My stepsisters are sexy demons, and I must protect them
Chapter 98: Tropical clash (2)

Chapter 98: Tropical clash (2)

The atmosphere turns crushing—oppressive.

Drakhul’s very presence—the energy radiating from his body—is enough to make the dozens of surviving dark elves slowly back away.

~Drakhul... if he’s here, then that means...~

Hakuto scans the area—and finds her.

Velune stands at the edge of the flattened ground, cleared by the hurricane Chris unleashed.

Perched on her shoulder, the undead creature, with the look of a cockroach, has wings and a beak resembling those of an eagle.

Due to the chaos of the ambush, Hakuto hadn’t noticed secondary details—like the winged undead retreating in panic, flying back to its master, probably to warn her.

«Seven powerful Monster Reapers cornered by a handful of such pitiful creatures... I’m truly disappointed...» Velune mutters, clicking her tongue and shaking her head in disapproval.

~Pitful creatures... pff, easy for her to say with someone that terrifying protecting her...~

«Perfect timing, Velune!» Shin exclaims with a sigh of relief—in his mind, Jasmine was already as good as dead, and only Velune’s intervention had saved her.

«Shut your mouth, idiot!» Velune snaps, bouncing furiously in a clumsy, childish way. «Because of your incompetence, I missed the live episode of El Suspiro de Valmara! Do you even understand what that means?! Of course you don’t! And if that wasn’t enough, I had to bring out my precious Drakhul—despite the fact that he has no clue how to fight or use his vampire powers! All he can do is punch like a gorilla!»

«Come on, don’t be so harsh. Help us out of this mess and I promise I’ll give you a surprise,» Shin replies diplomatically.

Meanwhile, the dark elves slowly retreat—their rods pointed straight at Drakhul, ready to strike at the slightest movement.

«A surprise?» Velune repeats.

Shin nods—exaggeratedly.

«I promise you, the first thing Vice Director Kendrow will do once we have Eskari’s head is contact the HESPARC Argentina division and set up a meeting with the entire cast of El Suspiro de Valmara. How does that sound?»

«The entire cast of El Suspiro de Valmara...» Velune mutters under her breath. «I could take pictures with all of them, get autographs... and post everything on the official fan page! At that point, no one could deny I’m fan number one!»

Then a wicked, ecstatic grin spreads across Velune’s face.

«Drakhul, kill all the dark elves. Now!» she commands.

Her words unleash chaos.

Dozens of energy beams shoot from the elves’ rods, and at the same time, the Monster Reapers—except for Jasmine and Kellen—resume the fight.

Because of their injuries, Jasmine and Kellen barely manage to reach Zayn at the center of the battlefield.

Zayn glares at them with disgust, as if they were outcasts.

A series of violent explosions hit Drakhul’s body, struck by the barrage of energy beams.

And yet—not a single scratch, not a drop of blood.

His grasp of vampiric powers and combat techniques is as crude as it gets—but his physical endurance has nothing to do with that.

With most of the dark elves focused on Drakhul, the Monster Reapers find it much easier to handle the few enemies left—thanks also to Zayn’s continuous support from afar.

Hakuto launches a forceful assault, fired up by Velune’s intervention and the sudden shift in momentum.

«Take this!» he shouts.

His diamond blade strikes down on a dark elf before the creature can even react—severing its head cleanly.

Suddenly, a massive tangle of thick roots erupts from the ground beneath Hakuto’s feet—twisting around his limbs, tightening hard.

His diamond armor cracks even more, but still holds.

Hakuto doesn’t give up.

A burst of white flames explodes from Hakuto’s body—incinerating the plant limbs instantly.

His sword falls again with speed and precision—carving a deep gash across the chest of another dark elf.

Meanwhile, Drakhul smashes dark elves one after another—brutally, savagely—his punches so fast and powerful that his victims are reduced to pulp before they even realize what’s happening.

At a safe distance, a dozen elves raise their rods toward Drakhul—energy from the leaves at the top of their staffs converges into a single point.

The ground beneath Drakhul’s feet shatters—countless roots, thicker and longer than the previous ones, coil around him.

They completely engulf him from head to toe.

The grip is so tight that no one else on the battlefield could possibly break free—they would be crushed in seconds.

No one... except Drakhul.

Drakhul spreads his arms wide—and the thick, sturdy roots tear apart like dry twigs.

He stares at them with savage eyes—devoid of any trace of awareness or intellect.

He’s nothing but a primal, unstoppable war machine.

With his arms still outstretched, he charges the cluster of dark elves—their heads crushed instantly, smashed against Drakhul’s massive limbs.

At that moment, from the grey clouds looming above them, a new hurricane crashes down onto the battlefield—this one smaller, but more intense than the previous one.

The last four dark elves fighting Chris are caught in full by the raging gust—their bodies torn apart by the wind, their dark grey skin ripped open as thick green blood rains down all around.

—ZAP!

A lightning bolt explodes from Zayn’s wings, frying the last three elves that had been fighting Kellen, and then Alexia.

—SWISH! SWISH!

A double slash from Hakuto and Shin ends the lives of the last two remaining enemies.

All around them, a sea of corpses soaks in one massive pool of green blood—with splashes of human blood as well—coating the battlefield like a slick, viscous carpet.

Exhausted but satisfied, Hakuto drops onto his back on the ground.

♡♡♡

«Mr. Eskari... more bad news...» Zhurvak murmurs in a trembling voice. «The powerful dark elves under your command have been annihilated! Besides Shin Tendo’s son, there are two other Crystalbearers—one has the wyvern crystal, and the other... the crystal of the Divine Dragon Thural! And that’s not even the worst part! The main reason for this defeat was Velune. Or rather... Drakhul! Volkom!»

A chill runs down Eskari’s spine—his pointed ears twitch and his eyes widen at the sound of that name.

«D-Drakhul Volkom...? How is that possible?!»

«I-I don’t know... I saw him reduced to ashes with my own eyes... all of them! I don’t know what kind of magic they used to reconstruct him, but luckily he no longer has the Eye of the Fallen-One and seems unable to do anything but throw punches blindly. Actually, now that I think about it... I heard Velune herself say that Drakhul has no idea how to fight or use his vampire powers. I’m starting to think this isn’t the original Drakhul, but some kind of copy—one that faithfully reproduces his strength and endurance, but not his knowledge,» Zhurvak murmurs.

Eskari lets out a deep sigh.

«You could’ve said that sooner—you nearly gave me a heart attack... Anyway, with two Crystalbearers that strong and Drakhul, I’m not surprised they managed to wipe out those worthless minions. Honestly, they lasted even longer than I expected—but that’s fine. They bought me just enough time to reach the maximum energy capacity my body can handle... and now it’s my turn to have some fun!»