The Fragment’s Hidden Truth

“Ah… just like that… a little more…”

“Slap! Settle down! You blockhead, with your head full of ecstasy!”

“Slap! Don’t you know how heavy you are? Move again, and I’ll stop this instantly!”

“Eek! I’ll behave! I truly will! Please, don’t stop…”

Perched atop the True Ancestor, Seraphina’s hands gripped her head tightly. She continuously applied a 10% intensity of [Purification].

Her aim was to keep the True Ancestor in a state where she wouldn’t break free, yet wouldn’t struggle too violently.

Meanwhile, beside Seraphina, Cardo crouched on the ground. She phased her hand, sending it straight through the True Ancestor’s chest, and began to search within Fulkarn’s body.

“Ugh… Not in the heart, not in the brain either… Where in the world did you hide the [Fragment], you pest?”

“Mmmph… Ca-Cardo, don’t move around so much! I’m very sensitive right now… Eek!”

Ignoring the True Ancestor’s protests entirely, Cardo, impatient after finding nothing, plunged her head directly into the True Ancestor’s body. The intense sensation made the True Ancestor’s form convulse violently, like a carp thrashing out of water.

“No, no, no! You’ll break me if you’re so rough!”

“Silence! If you don’t want to be utterly broken, then hand over the [Fragment] at once!”

“Eek! No, stop it, stop it! That thing isn’t mine; I truly can’t give it to you!”

‘Not yours?’

Hearing those words, something deep within Seraphina’s memory stirred.

Her subconscious whispered that she had overlooked something crucial.

“How strange.”

As if surfacing for air, Cardo withdrew her head from the True Ancestor’s body and let out a long breath.

“I’ve searched every organ, yet I still can’t find it. This one hides things well!”

‘Every organ, you say…’ Seraphina fell into thought. ‘Doesn’t that leave just one place untouched?’

“Where?”

Still astride Fulkarn’s body, Seraphina pointed to her own crotch—then to the True Ancestor’s soft lower abdomen.

“Hah, seriously… You’re really playing dirty, aren’t you? You’ve got guts…”

With that, Cardo extended her hand, aiming straight for the heart of the matter.

“Eek!” Seeing that Seraphina had discovered the [Fragment]‘s hiding place, the True Ancestor instantly panicked. “Please, please, please, don’t take it! Don’t take it away!”

“At a time like this? True Ancestor, you must be joking, surely?”

Before she had even probed a few times, Cardo sensed a surge of magic. Reaching in, she soon grasped a small, slightly hard object in her hand.

“Hiding the [Fragment] in a young girl’s most private place… Aren’t you afraid of going to hell after you die!?”

With a sharp tug, Cardo pulled the [Fragment] from the True Ancestor’s body.

The moment it was extracted, the already dim basement instantly lost all light, plunging into complete darkness!

‘What’s happening?’

Using the light from the orb in her hand, Seraphina peered at Cardo’s grasp. There, a black, elongated object, wreathed in grayish-white particles, continuously hummed with leaking magical energy.

A moment later, the humming ceased, the surrounding darkness began to recede, and visibility returned.

Concurrently, encircling the midpoint of the black object, a white halo appeared, much like a celestial ring, emitting a faint glow within the dim basement.

‘Huh… They said it was a [Fragment], didn’t they? Why does it look like this…’

Subconsciously, she glanced at her own body. Though she didn’t know where her own [Fragment] was hidden, this particular shape filled Seraphina with a sense of unease.

“Wuwuwu… You can’t do this, you just can’t!”

The instant the [Fragment] left the True Ancestor’s body, Seraphina’s [Purification] effect vanished.

Returning to her normal state, the True Ancestor was utterly consumed by despair, facing the reality of losing both the [Fragment] and her power.

Yet… what the True Ancestor truly feared was not this… but rather—

Hum—

“Mmm… They’ve arrived!”

Wailing, the True Ancestor futilely flailed her slender arms, desperately trying to drag Fulkarn’s body across the ground, crawling away from the direction of the humming.

‘They?’

The four present simultaneously turned their gaze towards the source of the humming. Out of thin air, vast golden halos suddenly materialized, emitting an utterly incongruous brilliance amidst the dim, crimson surroundings.

“This is… teleportation magic?”

Witnessing the numerous halos before her, even the formidable Iqiyah couldn’t help but be astonished.

Hum… hum…

One must understand that teleportation magic is at least [Epic] tier, a highly draining spell. Even at the peak of her power, Iqiyah could only cast ten such spells simultaneously.

Yet, the number of teleportation circles before them already exceeded fifteen!

If it were merely fifteen individuals capable of casting teleportation magic, that would be manageable. The true fear was a single powerhouse, wielding immense strength, simultaneously activating a multitude of teleportation arrays. That would be difficult to contend with… No, impossible to escape from.

“Seraphina… stay close to me! I need to ensure I can teleport us away at any moment!”

“Hmph… trying to flee, are we!?”

Before Iqiyah’s words had fully left her lips, a silver flash erupted from a teleportation array. It grazed Iqiyah’s hair and plunged directly into the earth behind her!

Hum—

As light surged forth, a familiar silver greave stepped through the teleportation array, landing on the crimson ground.

“Well, well, who do we have here… So it was you all along.”

Under the astonished gazes of the four, Sevilya Sevillas swayed her golden high ponytail, a wicked expression gracing her features.

“Eh? Sevilya, could it be… you two already know each other?”

Another burst of light, and from a different array, a delicate, bare foot, adorned with a light high heel, gracefully stepped forth.

A cascade of golden hair, pointed ears like a vampire’s, yet skin fairer than any blood relative… and that species-specific, remarkably impressive ‘front armor’—

A single glance was enough to confirm: a pure elf.

Humming, humming, humming—

With a continuous chorus of hums, countless tall, statuesque elves emerged from the teleportation arrays. Each one, armed with a spear, stood with a model-like strut, exuding an aura of elegance and… allure.

The reason, perhaps, was that these elves, much like those depicted in countless traditional erotic manga, were dressed extremely provocatively.

Generously cut, barely-there white bustiers, scattered golden chains draped across their bodies, golden high heels with branches serving as laces… and a pure white modesty cloth that offered almost no concealment, brazenly showcasing their ‘absolute territory’ along with a sliver of white panties.

“Oh my, oh my… Is this… have you become captivated by my form?”

Noticing Seraphina’s focused gaze, the first elf to step from the array revealed a knowing, ‘auntie’ smile.

While dressed similarly to the other elves, she wore an additional laurel wreath upon her head, marking her as likely the leader of the elves.

“Mmm~ It’s quite alright, quite alright. I won’t run, so there’s no need to be so obsessed, you know~”

A flush rising to her cheeks, the elf cupped one side of her face, her eyes captivatingly hazy as she responded to Seraphina.

“After all… we’ll have plenty more opportunities to get acquainted in the future~”