Chapter 140 – The Weight of Dawn.

Diana's arrival at the gate of the Lower Cauldrons Estate late in the afternoon nearly triggered a general combat alarm across the courtyard.

Kael was training with the Volcanic Shield in the runic matrix when he heard the iron latch clank. Looking toward the entrance, the vanguard saw Diana cross the threshold with her black leather coat unbuttoned, accompanied by a four-hundred-kilogram striped feline carrying the wicker basket of medicinal roots firmly between its teeth.

Kael jumped back, driving his shield into the stone backed by his 1,020 hit points:

“COMMANDER! A LEVEL FORTY-FIVE TIGER HAS BREACHED THE COURTYARD!”

Zarek leaped down from the roof in a smooth drop, landing beside the wall with his swords at his back, laughing aloud:

“Well, well... Now our Commander is collecting large game.”

Rhea came bolting out of the kitchen with her Dragon Daggers drawn, but skidded to a dead halt in the middle of the gravel.

The wolf girl stared at the four-meter tiger that had just placed the basket of herbs at Diana's feet and was now rubbing its furry snout against the Commander's thigh with a deafening purr. Rhea's ears flattened back in a rigid line of pure shock and territorial fury:

“Diana...” Rhea said, her voice shaking with jealousy, pointing the tip of her blade at the beast. “Did you... did you adopt a giant cat?!”

“It's not adopted,” Diana explained in a weary voice, peeling off her gloves. “The scent of lotus roots on my jacket drugged the beast's olfactory senses and it refused to leave my side. Leave it in the courtyard until the effect wears off.”

The tiger flopped onto the grass near the purple willow, yawned with a maw full of razor-sharp teeth, and drifted off to sleep right there beneath the afternoon sun.

Everyone assumed the matter was settled.

They were terribly mistaken.

***

Midnight passed in absolute silence.

In the second-floor master bedroom, Diana lay sleeping on her side in the wide cedar bed. Rhea was sleeping on the same mattress, wrapped in her blue velvet blanket with her muzzle nestled against the Commander's arm.

Around three in the morning, Diana felt a heavy weight settle over her chest.

It was not the four-hundred-kilogram bulk of a giant feline, but a solid, warm, firm body that had arranged itself directly atop her stomach and ribs, pinning her movements beneath the linen sheets.

Diana slowly opened her eyes in the dark.

Her vertical pupils dilated with golden rings, activating her nocturnal thermal vision.

The creature lying on top of her had neither striped fur nor four beastly paws.

It was a girl.

The young woman appeared to be the same age as Diana, with an athletic, sun-kissed build, short black hair streaked with gold falling messily over her face, and a pair of round tiger ears sprouting from the crown of her head. A long, short-furred striped tail swayed gently across Diana's legs.

And to the absolute shock of Diana's brain... the girl was completely naked, without a single stitch of clothing on her body, her arms wrapped tightly around Diana's neck and her face buried in the crook of the Commander's collarbone, lightly drooling while snoring softly.

Diana froze in bed.

The Commander of Greed, master of 237 Intelligence points, stared at the dark ceiling for five whole seconds unable to formulate a single rational thought.

She activated the System's tactical appraisal:

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

[ENTITY APPRAISAL]

- Name: Mai

- Species: [Amber Tiger-Beast]

- Level: 45 | Class: [Black Fire Spiritual Brawler]

- HP: 1,200 / 1,200 | MP: 400 / 400

- Condition: Reverse Metamorphosis Complete. Burning off excess mana has enabled a return to the primordial humanoid form.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The tiger... was a Level 45 tiger-beast girl.

***

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The Awakening of Chaos

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Before Diana could push the girl off her chest, Rhea stirred on the mattress.

The wolf girl woke to the extra weight on the bed, opened her amber eyes in the dark, and saw an unfamiliar, naked tiger-eared girl lying on top of Diana, breasts pressed flat against the Commander's chest.

The shriek that tore from Rhea's throat was not a sound of pain.

It was a piercing scream of pure terror, shock, and murderous fury that made the room's glass windowpanes rattle:

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

The entire house woke in a single second.

BOOM!

The master bedroom door was breached with a heavy shoulder slam.

Kael burst into the room brandishing the Volcanic Shield backed by his 1,080 hit points, helmet askew on his head: “DUNGEON RAID?!”

Aurelia-Elysia rushed into the room raising her Crystal Staff with lilac light blazing, primed to throw up barriers, while Seraphina stumbled across the threshold clutching her silver grimoire wide open.

Through the open bedroom window, Zarek poked his head and two chitin arms inside, lunar swords ready to strike.

But the instant Aurelia's spell-light illuminated the room, everyone froze in their tracks.

They saw Diana sitting upright in bed, her black horns practically crackling with embarrassment, holding by the shoulders a naked tiger-beast girl who had just awakened to the racket, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand in sleepy confusion.

The tiger girl looked at Diana, yawned to reveal two sharp little fangs, looped both arms around the Commander's neck, and planted an affectionate lick on her chin:

“Good morning, sweet scent... are you my master now?”

***

Rhea yanked both Dragon Daggers from beneath her pillow, pupils blazing with fury.

“GET OFF HER, YOU SHAMELESS STRAY!” Rhea screamed, lunging across the blanket to drag the girl by her hair.

Kael snapped his face toward the wall instantly, shielding his eyes with the edge of his iron tower: “I DON'T SEE ANYTHING! COMMANDER, I SWEAR I DIDN'T LOOK!”

Aurelia-Elysia covered her eyes with both hands, laughing hysterically through her fingers: “OH GOOD HEAVENS! The Commander went out to forage herbs and came back from the woods with a naked woman in her bed!”

Seraphina hid her face behind the silver grimoire, flushed red to her ears: “T-Tiger-beasts of the Third Circle have a habit of sleeping on clan leaders to absorb mana warmth...”

At the window, Zarek gave Diana four thumbs-up from his six hands, flashing a grin of absolute approval:

“That was the finest faction acquisition you've ever made, Diana. Ten out of ten.”

Diana squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her face burn hotter than the Fifth Floor furnace, holding the tiger girl by her arms to push her away while Rhea tried to bite the newcomer's ear off.

“AURELIA, BRING A SHEET RIGHT NOW!” Diana screamed, her voice cracking in pure desperation.

The early morning in the Third Circle had just descended into absolute chaos.