Later, aboard the ship, Leona looked around in awe at the beautiful scenery and wondered out loud if it was even possible to transport all of this with a ship that size. Rean sighed and commented that it was obvious she hadn't paid attention in geography class. Of course, she was the type who slept through lectures.
Geral Island only had around fifty residents, all of whom worked in the mining industry. These days, they used magical devices, so the type of ship didn't really matter. And since the island produced a special kind of mineral, it was still profitable even if the annual yield was low.
Leona still didn't understand why the demon king would unleash monsters on a tiny mine like that. On top of that, the statue of Sylvian on the island had been stained. Rean advised her not to jump to conclusions and said they should figure things out after investigating.
As Leona turned her gaze back to the vast sea, Rean found himself staring at her instead, momentarily caught by her beauty. Of course, he quickly looked away, hiding his blush.
Suddenly, shouts erupted across the ship about stowaways who hadn't paid their fare. One man was being dragged along, begging not to be sent to Geral Island. Another clung to Leona's leg, screaming that the island was basically hell and pleading not to be sent back along with his companion.
Both Rean and Leona tried to calm the man down and asked what had really happened on the island. With a trembling voice, the man explained that Geral Island was now overrun with monsters, and that most of the residents had already been slaughtered. He and his friend Jake had tried to escape, but Jake was attacked and badly injured. They barely managed to board the ship, and with Jake injured and himself completely exhausted, he fainted after boarding. When he woke up, they were already heading straight back to the island.
Rean's expression hardened. If most of the residents were gone, handling this with just the two of them might be too much. He suggested turning back and calling for reinforcements.
Leona immediately disagreed. There could still be survivors. Saving them came first. Reinforcements could deal with whatever remained afterward.
Rean pushed back, asking what would happen if both of them got hurt. Could she take responsibility for that? But she snapped at him for being so negative.
That was when they noticed the eyes on them. People were watching what looked like a full-blown lovers' quarrel.
Turning back to the desperate man, Leona told him not to worry. They would do whatever they could. But suddenly, she noticed the man lying on the floor was smiling while quietly forming a spell in his hand.
Rean reacted instantly, throwing up a shield in front of Leona. Now both men began acting unnaturally in sync, their expressions twisted as if possessed by something evil.
Then the angel appeared, shouting that those creatures were the demon king's minions. She explained that a demonic beast's behavior changed depending on the emotion it fed on. To defeat one, they had to identify that emotion, cut it off, and slowly starve the beast. Demonic beasts fed on human negative emotions, and the stronger the emotion, the stronger the beast became.
The problem was that the angel was only an avatar who had awakened three years ago. So this was her first time dealing with demonic beasts.
Rean advised Leona to stay calm and suppress her emotions while they handled the situation. The two monsters continued provoking them, saying that neither Leona nor Rean was anything special. Unfortunately, Leona's temper flared again, prompting the angel to scramble to calm her down.
The demonic beasts proudly declared that they didn't deal in simple emotions like anger. They were the demon king's elite minions, feeding on humanity's most debased feelings. They announced themselves as demonic beasts of shame.
That somehow did stop the protagonists. Honest as ever, Leona even commented that a beast of wrath would have sounded more fitting than a beast of shame.
That comment finally pissed the monsters off. In response, they summoned a massive wave and hurled it straight at Leona and Rean. After shouting for everyone to run away, Leona braced herself, expecting to be soaked, but nothing happened. She was completely dry.
Other gods, like Scene Crafting Artisan and Degenerate Power Warrior, were not pleased that her soaking scene had been skipped. One even commented that the monster clearly wasn't on their side.
When Leona checked on Rean, he was completely drenched. Naturally, gods like Scene Crafting Artisan and Spinny Spin Spin were very satisfied with this development.
Leona burst out laughing and joked that Rean should have done more strength training. Rean, now the only soaked person, turned even redder. Unfortunately, the demonic beasts fed on his embarrassment and launched another wave attack. This time, Rean desperately tried to block it while complaining about why he was the only one being targeted while Leona remained untouched.
She yelled at him to stop feeling embarrassed, since it was only making the monsters stronger. Eventually, Rean was overwhelmed and took a direct hit to the chest.
At that time, even Leona started wondering why the attacks weren't affecting her at all, until she remembered the little girl's words about the charm protecting her from dangerous men. She looked down at the protection charm in her hand.
The moment the demonic beasts sensed it, they hissed and recoiled, complaining about the scent of the flowers and demanding she stay away. That confirmed it. The charm was working.
The beast attacked again, but Leona confidently stepped forward, declaring it useless as long as she had the charm. Unfortunately, she forgot that Rean was standing right behind her. The poor guy took yet another hit and was sent floating into the air.
Seeing that he didn't even have the strength to cast a levitation spell, Leona leapt up and caught him. For a brief moment, Rean's mind went blank, until he saw his own blushing reflection in Leona's eyes. He looked like a damsel in distress being rescued, and that realization made him furious.
So when they landed, Rean coldly said to let go of him, looking like he was ready to kill someone. He unleashed every attack spell he had, intent on pouring all his humiliation and rage into the demonic beasts.
But Leona stopped him, saying that his attacks alone wouldn't work. The plan was simple. With the charm protecting her, Leona would take the lead with her sword while Rean provided support.
She didn't hesitate. She charged in, shouting that this was actually satisfying while exchanging blows with the monster. The angel, watching everything unfold, clapped excitedly and commented on how cool Leona looked.
Suddenly, message screens from the gods began appearing again. Degenerate Power Warrior commented that all he was seeing was fighting. Pure Love Only agreed and said she had come for romance, not this. Spinny Spin Spin suggested they do something before the demonic beasts were sealed. High Performance Juicer chimed in, proposing that since they were on an island, they should just destroy the ship.
In the end, the romance-crazed gods voted unanimously, four hundred and fifty-five votes, to strand them.
Then the will of the gods descended. One of the demonic beasts' eyes suddenly glowed, and in the blink of an eye, massive waves clashed as a violent explosion tore through the ship.