Dinner was a subdued affair as I briefed everyone on what had occurred at the summit with Micaela. We had no answers as to why Gnosis and Zion were in a world where they did not belong, doing seemingly senseless things like judging sinners in a world they weren't even responsible for. Nero and Neris, the White rabbit, even the succubi, obviously had some sort of agenda, but the Seraphs seemed to just be doing what they would have done in their own world. Alice concluded that the logical inference was that they were here for someone else's purpose. If that was true, whose?
Another big question was why Micaela would give Ilias her remaining power, and how much it had boosted the goddess. Our party's tenuous harmony was partially predicated on the rough equality between Alice and Ilias. Now Ilias was clearly superior in power, although it wasn't clear by how much, and Ilias was in no mood to discuss it. Recognizing her grief at the loss of her beloved Seraph, Alice didn't push the issue. But it was clear that she was uncomfortable with the idea of Ilias wielding more power than her.
On a brighter note, we welcomed the two newest members of the team, Kyona and Ayisha, who were touched that everyone seemed to be friendly to them. Given that Kyona had casually threatened to kill two monsters if she didn't get what she wanted from me, Kyona probably expected more hostility. Ayisha and Kitsu were still a bit tense, since Ayisha's handling of Kitsu had been rather rough on the mountain. But their assistance in mining mithril ore had been invaluable, and as predicted, they produced far more than the rest of the party combined, in part due to their superior knowledge of that part of the mountain, and in part due to their natural gifts.
After dinner was over, Kyona and Ayisha intercepted me. I'd already forgotten my promise to feed them and was more than a bit annoyed that they were going to hold me to it when there were men available who weren't going through emotional distress over the loss of a valued friend. It turns out that I'd misjudged them, however.
"Hey, about tonight," Kyona said as we walked down a hallway. "You don't have to feed us if you don't want to. We can wait until you're ready. We didn't know this Micaela, but she obviously meant a lot to you."
"I appreciate that, ladies," I replied gratefully. "It's good to see that you two are actually nice people. Were you really going to kill my friends, though?"
"No, no, of course not!" Kyona hastily exclaimed. "It was a bluff! We're not bad monsters! Well, maybe we are a little. It wasn't nice to take advantage of your concern for your friends. But we're not murderers! Really, you don't have to feed us ever, if you don't want to. Ayisha and I were talking, and maybe the way we tricked you into surrendering wasn't all that legit."
"So where are you two staying tonight?" I asked. "One of the bedrooms? The courtyard, since you seem to like the outdoors?"
"We were going to just go outside the castle," Ayisha answered. "The courtyard sounds nice, but we were told it's a little tight. I'm a big bear, I need space. I'd rather just sleep outside."
"Wouldn't that take you outside the castle?"
"Isn't that what I just said?"
"No, Ayisha, he means outside the magic field," Kyona corrected. "It would, if we went out the front door. But the Monster Lord informed us that there's a side door this way that leads to a magically generated forest where we can have plenty of room to roam."
"Oh, that sounds good," I said. "Kyona, if you don't mind me asking, why are you fully clothed?"
"Do you want to see me naked?" Kyona asked flirtatiously.
"No, just curious, since most monster girls prefer what natural coverings they have. Ayisha isn't wearing anything."
Indeed, Ayisha wasn't, but she was extremely hairy, with only her face and her chest out in the open.
"I get that it's rare for monster girls to dress like this," Kyona admitted. "But I just like clothes, ya know? I'm not shy about my body or anything. If you want to see me in all my glory, all you have to do is ask."
"How did you get clothes on a mountain? You didn't take them from men, did you?"
"No, I'm not a bad monster! Well, like I said, I'm not really bad. I'll rape men, but stealing? That's so wrong! Sometimes I talk men into giving me money after I pleasure them. They almost always give it willingly on the promise that I'll do it again. Joke's on them, because I'd do it for free! But anyway, I go into San Ilia and buy clothes now and then."
"They never have anything that fits me," Ayisha said glumly. I could see why. She was at least eight feet tall and extremely wide bodied. She looked like she could hold back the entire Green Bay Packers defensive line by herself.
"So our next mission will probably involve combat," I said. "Will you two be coming?"
"Ayisha will," Kyona said. "I'm no fighter. I want to contribute, I really do, but I'm not sure what I bring to the table. I guess I could provide manual labor. I'm strong and I can dig really well. I can handle your pest control, but this magic castle doesn't seem to have any insects to eat."
"I'm sure we'll find a role for you. I appreciate you being here."
"And I appreciate how nice you've treated me. If there's anything I can do to repay your kindness…"
It never ceased to amaze me how just being nice to a monster made them feel indebted to you if they weren't used to being treated that way by humans. I found that I liked these two new members of our team. I made a decision.
"Actually, Kyona, maybe I should feed you tonight," I said. "And you too, of course, Ayisha. I guess I'm not motivated to do anything after what happened up there, but if you're feeding I guess I don't really have to do anything."
"You really mean that?!" Kyona asked excitedly. "No, of course you don't have to do anything! We'll take care of everything! And we'll do it extra good, too, since you've been so great to us! Right, Ayisha?"
"Yeah, absolutely! The sex will be so good you won't be able to BEARRRR!!!! It!"
"Ayisha…" Kyona said.
"Sorry, I can't turn it off."
We reached the side door, which I can assure you all I had never seen before. Have I mentioned how vast the Monster Lord's castle is? About a hundred times, I'd estimate. Stepping outside, I found myself in a lovely forest. So lovely, I could tell it wasn't quite real. Not an illusion, but unreal in the way that Alice's human form wasn't real, nor quite an illusion. I'd never quite figured out what powerful monsters' ability to change into human form was. It wasn't true shapeshifting, it wasn't an illusion. Just a magical effect that was somewhere in between. That's what this forest seemed to be.
Kyona and Ayisha didn't seem to mind at all. Ayisha went straight to shaking a tree, laughing as fruit fell out. Kyona took deep breaths, enjoying the forest air. I had to admit that it reminded me of the wonderful forests of Ilias Continent. Sentora had forests, but they weren't as serene and relaxing as the forests of Ilias Continent.
"This is amazing!" Kyona exulted. "I could stay here forever!"
"This fruit tastes real!" Ayisha exclaimed. "Better than real, actually! It's like heaven for forest monsters!"
"I almost wish I ate fruit," Kyona responded. "I don't smell any bugs to eat. Oh well. There's always the more universal nourishments. There's one food that all monsters love."
Kyona was looking at me meaningfully. I noted how non-predatory that look was. I'd grown so used to the way that Alice and the Heavenly Knights looked at me when they were hungry. No matter how much we'd grown to love each other, when they were in the mood to feed, unless they made a tremendous effort, they always looked like a predator stalking prey. Kyona, not being a predator, at least not of human-sized prey, had a different look. Almost inviting, a promise of pleasure for my sake, not hers, despite her words. Ayisha on the other hand….
"Why don't you lay down on the grass and be comfortable?" Kyona said. "This is going to take a lot out of you."
I did as she directed, again, recognizing how necessary it was to be in a prone, or at least a sitting, position when receiving pleasure from a monster. She got to her knees between my legs. Her tongue lashed out and undid my belt buckle, then she used her hands to remove my pants. I noted the claws on both her and Ayisha. Just as there were no footjobs with Mary, there would be no hand jobs with these two. Their hands were not just sporting incredibly long claws, but were simply too beast like to be sexy. But I didn't expect that I'd ever desire anything from Kyona besides that tongue. She'd undone my pants with it!
She stared at my erect penis, still on her knees. I expected her to bend down and start sucking, but she remained in a kneeling position as her tongue snaked towards my penis and began wrapping around it. Surprisingly, she could still speak fairly well.
"I bet you've been imagining what I can do with this tongue," Kyona said as it wound around, stimulating me exquisitely as it covered more and more of my penis. "I apologize in advance for ruining future blowjobs for you."
I doubted that, although hers was already feeling different from what I had grown used to experiencing with Alice. Her tongue was rougher and stickier, pulling at my penis as well as moving around it. When she finished coiling around my shaft, I saw that only the head was visible. She was still in a kneeling position, her tongue extending ludicrously three feet before it had even reached me. She tightened her grip around my shaft, then began rotating her tongue coil. I was in absolute heaven.
"Round and round we go!" Kyona said, playfully moving her tongue in unpredictable ways, even making parts of it move clockwise while other parts moved counterclockwise, then switching it up unexpectedly.
"I wonder how humans perform fellatio?" Kyona asked. "They can't even get their tongues all around a man's penis."
"You coulda just asked me," Ayisha said. "They put it in their mouth and suck on it. Men seem to like that too."
"Inside the mouth?" Kyona asked. "Hmmm, I might have to try that."
"It's really good," Ayisha said. "The semen shoots right into your mouth, nice and hot."
Unable to endure anymore of her expert oral work, I shot my seed all over her tongue. She unwound her tongue slowly, causing me even more pleasure, as she brought the entire length of it back into her mouth and swallowed.
"Yum!" Kyona said. "There's still a little bit on your dick though, so I think I'll try that mouth thing."
Bending down, she brought my penis into her mouth and began sucking hard, causing me to explode again, much to her surprise. Unready for it, she actually gagged.
"Ha! Surprise cumshot!" Ayisha chortled.
"You seemed to like my whole mouth," Kyona said, swallowing a second load. "Now, back to what I'm actually good at."
Her tongue wound back around my penis and began adding stroking motions to her rotation.
"Don't hog it all, Kyona," Ayisha said. "I'm a big girl. I need a lot."
"Last one, I promise," Kyona said. "It's just that he's a great guy and I'm enjoying how good I'm making him feel. But I think I can make it even better."
Her tongue extended even further, wrapping around me to the point where my entire penis was covered, the head included, and then continued to wrap it up even more.
"My tongue is long already, but it's extendable too," Kyona explained. "In combat, I use it to restrain my enemies and force pleasure into them. Assuming they are susceptible to that kind of pleasure. If your enemies are human or monsters that are weak to pleasure, I can be of some help. Just let me know, all right?"
"Ah, ah, stop talking!" I gasped. Having my head stimulated along with my shaft was causing me sensory overload. Every inch of my dick was experiencing her tongue crawling around it. Her voice was adding vibration as well. Sensing that I was about to blow again, she tightened her tongue even further to prevent any semen from escaping this time. I experienced the most intense orgasm yet as her tongue squeezed me. There was so much tongue around me, that her slow unwinding led to a fourth orgasm when she was almost finished.
"Oh, you made a mess, now!" Kyona scolded me.
"Ooh, let me!" Ayisha said, and laid down in the grass, giving me a new kind of stimulation as her heavy, enormous tongue lapped up the semen from my groin area. Seeing how much I was enjoying her as well, she sucked my entire length into her large mouth, but instead of giving me the intense stimulation Kyona had, she was surprisingly gentle.
"Interesting," Kyona said. "I've never watched you eat before. I can see how a man would love that, especially since you can take the entire thing in your mouth."
I agreed wholeheartedly, as her generous lips and wet, hot mouth, gave a more gentle pleasure to me. If anything, despite four orgasms, I was growing larger and harder than I had before. Taking it out of her mouth, she looked at it as it twitched.
"I'm afraid I can't match Kyona in the oral department," Ayisha said. "But that doesn't mean I'm lacking in sexual talent."
Climbing on top of me, careful to keep her massive weight off the ground with her arms, she reached down and put my penis inside of her. I'd expected a woman so large to not be very tight, and at first she wasn't. As with her mouth, it was certainly wonderful in there. Hot, wet, and comfortable, as if I could fall asleep in bliss as her vagina easily engulfed my modest cock. Then she tightened her muscles. The pressure was crushing. This too, I'd experienced from many monsters, but none as powerful as a bear girl. It felt as if she could squash my penis like a grape. Due to her monster magic, there was no pain. Any pain one experiences when being given sexual pleasure from a monster is registered by your human brain as pleasure. Sometimes intense pleasure, such as when a monster is digesting you. But assuming you survive the experience, the pain will set in later.
"Careful," I said. "As amazing as that is, I don't want to pay for it tomorrow."
"Don't worry," Ayisha said huskily. "I've never injured a man this way before."
This had been one of my favorite things to have Granberia do to me, between her pelvic strength and her heat. Ayisha's technique was more savage. Despite her assurances, the pressure was so powerful that I decided I would simply have to trust her. It was beginning to become too much for me. I was getting lost in the sensations. I clutched her massive body, marveling at how a woman so large could be so tight down there.
As tight as she was, she could make it even tighter. I screamed in pleasure as I was about to come and her walls slammed down so hard that nothing came out. Nevertheless, my penis twitched inside her nearly endlessly, futilely trying to expel the semen she craved so much.
"Oops, I think I was too tight there," Ayisha said. "I'll go easier."
She loosened up and began to move up and down, returning to that relaxing, amazing pleasure of her soft insides gently massaging me.
"Kyona, could I get an assist here?" Ayisha asked. "He's got a lot of semen backed up now. I want to get it all out."
I saw Kyona disappear behind Ayisha's massive bulk, then felt that tongue wrapping around my balls and gently moving. Occasionally the tip of her tongue would venture up into Ayisha's pussy, which caused both me and Ayisha to squirm in pleasure.
"Why have we never done this before, Ayisha?" Kyona asked, still managing to speak somehow. "Your pussy tastes amazing!"
"Keep going!" Ayisha ordered, clearly in as much ecstasy as I was. It was interesting being in a world where monsters could give each other just as much pleasure as they could to males.
Between Ayisha's wonderful pussy and Kyona's tongue occasionally exploring my penis inside, I was approaching another orgasm, and I knew it would be intense given that I had two orgasms worth of semen backed up. I felt Kyona's tongue leave my penis and saw it concentrate on Ayisha's clitoris. Ayisha threw her head back and cried out as she began coming. I followed suit a second later, spurting what felt like an endless stream of semen into her. It was too much. I passed out before the orgasm even ended.
The next morning, Alice dropped the mithril off at the local blacksmith. Half of the mithril was to go to San Ilia's elite heroes, while half would be for our own use. Alice had taken a list of requests from our companions for mithril equipment of various types.
That errand taken care of, we sought an audience with the pope again, which was quickly granted. His Knight Commander was grudgingly accepting of us this time. Our team had done something that the humans of San Ilia were not yet capable of doing, retrieving large amounts of mithril from Mount Saint Amos.
"Your determination to assist me is admirable," the pope said. "Thank you! I am very grateful. Now, let's discuss the details. In a few days, a certain ritual shall have to be performed. A prayer to Ilias must be conducted in the depths of the ancient temple's ruins, deep in the forest. Of course, the one praying will be me. However, the ruins are infested with extremely dangerous monsters."
"Two questions," Ilias said. "First, so basically this is an escort mission?"
"It is," the pope confirmed.
"And why are you praying to me in there when you can just pray to me right here?"
"I'm afraid that in your weakened state, you will need…. Ah, assistance. There is an artifact in the ancient ruins that will enable you to answer my prayers, even as you are now."
"Aren't the ancient temple ruins right next to Luddite Village?" Sonya asked.
"Yes, they are. Those fanatics chose that site for their village for obvious reasons. Given the hostility of the villagers to the church, it is vital that this mission be kept secret."
"That doesn't sound like a problem," I said.
"Excellent! In that case, please go to Luddite Village once your mithril equipment has been made. By then, it should be time for the ritual. You'll find a local priest there who is still allied with me. He'll take you to the ruins where we can meet up."
The mithril equipment was ready sooner than expected, taking only two days to get much of our portion done. I found myself the proud new owner of a light mithril chainmail top to go under my shirt. To my amazement, it seemed to weigh almost nothing.
"Later on, when we get time, we can enchant that to make it resistant to all sorts of elemental and magical effects," Alice informed me. "Mithril is an excellent metal for holding enchantments."
Promestein was given a mithril sword. "I didn't know you could use a sword," I said to her.
"I know a few things," the angel scientist replied. "All angels were required to take sword lessons on Eden's orders. I always tried to avoid them, but I was forced to participate often enough to be competent."
Alice received a mithril rapier. Ilias had gone for a chain mail top that could fit under her white robes, as well as a helmet made of the precious metal. Lime received a mithril boomerang, much to her delight. Ayisha received a glove containing mithril claws that fit over her enormous hand. Flippy and Flappy got swords, and Mary and Barbun received breastplates. We were assured that others in our group would receive more items, thus significantly upgrading our forces.
Later that day, I gathered together all of our good ground fighters just outside the forest containing the temple ruins.
"Okay, folks, this village is extremely religious, which means that we probably can't bring an army of monsters into the village," I announced about two miles from Luddite Village. "The temple ruins are in that forest to the west. Cindy, you're in charge of keeping this gaggle in reasonable order as you make your way through the forest. Don't enter the temple until we arrive."
"Wait, I'm in charge?!" Cindy exclaimed. "Why me?"
"Because you have the potential to be a leader," I said, smiling knowingly at the crab girl.
"Um, glorious leader?" Alice asked, raising her hand. I acknowledged her. "While recognizing that Cindy could probably kick my ass as I am now, I am the Monster Lord, after all. Wouldn't I be best suited to guide this group through the forest?"
"Absolutely, if you were going to the ruins that way. You'll be coming with the rest of us non-monsters."
"Are you an idiot?!" Alice asked. "In case you had forgotten, I'm a monster!"
"Not in Luddite Village," I said. "You'll be in your human form there."
"How are you- ohh…. I get it. You remember my human form so you think you can change me into it for awhile."
"Exactly."
Alice(in human form), Ilias, Sonya, and Promestein accompanied me to Luddite Village. Now I've been to a lot of small villages in my time. Most are happy places where everyone knows and trusts one another. Luddite Village did not resemble a typical small village. Everyone we met looked at us suspiciously. This was a place that didn't trust outsiders, and by the way people addressed and reacted to one another, didn't trust each other much either.
"This place smells of religious fanaticism," Promestein observed.
"What a strange thing for an angel to say," Alice commented. "I would think this would be your paradise. No one thinking for themselves, and if they do have independent thoughts, they are sure not to express them."
"Most angels would think this village is a wonderful place. But most angels were created to be close-minded. Ilias created me to have an inquisitive mind."
"Something which I have regretted for centuries," Ilias snapped. "Still, seeing it on the ground like this…. I'd always thought that my omniscience gave me superior knowledge. And it does! But seeing it with my own eyes… this isn't how I want humans to live."
"Living in these conditions, their life expectancy can't be over fifty," Promestein said. "There's little specialization in this village. Everyone grows their own food, makes their own tools. And since they are hostile to technology, they are suspicious of any innovation. Ilias, their interpretation of your teachings is flawed, is it not?"
"Flawed is an understatement," Ilias said. "I'd try to correct them, but without my full power I'd never convince them I was really their goddess. It might actually be dangerous for me to tell them I am. They'd try to stone me for blasphemy."
We reached the hovel of the priest we were told to meet with. As befitting a genuine priest of Ilias, his door was already open. I entered to make sure he wasn't with any parishioners and found that he was not. I gestured so that my companions could follow me in.
"So, you are his Holiness' escort, yes?" the priest greeted us. "I've heard about you already. The pope should be arriving at the rendezvous point soon. We should leave immediately. But not together. You should go into the forest to the west ahead of me. I will meet you there soon after."
"Why is this all such a big secret?" Sonya asked. "Praying at the ruins shouldn't be that big a deal."
"This is the church's biggest secret," the priest replied. "Soon, you too will understand why. Try not to be too noticeable as you leave."
I told him I understood, and we left his modest home. Don't be noticed? Easier said than done! Each and every villager stared at us as we walked towards the forest. I knew how fast word spread in a small village. Everyone would know that we'd been there soon enough.
"They sure don't like us," Alice noted. "I don't think any of them want to fight us, though."
"These people are incredibly weak looking," Promestein said. "Their nutrition is poor, and they disdain even the most basic weapons, other than farm implements."
"When I get my full power back I need to visit this village and teach them the right way to follow my teachings," Ilias said. "I hate weakness. A single strong monster could wipe this village out."
We walked through the forest in a straight line to where the temple ruins were, according to the information we had. As promised, the priest caught up to us well before we got there. We'd intentionally slowed our pace at Promestein's behest so as not to tax his limited physical resources too much.
"Looks like you weren't followed," the priest said upon rendezvousing with us. "Now then… The cave that contains the ancient temple's ruins is at the far end of this forest. Let's go."
Half an hour later, we arrived at the cave entrance which led to the temple ruins. A guard was waiting outside.
"His Holiness is waiting for you inside, along with your…. Friends," the guard informed us. "Please, allow me to escort you. It's not a straightforward cave. It's a bit of a maze. There are no threats inside the cave itself. The ruins are another matter entirely."
I wasn't good at mazes, so I was grateful for the guide. "Was this the original site of San Ilia temple?" I asked the priest.
"No, most definitely not," the priest answered. "These ruins were unknown to us for many centuries. Some locals discovered the ruins by chance just after the Great Disaster, while exploring this cave. As soon as the church heard, we rushed here and were astonished by what we found inside. Since then, we have issued a gag order on this matter. Officially, these are considered a holy place of Ilias."
"So… unofficially, are these even temple ruins?" Sonya asked.
"That's what the public was told. That caused an unexpected problem, however. Once a schism occurred in the church, the anti-makina faction built their village here, believing our story that it was the grounds of an ancient temple. Many of that faction, like you, Luka, suspected that it might be the sight of ancient San Ilia. But as far as we know, San Ilia has always existed where it is today. If the villagers in Luddite knew what we know, they would never have built their village on this land."
"Then what are these ruins?" Sonya asked.
"You'll see," the priest replied. "There is no way could describe it that would tell you more than simply seeing it with your own eyes."
We continued on, the guard guiding us through the extraordinarily complex cave system. Promestein, of course, had to gather samples of various interesting things she came across. I was at a loss myself to figure out what was so interesting about some of the rocks and small plants she places into small jars for later study. Finally, the pope awaited us at what I assumed had to be the entrance to the "ruins". Along with all the companions Cindy had led through the forest.
"My, my, Hero Luka!" the pope said nervously. "You have some very interesting friends!"
"I hope they've been behaving themselves," I said, only half jokingly. The pope was baptized, back when baptism meant something on this world, so the monsters wouldn't be interested in him, but some monsters had a talent for making people feel uncomfortable and unsafe around them, especially if you weren't used to them.
"I made sure of it, Luka!" Cindy said, saluting me. "We've all been on our best behavior! It's not every day a monster gets to meet the genuine leader of the Ilias cult!"
Alice stifled a guffaw at that. The pope chose to ignore the microaggression.
"Well then, everyone!" the pope said. "I can't imagine I could be any safer than in the care of this impressive group. I'm not a fighter, so I'll be in your care."
"Don't worry, your Holiness!" Sonya promised. "Anyone who tries to harm you, I'll smash with my club!"
"Then shouldn't you first smash your custodial parent, Lazarus?" the pope said with a wry smile.
"What?!" Sonya exclaimed. "He was innocent!"
"Ah, just a little joke there, young lady, I couldn't help myself. I'm not a saint, after all."
"You are literally a saint," Sonya countered.
"I can assure you he's not," Ilias said, causing Sonya to sputter.
I found Ilias' reaction interesting, given what had happened in the world I'd just come from, seemingly forever ago. Back there, the King of San Ilia, known as the pope for some reason in this world, had actually seemed like a saint to me. When fairies and ghosts had begun to populate San Ilia, he had accepted them and been friendly to them. That may have been why Ilias had taken particular pleasure in destroying San Ilia and killing the king.
When we stepped inside the "ruins", the first thing I noticed was the bright, artificial lighting. The second thing I noticed was the technology. This room wasn't just more advanced than this world. It was more advanced than anything I'd ever seen! Promestein noticed as well.
"Such sophisticated research equipment!" the angel scientist gasped. "This is several hundred years ahead of the technology I know!"
"The church excavates various makina and other technology from here," the pope explained. "we also conduct research of our own within these ruins. When possible. There are…. Things here which makes this place dangerous. Sometimes they are very active, sometimes they are not. We haven't been able to discern any patterns in their activity. When they are mostly dormant, we manage to get some useful things done. But when they are active…."
"You take casualties," I finished.
"I'm so excited!" Promestein exulted. "I'm going to go look around."
"We should stick together," I warned. "Everyone, stay close and be ready for anything!"
My "troops" nodded and those that used weapons drew them. We had quite a group: Cindy, Pig, Ayisha, Mary and Barbun, Nuruko, Lime, and Meia. A motley crew to be sure, but they had their strengths.
I decided to stay close to Promestein, if only to make sure I was close to her in case she couldn't resist wandering off to go touch something. It wasn't long before she did exactly that, and learned right away why that was a bad idea.
We'd already been hearing strange sounds, skittering sounds, coming from various parts of the facility. Mary swore she saw something. You would think that would cause Promestein to stay close, but no, she decided to go look at an empty specimen tank. Why an empty tank was interesting, I had no idea. I followed her over to the tank, glancing back at our companions and making sure we didn't get too far.
Promestein never even reached the tank. A creature that looked like some kind of cybernetic bug moved from behind the specimen tank and fired some kind of projectiles at us. My reflexes were as good as ever, although not to my benefit this time. I shielded Promestein and in the process took several hits from those projectiles. The light mithril armor I had on under my shirt was not penetrated, but some of the shards hit my arms and legs. I hit the ground, unable to move. Some kind of parylitic?
Promestein stood just as frozen, staring as the thing wound up to fling another volley. It never got another chance. Two arrows pierced it in places where it had something resembling skin, then it was smashed by the clubs of Pig and Sonya. Promestein, completely ignoring me, knelt to examine the dead creature.
"This is an apoptosis," Promestein said. "But how did it get in here, so far from a Tartarus Rift?"
As usual, paralytics didn't work that well on me, so I was already regaining some movement, although not enough to stand just yet.
"Are those things alive?" I asked.
Promestein shook her head. "Impossible to say. It's definitely not any kind of life as we know it. If we could capture one while it's still functioning, I might be able to study it and make a determination."
"You never captured any in two hundred years trapped in that rift?" Ilias asked.
"I couldn't accomplish it safely. I ended up having to destroy any that I encountered. The metal these things are made of is like nothing on this world. The skin is somewhere between artificial and real. Bioengineered, perhaps?"
I unsteadily made it to my feet and addressed the group. "Everyone, let's try our hardest not to kill anyone or anything in here. You know I don't like killing. I also understand that it might be too risky to not use maximum force when we don't know what we're up against. Just… do your best, okay?"
"A hero who doesn't like killing?" The pope said, bemused. "Admirable quality, young man. I pray that every opponent you meet on your adventures feels the same way. Whenever you are able to continue, our destination is down a flight of stairs ahead of us. It will be much more dangerous down there."
While I was resting, another of the cybernetic insect like creatures appeared and threw a volley of paralyzing scales. Alice reacted first, putting up a magical shield that caused them all to fall harmlessly short of our group. She seemed quite impressed with herself.
"I haven't been able to do that in quite some time," she said proudly.
"Nothing like necessity to bring out the best in us," the pope said approvingly.
"It does appear that we're both getting stronger the longer we are in these weakened forms," Ilias observed.
"So how much stronger did Micaela make you?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Ilias shrugged. "I feel like I'm…. more, but still nowhere near what I was."
"My goddess, I am afraid you'll be tested on the lower level," the pope warned. "Up here has been safe enough for our researchers to do their work, so long as they stay with their armed protection. Down there…. Well, let's just say that we've had many casualties. No deaths, thank goodness. These beings paralyze their prey, but as long as there are others to drag them away, no one is lost."
"So those two we saw, all of the apoptoses down here are like them?" Sonya asked.
"As far as I've seen, yes," the pope confirmed. "It took fifty of my best men to get me down there safely every time I needed to perform the er…. Ritual. Half of them would often end up paralyzed or otherwise wounded."
"Okay, so we have a better idea now of what we're up against," I said. "I think I'm ready to proceed."
"Kyuu!" Nuruko exclaimed.
"She says you still look a little unsteady," Sonya translated. "Don't go wandering off anymore."
"I was following Promestein!" I argued.
"Promestein, please stay with the group as well," Ilias instructed. "We're much stronger than a platoon of mere humans. It would be embarrassing if we actually lost someone down there when they humans managed to avoid it."
Promestein looked sorely disappointed, but she was no idiot, obviously. She stuck close, although I could see the longing in her eyes as we passed so many things that she wanted to collect, or at least touch.
We made our way down the stairs the pope had pointed out. Most of the monsters tensed up almost immediately. I did as well. I could hear the skittering, as if the place was full of roaches, hidden away behind all the machinery and specimen tubes. If I could hear it, it must have been a cacophony to the monsters.
"Within the church, only a select group of upper hierarchs know of this place," the pope said. "Outside the church, only a small handful of trusted professionals know of it. Since I am sharing these church secrets with you, would you mind sharing what you found in the Tartarus rifts you've explored?"
"You know about that?!" Sonya asked. "The first one, of course you'd know, the church approved it. But how did you know about the second?"
"We have our ways, child. But our ways don't extend to what happened to you on the other side."
"Integrated circuits," Promestein said longingly. She had been the only one in our party not to react to the constant sound of skittering. I looked around. I could still see no sign of the creatures making the noise. The place was well lit, so their location was obvious. They were moving between and hiding behind cover, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Maybe they won't attack because they know what they're up against," Cindy said hopefully.
"Now that we're here, perhaps you could tell us what you're really going to do?" Alice asked. "I've already figured out that you don't come here to pray."
"No, Monster Lord, I am not here to pray," the pope replied. "That supposed ritual is just a ruse to deceive outsiders. I actually have something more important to do in here. Please, let's go deeper. What I need is past these data banks, at which point we'll find a hallway that leads to the main server. We will probably be attacked at the entrance to the hallway. These things are nothing if not predictable."
Forewarned was forearmed, as we reached the hallway without incident. Then, we were hit from all sides as the creatures swarmed out of hiding from all directions, many of them emerging from the hallway we wanted to enter. I drew Angel Halo and the melee began.
Although their attack had been timed for when we would be in a position to be surrounded, it was otherwise not coordinated. There were no organized volleys of scales. In fact, many of the creatures would release their scales only to hit their comrades, although their comrades seemed unaffected by them. Still, their own allies' bodies were partially protecting us as the more aggressive ones closed in to engage us. Once close, they didn't use the scales anymore. Rather, they used a form of webbing, trying to immobilize anyone they got close to. Some of the monsters simply tore the webbing apart. Sonya was the only one wrapped up successfully, as she was ganged up on by two of the creatures, one wrapping her while another tried to drag her away. Barbun put an arrow through the head of one, causing it to release Sonya and fall over, while Mary punted the one wrapping Sonya up, causing it to crash against a specimen tank, shattering it.
I went down as some webbing wrapped around my ankle and the creature yanked on it. I chopped at the webbing with my sword, but Angel Halo was just not particularly useful for actual cutting. It was absolutely fine for sealing, however, so when the creature pulled me to within sword range I struck at it. One blow caused it to fall over and cease functioning. Did the fact it wasn't really sealed mean it wasn't really alive?
I'd have to worry about that later, as I had been pulled a short distance from our group and everyone was too busy to help. Which was a problem given that several of the insect like apoptoses were charging at me. Promestein sprinted to my side with some sort of device that she'd pulled out of her duffel bag. Activating the device created a shockwave that mowed down everything in front of us, enemies and machinery alike.
By the time Promestein helped me to my feet, still unsteady, the battle was over. I surveyed the damage. The facility had been severely damaged and we had taken casualties. Mary lay unmoving, but conscious, paralyzed while shielding Barbun from a scale attack. Alice was trying to cut Sonya loose from the webbing that she'd been wrapped in, but it was taking some effort despite the sharpness of Alice's knife. All of the arms on Cindy's left side were tied together, but she was standing. Ayisha had several scales stuck in her hide, but merely looked woozy, wincing as she delicately pulled each one out.
"Magnificent!" the pope exulted. "In the past we'd have to fight our way in and out! I think you've managed to clear this floor! We might be able to safely send researchers down here now! Thank you!"
It took another half hour to provide first aid and healing to those who needed it. Mary was unable to continue, still partially paralyzed. I made a judgment call, dividing my force. I told Cindy to remain behind with the monsters, while Sonya, Alice, Ilias, Promestein, and I continued down the hall. Hopefully the pope was right that we were done with those strange opponents.
"Well that was bothersome," Alice said. "Would you mind telling us now exactly why we're going to all this trouble?"
"As far as the public knows, I only suffered minor injuries in the explosion that was meant to take my life," the pope explained. "But in reality, I was seriously wounded and nearly died. I was in too hopeless a state for our medicine to do anything. On the brink of death, I was brought to this facility."
"The church understood the technology here well enough to use it?" Promestein asked.
"Yes," the pope confirmed. "Thanks to our researchers, we were able to use the technology here to keep me alive. There have been downsides, however. Thanks to the treatment, I've ended up with a rather cumbersome body. Once a year, I need to undergo a bit of a tuneup."
"Wow, every year?" Sonya asked. "That's some pretty complicated circumstances."
"If we were to lose even one good man down here, I would not consider it worth it. We have been blessed by Ilias, however."
"A touch screen…." Promestein said. "Didn't you say we cleared the floor, your holiness? Can I please touch it?"
"I am only being escorted, young angel," the pope chuckled. "You'll have to ask your leader."
"Boss, can I touch the screen? It's like.... five feet away."
I was touched. My Promestein had called me 'boss.' I couldn't say no. I walked with her to the touch screen as the others cautiously continued on.
"It reads vein patterns!" Promestein exulted. "This is incredible!"
"Okay, you've touched it, we have to stay with our group," I said gently.
"Of course, of course," she said, looking at the screen as if it was a long lost lover she had to leave behind.
We weren't attacked again as we walked down the hall and entered a room with even more complicated machinery and what looked like a giant mainframe computer.
"This is the deepest part of the laboratory," the pope said. "More than half of the equipment here is still functioning."
A large capsule filled with liquid directly in front of us drew my attention. Inside was an awe inspiring sight. Was it a girl, or was it a machine? Perhaps both? She was lovely, and yet her body appeared to be almost entirely artificial. She also looked dangerous. I didn't know what the weapons she was equipped with did, but they looked pretty intimidating.
"Is that safe?" Sonya asked.
"We call her the sleeping beauty," the pope explained. "She is perfectly safe. Even the church's most sophisticated technology has been unable to activate her."
"So she's a machine?" I asked.
"As far as we can tell. A very advanced machine."
"This is the most amazing thing I've seen yet," Promestein breathed. "I've always dreamed of creating such a thing. There isn't anything biological about her. And yet… she's not all metal either. Only the parts of her designed for fighting are metal. I wonder what material was used to make her skin? Can we remove her from the tank?"
"Let's… not do that," Ilias said. "That thing looks super dangerous."
"Just how advanced was the technology of the people who made this laboratory?" Promestein wondered. "And where did those people go?"
"Well, for now our business isn't with her," the pope said. "but with the other cutting edge facilities that are here as well. Let's finish what we came here for. Now, to begin the maintenance."
The pope walked over to a panel and began pressing buttons. "It's booting up now," the pope explained. "Sorry, you'll have to wait a bit."
"You're able to just do this on your own?" Sonya asked with concern.
"The system here can be operated intuitively. It has an excellent interface. It only had to be shown to me once for me to understand it. Ah, it's scanning me now."
"That's neither x-rays nor magnetic imaging," Promestein noted. "How does that thing even work?"
"I'm used to technology myself," I said to Promestein. "But yeah, this is… way beyond anything I've seen before."
Still unsteady, I leaned against a panel. I didn't touch any buttons or switches or levers, I swear! But just my touch on the panel caused the machine to react. The tube containing the "sleeping beauty" began to bubble. I looked in time to see the eyes of the robotic being open.
"What?!" the pope exclaimed. "What did you do?!"
"Nothing!" I protested. "I just leaned on this panel. I didn't touch a button or anything!"
"My researchers have been trying to activate her for years and had no success!"
"Luka, the capsule's opening!" Alice yelled. "Make it close again, you idiot!"
"I don't know how I even got it open!"
I leaned against the panel in the same place again. Nothing happened. The robot stood up and stepped out of the tank, liquid cascading down its body. Whoever had built her, she'd been built for beauty as well as intimidation factor. I never thought I'd look at an artificial being and think she was desirable. Then again, I had once never thought I'd look at a woman with the body of a snake and think she was desirable.
"System reboot…" the 'sleeping beauty' intoned. "Current year: 1543 Johannes calendar… Current coordinates… unknown… Unit name… Brynnhildr. Status: unknown. Why did Hild wake up? Hild wakes up when the world ends… Are you destroying the world? Hild will protect the world!"
"It even speaks!" Sonya exclaimed. "Luka, do something!"
"Um… Command: Help!"
"Combat mode: on," Hild said in response.
"No, combat mode off!" I said.
"Those who destroy the world are Hild's enemies."
"Luka, that thing has holy and dark magic!" Ilias yelled. "That's not even possible!"
Oh, it was possible. I'd done it myself, using my power as a stabilizer.
"It seems that we have an urgent situation!" The pope exclaimed. "I'll assist you!"
"You can't fight, your holiness!" Sonya yelled.
"Don't worry, my maintenance is complete," the pope said. "Shifting to battle mode!"
We all stood dumbstruck as the pope's body transformed. He became half machine, and his machine portions looked almost as deadly as Hild's.
"Targeting complete," Hild said tonelessly. "Starting combat."
The fight began and lasted approximately three seconds. Ilias wasn't waiting to be attacked, unleashing a beam of holy energy far more powerful than I'd seen her use in her small form. It barely budged Hild, but it did get her attention fully focused on Ilias. Hild retaliated with a beam of her own that blasted Ilias, causing the little goddess to be hurled back, where she collided with a data bank and fell face first to the ground, where she lay still.
The pope responded with an energy beam of his own emitted from his hand, presumably also holy energy, but that one didn't even hit Hild. She materialized an energy shield which caused the pope's bolt to harmlessly dissipate. Hild's return shot was just as lethal, but Sonya recovered from her shock at the pope's appearance and tackled him out of the path of Hild's blast.
Seeing that Hild could take a pretty good blast of Ilias' holy power, I decided to give her a bigger dose of mine. To my utter shock, she materialized a new shield that blocked my power. I'd never seen that before! Normally my power cut through any magical protection due to know magic on this world being designed to counter its alien nature. I earned an energy beam in response for that, barely getting my own shield up in time to block it.
"Opponent has energy shields," Hild said. "Engaging countermeasures."
A mean looking cannon over her shoulder swiveled to face me. I still had no clue how to block solid projectiles. She never got the chance to fire it. Hild's body began jerking uncontrollably and she fell. Promestein stood over her looking very satisfied with herself, holding another one of her trick devices, this one looking like a stun gun of some sort.
"Yes! She's intact!" Promestein exulted, then began rummaging around in her duffel for as screwdriver. With a grin of satisfaction, she found the tool. "Now to remove the head."
"No!" Sonya yelled, snatching the screwdriver from Promestein's hand. "She was just confused!"
"She's not even alive," Promestein said, looking confused at Sonya's reaction. "it's just a machine. Studying that technology could be useful to our mission."
"Mission failed…" Hild said weakly. "Master, I'm sorry."
"See, she's just doing what she was programmed to do!" Sonya argued.
"Which is… what machines do," Promestein countered. "You're letting her appealing appearance influence you. You didn't feel this way about the insect creatures."
"Promestein, wait," I said, walking over to Hild and kneeling down. "Hild, we're not trying to destroy the world. We're trying to save it."
"Save the world?" Hild asked. "That is Hild's mission. But where is master?"
"Who is your master?" I asked.
"Master is master," Hild replied.
"Hild, define master," I ordered, trying to figure out how to operate her.
"Master is master," she said again. Computers can be so frustrating.
"Ohhh.." Sonya said sympathetically. "She's lost and doesn't know what to do."
"Hild, we're trying to save the world as well," I said. "Come with us. You can help."
Hild paused to process my words. After a moment of consideration, she responded.
"Since Master is not here, you will be temporary master. Please state a username."
"Um… Luka?"
"UmLuka is now recognized as master," Hild said, and rose back to her feet. "I am in your care until master returns."
"Excellent work, Luka!" Promestein exulted. "With her cooperative, she'll be even easier to study. Hild, can there be more than one master?"
"No," Hild stated.
"Damn. Can I be master instead of Luka?"
"Luka is not master."
"Can I be master instead of UmLuka?"
"No. Hild doesn't like you."
"Doesn't like-! Fascinating. It's a machine, and yet it has some free will. Even opinions!"
"Study her all you like, Promestein, but keep your screwdriver to yourself!" Sonya scolded.
"Yes," I agreed. "Hild, do not allow yourself to be disassembled by anyone except master."
"No disassemble. Order acknowledged."
"Well then," the pope said. "Our mission is accomplished. Let us head back to the palace!"
Back at the palace, the pope and his knight commander congratulated us on a successful mission. The knight commander's former skepticism had evaporated. In fact, he was so enthusiastic that he had another job for us!
"We just lost a strike team investigating a haunted house to the northwest," the knight commander informed us.
"Haunted house?" Alice asked. "That… that's nonsense! There's no such thing as haunted houses!"
"Well, the house is creepy, and something caused all of our men to disappear without a trace. It would mean a lot to the church if you'd take your team and go investigate it, Hero Luka."
"I'll take care of it," I said calmly. I had a pretty good idea what that was about. I simply had to plan my approach carefully. Chrome was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
"Northwest is the direction the Forest of Spirits is in," Alice mused. "I guess it's on our way…."
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