The scent of blood still lingered in the clearing, but Adam's mind had already shifted to the next problem. He glanced at Lilith's towering arachnid form and Ignis's gleaming draconic body, then at the wide-open sky beyond the trees.

"Before we go any further," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "we need to do something about how we look. Walking into human lands or even near them like this will bring every soldier, adventurer, and pitchfork-wielding farmer down on us in minutes."

Lilith tilted her head, a playful glint in her crimson eyes. "You worry too much, Adam. Watch."

A ripple of dark silk and shadow flowed over her lower body. Her eight armored legs folded inward with liquid grace, merging, lengthening, reshaping. In moments, the arachnid half was gone entirely replaced by a pair of long, perfectly sculpted human legs. She stood tall and poised, the transition seamless.

Her white hair, once loose and wild, now fell in an elegant high ponytail that exposed the delicate lines of her neck and face. Porcelain skin, sharp yet soft features, full lips curved in a knowing smile and a figure that drew the eye whether one wanted it to or not. Her upper garments of dark silk clung to generous, pronounced curves, the swell of her chest impossible to ignore. She looked like the breathtaking older sister every young man secretly dreamed of: refined, mature, dangerously beautiful.

Adam froze. His crimson eyes widened slightly before he could stop them, tracing the elegant lines of her body without meaning to. Heat crept up his neck.

Lilith noticed immediately. Her smile turned teasing as she crossed her arms under her chest—deliberately making the view worse.

"You're staring awfully hard, Adam," she murmured through Psychic Speech, voice warm with amusement. "Careful, or I'll start thinking you like what you see."

Adam jerked his gaze away so fast he nearly stumbled, face burning. "W-Warn a guy before you do that! And—clothes! You need clothes."

He gestured sharply at the overturned merchant wagon and scattered crates. "Lucky for us, these guys were hauling goods. There's bound to be something."

Lilith laughed softly—a low, velvet sound that didn't help his composure and glided toward the loot, hips swaying with effortless grace as she sorted through fabrics and garments.

Ignis, who had been watching the whole exchange with growing excitement, suddenly snorted a puff of smoke.

"No way I'm letting Lilith steal the show!" she declared. "My turn!"

Golden flames licked across her draconic body as Dragon's Will surged. Scales melted into warm golden skin, wings folded away, tail vanished. In seconds, a tall young woman stood where the dragon had been.

Long, wild crimson hair cascaded down her back like living fire. Her body was athletic and strong—toned muscle visible in her arms and legs—yet unmistakably feminine, with generous curves that rivaled Lilith's (though perhaps not quite matching her in that particular department).

She wore a confident, fierce grin, golden eyes blazing with energy. She looked like a spirited adventurer girl ready to take on the world—beautiful, powerful, and just a little wild.

Ignis bounded forward and threw her arms around Adam in a tight, enthusiastic hug.

"So?! What do you think, Adam?!" she asked, voice bright and eager, pressing herself against him without a shred of self-consciousness.

Adam stiffened instantly, feeling the very warm, very soft pressure of her chest against his. His brain short-circuited for a solid second.

"Y-Yeah, yeah—you look great too!" he managed, voice cracking slightly. "Really… really great. Now please cover up before I spontaneously combust."

Ignis pulled back with a triumphant laugh, completely unbothered, while Adam quickly turned to rummage through the merchant's stock—anything to hide his flushed face.

Fortunately, this had clearly been a high-end caravan. Fine silks, tailored traveling clothes, enchanted accessories, even a few pieces of discreet jewelry glittered among the crates.

Adam pulled out a deep violet traveling cloak with silver embroidery and a fitted dark tunic that would suit his own frame perfectly. For Lilith, he found an elegant black dress with subtle crimson accents—modest yet flattering, with a high collar and flowing sleeves that would complement her sophistication. For Ignis, a bold red leather jacket over a white blouse and sturdy trousers—practical for movement, but still accentuating her athletic build.

Lilith accepted the dress with an approving nod, slipping behind a crate to change. When she stepped out, the fabric hugged her curves elegantly, the high ponytail and crimson eyes giving her an air of noble mystery.

Ignis tugged on her new outfit with glee, spinning once to watch the jacket flare. "I feel like I could burn down a tavern and still look good doing it!"

Adam fastened his cloak, adjusting the hood to shadow his features further. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of them both—his deadly companions now looking like two extraordinarily beautiful human women traveling with him.

But they weren't done looting yet.

Adam knelt by the largest crate, prying it open. Inside: potions in protective casing, scrolls sealed with wax, a small locked chest that rattled with coins, and—most interestingly—a few enchanted items glowing faintly with mana.

He lifted a delicate silver amulet shaped like a spider web. Lilith's eyes lit up.

"That one conceals magical auras," she said softly. "Useful."

Ignis snatched a pair of bracers etched with flame runes. "And these boost fire affinity! Mine!"

Adam found a simple ring that enhanced mental resistance—perfect against any scrying attempts from Solaria. He slipped it on.

Adam crouched beside the scattered crates one last time, He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, a worn leather pouch that looked too ordinary for what it actually was—a spatial storage artifact they had taken from a hidden dungeon room.

One by one, he pressed the items against the mouth of the pouch. They shimmered briefly, then vanished with a soft popping sound as the magical space inside swallowed them whole. Coins clinked faintly somewhere in the void. Potions settled without a clatter. In seconds, everything valuable was stored safely.

"Handy thing," Adam muttered, tying the pouch securely to his belt. "Saved us from lugging all this on foot."

Lilith, now fully dressed in her elegant black-and-crimson gown, gave an approving nod. "Much better than dragging crates through the wilderness."

Ignis, bouncing on her heels in her new red leather jacket and trousers, grinned. "As long as I get to keep my bracers on the outside. I like how they look."

With their disguises complete and their spoils secured, the three set off eastward along a faint dirt trail that wound through the hills. The late afternoon sun painted the landscape in warm gold, and for the first hour, everything felt almost peaceful.

Then they began to notice it.

A pack of grey wolves watched them from a ridge, ears flat, tails low—then turned and bolted into the brush without a sound.

A massive horned boar, easily twice the size of a normal beast, crashed out of the undergrowth ahead of them, took one look at the trio, squealed in panic, and thundered away in the opposite direction.

Even a flock of razor-winged harpies circling overhead suddenly veered sharply, screeching as they fled toward the horizon.

Lilith slowed her graceful stride, glancing at the retreating monsters with faint amusement.

"It's us," she said, voice light but thoughtful in their minds. "Our auras are leaking. Even in these forms, we're radiating predator too strong for anything native to this area. They're not attacking—they're running for their lives."

Adam frowned, scanning the empty trail ahead. "That's bad. If every monster between here and the border flees at the sight of us, we'll stand out like a bonfire to any halfway competent hunter or scout. Solaria patrols will notice the unnatural quiet zones and come investigate."

Ignis puffed out her chest proudly. "I kinda like it. Makes me feel strong."

"It's inconvenient," Adam countered. "We need to mask it."

Lilith tapped a finger against her lips, thinking. "That spider-web amulet we took from the merchants—it conceals magical auras and presence. Strong enough to hide a mid-tier mage from detection spells. But there was only one."

Adam closed his eyes briefly, focusing inward. With Monarch's Ascension and his enhanced control from the Progenitor evolution, he felt the heavy, oppressive aura rolling off him like heat haze. Slowly, deliberately, he pulled it back—folding it inward, compressing it until it lay quiet against his core.

The air around him immediately felt lighter. A nearby squirrel that had been frozen in terror suddenly chittered and darted up a tree.

"Done," he said, opening his eyes. "I can hold it indefinitely now. Feels like flexing a muscle."

Lilith's aura followed suit a moment later, her presence shrinking until she felt almost ordinary—elegant and striking, but no longer terrifying.

"Same here," she said with a small smile.

Ignis tried next, scrunching her face in concentration. Golden flames flickered around her briefly as she attempted to rein in her draconic pressure… but the air still shimmered with heat, and a nearby bush spontaneously wilted.

"Ugh, it's hard!" she grumbled. "It keeps wanting to burst out. I'm too awesome to contain!"

Adam chuckled despite himself. "Then the amulet goes to you."

He pulled the delicate silver spider-web pendant from the pouch and fastened it around Ignis's neck. The moment it settled against her skin, the lingering heat haze vanished. Her presence dulled to that of a strong, confident adventurer—impressive, but no longer monstrous.

Ignis touched the amulet curiously. "Ooh, it tickles. But yeah… I feel quieter now."

Lilith gave her an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "There. Now we look and feel like three dangerously attractive travelers instead of walking calamities."

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