The First Hero was a legendary figure whose epic echoed endlessly throughout the ages. He was the first Foreign Existence after the Taboo Five, the Five Catastrophes, to receive the title of the Hero. Despite his origin, he devoted his life to the goodness of the world, fighting against the Demons and the Monster Girls, shouldering the sins of his predecessors.

His monumental contribution washed away the discrimination against the Heroes. He was the symbol of hope against the encroaching darkness. Even the later generation of Heroes looked up to his illustrious feats.

According to history, after a devastating war in which he pushed back the Demons to the Abyssal Plane, the First Hero returned to his Divine Empire and took his eternal sleep at long last.

“Father, why must you cling to your ideal when they betrayed you?” Vivalin said. “They blocked your path and cast aside our empire. In the end, they never believe in you, all because of your origin!”

“It matters not where my origin lies. I lost despite my foreknowledge. I cannot blame anyone else for this failure. However, it doesn’t spell doom for our empire.”

“Without an everlasting pillar, the Divine Empire will wither. Such fate is not what we deserved, not when we sacrificed so much for the world.” Vivalin clenched her fists. “If you died back then, I and others would have died too. The Divine Pantheon would never allow the otherworldly bloodline to exist.”

“You are not Foreign Existence, Vivalin. Your origin is of this world, your body forged by its essence. The world will not demand your death, nor will it wish for the destruction of its greatest supporter.”

“As our empire fell to ruin, the Divine Pantheon stood aside. Without Lady Lilith’s grace, we would have already become history.”

“The Divine Pantheon couldn’t interfere because of Lilith’s involvement. Even if they wished my death, they wouldn’t have weakened their icon of justice.”

Filled with only flickering candlelight, the room grew moody. Vivalin had visited her father multiple times. They would repeatedly argue about the same topic even if they knew they couldn’t convince each other.

“Father, will you support us if our victory is inexorable?”

“There are many secrets unreachable by mortals. You cannot trust Lilith. Though she created the Corrupted Races, her goal is still the destruction of the world.”

“We, the Broken Empire, have found a new Foreign Existence. Her name is Iris, an otherworldly Slime Girl.” Vivalin smiled. “She has already received Lady Lilith’s grace, and when she matured, she will lead us to prosperity.”

The Divine Emperor frowned. “Are you prepared?”

“Since the Divinefall.” Vivalin turned around and walked to the door. “Father, if only you accepted Lady Lilith’s help, you would have already become a Legendary.”

The Divine Emperor spoke nothing, but his heart ached. After Lilith and her group betrayed the world, Foreign Existences could no longer initiate Ascension, all except the First Hero. He held within him a secret that the Divine Pantheon feared.

Even Lilith desired it.

The method was too powerful. There was no telling what would happen once Lilith got her hands on it. If the Corrupted Races could initiate Ascension, the world would plunge into endless darkness.

Still, he couldn’t keep it hidden forever. His most beloved daughter would initiate her Ascension in the future.

“Vivalin, when you feel the time is right . . . visit me one last time.”

Vivalin’s hands froze on the door handle. Her eyes contracted, but she didn’t turn around. “I cannot promise that, Father. My duty as the Second Princess of the Broken Empire must come first.”

Crutching her fists, Vivalin exited the chamber and closed the door behind her. Countless magic arrays emerged from the exquisite wooden frame, sealing the prison. Her pale face expressionless, she returned whence she came, and the cold flames in the walls dimmed.

As she reached the spiralling staircase, darkness engulfed the imperial dungeon, muffling all secrets, erasing all traces. After casting one last glance at the innermost prison, Vivalin ascended to the palace.

...

Iris thrust forward the icy spear in her right hand and slashed upward the flaming blade in her left hand. A ring of fire spread from her feet, complemented by a blizzard which covered the ceiling.

Facing the elemental strikes, Ludmint tugged her fingers, pulling the invisible strings connected to them. The fabric of reality weaved itself into multiple folds, which displaced distance and time. Iris’s attack faltered under the chaotic field. It disintegrated, imploding under their own power.

Iris blew. Her Corruption Power flooded the empty basement. It commanded the remnant of her ice and fire to fuse. A murky orb of ever-changing colours emerged.

Iris sent the marble flying with a snap. Its resilient structure plunged through the folds in space-time unimpeded. As it reached Ludmint, its surface blasted open, revealing the luminous holy light, whose power nullified all Corruption Power.

Before the radiance faded, Iris jumped backwards and flicked her wrists. Illusory petals sprouted from her membrane and enveloped her. Pale mist rose from her body and covered the battlefield, concealing her.

Her vigilant eyes locked onto the intense radiance, but she couldn’t find Ludmint. Once her sight failed her, she shifted her primary sense. Her hearing failed her, but her sense of smell picked up a faint perfume that Ludmint used.

Ludmint surfaced from beneath Iris and embraced her. Iris dissolved into vapours before appearing in multiple places at once. They stared at Ludmint and smiled, each of them holding different weapons.

One of them rushed toward Ludmint with a sword in her right hand while another cast a lightning spell. A multitude of attacks befell Ludmint, yet they all passed through her incorporeal body, unable to interact with her.

“Dear Iris, where are you hiding?”

Ludmint closed her eyes. Her consciousness spread throughout the basement. She discerned multiple silky strings connecting Iris’s clones, controlling their movements. All of them traced back to a faraway place, where a delicate flower bloomed.

“Found you.”

Ludmint took a step forward. The folds in space-time unfurled, but Ludmint had already vanished. She passed through the obstructive mist and the attacks of Iris’s clones before arriving at the swaying flower. Laughing, she knelt in front of it, grasped its stem, and pulled it lightly.

As Iris regained her shape, she cried in pleasure. Her meek yet tantalising voice compelled Ludmint to abandon her evil thoughts, to hold her lover in her arms, to instil bliss into her partner.

She smirked and held onto Iris.

“Your voice can only tempt me,” Ludmint said. “Prepare for your punishment.”

“Not too fast.” Iris touched Ludmint’s chest. As her fingertips grew black, the power of darkness erupted from them. Dark rays pierced through Ludmint, devouring her ghostly silhouette.

Ludmint shuddered. Her arms tightened around Iris, her Corruption Power enveloping Iris, restricting the flow of magic. Space-time around them curled, sealing off all escape routes.

“Dying in your arms sounds romantic, does it not?” Ludmint said. “Please hold me as I rot away.”

“Indeed, it sounds romantic.” Iris smiled. “Thank you for holding me.”

Iris’s figure gradually dispersed into sparkles. With the string cut off, the clone lost its power source.

“You are fake? But every string leads to—” Ludmint froze. Her eyes darted to the crater created by Iris’s holy marble. “You controlled one clone to control the rest? I’ve underestimated your fine control.”

Inside the brilliant light, within the cracked orb, azure slime gushed out, morphing into Iris. In her hands, two intricate magic formations spun like gears in a massive machine. They sank and rose as if balancing a delicate equilibrium. She had always been hiding, buying time.

“You’ve successfully seduced me, Iris.” Ludmint pressed her hands against her breasts. “It hurt when you escaped from my grasp. Please let me hold you once more.”

“I’ll melt away if you hold me for too long.” Iris coyly tilted her head.

“Then I shall reshape you into a better, cuter, more irresistible you.”

Ludmint reached for Iris. The fabric of reality contorted. The world twirled, contracted, and tucked onto itself.

Ludmint arrived in front of Iris. Her fingernails grazed Iris’s face.

Iris crutched her hands. Her magic formations shattered, spewing out an endless sea of light. Countless insignias manifested all around her, their arrangement forming a cage in which Holy Power permeated the air.

Lances of light materialised and stabbed inward. They passed through Iris unharmed, but it fought its hardest against Ludmint. Unlike Iris, who merged the two opposing systems into one, Ludmint lacked the knowledge from the Ascension and the gift from the Lord; she couldn’t negate her innate hostility against the Holy Power.

While observing Iris, Ludmint’s eyes gleamed. “Your body is indeed a treasure trove. I must take hold of you!”

Ludmint turned incorporeal. Pale hands emerged around her. They gripped the holy lances, restrained Iris, and pushed the magical cage. The bars of light bent, their shape arching to the limit. The battlefield shook under their might, threatening to collapse the entire underground room.

As Iris’s membrane grew purple, azure tendrils grew out of her. They wiggled around, releasing numbing scent, caressing Ludmint’s body. Their oozy texture clung onto Ludmint, coating her with viscous fluid.

Though harmless, it stuck to Ludmint and held her in her place. Despite her incorporeal nature, she couldn’t break free. She had to materialise and endure the purification. Even with the pale hands’ helping her, she couldn’t break through the cage in time.

Her mind futilely searched for a solution, but she found none. In the end, she sighed and released her limitation.

The moment she regained her power of the Condensation Phase, her pale hands tore through the cage and dispelled the mist permeating the atmosphere. The soothing, flowery fragrance and the mind-numbing scent also vanished, suppressed by the oppressive yet invisible Corruption Power.

Against such might, Iris fell on her knees, her tendrils suppressed, her Holy Power extinguished. Though her body remained untouched, her frustrated countenance said otherwise.

“The moment you get serious, I lose,” Iris said. “Illusion, darkness, shadow, clones, holy light, mental spell, I use almost everything I have, but the gap between Phases is too vast.”

“Allow me to comfort you.” Ludmint widened her embrace. “You are strong, Iris. If it were any other Transformation Phase Monster Girls, they would have no way of dealing with your Holy Power. And if I didn’t know most of your powers beforehand, I would have struggled much more.”

Iris weakly nodded. She leaned forward and hugged Ludmint, smelling the tea-like fragrance. Her face flushed, her dirty thoughts flooding her brain.

She had to stay calm. Today was an important day.

“Thank you for your help,” Iris said.

“It’s a fair transaction. You get to learn how to fight, and I get to have your body.”

“Please don’t say such misleading words. I only agree to participate in your experiments . . . and some leisure. You don’t own my body.”

“But I own your heart.” Ludmint kissed Iris and backstepped. “You should hurry up. Or you’ll miss the auction.”

“Ludmint, can I . . . have one more?” Iris lowered her head, licking her lips. “The auction house isn’t too far. We . . . still have time.”