…

  Shortly after Luze-Ferris disappeared from the fighting grounds…

  Two figures lay sprawled on the ground, alive but senseless—one draped across the armored Marisia like a ragged shroud, Lili’s altered form merged with the rubble so seamlessly it seemed part of the ruin itself.

  ‘Elisabeth…’

  Amid the wreckage of her battle, Marisia’s last memory before sinking into a dream of youth—and the terrible choices that had driven her pursuit of glory—was of the guardian angel’s destruction, its soul tearing into her as it collapsed.

  ‘I am sorry…’

  Day after day, Marisia endured—the pain, the horror, the crushing anguish of what she had become: a Moorgrelian knight of renown. No matter how much she gave back, no matter how she improved her subject’s lives, the guilt of betrayal festered in her heart, buried deep… until now.

  ‘Wait… I know you…’

  As her dream sank further, misery engulfed her when the specter emerged—a nightmare bound to both brilliance and misfortune. Its fingers protracted like legs of a spider, its grin a jagged mask of madness, as it ripped the guardian angel’s soul to shreds.

  ‘You…’

  Marisia’s eyes snapped open, pupils narrowing to slits of raw fury as memories crashed back in a torrent. The protective household tattoo meant to shield her soul tore apart, searing across her back with oppressive fire.

  ‘I… can’t… move.’

  Though the guardian angel had perished, fragments of its soul—[Holy Energy] in its purest form—still clung to her. They coiled like shimmering parasites through flesh and thought alike, numbing her mind and shackling her body in heavy stillness.

  ‘I… can’t… believe… it.’

  The tattoo had been a gift from Merlin to Fenrir, Huxia, and Cerberus. After the war of their liberation, the first beastkin mage created an enchantment that drew on the miasma within one’s body, shielding against any attempt at soul control. It also lessened the grip of hostile [Divine Energy], which could paralyze by latching onto the soul’s surface—as Marisia now endured. She had inked Lorient with the same safeguard, sparing her from ever falling into the chains of the vile First Servant races.

  ‘Damn… beastkin… body.’

  The beastkin race, though endlessly diverse, carried one fatal flaw—their souls were fragile, easily swayed. Minds they could guard, but souls remained vulnerable. Their strengths lay in body and [Energy], not in spirit. A handful dabbled in the mind arts, even found success, yet none ever managed to truly harden the soul. For aeons, that weakness kept them in chains, enslaved by races wielding impossible [Soul Skills].

  ?You know what to do~?

  Marisia’s exhaustion vanished the moment she heard the ethereal voice—sweet as honey, steeped in poison. It belonged to the mistress who had tormented her, who had first unlocked her strength, a divine presence that had haunted generations with the choice between death or glory.

  ‘I… know.’

  How did the beastkin break their chains? The ancient bloodline held the key—their blood boiled with unbridled rage, driving them into a monstrous fury that tore their masters apart. But that was not the whole truth. In truth, it was the miasma gathered by the first fugitives who fled into the lands now called Moorgrel. When they returned, scarred and half-mad, they brought with them a hard-won resistance—further tempered by oceans of blood spilled in the first struggles.

  ‘I… despise… you.’

  Even in silence, Marisia felt her—the lustful smile, the arrogance, the madness gleaming in those dark eyes. The first wild demonic creature, the one who once battled the first Hero and his companions. A living calamity.

  ‘I… shall… repeat… what… my… ancestors… did.’

  It was hypocritical to despise the specter that had brought freedom—a divinity of raw emotion and mortal flaws. It never gave, only challenged. Never gifted, only demanded struggle. Unlike the merciful gods of other lands—some almost worthy of reverence—this one sought no prayers, no sacrifices. It expected only perseverance. And though beastkin had slowly adapted to such madness, especially in Moorgrel, rare souls like her son Alexander still bore its mark: hating and grateful in equal measure, the only true emotions one could feel toward a god born of mortal faults.

  ‘Focus.’

  Closing her eyes, Marisia breathed deep and let herself sink into the heart of her [Energy]—a torrent of feeling, unfiltered and raw, stripped of all pretense or restraint awoke.

  ‘Argh… I… hate… it.’

  Marisia’s mind reeled as a sudden itch stirred within her—a pebble shifting beneath a scarlet mantle of suppressed instinct, smothered by the sterile weight of order and discipline. Its movements, sluggish at first, grew restless, erratic—like a beast that had spent a lifetime in chains, collar torn away at last, blinking in confusion, testing freedom with cautious steps.

  ‘Urgh… I… damn it!’

  What was [Wild Demonic Energy]? It was the most mortal of [Energies]—a celebration of life’s flaws, the embrace of emotion over divinity, desire over restraint, and hunger over compliance. Where mana was abstract and rational, and [Divine Energy] strove toward higher realms, the Guard Households bloodline [Energies] bound itself to Orbis and life itself, welcoming both hate and love, pride and humility—mortality in its purest essence. And once Marisia embraced it, the trapped beast felt liberation.

  ‘Come… on.’

  From within, everything stilled—

  Clank

  ‘Argh! You… bastard!’

  A sudden burst of [Energy] ripped through her, jerking her spine upright, armor plates clattering like cruel laughter. Her body turned traitor, wracked by violent spasms as tendrils whipped into the scarlet, slithering like parasites and twisting it into a boiling, seething lava that pulsed with unchained rage and a ravenous hunger for freedom.

  ‘How… does… mother… does… this?!’

  The [Energy Core] seethed with hate and hunger, its pressure bubbling against the sterile shroud. Though the barrier held, cracks spread as if an ant were gnawing through stone—restless, relentless, biting at anything not its own. Greed and starvation were all it knew, all it craved.

  ‘Argh! Focus!’

  The pain that tore through Marisia felt like being devoured alive—the [Holy Energy] seeping into her body blurred with her own, leaving her paralyzed. Yet once her true core broke free, nothing remained but her raw [Energy]—arrogance and jealousy, sharpened into weapons enough to tear apart every invader.

  ‘Focus… damn… it!’

  It felt no different from madness—without control she would collapse into a beast of pure instinct. Her only anchor was a single skill her son had devised, one she had learned—unorthodox and fragile, barely tested, yet enough. She had wanted to save it for her [First Conjunction], but with her family threatened, time itself had become a luxury.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  ‘Come… on! Is… this… all?!’

  The beast stood still, daring the swarm. Ants quivered in place—not with anger, but with a savage pride.

  Clank

  Another jolt nearly snapped her spine, her shoulder wrenching out of place as the beast inside her roared, reveling in the agony like triumph. The ants answered in a frenzy, their mandibles shredding the sterile white, tearing chunks loose as they clawed and bit without pause. They died by the hundreds—crushed, burned, dissolved—yet more surged forward, overwhelming, ravenous, gnawing until the intrusion was nothing but devoured ruin.

  ‘That’s right,’ Marisia snarled inwardly, the beast within her savoring agony like a long?lost lover. The pain tore at her sinew and spine, barely endurable—yet welcomed, an old companion. The beast demanded more. ‘Show me… what… it means… to be… a Moorgrelian knight… a mindless beast… tearing chains apart… clawing for freedom!’

  Waves of insects were crushed underfoot, smashed to pulp—yet with every bite, every shred of flesh they tore free, more spawned. Wave after wave, multiplying, swelling, evolving, and worst of all—feeding on the carnage with unbridled delight.

  Clank

  ‘Good girl!’

  With a sudden snap, they broke through—an unstoppable tide flooding her body. They didn’t just devour the white; they ripped into muscle, bone, and organ, tearing out every foreign fragment, every trace of cultivated [Energy] she had touched before. They gnawed and gorged, sinking into her flesh while dragging the [Holy Energy] with them, forcing it to fuse. Each bite stolen, each shred consumed, until marrow and spirit alike were remade. It was healing through butchery, invasion disguised as rebirth—nothing left untouched, nothing spared.

  ‘Yes… that’s it.’

  Spasm after spasm wracked her frame, each one sharp enough to tear bone from socket, yet her tolerance held. This was no training. This was reconstruction by fire. With a single sweep of will, Marisia forced her body into shape—her finger twitching, her lips curving into a mad smile as movement returned.

  ‘Continue. Seek what you think is owed!’

  But the madness wouldn’t let her stop. Instinct clawed at her, urging her to gamble again, to push further, to trust that she could ride the insanity without shattering. To wager her flesh and soul against the beast inside and dare it to break her.

  ‘Argh! Move!’

  Marisia clawed at the ground, armored fingers digging deep grooves into stone as her body ripped itself apart—bones grinding, sinew tearing, every fragment of her screaming in brutal defiance.

  ‘Yes!’

  VROOM

  A sudden wave of [Energy] detonated from her, blasting Lili across the ground. Marisia’s eyes snapped open as she rose, armor plates clashing like a choir of steel. Pebbles lifted, suspended in the crushing force, before crumbling to dust under the sheer weight of her unleashed power.

  ‘Focus.’ Marisia clenched her fists, the clank echoing through the shattered ground. ‘Control.’

  BOOM

  The ground split with a deafening crack, a crater erupting outward as shockwaves ripped through the ruins. Pebbles and boulders tore free, suspended mid?air, trembling violently before collapsing into dust—scarlet pressure flooded the air, rolling out in crushing waves that warped the battlefield itself.

  ‘Ah.’ Marisia spread her arms wide, embracing the unsealed torrent of her power and the newly devoured [Holy Energy]. ‘Beautiful.’ Her eyes widened, the skill coursing through her with cold precision. ‘But loud.’

  Tiny flickers, invisible but steady, appeared around each ant in the swarm still gnawing at the last scraps of [Holy Energy]. They hovered, studied—then pierced into the creatures like parasites, their color changing from darkest magma into scarlet. The frenzy stilled, replaced by cold precision as they shredded the sterilizing white and carried it inward, feeding it to the core with ruthless efficiency now that her body was whole.

  ‘Don’t worry.’ The pressure around Marisia surged to crushing extremes, the air itself squeezing the miasma into dense scarlet orbs that sizzled and burst. ‘Your freedom is guaranteed.’ The weight slammed into the earth beneath her, shattering it in violent cracks.

  The ants halted before her core as faint flickers shimmered into view. Without hesitation, Marisia bent them with [Mana Manipulation], driving cold rationality into the chaos and silencing it at once. It was a small skill, but woven into her [Energy] it promised monstrosity—granting her the will to leash even the wildest [Energies] without surrendering her mind.

  ‘Urgh!’ Her body twisted, muscles spasming until they slammed her to her knees, the core thrashing inside like a caged beast. “Haha—have your feed then!” Her laughter cracked through the ruins as the ants obeyed, shoving jagged scraps of white into the ravenous core.

  Like a starving beast, the core at first brushed against them—then tore in, devouring piece by piece. The ants swarmed, pinning the sterile husks in place while the core feasted with savage delight, swelling larger with every bite. Torture was needless; her will bent them effortlessly.

  “Eat, argh!” Marisia’s body locked rigid as her veins bulged, the core swelling and forcing every other part of her aside. “Damn… it,” she hissed through clenched teeth, realizing she was enduring a twisted version of [Nature’s Break]. Storing [Energy] was impossible—it had to be purged, burned out, while her body clawed its way toward a brutal new balance.

  No part of her felt delight as she forced the [Holy Energy] back into muscle, bone, and organ, driving it through her frame to restore balance. Simultaneously she bled [Energy] out to make room, dark scarlet wisps streaming from her pores, hissing as they tore free.

  “Too much.” Marisia hurled her body into overdrive, [Energy] flooding faster than she could bleed it out. “Greedy little bastard.” Her grin split wide before ripping into a scream. “Come then—feed!”

  VROOM

  A torrent of [Energy] ripped out of her body, the remnants of [Holy Energy] shooting skyward in a desperate beam as if to escape. “As if.” Her gaze sharpened, locking onto the fleeing light, sensing scraps of the guardian angel still alive, still afraid. “Come back here, you winged bastard!”

  Marisia’s [Energy] chased the fleeing stream, raking into it, tearing it to shreds and dragging it back into her with savage force. The white never reached the sky—scarlet surged upward instead, shaping into ravenous wolves that snapped and tore with vicious glee, hunting the light like cornered prey.

  “Who knew you’d make such a delightful source of power? Hahaha!” Her voice rang with vicious delight as the [Holy Energy] writhed, wobbled, strained to shake off her scarlet grip—only to be dragged screaming back into her body.

  She saw it—a path for Janina and Alexander to cast off the curse of [Nature’s Break]. Sarah and Lorient could drive their strength to absurd heights, Linuel could stand as a true shield for Narsiz, and with Ipe, Marisia could weave it into flesh itself—fusing with every muscle and bone to give their potential wings.

  Alexander had forged his generation into monsters—radiant with creativity, noble and commoner alike. None could escape the weight of the knowledge he unleashed, reshaping Moorgrel into a cradle of prodigies destined to be feared across Orbis.

  At times, Marisia felt useless, even overbearing. She had tried to give the pups freedom—to live, to enjoy—but they chose pain and glory instead, chasing her son’s parasitic ambition with eager joy. All she had ever wanted was their happiness, yet all she could do was keep them from becoming hollow husks of themselves—until now.

  ‘I should talk to him.’ As the [Holy Energy] finally settled, Marisia rose, resolve hardening—she would face her son, or rather the soul within. ‘I hope he won’t be… too shaken.’ A low chuckle escaped her, picturing his expression. ‘But first I need to save my foolish son.’

  Marisia straightened, savoring the feel of her remade body. The [Holy Energy] was gone, burned away, leaving her brimming with a power her younger self would have envied—yet now under her command. “Lili.” Her gaze locked on the lone fauna, crouched and trembling before her. “Come here.”

  Lili crept forward, tail tucked tight between her legs, and halted just short of Marisia. “M?Mrs… Marisia.” Her gaze stayed fixed on the ground, too afraid to meet her eyes. “I… I tried—”

  A sharp scent hit Marisia’s nose, snapping her head aside and cutting off Lili’s words. Divinity—thick and suffocating—mingled with the familiar trace of her pups, followed by two others. Her eyes narrowed, the truth sank in: her fear was real. The Church hadn’t only come for her—they had come for them all.

  “Don’t worry, Lili.” Without a heartbeat’s pause, Marisia’s [Energy] erupted, shaping itself into a massive wolf. One?third of her power bled into the beast, its form snapping into existence—fangs bared, snarling, dripping with the promise of blood. “It is no fault of yours.”

  Without hesitation, she sent the wolf loping into the distance. “Go.” It vanished almost instantly, leaving only silence between them. “Now, it's your turn.” Marisia turned the other way, where the Saint in training was absent, reserving a shard of her [Energy]. “Become something hard, unyielding—a spear.”

  Lili followed Marisia’s gaze and understood at once. Her body twisted and reshaped, spirits swirling tight around her, hardening her frame into something tougher than steel. Normally her shapeshifting lent her speed and fluid defense, but as Marisia seized her, a film of raw, destructive [Energy] flared to life, crackling across her skin, turning her into a weapon.

  “I don’t know who’s out there.” Marisia braced herself, eyes shut, relying only on the scent drifting from miles away. “But one of my pups is—and divinity with them. You know what to do.” Her voice cut like command steel, leaving Lili no choice but to harden her form even further.

  Marisia’s muscles swelled as she locked onto the target, her body going still with deadly precision. “Protect my useless pups.” With a savage swing, she hurled the spear—air rupturing in a thunderous shockwave, Lili’s scream ripping through the din as she became a living projectile.

  Once Lili was gone, Marisia stood with half her [Energy] left—still more than enough to kill the one who had unleashed this terror: Luze-Ferris. A memory flared of the priest elf who had enslaved her kin, reborn now through divinity. This was no simple zealot’s act, but a Saint in training backed by powers determined to erase her and her bloodline.

  Marisia vanished, honing in on the strongest pulse of [Holy Energy], fully aware of who awaited. Rage flared as the freed core twisted her voice, sharpened her thoughts. Her mouth curled into a feral snarl. “You’re already dead, bitch!”

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