Gardenia’s Heart

Seated on the frozen plains, Lily curiously observed the leviathan, which had now transformed into a massive ice prism.

Reflecting multiple rays of color despite the low incidence of sunlight within the mist, the ice crystal stretched for several kilometers, standing out starkly from both Caligo and the forest.

”S-Sis... let me sleep... just... five more minutes.”

The confused, drawn-out mumble made the silver-haired girl glance to her side. There, wrapped in a black cloak, was a beautiful golden-haired girl dressed in red.

”Being tough must run in the family.”

Sighing with no choice but to let out a small laugh, Lily ensured that Selene was still comfortable within the cloak crafted from her wife’s gelatinous material.

After the last attack, the bunny-eared girl had fainted mid-air. Her energy was completely drained, and the pain her body had fought to suppress finally overwhelmed her.

Though Lily’s stamina wasn’t much better, with Nia supporting her body, she managed to stay awake despite the exhausting battle.

Glancing around, Lily once again took in the sight of countless monster corpses scattered across the plains. She couldn’t be certain of the exact number, but at least three or four hundred different creatures had answered the leviathan’s provocative call and come to these plains.

Turning her attention toward the city, she briefly considered whether she had the strength to do anything further. But she dismissed the thought before it took hold.

This was her wife’s battle, and Lily had absolute confidence that she would win.

At that moment, without any exaggeration, the entire world trembled.

“!?”

The ground beneath her shook violently, small stones shifting as everything quaked. The lake’s surface was taken by waves, and even the forest trees swayed under the weight of an invisible force. For a fleeting moment, it was as though something had defied the world’s laws, forcing its way through to seize what it desired.

Not even Lily could hide her surprise at what felt like an earthquake. Shielding the unconscious girl beside her with one arm, Lily’s eyes focused intently on the city—more specifically, the exact spot where she was certain this disturbance had originated.

“Nia...”

Lily murmured, her gaze fixed on the castle. But even she wasn’t prepared for the voice that immediately echoed beside her.

“Did you call for me?”

Emerging from a portal, Nia didn’t even have time to laugh before Lily grabbed and lifted her.

“You’re okay! I’m so happy you’re okay!”

Holding Nia in her arms, Lily spun her around multiple times, kissing her over and over.

“L-Lily!?”

With a hug so tight it felt as though they’d been separated for decades, Lily couldn’t pull Nia away from her body for even a second, crying tears of joy that her wife was safe.

Nia felt warmth surge through her entire body as two pairs of breasts pressed against her, her mind melting from the onslaught of kisses that covered her face. When Lily’s arms enveloped her, the metamorph felt whole once more. It wasn’t just because she had returned to the other part of her body—it was because she had finally come back to where her heart belonged: by Lily’s side.

“No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop worrying! I’m so happy you came back safely. I love you, Nia!”

“I love you too, Lily.”

Returning the embrace as best as she could, Nia surrendered completely to Lily’s kisses, filled with overwhelming happiness.

Several minutes passed before Lily managed to calm down, and during that time, Nia concluded that no part of her face had been spared from her beloved’s warm kisses.

“Is Lily proud of me?” With two bright red eyes gazing timidly at the woman holding her, Nia asked with a shy expression.

“More than I’ve ever been, you silly girl! Of course, I’m completely proud of you, Nia! You did a wonderful job!”

“Mhnnm! Mhn... Hihi~”

Nia couldn’t resist letting out joyful little moans as Lily rubbed her face against her cheek.

“Oh, right! I have a present for my beloved wife~”

Holding Nia by her legs and supporting her back, Lily carried her like a princess toward the enormous multicolored prism. A smile formed on Lily’s face as she watched Nia’s eyes widen with delight.

“I’ve prepared a grand feast for you. I hope you enjoy it.”

Without time or words to respond, Nia wrapped both arms around Lily’s neck, unable to hide her happiness.

“This is a gift I will gladly accept with all my heart,” Nia said with a soft laugh. Though Lily didn’t fully understand the reason behind the laughter, she carried Nia even closer to the leviathan.

“Although I’d love to say you can eat it all, I think we should leave at least half so the residents of Caligo can sell it and rebuild the city.” Lily spoke subtly, her gaze shifting between the leviathan and the various destroyed buildings visible on Caligo’s horizon.

Nodding in agreement, Nia guided several tentacles to begin enveloping the ice crystal. The enormous size of the monster made it impossible for her to cover it all at once, even with her ”material.” So, she gradually melted it piece by piece, absorbing it into her body. After a few minutes, half of the massive creature had disappeared from the plains.

“Delicious~” Though she hadn’t used her mouth to eat, Nia licked her lips as she entwined one of Lily’s hands with hers.

“I’m really happy you liked it.” Lily responded, feeling the warmth of Nia’s gentle fingers blending with her own.

When Nia leaned even closer, Lily immediately understood that she wanted a kiss. Closing the distance between their mouths, Lily offered her tongue for Nia to cherish as she pleased.

The purple-haired girl didn’t waste a single second, eagerly moving against Lily’s mouth. In a completely intoxicating tangle of wet sounds, Nia traced and entwined her tongue with Lily’s countless times, indifferent to the loud and obscene moans echoing around them.

As their bodies grew even warmer, Lily found herself gazing intently at the girl in her arms.

The beautiful dress Nia had chosen was modeled after one of Lily’s own. Nia must have spent a long time thinking about it, and when Lily saw her wearing it before they separated to fight, her mind had gone completely blank at the magnificent sight.

Nia’s purple hair swayed fervently as she leaned closer and closer, seeking more of Lily’s lips. Lily could feel her wife’s passion in every movement, which made her surrender even further to Nia’s desires.

Although Lily also enjoyed taking the initiative in their kisses, she absolutely adored it when Nia took the lead. Her beloved wife, driven by insatiable passion, would move her tongue as if trying to meld as deeply as possible with Lily’s. Their lips moved in sync, seeking to provide the utmost pleasure, their mingling saliva creating a shimmering thread that connected their mouths even as they finally pulled apart.

“Anything else?” Nia asked with a teasing smile, her expression barely able to contain the excitement sparked by the glistening strand of saliva connecting their lips.

“You naughty little thing~” Lily leaned toward her wife’s delicate ears. Ensuring her warm breath caressed every word, she spoke in a sultry voice, “You can bet I’ll spoil you far more than you can imagine with that mischievous little head of yours—but only after you rest a bit.”

Holding her sleepy wife in her arms, Lily smiled with pure joy. More than anything, she wanted to pamper Nia and shower her with as much love as she desired. It was hard to restrain herself from succumbing to heated intimacy right there on the plains.

But knowing they would enjoy it even more if they rested first, she steeled her resolve to stay strong.

“I don’t have much dark mana left right now, so let’s grab the ones we left in the mines and get some rest,” Nia said with a yawn, her hand barely managing to cover her mouth as her eyes sparkled, blushing cheeks hinting at hearts in her gaze.

After carefully returning the stardust blade to its place on the left side of Lily’s waist, Nia pressed her lips to Lily’s for one last long kiss before reentering her body.

(Back inside Lily again, feels so good~)

“Was that... a naughty innuendo? My mischievous naughty bad girl.”

Unable to hold back her smile at her wife’s adorable remark, Lily once again felt the sweet sensation of Nia’s tentacles tightening around her body beneath her dress.

(It’s just your imagination, Lily~)

Humming playfully in response, Nia embraced Lily even more tightly with her tentacles, which seemed to grow more numerous and creative in their wrapping each day.

As the portal Nia had conjured quickly appeared before them, Lily secured Selene with one of Nia’s tentacles, adjusted her cloak, and stepped through.

Lily had imagined various possibilities for what awaited them on the other side, but none matched the sight that greeted her.

Where the faint glow of luminite lanterns reached, countless washed towels hung from suspended lines, creating partitions for various treatment areas. Rows of blankets spread across the floor marked makeshift stations for the injured and weary.

”Alice, bring some more hot water!”

”Yes, Mom!”

Running back and forth, a mother and her daughter worked tirelessly, preparing bandages and treating numerous unconscious people.

”That one over there has a burn—use cold water. The injuries on those two demi-human children seem to affect their bones. We’ll need splints to keep their arms steady. Find some pieces of wood and clean them.”

The groans of pain from the injured gradually subsided as they received treatment. In a relentless and dedicated effort, both women did everything they could to prevent the number of casualties in the city from rising.

”Mom, I found where they kept the potion supplies. Kasa and Davi finished clearing the area by pushing the water away. Everything was flooded, but I managed to bring back most of them!”

Running back through one of the passages, a dark-blue-haired boy, soaked from head to toe, carried a large wooden box filled with green and yellow potions.

”Good job, Oliver! Start administering them from the patients on the right to those on the left. I prioritized their conditions.”

As they fought in the city, the girls transported more and more injured and unconscious people into the mines to get them off the streets. Although Lily wanted to help all the victims of Velmont, the pressing situation left no time for that.

Whether it was the workers from the mines who had been under mind control for years or those wounded in the streets or the castle, countless people were now scattered across different sections of the site.

In just a few hours, the mines where Lily had spent much of her life had been turned into an improvised medical center.

”I think she just couldn’t take care of Cleomel back then because she was panicking...” Lily observed Abelia’s determined expression as she assisted several wounded people.

Even Alice, who had initially been terrified after waking up, now wore a resolute look, helping as many people as possible.

Although their care was limited to basic first aid—stopping bleeding and cleaning wounds—the immediate attention was undeniably invaluable for the patient’s survival.

”L-Lady Abelia, I’m fine now! I can help!”

Among the patients, a dark-skinned woman, despite being wrapped in several bandages, tried to convince Abelia, who was checking on her again, that she was better.

”Cleomel, if you dare try to sit up one more time, I will have no choice but to tie you down.”

Throwing herself over the knight, Abelia made sure no one was looking before pressing her lips against Cleomel’s.

The moment the noblewoman’s warm, soft tongue entered the knight’s mouth, all resistance to getting up melted away, and Cleomel collapsed helplessly onto the sheet.

”That’s not fair...” Cleomel murmured, covering her entire head with another sheet to hide her beet-red face and foolish grin.

With a victorious expression, Abelia also hid her flushed face before getting up to assist her children.

However, as she surveyed the section of the mine to determine where she should act next, she noticed a newcomer.

”Lady Lily!”

Running through the rows of patients, Abelia quickly reached the silver-haired girl. Just as she was about to ask how Lily was, her eyes landed on a girl with rabbit ears held up by tentacles.

”Selene!”

Dashing to the tentacle, Abelia wrapped her arms around her sister. The tentacle gently unraveled, and Selene was placed carefully in Abelia’s embrace.

”She’s fine; she just got exhausted from the battle.” Lily said in a soothing tone to reassure Abelia. Within seconds, Selene’s soft snoring could be heard.

Observing her sister clinging comfortably to her body, even Abelia couldn’t suppress the soft laughter that erased any lingering worries.

”Thank you so much, Lady Lily. Thanks to you, my entire family is together again.”

Unable to keep Selene’s weight while standing, Abelia carefully sat on the rocky ground, her eyes watching her children tirelessly helping the wounded and her beloved peeking shyly from beneath the covers.

”But Lady Lily, if you’re here...” Finally understanding what Lily’s return signified, Abelia’s gaze locked onto the girl’s bluish eyes, and she murmured, nearly stammering, ”D-Does that mean... it’s over?”

With her hands on her hips, Lily smiled brightly.

”The mind-control effect has been broken, and the streets are returning to normal. It’s over.”

At that moment, if Abelia hadn’t already shed all her tears in the past hours, she was sure she would have cried again.

”Lady Lily, could you create a portal to the Mercenaries’ Guild? Even though they’re probably still confused about what happened, they should be the first to set up emergency health posts in the city. I know a bit about medicine, but there’s only so much I can do beyond first aid. It would be best to leave this to the professionals.”

Agreeing with Abelia’s logic, the girls began forming the portals. Since they had previously visited the guild to collect Oliver’s gold, Nia had the necessary coordinates. Carefully, they began transporting the unconscious to a location near the Mercenaries’ Guild to keep the portal’s existence a secret.

When the last patient was transported by Oliver and Alice, Abelia, who was helping Cleomel walk, informed Lily that they would return to Selene’s mansion once the situation became more stable.

Before parting ways, Lily briefly explained the developments in the castle, relaying the information Nia provided mentally. She instructed the women to pass this on to Selene upon her awakening so she could handle the situation as she saw fit, as long as the girls’ involvement was concealed.

Seeing both women nod and disappear through the fading portal, the silver-haired girl was about to prepare herself to head to Selene’s mansion for some rest when a soft hand caught hers.

”Lily, before we go, I have a gift for you too.”

Appearing by her side, Nia’s lips curved slowly upward. To anyone other than Lily, the smile on those lips would be enough to make their souls tremble and their bodies recoil instinctively.

As she turned to look at the girl beside her, Lily noticed a spark in Nia’s crimson eyes, as if she were about to offer something her wife had long desired. Leaning toward Lily’s ear, Nia whispered softly.

The moment Lily heard those words, she froze.

Lily didn’t need to breathe, but it was as though her breath faltered for a moment. Her eyes locked onto that wonderful, mischievous smile, and even without a mirror, she was sure the same expression was now on her face.

---

It was dark.

That was all his mind could process in the first few seconds after waking up.

In the following agonizing ten seconds, a searing pain shot from his left hand to his disoriented head.

”Aaaaaaaaargh!!”

His teeth clenched, the certainty that all the bones in what was once his hand had been pulverized searing itself into his mind like hot iron.

”Aah... aah...”

The man coughed repeatedly, trying to calm himself. In just twenty more seconds, the memories of what had happened before he blacked out returned all at once. Even when his body was overtaken by his master, he had always remained partially conscious, watching the world unfold around him as a mere spectator.

”Master... Orlaith...”

The pain ravaging his body was enough to make Velmont Sunshard cry, but the agony tormenting his soul was enough to shatter his will entirely.

”Master...”

Once again, he tried to summon that voice, but to no avail.

His master had abandoned him.

She wouldn’t use the Chaos Seed to save the citizens of Caligo and let them live under the sun once those in the capital were destroyed. She didn’t care about any of them. She didn’t even care about him.

More than a decade of work had only been a way to extend her life. As soon as she grew tired of him, she would discard him, just like all the others he had captured and subjected to her experiments.

Raising his head to look around, Velmont realized he was seated on a chair. His arms and legs were bound tightly with straps and chains. There was barely any mana left in his body—so little that he couldn’t break free from such simple restraints.

Even if he pushed his body with every ounce of strength he had left, he wouldn’t escape.

Velmont had no idea what had happened or where he was. If not for the unbearable pain tormenting his body, he would have thought it was a dream.

Yet there was something far more tangible than pain that proved this was no dream.

”Perhaps you don’t know this, but it was in this room that they gouged out my eye.”

In the darkness, a voice that wasn’t his own echoed. The words carried an icy tone, chilling enough to penetrate not just his mind but the depths of his soul.

When a small blue crystal appeared in the air, illuminating the room, his blurred and distorted vision began to focus on the figures in front of him.

One was taller, the other just slightly shorter. Both leaned against the steel door of the small chamber with stone walls. They were women—Velmont had seen those faces before.

However, when he looked at their upward-curving lips, it was as though his body had been thrown into an abyss.

”I thought that when I stood in front of you again, I would feel anger... but I feel so calm.”

She spoke in a normal tone. So why was his entire body trembling so violently?

His heart pounded so hard that he could hear it without effort. His chest felt like it was being crushed by the sheer pressure of being in the same room as them.

”He’s all yours~”

After kissing the silver-haired girl’s cheek, the being whose race he had never discovered skipped over to a table full of torture instruments and perched on top of it.

Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on her legs and placed her chin in her hands.

Swaying her head from side to side, the beautiful girl with violet hair smiled cheerfully. Her crimson eyes were fixed on the other girl, unwavering.

”Shall we begin? My beloved wife and I need to get some sleep, so let’s not take too long.”

The girl whose name he had never bothered to learn circled the chair he was bound to. Her fingers, covered by a thin layer of blue ice crystals, traced fine red lines on his skin.

”Y-You think killing me will solve anything? I was the one who protected this city! All these people! All those demi-humans walking the streets! They can only live their lives because I dirtied my hands for them! No one else carried that burden for them! Everyone fled and abandoned them! They should be grateful! Only a part of them had to suffer so the others could live comfortably! I wanted them to live under the sun! I-!”

Velmont couldn’t speak anymore—he physically couldn’t.

With a heavy blow to the side of his face, his head twisted violently, leaving him dazed. Several teeth broke and gathered in his mouth, mixing with a thick layer of blood and saliva. With no choice but to spit everything out to avoid choking, the man trembled as he looked at the woman beside him—the one who had struck him with the hilt of her sword.

”To be honest... I don’t care.”

The girl spoke simply, her eyes gleaming even in the darkness as she gazed at him like he was something even less significant than an insect.

Each passing second only made him more desperate to escape. His legs wobbled, unable to find solid footing, and his shoulders shook as he tried, unsuccessfully, to retreat. Even his breathing became erratic—short and suffocating. The room’s putrid air seemed insufficient to satisfy his panicking lungs, making him feel as if his chest were contracting.

His mind couldn’t comprehend the situation. Facing a demon as powerful as his master, why was this the moment he felt the most fear in his life—standing before those girls?

”The legs are for taking away the future my father should have walked.”

It only took a second for him to understand the meaning behind those words.

”Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”

A scream echoed through the cave as Velmont’s entire body convulsed when the twin swords slashed through his legs.

The precise cuts exposed flesh and bone, crimson blood spilling as he thrashed in agony.

With a single casual remark, his ability to walk was taken from him by those women.

”Not yet, mister hunter~” sang the violet-haired girl, pointing her fingers in the direction of his bleeding wounds.

A dense layer of black ice emerged, freezing the gashes so thoroughly that it cauterized the veins.

Though his body was in shock, he was kept conscious—the wound deliberately crafted to prevent him from fainting.

”The arms are for stopping him from working at what he loved.”

Just as before, the girl swung her blades, this time at elbow level. Twin streams of blood erupted as Velmont’s arms were severed from his body.

A symphony of screams filled the air once more.

”Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Aaaaaah! Aaah!”

Nausea and tears overwhelmed him, impossible to contain between his agonized cries.

Once again, he didn’t bleed to death, thanks to the violet-haired girl’s swift movements. With a flick of her fingers, another layer of ice sealed his wounds.

”This part... I don’t think you’ll be needing it anymore.”

In the end, even his masculinity was destroyed by an explosive shard of ice.

No longer straps or chains were holding what was left of his body—but there was no way he could escape.

His eyes would remain open for a minute before darkness embraced him, only for another wave of pain to force him back to reality.

A desire to be saved blossomed in his chest, but no one was coming to his rescue. This fact only reaffirmed the misery of his existence.

Everyone around him had only ever had a transactional relationship with him or had been his puppets. No one would cry for him. No one would care about what he was going through.

Even sitting, fatigue was consuming his body. The numbness from the interrupted blood flow to his limbs dulled his nerves.

He could no longer bear being in his own body. No matter what it took, he wanted to escape the suffering in his mind.

”P-Please... just kill me.”

With so many broken teeth, it was impossible for him to bite his own tongue. His speech was slurred, his terror-filled eyes pleading for his agony to end.

He couldn’t endure the pain or the torment any longer. The agonizing sensations made him yearn for death. If death was the only escape, then he wished for it with all his strength.

But the judge beside him had other plans.

”All the people you kidnapped, all the families you destroyed—you need to pay for every one of them.”

He feared that voice. He feared that presence. But as he lifted his blood-soaked face to the person before him, even in the dim light of the room, he could see her mismatched eyes piercing into the core of his existence.

”Every filthy pig who helped you, every petty criminal you hired, every woman you sold as a slave—you will tell us where they all are. You’re going to live, Velmont. You’ll live the rest of your life serving those whose lives you destroyed.”

The agonizing pain shattered all his senses, but the aura emanating from that woman wouldn’t even allow him the relief of unconsciousness.

”Those who believe the scariest thing in the world is death are incapable of enduring the pressure of living through a living hell.”

Her cold tone remained steady as she spoke, her eyes never leaving him.

”Death is mercy.”

The man didn’t know this, but it was no exaggeration to say that the silver-haired girl had died twice already.

She knew death—and she knew that it was not what the bleeding man before her deserved. She was the judge of the final sentence for a man who had trampled on others for his petty desires.

”And you will not receive that mercy.”