Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Anerias' first contract skill, Ignite, was simple. It lit him on fire, focusing on his hands. The skill made him burn with black hellfire, and like all things ablaze, the fire could spread to whatever it touched. It was especially effective against weaker beings of Hell and Heaven.

It was not very effective against inorganic or non-living things, though it worked better than ordinary fire against immaterial beings.

Monolith could be considered both inorganic and alive due to his stony nature. But he was also significantly stronger than Anerias, which weakened the effectiveness of Ignite's flames even further.

Anerias's second skill, Malicious Touch, however, did not care about the material of its target. The only thing it cared about was whether it was sentient—whether it could feel pain and suffering.

Ignite and its hellfire represented physical pain and the pain of burning. Malicious Touch broke down an enemy's mentality by inflicting pain on their spirit—their essence.

No matter what Monolith's body was made of, Malicious Touch could still be effective. The only thing that reduced its effectiveness was Monolith's inherent level of power and resistance against magic-like phenomena, such as Anerias' skill.

Given Monolith's overwhelming physical strength and durability, it would only be natural to assume that he would be lacking in another area. Any ordinary person could not focus on multiple things and areas at once. It was unreasonable for a singular being to be great at everything they did.

But the world was unreasonable.

Lexi excelled at magic, Domination, and swordsmanship. Although her first familiar hadn't been promising at first, it was a bundle of bottomless, untapped potential, proving her talent in summoning as well.

Who was to say that Monolith couldn't have just extraordinary physical defense? Who was to say that he couldn't be immune to supernatural effects?

No one. Your adventure continues at empire

That was why Violina and Nessa had worn down as much of his resistances in that area as they could. The more they weakened him, the more pain Anerias would cause, which would in turn weaken his mentality further.

Black flames exploded outward as Anerias' fist struck Monolith's rock-solid belly. The flames didn't so much as scorch Monolith's skin, neither was Anerias' fist very powerful.

But Monolith still flinched.

It was the first time in a long while he felt something that could be called actual pain. It caught him by surprise since Anerias hadn't displayed that much power in any earlier round.

It was like Anerias' had stuck a dagger straight through his skin.

It was not enough to get more than a flinch from Monolith. He would not have become as strong as he was if that mere bit of pain could interfere with his movements, much less stop him dead in his tracks.

Monolith flicked out with his arm and sent Anerias flying, easily breaking the barrier Zach put up around him. But the barrier still did its job and absorbed Monolith's strike, minimizing Anerias' injuries and letting him and the Hound retreat.

And before Monolith could do anything else, Zach and his familiars were already in front of him, tickling him with swords, daggers, and deathly finger pokes, which also served to weaken his resistance, even if Soara's goal was to kill, not weaken.

After s sequence of sword, daggers, broken shields, and pale fingers, ice swallowed Monolith again. Violina did the same thing as last time, quickly leaving and letting Nessa take her place as soon as Monolith disintegrated his frosty prison.

Nessa stunned him with another fistful of Dust of Dreams. Even if he expected it and didn't fall for the no-arm feint, he couldn't avoid the sleep-inducing powder other than by blasting it away with a surge of underworld energy.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

But the wispy underworld energy seeping out of the city's sewers weren't enough to replenish his bottomless coffers of underworld energy. He had to be conservative with its use and not waste it when he could just tank the Dust. The only thing it did was stun him for less than a second, after all.

Monolith then blocked Dukiel's laser with the palm of his hand, deflecting it into the ground. The skin of his palm was rougher than that of his forearms, but it still turned blood red from the heat. However, it cooled without taking any lasting damage since Monolith used his other hand to fend off Anerias.

He couldn't fend off the effects of Malicious Touch, however, and it felt like both his hands were burned. Only for a few moments, though.

Zach and his familiars took full advantage of Monolith's hands being momentarily in a suboptimal state and attacked in a frenzy. They landed several scratches on his tough skin.

Violina gave him another cold shower before the heat on his hand could dissipate fully.

If one rapid temperature change wasn't enough, they would just have to do it twice, thrice, or tens of times.

The students were feeling the stress of the high-intensity battle, but they didn't let that stop them or slow them down as they cycled through their attacks in a pattern so predictable Monolith knew what was going to happen ten moves ahead.

But even if he knew, there wasn't anything he could do about it.

The students juggled their tasks almost perfectly. Whenever one of them stepped back, the next stepped up and attacked before Monolith could retaliate.

Nessa threw her Dust of Dreams at Monolith from behind, having it enter his head through his ears. Then, she dove to the side and rolled around, avoiding the laser that sought to catch Monolith in the back.

Monolith just let it hit him. He waited for Anerias to attack. As soon as he sensed someone, he stretched out his hand and caught them.

But instead of the black-haired kid he had expected, he caught an orange-haired one with a wide grin.

Zach raised his legs and wrapped around Monolith's arm, trapping it.

There was no way he was letting go. Just trying to get him off would distract Monolith and leave him open to attacks from his familiars.

Zach braced himself for impact as Monolith raised his arm.