Chapter 324 (Patreon)

Chapter 324

The group befriended two demons, Igis and Errol, former explorers of Kel's abyss trench, on the island they found. The two gave them a tour, showing them how they live and fight, as they ended up at their fight club, a customary establishment in every demon settlement.

"Ah, so this is how you deal with food here, huh?" They made it to the other side of the island, where Sophia and the others noticed a couple of fields with some grains and all sorts of vegetables growing on them.

“Yes.” Igis, who had guided them there together with Errol, nodded once. "We aren't that many people, so that much is sufficient for us. It also never gets cold, so we can plant and harvest all year round.”

“There’s also an abundance of fish." The male demon added some extra detail. "On top of that, there are plenty of animals on this island, as well as the neighboring one.”

“Oh, that sounds great.” Steph liked their lifestyle. “It probably would be way too much of a pain having to travel that much to get groceries.”

“Indeed.” Igis was on the same page as her. “The mainland is actually relatively close, but it's still a day trip one-way. That wouldn’t be sustainable, or, at the very least, seriously dampen the vacation theme.”

“So true!” Chloe wholeheartedly agreed with her reasoning.

“Anyway, otherwise, there isn’t much to show on the island.” Igis lightly scratched her cheek. “Unless you have a big interest in coconut trees and ferns. If so, the inner parts of the islands will greatly please you.”

“I think we’re good on that, right?” Sophia shrugged while looking at the others, who all shook their heads in return.

“Great! That means we can head back to the fight club.” Errol excitedly clapped his hands as he smiled at the jaguar. “I'm looking forward to seeing your fire magic.”

“Wait, did you say coconuts right now?!” Ari didn’t like anything about the nearly 2.5-meter-tall demon, who also was more than twice her width, looking at her like that. “They’re my favorite! I’d love to see more of them! Ferns are great, too!”

“Shush now.” Aura rolled her eyes. “You won’t be able to talk a demon out of a challenge or make them forget about it. Just beat him up real quick and go on with your day. Who knows, it may end up being fun~.”

"How much do you want to bet that I won’t?” She didn’t believe her.

“Not with that attitude, you won’t.” The wolf let out a chuckle.

“Just hurry and do it!” Steph sounded impatient. “I also want to have a go with some demons before Sophia breaks them!”

“Hey!” The blonde in question didn’t like that.

“Look me in the eyes and say you won’t.” The little sister didn’t believe her for a second.

“…” She immediately went silent.

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The group returned to the other side of the island and got together at the big hole in the ground that the demons call fight club. It wasn’t just the group, though, as every inhabitant of the island had gathered around it as well. There were around 40 to 50 individuals in total looking forward to a good fight.

“Why am I the first one in this group to fight a demon?!” Ari, who was already in the pit, was still not happy about what was going on and glared at her friends at the edge above her.

“I fought a ton of demons already.”

“Same.” Aura and Fen lightly shook their heads.

“I’m not talking about you!” Her glare got stronger. “I mean amongst my girls!”

“Wow!” Errol, who was in the pit with her, looked at the jaguar with the utmost respect. "A harem with 5 girls is impressive even for the most esteemed and popular demons. I knew you were special.”

“I don’t have a harem!”

"A six-way polycule?” He seemed even more impressed. “Damn, that's even more impressive."

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT, EITHER!” The jaguar got even louder. “I meant my, as in the same species and people who haven’t been to the demon continent and or have been alive since the time when demons lived on our continent!”

"Seems like excuses to me." Errol took a liking to teasing her and looked at her girls.

“Absolutely excuses.” Maya, who always was game for a good tease, smiled back at him.

“Yup!” Steph also reacted with a thumbs-up.

“See?” He then changed his attention back to Ari. “Us demons are pretty open about all sorts of relationships, so there’s no need to hide it.”

“You two are next.” The jaguar didn’t appreciate them playing along before looking at the demon again. “Also, contrary to them, I’m worried about hurting you. I’ve played around a little bit and, admittedly, set a few things on fire, but I’ve never really fought anyone. I don’t have any control over my powers in that regard, and that might be dangerous for you."

“Don’t worry, demons are incredibly sturdy!” He just replied with a hearty laugh.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing bad happens.” Sophia also smiled at her.

“Why are all my attempts at talking myself out of this failing this hard?!” As Ari knew that the blonde's words were far more than just empty promises, she could only sigh in return.

“Come at me~.” Errol didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Fine…” She hung her head in defeat. “I’ll make it quick, though, so you better not blink.”

“Ohh, I like the sound of tha- HUH?!”

Errol, unfortunately, wasn’t able to finish his sentence. Ari closed her eyes to concentrate, and a second later, bright-white flames formed all around her and filled the entire arena in an instant.

It was so hot that even the onlooking demons on top of the arena edges either turned their heads away or used their arms to shield themselves. The flames also only kept growing and growing, soon threatening to spill over the edges of the arena and swallowing everyone out there as well.

However, it never got that far for some reason. The moment the scalding flames reached the very edge of the pit, they seemingly froze for a fraction of a second before a pink and purple veil instantly wrapped over it that appeared out of nowhere. The moment the veil was there, the flames could still be seen behind it, but the heat on the outside was completely gone.

“Holy, Ari really needs to learn how to hold back.” A massive smirk appeared on Sophia’s face. “She almost burned down the whole island just now. This girl really has no restraint, has she?”

“Did you do this barrier thing?” Maya gestured at the contained fire while looking at the tiger.

“Yup.” She just nodded. “Well, it’s not really a barrier, as I improvised a little, but it shields us and everybody else by getting the flames somewhere else.” As she was using a portal to redirect the heat, she simply sent them to her domain.

“Ahh, I see.” The cat-girl nodded a couple of times. “Wait! What about Ari and Errol?!”

“I mean, he said that he’s sturdy, right?” Sophia shrugged. “Ari also wouldn’t get hurt by a little fire.”

“Uhh, are you sure about that?” She gestured at the raging inferno in the pit in front of them.

“I’m just kidding~.” The blonde smiled at her. “I've protected them, too. Although, I'm fairly confident that Ari really would've been fine. Her clothes, maybe not so much, though."

“That’s good.” Maya looked relieved. “I feel like Ari wouldn’t want to survive in that case, though. Being naked in front of a group of people she doesn’t know and all.”

“Fair.”

As soon as the raging inferno appeared, it died down again as well. The flames first turned darker before they eventually flickered out completely. Sophia took that as a signal to remove her portal area again to fully reveal what had happened inside the pit.

The sandy outer walls and ground had been completely melted and glassed over from the heat. It had turned completely smooth, with a bit of a ripple effect from when the fire was melting it. Ari and Errol were still in the same place before the fire had taken over the area, and both had remained unharmed as well. For the most part, at least, as the demon had his hair and clothes singed in some places, probably caused by Sophia accidentally not expanding her portal shield all the way.

“Wooh!” All the demons gathered around the arena suddenly began cheering and clapping their hands. Not a single one of them looked baffled or even scared, and they were simply celebrating a spectacular display of highly potent magic.

“Damn, girl, you’re something else!” Igis was the first to react with spoken words. “I guess she’s the unhinged one in your group, huh?” She then looked at Sophia and the others next to her. “Every group has one of those after all.”

“Yup.” Everyone, including the wolves, nodded in her direction.

“I’LL END ALL OF YOU!” Ari, on the other hand, did not appreciate that. “Also, what just happened?!”

“You used a little too much power and almost melted the island.” Sophia gave her a cheeky thumbs-up. “All is well, though~.”

“…” The jaguar immediately went silent.

“I knew you were stronger than me, but I didn't expect you to be this ruthless." Errol threw up his hands in defeat. "It's your win."

The match ended even sooner than it began, and Ari was the undisputed winner. On top of that, much to her dismay, she left a lasting impression on every single demon living on the island.