Sherry

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

I launched myself at the dullahan, my strongest punch aimed straight at her head.

Only for her to block it with that greatsword of hers, grinning in the process.

HOW DARE SHE MOCKS ME?!

I punched it again and again, barraging it with my fists. But it remained intact, instead of shattering like I wanted it to be.

WHY… WON’T… YOU… BREAK?!

I finished it off with a kick, pushing her backwards for a mere few feet.

“And you are… his lover…” She grinned. “I wonder… if you are just as pathetic as he is.”

“TAKE THAT BACK! HUGO IS NOT PATHETIC!”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. There, he lied unconscious, shamefully showing his member to the world.

I gritted my teeth. If only… if only I didn’t hesitate… I could’ve saved him earlier! I wouldn’t have allowed this rotten woman to humiliate himself like that! To take his pants off and make him wet himself in front of all these people—UNFORGIVABLE! I’LL NEVER FORGIVE HER!

I glared back at the dullahan. Kiri and the others can take care of him. My role here is to beat the crap of this woman, for his sake.

“You really are an Izurd?” She spoke with a curious look. “Where’s your hair manipulation, hmm? You only used it for your lover’s sword. And look at that—my sword shattered it to pieces all too easily.”

I gritted my teeth even harder. The taste of warm blood entered my mouth.

She was right. The whole reason why he lost—was because of me.

I failed him. I told him that my sword was unbreakable, only for it to break. I had betrayed his expectations for me.

“...Thank you,” I replied, my tone as cold as snow. “Now I have another reason to beat the crap out of you.”

I would not hold back any longer.

“Aawww, what’s this?! The Izurd is going in for a fight as well? To avenge her dear human, no doubt!”

I ignored the mocking tone of the announcer woman. I could punch her later if I wanted to.

Now, I would humiliate this dullahan woman. Just like she humiliated Hugo.

“Miss Izurdia, you might want to look at your fists right now.”

My eyes glanced at my hands.

My skin.

It was peeling off.

A black corrosive substance had attached itself to my fingers, eating the skin and fat from it, revealing the bones underneath.

“That’s the power of my greatsword, Toxicon.” The dullahan grinned. “It has the ability to destroy and decompose anything it touches. Even materials as hard as mithril.”

So that’s how she managed to destroy my sword…

“You should be worried, Miss. Its corrosion won’t stop until it eats through your entire body. I’ve used it to slay a Great Dragon before, you know. Just a single wound and all I needed to do was to wait until it died.” She laughed. “Really, it was all too easy.”

I looked back down. It was slowly climbing up to my palm.

How odd. I should feel pain. And fear. Yet I don’t feel either.

All I feel now is rage. Rage at this harpy who just made Hugo a laughingstock of the entire city.

I remembered Grandma’s words. “We Izurds fight the strongest to defend those we love. That’s how I was defeated. I lost the one I loved before the battle even began.”

…I understand now, Grandmother.

My burning desire to protect Hugo… it has made me ten times stronger.

This Dullahan… this… undefeated Champion… this little whelp is no match for an Izurd warrior like me!

I flew forward, forming two drills with my hair, wrapping them around my hands. It would both augment my offense and heal the wounds they had received. The corrosion was most likely magical in nature, meaning, I could use my hair to cut it into pieces, just like how I would cut spells.

I swore under my breath. I would break her sword. I would shatter it and ground it into sand. It was the only way I'd show her just how far our difference in strength was.

I dashed forward, slamming both drills at her sword.

She grinned yet again. "Foolish girl! My sword was made by the Weaver of Death herself!"

With every passing second, I could feel the tip of my drills growing dull. But I persisted, knowing very well that even if this sword was made by the best smith in the world, the one who wielded it was as weak as those wolves I killed as a child! Her aura was nothing compared to Grandmother's! Nothing!

Crack.

I smirked, right as her arrogant face disappeared in an instant.

"That's—that's impossi—"

The drills pierced through, crashing into her abdomen, crushing her poor excuse of an armor in an instant. She screamed but I couldn't hear it. Her voice was completely defeated by the sound of my drills.

No. Not enough! I must shatter her sword as well!

I released my arms from the drill, using both of my hands to push the sword apart in two opposite directions from its middle hole.

"Haaaaaaaa!"

I screamed, not caring whether my hands had healed or not.

It didn’t take long until it split into two.

Not enough! Grind it to dust too!

Using my hair, I hammered both pieces of the sword over and over while doing the same to the owner with my own bare hands.

"Stop! Stop! P-please… stop! I give up! Y-you win!"

Huh? Did she say something? No. Must be the wind.

With every fist, I shattered more and more of her armor. They were as soft as butter. I didn't know why she bothered to wield them.

And then, her head popped off, flying away in terror from me. Huh, almost forgot she's a Dullahan.

"YOU! YOU WILL NOT HUMILIATE ME LIKE THIS! NOT IN FRONT OF LORD BALTHAZAR!"

What? Does he watch these matches? I suppose he—

A massive purple laser blasted out of her mouth, hitting me before I could put my guard up.

"HA! TAKE THAT! IT'S MY IMPROVED SUPER DULLAHAN BEAM! IT CAN REDUCE A DRAGON INTO ASHES IN A SINGLE HIT!"

…

Nothing.

That did nothing.

What a pathetic excuse for an attack. Hugo can cast a spell stronger than that when he was ten!

"Oh really?" I smirked, putting one hand on my hip. "Then why am I still alive then?"

Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when she realized I was still here, standing with scarcely a scratch on my skin.

"And what a lame name for an attack by the way. Super Dullahan Beam? What is that?"

"YOU… YOUUUUUU!"

I jumped upwards. She tried to fly away but my hair just grabbed her head and yanked it back to my arm. I then threw it downwards, right back into her hollow neck.

Oops, forgot to spin her first. She's looking backwards now.

Landing back on the ground, I gave her neck a good grab.

"P-please! Have mercy!"

"Then you should've not humiliated my dear Hugo."

I gave her a straight punch to her face, knocking her out instantly. I wasn't finished though. I stripped her of her clothes, even her bra and panties, and lifted her naked body to the air.

"See this? See your Champion? She's the one who's pathetic! Not Hugo!"

As I watched the reaction of the crowd, I noticed that my hands looked completely normal. Ha, I knew it! There's no magic my hair can't cut!

As for the crowd itself, they seemed to be torn between cheering me or condemning me as a villain. 

If I were Hugo, I would've made some cool speech by now. He's the one who's good with words. Not me.

I gave the now unconscious dullahan a few more punches into her stomach. Until she lost control of her bladder, just like Hugo did.

Hmph! There you go! Now I'm satisfied!

I threw her to the ground like the trash she was before walking out of the arena, leaving a roaring crowd behind me, and the announcer declaring me the winner.

I didn't care about them anymore. All I wanted to know now was whether Hugo was safe or not.

ㅤ

Hugo

When I came to, the very first thing I received was the warm, boob-filled hug from Kiri. Followed by a warm, boob-filled hug with Aria. And then a warm, boob-filled hug from Felicia. Only Myrilla didn’t give me one. Not because she was flat-chested—I wouldn't care about that. I wanted a hug from her too!—but because she just stood there a distance away from me with a worried look, looking as if she wanted to say something but chose not to.

We were now inside the healing room of the arena—a medium-sized room with multiple white-sheet-covered beds that looked awfully like the beds you'd find in a hospital.

We were the only ones there however. There was no healer nor another patient. Only us.

I was on one of said beds, with Felicia and the others surrounding me. I was now in a sitting position so I could speak with them better. My body wasn't aching in the slightest. Kiri’s healing was really that potent.

"I swear, if Sherry ends up losing to that whore, I'll—"

I could only smile at Felicia’s rantings. I had to admit, being defended like this, it felt terribly good. Even Myrilla didn’t give me her usual lecture. She knew I tried my best in that fight. Without magic anyways.

"Master, let's go back out there and beat the crap out of that woman!"

Aria cursing like that with a murderous look on her face however… that disturbed me a little.

"Yeah!" Kiri punched the air. "I'll fight beside you too, Master!"

"No need." I smiled, patting their heads. "Sherry… she's not going to lose."

The moment I finished saying that, the door swung open.

My smile widened.

And there's the she-devil herself.

Sherry rushed in and jumped straight on top of me.

"Hugooo! I'm sorry—I shouldn't have given you that sword!"

"H-hey, don't hug me too—arghh!"

She quickly released her arms over my grip, realizing she might have just hugged me a little bit too hard.

Tears covered her eyes as she looked at me with a tender, worried look.

"Don't worry! I've avenged your humiliation! I stripped her of all her clothes and made her wet herself like you did!"

I blinked. "H-huh, you did?" And damn, I really did soil myself like she said. It can't be helped, I suppose. When you get punched and choked that hard…

"Yes! I even destroyed her sword. I would've gone further but I was too worried about you to continue!"

Thank God she didn't go further. Even now, humiliating her like that is probably going a bit too far. The Demon Lord won't like one of his wives being treated like that.

I cupped her cheeks, giving her a warm smile. "Thank you, Sherry. For avenging me. I know you can do it."

She smiled back, blushing, rubbing her face onto my hand. Ah, how adorable. She's just like a cat. That turns into a tiger if you make her angry.

"You should change out of those clothes before you come back outside."

I looked up and saw Myrilla looking at her with a concerned look.

Oh… ohhh…

"Uh, Sherry. Your clothes—they're in tatters."

Yep. Her shirt was pretty much gone, exposing her back completely, all the way down to her white panties and butt crack. And in the front, her two small mounds were showing as well.

As for her short shorts, a big hole had appeared on the crotch, showing her tight-fitting panties and the cameltoe they were covering.

She released me, climbed off my bed, and gave herself a look around.

Before letting out the most girlish scream.

"D-don't look, you idiot Hugo!" She threw the nearest pillow on my face, covering herself with her hands.

…Sherry really is cute!

ㅤ

After Sherry got dressed with some proper clothes again, we decided to pay a visit to the announcer. If not her, then anyone who was up the chain of the Colosseum's organization.

We wanted our meeting with the Demon Lord. Sherry deserved that prize.

Thankfully, right outside the healer room, a familiar winged girl had been waiting for us.

The announcer.

"Miss Sherry Izurdia, congratulations on your victory over the reigning Champion! As such, you are entitled to a visit to the Floating Fortress of Naturia!"

Her grin was as wide as it could be. But her fear and apprehension were palpable as well, flinching at the slightest movement Sherry made.

"Wonderful!" I smiled. "So, when can she make her visit?"

"Tomorrow morning, return back to this colosseum. And, of course, she would have to come alone."

"Oh, and no need to be worried for what you did to Mrs. Naturia!" She quickly added, still wearing that forced grin. "Lord Balthazar knows just how… heated things can be around here!" She let out a nervous laugh.

Well, this is it. The plan has come to fruition.

Still, to send Sherry alone to the enemy's den…

I sensed Sherry's glare, making me glance at her direction.

"Leave it to me!" she says. I can easily imagine ten ways they'll be able to capture you, you know. And ten more ways to humiliate you in return.

"Thank you." I gave a polite bow to the girl. "We'll be sure to have her there tomorrow."

ㅤ

As Hugo's group left, the same hooded figure from before giggled at them from the shadows.

To think she ends up beating Auntie Esana that hard… What a scary little woman…

An Izurd… Our kind's ultimate prey… All I have to do is to give her a nice and sweet lewd dream… that should weaken her instincts… As for the rest, a simple sleeping spell should suffice.

And then, I'll have my way with him.

She slurped her own saliva before covering her mouth to hide her "Uhuhuhuhu" giggle once again.

ㅤ

Since the tournament was over, we decided on a different inn for the night. Somewhere relatively safe, where any vengeful contestants or agents of the Demon Lord wouldn't be able to attack easily.

Our choice ended up being a small inn named the Burrows. Located at the corner of the city, it was run by a pair of centaurs. Former warrior centaurs to be exact. As we had learned in our visit to their city several months ago, the centaurs had a high sense of honor. And that included protecting the guests of any inns they ran.

Once we were safely in our room, away from any stray ears or eyes, we began our strategy meeting for tomorrow. Sherry and I sat on the bed while Myrilla dragged a chair. As for Kiri and Aria, they sat on the floor—the former sitting cross-legged while the latter sitting properly like a Japanese girl would.

"So, Sherry." Myrilla opened. "I trust you know what to say to the Demon Lord tomorrow?"

"Hmph, of course I do!" She folded her legs, giving me a nice view of her thighs. "All I have to do is tell him that I want Victoria as my prize."

"And if he refuses?"

"Then I’ll just say ‘Too bad!” and leave.”

“You promise you won’t let your temper get to you? No matter how annoying he might be?”

“I promise! Sheesh, I’m not a child anymore, Myrilla!”

“Even if he were to insult Hugo?”

Here, she paused.

“That’s… that depends!”

“Depends on what exactly?” Myrilla narrowed.

“Depends on how wrong he is. If you think I can just say nothing when Hugo gets insults thrown at him, think again! I’m his wife! And I’m a hot-blooded Izurd as well! No Izurd wife would ever let some smugface insult their beloved!”

…Wow, can’t say my heart didn’t feel all giddy hearing her say that.

“It’s okay, Sherry.” I put a hand on her small shoulder, smiling. “I won’t mind a little insult.”

“But!”

“Because all I care about is you. You, Felicia, Myrilla, Kiri, and Aria’s opinions—they’re all that matters to me. As long as you all think I’m cool, I don’t care what the world thinks.”

Immediately, three girls blushed hearing my words—Sherry, Felicia, and Aria.

“Don’t worry, Master! I always think you’re the coolest person ever!” Kiri giggled, waving her hands.

Where in the world did you learn to flirt like that? Alan could never be that smooth.

Myrilla, on the other hand, sent me a telepathic message, while silently glaring from her seat.

It wasn’t meant as a flirt though. I’m just saying what I think. Honest.

Liar, she replied. Just how many girls are you going to add to your harem before you’re satisfied, hmm?

H-hey, I didn’t come here to save Victoria for that!

…I never said anything about Victoria. Unbelievable. Now you’re thinking about how big her boobs are.

I couldn’t deny her words. Whenever I thought about that idiot chuuni knight, my mind just naturally brought up the fact that she had those absurdly large breasts attached to her chest.

Sherry threw her gaze away. “Fine! I’ll be patient! But I’m only doing it because you ask, Hugo!” She huffed, crossing her arms.

“And if he refuses to send you back here?”

“Then I’ll just punch his face and make him!”

Myrilla clucked her tongue, giving me a “This girl is helpless!” look.

“No, you will go along with his game, until he heard the news of Hugo and his army trying to invade his city. This will force him to leave the fortress, and you can use that opportunity to save Victoria and figure out a way to dispel the enchantment protecting it.”

“And, according to my expertise,” Felicia chimed in with a smile. “There should be a magic source that feeds such an enchantment. Destroy the magic source and you’ll free yourself from its prison. Possibly crashing the fortress to the ground as well in the process but you’re tough enough to handle that, aren’t you?”

“Magic source?” She turned to face her. “You mean…”

“Something big. Massive, even. If I have to guess, it’s a giant mana crystal. You’ll feel a funny tingle if you get close to it.”

“I just have to destroy anything big. Got it. Anything else?”

“Well…” Felicia’s smile grew larger. “I have a trump card that you can use as well.”

“A trump card?” Sherry raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, you'll see. She'll most likely try her hand tonight."

This time, it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. What is she talking about?

"A naughty little thieving succubus… she's going to try her hand in stealing our dear Hugo for her own perverse pleasures."

I gulped, seeing the bloodthirsty glint in her eyes. Why must all my harem members turn yandere whenever another girl is interested in me?