Chapter 35: Memory Awaken

Hiro started to caress the cute and little chubby face the lich had. Of course, the lich did not react. She didn't even resist anymore when tentacles caressed her nape. Hiro slithered into her worn, tattered black cloak. After he removed the the cloak, a tattered white dress adorned her perfect unblemished skin..

His tentacles glide across her pale white skin. The lich had stopped resisting as if a doll whose string had been cut. Knowing that she had been cut off from outside mana and resisting was pointless, she stayed still. Hiro slithered on the white dress. The dress slid down without much resistance. A pair of bountiful twin hills stood erect despite the petite body.

The beautiful pale white mound deformed as Hiro pressed his tentacle onto it. It squished, and the big nipple trembled as Hiro continued to squish the mound like a plush toy.

Hiro was not a human but a parasitic tentacle. He could have more than two limbs. So, he left two tentacles to play with the lich's twin mounds, and he explored her body further. Hiro tilted his head at the unusual anatomy of the lich. Now that she was naked, the elbow joined where her flesh and skeleton hands exuded a dark aura. There was no unsightly flesh dangling at the pristine skeleton.

Hiro took his time, slithering across her slim belly. Her hips widened, proving that she was ready to bear children. This girl was petite and cute. Moreover, she had boobs comparable to that of Marissa. Hiro was glad at the fact.

Her thin thighs revealed that this girl was malnourished. But Hiro dismissed such a thought. This lich was created by a dungeon. She is a monster. Moreover, she is an undead. Dungeon created her this way. Hiro could only sigh at the dungeon AI or master who created her with this defect.

After fully enjoying her body, now was the time for the main course. Hiro approached the precious crack on her crotch and slipped inside. The lich girl showed a reaction for the first time. Her body trembled as foreign flesh entered her for the first time. She tried to resist, but it was useless as Hiro had perfectly bound the lich.

"What the heck?" Hiro was stupefied. He didn't find the comfortable flesh bed he was used to when he entered this girl. There wasn't even any flesh at all. The inside of the lich was completely hollow except for her bones. Hiro felt betrayed, scammed, and bamboozled. All the softness he felt when massaging her twin mounds and flesh was all a lie.

Undead or monsters were creatures moved by mana. They did not need to have the same physiology as humans or living creatures. However, since mana are influenced by belief, they tend to take some general shape. Skeleton warriors, for example, took the skeleton of a human.

Hiro didn't know that this lich was formerly a human. A common village girl named Elysia was raped, and her body was hidden rotting in a nearby dungeon in Latvin by her friend. The memory and horror of when she was defiled and murdered in cold blood haunted her even after her death. She was supposed to die there, her grief unheard by the world, and her body was supposed to be eaten by wolves.

Her story should have ended as another helpless village girl, lost in a forest, never to be heard again.

However, fate said otherwise. When dungeons had reached maturity, they spawned numerous monsters inside the dungeons. And this time, that dungeon happened to chose undead as their theme. It resurrected Elysia and sealed her memories. Then, it turned Elysia and several other dead adventurers inside as liches.

When Hiro entered her, the system recognized her as a potential host and gave him her status.

[Hosts detected!

Name: Elysia

Race: lich

Age:19

Class: Commoner

Host Affinity: 5/100

Nutrients: 0/0

Level: 31/100

STR: 15

Dex:17

Mag: 150

B/w/h: 45/24/29

Skill:

Mana Manipulation lvl 8

Mana sensing lvl 7

Summon undead

Dark Mastery level 8

Water Mastery level 7

"...No…" The memory of that night. The night when Elysia was kidnapped and murdered in cold blood was etched into her body, she inadvertently resisted. Her body twitched when Hiro explored her skeletal interior. Monsters were not supposed to feel fear. But the memory and horrors that were etched in Elysia's body woke something up inside her. She trembled as some sort of disturbance invaded her body.

Hiro didn't feel direct pleasure from doing sex acts. He derived that pleasure from his hosts. So, if the host didn't feel anything, neither would Hiro. That's why he stopped doing lewd things to Rebecca even though she consented to him doing anything he wished to her body.

Now that Hiro had parasitized her, he knew what she felt. She trembled when a foreign flesh invaded her inside. When Hiro's flesh entwined her pelvic bone, she squeamed. It was a physiological reaction. Something was invading her body and approaching her monster core. Her reflexes screamed to get this thing that invaded her body out.

Inside her body, at the center of the ribs, lay a dark obsidian stone. As Hiro slithered closer and closer to the foreign stone, he found the lich girl trembling harder and harder as fear began to encroach her mind.

“No… get away…” The pure-hearted Elysia couldn't contain her emotion any longer. The chains sealing her memory inside the stone rattled. Hiro noticed the thin thread that seemed to bind the black obsidian stone inside.

Normal humans would need a scalpel and forceps to cut such thin threads. However, Hiro didn't need it. He could make knives out of his tentacle, and he could make his tentacles small and as dexterous as a force. Wondering why such things rattled, he cut the bindings on her heart.

The world flashed white for the lich girl. Her body trembled violently as her memory surged outward. The humiliation the rapist bandit had done to her resurfaced, and she yelled, "No!!! Help me! Papa! NOO! I am sorry!!"

Hiro recoiled at the unexpected surge of emotions that flooded her mind. Right now, she is free from dungeon interference. She has returned to being just a normal girl, Elysia. She cried out as her throat got hoarse.  "please… please… I am sorry…"

Her sounds were muffled. Her yells were heard by no one, thanks to the flesh cocoon Hiro had encased her with. Hiro suddenly felt guilty. He thought he had broken something important to her. But a part of his lewd self defended his actions. She was just a monster; before killing her, why didn't he have some fun with her? Hiro thought. He thought he was just playing with a doll to satisfy his curiosity, but he never thought this doll was a former human.

Regardless, Hiro had no intention of doing anything to her now that she resisted and cried this much. A few hours later, the girl regained her  bearings. Now that she was no longer a dungeon monster, she regained her sentience.

"Where am I…" Elysia asked. Knowing she could talk, Hiro opened his flesh cocoon and stopped right at the neck. Hiro also wrapped her outer body with a skinsuit just in case she lost control of herself again. Hiro couldn't talk after all. He decided to throw the communication problem at his loyal adjutant, Marissa.

"Hm? What happened, Hiro? Done playing with the lich?" Marissa asked. Her gaze widened when she saw the girl talking back. She had expected the girl to be completely consumed or destroyed by Hiro inside. Part of her felt jealous that she got to be embraced by Hiro with such passion. She remembered when Hiro used such a skintight suit on her body and played with her on a carriage.

"Um… Where am I? Why am I in here?"

"Huh? You can talk?" Marissa tilted her head. "This is the first time I saw monsters that can talk."

"I am not a monster… I am Elysia. I am from Newin, a village in Latvin…" The girl, knowing she had finally met another human calmed down. "Um… could you remove your skill? It is getting tight. Am I naked? Why am I in here?"

"Hm? Well, first, let's answer your question. You are currently in Litmus, inside Quantora village. You might not remember, but you are a lich and were about to destroy our village before my symbiote there captured you." Marissa nodded.

"I am not a lich. I am a hum…" Her words stopped in the middle. Hiro opened her body suit, revealing her skeletal hands. Elysia's eyes widened at the fact.

"Huh? Litmus? Wait… I am supposed to be dead…. They... They did that horrible thing... stabbed me... blood poured out from my stomach… then left me in a dingy cave… dungeon…" Elysia's hand trembled. Her skeletal hands clanked, proving the point that she was no longer human.

"Well, that answered a lot of questions. I didn't expect dungeons to be capable of reviving a dead person, though. I'll write a letter to King Angus and my brother, Seraphine. Butler? Are you here?" Marissa called out.

"Yes, Lady Marissa. How may I assist you on this fine day?"

"Could you bring some clothes for her?" Marissa gestured toward Elysia. Hiro thought she might simply wear her old clothes again, but it seemed Marissa had other plans for welcoming her.

"Hm? HIEK!" The butler jumped in shock when his eyes landed on Elysia's skeletal hands. He stumbled backward, slipping and falling to the floor in an ungraceful roll. Hiro slapped his tentacle on the ground, laughing at the comical scene. However, the butler didn't share his amusement. He pointed a trembling finger at Elysia, his expression a mix of fear and fury. "This lich is still alive?"

Every sentient being was conditioned to fear and despise monsters.

"Relax. This lich is conscious and doesn't seem inclined to attack us," Marissa replied with a reassuring smile. "And if she does lose control, I trust Hiro will handle her. I could use some extra workers to help expand the walls."

"But using a monster is heresy!" the butler exclaimed.

"Is she a monster? Monsters lack consciousness and sapience," Marissa countered, her tone calm but firm. Her voice cut through the butler's objections like a blade. "We in Litmus swore not to discriminate against others. As long as someone demonstrates sapience and a willingness to contribute to our village, we should treat them with dignity and respect."

"She's dangerous! She almost destroyed this village!"

"She has Hiro by her side. There's nothing to worry about," Marissa replied with unwavering confidence. Hiro was taken aback by her response. He hadn't expected her to speak so highly of him. He could feel her absolute trust, and though it placed a subtle pressure on him, it was also gratifying to be relied upon.

Hiro glanced at the butler and the nearby ministers, noting their distasteful expressions. There was something about their demeanor—a quiet arrogance they seemed oblivious to themselves. Hiro suspected they looked down on Marissa, perhaps because of her previous position as a small village chief or her relatively low level.

"Umm… what should I do now?" Elysia asked hesitantly, her gaze shifting nervously between Marissa and the ministers.

"I shall appoint you as my maid, Elysia," Marissa said warmly. "I hope you find your new life in Quantora village fulfilling. From your story, I know you've had a rough past. But rest assured, no one here will harm you."