As a Slime Girl, Flamira could negate almost all types of physical damage. After Iris became a Transformation Phase Slime Girl, her mimicry innate talent progressed further. It could imitate the texture and structural integrity of all things Iris knew intimately. She bent her red armour and compressed her body to mislead Lord of the Suffocating Chains.
If not for the tickles and the strange pleasure of restraint, her plan would have been perfect. Being a Monster Girl with a corrupted soul came with benefits and drawbacks. Though she became powerful, her emotions also got amplified, her passion uncontrollable.
Monster Girls were the beings of wicked desires and burning pleasure. They couldn't control their urges; they refused to control their urges. What would their lives be without endless bliss? They had already fallen; why not go deeper?
Flamira tensed, clenching her flaming spears. They glowed like the sun and exploded into a ball of fire. Its heat painted the hall blood red and melted the nearby pillars. Even Flamira shuddered from the intense fire which surrounded her body. If not for her affinity with flame, she would have become ashes.
Despite the layers of chains protecting him, Lord of the Suffocating Chains felt the searing burns penetrating through his armour. He glanced around and found that the pink mist didn't evaporate under the heat waves, but he had no choice other than to rush towards the thinnest part. He retreated and swung his chains in the air, generating a gale, which blew open a path.
"You forced me to stay here, but now, you want to leave?" Flamira said. "Not so soon."
Through the gaps between Flamira's clothes, shadowy tendrils emerged, forming into countless feminine hands. They shot towards Lord of the Suffocating Chains, coiled around his armour, and rooted him in place. The shadow beneath his feet rose, grabbing his legs, dragging him into the darkness. No matter how his chain armour rattled and struck the shadow, they couldn't hit the illusionary shackles.
Flamira broke away from the molten chains, using the heat waves to push herself away from Lord of the Suffocating Chains. She landed far away before jumping back in, spinning in the air, avoiding a few chains. They didn't expect her to get back as soon as she left and missed her, stabbing the ground. She balanced herself on one of the chains and rushed towards Lord of the Suffocating Chains, pushing her palm forwards.
Around the battlefield, the undead minions were trying to get inside and help their Floor Guardian, but Artium had been toying with them. She waved her arms; the flowers on her body blossomed and released faint, soothing fragrance, which flooded the battlefield with rippling pressures. When the minions attacked her with their spears, blades, arrows, or even spells, her silhouette melted into the mist before reforming somewhere else.
Without any helper, Lord of the Suffocating Chains could only raise his arms and stabbed forwards. The chains around his hands divided into countless metallic needles, shooting against Flamira and the restraints. With the dark energy imbued into the chains, they could now cut through the shadow.
Flamira smiled as she approached Lord of the Suffocating Chains. Her delicate palm shook as a wisp of flame manifested and extended into a deadly spear. It destroyed the oncoming chains and erupted with a flare, burning the chain armour, melting them into the liquid metal, and piercing the skull once more.
Knowing that her strike wasn't fatal, Flamira twisted her spear and struck groundwards, melting the ribs and the liquid metal together. Lord of the Suffocating Chains pushed himself to the left, diverting the spear's trajectory out of his centre of mass. Instead of catching the blow, he endured the damage and moved forwards, reaching his hands towards Flamira.
His bone fingers separated into countless tiny bone fragments, shooting forwards like spikes, glowing in the ghostly light. They landed on Flamira's body, impaling her pinkish skin, digging inside her flesh. The dark energy invaded her body, decaying her internal organs.
Though she was a Slime Girl, Flamira couldn't negate the decay energy. She gritted her teeth and pushed the spear downwards, cutting apart Lord of the Suffocating Chains. Her spear bubbled and exploded into a fireball, rupturing the ribcage and the armour. While smokes and distorting flame flooded the surrounding, Flamira stared at the hazy silhouette in front of her, tearing up as the ashes and heat irritated her eyes.
Inside Lord of the Suffocating Chains was a glowing crystal, which constantly generated a wave of pale, ashen energy. The energy tainted the bones and chains in the surrounding, pulling them back, constructing new body parts. It was the weak point, the core.
So long as the core remained, Lord of the Suffocating Chains would be undying.
Flamira grunted as she leapt from Lord of the Suffocating Chains, her right hand gripping above her left breast. A sharp bone fragment pierced her heart and rotted away her flesh. If Flamira were an ordinary Monster Girl, she would have died from the injuries. Her body constantly trembled as the power inside her fought against the rotten black spots on her body.
Panting, she created two more spears and prepared to enter the battlefield again, but the pink mist behind her congregated into Artium, who softly embraced her, restricting her movement. Though she could easily break away, she let Artium hug her.
"Artium, why did you stop me?" Flamira said. "This injury is nothing. I'm not going to die from it. That would be a disgrace to my race."
"Sister, you're hurt and should act accordingly." Artium leant towards Flamira's ear and blew a puff of flowery scent at her. "You should take good care of your body, even if you're her clone. Main body or clone, there is no difference."
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"There is no difference whether this body falls or not. I'm still me, with or without my other parts." Flamira grasped Artium's hands and peeled them off gently. "Now is not the time to be philosophical. There is a battle ahead of us, as well as surrounding us. Artium, I'll have to rely on your ability again."
"It’s not necessary anymore." Artium smiled and giggled, hugging Flamira tightly. "You should have faith in others, Sister. Lady Kurion is one of the strongest Monster Girls within the Labyrinth of Love, one of the most promising candidates to reach the Condensation Phase."
Flamira followed Artium's gaze towards the middle of the battlefield.
Lord of the Suffocating Chains spread his metallic needles and chains and traps outwards. They crashed against the fragile yet persistent shadowy hands, which emerged from all places dark. Though they weren't strong enough to threaten him, he had to keep them in mind, for an instant of carelessness was enough to doom him.
He still remembered that there were two more enemies who hadn't made their moves: the mysterious Flower Girl and the hidden Dark Elemental.
Despite the apparent deadlock, Lord of the Suffocating Chains was getting pressured more and more, his movement becoming more limited. Though his undead body could endure a battle of attrition better than others, there was still a limit to his stamina and concentration. Unlike his enemies, he lacked companions to guard him while he rested.
This cannot go on.
He swung his chains and annihilated the shadowy, feminine hands, but they kept emerging from the darkness, never stopping their annoying assault. His gaze swept across the battlefield and saw that Flamira and Artium were relaxing on the side, talking, hugging, caressing, like he wasn’t a threat to them.
Against the endless shadow and the looming pressure on his soul, Lord of the Suffocating Chains felt his annoyance getting out of control as the fires in his eye sockets shone, resonating with his core. He stomped the ground and screamed. A shill, metallic screech reverberated throughout the hall, generating a gust of decaying energy, sweeping away the pink mists.
The bricked floor beneath his feet trembled and ruptured. Countless pale chains shot out of the cracks, twisted in the air, burning in black, foul flame, spiralling towards all Monster Girls. The black light flashed and consumed the darkness, corroding the shadow, forcing Serinda out of her shadow form.
Injured by the decaying energy, Serinda jumped away, deliberately landing in Flamira's embrace, planting herself into the soft breasts. Flamira was too worried to scold her. Serinda panted, her burning breathes and searing body temperature permeating Flamira. Though she didn't take the direct hit like Flamira, she also couldn't negate the decaying energy as quickly.
Lord of the Suffocating Chains knew that Serinda was out of the battle for a short while, but he didn't follow up to finish her off; the two Monster Girls defending Serinda were glaring at him, their eyes glowing in intense, powerful blazes. He wasn't too afraid of Flamira, but Artium's power of illusion was an unknown factor he didn't want to experience.
More importantly, the looming danger intensified even after the shadowy restriction and the pink mist were no more.
Because of the black flame, there was no darkness around him or inside his body. He knew Kurion was a being of darkness and could move in it, but there was no place for her to hide.
Then, what is this premonition of doom?
Above him were layers of twisting chains, hiding inside the ceiling, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Below him were countless metallic traps manifested through his command of the hall. He was in an absolute defence where nothing from the outside could enter.
As Lord of the Suffocating Chains stalled for time, Flamira gently lifted Serinda and moved her towards Artium. But Serinda refused to change her place and coiled around Flamira, determined to snuggle the soft, delicate maiden. Flamira wanted to push Serinda away, yet her determination wavered when Serinda tensed in pain.
"You rest here, Sister Flamira," Artium said. "You and Serin have done a lot. Please leave the rest for me."
"Be careful, Artium," Flamira whispered. "Your body is the weakest among us. If something strange happens, get out first before trying anything else. The colourful flowers on your body are beautiful; don't make them wilt."
"They won't, for your smile is their water, your happiness their air." Artium giggled. "If they felt weak, I only need you beside me, and they will naturally heal, faster than you could imagine."
Giving Flamira no chance to blush, Artium stepped forwards and waved her hand. Pink mists seeped out of the flowers on her body, flooding the atmosphere with strange, surreal air. Spirals of colours, ethereal yet solid, emerged from the ground, growing into rainbow-coloured trees, branching out black and white fruits, creating a vibrant forest.
Lord of the Suffocating Chains pointed at Artium. Countless chains broke through the floor and the ceiling, attacking her from all directions. When clashed, her figure turned into pink mist and vanished into the forest, flickering in and out of existence around Lord of the Suffocating Chains, never at the same place, random in direction, yet ever closer.
As Artium approached him, Lord of the Suffocating Chains got anxious. His movement turned erratic, his chains and metallic needles flinging around him, revolving into a storm of annihilation, destroying everything within his reach. The debris around him shattered into fine dust, leaving nothing but more and more metallic needles.
Artium manifested in front of Lord of Suffocating Chains, slightly out of the range of the storm. She drew her fragile arm forwards. Her pale, illusionary hands grazed the fine particles, tainting them pinks, infecting them with her power of dreams. They quivered and gathered, forming a swarm of petals, spreading farther, devouring the storm, turning it serene.
Lord of the Suffocating Chains opened his mouth and spat out a ray of green light. It shot towards Artium before disappearing into nothingness, manifesting in front of Artium, aiming at her chest. Before it could touch her, she vanished and reappeared at another place, but it also moved, still hanging in front of her chest.
"What is this?" Artium said. She disappeared and reappeared, but this time there were two of her. The light also split into two, hanging in front of both, getting closer. "This is getting dangerous, really dangerous."
Artium started to multiple, appearing everywhere inside the dreamy forest. The green, ghostly light never seemed to lose its intensity despite its countless division, always moving closer towards Artium's heart. Despite its inconspicuous appearance, it instilled anxiety into Artium.
"Floor Guardian, you've forced me." Artium glanced at the worried Flamira and Serinda before smiling, her silhouettes merging into the real Artium. "We'll see who's going to die first and who's going to come out on top. This is exciting, a little too exciting."
The storm of chains and needles had already turned into a sea of colourful petals, yet Lord of the Suffocating Chains remained motionless, undisturbed. His gaze locked on Artium, who was strolling towards him. The two were staring at each other with their gaze almost affectionate, like two long lost friends uniting at last.
The sea of petals parted way for Artium. Her step was small and slow, yet she rapidly reached Lord of the Suffocating Chains, already reaching out to his core. Though he was a lot taller than her, with his head hanging over her, she felt no oppression from his presence.
Lord of the Suffocating Chains let her grab his core. As she did so, the green light hanging in front of her chest silently slipped into her body, puncturing her heart.