I woke up the next morning feeling better than I had in a long time. The satisfaction of the previous night had helped me to sleep like a baby, rather than having dreams troubled by fear and doubt. Alice was still asleep next to me. Being able to wake up next to her was the greatest thing in the world. I just sat up, looking at her for a few minutes. Then I gently shook her awake. It was time to begin what could be the last day of our lives. Either that, or the start of a wonderful new future together. I would never be more ready for the challenges to come than I would be that day.
Alice and I ate a great breakfast in the dining hall and then moved into the great hall. The Four Heavenly Knights were already there, discussing strategies and tactics.
"Okay, so we've all got it?" Tamamo said. "When I send the pulse of mental energy, each of you installs the disc."
"We've heard it plenty of times, Tamamo," Alma Elma said.
"Granberia, are you all right?" Tamamo asked. "I know you aren't good with scienc-y stuff."
"There's no issue," Granberia assured her. "Even a child could do this."
"Granberia," Tamamo said. "You're holding the disc upside down."
"There's an up side and a down side?!" Granberia said in surprise.
"Luka, Alice, you're clear on your role?" Tamamo asked.
"Seems simple enough," I said. "Wait for the Gates of Heaven to open, rush in, raise hell."
"Wouldn't hurt to start raising hell even before they open," Tamamo said. "remember that the two of you might also be needed if any of us run into trouble."
"Remember, get me first!" Alice reminded everyone. "Transporting Luka that way is dangerous! And he can't bring himself back like I can!"
Galda transported us to the Navel of the World, where the Gate of Heaven would be found. We arrived early in the morning, two hours after sunrise. The Knights would give us about an hour from this point before they attempted to use the discs. They wanted us waiting at the Gate before taking that step. In the meantime, they were staying several hundred yards from the tower sites to avoid detection. In about 30 minutes they would enter the towers and await possible opponents. If none showed, they might call an audible and try to do the switch early. There had been a definite tradeoff between trying to get in and out quickly, which would have meant rushing in and hoping no one ran into opposition before they could switch the discs, or all waiting there like sitting ducks for awhile, which would give time for multiple opponents to rush to the site. They'd decided to split the difference, spending enough time in the towers to insure that everyone would be in place, but that also leaving just enough time for opposition to show up. We'd given up the element of surprise.
The path to the gate featured no opposition. It was a very nice path, befitting an entrance to heaven. There were flowers all along the path, on both sides. It was a very pleasant atmosphere. Ilias may not have been a very nice goddess, but she definitely seemed to appreciate the trappings of holiness and purity. After awhile, we arrived in a square-shaped garden. According to Tamamo, this was where the Gate of Heaven would be. I couldn't see it. Alice speculated that it must be hidden from human eyes, but would become visible once the seal was placed on the world's holy energy. She did not respond to my questions about how I should get in if they failed. I had to assume we'd either cross that bridge if we got to it, or give up and go back to her castle and try something else.
At the moment when the Heavenly Knights were supposed to enter the towers, we began trying to get the heavens' attention. I jumped around like an idiot and yelled a lot. Alice shouted threats, such as "Come out to your doom, angels! The wielder of Angel Halo challenges you!"
They didn't take the bait. Everything remained quiet. Was no one home? Or did they just assume that we couldn't get in and thus paid us no mind? The angels had been wary of challenging me ever since I'd sealed a few of them. They weren't the most reliable fighters, happy to slaughter those who couldn't touch them, running like cowards when someone could. For the moment, the only someone that could was me. The one concern I had about making my presence so obvious was that it was defeating Tamamo's purpose these last few days of keeping them guessing about where I was. If the angels went to attack the Heavenly Knights, they'd have no defense. I asked Alice if we should do something.
"Don't worry, Luka," she said, clearly worried. "We're talking about the Four Heavenly Knights here. They always figure out a way to win. I'm sure they have everything completely under control."
At that moment, I felt a small rush of wind and hands grabbed my shoulders from the back. "Hey, Luka! Need to borrow you!"
I recognized Alma Elma's voice. Alice's cry of protest was cut off by my vanishing into subspace, to appear a split second later, quite disoriented, somewhere else. It looked like it must be one of the towers. In front of me was a Next Doll, the one that had been battling Alma Elma in the castle.
Alma Elma steadied me and pointed me at the Next Doll. "Luka, fire!" she ordered. Reflexively I threw some of my power at the Next Doll. She was thrown back, pieces of her flying off in all directions as she flew backwards. She crashed with a loud clanging sound as her steel parts hit the ground and slid.
"Thanks, Luka-boy! I can take it from here!" the succubus said cheerily.
I didn't know how much power I'd released, but it had seemed to be a significant amount. I'd need to be careful about that. I only had so much and I still didn't know how fast it regenerated. The Next Doll was tough. She staggered to her feet, just in time for Alma Elma to nearly take her head off with a savate kick. She quickly followed with a palm strike to the thing's chest which seemed to shatter it. She continued to rain more blows onto the creature as I watched in wonder. Where had Alma Elma learned how to do that? I guessed that given how effective her pleasure attacks were, she never needed to use brute force. Her Next Doll opponent had been immune to pleasure attacks, leaving Alma Elma no choice but to use force. Me softening the Next Doll up had apparently been a big help, because she was dominating the thing.
I didn't get a chance to see the finish. I felt another pair of hands on my shoulders and a familiar voice. "Luka! There you are! Need you for a sec!"
Tamamo! I was transported in an instant to another tower. I saw nothing. Tamamo turned me to the left. Standing right in front of me was another Next Doll, WAY too close! I blasted it, too.
"Thanks, Luka! I just needed a moment to breathe, so I could do this!" she said, then intoned, "I ask thee, eternal time.. My body, shackled by the powers of creation, I beseech thee… Return my true body to me!"
Of course! That's why she seemed to be a child despite being by far the oldest of the Knights! Her true body was sealed! Now I've talked about a lot of beautiful women in this book. Tamamo in her true form topped them all. She was awe inspiring. There seemed to be more to her than just a simple monster.
"What is this power!?" the Next Doll facing her shouted, slowly rising to her feet. "When were you sealed by the Six Ancestors' Seal?"
"A very long time ago," Tamamo replied. "I am one of the original Six Ancestors. Now begone."
Flames shot from Tamamo and instantly incinerated the Next Doll. Even Alice didn't have this level of power! Alice's suspicion that Tamamo was the most powerful Heavenly Knight had been correct. In her child form, she was the equal of any Knight. In her true form, she was the most powerful being next to only Ilias herself.
"I'm sorry, Luka," she said. "That was not part of my plan. I had intended to use this against Ilias. Doing it here…"
She shrunk back into the body I knew well. Wait, that came out wrong. You get the idea. "Pomf," she said.
Pomf? What did that mean?
"Fluffy kitsune. Fluffy fluffy."
Yao and Nanabi popped into the tower. "Uh oh, it looks like she's used up her power and regressed!" Yao said. "Nanabi, you'll have to do the disc switch. I'll get as many kitsunes as I can! We'll need to pour our magic into her!"
Alice bamfed into the room herself. "What the hell is going on here? Tamamo?"
Before she got an answered, I was suddenly wrapped up in slime and teleported out. I guessed this must be Erubetie. At this rate, I wouldn't have much power left for the really big fight! And it looked like we had temporarily lost Tamamo! I popped into another tower, facing Erubetie's counterpart Next Doll. Instead of directing me to fire my power, however, she abruptly released me and disappeared! Had she rabbited? Maybe she was going to aid one of the others? I hoped she would be back, because she had one of the discs! Oh well, I said I could be used when needed, and I was needed.
The Next Doll gave a low, creepy laugh. "I was designed to fight Erubetie, but you look like you could be fun. Maybe I'll cut your limbs off and then rape your torso. You stand no chance against me without the full use of the spirits."
"How do you know I haven't learned how to use my power?" I said ominously.
"Promestein said that you could only use a tiny amount! Nothing that could seriously damage me! You're bluffing."
My hand started to glow with power. "Oh, crap…" the Next Doll said. It was actually a bluff, however, just not the kind she had expected. I didn't want to use yet more power. Her vibrations were of limited use against me. Her main weapons would be those wicked looking blades. I wasn't afraid of blades. I let the power in my hand recede back into me and drew my sword.
"Ah, so you were bluffing," she said smugly.
"No," I replied. "I just don't take you seriously. You were created to fight a slime, not a swordsman. Those knives you have are for helpless victims. I'm a master swordsman. I'd like to know the name of the person I'm dueling."
"My name is Amphisbaena," the Next Doll said.
"Amphi…. Emphi… What?"
"Amphisbaena."
"Emphysema? Why would Promestein give you all such ridiculous names?"
"You're stalling!" she said, advancing on me and swinging her knives at me.
Yes, I was stalling. I wasn't afraid of her if she was going to use only melee attacks on me. But I had just left Alice and was counting on her arriving to help. I'd just have to fight on my own until then. I entered the flow. Thanks to my own ability to somewhat utilize this power even without Undine, combining the ability with Undine to assist me was almost as good as having her full power.
Amphisbaena struck with her knives again and again. She had an awkward, unpredictable fighting style. In addition, she had an extreme height advantage against me. I was able to dodge or parry her attacks fairly easily, but doing actual damage with my counters was proving difficult. The battle dragged on for what seemed like awhile. As I've said before, it's very hard to keep track of time in combat. It always seems to be longer than it is. No help had arrived. I hoped that everyone else was okay.
Frustrated, she began attacking with her sharp metal legs as well. I struck at them with my sword, hoping it would paralyze them and cause her to stumble. My attacks were ineffective. I wasn't doing any significant damage. I still wasn't worried. Even without a spirit aiding me, I was a match for her and I still had my power as backup. I remembered how monsters had been defeated by me in the past because they'd gotten impatient. I resolved to not make the same mistake. I would fight on and wait for an opportunity. I wasn't going to take chances with so dangerous an opponent.
My patience began to pay off. Amphisbaena wasn't built for long fights. She was definitely slowing. I finally got in a good strike, although I had to jump to do it. An energy leeching cut opened up on the small, fleshy portion of her body. Just as I thought I was getting somewhere, someone else joined the party.
My heart sank as I saw it was another Next Doll. This one I recognized. She was known as Rapunzel. She hadn't been built for anyone in particular. I wasn't sure what her function was. Which meant that I also didn't have any idea what her strengths and weaknesses were.
I wouldn't have to worry about that, however. Erubetie chose that moment to come out from wherever she'd been hiding and attacked Rapunzel, wrapping her body around the Next Doll. Rapunzel had no useful defense. Amphisbaena attempted to come to her aid, but she was slowed by overexertion and I intercepted her. I summoned Sylph in place of Undine and began landing blow after blow on her. She teetered, nearly unable to stand. That's when Alice showed up.
"Get out of the way!" Alice shouted to me. I dove to my left, just as a ball of ice hit Amphisbaena, shattering her. Rapunzel had been nearly dissolved, reduced to slag by Erubetie.
Erubetie approached us. "Thank you both," she said. "I am ashamed that I had no other solution. I had thought to wear her down, make her overexert herself. She had more reserves of power than I had guessed. I needed Luka to fight in my stead."
"It's okay, Erubetie," I said. "I really wanted to help and I'm just glad I could."
"Well, if all of you are done completely ignoring my commands," Alice said. "there's one Heavenly Knight we haven't heard from yet."
"Granberia!" I shouted. "Alice, can you take me to her?"
"Already on it, since apparently you can be teleported," she said, putting her arms around me. With that, we were in yet another tower. I turned to look for Granberia. She apparently required no assistance. She was standing over the smoking ruin of her opponent. The floor of the tower had been cracked by the battle.
"Granberia!" I yelled. "Are you okay?"
She turned and noticed me and Alice. "Of course I'm okay! Did you think I needed help?"
"Everyone else did," I said.
"Then that is their shame," Granberia replied. "As any idiot can clearly see, I handled my opponent."
"I can clearly see that," I replied. "Did you use Quadruple Giga?"
"I did," she answered. "Arc-en-Ciel was programmed with my combat skills, as well as superior strength and speed. Without showing her something she hadn't seen before, I wouldn't have been able to beat her. Her inability to ever progress was her downfall. I got better. She didn't. So is everyone ready?"
I didn't hear whatever their conversations were, since they were using telepathy and I couldn't listen in. Everyone must have been ready, because Granberia went over to the machine to replace the disc. Alice grabbed hold of me without a word and teleported us back to our starting point. Seconds after I arrived, I felt a surge of power. The spirits were back to full strength! I checked my own power levels. Although I'd used some of my power to help the Knights, I still had most of it. I estimated I could probably do at least another dozen of those big blasts, perhaps several dozen smaller ones. Alice was with me. The Heavenly Knights would soon be joining us. I was confident that nothing we encountered in Heaven would be too much for us. Not even the goddess herself.
The gate appeared before us. Alice approached it and barreled into it. The doors splintered and she rushed in. I followed closely behind. Heaven was an interesting place. Beautiful, serene, and very, very quiet. No angels came to resist us.
"Alice, I'm not seeing anyone here," I said.
"This is weird," she agreed. "Tamamo was sure that once the gates were breached that angels would rush to heaven's defense. It's as if the place is deserted."
"Do you think they really committed all the angels to the surface?"
"Maybe," she mused. "but Ilias couldn't have sent them ALL away."
"Did I miss anything?" Granberia came running, catching up to us.
"Nothing yet," I said. "it's like a ghost town."
We were soon joined by Erubetie and Alma Elma. We were all walking in a random direction, gazing around like tourists. Had mortal eyes ever seen this place before? The ground was a cloud. It was soft to step on, and gave way somewhat, yet didn't slow us down. If you didn't think about it or look down, it felt like walking on solid ground. The sky was sunless, yet still bright. There was a dreamlike quality to the place. There were no ambient sounds, no smells. Occasionally we'd pass what looked like a monument to Ilias. She definitely enjoyed decorating the place with her own likeness.
"She sure is in love with herself," Alma Elma commented.
"Don't worry," a voice said all around us. "I'll be redecorating soon."
Appearing before us was Black Alice. Finally, some opposition, but not what I expected.
"What's going on here?" I asked.
"The preparations for the party have been completed," Black Alice answered. "sorry I ran a little late. We were supposed to be finished a couple of days ago, but we needed one last ingredient. That's what I took from you at Heinrich's prison."
"Ilias still wants my power, huh?" I responded. "Did taking it that way work out better than Eden's way?"
"Of course!" Black Alice replied. "Precisely as planned. That Seraph is such a party pooper. She wasn't invited."
"Well, you said heaven was going to be different by the time she got back," I said. "I'm sure Ilias won't just take your remodeling lying down."
"Her?" Black Alice laughed. "she's not invited to the party, either. As a matter of fact, I took care of her for you. She's dead. I ate her."
"You're crazy!" Alice yelled. "You couldn't even beat a human hero! There's no way you could beat a goddess!"
"Sure I could," Black Alice said. "If I combined all the dark energy I collected while Ilias was slaughtering monsters, added a little of Luka's power, and then sealed the goddess!"
"How….?" Realization must have dawned on Alice. "You used the Ancestors' Seal!"
"You mean Promestein used the Ancestors' Seal," I scoffed. "as well as altering Black Alice. She'd never come up with that on her own. That's why they were working together. Why they wanted Eden out of the way. To get a chance to take out Ilias! So where's the real mastermind?"
"Oh, are you speaking of Promestein?" Black Alice laughed. "She's probably in one of her many hidden labs. She's too boring to party with me. At least she helped organize it!"
"That explains why we haven't encountered any opposition," Alma Elma mused. "You must have also ensured that no angels would get in your way."
"You got it!" Black Alice said. "Once they come back and see who the new boss is, they'll fall in line. Or they'll be a meal. Ilias was delicious. I'm sure angels taste wonderful, too."'
"You're an idiot," Alice scoffed. "Making the exact same mistake you made five hundred years ago. Leaving yourself all alone."
"Oh, I am so much more than I was," Black Alice chuckled, and transformed herself into the scariest monstrosity I've ever seen. Her body had become huge, stories tall, all tentacles and mouths, with her tiny body at the center.
"Sometimes less is more," I pointed out. "Why would you do that to yourself?"
"Power, of course!" she said gleefully. "I am the most powerful being in any universe! I will rule everything! Including your world!"
Geez, as if the stakes weren't high enough. I had to save a village, then the whole world, now the multiverse? What was I, an Avenger? I summoned up all four spirits for the first time in what seemed forever. Without the seal, they came to me readily.
"We're making the same promise to you that we did when you fought the current monster lord," Undine said. "we won't fail you, no matter how long this battle takes!"
The three Heavenly Knights we had with us, as well as Alice, seemed determined as well. I really hoped we'd get Tamamo back soon. She'd have to join the battle in progress, however, because Black Alice wasn't waiting any longer. Tentacles lashed out at all of us. The first attempt did not go well for Black Alice. Granberia cut apart two tentacles with one swing of her huge sword. Alma Elma wasn't even there, already taking to the air to attempt an attack on Black Alice herself. Alice disintegrated the tentacles that came at her as if they were a mere annoyance. Erubetie was content to just let them pass through her and lashed out with tentacles of slime in retaliation. For my part, the flow allowed me to easily just drift out of their way.
Black Alice seemed able to battle us all as individuals even though it should technically have been five against one. Each of us fought our own war, unable to assist the others. Alma Elma flew around faster than the eye could see, landing kicks, punches, and palm strikes against various parts of the huge monstrosity that was supposedly a god. Attempts to get close to Black Alice's human form were too difficult to achieve, as the tentacles were densest there. Granberia steadily advanced on the ground, cleaving tentacles with mighty swings of her sword. Erubetie threw acidic pieces of herself at the gigantic new god that sizzled upon impact. Alice and I used our magic to do as much damage as possible while dodging tentacles. Since I assumed this was the final battle, I wasn't holding back. I was expending power at a stupendous rate. On the good side, my attacks seemed to be doing the most damage, blowing away huge chunks of Black Alice's gooey, slimy, towering body.
Possessing dark magic, holy magic, and my own power, I knew this was not the extent of Black Alice's abilities. We seemed to be holding our own for the time being. I think we all knew she was just feeling us out. It didn't take long before she switched tactics.
"I'm hungry," she said abruptly. "While this party has been fun, what's a party without refreshments? I think I'd like to enjoy some Luka. But first, let's clear the table."
Blasts of power emanated from many parts of her body, felling Alice and the three Heavenly Knights in an instant, leaving only me untouched. Countless tentacles reached out for me. Even with the help of the flow, I could not dodge them all. I was caught and pulled towards the frightening form. A gaping maw opened up just under Black Alice's human body.
"Once I consume you, I'll be even more powerful!" she exclaimed. "what I just did to your friends exhausted my reserves of your power. I need more!"
More and more tentacles wrapped around me, securing me as she brought me closer to that horrifying mouth. I prepared to empty out my power in a last ditch effort to break free. I believed that it would probably work, but I was at least one hundred feet above the ground. Still, it might be worth the risk to deny her my power.
A sword flash interrupted my concentration and caused the tentacles to drop me. I only feel a few feet before I was lifted in the arms of a rescuer. Who? I turned and looked into Eden's beatific face. She had no greeting for me. She set me down and faced Black Alice. My companions were slowly getting back to their feet.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Eden yelled at the huge form. "Where is the goddess?! You have betrayed her, haven't you?! Tell me where she is!"
"A new guest!" Black Alice exclaimed gleefully. "you can find your goddess inside me! I consumed her! Why do you think we wanted you out of the way! You're a powerful one, far more powerful than I was. But I'm not what I was any longer. Now I exceed you! I exceed what Ilias was! I could consume this entire world if I desired! Maybe I will, unless the people entertain me!"
"You… murdered the goddess?!" Eden seemed to almost collapse from despair. But then her resolve seemed to harden and she raised her flaming sword. "I will avenge you, Ilias!"
I could see that Eden had already done a lot of damage. Black Alice's monstrous form had been nearly cut in two from the top down to her human form. We had to pour it on. I didn't need to tell anyone that. Alma Elma leaped after Eden to put pressure on Black Alice from the air. Granberia resumed her advance. Alice was already hitting her with everything she had and had begun advancing as well. I stayed back and peppered anything that looked important with bolts of raw force.
Anticlimactically, Tamamo finally joined the party as well, albeit in her child form. She seemed to have recovered from her regression. Staring at the incredible sight that was Black Alice, she seemed at a loss as to what to do. Fortunately, Eden was becoming the new focus of Black Alice's efforts, as she was doing tremendous damage.
I'd like to say that the battle ended with some incredibly great idea that someone had, or a lucky shot, or a fatal miscalculation. That's how it always happens in fantasy books. Instead, we simply killed her with a thousand cuts, Eden's being the most decisive. She may have been the most powerful being this universe had ever seen, but she was faced with too many powerful opponents and she was all alone. Her arrogance and inability to care about anyone but herself and accumulating power had been her undoing. As her resistance faded, she blamed Promestein for failing her. I have no love for Promestein, but Black Alice failed herself. She had everything: dark magic, holy magic, my power, her own natural abilities. No matter how powerful or smart you are, you need friends. As a loner, I understood the temptation of wanting to rely on no one, to do it all myself. At that moment, I was never more grateful to have friends. When the battle ended, there was a disgusting pile of tentacles, gunk, blood, viscera, and slime the size of a small mountain.
"Is it really over?" I asked. No one seemed to be willing to say anything. I don't think anyone could believe that we'd truly won. Either that, or they felt something. I was beginning to as well. A bright light shot out from the peak of the pile of dead flesh that had once been Black Alice.
"No," Alice breathed next to me. "There's no way…"
Ilias emerged from the remains of Black Alice, ascending, reborn, on a pedestal of light as bright as the sun. Her face looked down at all of us. She descended slowly, alighting in front of us. With a scream of joy, Eden ran to Ilias and embraced her. Ilias returned the embrace and they both squealed like excited schoolgirls.
"You're alive!" Eden exulted. "I should have had more faith! You can never be truly destroyed! You are the goddess!"
"Yes!" Ilias agreed, as they now laughed and giggled forehead to forehead, their legs tapping with joy. "It was totally my plan all along! Now I have everything! Dark magic, light magic, otherworldly power!"
"Wait, THAT was your plan?" I asked in disbelief. "I can think of so many ways that plan would have gone wrong, from my idiocy alone! That couldn't have been it!"
Ilias released Eden from her embrace and walked towards me, placing her hand on my cheek. "Oh, my little Luka," she said lovingly. "you have served me well. Everything you've done, it's been for me. Without you, none of this would have been possible. You can still take your heavenly reward. You've more than earned it."
"See, Luka!" Eden cried joyfully. "I told you! Now you can be with us forever! You'll be so happy! Imagine, Heaven for eternity! Isn't that what your people have always desired! If you like, we can make heaven more like the place you expected, if this isn't to your liking. Nothing is impossible for the goddess!"
"This is utter foolishness," Alice interjected. "I know Luka is easily manipulated, and I know you're plans are incredibly detailed and deceptive, but he's right. So many things had to go right for this outcome, many of those things completely out of your hands!"
"Oh, Monster Lord," Ilias said flippantly. "You're so smart! Of course things could have gone in many other directions, which is why I set things up so that no matter what happened, I would win! The only suspense was Black Alice. Her eating me was the dangerous part of my plan, because if you had all failed, I wouldn't have been able to be reborn. In your own way, you are all incredibly resourceful. Black Alice, on the other hand, was a fool. She was the idea pawn, even moreso than Luka, because she was so simple. Wanted just one thing. All I had to do was dangle it in front of her and she did everything I wanted. You should be honored. I thought you were a good bet and I was right! It's really too bad that I hate you monsters so much. You really should share in Luka's reward. But, I am who I am, so you'll have to die. Sorry. Luka, come along, you shouldn't have to see this."
Ilias grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away. I didn't budge. "Oh, are you choosing to stay and die with them?" Ilias asked. "Are you really that pathetic? You'd choose a snake over a goddess?"
"I would, but that's beside the point," I answered. "What if I had killed her? Wouldn't that have derailed your whole plan?"
"As I told you, my divine plan had a lot of possible outcomes, nearly all of them outcomes that worked in my favor. If you had killed the Monster Lord, I would have simply brought you into heaven and consoled you, because I know you'd just be so sad. Meanwhile, my forces would be killing everyone and remaking the planet in an image more to my liking. Sure, I wanted to be the ultimate being, but I would have taken a new world as a consolation prize. By the way, do you know what your girlfriend was going to do if you simply refused to fight her?"
Alice shifted her eyes, unable to look at me, her tail moving around nervously.
"You noticed that barrier, I'm sure," Ilias said. "she was going to trap you and her in there for all eternity, granting you your wish to be with her forever. Inside that barrier, neither of you would have ever aged. Meanwhile, I would have destroyed the rest of the world while you two lovers got quality time. Oh look! I still win! I wouldn't even have bothered to break down that barrier and bothered you two. I would have simply enjoyed watching as you came to hate her. You're not exactly the type to want to be cooped up in a small room with someone for all eternity, Luka."
"Wow," Alice breathed. "You are one petty bitch."
"I'll tell you what, Ilias," I said. "Call off your armies. Let my friends go. You have what you want. If you let them go and stop trying to commit genocide, I'll stay here with you."
Ilias laughed. "Wow, you're full of yourself! You've gotten so used to those abominations thinking you're my gift to women that you think I actually want you? As if someone like me could ever desire someone like you! Those monsters just think you're tasty. No, I'm just being the benevolent and generous goddess that I am and rewarding my servant. You have nothing that I want. I already took from you what I needed. Your power now lies inside of me as it does inside of you. Unlike you, I can regenerate it quickly. So if you want to decline my generous offer, that's your idiotic choice."
"If it helps, I want you," Eden said, starting to look a little uncomfortable and glancing uneasily at Ilias.
"Of course you do, dearie," Ilias said condescendingly. "You always were my sincerest child. Don't think I've forgotten your part in all this. You will be rewarded as well. If you want Luka as part of that reward, I'm more than happy to give him to you. See, Luka, a Seraph thinks you're great! I stand corrected! Although I'm at a loss as to what you see in him, Eden."
"He's good, and he's honest, and he would even save an enemy!" Eden responded hotly.
"Excuse me?" Ilias said. "I'm not sure I appreciated that tone."
"I'm sorry, goddess," Eden said, downcast. "he saved me from a great deal of suffering. I cannot forget that. I serve only you. Please forgive my tone."
"I understand, Eden," Ilias said. "and I forgive you. Now please, go lead my armies to victory while I deal with these irritants. I'll make sure to turn Luka into an angel after I kill him since he apparently matters to you."
"Armies?" Eden asked. "but you have what you wanted. There's no reason to kill the humans. Don't we love the humans? Haven't we been protecting them from the monsters that prey on them?"
"Luka, did you break my Seraph?!" Ilias yelled, turning on me.
"Oh, Ilias," Tamamo laughed. "if you had spent more time with him rather than trying to lord it over him, you might have been changed by him too. He has that effect on people."
"Oh, I've been in his head," Ilias snarked. "I'm the only one who was allowed in there, thanks to my spell. I can assure you that what's in there is pathetic and useless. Unless he's given direction. He's a tool. Enough of this. Eden, please go rally our armies and complete the destruction of all life on the planet. In your absence they've been doing poorly."
"No," Eden said firmly. "I will not be part of this madness."
"Are you betraying me like your sisters did?" Ilias said dangerously.
"No," Eden responded. "I love you, Ilias. I can never betray you. But I cannot be a part of this. If you do this, you will have to order someone else to do it. Order me to do any other task. You yourself taught me to love humanity. I allowed myself to go along with your plans at first because I knew you must have a higher purpose. And you did! But now that your divine purpose has been fulfilled, why continue?"
"Because it's what I want, that's why!" Ilias snapped. "You need no other reason. But if you don't have the stomach for it, I won't force you. Begone. Go… sew or something, until I can think of something useful for you to do."
"Yes, goddess," Eden said morosely, and vanished.
"Wow, you're evil," Alma Elma said. "And I know evil."
"Whatever," Ilias said, showing Alma Elma her palm. "As much as I enjoyed telling you all about my evil plan, as you see it, I have important matters to attend to. Remaking a world is hard work, after all! So I'm going to have to kill you all now."
"We beat Black Alice, and we'll beat you," I said with determination. Even as powerful as you are, it's just you against all of us. You won't win."
"Oh? You thought I'd be up here all alone, having sent my entire army away? I'm insulted that you imagine me to be so foolish."
Out of the clouds emerged hundreds of angels. My heart sank. We'd been checkmated. With all the power now at my disposal, with Alice at full power, even with the Four Heavenly Knights at our side, could we stand up to this force? For all my power I had a frail, human body. Even with the help of the flow, I would not be able to stay away from attacks by dozens of opponents. I doubted my five companions could keep many of them off my back. Since I was the only one who was a real threat to Ilias, they would focus on me and kill me. Then they would slaughter my friends. It's a good thing I was never in charge of planning anything in this outfit, because Ilias wasn't the only one who had come prepared.
"I know you quite well, Ilias," Tamamo said. "I know you plan for every contingency. So do I."
One by one, but at the rate of several per second, monsters began to materialize onto the heavenly battlefield. Hundreds of them, of all types. I spotted behemoths, ants, plants, hornets, harpies, lamias, and kitsunes, more varieties than I'd ever seen in one place before. I even spotted a few queen class monsters. The queen kraken's large form was the most noticeable among them.
"How?!" Ilias screamed. "How the fuck did you materialize all of those monsters into my sacred home! Even you can't teleport into the heavens! You had to come through the gate!"
"You're 'servant', Promestein had a device that made it possible," Tamamo giggled. "What, you didn't know she was planning an invasion of the heavens? Seems quite an oversight given that your master plan not only accounted for, but expected, a betrayal. You don't have many weaknesses, Ilias, but your laziness when it comes to understanding science is a biggie. You left all of that to Promestein, having no idea exactly what she was working on."
Ilias stood there for a moment seething. Composing herself, she spread her massive wings and took to the air. "Angels," she announced. "I want no prisoners. Kill every single one of these abominations. Including the human offworlder."
The angels dove onto the monster force en masse. The battle was joined. If there was an actual plan of attack, it dissolved in an instant as the battle turned into a chaotic melee. Those monsters who could fly took to the air to engage angels while those on the ground waited for angels to come to them. Some monsters who were limited to the ground had bows and were using them.
In an obvious attempt to bring some order to the monster side of the battle, Alma Elma took to the air and began rallying what winged monsters she could into a battle formation. Most of the winged monsters that were foolish enough to engage angels one on one were getting the worst of it. Bodies were already beginning to fall from the sky, more monsters than angels. Gathering a phalanx of sorts out of a few dozen winged monsters, Alma Elma directed a midair charge against a large group of angels to the west. They slammed into the disorganized angels. Supporting each other in combat, with Alma Elma directing traffic, they were able to give as good as they got. Seeing the success of Alma Elma's tactic, I saw the Queen Bee take to the air as well and begin organizing some winged insects into a similar formation.
On the ground, things were a little more balanced, although even more chaotic. The strongest monsters were on the ground, many of whom could handle angels solo if need be. It was much harder for me to tell what was happening on the surface. Especially since I had all I could handle as well, starting about ten seconds into the fight.
A large group of angels attacked our front line, which consisted of Alice, me, and the Four Heavenly Knights. Through sheer numbers they got through easily, attacking monsters directly behind us. I found myself dealing with attacks from angels carrying a variety of weapons. Flaming swords, swords of pure light, swords of what appeared to be normal steel but had to be heavily enchanted, maces, axes, even whips. With my fighting ability at full strength and all spirits summoned, I was sealing them as quickly as the other Knights and Alice were dispatching their own opponents. Still more came, determined to overwhelm us.
Ilias surveyed the battle for a moment before deciding to take a direct hand in things. At first she fired huge blasts of holy power into masses of monsters where none of her angels had yet attacked. Bodies and body parts of monsters flew into the air from the force of the explosions. Granberia broke away from the front after beheading an angel to run back and shout orders to spread out.
Seeing this, Ilias changed tactics. Now firing smaller bolts of energy rapid fire from both hands she flew over the battlefield, strafing. Four other angels joined her in formation, doing the same thing, albeit with less force behind their energy bolts. Monsters continued to fall, nearly obliterated by Ilias' fire, killed or wounded by her supporting angels' weaker fire.
Some winged monsters approached the formation to challenge it, only to be swept aside with contemptuous ease. Arrows sailed into the air at Ilias and her accompanying angels, I saw one angel fall, quickly replaced by another. The return fire from Ilias was devastating. If something wasn't done, the forces of heaven would have uncontested air superiority.
I would have done something myself, but I was constantly under pressure. Alice did her best to assist, but she herself was hard pressed. I considered asking her to take to the air to prevent Ilias from gaining uncontested control, but realized that I probably shouldn't be worrying about the larger picture. I didn't have the strategic mind she and the Knights had. If she saw an advantage to taking off, I had to assume she would. I had my own problems to deal with. I don't know how many angels I sealed in just the first few minutes of the battle. It had to be at least fifteen.
Turns out, fifteen was just the feeling out process. Alice, who had been close to me the entire time, was hit by a holy bolt from the air and thrown back into the melee, causing me to lose sight of her. Seeing that my most potent protector was no longer at my side, a large group of angels sought to surround me. Granberia reappeared just in time, from where I'm not sure. Standing nearly back to back, swinging our swords, we fought back against the mass attack.
The fire from the air had begun to slacken as Alma Elma's formation had successfully occupied Ilias and her entourage. That entourage was getting smaller in number. Alma Elma broke the neck of an angel and kicked another so hard that it fell to the ground, where it was immediately set upon by a tentacled monster I could not identify.
The attack on my person defeated for the time being, Granberia had leaped back into the general fray, felling angels even faster than I had. Suddenly, I was knocked down onto my face. I quickly turned to my back and saw nothing but shell. That shell was taking fire from an angel that had taken advantage of my mental lapse to shoot me in the back. Pieces of the shell were broken off as the holy energy struck it. The angel flew onwards, searching for other targets.
A hand reached down to help me up and I was brought face to face with a crab girl. Wait a minute. Was it her? "You should really be more careful," she said. "All this time and you still get caught napping during fights."
It was her! "Thank you," I said. "I never did get your name."
"It's Cindy," she replied with a smile. Then she winked. "See you around."
Tamamo came to my side. I gave her a questioning glance. She giggled. "What? She knows how to fight! You know that better than anyone!"
She turned serious. "We need to get you up there. You're wasted fending off angels. The real threat is Ilias."
Indeed, I could see that Ilias was just finishing up with Alma Elma, who was careening out of control and now out of the fight. Ilias had lost her coterie, however, and was for the moment unaccompanied. For the moment, she settled for firing pinpoint shots with one finger at random targets, hitting almost everything she aimed at. Attempting to distract her, I brought my magic into play for the first time in this battle, forming it into similar bolts, and firing them at her from my hands. I was not practiced at this, however. Hitting aerial targets is difficult, as I learned. The bolts didn't even come close to hitting her. It did get Ilias' attention though, causing her to fire a huge blast in my direction. I got a shield up, something I was getting much better at. She glared at me, stuck out her tongue, and resumed slaughtering monsters.
"Get him up there!" Tamamo ordered someone behind me. I looked back and came face to face with the Queen Kraken, who without so much as a 'hello', grabbed me with a tentacle and flung me towards Ilias. This was nuts! Was someone going to catch me? I looked down and saw Alice rapidly speeding through the melee under me, apparently trying to get to wherever she calculated I would land. Trusting her completely, I focused on Ilias. The kraken's aim was unerring. Ilias saw me coming at her like a cannonball and tried to dodge. My sword did not connect where I had been hoping. I had intended to drive it into her chest and hope for the best. Instead, I clipped a wing. That caused her to curse and go into an uncontrolled dive.
She wasn't the only one. I'd continued to go higher even after passing her, then began a long free fall. Alice was right under me waiting. I prepared for her to catch me. She didn't. At the last second she moved aside, causing me to hit the ground face first. To my surprise, I simply sunk into the cloudy texture and bounced back up to the surface.
"Why didn't you catch me?!" I yelled.
"You idiot," she said. "if I'd caught you, we both would have broken every bone in our bodies. Did you not notice that the ground you were standing on was a cloud?"
"Then why did you rush over here?" I asked, feeling stupid for the thousandth time since I'd arrived on this world.
"That's why," she said, pointing.
Ilias, now quite irate, was stalking our way, moving her hands to form a massive ball of holy force which I presumed was supposed to obliterate any shield I could put up. I looked at Alice, hoping she had some advice.
"Shield, idiot! Put almost all of your energy into it!"
Oh yeah. It occurred to me that this could be what Ilias wanted, since my reserves were lower. If I put everything into this shield I'd have nothing left. But what choice did I have? Emptying myself of all the power I had left, minus a sliver, I got the shield up just as she threw that massive ball of force at us.
The shield worked like a charm, but I was about finished with magic for the day. How much did Ilias have left? Alice leaped in front of me to shield me with her body, putting up her own shield. She looked back at me and shouted an order.
"Luka, charge up Quadruple Giga!"
"It takes too long!" I protested.
"It'll take longer if you don't get started!" she yelled back. "I'll protect you while you do it!"
Ilias continued to stalk our way, firing bolts that knocked out pieces of Alice's shield, made of some kind of crystal instead of energy. That was good thinking. Alice's energy barriers were too feeble compared to Ilias's energy. Forcing her bolts to penetrate real matter might buy her some time. But I had my own job to do now.
"Come, Sylph!"
Granberia came charging in at Ilias from the side, unleashing Vaporizing Rebellion Sword on her. Ilias staggered under the onslaught, enabling Alice to discard her crystal shield and reform a new, bigger one, which she turtled behind.
"Come, Gnome!"
Ilias nearly pulverized Granberia with what looked like a sledgehammer made of pure energy. Granberia lay still on the ground. Tamamo grabbed Ilias in her tails and began pummeling her with earthpowered fists.
"Come, Undine!"
Ilias broke out of Tamamo's tail hold, tearing not just hair, but flesh. Tamamo's glorious tails became a bloody mess, her face wracked in pain. With a punch of her own, Ilias knocked Tamamo out. She turned back towards Alice and me with a sadistic grin, advancing on us with her hands raised.
"Come, Salamander!"
Firing rapid bolts of energy, Ilias blasted apart Alice's shield. Bolts began to strike Alice, searing flesh and breaking bones. Still, she stood. Ilias was now only a few feet away. Alice put up another crystal shield and turned to me.
"Now infuse what raw magic you have left into the sword!"
Was that even possible? I did as she said. To my surprise, the sword held onto it.
"And now my dark energy!" Alice grabbed hold of the hilt with me, adding her own magic to it.
Ilias was standing right before us, having finished obliterating Alice's crystal shield. Angel Halo was leaking energy, and yet held in both Alice's and my own hands it remained under control. "Now!" Alice yelled. We charged forward, holding the brilliant blade.