The sky was bathed in the red and yellow emanated by two giant birds as they battled against a gigantic black Draca, a Western Dragon. The wind became errant as if the world dreaded the clash of the three powerful beasts. The three of them were beginning to show some damage, but the Draca gained the upper hand as the black flame started to corrode their bodies.

"If you surrender now and give me the female, I'll let you live." The black dragon sneered the red bird before he lecherously looked towards the yellow bird. "I know you can feel it too, that attraction. Even your blood is calling out to become mine."

"Never!" the yellow bird shouted.

The black dragon gave an evil laugh. "So, why aren't the two of you even trying to flee? What are you protecting?" He asked before he shot an attack towards the ground below.

"No!" the yellow bird shouted as she threw her body in the attack's path. With a *bang*, she was pounded to the ground.

"Mother!" A little pale crimson bird shouted as she appeared from her hiding place nearby.

"Asuka, hide quickly!" Her mother shouted.

The black dragon's eyes narrowed. "It seems the suffering I experienced breaking into this land was not in vain. I wondered why you seemed weakened. It turns out you recently had a child. It must've been quite the pregnancy for you still to be weak after she has already hatched. Well, she will be as good-looking as her mother, so it seems I can get two for the price of one. If you're obedient, I'll be sure to show your daughter the utmost kindness." He said in a mocking tone.

"Don't bully my mother!" Asuka shouted as she suddenly charged towards the dragon.

"No!" "Stop!" The two parents shouted, unable to intervene.

The black dragon sneered as he went to catch the little bird, but right before she fell into his grasp, her body broke out in a dazzling crimson flame. The little bird was blown back towards the ground with a bang while the dragon roared in pain.

"This… What strange power is this?" The black dragon asked in pain as his entire claw had become bloodied, something even challenging for the adult birds to do. For the first time, he experienced fear. He did not know what that strange power was, but it was like a natural enemy. It was something that should not be allowed to exist in this world. His eyes of lust and greed had changed into apprehension. Now, he only wanted to kill the little bird before she had grown.

"Asuka, can you hear me?" Her mother asked after she had caught her.

"It's no good. She used all of her energy. If it continues like this, then…" Her father said disheartened.

"It seems we don't have a choice anymore."

The two of them nodded and suddenly coughed up a drop of blood that shot towards and entered their daughter. Asuka's body began to extrude and energy, which wrapped and protected her, almost like a shell.

"You even give up your life essence for her? Your sacrifice will be in vain because I will kill her after you die."

""We won't let that happen!"" It to them shouted as the flames on their bodies went from dying out to bursting exuberance.

"A suicide attack? You only hasten your deaths for an attack that will be impossible to kill me." The Black Dragon said with disdain.

"We don't intend to kill you." The elevator replied calmly. The next moment, the two flames from their bodies intertwined and became dazzling crimson.

"This… What is this strength?" The black dragon stammered with his eyes wide in panic. He tried to flee, but the fire quickly caught up and covered his entire body before the wound on his forearm absorbed it.

"Don't you like to curse others? Let's give you a taste of your own medicine. Not even a god can easily extinguish this flame, so someone like you can never remove it. It will cause you pain and torment throughout your days, becoming worse when you commit more evil acts. You best be careful and use some of your strength to suppress it; otherwise, you will die."

The two parents turned towards their daughter. "It seems our blood was not enough." The father said.

"It will sustain her. Hopefully, someone will help her in our place." The mother replied with sorrow. With the flap of her wings, the egg was sent flying into the distance. It traveled even beyond the mountains that magically segregated the component.

The roars of anguish from the Black Dragon also disappeared as he left to suppress the burning fire within him. "Curse you! Curse you all! You will soon be dead, but I promise I will find your daughter and turn her into my plaything else my name will no longer be Dougal!"

The two parents lay on the ground, watching their disappearing daughter's direction as their eyes slowly closed. Only the burning crimson fire that would neither extinguish nor expand was evidence that a battle had ever occurred.

...

The door shrieked open, letting light and for the first time in months. Usually, the cell would be accessed through another inner door to keep you in total darkness. Inside was a chained woman covered in wounds. Not a part of her body had been left undefiled. Through the door came a handsome and cruel-looking man.

"Oh, Chloe, how the hero has fallen." The older man sneered as he looked at the chain on her body. The weapon that had made her a hero.

Chloe looked towards the man expressionlessly; her eyes did not possess any will.

"It's been a while since you had fallen into my hands. I thought you'd like to meet the fruit of our labor." The man continued as a new figure appeared next to him.

To his side was a girl who appeared to be between five or six years old, but she did not seem entirely human. Her skin is a dark purple while her eyes and hair were a vibrant pink. Upon her head was coiled horns, similar to rams, while a pair of black bat-like wings and a black tail with a heart-shaped tip protruding from her back hip.

The little girl looked in the cell. "Father, is this mother? Why is she being treated so cruelly?"

"It was necessary, my dear. If not, she would have run away, and you could not meet her."

The little girl nodded, but could not hide the doubt in her eyes. Her father had always been kind and never shown any hint of behavior that was akin to this before.

Chloe looked at the little girl who snapped her out of her dreary mind. Although he didn't leave her body intact, she hadn't gotten pregnant. Most likely, it was due to the intervention of her hero weapon, the chain.

"Isn't Lilith, our daughter, wonderful? Perhaps it has something to do with this world, but she turned out quite differently than a child between a demon and a human in mine. Moreover, not only was her gestation shortened, but her growth in intelligence has been astonishingly fast. Lilith, you can get to know your mother and be sure to come back when you finish." The man said as he turned on a light and exited. When he did so, the man's friendly face turned dark. He had always shown his daughter a false mask of goodness and kindness to perpetuate his deranged desires. If she grew up knowing nothing of darkness, he would find it much more fulfilling as only a white soul could be tainted black. He left her because he wanted his daughter to experience the true cruelty from obtaining the hate of someone who should love them. After all, how could someone love a demon when they had been treated so poorly by one? Much less not being her actual daughter, but the daughter of another human victim.

The man waited for several hours and began to be concerned when his daughter did not return. He was about to check when Lilith suddenly entered the room with a smile on her face. "Father, I enjoy spending time with Mother a lot. I can go meet her from now on, right?"

"You enjoyed it?" The man asked.

"Yes, Mother is so nice. We talked for a long time. She kept telling me sorry for some reason. You shouldn't put Mother in there. She doesn't deserve that, and I don't think she'll try to run away."

"She was nice to you?" he asked in an angry tone, which caused Lilith to jump.

Never before had Lilith ever seen her father angry, especially something she believed to be normal. Shouldn't a parent love their child? "Father, is something wrong?"

The man suddenly relaxd. "No, nothing is wrong. Just let me know when you want to go see her, and I'll let you." Her father replied. Lilith happily nodded before she exited the room.

When she did so, the man's question became warped, and he immediately went into the cell where Chloe resided.

Over the next several days, Lilith went to see her mother without fail. However, every time she went, she noticed that Chloe's injury was worsening. It wasn't until she stealthily followed her father that she had realized he had been beating her. More intolerably, it was because Chloe was refusing to hate her. Lilith couldn't understand it. Why would her father want her mother to hate her? Confused, she asked Chloe the next time she visited and learned that her father was not a good person at all. She was heartbroken but also clever, and she was able to understand and accept the truth. Throughout the next week, she stealthily and cleverly prepared to escape and even managed to take Chloe in tow.

...

Years passed by, and the two of them eventually went to live with humans in the newly founded Kingdom of Sussex, founded by a hero's spouse. There they lived in peace until her father found them.

Her father marshaled many monstrous beasts that surrounded the capital of Sussex. Everyone was worried by the sudden siege, but Lilith noticed that everyone's looks towards her and her mother had changed after a couple of days.

"We are going to ask the two of you to leave." The King of Sussex said, holding the two of them at the army's spear point.

"Why are you doing this? What have my mother and I done wrong?" Lilith asked.

"What did you do wrong? You brought this calamity upon us. Your mother disappeared for a year, and we come to find out that she became a plaything of a demon, and you are demon spawn. If not for the fact that your mother's service for our world, we would've already killed you."

Lilith glared at the king before she turned back to her mother.

"Sorry, sorry." Her mother repeated.

"The two of you need to leave now." The king said sternly.

Lilith looked at her distraught mother back again before she gritted her teeth and took her mother towards the fortress's exit. "Mother, I'm sorry. We will have to fight."

"Okay," Chloe replied as she gently looked at Lilith.

The two of them left and faced the swarm of monsters.

"How does it feel, Chloe?" Lilith's father, the demon, shouted to them from across the monsters. "How does it feel to be betrayed by your kind? Betrayed by the people you suffered to protect?"

"Shut up!" Lilith shouted as she withdrew her chain-scythe from her space bag.

"Lilith, would you turn against your father?"

"I have no father!" She shouted as she rushed towards all the beasts.

Chloe followed Lilith closely, the timid woman she always seemed to be was gone. The chain around her waist morphed like a snake and wrapped around her fist. She flung the weighted end around, crushing all the monsters in her path.

Lilith's scythe slashed through monsters like a hot knife through butter. The chain attached to the grip gave the scythe additional range and power. Eventually, the two of them managed to break free of the encirclement, and they rushed into the nearby forest.

"Where do you think you're going?" The demon shouted as his body suddenly changed from a human to a monster. He lunged forward with his giant sword. Surprising the fleeing women, the target was not Chloe, but Lilith.

Lilith, who was caught by surprise, froze as the sword fell, and blood spilled, but it was not her blood. Tired and wounded from fighting the monsters, Chloe couldn't successfully block the attack resulting in a massive and fatal cut.

"Mother!" Lilith shouted in anguish as she rushed to hold Chloe as she collapsed. "Mother, speak to me!"

Chloe weekly lifted her hand to her daughter's face. "Lilith, you are my pride and joy. Do not live in hatred, but live well. I love you." She said as the light drained from her eyes.

"Mother!!!" Lilith shouted in English before she turned her teary eyes at her father. "I will kill you. Even though I'm not strong enough now, I will become stronger. No matter what you are planning, I will see to its destruction!" She coldly said before she took off with the flap of her wings, leaving only a trail of tears.

The demon did not pursue her, for he did not have wings and could not catch up. He looked down at Chloe's corpse and the many slimes in the vicinity before he smirked. "A worthy end for you." He said as he turned to leave while the slimes began to engulf Chloe's body. From then on, that place would become a taboo zone known as Fallen Hero Forest.

...

Within a tall, elegant, yet rundown castle, the screens of a woman in pain echoed. On a bed, surrounded by several caretakers, was a woman with pointed ears and green hair. She was a high elf, wife to the high elf king, who was giving birth. She struggled in pain before the child was born. The caretakers looked speechless as they held the newborn child before they eventually gave her to her mother. In the woman's arms was a daughter, stillborn.

The woman looked at her lifeless daughter, not surprised in the slightest. She turned and looked up towards the door outside. "I knew you were not happy with me, but my child is innocent." She bent down and kissed her child's forehead as massive energy suddenly came from her body. The woman looked down at her child as her skin paled while her daughters began to gain life. "Your name is Laelynn, for you are the flower of my hope. May your life be filled with blessings, and may you find someone to which can entrust your entire life to and find joy." She said as her voice became nothing more than a slight whisper, and she exhaled her last breath.

Outside the hall, the sounds of a baby's cry suddenly replaced the silence.

"Is everything alright then?" The king asked himself.

The woman next to him, his second wife, had a look of disbelief and confusion on her face while she gripped the black ball tightly within her clothing.

Suddenly, the door opened. "Your Majesty, it is the first lady! She… She..."

"What happened?" He asked as he rushed into the room.

When the second wife looked into the room, she at least found some consolidation. Even though things had not gone according to how she had planned, it was acceptable. She tightly gripped the black ball hidden in her clothing as she looked at the crying child. Perhaps the situation would be even better.

...

"Father, look, I made this drawing." A bright-eyed young Laelynn said to her father.

Her father looked at her, but instead of love, he had a look of disgust. "Go back to your room."

...

"Father, look, I made you lunch." A bright-eyed adolescent Laelynn said to her father.

"I'm busy. Go to your room." The king said with a hint of anger.

"Okay, father," Laelynn said, discouraged. She set the food down and turned to leave as she tried to hide her tears. She didn't understand why everyone in the kingdom seemed to hate her, even her father. She only wanted to be useful. She only wanted someone to be proud of her, but no one would. Moreover, there were slanderous whispers about her mother. Laelynn's features were more significant than the average high elf, so many defamed her mother for having dark elf blood, something intolerable for a high elf.

Once Laelynn had exited, the second lady entered the king's room. "Did she come again?" she asked with a trace of disdain.

"Yes, I can't stand the sight of her," The Elf King emotionlessly replied.

"Then, you can send her away." The second lady replied with a wicked smile. "Aren't our funds lower than estimated? I'm sure that many humans would pay quite a lot for an elf slave. At least this way she can be of some use."

The king gave a moment of thought before he nodded. "That sounds like an acceptable solution."

"Then I shall see to it." The second lady said of the bow before she turned to leave, unable to hide the gleeful smile on her face. Now, the only thing she needed was to dam a child of her own. She would become his favorite. Her blood, and not the blood of a filthy peasant, would eventually become the rulers of the High Elf Kingdom.

...

Over a year had passed by since Laelynn had been sold. No matter where she went, she only found glances of disgust or apathy. She didn't understand why those around her were not capable of showing affection to her. Was she unlovable? Such thoughts raided her consciousness.

"I have a buyer for you." The slaver told her one day. "He purchased you directly upon hearing of you, so I'll be sending you to his estate now."

"I understand," Laelynn said. Had her time come? Was she finally going to be useful?

...

"Was I useful?" Laelynn weakly asked her owner. Her owner looked down at her in disgust. Not only he, but also his wife, was disgusted by this elf who he had initially bought as a toy, but he'd loathed to touch her directly. Instead, he had done so with a knife. One of her eyes gouged out, an ear sliced in twain, and an arm, foot, and nearly all of her breasts were missing.

"There's nothing useful about you. I'll be sending you back to the slaver." The man said with disgust as he turned to exit the room.

Laelynn was heartbroken. She had suffered so much pain and still had not made him happy. She just wanted to be useful to someone, anyone. That thought was the only thing that kept her from ending it all.

...

The thud of a falling beast reverberated throughout the cave. The white-haired woman who slew it flicked the blood off of her sword.

"Why do you have her smell?" A male voice asked.

"Who?" The woman asked as she quickly turned around, but not fast enough. With a *bang*, she impacted the cave's wall, her arm heavily battered and broken. Suddenly, a male human-looking man whose black eyes had vertical pupils, and his body had the stench of burnt flesh, pinned her.

The man-made a wicked smile. "You do have her smell. How nostalgic, I never thought I would be able to partake that smell again. I can't believe she stooped so low as to mate with a lowly human."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"You knew my mother? Where is she?"

"Dead, by my hand." The man said with a sneer.

"You bastard!" She shouted, unable to move.

"Don't worry; I'll give you the same taste I gave her. I will haunt your dreams. Remember, my name is Dougal."

…

"Mother, I got some more food to eat." A little girl around the age of nine or ten said. Her hair and eyes were of a silver color, and she had the traces of becoming a wild beauty. However, she and her mother lived in poverty, so she was slightly malnourished.

Her mother, a wrinkled woman with white hair and a few black spots and her skin, gently looked at her daughter. "Megumi, you don't have to work so hard."

"It isn't hard. I want to make sure Mother has food to eat too." She said sweetly.

Her mother was about to reply, but suddenly sternly turned to look at the door. She got up but weakly fell back into her chair.

"Mother, you shouldn't move too much," Megumi said, aware that her mother was frail.

Suddenly there was shouting at the door. "We know the two of you are in there. Come out now!!!"

Megumi looked at her mother, nervously.

"Open the door and come back here immediately." Her mother said with a sigh.

Megumi nodded and went to open the door before quickly retreating behind her mother.

At the open door were many angry-looking people, a mob complete with pitchforks and torches. "We want the two of you to leave our village." One man said. He tried to look strong, but couldn't help but looked nervous along with all the others.

"Have we done something wrong? My daughter and I are simply trying to live in peace."

"Shut up. We know that you're vampires! Are you spies for the dragons?"

"Don't bully my mother!" Megumi said as she glared at the man.

The man took a step back as he noticed the little girl's eyes had changed to vertical pupils. "They're in the with the dragons, kill them!" he suddenly shouted.

"Megumi, run!" Her mother shouted as she pulled a sword from her cane. With one blow, she felled the man in front of her. Even though she was weak, her skills were still there.

"Quick, light the place on fire!" Someone shouted, which prompted everyone to throw their torches in the house, which quickly began to catch fire.

"Megumi, I can't protect you, go!"

"Mother!"

"Go!"

Megumi had tears flowing through her eyes as she quickly jumped out a window and ran. Several men chased her, but her speed was too fast, and her body too tough. She quickly disappeared into the night.

Several minutes later, the white-haired woman sat looking at several corpses. Only sadness remained in her eyes. These people were not evil, but their fear controlled them. She was a vampire, the rarest kind, born from a female dragon and a human male. Typically, such a being would still be born as a dragon as the mother race. However, her mother remained in human form for the entirety of her pregnancy, resulting in a vampire. Dragons were beings to be feared, even more so on the frontier, where they lived at the risk of death every day. They couldn't take the stress of living so close to those who had a dragon's blood.

The older woman warily opened her eyes. "Megumi, I need to rest a little bit. I'll come and find you quickly." She muttered as she closed her eyes. The black spots on her skin had grown larger.

Megumi ran and ran until she couldn't run any longer. Eventually, she was slowed down by the thick mud she trod through. She did not know how long she ran for or where she even was. All she had were the survivor skills her mother had instilled in her from an early age. Now she could survive until her mother found her. It was better for her to stay in one place.

...

Three people ride a cart down a path. One of them was an extremely older man, but his body was in excellent shape for his apparent age. Next to him was a woman who was not human. The top of her head had a pair of black Fox like ears merged with her black hair, and she had nine tales protruding from her back. In her arms was a young girl similar in appearance, but whose hair was gold, and she only had three tails. Behind them was another one of the same features, but white.

The three of them made their way down the path, occasionally making small talk and left together. However, the white-haired woman could not hide the envy and loss in her eyes as she looked at two of them.

"Jonathan, something's wrong." The black-haired woman suddenly said. "It's quiet, too quiet."

Jonathan's eyes narrowed as he looked around." You're right. We are being watched." He mumbled to himself. "Look out!" he suddenly shouted as he jumped to the side. A shield appeared on his arm blocked a black claw that appeared from the side.

"Interesting. You have the same smell as that white-haired woman. Was she your daughter?" A mocking voice asked which came from a Black Dragon.

"Daughter? Have you seen my daughter?"

"Seen?" The Black Dragon said with a mocking tone. "Not only have I seen your daughter, but I have seen your woman, that white dragon. They were both delicious."

Jonathan's face suddenly contorted in a fury. "I'll kill you!" he shouted as he began to attack.

"Oh, unusual strength for a human. Could it be that you are one of those heroes? However, it's not enough." He said as he looked towards the carriage. "Are those your women and daughter?" He asked with a sneer. "I'm sure they'll also be delicious. All be sure to thoroughly enjoy- wait, how does your daughter have that power? Wasn't that power from the flame?" He asked with an expression of disbelief. "No, it's different, but just as threatening. Maybe more so." He concluded as Killing Intent radiated from his body.

"Hurry up and run, go!" Jonathan shouted.

"But we can't leave you!" The white-haired woman shouted only to look at the black-haired woman in shock when the carriage suddenly shot forward. "What are you doing?" She asked angrily.

"I have to protect my daughter."

"So you plan to leave him behind?"

"Of course not." She replied as she handed the child to the white-haired woman.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm entrusting her to you."

"What do you mean?"

"The Black Dragon is too strong even for Jonathan. I've never seen a Dragon so strong, and he wants to kill my daughter. I can't let him prevail."

"I can fight too."

"No, you're the only person I can trust her to. And this is my fight; I deserve it after cheating."

"What do you mean?"

"He never forgot that White Dragon." The black-haired woman said with a bitter smile. "I know the two of us fought over his affection for quite some time, seeing as he wasn't willing to take both of us, but I cheated. I betrayed his trust and forced myself on him, which resulted in our daughter. He may not have complained, but I forced him."

"You what?" The white-haired asked in disbelief.

"And this is my retribution." The black-haired woman continued before her body changed into a giant black fox with nine tails, and she headed back towards the sound of the fighting. "Please go and protect her. I can only count on you!" She shouted.

Tears ran down the white-haired woman's face as she led the cart further away. In the distance, she eventually saw the black dragon fly away, heavily wounded. As he did, he dropped a gigantic nine tail fox fell from the sky, her black fur dyed red from her blood.

"Go, I will accompany him."

Those words were said like a whisper to the white-haired woman as she cried, clutching the little girl in her arms. The man she loved and the woman who she considered to be a sister were now dead.

The little girl in her arms stared in the direction of her mother without saying a word. "Mother, father." She said softly as sadness, unbecoming of such a young girl, filled her eyes. With a blink, that sadness suddenly disappeared as she turned to look at the white-haired woman. "Can I call you, mama?" She asked innocently.

The white-haired woman froze up before she gently cuddled the girl in her arms. "Yes, from now on, I'm your mama, Kogane."

Then a black flame engulfed the two of them with a roar.

"Damn this flame," Dougal cursed before he took off, the air permeating the smell of his burning flesh.

"Mama, are you alright?" the little girl asked. She was unscathed as the white-haired woman had shielded her.

"I'm alright." The woman replied, her body now riddled with black spots. The flame was not one of fire, so it didn't catch fire to anything, nor necessarily killed outright. The two of them slowly continued down the path.

…

"Mama, I don't want to study. I want to go outside and play." A young Kogane said. She had grown into a beautiful young girl about 12 or 13, but only one tail was visible behind her.

"Kogane, it's important for you to study if you're going to become an acting duchess. Come here and study." The white-haired woman said. She was currently bedridden and heavily weakened; her body riddled with black spots. Like Kogane, she also had one visible tail.

"No, I want to go out and play. You can't tell me what to do because you're not…" Kogane began before she stopped talking, realizing what she was about to say.

"Kogane!" An orange-haired woman with glasses and wearing a teacher's attire shouted. She was going to continue, but Kogane had already quickly run away.

The orange-haired woman sighed. "Rio, she's becoming more rebellious. Even more so since she's nearing 'that' age."

Rio sighed with a smile. "I was the same when I was her age, especially around Jonathan at the time."

"When did she find out you weren't her real mother."

Rio made a bitter smile. "From the beginning. Even though she was so young at the time, she called them mother and father while I've only been her 'mama.'" She said as sadness and guilt filled her eyes.

"Rio, you shouldn't blame yourself."

"How can I not? I was the one who left when she was conceived. I was so angry, so jealous that her mother had managed to take his heart. If I didn't leave, they wouldn't have come to find me, and we wouldn't have run into that dragon." She said as tears formed in her eyes.

"It'll be okay. They wouldn't entrust her to you if they blamed you, and I know Kogane doesn't blame you either."

"Perhaps," Rio said as she closed her eyes. "Is there any news I should be aware of?"

"No. The Duke of the Usagi contacted us again to see if we had any news of his missing wife and daughter, but…"

Rio sighed and shook her head. "It's been over ten years now. I understand not wanting to give up, but this world is far too dangerous, especially for a woman and child." She said as she closed her eyes. However, a sound similar to tearing and breaking glass made her eyes open, and her face became warped with fear. She was all too familiar with the sound. "A wave? Now? Here?" She mumbled before her eyes shot wide open. "Kogane!" She shouted as she bolted from the bed. Her appearance suddenly became better, but the black spots had grown larger. When she reached outside, she saw the one thing she did not wish to see in the worst possible place. It was as if the sky had a giant crack that reached to the ground. From it, creatures were already starting to come forth.

Rio gritted her teeth. Due to her curse, her strength was nowhere near its peak. "We are in a state of emergency! Everyone, grab your weapons and meet up at the opposite side of the crack!" She shouted as loud as she could, but there was so much panic her shout was to no avail. She looked towards the bottom of the crack and found, to her horror, that Kogane was nearby. She quickly rushed down at the frozen Kogane and pulled her away. As they ran, she fired off a white flame of magic that incinerated a couple of the vile little creatures known as goblins.

"Mama?" Kogane asked, slightly delirious and shaking in fear.

"Kogane, quick, we have to run. We don't have much time until it comes through. If it doesn't decide to conceal itself… I don't know if I can stop it in my current condition." Rio said as she stared into the crack, unable to hide her fear. She grabbed Kogane's hand and began to run as fast as far away from the crack.

Caught by surprise, the monsters made short work of any nearby guards, and mass panic had ensued. Nearly everyone was fleeing. No one was present when a man walked out of the crack. His face slightly disfigured further as a cruel smile floated on his lips when he looked to the pile of ashes left over by Rio's magic. "Interesting." He murmured as he narrowed his eyes and took off running in their direction.

...

"Mama, what's going on?" Kogane asked when she regained her senses.

"It's The Invasion. That's the First Wave." Rio answered, breathing heavily.

Kogane's eyes went wide. "The Invasion? You mean like the one that father had fought against?"

"The very same one," Rio answered as they came to a small dock on a nearby river that flowed out to the inland sea. She placed Kogane on a small raft but quickly turned around when she heard the tree branches snap behind her.

"Running away?" The evil-looking man said as he approached them.

Rio's hair stood on end, and she quickly kicked the raft out to the river.

"Mama?" Kogane couldn't help but ask, confused.

Rio took a deep breath as she looked at the evil King man. "It's not in my policy to run away from a demon."

The man gave her a look of surprise. "You know I am a demon? Were you expecting me to come through the space tunnel? You must be older than you look. I followed you because I find this world's magic interesting, so much different from cultivation."

Rio mustered up her courage. "I'm not in the mood to kill again, even though I've already killed a demon. If you leave now, I won't pursue you."

The evil-looking man sneered. "That's an interesting bluff. If you fought against one of my brothers before, you know that our peoples are mortal enemies. The fact that you aren't willing to kill me is because you don't think you can. You may try to hide it, but I can tell that you're currently in a weakened state. Is this the so-called curse? It's a pity; those black spots take away from your beauty." He said as he took a look at the boat flowing down the river with Kogane on it. "Perhaps I should bring her back."

"Don't you dare!" Rio shouted as her body suddenly turned into a giant fox with nine tails. The black spots on her body expanded relative to her size but also continued to grow. Rio quickly chanted spells upon herself, and her body flashed twice. The first time the spots became smaller while the second time, her body became full of energy.

"Mama, Mama, come quick!" Kogane shouted, but it was clear that Rio wouldn't come. Kogane was bursting into tears. Why did she have to argue the last time they talked? Why couldn't she have just been a good girl? Could all this be avoided if she was? Kogane was extremely smart, even when she was only a few years old. She could clearly remember what happened to her parents and what had caused Rio's weakness. At the time, the concept of death was not something she understood, but she understood it now. What happened to her parents haunted her dreams, and she woke up some mornings crying. Besides her parents, Rio was the only family she had. Just the thought of losing her too broke her heart. She collapsed onto the boat as she heard the sounds of battle from far away.

Rio's bloodied body flashed again as her more serious wounds healed. However, the blacks spots had become extremely large. She glared at the man turned demon and snarled with teeth covered in blood, though not her own.

The demon, who lay on the ground, warily looked down at his wounds. "It seems what they say about a cornered animal is true." He murmured just before he coughed up more black blood. "What was the expression my king used to say? Curiosity killed the cat?" The demon said with a chuckle as he looked at the fox. "How appropriate. I am a cat, and you were the dog." He said with a chuckle before more blood spilled from his lips. "You caught me off guard. I didn't realize that you were suppressing the curse with your strength and that you would release it to give me a fatal blow. You must've fought quite a bit to gain such experience, but that was quite the cost. Remember, the space tunnel becomes stronger every time, allowing for more powerful creatures to come through. I am only the weakest of my kind. Many already dwell within this land, and soon my brothers will come to this world, ripe for conquest. I only feel sorry I will not see that day. Oh, my king, I hope my death was not in vain." He said as his voice became weaker and weaker until the breath left his body.

Still wary, Rio spat white fire from her mouth to envelope his body. Only when his body half burned away did she finally relax. Her body had no strength left. She wearily looked down the river where Kogane had disappeared. Then, she looked towards the heavens. "Shield Goddess, I don't know if I should have thanked you for bringing Jonathan into this world and letting us meet or hate you for bringing him into such a dangerous world. I do not know about his first daughter, but now the last of his flesh and blood floated down that river. I know your strength is limited, but please, protect her because I can no longer. You selfishly took him away from his family, and he decided to remain to fight the demons. He gave up everything to protect this world; please protect his daughter. Please." Rio said as her blurry eyes closed, and she passed out.

...

On the raft, Kogane had fainted. After hearing the battle, she had already thought the worst. She loved her Mama so much, and now she thought her Mama was gone. She could no longer take the mental strain and collapsed. She was unsure how much time it passed as she faded in and out of consciousness, but she eventually heard some voices.

"What do we have here?" A gruff man asked.

"It's a river raft. It probably floated down from the northern river and went out to sea before eventually coming around here." Another gruff male voice said.

"Hey, this girl is a kitsune! She'll sell for a pretty penny if we sell her as a slave."

"Do we have to sell her as a slave? Can't we help her?" A female voice asked.

"Girly, we're bandits. We make money by doing these things. You'll get a cut to help pay off your debts. Besides, the other option is to bring her back with us. Would you prefer that?"

"… No."

"Hey, doesn't that new kid have the Slaver Talent? It's much more convenient than risking getting caught paying someone to do the magic ceremony with all the regulation nonsense." He said as he started to walk away.

Kogane warily cracked open her eyes. In front of her, she saw who she thought the young woman spoke, but the world was grey to her, and she couldn't see her face.

"I'm sorry. It's better than having to live with them." The young lady said, unable to hide the sorrow in her voice.

As Kogane faded back into unconsciousness, the last thought that went through her mind was that the young girl seemed to have tall ears.

...

"Exile? Why?" A young lady murmured, unable to believe what she had heard. She stood at a little over 3.5 feet tall. Her body was proportional to a human except for her ears, which were slightly larger and rounded, the telltale signs of a dwarf. Her hair was ash brown and cut short with two braids going on the side of her face. In her hands, she clutched a grey metal. However, she was struggling to hold it even though its size would not insinuate it.

Surrounding her were a bunch of other dwarves of all ages. The older man, the village chief, who had spoken previously, spoke again. "Just as you have heard. We have decided to banish you into exile. You continue to search for a means to forge that metal when it was the cause for the tragedy that nearly wiped out our race! Your family was known for working with that metal, but they lost the information in the mass destruction. Now, we only wish to forge weapons and armor using common metals, not that… That… Accursed metal."

"Nonsense! My family made wonderful armor from this metal before, and none of you complained! It was you who became too greedy and dug so deep to find more! My family never participated in looking for it. It was your fault, not my family's!"

Several faces turned dark when they heard her.

"Crystal, we came to a decision. Don't make us use force." The village leader threatened while several others reached for their weapons.

Crystal couldn't believe it. She considered these people to be her family. She was the last of her bloodline, and she had tried to revitalize it, but it resulted in her banishment. With tears in her eyes, she went and grabbed the space bag that held most of her belongings and put the metal within it. "Fine, but when I find out how to forge this metal, the dwarves will have no part of it!" She shouted before she left the mountain that had become the dwarves' home. The world was a big place, and dwarves were not the only race who forged weapons. Maybe there was someone who knew what this metal was and how to forge it.

...

"These sweets are delicious. You've outdone yourself yet again." A beautiful young woman with terracotta hair said to her maid as they snacked together.

"It still pales compared to your cooking." The maid replied with a smile.

"Not something that a noble should be known for."

"But there's nothing wrong with a woman learning to cook. Do you plan to go out hunting again soon?"

The young woman shook her head. "No. I've leveled up quite a bit for my age, and my strength isn't bad, but there are many negative whispers about my parents. Their daughter is an incompetent mage who can only swing about a sword and wear heavy armor. Something unbefitting for a lady and a Dhampir." She said before she took her first sip of tea, unaware of the flash in her maid's eyes.

"I see, perhaps that is best." The maid replied. "What of the proposal of the second Prince?"

"No matter what, I will still refuse. Instead of degrading into one of his toys, I would rather be an incompetent mage and an unmarriable woman. I heard he even has his current toys serving the other men to gain their favor." She replied. Suddenly, she began to feel dizzy, and her vision became blurry. It took her a second, but she suddenly realized what was going on. She looked back up the maid. "Why?" She asked with a slight slur.

The kind look of the maid disappeared to a glimpse of ridicule. "Milady, you may be the daughter of a duke, but he is the king's son. You may not be willing to become his concubine, but I am. I have been blessed with the opportunity to become the Prince's concubine even though I am of lowly birth."

"Fool."

...

"Hestia, can you hear me, Hestia?" *Slap* "Hestia!" A man shouted as he slapped her face repeatedly.

"Your Highness, give her a moment. Magically induced sleep is not something that a person can awaken from immediately."

The second Prince narrowed her eyes and slapped her face again for good measure. "A waste of a woman. She thinks, because her face is a little pretty, she can despise me?"

"Your Highness, she should be conscious enough to hear your message."

The second Prince sneered as he looked into Hestia's cloudy eyes. "Hestia, listen carefully. Since you aren't willing to become my toy, I won't touch you. Instead, I'll see to it that you become a toy of many men. Don't worry; you won't remember anything... At first. I'm only disappointed that I won't be able to see your expression when your memory returns." The second Prince said with a laugh. The man beside the second Prince chanted a spell, and the person who was Hestia was sealed away.

...

< "It's all a matter of the mind,"> Martel replied as he played a video game with the three perverts. < "I just don't happen to fill my head with perverted things, unlike you three fools.">

If any of the girls could hear him, he would be getting nothing but scorn filled looks as they all knew just how perverted he could be. Even Cali, who was currently on his lap, turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. However, in her case, it was out of spite because he had yet to touch her. Even though she was, looked, and acted young, her mental state grew extremely fast to the point where she wasn't inferior to the other girls. However, she knew full well that he preferred her pure and innocent and would wait for her to get older.

< "It wasn't my decision, my wives decided for me,"> [although it is appropriate].

<<< Don't remind us!!!>>> the three of them shouted. Martel swore they were crying on the other end of the voice chat.

< "Of course I do. Even though I won't touch them until they get older, I'll never let them go.">

"Baby," Cali said with a nod.

< "Nothing, she's just sitting on my lap.">

"Harder," Cali accentuated.

<<>>

"Game is getting harder," Cali replied. Martel glared at her, fully aware she knew what she was talking about as her medical knowledge was surpassed only by him. "As for your -mmph- it has been -mmph-" Cali continued to say as Martel tried to cover her mouth. Although he liked the innocent Cali, she had begun to be more rebellious out of jealousy over the other girls.

< "I have some time to kill for a little bit. Although I don't know when I'm going to have to leave abruptly... Hopefully.">

"If I have time, I'll check it out," Marty replied. He was going to continue, but suddenly a green sphere appeared next to him moving towards him. "Oh, it looks like I have to go."

< "Won't be a problem, Marty already took control,"> Martel replied as Cali turned into a jacket, which he wore. "Besides, this is too good of an opportunity to give up." He said with a smile as the green light took himself and Cali. It was something he was expecting. He had hoped that two of these green portals would appear in his home. Little did he know that it was not two, but three.