demons, sending them back as far as he can. In the meantime, Ren was focusing as he gathered mana on the palm of his right hand. Wind particles began gathering in a sphere in front of his palm, rotating violently. He used his free hand to support his active hand as he points the wind sphere towards the demon army.

"How much longer Senpai? I don't know how long I can hold all of them off!" Arthur shouted as he struggled to keep all of the demons from breaking through their line, also the fact that his ability was exhausting him rapidly.

"I'm not supposed to use this ability without enough adrenaline! Senpai!"

"I got it! I got it! Move out of the way, you two!" Ren shouted to Karis, and Arthur who was in front of him. At his command, the two then jumped back a fair distance away, landing just beside Ren.

"TEM~ RUI~" Ren shouted as the wind sphere he was creating exploded in a fan-shaped trajectory, sending all the demons flying away. Even the trees that were on the way of the wind storm got blown away, up to the very grass that covered the ground.

The blast was so strong that Ren felt himself getting pushed back a bit by the recoil, but he held his ground, however Karis, Arthur, and Kurumi were knocked back a fair distance away. After the attack was over, the demon army that was attacking was nowhere to be seen. Grasses were torn off, and trees were uprooted, and a massive fan-shaped barren land was left in front of Ren.

"Holy shit..." Arthur couldn't help but voice out his amazement.

"Amazing... Ren..." Kurumi let out her impressed reaction as well.

"As expected of my master," Karis proudly said.

However it wasn't just the three of them that witnessed Ren's display of power. The villagers who were left alive saw the spectacle as well.

"So it is true after all!"

"She brought them along!"

"She had come to save us!"

"Our goddess has returned!"

The villagers all cried out in joy as they demon raid on their village was stopped by their so-called goddess, and her companions.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act 3 - The Exiled Soldier

After the short demon skirmish had been dealt with, the surviving villagers gathered around their saviors, making some surprised remarks about their appearances.

"Is that a knight? Where did he come from?"

"Am I seeing things? Did that boy really just blew away that huge army in an instant?"

"Hey! Is that a demon?!"

The villagers exchanged words, and questions amongst one another. As they were minding their own business, Kurumi raised her hand to force everyone's attentions onto her.

"Everyone! Listen! We're here to help you against the demon invasion! Tell me please, where are their main force?" she spoke out as loud as she can so that everyone could hear her. However, instead of answers, the villagers focused their eyes on her as her face was being familiarized by them.

"Hey! That's the goddess of fertility right?" a man screamed from behind.

At the man's words, one by one the villagers were able to realized why her face seemed familiar.

"You're right! It is the goddess! She's returned for us!"

The villagers all started sprinting towards Kurumi. Even the injured ones did their best to catch up with the rest of them.

"Oh goddess of fertility! I am terribly injured! Please let me have a drink of your blood!"

"I haven't eaten for three days! Please let me have a piece of your flesh!"

The villagers screamed their wishes as they ran forward, almost causing a stampede. Kurumi's body shook once again as her past trauma was relived by the incoming wave of people. Ren noticed the uneasiness that Kurumi was feeling and decided to hop into action. He stomped his foot heavily on the ground, activating his most preferred spell to stopping people in their tracks. The ground shook slightly, making everyone in the area unsteady on their feet, except for Karis who was already used to the sensation.

Arthur, Kurumi, and all the villagers fell on the ground with a loud thud. After a few more seconds of quaking, Ren stopped his spell, gathered his breath, and shouted at the villagers as loud as he could.

"SHE'S NOT LIVESTOCK YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR HUMANS!"

His shout echoed so loudly that the villagers felt the vibration of the air in their bones. The shout even went as far as send a shockwave that broke some pieces off of the broken houses of the villagers.

After his outrage, Ren took a deep breath to calm himself down. He offered Kurumi his hand, and assisted her to stand back up on her feet.

"I'm giving you one chance before I decide to wipe these people off from the face of this world," Ren said to Kurumi, to which she replied with a silent nod.

Kurumi gathered her thoughts, and took a deep breath as she delivered her message to the people.

"I'm not here to return to you, I was never your goddess of fertility in the first place, but I still desire to help you defend yourselves against the demons, so please, if you know anything, tell us."

"But our goddess, ever since you left us, we've been starving ourselves, eating only trees from leaves and the grass off the ground, without your flesh, all of us here will starve to death one day!"

"That's right! And we also have lots of injured people here! They're in dire need of your blood!"

"Please! Save my children, give us your flesh!"

As the villagers were shouting for their demands, Ren's patience was reaching its limit. Karis could feel that anytime soon and Ren was going to mercilessly incur his wrath upon these people. She held his arm in hopes that she could at least quell his anger and buy Kurumi all the time she needed to talk to the people.

Kurumi, sensing that her time was running out, decided to put her plan into action. She grabbed her bag, and pulled something from inside it. It was a glass bottle full of red liquid.

"Hey, you?!" Ren exclaimed as he saw what Kurumi was holding.

"Just for now, they definitely need it. Please let me do it."

"Tch, not that I can do anything to stop you now."

"Thank you."

Kurumi raised her hand in the air, showing all the villagers the bottle in her hand.

"Sadly, I can no longer offer you my flesh, however I can still heal you with this! Heal yourselves back up and evacuate the island! Use the trees and make yourselves some rafts to bring you to the central continent! We'll take care of the demons here!"

The villagers exchanged glances after hearing Kurumi's proposal. They talked amongst themselves, deciding on what to do. Some wanted to live to fight another day, while there are also some who refuses to leave the island.

"Enough with this!" an old man suddenly shouted. He stepped forward in front of the crowd and confronted Kurumi.

"Chief..."

"Don't take any orders from this girl who abandoned us in our time of need! Several of ours died in hunger because we lost the one stable source of food that we have, and some also died from sickness that could've been cured by her blood. This girl has no right to order us around."

"But chief..."

"Hush it!"

Before Kurumi could protest, the chief swung his arm to hit her in the face however before he could land it, Ren was able to move quickly and grabbed the chief's hand.

"What?!"

"Goddess of Fertility, or a regular girl. Pick one damn it! You're using either titles at your convenience!" Ren said as he tightened his grasp on the old man's wrist.

"Ow ow ow ow! Stop it you bastard!"

The chief was forced to kneel as Ren's grasp on him tightened. Despite the chief's cry for help, Ren didn't cease on enforcing his grab on his hand. Until...

CRACK

"GAGHHHHHH!" the chief howled in pain as his wrist was crushed, bending his hand in the wrong way. Ren let go of the chief's hand and let him succumb in pain as he rolled on the ground.

"YOU BASTARD! HERETIC! OUR GODS AND GODDESSES SHALL INCUR THEIR WRATH UPON YOU!" the old man cursed.

"You know, I never considered to save you lunatics. I could let you all die here in the hands of the demons for all I care but this girl that you're shouting on convinced me to go help out. So I believe you're in no position to be talking on such a high pedestal."

"Ren..."

"Now go, heal up and leave this place before I change my mind and choose the easier way to handle this."

"Gh!"

Ren grabbed the bottle from Kurumi's hands and tossed it to one of the nearby villagers. As told, they all gathered together, sharing the bottle of blood to heal all the injured villagers.

"I see, no wonder my army got wiped out," a voice suddenly said from behind.

Ren and his group turned around to look for the source of the voice. A half naked man with his armor all torn up stood on the opposite side of the field. He leaned on his blade as drops of blood trickled from his body, and his legs clearly weakened.

"Hoh? Well well well, long time no see," Ren greeted to the man.

"You know him Senpai?" Arthur asked.

"Of course, he's one of the people that greeted me with a warm welcome when I came to this world. If I'm not mistaken... you're name was Lawrence right?"

"So you remember my name, I'm honored."

Indeed, it was the same person that was at that throne room. Lawrence, Ironblade's champion, now once again stood in front of Ren, wounds scarred his body, and the protection of his armor was destroyed effortlessly.

"How did you find yourself siding with the demons? I thought you were Ironblade's greatest knight? Although, you do look kinda out of shape. Seems like you also received that blast of mine in the face," Ren mocked.

"Heh, I would never serve a king with no backbone ever again! That's why I defected to the demons, and I was promised a good life in their ideal world! And as the knight that fights for the Demon Lord, I shall bring him victory!"

As Lawrence screamed his battle cry, his body began to morph. His muscles suddenly started pulsing violently, as they do, they grew in size, from the soles of his foot, to the edges of his finger tips, all the muscle in his body enlarged. Not only that, spikes also started protruding from his body, running along his back like a spine and extending into a tail. His fingers all reshaped themselves, turning into claws with razor-sharp edges. Finally, his head had morphed into that of a dragon as his mouth protrudes outward, turning into a snout, and his skin changed into scales. After his transformation, he let out a deafening roar that reached the ears of the villagers.

"What's that?!"

"A monster!"

"Run!"

The villagers all screamed in fear at the draconic being's sudden appearance. Lawrence let out another roar and shot a ball of fire into the sky. The ball then, at its maximum height, exploded into smaller embers, scattering in a circular pattern, burning all the trees and grasses that it landed too. All of the villagers are now trapped, along with Ren, his group, and Lawrence, in a circle of flame, to which there are no escape.

"Hah! I will hold all of you here until his highness arrives! Better yet, I'll just kill you all with this power that the demons had granted me!" Lawrence screamed.

"Senpai, what now? This guy seems powerful after that transformation." Arthur asked.

"..."

"Senpai?"

"..."

"Senpai! What do we--"

Before he could finish, Arthur was suddenly surprised as he blinked and saw that Ren, who just in front of him moments ago, was nowhere to be found. In an instant, as he was speaking, he was gone.

"GWARGHHHH!"

Following that was the scream coming from their enemy. Arthur turned his head to look, and was surprised that Ren was already there, stabbing his umbrella into the beasts chests.

"H-how?!" both Arthur and Lawrence cried out in surprise.

"I have no time for fodders like you. Bring me the Demon Lord right now!" Ren demanded as he shoot an AP(Armor Piercing) bullet from his umbrella, piercing through Lawrence's draconic skin with ease.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act End - Arrival

Ren's AP shot pierced through Lawrence's tough hide, making him stumble backwards and coughed out blood in pain.

"Hoh? I was aiming for your heart. Looks like I missed," Ren said as he let his opponent catch his breath.

"Bastard, how did you get to me in an instant?!"

"What kind of idiot reveals his tricks?" Ren replied as he swung his foot at full force and kicked Lawrence in the chin. The impact sent him flying upwards to which Ren then followed it up by charging his umbrella.

"Gwagh!" Lawrence screamed as he received another barrage of attacks from Ren. The bullets this time however, didn't pierced him but instead stuck on to him and exploded a few moments later, knocking him backwards. Ren ceased his attacks once again, letting Lawrence catch his breath as if playing around with him.

"Impossible! This is impossible! How?! How am I still outmatched, I can't even stall for time. At this rate I'll be dead before the main force gets here!"

"How long you last doesn't matter, the results will be the same."

"!!!"

Lawrence turned his head around as he heard a voice behind him, only to have his face met with Ren's incoming leg. The impact brought the dragon-man's head driven into the ground. Ren stomped on top of him, furthering his humiliation in front of the villagers.

"Damn it! Aghh!"

As Lawrence struggled to bring his head up, Ren pushed him back further. There wasn't even a competition, Lawrence was being completely overwhelmed by Ren's heroic strength.

"Damn it all!" he screamed as he brought his knuckles into the ground.

"Hmm?!"

"Draconic Catastrophe!"

The ground shook violently, and suddenly ruptured, creating a rift that spread across the entire place. Some pieces of land rose, while some also sank. Karis, and Kurumi found themselves standing on one of the sinking terrain.

"HA HA HA! HOW'S THAT?!" Lawrence gloated after unleashing his attack. Ren got caught off guard that he let his feet lose pressure on Lawrence's neck, allowing him to break free and jump back a fair distance away.

"Tch!"

"Senpai! Leave this to me!" Arthur shouted from the other side. He then stabbed his great sword into the ground, digging as deep as he can.

"Hah!"

At his scream, the shaking ground got pushed apart, creating one massive rift in the middle. The shaking terrain was drove to the edge, lowering the floor level and letting everyone in the area fall down. All of the soft soil were pushed apart, leaving only pure bedrock for everyone in the area to stand on. Thankfully, it wasn't such a big fall and the villagers were able to get away with minimal injury. The ground was finally stabilized, and even the flames that surrounded them got extinguished as it loss its source of fuel. However, all of the parties involved are now trapped in a giant hole.

"Good going there newbie," Ren praised his ally's efforts.

"Thank you!"

"But it looks to me that Karis, and Kurumi were scratched. What are you going to say about that?"

"Ghk!" Arthur gulped in fear as he remembered what Ren said earlier about protecting his wives, and the punishment that was to follow if he failed to do so.

"We're fine!"

"Same here!"

Karis, and Kurumi both called to Ren as they waved their arms. Both Ren, and Arthur turned their gazes at the two girls who seemed unscathed despite what happened.

"I see. Guess your safe for now," Ren said.

"Thank you madams!" Arthur brought his hands together and bowed down as the two girls just saved him from a terrible fate.

"This is going to be difficult now though, we're pretty deep in the ground... Hmm? Where's that bastard?"

Ren turned his focus back to his opponent, who was nowhere to be found. He searched his surroundings, but there was no sign of Lawrence anywhere.

"Senpai! Above you!"

"?!"

Ren turned his head up as was told and there he found Lawrence, jumping onto him from above. He tried to use his time stop ability, but it doesn't seem to be working. After realizing that it was useless to keep trying, he himself dodged out of the way, but was swept away by the shockwave caused by Lawrence dropping on him on such a height. Ren rolled sideway on the ground, landing a few feet away from Lawrence.

"What the hell? Why didn't that work?" Ren asked himself after failing to use his time stop.

"Hah! Seems like you're just a pushover after all. You may be powerful, but your body is no different to that of a human. All I need is one good hit then I can kill you!" Lawrence said as he assumed Ren's fatal weakness.

"Quite confident are you? I simply made one mistake and now you think you stand a chance? Fine then, come here, I'll receive your attack head on and break your pathetic delusion."

"Oh, is that so? Then, let me accept your offer!"

Lawrence then used the opportunity to begin gathering mana on his right arm. As Ren promised, he wasn't doing anything and let Lawrence charge up his attack, and he intended to take it all in the face.

"Senpai?! What are you doing? This is the perfect time to take him out, while he's not moving!"

"Shut it newbie. This guy won't stop unless I crushed not just his body, but his spirit as well."

A few seconds later, Lawrence's right arm was now enveloped in flame with a bluish-white color. His arm had also increased in size by a bit compared to his left arm. He then went on a ready stance, about to charge Ren with all his might.

Ren, in response, merely stood in his current position, placing his hands behind himself. He straightened his posture, and looked at his attacker straight in the eye. Arthur, and Kurumi looked at him with worry in their eyes, however Karis was just wearing a confident smile on her face.

"Rigel Smash!" Lawrence screamed as he leaped towards Ren. His body was travelling at such high speeds despite his size. He kept going onwards until finally, his enhanced fist had made contact with Ren's body.

"Senpai!"

"Ren!"

"..."

As Lawrence drove his fist stronger, the sounds of cracking bones were heard, echoing throughout the valley. The crunching sound was so loud that the villagers were able to feel the noise, making their body shake a bit as if a bad tingle had stimulated them.

"Gagh!!!!" however, much to most of the people's surprise, it was Lawrence, the attacker, who was falling to his knees in pain. He held his right arm with his left hand as he hunched on the ground. Ren had no injury anywhere on his body, and was still standing strong.

"My bones! My bones!" Lawrence howled as he rolled over and over on the ground.

"Now you realize how much I'm playing with you? Now, where are your superiors?"

"Agh!"

Ren stomped Lawrence's right arm with left foot, confining him on the ground. He drove his feet deeper, crushing the arm all the way to the bone.

"I-I won't talk! I don't... need to! Hah, soon... soon they will reach this place, and it'll be your end!" Lawrence replied in between pants as he felt the intense pain in his broken arm.

"Is that so? Then I'll just--"

"Senpai! Look out!"

Arthur rushed to Ren, bringing his shield up and blocking the rain of incoming arrows. Thankfully, Arthur was able to block all the projectiles for Ren, although that wasn't the case for Lawrence as he received some hits on his sides and legs.

"Hey, what are you doing here?!"

"You were too distracted senpai!"

Arthur removed his shield, allowing him and Ren to see the source of the attack. What they saw were thousands of demons, gathered around the hole that they are in. They also spot three humans, tied on a pole and raised to the sky for all to see.

"So they're here..."

"Yeah..."

"Hehe! You fools are dead now! Better say your prayers, but be warned, not even the gods can help you out of this!" Lawrence chuckled as he saw the demon armada gathering at the ground above.

Karis and Kurumi stuck themselves together as countless demons surrounded them in all direction. Just then, a familiar figure appeared somewhere in the middle of the demon ranks. The demon that she grew up with when she was a child. The demon that was raised along with her by their father. It was the Demon Lord himself.

"Damian-onii-sama..." she whispered under her breath.

Ren sensed the overwhelming presence of the man clad in black armor. The presence was scarily similar to Karis, although a bit stronger.

"I see, so that's him. The Demon Lord," Ren remarked.

The Demon Lord, Damian, gazed at the sunken ground below. His eyes darted everywhere, from the villagers cowering at the back, the presence of his dear sister together with some unknown girl, and the two heroes standing right beside the lying body of his underling.

As he was looking, Damian's gaze caught Ren staring back at him as if challenging his gaze. He sensed the heroic power from within him, violently flickering like a raging flame. For the first time in his life, Damian felt his heart skip a bit, and a feeling of excitement rose within him. He unconsciously let out a smirk, as he does so Ren also did the same.

"So this is the hero that tamed Karis. Interesting. Interesting indeed!"

Damian withdrew his crimson blade and pointed it to his nemesis looking at him from below.

Ren responded by withdrawing his umbrella and pointed it at the Demon Lord looking at him from above.

"Now..." (Ren)

"Let's settle this long fought war." (Damian)