Rumbling through the cave, Iris found a hidden chest neatly buried under her dirt bed. It composed of dried leaves and petals joined together by spiderwebs and hardened by muds. She held it close and smiled as a scene manifested past her eyes. Her sisters quickly yet carefully prepared it for her, hoping that it could be useful to her.

She eagerly opened the case. Inside was three Soul Fruits, grouping together, radiating aroma that invited a bite. Iris remembered that, before she left, the Soul Tree bore four Soul Fruits, meaning that her sisters had left most of them for her. She wasn't sure if it was the right decision, but she couldn't blame them for it.

After making sure she missed nothing, Iris stored the message and the black quill inside the chest. She didn't want to consume the Soul Fruits just yet, for she wasn't sure if she could digest it in time, and storing them inside her body wasn't a smart idea when everyone else could see them.

Before she closed the chest, she inspected the quill, rubbed its texture, and smelt its fragrance. The soft, sweet, earthy quality soothed her mind as if her sisters were beside her, messaging her body with their lovely, adventurous hands. There was also an unfamiliar scent, perfume-like elegance. The new sister must be someone amazing.

"Many things happened," Iris whispered. "Vilia, can you follow?"

Iris shook her head, bent down, and scooped a ball of slime from herself. She carefully moulded it into a blob and inserted the chest inside. With her sophisticated control, she manipulated it as her storage, commanding it to burrow into the earth. As she willed, it silently followed her underground, invisible to the eyes above.

As the Shadow Heart Core continued to supply her Corruption Power, Iris could feel herself getting more powerful, her control more subtle, and her appearance more sublime.

She raised her hand and followed her instinct. The slime puddle beneath her feet quivered and boiled. From its translucent membrane, a figure emerged and bubbled into the air, condensing her feature akin to Iris, staring at the original body in awe.

Observing her other self, Iris narrowed her eyes and reached forwards. Her other self gently grasped the hand and stroked it, feeling both sides of the sensations at once, endlessly multiplying, looping their thoughts, emotions, and passion. They held their hands and slid their fingers between one another, placing their palm against the other, leaning closer, staring into their azure, dazzling eyes.

"Peculiar," one of them said.

"Likewise," the other one said. "This requires further exploration. It might be useful later on."

"Great mind thinks alike."

They chuckled to themselves, their hands still interlocking. One of them pushed the other down and sat on her, gliding her fingers along the membrane, both shivering, both wanting. They controlled the slime puddle around them to contract and expand, grinding their slimy, sensitive body.

"Why are we doing this?" one of them said, grinning.

"You can stop." The other cuddled her breasts. "But I won’t. Hard work should be rewarded."

As they brushed their lips against one another, a faint series of footsteps howled from the entrance of the cave, softly echoing until it interrupted their rhythm. The original body immediately sprung from the ground. The other dissolved into a pile of slime, returning the shared emotions.

Iris raised her hand and condensed her body to become human-like. Though she still couldn't turn her skin fleshy, she could make her silhouette human and reduce the noise she made when moving. In the darkness, she could easily pass off as a human.

With a plan flashed through her mind, she stayed close to the wall and gradually crept towards the entrance, looking through the veil of darkness into the forest. The Soul Tree, broken and in ruin, rested on the ground. The colourful expansive branches were cut into pieces, lying around haphazardly. Beside the stump, a delicate tomb remained standing, though the flowers beside it had already withered.

On the field were two people, a knight and an archer, male and female respectively. The knight donned in silver full-body armour, whose red cape extended from his back. Its tail gently touched the ground, grazing the soil as he strolled to the remains of the Soul Tree. Kalender surveyed the surrounding then sheathed his sword.

Beside him, the archer pulled down her brown huntress hood and fixed her flowy dark hair. Fugria took a long, deep breath and indulged in the scent of the forest. Her fair complexion and pinkish lips gleamed in the sunlight and brightened the surrounding. Seeing the dead tree, she stooped down and inspected the damage.

"Clean, deliberate cut," she said. "The Monster Girls destroyed it and fled. Not letting us get anything, huh?"

"And the believers still chased after them; they must have something truly valuable. This forest is indeed a treasure trove."

"More like a dungeon. I got the news that the Church of Redemption has suffered a setback. Now they're preparing to invade the inner part of the forest."

"Let them do whatever they want. We're just at Master Tier, barely enough to fight one Transformation Phase Monster Girl." Kalender placed his hand on the sword handle and turned to the cave. "Let's explore the cave. If those Monster Girls used to stay there, they might leave some loots behind."

"So much for the honourable knight. I didn't know the code of honour permits looting the abandoned houses."

"It was your idea to participate in the Crusade. I'm just doing what's best for us. You didn't urge me to hurry here just to guard the treasures for others, right?"

Fugria tittered, primed her bow with a unique arrow, and aimed at the cave. Her fingers steadily pulled the string. The wooden arch creaked as the potential energy accumulated. The instant she let go of the string, the arrow shot through the air and magically glowed red, turning into a blazing spark.

The radiance penetrated through the layers of darkness, revealing the stale scenery. The grey rocks protruded from the ceiling and hung oppressively low. On their tips, the cold dews dribbled and splattered against the damp soil, creating multiple puddles of liquid.

The arrow went further into the darkness, getting dimmer and dimmer until it flickered out. The last spark reflected on a shiny object at the deeper end of the cave, which glittered for a moment before the mist consumed it. Though Fugria only saw it for a moment, she instantly recognised its shape. It was a Soul Fruit half-buried in the ground.

Kalender lowered his head and grabbed his chin, stroking it. He turned to Fugria, who couldn't stop herself from trembling. Her mouth curved into a wild, silly smile.

"Luck finally pities us," Fugria said. "It is the correct choice to come here as soon as possible."

"Do you want to sell it? If you want some pocket money, I'll buy the other half."

"You can easily pay for more rune engravements if you sell your half to me."

The deal they struck was that they shared half the loot, no matter who found what. If the other person didn't want the loot, they could sell it to the one who needed it.

There was only one Soul Fruit, so each got half. Both weren't willing to sell, for the Soul Fruit's function was to increase one's power and potential. Though the Corruption Power inside it was hazardous, they could purify it later.

“Get it first before we bicker,” Kalender said.

Fugria nodded as she prepared another arrow.

"There might be traps inside the cave. Let me go in first," she said.

"Be careful." Kalender stabbed his shield into the ground and leant on it, watching his friend moving towards the cave. "I can’t save you if you die instantly."

"Very reassuring, Kael."

Fugria stood at the entrance of the cave. A puff of stale air pushed from the inside and hit her face. She breathed in the aged moisture in the air and shook her head. Though there was a hint of flowery fragrance, the foul scent of the bitter rocks dominated the atmosphere.

Fugria took out a metallic sphere and soaked it in gasoline. Once fully coated, she gently rolled the ball into the darkness and flicked a lit match at it. The flame instantly caught on and turned it into a fireball, which quickly moved onwards and left a trace of burnt soil on the ground.

When the flame exhausted its fuel and fizzled away, Fugria waited for any traps to trigger, but only the wind blew the cold, dull air against her face. There was no pressure-sensitive trap.

She frowned. Something irked her intuition, but she couldn't find anything. The damp soils revealed no sign of tampering, nor did the old, musty rocks on the ceiling. The Monster Girls left in a hurry and should not have any time to craft an intricate trap designed to fool the eyes of the master.

She took out a bottle of dull grey liquid and poured it onto her leather-gloved hand. The viscous texture lightly coated her glove and glowed in the sunlight, almost blinding her. It was an expensive alchemy item that she hadn't used much, but she couldn't ignore her premonition and decided to spend it.

Taking a deep breath, she flung her hand and spilt the radiant liquid. Their droplets aimlessly drifted, defying gravity and merging with the air. The glowing particles flowed in all directions, stuck to the thin layers of spiderwebs on the muddy ceiling, to the tiny insects in the rifts in the rocks, and even diffused into the puddles of water on the ground. They briefly illuminated the cave as if they were fireflies.

Any and every trigger string hung in the air would have been highlighted to the naked eyes; all lingering traces of magic would have congregated the particles into bubbles of light. Fugria was certain that any traps, magical or mechanical, would not elude the search.

Aside from the residue of the Corruption Power, Fugria found nothing. The cave had no traps in the first place because there was nothing to hide or protect. The Monster Girls had already taken most of their valuable possessions and run into the deep end of the forest.

"They just carelessly forgot one Soul Fruit?" Fugria murmured as she relaxed her guard and stepped inside the cave. "Kael, it's clear."

Her feet sank into the watery mud, submerged under the viscous liquid that soaked the ground of the cave. The earthy smell ruptured then oozed upwards to meet her face, mixing with the dried air of the cracked rocks. She took out a dark bandana and tied it around her neck before quickly making her way through the thick air.

Because of the radiant liquid, she could see most of the cave. As she rushed towards the Soul Fruit, she kept her eyes on the ceiling and the wall and the ground ahead, tracking all kind of abrupt movement and slopes. She, however, failed to notice the bubbling of the slimy puddles beneath her feet and around her.

Slowly, playfully, they dripped and extended from their surface, forming multiple hands which caressed her slender legs, soaking her outfits. Iris grabbed Fugria's legs and pulled her down, collapsing the soil beneath into a sinkhole.

GDLiZy

A fight scene incoming!

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