My stepsisters are sexy demons, and I must protect them
Chapter 101: The cost of victory

Chapter 101: The cost of victory

«You’re seriously asking me to wipe out a third of South America...?» Chris asks, clenching his teeth nervously.

Shin gives a subtle nod, and Chris can’t help but let out a strained, awkward chuckle.

«Fine, let’s do it!» Then Shin turns his gaze toward Alexia.

«Of course, to unleash an event that will force cartographers to redraw the entire map of this continent, we need authorization from someone high up... like the deputy director of the most powerful and influential HESPARC division in the world.»

Alexia simply shakes her head.

«It doesn’t look like we have many alternatives. And even if I forbade you, you and that hardheaded brother of mine would still do whatever you want... I just hope that razing the largest green area on the planet will actually achieve something... otherwise, you better prepare a room for me at your place, because I’ll be out of a job!» she mutters.

«Oh, but you know you’re always welcome, my dear Alexia. There will always be a room reserved just for you at my place... the bedroom,» Shin replies with a teasing grin.

Alexia instantly blushes and mutters some curses under her breath.

Meanwhile, Chris spreads his icy-blue wings.

The dark clouds above grow denser and thicker, spreading like an oil slick across the sky.

«It’ll take me a while to gather enough energy to trigger a storm this big... cover me until then!»

Shin points his flaming sword toward the massive roots writhing all around them.

«Try not to take too long.»

Chris nods.

«I’ll do my best.»

«Tch... there’s no way I’m letting you pull something like that off!» Eskari’s voice roars.

At that moment, roots shoot in from every direction, aiming solely at Chris.

–SWISH! SWISH!

With two swift, clean slashes, Shin severs both roots. Hakuto follows right behind.

–ZAP!

Flying above them, Zayn bombards the area below with relentless lightning blasts, firing almost blindly in a full spread.

Alexia stays close to Chris, acting as the last line of defense between Eskari’s powerful magic and their only shot at victory.

But buying time turns out to be far more difficult than expected.

Energy drains rapidly, worsened by the unbearable heat and humidity of the Amazon Rainforest, stealing their breath far faster than normal.

Shin is the first to show signs of collapse.

His strikes grow slower and weaker with every swing, until...

–SWISH!

Another slash... but this time it’s not enough.

He fails to cut through the thick root entirely, stopping halfway and leaving his sword stuck.

He dissolves it instantly, then bends at the knees, his feet braced against the root’s surface.

He tries to push off backward, but a split-second delay due to exhaustion proves fatal.

Another root whips down from above like a massive lash, slamming him into the ground.

«No, Dad!»

Hakuto launches himself toward him, trying to catch him mid-air and soften the impact. Somehow, he manages. _{f(r)eew(e)bnovel.(c)o(m)}

They crash to the ground, tumbling painfully, but escape with only minor injuries.

At least, Hakuto does.

«Dad! Dad!» he shakes him.

Blood gushes from Shin’s mouth and nose—he can’t even stand, paralyzed by the pain from the root’s blow to his back.

«H-Hakuto...» Shin whispers, his voice barely audible, broken by coughing fits and blood.

«D-Don’t worry about me, idiot... you have to protect Chris... if he can’t gather the energy for the storm, it’s all over. And not just for us! Chris Kendrow, Zayn Bekan... if even the two strongest Monster Reapers in the world can’t stop Eskari... then no one can...»

«Shut up, Dad! I’m not leaving you here to die!»

Hakuto wraps Shin’s arm around his neck and tries to lift him up—and somehow, he manages.

But that’s as far as he gets—taking even a single step is nearly impossible, the stabbing pain in Shin’s spine and back muscles relentless.

Shin staggers backward, only staying up thanks to a tree behind him that stops his fall. But...

«Seeing you this pitiful... I never imagined I’d enjoy it so much, Shin Tendo!»

Eskari’s voice comes from the very tree Shin leans on.

Hakuto instantly lunges forward—he grabs Shin by the wrist and pulls him away, slicing through the tree’s trunk with a single strike.

«H-Hakuto, watch out...» Shin warns him in a fading voice.

A root is about to strike.

Hakuto lifts Shin onto his shoulder and leaps into the air, slicing the root clean through.

The clouds above are now so thick and black that sunlight barely filters through.

The flashes of Zayn’s lightning and the glow of the Sacred Flame are the only light sources left.

«Damn it, Chris! How much longer?!» Zayn’s furious voice echoes through the air.

He grits his teeth, breath ragged, his flight unsteady, his lightning weaker and less frequent.

~Shit... if Zayn goes down too, we’re finished!~

Still carrying Shin, Hakuto pushes forward through the roots attacking nonstop, weaving between them like an ant trapped in a tangled web.

The mass of roots closes in tighter, blocking the sky more than the clouds, enclosing them in a dome that grows narrower by the second.

Even Zayn’s lightning can’t hold them back anymore—they’re growing faster than he can destroy them.

The desperate slashes from Alexia and Hakuto, both barely standing thanks to sheer will and adrenaline, no longer make a difference.

And then, even Hakuto falls.

A thin, sharp root pierces his worn defenses and strikes him directly in the chest.

The diamond armor softens the blow just enough to protect his organs, but shatters on impact.

Hakuto is thrown against the wall of roots, and only a twist in midair saves Shin from being crushed between him and the wall.

Instead, Hakuto takes the full hit.

He and Shin crash to the ground, completely helpless.

At that moment, a violent explosion tears a hole in the top of the root dome—it’s Zayn, now without his wyvern wings and no spark of lightning left in him.

Only a faint Sacred Flame remains.

He just barely manages to fall inside the dome before the roots seal the gap behind him.

«BASTARDS! BASTARDS! BASTARDS!»

Zayn is completely unhinged, blinded by rage, slashing wildly to both sides.

«A-Almost there... just hold on a bit longer...» Chris murmurs, struggling.

The effort of accumulating and channeling all that energy pushes his body to the brink—his muscles stretch so tight they tear beneath the skin.

Hakuto, now without his armor and armed only with the diamond sword, forces himself to stand and guard Shin, lying unconscious and about to pass out.

~Dad... I only joined this mission to protect you, to make sure we’d go home together—back to Kagura, Rika, Yuzu, and Chantal! If something happens to you... I’ll never forgive myself! NEVER!~

–SWISH!

A slash.

Another one, cutting down yet another root.

He’s at his limit—even desperation can’t keep him standing now.

Blood clogs his mouth, blurs his vision.

He falls to his knees, using the sword for support.

More roots emerge, targeting him.

Hakuto tries to force himself back up, but collapses again—the tendrils just inches away...

–ZAP!

They’re severed by a lightning blast.

Hakuto immediately looks toward Zayn.

It’s his doing—but to save Hakuto, Zayn has burned through the last drop of energy in his body.

He collapses too.

Roots slither toward him like serpents, coiling around his limbs and torso.

They begin to constrict—he vomits blood, trying to hold back screams of agony.

Hakuto and Shin can’t escape the same fate.

The roots tighten around their limp bodies.

Shin doesn’t even scream—he lacks the strength, nearly unconscious and spared the pain of having his bones crushed like pulp.

Hakuto, on the other hand, unleashes the most piercing, deafening scream he’s ever let out.

His bones crack, nearly snap under the crushing pressure.

He, Shin and Zayn use the last sparks of Sacred Flame left to shield their skeletons.

But it’s only a matter of seconds before even that protection fails.

Only Alexia is still standing, guarding Chris.

Almost all of Eskari’s offensive power now targets her.

She fights like a lioness, protecting her cub from poachers.

«O-One last second... just one more second!» Chris whispers, too weak to even breathe properly.

And then...

...a long, sharp root, like a stalactite, pierces through a blind spot in Alexia’s desperate defense.

It shoots toward Chris, aimed directly at his heart.

–SLASH!

A pool of blood spreads beneath him...

...but it isn’t his blood.

Chris’s eyes fill with tears. A desperate scream sticks in his throat at the sight before him—

Alexia, pierced straight through the chest by the massive root.

A gaping wound where her ribcage used to be.

Just before Chris’s chest was about to be pierced from behind...

Alexia used her own body as a shield.

A sword slash wouldn’t have been enough—she was too weak to land a blow strong enough to cut it.

So she chose to protect him with everything she had left.

Chris feels his strength abandon him for a moment as he stares at his beloved sister’s corpse—torn flesh, blood, and entrails spilling from the massive wound in her chest.

But he can’t fall.

Not after she gave her life for him.

Not after seeing the smile on her face as she stepped between him and the root—the smile of someone who knew their sacrifice would bring victory.

«Y-You...» Chris sobs.

«You bastard... you took away the most precious person in my life... I’ll make sure not even your memory survives, that’s a promise! Elemental Invocation • Water/Wind: Ultimate Storm!»