My stepsisters are sexy demons, and I must protect them
Chapter 61: The assault of the undead legion (2)

Chapter 61: The assault of the undead legion (2)

«B-Big sis...! No, big sis! Hang on, I’m coming!»

Yuzu rushes out of the house.

Tears running down her face.

She collapses in front of Rika — she’s still alive, but her breathing is weak and blood is pouring out uncontrollably.

«I’ll heal you, big sis... hang on, please...»

Yuzu’s voice trembles with sobs.

Hakuto stands frozen, shocked.

~Rika blocked the wyvern’s lightning. I’m sure! Then why is she...?!~

He looks past Rika.

He’s searching for something, and it doesn’t take long before he finds it.

Amid the chaos, Hakuto spots a reanimated corpse — most likely a human from N’Raeth.

It’s a very old bald man.

His body looks even more fragile because of the advanced decomposition.

He stands only by leaning on a thick staff, topped with a glowing pale blue orb that resembles a large opaque pearl.

Hakuto quickly compares the old man’s position to Rika’s.

He realizes — that guy is the one who hurt her.

~That bastard took advantage of the lightning as a distraction to hit her from behind!~

His doubts vanish when the old man tilts the staff forward.

The blue orb points at Yuzu — she’s healing Rika, licking the wound with dark pink saliva.

Rika writhes in pain.

While healing her, Yuzu gently strokes her hair to soothe her.

Luckily, thanks to Yuzu’s powerful healing saliva and the traces of vampire blood in Rika’s veins, the wound starts to close — slowly, but surely.

The blue orb starts glowing with a brilliant, crystalline aura.

Countless shards of ice fuse into a long, sharp icicle.

It launches instantly toward Yuzu — her back is turned to the man.

Because of where everyone is standing, only Hakuto sees it.

~It’s definitely an elemental mage!~

Hakuto doesn’t hesitate.

He dashes forward at lightning speed.

He intercepts the sharp ice projectile and shatters it with one sword strike.

The moment his feet hit the ground again, he leaps up and charges at the old man.

The reanimated elemental mage swings his staff again.

Ice shards spread through the air.

Suddenly, Hakuto’s body slows.

His muscles go cold — like they’re submerged in freezing water.

His dash stops short.

He falls forward from the momentum, face down.

He tries to get up right away, but his muscles feel paralyzed.

He can barely move.

The mage grabs the staff with both hands and lifts it high.

A massive cone of ice forms in mid-air, its point aimed at Hakuto.

Then the mage slams the staff down.

The icy cone falls — straight toward Hakuto, still frozen in place.

Then...

—BOOM!

The pointed ice block explodes into a thousand shards flying in every direction.

It was struck by something — a multicolored energy beam glowing purple and red.

Hakuto looks back.

Rika is still on the ground, arm stretched toward where the cone had been.

Her wound is almost closed now.

Yuzu keeps applying her healing saliva.

«T-Thanks, Rika...» Hakuto murmurs.

They exchange a brief look of warm complicity.

Moments ago, Hakuto saved Yuzu and Rika. Now, Rika saved him.

The elemental mage points the staff again — this time at both girls.

Another long, sharp icicle forms from the glowing blue orb.

Hakuto clenches his fists, grits his teeth, muscles tensed.

His body bursts into intense white flames — hot and engulfing, melting the ice locking his muscles.

It’s only possible thanks to months of harsh Sacred Flame training under Shin.

He dashes at the elemental mage again.

—SWISH!

A fast, clean slash cuts off both arms of the undead at the elbows.

The staff drops to the ground.

The icicle vanishes before being launched — and so does his rotting body, which burns to ashes in moments.

At that instant, another lightning bolt crashes from the sky.

This time, it targets Shin.

He dodges it without much trouble — he’s practically fighting with his gaze fixed on the sky, since the wyvern worries him more than the rest of the undead.

He evades the bolt with a calculated move that brings him closer to Chantal.

She’s still tearing through enemies with a sadistic, excited grin, shouting, «Is that all you’ve got, you rotting sacks of meat?! Come at me, fuckers! Come on!»

Her attitude is completely out of touch with the gravity of the situation, but Shin knows her well by now and doesn’t give it much thought.

«Chantal, we need to take down that wyvern as soon as possible — it’s too big a threat to ignore,» Shin says, shoulder to shoulder with her.

«If you’ve got an idea, spit it out already, old man Shin. It’s really annoying having to fight while also keeping an eye on that beast. I can’t enjoy myself properly when I’ve got to worry about being fried any second!» she snaps.

The two keep slashing nonstop, reducing undead to ashes one after another.

«I do have an idea, but...» Shin says, his gaze flicking briefly to Rika.

Her wound is completely healed, and she’s back to supporting her allies.

But it’s clear the pain hasn’t gone — she’s barely standing.

«...now that you’re a vampire, you should be able to use long-range spells,» Shin adds.

Chantal nods.

«The only long-range spell I can use is Burst — a Level 1 Blood Word — I doubt it’s anywhere near enough to bring that thing down!»

Shin gives a faint smile.

«You’re not the one who’s taking it down! Cover me!»

«Cover you...?» Chantal repeats.

But Shin is already gone before she can finish her sentence.

He has reached Rika.

«Can you carry me in flight?» he asks, giving little explanation — there’s no time.

Rika nods.

«Perfect. You need to take me just a bit higher than the wyvern and drop me on top of it. I’ll handle the rest. Think you can manage?»

«Of course, Dad!» she replies without hesitation.

For a moment, Shin’s heart warms — it’s the first time one of his stepdaughters calls him "Dad."

But there’s no time for sentimentality.

Rika grabs him from behind, her arms locked under his, and takes off into the sky — under the gaze of Chantal...

...and Hakuto.

He’s completely unaware of the plan.

~What the hell is Dad planning...? Don’t tell me... he wants Rika to launch him at the wyvern...? How the hell has that lunatic survived this long...?~

But even so, Hakuto smiles — a smile of pride and admiration for his father’s courage.

Despite his age and mutilation, he hasn’t lost his spirit or drive.

As soon as Rika takes flight, more creatures follow.

A handful of flying undead start chasing her.

Normally, she could shake them off without trouble.

But with Shin’s weight and her care not to drop him, her speed isn’t optimal.

The flying undead get closer every second.

One of them — an imp — reaches out.

His clawed fingers clamp tightly around Rika’s ankle.

He tries to unbalance her, but...

...a pink explosion of energy severs the imp’s arm.

The hand stays locked on Rika’s leg, but she shakes it off with a kick.

The rest of the body is incinerated.

«Sure would’ve been nice if you’d told me sooner what ’cover you’ actually meant,» Chantal grumbles, her arm extended upward, hand open.

The Blood Word Burst, infused with Sacred Flame, lets her strike the flying undead before they reach Rika and Shin.

Hakuto, realizing the situation, jumps in to support Chantal, allowing her to focus completely on protecting them.

But there’s a downside to this plan: no one is guarding the house.

Kagura and Yuzu are unprotected.

A massive, gray-skinned orc crashes through the front door.

«Mom, I’ll protect you! Stay back!» Yuzu shouts.

She’s now in her demon form — large purple wings, a scythe of solidified blood, her body wrapped in a fierce scarlet aura.

Yuzu knows perfectly well that Kagura, even as a high-level succubus, isn’t skilled in offensive magic.

She has no way to fight something like an orc.

But deep down, Yuzu knows she’s not strong enough either.

Still, she has no choice — she has to hold out until someone comes to save them!

Without a second thought, Yuzu lunges at the orc — her scythe raised, ready to strike down the undead.

But he blocks her too easily.

He grabs the weapon by its handle and rips it from Yuzu’s hands.

The scythe instantly dissolves into red smoke.

But Yuzu doesn’t give up.

She thrusts her hands forward — a red energy orb explodes, hitting the orc straight in the face.

He’s pushed back, but stays on his feet.

His face is only superficially damaged — the right side partially destroyed.

But it’s not enough.

The orc charges at her.

He slams his forehead into Yuzu’s chest with a sudden headbutt, sending her flying into the wall.

Yuzu collapses to the floor, at Kagura’s feet.

Tears of despair stream down the woman’s cheeks.

She screams her daughter’s name — but gets no response.

Kagura’s desperate gaze turns into rage.

She clenches her teeth and stretches her arms toward the orc.

From her hands, a blast of violet energy erupts.

It hits the undead straight in the chest, but barely scratches his thick, rotting flesh.

«I won’t let you take one more step toward my daughter!»

Countless other violet beams shoot at the orc.

The only thing they do is slow him down for a few seconds, forcing him back by a few steps.

Finally, Kagura falls to her knees, exhausted.

Her eyes are red from crying.

Her body trembles with fear.

A flash bursts through her mind.

A memory from fourteen years ago.

She sees herself collapsed, just like now.

In her arms, two newborns.

Before her — a decapitated vampire and a man wrapped in white flames, pointing a flaming sword at her.

«I...» Kagura gasps.

She stands back up, struggling.

«I... won’t let it happen again!»

But when she lifts her head, the orc is already upon her.

His fist is inches from her face.