Cassandra: Now then, I heard from Ran that you wanted to ask something.
Marco: Yes, I wanted to confirm some rumors so I would have some hints about the location of a friend of mine.
Cassandra: Are you perhaps talking about the one where male travelers have not been returning from our village?
Marco: Yes.
Cassandra: About the friend of yours, I can't say anything because I know nothing about it, and about the rumor, there is nothing unusual going on in this village, as you can see.
Marco: Any more information?
Cassandra: Nothing that comes in my mind, sorry for the little information you received from me… Now then, let's stop about that unpleasant discussion about rumors and such. Won't you join us for dinner?
Marco: 'Not when the dinner is me…' I'm sorry but I have to decline, I have other things to do, and maybe if I search around then I can find that friend of mine.
Marco stood up, and coincidentally Ran entered the room with a tray of tea.
Ran: Oh, are you already returning? I just prepared tea…
Cassandra: Please don't think you're imposing. We would love to have you for dinner, and besides, I don't think that something dangerous could happen in such a short time with your friend.
Marco: That would be the case if he is gone for some pair of hours, I will take my leave now.
Marco excused himself and left the mansion, where he met with Emily.
Emily: Oh… Are you already going back?
Marco: Yeah, it looks like the rumor wasn't true and I didn't gained any real information about my friend, so I should search him around.
Emily smiled and said.
Emily: Hehe… My mother seems to be willing to overlook you. But I like you… Hey, hey… I want to know more about you…
Emily's twintails twitched, but from the door Cassandra came out, which made Emily stop any attack she could have done some moments later.
Cassandra: ...Emily, do not be rude to our visitor.
Emily: M...Mother.
Cassandra: Let the traveler go search around, he needs to find his friend before something bad could happen.
Emily: ...Ok, I got it. If that's what you say, mother…
Emily sighs and looked a bit depressed. Meanwhile Marco turned around, raised an arm to say bye and left.
When he reached the entrance of the village, he felt a presence behind him and turned around, finding Alice in her human form, who looked as if she was worrying about something.
Alice: ...Even you noticed it by now, right? How abnormal this village is…
Marco: Yes, I came here to ask again if you really don't want to do something about it.
Alice: ...No, I'll let you do the job for now, if you need help I'll come.
Marco nodded and walked back in the village, and met again with the first lady he met at his first arrival.
Lady: Oh my… Do you need something?
Marco wanted to let her attack first, because he still had some doubts about the authenticity of the informations he got from the game itself, and asked straight out.
Marco: Excuse me, but I noticed that there were no men in this village, I would like to know the reason.
A smile came across the lady's face and answered.
Lady: Oh, I have a wonderful idea. How about I show you what happened to all the men that lived in this village?
Suddenly, her body turned itself in the one of a monster, as per usual the upper body is human while the rest looks like a giant blue beetle, she had blue insect limbs at her back too. (AN: And for convenience, let's call her Madame Insect.)
Madame Insect: Hehe, a delicious looking gentleman. I'll carefully care-
Marco decided to fight without the Nine Tailed Chakra Gates and filled his body with the power of earth, before throwing a good punch at her stomach.
Madame Insect: Ugh… You-
The punch didn't do that much, but before she could react, Marco filled his body with the power of wind too, giving him speed and strength, and threw a fast kick at her stomach again, increasing the monster's pain at that place.
She let fall her umbrella and held her stomach with an expression of pain, meanwhile Marco rushed at her and when he was in front of her, he jumped, throwing a kick on her chin.
When he fell in the ground upside down, he placed his hands on the ground and rotated his body while stretching out his legs, continuously kicking her at her sides, and for last, he crouched on the ground and kicked the ground towards a stunned monster, headbutting her stomach once more.
She couldn't deal anymore with the pain so she fell unconscious, Marco came over her and used the Chakra Gate, then he pierced her body with his hand, and sealed her into a small beetle.
Then Marco deactivated the Chakra Gate and stood up. Behind him, Alice followed him again.
Marco: So you decided to help me?
Alice: Dream on, I will just watch you, you wanted to fight without the Chakra Gate?
Marco: Yes, if someday I couldn't use it anymore then I should train myself with the spirits and a bit of street fighting too.
Alice nodded and walked away, meanwhile the second lady he met walked up to him.
Lady 2: I was ordered by Cassandra… Until Alice had left the village, I was to ignore you… But now...
Suddenly, tentacles sprouted out from her umbrella, which continued to grow until they covered entirely the lady, revealing another monster.
Marco: Oh? So you already know about Alice…
Madame Umbrella: You asked for informations about the rumors, I'll give you them. There are no humans in this village at all. This is a monster village, where we feed on humans who go astray. Now, I'll feed on you as well…
Marco: Nice, this makes the job easier, I'll beat down anyone then…
Marco, still with the two spirits, rushed at the monster and used Lightning Sword Flash, but it surprisingly bounced back from the tentacles.
Marco: Tch…
Madame Umbrella: You are too weak to go beyond my tentacles.
Marco turned his body, giving a roundhouse kick, but it didn't do much damage and the tentacles wrapped around his leg, which slowly started to bind him.
Madame Umbrella: Now then, shall I really start to tease you?
The tentacle wrapped around Marco, and the suckers around the tentacles glued to his body, making it harder for him to move.
Madame Umbrella: Now then, it's time to have some fun… I'll stroke that penis of yours, and milk out that delicious se- Fuck!
Before she finished that sentence, Marco bit at the tentacle that was binding him, pretty hard, and since his body is stronger thanks to the power of the earth, he chomped half tentacle in a bite, ripping out the flesh.
Madame Umbrella released Marco, who used this opportunity to enter between the gap in her tentacles, and… Hugged her body?
Madame Umbrella ignored it since she was really angry at Marco for ripping off one of her tentacles, and entered in her umbrella-tentacles, before seeing Marco hugging her, before her tentacles could rip him away from her main body, she felt that Marco was squeezing her.
Marco: 'More… Gnome!'
Gnome gave him even more strength, and Marco's hug slowly closed, Madame Umbrella started to feel pain, and soon a crack was heard.
Madame Umbrella: Shiiiiiit!!!
Madame Umbrella tried to rip him away before he would break her spine, when before he could do it, he used the Chakra Gate and finally he snapped her body in two with a hug.
If he didn't used the Chakra Gate he would have killed her, however he wanted to seal her even though she may have devoured people, there are only certain monsters that should die instead of sealing, those who really needed to die, Black Alice's servants or future servants, and the rest are accidents.
Then Madame Umbrella turned into a tiny fleshy umbrella, however Marco didn't turned off the Chakra Gate, because the future fights will be too hard for him to win without it, so he just stopped using the spirits.
Marco: Alright, let's go to the mansion now. There is still Cassandra, Ran and Emily…
Then Marco walked towards the mansion, while Alice followed him from some dozens of meters away.
[SPECIAL QUESTS]
1st. Kick Gabriel's ass
2nd. Achieve coexistence between Monsters and Humans
3rd. Kill Illias
4th. Return to Lucifina's grave
5th. Visit every places in Illias Continent, Sentora and Hellgondo
6th. Turn back to Sabasa Kingdom