Whoosh—
Intense flames began to gather on his longsword, igniting in a fierce blaze. This was the new spell he'd gained automatically at level five: "Elemental Weapon." With it, he could choose from five types of elemental energy—fire, frost, lightning, acid, or thunder—and infuse them into his weapon for added power.
Enhancing his blade, Charles raised the magic shield strapped to his left arm to guard his chest. Without waiting for these men to encircle him, he rushed straight for Malena's room. Two kidnappers, cleavers in hand, tried to intercept him. Charles wasted no movement; he struck out with his sword—
Clang—
A metallic crash rang out as Charles's blade was blocked by one man. Another came at him, swinging down, but Charles met him with his shield, barely deflecting the blow.
These two would try to retreat, waiting for others to close in from behind. Against a spellcaster, with numbers on their side, they thought themselves sure to win.
But this was wishful thinking. After gaining the "Thirsting Blade" Eldritch Invocation, Charles's blade strikes were now far faster than anything mere mortals could match!
Just as they tried to recover, Charles's flaming blade curved with a whiplash motion, slashing straight across a man's shoulder—
Shhk—
His magical sword cleaved through the kidnapper's leather armor like butter, severing the man's entire arm!
Driven by his spellcasting abilities, every swing of Charles's longsword struck with the force of a twenty-strength warrior—devastating in every blow!
At the same time, the intense heat from the blade nearly set his skin on fire, and the smell of roasting flesh filled the air, mingling with the kidnapper's agonized scream: "Aaaah—!"
Before a magical weapon, this sort of protection was as fragile as paper; it may as well have been bare flesh.
Charles withdrew his sword. The wounded kidnapper dropped his cleaver, clutched his wound, collapsed to his knees, pale and trembling, speechless with pain.
The other kidnapper's face turned ashen, mistaking Charles for a master swordsman, and hastily retreated, shouting, "He's a monster! Be careful!"
The front line opened up, revealing Malena's doorway ahead. Charles didn't bother to pursue, but dashed inside—just in time to catch two kidnappers lashing ropes around Malena and Lisa, staring up at him in shock.
...
Elsewhere, the witches were using Invisibility to mask themselves, watching in silence—no one making a move, as Charles had ordered.
Utilizing the monastery's internal map from his system, he could see that among these grunts, several larger Red Dots stood out.
Compared to these mere mortals—maybe a Level 1 Warrior class at best—it was those large Red Dots who posed the real threat.
So, he'd ordered the witches to stay hidden, waiting for the real enemies to show themselves before intervening!
But even so, seeing Charles charge into Malena's home, with a dozen savage thugs circling him, the witches grew nervous.
"How about I go out and poison a few of them right now?"
The ever-impulsive Sephera suggested, her vertical pupils glinting with anxiety. "One toss of poison could take out several—otherwise, with so many brutes, even if Master's a level six spellcaster, it won't be easy!"
She pressed her point, looking to Theresa for support: "Eldest sister, don't you agree?"
But Theresa only maintained her gentle smile, glancing calmly at the distance, exuding complete confidence in Charles.
This time it was Ruth who agreed with Sephera. "I want in, too."
Sephera shot her an odd look, then turned to Hattie, eager for her approval.
This wasn't just concern for Charles's safety—it was also a challenge to the deep-sea witch's authority!
"We're not to move!"
Hattie suddenly spoke, voice calm and steady: "These human kidnappers might be strong and vicious, but Master has several third-level spell protections on him. They're no real threat."
"Let him handle it himself. It'll also show Malena and Lisa, and all those Amazon women, just how strong he really is now—save us trouble later."
She drew a deep breath, adding: "Besides, Master sees further than we do. He says terrible foes hide in the darkness. If so, we'll need all hands when they show themselves. So, let's wait."
Her reasoning eased even Sephera and Ruth, who, though still worried, now held back.
Sophia, however, said nothing but pondered. Then she turned, invoked the Extended Spell metamagic feat, and silently cast Haste from afar, sending its effects to Charles.
If they were to let Master show off, of course they would support him wholeheartedly.
Inside the room, Charles's gaze met the kidnappers who had just bound Malena and Lisa.
They had heard the screams from outside and saw he had run in alone with a flaming longsword. Recognizing a dangerous opponent, each grabbed one hostage, hands clamped on Malena's and Lisa's throats, eyes bulging, yelling: "Drop your weapon!"
"Come any closer, and we'll strangle both of them!"
Charles halted, shrugged, and pretended to comply—planning to drop his weapon, then use Sleep to knock out everyone in the room—when Lisa, face filled with terror, suddenly screamed, "No—!"
Buzz—
A golden light blazed from her body, and a solid golden orb burst from her mouth—
Whoosh—
This time, her aim was true. The golden orb struck the kidnapper choking Malena square on the forehead.
The light vanished silently into his skull, but the man stiffened, collapsed, and fell to the floor.
The other, holding Lisa, was left so stunned he seemed frozen in place.
At the same moment, Charles felt a tremendous surge of magical energy flood his body—a rush of speed and strength!
Haste!
Sophia, buffing me?
Surmising who was helping him, Charles wasted no time. In the heartbeat before the last kidnapper could recover from shock, he lunged and drove his longsword through the kidnapper's chest—
Shhk—
The man tried, panic-stricken, to block, but in vain. The burning blade skewered him instantly—not quite striking the heart, but the superheated blade all but incinerated his internal organs.
Agony wracked his mind, and he gave a wretched howl. "Aaah—!"
Charles wrenched his sword free, spattering blood across his own face. Ignoring it, he scooped Lisa up with one arm, spun, and delivered her to her mother's embrace—even as both women were still tied.
"Whew…"
The kidnapper thudded to the floor, silent forever. The golden light faded from Lisa, and she looked weakened. Malena looked stunned. Last time, she'd slept through everything enchanted by magic. Now, for the first time, she saw this seemingly gentle, pale young priest ruthlessly slaying with a sword!
These fiends couldn't even slow him—he'd cut his way through them to save her!
How powerful… how dominant!
Overflowing with the forceful charisma unique to a truly strong man!
The bloody floor and twisted corpses did not frighten this woman. Her heart pounded wildly, her eyes now fixed only on Charles's face, handsome and smeared with blood.
But Charles couldn't worry about Malena's reaction. Haste's duration was short—he slashed the ropes binding the women, freeing their wrists, despite the red welts left by the cords.
"Hide here," he whispered. "Don't come out until I say it's safe!"
With that, he turned from them, facing the crowd of knife- and club-wielding bandits at the door. Shield up, sword raised, he charged again!
With Haste's support, Charles now moved at quadruple speed. Against these ordinary men, it was like fighting standing still.
The flailing cleavers could hardly touch him, even surrounded. If any blow landed, it failed to penetrate his Armor of Agathys, which instead sent freezing backlash through the attacker.
Every sword stroke Charles landed was lethal; none of these crooks even wore chainmail—their flesh fell easily to his burning blade.
In moments, he pressed back over a dozen foes single-handedly, nearly unscathed, while half the kidnappers lay dead or dying, the rest wavering and in retreat.
In the middle of this furious onslaught, Charles had no idea that behind him, Malena and Lisa had risen, standing together in the doorway, wide-eyed and staring at his every move.
To them, his slender shoulders seemed as solid and dependable as a mountain.
Malena felt a long-forgotten warmth returning to her body.
She was a little ashamed to admit it, but with her newfound nutrition and vanished stress, she had regained not only her skin's fairness and elasticity, but a surge of vitality.
And physical vitality and desire are always strongly connected. It is said: when someone endures hardship and exhaustion, all carnal longings die away; but when a woman is safe and comfortable, her own passions at night burn uncontrollably.
Just like Malena now. At twenty-two, she was in her prime, and no stranger to desire—she had a daughter, after all. Deep within, that longing burned strong.
In years past, crushing burdens had stifled those feelings, and she'd all but forgotten a man's warmth.
But now, or rather—just a moment ago—seeing the succubus's outrageous attire, realizing its purpose, then beholding Charles's imposing figure, flames of passion were kindled anew in her heart and spread uncontrollably.
This man…
She wanted him.
She needed him…
Malena's throat felt parched.
Unaware of Malena's inner struggle, Charles continued his furious battle. Just as the remaining gang members faced collapse, he heard a distant female shout: "Useless humans—our turn!"
The succubus's voice!
She was hiding behind cover, out of sight. And as her voice finished, eight figures cloaked in jet black emerged from the shadows, displacing the kidnappers and seizing the battlefield.
Seeing this, Charles halted his pursuit and fell back to Malena's doorway, shielding both women. His eyes narrowed as he summoned the system map.
So it was the hidden Red Dots all along!
It was time to face the real threat.
The eight figures flung off their cloaks, revealing skin of vivid crimson, horned foreheads, and great bat-like wings.
At once, Charles tensed, standing vigilant at the threshold—prepared for a real fight.
Cambions!
Were they like Regolas?
His mind flashed to the cambion who served Mephistopheles. But looking at these leering, wild faces and their savage bearing, he shook his head.
No, no… If they were like Regolas, they would never be so crude.
Cambion is a catch-all term: any offspring of a fiend and a mortal, no matter if the fiend parent is a demon of the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, a devil of the Nine Hells, or any other—mix them with a mortal, and you have a cambion.
This results in enormous variation, sometimes even more than between humans and orcs. Cambions born to devils often inherit their sire's discipline—strong in magic, dedicated to study, and fond of plotting.
Regolas is such a type—cold, calm, devious, fond of scheming through shadows. A true menace.
But these cambions were not. They vibrated with wild energy, savage, feral, cruel and bloodthirsty, matching perfectly the traits of the Infinite Abyss demons!
These were demon descendants!
Just seeing the succubus earlier, Charles had not been sure; after all, many mages summon succubi for use as secretaries or playthings.
But seeing this many powerful, demonic cambions under a succubus's command, their origin was now clear.
They belonged to the Abyssal Lord.
Not one must be allowed to escape tonight!
"Hattie, Theresa, you handle the cambions!"
He growled the command, loud enough for the hidden witches to hear. Then, casting more defensive spells on himself, Charles stood at Malena's doorway—eyes fixed, unwilling to charge forward, simply waiting for the enemy to come to him.
Now, he no longer feared these cambions. While Regolas's strength had been outrageous—able to cast Hold Monster and instantly stop even a berserk Ruth—he was not the average example, just as Charles himself was no average human.
According to the Adventurer's Guild's Monster Manual, cambions typically have a challenge rating of five, lower than Zenith. If they came one by one, Charles wasn't sure he'd even lose.
Cambions are tricky, though: skilled in magic, able to fly, and much more dangerous than a Zenith who can't cast spells or take to the skies.
But against Charles, these troubles were minor. He had even more spells, and his Eldritch Blast reached any height.
One-on-one, he could surely win, even against two he was confident to hold out.
Unfortunately, there were eight, so he needed help.
Incidentally, this also highlights the contradictions in that so-called Monster Manual—if a CR 6 Zenith fought these cambions, it'd lose, though the manual stubbornly rates Zenith higher… Which is just…
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