Iliasburg was completely surrounded. Granberia may not have thought much of the local heroes of Iliasburg, but they were giving their best against the chimera beasts. It wouldn't be good enough if they weren't given aid, and soon. I didn't even wait for Galda to land. Doing my best action hero impression, I leaped off her back and onto the back of a chimera beast, plunging Angel Halo into it. The beast collapsed, destroyed.
One of the soldiers recognized me. "You're the brave hero that repelled Granberia!"
"I'm here to help!" I shouted.
"Go into the town then!" the soldier responded. "Some of the beasts have already broken through!"
Alice and I rushed into Iliasburg, as the soldiers formed ranks with their spears and prepared to repel a charge. Running through the streets searching for monsters, Alice directed me down an alley. She reported that she had smelled a slug girl. But not quite. Sure enough, a chimeric slug girl was sucking three boys dry. She was at least partly a slug girl, but with tentacles grafted onto her body. Rushing forward in a desperate attempt to save the boys, I unleashed Death Sword Chaos Star. She was sealed in an instant, dropping the boys. Alice checked them. She shook her head after checking the first two. Dead. The third inhaled sharply, still hanging on, but unable to move.
"The nearest enemy is two blocks away!" Alice shouted. "The boy should be fine here, as long as we eliminate the threat quickly!"
The threat in question was some kind of woman with seemingly a dozen tentacles. At the moment, she had some little monsters wrapped up in them that looked very familiar. It was three of the reformed bandits from the last time I'd been in Iliasburg! I struck at the tentacles with Angel Halo. The tentacles went limp and released the girls.
"Luka!" the vampire girl shouted. "You came to save us!"
"You must be a big fan of tentacles," the chimera said. "if you want, I can play with you with them. If you're here to fight, I'll strangle you."
"Luka!" Alice said. "Let me handle this one! I ask thee, eternal time… Reveal my body, yoked in twilight… Return my true body to me!"
Alice's little form transformed into the Alice I knew and loved. Her hand extended, she unleashed a storm of dark magic at the chimera. Not being truly alive, it didn't scream. Apparently Promestein had designed them to not feel pain. It also didn't fall, although clearly it was badly hurt. As I prepared to strike it with my sword, hoping to perform the coup de grace, the little vampire girl grabbed a tentacle and yanked. The chimera fell to the ground. All three of the little tykes attacked her.
"Leave the chimera to them!" Alice yelled.
"Seriously!?"
"The chimera has nothing left!" Alice responded. "But there's an angel rampaging nearby! That's a job only you can do!"
The scene at the center of town was eerily similar to when I arrived in Iliasburg months ago. Soldiers lay everywhere. Standing over their prone bodies was an archangel.
"Oh, my, the rumored disgraced hero," she said when she sighted me. "I am Mariel, leader of this assault force. I'll use my sexual techniques to render you harmless, as the Goddess ordered."
She didn't appear to be armed. Had she disabled all of these men by pleasuring them? Even after all I'd seen it still seemed unbelievable. But if the soldiers couldn't touch her and she could touch them, I guess it made sense. I knew I was no match for an archangel without the spirits. I would just have to hope that Alice would take up my sword once I fell as she did with the archangel I'd faced in the castle. With Angel Halo, Alice could fight an archangel.
Alice had other plans. As Mariel engaged me, using one hand to hold my sword arm in order to keep me from hitting her with Angel Halo and the other to stroke me, Alice was maneuvering behind a water fountain behind us. I heard Alice shout my name and looked her way. In a split second I saw that she had her true form again. In the next fraction of time, her eyes flashed. When I came to, Mariel was in the fountain, knocked cold, water spraying down on her. Alice! I ran around to the other side of the fountain and found her back in her small form smiling at me, having ducked behind it. The fountain itself must have been pretty well constructed. Some bricks had come loose, but it was otherwise in decent shape.
She pulled herself up with some difficulty, leaning on the fountain. "Did you seal her?" Alice asked.
"No, do I need to?"
"Yes!"
But Mariel was already gone. The good news is that she took her army with her. Soldiers later reported that the beasts had all fallen into disarray when she had been knocked out cold. Unable to effectively rally them even after regaining consciousness, she ordered a retreat that turned into a rout.
"Those beasts don't really have minds of their own," Alice noted. "That makes our enemies very sensitive to breaks in their chain of command. Good to know."
The three little bandits entered the town square and ran towards me. "You did it!" the dragon pup yelled joyously.
"We showed her why she should fear us!" said the Vampire girl.
The three had been through hell. They were all wounded. Not far away lay the chimera, struggling and tangled in her own tentacles. Had they tied her own tentacles around her? The victory high soon wore off. The girls were despondent that they had been unable to protect the people of the city. Many had died while they fought vainly to repay the kindness the cityfolk had done them. They had nearly been killed themselves.
"If you're frustrated, then train for the future," Alice instructed them. "Did you know that not too long ago, Luka was throwing salt at slugs?"
I hadn't been THAT pathetic! The very next day I'd gone toe to toe with Granberia and given a pretty good account of myself. I decided not to contradict Alice, however. The kids needed a confidence boost. They needed to know that training would yield dividends. Alice wasn't just blowing smoke. They were children, but had the potential to become very powerful monsters. A lamia, a dragon, and a vampire were nothing to sneeze at.
"He became so good with a sword," Alice continued. "That the spirits respected him and lent him their power. Then he beat the Four Heavenly Knights! It was all thanks to me, of course."
The town square was starting to fill with people. I was getting a strong sense of déjà vu. This was exactly the scene from before, after I'd beaten Granberia. It occurred to me that Granberia and I had had four battles. I'd won two, she had won two. I had little doubt she'd want a tiebreaker. At minimum. If we both survived, I'd be happy to grant it. New rule, though: no Vaporizing Rebellion Sword.
The owner of the Sutherland Inn was among the crowd. "Oh, it was you two again! We are even more in debt to you than we were before!"
"Yes," Alice replied. "After all that fighting, we are very hungry."
"Did you get smaller?" the owner asked. "You'll need to eat a lot of those dangos and get bigger quick!"
"Amamadangos!" Alice shrieked happily as the owner handed her a bag full of them. Alice wasted no time digging in.
"You all need a reward too!" the owner said to the little ones, handing them a bag as well. I guessed that honey production had resumed in Happiness Village. That would be our next stop.
"You two positively must stay at the Sutherland tonight!" she said, turning back to us.
"I really wish we could, but we have to be moving on," I said. "Everywhere is under attack!"
"Luka," Alice said. "I recognize the urgency but it's almost nightfall. You've had the longest day ever. Do you even realize that this day started with you outside my castle? You've fought Heavenly Knights, the Monster Lord, chimeras, angels…. And I'm spent as well. I tried to return to my true body too soon after the last time. If I don't rest I'll be of no use to you. Damn this weak little body!"
"But we're needed!" I objected.
"If we just get killed, we help no one!" Alice admonished. "Night is falling. I don't know how they fight wars where you come from, but in this world night attacks are risky and not something to be undertaken lightly. Even angels need rest, and their armies can't be managed without their active control. We can afford a few hours."
"All right," I agreed. I had to admit that I was quite tired. We trudged to the Sutherland Inn and collapsed into comfortable beds.
When we awakened, we had a quick breakfast of dangos and prepared for the short trip to Happiness Village. I asked Alice if we'd have to come back to Iliasburg because I'd failed to seal Mariel. She responded that it didn't make much difference. If Mariel had been sealed, a new angel would have been sent. Renewed attacks on both Enrika and Iliasburg were a certainty. It was just a matter of how long it would take the forces of Heaven to regroup and renew the offensive. What we were doing wasn't settling anything. It was a purely defensive reaction. The initiative was with Ilias. Until we broke her offensive, there was nothing else we could do. That sounded grim. Alice cheered me somewhat by noting that archangels were limited in numbers. Although she guessed that lower ranking angels could control the chimera beast armies, they would not be as effective at doing so. If we started seeing lower ranking angels leading the armies, that would be a sign that we were winning. I was grateful that someone knew what they were doing. My knowledge of military tactics and strategy were nonexistent. Her battle awareness was superior to mine as well. Both major fights in Iliasburg had been won primarily by her. Until I got the spirits back, I would be having a rough time.
From the air on the outskirts of Happiness Village, we saw a skirmish already taking place at sunrise. I sighted two chimeras battling two harpies. One of the chimeras appeared to have a boy inside what appeared to be a cage that was actually part of its body. It was already in the process of draining the boy. I leaped off Galda and into the fight. I wanted to get to the boy in the cage, but blocking my path was something that looked like a cross between a dullahan and a medusa. Realzing the urgency of the situation, I charged in right away with my best move, which staggered her. Alice followed up by returning to her real body for a brief moment and hitting her with a frost bolt. Another strike from my sword shattered the artificial creature.
A harpy was already firing arrows at the cage chimera but not seeing much success at getting the boy freed. The boy's face was slackened in pleasure as tentacles inside the chimera worked on him. I was just about to aid the harpy when a female voice spoke. "No," she said. "I shall take care of this."
The queen harpy appeared, a sharp gust of wind announcing her presence. The gust grew more powerful, slamming into the chimera, knocking it down and causing it to cough up the boy. The boy tried to feebly crawl away. He was picked up by a swooping harpy and carried to safety. The chimera got to whatever qualified as a standing position before the queen harpy.
"Do you think a little gust of wind is enough to defeat me?" It said.
"Do you think that's the extent of my power?" the queen harpy shot back.
Extending her hands, she fired tiny knives of wind that sliced through the chimera's body in dozens of places. The beast fell apart, its pieces littering the ground. More chimeras came through the forest. I stood by the queen, ready to lend my aid.
"No," she said. "please leave this to me. Angels are already in the village. Only you can deal with them. Go."
"Are you sure you'll be all right here?" I asked. "You're the queen, they can't afford to lose you!"
She smiled. "Did you think I came alone? Everyone, take Large Wing Battle Formation!"
A flight of harpies emerged from the forest in a fan-like formation. They drew bows, nocking flaming arrows.
"Fire!" the queen ordered.
As the harpies fired, they flapped their wings, increasing the speed of the arrows. The queen added her wind power to the flight of arrows, which caused the flames to create a firestorm. When the conflagration hit the chimera beasts, those who weren't immediately incinerated fled the battlefield in confusion.
"The harpies have one of the most powerful military forces in the world," Alice said. "I've never seen them in person. Their reputation is more than justified."
"Second line!" the queen ordered. "Fire!"
Most of the fleeing chimera beasts were caught in the second volley. Realizing that the harpies needed no assistance, I ran into the village in search of the angels terrorizing it. As usual, finding them was not a challenge. They were in the center of the village. I had expected mass murder to be occurring, but these angels weren't there for that purpose. Instead, they were pleasuring a young man. I was by now used to the idea that sex was used as a weapon in this world, but the way they were going about it looked inefficient and time consuming. They were forming what looked like a cross with their bodies and 'crucifying' the man on a cross of pleasure. Creative, to be sure, but odd in the middle of a battle. I knew they couldn't be stopped or harmed, and this was a small village, but still!
I had to know. "What are you doing?!" I yelled.
"We are purifying the sinner who dared to mate with harpies with a cross of pleasure," one of them replied. "This unclean village of men who cross with harpies. It's our duty to cleanse the sinners. We shall also cleanse you with a cross of pleasure. After that, we will bring the rest of these villagers to the afterlife."
These angels even wore crosses. Had Ilias' exposure to my world caused her to adopt this symbol? Did she have envy issues? Those questions would have to wait. For the time being, I had to defeat these angels. I was relieved to see that they weren't killing yet.
Dropping the man, they flew at me. Without the aid of the spirits, I was unable to prevent them from restraining me and removing my clothes. Nevertheless, it took two of them to hold me. The third knelt before me and bared her large breasts.
"I've ascended hundreds of men with these breasts," she said. "you too will ascend to heaven between them."
As I struggled she crushed my penis between them and began to move. I'd been getting used to the corrupt pleasure of chimera beasts and I'd long since gotten used to the way monsters felt. Angels were something else entirely. To say that her breasts felt heavenly would be a pretty accurate, if trite, statement. I wasn't sure how this was supposed to purify me, but it sure did feel great! I still struggled. The angels were surprised by my strength, but continued to hold me firmly.
"Once you're in the cross, there's no escape," one of them whispered into my ear. "just enjoy it. For a sinner like you, it's a much nicer way to be punished than the alternatives."
They weren't wrong about that, but with the world under attack and me not wanting to die and all, I continued to fight. The "cross" they had formed was bucking a lot. Attempting to deny me leverage, they ascended into the air with me. Alice grabbed hold of one of my legs to prevent me from being taken too high, where I would have had no chance to get away without killing myself. This distracted the angels enough for me to break free. Alice scurried for cover as the angry angels buzzed around her. Fortunately, the angels didn't seem to be carrying any weapons, so they couldn't hurt Alice any more than she could hurt them. The angels switched tactics, diving on me from all angles, again with only pleasure attacks. A hand here, a feathery wing there, I was even briefly held by one while another got my penis into her mouth for a few seconds. Eventually, I landed a hit on one of them which was enough to get them to fly back towards their forces.
"I was wondering when they were going to figure it out," Alice observed.
"Figure what out?" I asked.
"That getting ahead of their forces while there was someone here who could hurt them wasn't a great idea," she explained. "It's fine when no one can touch them. It allows them to create confusion and panic behind the lines. But they need those angels to control the mindless chimeras, which are the backbone of their forces. If you eliminate the leaders, the battle is lost."
That made sense. It also made sense that I wouldn't just be able to win battles so easily, simply by finding and defeating the leaders. Of course, I'd been hoping it would be that easy.
"What was with their tactics?" I asked. "Were all three of them just going to work on every man in this village one at a time?"
"Those angels are very legendary angels," Alice explained. "They 'purify' men by showing them heavenly pleasure. Supposedly heavenly pleasure is superior to monster pleasure. You know how once a man has been with a monster, humans will never do? It's supposed to be that way with angels as well. Once these men have tasted the pleasures an angel can bring, especially these angels, a harpy wife would never do. In that way, they hope to return the men to purity. Although usually they end up killing them in the process. Most men can't handle that kind of pleasure."
I hadn't really felt that angels were better than monsters in that way. Just… different. I thought of telling Alice that, since she seemed offended by the idea that angels were better lovers than monsters, but decided that could wait. Since I hadn't sealed the angels, the battle raged on. It didn't rage on long, however. The harpies were as good as their reputation. The queen soon returned, meeting me in the village center.
"Thank you, hero Luka," she greeted me. "Those ridiculous beasts are no challenge to us, but angels are beyond us."
Alice was already being given honey by grateful villagers. Had to love the girl, endlessly distractable with tasty things. Maybe the angels should attack her by forcing sweets into her mouth. That would be a pleasure attack that might make her succumb!
"The situation is quite grave," the queen said. "These beasts are attacking all over the world, and the Monster Lord is stuck like that. We will be attacked tomorrow, and the day after that. They will keep on trying until they defeat us. As other towns fall, they will add their forces to this one until they overwhelm us."
"Can I have more honey?" Alice asked, interrupting us.
"I'm pretty sure they will need all the food they can get since the attacks are going to keep on coming," I said, trying to be diplomatic. I really loved how much Alice enjoyed food, but sometimes she could be really greedy about it.
"Sorry," Alice replied. "While in this small body, it causes me to act in an age appropriate way at times. So with that said… I want more sweets."
"I'm pretty sure you would have acted that way in your real body," I said, amused.
"You two are really something," the queen said. "I am only able to dwell on the dangers to come. You two should move on, however. The angels are still in charge of the assault force, but we can handle them for now. We will do our best to hide the men in the meantime. The angels fortunately work slowly, and have yet to actually kill one of our men."
"If you're sure you're all right here," I said.
"We are not, but others are in far worse shape," the queen replied. "We are the harpies. Long after the human cities fall, our small village will still be here. They need your help more than we do. May the fortunes of war ever be with you, hero Luka and Monster Lord Alipheese."
"I'm not the Monster Lord!" Alice objected. "I'm a traveling gourmand!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," the queen said. "May the fortunes of war ever be with you, Traveling Gourmand Alipheese."
We were pleasantly surprised to see no activity around Iliasport. The town had become such a nonfactor economically that Ilias probably didn't consider it important. We did, however, see streams of refugees on the road to Iliasport. Rumors must have gotten out that Iliasport was a safe haven. I knew that wouldn't last. I also knew that the refugees would face other hardships there, since there wasn't much to eat in Iliasport. In its depressed state, the town was in no position to accommodate thousands of refugees. It occurred to me that this might even be why it wasn't attacked. Overwhelm the city with helpless people instead of armies and let it suffer.
That was not a problem that could be dealt with at the moment. We flew on to Sentora. Port Natalia was also being left alone, which was a bigger surprise given that town's tolerance towards mermaids. Maybe the forces of Ilias weren't spreading themselves out as foolishly as we thought? Alice speculated that the number of angels qualified to lead an assault force were relatively small, putting a limit on how many separate divisions the heavens could command at one time.
Alice suggested I go to the forest of spirits to get Sylph first. I understood the need, but I also noticed the large army gathered at the gates of San Ilia below us. Ilias seemed to be giving special attention to the very towns that worshipped her most fervently, as if she hated them above all others. I promised Alice that I'd go to the forest of spirits as soon as we aided San Ilia.
Landing in the city, it was even worse than I had thought at first glance. The chimeras had broken through into the city. The place was in chaos. I focused first on a bug-like creature that was raping men in an alleyway. Most of the fighting was being done by the standard beasts, although those standard beasts had plenty of ways to dish out pleasure attacks as well. But most of the non-standard chimeras I'd seen had been focused on rape. Why? In any case, the bug didn't last long, although it lasted long enough to express surprise that I didn't want to mate with its oviduct. Um…. No thanks?
There were more chimera beasts, mostly the standard types, which Alice and I defeated fairly easily. Alice was irritated, however. This was taking too long. She advised that we search inside the castle. I'd seen no angels inside the city, or heard reports of them, nor had I seen any outside the city. The castle seemed the best place to go looking for trouble.
Trouble had already come and gone. The great hall where I had battled Granberia for the second time was littered with dead bodies. Making our way to the throne room, we found the king, also dead. The chapel and guard rooms told a similar tale. No one had been left alive. We were too late.
"The angels have already left," Alice said. "That's why the beasts were rampaging around so randomly. They don't need direction anymore. They were just set loose to rape or kill whoever they came across. Once this castle was cleaned out, the angels' objectives were fulfilled."
"Do you think anyone got out of the city?" I asked.
"Almost certainly many did," she said. "but not too many. I saw no massive waves of refugees leaving. They probably just fled into the countryside."
"This slaughter….," I said. "It's like Ilias Village. Why would she concentrate so much on destroying her own followers? It's as if she gave them special attention."
"She's a sadistic bitch, that's for sure," Alice confirmed. "We need to go. There's not much more we can do here. On our way out we can save any stragglers we find, but San Ilia is lost."
I looked at the giant Ilias statue in the great hall. Cold rage burned within me. Her own followers! I began to feel my power again. It must respond to my anger as well as serenity, I thought. Focusing my power into my fist, I punched the statue. It exploded, tossing shards of stone all over the hall.
"Luka," Alice beseeched gently, as I stared at the pile of rocks Ilias' statue had been reduced to.. "let's go."
We left the historic cathedral, a cathedral which overnight had become an anachronism. There was no longer an Ilias faith. Just a world whose god had turned against it. For the next hour we aided stragglers as best we could, clearing a path out of the city in the direction of Port Natalia, which was not yet under attack. I was sure that there had to be many, many more still trapped. With other cities needing our help, we simply could not prioritize searching for every individual. They would have to hide until they could make good their escape. The reality of war was so draining. For a time I'd felt like a hero, like I could save everyone. Now I was failing to save everyone. Worse, I was leaving people behind because there were places where even more people were threatened. People who could still be saved.
Summoning Galda, we left San Ilia behind.
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