In a dark, damp cellar,
a small white-haired beast-eared girl was curled up in a pile of hay in the corner.
Behind her, a butterfly-winged girl was hugging her tightly.
Unlike the terrified little beastgirl, however, the winged girl had a satisfied smile on her lips.
If one looked closer, one would notice her restless hands had already slipped inside the beastgirl's clothes, doing who-knows-what.
Finally, the little beastgirl stirred uncomfortably, sleepily waving her tiny hands to brush the other away.
Only then did the butterfly girl settle down.
Suddenly, the cellar door creaked open.
Hel, controlling Morrigan's body, stepped inside.
Seeing the two tangled together in such a compromising position, Hel felt a headache coming on.
Great — she probably just picked up another troublemaker like Lily.
"Ahem. It's morning."
Hel stepped forward, kicked the insect girl's backside, and patted Nikki's cheek to wake them up.
"Ah— Death Witch, please, a little harder~"
The perverted insect girl opened her eyes, face flushed, moaning shamelessly at Hel — her hands still not withdrawn from Nikki's clothes.
That finally jolted Nikki fully awake. Her face turned crimson as she tried to yank the insect girl's groping hands away.
But she couldn't muster any strength — whether from being exhausted by Niv's "training" the night before, or from the repeated battles earlier.
So, for now, she could only let the pervert do as she pleased.
"That's enough, you degenerate."
Hel smacked the bug girl on the head in exasperation. The girl yelped, clutching her head and shrinking into the corner.
"Alright. Hand me your gear. And take off your clothes."
"W–what? Take… take off our clothes?"
Nikki froze. Her face went scarlet again as she stammered,
"B-but we're both girls… how can we— that's…"
"Stop babbling and do as I say. Hand over your equipment first."
Without waiting, Hel simply snatched away their gear herself, one by one checking everything through her Word System.
After examining their equipment, she began inspecting their storage rings.
There she found several items bearing tracking marks — she stripped those marks away through her system, then finally handed their things back.
By now, Nikki was still hesitating, clutching the last scraps of fabric on her body,
while the insect girl had obediently followed orders, grinning mischievously and teasing Nikki to do the same.
"That's enough."
With a flick of her will, Hel summoned the 'Training Space' keyword onto her fingers.
A wave of energy shimmered — and both girls vanished, sealed within the space.
Then she turned her gaze toward the pile of items on the ground.
After confirming there was nothing of value left, she casually summoned a fireball and burned it all to ash.
"Still not entirely safe…"
Muttering, Hel stretched out her hand, tracing intricate alchemical runes in the air.
The runes connected rapidly, forming one magic trap after another.
Soon, the entire cellar was covered in layered enchantments.
Then, taking out the Philosopher's Stone, Hel infused it with soul energy to permanently stabilize the formations.
"These arrays won't kill a kingdom-level powerhouse,
but for ordinary transcendents, they'll be plenty.
Now, which faction will be the first to catch up, I wonder…"
As she murmured, a magic circle opened beneath Morrigan's feet.
Light enveloped her, and in an instant, she vanished.
She reappeared deep underground — at one of the secret bases Hel had prepared long ago while building the Nationwide Transmutation Array,
right beneath Linhe City.
She didn't leave immediately.
Instead, she pulled out a mini magic automaton, transferred the Storage Space keyword onto it,
and then had the automaton absorb Morrigan's body.
Once that was done, Hel completely severed her link with the automaton.
Soulfire rose from its body, burning it and Morrigan's vessel to ashes.
Back in heim castle, inside her own bedroom, Hel entered the Undead Space,
and released Nikki and the insect girl from the Training Space.
To her surprise, both of them were flushed red and drenched in sweat,
as if they'd just gone through… a rather intense workout.
"So… what exactly were you two doing in there?"
"Huh? You are…"
The insect girl blinked in confusion at Hel.
She couldn't explain why she felt such a deep affection toward this woman — as if Hel held an important place in her heart —
yet she was certain they had never met before.
Meanwhile, Nikki froze the instant she saw Hel's face.
Her body trembled violently, eyes wide with horror.
She pointed a shaking finger at Hel, her voice breaking—
"Y-you… you're… you're the one!"
She could never forget it — the child standing before her now was the one who had destroyed her army of a hundred thousand with a single strike, crushing her ambitions and pride in an instant.
Everything she'd lost, it all began with that sword.
"I'm what? Call me 'Master.'"
Hel smacked away her trembling finger and, with practiced ease, grabbed the fluffy tail behind Nikki, kneading it between her fingers.
"Y-you're… the Death Witch?"
The insect girl finally realized who Hel was.
In this world, the only person who could casually play with Nikki's tail without facing her wrath was the Death Witch — the one who held Nikki's Divine Slave Mark.
"What? Don't I look like her?"
"N-no, it's just… I didn't expect the great Death Witch— no, I mean, Master— to look so young!"
"Alright, enough of that. I didn't bring you two here to chat.
I actually need your help with something."
"M-me?!"
The insect girl pointed to herself, stunned.
She never imagined that someone as insignificant as her
would be personally requested by her beloved Death Witch.