"Okay..." Iris answered reluctantly. They were gaining so much experience, but as they say, 'Safety first.'

Tael and Ozymandias led the group away from their current location as they set out to explore the rest of the Rift.

________________

Ray's group also began hunting monsters after spending most of the games being lazy—or rather, struggling to defeat the monsters without Ray's help since they only encountered strong ones. After half a day, they managed to kill up to 20 Rift monsters. Unfortunately, it couldn’t match up to Iris's group, which had slain over 50 Rift monsters with the help of the strong and trustworthy Blood Knight.

Even so, you couldn't blame them for shamelessly farming experience points with a powerful summon.

As they continued through a new grassland location, the air was peaceful, and they decided to sit down and rest.

Ray reclined on a floating tech mattress, a gift from his father, produced by a round floating ball unique to the Subaru family. It functioned similarly to a storage ring but was limited to their family.

Meiru, Nero, Heili, and Kamare sat down, preparing some lunch.

"Ray!" Heili called out as she walked over to the resting boy. 'He actually looks quite cute when he's sleeping peacefully like this,' she thought, reaching out to touch his fair, delicate skin. But before she could, Ray grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry, okay? So stop squeezing! It hurts, you know," Heili cried, and Ray immediately let go. He noticed the red marks on her skin and apologized, "I'm sorry."

After that, he got up from the mattress, which promptly disappeared, and walked over to Kamare and the rest of the group. Heili stood there with her mouth wide open, eyes full of shock. Did he just apologize? She snapped out of her daze and followed behind Ray, still shocked as she inspected him. 'Is this really Ray?'

As she continued to glare at him, Ray felt increasingly uncomfortable, but he didn’t let it bother him and kept eating.

.....

"Found you," two cute yet creepy voices echoed from the nearby forest, their eyes locked onto one person—Ray!

"Ray!" Meiru shouted as she pushed him aside just in time for a black shadow to swoop down and snatch her.

"Arrgghhh!!" Meiru cried out, her body bleeding profusely in the mouth of a massive monster.

"Meiru!" Nero screamed, panic overtaking him as he saw the creature—a giant snake, nearly three meters long, its thick body covered in jet-black scales.

"Oh, come on, sis, you missed him," whined a young girl who appeared beside the snake.

The snake then wrapped its tail around Meiru, pulling her from its mouth, but kept its tail coiled tightly around her. "I really did miss, huh? Well, I won't next time," it hissed.

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"What the hell do you girls want?" Ray demanded, his voice laced with anger, his veins bulging as he glared at the snake and the girl.

"Well, we just came for you. You see, our mother has been pestering us to cripple you in the dungeon ever since your dad humiliated them. They couldn’t take it lightly, so they’re making us do the dirty work," the girls explained, giggling.

"But no worries—we get to fight someone strong. I can't wait to see your face when I break your bones," Cyan said, her voice dripping with sadism as she smiled creepily.

"Tch, we'll see about that. {Flame Knuckles}!" Ray growled as he leaped forward, his fists engulfed in flames, and struck the snake's head.

Boom! The impact echoed through the area. Ray jumped back a few meters to reassess the situation, but before he could react, a huge tail slapped him in the abdomen, sending him crashing to the ground.

Seeing the situation escalate, Kamare decided to join the fight.

_____

"What's that?" Iris asked, her eyes widening as a booming sound echoed from a distance.

"Probably some of the other kids fighting," Krumi shrugged it off.

"Don't worry, Iris. If anything comes our way, I'll protect you," Sheila assured her with a warm smile, cuddling Iris close.

As they continued moving forward, another loud Boom! reverberated through the air, this time stronger and fiercer.

"I think someone is in trouble," Iris yelled, sprinting toward the sound.

"Iris, wait!" Tael shouted, chasing after her.

Determined to help those battling the monster, Iris felt confident with the Blood Knight by her side. She was sure she would be safe.

However, things didn't go as planned. Out of nowhere, Iris saw a bright red light hurtling toward her. She barely had time to react before feeling a sharp, searing pain in her left arm. When she looked, her arm was burnt away.

Before Iris, a boy with red spiky hair and gray eyes stared in shock. Alongside him, Ibuki, in her human form and covered in blood, looked at Iris with a mix of horror and concern. The scene was chaotic—Iris’s arm was severed, blood spraying from the wound, and Cyan was slightly injured, adding to the turmoil.

"It hurts," Iris cried out, her eyes trembling as her body bled profusely.

"Iris, calm down!!" Krumi cried out, her panic evident as she rushed to hold Iris in her arms.

Ray, initially shocked by the sudden appearance of Iris, was bewildered. He had thought a monster was approaching and had intended to deal with it swiftly before resuming his fight with Ibuki and Cyan. The fact that Iris had come from that direction was unexpected. Her aura felt strangely inhuman, making it hard for him to gauge her presence.

"It hurts, please help me," Iris mumbled, her body growing colder as her color drained.

[ You are constantly losing HP ]

[ HP reduction rate is higher than healing rate, due to this the Gemaris may die out of blood loss. ]

“Kaguya, we have to help her!” Alka shouted, her worry palpable.

“Wait, I’m sensing something off. Let’s observe first,” Kaguya advised, holding her ground.

As Iris’s screams of pain subsided, her bright blue eyes closed, only to open again with a terrifying transformation. Her eyes shifted—one to a deep purple, the other to black, both with skull-shaped pupils.

"You bastards!!" Tael and Ozymandias shouted in unison, rushing to confront Ray’s group.

Bzzzzzzz!! Tael felt a strange, powerful energy emanating from Iris, reminiscent of the night she had awakened, but far stronger.

"Krumi, get away from Iris!" Tael shouted urgently, his gaze locked on Iris.

Krumi hesitated, her protective instincts warring with her desire to stay by Iris’s side.

Tael, acting swiftly, grabbed Krumi by her shirt and pulled her away from Iris.

As Iris’s hair transformed into alternating stripes of purple and black, a chilling pressure radiated around her. The very ground beneath her shattered into fragments, and the creatures in the Rift began to panic, fleeing from this overwhelming unknown threat.

“What is happening to Iris?” Alka wondered aloud as the void space trembled.

“As I suspected. Someone who is a Gemaris shouldn't be so weak,” Kaguya said with a chuckle.

“What do you mean?” Alka asked, confusion evident in her voice.

“Another personality—one with Iris’s true powers. This is who she really is,” Kaguya explained, pointing to Iris, who now bore an unsettling smile.