The crystal dome of the elf palace refracted rainbow halos. The pink-haired elf girl hovered midair, her skirt swaying gently in the current. Irritation twisted at the corners of her eyes and brows, even the tips of her ears flushed a faint red.
Her gaze locked firmly downward—Raiden Mei was holding Kiki from behind, her arm tightened around that slender waist, her cheek nearly brushing the back of Kiki's neck. The posture was far too intimate.
"Ahem—"
Elysia's voice rang out, deliberately clear, forcibly breaking the ambiguous atmosphere between them.
Raiden Mei paused, reluctantly loosening her hold. When she turned, the tips of her ears were faintly pink. Meeting Elysia's eyes—filled with unmistakable accusation—an almost imperceptible trace of embarrassment crossed her face. "Ely, why did you suddenly come back?"
"This is my mom's palace. Do I need to report in advance just to return home?" Elysia drifted down to the ground, her skirt sweeping across the crystal tiles with soft, scattered sounds.
Her gaze moved between the two of them. Kiki still wore that gentle smile, lifting a hand as if to touch her head. "Sweetheart, did something urgent happen?"
"Mom!" Elysia tilted her head to avoid the touch, her tone suddenly sharpening. "Mei is my partner! How can you act like this with her?"
"Ely, don't misunderstand—" Raiden Mei hurried forward, stepping in front of Kiki, explaining quickly, "I was the one who approached Kiki. It has nothing to do with her."
"Approached?" Elysia laughed in disbelief, her pink fists clenched tight. "You have your own Kiana in your world, and there's even a Kiana counterpart at the academy. Why did you have to target my mom?!"
Her voice trembled with grievance. Clearly, she had been holding this frustration in for quite some time.
Raiden Mei blinked, her tone so candid it was impossible to refute. "But Ely, you said before that no matter how many beautiful girls I'm with, you wouldn't mind."
"..."
Elysia was instantly choked into silence.
She had indeed said that. As a high elf who loved cuddling with beautiful girls, she had always been tolerant of Mei's "broad affections."
But she had never imagined Mei would set her sights on her own mother!
Counterparts were one thing—this was her actual mom!
"Then what about Kiana?" Elysia pressed on unwillingly. "She doesn't mind you being with my mom either?"
"She knows. I told her." Raiden Mei nodded, then seemed to recall something. "And Mobius doesn't mind either."
Oh, wonderful. So she was the only one left in the dark?
Elysia felt a tightness in her chest, her delicate brows knitting even tighter. "Mobius? Don't tell me you're here too!"
"My, my, our clever little elf discovered us already~"
A teasing female voice sounded from behind Kiki. Mobius appeared like a phantom, her slender body pressing against Kiki's back. Her arms slid around to embrace Kiki's waist from the front, fingertips lightly hooking at the hem of her clothing. Snake-like eyes curved with amusement as she looked at Elysia.
"Darling, look at our daughter. She seems to have some objections to this 'big family.'" Mobius' voice was soft as water, laced with mischievous delight.
Kiki patted the back of Mobius' hand. Her gaze settled on Elysia's reddened eyes, her tone as gentle as ever. "It's alright. Ely just hasn't adjusted yet. Once she thinks it through, she'll be fine."
Raiden Mei hurried forward as well, reaching for Elysia's hand, her eyes full of reassurance. "Ely, we didn't mean to hide it from you. We were just afraid you wouldn't be able to accept it all at once..."
Elysia looked at the scene before her—Kiki protected between Mobius and Raiden Mei, the three of them close and inseparable—and the grievance and anger in her chest surged violently. Her eyes grew even redder.
She loved cuddling beautiful girls, but she had never imagined her partner and her friend would become "mom's people"!
What was this supposed to be? She dated them, and they wanted to become her moms?!
"Y-You... you're too much!"
Elysia's voice broke with a sob. Tears pooled in her eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall.
Before this, she would never make a move on someone who belonged to Mom. That was a matter of principle.
If she did, wouldn't that make her... that?
Damn it!
At the palace entrance, Houraiji Kyuusyou and Delta had just returned and happened to overhear the conversation inside. They exchanged a glance, both seeing the same expression in each other's eyes—this was bad.
"Little sister, if we keep listening, we might get dragged into it," Houraiji Kyuusyou whispered, tugging lightly at Delta's sleeve.
Delta nodded. "Let's go."
Like two cats sneaking away, they quietly withdrew from the palace without making a single sound.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mobius caught sight of their departing figures through the wall. The corner of her lips curved into an amused smile—such well-behaved children.
Her gaze returned to Elysia. Seeing her angry yet aggrieved, eyes red yet stubbornly holding back tears, the delight in Mobius' eyes nearly overflowed. Such a rare scene was simply too entertaining.
Elysia could not hold back any longer. Her nose stung as she threw herself into Kiki's arms, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Raiden Mei immediately panicked, fumbling to comfort her. "Ely, I'm sorry, we didn't mean it... please don't cry..."
...
A new otherworld.
The flagship Saintess Prayer of Red Queen hovered in low orbit above the blue planet. Inside the bridge, holographic screens glowed with cold blue light, illuminating Kevin's tightly furrowed brows.
He stood with arms crossed over his chest, his gaze sharp as a blade, fixed on the screen displaying those grotesque "humans"—more precisely, humans whose heads had been devoured and whose bodies had been seized by alien parasites.
This planet had long since become a world of parasites.
They had replaced human civilization, lurking and reproducing under the guise of hosts. Now they were the undisputed rulers of this blue planet. Among the city ruins, traces of their feeding were everywhere.
Kevin turned to Red Queen at his side. "Are these monsters also on the 'do not kill' list?"
The memory of the previous world remained vivid. Humanity had been driven from its home planet by a beast named Godzilla. He had intended to eliminate that "threat," only to be stopped by Red Queen.
She had explained that the monster was a natural defense mechanism born by the planet to balance ecology and resist overexploitation and rampant kaiju—a precise antivirus program. More importantly, it was a "world protagonist" favored by fate, with immensely powerful individuals existing across universes. Provoking it rashly would only bring disaster.
Now, were these man-eating parasites the same?
Red Queen analyzed the data as she replied, "This world doesn't require that. Based on parallel-world intelligence I've gathered, the protagonist of this world was exposed after merging with a parasite. His mother was killed by humans, his heart was shot through by a bullet. After being revived when the parasite in his right hand reconstructed his heart, he became calm and rational and gave up being human."