I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in my own bed, as if the encounter with Alicetroemeria had been a dream. I felt fully recovered from her powerful critical ecstasy, but I knew that could be deceiving. Elaborate combat stunts would often fail when it turned out that I was weaker than I thought I was. Thankfully, it wasn't supposed to be a fighting day. Our next destination was Fairy Island, to get Queen Elf to halt her end of the war, something I'd already convinced Queen Fairy to do. All Queen Fairy needed was for Queen Elf to go along, since the two tribes were tight and would not abandon one another merely because I'd defeated one of their queens.
I ventured out into the hallway to find Alice chatting with her two loyal Heavenly Knights. That reminded me of another issue that needed to be resolved. The Four Heavenly Knights generally settled disagreements by majority vote. There was never a formal vote, but if three Knights desired a course of action, the fourth would always go along to avoid unnecessary and futile conflict. But if the Knights were divided, things could get tense, as they were at the moment, with Alma Elma and Tamamo siding with Alice the Sixteenth, and Granberia and Erubetie siding with her mother. Granberia seemed to be the best person to persuade to join us. She was already unsure of her choice, and sorry that she had hurt me so badly, which meant that she probably felt that she owed me.
"Oh, good, you're up!" Alice said. "We were discussing how best to use our resources."
"I've been thinking that for the attack on Fairy Island, you should stick to your core group," Tamamo said. "Now I know that means going in very short handed, but I don't think the elves and fairies are completely on board with war against the humans. If you go in there with a small footprint, and with some authority behind you, namely Alice, you might be able to avoid some fights."
"Whereas if we go in there with our whole army," Alice added. "Every elf and fairy would feel duty bound to resist us."
"There's a fine line between invasion and merely trespassing," Alma Elma conclused. "But I think if it's just a few of you it will be seen more as the latter."
"The decision is yours, of course," Alice was quick to point out. "Tamamo is just giving us her best advice based on her limited knowledge of what's going on over on Fairy Island."
"How about we do a little more than just our core group?" I suggested. "If I just go in there with Alice, Ilias, Sonya, and myself, and the elves do fight us, we probably can't defeat them without me getting a lot more violent than I'd like. We're going to the island with the Fishy Pirates, right? So I suggest supplementing the four of us with a small mermaid landing party. Bonnie and Ashel will probably be thrilled to get some action."
"Well if you're going to do that, you should also take Mephisto," Tamamo suggested. "There's a pretty good chance that you'll need magic support, since elves and fairies rely heavily on magic. There might also be a magical explanation for their behavior. Fairies and elves are peace loving under normal circumstances. I guess that the Monster Lord's orders could account for their actions, but my gut tells me there's more to it."
"Could evil Tamamo be responsible?" I wondered.
"Not directly, no," Tamamo said. "The elves and fairies weren't overcome by lewdness and even an Ancestor wouldn't be enough to intimidate them if they didn't want to join in the war. Either their historical resentments against humans simply became too much for them to resist this opportunity, or they have been brainwashed in some way."
"Am I to assume that you to aren't coming?" I asked. "This would be very easy if you were both with us."
"I won't say I'm definitely out, but I really do need to deal with my counterpart," Tamamo replied. "Locating her and keeping her from causing trouble is my top priority."
"And I'm working on getting us to Hellgondo," Alma Elma said. "Confronting Alice's mother is our own top priority."
"How do you plan to do that?" I asked.
"I'll ask around about the red orb, for starters. Alternatively, we might be able to figure out a way to take down the seal that's preventing teleportation to Hellgondo."
"Alma Elma can teleport freely around Sentora and Ilias Continent, as well as fly," Alice pointed out. "So she's the best person for this job."
"Sorry," Alma Elma said. "I know how close you feel to us Knights, I know how much it means to you to have us by your side. But we're only two and there's a lot that needs to be done."
"On the bright side," Alice pointed out. "Before Tamamo and Alma Elma joined us, we would have had to do all of this ourselves."
"True enough," I sighed. "I know you'll both be here for me when it really counts, so do what you think is best."
"I'm sure we'll get Granberia to see the light eventually," Alice said. "When that happens, you'll have the best warrior you can have by your side at all times. You two will be connected at the hip."
That sure sounded good.
I decided that I'd join the Fishy Pirates late the next day. By then, I guessed that they should be at most two days away from Fairy's Island. I needed some time to unwind. A day off would do me some good. Of course, a day off in a castle full of hungry monsters doesn't mean opportunities for leisure and relaxation. It generally means opportunities to get knocked unconscious again.
The good news is that my cooking was so renowned that no one wanted to do anything that would result in me being unable to cook that night. I knew that after dinner was another issue entirely. Monsters seemed to like the taste of semen even better after a good dinner.
Because I was being left alone for the day, I got to enjoy some time with friends. I hadn't spoken to Lime in awhile. I found her hanging out with her besties, the imps.
"I'm so sorry I haven't been helping much, Luka!" Lime said, almost on the verge of tears. "It's just that you guys are taking on such strong opponents and I'm not all that brave."
"I hear you fought well during the battles," I said helpfully. According to what I'd been told, Lime had done a very good job of wrapping opponents up, forcing them to climax, and generally being a pest to the enemy in rather creative ways. In one case, she had blocked an alleyway with her body and several vampires had been unable to figure out how to get past her.
"I did my best!" Lime replied.
"We did too!" Rami added. "We can't fight, but our pleasure attacks are pretty good, especially when the three of us gang up on people. The spiders were so scary, though. They were playing for keeps!"
"Everyone contributes what they are able," I said reassuringly. "Believe me, you four have been amazing."
I checked on Promestein in the afternoon, since I had been neglecting her recently. Promestein was a very important person to keep working my Luka magic on. Apparently I'd encountered her in that Tartarus rift in a younger, more innocent place in her life. I didn't have to reform her, so much as prevent her from becoming what she would later become. I found Saki in the lab as well.
"You two sure seem to spend a lot of time together," I said.
"Oh, her power is as interesting as yours," Promestein said. "I'm glad you're here, because I finally figured out how to extract your power using a syringe."
Without further ado, she poked me, getting a quick sample of my power. She added it to a few more syringes that looked similar. Two of them were labeled "Saki", and to more "Juska".
"They look alike in those test tubes," I noted.
"They may look that way, and they may even be related, but they are definitely not the same," Promestein said. "it's like comparing a pebble to a planet."
"But it's the same kind of magic?"
"Distant cousins, perhaps. But not the same, no. Clearly they evolved from different sources on different worlds. Juska and Saki's magic came from the effects of the Great Disaster, which increased the amount of magic in the atmosphere. I'm sure there are a lot of people affected that we don't know about yet. It seems to be a kind of mutation. In most cases, the mutations will be useless or harmful, but Juska and Saki lucked out."
"Do you need a semen sample from him?" Saki asked. "He and I still have some unfinished business."
Saki smiled at me fetchingly. I would never get used to that no matter how many lifetimes I lived, beautiful women being so flirtatious with me. In Saki's case, I really liked it. She was lovely, sweet, and fun. And unlike a typical succubus, she had been working towards getting intimate with me, rather than just jumping me the same day she met me. That made her all the more desirable.
"No, I've still go a little left," Promestein replied. "I know I was asking for a lot early on, but I've learned just about all I can learn from the samples I've already performed tests on."
"Oh well, Luka, guess you have to wait a little longer," Saki laughed.
I knew that Saki's upbeat manner was partially an act. Alma Elma wasn't alone among succubi when it came to hiding her true feelings behind a mask of frivolity. Saki had seen terrible things and in her rage had done something terrible herself. Fortunately, she did not have blood on her hands. While a lot of spiders had been hurt badly in her outburst, none had died. If anything, she had saved their lives, as the King of Grangold's even more uncontrollable rage had wiped out all of the spiders that he'd called his fire down upon, as if he had been a vengeful god. Perhaps that's what he was now.
Nevertheless, I decided not to press Saki. If she wanted to talk, she would do so in her own time, and possibly not to me in any case. Saki was an enigma, outwardly expressive and extroverted, but slow to truly warm up to people. She wore that superstar armor that all famous women have to wear to avoid being used by fake people who want them only for what they can do for them. But if Saki ever needed me, I'd be there for her.
I ran into Aradia and remembered to thank her for a wondrous experience, truly the breast experience I'd had in a long time. She had provided magic support during our battles, avoiding direct combat despite her size and strength.
"Not that I'm doubting you, but I didn't really see much magic flying around during those battles," I said as politely as I could. I truly didn't doubt her, I was just curious as to what she'd done and couldn't think of a more delicate way to ask. She didn't take it personally, thank goodness.
"The fact that you didn't see much magic 'flying around' as you say, is because I was countering every powerful spell your opposition put out there," Aradia explained. "I also buffed some of your allies. I would have buffed you, but my magic slides right off of you for some reason."
"That is strange," I agreed. "While I don't seem to be immune to this world's magic, some kinds of spells don't work on me at all, and others are less effective. Sexual magic seems to be as effective against me as anyone else, I guess."
"Given that all monsters can perform pleasure attacks, that's a pretty serious weakness," Aradia laughed. "I wish there were buffs against that, but only succubi have that kind of magic."
"You know, Alma Elma has put a wide variety of spells of that nature on me," I said. "I wonder if it might pay to have her 'buff' me as you say when I'm likely to face strong pleasure attacks."
"We will of course have to test them by having me try to counter them, both with my magic and my own sexual techniques."
"It's a date," I said happily. I found myself liking Aradia as well, although Alice and Ilias had both cautioned me to be wary around her. They didn't quite trust her, telling me that she had grown powerful in part by making deals with dark forces.
I always loved spending time with Nanabi, so I went to the gym, which is where she could always be found, ever since she'd been fooled by a fake Tamamo and then humiliated in battle against Neris. I had known her as my tech person, someone who I worked closely with for a solid thirty years in a small computer room. She had basically been my work spouse. But in a world where such tech was rare, Nanabi bettered herself primarily through physical training.
I had to admit that her obsession with getting better at combat had done wonders for her body. While Nanabi had always been very strong, even as a computer person, she had a soft body with some significant baby fat. After a couple of months of constantly working out and practicing, she was getting pretty lean and ripped. She was beginning to develop a six pack and her breasts seemed to sit higher. Something that was hard to miss given that she never wore clothes.
"I hear you did well in the fighting," I said by way of greeting, then instantly regretted it. I'd forgotten that Nanabi, for all her practice and hard work, had fled the battlefield at one point under less than creditable circumstances.
"You don't need to patronize me, you know," Nanabi replied.
"Don't beat yourself up over it. We all have phobias. I should have held you back when we went up against the mermaids, but I'd forgotten about you and water."
"That's very kind of you to say, but I will choose whether to beat myself up over my failures," Nanabi said bitterly. "That's the second time I've failed Tamamo."
"Does she see it that way?"
"Probably not. But she's kind, like you. She chose me as her aide even though I was an underachiever."
"You sure don't work like you're an underachiever," I noted. "And as I recall, she had rational reasons for picking you. Kitsunes are known as the most advanced of monster races. They are the tech geniuses. And science was always your main interest."
"You know me well. But I have magic and combat responsibilities too. I have to get better. Our enemies are only going to get more powerful. Yao never fails Tamamo. I need to be more like her."
"I think you could probably choose better role models than Yao," I laughed.
"Oh? Was your Yao not nice?"
"Yao was….. playful. All right, I guess all kitsunes are playful. But Yao's playfulness was a little mean at times. She also wasn't very affectionate."
"Yeah, she's not that approachable," Nanabi agreed. "But she always succeeds at anything she puts her tails to."
I could think of one thing she failed at, but I decided not to bring that up. Assigned to stop me from reaching the Grand Hall to face the Four Heavenly Knights, Yao had fooled around rather than finish me when she had me right where she wanted me. She'd used an ingenious tactic to make Gnome work against me instead of for me, and had every opportunity to defeat me instantly. She'd chosen to torture me with pleasure instead, giving me time to recover and turn the tables on her. I think she must have taken it personally, because I'd barely said ten words to Yao after that.
"You know, you're a little stinky," Nanabi said, wrinkling her nose. "Would you like me to lick you clean?"
Guh. I'd never had Nanabi do that for me and I was quite intrigued by the idea. But I knew that would probably result in multiple orgasms, which would mean no dinner. That would make Nanabi very unpopular with the castle residents.
"Maybe another time," I said. "I have to admit that your offer appeals to me."
"I can tell," Nanabi said with a smile. "We kitsunes can smell the change when you get aroused. Apparently you like that idea very much indeed. I'll be sure to clean you thoroughly."
I was beginning to hate having responsibilities. The idea of living in a castle where these monsters would service me anytime I wanted was very appealing. It would be so easy to just forget my mission and enjoy myself. I'd been told that most adventurers would long ago have stopped caring about missions or responsibilities if they had been in my shoes.
One of the more mundane responsibilities was dinner. I enjoyed that one, however, because my friends genuinely appreciated my efforts and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Nothing improved morale more than a good meal.
Spider Princess was there to "help" again. Her boasts about her intelligence were not empty, however, so she was already showing signs of understanding how a kitchen worked. She'd probably never be able to help me cook, but she eagerly fetched whatever I needed and cleaned up after me when I made frequent messes. And did so without complaint.
During dinner I sat with Candy and Aradia, who took up an entire table almost by themselves. I tried to vary who I sat with to develop my relationships with my companions. If you've ever played a dating sim, it's like building affection levels. I wasn't trying to date anyone other than Alice, but I did want everyone to genuinely like me, especially now that I had questionable people on my team, such as Candy and Aradia. I theorized that the more they liked me, the less likely they'd be to turn on me later. It may sound naïve, but the force seemed to be strong with me when it came to converting former enemies. So I decided to play to my strengths.
In one respect, I apparently had no worries about Candy. At some point during dinner, my pants had been pulled down to my knees and a large tongue started teasing me with the tip. I had no idea where it came from and I probably didn't want to know. Candy had multiple mouth orifices due to whatever had transformed her into the yoma she had become. Even her vagina was another mouth. I should have expected that since dinner had already been made, that someone would try to get the jump on her competitors. Aradia clearly noticed what was going on and seemed amused. Candy betrayed no reaction, acting as if it wasn't her, or if it was, that she was completely unaware of what part of her was doing.
Candy seemed to take great joy in finding my weak spots and running the tip of that tongue over them while trying to have conversations with me. Then she would helpfully ask if someone was wrong. I of course responded that everything was fine, and not mention that I was getting pleasured under a table for the second time in two days.
Towards the end of dinner, after endless soft teasing that made every little touch of that wonderful tongue into a miniorgasm that left me speechless, I felt the tongue wrap around my shaft and begin stroking. Everyone turned to stare as I seemed to be having a seizure. Several monsters rolled their eyes when they saw it was just Candy being greedy.
Candy smiled at me and pulled a teacup from under the table. She lightly sipped from it and sighed happily. Even Aradia thought that was a bit much.
"Did you make him come into a teacup?" Aradia asked. "Don't you have like…. Five or six mouths that you could have used?"
"We're at the dinner table!" Candy gasped in faux shock. "That would have made a loud slurping sound! This is far more polite."
Despite Candy's reputation, she had only stolen one load from me, which meant I could still walk. The gentleness of her technique had also contributed to making the critical ecstasy much less…. Er… critical. But everyone knew that I was weak. That made me easy prey.
Wait, why was I thinking that way? These were my friends, and even those who might not be my friends knew they shouldn't treat me as prey. Not only had Alice made her position on that clear, everyone knew how important I was if they wanted to go on living. Still, I remembered the frenzy that had resulted not that long ago, a frenzy Aradia had saved me from. Okay, I thought. Whatever happens, don't run. Running only excites them.
I could have gone to my room, but I rationalized that it couldn't hurt on a day off to go increase my "affection" further. I knew just who I needed to see.
"Why Luka, how nice to see you!" Cassandra said, putting down her own teacup, which actually seemed to be filled with tea.
"Emily thinks your cooking is fantastic!" Emily said happily. I'd always liked Emily. It was a shame that we'd never been able to be friends in my previous life.
"Why weren't you at dinner, Cassandra?" I asked. Emily had shown up ever since she'd arrived at the castle not too long ago, but Cassandra was hit or miss, sometimes there, sometimes not.
"Your food is excellent, to be sure," Cassandra stated. "But Emily can bring me some when I'm busy, and today I was busy. I hope you are not insulted."
"No, just concerned," I said graciously. "Promestein often gets too busy to come to dinner so I often bring her food."
"Well, you have certainly brought us dinner today, young Luka," Cassandra said, giving me a very familiar look. Uh oh. I remembered Alice warning me about accepting rewards from Cassandra. As long as she still owed me, Cassandra could be trusted. Once she felt we were even, I might have a problem. I saw no diplomatic way to back out.
Emily's tentacles snatched me off of my feet. My pants went down around my ankles yet again.
"Emily!" Cassandra scolded. "This is the Monster Lord's castle and Luka is her consort! We ask before nibbling!"
"Emily wants more than just a nibble!" Emily said, leering at me.
"I'm not exactly Alice's consort," I said. "She hasn't claimed me."
"If she had, you'd be her lover," Cassandra corrected me. "In our parlance, a consort is simply one we have sex with regularly but do not claim. Alipheese is smarter than I gave her credit for. She knows how much value a tasty morsel like you has. By making you available to her allies, she keeps them loyal."
I wasn't sure whether to be more concerned that Cassandra thought Alice was pimping me out, or flattered that Cassandra thought I was delicious enough to make Alice's allies willing to risk their lives for her. I understood that Alice only allowed her allies to feed on me because it was useful. She clearly didn't like it, but understood the necessity.
Emily was still holding me off the ground with her tentacles, and she was holding me quite a bit more tightly than I would have preferred. I may have liked Emily, but I also remembered that she was a killer on my world, at least until the death of her mother and the responsibilities of leadership had caused her to grow as a person. But this Emily was not my Emily, at least not yet. She didn't seem terribly concerned about my comfort.
"Emily, ask Luka for consent," Cassandra prodded. "I've heard he doesn't like to be touched by children, even if that is only a form."
"I'm no child!" Emily retorted. "I'm back at my full power!"
"That's not a problem," I croaked. Emily loosened her hold on me enough for me to finish getting the words out. "You're both obviously mature, and your forms are young, but post pubescent."
That was true. Physically they looked about sixteen or so, but Cassandra was very old indeed, and Emily probably in her forties. I decided not to let their appearances be an obstacle.
"So does that mean you consent?" Emily prodded.
"Yes," I said. "But try not to hurt me in the process."
"That might be difficult," Cassandra said. "Emily is used to wringing men out vigorously. She's not the patient type. You're strong, you can take it. Then I'll give you a far more relaxing experience."
Emily wrapped even more tentacles around my body, then proceeded to make the writhe around me. Although she was inartful and rough about it, I couldn't deny that it felt great. The underside of her tentacles were surprisingly soft, with suckers and ridges that dragged all over me, stimulating my sensitive spots and feeling generally quite good even in my nonerogenous zones. With a little bit of skill, she could become expert at giving massages with those tentacles.
"Now that you're good and aroused," Emily said. "It's time to really prey on you."
I was laid down none to gently on the hard floor. I tucked in my chin to avoid having my head bounce off of the ground. Slightly hiking her skirt, Emily forced me under her into a tangle of softer, slimier tentacles. The tentacles swarmed all over my body, with extra attention to my groin area. Again, her technique was simple, attempting to overwhelm me with maximum stimulation as quickly as possible. Cassandra huffed at her exuberant daughter's lack of subtlety, but didn't complain. Cassandra was probably quite hungry and probably disdn't mind if her daughter ate quickly. And eat quickly she did. I felt the tentacles start pulling upwards on my dick, then I felt my dick sink into something even softer and tighter.
"Emily's pussy feels good, doesn't it?" Emily said, answering an unspoken question of mine. With scyllas, you could never be sure what exactly you were being forced inside.
Her tentacles continued to stroke me while her vagina squeezed the head of my penis. When she felt me stiffen, she forced her pussy down, engulfing my entire length. Her eyes nearly rolled back in pleasure as I filled her with my delicious seed.
When I was finished, she yanked me roughly out from under her and handed me over to her mother.
"I haven't properly thanked you for helping me restore at least part of my power," Cassandra said, pulling me close to her with her perfectly normal looking arms. Her breath had an odd smell to it, not unpleasant, but clearly not human. That's another aspect of monsters that isn't discussed much. Even in disguise, they can't hide that their breath has a different smell. Kitsune breath smells like coffee. The best way I could describe Cassandra's is that it smelled like human breath if said human had just eaten fermented pineapple. She hadn't been drinking alcohol as far as I could tell, so that must be her natural scent.
"I have a special treat for you," Cassandra said. "While I cannot give you the ultimate pleasure of digesting you, I can simulate the experience somewhat."
Her lower body took on its true amoeba form, causing me to sink in, leaving only my head free so that I could breath. The only part of Cassandra that remained human in appearance was her own head.
"Like most powerful monsters, I can control how acidic my digestive juices are," Cassandra explained. "The most intensely pleasurable sensations can only occur if your cells die. Each cell dying is a distinct orgasm for my victims. They literally experience a lifetime of orgasms all over their body before they die. What you will experience will be far milder. My digestive juices will only kill some of your skin cells. You will receive a skin cleanse as well as a unique sexual experience."
I felt a comfortable sensation all over my body as she spoke. This was not an entirely new sensation for me. When Alice had attempted to eat me, there had been a similar ecstasy as my feet, then my legs, had dissolved. Due to the traumatic and hostilc nature of Alice's act, I hadn't had time to truly appreciate it, and it had only happened to my lower body. I was sure that if it had reached my penis, all of my resistance would have ceased. Cassandra was pleasuring my entire body with her digestive juices. Despite how mild they were, I felt individual cells explode in joy as they dissolved, each dying cell as amazing as an individual normal orgasm. It was almost like I was popcorn. A cell in my leg would go pop. Then a cell in my neck. Another on my arm. Another on my chest. The longer I basked in her supple body, the more frequent the little orgasms became. My penis was unaffected, however. I asked Cassandra if she was avoiding my penis in order to tease me longer.
"Your penis is immersed in my fluids as much as the rest of your body," Cassandra answered. "But the skin there has fewer near dead cells. Only the weakest of your cells are dying. In a way, it is survival of the fittest. Just enjoy for awhile. I'll make your penis do amazing things soon."
The popcorn like orgasms all over my body increased in pace, but then began to slow down, as all of the cells vulnerable to the mild acidity of her digestive juices died off, leaving me cleansed as if I'd given myself a facial exfoliation all over my body. What was left was simply an incredibly comfortable, wonderful feeling all over. I could have simply stayed inside Cassandra's body forever.
"It appears your weakest skin cells are finished," Cassandra purred. "I'm going to turn up my acidity, but only for one minute. That may leave you with some very mild burns, but they should heal by the time you wake up. This will be one of the most intense things you have ever experienced. Are you ready?"
Could I trust Cassandra? That didn't sound safe. But although Cassandra could be evil, she had her honor. This was my reward. She would play it straight at least for one night. Or perhaps the pleasure was warping my mind. I tended to rationalize when I was horny. I signaled to her that I was ready.
Instantly my body exploded in pleasure and I began coming uncontrollably. From my neck down, it felt like my entire body was having an orgasm. I'd heard about full body orgasms but thought people were making it up. Cassandra smiled as I screamed. Emily laughed.
True to what she had said, after one minute the incredible feelings stopped. Cassandra returned to human form and set me down on a table.
"Was it as good as promised?" Cassandra asked.
"Waba," I answered.
"Imagine what you felt just then, only imagine it growing even more intense as your skin dies and my digestive juices begin dissolving your muscle, your bones, then your organs. Alas, it is an experience you can only have once. I also leave you with a warning. I don't simply have control of my acidity. I can also control my sexual magic, so that instead of your brain interpreting your body being dissolved as pleasure, it sees it for what it is, and forces you to feel unimaginable agony. Stay on my good side, Luka, so that you may never experience the latter."
If I had been capable of coherent speech, I would have retorted that Cassandra should take her own advice. Her own cruelty had led to that unimaginably horrible death by her own body.
"He's all yours, Ran," Emily said as she and her mother left. Ran?
Emily and Cassandra's maid stood over my prone form on the table. Oh, that was Ran. Her expression was as sadistic as the two that she served. She hiked her apron up to reveal even more tentacles, the thickest, heaviest tentacles I'd seen in a long time. Only Queen Kraken's had been larger. How did she hide those under that apron?
I closed my eyes as the tentacles grabbed me. I'm not even sure I want to know what happened next. I was pulled into multiple orifices and forced to come into each one until I lost consciousness.
Fairy's Island was one of the prettiest islands I'd ever laid eyes on. It was easy to see why the elves and fairies favored it. A Fairy's Island had existed back on my world, but I'd only visited it twice, the first time to rescue Sara, the second time to be present for a treaty between Sabasa and the elves and fairies.
Things weren't exactly the same, however. What stood before us was what looked like the entrance to a maze of vegetation, and not one that evolved by happenstance.
"Wow," Alice breathed. "They've been preparing to defend this island for some time. It will be very easy for us to get lost in there."
"Lots of opportunities for an ambush," Ashel agreed. "Going in with more numbers wouldn't be very helpful, either. There's got to be numerous chokepoints in there where they can hold off large forces. They can also mount archers on top of those walls. Milady, I don't like this at all."
"Nonsense, Ashel!" Bonnie said enthusiastically. "Don't you smell that?"
"Smell what, Milady? Vegetation?"
"No! Adventure!"
"You frighten me, milady," Ashel sighed.
I smiled at Bonnie. Bonnie may not have been a great captain, and she may have taken the pirate act to ridiculous lengths with her choice of dress. But Bonnie was no mere cosplayer. She was the best fighter in the crew and the best mermaid fighter I'd ever seen, period. It also didn't hurt that she was beautiful.
Our journey to Fairy's Island had been uneventful, but tense. The Fishy Pirates, before receiving orders from Tamamo to set sail for Fairy's Island, had been patrolling the Northern Seas trying to find those poachers. It was dangerous work. The poachers had a modern ship which presumably vastly outgunned the MS Fish. Tamamo hadn't been idly joking when she warned me that teleporting to the MS Fish could be dangerous for me and my companions. If the Fish was at the bottom of the sea, I'd be killed instantly by the pressures. I'd taken some basic countermeasures just in case. I teleported with the Ball of Guideance in my hand, so that if I materialized under water I'd be fine. Alice could already function at any depth, even in her diminished form. So I first teleported to the MS Fish with just Alice. Finding myself safely on board, I went back for Sonya, Ilias, and Aradia, who donned a pirate hat of her own for the occasion. Tamamo had advised me to take Mephisto, as Mephisto's shadiness was a known quantity, since Tamamo was already familiar with her. Aradia, on the other hand, no one trusted but me. I also decided that Mephisto's primary strength was as a teacher to me, not a warrior. She had never been a battlefield magician the way Aradia was. Mephisto had only ever studied magic academically.
I spent a little more than a day and a night on the MS Fish. Bonnie and Ashel and the rest of the crew were thrilled to see me. Bonnie was so exuberant that she leaped into my arms. I'd had to quickly summon Gnome to avoid being knocked down, as Bonnie was pretty heavy. She'd planted a very fishy kiss on my lips, much to Alice and Sonya's annoyance. Feeding off of me was something they'd learned to live with, but genuine displays of affection were less tolerable. And while I'm talking about what various monsters' breath smells like, mermaid breath smells…. Fishy. But then again, they smell fishy all over. As beautiful as mermaids are, that scent isn't for every man.
Whereas Bonnie wanted to be my playmate, Ashel's attitude was one of camaraderie. She was eager to hear tales of the adventures I'd had since the MS Fish had last dropped us on land. I may have embellished things a bit, which was quite unnecessary given that our adventures were already pretty exciting. I concluded on a more downbeat note, with news of our losses. Ashel took the news with appropriate solemnity. While Ashel had the same adventurous spirit as her captain, she was a veteran of many battles and did not take violence lightly. One of the primary reasons that she had joined Bonnie's crew was that Bonnie had a no-kill rule similar to mine. The only difference was that Bonnie enjoyed making the Fishy Pirates' opponents think they would be killed, usually in very elaborate and painful fashion.
"Let us take the lead, Luka," Ashel suggested. "We're tough, and also expendable."
"We are NOT expendable!" Bonnie protested.
"No one's expendable, and no one's getting expended," Alice said. "The elves and fairies aren't likely to use lethal force against us. So go easy on the swords."
"We'll use our tails to beat up our opponents, then!" Bonnie said enthusiastically.
"Water bullets should be effective as well," Ashel added.
"And if all else fails… my two most lethal weapons should defeat those perverted elves!" Bonnie declared.
"Please tell me you aren't referring to your breasts, milady."
"Why do you think I eat so much?" Bonnie asked. "Large breasts are a necessity for a pirate!"
"I'm fairly certain that is not the case, milady, but it does explain why all of our crew have enormous busts."
"All right," I said. "Ashel and Bonnie, you two have point. Ilias, Sonya, you're with me. Alice, guard our rear. Ashel, I suggest you navigate through this maze. I have zero sense of direction."
That decided, we cautiously entered the maze. I listened to the wind as we proceeded, ready for anything. It was clear that the elves and fairies knew we were here. I saw fairies flitting above us then quickly flying off. I also saw rustling in the vines and briefly saw an elven archer running atop the maze walls. They were obviously preparing an ambush.
"I'm casting a magic reflection spell," Aradia informed us. "That should limit the enemy to physical and pleasure attacks."
"Your spell is rather rudimentary," Ilias said. "I can feel it. That means many of them will as well. These spells are easy to work around."
"I intend for them to see it," Aradia retorted. "And to attempt to work around it. A good magical battle is like chess. I have simply made an opening move."
"Luka, could you go ahead and make me big?" Alice asked. "I want them to know who they are attacking. Maybe it will deter some of them."
With a thought I restored Alice to her full size. I left Ilias in her child form. A little child angel would not be regarded as a major threat by the natives. But Goddess Ilias in her full form would provoke them, and her strength was not increased enough by the change to make it worth doing.
"It's so beautiful here," Sonya breathed, running her fingers along the bushes and vines. "A maze like this would be fun if this wasn't such a serious situation."
"Be careful about touching the walls," Alice cautioned. "Traps are likely."
The first trap was sprung a few minutes later. Rounding a corner, we faced several elves armed with short swords. I had an inspiration. I willed the vines to come out of the walls and entangle the elves, having seen fairies do similar things in the past. To my shock and amazement, it worked right away. Numerous vines extended from the walls, grabbing every elf and pulling them into the walls, where they hung helpless but quite unharmed.
"Yes!" I exulted, raising my fists in triumph. "I did that! I am the man!"
I was also paralyzed, as an arrow from above pierced my chest. Elven arrows were usually not designed to be lethal, coated with a magic similar to Granberia's. Any wound the arrows made would be instantly closed as soon as the arrow was removed. The arrows also were coated with a paralyzing agent. Which meant that I was lying on the ground.
Ilias pulled out her bow and returned fire. I saw one elf cry out in pain and scream as she fell off of the wall with and landed with a thud. Ouch. Thank goodness the ground was soft. Ilias knocked down another elf before an arrow found the little goddess, who fell across my own prone body.
Aradia sprung her own trap on a small group of fairies who tried to use the vines in the same way I had, to entangle our party. Since the use of the vines was indirect, the reflection spell was not affected. But Aradia had expected exactly that tactic and copied my own tactic. Aradia's magical ability exceeded her opponents, making it easy for her to seize control of the vines and send them hurtling back at the fairies, who joined their elven sisters trapped in the walls. Aradia then blocked incoming arrows with a wall of vegetation that she formed as a shield from the surrounding area.
Alice and Sonya took down the rest of the elven archers with their own magic. Sonya was getting very good at her Holy Arrow spell and Alice was always unerring with her various elemental and dark magic bolts.
Sonya yanked the arrows out of Ilias and me and checked the wounds. Sure enough, they were not at all serious, but Sonya had no cure for the paralyzation agent, so we had to halt while the party waited for Ilias and me to recover. I did fairly quickly, as I always did, but Ilias' body was small and she was immobile for nearly half an hour. Even after that Sonya had to carry her, because we really couldn't wait any longer. We'd already given the elves and fairies more than enough time to plan and stage their next ambush.
At first we thought the ambush was already upon us when two elves approached us cautiously, swords drawn. But things were not quite what they seemed.
"Are you the Monster Lord?" one of the elves asked.
"I am she," Alice said grandly. "I have business with the Queen Elf. This insane war must end."
"We couldn't agree more. Most of us have seen the change in our queen. We believe there is magic involved. Somehow, it feels as if a disturbing fog is enveloping our habitat," the elf said. "Little by little, everyone is being driven mad and behaving irrationally."
"I'm feeling that strange aura as well," Alice replied. "There's some powerful magic flowing through this forest, and it's stirring up anger and hatred."
"Clearly a mind manipulation spell," Ilias added. "This, and variations of it, seem to be the Monster Lord's standard ploy, although she's using slightly different methods each time."
"A spell makes sense in this case," Alice agreed. "The elves and fairies are very civilized, but there are old resentments against humans that are still very much a part of their psyches. It would only take a subtle spell to bring those hatreds out and make it easy to persuade them to join her war."
"Is there a way to dispel it?" I asked.
"You could try to do it," Ilias suggested. "But without a focal point for you to concentrate on, I doubt you could pull it off."
"Okay, so we find where the spell is emanating from. Don't spells that remain in an area always have a source? Either a person maintaining the spell or some kind of machine, or enchanted object?"
"You're learning," Alice said with a slight smile. "Unfortunately for us, the spell isn't originating from here. The waves are flowing in from the northwest."
"Wow, you're a lot more sensitive to magical flows than I am at the moment," Ilias said. "To the northwest is the World Tree."
"The World Tree?" I asked. "I've never heard of that. Should we go there and end the spell?"
"We're already here," Alice noted. "And we've gone through the trouble of mostly navigating this maze. Down those vines is our destination Let's just do this the easy way and beat the Queen Elf down. That should make her come to her senses."
"You know, Alice, this world never ceases to disturb me. We get people to do what we want by beating them up, we bring them to their senses by beating them up, and everyone is trying to sexually assault everyone else. Do you ever question the nature of your existence?"
"All the time," Alice answered. "I've decided to resolve my crisis of existence by sexually assaulting you alone. As for the beatings, I theorize that if I beat enough people up, the world will start to make sense to me."
"Beatings do tend to make everything clearer," Ilias agreed.
"May we join you?" the other elf asked. "If you are here to save our queen, we wish to assist. Though it might feel like treason, we believe the queen is not in her right mind, and will be grateful to us once she realizes that she had been manipulated."
"Risky, and brave," Alice said. "At the very least, know that your Monster Lord is grateful. What are your names?"
"I am Claudia," the second elf replied. "This is my sister, Lydia."
"We pledge our swords, our bows, and our bodies to you, your majesty," Lydia said, bowing deeply to Alice.
"I don't suppose you know when we can expect the next ambush?" Ashel asked.
"Alas, we haven't been a part of the planning for this eventuality," Claudia answered. "But we are familiar with their tactics. The first attack was simply to feel you out. The next will be more serious. Expect to get hit from all directions with every kind of attack."
While Claudia and Lydia may not have been able to tell us precisely where the next ambush would happen, they did know their way around the maze, which saved us a ton of time wandering around. We more than made up for the lost time waiting for Ilias to recover as Claudia and Lydia guided us confidently through the complex maze.
"Surprisingly predictable," Claudia noted, listening carefully with her large elven ears. "The center of the island is near. I don't hear anyone, but they will likely make their stand near the exit."
"Our speed must have thrown their plans into disarray," Lydia noted. "We denied them the opportunity to choose the time and place to give battle."
We passed through a few more winding paths, until we saw the exit to the maze dead ahead. That's when elven archers stepped in to block the exit, firing a volley of arrows at us. More elven archers hit us from above, and even more from behind. Alice summoned a crystal shield to block the arrows that came from behind, while Ilias cast a widespread Holy Light spell which incinerated the arrows above us in flight. Bonnie went down, an arrow striking her right in one of her large breasts. Other arrows bounced harmlessly off of Ashel's scaly lower body.
"Aradia!" Ashel yelled. "Ever heard of a mermaid cannon?"
"I can't say that I have!" Aradia shouted back.
"It's easy! I'm the mermaid, you're the cannon! Throw me at those archers!"
Aradia didn't hesitate, moving her arms in a sweeping movement that magically lifted Ashel and Bonnie off the ground and flung them at the elven archers at the exit. The elves were slight and relatively frail. Bonnie and Ashel were large and heavy, and were hurled at the mass of elven archers at very high speed. The impact was stupendous. The elves were scattered like ten pins as the two large mermaids collided with them.
"Run for the exit!" I shouted, firing small bolts of my power above and behind me, not really trying to hit anyone so much as to get the enemy to take cover.
As we made for the exit, a swarm or fairies descended upon us. Vines reached out everywhere, trying to entangle us. Aradia lumbered forward, trying to counter as much as she could, but we were being slowed substantially. In addition, the annoying little fairies were hitting us with tiny pleasure attacks using their wings and their little naked bodies. My pants were removed yet again and two small fairies attached themselves to my penis. Aradia had a large number of fairies on her enormous breasts.
Despite the efforts to slow us down, we made it out, only to be confronted with a platoon of elven swordswomen. Seeing no alternative, I drew my own sword and fought, ridiculously with the fairies still attached to my manhood, furiously licking it and rubbing it with their bodies, trying to get me to ejaculate and render me helpless. On one hand, it was very difficult to have a sword fight under such conditions. On the other, my elven opponents had to limit their attacks to my upper body so as not to risk harming their fairy allies.
Alice relieved me of that problem at least during a break in the sword battle by bending down and threatening to swallow my dick, which caused the two fairies to scream in terror and fly off.
"What a pity," Alice said. "I always wanted to taste a fairy."
Alice's tail absentmindedly whipped behind her, taking down three elves. The battle raged, or at least raged as much as a battle where no one is terribly at risk of dying can rage. Aradia was brought down by the swarm or fairies, who had stimulated her breasts enough to put her into critical ecstasy. Ilias was doing just fine, slapping the fairies away until one got into her robe, causing her eyes to roll back as the little goddess went down to a pleasure attack yet again. Sonya wasn't faring much better, having to individually grab fairies off of her body and throw them, only to have them fly back and clutch her again. At least Sonya had a secure fighting outfit which made pleasure attacks difficult and the fairies were not strong enough to remove it. The elves solved that problem by putting four arrows into Sonya, which ended her day decisively.
We won, but it was a very difficult fight, and towards the end it did get somewhat violent. Ashel's cutlass drew blood on several elves, but she was careful to not strike at any vital points on the delicate elves. The fairies pleasure attacks on Ashel were relatively ineffective. Evidently Ashel was tougher than most of us at resisting such attacks. I sealed several elves once I was no longer distracted by fairies attached to me, and using the flow helped me avoid the diving fairies that tried to distract me.
When it was over, there were bodies everywhere, although all were breathing bodies. Things had not escalated into deadly violence. Everyone would get to go home that night. But my small force was depleted. Claudia and Lydia had both been taken down, Claudia by arrows, Lydia by fairy pleasure attacks. Aradia was in critical ecstasy, and we had no cure for that. Sonya had been hit with enough paralyzing agent to bring down an elephant. It would be hours before she could fight. Ilias was also in critical ecstasy. Bonnie was just beginning to move, although she was unsteady. That left only me, Alice, and Ashel as fully effective combatants. But the elves were in worse shape. The only elf standing in the entire area was the queen, who stared at the three of us coldly.
"To think that a human would come to our habitat," Queen Elf said angrily. "It appears that polluting your own environment isn't enough for you."
"You truly have been driven mad if my very presence is pollution in your eyes," I responded. "I think you know why I'm here. You invaded Grand Noah. I'm here to make you stop your part of the war."
"This is no mere question of honor, where you can persuade me by showing me your strength! This is a war of survival! If you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me, and then my successor will fight in my stead! We shall not submit to extinction merely because you won a fight!"
Well that wasn't in the script, I thought. It did make sense, however. No matter how honorable the monster, there was nothing that could force them to surrender to their own destruction. I had to hope that defeating the queen would enable her to see reason. Clearly she was not fighting a war for survival. I'd been through this once before. While the elves and fairies had legitimate beefs, and their habitable areas had been reduced substantially by the encroachment of human civilization, it was not malicious even on my old world. In this one, it was even less so. The humans were simply unaware. When Queen Elf was thinking more rationally, she almost certainly understood that.
"Beating sense into her it is," Alice said, seeming way too happy about the idea.
"Since you seem to understand honor, why not challenge me yourself, human?" the Queen said.
"You're sick, Queen," I said. "You're under the influence of a spell and your mind is too clouded by hatred to see it. You already said that this wasn't a matter of honor, that if I beat you, you still won't stop the war. This isn't a matter of honor for us, either! We're trying to help you, and if Doctor Ilias says that the only way for you to be helped is a sound beating, then that's what we're going to do!"
"Come, then!" the Queen yelled, drawing her thin blade. "Come at me, and your companions, too! Know the ancient fury of the elves and fairies!"
I knew the Queen Elf to be a formidable swordswoman. I'd briefly fought her in my previous life, but she had abandoned swordplay for rape very early in the fight, seeking to sterilize me. I didn't get a chance to truly cross swords with her this time either. It felt dishonorable somehow, but there were three of us and only one of her, and each of us had a distinct fighting style. She had no chance to adjust or predict our attacks. She made one big play to defeat us, and it almost worked.
"Ascend to Nirvana!" she shouted, a wave of magic emanating from her. A feeling of well being hit me. It was obviously a pleasure spell, but not a sexual pleasure spell, as was normal for monsters. Rather, it was pure euphoria. Ashel and I immediately dropped our swords and began wandering around aimlessly, enraptured by the beauty of the area and wanting to smell the pretty flowers.
Alice, however, was completely unaffected. If anything, the spell may have pissed her off. She always was cantankerous. She wrapped her tail around the Queen Elf and began squeezing, all the while slapping the Queen in the face repeatedly, urging her to snap out of it. I don't think it was as effective as Alice hoped at restoring the queen's sanity, but it did force her to surrender
"So you have defeated me," Queen Elf said bitterly. "It changes nothing. Kill me if you wish. Keep me as a sex slave if you desire. My people will fight on. It is a matter of survival for us. The humans will only continue to oppress us if we passively remain on our little island!"
"From the humans' perspective, you attacked their capitol for no reason," Alice said. "Attacking the enemy without even trying to negotiate is what an idiot does."
"As if humans would ever listen to us!" the Queen raged.
"They might surprise you," I said. "None of the rulers on Sentora are hardliners, not even the pope. While you've been holed up here, the world around you has changed. Humans and monsters have taken great strides towards coexistence. Maybe it's time for you to join the rest of the world?"
"Queen," Aradia said weakly. "I have detected a magical spell in the area. I believe it is causing your thinking to be clouded."
"I feel absolutely fine!" the queen retorted. "Even if there is magic in the area, our grievances are legitimate!"
"Please, your majesty," Aradia urged. "You are a powerful magician. I'm sure that you can counter the spell. Tell me that you still want to make war if you must, but at least remove the spell as an influene on your thinking."
"Very well," the queen said, waving her arms. A dome of magic surrounded us and expanded outward to encompass most of the island. I'd never imagined that the Queen Elf was that adept at magic. Then again, if she was raised as a warrior, it made sense. Granberia had powerful magical abilities herself, but rarely used them, favoring the sword instead.
I hadn't felt the spell myself, but I did notice its absence. It was as if a subtle weight had been lifted. Not something overwhelming, as that would have been too obvious. One might not notice they were carrying the weight, and would quickly grow accustomed to it. But when it was removed, one would notice the difference. That's how it felt when the Queen Elf shielded the island from the spell that was being used to darken the hearts of Fairy Island's inhabitants.
"You are wise," the Queen Elf said, nodding to Aradia. "I feel the difference now. I have been a fool. Our grievances are real, but I have always been cautious in the past. The spell, along with the Monster Lord's request for us to attack the humans, was just the push needed to manipulate me into going to war. I am shamed. I shall not attack the humans anymore. If they desire dialogue, I am open to it."
"She speaks for me as well," Queen Fairy said, alighting next to her. "You already had my commitment to stop the fighting if you could get the Queen Elf to go along. Now that I no longer feel the influence of that harmful magic, I too see how foolish this all was. You have my deepest apologies."
"We hereby proclaim our allegiance to you, Alipheese the Sixteenth," Queen Elf said, taking a knee in front of Alice. "Our swords, our magic, our bodies, are yours."
"Thank you, Queens of the fairy and elven peoples," Alice said. "For now, remain here on the island. We may have need of you in the near future. You were very tough opponents. We almost lost today. You are brilliant tacticians. I am privileged to call you allies going forward."
"Will we at least take Claudia and Lydia with us?" I asked.
"That sounds reasonable. Two elves don't eat much and we could use some more intelligence in the castle, given all the idiots that live there now."
"What will you do now?" Queen Elf asked.
"Our top priority is confronting Alipheese the Fifteenth," I informed her. "But getting to Hellgondo is going to be challenging. We have to awaken the Garuda Girl."
"That is quite a quest. Do you have any of the orbs?"
"A few," I said. "And we know where to get all but one. We're missing the red orb. By any chance, do you know anything about its location?"
"As a matter of fact, I do!" Queen Elf said. "How fortunate that you would think to ask me! Truly the fates are looking favorably upon you!"
"Great!" I exulted. "Where do we find it?"
"The red orb is in the possession of the Elven Princess. She resides near Yamatai Village."
"Outstanding! Alice, we can teleport directly there!"
"Not so fast!" the Queen cautioned. "The Elven Princess is…. Well, she's a bit of a shut in. She won't see anyone and she certainly won't give up the red orb to just anyone."
"Even though the world is at stake?"
"The princess knows nothing of such things. But I shall contact her telepathically. Please stand by."
The Queen Elf concentrated as she reached out mentally to the Elven Princess. She smirked in satisfaction as she made contact. Alice waited much more patiently than I as the two conversed silently. After what seemed an eternity, the Queen Elf sighed and faced me.
"The only way the princess will ever come out of her manor is to meet her Prince Charming," the Queen Elf said.
"Luka, that sounds like you," Alice said with a smirk. "I don't know if you're Prince Charming, but Prince Delicious might be good enough. Tell the princess that we have her prince right here."
"Wait, you can't just sell me off to a princess!" I objected.
"We're not. We're just introducing you to her. Elves don't move that quickly. They live a long time, and they take their time with serious relationships. First you'll meet, then you'll spend the next year or two exchanging letters, then things might get a little more serious."
The Queen Elf concentrated again and listened, nodding. She then turned to me.
"She wants to see what you look like," Queen Elf said. "I am sending her a mental image now."
"Oh, that won't go well," I worried.
"Don't fret," Alice assured me. "Telepathic images include things like smell. It's not just a picture. The princess will see and smell was the queen sees and smells."
"The princess shall meet with you, at the snake shrine in Yamatai, tomorrow evening," the queen said. "I wish you luck, You will need it."
"Okay, so I guess we don't teleport to Yamatai right away," I said.
"We need to take care of that spell emanating from the World Tree anyway," Alice said. "Let's get everyone back to the MS Fish and rest up. We should be able to sail to that island that holds the World Tree by tomorrow."