“Sabom, heed my summons.”
As the clear voice echoed through the mountains, the ground trembled in an instant. A roar that seemed to devour the heavens itself rang out, as if a natural disaster had descended upon the world.
“Hrrrh—!”
It sounded like the cry of some massive creature, or perhaps the declaration of a demon intent on destroying the world.
In response, the clamor of armies from various races all around was swiftly detected by Xuefei. Her smile grew even more wickedly alluring as she floated into the air, her short skirt fluttering lightly. She resembled a goddess descended to earth—or an evil fallen angel.
“What is that?”
“Could it be that the guardian deity of the Endless Treasure is awakening? Damn it!”
“Prepare for battle!”
“Awoooo—!”
Upon hearing voices from different races, Celi’s face drained of color. Only then did she realize why Xuefei had ordered the guards to withdraw.
On the surface, all was calm, but in truth, the elite forces of every race lay hidden among the massive boulders, waiting for the perfect moment to strike—like bloodstained muzzles lurking in a dark forest.
One wrong move, and death would follow.
It was obvious that this place was a nexus of conflict and strife on the Camiran Continent, a meat grinder that pulverized anyone foolish enough to approach the Endless Treasure into bloody paste.
…But in front of Xuefei, all of it seemed like a joke.
She lightly raised her hand, and suddenly, a mountain slowly rose from the horizon, resembling a pitch-black sun.
If Laer hadn’t caught her, Celi would have tumbled onto a nearby boulder amid the violent shaking of the ground.
Laer said proudly, “Did you see that? That’s the power of Lady Xuefei.”
“Power on par with the gods…?”
It wasn’t a mountain. It wasn’t a sun.
Two prominent bull horns protruded from a knight’s helmet. A colossal suit of armor forged from bronze-colored stone giants slowly crawled up from underground. What appeared before everyone’s eyes was a warrior massive enough to be called a Giant—like a stone statue of a holy knight. Yet its unmistakably Demon Race features made it seem utterly perilous.
“Is that really a guardian? Have we incurred the wrath of the gods? Damn it, why?!”
“What the hell is that thing?!”
“We’ll need siege weapons for this! Does anyone have wide-area attack magic?!”
The stone armor towered two hundred meters high, and at what should have been its eyes, two crimson glows flickered—like a judgment upon all things in the world, searing itself deep into their souls.
Indeed, a being of that size couldn’t be overcome by the physical advantages of Beastmen or the like. Perhaps only siege weapons like catapults or ballistae could inflict any damage on such a monstrosity.
What Xuefei hadn’t told them was that the entity she had summoned, named “Sabom,” was beyond the reach of mere siege weapons.
Otherwise…
That battle never would have been so devastating.
During the first playthrough, when the Hero Party believed they had the strength to conquer the world, one of the Evil Dragon’s subordinates summoned this earth-shattering stone-armored giant just outside her territory.
Had the Great Sage not used an illusion spell to cover their escape in time, the Hero Party would have faced total annihilation.
Spotting Xuefei hovering in midair with her Dragon Wings unfurled, Sabom dropped to one knee with a thunderous thud. It shattered countless boulders and kicked up a storm of debris ten meters high, all while pledging its loyalty to Lady Xuefei.
Xuefei licked her cherry lips, clearly delighted with her summon.
“Very good, Sabom. Let those fools witness your power.”
“Hrrrh—!”
The Evil Dragon’s command was absolute. Sabom slowly rose to its feet and hefted a giant sword as tall as a twenty-story building. It spun the blade in the air like a propeller.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!”
The hurricane-force winds hurled stones flying, and the thousand-ton sword became a mere plaything in its grasp.
To shield Celi from being buried under the falling boulders, Laer conjured a purple barrier to block the meteor-like rocks plummeting from the sky. Even so, Celi’s legs went limp with terror, and she collapsed into Laer’s soft embrace. Amid the scene of devastation, she didn’t even notice anything amiss.
Screams then erupted from all directions.
The Pigmen were an independent race with physiques and fangs nearly identical to those of the Beastman Clan. Their wall-like bodies made them unstoppable on the battlefield, their roars enough to send weaker races fleeing in panic.
But now, they had only one thought:
“Impossible… Run! Run!”
“That thing can’t be beaten!”
They had heard a rumor that Princess Celi was coming for the Endless Treasure and planned to seize the opportunity—take out her incompetent guards and carry off the princess themselves!
And now, the beautiful dream had burst like bubbles, leaving nothing in their hearts but despair. They could only leap out from the giant boulder like an ant separated from its colony and bolt for their lives.
The stone giant Sabom took a step forward with his right leg. The seemingly unsteady boulder smashed another massive crater dozens of meters wide into the ground. He locked onto the pigman’s position, crouched low, and dragged his enormous stone sword behind him, gouging a hideous crack into the earth like a yawning canyon.
Then, in the next instant, Sabom braced with his right foot and swung his left leg forward. His giant sword zeroed in on the direction the pigman was fleeing and came crashing down like a meteorite onto the jumble of rocks.
In a flash, the already ravaged earth suffered even more devastation. Screams and wails rose in succession, heralding the grim overture of death.
It was like hell itself…
“Now, those guys shouldn’t come bothering us anymore…,” Xuefei said as she flew up to the pair, her smile still lingering on her face.
But when she saw Laer clutching Celi so tightly, Little Dragon Girl froze in place.
What was going on with these two?
Celi nestled in Laer’s arms like a frightened bird, her face a picture of terror.
“You two… don’t tell me…?”
Celi realized something was wrong and immediately wriggled free from Laer’s embrace, her cheeks flushed with apology.
“Sorry, sorry! Laer, I—I didn’t mean to!”
From any angle, what she’d just done was way over the line!
It was practically like groping her…
But Laer showed no sign of discomfort. Instead, she smiled warmly. “It’s fine. We’re sisters now, aren’t we? Didn’t I tell you to call me Sister Laer?”
“Y-Yes… Sister… Laer…”
Only then did it click for Xuefei.
Did Laer have a thing for Celi?! Otherwise, she’d have been ice-cold about it.
No, no way…
Where in the world did all these girls in the contacts come from? Could Leia’s influence have rubbed off on her, making her fall for cute girls?
But as Laer’s sly grin grew more pronounced, Celi’s mind went blank, and Xuefei’s head filled once more with question marks of every size.
Love was already such a fuzzy concept for her, so who could say for sure…
Something like the kindhearted Snake Demon Princess getting completely devoured by an evil female Demon clanswoman…
That probably wouldn’t happen, right?
