Gardenia’s Heart

Lily gave a faint smile, her heterochromatic eyes watching Elarielle’s expression twist into rage.

“A metamorph? Don’t start making things up now. I’ve killed several of those myself. They’re nothing more than weak monsters that survive by absorbing creatures even weaker than them.”

“You examined my body with your magic, didn’t you? If you’ve ever encountered a metamorph, then you know I’m not lying.”

The silver-haired girl tilted her head to the side and sighed, looking away.

Elarielle clenched her teeth and gripped the handle of her axe.

Lily was right—she didn’t even need to ask further to confirm it.

The strength might’ve been different from what she remembered, but the inner structure of Lily’s body was undeniably that of a metamorph.

“Is it a new species? A mutation? Did it parasite you and now it’s using your body?” the queen asked again, trying to piece things together.

“No. Well, yes—Nia fused with me by choice. If she hadn’t, I would have died. I consent to everything she does. She’s not using me in any way.”

Lily’s voice was calm and resolute, which only made Elarielle’s face sour even more.

“What are you two planning? What is that metamorph trying to achieve? Don’t you dare lie to me!”

In response, Lily let out a few lighthearted laughs.

“To have a baby. A home, if possible. A big garden would be nice too.”

A sharp thud echoed as the amber axe struck the tree root.

Lily shifted her gaze a single millimeter and saw the blade embedded just a hair’s breadth from slicing her skin. Her expression remained cold.

“If you try to play games with me again, I’ll kill you,” Elarielle growled.

“You asked for the truth. Ask whatever you want—there’s no point in hiding anything anymore.”

Lily’s expression didn’t change, and her words came out flat and emotionless.

“How can a monster use dark mana? No—first, how can a monster even think?”

“Even Nia isn’t sure. She remembers absorbing one of the volumes of the Book of Truth, and that’s when she gained consciousness.

As for the dark mana, we’re still trying to figure that out.”

“Tch.”

The lack of concrete answers made the queen click her tongue multiple times. She didn’t need to read Lily’s expression to know she wasn’t lying.

“What’s causing your body to burn through its vitality right now?”

“Nia only had her heart form before, but with an artifact we found, she’s able to create a physical body temporarily. It consumes a lot of energy. If she doesn’t return to my body soon, she’ll die… no, we’ll both die.”

Lily spoke in a quiet voice, and the queen narrowed her eyes.

“How do her spells work?”

“Nia absorbs the innate abilities of what she kills and turns them into spells. Some, like teleportation, she learned by studying the Book of Truth. I don’t know everything that’s in those books, but it seems they contain fragments of very powerful magic.”

A heavy silence settled in the air after those words—dense and suffocating.

Then, laughter echoed.

“Ha… hahaha…”

Elarielle chuckled lightly at first, then burst out in a full laugh.

To some, it might have sounded innocent—until all traces of joy vanished.

“You two are a ticking time bomb.”

She raised her axe and pointed it directly at Lily’s heart.

“If that thing continues to roam free, it’ll keep growing stronger until nothing can stop it. It might end up destroying the entire world.”

“Nia would never do something like that.”

“And what proof can you give me? I can still stop her at her current strength. But what happens if she absorbs even stronger monsters and turns into some horrifying amalgam of absurd powers?”

Lily said nothing.

“What will you do if she becomes as powerful as the Demon King themself!?”

Still, she remained silent.

“If I kill her here and now, wouldn’t that eliminate the risk?”

It was simple logic.

“You call a monster your wife—do you not even realize how wrong that is?”

By common standards, she wasn’t wrong.

Lily said nothing.

The buzzing of bee monsters continued in the background, scouring the floor above for intruders.

That was how long she stayed frozen.

And finally…

”I just want to live in peace.”

She spoke.

“When I was little, my entire village was attacked by bandits. All the residents were either killed or kidnapped, and my father had his life taken right in front of me. I was taken to a mine and had one of my eyes torn out after being forced to live as a slave for years. Not even the right to remember was granted to me. The memories from that time have always been a blur, because some damn bastard wanted to make a deal with a demon. Somehow, I managed to escape, but once again I was reminded that evil permeates our world. Do you know how hard it is to have bastards looking at you like an object every day? To be afraid of leaving your house and being assaulted? To go into the forest to pick flowers while afraid you’ll be killed, just to sell them for spare coins to buy a piece of bread? To pull an injured monster out of a river because you felt more empathy for it than for another of your own kind? To have the miserable life you fought so hard to keep taken away by someone stronger just for fun? And when I was there, ready to give up everything, that girl became my heart. Even if I cried, nothing would change. There are no miraculous situations where just holding back tears makes anything better. I picked up a sword and took lives so mine wouldn’t be taken. I’m weak and barely know how to fight. Even now, I don’t know how to count large numbers or even write my name properly, but even so, I clenched my fists and charged forward like an idiot trying to hold on to something. Even if I’m weak, Nia will let me stay by her side, but I don’t want to keep being a burden! I don’t know how she gained a mind or what fate someone may be trying to force on her. Sylvan, the guardians — I don’t care about any of that. No matter what happens, or how this ends, I’ll be by her side! I love her, whether she’s a monster or not. She was born from dark mana? So what? What makes her different from us!? She smiles like all of us! She gets sad like me and you! I love that girl enough to give my life for hers if I have to. Call me names, judge me — I don’t care. I don’t seek anyone’s validation but hers. I want to hear her voice! I want to reassure her! I want to stroke her hair and call her beautiful. I want to hold her hand. She’s feeling alone. Is she crying? I want to wipe her tears... My head hurts, my stomach hurts. Every part of me hurts, but all I can think about is how she is. Is wanting to prioritize her a problem? I’m fine being condemned by others for that, but hateful words won’t change how I act. I’m not trying to be a hero. I don’t deserve that title if I only risk my life to save someone when it doesn’t affect those I love. That’s why I respect you! Damn it, I used to hear stories about you before bed. You call others monsters, but you still heal them. You’re worried about your family, yet still take time to protect a stranger. Even worried about your sister, you stayed here with me and even healed me. You were ready to risk cutting down the tree, causing a cave-in, to force your way into the labyrinth earlier. You have everything—except time to spare. If you had just let me die, you wouldn’t have to stain your hands. Is that what it means to be a hero? Does that give you the right to decide what’s right? Then tell me, Hero: Is wanting to live with Nia a mistake for the world? Is there no reason for me to fight to keep her alive? Is wanting to smile by her side a problem? Is wanting a family a crime? If that’s so wrong, then take my life right now with your own hands! Hero!”

Elarielle listened in silence to everything Lily said.

It certainly wasn’t a beautiful tale.

It would be easy to point out everything wrong with it.

To deeply reject what stood before her — that was what she should do.

And yet...

No matter how many times her lips parted, she couldn’t form a single response.

Her brows tensed repeatedly, and she looked away.

A dry thud echoed as Elarielle let her axe fall to the ground.

Raising her bandaged arm — the one whose armor had been shattered — she began to undo each strip, one by one.

Then she removed the armor from her other arm and extended both toward the girl.

Lily’s eyes widened.

”This wound... is something I don’t want to heal.”

From her elbows to her fingertips, the elf’s arms were covered in tangled, purple-black veins.

”This is corruption from the purple miasma — the same that’s infecting parts of the forest.”

Her fingers traced across her opposite shoulders as her gaze dropped to the ground.

”None of the precognition users — not even our mother — foresaw this. On the day we killed the Demon Lord, they final spell released the mist, with the massive castle as the epicenter. Even though it was just the five of us in the throne room, countless combatants and non-combatants were outside, helping with supplies and keeping lesser monsters at bay.”

Her entire body trembled beneath the weight of her words.

”The five of us endured the mist... but those outside didn’t.”

Her knees hit the ground, her eyes fixed on the purple-stained palms of her hands.

”I—I tried to save them...! But my mana was spent... I couldn’t use powerful spells anymore. They were all bleeding, screaming, begging me not to let them die...” Her words began to unravel. ”I’m a hero. I was the only one who knew all the healing spells from the royal family. That’s why I was chosen — why I stood among the heroes. It was my duty to save them! I had to save them. And that’s why... I can’t allow more people to die because of my mistakes.”

It didn’t matter that she hadn’t delivered the killing blow.

If she didn’t save them, then in her eyes — she killed them.

That simple logic was what guided her steps.

”To take on the responsibility for lives you couldn’t save... that’s something I would never do.”

Lily, still bound hand and foot, stared at the fallen elf with cold eyes.

”It may be presumptuous, and it may not bring anyone happiness... but I will protect my wife.”

If she took more risks, perhaps she could save more lives — but doing so would endanger Nia.

It wasn’t pretty. But it wasn’t evil either.

”So let me ask again, Hero... is what I’m doing wrong?”

Ever since she’d first seen her, Lily had been trying to understand the existence called Lophantera Elarielle Phaea.

And now, she was absolutely certain of one thing: No matter what she said, Elarielle would not kill her.

She simply couldn’t.

Demons and monsters had always been enemies. She was supposed to protect everyone else. That mindset made sense during the war — but not now.

A monster with consciousness... was something unimaginable. Unprecedented.

But did that really make her deserving of death, just for existing?

Was it truly right to crush a life based on what it might become?

“Is it wrong for me to want to live with my wife?”

This wasn’t a clash of one against the world.

This was a conversation, person to person.

“I... I...”

A hero would never abandon girls to die.

But a hero was supposed to consider the fate of the world.

“You interrogated me only because you were trying to find a reason that justified killing us.”

When she concluded Nia was a demon because of her red eyes, Elarielle had attacked without hesitation.

There had been no reason not to.

But now — no matter how hard she looked — she couldn’t find a reason to justify it.

“You’re not wrong for thinking she’s dangerous. You just don’t want to lose anyone else. But if being a hero means killing an innocent girl—then the world doesn’t need heroes.”

Each of Lily’s words struck like knives.

Discussions of pros and cons deciding the future of a life — that was exactly what she was doing here.

The bitter taste of that realization filled her mouth, and before she could even process it, she found herself unable to react.

“Tell me what you want to do, Elarielle!”

And when her name was called... when her trembling lips finally opened... tears flowed from the once-frozen ducts in her eyes.

“Even if killing you two could prevent something terrible... it would be wrong to do it based on just a possibility.”

She brought her hand to her head and pressed her crown tightly to her chest.

Elarielle had known Gardenia for a short time. Their personalities clashed, and they had even shed each other’s blood.

But no matter how hard she tried — she couldn’t kill her.

“No matter how right it may seem... I can’t kill you. I couldn’t do it. It would destroy me. The weight would crush my heart.”

She cried and screamed everything that had been trapped deep in her soul.

Whether her decision was right or wrong, Elarielle didn’t know.

Whether it would bring disaster or not, she couldn’t say.

As the queen wept even more, Lily remained silent.

The girl before her had lost as much as she had — and now bore even more weight than she ever expected to carry.

Putting on a strong front was how she coped.

If her strength and her title guided her decisions, then she didn’t need to think about what she was doing.

But if even that failed... she would be lost, unsure of what to do.

“If we stay here, nothing will change.”

Lily’s voice broke the silence, and Elarielle lifted her gaze to meet hers.

“Let’s go. Let’s protect what matters to us.”

The two girls were no longer doing what others deemed right.

They were doing what they wanted.

“Yes... Lily.”

Lily’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at hearing her name spoken.

Elarielle moved quickly, placing her crown back atop her head and untying Lily’s bindings with ease.

Her vision shifted when, without hesitation, Elarielle lifted her off the ground and into her arms.

Her black swords — once lost from view — were returned to her waist.

“If your body resembles that of a monster, then you must absorb dark mana. But since you still have nutrients like glucose and sodium in your bloodstream, that means you can absorb them. I saw a stream nearby. Let’s get you some water first.”

Not waiting for a reply, she grabbed her axe and carefully rushed through the forest’s twisted roots, her bandaged arms left unwrapped.

Moments later, they found it — a small stream no wider than a clenched fist.

The continuous flow connected ground to ceiling, clear as glass.

There were many like it scattered across the floor — perhaps they wouldn’t go hungry, but at least they wouldn’t go thirsty.

Though Lily wanted to say she didn’t need to drink, she figured a little wouldn’t hurt.

But as they drew closer, her eyes widened — and she shouted.

“That’s it!”

Someone as reserved as Lily suddenly crying out with such energy startled Elarielle.

Having someone so weak move in her arms nearly threw her off balance, but she steadied her feet and looked at Lily with confusion.

“That’s what?” she repeated.

Lily’s hand reached toward the stream of water.

“Elarielle! Look at the water — look at the direction it’s flowing!”

With her words so clear, it took only a moment for the elf to grasp what she meant.

The water wasn’t falling — it was rising, toward the ceiling.

Elarielle placed her fingers into the stream, palm down — and felt the water pushing upward against her hand.

“What the...? What’s going on?”

As she muttered, a hand gripped her shoulder.

“Remember what the guardian said!? ‘Climb to the highest point of my sanctuary.’ That was a trap! A trick to mislead us!” Lily turned her finger and pointed to the center of the floor. “That’s not a giant tree — those are the roots of the tree that forms the labyrinth. This whole floor... it’s upside down!”

Those words made the queen’s eyes widen once more that day.

It sounded absurd — but she had already heard too many absurd things to dismiss it outright.

“That’s why the clouds looked so dirty... they aren’t condensed water — they’re made of dirt and dust.”

The gravitational force outside pushed anyone trying to climb the tree downward. That energy was so strong that not even she could break through it.

If such a force had simply been reversed in this area, then the labyrinth’s ceiling becoming the floor wasn’t impossible to believe.

Climb to the top.

To do that, they had to go down.

“Is there a passage or a tunnel?” Elarielle asked.

Lily quickly shook her head, her aching mind doing its best to think.

“No... that’s not it,” she said, eyes narrowing.

She knew there were no obvious entrances.

The fact that the artifact Nia had found in the flower fields was hidden underground was clear proof of that.

“We need to break a hole in the ground. That’s the only way we’ll reach the next floor!”

As she finished speaking, Lily’s vision flickered.

“?”

Her cheek was pressed to Elarielle’s shoulder — she was now being carried on her back.

“Hold on tight.”

A fierce smile spread across the elf’s face.

“I won’t let you two die.”

The air trembled. All surrounding noise dulled. Lily felt her nerves jolt as her gaze locked onto the elf.

A surreal wave of mana erupted from Elarielle’s body. Her muscles tensed. A sickly green aura spread around her amber axe.

There was no way to hide it now.

Every monster on the floor instantly became aware of her presence.

Dozens of monster-bees flew toward them, wielding lances and ready to fight — but it didn’t matter.

The weight of her stance shifted. Her legs dug into the ground with such force that cracks formed beneath her feet.

The vile mana grew stronger, denser — and then exploded.

“[Decay’s Embrace]”

Her axe struck the ground.

It was like a beam of pure death energy had struck the earth — a wave of emerald force tore through everything in its path, reducing it to ashes.

The crater born from that impact expanded outward like an avalanche.

Earth and root fragments filled the air, crushing the bees that came too close.

The two girls fell into the dark crater — until, finally, light hit them and the world inverted.

Rolling across hot sand, Elarielle used both arms and her axe to shield the girl she held.

When their minds finally adjusted to the new environment, the heat struck — along with a powerful gust of wind.

“Did it work?” the elf asked, watching as the crater they had come through slowly sealed itself with layers of earth and sand.

“I-I think so...” Lily, struggling not to complain about the sudden drop, blinked several times, trying to process where they were.

A vast desert stretched in all directions. Countless small islands floated high above it.

A completely different environment than the one they had just escaped.

Was Nia here?

She didn’t know — but something inside her was certain of it.

“Damn it, we’re going to have to search everywhere.”

Elarielle cursed, noticing Lily’s fever returning and her body trembling.

She held her tighter, a greenish aura flowing from her fingertips as she tried healing her again.

They had to find Thelira and Nia in this place.

But even after repeated healing, Lily wasn’t improving.

Just as Elarielle was about to run off to begin the search, Lily stretched her hand toward the sky.

She didn’t understand what she was doing at first — but when she followed Lily’s gaze, she saw it.

Four colorful orbs approaching from above.

“F-Fairies?”

A confused whisper escaped her lips — but before she could react, Lily’s voice filled the air.

“Please... if you truly care about me, help me reach my wife!”

Her plea echoed across the desert.

The fairies responded with a brilliant glow and shot toward her.

And then — beneath the dunes — a piercing light surged. One by one, each fairy passed through Lily’s body. Something flowed into her.

“This way!”

Pointing in a direction, Lily stared into the desert with determination.

Elarielle didn’t understand how she knew where to go or what had happened, but deciding to ask later, she ran.

The extra weight didn’t slow her. Her steps were so fast across the dunes that she would have looked like a blur to any observer.

Slowly, colossal centipedes began to rise on the horizon. They moved in groups and now circled a region filled with stone spikes. It didn’t take long for her to see what lay at the center.

“Thelira!”

With an unconscious girl on her back, an elf continued firing arrows without pause as she ran.

When her eyes locked onto the approaching figures, her expression lit up with joy.

“Sister! Lady Lily!”

Elarielle didn’t waste a second. With Lily in her arms, her axe sliced through the air with lethal grace, each strike bringing death to one of the centipedes.

In just seconds, all the attacking monsters were gone.

Fighting back tears, Thelira quickly laid the unconscious girl down on the sand.

“Please, something’s wrong with Lady Gardenia—she fainted!”

“Nia!”

Lily leapt from Elarielle’s arms, and even without much strength, she managed to reach her wife’s body.

Her arms wrapped around her, shaking her over and over, but the metamorph didn’t wake.

Nia wasn’t responding. She wasn’t returning to her host body. There was no warmth in her skin—only a cold, trembling shell.

She had arrived too late.

As that thought hit her, Lily felt the strength drain from her limbs.

“Let me see her!”

Kneeling down, Elarielle extended both hands over the girl’s body.

Thelira’s eyes widened at the sight of the purple veins on her sister’s arms, but she stayed quiet to avoid breaking her concentration.

“If the artifact drains her life force to create a temporary body, then we just need to restore it. The exhaustion is due to her cells being depleted. Monster or not, she’s still a living being.”

A pure green aura erupted from the elf, swirling through the air like a gentle wind. It was warm, comforting—soothing to the touch.

“Don’t you dare die on me now, you paper-eating idiot!”

She shouted—and as if life itself had heard her, the green aura surged into the metamorph’s body, radiating from the inside out.

For a brief moment, to anyone watching, it felt as though the entire world pulsed—just to keep that life alive.

“[Blooming Embrace]”

Hundreds of tiny green petals bloomed over Nia’s body, her skin taking on a gentle glow, like the sun rising over a quiet meadow.

The air filled with the scent of damp earth and wildflowers.

As the light faded, the warmth remained.

And in Lily’s arms, a pair of small eyes slowly opened.

“Lily?”

The weak voice escaped between rosy lips—and that was all it took to fill Lily’s eyes with tears.

“Nia!”

She hugged her beloved with all the strength she had left. Relief flooded her chest, and she clung to her tighter.

Understanding what was happening took a moment—but once Nia realized the girl in her arms was real, she wrapped her arms around her just as tightly.

“Lily! It’s really you, Lily!”

Their arms tightened around each other, and without another word, their lips met.

Panic and fear had ruled their hearts until that very moment—but now, as if being together was enough, they gave in to each other’s warmth.

Long seconds passed with nothing on their minds but not letting go.

Wet sounds echoed faintly as their tongues intertwined.

“I really don’t know what to say about this.”

“Oh my...”

Elarielle had a hand on her hip, while Thelira peeked through the fingers she had raised to cover her face.

But even with both elves watching, the girls didn’t stop until the passion slowly gave way to calm.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Nia.” Lily pressed her forehead to her wife’s, a thread of saliva still connecting their lips. “I love you.”

“Hihi~ I can finally hear Lily’s voice again. I love you!”

Giving her another kiss, Nia vanished back into Lily’s body in the blink of an eye.

Her physical form may have recovered slightly, but she still needed rest.

Smiling as she felt Nia’s presence fill her once more, Lily placed a hand over her heart and turned to the two elves.

“Nia, what should we say in times like these?”

She asked quietly, the tentacles around her waist finally responding again, tightening with emotion.

(T-Thank you...)

Nia answered shyly, and both elves let out a sigh, as if that little gesture meant everything was okay now.

At last, Lily allowed herself to relax.

She had made it this far.

(...Lily?)

Nia’s voice echoed in her mind again—but Lily didn’t respond.

As long as the metamorph remained within her, she would recover.

Lily smiled one last time.

And finally—her vision went dark.