“Please, my Lady... I beg of you, protect me from this evil most foul. Be my shield during your creation’s dire time of need, so that I may be your sword and vanquish those that seek to do only harm.”

The heroine’s eyes shined in the colour of her Lady, the light bright enough to completely illuminate the dank cave she was praying in. As she felt the Protector’s gaze on her, the girl reached out to the altar of evil once more.

As her hand approached the tool of corruption at its centre, however, an excruciating pain flowed up the heroine’s limb. The closer she got, the more her body recoiled and her breath got caught in her lungs from the torment.

“Please...” Through tear-filled, glowing eyes, the girl offered one last prayer, “My Lady, give me strength...” before her gloved hand finally closed around the sheathed sword. As if a weight had been lifted from her chest, the Chosen could finally breathe again.

She knew that her Goddess’ protection wouldn’t hold forever, but as she released the dark, oozing blade from its prison, the heroine also realised that the side of Good had finally gotten a chance at ultimate victory.

- Exert from the legend of Illyana, the first Chosen Heroine

‘Ultimate victory’ - The final destruction of Evil and never-ending reign of Good. It had been the goal of every Chosen over the millennia, and in the end, all of them had failed to achieve it.

Some speculated their defeat had been because of a curse imbued into the tool of Destruction they were destined to wield. Others believed it was because the Chosen abandoned their Lady and were struck down as a result. Truly certain of the reason was probably only the Goddess herself.

In total, there had been twelve Chosen before, each of them rising up in a time of war and chaos to defeat an unimaginable evil. Each of them managed to strike it down, though only temporarily. However, every time Evil was vanquished, the Heroine fell with them, the Evil Lord and Valiant Hero impaling each other on their deities’ weapons.

After the battle, the celestial swords they wielded would inevitably find their way back to their sheaths. Malice, the fractured blade of Evil, would return to the Cracked Peaks, corrupting anything that dared to touch it. Meanwhile, Radiance, the glowing blade of Good, returned to the Shadowlands, a region clouded in eternal darkness, purifying any demons that lay their eyes on it.

The weapons would remain there until the next generations of Good and Evil would step up and use the blades of their opposite to strike a lethal blow against each other. It had been that way for millennia and will most likely stay that way during the thirteenth cycle.

All those legends and more half-forgotten history swirled in Elena’s mind as she meditated on her knees. The metal armour, clasped around her thighs and calves, dug uncomfortably into her skin, but she tried her best to ignore those sensations as she continued her endless prayers.

Elena had been sealed in the Cave of the Chosen for a few days by now, three by her count, though she was unsure how much time exactly had passed. The only source of light came from the dimming brazier marking the exit, her own powers, and the dark glow coming off the cursed weapon.

Elena knew that wielding the sword would inevitably lead to her own demise. She would die at the hands of the evil she had sworn to defeat, but even so, she hadn’t hesitated to fulfil her duty before and she wouldn’t falter now.

After all, the thirteenth Evil Lord had united the Shadowlands once more, and, for the thirteenth time, a Chosen would rise up to resist them. Elena was unsure when exactly this Evil had first reared its ugly head, but she knew that it only brought death and destruction in its wake. Anyone unlucky enough to fall into its claws alive would inevitably be corrupted and join the legions of Evil, one way or another.

She was also unsure how her own family fared during these chaotic times. The current heroine had originally come from a household of peasant farmers living in an isolated village beyond the eastern mountain range. Therefore, chances were high that they were already among the casualties, but Elena still prayed every day to her Lady that she keep them safe.

Over the last few days, her faith had been tested like never before, though. She knew that she was the Chosen, as her powers over creation proved beyond any doubt, but still, her Goddess’ protection seemed unreachable whenever she tried to pick up the weapon.

Her companions outside this altar of evil were probably also getting worried, but she had faith they were still waiting for her return. Elena had grown close to them over the last two years of war, and she was sure they also wouldn’t get ambushed or caught off guard by any demons hoping to find this unholy place.

The reason the servants of evil couldn't be allowed to find the sanctum was the cursed resistance of the Dark Lord. It was said that the leader of the demons was immune against any weapon crafted either by her Lady directly, or with the express wish of protecting those dear to the creator. Only a weapon forged with destruction as its purpose could slay Evil once and for all. Similarly, Elena was nigh-invulnerable to any blow made by corrupted weapons or claws, as long as she held faith in her Goddess.

That was why the Heroine was destined to wield the World Dragon’s tooth, shattered by the God of Darkness and reforged as his weapon of Evil. Meanwhile, the Dark Lord was, as always, trying to corrupt her Lady’s holy blade, with which She once brought an end to eternal darkness and created the sun in her own image.

Thinking back to the Light-giver’s warm embrace, Elena redoubled her silent prayer. The blade in front of her pulsed unseen as well, seemingly picking up on the holy energy flooding into its hideout.

“Please, my Lady... my Goddess. The world needs your protection once more. Let me be your sword against Evil, so that your creation may remain pure for all eternity.”

As she muttered these words, Elena soon felt the Protector’s gaze upon her. Like every other time, it filled the heroine with warmth and happiness, but it didn’t simply linger on the edge of her awareness like before.

With the Goddess’ power flowing into her body, her Chosen finally opened her eyes. The light shining out would have been bright enough to be visible for dozens of miles if the dark sword before her hadn’t absorbed it like a sponge did water.

As her body was still warming up, though, Elena finally saw it. The darkness was getting pushed back far enough that she could reach out for the grip of the weapon. Even so, with every hair width she got closer, the pain in her chest intensified and for a moment it felt like her heart had stopped beating entirely.

Nevertheless, her fingers could finally grasp around the weapon, and with one fluid motion, Elena pulled the dark blade free of its prison once more. The blade hung in the air, absorbing every ray of light that dared approach it and leaking its viscous black blood into the stone below. For a moment, Elena felt elated with the light of her Lady in her chest and the weapon to destroy evil in her hand.

But that feeling only lasted for a few seconds as the heat within her suddenly intensified to almost the same pain she had felt a moment before. However, it wasn’t enough for the heroine to drop her new weapon, even as her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. Now on all fours and trying to get her breathing under control, Elena soon felt the heat within herself shift downwards. Away from her racing heart and gasping lungs, through her intestines towards a certain spot between her legs.

“M-My Lady, what is... happening?”

Despite feeling her Goddess so close, the question remained unanswered, as Elena felt her body draw upon her Lady’s power. Similar to what it did while healing itself, the heroine’s body soon focused the divine power towards a specific area, although this time the effect was vastly different to the pleasant sunshine-like feeling Elena had grown accustomed to. The warmth writhing within her nether region soon had the Chosen’s moans and cries of passion echoing off the cave walls. Lost in her pleasure, Elena at first didn’t notice how the warmth eventually left her body.

Or at least, that’s what it should have felt like. Looking down on herself, Elena saw that the epicentre of the heat was still very much attached to her body, even if the glowing rod, extending out of her crotch and bathed in her Lady’s white light, hadn’t been there moments before. With every passing second, the pleasure only grew in intensity, and soon Elena felt her hips buck in a sensation she had never felt before.

For a moment, the heroine closed her eyes and simply basked in her orgasm. Soon enough, Elena looked down again and saw the thick black fluid spraying out of her new impressive member. She quickly recognised it as the same liquid produced by the corrupted sword in her hand. Before she could think about that fact too long, however, she heard an ethereal voice projected directly into her head. Elena relaxed a bit, feeling safe in her Lady's embrace.

“My Chosen. You have done well in acquiring that most accursed blade. Use it to slay my foes! Conquer the lands of darkness and defeat the enemy of everything I stand for!”

The fierceness of her Goddess' words, however, gave the Heroine pause. In all her years, Elena had never heard such aggression coming from her normally so gentle and loving Goddess. Eventually, though, she felt herself agreeing with them, nonetheless. These were far from gentle and loving times, after all.

“Yes, my Goddess. Let me be your sword! I will vanquish any who dare oppose you!”

The warmth within Elena’s body flared up one last time before it quickly departed again. A few seconds later, the heroine’s arousal finally receded from her body, and she could feel how the member between her legs had shrunk down as well. It didn’t disappear entirely and instead only grew limp.

Looking down, she also saw that the new addition had actually burned itself through her holy armour and the underwear beneath. Thankfully, that was a trivial thing to fix for the Chosen of Creation. In the end, the heroine was still unsure why she would have been bestowed with this... unusual addition to herself, but if this member had grown from her Lady’s power then it was surely a good sign.

As the heroine began the long journey out of the cave, however, she soon realised how her member was... eh, inconveniently large. After a few dozen steps, Elena simply decided to adjust her armour to be a bit more accommodating. Hopefully, the modification was inconspicuous enough that her companions wouldn’t notice.

Eventually, the thick stone doors, separating the inner unholy sanctum from the cave entrance came into view. The heavy doors were sealed shut and even in the torchlight, Elena couldn’t see the top of their arched frame. As she put both of her hands against the cold stone, however, the heroine pushed the doors apart with barely any resistance. The dark blade in her hand seemingly buzzed with anticipation as well as it finally got to see the outside world again.

Just beyond the sanctum, there was a small circular camp area set up. With the doors suddenly creaking open, the group of adventurers resting there instantly rose from their light slumber as they readied themselves for an incoming attack. After a few tense moments, however, the group finally noticed that the noise was actually coming from behind them.

As they saw the dark oozing blade, both of Elena’s companions took a small, involuntary step back. At first, the blade likewise seemed to grow hostile as its thirst for blood hadn't been quenched in decades. The heroine easily managed to subdue the bloodlust rising in the air though.

“That thing reeks of evil.”

“That’s the point, you mutt.”

Ray - the Blackwolf Beastkin - at first growled towards the blade, before turning to the elven woman who had already sat down again. Despite Tela’s words being the truth, the Beastkin’s ears and tail were still betraying her alertness. Normally, Elena’s companions were as diverse as the world they were all fighting for, but the heroine instantly noticed how half of the team members seemed to be missing. Noticing her glances towards the empty bedrolls, the mage gave a brief explanation.

“They’re scouting. We saw some imps a few days ago and wanted to make sure nobody was coming.”

“Wait, a few days ago? How long was I even in there?”

Falling silent for a moment, the elven mage eventually answered again.

“Eight days, nine hours.... and seven minutes.”

As always, the memory ability of Elves was almost too scary for Elena. According to Tela, the woman hadn’t forgotten even a single minute of her over two-century-long life. However, blessed or cursed - depending on who you asked - by the Goddess of Knowledge, their race was always desperate for new insights and discoveries, be they scientific, adventurous, or more... personal in nature.

“Can you believe them, Elena? They said they go scouting and don’t even take their best scout with them...”

Ray, on the other hand, just grumbled into her furry tail as she had calmed down again. While Elves were always driven to new experiences, the Beastkin of their little group would probably be happy to simply beat demons to a pulp day in and out for the rest of her life. Although she was undeniably good at that one task.

“You don’t even know what the word ‘restraint’ means... would probably have rushed into the first group of demons they found.”

Seeing that nothing much changed since her departure, Elena let out a small chuckle as she sat down on one of the empty bedrolls. By the size of it, it probably belonged to one of the ranger twins, as the remaining one could only be that of the knight commander. For a moment, the metal codpiece made sitting in her usual position a bit awkward, so Elena shifted around a bit until she was comfortable. Tela gave a weird look in response, probably comparing it to her usual position, but didn’t say anything.

All the while, the dark blade was still in the heroine’s hand but Elena made sure it didn’t ruin the inside of the bedroll with its weird sticky liquid. After a few more minutes of catching up, the three finally decided to go back to sleep.

“ELENA!”

The next time the heroine woke up was when a lithe little ranger girl suddenly crashed against her armoured chest. Seemingly unbothered by the metal plates, Tina somehow managed to get the feeling of her hug through to the Chosen. By now, all party members were probably used to the touch-heavy way the second human girl showed her signs of affection. At the moment, though, Elena was more focused on the weird spark of excitement the contact sent down her spine, seemingly directly into her new nether regions.

As one of the Chosen’s arms subconsciously drifted down the ranger’s body, some part of her also suddenly imagined what it must feel like to use her member in earnest. The one... discharge she had experienced yesterday had already felt better than she could have imagined, so fully entering someone else must be even better, right? While her thoughts were drifting elsewhere, Elena also pressed closer in her hug. At first, Tina seemed to appreciate the gesture but soon tried to tap out.

“Ahh... Elena! Too tight!”

For a moment, those cries only ignited the heroine’s imagination even more, but after another second, she finally realised what she was doing.

“Ah! Sorry! I was just... glad to see you again!”

“Well, I missed you too, so don’t worry about it!”

All the while, the two men of the party had held a few steps’ distance but were now also approaching the camp area. Tino was built similarly to his twin sister and relied more on dexterity than brute strength, while Rolan looked closer to a bear stuffed into a suit of armour than an actual knight.

“Good to have you back with us, Elena. The situation is the same as two days ago: small search parties are scouring the mountains, but no one has closed in on our position yet. If they know we are here, there is no indication of such.”

As always, the former knight commander was instantly down to business as he laid out the situation.

“There is a small path through the mountains just south of here, and I would suggest we go there first. From there we can follow the path either to the northwest and link up with the kingdom’s army again, or head due east to try to slip through the demons’ lines of defence.”

With the choice presented, all eyes turned to the Chosen. A part of her felt it would be reckless to go directly into demon-controlled territory, but a small voice at the back of her head, as well as the ever-present weight in her right hand, said she was finally ready to meet them head-on.

“We will head further to the east. As a small elite force, we can move faster and arouse less suspicion. Then, we will aim straight for the Evil Lord and end it once and for all.”

“Oh, hell yeah! Or... heaven, yeah? Whatever, let’s rip up some demon lord!”

As expected, Ray was instantly on board with that plan. However, Tino was also nodding along.

“It should also be easier to live off the land and find supplies with a small group, meaning we’ll move a lot faster.”

“Good. We should still send a message to the capital, though. With a full-on frontal assault as a distraction, it should make our infiltration a lot easier.”