The Unaware Harem Adventure Tale of the Strongest Enchanter ~~I Don’t Know My Companions’ Faces or Identities, but I’m Pretty Sure They’re All Guys~~ - 35. You're Not Weaker Than a Slime, Right?

35. 35. You’re Not Weaker Than a Slime, Right?

Archdemon… I remember learning about them long ago.

Demons have their own ranks, and their strength differs accordingly.

A “Baron” means he’s a fairly well-known demon whose name appears in historical texts.

“You don’t seem too surprised. Could it be that knowledge of demons hasn’t been passed down? In the past, just hearing the name ‘Archdemon’ would make people tremble in fear. Amazing how much things can change in a mere thousand years.”

Abiros shrugged with a look of exasperation.

What I could sense was—this guy is definitely unfamiliar with modern knowledge.

He must’ve been asleep and hasn’t been awake for long.

If there’s a weakness to exploit, that’s it.

I’d like to win this in one go by applying a bunch of status effects.

However, just like the monsters we’ve fought before, there’s a good chance he has high resistance.

And direct sigil-writing carries too many unknowns.

Arachne and the Undead King were within expectations. But jumping into a demon’s space is extremely dangerous.

That means I should try normal buffs to test his resistances.

Sleep resistance, paralysis resistance—we won’t know unless we try.

Direct-writing can bypass that. But otherwise, I’d be blindly guessing through black boxes.

“There are five ranks among demons. Archdemons are the second-lowest—but I, even within that rank, am among the few granted a noble title. I am not like the rest of the rabble.”

“You’re not gonna turn out weaker than a Mother Slime or something, right?”

“Of course not. I could eliminate something of that level in mere seconds.”

Hah… a one-shot kill, huh. This’ll be a tough fight.

And worse yet, Umbrella is right behind us.

What a lovely way to bring back bad memories.

But unlike back then, now I’ve got a short staff in my hand—and comrades fighting beside me.

Just thinking that makes me feel like I won’t lose.

Because Unknown is the strongest party in Avantale.

As I spoke, I secretly traced magical characters behind my back.

The effects: ‘Sleep’, ‘Paralysis’, ‘Confusion’, ‘Bind’, and ‘Poison’—five total.

If any of these get through, victory is pretty much guaranteed.

Here we go. *Enchant—*

“What is this?”

Immediately, all status effects were repelled.

“What—”

“I don’t know what you attempted, but it’s useless on me, an Archdemon. My body is constantly covered by a magic membrane that protects against mental and status effects. You’re no mere mage, are you? Looks like I’ll need to raise your threat level. Seems like you’re the one I should kill first.”

“Gah!?”

In the blink of an eye, Abiros appeared in front of me and drove his knee deep into my solar plexus.

The force felt like it cracked my bones—my reactions lagged.

(Crap, I need to create distance!)

I shoved him away with my left arm.

But he responded with an upward chop from below, snapping my arm.

“GyaaAAAAAHHH!!”

“You’re rather durable. I aimed to sever it completely.”

“Lux!!”

“Oh my, it wouldn’t be fair to only pay attention to him, would it? Very well, I’ll entertain you too.”

Felice, wreathed in flames, pursued Abiros with a flurry of attacks. She was dancing agilely.

However, the physical gap between them was too great—he avoided her strikes by the slimmest margins.

“How dare you hurt my Lux!”

“That flame of yours is indeed troublesome. Even grazing it causes damage—it must be concept-enhanced flame. But, if it doesn’t hit, it doesn’t matter.”

“Then how about this!”

Felice increased her firepower and swung her sword downward.

The heat from the slash blew away rocks and trees alike.

“Too slow.”

“Guh!?”

Abiros slipped behind her and delivered a vicious kick to her abdomen.

Felice was blasted deep into the forest. She was smashing through trees as she flew.

Zain came in with a kick from behind.

Abiros twisted mid-turn, leapt backward, and eyed the toes that grazed his nose with a sharp grin.

“I won’t let you teleport!”

“You assumed I’d deliver a finishing blow? Good guess. Well then, I’ll set them aside for now—shall we dance, you and I?”

Zain and Abiros began close-quarters combat.

In the meantime, I pushed myself up. I was leaning on a tree for support.

(*Pant… pant…* Focus on support magic now. Damn, it’s completely broken. My left arm is useless. I haven’t been slacking on training, but I haven’t gone as hard as I used to. No… that’s just an excuse. How pathetic.)

Their fight was on another level in both speed and power.

Zain deflected a punch, then drove a palm strike into Abiros’ solar plexus.

Blown back, Abiros crushed trees as he braked himself, landed on a tree trunk, then jumped again.

Zain immediately pressed the advantage. They smashed the tree Abiros had been standing on.

Abiros, twisting mid-air, fired magic with no chant—shadowy projectiles rained down.

But Zain kicked off trees, dodging at sharp angles, and closed in with a drawn-back right fist.

“It seems I’m superior in raw ability.”

“!?”

Abiros caught Zain’s punch with one hand.

Then placed his other palm on Zain’s abdomen and fired magic at point-blank range.

Exploding flames swallowed Zain. They crashed to the ground wrapped in black smoke.

*Whuuump.*

A rock fell toward Abiros.

He dodged, only for another to strike the ground at his feet.

When the final rock landed, Felice sprang out from behind it and slashed at his neck.

Her blade couldn’t even scratch his skin—he landed softly with a grin.

(She’s okay. That means we still have a chance.)

He hadn’t used teleportation in either fight.

Maybe it takes time to activate.

Also—Zain had the upper hand in their melee.

If they were equal in physical stats, Zain likely could’ve won.

To turn the tide, debuffs are essential.

But normal enchantments don’t work on him.

Earlier, I tested ‘Slow’, and it was fully repelled.

To apply debuffs, I’ll have to write directly inside his magic membrane.

Still, there’s a risk—even if I can write on him, will a demon actually be affected?

Some beings don’t just resist—they’re completely immune.

Against such foes, I’d need to apply guaranteed stat reduction.

But how can I even get close enough to write on him?

“Fe… Felice, I’ll help…”

“Zain-san, you’re awake!”

“Fighting two at once is a hassle. Dark Storm.”

A black whirlwind erupted.

Sand blasted upward, trees were uprooted and sent flying.

Felice and Zain were both caught in it. They were slammed to the ground as the wind subsided.

“Urgh… not yet…”

“I-I’ll defeat youuuu…”

“You’re both ridiculously tough. Especially the woman—not as damaged as expected. Is there some secret…? Perhaps… with that man?”

Abiros turned his gaze toward me.

So now it’s *my* turn.

Felice was still down.

Zain, using holy magic, slowly stood back up.

“You won’t interfere. Shadow Bind.”

“!?”

Black rope-like tendrils wrapped around Zain. It was binding them to a tree.

“Now, I’ll finally kill you.”

“You sure are cautious around a mere human. Got burned by one in the past?”

“…Shut up.”

Bullseye.

His brow furrowed deeply.

“I’ll drain every drop of your bl00d.”

“I’ll pass.”

A fist zipped past my cheek at inhuman speed.

I blocked the next with my short staff.

A tree behind me shattered and fell.

Cold sweat poured down my back.

Speed and power—both were monstrous.

Nothing like Arachne or the Undead King.

But I sharpened my focus and looked for an opening.

This was likely my *only* chance to direct-write a sigil.

“You still haven’t given up, huh? Then what about this?”

“Huh—?”

Suddenly, my vision swam.

A tingling pain ran through my sinuses—bl00d dripped to the ground.

I looked up to see Abiros sneering, gums exposed.

“Dodge or die.”

“Gah—!”

Again, my vision blurred.

A burning pain surged inside me.

My head felt foggy.

Punch after punch. Kick after kick.

My ears rang.

Still, I tried drawing runes with my short staff.

But a punch shattered it and smashed into my face.

I crashed back into a tree and collapsed forward.

My hair was grabbed—he lifted me.

Abiros’ claws extended, blade-like and sharp.

*Thunk*—he stabbed them into my gut.

My hand touched the wound—bl00d poured out.

“AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

“What a lovely scream. I can’t hold back anymore.”

He withdrew his claws and bit into my neck.

I could feel him sucking my bl00d.

But I clung to him—and with bl00d on my hand, I wrote a sigil on his back.

(Enjoy your meal—while you’re at it, I’ll tag you with my trump card.)

The rune had the most characters of any enchantment I knew:

‘All Stat Down’.

The ground trembled slightly.

The source—Zain, still bound to a tree.

“You… hurt… my precious people… I’ll never forgive youuuuuu!!”

*Snap! Snap! Snap!*

The belts binding them popped off one by one.

A shockwave tore through. It was blowing away the tree and shadows restraining them.

What stood there was a beautiful naked woman with black hair and neatly trimmed bangs.