Maddy slipped through the stone without a sound, tracking the twins' heavy footsteps to a damp corner of the cavern where a hidden cage waited.
Inside sat a violet haired woman, filthy and bloodstreaked, her torn clothes hanging from a frail body. She was still strikingly beautiful, but up close the truth showed… she was exhausted, worn down to the brink of collapse. One of the twins slammed a tray of greasy, spiced worms against the iron bars.
"Eat, you royal brat! I'm done playing along with your princess attitude. The Chief gave us permission to do whatever it takes to get this down your throat even if we have to pry your jaws open and force feed you ourselves."
The other twin laughed, wiping booze from his chin.
"See? No poison here, Princess. It's perfectly safe. We can't have you dying or starving yourself; our future is in your hands. Actually, it's in your womb. The Chief is going to fill you with a new race—a breed born from demigod blood and demonic ogre might!"
Despite the twins' snarling intimidation, the Princess remained motionless. She lay curled on the cold iron floor of the cage, small and fragile at its center. Radiating from her was a towering pillar of blue energy so vast it made Maddy's skin prickle with static.
[New Monsterpedia entry added: Demigod]
[Demigod (Evolved Form) — Habitat: City/Urban]
[A human born with blood directly descended from a Primordial Saint, God, blessed with divine power. They possess immense magical reserves far beyond normal humans or monsters. Their bodies are reinforced by divine energy, granting extreme regeneration, immunity to all body conditions, and the ability to wield divine magic.]
Maddy stared at the entry, then back at the princess.
"So that's what you are… This isn't just a demigod. It feels like I'm staring at a god. But even with that insane regeneration, her mind hasn't healed at all… she's completely broken. This… this hurts to see."
The twins' patience finally snapped. They began hurling the food through the bars, the greasy worms splattering against her skin and the stone floor.
"Eat! We said EAT, damn you!"
The other twin snarled, reaching through the bars to grab her hair and pull her hard across them.
"You think you have a choice? The Chief wants a hundred sons to build his empire. If you won't eat, we'll make sure you choke on every last bite."
Maddy watched her six eyes wide. Seeing the woman up close was different than listening to the tales of her. This wasn't just a "monster" or a "princess"…she looked human, vulnerable, and fiercely defiant.
Maddy's body trembled, not from the princess's overwhelming magic, but from the rage boiling inside her.
"They're treating her like an animal livestock nothing but a body to breed!"
Maddy whispered, her stomach twisting with a familiar, sickening memory.
"Used for her body. Punished for things she can't control. Why does the world do this to women? Even in hell, we're reduced to breeding tools valued for bloodlines and heirs, for what our bodies can produce, never for who we are."
Her jaw clenched as she watched the princess endure it all without a flicker of expression. The blows, the way one of the savage twins forced food past her lips with cruel patience... It was too familiar.
Just like her.
When her husband had done everything he could to make her womb "work." Feeding her unknown medicines. Forcing food down her throat. Beating her when nothing changed.
She was done watching this. Done remembering it.
"They don't see a woman. They see a womb they can own… and it makes my blood boil!"
The other twin raised his fist, rage twisting his face.
"YOU WRENCH—EAT!"
Before the blow could land, his arm was simply… gone.
"Huh? W–where is my arm?!"
Maddy spat the severed limb onto the stone floor.
"Disgusting. Foul! I'm done watching you monsters. There will be no prince coming to save her. I will. A woman will save her!"
The twin finally noticed the severed arm lying on the stone floor. Blood pooled beneath it, fingers still twitching. His gaze followed the trail… up.
Six glowing eyes stared back at him from the shadows. The chimera worm lifted her head, jaws still slick with blood, her newly hardened body gleaming with mineral sheen.
"EEEEEK—H-help me! My arm—my arm is gone! TWIN!"
His voice cracked into panicked sobs as he scrambled across the floor, slipping in his own blood. The uninjured twin roared in terror, scrambling to pull a jagged shortsword from his brother's back. He swung it wildly with trembling hands.
"I'll kill you, you worm!"
Maddy lunged with a speed that defied her size, her jaws snapping shut around his throat.
CHOMP!
With a single, powerful bite, she tore his head clean off. The headless body stood for a second, blood fountaining from the neck, before collapsing into the dirt.
[System Notice]
[You have ingested an object containing a trait.]
[Trait acquired—
Before the system could say another word, she cut it off.
"Store it! I don't have time for this right now!"
The first twin, clutching his stump, let out a high pitched wail. He scrambled toward the exit, slipping on the slick stone floor.
"Help! Chief! Someone help!"
He hadn't made it five steps before Maddy vanished into the ground. Seconds later, the earth beneath him buckled violently.
He tripped, slamming face first into the rock, and when he tried to rise, horror struck his feet were gone, bitten off at the ankles in a single, swift subterranean strike. Sobbing, he clawed at the stone, dragging himself forward with his one remaining arm and leg.
"Please! Mercy! What kind of worm are you?! I swear, if you spare me, I'll never eat another worm again!"
Maddy rose from the earth her shadow falling over him. She answered coldly,
"A woman. And the last thing you'll ever beg."
With one final, decisive strike, the screaming ceased. Maddy turned her six eyed gaze back to the violet haired princess.