Dungeon Overlord: Monster Girl Harem!

The sizzling globs of poison melted the ground, creating soggy pillars that smoked with a thick white cloud, the scent like ammonia or bleach. Leonhardt's blade cut through the empty sky as he tried to fight back.

A black arc shimmering with his mana missed the brood mother, which smashed his abdomen with her damaged leg.

Thud!

"Ugh...!"

Shaaa!

A low hiss sounded from the aggrieved brood mother, twisting her body as the sleek black leg snapped, falling onto the ground as green blood oozed from the tip.

"He destroyed her front leg!" Erina gasped before gazing at Leon, who slipped down the wall while covered in dust.

"Ice wall!"

Sylvie's staff glimmered as she blocked the oncoming globs of venom, the surface bubbling instantly, forming deep craters in her improved ice.

"Asuka, Erina, avoid her blood. It's highly corrosive!" With her shimmering blue eyes, Sylvie's atmosphere transformed. Flicking her staff—she formed several sharp blades of ice in an instant before firing them at the brood mother.

Each shard exploded with a ferocious pop!

Vwoosh!

'Damn... that girl's growing faster than I thought.' Leonhardt's lips curled as he flicked the sizzling green goo from his chest, revealing a bloody gash.

He didn't feel pain, but the sense of delight upon seeing the three women fighting together in unison made his eyes illuminate the darkness.

"Oh? Did she just use two spells at once..."

Leonhardt didn't return to the battle—instead, placing his chin on both palms, he watched the battle unfold with just the three women working together.

...

"Erina can you maintain holy light for long?" Asuka's lips curled into a faint smile, an arrogant smirk as she lunged forward and swung her axe down against the brood mother's remaining front leg.

Before it could react to her attack, Sylvie's staff shot a bolt of water aimed towards the eyes of the brood mother, forcing the monster to block the spell with her legs, leaving her front exposed.

Crunch!

The green blood spurt from the gap created by Asuka's axe, gouging the lower half of her second front leg with a brutal strike.

"Asuka, jump back and roll to the side!" Erina's voice echoed through the cave as she shifted her staff to the right, intensifying the light in Asuka's path.

The moment Asuka moved, two black fangs pierced her afterimage. The fangs bubbled with venom and were almost half the size of her body.

"Deceptive humans! I will crush you all!"

'This might be dangerous, have they not noticed?'

Leonhardt's eyes narrowed, shimmering with mana as he watched the behind of the brood mother, forming an extremely sticky webbing coated in a sticky fluid.

That couldn't be something good for the women.

"I can't let them suffer."

However, the moment he lifted his fingertip, pouring mana into his arm, he noticed the movements of Asuka and Erina.

'Strange...'

They changed positions as Asuka took a torch from the air and then blew onto the tip with her lips, creating a blue, flaming torch.

"Oi, brood bitch! Keep your eyes off my man."

Woosh!

Asuka tossed the torch at the spider—at first, it seemed pointless—but a huge surge of flames burst out after the blue flame touched her webbing. The fire caused the brood mother to suddenly shriek and fall from the room, convulsing.

"YOU HUMANS!"

'Did the flame just go into the spider's ass?'

Leonhardt's lips twitched. He could not help but find this situation amusing, but he noticed the sweat on Sylvie and Erina's faces. It seemed that both of them had reached their limits, which caused him to sigh.

'I guess it's time for me to support them.'

Clang!

His sword dragged against the stone, creating a flicker of light. Sparks illuminated his movements as his left hand swirled with a black flame, churning as it burned the surrounding air, making it crackle and hiss.

The brood mother's massive body shook the cave, convulsing and twitching as the flames seared her spinnerets. The fire created a sweet yet smokey scent, like Tennessee barbecue sauce.

"Sylvie, take a rest and take Erina with you." Leon's calm voice and low grumble caused both girls to turn and gaze at him, their mouths open wide.

"Leonhardt?"

"You survived?"

"Oi... elf, what's that face about!"

He noticed Sylvie became comfortable enough with him to make such a joke, allowing him to take over with a calm smile. Leonhardt brushed his hand over their heads and messed up their hair. His lips curled into a smirk before he pushed them back and sealed the path with a massive wall of flames that blocked their vision and path.

'This is enough progress for now, where's Asuka...'

"Look at how pathetic you look, dungeon master. Is this how strong a D-rank dungeon master is, how strange."

"Y-You... male, why do you resist when I am the ideal mate?"

Leonhardt's eyes narrowed. And an uncontrollable disgust filled his chest while twisting his face to show his rejection.

The spider wasn't wrong because their genes might be closer compared to him and a purely human, but the sheer thought made Leonhardt want to burn the spider to a crisp.

"Sorry, I like my women like her."

His hand pointed to Asuka.

Asuka stood clueless while holding her axe above her head, about to chop into the brood mother's abdomen. She gazed at him with a confused expression before nodding and returning to slicing the spider's limbs.

The brood mother's pain receptors seemed to be lacking or likely numbed purposely. However, he noticed from her reaction and the dungeon setting that fire was likely her weakness.

"I won't give you the chance to evolve any further."

A black flame flared from his left hand, which pointed straight at the brood mother's face—although the fire did less damage to monsters due to the dungeon's domain, he didn't have any other magic and just wanted to test the upgraded cinderblast.

'This cost me 5000 DP...'

Leonhardt didn't wait to unleash his spell.

A swirling vortex of black flames shot forth from his palm, igniting the ground below and turning it red hot, melting the webbing that covered the entire dungeon and causing the green blood to bubble and boil as the eyes of the brood mother exploded into a bright inferno of smoke.

Shaaaa!

Her legs trashed and thrashed against the ground and walls, shaking the entire dungeon and causing debris to fall from the ceiling. Leonhardt's eyes narrowed as black flames bit into her face, melting her exoskeleton and flesh.

"Asuka, cover your ears. This is going to get loud."

The brood mother's screams intensified as she continued to struggle, and Asuka, who didn't even think twice about cutting into the spider's exposed abdomen, covered her ears.

Leonhardt raised his right arm, pointing it at the spider, and closed his eyes.

His lips parted before a whisper left his lips.

"Flare."

A massive explosion erupted inside the dungeon.

The entire area shook as dust particles flew through the air, making it impossible to see anything in the distance.

Leonhardt's spell created a pure white light that illuminated and blinded everything who saw it. It was followed by a thunderous boom that shook the walls and floor, causing some rocks to tumble down.

'Wow... my mana is almost empty.'

BOOM!

The impact was so powerful that it knocked both Sylvie and Erina off their feet, shattered her ice wall, dispersed Leonhardt's black flame, and sent them flying backwards into the wall behind them.

"Ugh..."

"Argh!"

Both girls groaned loudly in pain as the force pinned them against the rock wall.

A force like thousands of hands pressing them down overwhelmed the pair and forced their bodies to remain still despite their desire to move.

"Wha..."

Asuka's body slid back, dragged through the molten ground before a firm pair of hands grabbed her waist, and Leonhardt stood in front of her, his eyes focused on the explosion radius consuming the brood mother.

Black smoke poured out from where her body had once been.

A small black orb hovered in the air, likely the brood mother's core.

[You have defeated the Brood Mother!]

[Dungeon - The Brood Mother's Lair is without a guardian!]

Messages popped up in Leonhardt's ears, but he narrowed his eyes and focused himself on the situation, quietly preparing himself to go and destroy the crystal.

"It seems we won, Asuka."

"Yeah, but it's only because you looked out for us."

Leonhardt's lips curled into a smirk—he couldn't deny that he helped them, but the teamwork between them was also admirable.

'It's not bad helping them grow.'

"Erina, Sylvie, are you guys okay?" He shouted back, noticing the two girls covered in dirt, grime and messy hair as someone dragged them through a bush.

Sylvie was the first to rise and cough up a cloud of dust. She appeared tired but not hurt, which caused Leonhardt to breathe a sigh of relief. The weakest link wasn't her strength or potential but the doubt Sylvie felt towards herself.

Yet, seeing her brilliant smile, he stopped.

He closed his eyes and felt a sense of accomplishment.