"So…" Alice said as we landed and prepared to enter her castle again. "We're going to be taking on a goddess directly, huh? Never thought it would come to this."
"Didn't you try to take her on just before you met me?" I asked.
"I thought I was so smart, so powerful," she said regretfully. "I know so many little things but when it came to the big picture I was the biggest idiot of all. I took her on because I thought I could. Then I tried to end my life because I thought it would ruin her plans. But it turns out both of those things were always part of her plan. We're opposites. You're an idiot about all the little stuff but you got the really important things right."
"See, we make a great team," I said cheerfully.
"So we get to assault the heavens," she said. "Assuming that's even possible."
"I'm guessing heaven is like another dimension?"
"That's what we always thought," Alice replied. "But I guess now that we know there are other dimensions beyond even heaven, it would technically be a subdimension. Despite that, it might be even harder to get to. We actually know where the Gate of Heaven is."
"You do?" I said, surprised. "There's literally a gate? On the surface?"
"Yes, but only holy beings can enter it. That's what makes it such a tough problem."
As we entered the castle, we were greeted by… the butler? A vampire welcomed the Monster Lord home. She informed Alice that Tamamo wished to provide a report. Tamamo was waiting in the great hall. Given that the foxes were hard at work on those discs, I was very interested to find out what kind of progress they had made.
As I walked the halls, I couldn't help but feel different. The first time I'd been here it was as a one man invading army. Against all odds, I had succeeded. It still hadn't sunk in. Now I was a guest. Not a slave guest, as any other human entering this place would be, but an honored guest. An ally of the Monster Lord. That hadn't sunk in yet, either. It was weird how much time I had had to think when Alice and I were journeying. But ever since I walked into this castle, what, just three, four days ago? It seemed like years. Ever since then I hadn't had time to think about anything. Maybe now I'd finally get a little time.
Not just Tamamo, but several foxes were in the great hall, including Yao. Nanabi must have still been at the lab, working.
"Foxes!" Alice exclaimed. "What horrors are you planning, all assembled together like that!?"
I didn't get why Alice disliked them so much. All right, I guess I did get it, but all I'd ever experienced from them was sweetness. And tails. Fluffy tails..... Ahhhhh. I snapped out of it, and noticed that indeed, they had apparently done some horrors. The great hall was filled with stacks of papers and printouts. I hadn't seen anything like that amount of paper in the lab, so I'd instructed them to go easy on the printing. At some point they must have just decided to print everything and transport it back to the castle. Where did they find all that printer paper?
"There were a lot more rooms in that lab than you two found," Tamamo reported. "That meant even more discs, and as you can see, more paper. Some of these printouts, we found in other rooms."
"What did you find out?" I asked.
"We know how they did the worldwide seal on the spirits," Tamamo replied. "They set up four towers at different points of the world, each with their own generator that maintains the seal. The North and South Poles, and one point far to the east, another to the west."
"They did all that for Luka?" Alice asked. "He just started seeking the spirits a month and a half ago!"
"The research is old," Tamamo said. "Very old. Promestein started working on it over a century ago. She was seeking superiority in the use of the elements. Creating copies of the spirits, and sealing the genuine ones."
"That sounds like good news, though," I said. "Towers are breakable. Let's knock them down."
"Sure, that would work," Tamamo said, "But I have a better idea. It's a device designed to create a worldwide seal. Why break something so useful?"
I smiled and shook my finger at Tamamo. "Oh, I sense a brilliant idea coming! Lay it on me!"
"All the towers do is amplify the power of the seals, but they can amplify anything. So we could replace the seals with something of our own. So I was thinking, what if we could interfere with the holy power of angels?"
"If that's even possible," Alice said. "That's even more important than getting me my true body back, or Luka the full power of the spirits. If the angels could be hurt just like humans and monsters, that would make victory possible! That's a heck of a seal, though. I'm a genius when it comes to magic, but I can't even conceive of a seal that would interfere with the holy energy of a single angel, much less all of them."
"That's because you've never been as smart as you think you are," Tamamo chuckled. "Such a seal already exists. It's at the Sealed Sinner's Prison. All we have to do is take it somehow, and then use it with the towers. I'm guessing that's something Luka can help us out with."
"How?" I asked. "I'm no magician."
"Indeed, taking the seal through magical means would be difficult," Tamamo confirmed. "That's why we won't just do it with magic. We'll use the technology Promestein so graciously donated to our cause!"
"I still don't get it."
"You'll figure out how to put it onto one of these discs," Tamamo answered.
"That… might work," I said, thinking. "Depending on a lot of factors. How much information is in the seal? It might take one disc, it might take more discs than we have. That's leaving aside whether it's even in a form of data that can be downloaded. There would also have to be a CD writer at the site, or something to plug a CD burner into-"
"Teehee, you're so cute when you try to sound smart," Tamamo giggled. "Don't worry about any of that. Almost all of Promestein's science is based on a combination of science and magic. You're our resident science expert. Alice is our magic expert. And I know quite a bit about both, even if I haven't specialized the way you two have. I've already figured out how to use the CD burners! I'm keeping a diary! Between the three of us we'll figure it out."
She was a lot more optimistic about it than I was. Alice looked dubious as well. But it was something to go on. A cartoon I watched as a child came to mind in which a character said, "That idea's so crazy, it just might work!" On the bright side, it meant I could do tech stuff again. Ever since I'd remembered I could do that, I didn't really want to fight anymore. Of course, if we succeeded I'd be in for all the fighting I could handle.
"We'll start on it tomorrow," Alice said. "Luka, get a good rest tonight. I'm hoping there won't be any problems at the Sealed Sinner's Prison. It wasn't guarded last time we were there. But just in case there is, you need to be rested and ready."
"Okay," I agreed."When we're done with everything we need to discuss. I know we wanted a full report on the military situation."
"I wanted a full report on the military situation," Alice corrected me. "That doesn't concern you."
"Oh, I think it does," I countered. "I'm not a strategist, but I should still know as much as possible about what's going on."
"Alice, quit bossing him around," Tamamo admonished. "He's not one of your subordinates. He's earned the right to be present for that if that's what he wants. Besides, he comes from an entirely different world! Even if he doesn't know much, he might have unique insights."
"Fine," Alice sighed. "But don't stay up too late. Little heroes need their sleep."
"So do little monster lords," Tamamo said.
"Whatever," Alice said. "Anything on my seal?"
"Not yet," Tamamo replied regretfully. "Absolutely zilch at the moment. But there are still thousands of discs."
The war council assembled in the war room an hour later. Someday I'd have to get a grand tour of this place. It was so immense! They must have a room for everything! The Four Heavenly Knights were present, as well as the Queen Elf and Queen Fairy. Granberia led the briefing.
"Ilias Village and San Ilia were completely destroyed by the enemy," she stated.
"I still can't believe Ilias would expend so much effort to kill her most loyal followers," Erubetie said.
"It may not have been that simple," Alma Elma interjected. "Scattered reports from survivors are that rather than chimeric beasts leading the assault, angels went in first. In the case of Ilias Village, just one very powerful angel. In San Ilia, dozens. The humans were slow to react because they didn't think they were being attacked. Why should they suspect an attack from angels?"
"Not that they would have been able to resist them in any case," Alice said. "Where are we holding, Granberia?"
"As you and Luka already know since you were there, Sabasa is holding," Granberia reported. "In addition Grangold is holding strong. I was there personally. The Spider Princess attempted to take the city. She is no more."
"Did you execute her?" Alice asked.
"No," Granberia replied. "surprisingly, the humans used some machine to seal her. I wasn't aware they had that kind of technology."
"I was aware of it," Alice replied. "I'll tell you all about it when there's time. How is Noah?"
"Noah's human armies were wiped out. Luka arrived only hours before I did. Had I arrived there, I would have challenged and defeated the infernal creatures that were holding the humans and monsters of Grand Noah hostage."
"You? In the coliseum?" Alma Elma chuckled. "Been wanting to see that for years."
"And you will be waiting quite a while longer," Granberia said. "When I arrived, all the monsters could talk about was the hero Luka and how he was nearly swallowed, but fought on to victory."
Granberia smiled at me. I blushed.
"So that's why he was all gunky," Alice said. "I'm sure I'm going to love to hear how you ended up in that predicament."
"Port Natalia and Iliasport are safe," Granberia said. "At the moment, the only attack has been by the Queen Mermaid, which was foiled. Iliasburg holds as well. I did not expect that from those heroes. Perhaps I should go challenge them again when this war is over."
"Alma Elma and Erubetie, what have you two been doing?" Alice asked.
"I've been aiding the defense of Succubus Village and Lady's Village," she replied.
"You're helping your fellow succubi?" Tamamo chuckled. "Hell really has frozen over!"
"Given Ilias' hatred for succubi above all monsters, I expected her to devote a lot of resources to destroying Succubus Village, but the attacks on it so far have been minimal. I've been trying to get the residents of Lady's Village to relocate temporarily to Succubus Village to combine their forces. I'm afraid it's been tough on the succubi the last few days."
"Tough?" I asked. "I thought you said attacks had been minimal?"
"They can't feed on the men," Alma Elma replied gravely. "The men have to be up to fighting strength to help defend the village. The succubi have been forced to eat…. I can't say it. It's too obscene."
"Obscene?" I asked. "What are they eating that's more obscene than semen?"
"P… Po… Potatoes," Alma Elma said in a hushed tone.
"Okay then," Tamamo said. "As most of you know, I've been looking after Yamatai, and doing a pretty poor job of it. Yamatai is under Black Alice's control. The monsters turned on the humans. They are holding the village hostage. Apparently the armies of heaven have portals that they can use to attack the city very quickly should we attempt to take it back."
"We'll have to commit significant forces to secure it, then," Granberia said. "But we have a much bigger problem. Luka, remember those 'roids' you encountered? Is that what you called them?"
"Yes, I guess so," I confirmed.
"It's only the third day of the war, and already the forces of heaven have upgraded. The chimeric beasts proved to be inadequate. I have reliable reports that even single human heroes were able to destroy them. But in Gold Port a company of these 'roids' were seen attacking today. They were repulsed, but only barely. I will probably have to go there in the morning to assist. Even worse, they are reported to be armed with firearms."
"Firearms?" I asked. "You have that here?"
"Yes," Tamamo confirmed. "I don't know whether it originated from the immigrants who arrived in Yamatai, or whether Promestein had something to do with it, but guns have been in this world for decades. Never in quantities useable by an army, however. That's a big problem. That's dangerous even to you, Granberia. Please be careful."
"We have some firearms in the weapons room," Alice pointed out. "Granberia, you will take one of the smaller ones with you to Gold Port. I will not have you charging at entrenched roids firing hundreds of rounds at you."
"As you command," Granberia said distastefully. "It's a coward's way of fighting, but I will use such a weapon if I have no alternative."
"Erubetie?" Alice prompted.
"I have relocated my children to Plansect Forest," Erubetie reported. "There have only been random attacks from wandering chimeric beasts. The plant and insect armies stand ready. They are battle hardened from their recent civil war. I have no doubt they will give a good account of themselves."
Alice turned to the final two monsters in the room. "Queen Fairy? Queen Elf?"
"We are here because we had to abandon our island," Queen Elf reported. "The attack from beasts and angels alike was ferocious and overwhelming. I'm ashamed to say that we did not even fight. We were immediately routed."
"You had no defense against angels," Alice pointed out. "You did the right thing. But why would they expend so much effort on that little island?"
"I think I know why!" Tamamo piped up. "The discs have records of something called a Drain Lab there. They've been taking men there for decades to harvest their semen for power. They must have wanted to ramp up production and didn't want interference from the local monsters."
"Wait, semen is a power source here?" I asked.
"Isn't it a power source on your world?" Alice asked.
"Um….. no. Definitely not."
"That is so weird," Alma Elma said. "What do they use for power where you come from? Potatoes?"
"Let's stay focused," Alice admonished. "They obviously place a high priority on that drain lab. We need to put an end to its operations, both to deny them that power source, and to rescue any humans being kept there."
"Add that to the long list of priorities we have," Tamamo mumbled. "We're going to need to form monster armies of our own that can take offensive action. At the moment, our offensive forces consist of the people in this room."
"Given where we stand right now, today, assuming the balance of power remained what it is now, is there any possibility we can win?" Alice asked.
"No," Granberia shook her head. "at best, we can hold out a few weeks. If they are able to use those roids in large amounts, our survival can be measured in days."
"Chimeric beasts are mostly organic," Tamamo noted. "Those roids seem to be mostly mechanical and have portable power sources. I have a hunch that if we take out that drain lab, the roids won't be in the field for long after that."
"All right," Alice ordered. "We need to assign tasks. Luka, Tamamo, and I will go to the Sealed Sinner's Prison to work towards undoing the seal on the spirits and replace it with our own seal. The other three Heavenly Knights will keep doing what they are doing. Queen Elf, Queen Fairy, are your armies still basically intact after your defeat?"
"They are," Queen Fairy confirmed.
"Then you'll be our quick reaction force if we have another mission, or an urgent situation on the Sentora continent. I'm afraid Ilias continent is on their own. Except for Heavenly Knights, we have no aid that we can send them."
"The elves of Enrika and the harpies of Happiness Village have been tough," Granberia said. "Both are close to Iliasburg. If they are not too hard pressed themselves, they may be able to lend aid."
"Okay, then!" Alice said, closing the war council. "Let's see if we can't turn this thing around!"
Before heading off to bed, there was one more thing I needed to do. I approached Granberia and asked where Eden was being kept. Granberia was not comfortable at all with the idea of me seeing her, and stressed that Alice would probably be very displeased. I told her I'd earned the right to make that decision myself. Granberia would not argue with that, although she insisted that she would have to inform Alice. Since I hadn't intended on keeping this from her, I had no issue with that.
Granberia guided me to a hallway that was lined with cells. I feared that I might find humans in those cells, slaves of the Heavenly Knights. I really wanted to like them. I was almost beginning to consider them friends. Knowing that they kept slaves made that tough for me. At some point I would have to find out where the slaves were being kept and do… something. They probably wouldn't want to leave. I'd have to cross that bridge when I came to it.
For now, all the cells were empty except the one Eden was being held in. As I approached her cell, she rose from her bed to meet me. She was now fully clothed. Her wings were either completely gone or what was left of them were hidden within the fabric. She was quite mortal, for now, anyway. Granberia left us alone.
"So how are you doing?" I asked.
"Not well," Eden said. "I do not like being mortal. It.. hurts."
"Your wound didn't completely heal?" I asked. "I might be able to make it a little better. I can try if you like."
"No, it's not that," she said, shaking her head. "You did an incredible job. Far more than I deserved. It's just the aches and pains. Nothing I can't live with. After experiencing that pain… it's almost beneath my notice. I was pacing around my cell. My ankles began to hurt. My feet as well. At least the bed is not terrible."
"Do you have any idea how long it will be before you regain your divinity?" I asked.
"It's your power I'm holding within me," she pointed out. "I have no idea how it works or how long it will remain inside me. I took… a lot. Do you know how I could expend it? I don't ask because I wish to rejoin the war against you. I am worried about what Black Alice said. She said that heaven would be different by the time I returned to it."
"I don't know, I've only just learned how to use a tiny bit of it myself, at least consciously. I suppose you could kill yourself and return to heaven right now."
"I've thought of doing that, but curse me! I'm afraid. That pain…. It was too much. I never want to experience that again. Not even to do my duty."
"Given that Ilias left you in the lurch," I said. "It seems to me that you owe her nothing. Besides, she's the goddess. I'm sure she can take care of whatever those two are planning if they are up to no good."
"I believe that as well," Eden replied. "Ilias can never be harmed by a fallen angel and a monster lord. She is the most powerful being in this world. Only you pose a threat to her."
"So have you been doing any thinking?" I asked. "About what you've been fighting for, how much you've hurt people?"
"I have," she said. "I cannot be anything but what I am. I am the Seraph. I serve Ilias. Whatever my misgivings, I must obey her."
"But even you know she can be wrong!" I argued. "You know what she's done to people! What you've done to people in her name! That hasn't changed you?"
"It has!" she insisted. "never again will I punish sinners with pain! I recognize that Ilias cannot know what I now know. She has never known such suffering. I will attempt to counsel her, to persuade her to be more merciful."
"But in the end, you'll still do what she tells you," I said. "Is that what you're telling me?"
"Yes," Eden replied sullenly. "she is the goddess. I am the Seraph."
"There is another Serpah," I pointed out. "Micaela. She decided not to go along with her cruelty anymore. Why must you?"
"There were three Seraphs," Eden corrected me. "Micaela, Lucifina, and myself. I am the only one left. If I abandon Ilias, she will have no conscience. If you think her cruel now, just wait until her last Seraph betrays her!"
"I haven't heard about Lucifina," I said. "Where is she?"
"Lucifina is dead," Eden said sadly. "She fell in love with a human and became human so that she could die a natural death. Ilias was so distraught at her death that she unleashed a plague. Did you know that Lucifina created that sword you wield?"
"I didn't," I responded. "Wow. An angel created a sword that could seal angels."
"When I return to heaven, I will prevail on Ilias to stop this war," Eden promised. "she was already beginning to regret her decision. You have to understand, she was wrathful because you disobeyed her. She gave you nothing but love, and you chose that snake whore instead!"
"Luka, I think it's time you went to bed," Alice's voice spoke behind me. "I don't know what you thought you would accomplish here."
"I guess I am naïve," I replied. "Eden…. Before I go, just listen to my plea. You can be such a force for good in this world. Please don't tell me that what I felt from you in your angel form was just some kind of deceptive magic. The people had such faith in the concept of angels as paragons of goodness. I hope you'll choose to be that paragon rather than just the lackey of a god that hates her own worshippers."
"I am no one's lackey!" Eden yelled as Alice pulled me away. "I am the Seraph! I am goodness and purity personified!"
"As you can see, Luka, she's utterly delusional," Alice said. "As insane as her master. Come on, I've got something much more productive in mind for you."
She led me to a guest room, closed the door, and immediately tried to wrap me in her tail. I jumped out of the way. "I was wondering when your quick reflexes would allow you to do that. Either my small body isn't as quick as my real body or you anticipated that. I guess I'm getting predictable. So how do you want to do this? Do you want me to be all predatory and wrap you up and ravish you, or do you want a more gentle approach? I hope you pick predatory. It would be fun to chase you around this room until I caught you."
"Actually, your small body is the problem," I said. "You're a child! I can't have sex with a child!"
"What do you mean? You let Tamamo pleasure you!"
"No, I've never LET Tamamo pleasure me."
"But you liked it."
"Okay, I'll admit I did, but I guess I've gotten used to the fact that she's older than all of us."
"I'm older than you as well," Alice pointed out.
"But I'm used to your…. Real body, not… this."
"You don't like this body?" she asked, looking offended.
"It's not that," I said, not sure whether it was worse to say that I thought her child form was pretty or to say I didn't think it was pretty. "it's just that on my world, having sex with children is one of the worst things you can do."
"That's a human tradition," she said. "I think humans observe it in most places in this world as well. So all right, I get where you're coming from now. But how do you think monster children feed? What do you think those little bandits would have done with you had they somehow defeated you?"
"They would have raped me?" I asked, horrified.
"I would have enjoyed watching it at that point, too," she laughed. "The little tykes wouldn't have killed you, of course. And I wouldn't have let them keep you. At least not for long. I might have gone back to Iliasburg and spent most of your money before I came back to get you, just to teach you a lesson. But yeah, monster children need semen too. Stunts our growth if we don't get it."
"Nevertheless, I can't do it," I insisted. "This is a test for you when it comes to consent. I'm saying no."
For a second she just looked at me, her face expressionless, unreadable. I feared she might cry, or start raging. She did say that she was mentally immature in that body. But after a few moments, a smile broke out on her face.
"Okay, if you really don't want to do this, you don't have to. See? I'm learning. But I'm really hungry. You wouldn't let a little child starve, would you?"
"You're not going to starve, Alice. That's not even your real body, so it doesn't even matter if you're growth is stunted."
"Oh, fine!" she pouted. "Congratulations, you finally won an argument! We'll do this your way!"
"I really appreciate that Alice," I said. "good night."
As I went to approach the bed, she reached out and grabbed my arm. "I didn't say I was letting you go to sleep. I said I wasn't going to make you have sex with me in this body."
"Um…. Are we staying up and playing cards or something?"
"Trust me," she said. "sit down in that chair."
I did as she said. I had no idea what was going on. Before I got to the chair, she had pantsed me. "Alice!"
"I told you to trust me. You do trust me, right? Have a seat."
I did trust her. She would never just do something after telling me she wouldn't. What was she up to? I sat down. She knelt between my legs, her head poised over my penis. Wait, was she actually going to break her word? Was her hunger and immaturity making her willing to violate my trust?
"I ask thee, eternal time… Reveal my body, yoked in twilight. Return my true body to me!"
Alice, now in her true body, plunged her head between my legs, taking my entire length down her throat in an instant. She began swallowing, hard. I started ejaculating almost immediately. She continued swallowing as I came down her throat. When I was finished, she came up and looked at me, smiling lasciviously.
"I'd never gotten a chance to show you my throat skills before," she said. "I guess you know now that a lamia can swallow human-sized prey. A penis is no challenge at all. You'd never lasted long enough for me to get to this. I guess that was a good thing, because it enabled me to get a surprise orgasm out of you."
"How are you still in your true body?" I asked. "It's been a lot longer than three seconds."
"How many times do I have to tell you?" she laughed. "Semen can fuel powerful magic. I won't be able to maintain this long, though. So we'll just have to get another one out of you."
She dove down again, engulfing my dick. This time in addition to the swallowing motions she was rotating her head. This time I made it five seconds. She greedily slurped it down.
"The only disadvantage is that I can't enjoy the taste this way," she purred. "But it still feels amazing. I so miss my true body! Let's see how long I can hold onto this. With your help, of course."
She went back to work, this time bobbing her head up and down like a piston, deep throating me again and again. I felt like I was about to come on an upstroke, so forced her head back down, holding it there as I came a third time.
"Oh! Getting a little aggressive there!" she said. "I like it! But it really is time for you to rest now. I hope you enjoyed that."
"I did, Alice," I said. "Thank you. That was… an unexpected surprise."
"Told you to trust me," she said. "Good night, Luka."
I was mildly disappointed that she left.