Chapter 162 Hidden Powers
Chapter 162 Hidden Powers
“Iryu… me look for Iryu… not found… me worry…”
Deborah clung to him, crying as she hugged him tight.
Iryoku blinked in surprise, face buried in her enormous breasts. “You’re talking… you learned to speak better? How?”
She sniffed and calmed a little.
“Grandma teach.”
“Grandma?”
For a second, he imagined an old, hunched demon woman.
Just then, a woman’s voice echoed from outside.
“Children—Agnes, Deborah—we need you to come out. There’s something important we need to discuss. All of you.”
They looked at one another.
Outside, Iryoku was surprised to find himself in yet another cavern—this one massive, its ceiling rising high above them. What truly caught his attention, however, was a towering step pyramid nearby, reminiscent of the ancient structures of South America back on Earth.
Beyond the stone clearing stretched a vast jungle, dense and brimming with life.
At the moment, he was being carried in a princess hold by Deborah, animal fur draped over his lower body. She wasn’t naked anymore either; her cloak swallowed her massive curves.
Iryoku’s face looked exhausted, and everything felt strangely dreamlike, as if the world itself were shifting around him.
Instinctively, he clung to Deborah. She smiled and licked his cheek. She leapt down from the big mound of rocks that marked her lair. The rest of the group followed, jumping down after them.
They landed before a small, hunched old woman wrapped in layered robes, leaning on a worn staff.
Lady Vitka.
“So… the boy finally woke up?, that’s good news, I suppose.”
She stepped closer, inspecting Iryoku as he was still being carried, his face resting against Deborah’s shoulder. Then her gaze shifted to Agnes.
“So this is the type of boy you like, Agnes? He’s quite different from what you said…”
“Please, Master—he’s still recuperating,” Agnes said, her voice hurried. She looked shy, uneasy about presenting him to her teacher.
For a brief moment, the girls felt as though Vitka was looking down on Iryoku. Instantly, an ominous pressure flared from them, directed straight at the old woman.
Iryoku, in contrast, was simply looking around with the curiosity of a child.
“Are we back on the Holy Mountain?” he asked. “Are we deep on the demon side? This place looks similar…”
All the girls turned toward Vitka, smug expressions creeping onto their faces.
“You’re very perceptive, boy. I’ll give you that. We are actually… well…”
Vitka paused, then gestured for them to follow.
“I need you to meet the others here. All of you—it’s important. It’s almost time."
"You’ve been hiding in that cave for far too long. You need to show some appreciation to our hosts. So let’s walk and talk before it’s too late.”
She glanced back at them.
“And Joseph isn’t here right now to mediate, by the way.”
“Really? Joseph was here?” Iryoku asked.
“Yes, boy,” Vitka replied. “But he went back to Uruk to take care of something.”
“That’s too convenient, isn’t it?” Reika said, unconvinced.
“There’s been news,” Vitka continued. “Uruk has been launching attacks on the other nations.”
The group reacted at once.
“That bastard,” Yumi spat. “So that was his goal after stealing Iryoku’s weapon.”
“So… he really is a bad person?” Christina asked. “If I ever meet him, I’ll have to kill him.”
She said it as if it were the most normal thing in the world, echoing Iryoku’s own blunt way of thinking.
Agnes felt her stomach churn. After all, he was her parent.
“That’s why we didn’t find him or his army back then,” Katherine said, walking ahead.
Iryoku looked startled. “Back then? Why would you go there? That’s dangerous. I don’t want to lose any of you.”
“We were looking for a way to complete Joka’latrex’s challenge—to save you as fast as we could,” Agnes said, rubbing his arm. “That’s why we went to look for my father. Our plan was to lure them into chasing us, then lead them back to that damned castle so their army would clash with the demon forces while we rescued you.”
Her voice tightened.
“But when we got there, they were gone. The army, my father, my brothers—everyone. Even Mr. Kloss wasn’t in Uruk. Only a few servants and guards remained.”
Iryoku hesitated, then looked at Vitka. “Old woman… were you the one who found Deborah?”
Vitka nodded. “That’s right, boy. After clashing with a powerful demon at the beginning of the invasion, I was forced to flee. I only managed to send a message to Uruk, warning them of the attack.”
She continued.
“I delved into the Holy Mountain—Ultima Thule, as some call it. I entered deep enough to lose the creature. As I pressed on, I found strange runes carved into an altar—a realm gate.”
Vitka glanced at Agnes.
“At first, I thought it was like the one from your mother’s book—the spell used to summon champions from another world. But this gate led here.”
She gestured around them.
“I met the people in charge of this place, earned their trust, and befriended them. I even considered staying here, living out the rest of my days away from war and conflict.”
Her expression darkened.
“But then the ground trembled. The people began whispering about the Sun God.”
The girls reacted at once.
“I tried to use the same gate,” she said, pointing toward the pyramid with her staff. “But it didn’t work. Perhaps the gate on the other side was destroyed. The pyramid holds many gate inscriptions—paths scattered across our realm—so I used another.”
Her voice grew heavier.
“I emerged on the demon side of the mountain, in a frozen tundra with barely any life. In the distance stood the Holy Mountain. Pillars of blue-white light erupted from it—explosions, a cataclysm. Even from far away, the destruction could be felt.”
She paused.
“Then the mountain crumbled… and something rose from it, firing that light indiscriminately. I truly thought the world was ending.”
Vitka tightened her grip on her staff.
“It ended with one final beam—fast, immense, and utterly destructive—fired straight north. The ice melted, the land was scorched and carved apart… everything in its path vanished, and something fell from it.”
She lowered her gaze.
“I rushed forward when I saw movement. There, I found a demonic woman—burned black, barely alive, only her upper body remaining, melted in agony, organs spilling out. It was awful… but she was still breathing.”
Silence followed.
Iryoku’s eyes burned as he hugged Deborah tighter.
“Deborah… I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You had to go through all of that.”
She grabbed him and kissed him deeply, tongues entwining. “Iryu… Deborah here. We together—never gone again. We always together.”
The other girls felt the depth of their love, earned and long wished for.
Yumi wiped her eyes and turned to Vitka, her face set. “Iryoku was there, fighting the dragon alongside her—something I don’t think anyone else could have done.”
Reika crossed her arms. “So don’t ever think he’s weak.”
Alessandra nodded in firm agreement.
Christina added, “That’s why he’s my god: powerful, virile, and the most caring person in the whole realm—no, in all the realms.”
Katherine’s gaze lingered on Iryoku for a moment. There was a quiet pride in her expression.
Agnes spoke up. “Then Master, can you send them back to their world?”
The group froze.
Vitka replied, “It should be possible, but… we’re already here.”
They reached the edge of the treeline at last. It felt like a threshold rather than a border. Ahead of them, two warriors stood guard, spears planted firmly against the ground.
They were demihuman lizardmen—mostly human in form, with long tails and patches of green scales along their bodies. Their rough, tribal garments were adorned with beads, bone charms, and carved markings, giving them the solemn air of ritual sentinels rather than simple guards.
Katherine stayed on guard, her hand already shaping a Leben sword, ready for anything.
“There’s a large group on the other side,” she warned. “If they turn hostile, it could get dangerous.”
Alessandra, who hadn’t taken her eyes off Iryoku since he woke, spoke without hesitation.
“If they dare, we’ll destroy them. Simple as that.”
Her arms were already forming Leben as well.
The rest of the group prepared themselves.
Vitka, however, remained calm. “We are here to see your chief.”
The warriors examined the group carefully. Then their gazes fell on Deborah.
She didn’t care. Still holding Iryoku, she continued forward, kissing him again as she approached. The girls tensed, sensing the spark of possible conflict—but the warriors quickly stepped aside and let her pass, sweat beading heavily on their faces.
“Let’s go,” Vitka urged.
They entered a wide clearing. Dozens of children, women, and men gathered around numerous bonfires. Huts formed a loose circle around the space, and off to one side lay work areas filled with hides, tools, and utensils.
Demihumans moved about, busy with their tasks—mostly lizardfolk, though there were also what looked like felinefolk, birdfolk, and even a few bunnyfolk.
It was a large tribal settlement.
“Who are these people?” Reika asked.
“As you can see, they’re demihuman,” Vitka replied. “A special tribe that settled here long ago. They tend to stay apart from the affairs of the realm—this place lies outside most conflicts.”
She gestured around them. “Come. Let’s sit over there.”
She pointed toward a quieter corner of the clearing.
“Usually, this faction is the one in charge, there are others, but humans aren’t really part of their structure. Well—except for me and Joseph.”
Some of the lizardfolk glanced their way. A few bowed. Others whispered among themselves. Some didn’t seem to care at all.
“Are they powerful?” Katherine asked.
“They have several very capable individuals,” Vitka said. “And capable weapons as well. Which reminds me—they’re the ones holding your weapons. Since they don’t know you yet, their chief confiscated them temporarily.”
The group frowned.
“If they try anything funny,” Yumi said, her eyes darkening.
Christina, dressed in her outdoor habit, looked around calmly, her ears flicking.
“I don’t think anything bad is going to happen,” she said. “I like this place.”
Katherine glanced at Christina, then scanned the clearing herself. Her gaze lingered on the nearby catfolk, her expression thoughtful.
Deborah hadn’t stopped comforting Iryoku, cradling him the way a mother would a child—something only possible thanks to her towering two-meter height.
Then sound began to rise through the clearing.
Small drums beat out a steady rhythm, soon joined by wooden flutes played by members of the tribe.
“What’s going on?” Agnes asked. “Something’s happening.”
The doors of the largest hut opened.
Several women stepped out first, parting to either side as a lizardman emerged. His body was well-defined, his chest bare, green scales spreading farther across his skin than those of the others. A tribal headdress crowned his head—plumes, bones, and carved adornments marking his status.
Three women followed behind him.
Two were lizardwomen, clad in ceremonial garments, their scales polished and adorned as if for a sacred rite.
The third made the girls stop cold.
A female goblin...