"Hurrrrrrrrrrryaaaaah!" Sarah and I shouted together as we brought our swords, wreathed in purple flames, down towards the King Boar.

Our flames exploded right against the creature’s snout. The heat of our combined powers was so intense that it tore through the monster’s body and destroyed the vegetation in front of us.

But I didn’t let go of my sword. I could feel the creature pushing back against us. One slip, and not only Sarah and I, but Alicia and Justine behind us as well, would be run over.

"You filthy pig!" Sarah cursed, straining as she pushed her sword forwards. "Just die already!"

Despite the King Boar’s weight pressing against us, Sarah and I held our swords firm as our flames poured over our enemy. My arm ached, and it was becoming difficult to keep holding my sword, but there was no other choice.

Failing there would mean my death and the deaths of the people I cared about most in this world. So even though I was close to giving in, to dropping my blade from exhaustion, I forced my hand to maintain a tight grip on the sword’s hilt and held on until my flames died out.

When the magical flames died out, the terrain around us had changed. The grass within the range of our attack had been burned and reduced to ash, leaving behind nothing but scorched earth.

The trees struck by the flames had their branches burned away and were partially destroyed. Fortunately, there were no other humans besides us in that forest. As for our enemy...

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I said, staring at the King Boar—or what was left of him.

Part of his body had withstood the flames, coming away with only his fur burned, but another part had been scorched down to raw flesh. One of his eyes wouldn’t even open anymore, damaged by our combo.

But despite that, he was still alive and ready to launch another attack on us. Fast and brutal, that monster came charging towards us like a high-speed train ready to run us over.

My body was still recovering from my last attack. My legs wouldn’t move, as if the grass were still holding my feet in place.

’Damn it, damn it, damn it!!’ I thought desperately, feeling the reaper’s scythe close to my neck.

That was when I noticed it.

"Pink..."

Long pink hair, standing out from everything else around us, whipped through the air right beside the King Boar.

Camula ran, and despite the King Boar’s speed, she had positioned herself well enough for him to enter her range—the reach of her fist.

"Counter, Camula Punch!" She unleashed her skill with a move that looked like a special technique from a battle shounen as her fist struck the wild boar.

Camula’s clenched fist struck the enemy and sank into his fatty flesh, and right after the impact came the explosion.

Right where her hand struck, an explosion erupted like a beam of white light, piercing through the King Boar’s body. Forget about the creature’s attack. With the hole Counter had created in his body, he lost all momentum and quickly crumbled into black dust.

I—no, we—were dumbfounded, caught completely off guard by Camula appearing at such a crucial moment and saving our hides.

Camula’s expression was very serious as she continued staring at the empty space where our enemy had disappeared. Once the black dust had vanished, she relaxed her fighting stance and looked at us, her expression changing immediately.

Her face still had a few cracks from the attack she had suffered earlier, but that didn’t stop her from smiling at us and waving vigorously as she called out to me.

"Master, did you see that? I finished off our enemy! I did exactly as you ordered." She could barely contain her joy, grinning from ear to ear. "I was pretty amazing back there, wasn’t I? I think I deserve a nice reward from you, Ri—"

She tried to run over and give me an affectionate hug, but her legs gave out halfway there, sending her face-first into the ground.

She really had been amazing, right up until that not-at-all-heroic fall.

I rushed over to her and lifted her into my arms. "Camula, are you all right?"

"No!" she told me irritably, in the same tone as a spoiled teenage girl. "My body won’t move, and I’m really tired!"

"You seem healthy enough if you can complain like that," I teased her, only to see her puff out her cheeks in disagreement.

"You’re such a meanie, Master Rick!"

"Thank you."

"Eh?" She seemed surprised by my words.

"Thank you, Camula. You really saved our asses back there."

Camula just stared at me with her mouth hanging open, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Footsteps approached us, and before long, the whole gang was gathered around us.

"Hey, you did great back there, Camula." Sarah was the first to speak.

"It truly was a magnificent attack." Diane joined in with the praise.

"But the name ’Camula Punch’ was kind of lame."

"Erina, don’t say something like that when she just saved our lives," Justine said coldly. "Something you didn’t even come close to doing."

"Hey, I tried to help earlier, but in that situation, you could’ve been caught in an explosion."

"All I hear are excuses for your incompetence."

"Ah, Justine, you’re so mean to me."

"Of course I am, because you’re an Erina."

Everyone’s spirits seemed to be improving, and the battle we had just fought already felt like something distant. All the Valkyries were praising Camula. All except one.

Alicia approached us, clearly displeased. Her eyes were fixed on Camula.

"I’m going to make one thing very clear first," Alicia said in a serious tone. "I don’t trust you at all. Despite your shell, nothing changes the fact that you’re a monster."

"Hey, Alicia. Is this really a good time to bring this up?" Erina said, trying to ease the tension.

"Shhhhhh!" Justine stopped her. "Let her continue."

"Geez, why can’t you give me a break?"

Alicia pretended not to hear the others and continued addressing Camula. "But Rick trusts you, and it’s undeniable that his trust has brought us results."

Alicia clasped her hands in front of her. They were still wounded and stained with her own blood.

"Despite being a Demon, your loyalty to our Master is undeniable, seeing as you’re willing to put your life at risk as well."

The princess took a breath, preparing herself for what she would say next. "That said, I’m willing to call a truce with you."

"A truce?"

"That’s right, a truce," Alicia replied to Camula, turning her face away so she wouldn’t have to look at her. "I don’t intend to become your friend, but I won’t give you a hard time anymore, and I’ll work with you so we can achieve victory."

"I-I see."

"And one more thing."

"There’s more? What is it?"

Alicia hesitated, her cheeks red with embarrassment. "T-Thank you for saving Rick back then and for finishing off that pig."

"Right," Camula said, still recovering from the shock. Being praised like that for the first time seemed to have left her in some kind of paralysis.

"Don’t expect me to say that to you all the time," Alicia continued. "And don’t expect me to let you have Rick all to yourself either. In that regard, I don’t intend to let you do whatever you want."

Camula smiled the moment Alicia said that. "Oh, about that."

"Hmm?"

Camula mischievously grabbed me by the neck and pulled me close to her. More precisely, my face was now between her large mounds.

"Don’t think I’m going to play fair in that area. After all, I’m a Demon, and there’s no one better than me to stay by my Master’s side."

"Hey! Get Rick out from between those cow tits of yours!" Alicia exclaimed, startled by Camula’s audacity.

"Alicia, perhaps such vulgar words are unbecoming of a princess." Diane tried to correct the blonde girl’s lack of manners, but it was no use.

Alicia was now holding onto my body, trying to free me from the softness of Camula’s breasts. I actually liked being surrounded by the girl’s melons, but it was uncomfortable being pulled by Alicia while Camula tried to keep my head between her bazoombas.

My neck hurt, and I could feel my breathing becoming difficult. I placed one of my hands on Camula’s shoulder and, somewhat reluctantly, pulled my face away from the pudding-like softness of my Demonic milf’s body.

"Aaah..." I took a deep breath once I was free. Despite appearances, I didn’t like breasts more than I liked breathing.

"Hey, Master." Even so, Camula was still close to me, barely giving me a chance to catch my breath. "Don’t think I forgot. I dealt the finishing blow to that monstrous creature. I think I deserve a fitting reward."

She didn’t even wait for my answer, stealing a hot, tongue-filled kiss from me right in front of the other Valkyries.