"Mama!" I cry without thinking and jump into Pelomyx' arms. She looks completely dumbfounded about my strange actions. And so am I; I don't know why I'd call her my mother, but it just felt right, considering Onee-sama is my big sister.
"I do not remember giving birth to a little dark elf like you?" The demon queen speaks with a wondrous expression. "But you do have the smell of a Crawling Chaos on you." She's specifically looking at my cursed arm. I've taken a lot of baths since I was last with Onee-sama, though. "Have you, by chance, met Chaos?" I remember that Onee-sama once told me her real name was Chaos.
"Yes, she is my Onee-sama!" Considering this is Onee-sama's mother, she should understand that foreign word. However, Pelomyx raises an eyebrow at it and then frowns. W-what did I do wrong?
"Did Chaos-chan teach you to call her that?" She asks me in a serious tone, and I nod reluctantly. Is that a bad thing? "What is that girl doing..." Muttering this, she pets my head and a familiar feeling washes over me. Uhhh, I'm reminded of Onee-sama here and feel like crying. I miss her...
"Y-you are the demon queen?" The voice of Rolan comes from behind me and I turn my head. His expression is filled with anxiety and fear, because he's clearly aware of the difference in their power. He can't defeat Chandra even when he fights with his full strength and wields the shiny sword, but she was being toyed with by Pelomyx as if it was nothing.
"Indeed, I am." Her demeanor is casual, as she turns to him and gauges his expression. "Are you one of those humans who want to challenge and kill me?" A condescending smile on her face, she looks up to him - since she's quite a bit smaller than he is - and appears to be goading him into attacking her. But he knows that he can't do anything against her strength. Leaving that aside, if she's like Onee-sama, then he doesn't stand a chance in a physical contest anyway.
Rolan wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time, and this time is no different. He clearly shows his frustration but is unable to answer directly. It must be really vexing, to be before the enemy he has hated all his life, to find that he can't lay a finger on her. But even if he did try to fight her, I wouldn't help him, as she is Onee-sama's mother after all; although I don't know if I would stand against him, either...
"I suppose you have been made aware of the difference in our powers." She states with an almost disappointed look, and turns her attention back to me. "Come, tell me about Chaos-chan. What has she been doing in recent times?" With this, she leads me into the fortress, walking past Rolan without paying him any more attention. He's gritting his teeth and balling up his fists in impotent rage.
"Why don't ya join us?" Chandra, completely ignoring the tension in the air, invites the humans to come along.
"You know I am not a great connoisseur of food. As long as it fills me, I will take it." Pelomyx says as she pulls a large bone from inside her chest - the remains of a grilled nightmare leg. The food is full of things I've never seen before, including entire animals and strange humanoid plants. But as expected, the Ajura treat this like a party and are being really noisy, drinking alcohol and singing loudly at the other tables.
"I hear ya enjoy different kinds of foods, so I made the cooks do their best." Chandra's loud voice echoes through the halls, as she holds a piece of a different dish in each hand and bites down on them one after the other, with the last holding a large mug which she drinks from to wash the food down quickly. It seems she isn't that particular about taste either. "There's more where that came from, eat as much as ya want."
"Are you sure about that? Last time you said that, you later reported that your tribe's storage ran out of food." The demon queen says with a mischievous expression. Even though they don't look anything alike, she really reminds me of Onee-sama.
"Don't worry. I'll ask ya for aid again if that happens." The clan leader responds with an equally mischievous grin. I can see from this that their relationship is a really friendly one - even though Pelomyx killed Chandra's father. I don't really understand, but there must have been something happening behind the scenes. "Eat, eat a lot, lil' one! Ya still growin', so ya need the food!" She grabs a huge piece of grilled meat and puts it on my plate. Lately my appetite has been really big, since I've been training a lot, so it's not a problem for me to eat this much.
"So, what do you think about my proposal?" Pelomyx turns to me and gives me a warm smile. She asked me to come back to the demon castle with her, after I told her about what happened with Onee-sama and how I ended up here on the Demon Continent. She offered to take me to her castle, so that I can wait for her there, once Onee-sama learns that I'm no longer in the academy.
I'm actually having a hard time deciding. On one hand, I don't want to miss the opportunity to meet Onee-sama even a moment earlier, and staying by her mother's side is safer than traveling all the way back to the kingdom. On the other hand, I feel like it wouldn't be right to abandon Rolan and the others here. They're relying on me to defeat Chandra, as I'm the only one who has enough power to potentially defeat her.
But I don't think I can ask for them to be taken along, because I know for a fact that Rolan wants to kill the demon queen. If he attacked her now, I wouldn't know what to do, but I think I'll forever be on Onee-sama's side - which means I'll have to be on her mother's, too. Maybe I can talk him out of it... but knowing Gram's past, I don't think they would stop. So, it's a real problem for me. I don't want to abandon them to a life of servitude under Chandra forever, however short their lifetimes are.
"I see that you care for those humans. Let us bring them along." Onee-sama's mother suddenly says. She must have noticed my glances at them and come to the conclusion that I'm having trouble to decide because of them.
"Hey hey, I don't mind ya takin' the lil' one. Actually, I do, but I understand she's a special case. But those humans are still mine." Chandra interjects and slams the heavy mug down on the table. Her expression is a relaxed one, but her gesture does seem to exude authority. Shugra, who is sitting nearby, goes pale and stares at Pelomyx with a hint of fear. But the demon queen doesn't take offense and laughs.
"What are the terms?" She asks, apparently understanding that Chandra has taken possession of us with terms attached.
"They need to defeat me in battle. Once for each one of 'em, as well as the possessions they put on the line." The six-armed woman responds with a self-assured grin. Yes, there is no way we could beat her anytime soon, especially when I'm not with them, left alone as many times as we have already challenged and lost to her. But what Pelomyx says next completely dumbfounds not only her but the humans and me, too.
"What if I fought by their side? How many times would I need to defeat you to regain their freedom and all their possessions?" She asks with a mischievous smile. Chandra stares at her with her jaw slack, the mug stopped halfway to her mouth, wordlessly wondering about what she just heard.
"... hey, that's unfair..." She mutters with a pout that makes her look like a child.
"But if I were to lose, I would come into your possession, would I not?" Continuing to egg her on, Pelomyx adds with an innocent expression. "You would gain the entire dominion. Think about it, the Dominion of Chandra!"
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The woman in question looks at the demon queen, her expression going through several reactions before settling on an ambitions-filled grin. It seems that she has just been convinced to go through with this, even though I think that she most likely doesn't stand a chance at all. From the battle earlier, I could already tell that Pelomyx was holding back. Maybe they were both holding back, since it was just a friendly spar, but knowing Onee-sama, I have to believe that her mother is hiding much more of her real power than Chandra could have been at the time.
"Alright, let's do it!" The latter slams down the mug and exclaims. "But for now, let's enjoy ourselves with the meal and have more to drink. I'm sure ya not satisfied yet!" She lifts her mug once more and laughs out loudly. "More drink!"
"Let the fight begin!" One of the warriors announces and immediately runs out of the ring. Rolan, Gram and even Sigurd, are wielding their respective equipment, staring at Pelomyx standing with her back to them. We're facing Chandra, who looks excited at the prospect of fighting against the demon queen once again, this time with the entire Demon Continent on the line.
"Now, let me see your strength." Pelomyx says, clearly speaking to us rather than Chandra, even though she doesn't turn around. It seems she wants to test our powers and see why we would lose against the six-armed demon even with the four of us working together. I can see Rolan's frown, and I know it must be because he thinks she's trying to gauge whether the humans could become a danger to her or not. I think that's impossible.
Thus, we enter our formation and walk past the demon queen, who just stands by and watches us with a relaxed expression. Rolan makes the first move, rushing forward with his sword. Sigurd releases a crossbow bolt, while Gram moves in second, with me behind his cover. Chandra almost casually catches the bolt aimed at her face and grabs the leader's sword with another. It's playing out the same way as always, but before Onee-sama's mother, I need to give it my best.
Drawing back his sword before it's fully within the six-armed demon's grasp, Rolan pulls away. Following that, the big man tackles Chandra with his full strength, but she stands fast and grabs his shield. I spin around the two large bodies and swing my cursed arm against her open back twice, before Gram's strength gives out and he's pushed aside. On my third swing, she's occupied by the leader's wild attack once again, giving me room for a fourth.
A crossbow bolt creates an opening for me to hit her thigh for the fifth combo, sending her off-balance from the force. Chandra is now under pressure to avoid getting hit again, but Gram lunges forward and tackles her abdomen, allowing me to hit for the sixth time. This causes the blue-skinned demon to fall onto her back, upon which the big man quickly mounts her and tries to pin her down.
"Ohhh, ya taking charge for once?" She asks, joking without a hint of urgency in her demeanor. Pushing Gram up with four of her arms, she slaps aside my sixth attack with one of her free hands. I learned over the past month that this still counts for stacking up my power, since it made contact with her, even if it didn't actually affect her. With a quick motion, Chandra reverses her position with the big man and mounts him instead, grabs Rolan's sword as he slashes at her, and pulls him in to deliver a backhand blow to his chest, which separates him from his weapon and sends him staggering backwards. At the same time, she throws several punches at Gram, who can only try to avoid getting knocked out by raising his arms and covering his face.
I fake a swiping attack, which Chandra anticipates and tries to guide aside, but I draw my arm back at the last moment and lunge forward with a straight punch. I connects with her side, which sends her flying off of the big man and tumbling across the ground. I run after her to keep my power's effect and try to land the eighth consecutive hit on the same target - for the first time ever. However, the six-armed woman pushes herself off the ground and jumps up onto her feet, preempting my swing with a straight uppercut into my stomach.
The immense impact presses all the air out of my body and I feel my feet leaving the ground, upon which I become airborne. I can see the sky, followed by the ground and then the sky again, before landing on my back. Coughing in surprise, I stare up into the vast blue above, realizing that she just landed her first hit on me since we came here a month ago. It's not that I was able to dodge them all this time, but that she was holding herself back from actually hurting me - or anyone else, for that matter - in a significant way.
"Oh damn, I didn't want to use so much strength!" I hear Chandra say with a flustered undertone.
But I'm not hurt. Well, it does hurt, but not to the extent that I can't move anymore. I don't feel anything broken or ruptured, even though the punch looked like a really powerful one. Especially with her massive arms, I feel like it should have caused much more damage to my body than it seems to have. Does this mean I'm sturdier than I thought I was?
"Kamii!" Gram shouts, his voice filled with worry. But then I sit back up and rub my belly. It does hurt after all, but it doesn't impair my ability to move around at all. "You... you are alright?"
"There's more about ya than I thought." The very person who punched me speaks with a wondrous expression on her face.
"Interesting." Pelomyx' voice resounds across the open space and everyone's eyes turn to her. She's coming towards me, her eyes fixed on my cursed arm, curiosity in her expression. "This is the result of my influence?"
"Are ya goin' to fight now?" Chandra asks while tilting her head questioningly, but she's being ignored for now.
"I understand the problem now." Pelomyx says and looks at me. "Kamii, I think it would be best for you to come with me and leave the humans here." Her expression is a serious one and she isn't looking down on them, speaking in an advising tone rather than a condescending one. I don't understand what she means, but she continues. "You have far greater potential than you can realize here. Chandra will train the humans in her own way, and I will give you training best suited for you. You can come back to get them, when you grow stronger."
So that's what she means. I never thought about that possibility before; if I go with Pelomyx, I may even be able to meet up with Onee-sama, and then we could come back here again together and free them. And I also think that Chandra has been secretly giving all of us training, in one way or another, although I don't know why she would do that. I turn to look at the three men, who are watching the situation and waiting for my answer to the offer. I'm sure they'll be worried about me going with the demon queen, but they must be aware of my deep connection with Onee-sama, and that I'm ultimately more inclined to side with her than with them.
"... alright." I mutter and look up to Pelomyx with a determined expression. "But we need to come back here as quickly as possible."
"You heard her." The demon queen gives me a warm smile and turns to Chandra. "I shall be fighting for her freedom now."
"I've been waitin' for this!" Cracking three sets of her knuckles, the six-armed clan leader responds and shows her excited, almost maniacal grin, as she sprints forward at an unprecedented speed. This is even faster than earlier, when she fought Pelomyx upon her arrival; this means that she's actually going to be very serious. "I won't let ya take her so easily. I think I can train her body the best!"
"Kamii needs more than muscles, you big oaf!" The demon queen responds in a cheerful voice and moves to meet Chandra while growing out four extra arms.
The two clash in the middle of the ring and the air shakes around them. Exchanging a flurry of punches and kicks, the two women crack the very ground they stand on with their immense strength, neither giving ground to the other. Their expressions are ones of elation, showing that they are enjoying this spar, although I feel like every single one of their punches could break the bones of humans and even crush rocks.
The three humans are watching, but I catch the leader turning around to the bard. He gives him a questioning glance, and the latter shakes his head. I don't know what it means, but they've clearly come to the conclusion that they could never hope to best the demon queen in combat, judging by her overwhelming display of power. I hope they give up and don't risk their lives trying to take her down anymore, since I don't want to see them die, and I especially don't want to have to fight them.
With a loud noise, Chandra is propelled backwards and thrown into the side of her fortress, crashing through the wall. Moments later, she shoots back out from inside, her clothes torn and her body bruised, but the excited grin on her face unchanged. The onlookers are cheering her on, but I see Shugra staring at the damage to the building with an almost despairing look, while shaking his head slowly.
No matter what she tries, Pelomyx is clearly physically stronger. Furthermore, she should have the same abilities like Onee-sama, so she could instantly swallow Chandra whole and be done with it. The fact that she's fighting her on equal ground means that she must consider her a good friend, whom she doesn't want to win against using such a method. The humans don't know about that side of Onee-sama, as far as I'm aware, but I'm sure they would really give up, if they did.
I watch the monumental battle for my freedom unfold before me, not even daring to blink, as to not miss anything.