"Wow!" Ilias exclaimed as she arrived at the scrying pool that Eden tirelessly monitored. "There's no clean like a Cindy clean! So what's happening? I assume Luka and Alice haven't run into anything they can't handle?"
"No, they are almost in San Ilia," Eden replied. "They should arrive in a few hours. There were a few monster attacks, but Luka was able to handle them. Once he begins collecting spirits, he should breeze through all of his opposition."
"Excellent! So all goes according to my plan! Bwahahahahaha!"
"Ilias, please stop doing that," Eden pleaded. "Good and just goddesses do not have evil laughs."
"Well…. How do good goddesses laugh?"
"I…. I do not know," Eden stammered. "But that's not important. What is important, vitally so, is what your scrying pool detected an hour ago. Look…"
Eden waved her hands over the scrying pool to reveal what she had seen while Ilias had been… er…. Fishing. Ilias gasped. And then her eyes grew cold.
"What…. The…. Fuck…. Are they doing here?!" Ilias said dangerously.
"That I cannot tell you," Eden said. "And now they are beyond my abilities to detect them."
"But not beyond mine!" Ilias grumbled, restoring her full omniscience.
"They're in the Monster Lord's castle!" Ilias said. "Damn, they're powerful enough to hide their thoughts from me. But it's obvious they aren't here to do good deeds! And now what the fuck is this?!"
"Goddess?" Eden asked uncertainly.
"Three more people just popped in!" Ilias raged. "This is MY fucking world! I didn't put out a fucking welcome mat! Who the fuck are these people now?!"
Ilias concentrated. When she saw who the three were, she disappeared without warning.
"Goddess?" Eden asked. "oh, drat! Why do my goddess's plans always have to be interfered with ?"
"Is this the place?" Ben asked.
"I can't be sure," Promestein replied. "But probably. My scans show that this world was created only a week or two ago."
"So now what?" Emma asked.
"The first thing we need to do is talk to Ilias," Promestein said.
"I'm right here!" Ilias' voice boomed as the goddess descended to the surface, lightning and holy magic crackling around her.
Ben and Emma had met an Ilias. But it was the Ilias of their world, a diminished goddess who had been so weakened because she couldn't be trusted to refrain from trying to rule the world. The amount of pressure caused by this Ilias' descent to the surface was far beyond anything Emma or Ben had ever felt before. It wasn't just the goddess' presence and her obvious might. It was her anger.
"Since you three seemed to be on our side last we met, I'm not going to fry you all where you stand!" Ilias shouted. "But you have two minutes to start explaining why you're invading my personal universe!"
"Ilias," Promestein answered. "We're not the problem here. It's that angel and that Tamamo variant."
"Yes, I'm aware of them as well," Ilias said. "I KNOW they're hostile. Once I'm done talking to you, I'm going to rearrange their anatomy in very unpleasant ways!"
"No, you can't!" Promestein said quickly. "They stole something from my lab!"
Ilias stared at Promestein. Ilias didn't know this Promestein well, but she knew enough to know that anything taken from the lab of a Promestein was dangerous, even to her.
"What did they steal, Promestein?" Ilias asked through gritted teeth.
"I won't bore you with the technical name of it," Promestein replied. "But it's a god neutralizer."
"A god neutralizer?" Ilias said. "Why am I not surprised? Okay, so they're here to kill me. I can handle that. I'll just increase the security in heaven tenfold!"
"That would probably be wise, Ilias, but I don't think they're here to kill you. They spoke as if they were here for Luka."
"Luka?!" Ilias scoffed. "Luka's as harmless as a pussycat right now!"
"All the more reason why they want to hurt him. He's weak. Helpless, even."
"Okay, so they have this device of yours because they want to prevent me from interfering. Smart, I'll give them that. But they're still powerless themselves! I control time on this world! If they hurt Luka, I just rewind time! It never fucking happened!"
"No, you can't do that!" Promestein exclaimed.
"And why the fuck not?! This is my world! I made all the physical laws!"
"Those laws apply only as long as your world is purely your world!" Promestein explained. "Right now, you have cross world contacts here! If you try to rewind time with cross world contacts on your world…"
"Shit…. Chaosization. Excuse me for a moment," Ilias said.
Ilias stomped off into the woods.
"FUCK! Motherfucking cunts! I'll flay the skin off their fucking bones! And then I'll really start to hurt them!"
A cat screeched.
"Did…. Ilias just kick a cat?" Emma asked.
"I created it just to kick it," Ilias said, coming out of the woods. "So what am I supposed to do now? If I face them, they zap me with your doohickey. If I rewind time, I risk destroying my own world!"
"Look, Ilias, I might not be your best angel," Promestein said gently. "Far from it. But it seems to me that you should just do what you've always done. You used to interfere on the surface directly only rarely. You always worked through heroes and other servants. Let Emma and Ben be your servants. Your heroes. They're as strong as those two immortals now, even though they're mortal! Rely on them to keep Luka safe and deal with those two troublemakers."
"We're old hands at this kind of thing," Emma said proudly.
"Oh, really?" Ilias said sarcastically. "Old hands? How long have you two been fighting immortal level threats?"
"Um….. a year?" Ben said shakily.
"What they lack in experience they make up for in raw power and skill," Promestein assured the goddess. "And best of all, those two don't even know they are here. The advantage is ours. Trust my two protégés to protect Luka and Alice. This is how you've always done things as a goddess."
"Let us be your heroes," Ben pleaded. "Look, Luka's like… the greatest hero ever to me! It would be an honor to protect him for you. And if I'm being honest, it would be so cool to be like a hero of old."
"Well…." Ilias thought. "Fine. Let me give you my blessing, then."
"Wait, you're not going to baptize him, are you?" Emma asked. "Because his semen is like… the best, and I don't want it to start tasting like ass."
"A blessing, monster, not a baptism," Ilias assured her.
"That's good," Ben said. "because I'm Jewish."
"I don't know what that is," Ilias said. "Look, just… stand there."
Ilias put her hands on Ben and Emma's shoulders and said her blessing.
"In the name of me, me, and oh…. Me, I give you my blessing to fight evil, something something, blah blah, don't get eaten, stabbed, shot ,or blown up, and don't get violated unless you like that sort of thing. There, that's my blessing. You are now officially heroes."
"Inspiring as always, Ilias," Promestein muttered.
Promestein had total confidence in Ben and Emma, but she was still worried. It was a lot easier to kill someone than to protect someone. While she had no doubt that Ben and Emma could take Sariela and Tamamo in a straight fight, especially if their opponents weren't prepared for them, she still hated to send them into danger. Not only that, but she feared what would happen to her Tamamo if Luka should be killed or broken before they could be reunited.
"I wonder how Tamamo and Albert are doing?" Promestein thought to herself. "I should have been back by now. They must be so worried."
"A little bit of centaur in my life…. Nice legs, honey. All four of 'em."
The centaur girl blushed as she trotted to the beat.
"A little bit of cat girl by my side…. Purrrrr."
The cat girl giggled and rubbed up against Albert as she danced. "Nyah!" she meowed.
"A little bit of….what are you?"
"Semen….." the zombie girl groaned.
"A little bit of weird cold undead zombie girl's all I need…"
The zombie girl leaned into Albert. "So… warm…"
Albert took her hand and twirled her, sending her into Tamamo's arms. Tamamo took both her hands and began dancing with the zombie girl to the infectious music Albert was making.
"A little bit of lamia's what I see….Ooh, baby, we were made for each other…"
The lamia smiled seductively, wrapping herself around Albert, who used his own tail to untangle her and move onto his next dance partner.
"A little bit of vampire girl in the sun…."
"Eeek!"
"Oh, sorry about that!" Albert said sheepishly.
"A little bit of slime girl all night long…" he continued.
The slime girl twerked, sending pieces of herself flying everywhere, including onto Albert.
"A little bit of…. Strange girl in a treasure chest?"
"I'm a mimic," the gothic looking girl said.
"A little bit of mimic, here I am…"
Dancing wasn't the mimic's strong suit, as her chest bounced up and down loudly on the floor.
Tamamo was thoroughly enjoying the party. She sidled up to Albert and lightly nudged him with her hip. "You're a much better singer than rapper, Albert!"
"Why thank you, my dear fox!" Albert said jovially, lifting Tamamo up and spinning around with her as she giggled. "I knew a good party would loosen you up!"
"It's not the party that's got me loose!" Tamamo yelled over the noise of Albert's magically created music. "It's the knowledge that I'm going to see my Luka again someday!"
"That's tomorrow," Albert said. "Actually, quite a few tomorrows from now! Why not enjoy yourself until then?"
"Oh, I intend to!" Tamamo laughed. "But not in the way you're hoping. Besides, you have no shortage of fans here in this castle. When this party ends, you'll be up to your neck in monster girls. So enjoy your stay, because all too soon it'll be over and you'll be back on that sausage fest you call a world."
That was a sobering thought to Albert. He consoled himself by reminding himself of the prophecy. Prophecies were flexible things, after all. Perhaps he wasn't supposed to actually meet his true love in the forest near Ilias Village. Maybe instead, he'd be led to his true love. Maybe his true love was in this very room, dancing with him right now!
The party lasted until the early morning hours. As the only male, Albert enjoyed dancing with every girl who attended the impromptu shindig. But as all parties do, even this one had to peter out eventually.
"Whew!" Tamamo wheezed. "I am up way past my bed time. I'm going to go find a room to crash in. Hopefully whatever's been keeping Promestein will be taken care of by then."
"You're not worried about her?" Albert asked.
"Nah," Tamamo chuckled. "Promestein's been in scrapes before but she always gets out of them. She's probably just lost."
"Well, maybe she'll come back in the next few hours. Keep on dancing with me! When was the last time you went to a party this lit?"
"I admit it's been awhile," Tamamo laughed. "But I really don't do well staying up late. Besides, I don't want to be here for what's coming."
"Coming?" Albert asked. "What's coming?"
"You!" Tamamo giggled, shoving Albert into the waiting embrace of a fellow lamia. The raven-haired, pale skinned snake woman leered at Albert as she coiled around him.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Albert exclaimed, beginning to struggle. Even though the lamia had him bound tightly, he was more than strong enough to break her hold. At least he would have been able to break the hold if fifteen other monster girls hadn't bumrushed him.
"Hey ladies, there's plenty for everyone!" Albert protested. "But please, one at a time! Okay, maybe two at a time! I can handle two!"
"I don't think they're listening," Tamamo laughed. "You're strong. You're a monster lord, after all. Try not to die."
"TAMAMOOOOOOO!!!!!"
Alicetroemeria cuddled up close to Heinrich. She had never felt so loved or appreciated than she did at that moment. The conversation had been difficult. She'd revealed to Heinrich that she was the Monster Lord. No, the rumors about all the terrible things she'd done had been true. She could not deny that. She thought that Heinrich would either try to slay her on the spot or walk away from her. The things that she had done were unforgiveable by Heinrich's high moral standards.
She shouldn't have been shocked by what happened next. Luka had done the same thing. But she'd thought Luka was a unique case. Like Luka, Heinrich had embraced her, thanked her for telling him the truth, and said that he believed she could be better.
But what about Ilias? She had asked. The question had made Heinrich uncomfortable. Heinrich had defeated a great many bad monsters on their journey together. She had helped, not because she thought the monsters were bad, but simply because it had been fun. But Heinrich had also met good monsters, and seen bad monsters change their ways. Most monsters had hurt humans out of ignorance. Heinrich's education had often been harsh, but many had gotten the message. Many hadn't even needed a lesson, already valuing human lives as much as monster lives. Meeting such monsters, as well as seeing that monsters could change just like humans, had Heinrich questioning his values.
Emotionally exhausted, Heinrich had gone to bed. Alicetroemeria had joined him to hold him, something she had occasionally forced on him, hoping to flirt with him and get him horny. But this time he had wanted her arms around him. Still, he was not yet sleeping.
"Alice?" Heinrich whispered. "Can I call you Alice? Or do you have a preferred way to be addressed?"
"Alice is fine," Black Alice replied. "I go by a lot of names, but Alice is the most personal to me. So I like it when you call me that."
"Alice," Heinrich said tentatively. "I think I'm in love with you."
Black Alice was stunned. She had expected him to attack her, or leave her, maybe even accept her as Luka had. But to profess his love mere hours after finding out who she really was?
"I…. I've been in love with you for some time," Heinrich stammered. "When I thought you were human. I guess since we're being honest with each other, I shouldn't hide it anymore."
"Heinrich…. I love you, too!"
"You do?" Heinrich asked. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"In your case, you were hiding it from me, but in my case I was hiding it from myself. I told myself I was just having fun, that I would enjoy eating you when we got to my castle. But you're so different from what I expected, Heinrich. You're not some soulless monster slayer. You care about people. Whether they are human or monster. You've taught me a lot on our journey. I learned even more traveling with other companions on that other world. Most of all, I learned a lot about… myself. I met my counterpart. Actually, I was a part of my counterpart. It… wasn't what I wanted to be."
"Alice, this is going to sound like a strange request," Heinrich said uncomfortably. "But…. Would you have sex with me?"
Black Alice was taken aback. She'd been waiting for this moment for a long time. She hadn't forced herself on Heinrich. She'd wanted to corrupt him, to tempt him into asking for it. She'd even dared hope he might take what he wanted, but he wasn't that kind of man. But this was different. He wasn't filled with lust. He was vulnerable, almost pleading.
"Heinrich…." Black Alice answered. "I'm a monster. A monster who loves you. You know I won't say no. But are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes, I'm more sure of it than I've been of anything in my life. I want you, Alice. But…. I've never been with a woman before. I hope you won't think me less of a man because I don't know what to do. I know you're far more experienced than I. I hope that didn't sound insulting."
"To a human woman it might have been. But I'm a monster. You can no more insult me for eating what I eat than I can insult you for liking those oranges you like so much. But this isn't eating. I've never made love before. I don't know what to do either. I mean, I can make you feel good, but I'm a little rough. Are you sure you want your first time to be like that?"
"I want my first time to be with you, however you do it," Heinrich said, looking deeply into Black Alice's eyes.
"I've never done it in this form, though," Black Alice replied. "But my true form can be a little scary. I can try to make love to you in my human form, or I can make you come over and over, very quickly, in my monster form. I'll let you decide."
"Alice…. I don't want there to be any more lies between us. Show me who you really are, and do to me whatever you want. I place myself in your hands."
"You really mean that, Heinrich? Oh, you don't know how happy that makes me! I'll love you forever!"
She kissed him deeply, although without tongue, since her tongue was poisonous. That would be one of the many things he'd have to learn if he was to be with her. Then she rose up and straddled him. Tentacles streamed out of her skirt.
"Wahhhh!" Heinrich screamed. "Okay, maybe this is a bit too much truth! Perhaps…. Perhaps the illusion can be maintained for just one more night?"
Black Alice pulled her tentacles back into her body and adopted her human form once again. She wasn't insulted. She knew that Heinrich would accept her monster form in time, but she knew it was rather frightening. It was supposed to be. His panic was actually a compliment.
Smiling down at him, Black Alice said, "Then I'll try to make love to you as a woman does a man. But in time you'll come to love all of my tentacles and orifices. I have so many ways to make you feel good, far more than a human woman could ever give you. You are a very lucky man, Heinrich."
Black Alice's tentacles shot out to the left, entangling an intruder. He had teleported into the room soundlessly, but not with sophisticated enough magic that the Monster Lord couldn't sense his presence instantly.
"Hey, hey!" Marcellus protested. "I didn't know I'd be catching you at an intimate moment!"
"Who are you!?" Black Alice demanded to know. "How did you know where to find me!"
"I'm Marcellus," he answered quickly. "I'm Luka's father. Well, a version of Luka, anyway. I've come here because the Monster Lord of the Paradox World requires your assistance."
"What kind of assistance?"
"She wishes to free Heinrich's soul!"
Black Alice released Marcellus, dumping him on the ground. He picked himself up with as much dignity as he could muster.
"Heinrich's soul?" Black Alice asked. "You mean the Heinrich trapped in that crazy suit of armor? That armored berserker?"
"The same," Marcellus replied. "We have no magics capable of freeing him. And the goddess no longer resides on that world."
"Hmmm…" Black Alice thought for a moment. "I remember some things from when I was merged with the Goddess of Chaos. Even Ilias would have had a tough time reversing that spell. That was the whole point of using the same metal Angel Halo was forged from. And I certainly don't have that kind of power. This may require a quest."
"A quest? What kind of quest?"
"Did I hear someone say quest?" Heinrich said excitedly.
"Yeah, we're gonna have to go back to the Natalia region," Black Alice answered.
"The key to freeing Heinrich's soul is in Natalia?" Marcellus asked.
"Yeah, let me explain. I don't have the raw power. I have some of the Goddess of Chaos's knowledge, but it's very fragmented. I think I can piece enough together of how she imprisoned Heinrich in that suit of enchanted armor to break the spell. But since I don't have her power, it's not going to be that simple. First, we gotta travel back to Natalia and see that mermaid. Heinrich, what was that ditzy mermaid's name again?"
"Ditzy?" Heinrich asked. "I don't remember any ditzy mermaids. They all seemed pretty smart to me."
"Maybe by your standards," Black Alice snorted. "The one with the headband. Remember, she was trying to swim in sand?"
"Oh! I remember now! Miranda! You didn't have to pick her up by the tail and throw her in the water, you know."
"Whatever," Black Alice said. "That headband, which I'm sure she just found somewhere, is a powerful magic conductor. Like, god level stuff. I didn't take an interest in it before because I can't cast god level spells and I have my own conductors. But we're going to need something like that now."
"But if you can't cast god level spells," Marcellus said. "How-? Oh, I think I know where you're going with this."
"Yep," Black Alice replied. "We're going to need Luka. So since you can hop between dimensions so easily, go get him."
"That…. That's not going to be possible just yet."
"Why the hell not? Is he no longer there? Do we need a quest to find him as well?"
"Oh, we know where he is," Marcellus answered. "But…. It would be a bad idea to try to retrieve him right now. It's a bit of a story and it's a rather delicate situation. If we tried to pull him out of that world right now, not only might it mess everything up, but he might not even be able to help. I assume you're going to need his power?"
"That's the idea. So if we can't get him now, when can we get him? I assume we can fetch him whenever he's done with whatever delicate situation he's involved in?"
"I would think so," Marcellus replied. "As for when we can get him, I'd estimate about a month. Maybe two."
"Fine. Heinrich, we're going back to Natalia, and we're taking the scenic route. Might as well, since we can't do anything until Luka is done playing ping pong or whatever it is he's busy with."
"Er, Alice?" Marcellus asked tentatively. "Can I call you Alice?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Since this is the mission of my companions and I at the moment, perhaps we can come with you? Since none of the worlds are bound by the true history anymore and you have no intention of repeating your own sordid history, people from a future alternate world can't cause any trouble. Besides, this world is a little more… wild, and we have two future Monster Lord candidates with us who could learn a lot from exploring it."
"Monster Lord candidates?" Black Alice asked. "I'm intrigued. Okay, go get your companions and we'll set out for Natalia tomorrow. Now get out of here, I'm in the middle of something important! Come see us in the morning!"
With that, Marcellus vanished, off to go get his companions. Black Alice turned back to Heinrich.
"Now, my hero," she said seductively. "Where were we?"
"Now, where were we?" Alice asked playfully.
"You want to… do things to me?" I asked. "After that?!"
"One lamia started to rape you," Alice noted. "So I want to finish. Besides, you're clearly horny. You obviously found her attractive."
"Maybe I would have, if she'd asked nicely instead of forcing herself on me!"
"I know, the nerve of that girl!" Alice exclaimed.
"Thank you!" I said. "That's the first time you've actually condemned a monster that tried to rape me!"
"Oh, I'm not mad about that. I'm mad that she tried to steal my meal while I was in the middle of it. She clearly saw that I was in the process of draining you. And yet she tried to steal you away! What a c-!"
"Okay!" I said quickly. "Clearly you're mad at having a meal almost stolen from you, and not the welfare of the meal itself. I get it. And you're right, I am a little horny, although a lot less horny than I was when you started."
"That's all I need to hear," Alice said, as her tail mouth clamped down on the top half of my penis, sending me instantly back to the ground.
"You're going to sleep really well after this," Alice continued, as her toothless tail mouth made chewing motions. "My tail mouth drains energy, much like a succubus' does. I have more control than a succubus, so it won't kill you, no matter how many times I make you come with it. And I'm going to make you come a lot. Watching you fight that lamia made me hungry."
I wanted to retort, but the sensations were just too overwhelming. It was like being in her lower mouth again, except that the sensations were entirely focused on the top half of my penis. The mouth chewed and twisted and pushed, trying to get me in deeper. The "throat" of the tail mouth was too small for me to fit, designed strictly for sucking semen, but that didn't stop it from trying. The tiny hole, with even softer tissue inside, continued to twist and press down, trying to swallow as much of me as possible. When I came into her tail mouth, it pushed down even harder, managing to get my head into the tiny "throat". That amplified the stimulation even more. I also felt a wave of weakness that was far more than the normal critical ecstasy. But I trusted Alice. She actually cared and wouldn't kill me.
I came again, my dick now buried almost halfway into the impossible tight "throat" as it relentlessly chewed and pushed and twisted. The sensations never slackened, despite my orgasms, nor was I too sensitive to enjoy it. No matter how much it focused on my tip, it never stopped feeling wonderful. The only downside to sex with a monster was that it could kill me, and even if it didn't, I would pass out eventually.
But Alice was very skilled at keeping me on the edge of consciousness. Unlike her lower mouth, she had a lot of control over her tail mouth. Whenever it seemed that I was on the verge of passing out, she'd slow down and be more gentle. Finally, after five orgasms, it was nighty-night for me. Sensing that I was almost at my limit, Alice bent down and embraced me, my cock still engulfed by her tail.
"I don't know why I like you so much," she whispered. "But I hope you've had a great time and I hope you have a wonderful sleep. Don't fear. I'll keep any monsters that try to take advantage of you while you're out cold away."
Looking back now, I realize that this was the main reason Alice hadn't fed off of me while we were camping. She'd always said it was because she didn't like my taste when I hadn't bathed, and there was a lot of truth to that. But the real reason was that she didn't want to fight her subordinates. If she drained me outdoors, that would have left her with no choice but to fight them or allow me to be eaten.
But at this point in our story, I didn't know a whole lot. All I knew was that Alice really liked me, probably loved me, and I loved her as well. I knew that together, we'd achieve our dream of a peaceful world.