Iris felt like her insides had been emptied out, then refilled with something else, something mechanical, something stuffy. It reminded her of her previous flesh body. The unpleasant sensation permeated her slime and crept into her mind, agitating her.
She could not struggle nor speak, for the electricity which bound her to the throne restrained her senses.
Her glittering slime body turned dull, her membrane translucent and rigid. The electricity flowed in and out of her, changing her slime into dead components. They somehow attached themselves to her, reconfiguring her body to accommodate them.
If she didn't do anything, she would sooner or later turn into a complete android. Though it sounded cool, the process would be irreversible and detrimental to her body, mind, and soul.
"Overseer." Iris sluggishly raised her head. "Do you want to turn me into a robotic being like you, like Miss Quasi?"
"I shall reshape your body to be stronger and more suitable while keeping your specialness intact." The Overseer snapped his fingers. "When His Majesty descends, he shall inherit your Fateless body. Only then will we have a chance to retaliate against Fate."
"What about my mind and soul? Is he so arrogant as to challenge me to a mental battle inside my body?"
"His Majesty’s might is beyond your imagination." The Overseer placed his arms behind his back, straightened it, and bowed slowly. "Even at my peak, I could not reach his height. He stood at the edge between legend and perpetuity."
"But he failed." Iris chuckled. "If he had succeeded, your glorious empire wouldn't have collapsed, and you wouldn't have to hide inside this crumbling ruin."
"He almost succeeded, but they, those wretched things, the Divine—" The Overseer shook. His mechanical eyes turned crimson. "—they struck him down and vanquished our glory. We fought back, like many others before us. And like them, we fell. Perhaps only the Foreign Existences, your kind, Iris, can contend against them."
"But if your goal is to overthrow the rule of the Divine, why must you insist on killing me and my friends, even after knowing my identity?"
"Tell me, if we were to serve your kind, and when you ascend the throne of creation as its next ruler, what will change for us?" The Overseer laughed. His hoarse voice sounded like it was mocking himself more than Iris. "If we can't be the dictator of our own choices, it is better to burn into cinder than to live as a hollowed shell."
Without waiting for Iris to speak, the Overseer raised his hand. Countless magical screens manifested. They revealed the crumbling hologram of the Puppeteer Legacy Ground. Aside from the throne room, most of the Legacy Ground had already crumbled away. Even the lowest Floor was slowly dissipating.
"Iris, this is our last chance." The Overseer clasped his hands. "We have sacrificed everything, everything, for this gamble. Even if you're an immature Foreign Existence, we still have to grasp this chance."
"And what if you fail?"
"Then we will fall knowing we tried."
Silence returned. Though Iris and the Overseer were participating in the sacrificial ritual, they did not harbour hatred anymore. Their fury had dissolved into the shimmering dullness that permeated their mind. And born inside these feelings was the sense of empathy, of vicarious emotions.
They were both victims, each on their irrevocable path.
For them, I would do the same. They have done too much for me to let my conscience stop me from saving them.
Still, even if you have your reasons, I’m not allowed to die here. My family, my sister, my promises, all are waiting for me to return. I have to return.
Iris faintly smiled. On her finger, the Virtual Space Ring lit up. The electricity around Iris shot towards her hand, coiling around her metallic arm, restraining the flow of Corruption Power.
Whenever Iris tried to struggle, the electricity would stop her like this.
This time, however, the Virtual Space Ring spitted out a black card. It glowed in black light and exuded an ancient, majestic aura. Its presence resonated with the throne and the necklace, creating an invisible song that rang throughout the Puppeteer Legacy Ground, echoing endlessly, praising the glory of what once was.
The Overseer's expression twisted. His oppressive air exploded and engulfed Iris. Her thoughts stagnated, her soul frozen, her body sealed. The power of the Solidification Phase was too much for her to resist.
But that didn't mean something else couldn't.
The black card flicked and flew towards Iris. It slid into her hand. She gripped it, and the binding electricity faded. She gently landed on the throne, feeling the confinement of her metallic half body. In her current appearance, she looked like Quasi, a beautiful, cold, elegant android.
"Do you believe in my words now, Overseer?" Iris said. "If Miss Quasi weren’t sure of your failure, why would she help me, someone whom she’d just met?"
"Even if she had succumbed to despair, I have not," the Overseer said. "I will accomplish my mission, even if it means death, for I am the Overseer, and upon my back is our last chance!"
The Overseer stomped the ground. The metallic floor split into countless fragments, creating multiple rifts through reality. With his action, the speed of the disintegration of the Puppeteer Legacy Ground multiplied, draining more energy from the necklace, weakening the influence of the black card.
Iris knew she wouldn't survive floating inside the endless void or getting assimilated into the Main Material Plane. She focused her mind and commanded the black card. It quivered, emitting a stream of milky energy, which flowed towards the rifts, reversing the destruction of the throne room.
Every time it did so, the glimmer on the black card slightly faded.
"With the authority of the black card," Iris said, "I command you, Puppeteer Legacy Ground, attack the creature who defiles the sacred creation of the imperial family!"
The Puppeteer Legacy Ground trembled. The unknown, unseen power which rivalled the Solidification Phase clouded the throne room, hovering above the Overseer like the executioner blade.
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"Unfortunately, Iris, your plan is destined to fail," the Overseer said. "I am the Overseer, the supervisor of the Puppeteer Legacy Ground. This place is my domain!"
With a shout, the Overseer pointed at the ethereal blades around him. They dispersed as the electricity around Iris flared up, clinging onto her arms and legs, binding her atop the throne. The black card tried to act up, but the Overseer used his authority to suppress it.
Though Quasi was special, her authority regarding the Legacy Ground was lower than the Overseer.
Iris frowned. The speed of her conversion increased as more of her body became more rigid, more confining. The black card wasn't as great as she expected.
Miss Quasi, you must have known about this situation, but you still gifted me your black card and told me of the Overseer. What is it that you see in me?
From the Virtual Space Ring, Iris took out the Puppeteer Token.
...
Flamira collapsed on the ground. She violently coughed, her head spinning, her body shuddering. The mechanical wings on her back broke into fragments. The chains around her faded into nothingness, and the Flourishing Nature Sword dissipated into green particles.
The surviving Monster Girls rushed to her and examined her body. Though her body looked healthy and beautiful, her mind and soul were fleeting. She had truly gone over her limit fighting against Iona and Juin.
The gap between the Transformation Phase and the Condensation Phase was too much.
In reality, Flamira had merely deceived them. Her Flourishing Nature Sword was just an imitation, a weak mimic whose aura resembled the original treasure. If Iona had risked it and taken a hit from Flamira, she would have realised that Flamira was nothing much, a mere counterfeit.
Instead, Iona feared that the exotic power of the legendary artefact and avoid direct confrontation. Moreover, Juin had didn't try too hard to stall Flamira, for they weren't putting their lives on the line. They were forced to obey the imperial decree, and once the risk had overtaken the rewards, they retreated.
When they started killing the other Monster Girls, Flamira almost snapped and ruined the plan, but she managed to switch her persona and fool the Dwellers. In the end, she luckily won the gamble, which almost cost her everything.
"Flamira, I can't even begin to chastise you," Kurion said. "Fighting against two Dwellers at the same time for a few minutes. If the world knows of this, they’ll think you're a Lilith Incarnate."
"Who said I'm not?" Flamira giggled, then coughed violently. Her membrane shivered up as if she was evaporating. "This might be my worst injury yet, but in the end, all is well."
She stood up, then her legs gave in, and she collapsed to the ground. Serinda and Artium quickly took her by the shoulders and supported her to walk. They squeezed her in the middle while grazing her body with their soft, bouncy skin. Flamira didn't know if they intentionally did this, but she kept her thoughts to herself and enjoyed the bliss.
"Finally," Noviscar said. "It’s over."
Her soothing voice echoed throughout the Ashes Forest Layer, giving life to the dull forest and grey ashes. Grasses and vines grew from the cracks and covered the corpses of the Monster Girls, on which colourful, delicate flowers bloomed. The inside and outside of the pit changed into a quiet graveyard, where tree-like tombstones raised tall, each hosing the bodies of those fallen.
The rest of the Monster Girls walked around the graveyard and visited every tombstone. When they found themselves in front of a tomb of those they knew, tears condensed in their eyes as they inscribed the name and the date of their lost friend, picking their Soul Gem in the process. When they found themselves in front of an unknown tomb, they bowed and wrote a small wish to their unnamed colleague.
Though Flamira wished to walk around the graveyard, her body would not listen to her; Serinda and Artium also refused to let her overwork herself. They knew she would blame herself for their deaths, and it would only hurt her all the more if she insisted on blaming herself.
"Then, what will you do now?" Kurion approached Flamira. "After this, what is your next plan?"
The rest of the Monster Girls had already collected all the Soul Gems and gathered around Flamira. Because of her magical feat, they had regarded her with respect akin to Kurion and Noviscar, giving her an intoxicating sense of pride.
Still, she smiled gloomily.
"It is indeed the perfect time to separate. Serinda, Artium, and I will head to the Main City Layer to meet with my other sisters. What about you all?"
"Noviscar and I have to go help Lady Undrila. Now that we've become Condensation Phase Monster Girls, we need to lessen her responsibility." Kurion clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with profound emotions. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. To think that it would be a peculiar Transformation Phase Slime Girl who helps me go over my limit."
"As Kurion said, I have to go help Lady Undrila." Noviscar nodded. "But I've remembered your voices already. When everything is settled, I'll visit you."
The rest of the Monster Girls expressed their opinions. They all thanked Flamira, but they would not go with her. They had their family and friends and lovers, and those who missed them the most were waiting for them. They had to go back, though they promised to visit Flamira some days.
"Then, our little adventurous group disbands here," Flamira said. "Though it has been an abrupt journey, I will remember this moment, and those fallen here and inside the Legacy Ground."
The Monster Girls slowly dispersed, leaving Flamira, Serinda, and Artium to walk by themselves. The three stuck together like one as Serinda and Artium supported Flamira, who was smiling, expressing her joy of survival.
Nevertheless, in the depth of her mind, she knew it hadn't yet ended. Far from it.