The answer to the question "when do we leave" turned out to be "right the hell now", seeing as how we'd only eaten breakfast. This time my ride was the much safer and more pleasant arms of Eden, who unfurled her majestic wings and took off with me in her powerful arms. Black Alice flew alongside, but chose invisibility for some reason. Perhaps she thought she had a spell that could give her a chance to escape detection? Fat chance, but worth a try, I guessed.
The facility was very easy to spot. Hiding things in deserts is not that easy. Really, the only benefits to putting secret facilities in deserts is the vastness and how much trouble it is to traverse them. If Eden's theory was correct, Hiruko wasn't trying to hide. She was trying to draw Eden out. Given that the people of Sabasa were all being kept in that facility, along with most of her comrades, it must have taken incredible discipline for Eden to wait all these months. Then again, Hiruko herself had shown equal discipline by sitting tight in the facility and waiting.
When Eden set us down a mile or so from the facility, I asked her how long she would have been willing to wait.
"We are immortals," Eden shrugged. "Waiting months for anything is like waiting seconds for mortals. By containing me in an area with low magic, I was aging, but even then Hiruko would have had to wait decades before I would have felt forced to face her on her own terms."
"Well I'm glad I could speed things up," I said. "A century-long staredown might have seemed fine to you two, but all the mortals have things to do."
"Are you implying that I was willing to wait, allowing everyone I cared about to suffer?" Eden asked, arching an eyebrow. "No, Luka, you don't have to clarify things. That is exactly what I was doing. But I did not wait because I wished to. I waited because my subordinates wished me to. Looking at it with cold hearted logic, it was good advice. I would be at a severe disadvantage if I faced Hiruko alone, just as she would be at a great disadvantage if she faced me without being able to rely on her magic."
"I'm surprised. I would think that since she's all tentacles that she'd love a physical fight."
"I am the greatest pure warrior of all the angels," Eden said. "Only Saja is my equal in that regard."
"You're also the loveliest of the angels," I said, not quite sure why I said it.
Eden smiled, thus confirming my assessment. "Thank you, Luka. You say you've met my counterparts. I see the way you look at me. What was the nature of your relationship with that other version of me?"
"I'm sure all the guys look at you the way I do."
"True," Eden chuckled. "But when men have looked at me the way they have for thousands of years, I begin to see differences in the 'looks'. Most men look at me as If I am an unattainable goddess. You look at me with familiarity. So, Luka, did you attain me?"
"I'm not sure 'attaining' you is even possible," I laughed. "Our relationship was… strange. We were in love, but I was already attached."
"I find that hard to believe. You being in love, I can believe, but I do not love, at least not that way. I was created as a being of love, and ironically, war. I excel at both, but truly appreciate neither. I would gladly never touch another man or a sword for the rest of my existence."
"You just want to live among your plants."
"Exactly. They are good listeners. I enjoy the smells. The peacefulness. The idea of having to care for a man…."
"Well, it never even came close to being that kind of relationship," I said. "Our first encounter, she raped me. Or maybe she didn't. I've never been clear on what exactly happened that day. What I know for sure is that she had sex with me. I'll never forget what that felt like. Not even the physical part, as amazing as that was. The totality of being loved, accepted, content…. I'd never felt that way before. It was an addictive feeling."
"All angels have that magic," Eden said. "That was why Ilias used to command them to use their bodies to save men who she wished to see saved. Of course, our bodies could also be used to punish, even kill. Or worse. Fortunately, I rarely drew that kind of duty. If Ilias wanted me to kill, she was sending me to use my sword more often than not."
"But your magic is much stronger."
"I am a Seraph. THE Seraph, now," Eden said ruefully. "So I understand how you fell in love with me. How did I fall in love with you?"
"Well, it turned out that you were sent to take my power."
"Ah, yes, high ranking angels can absorb a man's power by having sex with them, if they choose. And you have a lot of it, which explains why Ilias would send my counterpart to perform that duty."
"Yes. But a couple of others, enemies of Ilias, knew you were doing it and ambushed you afterwards. You see, my power makes you strong. Stronger than you are even as a Seraph. But only if you know how to use it. Taking it that way also makes you mortal, like me, since apparently the power was only meant to be carried at its full potential by a mortal body. Or so I've been told."
"Interesting," Eden said. "But it makes sense. I am a being of holiness. I cannot use dark magic. If I tried, I would turn into a monster. So if I took a mortal's unique power, unless it was holy magic, I would become mortal."
"Yes. So they stabbed you. The wound was mortal. Which wasn't too much of a problem for you, as your death would merely send you back to heaven. I've never figured out why that's so, since now I know that Seraphs can die just like mortals if they sustain enough damage."
"That one is easy to answer," Eden said. "If my counterpart had been made essentially human, then her dying a human death would free her soul, which Ilias would then intercept. Human souls can only pass on if Ilias allows it. But if I die a Seraph's death, that's an entirely different proposition. Ilias only has power over human souls. Monster and angel souls go directly to the afterlife."
"That's how it used to be. Apparently now they just go to an alternate world. To merge with another version of themselves."
"Divided souls," Eden mumbled. "Yes, it's clear now. A soul can only enter the true afterlife whole. If one part remains in a living body, the other shards of the soul will seek it out across universes."
"Good to hear it from an expert," I chuckled.
"I take it that my counterpart was in a lot of pain, then. Probably for the first time. I'm guessing that you saved her, and she became eternally grateful."
"You could definitely say that," I said. "As a mortal who lives with pain every day, I've never understood why that one little thing made her feel she was permanently indebted to me. She paid that debt back many times over."
"I remember my first experience with pain. I stubbed my toe on a rock. Such a small thing, and my toe wasn't even injured. Yet the sounds I made. And the curses. I said some very unholy things."
"So you sense the world as a human does now?"
"Ever since the monsters cast that infernal seal," Eden confirmed. "It has its good points. Food tastes better, and when I reward heroes with my body it feels good for me too. My first orgasm is as memorable as my first toe stubbing. Erik had been seriously wounded and saved over a dozen of his fellow soldiers during an operation. Thanks to him, everyone came back alive. He was in terrible shape. I healed him, but if you have experience with angel healing, you know that it does not necessarily mean that you can hop out of bed and back into action. Since he had some spare time on his hands for recuperation purposes, I made love to him, in recognition of his heroism. Ilias would have commanded it had she been alive. His heroism was so great she may have even done it herself. But since I was the highest ranking angel left alive, it fell to me. Not that I was complaining. He was so handsome, with the most piercing green eyes and well muscled chest…"
"I get it," I said. "So…. You did it, and something… surprising happened?"
"Yes!" she laughed. "Something about him aroused me. I recall becoming less concerned about his pleasure and more focused on my own. I began moving faster than I normally move."
"You normally like to go very slow."
"Yes, my magic is powerful so if I went fast, men wouldn't have time to really enjoy it. He came several times while I bucked like a wild monster on top of him. I ignored it and kept going, faster, faster, grinding harder, and harder…. And then….."
"You had the big O?"
"No, he died," she said.
"That's…. not the ending I expected," I said.
Eden continued to walk silently, saying nothing, seemingly lost in the memory. We reached the front of the facility.
"Luka, before we go in, I must tell you something very important," Eden said.
"I'm listening."
"Erik didn't die. I came so hard I thought I might, though."
Eden flashed me the broadest smile I'd ever seen on her. It was great to see after spending time with sourpuss Paradox Eden.
"Eden, I have to say, I have NEVER known an Eden to joke like that," I said.
"I normally don't joke. I'm nervous. Immortal beings don't like to stare into the face of death. I thought perhaps some humor might alleviate my anxiety, but…. I'm still afraid."
"If it's any consolation, I'm sure Hiruko is just as nervous."
"I most certainly hope so," Eden said, and placed her hand on the doorknob. "It appears we've been expected. There's no barrier."
"I guess sometimes things are exactly as they seem," I said.
We cautiously entered the building. Behind me I heard a crackle and a loud curse.
"I stand corrected," Eden said. "The barrier is very much up. We just couldn't feel it. Powerful magic indeed."
"Eight, assuming that was you, just hang tight, okay? If we're not back in an hour, we're probably dead."
"Mother fucking Ancestor magic…." Black Alice muttered.
The building was dark, so Eden lit the room up in her own inimitable way, with heavenly light.
"Eden," I said. "How many people were living in Sabasa?"
"Approximately forty thousand," Eden replied listlessly.
Inside the room were hundreds, if not thousands, of life support tanks. The tanks were arranged in circles of six. Five human males occupied the five tanks on the outside of each circle, and at the center of the circle was a tank containing a monster. Tubes went from the tanks containing the humans to the tank containing the monster. The tubes on the human side were all connected to the mens' penises. The five tubes going into the monster tanks went into various orifices: the mouth, the vagina, and any other viable openings that could be found, depending on the complexity of the monster's anatomy.
"Barbaric," Eden breathed. "The humans are receiving nothing more than an IV line. The monsters are getting all the semen the machines can pump out of the males."
"Where are the female humans?" I wondered.
"This is only one room. There must be dozens more like it."
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Someone or something was running from one tank to another, hiding. I walked over cautiously and peered behind the tank I'd last seen the creature hide behind. It had already moved on.
"There!" Eden yelled, pointing behind me, where I saw it playing the same game. I caught a glimpse of a skirt this time. A female. I was pretty sure it was Hiruko. Tentacle monsters loved skirts. It was a great place to hide tentacles.
This time I decided not to go where Hiruko had last been seen. She probably wasn't playing fair anyway, doing a variation on an old Granberia trick: teleporting only a few feet away. So I just guessed. Of course, in a room so large, my guess wasn't even close, but apparently Hiruko had found it entertaining. I saw her scamper from one tank to another again. She giggled from behind a monster tank.
"Why you gotta be so creepy, Hiruko?" I asked. "This isn't a Korean horror film, you know."
Or maybe it was. Eden shouted a warning. I turned to see a tentacle lashing out at me. I grabbed it, summoned Gnome, and started pulling. Hiruko said nothing, only smiled at me. Even with Gnome summoned, I couldn't budge her. She yanked the tentacle away and ran back behind another tank, that creepy laughter echoing through the cavernous room.
"I expected better, Hiruko!" Eden called.
"Nice concealment spell, Hiruko!" I shouted. "I can't even hear you on the wind! You could be sneaking up on me right n-!"
I turned quickly. She wasn't there. Hiruko giggled again, this time from further away.
"Do you want us to follow you?" I called. "Lead us into a trap?"
"The trap is right here," Hiruko said, stepping out directly in front of me. "I'm just savoring the confrontation. I've waited a long time, Eden. So nice to finally meet you too, Worldbreaker. Thank you for bringing me my prey. Have you made your choice yet?"
"No, but I have to say, this here…." I said, gesturing to all the tanks. "Doesn't make me like you very much."
"It's not about what you like. It's about what works. Enough sightseeing, Worldbreaker! You stand between an Ancestor and a Seraph! Now is as good a time as any to choose!"
"That choice is easy," I said. "I choose Eden. I choose the one fighting to protect the weak. I choose the one fighting against whatever this is is."
"Choice?" Eden asked. "What does she mean by that?"
"The Ancestors brought me here to sell me on joining their cause," I answered. "Their sales job leaves a lot to be desired."
"As does your choice of allies!" Hiruko growled. "But I'll work on persuading you later. For now, you can kindly get out of my way. This is between me and Eden."
"Come, then!" Eden challenged. "Where Luka is standing is no obstacle to you!"
Hiruko's face curled into a snarl as she ran at me. I drew my sword and took a defensive stance, but I wasn't her target. Before she was an arms length away from me she disappeared, appearing feet behind me and continuing her headlong rush towards Eden. Tentacles lashed out at Eden. Eden's fiery sword met them and severed four of them in one blow. Hiruko didn't even react, her body barreling into Eden. On the ground against a creature literally made of tentacles, Eden was at a disadvantage. But she was more than a warrior. She was a Seraph, and she had magic. Hiruko was thrown off in a brilliant flash of light. Eden sprang to her feet, assisted by her wings, to face the Ancestor again.
I knew it wasn't honorable to attack someone's back, but I wanted to deescalate the situation if I could. A fight between two such powerful beings could wreck the place, killing thousands of those being kept in the facility. I fired a small blast as Hiruko's back. I should have remembered that Hiruko didn't actually have a front or a back. That was simply her chosen humanoid appearance. Before my bolt even hit, her back transformed into her front. A hasty shield went up. My power went through it as if it didn't even exist and struck Hiruko in the chest. It wasn't meant to do her actual damage, She was an Ancestor. I probably could have hit her with ten times more force and she would have been knocked down at worst. But she did step back and grimace a little. Then she scowled. A bolt of dark energy lanced towards me. My own shield absorbed it completely.
"Ha!" I crowed. "You can't stop mine, but I can stop yours! So how about we calm down and talk this o-"
Icicles that looked as sharp as razors flew at me. I summoned up all four spirits and dove out of their path.
"I realize how boring it must be to watch girl on girl action," Hiruko sneered. "But trying to make it a threesome is naughty! You obviously need something to amuse yourself with while us girls settle our business. SB-1 through SB-6! Attack pattern alpha! Shoot to wound!"
It was a good thing I'd summoned Gnome, because bullets struck my legs. Even with Gnome, they bruised my legs badly. I limped away, trying to get behind cover that didn't involve hiding behind a person, except it seemed that everything one could hide behind was an occupied tank. The seeker bots, little flying drones that looked like flying saucers with a gun, fired sporadically at me, careful not to hit any of the tanks. Even so, I didn't want to hide behind live people.
Then I remembered one of my little tricks. But first I had to get out in the open. I hobbled as best I could, zig sagging through the maze of tanks, until I reached a relatively open area in the center. The seeker bots were zig sagging themselves, darting in between the tanks, never allowing me to draw a bead on any of them, nor getting close enough for me to use my sword. And I wasn't about to unleash my power the usual way in a room crowded with innocents.
But in the open area, they couldn't use cover. Of course, neither could I, but I didn't need to. The six seekers emerged from the maze of tanks and opened up on me. For a second, bullets slammed into me. They must have had good enough AI to adjust their strategy. Seeing that I was partially bulletproof with Gnome summoned, the bots stopped aiming for my legs and simply aimed for the center of the target. So I got hit. A lot. For a second, anyway. The next second, all six bots were lying on the ground, broken and sparking, as my "marble trick" knocked them all out precisely and safely.
I heard the sounds of grunting, along with cries of pain, from where I'd left Hiruko and Eden. To my relief, they weren't bringing the place down. Neither wanted to risk harming the civilians in the life support tanks. The battle was still extremely violent. Twitching, severed tentacles were all around, and Eden had blood trailing from her mouth down her chin. Her top had been ripped off, exposing her breasts. She was partially restrained. Whenever she would cut a tentacle, another would grab an arm, a leg, or her waist. The two were throwing all sorts of magics at each other even while tied up.
"Oh, done playing with my toys?" Hiruko said, her face switching places, giving her a very creepy appearance, as if someone had twisted her head all the way around. "I invented a spell just for you."
Many of the tanks shattered as monsters swarmed out, attacking me. I summoned all my spirits, retreating and trying to buy time as dozens of scorpion girls, lamias, cobra girls, and even a few mummies advanced on me. Sealing them brought little relief, as they continued attacking even in their sealed forms. A sealed cobra bit deeply into my leg, injecting me with its venom. I began to feel ill and weak. An unsealed lamia wrapped me up. A leering scorpion girl stung me viciously with her stinger, before forcing her breasts into my face, taking away my vision.
"Luka! What the hell are you doing?! Quit playing around!" Black Alice yelled.
Black Alice had apparently figured out how to get past the barrier, because she was standing over me, looking at me as if I was a madman. I looked around. I was being attacked…. But the monsters were gone! Instead of shattered tanks and the life support solution flooding the ground, the ground was bone dry and the tanks were still intact.
"Was I just…. Flailing around at nothing?" I asked, figuring it out.
"That's exactly what you were doing!" Black Alice answered.
"Illusion spell," I muttered. "Damn, I'm an idiot! She even got me thinking I was getting weaker from poison! All right, enough is enough!"
"Ooh, that's the Luka I like to see," Black Alice said approvingly as I got up and marched back to the real battle.
Hiruko had the upper hand. Her tentacles were simply too many and Eden was too constrained in the use of her magic given the choice of battlegrounds. She was still struggling mightily, still throwing holy spells, and she was taking her toll on the greatest of all tentacle monsters. But she was thoroughly wrapped up and being pulled inexorably towards Hiruko, who had enlarged and transformed the center of her body into a giant head with a giant mouth, opening to swallow Eden whole.
No.
I really let Hiruko have it. I kept the beam focused to avoid damage to the surrounding area or Eden. I hit Hiruko with enough force to kill a fairly high ranking angel. Hiruko's disguise disintegrated, revealing a mass of tentacles, which flailed aimlessly on the ground.
Eden, a look of utter disgust on her face, roughly freed herself from the tentacles one by one. Once free, she materialized her flaming sword, raised it, and aimed it at the center of the mass of tentacles.
"No!" I yelled, ready to hit Eden too.
Black Alice beat me to it. Her own tentacles wrapped around Eden, restraining her.
"Don't go and do that," Black Alice laughed. "Luka and I are already going to be in enough trouble for this. If you kill an Ancestor they won't rest until we're all dead."
"You're right, of course," Eden said reluctantly. "Please release me."
I nodded and Black Alice reluctantly complied.
"You won't fight an Ancestor for me but you'll fight a Seraph?" I asked.
"Seraphs are an ancient enemy of mine," Black Alice shrugged. "I have no intention of making new wnemies out of powerful monsters. Besides, I didn't fight her. I simply held her back."
"Fair enough," I said, and inspected Eden's wounds. She was in pretty bad shape. Mortality had done her no favors. She had jagged cuts all over her body from Hiruko's serrated tentacles. Her left eye was almost closed, it was swollen so badly. "You look like you've been in a fight," I told her.
"And you're all shot up," Eden said.
I looked at my body. Blood trailed from a dozen bullet wounds. If not for Gnome….
"I'll heal you if you'll heal me," I offered.
"I fear neither of us has enough left to do the job effectively," Eden replied, laughing softly. "We will have to wait until we get back to camp."
Hiruko had finally righted herself and regained her human form. She scowled and adjusted her skirt, trying to make herself presentable.
"I sure hope you're not planning to keep fighting," I warned. "I may seem low on energy, but I can still pack a punch if I have to."
"This battle is over," Hiruko replied. "I was beaten. Doomed, in fact. I could not defend myself had Eden struck me. I concede. Now what will you do with me, Worldbreaker? Clearly you do not intend my death, or you would have allowed the angel to finish me."
"This is the part where as the loser, you have to do what I say," I told her.
"What are your wishes, Ancestor conqueror?"
"I beat you as well!" Eden protested.
"I had you, Seraph!" Hiruko shot back. "I could practically taste you on my proverbial tongue! It was the hero who defeated me, not you!"
"Both of you are going to do what I say now," I said.
"Excuse me?" Eden asked.
"I did not come here to fight on either side. I came here to solve a single problem: Hiruko's taking of all these people. That's my first order. Release them all and let them get back to their lives."
"I did this only to end the futile rebellion," Hiruko said. "My plan has already accomplished as much as it can. I will release everyone."
"To go back to their old lives of fear?!" Eden yelled. "To be violated and eaten by any monster at their whim?!"
"That's my next order," I told Hiruko. "No more eating people. They have that rule in San Ilia. If succubi can obey it, I'm sure the monsters under your jurisdiction can."
"Very well," Hiruko said. "From this day, devouring of humans will not be permitted. I reserve the right to sentence criminals to be eaten."
"I'm not here to pass judgment on your justice system. But the innocent need to be able to feel safe. Monsters can get all the semen they need from consenting males.You'll also outlaw rape in the Safina region."
"No," Hiruko said firmly.
"No?! What do you mean, no?! I thought you had to do what I say?!"
"I will not give any such order. If you wish to kill me, or violate me in your righteous anger, that is your right as the victor. But I will not issue such an unenforceable order. If you feel that strongly about it, you can put an end to my existence right now and rule this region yourself."
"Do it, Luka!" Eden urged. "I will rule Safina and ensure that every human is safe!"
"Oh, you're so full of shit!" Black Alice laughed hysterically. "You don't have the forces to hold Safina even from an internal rebellion, much less the Dark God's armies. They would never tolerate an angel ruling a whole province on their world."
"Then rule with me!" Eden argued. "Luka, with our combined power, we could do it! Even the Dark God might hesitate to challenge you. You're the Worldbreaker, are you not?!"
"I…. I can't," I said. I sighed in frustration. It wasn't as if I had no experience with dilemmas like this. In my younger years I would have found this whole situation impossible to accept. I would have veered wildly from proposed unrealistic solution to proposed unrealistic solution. But I'd spent decades as a diplomat while married to Alice. I'd learned to accept what is possible, and that progress comes in increments. "Not just this world, but all the worlds, are threatened with extinction. My job is to give everyone a chance to survive. Once I've done that I can worry about helping people live better lives. Hiruko, this province remains yours. Your promise to not allow the innocent to be murdered is enough."
"I thank you, Worldbreaker," Hiruko said. "If it helps, you've earned an ally today. I will carry out your orders faithfully."
"I'm glad, because I have ones you WILL carry out, and you won't like them. You too, Eden. This rebellion is over. Hiruko, you will issue an amnesty to all rebels."
"What?!" Hiruko growled. Then she sagged. "Very well. That is… palatable to me. Barely."
"I'm not done. While you may be right that it's unrealistic to ban rape at this time, you will work with Eden to help those who have been victimized. I also imagine that Eden and other former rebels will be dishing out their own brand of justice to monsters who mistreat humans."
"I have no issues with that," Hiruko said. "Eden is now a free citizen of Safina like any other. Monsters are free to rape whomever they wish, and Eden is free to beat them up for it if it offends her sensibilities."
"Offends my sensibilities?!" Eden raged.
"Eden, this world is theirs," I said. "There's no Ilias here. You're the last high ranking angel. You'll never win anything by fighting an endless war. You already acknowledged that you and your fellow angels are doomed. I've given you a new possibility. Instead of being hunted down and eventually killed off, you can fight for the humans you love in a different way. You can educate. You can protest. You can petition. You can organize. And yes, when necessary, you can apply a little vigilante justice. Instead of hiding in the shadows as you've done for centuries, you can be a beacon of hope to humans and the remnant of angels everywhere."
'I…. I will try," Eden said. "Luka, I must be frank with you. I feel betrayed. My mind reminds me that you have been unfailingly honest with me. You never even implied that you were on my side except for this one mission. But I dared hope. I dared hope that you would help me end the tyranny of monsters in this region once and for all. So while my brain accepts your logic, my heart Is filled with hate for you. For every man that is violated, I will hold you responsible."
"Just tell me you'll keep fighting for them, Eden," I said. "In a new way. It's the only way you CAN fight for them. I hope you understand that."
"I do. Perhaps in time I will see things as you do. But for now, I can't even look at you."
Eden sighed and vanished. I sighed as well. I had never grown out of wanting to be the hero. Even though my intellect told me that I'd done the best I could, the truth was I hated myself as much as Eden did for what I was effectively condoning. I'd so wanted to turn Sabasa into a land of lollipops and rainbows. Maybe one day….
"I will begin the process of releasing the people of Sabasa at once," Hiruko said. "Worldbreaker…. Luka…. I sincerely hope that you side with us. You are a great warrior, and wise. You have earned my respect today."
"Just…. Please do your best, okay? I love freedom as much as anyone, but that has to be balanced against people's right to live lives of dignity and minimal safety. I know you can't just order everyone to not rape, but if you could please… try to persuade them not to do it?"
"For you, I shall try. I hope I will be seeing you again… Luka."
With Black Alice following, I trudged out of the building into the bright, blazing hot desert.
"Where to next, hero?" she asked.
"Home," I replied. "I can't stand it here anymore."
"I take it that means you won't be siding with them?"
"I don't know," I sighed. "I really don't know. I saw some things I liked. I saw a lot more that I didn't. I don't imagine Angel World will be any better. But I have to give them a chance to make their own case."
"And what if you don't like them, either?"
"I expect that I won't. They are both trying to force a choice on me. But I'm not convinced that I have to make that choice. I have a lot of thinking to do. Assuming chaosization is still slowed down thanks to my stabbing the love of my life through the heart, I think I'm going to need a rest."
"Luka….." Black Alice began, unsure of how to say what she wanted to say. "I misjudged you. You're so much like Heinrich, in so many infuriating ways, but what you did back there…. Heinrich could never have done that."
"Is that really a good thing?"
Black Alice put an arm around me. "Only you can figure that out for yourself. What stood out to me is that you saw the shades of grey and you tried for the solution that had the best chance of getting this place closer to your ideal. That's all I'm trying to do back on my world. Well, maybe I could be doing it with less violence. And maybe it would be good if I didn't enjoy violence so much. I could probably stand to rape a few less people myself. You get where I'm going with this, right?"
"I have no idea where you're going with this."
"Remember how I said you wanted to make allies of your enemies more than making allies of people already predisposed to being your allies?"
"Yeahhh….." I said, confused.
"You did that today. Hiruko is a vicious little bitch who probably enjoys eating humans. You earned her respect and got her to stop. You earned my respect as well. Maybe… just maybe, I've learned something from you."
"You mean that?"
"I don't know. Who knows? I'll never be you, but maybe I could stand to be a little less… me?"
"I'll settle for you being nice to me more often."
"How about we go home and talk about it over sodas?" Black Alice laughed.
"I think even I might want something stronger after today."
"Now you're talking my language!" Black Alice giggled. "Take us home, Fearless Leader."
"You will go nowhere until you have explained yourself!"
Saja appeared before us, looking pretty peeved.
"How much of that did you see?" I asked.
"Enough," Saja replied. "I'd like to know where you found the authority to amnesty angels! We fought a long, hard war to rid ourselves of their oppression! Now we have no honorable way of eliminating the remnant! Angels will always be among us!"
"Hiruko agreed to the deal. And she already established that she didn't have to agree to everything I said."
"So long as she was willing to risk you killing her over it!"
"I think she knew I wouldn't do that," I replied. "She agreed of her own free will."
"Believe me, we will have a discussion about that later," Saja said darkly. "Her obsession with Eden led her to cover up the fact that Eden was still alive and actively fighting against us for centuries. Had Hiruko sought assistance, we could have wiped the remaining angels out once and for all! She is as responsible for the current state of affairs as you!"
"Oh? Are you saying the Dark God wasn't aware of any of this?"
"I…. do not know what she was and was not aware of. She tells me what she wishes to tell me."
"I think she knew," I argued. "And knowing what I know of gods, it wouldn't surprise me if she planned it this way."
"Gods do see farther than the rest of us do," Saja acknowledged. "Nevertheless, it is good that you are leaving. Who knows what further troubles you would cause were you to travel to Noah, or Grangold, or the Dark God forbid, Hellgondo! We still hope to earn your allegiance, but perhaps it would be best if you stayed off Makai."
"As long as you don't renege on the bargain Hiruko made," I said.
"Only the Dark God can do that. And so far she is…. Almost pleased with you. I am confused. But I serve her unquestioningly."
"And how do you feel about what I've done?"
"Were it my choice, I would eat you. Angels and monsters living together. Blasphemy!"
"It's been a pleasure, Saja. I still want you as a friend, or at least be someone you can respect."
"You have earned my respect," Saja said. "Of that you can be certain. But I do not like you. If I see you again, and you have not yet pledged your allegiance to us, you will not be very happy at the result."
"Anything else?" I asked.
"I have spoken," Saja said solemnly, and vanished.
"Well, she's a party pooper," Black Alice chuckled. "NOW can we go home?"