We arrived in Goddard later the next morning. The town was as weird in its way as Esta on Angel World had been. Instead of serenity, there was lewdness in the air. Everyone was horny. The men were almost impossible to speak to. All they could say was, "My queen…. Ahhh…."
"Do you feel that, Luka?" Alice asked, her breasts heaving with each word. "Luka! I'm up here!"
"It's obvious that he feels it as well," Ilias said. "Sonya, how are you doing?"
"I…. I definitely feel weird," Sonya replied, staring at my crotch as she spoke. "Is Luka even going to be useful?"
"I've seen this before," Ilias said. "A very long time ago. I just wish I could remember the context. It won't turn Luka into a useless, slobbering idiot until he's been exposed for a few days."
"All the more reason to get our business done here as quickly as possible," Alice said.
We found our way to the local pub, which was difficult since we couldn't ask for directions. The closest we came to useful information was a little girl who wasn't affected by the lewd air, and informed us that she was a teapot.
A soldier was standing at the entrance to the pub. Ilias addressed the soldier.
"Excuse me, sir," Ilias greeted him. "We're spies and we're looking to meet with our informant here. Do you know which table he's sitting at?"
"You're so beautiful…" the guard said.
"Well thank you," Ilias replied, twirling her blonde hair.
"Ilias, you're in the body of an eight-year old!" Sonya yelled, pulling Ilias into the bar. "Sir, you should be ashamed of yourself!"
"My queen….."
"He needs purification!" Ilias objected. "I'll only purify him just enough to bring him back to his senses!"
"Ah yes," Alice said. "And then he remembers that you told him we were spies. Let's get on with our mission, idiot."
"At least this is easy," Sonya muttered. "We could come in with a marching band singing 'we are spies' and no one would care."
"Okay," Alice said. "So the instructions we have are to order a roast chicken from the owner of the establishment. Then we'll be allowed up to the second floor where our informant is."
The good news was that most people seemed to be able to do their jobs, as long as theirjobs didn't require a lot of thought. When we asked the owner for a roast chicken, he told us that the bar didn't serve chicken, but we could get an extra large roast chicken upstairs.
"Ooh, an extra large roast chicken?" Alice asked eagerly.
"Alice, there's no roast chicken," Ilias said. "Idiot. You are to food what these men are to sex right now. And there isn't even a lewd air when it comes to food!"
"I guess you'd call that a food air," I chuckled. No one laughed. "Get it? Lewd rhymes with food?"
"That's stupid," Alice said.
"At least his brain's still functioning well enough to tell bad jokes," Sara said, speaking up for the first time. "Let's head up."
"I wonder what he'll be like?" Sonya asked. "When I envision a spy, I think of a suspicious, shady character."
"A real spy never looks like that," Alice said. "If he did, he'd be noticed, and spies like to blend in. I assure you, there will be nothing flashy about this guy."
So we went upstairs and the guy waiting for us was Nero.
"Wait, Nero is super suspicious!" Sonya exclaimed.
"So you're Grand Noah's spy?" I asked.
"No, not really," Nero replied. "I'm substituting for the spy. That's the real spy."
Nero pointed to the corner of the second floor of the bar, where a man sat drinking and mumbling, "my queen….."
"He was here so long that the lewd air got to him?" I asked.
"No, someone stuck a talisman on his head," Alice said. "Gee, I wonder who did that?"
"He seemed as if he was going to make a scene, so I had to improvise," Nero said defensively.
"I guess if he was about to make a scene he wasn't a very good spy anyway," Sonya remarked.
"Exactly. So I'm here to convey the message he spilled to me. I gather that you're headed for Grangold. There's a place called the March Hills northeast of here that you have to pass through to get there. You will probably run into golems guarding the city of Granbold. There's a specialist waiting for you in the March Hills who can get you past them."
"Wait, aren't golems artificial beings?" I asked. "Who don't I just blast them?"
"Because there's a lot of them and you'll need all the power you have to deal with what you're going to find in the castle."
"And what I'm going to find in the castle is?" I prompted.
"I'm not completely sure," Nero shrugged. "But I traced the lewd air to the castle."
"So the queen herself is causing it?" Alice asked. "She doesn't seem powerful enough."
"Exactly," Nero replied. "Which is why it's likely to be someone far more dangerous than golems or even the queen ant."
"The Lilith Sisters I'd bet," Ilias said.
"That would be my guess as well. You already ran into two of them at Gold Fort. That could be advantageous. Assuming Alma Elma gave them a sound thrashing, that would leave only Lilith in Grangold castle. And she's no match for Luka."
"Unless she gets her hands on him," Alice said.
"Or those breasts," Ilias added. "With this lewd air around, it might be too much for Luka. We can't underestimate her."
"Oh, let me give you these," Nero said. "If you guys need to teleport out of there, you can use these."
Nero handed Alice a talisman of some sort and a feather. Alice knew exactly what they were.
"A harpy feather?" Alice asked. "Nice. And an anti-warp charm. If Luka's too out of it to fight or teleport us away, we can still escape."
"Why are you doing all this for us?" Sonya asked suspiciously.
"I'm just trying to be a nice guy," Nero replied.
"Must be his genes," I said slyly.
"Uh huh," Alice replied, giving me a meaningful look.
The Marsh Hills were smelly, as if the poison marsh near Iliasville had been the entire village. I understood why a spy would want to meet us here. It was a place that could not be patrolled except by golems, and depending on what they were made of, perhaps not even them, due to the corrosive nature of the marshes. Whoever was waiting for us had to be either strong or uniquely resistant to the unhealthiness of the place.
"I don't feel so good," Sonya said.
"I know what you mean," I agreed. "I'm already feeling sick to my stomach as well."
"Let's hope this person is worth it," Ilias said sourly. "I think I'm gonna barf."
Sara and Alice looked disgusted, but not terribly affected. Succubi were hard to hurt with poisons. It was one reason why so many succubi freely abused substances. Although if it didn't hurt them much, was it really abuse, or just a good time? And Alice was just a tank, even in her child form.
"There's danger here other than the marsh itself," Alice said, sniffing the air. "Luka, you have Sylph now. You should be detecting these threats before I do."
"I hear it," I confirmed. "Sorry, sometimes I'm just not paying attention. I'm concentrating on keeping my insides…. Well, inside."
I wasn't sure what I was hearing on the wind. It sounded like slimes. What do slimes sound like? Well, they blurp and shlurp and flurp, for lack of a better description. But what would slimes be doing in a poison marsh? Slimes were more susceptible to poison than any other living being. It was the reason they resented humans so much for polluting their environment.
Things got worse. We were gazing out at what seemed an endless poison marsh. My heart sank. How were we going to get through that?
"This is going to be really digusting," Alice commented.
"How about dangerous?" Sonya corrected.
"We'll be all right as long as we don't ingest any of it," Alice said. "Or let it get into any other orifices."
"It looks shallow," Ilias said. "Just in case, Luka, you should make us big. Taller is definitely better in this situation."
I did as Ilias requested, enlarging Alice and Ilias to their full sizes as we moved into the marsh. As disgusting as it felt under our feet, as the poisonous water rose to our ankles and then to our knees, it was worse for Alice, who was dragging her body on the ground.
"Ugh, as much as I hate this Luka, could you give me that human form that you used in Luddite Village?" Alice asked.
Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that I'd done that. With another thought I transformed Alice into her human form. I actually quite liked it. She made a lovely human. The disadvantage to Alice in human form was that walking was difficult for her, as she normally didn't use feet. That slowed us down, extending the time that we were in the marsh, breathing the toxic fumes. While I knew from experience at a similar marsh back home that the fumes wouldn't kill in and of themselves, I worried that they'd sicken us enough to cause us to collapse and fall into the poisonous sludge.
I had bigger worries, however. Rising up out of the marsh were three slimes. They did not look pretty at all. Not so much because of their feminine forms, which slimes could turn into whatever they wanted, but because of their coloring and viscousness. They looked sickly, as if slimes had been smoking crack out here in the marsh.
"Brom girls!" Alice warned. "Stay back, Luka, one touch and you'll be defeated!"
"Please give us your semen, boy," one of the Brom girls pleaded. "We get so little semen out here. No one will come near us."
"I don't remember ever seeing slimes that could live in a poison marsh!" I exclaimed.
"You know what they say," Ilias said. "Necessity is the mother of evolution."
"I'm pretty sure that's not how it goes."
Alice was already throwing lightning bolts at the Brom girls, who were so focused on me that they were trying to get around Alice. I drew my sword, but Ilias stepped in front of me, calling down her own version of lightning. The Brom girls fell apart and rejoined the marsh.
"Impressive," Alice said. "You're definitely more powerful than me at the moment."
"You didn't kill them, did you?" I asked Ilias.
"No, she didn't," Alice said. "I can still feel the slimes' presence here. Slimes are very hard to kill. I feel bad for them, though. They must be starving for semen."
"Please tell me we aren't going to recruit them," Sonya said.
"No, that would be impractical. But if Luka is in the mood to do a good deed, I have an idea. And it involves you, Sonya."
"Me?" Sonya asked.
"You're the only one who can make Luka come without causing critical ecstasy. If you don't mind, would you make him spray his semen around a bit?"
"Are you serious right now?!"
"Don't act like you wouldn't enjoy it," Alice said with a smirk.
"I… fine," Sonya said, walking over to me and undoing my pants.
Getting behind me, Sonya reached around and began stroking me. It wasn't fun, or erotic, because I was already a little sick and I heard Sonya gag behind me. I feared she would vomit on me, but she held it back. But she was surprisingly skilled and her body, even clothed, felt good against my back. Her breath felt good against my neck. And being jerked off in front of everyone somehow aroused me, even though it was embarrassing. Why was everyone watching and making funny faces?
After a few minutes of Sonya's handiwork, I sprayed my semen around the swamp, Sonya pointing and stroking me as if she was watering plants. It was a bit like watering plants, or more accurately, watering slimes, because within seconds of my sperm hitting the water, the slimes rose up again.
"You defeated us, but then fed us?" one of them asked.
"I am your Monster Lord," Alice declared.
"A human is the Monster Lord?"
"Ugh… Luka?"
I changed Alice into her true form, which caused the Brom Girls to gasp and prostrate themselves.
"Thank you so much for looking after us, Monster Lord! We are not worthy!"
"You can't help who you are," Alice said. "I'm afraid there's not much I can do for you. Nature is what it is, and you live here in a very inhospitable place. But I promise you, when I have resolved the crisis in the world, I'll figure out a way to help you Brom Girls live better lives. In exchange I want you to be gentle with the humans who wander in here for whatever stupid reason. You girls have developed a bad reputation."
"It's not our fault!" one of them protested. "We have to eat, but sometimes we end up killing our victims! We're just too poisonous!"
"I might have something for you," Sonya said, reaching into her bag. Although Sonya had healing powers, which she learned in the church, she also knew basic first aid. "this is antidote grass. I don't know how long it will keep in this marsh, but it cures most poisons. You could have your victims chew on this while you… do what you do."
"And once you're done doing what you do, you'll let them go," Alice admonished.
"Thank you! We promise to be good monsters from now on!" a Brom Girl said.
"Now that that's settled, let's move on," Alice said.
Sonya handed me some of the special grass to chew on to settle my stomach, while she did the same. Ilias declined it. It did taste pretty terrible, but at least I was less sick. Finally, we made it out of the marsh and onto a hill. Standing on that hill was Mephisto.
"My apologies for making you come all the way out here," Mephisto said. "I had to avoid being spotted at all costs. It was very kind of you to do that for the Brom Girls, Luka. My opinion of you has risen substantially."
"You're our liason?!" Alice asked in disbelief.
"I am an anti-golem specialist," Mephisto said proudly. "Do you know anyone who is more of an authority on magic than me?"
"Uh…. Me!" Alice said indignantly. "But my power is limited in this small form. I think I know what you're going to do, though. It's the same thing I would have done. If I could."
"Well then, let's be off," Mephisto said. "I will be joining you for the forseeable future."
"Wait, you're joining us?" I asked. "As in, permanently?"
"I am. While Alice may be skilled at magic, she isn't much of a teacher. I believe I can do more good teaching you more about your power than continuing as magical advisor to the queen of Grand Noah."
"And I suppose he's going to have to feed you!?" Sonya exclaimed.
"I understand you have other men in the castle," Mephisto said mildly. "I prefer not to engage in sexual activity with my students. I will limit my feedings to men other than Luka."
"In that case, welcome to our exclusive club!" Sonya said enthusiastically. "Not that we trust you!"
"Do not fear. I will not betray you until it is necessary for me to do so. Our interests are aligned for the time being. And likely to remain aligned for quite some time."
That reminded me of Promestein's warnings that I should not trust her. I appreciated people who told me what the score was.
"Besides," Mephisto continued. "it's never the obvious people who betray you. It's the ones you don't expect, like childhood friends who forcibly add themselves to your party."
"What are you trying to say?!" Sonya asked indignantly.
With a new rather dubious companion along for the ride, we began the journey to Grangold. Since Nero had given us an anti-anti-warp charm, we were able to use the Pocket Castle once again.
"Luka, come quick! I need to show you something!" Rami said to me.
Usually Rami was with her two imp friends, but this time she was alone. She was wearing one of the bras I'd bought her, which seemed to make her so much more comfortable, although it hadn't gotten her any closer to being able to fly. But the cute little imp was excited about something, so I decided to let her lead me to a private room, which I recognized as the room the three imps shared. It had a single bed, because they were so small the bed allowed more than enough space for all three of them.
Rami pulled a banana out of her bra. I was reminded again just how huge her breasts were, that she could just hide large fruits inside it.
"This bra is so useful!" Rami gushed. "I can carry anything I want with me!"
Rami then pulled out a bottle of water. I half expected her to pull out a rack of ribs, a deck of cards, and a Playstation next and then we'd have a video game party, but alas, there were no Playstations on this version of the world. Rami drank deeply from the water bottle, then peeled the banana.
"Look what I just learned how to do!" Rami said, and then slowly deepthroated the banana until just an inch was poking out of her mouth.
"Did one of the succubi teach you that?" I asked, feeling my dick getting hard in my pants.
"Would you believe it was a kitsune?"
I was curious as to which kitsune had taught her, given that most kitsunes had very sensitive gag reflexes and didn't usually count that among their formidable sexual skills. Even Tamamo could only pull it off with difficulty. But I guess it made sense that a monster for whom that particular technique was challenging would be best able to teach someone inexperienced how to perform it. A succubus would have simply told Rami to shove it in and she'd be fine. Which probably would not have gone well for Rami.
Rami began joyfully eating her banana, thrilled that she'd taken one step closer to being a true succubus, at least in her own mind. Imps had an inferiority complex. They were one of the few monsters weaker than a normal human, and while they had strong sexual magic that could enable them to subdue most humans, it wasn't anywhere near succubus level.
"Well thank you for showing me that, Rami," I said awkwardly. "But tomorrow is quite a day for us, so I really do need to get to bed."
"But I haven't done it on your weiner yet!" Rami protested.
"I know I usually recover from critical ecstasy by morning, but it's just too risky given what we're going to face tomorrow," I said. "Maybe tomorrow."
"But I need a favor!"
"A favor?" I asked. "What kind of favor? You don't have to do things for me to ask me for a favor. We're friends. Friends do things for each other without expecting anything in return."
"Oh," Rami said, nonplussed. "Well the favor is that I want you to teleport me to the peak of Mount Saint Amos.
"A mountain?" I asked. "Why?"
"So I can jump!"
"Rami, I know times are tough, but that's no reason to end your life."
"I'm not trying to commit suicide, silly! I'm trying to fly!"
"I'd judge the chances of that going well to be rather slim," I said.
"But Flippy says it might work! I didn't understand the physics of it, but she said if I jump off of a high enough point, I might be able to get some lift if I flap hard enough!"
"I'll tell you what, Rami. If tomorrow doesn't end in total disaster, I'll try to take you to Mount Saint Amos tomorrow night. But Flippy needs to come with us. We need someone to catch you if you can't successfully pull this off."
"Deal! And then I'll do my new trick on you!"
"That's not necessary, but…. We'll see," I said.
We arrived at the city of Grangold the next day. The Gold Region was pretty vast territory, but fortunately its capitol wasn't terribly far away from the border. As expected, an army of golems awaited us. Golems made outstanding guards, but weren't very mobile, so not ideal for battlefields.
"Lifeless clay dolls, unravel your spells… Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!" Mephisto intoned, waving her hands. And just like that, Grangold's golem army was no more.
"So now we just rush the castle?" I asked.
"No," Mephisto answered. "First we need to find the local bar where our final contact should be waiting for us."
"How did they not notice that their whole golem army is gone?" Sonya asked.
"The lewd air here is particularly thick," Alice replied. "The guards are useless. They haven't even noticed us."
"Gaaaa….. my queen….." one of the guards said.
"There are also ant girls here," Ilias warned. "if any walk up to you, Luka, do like those guards do. Pretend you're all messed up."
"The way things are right now, it won't be much of an act," I said. I was beginning to regret not letting Rami practice her new skills on me. The lewd air was worsened by my sexual tension.
We made it to the bar without being challenged. Sonya wondered what our final contact would be like. Our first three had definitely been interesting: Alma Elma, Mephisto, and Nero. I have expected the final one to be just some guy named Bob. Instead, it was…
"Uncle Lazarus!" Sonya exclaimed.
"Whaaaa?! You guys?!" Lazarus shouted. "Goddamit, no one told me about this! Why the hell are kids getting involved in a plot to overthrow the government? You brats should be on a more wholesome adventure than this!"
"Oh, you mean the kind where everyone I meet tries to rape me?" I asked sarcastically.
"Exactly!" Lazarus replied without a hint of irony. "How do you think I started out?!"
"Oh, how silly of me," Mephisto laughed. "To not know that the Don Father was your foster parent. That's on me for failing to do my due diligence."
"Great!" Lazarus said. "Now my cover's blown!"
"Later on, you're going to tell me everything about all of this!" Sonya scolded.
"Aw, shit…."
"It's not so bad, Don," an older man with a cane said, sitting down at our table. "They were bound to find out sooner or later."
"Merlin?" Sonya asked. "I thought you were the Don Father?"
"I play as the Don Father," Merlin replied. "But Lazarus is the true Don. You see, I knew your parents, that is, your mother and Luka's father. The four of us were adventurers together."
"Then you must have been the magic user," I said. Made sense with a name like Merlin. I recognized his face as well. He had been in my vision when I'd seen Alice's mother killed. But that hadn't happened in this reality.
"Merlin the Wizard, pleased to meet you," Merlin said grandly. "My magical talents have grown rusty, however."
"We should probably get down to business," Mephisto prompted.
"Not much business to discuss," Lazarus said. "Our preparations are complete. We can go whenever."
"What horrible things have you prepared?" Sonya asked accusingly.
"Members of their organization have infiltrated the city," Mephisto answered for Lazarus. "Once we give the signal, they'll begin their subversive activities."
"I've got men stationed at over a dozen key points in Grangold," Lazarus added. "I thought it'd be a tough job, but everyone around here is an idiot because of this lewd air, so infiltrating the place was a piece of cake. When they get the signal, they'll each set off a bomb."
"That's just indiscriminate terrorism!" Sonya exclaimed.
"Hey now, indiscriminate terrorism would be bad for our reputation! We're using perfectly respectable discriminate terrorism that won't hurt anybody. I'm a pro at this, trust me. We picked places that were both important and uninhabited."
"This operation is being conducted to save Grangold from the clutches of the Monster Lord," Mephisto said. "It's important to keep the support of the populace after the success of the operation. Avoiding injury to the citizenry is not only humanitarian, but also strategically important."
"So the city will be in chaos, and then we sneak in," Alice mused.
"Yeah, we've scouted it out," Lazarus said. "You can get into the castle through the canals. They're crawling with monsters, but that's small potatoes for an adventuring party looking to take down the queen ant."
"Should we fail, it will go badly for all involved," Mephisto said. "Grand Noah will disclaim any knowledge of you, or the mafia, or a certain magical advisor."
"But if we succeed," Merlin said optimistically. "We will all be recognized as heroes."
"After this is all over, I really want to know how you kids got involved in this," Lazarus said.
"Only after you tell us how YOU got involved in all this!" Sonya shot back.
"Aw, shit…."
Since we were as ready as the underworld guys, we headed for the sewer entrance. Lazarus and Merlin accompanied us. Sonya was worried about Lazarus' ability to fight, until he showed her his pistol. Apparenetly firearms were much more widespread on this world due to the makina being found in the Tartarus Rifts for the last thirty years. Merlin would rely on his magic.
While the humans were pretty much useless throughout the city, ant girls were everywhere and would be a problem once we got their attention. Lazarus and Merlin and myself made sure to appear glassy-eyed and horny to avoid attention. Not that it was much of an act. The only reason no one in their group was disabled was because they'd all arrived very recently. A few days in Grangold and they'd lose their minds as well.
When we reached the entrance to the sewers, Merlin sent up a magical flare. Over a dozen blasts followed seconds later, all around the city. The ant girls would respond as if a full scale invasion was occurring and hopefully wouldn't recognize the true threat until it was too late.
We rushed into the sewers, ready to sweep aside anyone that got in our way. To our surprise the sewers were unguarded. Yes, there were monsters, but they must not have been hungry because they paid me no mind. Lazarus knew the route and led us through the sewers quickly, desiring to take full advantage of the confusion above. After twenty minutes of following him through the sewers, he led us to a ladder leading back to the surface.
"This ladder should take us up into the palace," he explained. "I'm not familiar with anything up there, though. Scouting the sewers wasn't so bad. We had some guys get raped, but none were killed. Maybe it was for the better. Must be why the monsters down here weren't hungry. But for obvious reasons, I couldn't get away with scouting the actual palace."
"Wait, I'm sensing something!" I said with alarm, because…. Well, because I sensed something. It's hard to describe how Sylph works inside me, but if I'm not terribly distracted, I do notice when trouble is coming. And trouble was definitely coming. That trouble was…. The king?
I remembered the King of Grangold as an amiable, but lazy monarch. What was he doing down in the sewer?
"Who are you?" the king demanded to know. "Answer."
I didn't like the look in his eyes. I liked the lightning blooming from his hand even less. He fired a warning shot, which was good, because I hadn't gotten a shield up.
"I asked who you are," the king growled.
"Where did the king of Grangold get that kind of power?" Ilias wondered.
"Luka, you and your friends go ahead," Lazarus said. "Leave this guy to me."
"No!" Sonya protested. "You're overmatched! You can't beat a guy who shoots lightning bolts out of his hands with just a little gun!"
"That's why I brought two! Besides, I'm just gonna stall him! Now move, you little shits!"
"The girl does have a point," Merlin said mildly. "Perhaps my magic can supplement your firepower."
"Neither of you are any threat to me," the king said, and exploded in power, to the point where he was transformed into a being that was definitely not human. "Offer your lives… to your king."
I prepared to step forward and match the king of Grangold power for power, but Alice pulled me towards the ladder.
"I know what you're thinking, Luka, but this isn't the main battle!" Alice yelled. "Save your power! You'll need it up there!"
"But they'll die!" I protested.
"Men like that don't sacrifice themselves!" Ilias shouted. "They'll be fine! I think."
"I'd better stay as well," Sara said, changing into her succubus form. "maybe he's vulnerable to pleasure attacks!"
"Good, fuck some sense into him, monarch to monarch!" Ilias urged, practically pushing me up the ladder while Alice dragged me from the other side.
Alice, Sonya, Ilias, and I found ourselves in the castle's dungeon, which made sense given that dungeons were usually the closest part of any castle to its sewers. But what was most surprising was who was in the first cell. It was the Queen Ant!
"Queen Ant!" I yelled, grabbing the bars of the cell. The queen looked up at me in surprise.
"Who are you and what do you want?" the queen asked.
"We want to know what nefarious deeds you're up to!" Ilias exclaimed.
"The nefarious deed that I was up to before you interrupted me was doodling on the wall."
"I knew you couldn't be behind this!" I said triumphantly.
"That much is clear," Alice said. "Queen, who did this to you? Who put that lewd air up?"
"The Lilith Sisters," the queen answered. "They took control of my children and threw me in this cell. They also altered the king."
"A trio of succubi did all that?" I asked skeptically.
"Luka asks a very good question," Ilias said. "They aren't powerful enough to do all of this. I have a very bad feeling."
"Well, let's continue on, then," I said. "Should we get the queen out?"
"I wouldn't," Alice replied. "the cell is magically sealed. I'm sure you can get past it pretty easily, but it would almost certainly be set to alert the sisters and whoever else is up there if it was broken."
"Free my children!" the queen urged.
We ran down the castle hallways, with no real idea where we were going. None of my companions had ever been in the castle, and Ilias, even though she was once nearly omniscient, didn't have that knowledge at hand in her diminished capacity. We expected opposition, but what we ran into was a shock.
We'd expected ants. What we ran into instead were three kitsunes. And not just any kitsunes, but ninja kitsunes. Now let me tell you that I've never seen a ninja kitsune before. Ninjitsu had primarily been a human tradition on my world, with kitsunes dabbling in it to improve their stealth and combat abilities, but never completely adopting the title of "ninja".
"Now I have a REALLY bad feeling about this," Ilias said, drawing her bow.
"Funny, I'm having a great feeling," Alice said, drawing her rapier. "The feeling that I'm about to kick some kitsune butts!"
The kitsunes demonstrated their prowess with flips, sword techniques, and tail floofing. It's a kitsune thing, you wouldn't understand. Ilias fired an arrow. It was knocked out of the air by the kitsune it was aimed at. Ilias fired three more in quick succession, all knocked aside by their katanas.
"Alice, Sonya, and I will handle them, Ilias," I said. "You heal us afterwards. I think we're going to need it."
I summoned all three of my elemental friends, knowing I would need them. I hoped that Alice and Sonya would fare as well. Sonya got off to a very bad start, swinging clumsily at one of the kitsunes and getting kicked in the gut, sending her flying back down the hallway towards Ilias, who immediately began to work on her. That left us three on two. I was more worried about Sonya's bruised pride than her bruised body. She already had a complex and getting knocked out in the opening seconds of a battle wouldn't help her confidence any.
"I'll take two, you take the one on the left," I instructed Alice, who proceeded to completely disregard me, slashing skillfully at one while her tail upended another. Okay, so she gets two, I get the one on the right. Since I was concentrating on only one opponent, I was able to focus my full attention and attack on her. She immediately recognized that she was overmatched, probably having sensed by summoning of the elements. She retreated down the corridor, parrying my blows as she backed away. I saw through the flow that she was going to get cute with me, flipping over me and hitting me with a tail strike or two while she was up there, then stabbing me in the back when she landed.
The flip happened and I dodged not one or two, but three tail strikes in midair. That was one skilled kitsune! But there's one way to defeat the flow, and that's to switch tactics on the fly and that's what she did. Instead of stabbing me with her sword, she simply shoved me around a corner, where I ended up face to face with three more ninja kitsunes. Uh oh.
Too many swords, too many tails, too many innovative tactics. Even the flow wouldn't protect me. Since kitsunes of this caliber had to be skilled with earth power, I took a chance and released my power, causing it to emanate from me in all directions. That knocked them off their feet and sent them ricocheting off walls. Their earth power was strong, however. The three in front of me and the one in back got back up and assumed fighting positions. Actually, scratch the one behind me. That particular kitsune responded to a yank on her tail. Turning around, she was decked by a right cross from Alice, knocking her clean out, even with her earth power summoned.
The other kitsunes looked ready to fight, but suddenly thought better of it and retreated.
"As satisfying as that was," Alice said. "Now I have a bad feeling too. They obviously were getting orders telepathically. That means they communicated our presence back to whoever was giving them those orders. We've completely lost the element of surprise."
I turned back to check on Ilias and Sonya. Sonya was already back to full strength, although she looked downcast.
"Am I useless, Luka?" Sonya asked.
"Never," I answered firmly. "Sometimes there are just bad matchups. You're stronger than you are quick."
"A club is about the worst weapon you can possibly use against a ninja," Alice added. "Look, Sonya, what we're going to face when we get to the throne room isn't going to be something you can handle. We'll need a healer for certain, assuming we even survive. Don't feel useless because youre only doing healing, okay? Healing is important. We monsters can't do that with magic. So you're valuable, all right?"
"All right," Sonya said, although she didn't look convinced.
"Speaking of which, I took some cuts," Alice said, pointing out some minor scratches on the snake portion of her body.
I looked at the three unconscious kitsunes Alice had singlehandedly taken out. Their earth power had allowed Alice to hold nothing back, but thanks to her dimimished form they didn't seem to be permanently damaged. So, we continued wandering the palace. There was no opposition.
"Now I really don't like this," Ilias muttered. "If there are kitsunes here, that means a high ranking kitsune is running things along with the Lilith Sisters."
"Well Tamamo is accounted for," I pointed out. "So perhaps Yao?"
"I think it might be," Alice agreed. "Nanabi is intensely loyal to Tamamo, and a nice person. Yao isn't all that nice, and without Tamamo specifically telling her otherwise, she would maintain her loyalty to the Monster Lord. Have you ever fought Yao, Luka?"
"Yes, and I've beaten her."
We hadn't even made it out of the dungeon yet. We went a floor up, only to find more dungeon. This particular dungeon looked newer than the dank, musty dungeon below.
"I don't recall the exact floorplan of this place," Ilias said. "But I'm sure this dungeon was recently added. They must have a lot of political prisoners here."
That was putting it mildly. Humans and monsters alike were in the cells, although always kept separated. The humans were completely out of it. A few were even masturbating in their cells. Alice commented that if the lewd air lingered much longer, people would be doing it in the streets, or having orgies. The monsters weren't affected by the lewdness, but could smell the semen and were ravenous.
"Maybe we should start letting people out?" I suggested. "They already know we're here."
"So those monsters can jump you, idiot?!" Alice exclaimed. "They've probably been subsisting on bread and water. We'd have to fight them to keep them from raping you! And this succubus over here…."
"Hiya, Alice!" the succubus replied.
"Oh, hi Alma Elma," Alice replied in turn, then stiffened and looked again. It was Alma Elma!
"How did you end up here?!" Sonya asked.
"No more, I beg you!" Alma Elma cried. "Ever since I was put in this cell, the soldiers have forced themselves one me, one after another…."
"First off," Alice said, folding her arms. "No man can rape you and survive, even if you let them do it."
That was quite true. Being assertive with even a willing succubus of any reasonable power level was a quick death sentence. As Alma Elma had once told me, you don't just thrust into a succubus' vagina. Those things are dangerous and can suck your energy out in seconds if you don't take it slow. That's why most succubi, but especially Alma Elma, had to be in control. Raping Alma Elma was a self-punishing crime.
"Secondly," Alice continued. "You're smiling!"
"I just felt like saying that considering I'm locked up," Alma Elma laughed. "Truth be told, it's been a total bore in here. No rape, not even torture."
"We are definitely taking her with us," I said, preparing to break into her cell. "She's our best chance at taking on another succubus."
"Wait!" Ilias warned. "Alma Elma, don't you dare lie to me! You're not going to attack Luka because you're hungry, are you?"
"Oh, I am definitely going to attack him," Alma Elma said gleefully, licking her lips. "But not until we get back to the castle."
"Good enough," I said, and grabbed the bars, this time with intent to break the magical field rather than simply get past it. I felt the tingle, then the tingle disappeared. I turned to Alice. "Did I do it?"
Alma Elma simply opened the door and stepped out. "Looks like it, my tasty friend," Alma Elma said. "Cute. They were so confident about their magical seal that they didn't even lock the cell door. That's some impressive power you've got there, Luka-boy. That seal was the most powerful I've ever encountered. I would have been in there as long as they wanted to hold me."
"I'm so glad we have you on our side," I said.
"Yeah, about that…" Alma Elma said hesitantly. "I'm pretty banged up. Two ancient succubi were a little much. They actually beat me. But I beat them up pretty good. They are recuperating at the Monster Lord's castle. So you only have to worry about Lilith."
"Really?!" Alice asked. "Good job, Alma Elma! But I fear it won't just be Lilith up there."
"No, that lewd air is weird. No succubus I've ever heard of in history could corrupt a whole kingdom."
Those words…. "corrupt a whole kingdom". They sent a chill down my spine. But I knew that Tamamo was back in Yamatai. And I doubted that she could cast a spell like that in her sealed form.
"Well, let's heal you," I said. "Sonya, would you…"
"No!" Alma Elma shouted, backing away.
"She's a succubus, Luka," Ilias said. "While most monsters can be healed with holy magic, there are a few for whom it would do the opposite. Yoma, and the undead, specifically."
"I'm afraid you'll just have to accept me in a support role," Alma Elma said. "I'm a little stiff, and my power is at an ebb due to lack of semen."
"Oh, maybe I could jerk Luka off for you!" Sonya suggested.
"Oh Goddess, help me," Alice muttered. Ilias patted her affectionately on the back, although with a smirk on her face.
"That's against my code, Sonya-girl," Alma Elma said with utmost seriousness. "If any other monsters saw a human doing my job for me I'd be removed as queen succubus in a heartbeat. If we run into any human guards I'll grab a nibble."
We hurried up the nearest stairs and found ourselves right in the throne room, much sooner than we'd expected. Was the whole castle except for the throne room a dungeon? There, sitting on the throne, was none other than Lilith. And she was alone.
"So, you've arrived!" Lilith said grandly. "I assume you're also responsible for the terrorist attacks in the city? I didn't think that'd be your style, Luka."
"Quite an ambitious scheme you're running, Lilith," Alice said. "Ruling as a queen and corrupting the king and all the citizens."
"This abomination ends today!" Ilias declared. "I sealed you away in one world, I can seal you away in this one too!"
"I think you have all made a grave misunderstanding," Lilith chuckled. "I can corrupt a town, but a whole kingdom? We sisters are powerful, but that is beyond our capabilities."
"We already figured that much out," Alice said. "So who's really behind all this? Did my mother learn how to cast such a spell? I can't sense anyone else here, so I know you're alone. I think you've been hung out to dry, Lilith."
"Alice…." Ilias warned. "We can't detect her because she's just that powerful. But who?"
"Your memory really has slipped, Ilias," an all too familiar voice said. "Have you forgotten how much I enjoy bringing empires to their knees?"
"No…" Ilias breathed. "Luka! Don't you dare hold anything back!"
"It wouldn't do him any good anyway," Tamamo said, making herself visibile. But not my Tamamo. That much was clear. Nor was it this world's Tamamo. She was in her true, unsealed form. But there was more. I'd met a few alternate Tamamos in my time. The worst I'd ever encountered was on Ariana's world, an unsealed Tamamo who served Black Alice. But even that Tamamo, I had seen a glint of goodness in her. This Tamamo was different. There wasn't a hint of goodness, nor an ounce of mercy in her. I already knew just by looking at her that she was a killer. Ilias was right. I could not hold back against this monster.
"I am an Ancestor!" Tamamo declared. "Carve the name Tamamo into your very souls! Even your alien power is useless against me!"
"So there you have it," Lilith said proudly. "Tamamo is the one doing the heavy lifting. My sisters and I are just helping her out."
"Luka…" Alice said. "I know this mission is crucial and all, but we can't win if she's here. You should teleport us out. Like, now."
"I have faith in you, Luka!" Ilias said, surprising me. "Vaporize this evil kitsune the way you did Ranael!"
Ilias' bloodthirstiness had the opposite effect. My power had been rising in me, offended as I was by this awful version of Tamamo that stood before me. Almost a perverted version from my worst nightmares. But any resolve I had was shattered by ilias' "encouragement".
"Tamamo, do you know who I am?" I asked boldly, seeking some way to talk myself out of a fight.
"Sure I do," she said gleefully. "Dinner."
"No Tamamo I've ever met would eat a human," I said. "Not even at her worst."
"Ah yes, inferior versions of me," Tamamo snickered. "But you're right, us kitsunes don't have the anatomy to eat a person the way you're lamia or your succubus friends do. So I learned cute little spell. I just shrink my victims and eat them all up as bite sized little treats."
"Tamamo!" I scolded. "I've been told that no matter the universe, every version of a person is basically the same, altered only by their environment and life experiences. I don't know what kind of life you've had, but I know you're better than this. Tamamo, look at me! Do you feel like you know me? Perhaps you've dreamt of me?"
Tamamo's eyes bore into me. Remember how I said way back in my first book about the pressure in a room when a Heavenly Knight was present and in a fighting mood? Now imagine an Ancestor, and her entire attention is focused on you. I could not look away either. Between the lewd air, my old feelings for Tamamo, and the fact that her being evil was sexy as hell(or maybe that was just the effect of the spell talking), I was almost wishing that she would rape me to death.
Tamamo's expression softened after a moment. "Luka?" she said softly. "Luka, is that you?"
"You remember?" I asked hopefully.
"Nah!" Tamamo said gleefully. "Never seen you before in my life! Now vanish in the moonlight!"
All nine of her tails arched and fired moonbeams. I'd only seen that technique once, when the sealed Tamamo had attempted to use it on me. But in her weaker form, it took longer to set up and required direct moonlight. At her full power, she only needed a sliver of moonlight shining through the windows. I fired back reflexively with everything I had rather than putting up a shield. I'll never know if that was the right decision or not. But the result was violent. Tamamo was blasted into the far wall, leaving a huge dent and falling face first onto the floor. All of my friends and myself had been hit. Sonya and Mephisto weren't moving. Alice and Ilias were on the ground moaning. Alma Elma had played with the wind and suffered only a glancing blow, but she too swayed and faceplanted on the ground, weakened as much by the effort of using her wind power as Tamamo's moon cannon technique.
I was on the ground as well. I could still feel some power, even though I'd expended most of it. Was Tamamo beaten? I couldn't be sure. Despite her evil, I hoped she wasn't dead. But what I needed to do most of all was get ready for the fight of my life against Lilith. I'd be taking her on with little power and already horny. It was a terrible matchup for me in my present condition.
Lilith wasn't rising from her throne, however. She simply stared at me, smiling thinly. I realized why when I heard Tamamo groan and rise. She cricked her neck, then wrenched an arm back into place.
"You pack a punch, hero," Tamamo said. "I haven't been hit that hard in centuries. You see, on my world, there aren't any serious challenges to our power. There are no more heroes, no more angels. Darkness has conquered on the world I come from."
"The world that Saja told me about," I said. "The world where monsters won the Great Monster Wars."
"I'd love to take you there, keep you as my pet," Tamamo said. "But you're too dangerous. So in my belly you'll go. Pardon me if I chew first. Can't have you exploding inside my belly."
I had long ago gotten used to the idea that monsters wanted to kill me with pleasure. Only one had ever tried to kill me painfully. The memory of it enraged me. I was further enraged by this mockery of the woman I loved. Not to mention, it wasn't the first time someone I loved had threatened to eat me, although I guess this version of Tamamo had never claimed to love me, so it wasn't a betrayal. Still, it was a betrayal of everything every Tamamo I'd ever met had stood for, even the Tamamo of Ariana's world.
My power surging within me once again, even though I had thought it depleted, my body instantly healed and I kipped up. Tamamo was impressed.
"Oh, you are dangerous!" she said. "But as much power as I can now see in you, you don't have enough brains to use it properly, nor is it enough in its crudest form. Go on. Hit me with everything you've got. I won't move."
Normally I'd be reluctant to hit someone not defending themselves.But my friends were all down and Sonya was still not moving. I unleashed everything I had left at her. She didn't move, but she hadn't intended to let me hit her. The floor erupted in front of me, a wall standing in the path of my blast. My blast shattered the wall, sending stone flying everywhere. Mostly back at me. Now there was no coming back. My power definitely was gone for the time being, and I was too hurt to put up any more resistance.
"If I was in my true form I'd burn you to cinders!" Ilias said, shakily rising to her feet. "But even in this form, I'll fight you to my last breath before I let you kill Luka so horribly!"
"Well, youre not in your true form," Tamamo said casually. "And so you'll get to watch me chew on him before I spit out his remains into your face. Maybe I'll even make you eat him. Yes, that would be a fitting fate for a Goddess Ilias. To be forced to gulp down the bloody remains of her chosen hero."
"You make me sick!" another all too familiar voice exclaimed. I recognized it immediately as the sealed Tamamo of this world. She had come to rescue us! But could she even handle a fully unsealed Tamamo? I reached for my power in desperation. It responded to my call, but only faintly. C'mon! I begged myself. Just enough to support the good Tamamo!
"Ah, so the itty bitty Tamamo has finally come out of her funk," evil Tamamo chuckled.
"You remind me of everything I hated about my past self!" little Tamamo raged. "You can't imagine how long I've wanted the chance to kick my own ass! And this talk of chewing Luka to death! Even I was never that depraved! When I'm done beating you down, you're going to tell me what happened to you to make you such a furry piece of shit!"
"In that body?" evil Tamamo laughed derisively. "You won't fare any better than the others. I'd eat you too, but I don't want to pick the fur out of my teeth."
"I ask thee, eternal time…." Little Tamamo intoned. "Reveal my body, yoked in twilight."
When Tamamo completed the Word of Dispel, my heart rose. Even though the two Tamamos technically looked the same, I could never have failed to tell them apart. This world's Tamamo had dignity, pride, and a kindness about her that distinguished her from her evil counterpart.
"Behold my true form!" good Tamamo declared.
"Looks like you got saved a bad death, Luka," evil Tamamo said, her eyes on her new opponent. "Lilith, would you be so kind as to exterminate the hero your way?"
"With pleasure," Lilith said, rising from the throne.
Ilias had gotten to her feet and was staggering towards me, presumably to give me what healing she could before I had to take Lilith on alone.
"Don't worry, Goddess," Lilith said. "Each of you will enjoy the sweetest death in turn."
"This doesn't make sense!" Alice protested, also rising. "This can't be the true history."
"On the contrary, it is A true history," Lilith said. "You see, in the true history, Luka died dozens of deaths. He's carried out enough of the true history to slow down chaosization enough for us to complete our plan. Ending him here might actually be beneficial, both to us and to the very worlds he's trying to save. All you have to do, Luka, is surrender, and I can give you whatever you desire before you shuffle off this mortal coil."
I was about to say something very dramatic about how I never surrender, even though it wasn't completely true. But Ilias beat me to it, collapsing in front of me, but with her hand on my chest.
"Luka… will never… surrender to someone like you, fucktwat!" Ilias yelled. I felt my last bit of power leave me and enter Ilias, only to come back to me multiplied. My wounds were healed once again. I stood up strong, while Ilias passed out.
"What did she just do?" Alice asked. "I felt her use not just her power, but… yours too?"
"You're still overmatched, boy," Lilith said.
"Kick her ass, Luka," Alma Elma said weakly, still lying on the ground. "Don't get beaten by her shitty old fashioned sexual techniques."
"My sexual techniques are not shitty!" Lilith roared, and charged at me. I summoned all three spirits and easily avoided her as she flew at me. Strange that she could fly so well with such huge breasts, while Rami couldn't. Must be magically assisted, I thought.
Lilith smoothly came to a stop and extended her hand, throwing a slicing gust of wind at me that could have beheaded me had I not had Gnome up. As it was, it hurt like hell and drew blood in my shoulder and neck area. I fired a blast of my power at her, but she was as much a wind expert as Alma Elma and avoided it. I prepared to fire a wider shot that she couldn't avoid, but there was a problem. Those breasts were already in my face.
Even an old fashioned succubus is dangerous with pleasure attacks, and as horny as I was I was on a hair trigger. Within one second of her breasts impacting my face, her hand was on my dick, rapidly stroking. I came immediately as her sexual magic drained all of my energy almost at once. I was too weak to even move anymore. At least if you count conventional energy. My power didn't have to be bound by such rules. Enraged, my power flared within me and my energy was back. I threw Lilith off of me.
"Way to go Luka!" ilias cheered. "Now she has no way to beat you!"
"That's not even close to true," Lilith sneered, although there was a hint of defensiveness in her tone. "It just means I can't beat him that easily. That power of his isn't limitless. If I put him in so much ecstasy that he loses his mind, he won't have enough sense to revive himself."
"As if you even could," Alma Elma said from the peanut gallery.
"Shut up!" Lilith yelled, and came at me again.
If she wanted to make me lose my mind, she'd have to pin me down first, and that was easier said than done. Fueled by our wind power, we zipped all over the throne room, me trying to hit her with my sword, saving my power for recovery in case she made me come again. This was a succubus' game. At that speed, she could make brief contact with me, using her hands, her breasts, her mouth, her tail, even her feet. And brief contact was all it took given the lewd air. I felt that at any moment the contact would linger a split second too long and send me over the edge again. The flow was of no use against someone so skilled at wind magic, so I gave Undine a chance to rest. But I kept Gnome up. When I hit her, I wanted it to be a good hit.
I briefly thought of trying variations of strategies I'd tried with other succubi. Maybe turn the tables on her and rape her, while mimicking her powerful sexual magic? No, I might still be needed if good Tamamo couldn't beat evil Tamamo. That would definitely require me to sacrifice myself to defeat Lilith. Perhaps the Alma Elma strategy from the coliseum, where I gave up my penis but put her in a chokehold? That presented similar problems given that when I'd done it to Alma Elma I wasn't on such a hair trigger due to this damned lewd air.
I'd like to say that I defeated her with some kind of grand strategy that I hadn't thought of before. But in the end, I won almost accidentally. She made a beeline for my penis, her mouth agape. She'd done that a few times, quickly bobbing up and down in a split second, and then retreating before I could strike back. But she telegraphed the move, which allowed me to catch her by her exceptionally large horns. Turning, I spun and slammed her into the wall so hard that she collapsed, the "wind" knocked out of her. I sought to finish her with a downward stab with Angel Halo, but he hands caught my blade before it could pierce her heart.
"So this is the power of the hero Luka," Lilith said, smiling at me despite her pain and the blood trickling from her mouth. "Maybe there's still a chance you can save this world after all."
"Don't go soft on me now, Lilith!" evil Tamamo yelled, still locked in combat with her counterpart.
"I do not answer directly to you, Tamamo," Lilith said. "I serve Minagi. And she does not see things as you do. I'm leaving."
With that, Lilith vanished.
"You're all alone now, other me!" good Tamamo taunted.
"Maybe Lilith and Minagi are right," evil Tamamo said. "I think I'll let the hero live for now. But you…. You're a traitor to everything a Tamamo is supposed to stand for. You only serve yourself, not the Dark Goddess."
"It's you who is the freak Tamamo!" good Tamamo shot back. "Something allowed you to escape being sealed, which is why you never saw the necessity of coexistence!"
"Why coexist when you can just win?"evil Tamamo replied. "Something which you cannot do. A seal wouldn't be of much worth if you could just flout it anytime you pleased. I'm quite certain that form is only temporary. In fact, I sense that you're already starting to revert."
Even I could see that. Evil Tamamo pressed her attack, flinging spells and tails faster than my eyes could follow, even though she didn't have the benefit of wind power.As a fox, he was already naturally quick, and her knowledge of magic enabled her to cast spells from memory far faster than anyone else in the world. Since I hadn't needed to use any more power for recovery, I prepared to take a shot at evil Tamamo, to see if I could daze her again so that our Tamamo could regain the advantage. Before I could take that shot, however, two new players entered the scene. Teleporting in were Nero and Neris!
"Who the hell are you?!" evil Tamamo yelled, now clearly irritated at how outnumbered she was, although far from intimidated.
"Neris, don't hold back!" Nero warned. Hopefully she would take that warning more seriously than I had.
"You want me to go all out!?" Neris asked. "I'll blow this palace sky high!"
"This isn't an opponent we can pull our punches against!" Nero replied. "Give her everything you've got!"
"Well if you insist," Neris replied, and her form began to change. Gone was the vaguely succubus form that my Neris had sported, and in its place stood a lamia who looked like a cross between me and Alice. Or what my Neris would have looked like had my unique Earth genes not been so much stronger than Alice's. Nero changed in much the same way. Holy crap! I thought. A male monster!? I almost felt guilty. These were the wondrous children, the true heirs, that my Alice should have borne. No. I shook my head, trying to dispel the uncharitable thoughts. Alice loved her human children and would never have traded them for anything. And in any case, there had been no Luka on that world before I'd arrived. It's not as if I'd kept her from this destiny. Things had just worked out differently.
Alice's mouth was agape. "Luka!" she whispered. "They look like…!"
"I'd like to know who you two are as well," good Tamamo said. "A male monster?! How did you come to be? I haven't seen a male monster in centuries!"
"Save it for later, master!" Nero exclaimed. "Please sync up with us!"
"I don't remember any recent apprentices, but if you know what to do…."
"Holy shit!" Ilias shouted. "They're doing it! They're combining their magic!"
That they were.And evil Tamamo was now hopelessly overmatched. The amount of power they were generating, at least in raw power, exceeded anything I'd ever been able to summon up, although I'd been assured by people who should know that I could be much stronger. I looked back at Mephisto, the only member of our party still unconscious. Maybe it was time for me to truly get serious about my power. I was playing in the big leagues. Bigger leagues, actually.
"Luka, as fascinating as this all is, you should really get us out of here," Sonya said behind me. I was so relieved to see that she was still alive.
I made sure to get eyes on all of my companions. As soon as I was sure I had them all, I whisked us back to our castle.