Okay... I know it's taking a long time between chapters, but I'M TRYING. I don't want these final chapters of the series to be bad... I really don't... And I swear, this chapter took ONE WEEK to write. Like, it wasn't a week where I'd write a little bit every, I dunno, four days. No, it was seven days (not consecutively, lol) of writing, deleting parts, going back and revising things... I'M REALLY TRYING, so pleeeeeease tell me what you think in the comments too 😭😭😭 I love your comments so much!
Enjoy reading!
Smoke...
That's all Esmeralda can see, nothing but smoke. Her arm hurts, and she feels a heavy weight on top of her.
Luminar... Luminar?!
She thinks, remembering where she was and what had just happened.
She pushes Luminar's body off her and lays him on the ground beside her.
"Luminar, Luminar, are you okay?! LUMINAR!"
She starts to panic, still unable to see clearly because of the smoke.
"What's wrong?... You look unrecognizable, Esmeralda."
A voice filled with pain, clearly struggling to speak, rings out.
As the smoke begins to clear, Luminar's face gradually comes into view. A good portion of his body is burned, but a green glow emanates from each wound, slowly regenerating his body.
"He thought faster than I did... Not only did he protect me, but he also protected himself with a spell."
Esmeralda thought.
Even though the spell had protected him, the damage was still extensive, and Luminar was definitely out of this fight.
"You don't even look like the great strategist I once knew... Losing to a man, of all people... Who are you? Where did that feminist warrior go?"
Esmeralda's bangs hide her eyes as she can only lament what's happening. He was right. The old Esmeralda would never have frozen up in a fight like this... What happened?!
She raises her gaze, slowly taking in her surroundings. Celestina isn't badly injured, but she's unconscious. Oswin, Aveline, Crinlah... All of them are badly injured and unconscious. Fortunately, they still seem to be alive.
The footsteps of the man who had taken down elite witches and mages in seconds begin to echo behind Esmeralda again. The man's gaze is fixed directly on the green-haired witch's ass as he wipes the tip of a spear clean.
"Just look at you all. So proud of your magic, your powers... But the moment someone who actually knows how to fight shows up, you're all lying on the ground."
Esmeralda takes a deep breath and starts doing what she does best: thinking.
She staggers sideways, moving away from Luminar, and kneels on the ground again. The man continues approaching her slowly.
"Anyway, goodbye!"
He pulls his spear back and attacks at point-blank range.
Esmeralda dodges the spear, grabs the man's hand, and pulls with her left hand, which catches a wire extending from the spear.
Beep.
She pins the man's hand against the spear he is holding, putting her weight on his hand.
The man's eyes widen.
Beep.
The man kicks her away. Since Esmeralda is putting her weight on his hand, she can't defend herself and is sent flying backward by the kick.
The man jumps backward, protecting himself with his arms, while Esmeralda conjures a shield in front of her body.
Beep... BOOM!
The spear explodes. Shrapnel flies toward both of them, and the shock wave sends them flying in opposite directions.
Esmeralda quickly gets back up and starts running around the room, her heels making that classic click, click sound with every step, deliberately letting the man know she's running even though he can't see anything.
Meanwhile, he remains seated on the ground, sighing angrily as he wipes the blood from his arm.
"That bitch got me with that one... I've gotta admit."
He then jumps to his feet and starts focusing on his hearing, trying to figure out where she is through the smoke.
When the smoke finally clears, the man looks toward the source of the noise.
And... she isn't there?
"Huh?"
He hears a footstep behind him and quickly turns around.
BOOOOSH!
He presses both hands against Esmeralda's arm and shoves it upward. Her hand is open, clearly ready to cast some kind of spell.
"You're a clever little thing, aren't you?!"
He shouts as he throws a punch.
Esmeralda dodges his hand, and with a quick movement, her right leg wraps around his arm while her left leg coils around his neck.
"She's fast!"
He thinks.
His hands fly toward his own neck to grab her legs, assuming she is going for a classic chokehold.
But she pulls her legs away and performs a backward somersault, throwing his body to the ground while grabbing his leg with her right hand.
Her rapid movements leave the man confused. He can't keep up with her. He crashes to the ground as Esmeralda spins back onto her feet, pulling his leg upward.
As soon as the man manages to look up, he sees a glint above him.
The glint?
Light reflecting off the pointed tip of Esmeralda's heel.
She brings it down at incredible speed, aiming straight for his balls.
Luckily for him, he has enough time to put his hands in the way. Her heel strikes the man's strong hand, leaving a small gash across his wrist.
"Agh!"
He growls.
Esmeralda takes a few steps back to put some distance between them, while the man tries to grab her leg.
If Esmeralda's heel strike had connected, the fight would have been over, and she'd have had a little testicle skewer to eat for lunch.
The man snaps his fingers, trying to forget the pain of the cut on his hand.
"You're so fucking dead, girl!"
Esmeralda completely ignores him and maintains her fighting stance.
The man gets up and throws a spear at her, but because of the cut, the spear veers off course and loses momentum in midair. Esmeralda easily deflects it away.
Esmeralda's strategies seem to be working.
The man grabs another spear and charges at her in close combat.
He thrusts the spear from one side. Esmeralda dodges, and the spear embeds itself in the wall to her left.
The man then prepares to throw a punch.
Esmeralda crouches, a classic duck. Her ass sways, and to her surprise, the man doesn't punch her.
No. He throws a side kick, moving from right to left.
Esmeralda notices and tries to stand back up, but she's too late.
The kick catches her arm. It's definitely not a blow she needs to worry about, but it pushes her body sideways, making her hit her head against the shaft of the spear embedded in the wall to her left.
"Aah!"
She lets out a feminine... fragile... scream.
And falls to the ground.
The man pulls the spear out of the wall.
"You gave me a hard time, bitch... But playtime's over."
He pulls the spear back...
TUFF.
The spear doesn't move at all...
He looks down.
A heel... green... beautiful and gleaming... right between his legs.
He was kicked from behind.
He feels his epididymis being completely obliterated by a foot that lifts his balls and crushes them against his pelvis.
He's never seen a kick like that before...
And he wishes he had never experienced one.
The clone in front of him dissolves after the strike.
"You know... For a minute, I panicked. For a minute, I thought I was going to lose. For a minute, I even wondered whether you'd notice... But then I remembered..."
She finally lifts her foot away from his manhood.
He feels a slender, sexy, delicate hand brushing behind his ear, while his balls seem to be on fire from the sheer agony.
His mouth hangs open. He can't say a word. He can only tremble.
"We women are far too intelligent to be outsmarted by a pair of balls..."
She removes her hand from behind his ear.
"Come on... Where is it?"
"MY... MY... MY BALLS!"
"There it is! Hahahaha!"
She says this as she casts a spell in front of him.
Seconds later, he drops to his knees, and the trap activates, sending multiple vines shooting out to restrain his body, pinning him to the ground with his arms and legs spread apart.
"No! No! Aaagh, my balls! Please, no!"
"Look how those little things make you stupid! You saw me setting up the trap, and you still fell for it..."
Esmeralda's hands glow silver as she runs them over the man's legs, torso, chest, and face.
"What is she doing?!"
The man wonders, his thoughts interrupted by pauses to cry over his testicles.
"Up you go. Let's get our little bunny out of his burrow."
She says this while pulling the man's pants down.
His balls are red and swollen.
"Oh my... I really did get them good... Normally, they only look like this when I castrate someone with a kick, but considering I held back to avoid doing that, I really got them good."
"She... held back?!"
The man widens his eyes.
She looks at him and smiles.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll still relieve you of your little ones. I just wanted to give you some special treatment first."
She says this with a smile on her face.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES SHE MEAN BY THAT?!"
"Well, let's see. While I go get the spear, you can say goodbye to your little round friends."
"What?! WHAT?! WHAT?!?!"
He is so desperate to understand what she's talking about that the pain begins to take a backseat in his mind.
Esmeralda picks up the spear the man had been using and walks toward him.
"First, let's see if the spell worked."
She pulls the spear back and tries to drive it into his hand, but it strikes with a metallic clang and bounces off.
"Hard as iron, huh? Wonderful! But this part should still be..."
She pulls his testicles with her foot.
"Aghaaaaa!"
"Haha! Soft, fragile, and useless as always. Alright, so all I need to do is..."
Esmeralda plants the spear in the ground beside the man's testicles, making him swallow hard.
She walks over to Crinlah, Oswin, and Aveline.
When she raises her gaze, she sees Luminar slowly recovering and carrying Celestina outside.
"Need any help?"
"Don't worry, I've got everything under control. Are you sure you're okay?"
Esmeralda asks as she begins casting a spell to levitate their bodies and carry them outside.
"Yes, yes, don't worry. I can stand up now."
Esmeralda smiles and takes everyone outside before returning to the room.
"Hey, hey! I'm sorry! I won't hurt your friends anymore, I promise! Please spare me, I beg you!"
Esmeralda ignores him, walking toward the spear.
"I swear, I swear! I won't do anything else! I won't hunt witches anymore, I promise!"
Esmeralda looks into his eyes with hatred and pauses, holding the cord attached to the spear.
...
She gives him a slight smirk and lets out a quiet,
"Huh..."
Then she pulls the cord and walks out of the room, swaying her hips provocatively as she leaves.
"NO, NO, I PROMISE! PLEASE, LET ME GO!"
Beep.
"AAAGHAAAA! YOU BITCH, YOU DAMNED MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FIND YOU AND I'LL GET MY REVENGE, YOU WHORE!"
Beep.
"Ah...... shit... no....."
Beep... BOOOM!
Voosh!
The fast orange blur passes in front of the man's blue-glowing eyes.
THUFF!
He blocks Xymera's side kick with his arm, taking a few steps backward to regain his balance.
VOOSH!
Behind him, Velmora kicks between his legs.
Clack!
The shield appears, blocking her kick.
"Agh, my fucking foot! This shit really is hard!"
Velmora shouts.
On the other side, the same impact sound can be heard repeatedly as Roger curls up on the ground, clutching his balls, while Aurelia keeps kicking backward with her heel, aiming for his testicles but hitting the blue shield every single time, clearly frustrated.
"Come on! Get up already! That wasn't even that bad! Plenty of men have taken much worse from us... Well... they cried just like you're crying now... But that doesn't matter! Get up already! Let's fight!"
The girl shouts.
"Yokrin, help me..."
The man cries, still suffering from agonizing pain in his balls.
Yokrin manages to grab Xymera's wrist while dodging another one of her attacks.
"How the fuck did you end up in this situation?! You idiot! Did your shield malfunction or something?!"
Yokrin punches Xymera's left breast. She screams and drops to her knees, clutching her enormous breasts.
Velmora isn't about to let that go unpunished. She charges at him again from behind, spinning her body in midair to move in front of him before kicking once more.
And again, her kick strikes the shield.
"Ugh, always from behind, huh?! You dress like a slut and fight like one too!"
On the other side, Roger is finally starting to recover and attempts to get back on his feet. Even as he stands up, Aurelia continues striking at his testicles, obviously with every attack being blocked by the shield.
"Ah, finally."
"You fucking bitches! You're gonna regret this!"
The man takes some kind of card out of his pants pocket and holds it near his shoulder guard, which once again speaks in a professional female voice.
"Full release authorized. Welcome, Roger."
Several neon-green wires emerge from the shoulder guard and connect to his body. The blue lights turn green, and glowing green markings spread across his body, as if his blood vessels themselves were glowing.
Finally, two green spheres begin to appear beneath his pants.
His testicles are glowing.
"Huh? He decided to go all in? Is he going to spend all his mana here?"
"Doesn't matter. This is good for us. A testicle without mana is a testicle without protection. Something useless becoming even more useless. If we land even the tiniest flick, those little things will cease to exist. Not to mention that now it's much easier to see our targets."
"So, I won't let you land a single hit on me."
Roger replies, assuming a sprinter's starting stance.
VOOOSH!
He disappears.
THUFF!
"AGH!!!"
He reappears with his fist buried in Aurelia's stomach.
"I'm going to finish you off first, bitch!"
Aurelia hears him. Her eyes widen in surprise, but the moment she hears those words, her expression changes into a sadistic smile.
"Bring it on, you weakling."
THUFF!
The punch lands squarely on her nose.
She tries to react, but he disappears again.
"Huh?!"
A second later, he reappears behind her and stomps on her ass, knocking her down.
"Ah!"
She falls to the ground, and he climbs on top of her.
"How did he get so fast?!"
Xymera asks.
"He didn't get faster... Technically."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Something did get faster, though. His processing speed. It's so fast that he can practically predict what she's going to do before she does it. But he himself isn't actually moving any faster."
"But he disappears because he's so fast!"
"He disappears, but not because of his speed. It's literally invisibility. After all, why would he disappear for three seconds and then reappear to land a hit? Did he run away and then come back? If that were true, he'd be moving so fast that Aurelia would have died from the very first punch."
"And how do you know that?"
"Come on, Xymera. More than 200 pairs of testicles have ceased to exist because of me. Do you really think I've never fought someone with that kind of magical equipment?"
"I'm still right here, you bitches!"
Yokrin shouts behind them as he attempts to throw a punch. Both women dodge.
"But I have a plan, and it has to do with this guy."
She says, looking at Yokrin.
"Come with me."
She whispers.
Velmora opens her hands, and a blinding flash erupts. Yokrin covers his eyes to protect himself, but Velmora and Xymera don't need to blind him completely. Taking his eyes off the fight is already enough for two professional criminals to disappear.
"Huh?! Running away, bitches? Or are you planning another cowardly sneak attack from behind?"
Meanwhile, Roger is on top of Aurelia, frantically punching her face as she protects herself with her arms.
"Get the fuck off me, you perverted bastard!"
"HEY, BITCHES! COWARDS! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Yokrin shouts.
Xymera suddenly jumps out from behind a bush. She was so close to him that all he sees are two enormous breasts appearing right in front of his face.
Her hand darts down toward his groin, but the shield protects him.
However, Xymera doesn't stop. She pushes against the shield with all her strength.
Yokrin laughs.
"Give it up, girl. Our technology is far too smart for you."
The moment he says that, he feels something...
Every time he'd felt that sensation before, it had been paradise. An angelic hand caressing his balls, one of the greatest pleasures a man could experience...
But in this situation, it becomes his worst nightmare.
He feels delicate fingers wrapping around his testicles.
"HUH?!"
He looks down in desperation...
The shield is right there. Her hand hasn't passed through it.
Then... how?!
"Fortunately, even this technology can't protect something as soft as this!"
As she says that, her fingers close around his testicles.
And then... divine punishment, authorized by Mother Nature herself for all men to endure, begins between Yokrin's legs.
"AGHAAAAA! AAGHAAAAAA!!!! MY BALLS, MY BALLS! SHE'S GOT MY BALLS!"
"Your little shield can only protect one thing at a time, right? Awww, poor little thing! Want me to let go?"
"PLEASE, PLEASE! MY BALLS! I BEG YOU!"
While this humiliation unfolds, Xymera creates a 360-degree shield around them.
Naturally, Roger realizes what's happening when he hears the bizarre screaming.
"Yokrin!"
He gets up, climbing off Aurelia.
"Ah-ah-ah!"
Velmora raises a finger.
"One more step, and this guy's sack is going to be empty."
Roger freezes for a moment.
"Please, please, don't!"
The man, now on his knees, begs.
"Come on. If you deactivate your equipment, I won't lay a single finger on you."
Roger looks down at the ground, tense. It takes him several seconds to decide what to do... even with his mind working 500% faster than normal.
"AGAAAAHAAAAAAA!"
Yokrin screams as Velmora squeezes a little harder.
"Okay, okay! I'll do it!"
Roger says.
He slaps his hand against his shoulder and twists the device, which makes a sound like a motor shutting down.
The lights on his body gradually disappear, one by one, until they reach his groin and the two little glowing spheres vanish.
"Done. Now you can... UGH!"
He looks down and sees a sexy heel.
Aurelia kicked him from behind.
"Uh... uh... Why?..."
"I said that I wouldn't lay a finger on you... I can't control Aurelia's actions. And seriously, as a woman, if you'd climbed on top of me the way you climbed on top of her, I'd have knocked you unconscious, restrained you, and used your balls as punching bags for about two weeks before actually castrating you."
Aurelia crouches behind him and pinches Roger's balls between her fingers.
"AGHAAA!"
"Yeah... Without any mana, there was no way they'd survive one of my kicks. Empty."
"Hmm... I wonder if they're worth anything?"
"Let me see... Hmm..."
Aurelia touches the man, drawing a symbol on him before opening her hand. The symbol unfolds in the air, forming something resembling a piece of paper.
"Hmm... Uh... No contract under his name..."
"Uhng... What a shame..."
Xymera mutters.
"What about this one?"
Velmora asks, violently shaking Yokrin's testicles, making him scream in the most humiliating way possible.
"Let me see."
Xymera walks over to him and performs the same movements Aurelia did.
"Hmmm... Well, look at that! There's a contract!"
"Oh, nice!"
Velmora cheers.
"An angry ex-girlfriend, huh... But... the payment is pretty low... $2,000 per ball."
"$2,000??? That's what I make in an hour during our revenge nights!"
"Exactly... This guy's balls aren't worth a damn..."
"Well, if we pop both of them, at least we get a free lunch."
"Yeah, guess that's the way to go..."
"HUH?! WHAT?! NO, NO, WAIT, YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT?! YOU'RE... AAGHAAAAA!"
Velmora squeezes harder.
"In the end, this is actually a good thing. Lately, I've been letting some guys keep one ball out of pity. Sometimes the guy didn't do anything that bad, but those idiots always come back looking for revenge and end up losing their last ball."
Velmora mutters.
"RIGHT?! FUCK, MEN ARE SO STUPID! THEY ACT LIKE THEY WANT TO LOSE THEM! I mean, look at this. They know how ridiculous and sensitive those things are, and yet they keep walking around with their legs spread like idiots. I don't know... I think everyone deserves to lose both of them."
Aurelia shouts.
"Easy there, Aurelia. Remember, we do this for work. We're professionals, not psychopaths... even if this is a lot of fun!"
"NO, NO...!"
Velmora squeezes Yokrin's testicles with all her strength.
The orbs don't last even two seconds.
Pop! Pop!
"AGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa... uhn......"
"Pop, pop!"
Aurelia shouts.
"Damn, Aurelia, you're starting to sound like a crazy bitch, haha!"
The man falls to the ground, crying, his mouth open in a silent scream.
"Okay, Xymera, can you handle the paperwork and collect the reward? I think we're eating something different today. How about dragon testicles?"
"HOLY FUCK, REALLY? SERIOUSLY?!"
"Yep! I don't think Armand and the others will need us anymore. I mean... I don't think we'll be much help, and I'm still afraid of getting arrested here with that pink-haired girl on our trail... Shall we go?"
Crack, crack, crack.
Armand's boots and the girls' heels continue stepping on the grass as they walk through the forest. Ten minutes have passed...
Until...
Armand suddenly stops.
This time, Lillith manages to stop before bumping into him.
"Armand?"
Morgana asks, immediately becoming alert, knowing that if he has stopped, something important must have happened.
Armand remains still for a few seconds...
Until...
Bwoosh!
He opens his hand, releasing a nearly black, purple wave that sweeps through the forest at an astonishing speed, clearing almost everything from view in that direction.
In the middle of the forest stands his target.
Gerald.
Now missing an arm.
...
Silence...
"AGHAAAAAAAA! WHAT THE FUCK?! AGHAAAAA! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! AGGHAAAA!!!!"
He starts screaming, clutching his shoulder as black smoke begins consuming it and regenerating his body.
"How did he realize someone was there?! Even when I can see him, I can't sense his mana!"
Morgana wonders.
The next second, Armand extends his hand and unleashes the same attack again, this time in the opposite direction, at a target standing very close to him.
The attack destroys part of the forest once more, but this time, a reddish shield appears.
Nyx.
Emma's eyes widen. She knows exactly which attack Armand used, and she knows he only uses it when he's completely serious.
That alone is surprising enough.
But someone actually managing to block that magic?!
That's even more absurd!
Nyx approaches Armand, raising her knee.
Armand tries to dodge backward, but Lillith is standing right behind him.
"Huh?!"
He reacts incredibly quickly, stepping beside Lillith. Instead of dodging backward, he attempts to thrust his own knee forward.
This blocks part of the attack, but Nyx's knee still grazes his right testicle.
"Agha!"
Armand falls and drops to one knee...
If that attack had landed properly, the fight would have ended right there, and all his preparation would have been for nothing.
His ball hurts, but his anger is greater. He's furious with himself for failing to notice Nyx's presence in time.
Nyx jumps to the side, grabbing Morgana. She pulls out a red cloak and wraps it around both of them.
VOOSH!
They both disappear from the spot.
Torne approaches Gerald, walking beside him.
"Hey, you getting up? I told you not to accumulate so much mana, you idiot."
"Shut up, you bastard."
"Come on. Our targets are those brats over there."
Armand hears their conversation from a distance and stares them down, rising to his feet as if to say they'd have to get through him first.
But then he feels a chill run down his spine.
"Well... you really did come. What a gentleman, coming to rescue your princess."
He sees Eliza entering the path between the destroyed trees.
Elegant as always.
That sight...
He remembers every single time his testicles have suffered at her hands.
He still says nothing. He merely swallows hard and prepares for battle.
"Well... someone's in a hurry."
Eliza snaps her fingers.
"I'll take you all to a more suitable battlefield. I don't want to be interrupted while playing with my little toy here."
The same cloak sweeps over Lillith, Emma, Torne, and Gerald.
"WAIT, I'M NOT HEALED YE...!"
Gerald screams before disappearing.
"Now then..."
Eliza sighs.
"I need those balls back in my possession... Ready to admit that they belong to me?"