Eyes closed, Iris held her right hand forward and channelled her Corruption Power. Memory Forever Cherished, her engagement ring, illuminated her pale laced gloves, shimmering against the bloody light and the inane air. Its radiance warmed her face, though she dared not open her eyes to witness its mystique.

“Iris,” Ludmint’s illusory voice echoed. “You’ve finally relied on me. Please allow me to help you, this once and forevermore.”

Iris shivered. A pair of nonexistent hands tapped her shoulders. A ghostly sensation enveloped her body, pressed against her back, and embraced her from behind. The all-ending demonic pressure could no longer reach her.

Here, she was safe.

The cultists as well as Secain and Lorient paused their battles. An unearthly presence descended. Particles and energy stagnated, their flow forcibly halted. They couldn’t move, not because of an unknown restriction, but because a power disconnected them from spacetime itself.

Stuck in their place, everyone stared at the unidentifiable figure floating behind Iris, who closed her eyes and enjoyed the intimate moment.

“I’m such a hypocrite,” Iris said. “I didn’t want to be your burden, but it seems I’ve always been in your care.”

“You’re never a burden, Iris. You’re a delicate flower which, given tender cares, will bloom most beautifully.” Ludmint touched Iris’s face and took away the handheld fan. “And I’m your sole protector, your soulmate.”

“The garden is large and wondrous.”

“They all can wilt, all but you. You’re half my heart.”

Iris chuckled. “Even though you’re a mere visage of hers, I can’t resist you.”

“Your love permeates every part of me, Dear. Even if I’m fragmented, my affection will never lessen.”

Iris grabbed Ludmint’s hand and placed it on her lips. She bit the thumb, which trembled, and licked it. Her saliva couldn’t touch the ghost, but her love seized it effortlessly.

“To set such a chant, you’re too devilish,” Iris said.

“Please say it, shout it, whisper it.” Ludmint’s tone fluctuated, flustered. “My purpose is to hear you say those words, on her behalf, on my own behalf.”

Iris smiled. She took a deep breath, concentrated on her right hand, and let go of her worry. Ludmint’s power coated her body, assuring her that none could harm her. An irrational thought, but she wouldn’t deny it.

“Ludmint, I love you,” she said.

The ghostly Ludmint laughed, her loveliest tone echoing only for her beloved. As her figure vanished, Memory Forever Cherished lit up. Its gemstone vibrated, rotating on its socket. Its smooth edges held and dragged the fabric of reality with its spin. Spacetime geometry swirled under its influence.

All perspectives twisted, distorted into a winding path of unknown imagery. Streets, buildings, toxic fumes, dark clouds, physical matters, mystical energy, and even the cultists became translucent. Their appearances faded, their intensity dimming.

They lost control over their bodies. Their eyes, staring at Iris, whose appearance had become incomprehensible, stayed locked in positions as they inexorably returned to nothingness.

Not even their clothes could rustle under the churning gusts.

Iris’s eyelids trembled. She opened her eyes. Her surroundings were no more. Buildings, trees, fences, lamplights, benches, and the cultists disappeared. Only Secain and Lorient remained.

They came to her side, leaned on her, and stared at her bright pupils.

“Mistress . . . you’re too powerful,” Secain said. “With a wave of your hand, you annihilate your enemies. The poets will recount this scene for years to come!”

“Secain, are you trying to expose your mistress?” Iris said.

Secain pursed her lips and lowered her head, though she couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m sorry. I’ve pushed my luck. Please, please punish me.”

Lorient rolled her eyes. “You’re too much, Secain.”

“If you’re jealous, imitate me.”

“Who’s jealous!” Lorient gritted her teeth. “You’re acting too wildly in front of Mistress. Behave yourself.”

Iris wrapped her hands around those two’s necks and touched their cheeks.

“Seeing that you dare to tempt your mistress, I must’ve been too lenient,” Iris said.

Secain trembled. Her face turned red. “Please discipline me.”

Lorient secretly chuckled. Served her right!

“Secain, you leveraged my love to seduce me, go against my order, and play evil. Are you aware of the repercussion?”

“Deeply, Mistress.”

Iris let go of her maid and her knight and trod past them.

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“You’ll hug Lorient and kiss her tenderly. Until you’ve soaked your mind with her scent, you’re not allowed to stop.”

Secain raised her head, blinking. “Are you . . . jesting, Mistress?”

“What did I do, Mistress!” Lorient touched her chest, yet her tone faltered.

“Your sin, Lorient, is not giving in to your desires.”

Lorient opened her mouth, but no words came to her mind. She peeked at her mistress’s back and then looked at the embarrassed Secain before sighing.

Even if she wished to be knightly, her essence remained that of a Monster Girl. She drew close to her maid friend, grabbed her trembling arms, and slowly slid her hands around her delicate yet shy partner.

Iris’s scent, lingering all over Secain, perfumed the air. Lorient held her breath as she pressed her face to Secain’s. Their hearts beat in sync, and their breaths cloaked their visions. They leaned on each other and pressed their lips together.

The thought of their mistress watching them thrilled them.

Their suppressed, sensual voices reverberated throughout the empty surrounding, heard only by Iris. She glanced at them, blushed, and averted her eyes.

The Abyssal-Plane rift shook. The Demon Queen exerted her mind, but her mental domination couldn’t break through the barrier. That incorporeal power, though weaker than hers, disrupt her reign over the situation.

“I’ve already remembered your soul,” she said. “Iris of Main Material Plane, until we meet again.”

“Safalion is held captive within Royal Magic Academy of Garcient Kingdom.” Iris tilted her head. “Let’s hope this meeting’s our last.”

“I simply cannot give up a soul as pure as yours.” The Demon Queen beamed. “Hand over Infernal Star Path, and I’ll spare your body.”

“I don’t make deals with the devil.”

Iris clicked her tongue. The portal imploded into a singularity. The world took hold of the anomaly and sealed shut the interplanar crack. The demonic presence dissipated, and everything returned to tranquillity.

Except for the muffled moans of Iris’s two loveliest girls.

Secain and Lorient retracted their tongues, their faces flushing. They released each other from their embrace and stepped away. Their eyes lingered on their partner’s wrinkled clothes and sensitive flesh. These tender touches, although not as graceful as their mistress’s, palpitated their hearts.

They peeked at their mistress, who watched their shameful display, and pursed their lips. It was . . . unbelievably rewarding.

“Was that . . . enough?” Secain said. She couldn’t look at Iris’s or Lorient’s eyes. “Mistress, I won’t try to trick you ever again!”

“And I . . . will express myself more.” Lorient also tilted down her head, staring at the ground. Was it really a punishment?

“I hope you two will become much more intimate in the future.” Iris clapped her hands. “My heart houses many people, you should learn to love all of them.”

Eyes sparkling, Secain deeply inhaled. “Is there a place for me?”

“Would I have let you touch my heart otherwise?”

“Mistress, you’re the best, the loveliest!”

Lorient smiled. She’d already stayed within Iris’s heart, and she was making love with Iris’s other lovers.

While Secain and Lorient imagined amorous scenarios about her mistress, Iris shifted her gaze toward the ruined academy’s entrance. Her gaze peered through the dissipating crimson mist and landed on the Research Laboratory. Despite her magical perception, she detected no energy fluctuation.

“Lady Vindette, I’ll leave first. Please come back safely,” she said before turning to her two lovers. “It’s time for us to leave. The others will soon come to check on the disturbance.”

“If they dare to covet your beauty, I’ll strike them down.” Lorient walked to stand behind Iris.

“Those who oppose you shall die.” Secain appeared behind Iris and sank inside her shadow.

Iris nodded, contemplated her choice, and picked a direction. She and her knight strolled out of the desolate ground and into an ordinary stone street, whose winding path broke off into countless intersections connecting other areas.

Ordinary people hiding in the buildings sometimes peeked from their windows. Through the thin mists, they witnessed a noble lady, guarded by her reserved attendant, strolling through the empty, desolate street. An invisible forcefield, like a translucent veil, obscured her feature.

Only a vague sense of beauty emanated from her, and accompanying her was a long, drawn-out stillness, a picturesque frame surrounding her movement.

Iris ignored all curious gazes and waltzed onward. Once she left the populated streets and entered a quiet, soulless section, an abandoned market, she slowed her pace and raised her right hand to her side, signalling for Lorient to focus.

“I could tolerate curiosity, but animosity against me, it’s a dangerous thing,” Iris said.

Lorient frowned. Her heightened senses scanned the surrounding, but she couldn’t find any sign of life, anything at all.

It was too quiet, too lifeless.

“I’m surprised you could sense my presence,” a voice resounded. “As expected of Mother’s Chosen.”

Multiple shadowy figures manifested on the stores’ roofs, atop tents, between small alleys, and surrounding Iris. These ladies, dressed in sleek figure-revealing black uniforms, watched Iris’s every movement.

A massive swarm of black mist congregated in front of Iris. A green-haired lady skipped out of it. Her short hair danced. Her green eyes sparkled. Despite her petite figure, she radiated an oppressive aura that pushed against Lorient, intimidating her.

Lorient was about to walk forward when Iris clenched her raised fist, stopping her.

“This is the second time I’ve seen assassins of Two-Fold Wind Order,” Iris said. “Terrified of my snatching, Corrupting, more of your friends?”

The lady giggled. The other assassins shivered.

“You people of The Court have stolen a few of my ladies, but we’ve also killed a few of yours. A fair trade.”

“Your ladies?” Lorient said. “Who are you?”

“You must be Lorient, Iris’s sole knight.” The lady looked at Iris’s shadow. “And you, Secain, once a member of our Order, now a traitor of humanity.”

“Farci, you have a business with me, not them,” Iris said. “If you try to frighten my lovely girls, I won’t forgive you.”

“It seems you recognised me. Have I become famous?”

“Leader of The Order, the most beautiful seductress of the underground world, Madam of Dark Blades, your titles have rung throughout Garcient Kingdom.”

“And yet you don’t fear me. Do you know that I’m a Grandmaster Assassin?” Farci smirked.

“No matter who, anyone who threatens my people will have to face my wrath, men or women, gods or devils.”

“Possessive and fierce, lovely.”

“Childish and jealous, not lovely.”

The assassins hissed. They unsheathed their blades, drew them close to their chests, and postured themselves according to their battle stances. Although they concealed their presence well, their Master-Tier powers still leaked into the surrounding, forming an encirclement of death.

Farci hmphed. The assassins retracted their killing intents. They lowered their heads, fear emerging in their eyes.

“I initially want to make a grand reveal of my purpose, but my subordinates will continue to disrespect you if I delay it.” Farci reached inside her sleeve and took out a scroll. She carefully peeled the seal and unfurled it. “Iris of The Court, I’m here to formally invite you to join us.”

Iris frowned. “Why should I betray my friends, my family, my home?”

“You won’t be betraying your Court of Indulgence. You can remain their senior member as well as a member of The Order. Such a privilege is enjoyed only by you, Iris.”

“What’s the price?”

“None. Upon accepting my invitation, you’ll become a Co-Leader of The Order. Your authority will rival mine.” Farci sighed. “Although I don’t want to admit it, only a position of such a value is worthy of you.”

“Why are you giving me all this?”

“Because Mother wants you to become her Archangel. Either you accept it, or I’ll have to force you. Please choose wisely.”