Seven years ago
Molly was twenty-three. Her gaze was ice cold, her eyes empty of light. Inside the Rose Church of Moiko, every young woman in the classroom wore the same full white garments of nuns. At the front stood her mother, Kila, the head nun of the church, who had raised Molly to be pure, untouched by any romantic or sexual contact with men or women.
Molly had always felt she had no personality. Nothing of her own. Only the rules and identity that Kila had carved into her.
After the prayer in the church, they walked home in silence. Once inside the house, Kila spoke first.
"Molly, is everything alright? You look tired."
"I am tired," Molly replied flatly. "I am going to sleep."
Kila grabbed her hand. "Talk to your mother. At home I am not your superior, I am your mother. Speak to me."
Molly looked at her sharply. "Nothing happened. I am just tired. Tired. Do you want me to repeat it again?"
Kila stared at her, leaning down to look in her eyes. "Listen to me, Molly. I can see it. You do not truly want to be there. You feel that it is not your calling, correct? But you do not choose. Only God chooses. Do you understand?"
Molly clenched her teeth. "Whatever, Mom. Leave me alone." She began walking toward her room.
"Molly," Kila's voice rose sharply, "I did not release you. Come here now."
Molly's fist tightened. She turned around in anger. "Leave me alone already. I am done with you. Stop drilling into me. I am a grown woman. I do not need you telling me what to do."
Kila walked toward her slowly, then grabbed her arm aggressively. She pulled a ruler from her pocket and struck Molly's arm several times. "You. Do. Not. Talk. To. Your. Mother. Like. That. Understood?"
Molly shouted in pain, quickly yanking her arm away and shoving Kila backward. The older woman stumbled. Molly's eyes filled with tears. "Is this how you treat your daughter? Your own daughter? I am done here."
She stepped toward the door, but Kila quickly stood and blocked the way. "You are not going anywhere, young lady. I am your mother and your superior and you will do what I and God command."
Molly began stripping off the white nun clothing until she was left in only her bra and underwear. "Oh, now I am not tied to you. How do I look?"
Kila was stunned for a second, then slapped her across the face. "What is this supposed to be? You will not undress like this and show yourself in such a way. Put your clothes back on immediately."
Molly smiled coldly. "Make me."
Kila tried to strike with the ruler again, but suddenly Molly moved on instinct, sidestepping faster than the eye could track. Every attempt Kila made to hit her failed. Molly was in shock herself at how quickly she was moving, and Kila's face twisted with frustration as she swung over and over, hitting nothing but air.
Then Molly took the chance and ran for the door. Her speed was incredible. She burst outside and ran a full kilometer in a single second before stopping, flames licking at her legs.
"What is this? Why can I suddenly run so fast?"
Back at the house, Kila stood frozen in disbelief. "Where is that disrespectful girl? Molly! Come back here right now!"
Molly smirked and muttered to herself. "No more. No more, Mom. I am sorry, but being a nun is not for me. I feel so empty there. You can keep that life, but I need to use this to escape. Forever."
Suddenly a system notification rang in her head. "Molly, congratulations. You have awakened self-love, feeling, and stood for your desires. You have gained the Speed of the Gods, a power you must cultivate yourself. This is a one-time gift. Good luck."
The message disappeared. Molly stared in shock as her underwear shimmered into a bright pink bikini, which then shifted into a pink crop top with faint symbols and matching pink mini shorts.
"Wow… I am dressed so revealingly. I am not used to this." She looked upward. "God, this is probably the last time I will speak to you. I will always believe in you, but in my way, not through force. Forgive me. This is Molly… the new Molly."
She began running again. At first it was a normal sprint, then faster, and faster, the speed building until heat flared around her and a trail of fire and dust erupted behind her. She screamed in joy. "Thank you, strange message! Woooo!"
The scene snapped back to the present.
Kylie finished the kiss, pulling away from Molly's lips. Clara shouted, "Now, Kylie!"
The venom passed into Kylie's mouth, and she quickly spat it out. Molly's eyes opened. She rose shakily to her feet, smiling. "I… I love myself. I love myself!"
Lika, Kylie, and Clara all smiled. "Welcome back, Barbie girl," Kylie said and hugged her tightly. Molly still looked weak, but her smile remained.
On the other side of the ruined kingdom, Naamo stood with his arms crossed. Kuina stared him down, her aura bursting to life, a swirl of black and pink surrounding her. She rose to her feet, her eyes turning pitch black, her armor cracking as her power climbed.
The system's voice rang in her head. "Warning. Rapid power increase detected."
Her pupils vanished. Only pure rage remained. She screamed, a shockwave bursting from her body and pushing Naamo slightly back. He was still smiling, not at all concerned.
The harem members noticed from afar. Piper got up from under a tree. "Kuina… what happened?" she whispered.
Lika helped Molly stand. All eyes turned toward the battlefield where Mira's lifeless body lay.
"Mira!" Kylie shouted and flew toward her, but Kuina's raging power blocked the path, the invisible force thickening until it was impossible to pass.
Kuina screamed, the black aura swallowing her, her hair changing to dark black with a blue hue.
"Power from rage. Be careful of the consequences. Heart rate extremely high," the system warned.
Naamo called out. "Come on, redhead! Show me what you are worth. This time we fight until the end!"
Kylie struggled to break through. "What is this energy? I can't get past it!"
Clara's eyes widened. "Kuina… the rage has taken her. Mira… she's dead."
Shock rippled through Kylie, Lika, and Molly. Piper joined them, Mortis at her side.
"What's going on? Let's go to them," Mortis said.
Lika answered softly, "We can't. This energy blocks all passage. I think Kuina made it on purpose."
The purple sky turned black. The severed dragon's corpse vanished completely. Kuina's sword still lay on the ground. She stood with black, pupil-less eyes, broken armor, and a black aura streaked with pink.
Her voice came out deep and echoing. "Naamo, you will not leave here alive. No system, no woman, no one will stop me. And I swear to you, system, if you stop me, even if you kill me, I will return and crush you."
The system stayed silent. Naamo smirked. "Enough with the dram—"
He froze mid-word as Kuina's fist slammed into his chest, punching clean through. Her arm emerged from his back, dripping with blood.
He spat blood but grinned. "Is that all you've got, bitch?"
Kylie was stunned by the sheer power.
Naamo tried to punch Kuina in the face. The blow landed, but she did not flinch. Bones in his hand cracked loudly, and he screamed in pain.
"That's it!" he roared. His fists glowed with brown energy as he struck again and again. Kuina stood like a statue, her expression angry but almost bored. Then she caught his fist between two fingers, held it, and stepped close, her void-black gaze inches from his face.
"I told you… your death comes today. And so far, I am disappointed."
She smashed her forehead into his face, sending him flying into her own black energy barrier.
Meanwhile Molly had already started running. She sprinted across the entire map, reaching the far edge of the world of Nest — once called Kago — in just one minute.
"Alright, I am about 10,000 kilometers away from the Fire Kingdom. That took me one minute… now I am coming back!"
She exploded forward, this time accelerating even faster. In four seconds she crossed the same 10,000 kilometers, her speed one hundred times greater than before. She kicked the barrier with a colossal force. A crack appeared, but it did not break.
Molly stopped, clutching her legs. "Ahhh! My legs! Damn it! It didn't break! What is this power?"
Piper, Clara, Kylie, Lika, and Mortis all attacked the barrier with energy blasts, but nothing worked.
Kylie ran to Molly. "Hey Barbie, you are so fast… but I am shocked it did not work. We are too weak compared to this."
Back inside the barrier, Naamo slowly rose, laughing with a cough. His chest was torn open, blood dripping, but his voice was still mocking.
With a single command, "Heal Bench," a vile golden light burst from the wound. Flesh twisted and pulled together, tendons weaving like living cords, bones snapping back into place with wet cracks. The blood on his skin flowed backward into the wound until there was no trace left.
Kuina's expression did not change. Her aura only darkened.
Naamo grinned wide. "Now… meet my final form. The Form of the Gods."
To be continued