"Hey, it's my shift now," Luka told Spider Princess.
It was the middle of the night. The party had spent most of the day checking out the lab Vitae had come from. Disappointingly, they found no answers, or any other living apoptosis. As far as Vitae knew, she was alone in the world, not quite human, not quite monster, not even really an apoptosis anymore due to her lack of chaos magic. She wasn't taking it well, so the party decided to let her sleep for the night. Watch duties would be shared among the original four members of the party.
"So why are we doing watches anyway?" Luka asked. "You and Granberia's senses are too sensitive to be taken by surprise, even in your sleep."
"Our quest isn't just about one thing," Spider Princess answered. "We are helping you learn how to become a proper hero. And part of heroing if you are traveling in a party, is nightly watch. It is true that if you have a Monster Lord or Heavenly Knight with you, such things are unnecessary, but in the future you may be traveling only with your wife, or with other human heroes. Heroes who can be murdered in their sleep quite easily. It's simply a good habit to get used to."
"I don't think the other Luka ever did watches."
"Considering the company he keeps, that does not surprise me. He probably should have when he first began traveling with the diminished forms of the goddess and the monster lord. Perhaps it just didn't occur to him, and everyone else was simply too immature. Fortunately for them, they began using the Pocket Castle very early in their journey, making nightly watches unnecessary."
"Out of curiosity, who has the Pocket Castle now?" Luka asked. "I kinda miss it."
"The Monster Lord reclaimed it," Spider Princess answered. "Her daughter left her entire magic bag with all its contents behind. When she returns, her mother shall return her possessions to her."
"Oh. Well, thank you for answering my questions. You should get some sleep now."
Spider Princess didn't move, simply standing on her eight legs and staring into the night, a frown on her face. Luka observed that Spider Princess already had a resting bitch face, so a frown wasn't much of a departure. And yet he could tell that she was brooding more than usual.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Luka asked.
"Luka…." Spider Princess began. "When you shared bodies with the Luka I knew…. I know that you experienced many of the things he did."
"As time went on, I experienced more and more," Luka replied. "At first I tended to stay deep inside his subconscious. He was experiencing a lot of painful and also perverted things. I was still aware of what was going on, but I tried to give him privacy and most of the time I just watched, trying to learn from him. But later on, once I revealed that I was inside of him, I started sharing more of his experiences."
"Especially the perverted ones?" Spider Princess asked with a grin.
"Only the causal feedings," Luka answered. "I always gave him privacy when he was with Alice. I've never even so much as felt her touch in a sexual way. There were other times when I either wanted no part of it or I felt there was more intimacy there than I was comfortable with."
"And what about his experiences with me?"
"Those…. Those I was there for."
"And what was your opinion?"
"You were…. Great, really," Luka said.
"How did it feel to have me lick you yesterday?" she asked. "I realize I couldn't give you my best, due to Sonya's restrictions, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself. Or was it Granberia you were actually enjoying?"
Luka was beginning to feel like there was no correct answer that wouldn't irritate at least one, if not all, the women in the party. Just as he always charged whenever he had no better idea, he chose the direct approach once again: honesty.
"Granberia was great too," Luka said uncomfortably. "I guess it depends on what you like. She licks harder and her tongue is big and slimy. But you…. It was gentle and felt like…."
"Like silk?"
"I was thinking velvet, but silk is a good approximation too. I'm very proud of my skills, as well as my natural attributes. And yet…."
"And yet what?" Luka asked.
"What about the unbirthing?"
"The unbirthing?"
"When I hid Luka inside my womb to smuggle him into the castle," Spider Princess clarified. "Did you experience that as well?"
"To be honest, it creeped me out a little, so I didn't experience, or even see, the process. But I did wake up in your stomach… or womb…. It was a womb?"
"It was both," she replied. "I am an insect. Our anatomy is very different from mammals like yourself, even if my human portion is mammalian. My womb functions as a second stomach when I wish it to. After all, semen goes into it and I do not often use the semen for reproduction. So, you felt what it was like inside me. What did you think?"
"It was hot, muggy, a little tough to breath, but it felt really good. Like….. being a newborn."
"And how did that compare to being swallowed by Alice? Assuming you woke up in Alice's stomach at some point as well?"
"Yeah, I stayed away from the initial… eating phase," Luka confirmed. "I'm not into that the way he is. But yes, I did come to already in her stomach."
"And how did that feel compared to my womb?"
"It was super comfortable and super intense," Luka said. "He came over and over, and I felt it along with him. I also felt his power being drained from him, to be used by Alice. I mean, there's really no comparison between the two experiences."
"Tell me which was better," she commanded.
"Does it really matter?" Luka asked.
"Ah, Luka, you just don't understand a woman's heart!" Spider Princess lamented. "No one expects to be the best at everything. Granberia seeks to be the best swordswoman on the planet, but recognizes that she will never be as skilled in the bed as she is on the battlefield. And I will never be her equal with the sword. But the one thing I've long prided myself on is giving men the greatest experience of being consumed of any monster. "
"You've… eaten people?!"
"More than I can count," Spider Princess said. "Do you expect me to express remorse for that? I will not. They came to my island seeking glory and found something else. What I had thought they found was the greatest pleasure a man could possibly experience. I don't just eat men the way other carnivorous monsters do. I give them an intimate experience. It actually is sexual for me, and I often come as many times as they do during the process. Many of them have expressed their undying love for me before they died, which is silly, of course. But it made me feel as if I was doing them a favor. But having met other monsters on my journeys, many of whom also are carnivorous, I have begun to wonder if they give men better experiences. I do not feel guilt about killing. But I do feel some guilt about killing men in such a way that they are denied better experiences. What if they fell to me, when they could have fallen to the current Monster Lord? She has a reputation as an unparalleled vore expert."
"Vore expert?" Luka asked.
"It means eating people," she explained. "Alas, she is on her own quest at the moment and cannot teach me her ways."
"Isn't your anatomy like… totally different anyway?"
"It's not about your anatomy, it's about your skills!" Spider Princess spat back angrily. "And this is something that I WILL be the best at! We are going on a side quest."
"A side quest?"
"Yes, you heard me, a side quest! We shall find the most renowned carnivorous monsters in the world and they shall teach me their techniques. I can't stand to kill a man and not give him the very best experience that I can."
"You could just…. Not kill people?"
"Oh, Luka, you are obviously tired from your rough day," Spider Princess said in a rather motherly fashion. "Go back to sleep. I will take your watch. And speak not of such nonsense to me again. It's not as if I hunt men down to murder them. They come to me, and I simply give them what they obviously desired, even if they didn't know it yet. Any man who would attack a monster of my strength must have longed to be eaten on a subconscious level. Now go to bed and let me think."
Sighing, Luka obeyed. He really was tired after the critical ecstasy he'd been put in by Vitae and the long day at the lab. Crawling back into his sleeping bag, he fell asleep almost instantly.
Tamamo yawned, stretched, then hopped out of bed. It had been a short night of sleep for her, only six hours, only half of her usual. But she had gone to bed late, and decided that if her body was waking her at her usual time, she should just go along with it. She could always nap later if she got tired again. If Tamamo had one superpower she valued over all her others, it was her ability to sleep whenever she felt like it. She felt like it a lot.
But for the time being, Tamamo thought it would be a good idea to check in on Albert and see if Promestein had returned. Albert was as she expected: alive, barely. What had saved him was the fact that the critical ecstasy he inflicted on his partners was even more potent than what they imposed on him. Albert lay in a corner, unconscious, his long snake body stretched halfway across the room. The other lamia, the raven-haired one that had looked at Albert with those predatory eyes, was splayed out perpendicular to him, drooling. The weaker monsters were also out cold, the zombie girl cuddled up next to Albert for warmth, even though he was cold blooded. The slime girl had been so thoroughly pleasured that she was a puddle on the ground. The cat girl, another famously long sleeper, was happily sleeping her critical ecstasy off on the couch. She would probably not awaken for at least a day and a night. Tamamo was grateful that on her world monsters could not experience critical ecstasy. She wondered if it was because on her world, they were truly immune, or whether it was a difference in the sexual magic of monsters on other worlds. Promestein would probably be eager to find out herself.
Satisfied that everyone in the party room was alive and well, Tamamo headed towards the main entrance to inquire if Promestein had returned. Tamamo was not a worrier by nature. Even when the world had been close to ending multiple times, she had retained her cheery, optimistic disposition. Even loved ones dying didn't keep her down for long. All of her loved ones died. It was just the natural course of things, and she had grown used to it. But one certain loved one kept on coming back, and that had thrown her for an emotional loop. Which made her start to worry about Promestein as well.
Tamamo picked up Promestein's unique scent and followed it. She ran into the angel scientist in a hallway.
"Oh, Tamamo!" Promestein exclaimed. "I was on my way to your room. I thought you might still be asleep."
"Oh, you found out from someone else where I was staying for the night?" Tamamo asked.
"Yeah, that vampire butler told me," Promestein answered.
"So what was with the delay?" Tamamo asked. "You were just heading back to get some equipment. Did something happen?"
"Happen?" Promestein replied uncomfortably. "Oh, no, nothing important. I just had a talk with the Ilias of that world. About Luka."
"Luka?! Is he all right!?"
"He's fine, Tamamo, he's fine. But I thought it was a great opportunity for Ben and Emma to see history, so I sent them to watch over him, give Ilias a break, you know? Ilias, from what I understand is….um…. preoccupied with…. Um….. learning about mortality. And stuff."
"And stuff?" Tamamo asked skeptically.
"That version of the goddess has become a bit of a pervert," Promestein replied. "You'll find out when you read the book. So Ben and Emma are getting to shadow him and Alice and make sure everything goes as planned without a hitch, and then once Luka and Alice know who they are again, you can see them. Great, right?"
"Uh uh. What aren't you telling me, Promestein?"
"Every single thing I've told you is true. Technically."
"I didn't call you a liar," Tamamo said. "I asked what you weren't telling me."
"It's… it's really nothing to worry about. The goddess herself, all of heaven, and Ben and Emma are on it."
"I'd like to be on it too," Tamamo said.
"It's really best if you weren't. Trust me on this," Promstein said, although she was far from certain.
Tamamo didn't know the specifics, but had to concede that Promestein was probably right. If she tailed them, a pun which made her giggle to herself, she would probably save Luka from every monster that so much as looked at him funny and end up whisking him right out from under Alice's nose and then bring him back to her home. Tamamo had already grown used to the idea that Luka was not hers alone anymore.
"All right, I'm trusting you, Promestein, and I do have faith in Ben and Emma," Tamamo said. "But I want updates whenever you can give them, and if they run into anything they can't handle, you get me there ASAP!"
"Deal," Promestein said with relief. It wasn't that Promestein didn't have faith in Tamamo, so much as she felt that Tamamo involved in Luka's quest, as well as the likelihood of encountering an evil version of herself, would create unpredictable complications that might not be in Luka's best interest.
Promestein wondered if Ben and Emma weren't in over their heads. In terms of pure power, Emma and Ben could take on anyone. But they were young, with limited experience, against two ancient beings, at least one of them on par with Promestein herself intellectually.
Luka and Alice stood in the pope's throne room, listening to him drone on about a magic sword that would slay the Monster Lord.
"Is that thing even real?" Tamamo asked Sariela.
"I don't know, I wasn't part of this timeline," Sariela replied. "it looks like a piece of shit, though. Pretty, but I detect only the faintest enchantment."
"It's poorly constructed, too," Tamamo observed. "Cheap steel. The jewels are genuine though. That thing must be worth a fortune."
"In all likelihood, some merchant with a lot of sins he needed forgiven donated it and made up a story," Sariela said, frowning. "For a sword purported to be directly from Ilias herself, a man could be forgiven a lifetime of sins."
Alice turned to face Sariela and Tamamo. She sniffed the air, then mouthed a silent spell.
"Can she see us?" Sariela asked.
"No," Tamamo assured her. "Ancestor level invisibility spells can't be detected by any mortal. But she's good. She knows there's more people in the room than she can see, and that little detection spell she cast confirmed it for her. She knows she's being watched. But not by us. My guess is she'll assume it's Ilias."
If Alice was concerned, she showed no sign of it, turning her focus to the sword. She'd obviously grown quite tired of listening to the pope drone on about Ilias' beauty and the stupid fake sword that someone had passed off as authentic to the church authorities long ago. Alice abruptly hopped onto the dais and grabbed the sword, much to everyone's shock.
"Chrrr," Emma said outside the throne room into her hand. "We have eyes on the subject. Over. Chrrr."
"What are you going Chrr! For?" Ilias asked in Emma's head. "And what does 'over' mean?"
"It means I'm done talking," Emma replied. "Sorry, the chrrr sound is just the sound a radio makes when you talk on it."
"We're not using a fucking radio!" Ilias yelled, making Emma's head hurt a little. "This is telepathy! Even if we talk at the same time, we can still understand each other! I didn't bestow this gift on you so that you could screw around!"
Emma mouthed 'she's such a bitch' at Ben.
"I heard that!" Ilias yelled. "You had to think it to say it!"
"Ugh, sorry, Il-ass," Emma replied. Emma had been calling her Ill-ass all day, an insult Ilias had chosen to ignore, since acknowledging it would only make Emma do it with even more glee.
"So you can see Luka now?" Ilias asked.
"Well, no, he's in the throne room right now," Emma replied. "But I had eyes on him a few minutes ago. And I haven't heard any commotion in there. You can see in there, right?"
"Yes, I can," Ilias replied. "I see nothing amiss yet. But be warned, there's going to be a commotion very soon. Like, right now."
Sure enough, Emma and Ben heard panic in the throne room. Guards rushed in, spoke to Luka and Alice inside, and ran back out. The pope seemed to have been afflicted with some kind of catatonia, just laughing and staring at a broken sword on the ground. But no one seemed hurt.
"Should we reveal ourselves?" Emma asked.
"Not yet," Ilias instructed. "Stay invisible. And your welcome for me teaching you how to use your power that way, Eeema."
Ilias cursed. What a lame comeback for being called Ill-ass! She'd have to come up with something better.
"Roger," Emma replied.
Ilias frowned. She's calling me Roger, now? Is that some sort of insult on her world I don't know about? Ilias wondered.
Alice and Luka emerged from the throne room. The commotion had spread quickly. Apparently the guards believed the Monster Lord had somehow snuck in and destroyed the sword, which was a rather idiotic theory given that if the Monster Lord was that hostile she surely would have eaten the head of the Ilias church to send an even bigger message. Yet the theory was true, despite being idiotic. The guards simply could never guess the actual context.
Ben and Emma looked towards the entrance of the temple, as the pandemonium seemed to have become focused there for some reason. And then Emma saw her, throwing temple guards aside with ease, cutting down the ones that actually had time to draw swords on her. Granberia.
"Holee shitballs," Emma said in wonder.
The day had been strange enough, but Alice had to go and make it stranger by losing her patience and breaking the pope's holy sword. I'd made up the quickest explanation I could. As you all know, I'm a terrible liar, so I told the truth: the Monster Lord did it. But as Alice and I exited the throne room, I saw that a powerful monster was indeed attacking the San Ilias temple: the Heavenly Knight of Fire known as Granberia.
"Luka!" Granberia called, still half a football field away from me. "I'm here for you, Luka!"
I drew my sword, ready for any challenge she could give me. I felt that I'd come close to winning the last time we'd fought. I was sure I had a chance. Alice grabbed my sword hand, however.
"Luka, you need to run!" Alice ordered.
"Run?" I asked, confused. "But she challenged me!"
"Do you see that look in her eyes!?" Alice shouted in my face. "She's not here to battle you for fun! She means business! I've seen that look before! If you fight her, your quest is done! Finished! So what I need you to do right now is RUN! GO!"
"What about you?"
"I'll be right behind you! I'm just going to make sure she can't teleport ahead of us!" Alice yelled.
Alice turned away from me. Her eyes flashed, momentarily stunning Granberia. Granberia looked at her in anger and surprise.
"So it's true!" Granberia yelled. "You're being manipulated by that boy! Don't think that dispelling my magic will stop me!"
"It won't stop you, but now you'll have to catch us on foot!" Alice shouted back, then began running behind me, a bit awkwardly, since she was in human form.
Granberia roared and pursued, barely slowed down by the speed bumps the Ilias temple called guards.
"Tell Ben to follow Alice and Luka!" Ilias ordered Emma through their mindlink.
Emma gestured to Ben to follow the fleeing hero and monster lord. He summoned Sylph and was gone in a flash. "Done. What do you want me to do?" Emma asked.
"I think you know what you need to do," Ilias replied.
Emma stared at the charging dragonkin Heavenly Knight bearing down on her still invisible form. Emma hadn't dared hope that it might come to this. This was a serious mission, not an opportunity for wish fulfillment. But the moment had arrived, nevertheless. She was going to get to cross swords with her idol. But Emma, being a dragonkin herself, knew that look as well. Granberia would be in no mood for games. This was serious business.
Emma appeared suddenly, blocking Granberia's pursuit, sword drawn. Granberia skidded to a halt, staring.
"A dragonkin warrior?!" Granberia exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to challenge you to a duel," Emma replied as formally as she could, although inside she was giggling like a little schoolgirl, despite the danger.
"Challenge me another time! I am on a vital mission that affects the safety of monsters everywhere! So either get out of my way, or use what magic you have to chase down that boy and bring him to me!"
"Sorry, can't let you do that," Emma said in response. "If you want Luka, you have to get through me first."
"Ah, so that's how it is," Granberia said, a thin smile on her lips. "Then I guess we duel now, But I won't go easy on you. You are siding with a human over your own kind."
"And you never have?" Emma retorted. "I recall legends of how you chased off monsters who attacked humans."
"Legends? I'm not that old! I'm only twenty-five!"
"You get the point," Emma said. "You have to do what you have to do and I have to do what I have to do. I won't let you hurt Luka!"
"Then enough talk!" Granberia shouted. "Let our swords speak for us!"
Granberia cleaved the air with a mighty blow aimed at Emma's head, seeking to end the fight at once so that she could continue her pursuit of Luka. But Emma was a dragonkin warrior herself. Not in Granberia's class as a swordswoman, but more than competent enough to parry such a simple, almost insulting attack. Had Granberia not been in such a hurry, she would never have tried such an attack as her opening move.
Emma and Granberia's swords were locked, each grunting, trying to physically dominate the other. It was a classic test of strength. To Emma's surprise, she won it easily, shoving Granberia away so hard that the Heavenly Knight lost her balance and ended up flat on her keister.
"P-powerful!" Granberia marveled, kipping up and easily recovering her fighting stance, leaving Emma no opening to take advantage. "Even for a dragonkin, you are strong!"
"I work out and eat my Wheaties, but I've never been told I was really strong by another monster before," Emma said uncertainly.
"I will not forgive you for impeding my mission," Granberia said. "But at least you will give me a good fight today."
Emma barely dodged Granberia's next strike, a cursed sword technique that she assumed must have been lost over the ages, since she couldn't recognize it. Emma responded with an Elite technique that she had learned from her mother that Granberia couldn't possibly know. Her blade struck true, damaging one of Granberia's shoulder plates but leaving her otherwise uninjured.
"You…. You dodged one of my cursed sword techniques and countered?!" Granbera breathed in wonder. "I've never seen that technique before! Who are you?"
"The name is Emma," Emma said grimly. And then she could hold in her glee no longer. "And can I just say how cool this is? You're like… totally my idol! You've been my life's obsession since I was like… four years old! It is such an honor to meet you!"
"Emma is a very strange name for a dragonkin," Granberia said. "But then you are a very strange person. But as a warrior you are quite skilled. Let's see what else you've got!"
Granberia struck with a technique Emma did recognize, Demon Skull Beheading. That was a strike that could be dodged, but parrying required that the defender be stronger than the attacker. Since Emma did seem to be stronger than Granberia, much to her surprise, she stood her ground. Granberia's sword clashed against Emma's, barely budging Emma.
"Impossible!" Granberia gasped.
Emma's counterattack was a simple punch in the jaw that nearly leveled the Heavenly Knight. Once again Granberia found herself flat on her back. She recovered quickly again, but this time switched to the defensive.
Holy shit! Emma thought. I'm beating Granberia! This is the best day ever!
Emma attacked, using mainly modern techniques Granberia wouldn't be familiar with. Granberia took several hits, but landed a few of her own on Emma, using ancient techniques Emma had also never seen in sparring sessions or battles. Both monsters were tough, however. Granberia was bleeding only slightly from two wounds on her left side, and Emma was a light nick on her face. All of the other solid strikes had hit either armor or tough scales. But they still hurt.
The temple guards watched in awe as the two dragonkin battled up and down the hallway of the great temple. None could have hoped to understand why two monsters were fighting. They had gathered that the darker skinned dragonkin was apparently fighting FOR the human, while the lighter skinned one was fighting to capture him. Even if the lighter-skinned one won, she would probably fail in her task. The human hero and his companion were long gone.
But by now, both Emma and Granberia were too engrossed in their duel to care. Granberia had forgotten her quarry, so high had her battle lust become. Emma was fangirling so much, she forgot why she was fighting. She just knew it was the coolest thing she had ever done.
Then Granberia's feet shifted and Emma knew exactly what was coming. It was a technique she'd briefly studied but had never mastered. According to legend, Granberia herself had invented it, a variation of Death Sword Chaos Star, but taking advantage of the fire element that was her specialty. Emma knew she was in trouble. Vaporizing Rebellion Sword was coming.
Emma could have used her power to at least back Granberia off, to interrupt the move. But her pride wouldn't allow it. This was a sword duel with her idol, and Luka was already out of harm's way. She had expected to lose to Granberia and was more than okay with that, however much it would hurt. So if she was to remain in the fight despite Granberia's ultimate move, she'd do it with her sword and her sword alone.
Emma knew that the only counter to Vaporizing Rebellion Sword was to match the move. So that's what she did. Fire blazed in the hallway, causing the temple guards to cower, some to flee, as the two warriors' swords clashed again and again. Emma's counter largely succeeded, despite her lack of mastery. When Granberia's attack petered out, Emma was covered in her own blood from head to toe, but she could tell that none of the wounds were serious for one such as her. A human would have died of blood loss. Emma would merely need a couple of days of rest. That's probably why Granberia never willed her sword to draw blood when fighting humans. But against a fellow monster, Granberia apparently didn't feel the need to have Ares hold back.
Emma didn't feel any such need either. Now in a near blood rage, she viciously counterattacked, faster and stronger than Granberia could cope with. Granberia was driven back, all the way to the entrance, now covered in her own blood as well. Finally at the massive doorway, Emma sent Granberia through the stained glass doors with a kick to the gut.
Emma stared at the unconscious form of Granberia, bloodied, covered in colored glass, her great sword at her side. Her blood rage gone, Emma began to worry about her fallen opponent. Kneeling at her side, she felt for a pulse. It was strong. Using Luka's power, she healed the most serious of Granberia's wounds.
"Good job, Emma!" Ilias cheered in her head. "I'm not the goddess I used to be, but I still get a lot of joy out of seeing Heavenly Knights get their asses kicked!"
"I… I can't believe I actually beat her…" Emma said, staring at her fallen opponent. "I didn't know I was that good."
"You aren't," Ilias said. "I set this world on a lower difficulty level so that Luka wouldn't have too much trouble. That Granberia is only half as good as the Granberia from your world."
"Oh," Emma responded, deflated. That was HALF a Granberia? How much of my blood would the Granberia of my world have spilled?
"Don't feel bad," Ilias assured her. "You're a first rate ass kicker. You might not have beaten your Granberia, but she would have known she'd been in a fight. And I would hope in that situation that you'd use your power if you had to. Remember, the mission comes before fun! You're far more than a Heavenly Knight now! I'll let it slide now since you beat her, but in the future use everything you've got when Luka is in danger!"
"I understand, Ilias. Roger."
"Who the fuck is Roger?!"
"Ah, I see that the game is afoot," Sariela said.
"Who the hell was that?!" Tamamo wondered.
"If I'm to take a wild guess, it's a dragonkin girl named Emma," Sariela informed her. "She's a dangerous one. First class warrior, carries guns as well as swords, and has Luka's power. A very dangerous opponent indeed. Ilias is obviously aware of our presence and has procured an agent to serve her will in this matter."
"That makes our decision to not confront Luka directly all the wiser," Tamamo said. "Okay, so that plan failed. We've still got more chances."
"Alma Elma will want to deal with him in Grand Noah," Sariela pointed out.
"Yep, and the result will be the same as if Granberia succeeded," Tamamo said. "It's a sure thing. In the colosseum, there's no way to interfere unless they are willing to defeat Luka themselves to prevent him from facing Alma Elma."
"So we move on to Grand Noah and wait?"
"Actually, no," Tamamo said. "Enslaving Luka is the best revenge of all, but I can think of the next best thing. And we can do it in Sabasa."
"Oh, do tell," Sariela said gleefully.