“You know,” Tafel said, staring off into the distance. “I’ve always heard stories about Auntie, but now I realize just how true they were. Those were undead dragons she just summoned, right?”

Grimmy nodded. “They’re just husks though,” he said. “Their souls rejected her call and refused to come back. I vaguely remember her using a family of wyverns to fill each skeleton.”

Screams came from the distance along with the sounds of crashing trees and shattering rocks. Faint voices, which suspiciously sounded like a wife berating her husband, drifted over during the lulls of the battle. Less than five minutes later, the area fell silent—only sobs could be heard. Footsteps approached the group of dragons, phoenixes, and Vur from the trees, revealing Lindyss, who was dusting off her hands. On her head, Erin was sitting as still as a statue, her eyes wide open and red from not blinking for an extended period of time. Moments later, Kondra appeared behind Lindyss, her tails and wings dragging against the ground as she walked. Her silver head was lowered, but her eyes would glance at Lindyss every so often before staring at the ground again. All signs of possession were gone, but her body was shivering nonstop despite having no injuries.

“Mom?” Leila asked. “Are you alright?”

Kondra let out a whimpering sound in response. She placed her head on the ground and covered her eyes with her paws, her tails and wings curling up into a ball.

“Vur,” Lindyss said with a smile. She held out a quivering, black, jelly-like substance. “Eat this.”

Vur stared at the blob in Lindyss’ palm and swallowed. The blob was wriggling as if it were trying to run away. A shiver ran down Vur’s spine, and he raised his head to meet Lindyss’ gaze. “What is it?”

“A potato.”

“…”

Vur’s gaze returned to the “potato” in Lindyss’ hand. “No, it’s not.”

Lindyss took a step forward, causing Vur to take two steps back. “It’s a rare kind of potato.”

“D-dragons don’t eat potatoes,” Vur said, taking another step back as the blob in Lindyss’ hand let out a sobbing sound. Bubbles rose to the surface of the “potato” and burst with a popping noise, releasing streams of black gas.

Lindyss frowned and grasped the wisps of gas with her mana, forcing them back into the blob. She mushed the blob around until it was in the shape of a T-bone steak. All kinds of gases and fumes shot out of the substance during the process, permeating the air. “It’s steak.”

“I’m not hungry.” Vur gulped and hid behind Tafel before pinching his nose. The dragons and phoenixes were covering their noses as well, and Leo had directly fainted from the smell with froth coming out of his mouth. Tafel’s face paled, but she spread her arms out to the side and took a step forward.

“I, I won’t let you feed that to Vur,” Tafel said and wet her dry lips with her tongue.

“Why not?” Lindyss asked in a coy voice, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t trust me?”

Tafel swallowed, her face turning red. “You’re, you’re not the one who has to kiss him later.” She pinched her nose as Lindyss took another step forward, the fumes from the “steak” invading her senses. Tafel’s vision spun as her stomach churned and bile built up in her throat.

Lindyss hummed and tore off a tiny piece of the blob before smiling at Tafel. Before the demon could react, Lindyss’ palm was pressed against her mouth, shoving the slimy substance down Tafel’s throat with the help of magic. Tafel’s eyes bulged as her face turned red, and she clawed at her neck before her eyes rolled up, revealing their whites. Then she crumpled to the ground like a wet noodle.

Vur lunged forward and shouted, “Ta”—Lindyss appeared in front of him and forced the blob into his mouth—“feguhk!?” His reaction was similar to Tafel’s, collapsing onto the ground in a quivering, groaning heap.

Lindyss dusted off her hands, making sure there was no residue on her palms. She rolled Vur and Tafel over onto their sides before squishing their cheeks a few times. “These brats thinking they can defy me.” She raised her head and smiled at the surrounding dragons and phoenixes. “They’ll be fine.”

“You’re … not a blessed warrior of light,” Kondra said, peering at Lindyss through a crack in her paws. Goosebumps dotted her scales as Lindyss let out a laugh.

“Whatever do you mean?” Lindyss asked, a halo appearing over her head while a glowing sword emerged from her palm. “Look. Classic, blessed-warrior equipment.”

The phoenix matriarch nudged Leila. “Has your mother ever been afraid of anything?” she whispered, covering her beak with her wing.

“She’s terrified of gaining weight, but that’s about it,” Leila whispered back, covering her mouth with her paw. “I wonder what that little cursed elf did to her.” She poked Lindyss’ back with her claw. “How’d you traumatize my mom?”

“Traumatize?” Lindyss asked, her eyes widening. She brought her hand to her mouth and gasped. “I would never.” Her hand lowered, and her eyes gleamed as she smiled at Kondra. “I merely fulfilled her righteous quest. Isn’t that right, matriarch?”

Kondra whimpered and glanced at Lulu. “What did you say the reward was?” she asked before staring at Lindyss’ feet. “If you’d like, you can have Lulu as a mate. I’m going home.” She whirled around and flew into the air before anyone could respond. Fat tears fell from her face, dropping onto the ground around the city, causing holy light and angelic voices to appear wherever they landed.

Lindyss’ mouth fell open, and she scratched her head. “She ran away just like that?” she asked. “I wasn’t done playing with her. If I knew she was this easy to bully from the start, I wouldn’t have had to put up with so much nonsense for the past three months.” She looked around, her gaze falling onto Lulu.

“I don’t swing that way!” Lulu shouted and covered her chest with her front paws. Her silver face flushed bright pink, and she scrambled behind her sister.

Lindyss’ expression darkened. “You think I do?”

“So that’s why,” Grimmy said with a laugh. He grinned. “You were single for over a few hundred years. It turns out you actually liked women.”

“I’m straight, dammit!” Lindyss said, throwing a lightning bolt at Grimmy’s face. She huffed before slinging Vur and Tafel over her shoulders and jumping into the air, transparent wings appearing on her back.

The dragons and phoenixes watched the trio leave. Minerva let out a cough. “I came here for a party.”