SSS-Class Overlord: My Harem Rules the Realms (18+)-Chapter 61: End of the Battle.

The wind howled across the devastated plains as Ethan lowered Warlord’s Fang, his breath

coming in steady but ragged pulls. The giant body of Vorgas lay in fragments behind him,

dissolved into twitching motes of corrupted light.

He wiped sweat from his brow, flicking flecks of monster blood off his fingertips.

"That’s that..." he murmured under his breath. His gaze shifted sideways, scanning for his party.

All around him, smoke drifted up from shattered ground, curling like black silk ribbons into the

blood-orange sky. The air was choked with the scent of burnt flesh, coppery blood, and charred

wood.

With a slow exhale, Ethan turned toward the city gates and began striding back, boot heels

thudding over broken stone.

He lifted his head and looked to his left.

[POV – Liora]

Liora’s laughter rang out, high and sweet and completely out of place amid the battlefield

carnage.

Her slim frame seemed almost delicate as she bounded forward, skirts swishing around her legs.

Yet every motion was swift, precise—a deadly dance of violence.

A group of goblins tried to swarm her.

"Ugly little pests... you’re in my way. So, get the fuck out of here and die." she sang, eyes wide and sparkling red like freshly spilled blood.

She dipped low, spinning under a goblin’s dagger thrust, her blade flickering like silver lightning.

One goblin’s head flew off its shoulders, the spray of blackish blood dotting Liora’s cheeks.

"Ohhh... so warm... it feels so good, it feel so nice after killing this mere pest." she whispered, pressing her fingers to the droplets spattered on her skin.

Her eyes half-lidded, she licked the blood from her fingertips, a dreamy sigh slipping from her lips.

Another ogre lumbered up behind her with a bellow, swinging a crude stone hammer. Liora’s grin

widened.

"Don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt a lady while she’s enjoying herself?"

She twisted aside, her hair fanning out like dark silk, then stabbed her sword straight into the

ogre’s knee.

The monster howled and dropped to all fours.

Liora giggled, skipping around it in a circle, trailing her blade across its back in long, shallow

slices. Each cut fountained black mist. The ogre fell with a gurgling scream.

She stood over the corpse, chest heaving, cheeks flushed pink.

"Heehee... Ethan, did you see that? I’m working so hard... for you..."

She turned her head—and saw Ethan staring at her from the distance, his face unreadable.

She waved, blood dripping off her blade. "Ethan~!"

Ethan watched her for another second, a flicker of wariness crossing his eyes.

He cleared his throat, muttering under his breath: "She scares the shit out of me sometimes..."

He shifted his gaze rightward.

[POV – Kael]

Kael moved with stark contrast—utterly silent, grim, a machine in human flesh.

His black hair hung limp against his forehead, soaked in sweat. His sword arm rose and fell with

relentless precision. Each strike landed true, but his expression barely changed.

A chimera beast lunged at him, teeth bared in a snarl. Kael stepped sideways and shoved his

blade upward into the creature’s throat.

The monster convulsed, coughing up black blood as it toppled.

Kael yanked his sword free, jaw tight. His chest rose and fell in quick, controlled breaths.

An ogre charged him next, brandishing a spiked mace. Kael braced his stance, blocking the

strike. The impact rattled his arms, making his teeth clack together. He grimaced but held firm.

He ducked under the ogre’s follow-up swing and stabbed it twice in the ribs.

Not enough. The monster howled and backhanded Kael, sending him skidding several meters

across the blood-soaked ground.

Kael rolled once, popped back onto his feet, and charged again without a sound. He slipped past

the ogre’s guard and rammed his sword into its eye.

The creature stiffened, trembling... then slumped forward, dead.

Kael stood there a moment, panting, his breath clouding in the cooling air.

Then he turned, silent as stone, and began walking back toward Ethan.

Ethan stood waiting as his two teammates converged on him from either side.

Liora reached him first. Her eyes glowed with manic delight as she bounded over, skipping

through puddles of monster blood.

"Ethan~ you were watching me, weren’t you?" she sang, pressing close enough that her bloodsplattered face nearly brushed his chest. "Did I look pretty while I was killing them all for you?"

Ethan leaned backward subtly, blinking. "Liora... you were... uh... thorough."

Liora pressed her palms to her cheeks, giggling. "Hehe~ You make me so happy."

Kael arrived a second later, sword held loosely at his side. His brow was furrowed, eyes sharp as

glass.

"Tch." He shot Ethan a glare. "Huh. Loser, you think you’ll be our leader after this? You’re not

qualified. I won my side. You were just showing off."

Ethan exhaled, eyes half-lidded. "Man... can’t you just say thank you for once?"

Kael scoffed. "Hmph."

Liora spun on Kael with a sudden ferocity, eyes flashing red. "Don’t talk to Ethan like that, Kael. Or

I’ll cut your tongue out and keep it in a jar!"

Kael turned slightly, eye twitching, but said nothing.

Ethan rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the migraine coming on. "Don’t worry about it," he

told Liora. "It was the task Swordmaster Selene gave me. I just did what I had to."

Liora leaned closer, voice dropping to a sultry purr. "Still... you looked so beautiful fighting that

giant monster. I think about it... a lot."

"Right. Let’s... just head back," Ethan said quickly. freeweɓnovel~cѳm

The three of them started walking toward the city’s center, the last streaks of sunlight melting

behind the high towers.

As they moved through the battered streets, knights and civilians alike parted to let them through.

Ethan noticed how people’s eyes lingered on them—some wide with awe, others shadowed with

fear.

Monster corpses lay piled along the avenues, being cleared away by grim-faced soldiers. The

wind carried the sour scent of blood and scorched metal.

Kael trudged a few steps behind Ethan, jaw tight, occasionally shooting him glances that were

half irritation and half calculation.

Liora walked practically glued to Ethan’s side, humming softly, trailing her fingertips along his

sleeve whenever she could.

Ethan tried to ignore them both, eyes scanning the fractured city skyline. His breath was still

slightly uneven, muscles aching from the earlier fight.

He sighed. "Almost there..."

The streets grew narrower as they entered deeper into the city. Tall walls rose around them,

shadows gathering under the high ramparts.

And then—

Ethan stopped.

He blinked, narrowing his eyes a bit.

Up ahead, nearly at the midpoint of the city avenue, stood a lone figure.

They were half-hidden in shadows cast by a shattered building. The crowds instinctively gave

them space, flowing around the spot like water splitting around a stone.

Ethan’s steps slowed. He felt a shiver skate across the back of his neck.

Kael lifted his chin slightly, hand drifting toward his sword hilt.

Liora tilted her head, a wicked grin started to form at her lips. "Mmm... who’s that?"

Ethan squinted at the silhouette, his instincts suddenly prickling like knives across his skin.

He didn’t know why—but something about the way that person stood there, motionless and

silent, set his blood pounding in his ears. He felt sudden surge of emotions and longevity inside of him.

The world felt... off. Like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into something waiting to

stare back.

Ethan clenched his fists around the hilt of Warlord’s Fang.

And in the space between one breath and the next—

He saw someone.

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