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(POV Saeko)

"K-Kuah!"

After hearing a scream that echoes throughout the cave, the next thing I hear is Rei-chan's scream. Something with a fairly fast speed sent towards her and she only had enough time to block it with the rifle she had.

"Rei-san, are you okay?"

Worried, Cleirsa-san and Turla-san approach Rei to check her condition, and like them, the rest of us also walk to where Rei had been knocked down.

"Sh-Shit... that damn thing almost ripped my breasts off!"

Upon arrival, I can see that the rifle she was holding had deep marks on the metal... also, some of the armor that Alexander had given us earlier was ripped... that was armor that could even withstand quite high caliber bullets, so It is quite surprising that our new enemy achieved that.

...if it weren't for this armor, I think she wouldn't have been able to complain just by saying "almost". Although I see her rubbing her breasts from the discomfort of the attack, it does not appear that she is seriously injured.

The Armor did its job very well… it's a relief. Unfortunately, Alexander will cry a bit when he learns that this equipment has been damaged. Apparently it cost him quite a bit of "money" to give each of us this kit.

…I wonder if it can be repaired? I should ask Cleirsa-san and Turla-san about this later, they may have an acquaintance for that. After all, from what I've seen, most of the people in this world wear similar outfits and it would not be profitable to be buying new equipment every time they break down a bit.

[Greee!!]

Well, let's worry about that later. Now there is one more important thing to deal with right now. When I turn around with the others to follow that cry, flying while looking at us with a lot of annoyance on her face, as expected, a harpy is flying a few meters from the ground.

"...that harpy seems to be more dangerous than the ones we've encountered so far."

"I-It must be the Matriarch of this nest… and she's probably not very happy about the fact that all her companions are on the ground lifeless."

I haven't felt this big pressure in a while when fighting someone… well, it's not that bad that when I was still at the first level of Soul and had to fight against opponents with a higher level.

“Cleirsa-san and Rei-chan stay behind and look for an opportunity to attack her. Turla-san, you will be in charge of protecting these two while the rest of us deal with this harpy. "

"" I-it's alright ""

Probably only those of us who have Soul level 2 can fight this harpy directly. The pressure it emits should be too strong for girls who have not reached that level. Also, even though Cleirsa also has a level 2 Soul now, her fighting style is not suitable for direct confrontations.

"How dare you do that to the fat woman?! Vrana will not forgive you and pluck your feathers herself, you damn bird woman, Roock~!! "

[Greee !!]

Unexpectedly, before I can come up with a plan with Mary-san, Scythe-chan, and Vrana-chan to deal with this enemy, the latter takes flight and charges at the harpy!

"Damn it! I'm not fat, stupid Vrana!! Besides, has she forgotten that she is the same species as that 'bird woman'? "

"S-She's only worried about you, so don't let her words bother you."

"W-Well ... I know that, but... it's still annoying!!"

Vrana-chan and Rei-chan even though they seem to fight constantly, these girls have undoubtedly created quite a strong bond between them. I can see that even though Rei-chan is complaining, she turns her head to avoid showing the smile that forms on her face when she sees Vrana-chan worried about her.

Still… it's true that Vrana-chan doesn't seem like the smartest girl. As Rei-chan said, I'm sure she forgot that the enemy she's fighting now is the same race as her. I even think that now Scythe-chan has a deeper thought process than this girl...

"Scythe-chan... you're drooling again."

“Fufufu… she probably knows that that harpy's crystal is stronger than the ones she has eaten so far. She must be wanting to open that harpy's chest so she can eat it. "

"..."

Well… it might just be favoritism on my part. And if I think about it, instead of forgetting that they are of the same race, Vrana-chan probably just refuses to accept that she is similar to them. She gets pretty mad when any of us compare her to those harpies.

[Greee!!]

"D-Damn it! You are very noisy, stop yelling, Roock~!! "

“I think we should help her. Since she is the Matriarch of this nest, her strength is probably at the 4th limit of the second level of Soul. Even though Vrana-chan has grown quite strong these days, I don't think she can defeat her without getting hurt. "

"Yes... also, that scream is more of a sound attack using her internal energy"

"" ... ""

That explains why all of us get a little disoriented when she yelled in the cave without being able to react in time to her attack... now I think Rei-chan should be happy because the harpy attacked her chest and not her head instead... if so, she probably wouldn't have been able to react in time and her situation would be much worse now.

"Let's go"

"Yes"

As Vrana-chan shakes her head at the cry of that harpy, I tell the other girls to start helping her as Turla-san suggests. She takes a fighting stance in front of Rei-chan and Cleirsa-san who take up their weapons to attack when they get a chance.

So, I, Mary who hits her fists a couple of times, and Scythe who drags her scythe, walked closer to where the two harpies were fighting in the air.

The first to support Vrana-chan are the two that can attack from a distance the easiest. An energy arrow from Cleirsa-san's bow shoots out in the direction of the harpy. Unfortunately, probably being more sensitive to such attacks than the other harpies we had fought with, this one quickly detects her attack and avoids it.

[Bam!!]

[Greee!!]

But unlike Cleirsa-san's attack, the bullet fired from Rei-chan's rifle manages to reach its target, causing several of her feathers to scatter in the air, and others to be stained with her blood that flows from her wound. This time her scream was not a sound attack and was more of a scream of pain.

"Here it comes!"

Because of this, the harpy's anger is now fully focused on the one responsible for her pain. Putting her eyes on Rei-chan, she begins to descend at high speed towards the direction of those three. Several arrows and bullets attack her, but since she was more attentive to them this time, she easily avoids them.

The three of us who were a bit ahead of them tried to intercept her, but this harpy was definitely faster compared to the ones we had fought so far.

I draw my sword and try to cut it creating a kind of wind blade that is shot towards the harpy and so does Scythe with her weapon, only her attack is more easily perceptible since his energy has a black color.

Sadly, both of our attacks are evaded by the spinning harpy that continues towards its target...

"Fuck! It's quite annoying when enemies fly! "

…On the other hand, Mary seems annoyed since she can only attack while close to her enemy. This time she can only see without being able to do much.

"Watch out!!"

I can't help but worry when the Harpy gets closer and closer to Turla who is preparing to receive her... her legs shake a little when she sees her approach, but she remains firm. Without a doubt that girl is willing to carry out her purpose of protecting the princess on her back even at the cost of her life!

"Come, I'll finish you off !!"

As if she wanted to give herself more power, she draws her sword while shouting and places her shield in front of her and the harpy that was now only a few meters from her.

While her courage was quite commendable, my concern grows even more since that doesn't mean that she can defeat or stop the harpy. The difference in strength between them was quite large and it was not something that she could reduce with just will.

…As I accelerate my steps towards where Turla is along with the other two, time seems to slow down. During those seconds, I can see how something in her seems to change... or rather, something around her.

I've been through the same thing, so I had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Turla had broken the barrier between a 1st level soul and reached 2nd! Sadly, I don't think that would change things much, so my feet don't stop and I keep running towards those three girls.

Unexpectedly…

"Damn bird woman, you better don't think things will be the same as before!!"

…Rei-chan who is behind her steps forward and throws something in her hand! In the next instant, what she throws glows blinding the harpy that was positioning its claws to attack Turla! And so…

[Bam!] [Crack] [Crack] [Crack]

…There is a loud bang followed by the sound of bones breaking!

The harpy had hit a translucent barrier... and quite hard I must say. She barely manages to maintain flight as she spits blood from her mouth. This time she can't even scream or complain about the pain!

…It seems that Rei-chan had used a BIM that creates a barrier. These are not designed to attack, but... if you hit it at high speed it should not be very pleasant. And that harpy has proven that.

[G-Gree…]

The sound that the harpy makes this time was more of a sob than a cry... also, it seems that it has lost the desire to avenge the other harpies of its nest as it begins to rise slowly as if it wanted to escape.

Unfortunately for her...

"I have you. Roock~!"

[Bam!]

… Vrana-chan descends from the sky and with one of her legs she grabs the head of the harpy. Also, she doesn't stop her descent until the other harpy hits the ground.

"Come now, keep screaming, you damn bird woman, roock~!"

And yes, she seems to vent all her frustration caused by the harpy sound attacks and the resentment for attacking Rei-chan. She keeps hitting the harpy's head against the ground repeatedly with her foot… certainly that is quite wild... but what you would expect from a Monster too.

"V-Vrana… I think she's already dead so… you should leave her now."

"Hmp~"

"" ... ""

After he hears Rei-chan's words, she finally stops continuing to slam the harpy head against the ground… if she continues, she will probably make it explode. And that wasn't something any of us wanted to see for sure.

Still… her next action isn't much better. She turns the body over, and then opens its chest with her claws to extract the crystal in it and immediately swallow it. After that, her mood seems to improve.

“…I'll get you a crystal like that later, Scythe-chan. Or we will ask Alex-san for one"

"..."

Unlike Vrana-chan, Scythe who is next to me looks at her with envy and is dejected when she sees her eat the crystal... she starts to drool again and move her mouth as if imagining that she is the one who eats it.

"Oh, it is true. Congratulations, Turla-san. It seems that now you are also in the second level of Alma "

"" E-Eh? ""

It seems that due to all this commotion most of the other girls had not noticed this, so after my words, all eyes are directed to Turla-san who now also looked quite surprised by the change in her body and had ignored everything else.

"T-Turla, is it true?"

“P-Princess… now I'm also on the second Soul level! I can continue to protect you!! "

After Cleirsa-san takes her hands quite enthusiastically, she confirms my words. It seems that even though she didn't show it, she was a bit annoyed by the fact that she was weaker than the person she has to protect.

"Fufufu, it's good that everything worked out in the end, but… we should finish collecting our prizes."

"... it's true, I think it's enough hunting for now... it's time to go back, I want to rest on a bed and a suitable roof"

Mary-san and Rei-chan stop the two girls who were hugging and jumping for joy. Furthermore, all the girls here agreed with the latter's words. So we go back to the cave to collect everything we can and then go back to the sect.