Angel Monarch

Bea's eyes gradually opened to the dark night sky. Steam rose around her from the scolding water she still laid atop.

Nearby, the sound of weapons clashing echoed, which meant Kim and Yannick hadn't finished their spar yet.

She took one deep breath and quickly recalled everything she and Sera talked about. Slowly, a wide grin spread across her reddened face, and she began laughing with excitement.

A joy, which she hadn't felt in a long time, filled her entire naked body. Her laughter turned into a small giggle, like a teenage girl thinking about her crush.

It took her a few moments to gather every thought, then eventually, she climbed out of the steamy hot tub. A long, red, flowing dress grew from her skin as she walked back to the underground mansion.

All the while, she continued giggling and smiling, until she reached her room. Inside, Bea jumped on her bed and began kicking her feet from happiness.

A few minutes later, she fell asleep with a wide smile. She didn't dream while sleeping, since all her wildest dreams had already come true.

…

About one day after everyone's arrival, they all gathered together again.

Just like she promised, Bea had told no one about the joy in her heart. However, it was fairly obvious that something happened, since her mouth constantly tried stretching into a smile.

Luckily, everyone was more interested in Astrid and Yvonne, who stepped inside the room hand-in-hand. Their relationship became official, which didn't surprise anyone.

It was basically an open secret that Yvonne liked Astrid, which meant everyone knew about it except Astrid.

After a round of congratulations, the atmosphere soon became tense as David brought out Antarctica's map.

"Thank you all for coming. As I said in my message, we'll begin the scouting operations today. We'll work in four teams in total…"

"Me, Henry and Vicky will stay here as both coordinator and support. I also sent you the five team lists. Gather together with your teammate and Vicky will teleport you momentarily!"

The first team comprised Bea and Kathy. Second team, Lilith and Percy. Third team, Astrid and Morren. Fourth team, Yannick and Kim. Fifth team, Conrad and Yvonne.

As Bea glanced through the list, she couldn't help but chuckle. David smartly made the list, so each team would have someone with strong fighting prowess and a person who takes commands seriously.

Nobody had a word of complaint, even though not one team consisted of partners. Kathy, Conrad, Percy, Morren, Astrid, and Yvonne were all in different teams.

Before leaving for her teammate, Yvonne walked up and kissed Astrid on the lips. For the first time in everyone's lives, they saw the giant woman blush while sheepishly glancing away.

Yvonne just chuckled at the cute display and whispered something in her ear, which only deepened the woman's blush.

Eventually, everyone found their teammate, and Vicky soon opened five separate portals leading to different parts across Antarctica.

Without wait or hesitation, they all went through their own portals, into the cold wastes.

Strong winds blew across the empty plains, but Bea stood comfortably in her red leaf-like dress. With bare feet, she walked onto the grassy fields.

Behind her, Kathy yelped at the sudden cold, then she quickly changed shape. Instead of the beautiful black woman, a three meter tall, greenish-white, furry sabertooth tiger appeared.

Bea glanced at the furry woman with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. She instantly recognized the inspiration of the beast…

"You copied Damien. Great choice, albeit you're much smaller than his transformation!"

Kathy's curious cat eyes landed on Bea, seemingly surprised by her lack of protective clothing. She began growling for some reason, as if angry or something.

Under the long fur, the tiger's throat began to morph, and soon the growl turned into a feminine voice.

"I could've turned into the exact same tiger, but being smaller is more manageable and comfortable. Also, it's easier to hide if necessary!… Uh, aren't your feet cold?"

Bea simply chuckled and spun around, twirling her flowing red dress. Somehow, the wind didn't affect the fabric, as if it was nothing but an illusion.

"Nope, I feel amazing! As a World Tree, natural weather doesn't affect me. However, if someone used it as an attack, that would be a whole different story. Even I feel cold, with Damien in my proximity!"

They both laughed a bit, then continued walking through the long grass. Strangely, Kathy and Bea never truly had a conversation, but they still managed to talk like old friends.

After a few minutes of walking, David finally sent them a map and route. Their target was a monster corpse one kilometer away.

Vicky wasn't certain about the exact position, so she could only approximately teleport everyone.

Luckily, they all carried trackers, which communicated their exact position to David constantly. This way, if some sudden trouble arose, locating them wouldn't be an issue.

"So Bea… What brings you to Antarctica?"

Asked the giant sabertooth tiger with in a feminine human voice… Bea just kept staring at her with a bewildered gaze…

"I'm here to help my daughter, obviously." Said Bea, after a long uncomfortable silence.

"Oh, that makes sense… Sorry, but I kind of forgot… Who's your daughter?"

Bea continued staring at the enormous cat like she was an idiot. She simply couldn't decide if this was Kathy's poor attempt at a joke, or if she's this ill-informed!

"My daughter is Vicky. You know, Princess Victoria. Sera's, my ex's daughter… I thought everyone would've heard of me by now!"

Gradually, Kathy's cat-like eyes widened as she stared down at the magnificent woman, walking through the cold without care. Recognition ignited in her eyes, finally remembering something…

"So that's what he was trying to tell me!" Said Kathy loudly, causing Bea to glance her way with curiosity.

"Conrad, my boyfriend tried telling me that Vicky's mother, someone named Bea, was rescued from Castleburg, but I hadn't really paid attention to his words… To be fair, it was his fault, really. Trying to convey information while ramming me from behind…"

Kathy suddenly stumbled in her steps, and slowly her fur began turning red from embarrassment.

"Uh… Could you forget about that last bit, so I wouldn't need to die from shame… Please…"

Bea didn't even look back at the tiger, but she also hadn't said a word… If she tried opening her mouth, she would've certainly burst into laughter…

Eventually, she managed to repress her laughter and could answer the desperate-looking tiger begging.

"There's no need to be embarrassed. We're both adults with intimate lives! But let's change the subject, since you seem really embarrassed…"

Kathy continued, looking away, but deep down she felt thankful for Bea's kind nature.

"So, you and that Conrad guy are a couple. What's he like? I never actually talked with him."

The whitish-green tiger took a few deep breaths until not a hint of red showed on her fur.

"Well, he's very… Unique, to say the least. He loves weapons and fighting strategies, maybe a bit too much–… Anyway, how's your relationship with Lady Seraphine?"

The change in subject was quite abrupt, nearly giving Bea whiplash. It seemed Kathy was about to head down the same embarrassed route, so instead, she immediately asked for something utterly different.

For a moment, Bea played with the idea of asking further questions about the relationship between the shapeshifter and Conrad. However, she wasn't that cruel… She also didn't really care…

"We parted on fairly bad terms, however, I think we're good now. Hopefully, she'll come back soon, so I can have a proper conversation with her!"

A wild, love-struck smile spread across Bea's face. Even Kathy could tell she's still in love with her ex.

The two women continued walking through the freezing environment until they finally reached the monster corpse.

The icy winds didn't let the beast's body to decompose, and luckily, no other monster stumbled upon it.

"Hmm… It's a Corrupted of the 2nd Tier, just as the report said. A normal Ascended couldn't have brought it down alone… Kathy, you already visited these sites? What can you tell me about this dead beast?"

The enormous cat stepped closer and shrank, so her height matched Bea's. Both women's eyes stared down at the dead monster.

It wasn't too big, maybe five meters long and two meters tall. The beast's body was covered with thin fur and a large layer of fat, which kept the cold out.

The monster resembled a large seal with humanoid arms. However, its head looked strange. It had a long pointy tip made of bone.

"The monster's name is Frozen Burrow Beast. A strange creature living in Antarctica, which makes burrows underground and builds traps near the surface… The locals seemed quite surprised seeing one lying above ground!"

Bea nodded thoughtfully, and while Kathy continued her explanation, she turned over the beast using roots.

"We found no damage on the corpse, which suggests that whatever weapon the enemy used had either soul or mental attack properties! There were also no foot tracks or any markings around the corpse."

Bea glanced over the monster's body, then eventually stood up and looked around a bit. Just as Kathy said, there wasn't any disturbance near the corpse… However, Bea did notice something strange…

"This monster is quite heavy and massive. Nevertheless, the indent in the ground suggests it fell from some height… Kathy, how large are the burrows of these beasts?"

Kathy couldn't follow Bea's thought process, but she answered the question anyway.

"They have some form of earth manipulation, so their burrows are deep, hundreds of meters below ground. The burrows are like enormous caverns with multiple chambers and connecting routes!"

As the words left Kathy's mouth, her cat-like eyes gradually widened. Bea just simply chuckled, then she quickly turned around and lifted her arm.

Her hand turned into a sharp wooden sword, which easily cut through the dozen approaching bullets.

"It seems we got company, Kathy!" Said Bea, and watched as a dozen people rose up from the long grass surrounding them.