My stepsisters are sexy demons, and I must protect them
Chapter 100: Four hundred billion problems

Chapter 100: Four hundred billion problems

The massive roots crash down like whips, targeting Shin and then Hakuto, who stays by his side.

They dodge with a sharp sidestep—Shin in one direction, Hakuto in the other.

But when the thick vines strike the ground, the shockwave and gust of wind throw them off balance.

Shin manages to land on his feet, but Hakuto tumbles across the icy surface, bouncing like a stone skipping over water.

~Shit... I have to do something!~

Hakuto quickly jumps back to his feet, narrowly avoiding another lashing root.

Forced to distance himself from Shin, he now stands alone—he has to figure out how to endure and fight back without his father nearby.

He grips his diamond sword tightly with both hands—sharp spikes jut from the blade.

With a swift slash through the air, he sends them flying.

The shards rocket toward Eskari, trailing streaks of white flame behind them.

But they bounce off the protective bubble that constantly surrounds Eskari, leaving no mark.

The dark elf just glances at Hakuto, a mocking grin on his face.

Other roots lunge at the remaining Monster Reapers.

One goes after Zayn, who’s still in the air.

Right before it hits, he releases an electric field so intense it sets the root ablaze.

More vines attack Chris and Alexia, but they slice through them with powerful swings of their white-flame swords.

Still, Hakuto senses that most of Eskari’s offensive pressure is aimed at his father.

He wants to go help, but the tightening grip of roots blocks the way.

«You really must hate me, huh? But are you sure you’re not mistaking me for someone else? Happens to everyone,» Shin mutters, dodging yet another whip-like root that barely grazes him.

He’s getting tired—dodging so many blows is becoming harder by the second.

«You’re doing this on purpose to piss me off, aren’t you?!» Eskari snaps.

«Back when we fought, I had just joined the Cult of the Primordial Shadow, and it’s a miracle I survived... but now things are different! Now you are the one one step away from being obliterated, Shin Tendo!»

Those words don’t leave Hakuto untouched.

~My father... really defeated someone like that? I knew he was strong—the strongest—but not to this extent... Now I understand why people from N’Raeth fear his name~

«This whole situation is starting to piss me off...» Zayn growls.

He’s tearing out roots one after the other, but it’s useless—every time he destroys one, another rises from the ground to take its place.

Electricity swirls violently around him.

His annoyed gaze locks onto Eskari.

«Die, you damn dark elf.»

And then...

–WOOM!

Zayn shoots forward like a lightning bolt, slicing through everything in his path.

His white-flame sword, laced with lightning, slams into Eskari’s barrier with tremendous force, shaking the ground and widening the crater even more.

Eskari’s amused expression meets Zayn’s cold, sharp eyes—but that grin doesn’t last.

A crack appears on the barrier’s surface. Then another.

And another...

Zayn keeps pressing, pushing the protective shell downward with sheer strength.

«Y-You bastard... who the hell are you?!» the dark elf growls, his teeth clenched, his face twisted in rage.

More roots rise up around them, but Zayn’s crackling electricity burns them all to ash.

Then...

–CRACK!

The barrier shatters like glass struck by a rock.

The blade doesn’t stop—it plunges into Eskari’s skull and slices through him in a flash, cutting him clean in half before he can even scream.

Thick, green blood sprays everywhere, and the massive roots attacking the other Monster Reapers drop limply to the ground.

Hakuto freezes, eyes wide, staring at Zayn.

Eskari’s corpse, scorched by electricity, lies split in half at his feet.

~He... cut him in two with one strike?! Alexia was right about him... He’s the most unbearable person in the world, but when it comes to power... she wasn’t exaggerating when she called him the strongest Monster Reaper alive. Even stronger than someone like Chris, who holds the crystal of a Divine Dragon. We’re lucky he was here... otherwise, I don’t know how we would’ve made it out~

Hakuto’s eyes dart across the battlefield, searching for his father.

He exhales in relief when he sees him still standing, though his legs shake and barely hold him up.

But it’s not his condition that worries Hakuto.

It’s his eyes—wide open, filled with horror.

In a heartbeat, Hakuto rushes to his side.

«Dad, what’s wrong?» he asks, concern in his voice.

«Now I remember...» Shin murmurs, his voice trembling. «Now I remember him. It was a freezing winter, twenty years ago, when I fought Eskari deep in the Black Forest, in Germany. Seeing Zayn slice him in two brought it all back... because I did the same. I cut him in two—at least twenty times!»

«Are you saying that damn dark elf I just killed was a fake?» Zayn interrupts, irritation in his voice.

Shin shakes his head slowly.

«It’s not a copy... or not in the way you’re thinking...»

«Shin Tendo, stop beating around the bush! Speak clearly!» Zayn snaps, more and more annoyed.

«I’m glad you finally remembered me, Shin Tendo,» Eskari says.

His voice echoes from all around them, as if coming from every corner of the Amazon Rainforest.

«What the... what the hell is going on?!» Chris exclaims, rushing to his sister Alexia’s side to shield her from the looming danger.

«Eskari is a dark elf with abilities far beyond those of any other of his kind... What Zayn just destroyed... that wasn’t his real body. It wasn’t even a body at all,» Shin explains, tension rising in his voice.

Zayn lowers his gaze to the bisected corpse.

«What the fuck...?»

Instead of charred gray flesh, he sees cracked bark and dried wood.

Then, from behind a nearby tree, Eskari steps out—again.

«Coming to hunt me down in such a lush forest was your death sentence!» he sneers, flashing a wicked grin.

«Shut the fuck up!» Zayn growls.

He throws his arm forward—lightning flashes out instantly, piercing Eskari’s skull and making it explode like a watermelon.

The headless body collapses with a heavy thud...

And after a moment, right before their eyes, the corpse that had just been flesh and blood begins to shift... turning into bark.

A new kind of terror spreads through the group as one of the trees near them begins to move its branches... then twist... until it takes the form of Eskari.

«Killing them one by one would be a waste of energy! The body you sliced earlier and the one you just destroyed... those aren’t Eskari!» Shin yells, his face pale with horror. «The entire Amazon Rainforest has become his body!»

Those words send a wave of panic through the Monster Reapers.

«Are you fucking kidding me?!» Zayn shouts, his voice cracking with something new—fear.

«Oh no, what Shin Tendo said is absolutely true,» Eskari cuts in.

«You see, the Amazon Rainforest spans over five million square kilometers, across nine different countries, with nearly four hundred billion trees! Not even on N’Raeth are there forests this vast! You can’t even begin to imagine the energy such boundless vegetation provides to someone who knows how to use it!»

Chris turns to Shin, his expression a mix of dread and disbelief.

«You said you defeated him twenty years ago, even though you were deep in the Black Forest... how the hell did you do it?!» he asks, staying alert.

«I burned the whole thing down. I uprooted every single tree to leave him no place to regenerate... but this is different,» Shin replies, his voice tight. «The Amazon is ten times bigger. If we had fought here back then... I don’t think I’d be alive today.»

A smirk stretches across Zayn’s face.

Lightning crackles more violently around his body.

«Then I guess I’ll have to reduce every single twig in this damned forest to ashes!»

Bolts of lightning explode in every direction, setting countless fires across the jungle.

«Stupid fool... Do you really think burning a few trees will be enough to stop me?!»

«I told you to shut the fuck up!» Zayn snaps again—he blasts forward like thunder and cleaves through yet another Eskari body, which explodes into pieces on impact.

Another tree morphs into Eskari.

A monstrous tangle of massive, menacing roots rises all around the Monster Reapers, encircling them, ready to strike.

«Zayn’s idea is crazy... but it’s the only chance we have,» Shin says, visibly concerned. «Chris, within you lies the power of Thural—the Divine Dragon who rules storms on N’Raeth. Obviously, you don’t possess Thural’s original might, but if you tap into every ounce of your energy, you should be able to create a storm strong enough to wipe out every tree in the Amazon Rainforest.»

Chris’s eyes widen, but he stays on guard, ready to strike back at the approaching roots.

«Are you seriously asking me to wipe out a third of South America...?» he asks, gritting his teeth.

Shin nods slowly, and Chris lets out a short, nervous laugh.

«Alright... let’s do it!»