Long time, no see.

Hard to believe I’m already writing another article. It was only earlier this month that I released my spinoff novel, The Theatre of the Siege Princess, but as that project was meant to happen alongside—not replace—summer’s DHN volume, here I am. If you can allow me a moment of pride, I’m quite pleased I was able to release another novel this year without breaking DHN’s schedule, though I am ready to take things a little slower for a bit. Working these projects concurrently was fun, but juggling them alongside life, work, and Elden Ring wasn’t as easy as I predicted.

But I’m not here to bitch. Let’s get to the meat of this announcement.

Demon Healer Naberius: Volume Five is in the works, with the second draft having just been completed. My current estimations put the release date at early to mid-July, though I would bank on early July as I’m testing some new editing strategies that should speed things up a pinch. As always, you can expect another article announcing when it’s available for purchase, and you’ll be able to gauge whether there are any delays with the publication process by seeing if I’m having an aneurism on Twitter.

I’d like to take a moment to thank Tostantan for once again providing the novel’s character designs and cover arts. It feels like it was only yesterday that I was nervously asking him to make sure Nabby had big tits in her design, yet this is now the fifth time we’ve worked together. He continues to be a wonderful man to chat with, and I’m beyond grateful to have had his help with this series. I’m already looking forward to hiring him for the next entry.

Alrighty then. Let’s get to the introduction.

Introduction

Past introductory articles are available in the Archive here.

Unsurprisingly, Volume Five continues the story of Nabby and Bosa, picking up a couple months after the Christmas shenanigans of Volume Four. Now that Bosa has settled things with her father, she and Nabby can once again enjoy their mundane lives, starting with them moving into a new apartment. But in the shadows of a prison cell, one man—that priest—has been ruminating on his encounter with Naberius, discontent to leave that matter unfinished. Yet restricted as he is, the man has called upon his estranged apprentice, and she has agreed to do what he no longer can.

An exorcist now prowls Ambarino, searching for the demon who defeated her former mentor.

Alongside that danger, Nabby and Bosa will encounter a dragonfolk man who is obsessed with pinching pennies, an incredibly advanced golem sent to gather mana crystals, and a pair of dweebs seeking to crush what remains of the Seafoam Diva’s reputation. These stories will bear the wryness and theatrics I hope this series has become known for, and I’m very much looking forward to sharing them with you.

And with that, let’s get into some of the folks appearing in Volume Five.

Characters

Aina Versitat

Race: Lagomorph

Class: Priestess/Exorcist

Age: 56

Likes: Alcohol, wandering, good manners, altruism

Dislikes: Rich people, cute things, baths

Skills: Healing miracles, exorcisms

Born from mixed heritage and into a divorced family, Aina was sent across the world to live with her aloof father after losing her mother to a monster outbreak, leaving her to grow up with a fear of monsters and little guidance. Her frailty was then resolved when she met Father Connor Harel, a priest who lured her in with his belief that demonkind was the source of all misfortunes—including the monsters that killed Aina’s mother. Aina spent the next decade as Connor’s apprentice, and he did his best to instill in her the art of exorcism and his hatred for demonkind.

But Aina had doubts about Connor, and a rift eventually formed between the two. Aina then quit her apprenticeship and returned to her motherland of Abia, choosing to dedicate her life to exorcizing “hellspawn” from impoverished villages pro bono while working as a healer to keep herself fed. But now, over twenty years since they last spoke, Connor has requested Aina’s assistance in settling matters with Naberius, and as she is curious about the alleged demon healer, Aina has agreed to help her former mentor.

Aina is an experienced healer and exorcist who forsakes worldly possessions in favor of the life of a wanderer. She is oddly irreverent for a priestess, but she has made it her duty to help the needy and downtrodden. She values the role of healer and hates seeing younger generations not take it seriously, and she is often mistaken for a vagrant due to her poor hygiene and love of drinking.

Maria “Mimi” Garrido

Race: Lamia

Class: Spearwoman

Age: 23

Likes: Singing, sunbathing, improv comedy, her friend Coral

Dislikes: Math, swimming, Jason

Skills: Adventuring, dancing

Mimi has been friends with a scylla girl named Coral ever since elementary school. The two have been inseparable, and when Coral decided she wanted to become an adventuring idol like Bosa, the Seafoam Diva, Mimi was more than happy to follow along as Coral’s partner.

Unfortunately, Coral lost all her motivation to sing and adventure after Bosa’s idol career was brought to an end, and despite Mimi’s encouragement, Coral now works a dull life as a barista. Losing her adventuring partner has left Mimi distraught, so she now seeks to humiliate Bosa in a bid to prove that the Seafoam Diva was nothing special and that Coral should still pursue her dream of being an idol.

Mimi is a better follower than a leader, as she was the brawn to Coral’s brains, but she’s doing her best to reignite her friend’s passion. She is a bully who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, but she isn’t half as dangerous as she’d like you to think. She doesn’t particularly like Jason but tolerates him because they share the same goal and she’d rather let someone else do the planning.

Jason Pitt

Race: Human

Class: Rogue

Age: 24

Likes: Video games, cookies, lockpicking, Bosa (secretly)

Dislikes: Being ignored, PE class, coffee

Skills: Stealth, software engineering

Jason was once a fan of Bosa, the Seafoam Diva, but when he realized she saw him as just another member of her fanbase, he swore to get revenge for her failing to notice his support. He infiltrated an a gig Bosa was working and secretly recorded footage of her yelling at Nabby, and after posting the video online, Bosa’s idol career was no more.

But after learning that Bosa wasn’t reduced to a miserable pile and has been in fact living a normal life, Jason has decided that his work isn’t done. He now conspires to drag Bosa down even further in the hopes that she’ll apologize for ignoring him, and he has forged a partnership with Mimi to help ensure his schemes come true.

Jason is self-centered and blithe, and he tends to lash out at those he feels don’t appreciate him enough. He calls himself a “balancer”, a sort of gentleman thief who seeks justice, though he’s never tried to help anyone but himself. He has many talents—especially for espionage—and he would likely find the adoration he desires if he applied himself to something meaningful.

Where can I find Demon Healer Naberius?

You can find all of my books—including the latest, The Theatre of the Siege Princess—at my author page on Amazon. Each Demon Healer Naberius volume’s ebook is available for $2.99 with the exception of Volume One, which is priced at $0.99. All paperbacks are available for $9.99. Naturally, Volume Five will share these prices.

Updates will posted in the usual forms here and on my Twitter, @varnicrast. I’d recommend watching the latter, as you’ll also get photos of my lovely new puppy Paprika.

In Closing

Honestly, this “In Closing” section doesn’t really serve a purpose at this point, but fuck it—I do love imparting some rambling thoughts. I hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve seen in this preview; I continue to pour my soul into DHN, and I look forward to every time I can share what I’ve been working on. With The Theatre of the Siege Princess done, I plan to take on another secondary project—after a break, of course—but I’m still undecided if I want to go with something big and esoteric or small and ridiculous. If you’ve got a taste for one or the other, consider letting me know, would you?

Thank you for joining me in this preview, dear reader. Take care, and I’ll see you next time.

Bye-onara.

Jun 18 Coming Soon — Demon Healer Naberius: Volume Five!