I informed Promestein of both our acquisition of the second ring and the probable whereabouts of a third. Only one ring's location remained unknown. I had a hunch, however: heaven. That would be my last stop, however. First, I needed to discuss something with Tamamo. As well as get some quality time, after thirty years away. Alice informed me that she was in the castle, in her room, so I knocked on her door. She bade me enter.
"Tamamo, so good to finally get some time to talk to you alone!" I greeted her.
She was obviously still in her unsealed form, otherwise known as her actual, true form, but I was used to her childlike form so I was still adjusting.
"Hiya!" she said, putting away whatever she was working on. "I know you've got a quest, so this obviously isn't a catching up visit."
"It's not," I admitted. "But I'd like to do some of that, as well as discuss something really important with you."
"Oh? Well start with the important stuff."
"One of the rings is on Saja's finger," I said.
"THAT was one of her rings?" Tamamo replied, surprised. "What did she need that one for? If I recall correctly, that was the one that causes its wearer to not age. Saja's already immortal."
"Maybe she was protecting it?"
"Possibly," she mused. "So how do you plan to get it? Just take it off of her sealed body?"
"That was why I wanted to come to you," I said. "When Alipheese helped me get back, she requested that I unseal her daughters. She said they'd behave themselves. What do you think?"
"At the risk of being biased on the subject," Tamamo said carefully. "I think they will behave. We unsealed the angels after the war. You showed them your power, and they may have resented me for siding with Alice, but they still respect my own power. Not to mention Alice and Granberia's. As long as the Dark God isn't around to order them to make trouble, it should be safe to unseal them. I can't guarantee that, though. All five of them are volatile."
"I'll consult Alice as well, of course, but I think I want to do it."
"We'll go to her later today and discuss it with her," Tamamo said. "after all you've already done for me Luka, do you know what I'd owe you if you freed my sisters and enabled us to be a family again?"
"Um..." I knew what that language meant.
"I'm just messin' with ya!" she laughed, then turned serious. "Mostly. You just got back. There's going to be no funny stuff for awhile, understand? We'll revisit this conversation on your next birthday. You bringing my sisters back would be the least of what I owe you. Do you realize how much happier Granberia and Alice have been since your return?"
"I'm sure I'm even happier," I said. "I was warned that I could be wandering from world to world as long as I lived, never getting home."
"I…. wanted to talk to you about that as well," Tamamo said, turning pensive. She rose and took my hand, leading me to her bed. I noticed that she had a larger bed since she was a larger kitsune once again. "Don't worry, cuddles only, clothes on, no funny stuff with the tails. I just… want to be lying down for this."
"What's wrong?" I asked, getting into the bed, Tamamo joining me.
"Did you meet any of my counterparts?" she asked, once she was comfortably cuddled up with me.
Oh. I could guess what she was worried about. "I did…." I said, then hesitated.
"Was it bad?" she asked.
"Mostly, no," I answered. "In most worlds you were in your sealed form. I usually encountered you at Yamatai, sometimes in this castle. The first jump was extremely difficult. You and I saw Alice killed by a different Luka. I mean, your counterpart and I."
"That was your first parallel world?" she asked, horrified. "That must have been so awful! My poor counterpart! What did she do?"
"I don't know," I said. "That first jump couldn't have lasted more than a half an hour. I tried comforting her and then I was gone."
"What were the good experiences like?"
"I saw you in Yamatai a few times," I replied. "I never introduced myself, just waved and you waved back. You're always at your most friendly when you're there."
"That place makes me happy," she said. "and how about the times you encountered me where I'd never been sealed?"
"I only encountered an unsealed version of you once," I said. "It was the last jump before I made it home. Tamamo, do you really want to talk about this? That wasn't you."
"I have to know," she said, her voice quaking. "I'm guessing it must have been awful if you're reluctant to talk about it. I'm sorry, Luka, but I have to play the friend card. I know it might hurt you to recount what happened, but I have to know. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if I have to. Please."
"The world I jumped into was controlled by Black Alice," I began. "She had all five rings. This was the first I'd heard of them. One of them made her immortal. The Six Ancestors were all under her command. She sent you to perform something called the culling in Sabasa. I was there. We fought, you won, and… your counterpart raped me. Then she took me back to the castle where all six of the Ancestors raped me until my mind was broken."
She clutched me to the point where her nails dug into my skin and buried her face in my chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I was hoping you'd never see me as I was," she said, once she had regained some composure. "So if your mind was broken, how are you here with me now?"
"Alice saved me," I said. "Or Ariana, as she was called in that world. She figured out how to help me use my power to a greater extent than I'd ever been able to before. I healed my own mind. Then I fought all six of you and won. I sealed the others and left you untouched."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because even after that I still believed in you," I said. "Ariana would need someone to help her be the best Monster Lord that she could be. I guessed that if you were helping her that it would begin your process of changing. Your counterpart seemed to accept the responsibility."
"I can't believe that you can even look at me after that, much less lay in this bed with me."
"It wasn't you," I said simply. "You've never been anything but wonderful to me. No other Heavenly Knight, not even Alice, can make that claim."
"Luka, you are an idiot, but you are the kindest idiot I've ever met. Please never change. And please live a long, long time, because I'm going to need a lot of time to make this up to you."
"One way that you can start is by figuring out how one or both of my children can become Monster Lords."
"Oh, Luka!" Tamamo said. "That's a tall order, but don't think I haven't tried to figure out how to make it work. When they were first born, we analyzed their DNA, and yes, they had monster potential. But it's not the same as someone like Sara. You're special, Luka. Remember how I said that no one from Yamatai had your power? Well, those peoples' DNA was already strong, but yours was dominant over Alice's in almost every respect. Their biology is completely human. There will be no monster transformations. When we say 'latent monster potential', we mean that they have some monster abilities. I'd still had hopes that they'd be strong enough to challenge for the throne. It won't happen, Luka. Even together, they aren't in the class of a Heavenly Knight. There's one other problem. Alice is going to outlive them, anyway. Their lifespans are probably as long as your own."
"Oh," I sighed. I hadn't even thought about how long they might live. Alice had been quite young when they'd been born, only twenty-five. Even if they lived to a grand old age, Alice would still outlive them by decades. "That means that me, Nero, and Neris are only going to be with her for half of her life. She'll still have another hundred or so years to figure out what to do with herself."
"She's the Monster Lord," Tamamo replied. "She'll have plenty to do. No monster who has lived long enough and loved a human has escaped this reality. I'm so sorry, Luka."
"Don't be," I said, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "I'm sure Nero and Neris will give her grandchildren. She'll still have you to help her. And eventually, you and Alice will raise her heir."
"Someday," Tamamo said. "Let's not worry about that now. You just got back. It was dumb to worry about it thirty years ago. So, you fought and sealed five ancestors? Just how powerful have you become?"
"Hopefully powerful enough to do the same to Ilias if she decides she wants to commit genocide again."
"I'm optimistic," she said. "Even about Ilias. You'ce learned a few things about how this world of ours works. Nearly everything is based on sex, and when you show someone your strength, they generally start to see things your way. If Ilias does decide she wants to make trouble, I thikn she'll at least wait until long after you're gone. She's immortal. What's a century to her?"
"Maybe she'll see how good things are and decide not to mess it all up," I said hopefully.
"That's what I hope will happen with my sisters," she replied. "I promise you that I'll keep your dream alive even after you're gone."
"Do you think you'll ever marry again, Tamamo?" I asked.
"I would have married you," she answered softly. "I don't know. I loved Horace so much, but knowing what I know now, was it even real?"
"What do you mean? He loved you, didn't he?"
"With all his heart," she replied, her eyes getting moist again. "Luka, he didn't woo me. I didn't woo him. I saw him, I liked him, I raped him. He came three times. In kitsune culture, that meant that we were married. I kept on raping him day after day. I was in my sealed form then, so I couldn't make him love me with just one night. It took a few weeks, but by then he'd have done anything for me. I didn't earn his love. I took it. That was the way back then. It was the way until you came along, at least for most monsters. If I'd beaten you in the grand hall, I would have done it to you as well. Luka, I'm not as good as you think I am. A lot of what I became was due to Horace. He was so much like you, Luka. He never became so devoted or addicted that he wouldn't tell me what was right and what was wrong."
"No one's truly 'good'," I argued. "we're all products of our upbringing, our culture. You changed. You're still changing. You want to truly make it up to me? Find a good man. Have a real relationship. Don't even touch him until you're convinced he's in love with you, that it's real. Whatever you used to be, you're a woman any man would be lucky to have now."
"Your son is awfully cute," she giggled.
"Touch him and die," I warned, only half jokingly.
I had intended to spend the rest of the day with Alice, assuming that while we did have a crisis, it was a slow moving crisis. No one had told me that we only had days, or weeks, or even months, to solve it. The problem had been going on for decades. I'd assumed that meant that we could work on it at our leisure. Nero and Neris reminded me that this wasn't entirely true.
"Dad!" Nero yelled, catching me in a hallway heading to Alice's room. "Promestein just alerted us! Lizards are coming! We need you!"
"Okay, take me wherever you need to take me," I said.
The twins took a position to either side of me and tapped their staffs together. Without transition, I was transported to a hill overlooking a small road. I saw nothing.
"Promestein gives us early warning when the lizards are coming," Nero explained, answering my unspoken question. "Because the rifts they create are intentional, not random, she's figured out how to detect the perturbations and whatnot."
"Nero's trying to sound smart," Neris teased. "There's a time difference between their world and ours, just like there is between your home world and ours. I won't pretend to understand how it all works, but that time difference means that their rifts don't open suddenly. They appear to be opening in slow motion until they are fully ready. If you look closely, you can see it over there."
I looked to where her finger was pointing, and indeed, I could see what looked like a disturbance in the air a few hundred yards to the northwest.
"So, are either of you seeing anyone?" I asked.
"Nero is," Neris said with a mischevious smile. "Mother does not approve."
"A kitsune?" I asked, also smiling.
"Worse," Nero replied. "A succubus. Mom doesn't approve, but she doesn't interfere. I'm a big boy now, and Olivia's really sweet. That's thanks to you, I hear."
"Oh, she's from succubus village?" I asked.
"Yep," he confirmed. "Pretty much all the succubi live there, now."
"A lot's changed with them since you were last here," Neris explained. "The older generation doesn't know what the young succubi are coming to. Wanting real boyfriends, marriage, monogamy…. Kids these days, right?"
"Really, the succubi are like that now?" I asked.
"Not most of 'em," Nero replied. "But Olivia is one of those. Wants more out of life than just treating men as livestock."
"She wants to own her own cow rather than share the community cows," Neris teased. "But I like Olivia. Mom does too, although she'll never admit it until he puts a ring on that finger."
"I'm workin' on it!" Nero objected. "I've been steady with Olivia longer than you've ever been with a guy!"
"I don't settle," she shot back. "I also don't get to spend much time with males. I didn't get to spend my teen years discovering my sexuality with monsters in the castle who were fifty years my senior."
"Okay, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know about any of that just yet," I said, trying to put an end to the argument. Neris mouthed something to me that looked suspiciously like 'Gabriella'. Then she looked off in the distance and grew serious.
"They'll start marching out of there in a minute," Neris said. "Time to go to work."
"What's the plan?" I asked.
"Depends on the numbers and the weaponry," Nero said. "Each time they come out of there, they bring more and better. The good news is that this world doesn't allow anyone to stay for long unless they are bonded to someone who does belong here. They got around that with some cute tech on their uniforms. It's a little device like this." Nero held up a small little piece of tech. "Rip that device off, and they go home. Normally we bring some speedsters to these shindigs and they run or fly or teleport around removing the devices or knocking them out and removing them, whatever it takes. They picked their spot well this time, though. No fairy hubs nearby, no harpies, not even succubi with wind expertise. That's why we brought you. We heard you're the fastest of the fast."
"So why do they keep coming here, again?" I asked.
"They think mammals are tasty," Neris replied. "That's why it's so important for you to put an end to this if you can. Eventually they'll be able to mount a full invasion. Then anything with warm blood becomes livestock."
The rift, or portal, finished opening and beings began stepping out of it, ten abreast. And kept on stepping out. The first hundred were followed by another, then another.
"Oh shit," Nero cursed. "Do you think you can handle this many?"
"No," I replied. "I don't know if Sylph or even my power can keep the speed up that long, and even if I could, I think they'd get lucky sooner or later."
Indeed, the lizard soldiers appeared to be carrying firearms. Although it would be nearly impossible to draw a bead on me, they would eventually hit me assuming they weren't too picky about killing a lot of their own in the process. The rift closed once eight groups of one hundred had exited. Without missing a beat, they continued marching down the road.
"Where are they headed?" I asked, not sure where I was.
"We're on Eden continent," Neris answered. "there's a small kitsune village between Enrika and the mountains. They've hit that place before. If they brought this many, they plan on taking every fox girl in the village."
"We're not gonna have a choice but to call the Knights and Mom and just duke it out with them," Nero said, now looking a bit scared.
"How do you think that will go for us?" I asked.
"We'll win, but I don't hold out much hope of not losing people," Nero replied. "Those weapons they carry can hurt even Erubetie."
I thought of Alma Elma. I did not want to lose anyone else that I loved. I considered trying to rain mass disaster onto them, but realized that I'd never tried anything like that before. If I failed, and ran out of juice, we'd have to get out of dodge, fast. Alma Elma….
"If only we still had Alma Elma," I said. "With two of us speedsters, we might pull it off. It would be really tough to have any sense of where their enemy was if two of us were among them. We'd also be able to work twice as fast."
"Dad!" Nero exclaimed. "Dude, your power is in theory nearly unlimited in capability! If you want Alma Elma here, why don't you just wish her here? You loved her, right? You probably can imagine her standing in front of us right now! Do it, then!"
"Bringing back the dead is dangerous," Neris objected. "Maybe he could give us his speed, somehow? Then all three of us could do this."
"I doubt that I could do that," I said. "I don't know how that would work. The most I've ever done when it comes to giving someone my power is healing them, and I only did that once."
"There's nothing you can't do," Neris said. "That's what Gabriella told us. Maybe we can help. We inherited your power. It can't do as much for us, but we're very good at what we know how to do."
"I don't know how giving us his power would work either," Nero said. "Well, I know one way you could maybe take his power…"
"Oh, you are disgusting!" Neris snapped.
"So are kitsunes turned into hamburgers," Nero shot back.
"I wouldn't know how to take it that way, anyway!" Neris argued. "It's not like monsters just fuck him and get his power! Only the most powerful angels and gods have been able to do it! I'm not going to screw my dad because just maybe I might get his power!"
"No one's screwing anyone here today!" I said, cutting them off once again before this conversation got really out of hand. Summoning the dead it is, I thought. "I know it's dangerous, but this is life and death. I'm going to try to bring back Alma Elma."
"Wait!" Neris said. "Give me like, two minutes! I'm going to get Gabriella! You're not doing something this crazy without her to guide you!"
That sounded prudent to me. We had a little time. I nodded my agreement and my two rambunctious kids tapped their staffs together and disappeared. While I waited, I began following the small army on the ridge overlooking the road, so as not to lose sight of them.
It took five minutes, but Nero and Neris reappeared with Gabriella. I briefly explained my crazy idea to her. She had misgivings, to put it mildly, but had no better suggestions other than Nero's original: bring in as many powerful monsters as possible and slug it out. Which would mean a battle, and casualties on our side.
"If you are going to do this, you must be sure to do it right," she said. "Concentrate. Do the same as you did with your holograms of people you have attempted in the past. There are no limits on your power beyond what you impose on yourself unconsciously. You need her. She wants to return to help you. Imagine her standing in front of you, alive and well."
I did more than that. Unbidden, all the memories came flooding back, the good and the bad. It was as if my life was flashing before my eyes, except it was only the parts of my life that Alma Elma had been involved in. Fortunately, there were more good memories than bad. Our love of fighting games, which we played together several times a week. Chatting together like two teenage girls about love and life, simply because that's what you do when you're the only man in a castle full of women. Our battle that ended in a footjob, which I smiled at. Yes, I counted my battle against the Four Heavenly Knights as good memories. It helped that I had won. But most of all, I remembered that one night, the night when she was finally allowed to truly show me her affections in a way she had never shown to any other man. We had started out bitter enemies, and become close friends. I missed her so much.
"Luka-boy!" I heard her voice say.
I opened my eyes. She was standing in front of me in all of her stunning beauty. If it's possible for a succubus to look like an angel, she did just then, even though she looked the same way she had the last time I had seen her.
"Alma Elma!" I cried, and embraced her. She returned my embrace enthusiastically.
"So I'm guessing that if I've been brought back from the dead that it must have been for a better reason than you being horny," she said, noting the bulge in my pants. Not my fault! She was a succubus, she was hugging me, and I had grown weak that way!
"I'm afraid it's pretty grim," I said. "You see that army down there?"
I pointed down into the valley where the army of lizard creatures marched by.
"That's a lot," the succubus observed. "We've faced worse. Why did you need me?"
"They aren't from this world and they aren't bound to anyone here," I said. "They are wearing small devices that enable them to stay here and invade."
Nero held up one of the small devices that they wore on their armor. Alme Elma looked down again.
"Ah, I get it!" she said. "the best way to take care of that invading army is to get those devices off of them. Then they return home. I assume you have a way to shut the door behind them?"
"I do," I said. "We needed your speed. I have Sylph, as you know, but I feared that I'd make a mistake at some point. There are just so many. I was afraid one would catch me with one of those scary looking weapons they've got."
"Say no more, Luka," she said, touching my shoulder. "That's how I died. The dragons only had to catch me once and they did. My bad luck. With me helping you, we can reduce your chances of getting killed like I did by half."
"That was my hope," I said. "I'm sorry, Alma Elma. I didn't want to disturb your rest. But I'm so glad to have you back. I really missed you."
"You know," she said, now looking excited. "I only had one real regret in life. I had the privilege of pitting my wind against yours. But I never had the honor of running with you. Thanks for giving me that chance. Now Luka, are you ready to run with the wind?"
"I am," I said. "Come Sylph!"
"Yay! Luka's back! Missed you so much, Luka!" exulted Sylph, who powered me with a gale greater than any she ever had before, enhanced by my own virtual spirit. Alma Elma and I raced down into the valley and among the invading force, pulling off device after device. Each soldier would disappear, forcibly wrenched back to their own worlds where they belonged. I inwardly laughed. If you want to get into this amusement park, you have to pay the price of admission. I'd been given two tickets to this world, one from Ilias, and another from Alice. Until now, we had thought that protected this world from outside trouble.
I had removed dozens by the time the soldiers even realized there was a problem. There were no screams, no cries of pain, no shouts of alarm. Soldiers would just disappear, unharmed. I could see Alma Elma running to and fro, plucking devices off of the soldiers herself, often two at a time, no three at a time, using her tail, which made her even more productive than me. I was faster, thanks to Sylph, but not nearly as efficient.
The soldiers sought to lash out at us as we blurred among them. None even came close. They had no idea how many of us there were. Had it just been me, they might have eventually followed the blur with their eyes and anticipated where I would be. With the two of us working together, such a strategy became impossible. To make sure, we crisscrossed frequently so that they could not keep track of us. Within minutes, the entire army was back where they belonged, no longer threatening our world. A huge pile of devices on the ground were the only evidence that they'd ever been here. That, and the damage to the local scenery from their weapons.
We returned to Gabriella's side, me quite winded, Alma Elma cheery and acting as if she'd just taken a light stroll. There was a tear in Gabriella's eye.
"Thank you so much for that, Luka," Alma Elma said. "Going out a ball of fire isn't the way anyone wants to leave this world. Having this as my last experience is much more satisfying."
"Last experience?" I asked, choking up. "You're not… staying?"
"She cannot," Gabriella said sadly. "I'm sure that you suspected this to be true. Just as with the things even the strongest wizards conjure, all things that violate the natural laws of the world can only exist temporarily. Should you be successful in enabling the dead to live their full lives again, it would violate a fundamental law of existence. The laws of nature can only be bent, not broken."
"I'm dead, Luka," Alma Elma said, touching my face. "Thanks to you, I truly lived. I became the person that I didn't even know I wanted to be. You made me proud of my martial arts skills when my family disapproved. But most importantly, you taught me that there was good in the world. Thanks to you, even though my end was violent, my rest has been peaceful. I'm eager to return. You enabled me to fulfill my two unfulfilled desires."
"You had two?" I asked, the tears flowing freely. "I thought you had one? You wanted to run with me."
"I also wanted to say goodbye," she said tenderly, and embraced me again.
"So, are you going now? Do I have to do something?"
"No, silly," she said. "You're getting better with your power. I've got a few minutes still. I want you to tell Granberry that I love her. Has she been well?"
"She has been," I answered, which was mostly true.
"That's good to hear," she replied. "I wanted to spend my last couple of minutes running with you one more time. For fun, not saving the world. Why did we never do that before? Ah, life is wasted on the living. So are you ready to run?"
I nodded. She smiled and beckoned me, taking off. I ran after her at lightning speed and caught up to her. She smiled at me and poured on even more speed. Faster and faster, we zipped up hills, around trees, and across fields of green. She looked at me, daring me to go faster with her eyes. I matched her speed yet again. Then, looking at me with one last smile, she faded away.
It took me some time to regain my composure. Once I had collected myself, I used the device Promestein had given me to transport myself into subspace. The rest was pretty straightforward. I immediately identified the force line connecting the lizards' world to ours and severed it. At least that would be one problem we wouldn't have to deal with anymore.
Other problems remained, however. There was the small matter of reviving a goddess, as well as unsealing the Ancestors in order to get one of those rings. Granberia, Tamamo, Alice, Nero, Neris, Erubetie, and myself formed a loose circle in the great hall. Everyone who carried arms was armed for bear. Standing next to me, holding a small device, was Promestein.
"You sure about this?" Promestein asked me.
"We all agreed, with some reluctance," I said.
Reluctance was putting it mildly. Alice didn't like it, but my argument that we'd done the same for the angels, plus her seeming unwillingness to say no to me since I'd returned, won her over. Granberia was not happy with the idea at all, but also was unwilling to gainsay me. Erubetie was the only adamant holdout, my kids not really being sure one way or the other, but deciding to back whatever their parents had decided. As always with a Heavenly Knight, however, one dissenter always supported the rest in the end.
Promestein flipped the switch on the device. A symbol appeared on the ground. Within that symbol, the five Ancestors appeared. Naturally, they were confused and hostile.
"What is this?!" Saja exclaimed in indignation. "Was sealing us not enough? Have you surrounded us in order to execute us?"
"That's not what this is," I said firmly, stepping forward. "The war is over. You lost. We need something from you, and we also want to offer you a chance to live in this world."
"Where is the Dark God?" Hiruko asked.
"She's in another universe," I answered. "She's not coming back. She likes it there. It's an even more peaceful place than here. She came around to my way of thinking."
It took a lot more talking, a lot more explaining, but eventually we calmed them down enough to convince them we didn't plan to kill them. Tamamo knew just how to speak to them in a way they could understand. By the end of it, all of the Ancestors except for Saja had decided to go elsewhere. They pledged to not make trouble, but they were not ready to make nice just yet either. Saja, however, thought differently, and was more interested in the subject of her ring.
"For what reason do you need my Ring of Brocia?" Saja asked, as we walked down a hallway with Tamamo, who was showing her to her temporary quarters.
"The world can only be saved by a god, so we need a god," I explained. "Since Alipheese is gone, that leaves Ilias. With your ring and four others, we can bring her back."
"That is insanity!" Saja objected. "This world you have worked so hard to build will simply fall into hate and war once again!"
"As of right now," Tamamo said. "We don't have much choice. We all die if we don't bring her back. Ilias won't be exactly as she was. She will be reborn, which means that she might have a different way of thinking. If she causes trouble, we'll just seal her. We've gotten pretty good at sealing troublesome immortal beings, have we not?"
"Just so long as I get to personally use one of those infernal devices on her," Saja spat, pulling the ring off of her finger and handing it to me.
I was reminded of how solving one problem just kept on leading us to the next one, but I saw no way to break out of that vicious cycle. At least I'd have even more powerful allies this time. We'd beaten Ilias without Six Ancestors on our side, we could certainly do it with them as allies, if it came to that.
Three rings down, two to go.
I decided to next attempt the southern seas. Nanabi requested to accompany me for that journey. I wondered why a fox would want to journey with me under the sea.
"I want to visit my friend, of course!" Nanabi said brightly. "Did you know that Cindy is the queen now?"
I had not been told that! I had also not yet had a chance to spend any time with Nanabi, so I was pretty happy about that as well. Nanabi had aged a bit. She was approaching middle age. I hadn't known how old she was when we'd first become friends, but she revealed to me that she had been around forty years old at the time. Now she was nearly seventy.
Tamamo gave me the Ball of Guidance. I was worried about using it and having Nanabi depend on me holding onto it, but Nanabi waved off those concerns. Her skill with magic was quite potent, and so she had learned a spell to allow her to breathe and function underwater since she made frequent visits to see Cindy. In a pinch, she could extend that protection to me as well, although it would strain her to do so. Having a backup made me feel much better. Although I felt like I was a veteran at this under the sea thing, it still made me anxious.
The journey to Cindy was easy, if a little irritating at times. I was approached by numerous monsters offering to suck my semen out. Men were abundant on the beach, but it was still inconvenient for many species to go near shore, so the idea of food coming to them made them happy. Cindy must have been running a tight ship, however, because polite refusal was all that was necessary to get them to grudgingly swim off. Although a couple of times Nanabi had to put her arm around me and give them a dirty look.
The shrine hadn't changed since the last time I'd been there, a long time ago. I didn't really visit the sea queens often during my year of paradise with Alice. Alice had gone down by herself once to keep up on things that year, although Nanabi informed me that ever since two new queens had been required, Alice's visits and counseling had become more frequent.
I felt a small thrill run through me as I noticed Cindy. I wasn't sure how long crab girls lived, but she hadn't changed a bit, except for the crown perched on her head. As had become normal since my return, she rushed to me, giving me one of her special eight arm hugs.
"It's so great to see you back, Luka!" Cindy exclaimed. "Stinky!!!!" she yelled, and hugged Nanabi as well.
"Wow, Cindy!" I replied. "A queen!"
"I wanted to be a Heavenly Knight," Cindy replied. "But when the queen kraken was killed, the Monster Lord named me her successor. I was nowhere near ready, but with the Monster Lord's help, I think I've grown into the job. I still go to shore once a week to give some special washes. Gotta keep the skin smooth as I get older. No one wants to be washed by wrinkly old hands."
"Well, I wish this was just a social call, but the world needs saving again," I said.
"Doesn't it always?" Cindy asked. "is there something or someone you need down here? Are we going to have another adventure?"
"We need a ring located about five leagues from here," Nanabi explained. "We don't know if it's buried in the sea floor somewhere, or in a monster's lair. If it's the latter, we'll need your help to get it without a fight."
"We'll return it once we're done with it," I said.
"No problem!" Cindy said happily. "I was meaning to get out to visit some of my subjects today, anyway, and then maybe take a trip to the beach for some yummy semen! Any chance my yummiest former customer wants a wash?"
"I just got back, so Alice and I are on a bit of a honeymoom," I said. "I'm not messing around with anyone else unless she gives me permission. Right now she wants me all to herself, for obvious reasons. Frankly, as much as I've missed you, Cindy, I want nothing more than to spend a solid three months just being with her. Hopefully I'll get that chance when this is all over."
"I completely understand!" Cindy replied. "just remember, if you ever want anything from me, all you have to do is ask. I'm a queen now. My skills have been upgraded a lot since you last experienced them."
"For now, we should really get going," Nanabi said, a hint of coldness in her voice. She still hadn't been able to use her tail suckers on me. I'd been meaning to experience that before I'd been exiled back to the world of my birth. There was probably some remaining jealousy that Cindy had had an opportunity to show me her best several times.
Nanabi pulled out the device that Promestein had given us and guided us to the approximate location of the ring. The location in question featured a rather large underwater cave. I had to assume the ring was in there, presumably guarded by a terrifying monster.
"Oh, that's Blowie's cave!" Cindy said happily. "She's a sweetie! I don't think you'll have any problems here! Oh Blowie! Come on out, we need to ask you for a favor!"
Blowie poked her head out of the cave. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that she was a blowfish girl. I'd never seen one before, but I was sure I hadn't seen but a tiny fraction of the variety of life down here.
"A human and a kitsune?" Blowie asked. "What do they need from me, your majesty?"
"You have a ring in your collection that they need to save the world!" Cindy explained. "They just need to borrow it. They'll bring it back as soon as they are done."
"I don't know," Blowie muttered. "I don't have many valuables. That ring was left to me by my mother, and she got it from her mother. I'd need something in return."
"I can give you some of my valuables," Cindy said. "I've got an amazing collection of seashells!"
"I was thinking more along the lines of some semen," Blowie replied. "I don't get to the feeding grounds much. I'm not very social."
"Feeding grounds?" I asked.
"That's what the sea monsters call the beach," Nanabi explained. "Since Blowie is a fish girl, she can't go onto the beach, so she has to wait offshore for men to come into the water to feed her. That means she doesn't usually get the cream of the crop. You, however, are probably the tastiest morsel she'll ever have."
I was trying to not do this kind of thing, but we really needed that ring! I reluctantly agreed to let Blowie feed on me, while also intrigued at how she would do it. Her very species seemed to suggest a rather specific sex act.
"Brace yourself, Luka," Cindy warned. "Blowfish aren't gentle. Maybe I should hold you in place."
"No, Cindy, I should do that," Nanabi said, wrapping her tails around me. "You holding him in your claws might trigger him."
"Oh, sorry," Cindy said sheepishly. "I forgot about that."
Blowie was swimming around in circles, eager to get a taste of me. When Nanabi felt that I was sufficiently secured, she signaled to Blowie that she could dig in.
Blowie went from circles to speeding right to my crotch, engulfing my entire length in her mouth. The suction was incredible and probably would have been uncomfortable had she not been a monster. Her tongue moved around at insane speeds, stimulating me from tip to base. I could see why Nanabi had to hold me in place. I would have been pushed back for miles, because Blowie continued propelling herself with her fin, trying to get me even deeper even though she already had my entire dick in her mouth.
Her enthusiasm didn't let up for a second as I shot a load into her mouth, jerking uncontrollably at the intensity of the climax. Nanabi decided to be cute, or perhaps she wanted to speed things along, because she began to whisper dirty things into my ear as Blowie continued to do her best impression of a living vacuum cleaner.
Nanabi and Cindy finally cut her off after three more ejaculations. I was near unconsciousness when Blowie brought the ring out and placed it on an unadorned finger to join the three others. One more for my thumb and I'd be done! After a good, long, nap. I woke up in Tamamo's bedroom.
"Nanabi didn't want to have to explain to Alice what you had to do to get that ring," Tamamo said, a wicked grin on her face. "You did good, though. Alice has to be away tonight on business in Enrika. She's seeking Micaela's advice on dealing with a revived Ilias. So you can sleep with me tonight. Don't worry, no funny stuff."
I fell back asleep as soon as she was done talking to me. I woke up in the middle of the night, wrapped in her arms and tails. I simply lay there the rest of the night treasuring the comfort and the affection. I had so missed my friends.