191-200

191 Demon sword's real power

Elysia, now a giant fox, growled while staring at the root holding Shaman. Elysia vanished on the spot appearing next to the root in a blink of an eye. Swiping with her claws she instantly destroyed the root and the part that held Shaman was burnt away.

Although Elysia had lost most rational thinking, her goal to save Shaman was still present. So as Shaman fell to the ground Elysia quickly went underneath to catch her.

Catching Shaman on her back, she quickly dashed away and softly put the unconscious Shaman on the ground. The dark elf was aggravated and sent roots directly at Elysia in an attempt to pierce her.

However, this was futile as Elysia breathed out flames that instantly burnt up the roots that came at her.

While Elysia was dealing with the elf, Kiruya quickly found Silver and Clara who were hidden far away from the fight. After they saw Elysia transform they quickly retreated and were now watching the fight.

Elysia, now ready to attack, smacked the ground with her paws. Fire arose around her creating a fox head out flames. Charging towards the elf at a great speed, the fox head descended upon the elf, who paled at the sight of the oncoming attack.

Raising his sword, he blocked Elysia's teeth and erected wooden walls to stop the shooting fox heads. A few moments later, the walls began to crumble forcing the elf to jump back.

Elysia, now in a frenzy, continued charging at the elf not giving him any break, this time coating her mouth in flames.

The elf this time went to parry the attack, but Elysia's strength now greatly outclassed him, making it impossible to completely redirect her momentum. The elf's right arm was bitten clean off and flames burnt his shoulder making it now impossible to regenerate.

.....

Now the elf was getting desperate as Elysia had become its perfect counter, making it clear his death was coming. The fire fox heads were also closely approaching, giving him no avenue to run.

Not having much of a choice, the elf stabbed himself with the demon sword and a burst of purple fog pushed away all the flames. Elysia also jumped back as she sensed danger and wanted to observe before approaching.

"No!" Clara stood up from where she was watching as this was something she read about and was even warned against by her parents.

"What's wrong?" Kiruya felt goosebumps as if Clara was reacting badly to what the elf was doing then it couldn't be good.

"I-I don't know if Elysia can fight what's to come." Clara felt cold sweat go down her face as what the elf did was taboo.

"Clara, what is it!?" Kiruya needed to know as it may be reason enough to call Freja.

"I-It is turning itself into the embodiment of the sword…. The first transformation I assume was the elf's skill that was enhanced by the sword, but now it has offered its body. I don't know which sword he has, but let's say a demon is being born and not a good one at that." Clara's hand shook as she could feel the presence of the demon emerging from the elf.

"W-wait so this larger form was the elf, and only now it's using the sword?!" Kiruya assumed that the new body the elf gained was from the sword as she hadn't seen it before, but it turns out it had nothing to do with the sword.

"I'm afraid so, but seeing how weak it is, I don't think it will be a problem. B-but the presence coming from the sword is that of a very, very old demon." Clara tried to calm down her breathing as she felt something in her head whispering to her.

"Damnit, I should call Freja." Kiruya held the crystal in her hand and felt like things were getting too desperate.

"No wait, it is still too early, plus this new form of Elysia seems to be much stronger." Clara didn't want to waste such a valuable item as Elysia may be able to deal with it.

"Are you sure?" Kiruya wanted 100% confidence as if they delayed the call too much Freja might not be able to save them.

"Y-yes, as I said it should be weak, plus I can say that it is one of the lesser swords since it doesn't have the presence of the old great ones like back at home." Clara realized that it was a much less powerful demon, but would still likely rival many great powers. However, due to entering a weak body, it would not be able to use its full power, especially since the host is so badly damaged.

"I will trust you on this, but as soon as I see Elysia in grave danger I am crushing the crystal." Kiruya wanted to believe Clara as she was the most familiar when it came to demon-related things.

"Yes please be rea- arghh damn it, get out of my head." Clara stopped mid-sentence as the voice was getting louder.

'Kill.'

'Die, die, die.'

'Erase every kind.'

"Clara!" Kiruya and Silver both jumped to her side, catching her before she fell.

"I'm fine, but that demon is trying to make me its minion. As long as Elysia is quick to kill it I should be okay. I can hold out for about an hour." Making a rough guess for how long she can last, she could only hope Elysia would finish quickly.

Sitting back down they watched as the elf's limbs were replaced by this purple metal and its body began to morph to resemble that of a demon.

Slumping over, the elf slowly rose while staring directly at Elysia who was keenly observing her prey.

"It's been so long since I have had a body and it seems like I ended up in a fight." The elf looked around to get its bearings.

"Hmm, I sense another demon nearby with the blood of royalty, but it seems like I have to deal with this pest first." The elf felt Clara's presence but was not able to see her, however Elysia was a much bigger threat.

"From what I recall the Dahlia family was a weak little fox race. It seems like they have grown a bit." Another time, Elysia might have been curious about what the demon knew of her family, but thanks to her being in a rather irrational state, she did not care what the elf had to say.

Elysia didn't want to stand still any longer, so she conjured up fire spears about the size of her and sent them flying straight at the elf.

"A feisty one at that." With one hand the elf deflected the fire spears without an issue.

"Gosh this body is so weak, I almost tore off the arm with just a swing." Needing to adjust to the body he was in, his awkward movements gave Elysia the perfect opportunity to pounce.

Going for another bite while also sending fire bites, she surrounded the elf in fire, once again trying to make it impossible for the elf to escape.

"Not bad, you have the flames of the vampires, too bad I won't be getting hit." The elf spun on his feet slashing in a circle and hitting all the mouths made out of the flames. Leaving a trail of purple fog, the flames were instantly dispelled leaving Elysia wide open.

Raising his sword the elf let Elysia get closer to make it easier for him to hit.

"Sorry little thing, but your time has come." Mumbled the demon while slashing down straight for Elysia's head.

As his sword was about to reach Elysia's head, the elf's attack was blocked causing the sound of metal to ring out across the dungeon.

"Oh? Another fox?" The elf was shocked to see his attack was stopped by Shaman who seemingly recovered from her mana deprivation. What had happened though was that Shaman used a mana potion Freja had given everyone.

"Stay away from Eli!" Shaman's hair changed to blue as she put as much mana into her ice as she could and tried to encase the elf.

"Interesting." The elf jumped back avoiding the glacier Shaman created right where he was standing.

Elysia, who was behind Shaman, did not attack her. Even though she was reduced to the primal state of a beast, she still knew Shaman was an alley.

"Thank you Eli for saving me." Shaman, now having a brief moment, went up to the massive fox and patted her head. A small purr came from her, but knowing the threat that was just behind the glacier, they needed to concentrate.

"Do you mind if I ride you?" Shaman planned to use Elysia as a sort of mount and in response, she lowered her body to let Shaman on.

"I see, I can't say I recognise your race." The elf floated in the air over the glacier looking directly at Shaman.

"And who are you? Clearly not the elf from before" Shaman glared back at the elf as she got on top of Elysia.

"You are correct, although my name cannot be pronounced by the human tongue, however I shall say it anyway." Taking a brief moment to pause before speaking, Shaman prepared her next attack.

"S?~????

192 Sealed away

Shaman shook her head hearing the sounds that came out of the elf's mouth and had no idea what to make of it.

"Hmm as expected, no one bothers learning the ancient tongue anymore." The elf wasn't surprised by Shaman's weird reaction and found it amusing to watch.

"Tch, whatever, it isn't like you will be alive much longer." Deciding to not care about the being possessing the elf, Shaman covered her sword in stardust.

"Elysia, Let's go." Shaman pat Elysia, who growled and started to charge toward the elf.

"Useless." The elf slashed his sword down, sending a purple light in the shape of an arc at Shaman and Elysia.

"Heh." Shaman smirked and, using the stardust on her sword, opened a portal that led behind the elf, sending ice spikes through it while also dodging the purple arc sent by the elf.

"What?" The elf did not expect the fox girl in front of him to have such magic and was unable to dodge the spikes.

Ice spikes pierced the elf's body keeping him in place and allowing Elysia to get an attack in. Biting the bottom half of the elf's body, Elysia ripped it clean off, the flames coating her mouth preventing the elf from healing once more.

"Damn pests!" The elf gritted its teeth and cursed how weak his body was, as although it had high attack it was extremely weak to Elysia's flames.

.....

The elf now floated in the air with purple fog keeping it afloat, gritting his teeth as he was running out of options to fight against the two foxes.

"Looks like you are just talk." Shaman at first felt nervous facing what seemed to be a demon possessing a body, but after fighting it for a brief moment it seemed to be greatly weakened.

"If it wasn't for this stupid body you would have been dead in a few breaths." The demon was getting aggravated, but it was unable to tap into the power of the sword as most of its energy went to keeping him alive.

"Such a shame. And here I thought you would be tougher. The elf before was much more of a threat." Shaman, feeling confident about defeating the elf, couldn't help but throw some insults at it.

"You will pa-." The demon was about to throw another attack, but purple lightning struck him from behind and, shortly after, slashes of wind took off his arms.

"Shaman! Get Elysia to attack!" Clara had come flying in with Kiruya. Seeing how weak the demon is, they hoped they could seal it back into the sword.

"Elysia go!" Patting her once again, flames began to swirl in her mouth and with a roar she shot her blood-red flames at the elf. His body was engulfed in flames, leaving only a core that was made out of a sort of crystal.

"Kiruya, let me down." Clara wanted to get to the core as the demon was still present in it and needed to be put back in the sword.

Kiruya nodded her head and let go of Clara, letting her fall to the ground.

Rolling on the ground, Clara picked up the core and as soon as she did felt the pain in her head amplify.

'Ah, so this is the little demon. Now let me take control for a moment.'

Having made physical contact allowed the demon to form a connection with Clara, as her being a demon as well would allow him to fight much more efficiently.

'Like hell I would let you.' Pushing through the pain she walked to the sword that was still in the grip of the detached arm.

'Don't be stubborn and accept your calling!' The demon tried to force his way into Clara's head, but struggled to make any progress as it felt like a barrier was stopping any further control.

Lifting the sword off the ground, Clara pinned the core up against the hilt and infused her mana into the small sigil at the bottom.

Black tendrils came out of the sword grabbing on to the core that held the demon's soul.

'You bit-.' Before he could finish speaking, his soul was sucked back into the sword and the core it took control of turned into dust.

[Quest complete]

Shaman got the completion message and knew the battle with the elf was over. They had finally cleared the first floor.

Clara fell to her knees, all tension draining out of her body as the pain she felt was suddenly alleviated.

"Phew, it's over." Although she did not know for sure it would work, she knew there was a way to seal the soul back in the sword.

However, not everything was over as Elysia was still in her fox form and seeing Clara, she almost attacked her.

"OI! Calm down." Shaman, being the only person Elysia would listen to, managed to soothe her urges, eventually allowing her to return back to normal. With all the threats gone, the skill automatically began to deactivate.

Shaman quickly jumped off and prepared to catch a knocked out Elysia as she couldn't imagine she would be conscious after such a drastic transformation.

Silver and Kiruya also came down to the ground as finally the fight was over. Silver felt bad for not being able to help much, but in the end things turned out okay.

Elysia was close to being back to human size and the fur on her body was disappearing. Her clothes fortunately were taken off before she transformed by the system and as she got closer to her human form they were put back on.

"Thanks Rea." This time not forgetting her existence, Shaman thanked the system assistant as taking Elysia's clothes on and off was her doing.

[Hmph, no worries] Cleary pouting, Rea was still happy to be acknowledged for once.

Elysia now was back to her human form and just like Shaman guessed she was passed out. Catching Elysia before she hit the ground, Shaman lifted her up in a princess carry.

"I'm sorry, I should have stepped in earlier." Kiruya had lowered her head as she felt like they would have been okay, but with the threat of a demon possessing the body, she felt like she should have put a stop to it.

"Don't worry too much about it, we are all safe, now come on let's go." Shaman did not blame Kiruya for anything and was more glad everyone was okay.

"Is mother okay?" Silver quickly ran up to Shaman while staring at the passed out Elysia.

"Yes she is okay, now go help sister Clara, she is a bit exhausted." Shaman was glad to see Silver was okay, but she was more worried about Clara who seemed to be affected by the demon.

"Mhm." Silver nodded his head and went to help Clara get up on her feet so they could leave.

"Okay, we should head home, Elanor is waiting for us." Remembering the elf they helped, Shaman wanted to get back quickly as she didn't want to leave her alone for too long.

"I agree." Kiruya wanted to go lay down as she felt mentally exhausted from stressing over the safety of everyone.

"What should we do with the sword?" Clara slowly walked over with Silver supporting her, holding it in her hand.

"Leave it in the inventory for now, but do not bring it out until we know what to do with it. Plus I think we should give it to Freja once we return." Shaman did not want to take it with them, but it was probably for the best to hold on to it for now, at least to keep it from causing anymore trouble.

Clara did what Shaman said and they all began to make their way out of the dungeon after a long few hours of fighting.

***

'I hope they will be here soon.' Elanor was pacing around Shaman's room worried that something happened.

'They are strong, but still they are so young.' Elanor being much older than the group couldn't help thinking they would get too cocky or underestimate the dungeon.

'It's fine, it has only been a couple hours, which means they are being careful! not that they are in danger.' Elanor, trying to calm herself down, tried to think of it as a positive thing. Even though they had just met, they treated her with kindness which was something rare for her, so she couldn't help worrying about them.

*Knock* *Knock*

'Oh it must be them!' Elanor felt relieved as she assumed it was them at the door and quickly rushed to open it.

Opening up the door she was met with some strangers in hoodies who were definitely not Shaman.

"W-who are you?" Elanor's heart skyrocketed as she wasn't sure if it was another kidnapping attempt.

"Hello there miss, our master would like an audience with you." Being polite the elf bowed, hiding his face.

"I-I t-think you have the wrong person." Elanor stepped back and went to close the door, but was stopped by the elf.

"I don't think so." Knowing they will have to get her by force, the 2 elves rushed into the room.

193 Missing Elanor

Walking out of the dungeon with all the dark elf cores and their lives, Shaman wanted nothing more than to lie down.

As she was carrying out Elysia, some of the elf guards came over to see if they needed help.

"Do you need to go to the medical ward?" Having been offered to be taken to a hospital, Shaman shook her head as nobody was injured to the point where they needed to go.

The guard nodded back and backed away to let them through as from just looking he could tell no one was seriously injured.

Walking out of the adventurers guild that housed the dungeons, they headed straight back to the inn.

"Do we want to sell the cores now?" Clara however, just remembered they had cores to sell, so she offered to go back to quickly turn in their spoils.

"We will do that when we come back for the second run or whenever we need the money, so for now hold onto them." Shaman knew there was no rush and they would keep some anyway for their evolution.

"Speaking of which, how much did you guys level up?" Kiruya was aware of the levelling system and wondered how much they gained during the raid.

"Hmm here." Shaman opened a system menu of everyone's information, knowing she was able to let other people see. Allowing Kiruya to see, Shaman put the system screen in front of her.

.....

[Shaman Shiroi]

Level: 110 -> 124

[Elysia Dahlia]

Level: 106 -> 120

[Silver Shiroi]

Level: 103 -> 117

[Clara ????]

Level: 108 -> 122

"That's quite the boost, I believe it's level 200 you're trying to get?" Kiruya was rather impressed with how many levels they got.

"Yes, but I will have to say that the elf commander was probably the bulk of that exp alongside the demon. But since we didn't kill the demon I don't think we got any levels for it." Shaman hoped that by defeating the demon they would get some levels, but since it was sealed away it didn't count as a kill.

"Nonetheless once we get to the second floor of the dungeon you should be able to easily get tier 7 in 2 runs." Kiruya was confident that if they didn't encounter the same elf commander again they would be able to go into the next part which would give them the boost they need.

"I hope so too! Then we can take on the tier 8 dungeon." Shaman's goal besides getting the mission done for Freja was to get to tier 8.

"We will have to see because I think Freja wants you to go to the demon lands." Kiruya would like to also attempt the dungeon as it would be something beneficial for her, but Freja had other plans coming up.

"I guess she wants us to find Himeko as well as figure out what's up with Clara." Shaman looked back to Clara who looked rather nervous hearing about going to the demon lands.

"That's what I think as well." Kiruya was rather sceptical as Freja could have anything in store for them, but it was most likely the case.

"I just hope I don't get recognised if we enter any of the towns." Clara was worried about her identity as she had a high status but didn't know the state of her family name.

"It should be fine, plus we are not going into the demon capital city as far as we know." Shaman understood her worries as she was the princess of the fox realm.

"Well Himeko should be in an isolated place from what Freja showed us so hopefully that's all we have to do." Silver, remembering how Freja showed them the location of Himeko, didn't think there was any need to worry.

"True, but let's not worry about that, I want some sleep." Shaman felt a little overwhelmed with all the things that she would need to do and needed some time to rest.

"We all do." Clara was particularly keen on going to bed and just thinking about it felt like she was falling asleep.

"Haha, we still have Elanor to deal with so hopefully it shouldn't take too long." Shaman now was worrying about Elanor and her situation.

"Let's hurry then." Kiruya figured the quicker the better just to put themselves at ease.

Picking up the pace, they all went into a light jog back to the inn, hoping nothing went wrong.

*

Going up to their door, Shaman knocked to see if Elanor was in their room.

'Hmm, she might be asleep.' Thinking how exhaustion may have caught up to her, Shaman thought she might be asleep.

Opening up the door, she saw nobody inside, but it looked like someone had broken in.

"Oh no." Shaman felt shivers as there was no way of telling how long ago this was.

"Clara! Kiruya! Silver!" Calling out their names, Shaman expressed her urgency as Elanor could be in grave danger.

Hearing their names, they all rushed to Shaman as it did not sound like good news at all.

'What happened!?" Clara peered over Shaman's shoulder and found out the answer herself. Kiruya did the same as well as Silver, all realising that Elanor had most likely been kidnapped.

"We need to go now!" Shaman did not want to waste any time, so she quickly put Elysia on the bed and intended to go out.

"Are you sure?" Kiruya knew they all came back from the dungeon so if they get into a fight it might be a bad idea.

"I drank one of Freya's mana potions earlier so I'm all good. If you don't want to come with then that's completely fine." Shaman didn't care who came, but knowing Elanor's situation she did not want her to be left alone.

"I still have half my mana." Clara didn't know if she should come as she only had half of her mana and was physically exhausted.

"I didn't end up using much so I can come." Silver, who did not do a lot of fighting, still had mana and was rested enough.

"I will come either way." Kiruya refused to let Shaman go alone as they could be facing someone who is much stronger.

"Alright, we already have some prime suspects. Silver, do you recall what the nobles looked like?" Shaman knew Elanor was being chased by nobles and thankfully Silver was there to encounter them.

"Well, there was a skinny one, a fat one and I cut off the arm of one. If I see their faces I will be able to recognise them." Silver gave a quick and simple description, which was enough for now since he was coming along and could just identify them.

"We will go towards the noble district and start looking for anyone that resembles that description." Shaman, having somewhat of a plan, began to leave the inn.

"I'll stay and look after Elysia, I don't want to drag you down." Clara decided at the last minute to stay as she could imagine Elysia freaking out if she was all alone.

"Take care." Silver waved and followed Shaman alongside Kiruya.

***

"Mmmm!" Elanor was being dragged by the hair into the back of a mansion with her head and mouth covered.

Going into a basement, the 2 men that had kidnapped Elanor threw her into a dungeon.

"Alright now be a good girl and wait until master shows up." The door now locked behind her, Elanor was trapped inside, still completely restrained and unable to see. Tears started to flow from underneath the blindfold as she thought things were finally getting better.

'My life just had to be snatched away.' Seeing her life so close to getting better, only to lose it all almost broke her. It had been years since she last had a ray of hope, and for it to be taken away crushed her.

Elanor started to sob, hoping that there might be a small chance someone would come help.

'It's probably a noble house, they wouldn't dare come here.' Thinking about the outsiders who helped her, she doubted they would interfere with the nobles as it would make an enemy of the entire elf race.

This thought alone caused Elanor to start bashing her head on the ground as the more she thought about it the more she fell to despair.

'Why couldn't they just kill me.' Thinking she should have just offered up her life as if she knew this would happen she would have rather just given up early.

However, during this strong emotional turmoil, Elanor's hair began to turn green at the roots.

"Oh my look at how pitiful you are~." An elf with a newly reattached arm walked in and looked at Elanor through the door window.

Hearing his voice Elanor felt her heart sink and her mind descend even further as she instantly recognised who it was.

'No, no, no.' Elanor knew what was to come and even though it was easier to let him have his way she'd rather die than let that happen.

"Good~ I can hear and see the fear in you." Unlocking the door the elf walked in, his footsteps echoing back from the walls.

Elanor, hearing them get closer, tried to move away, but the closer he got the more panicked she became.

The green in her hair was becoming more prominent with every passing moment.

"Let's see that face."

Elanor was now up against the wall and no longer able to get away.

The blindfold was suddenly removed, Letting Elanor see the elf's face. That only fed her panic as she tried to scream.

"MMMMMM!" Elanor turned her head, wishing for him to just go away, when suddenly a gust of wind pushed him back.

194 Elanor's awakening

Shaman, Silver and Kiruya were rushing through the streets heading towards the noble district. Kiruya was giving directions as they ran and was even tempted to use her wind to speed themselves up.

"It should be the next left turn, then we will reach the noble strip." Kiruya spotted the elf mansions and although they had no idea which one it would be, it was a start.

Running onto the street, Shaman looked around, trying to decide how she would go about investigating the noble houses.

'Tsk I really didn't think this through.' Regretting not having any idea how to go about it, she decided it was best to go to each house and see if Silver recognised the noble.

However, before they could start, an explosion went off at one of the noble houses further down the road. Shortly after, a tornado formed and the silhouette of a person could be seen inside it.

"That might be her!" Shaman knew Elanor was royalty so it wasn't outrageous that she had some magical abilities.

As they rushed to where the tornado was forming, many other elves had come to see what was going on alongside some guards.

"Everyone stand back!" Guards were rushing in while also trying to get the curious bunch of people away.

Shaman was at a loss on what to do as if they interfered they could get themselves into serious trouble.

.....

"Kiruya, what do you think we should do?" Shaman figured Kiruya may have an idea or some way to let them get away with intereferring.

"If I'm honest I have no idea, we can use Silver's shadow, but even then we will still be caught." Kiruya was at a bit of a loss herself as they could be risking their stay in the capital city.

"First let's see if it's Elanor, but from what I can see it looks like her." Shaman looked back at the figure in the tornado, which had a similar figure and hair as Elanor.

While they were talking, Silver looked at the entrance of the mansion as a noble came running out completely distraught.

"Hang on." Looking closer Silver recognised him as the noble who's arm he had chopped off.

"Silver?" Shaman turned to him as it seemed like he had noticed something.

"It's Elanor, the noble ran out of the house and I recognised him." Silver's answer was enough to make Shaman act, but there was now a new development with the tornado.

Since the noble had run out of the house Elanor had spotted him causing her to go into rage.

"AHHHHHH!" A deafening scream echoed out to the entire forest. The tornado then shrunk down, placing Elanor on the roof. There were now tornados swirling around Elanor's arms as she walked to the edge of the building.

Looking over she saw the noble that had kidnapped her, so she raised her arms before slamming them down. The violently swirling wind rushed towards the noble, but before it reached him guards with shields twice their size blocked the attack.

A magical barrier appeared on the shields as they were struck and the spell was quickly diminished.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Getting aggravated by the actions of the guards, Elanor dashed off the roof directly into the shields.

However, before she reached the shields Shaman opened up a stardust portal, trapping Elanor inside her own dimension. This confused all the guards as they frantically looked around unable to see where she went.

The noble, who was terrified for his life, was on his knees thanking the guards for protecting him. Although, the guards ignored the noble since they were more concerned with the crazed elf.

While the noble was on his knees, his shadow suddenly began to move and he noticed this. Getting flashbacks to the alleyway he quickly stood up and tried to get away, but it would be futile as a shadow scythe came flying out of his shadow.

The blade entered his skull, killing him then quickly vanishing without a trace. The guards, hearing the noble making a commotion, went to get him to stop moving, but found that he had already been murdered.

"Everyone! There seems to be either more than one assailant, or the woman has stealth abilities!" Calling out a quick deduction, the guards disengaged the shield formation and waited to see if anything else would happen.

**

Shaman successfully trapped Elanor into the little pocket dimension she had and opened another entrance for Kiruya to get inside.

"Silver! go kill the noble and then hide while me and Kiruya deal with Elanor." Shaman then jumped into a stardust portal alongside Kiruya.

Shutting the portal behind them, they were met with a raging Elanor trying to find a way out.

"LET ME OUUUUUT!!!!" Wind was going rampant, almost hitting Kiruya and Shaman, but they were able to put up an elemental shield to protect themselves.

"Elanor! Please! It's me, Shaman!" Trying to call out to Elanor in hopes of her coming back to her senses. Luckily it seemed to have woken her up a little.

"Shaman?" Looking over to where the voice came from, Elanor saw Shaman alongside Kiruya.

"I-is that really you?" However, because they were in Shaman's stardust dimension it seemed as if she was dreaming.

"Yes, it really is me. We are in one of my skills so please calm down." Shaman tried her best to explain what was going on while slowly walking towards her.

"I-I.." Elanor started to cry as she thought she would never see Shaman again. She had already lost all hope after getting kidnapped.

"It's okay now, we are here to save you and get you back to safety." Shaman was getting closer and could almost touch Elanor.

The wind that was swirling around finally came to a stop, allowing Kiruya to take down her windshield and Shaman to finally grab a hold of Elanor.

Elanor being pulled in for a hug, felt herself sobbing even more as the light she thought was gone had come back.

"T-t-thank you for coming for me." Elanor relaxed, enjoying the safety that came with the hug and refused to let go at any cost.

"No need to thank us, we came looking for you as soon as we got back." Shaman, while rubbing the back of Elanor's head, hoped she had not created too much of a dependency.

'We are only meant to help her get back to the royal family so hopefully that goes down smoothly.' Shaman didn't intend to get close with Elanor, so it would be rather problematic if she came along permanently.

Kiruya had also walked up, gesturing to Shaman that they should get out of here.

"Elanor can you stand?" Shaman didn't want to leave Silver out for too long and they needed to get Elanor to safety.

"Y-yes." Elanor tried to stand up, but now that her adrenaline calmed down, the shock of her mana awakening hit her, leaving her body too weak to stand.

Shaman caught Elanor and, knowing she wouldn't be able to move, picked her up in a princess carry.

"Kiruya, we are going to move inns so please go ahead and let Clara know." Shaman didn't want to stay in the same spot knowing that there were people after Elanor.

Opening up a portal to a back alley, Kiruya got a headstart and rushed back to the inn.

"T-thank you again." Elnaor felt quite embarrassed being carried, especially by someone much younger.

"Again no need to thank me." Shaman chuckled and exited out of the same portal.

Luckily no one had gotten a proper look at Elanor's face as the wind that was constantly swirling around made it hard to see.

Silver, still having the bond connection with Shaman, was able to find where she was and popped out of the shadow.

"The noble is dead, we are good to go." Silver came out with a smile, happy he was able to do something.

"See? the person you tried to kill is dead." Shaman hoped this would lighten Elanor's mood, as the noble was the main reason for her kidnapping. Hopefully with this she could rest easy.

"I appreciate it Silver." Returning the smile to Silver, it was nice to hear that a noble she deeply hated was dead.

"We are returning to the inn. Hopefully Kiruya has a new place in mind for us to stay in." Shaman informed Silver of their plans and they began to make their way back to the inn.

*

Quickly arriving back at the inn, Kiruya was out the front with Clara holding Elysia on her back.

"Kiruya, did you check us out?" Shaman wanted to move as soon as possible and hoped there were no complications.

"Yes, Clara also packed all your things so don't bother going in. I have a place in mind so follow me." Kiruya didn't really want to use this next destination of hers, but it was for their own safety.

"Cool, let's go."

195 Kiruya's hideout

Kiruya led the group to the edge of the city which was devoid of any elves. After looking around for a brief moment, Kiruya quickly went up to one of the trees. She put her hands on a certain spot and a magic circle appeared, unveiling a hatch of some kind.

"Alright everybody, this will be our new base." Kiruya opened the hatch, revealing the hollow insides of the tree which seemed to go quite deep.

"Are you sure we just drop down?" Shaman was a bit sceptical since she had Elanor in her hands.

"Oh don't worry, one of Freja's blood portals is there."

"If that's the case, hold on tight." Shaman trusted Kiruya, but still wanted to be prepared for the worst.

"Mhm." Elanor gripped onto Shaman's clothes a bit afraid where she was being taken.

Taking a small hop forward, Shaman dropped down into the hatch and just like Kiruya said, there was a blood portal waiting for her.

Going through the portal, Shaman and Elanor were transported to the middle of some room. The landing was rough and Shaman, not wanting to crush Elanor, used her own body to cushion the fall.

"Ow!" After landing Shaman looked around and saw they were in some kind of common room.

.....

"Are we underground?" Elanor looked up and saw some tree roots coming from the ceiling panels.

"Wait, we should mov-." Shaman realised that they would be in the way of the others, but had no time left to move as Clara came through the portal.

"Ahhh!" Clara screamed as she saw Shaman and Elanor had not moved and was about to crash into them.

*Bang*

Landing on top of them with Elysia still on her back, a pile of bodies was beginning to stack up. Shaman, being at the bottom of the stack, felt her soul leaving her body as the weight from everyone was crushing her.

"P-please get… off." Elanor struggled to breathe and tried to push Clara off, but the added weight from Elysia made it impossible. However Elanor remembered she had access to her mana and so she started to conjure wind.

"I'm trying!" Clara wasn't able to push herself off without crushing Shaman even further or hurting Elysia.

That however, was no longer necessary as Elanor suddenly pushed them upwards with her wind, throwing Elysia and Clara into the air. As they went up into the air Elanor quickly moved out of the way by rolling.

While Clara was in the air Kiruya had already come through the portal, having no time to slow her fall before crashing into Clara.

Falling back down onto Shaman, this was the final straw, knocking her unconscious.

"What the hell is going on?" Kiruya was confused about what the hell just happened as she tried to push herself off of the 'floor'.

"Ah~." A moan came from Clara as Kiruya accidently grabbed her chest. Kiruya freaked out, falling back and rolling on the floor.

"Damn it." Hitting her head up against the wall, Kiruya then got up from the ground and was finally able to see what happened.

Shaman, Clara and Elysia were still stacked ontop of each other with Elanor lying on the floor close by.

'Maybe I should have waited a bit longer.' Knowing it was her call when to jump down the hatch, she just now figured Shaman couldn't move in time.

Clara, now being able to touch the ground, managed to get out from under Elysia, freeing herself from the stack.

"Next time let's not all jump in super quickly." Clara didn't want to go through that again as she was crushed and even violated in only a short amount of time.

Suddenly Silver who has yet to come through appeared, but anticipating such a mess he was able to quickly slide into the shadows.

"I knew it." Silver poked his head out of the shadows and saw the state of everyone.

"Yeah that's my bad." Kiruya awkwardly chuckled as Silver looked at her with a rather judgemental look.

"I-is Shaman okay?" Elanor looked over and saw that Shaman was knocked out. Elysia who had been asleep the whole time did not wake up, not even showing the slightest of reactions at any point.

"Ghe let me check." Clara crawled over and checked if she was still breathing.

"Yep she is fine." Clara let out a sigh of relief as getting crushed to death isn't the nicest way to die.

"Okay well I will just explain this place then." Kiruya didn't want to wait and she didn't mind explaining it again later.

"Yeah how the hell do you have a place like this." Clara looked around, spotting a kitchen, a sign by a door with a bath symbol and many other doors.

"This was built by Freja so she could teleport to each territory undetected, but they also act as a base." Kiruya walked up to one of the doors and pointed at one of the signs.

[Bedrooms]

"We will be staying here for a while seeing as it's dangerous outside, especially for Elanor. Also just so you know we are really deep underground so don't try digging unless you want the literal planet to crush you."

"I see, well we should probably get these two in their room." Clara got up from the ground and picked up Elysia while Kiruya took Shaman.

After placing them in their room, Kiruya offered to take Elanor, but she still wanted to talk about what happened to her.

Sitting on the couch Kiruya began to explain what had happened to Elanor as she only remembered the events just before she awakened.

"Ohhhh so I almost went on a rampage, but Shaman pulled me out of it." Putting the pieces together the small blank in her memory was filled.

"I have to say it took you a while to awaken your mana, do you know why that is?" Kiruya knew that for royalty the use of mana can awaken very early.

"Hmm, well ever since I was born my grandpa always refused to teach me because of my hair." Ostracised by her family because she was born different, Elanor's growth has been stunted.

"Tsk should have just killed him." Kiruya hated hearing how badly Elanor was treated, but it couldn't be helped.

"Haha don't worry, I know my brother Ren and father love me dearly. They were the only ones against it though."

"Wait, your mother agreed to it?" Kiruya picked up on how Elanor's mother wasn't mentioned and Kiruya was well aware she was still alive.

"Y-yeah about her, because my father married into the family he was more willing to change, but it seemed like my grandparents' teachings stuck with my mother." Elanor teared up a little, having to recall the painful truth, as it was hard to come to terms with her own mother turning against her.

"How come your father hasn't done anything?" Silver couldn't understand why the grandfather had so much power especially if Elanor's father would be much stronger by this point.

"That's because the grandfather is the reason why it's impossible to attack the city." Kiruya, knowing why it was impossible, explained to Silver how it worked.

"How though?"

"He is essentially the battery for the barrier around the city. So until he runs out of mana, which is still a few years away, they can't kill him. You might ask what will they do once he dies, but that's when the world tree takes over. Still, it can only last so long before it too needs to recover. This is the true role of the royal family. Once they grow old they take over that task, letting the world tree rest so that the forest doesn't fall apart." Kiruya tried to give a condensed explanation as there was more to how it worked, but it was not important to them at the moment.

"So one day Elanor would have to supply the tree with mana once she is old?" Silver started making sense of the situation, but still found it rather unfair.

"Yes, but because of her hair they consider her to be impure, hence why she was exiled." Kiruya clenched her fist just saying it, but that was the cruel reality.

Clara hearing the situation became a bit frustrated as well, as it sounded outrageous that just because of Elanor's hair she no longer was a part of the family.

"W-well it is true, our hair is the indicator of our mana so as soon as there was no sign of me going blonde I was deemed a failure." Elanor, remembering the words just before she was exiled, had no other choice but to believe this to be the case.

"How backwards are they?" Clara, who was royalty herself, found it ridiculous as mana was something that is drawn upon from the outside, not something you're born with.

"I know, but still no matter what I do I won't ever be accepted back."

"That isn't true, you have awakened your mana and now you just have to prove to them you don't need some hair colour." Clara believed that if Elanor was able to show she could use mana it would allow her to return.

"I-."

"It's worth a shot." Kiruya agreed with Clara. Hopefully, showing them how wrong they were would allow Elanor to go back to her family.

"T-thank you." Elanor, once again allowing herself to feel hope in her heart, was overcome by emotion and started crying once more.

196 Bloodline arts activation

"Fuck! my whole body hurts." Shaman finally woke up after having been crushed and felt a wave of pain go through her body.

Looking around, she saw Elysia snuggled up next to her asleep. Out of habit, Shaman patted Elysia's head, then continued to look around to figure out where she was.

'Oh that's right, we went to Kiruya's secret hideout.' Remembering what happened before, the pieces were aligning, solving the riddle of where she was.

'I guess since Elysia is here everyone else is resting, although I don't even know what the time is.' Contemplating whether she should get up or continue sleeping, Shaman kept looking at Elysia and then the door.

'Yeahhh we will sleep a bit longer.' Laying back down, she got comfortable and hugged Elysia. However, just as she was fading back into sleep Clara slammed the door open.

"Wake up you lazy vixens!" Clara, appearing with fresh bed hair, yelled them out of their stupor, her voice echoing out throughout the entire hideout.

Shaman shot up, followed by Elysia as well who thought she was in danger and leaped to grab her spear.

"Clara! What's with the sudden wake-up call? I was enjoying my snuggle time!" Elysia glared at Clara since she disturbed the peace and quiet they were having.

"You have been out for a whole day alright, we can't stay cooped up here forever." Only after explaining to her that she'd been out for a whole day did Elysia stop glaring at Clara.

.....

"A whole day!?" Shaman was surprised she was out that long, but she then remembered they'd just raided the dungeon, so it wasn't too far-fetched to think they were exhausted.

"Anyway, Kiruya wants to fill you in so come out soon." After Clara delivered the message, she quickly turned and left.

*Sigh* "I guess we should get up." Shaman pulled herself out of bed, still reluctant to leave the warmth it provided.

"Hey Shaman." Elysia, who had woken for the first time since the dungeon, couldn't quite remember what had happened.

"Eli?" Shaman looked back and saw the worried look on Elysia's face.

"W-what happened during the dungeon?"

*

Shaman while getting changed explained to Elysia what happened to her and the fox form she gained. The mention of this form brought back memories of the moments just before she activated the skill.

"I see, good thing I didn't hurt you. The description of the skill was rather worrying." Elysia initially hesitated to use the full form due to entering an irrational state.

"Heh, guess you can say your love truly prevailed." After speaking it out loud Shaman cringed at herself for saying it, but she saw Elysia blush.

"Y-yes indeed." Putting her hands to her chest, Elysia was happy that things turned out okay, not to mention that the situation was proof that her feelings were real.

"Ahem, anyway, we should get going, Kiruya is waiting for us." Shaman changed into her usual casual outfit and so did Elysia. Stepping out, they walked down a hallway before reaching the living room where Kiruya was sitting on the couch.

"About damn time." Kiruya had been sitting and waiting for the two for about 30 minutes and was about to get up.

"Sorryyy Elysia wanted to know what happen, so I explained it to her." Hearing why they took so long, Kiruya then let out a sigh as she couldn't argue.

"Fair enough, come sit down. I need to tell you what I told the others." Kiruya gestured at them to sit on the couch. Once they all sat down, Kiruya began to recite what was said when they arrived and explained how the hideout functioned.

*

After about another 30 minutes of talking, Kiruya finished her small lecture and they could finally move on.

"Now that you know the exit is behind you through a portal, feel free to come in and out, but make sure no one is around."

"Mhm." Shaman nodded her head and was glad it was finally over. Elysia however, went back to sleep while leaning on Shaman.

Kiruya gave a rather unimpressed look, but she couldn't be bothered to deal with Elysia's antics and left it up to Shaman to relay her the information.

"Now, do we want to head back to the dungeon today or do we want to take today off?" Kiruya let them do as they please as yesterday was a hectic day, so she didn't mind if they didn't do anything today.

"Hmm I think we will take the time to rest, plus I got something from my system and would like to use it." Shaman remembered the skill select and wanted to try to acquire the same skills as Elysia.

"Sounds good to me, I believe Clara is taking a bath and Silver is still in bed. Since there is nothing else to do, I will go make a report back to Freja that everyone is okay." Kiruya stood up and headed towards her room.

Shaman waved at Kiruya and once she left the room shook Elysia lightly until she woke up.

"Huh?" Elysia leaned off Shaman and quickly got her bearings as she was still half asleep.

"Wake up, we have some things to do." Bonking Elysia on the head to wake her up, Elysia's attention was now fully on Shaman.

"Tsk, let me sleep more."

"No, now come with me." Shaman pulled Elysia up from the couch and dragged her to the open space that was in the common area.

"What are we doing?" Elysia had no clue what Shaman wanted to do and, still feeling sleepy, was a bit slow on the uptake.

"I want to use my skill select we got from the quest, and I intend to get the bloodline arts you have." Shaman explained her plan to Elysia, making her eyes widen from shock since she didn't think it was possible.

"Apparently I will need you for it, so here we are." Shaman opened up her system and saw in her inventory the skill selects.

"Oh yeah, don't forget to use your points." Seeing a notification symbol on her profile icon, Shaman quickly spent her points.

[Attributes]

Unused: 500 -> 0

Vitality: 600 -> 700

Agility: 650 -> 750

Intelligence: 710 ->810

Strength: 750 -> 800

Dexterity: 710 -> 760

Defence: 600 -> 700

Feeling the usual tingles through her body, Shaman waited for it to be over before going back to her inventory. Elysia had also spent her points and her body shivered slightly from the feeling.

"Alright, now let's see what we have to do." Shaman opened the skill select screen and knowing what she was looking for entered in the name. Showing the results for bloodline arts, there was also a variant of the skill.

[Bloodline arts]

[Bloodline arts – Original]

Shaman wondered what the difference was, thinking it could mean choosing between another family's bloodline to creating her own. At this point, Rea stepped in to explain what it meant as well as using it as an excuse to talk again.

[As you just thought, the skill allows you to create your own bloodline skills. There was a reason why you needed Elysia as it will allow you access to the same skills she had.]

"Ohh I see, but you made it sound like I had to do some ritual?" Shaman thought back to how Rea said there were ingredients necessary, but that she already had them.

[Yes, you need Elysia's blood in order to do this and the system should be able to do the rest.]

"I see, well I guess I just click on it, and we begin?" Shaman didn't see any point in waiting and so she clicked the skill.

[Mhm.]

"You okay with this Eli?" Shaman quickly asked just to make sure but assumed it would be okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elysia was quite intrigued by this and wondered if she would be able to use the same skills as Shaman.

Getting Elysia's confirmation, Shaman waited for the following prompt to come up, telling her what she needed to do.

[In order to activate your own bloodline arts please consume the blood of someone else]

A message came up and Shaman was a little thrown back by the wording as it asked to drink Elysia's blood.

"What's up?" Elysia became a little worried seeing Shaman's expression, hoping it wasn't bad.

"Oh it's okay, just need to drink your blood apparently." Shaman explained and Elysia, hearing what needed to be done, bit her lip as it sounded nice to her.

"Oi don't give me that look." Shaman saw the sensual look on Elysia's face and knew where her head was.

"Oops, hehe~." Elysia giggled while exposing her shoulder to let Shaman get the blood.

*Sigh* "Whatever." Shaman, knowing Elysia would make it sexual, did not bother to try to stop her.

Walking up to Elysia, Shaman opened her mouth revealing the small fangs she had and bit down on Elysia's shoulder.

"AH~!" Moaning as loud as she could to be extra annoying, Shaman still held on trying to play into Elysia's plan.

Blood came out from the bite marks and Shaman began to suck on the wound, drinking the blood.

*Ding*

The system went off and Shaman pulled away from Elysia while using a heal spell to heal the bite mark. However, Elysia immediately stopped Shaman from continuing her healing.

"Let the mark stay hehe~." Wanting to keep the mark since it was from Shaman, Elysia quickly got a cloth from her inventory and held it on the wound until it stopped bleeding.

"Fineee." Shaman wasn't going to protest and didn't mind as it was a rather nice feeling marking Elysia in such a way.

[Proceed to the next stage]

[Yes | No]

Seeing the prompt, Shaman clicked on yes and suddenly a light blue magic circle appeared beneath her feet.

197 [Royal bloodline arts]

Looking around her, Shaman was not sure if what was happening was a good thing. The light that came from the circle attracted the attention of Silver and Clara.

Silver rushed out of his room to see what was happening and Clara had come out of the bath still wet with a towel wrapped around her.

"What the hell is going on?!" Clara called out, panicking about the sudden commotion.

"Don't worry, everything is fine…. I think." Shaman showed that she was okay for the time being and waited for what was going to happen next. Elysia looked in awe as the symbols on the magic circle looked familiar, but she wasn't able to figure out why.

The magic circle then began to spin and rise from the ground. Shaman felt her body tingle as it passed through her, unsure what was happening to her body.

Another thing that occurred when the circle passed through her body, was that fur started covering her body just like Elysia. Snow white fur with black tips now covered her skin, and when the circle finally finished passing through the entirety of her body, she was in her own new hybrid fox form.

After the transformation was complete, the ends of her hair suddenly turned into her stardust element, as if there were small galaxies at the ends of her hair. By now everyone watching was utterly captivated.

"Oh wow, this feels amazing." Shaman looked at herself and did a small twirl trying to get a feel for the form.

[You have successfully created your own bloodline]

.....

[Royal bloodline arts unlocked]

[Anyone who's part of your family will be able to acquire these skills, but they will take on a form relevant to their element]

[Due to consuming the blood of the Dahlia family you have inherited their skills and Since your bond with Elysia is that of a lover she will also gain the benefits of your bloodline]

Reading through the system messages, Shaman then looked up to Elysia who also received one.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this." Elysia was surprised to see she now had new benefits and wondered if Silver got something similar.

Clara saw that everything was fine, so she slowly backed away since she only had a towel covering her body and needed to get changed.

"Phew, it wasn't anything bad."

Silver walked up to Shaman and confirmed he also got a system notification as he was her son.

"Mother, I also got the bloodline arts." Silver looked up to Shaman questioningly, looking for an answer as to what it meant for him.

"Haha great, let me go back to my human form before I look into the skill." Shaman wanted to test it out before their next visit to the dungeon, but preferred to test them first in her humanoid form.

Once back to normal, Shaman opened up her system to get a better look at the skill.

[Royal Bloodline arts]

Various skills will be unique only to you and your family members. Because of your royalty status, a variant was created and all derived skills have been enhanced to be purer.

[Hybrid transformation – Stardust]

Inherited from the Dahlia family, you will transform into a hybrid state with heightened physical strength that resembles more the fox side of your race. The element stardust is enhanced and mana consumption is reduced.

[Full transformation – Stardust Fox]

Inherited from the Dahlia family, you will be able to transform into a beast which further increases your combat potential. However, This puts you in an irrational state and you will attack anything on sight.

Once you exit the form you will experience mana deficiency for at least 2 days.

[Unique skill – Elemental form]

Due to your ability to wield so many elements you have now been granted the ability to transform into any elemental fox. The colour of your hair will indicate which state you are in, but prolonged use will result in mana deficiency.

[Unique skill – Galaxy field]

Once activated, switch your domain to that of a galaxy that has the same properties as your stardust. This has high mana consumption so use it at your own risk.

[More skills will be unlocked and can be added if the user creates something unique. All skills can be used by other members but will be changed to fit the family members' elements.]

"That was a lot." Shaman went over to the couch to sit down while showing the screen to Elysia and Silver to see. Elysia and Silver also made their way over reading as they sat down.

"I can see the changes it made to mine, so I can make a fire domain, but I didn't get anything similar to your elemental form." Elysia spoke out about what she had gotten and was a little disappointed she only got the domain.

"Hmm, you only wield one element so maybe it's time you get a new one and maybe it will activate? I know it said it can be added too." Shaman assumed it was the lack of elements and she knew Elysia had been wanting to get a new one but didn't know what.

"I'll ask Kiruya to help me decide, seeing as there can be pretty unique elements." Elysia, seeing the rather odd elements that could be formed, wondered if it was possible to create one.

"Well, I will leave that to you. Silver, is it the same for you?" Shaman assumed Silver had a shadow variant of the skills.

"Mhm, I can also go into a hybrid Wolf form, but it's greyed out because my body is not able to handle the current skill.

"Damn what a way to say wait until you are older." Shaman giggled a little bit but found it understandable as Silver was technically just a teenager.

[His looks and age correlate to his level, so maybe once he reaches tier 6 he will be able to look a bit older.] Rea jumped in as Silver's existence is rather unique.

"Wait so once he is tier 10 he will be an old man?" Shaman froze for a moment as something felt incredible wrong with having Silver look older.

[No, no, he will still look young, but there will be accelerated maturity so probably early twenties when he reaches tier 10.]

"Phew I still keep my innocent boy for a bit longer." Shaman let out a sigh of relief as well Elysia.

"Hehe, I can't wait." Silver wanted to grow up and so knowing that it was linked to his level, he was even more determined to climb higher.

"Anyway with that sorted, looks like we have become a bit more connected. I wonder if Clara can fall under this family association." Shaman wanted everyone to be able to get access to the skills as it would be a big boost to their power.

"Hmm that will be a tricky one unless…" Elysia once again thought about accepting Clara into their relationship, but as it crossed her mind, her obsessive feelings welled up and the urge to kill came back.

'Looks like that one is still a work in progress.' Elysia needed to have a chat with Clara and try to tackle the feelings she had, but was afraid of hurting Clara.

"Unless?" Shaman was curious about what Elysia was thinking about as for a moment she had the same look she got when thinking about murder.

"O-oh nothing, just trying to think, but I came up with nothing." Not wanting to reveal her thoughts as she assumed it would make Shaman angry, Elysia came up with an excuse.

"Hmm fine, but if you come up with something please tell me." Shaman instantly knew what Elysia was thinking as the look said everything, but Shaman did not want to invade her privacy.

"Mhm." Elysia nodded as the door that led to the bedrooms opened.

"What happened? I saw this blue light, but I-I was too scared to come out." Elanor had come out of her room still cautious.

"Oh don't worry I just picked up a new skill and we were just going through them." Shaman explained what had happened and Elanor seemingly relaxed.

"That's a relief, well seeing as you have gotten a new skill, do you plan on going to the dungeon now?" Elanor fidgeted a little nervous as the last time she was left alone, she was kidnapped.

"We will probably stay here for one more day and tomorrow we will continue our raids, so don't worry we are not leaving you alone just yet." Shaman was able to tell Elanor's anxiousness and, knowing Elysia was most likely still under the effects of mana deficiency, Shaman didn't mind taking one last day off.

"I'm glad." Elanor held her hand to her chest and sat down with everyone, happy that she won't be alone.

Clara had also finished her bath and came out in her casual clothes asking a similar question. Being told the same thing, Clara was rather happy as it gave her more time to sleep. However, feeling a bit social she laid down on one of the couches to listen in on whatever they were talking about.

198 Clara and Elysia's talk

Night had arrived. Elysia was turning in bed, unable to sleep, her mind plagued by worry over whether she should try to accept Clara into their relationship.

'Fuck it, I will just talk to her.' Building up the courage to finally talk to Clara, Elysia carefully got out of bed, trying not to wake Shaman up.

Entering the hallway, her nervousness began to build up and she started to second guess herself.

Now just outside of Clara's room, Elysia was contemplating whether she should go through with this or not.

'I need to do this for both me and Shaman.' Elysia held her hand to her chest finding the situation rather difficult.

Raising her hand up to the door, Elysia finally gave it a few knocks.

"Coming~." Clara called out and quickly came to the door. Opening up, she was shocked to see Elysia and became rather defensive.

"It's okay, I'm not here to assassinate you or anything. I-I just wanted to talk about our feelings." Elysia stumbled on her words slightly as the mere thought of Clara having feelings for Shaman caused Elysia to be irritated.

"O-oh okay." Clara eased up a little bit, but she did not let her guard down.

.....

'Why does she want to talk about that? I know Elysia has been a bit more accepting of me as of late but didn't think we would have this conversation so soon.' Clara noticed that Elysia had a better grip on her obsessiveness, seeming much more reasonable than her usual threatening self.

"Well, come in and take a seat." Clara felt extremely nervous as she had not been prepared at all and the suddenness of the situation made it worse.

Walking into Clara's room, Elysia sat down on a chair while Clara sat across from her on the bed.

"So what specifically did you want to talk about?" Clara was still a little unsure what Elysia was after, but she could make a good guess what it was about.

"You probably guessed it, but it's about our feelings for Shaman." Elysia fidgeted with her hands trying to make sure she didn't explode.

"I see, I wasn't expecting this to be so soon." Clara looked down as she was a bit surprised that Elysia even knew that Clara had an attachment to Shaman.

"Yeah well, Shaman has been pestering me to talk it out and get myself under control." Elysia scratched the back of her head as she recalled the many times Shaman nagged Elysia.

"Aha well what did you want to talk about first?" Clara wanted to get straight to the point as she felt extremely nervous and wanted to get it over with.

"Hmm well, for starters I wanted to ask how you see Shaman?" Elysia wanted a direct answer. Although she guessed Clara had some feelings, Elysia needed to hear it from her directly.

Hearing the question, Clara couldn't help but freeze for a moment, as depending on her answer she felt like she could get herself killed.

'I know I have some interest, but I told myself I would suppress it.' Clara had no idea what to do as she wanted to hold off on developing anything for Shaman because of Elysia.

'Do I be honest, or do I lie?' Clara contemplated if it was a good idea to hide the truth, but at the same time, if she kept hiding it, her relationship with Elysia would never improve.

'No, I can't lie, especially not now.' After mulling over it for a few more seconds Clara decided to be upfront with how she felt. Taking a deep breath before answering, she steeled her resolve.

"I have some interest, but I have suppressed my feelings. Still, if she wasn't with you, I see myself being with Shaman." Clara readied herself for Elysia to attack, but surprisingly she did not move or show any signs of attacking.

"Hmm, I understand." Elysia took a deep breath and thought for a moment to formulate a response.

'I was hoping it was a no, but it seems like that won't be the case.' Elysia's best-case scenario was that Clara had no interest in Shaman, but that was a false hope in and of itself.

'I don't want to hate Clara for having feelings, it's totally normal, but at the same time I don't want that to be a threat to our relationship.' Elysia knew it was stupid to think that Clara would do anything to bring her harm, but due to Shaman being the only family she has left in the world, losing her would mean she lost everything.

'Maybe I should try what Shaman said and open my heart to Clara. It might be better that way, as at least then I could stop viewing Clara as an enemy.' Elysia considered changing her view on Clara. That way maybe they could work together to please Shaman rather than be at each other's throats.

'I like the sound of that. If I end up with feelings for Clara as well, maybe it won't be so bad.' Elysia's mind began to imagine different scenarios and she couldn't help blushing a little.

In a spur of excitement, Elysia quickly stood up from her chair.

"U-ummm, this might sound weird, but how about we both date Shaman at the same time?" Strangely enough, Elysia noticed that the side of her that would get agitated was not flaring up. Surprised to find that Clara has slowly warmed her way into her heart, Elysia realised she was no longer feeling threatened by Clara.

Although it would take time for Elysia to adapt and for her to actually get emotionally attached, it was something to work towards. Clara was a little stunned by the idea and even blushed. Giving it some thought, she concluded it was something she could live with.

"I-I, y-yeah sure, why not." Clara felt like she couldn't say no as there were no real negatives and it may even be something healthy for the both of them.

"Phew." Elysia let out a sigh of relief as she expected Clara to be weirded out or look down on her.

"Wait, hang on, but what about you? Are you sure you are able to handle it?" Clara was rather concerned for the long term as she could see Elysia eventually snapping.

"Hmm, I don't know." Elysia had thought about it for a moment until her face suddenly went red.

"??" Clara was curious as to what Elysia had just thought of, leading her imagination to wander in similar directions…

'Damnit why do I have these thoughts?' Elysia had thought about the kind of things they would do together, but this was pushing it a little too far and she could feel herself wanting to lash out.

Clara, who also went red, was still finding this all hard to believe and the spiral of her thoughts only made the conversation even more awkward.

'I mean that would fix the many issues between us, but that doesn't solve the underlying problem. However, what if the problem doesn't need to be fixed?' Clara thought that as long as they did not get any more group members there was no reason to fix the issueHell, perhaps they could even use it to their advantage.

Sitting there embarrassed by their thoughts, the two remained silent until Clara finally spoke.

"W-well how about we focus on the small things and see where it goes from there, plus we need to talk to Shaman."

Clara was fine with any outcome, but if they wanted to move things forward, they'll have to take it step by step.

"I-I think so too." Elysia felt a little mad at herself for having those thoughts about Clara, but in the end, if Shaman was okay with it then Elysia will try her best to let Clara in as well.

After fighting off the lewd thoughts they were having, they continued on to talk for a little longer.

"So what now?" Clara had no idea what Elysia had in store and wanted to make sure they were on the same page.

"For now, I want us to work together so we can accept each other, but I will warn you now that if you go too fast I will most likely end up lashing out." After their heart to heart talk, Elysia felt a lot more comfortable with Clara and was willing to tell her more.

"That's easy enough, but you know, sometimes mistakes are unavoidable, especially considering Shaman can be a bit pushy and may force me into a risky position." Clara was sweating after Elysia's threat as she saw many times how Shaman didn't think much of the consequences of her teasing.

"Haha, those times don't bother me. You see, as long as Shaman allows it I don't seem to be affected by it as much, so in a sense you are safe as long as Shaman is okay with it." Elysia felt rather proud of herself for getting better at understanding herself as well as finding ways to abuse it.

"Ohhh I see, that helps relieve a lot of my stress. Sometimes I felt like you would just pounce at me at a moment's notice." Clara also admitted that she had been feeling rather stressed when around Shaman due to Elysia.

"Oh I'm sorry about that, but I'm glad we were able to clear this up and I hope you can feel more comfortable around me." Elysia was already enjoying Clara's company and was glad she was able to talk to someone else normally for once.

'Tsk, why was I so afraid? I really need to stop this horrible attitude towards everyone.' Elysia was seeing why it was such a huge problem but nonetheless was happy with the progress she had made.

"Aha, Likewise, I was feeling a bit isolated from the group, so I'm glad we can talk like this." Clara felt a huge weight was taken off her shoulders and now she could truly feel a part of the group.

199 Shaman's take

After Elysia and Clara finished their talk, they now needed to talk to Shaman.

"Do we wake her up?" Clara followed Elysia to her room, but now that they've reached their destination she was having second thoughts.

"I'd rather not wait, otherwise I feel like I would have lost this opportunity." Elysia felt that if she waited to have the talk with Shaman then her other side would ruin this chance.

"F-fair enough." Clara nodded her head. She too felt that the longer they waited the more agonising it would get.

Walking inside Shaman and Elysia's room, Elysia touched the crystal on the wall to turn on the light. When they turned on the light, they were surprised to see Shaman already sitting in a chair waiting for them.

"I see, having a secret affair during the night now are we?" Shaman smirked as she eavesdropped on their conversation and knew exactly what they were coming for.

"N-NO!" Elysia instantly rejected it, but after thinking about it some more, she realised Shaman wasn't far off, especially since the topic was about dating. Clara hearing Shaman could only blush and look away as she had no good retorts.

"Haha~ I am only joking, now come take a seat." Shaman didn't want to drag the joke on as she feared Elysia might get a bit angry.

"Hmph!" Elysia pouted and sat down on the bed followed by Clara, who held her head low, still hiding her face.

.....

"No need to worry too much Clara, if anything I'm super happy that Elysia was able to finally open up." Shaman knew Clara must be feeling rather uneasy, especially with how volatile Elysia can be.

"Y-yes." Raising her head she took a deep breath, waiting for what Shaman had to say.

"So, what were you doing, Elysia?" Although Shaman already knew, she wanted to hear it from Elysia's mouth.

"W-we have decided after talking about it, that I'm willing to accept Clara into our relationship." Elysia felt herself shiver saying it aloud and thoughts began to fill her head about killing Clara.

"Hmm, that's fine." Shaman felt a bit of relief hearing Elysia say it and smiled, knowing Clara seemed to have an interest for a while now but never approached.

The feelings inside Elysia suddenly washed away, confirming that as long as Shaman was okay with it, then there would be no issue. Clara's face lit up as she felt the developing feelings she had been oppressing come back out.

"Phew, looks like I can handle it." Taking a few deep breaths Elysia felt extremely proud of herself for being able to do it.

"Fufu~ good job Eli, I knew you could do it." Shaman leaned forward and patted Elysia's head as a small reward.

"Now before we get too ahead of ourselves. Clara, are you ready to enter such a relationship or do you still need more time." Shaman was still feeling a bit nervous about a three way relationship as this would be a first for her as well. Clara wasn't sure what to answer so she took a moment to think about it more seriously.

'I don't even think I'm ready.' The realisation was kicking in for Shaman, but she tried to think of the positives of the situation.

'Well, as long as everyone is happy and I give them both an equal amount of attention, then there shouldn't be an issue. Also, communicating will be important, so I need to make sure there is no jealousy or fighting.' While waiting for Clara to respond, Shaman thought it over carefully, contemplating whether she was okay with it and how to go about it.

'Wait, is it normal to have multiple partners in this world? I assumed it was like mine where it wasn't really accepted.' Shaman all of a sudden realised that it may be normal for such a thing to happen and that may be why Clara was so accepting of it.

[You will be correct, it is common for people to date multiple people, but usually, the partners aren't romantically involved with each other, so your situation is a little unique. But do not worry, even if you inherit the fox realm it will not be seen as taboo or weird.] Rea interjected, helping Shaman confirm her decision.

'I see, well that makes things a bit easier.' Shaman was convincing herself more and more with each passing thought.

'Alright, this should work out. It will be difficult, especially with Elysia, but as long as we keep communicating our feelings in an open and healthy manner we should be fine.' Declaring her resolve in her mind, she was ready for whatever answer Clara was going to give.

Clara, who was still deep in thought, finally seemed ready to give an answer.

"Yes?" Shaman prompted Clara to come forward with her answer.

"Y-yes I am willing to enter this r-relationship." Clara stuttered as it was a big decision for her, especially since it was actually forbidden for demons to enter a relationship with other races.

'I hope when I head to the demon lands I don't get exiled for this.' Knowing she was potentially the missing heir to the demon lands, the fact that this relationship may prevent her from ever going back to her homeland was a big deal.

"Well, welcome aboard, I… am not really sure what else to say. Well ain't this awkward?" Shaman felt like there should have been more build-up, like a sudden kiss at the climax, but it was a lot more civilised.

"Haha I have no clue either, but all I can say is that I feel extremely happy." Clara started to cry as she felt a wave of emotions fill her heart. It was finally sinking in that things were really happening.

Without thinking Shaman quickly got up and hugged Clara while patting her head. Elysia was hesitant at first, but she also joined in on the hug, deciding it is something she has to get used to.

"T-thank you so much." Clara hugged both Shaman and Elysia back, grateful for both of them.

'This isn't so bad.' Although Elysia thought it would be an impossible task, she found herself hating it less and less. Being able to be there for both of them was a nice feeling for Elysia and she started to question why she was so obsessive.

*

After Clara cried for about 10 minutes she had finally fallen asleep and now the question was, does she join them in the bed?

"You okay with it?" Shaman wasn't sure if Elysia was fully accepting of it, so it was better to ask before the hideout went up in flames.

"Yes it's fine, as long as I know you are okay with it, I don't get agitated like I usually would." Elysia explained how her emotions seemed to work, which was really good and useful news for Shaman.

"Oh good, well then Clara can sleep with us tonight. Although the bed is a little small now I'm sure you don't mind cuddling up?" Shaman was now beginning to see a problem and that would be sleeping space.

"Haha of course! as long as you are in the middle." Elysia had no issues with it, but she still would like to be close to Shaman.

"Cool." Shaman nodded her head while lifting Clara up, Shaman then placed her on one side of the bed.

Elysia and Shaman also climbed into bed and got comfortable, however they did not realise how little room they had.

"Okay maybe we ask Kiruya for a bigger bed, but who knows, Clara might want to sleep in her own room for the time being." Elysia snuggled as close as she could while making her suggestion.

"We will see." As Shaman got closer to Elysia, Clara latched onto Shaman in her sleep, hugging her arm. Shaman quickly looked over to see if Clara had woken up, but seeing that wasn't the case, all she could do was smile.

"Goodnight~." Shaman quickly gave one kiss to Elysia and one to Clara on the forehead. This also served as a final test test as to how Elysia would react. As Shaman had hoped, Elysia was not affected at all and it was beginning to seem like her temper was completely gone.

'No don't get too ahead of yourself, I'm sure we will encounter some problems.' Shaman did not want to believe everything was fine and expected at some point Elysia to crack.

Shutting her eyes finally, Shaman went to sleep with Elysia and Clara in her arms.

[Clara ??? has been added to the list of lovers, she will now be able to use lovers call and access the shared inventory.]

[Due to Clara's origins, the potential to gain demonic traits is now possible. Only available during evolution, please consult system assistant for more information.]

[New title unlocked: Partner of the Demon Queen]

[User receives a certain amount of control over lower ranking demons, which becomes stronger as the relationship bond gets stronger.]

Shaman had not seen the system notifications yet, but by entering a relationship with Clara she had unlocked benefits due to Clara's demonic heritage.

200 How did this happen?

Morning came and Clara slowly opened her eyes only to be met with Shaman's sleeping face.

'H-huh what happened?' Panicking for a moment she tried to move, only to realise that not only were her hands stuck underneath Shaman, but she was also being hugged by her in return.

'How did this even happen?' Clara felt her head spinning as the situation seemed too surreal while the happenings of the night before felt like a fading dream.

'Wait! Last night, That was real? Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?' Recalling what happened before she fell asleep, combined with the situation she was in finally convinced her that everything was real.

"Clara?" Shaman woke up from Clara's squirming and wondered what was wrong.

"O-oh I'm fine, just trying to process what the hell happened and figure out if this is real." Hearing Clara's explanation of the chaotic state her mind was in, Shaman could understand why Clara felt this way.

"Well, would this help make it feel more real?" Shaman, still tired since she just woke up, didn't think about her actions.

"Hu-." Clara was going to ask what Shaman meant, but before she could speak, Shaman leaned in and kissed Clara.

Holding it for 30 seconds, Shaman finally pulled away, leaving Clara speechless as her mind descended even further into chaos.

.....

"I-I…"

"It's okay, rest a bit longer and let it sink in." Shaman patted Clara on the head. Clara's mind gave up on catching up to her situation as she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep. Shaman smiled and leaned back into the pillow, closing her eyes as well while slowly patting Clara.

**

"OI! It's time to wake up!" Kiruya slammed open the door to Shaman's bedroom as they were meant to be heading to the dungeon today.

"Gehhh, do we have to get up?" Shaman sat up while escaping the arms of Elysia and Clara.

"Wait, hold on, am I seeing things?" Kiruya wasn't sure if what she was seeing was true so she slowly closed the door. Shaman tilted her head wondering what the hell she was doing.

Kiruya then opened the door again and, seeing Clara in the bed still, slammed the door shut and opened it again.

"That's Clara right?" Rubbing her eyes, it was starting to dawn on Kiruya that her task of solving Elysia's problem may have just taken care of itself.

"Yes?" Shaman didn't know why Kiruya was acting in such a way, but once she thought about it, it did seem a bit odd for Clara to suddenly be sleeping with them.

"What's all that noise?" Clara sat up from the bed, rubbing her eyes and wondering what was all the racket about. She also leaned into Shaman to keep herself from falling back into the bed.

Kiruya blinked in surprise as now she was forced to believe it was true.

"Shamannnnnn come back!" Elysia also woke up and tried to drag her back into bed, but then she saw Kiruya at the door.

"Oh hey there Kiruya." Sitting up, Elysia awkwardly chuckled as her morning attitude was embarrassing.

"Hello Elysia, anyway I think I see what's going on now, Shaman you have some explaining to do. In the meantime, get ready to head over to the dungeon while I go inform Freya." Kiruya needed time to think as it was quite the bomb to find out things changed overnight without her even doing anything.

Shutting the door to the bedroom, Kiruya quickly went back to her room to contact Freya about the news.

"I think she is more shocked than Clara was when I came to talk to her." Elysia looked over to Clara, finding Kiruya's reaction amusing.

"Haha well in her position she probably thought it was an impossible task, so I don't blame her." Clara knew she would have acted rather shocked if she suddenly witnessed this kind of situation as well, even if it didn't involve her, so she understood Kiruya's behaviour.

"Enough chatting, we really need to start picking up speed and try to get to tier 6." Shaman didn't want to linger for too long as she could imagine Kiruya getting angry if they weren't ready before she came back.

"Alright~."

"Oh yes you're right, I'll head back to my room since that's where my clothes are." Clara quickly left Shaman's room, rushing back to hers to get changed.

"Hmm? But doesn't she store everything in her inventory?" Elysia realised that most of their stuff was already packed in their inventory and she simply assumed Clara did the same.

"Maybe she is too used to living without it, but oh well she can do whatever she wants." Shaman paid no attention to it as there was no reason to.

"Hehe~ well you like watching me change anyway, don't you? There is a reason why I don't use the quick-equip, so I'm surprised you didn't get her to stay." Elysia had a grin as she always noticed Shaman's gaze when changing.

"Shut up!" Shaman blushed and turned her head as she was unable to deny this.

"Heh~."

*

"Freya you won't believe this!" Kiruya had frantically pulled out the stone she was given to contact Freya.

"Hai, hai, what is it, you're lucky I give your reports a priority as you caught me busy attending to the girls." Freya sounded like she just woke up. A moment later another woman's voice suddenly came from the stone.

"Is that kiruya? Oh my, it's been so long, please come back soon sweetie without you our sessions just aren't the same~." Marsha the half cat spoke through the stone, but as her voice got closer there was a sudden noise as if someone got thrown across the room.

"MeOWWW!!!" A sharp meow came from the stone but came out muffled, likely coming from further away.

"Ahem, what did you want to say Kiruya?" Freya tried to brush it off as if nothing happened and continued on with the conversation,

"U-umm well it seems things have taken an unexpected turn and Clara is a part of the relationship now." Kiruya wasn't going to question what happened to Marsha, so she instantly spoke about the reason why she had called.

"You're joking right?" Freya couldn't believe her ears as she indeed thought it would be a long process.

"What would you say if I claim to have seen all three of them in bed together?" Kiruya saying it out loud found it hard to believe her own words, but it was the truth.

"HAHAHAHAHA, NO WAY!!!" Freya burst out laughing as she wasn't expecting this outcome and thought she would have to step in.

"You know what, I am coming over. You are in the hideout I made, correct?" Freya needed to see the situation for herself and was already getting ready to teleport over.

"Y-yes, but are you sure?!?! Wouldn't that cause a stir?" Kiruya frantically left her room while carrying the stone as she had to prepare for Freya's arrival.

"Don't worry, I will only come to the hideout and then head straight back." Freya then suddenly cut the line and left Kiruya hanging.

"Ahhhh! I got to get ready!" Kiruya ran out to the living room, but as soon as she opened the door, A blonde she-wolf came walking through a blood portal in rather casual clothes. Her grey and green piercing gaze washed over Kiruya, sending small shivers down her spine.

"Hey there darling~, hope I am not interrupting anything." Freya had come to the hideout to see for herself what was going on.

"I-I…. Hello, Mistress." Kiruya was not mentally prepared at all, but all she could do was accept things as they were.

"Now let me see if this is true." Freya walked past Kiruya to the bedrooms. Being able to `sense Shaman's mana, she knew exactly which room she was in.

The noticeable detail was that there were indeed 3 people in Shaman's bedroom and Freya began to get excited at that thought.

Opening the door, she was greeted by Shaman, Elysia and Clara hugging each other.

"FREYA!!" Shaman shot up in shock as it was the last person she expected to see at the moment.

"Ara~ So it is true you have all hooked up, I must say I am very proud of you Shaman~." Freya, being always involved in multiple relationships herself, felt rather proud of Shaman as she knew better than most it was not easy to build such a bond.

"I should have stayed in my room." Clara was extremely embarrassed. She could have just dressed in her own room, but instead rushed back to Shaman's hoping to sneak in some snuggling.

*Sigh* "I appreciate your words… BUT DID YOU HAVE TO BARGE IN HERE!" Shaman stood up and jumped at Freya in hopes of getting her to leave.

"Now that isn't how you treat your second mother." In one swift motion, Freya spun around with Shaman's momentum and restrained her.'

"Damnit." Shaman knew she couldn't win, but hoped Freya would go along with it, yet she only ended up getting restrained instead.

"Fufu~ Now you have to tell me how did this all happen?" Freya wanted to know all the details as it intrigued her how things happened so quickly.

"Fine, but I am not the one you should be asking. The ones that did all the work are those two." Shaman, who realistically did nothing, wasn't able to give the details as Elysia managed to do it by herself.

"Ohoo? Interesting." Freya let go of Shaman and took a seat in the desk chair, facing Elysia.

Elysia was feeling a bit awkward, but she sat on the side of the bed next to Clara.

"Well I guess I will start…"