Dungeon Overlord: Monster Girl Harem!-Chapter 81: An Unweilding Desire

The hostility in the cave vanished the moment Erina cried out at her father.

This caused everyone's movements to halt instantly.

Except for Leonhardt.

He used the moment of disturbance to rush forward and thrust his sword towards the blonde male, attempting to decapitate him.

"You little fucker!"

The blonde muttered, flicking his sword and twisting his body desperately to avoid the sudden cheap shot.

However, Leonhardt was out for the man's blood—Instantly using Tyrant's Blitz, he accelerated his strike, following up the initial blow…

Clang!

Silver sparks spread through the air, and everyone gasped, especially Erina and her party, as a figure slid back along the ground.

He was forced to stab his sword into the ground to reduce his speed.

"Kid, you're pretty damn aggressive for a rookie!"

Erina's father smirked mischievously, tapping his foot against the ground.

Boom!

The ground shook beneath them as Erina's father made his move.

Leonhardt's eyes narrowed, then shot wide in shock.

Desperate to parry the sudden counterattack, his mana surged into his throbbing arms, but the pain from the previous blow dulled their strength.

Clang! Shling! Crack!

The sounds of steel meeting steel filled the air.

With each blow increasing, the pace became more punishing than the last.

Joker's narrow longsword swept through the air, aimed at Leonhardt's throat, a hair's breadth from its mark—he deflected the strike with a sharp upward swing.

But the Joker followed up, slashing across Leonhardt's chest. Leonhardt staggered back, blocking the blow with the hilt of his sword.

The blade scraped against the metal guard, sending dull blue sparks flying as Leonhardt gritted his teeth against the force.

Leonhardt jumped back after two punishing blows, his arms shaking, stunned by the raw strength of the man's sword.

But this was a mistake, as the Joker's lips curled into a cruel grin.

"Shit!"

[Leonhardt!]

Ifrit's voice rang out, filled with alarm.

A faint blue light enveloped the Joker, his muscles bulging, before a low, grainy voice echoed in Leonhardt's ears.

"Battle Skill—Serpent Strike!"

The Joker vanished from sight in a blur of motion, leaving only the echo of his words behind.

"STOP!" Erina's voice boomed through the cave as she finally awoke from the shock of seeing Leonhardt so easily pressured.

But it was too late.

Leonhardt's magic exploded in a fiery black aura, focused on the enemy. In the blink of an eye, he felt the rush of wind blowing past him.

The Joker appeared in front of him as his blade pierced towards him at lightning speed. Leonhardt's instincts screamed danger, but he couldn't react in time.

"I can't—"

In a moment of desperation, he abandoned his left arm to block his chest.

He flooded it with mana, thickening the muscles to the limit. The tip of Joker's blade penetrated Leon's flesh and forced him back several steps.

Leonhardt stumbled, barely keeping himself standing as his bloody arm drooped beside him.

"Tough little bastard… I see." The joker spat on the ground, flicking his sword covered in corrosive blood. "Almost destroyed my sword, you little punk."

'This man is powerful!'

Leonhardt's chest pounded, his heart racing, while his body screamed in protest.

But the Joker wasn't finished.

Erina's father curled his lips into a vicious grin, his sword humming with a blue light that resonated along the blade.

With a flicker of light, the danger signals rang in Leon's head.

The Joker followed up, his blade striking Leonhardt's exposed side, where his defences lacked the most. In anger, Leonhardt pushed forward and twisted his sword into the blade's path, hoping to deflect it.

The two blades collided with a burst of black and silver sparks, the force throwing Leonhardt and the man back, almost flooring the pair.

However, the Joker's relentless assault didn't stop.

"Haa… haa…"

Exhausted from the constant usage of his arachnid and Fae skills to observe, learn and try to steal the skills from this annoying man. Leonhardt's body trembled as his muscles screamed with a dull ache.

Sweat dripped down his forehead as his breath became ragged.

"Dad, please… I beg you to stop!"

A golden light shone the moment her father's blade refused to stop.

Each of his blows was calculated to create the most pain and slowly wound Leonhardt until he couldn't move or resist… a type of torture.

And Leonhardt, with one instance of Tyrant's Blitz, could barely keep up.

'Ifrit… remove my limiter.'

[What?!]

'Do it!'

Anger, shame, and frustration at his first genuine loss made Leonhardt desperate for one blow, just one singular blow, to wipe the smirk off the man's face.

Erina's father, or god. He didn't care!

[Please… think carefully!]

Ifrit's affectionate voice, marred with tears, caused his chest to tighten.

But the sword of his enemy continued to flash before his eyes, slicing his cheek, cutting his thigh and piercing his abdomen.

Small, irritating wounds.

'Please… let me do this.'

[Y-You are unfair, cruel… how can I deny you? This is wrong when you know how I feel!]

'Ah…'

The affection and love Ifrit gave him now became clearer than before, though he wouldn't become a human or try to imitate them.

He thought their notion of love was quite novel and one of their positive traits.

[◊ Tyrant Blitz Limit Temporarily removed! ◊]

"Father!"

A third shout caused the last strike of Joker to cut above Leonhardt's right eye, forming a deep wound, but his lips curled into a devilish grin, revealing his fangs.

—Dual Cast

"Tyrant's Blitz…"

Instantly, Leonhardt used double cast twice… and four instances of Tyrant's blitz activated.

"Ugh?!"

Blood poured from Leon's mouth as his organs contracted, suffering immense damage from the sudden usage of so much mana, pumping it into his muscles.

Their size bulged before shrinking rapidly.

A loud ringing filled Leonhardt's ears as all sounds vanished.

He could only see in black and white as his world lost colour.

And the taste of his spit lost all flavour.

Ba-Dump!

The pounding of his heart thumped his chest as if struggling with a heart attack.

Tap!

In a flash of light, the ground collapsed, and Leonhardt vanished from sight.

"Huh?"

Because his daughter started crying.

The Joker decided to stop the punishment at that… but his pupils narrowed the moment Leonhardt attacked.

"Are you crazy, Kid?!"

Clang!

He desperately lifted his sword out of instinct before a black arc cleaved the air, and Leonhardt's blow sent his body floating back, staggering on the rocky floor.

"!!!"

Every fibre of his muscle felt the blow as pain exploded inside the Joker.

His hands trembled as the shock from the strike threatened to knock him out.

Yet, the only thing holding him up was sheer willpower.

In desperation, Erina's father thought back on everything he could remember, yet it all pointed in one direction: the strange ability and danger Leonhardt possessed.

"A monster…"

Leonhardt's body spun in the air before lunging back, using the webbing to fling himself through the air, chasing the swordsman with another diagonal blow.

Fortunately, this attack left him an opportunity!

Joker lifted his sword into a guard, pressing both palms and bracing the weight of the blow.

His teeth grated under the force, and a crack appeared in his sword as the force of the impact nearly caused his shoulders to dislocate from the blow.

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But the first to suffer was Leonhardt, whose arm split, filled with dozens of cuts.

"Kid…"

Leonhardt's eyes became blood-red, filled with swollen capillaries.

He bit his lip hard, tearing at the tender flesh, unable to control his growing fury.

'Just… one more—'

Leonhardt begged his body.

He wanted to land a blow, no matter how pathetic or stupid he looked. It was strange… a feeling of pride and maybe arrogance, but he didn't want to lose so easily.

"HAH!"

Leonhardt pushed with every bit of strength in his battered body. His skin split and the veins bulged as they carried a deadly red glow to his pale white complexion.

Every pore opened with a shower of sweat, staining his clothes black with mud, blood, and water.

The magic in Leonhardt's veins overflowed, exploding forth as the surrounding air itself crackled and seared, while small chunks of mana became solid, vanishing from sight.

"Never play the martyr—it always looks so painful…"

The joker stared coldly into the bloodstained crimson pupils and swung his sword, no longer treating this like a play fight.

"Let me show you what the Rank A—Joker can do."

With a single swing of the blade, he shattered the mana enveloping Leonhardt.

"! What!?"

Leon's expression froze, shocked and trembling.

"Revelator"

This time, Erina's father was serious.

The Joker's voice was grim.

Without giving the boy time to breathe, his palm glowed a light blue, and, in his shock, Joker punched the boy's chest.

The sound of his hand sinking into the youth's flesh resonated through the cavern like a sickening echo.

"A-A-AAAARGH!!"

But!

"Cinderblast!"

Leonhardt's eyes narrowed, his right hand extended as a swirl of blue fire erupted, and a burst of fire exploded at point-blank in the Joker's smiling face.

"I'll be damned."

B-Boom!

The Joker's face erupted in a torrent of blue fire.

Leonhardt smirked and began to stagger.

A sad, defeated sigh echoed from the voice of a certain spirit.

'I give up…'

Even so, before he lost consciousness, his opponent's expression caused Leon's eyebrow to raise.

In the darkness, he only heard vague words from the arrogant man… but they no longer carried aggression or anger.

"I see. Is he the one you've chosen, Erina?"

Then everything turned black.