Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

”Groaaaaar!”

Gina surged forward, her two hands grabbing the behemoth’s long tail and hauling back on it. She yanked the beast away from the flesh golem, which lay half-destroyed after taking a beating from the two giant cyclopes, now nothing more than corpses on the battlefield.

”Graaaaaah!”

The behemoth let out a deafening roar. It spun around and struck at Gina with its long trunk, coiling it tightly around her neck. Naturally, Gina grabbed the behemoth’s trunk and pulled, dragging the beast in close. Releasing her grip on the trunk, she seized its two massive tusks. Snap! Gina snapped both tusks with ease, leaving the behemoth writhing in agony. Before the beast could even scream, Gina clamped her claws onto its head. ”Graaaaah!” She unleashed a torrent of dragonfire directly down the behemoth’s open maw.

The behemoth’s body swelled, expanding larger and larger as flames burst through the crevices of its hide. Its eyes bulged outward, popping right from their fire-singed sockets until, boom! its entire body exploded into pieces, raining meat and blood over the field.

”Groaaaaaar!”

Gina let out a mighty roar skyward. Her voice echoed deep into the forest behind them, where Dhorga’s army hid in wait, ready to charge. Dhorga watched as his three trump-card monsters were effortlessly slaughtered by the Calamity Dragon, a legendary beast whose rank defied measurement. His face turned deathly pale. He turned to look at Nala, who had already passed out and was currently being tended to by a few female soldiers at her side.

”Damn it... What kind of monster did that cursed woman order me to fight?” Dhorga thought to himself.

Before he could figure out his next move, a massive shadow suddenly passed over him. Boom! Dhorga turned around to see the Calamity Dragon landing directly behind him. His troops broke ranks in a panic, scattering frantically in every direction. Then, a man clad in armor forged of gold and black steel stepped down from the giant dragon. A crown-helm completely concealed his face save for his glowing red eyes, and a black cape fluttered behind him.

Behind him stepped a muscular barbarian girl, a girl in blacksmith attire, a girl clad in solid black, a girl dressed like a nun, and a girl dressed like a witch. Seeing this, Dhorga cast one last glance at the unconscious Nala, now being carried away by several soldiers, before turning back to face the group that had just dismounted the colossal dragon. His jaw tightened and his teeth ground together. He dismounted his horse, drawing a battleaxe from his back and a sword from his waist. His eyes locked onto the six figures now walking toward him.

”Halt your attack or face the consequences, General Dhorga!” Sheila shouted from behind Dion, who stood at the absolute front.

”Princess Sheila... and...”

”Dion von Oswald, the lord of the domain you’ve been relentlessly attacking,” Dion interrupted, cutting Dhorga off.

”Surrender, General Dhorga, unless you intend to fight all of us alone,” Sheila said, stepping forward while drawing her two axes.

”Ha... I came here to punish a traitor. You’ve betrayed Northgard, Princess Sheila. It’s you who should be returning to the palace with me!” Dhorga yelled, brandishing his axe directly at Sheila.

A heavy silence settled over the field. The barbarian soldiers, who clearly knew nothing about the true situation, stood frozen as they watched their general face off against their princess, who had arrived alongside someone far more imposing than their general. Naturally, they began to question where their loyalties truly lay.

”Sheila,” Dion said softly.

”Don’t interfere, Dion. Let me handle him. That goes for the rest of you, too,” Sheila said, glancing back at Luna, Aria, Mei, and Cleo.

”Alright... but be careful,” Dion replied.

”Don’t worry about me,” Sheila answered.

She unholstered the axes from her back and stepped forward, closing the distance to Dhorga. Dion could see Sheila’s frame grow noticeably stockier with every single step, her magic energy overflowing. Sheila stopped directly in front of Dhorga and smiled.

”I will be returning to Northgard Castle, because it’s high time I took back my father’s kingdom,” Sheila declared in front of Dhorga.

”So it’s true. You really plan on usurping the throne from His Majesty Gred,” Dhorga said.

”Ha... Your kid has played king long enough. You’d better give up right now, General, or I’m taking your corpse back to Northgard and dumping it at your son’s feet,” Sheila said coldly.

”Hahaha! You think you can defeat me? Don’t forget, Princess, I’m the one who taught you how to fight. Even if your class is SS-rank Lord Berserker, you’ve never faced real war or true combat!” Dhorga mocked.

Sheila didn’t laugh, nor did she take the bait. She simply smiled at Dhorga, who was blatantly forcing a laugh to muster up his courage. Seeing Sheila remain composed and unprovoked by his words, Dhorga’s laughter died down. He stared at Sheila, and as he examined her closer, shock washed over him as he realized something fundamental had changed about her. She was still the Sheila he knew, but her body was now covered in glowing red-black tattoos. Wolf ears sat atop her head, and a fiery red wolf tail extended from her waist. Her eyes burned a bright red as she stared Dhorga down.

”You... Is your class still Lord Berserker?” Dhorga asked, his tone turning dead serious.

”Too bad for you. My class just evolved into SSS-rank Beast Warlord,” Sheila answered.

Sheila turned her head back and smiled. She looked at Dion, still wearing his Calamity Supreme Monarch Persona behind her, and nodded. But behind Dion, the bodies of Luna, Aria, Mei, and Cleo were enveloped in the same red-black aura. Luna’s nun habit had transformed into heavy white armor trimmed with red-black accents, complete with a helmet; her staff had morphed into a massive warhammer, and her eyes burned red.

Aria, who originally wore standard blacksmith clothes, now donned black armor paired with a gray leather shirt, a black apron, massive gauntlets, and a long-barreled firearm fitted with a bayonet. Mei’s previously exposed black outfit was now completely covered, her body looking as though it were wrapped in black bandages beneath a hood and mask; her ears had grown long and pointed, and her eyes glowed red. Cleo retained her witch attire, though it was now enhanced by a billowing cape and a crown-tiara across her forehead.

”Wh-What? Are you... all... demons?” Dhorga stammered.

Clang!

The axe in Dhorga’s hand clattered to the dirt. He fell to his knees before Sheila without a single blow being struck. Sheila looked at the surrounding soldiers, who stood slack-jawed, not knowing what to do.

”If you fight, you die here. If you come with me, we reclaim our kingdom! Throw down your weapons if you surrender!” Sheila yelled.

The soldiers and commanders exchanged glances until, clang! weapons began thumping onto the ground. A few soldiers even grabbed General Dhorga, who sat dazed and pale on the ground and bound him up. But what had actually happened, and why had all five girls completely transformed?

***

Thirty minutes earlier, just as the zeppelin caught sight of the city, Dion, Luna, Sheila, Mei, Aria, and Cleo spotted the three giant monsters ganging up on the flesh golem from afar. The five girls stood stunned, their faces turning pale as they realized just how terrifying Nala’s true power was. They weren’t the only ones, the zeppelin crew stopped working entirely, staring at the three colossal beasts up ahead.

”This is bad... This is really bad. We won’t be able to fight those,” Sheila said.

”So... that’s your friend’s power,” Aria said, staring at the three monsters ahead.

”Nala... No doubt about it, those three belong to Nala,” Mei said.

”Right... She summoned all three back at the academy once, even if it was just for a demonstration,” Luna added.

”So how are we supposed to fight them? Any ideas, Dion?” Cleo asked anxiously.

Dion didn’t answer. He stared ahead, but instead of looking at the monsters, he was looking at his holographic ”recall” interface. Another hologram screen had popped up right in front of him.

[Five souls bound to your soul detected. Upgrade their abilities?] [Yes] [No]

”Hmm... What is this?” Dion thought to himself while looking at the screen.

”Kyuuu... kyuuu!” [”Papa... the mamas are panicking!”] Gina’s voice echoed in Dion’s head.

”Yeah... I know. Should I just press Yes?” Dion thought back.

”Kyuu... kyuu... kyuu!” [”Come on, Papa... I can take all three of them myself!”] Gina urged.

”Can you hold on a second? I’m trying to think here. I know the city’s in danger, but this has me curious,” Dion thought.

”Kyuuuu!” [”Just press it already so we can hurry up!”] Gina whined.

”Sigh... Fine,” Dion thought.

He pressed Yes, and another holographic screen immediately snapped open in front of his face, making him flinch.

***************************************************

Name:

Luna von Arthera, SS-rank Holy Saint → upgraded to SSS-rank Unholy Paladin.

Aria von Thorias, SS-rank Arsenal Merchant → upgraded to SSS-rank Mechanical Demon Merchant.

Mei Sion, SS-rank Dual Wield Samurai → upgraded to SSS-rank Shadow Walker.

Sheila Stormwolf, SS-rank Lord Berserker → upgraded to SSS-rank Beast Warlord.

Cleo von Stein, SSS-rank Demon Witch → awakened to SSS+-rank Demonic Warlock.

Proceed? [Yes] [No]

***************************************************

”Hmm... This bumps them all up to SSS-rank? For real?” Dion thought.

Suddenly, Gina landed heavily on Dion’s head and began swatting at him. Without thinking further, Dion tapped Yes and upgraded them all.

”Whoaaaaa... What is this?!”

Dion turned around to see all five girls wrapped in a dark red-black aura. His eyes widened as their appearances completely transformed. Mei looked like an elf, Sheila looked like a beastman, Luna and Aria remained human-like, and Cleo had clearly become horned kin.

”Hey... What just happened?” Sheila asked, looking down at herself.

”Wh-What is this? Why do I look like this?” Mei asked, utterly confused.

”Um... We need to go. I’ll explain later,” Dion answered, flustered.

”Explain right now!” Luna, Aria, Cleo, Mei, and Sheila shouted in unison.

***

Back in the present, after Dhorga was hauled away, Dion, still in his Calamity Supreme Monarch Persona, looked back at the five transformed girls standing behind him.

”Um... You girls still want to stay with me, right?” Dion asked, scratching the back of his head.

”Of course, my husband. Thank you!” the five girls replied as they lunged forward, tackling him to the ground in a pile. Gina shook her head and rubbed her face with a claw.