Alice XV noticed the distinct light of one of Marcellus' portals. She directed her gaze to it and watched him step through, into their small room. She was jealous of his ability to not only teleport indoors without error, but also to move between universes with ease. She was also saddened that a man clearly more powerful than her was not her husband.
"Has she found him?" Alice XV asked.
"Not yet," Marcellus reported. "She found someone. She's traveling with this absolutely ripped blonde guy. At least twice my size. But no Luka."
"I hope we are not too early. We need him badly."
"I'm aware, but… first he has to be found, and then we have to ascertain how strong he is. Remember, Ilias only used the tiniest part of his essence to recreate him. He has no memories. He may not have use of his power, or even have mastered the spirits yet."
"Perhaps when you check tomorrow, she will have him with her," Alice XV said hopefully.
"Maybe," Marcellus replied noncommittally.
"Marcellus…. If Ilias finds us…. What will you do?"
"I will fulfill my purpose in being here," Marcellus declared with absolute certainty. "II will fight alongside the legendary hero."
"And with your powerful weapons that you've acquired from all over the countless universes…. Can you win?"
Marcellus didn't answer. That was all the answer Alice XV needed.
"It appears I am not alone in my willingness to be martyred," she said sadly. "Yet for the first time in my many lives, no one is interested in killing me."
"You know Ilias would if she could," Marcellus said, realizing that it was an insane way to try to comfort her.
"It's so hard to get used to this world," Alice XV laughed bitterly. "This world follows the old rules, before the Paradox, when monsters could not touch angels, and angels could not slay monsters for fear of breaking the Ancestors' Seal."
"That's why Ilias wants Black Alice," Marcellus said. "With a powerful monster like her working for Ilias, she can manage the dark energies for her."
"And even death would not prevent Ilias from having her," Alice XV sighed. "Marcellus…. Have you considered that perhaps Black Alice is right? That there is no destiny for her other than to die at a hero's hand and then serve Ilias?"
"What are you saying, Alice? That there's nothing we can do?"
"I… I don't know," Alice XV admitted. "This was not our mission. We came here to get her help to free the soul of our world's Heinrich from his tortured existence. We cannot accomplish that mission any longer. The headband is in the possession of a Seraph. And Black Alice and Heinrich seem beyond saving. Perhaps she was right that their destiny is always tragic."
"Didn't you believe that was your destiny at one time?" Marcellus countered. "Was not the whole point of the Paradox Quest to release ourselves from the true history and create new destinies of our own choosing? Your being here with me is proof of that, is it not?"
Alice XV stared at Marcellus through tear filled eyes. He was the greatest man she had ever known. He may not have accomplished what a Luka, or a Heinrich had, but in her eyes he was greater than either of them. They were simple men of action. Marcellus, on the other hand, was wise. If they had had a chance to rule together….
"Marcellus…." Alice XV whispered. "Thank you. You always know just what to say. I'm sorry for falling into defeatism. It's just that I feel so helpless. All I can do is stand by and watch you fight."
"Isn't that what you spent weeks doing when we first traveled together?" Marcellus asked, a lopsided grin on his weathered face.
That made Alice XV laugh. "I guess I did," she admitted. "I was no help at all to you. I made you cook for me, I raped you… twice I tried to kill you. It's no wonder you resent me."
"Alice…. I don't resent you," Marcellus said gently. "A part of me will always be afraid of you. No matter how strong I became, there was still that little boy inside of me, who was intimidated and afraid of the giant monster who had forced herself on me. But any resentment, any hate I had…. It was spent the moment I killed that version of you. And then I did it again. And again. And again. The only thing I still hold against you is not telling me…."
"That we had a daughter?"
"Yes. When I killed you that first time, and she entered the throne room… I knew"
"I'm sorry, Marcellus," Alice XV sobbed. "For everything. I was a misguided soul, thinking I was wise when I knew nothing."
"You know, you could just say 'imbecile'," Marcellus chuckled, holding her face in his hands. "It's what you always called me back then."
"Oh, I was such an imbecile. And an idiot, And a fool."
"We've both grown up a lot since then," Marcellus said, kissing her. "All we can do is what we believe to be right. And this is right. And if this time you have to watch me die instead…. Well…."
"Yes, my love?"
"Well it would serve you right."
Marcellus smiled that lopsided smile. It was a dark jest, but his gallows humor lightened Alice XV's heart.
"If you do die on this backwards world," Alice XV said. "And you find yourself in the body of another Marcellus…. I hope you'll find your way back to me."
"I'll have no choice," he replied. "There's only one of you left in the entire multiverse."
Alice XV kissed Marcellus fiercely, nearly choking him with her tongue. When she heard him gag, she pulled back, an apologetic look on her face.
"Marcellus, let me try to make up for all my mistakes today," she pleaded. "We have nothing else to do until you check on Allison again tomorrow."
"Alice," Marcellus said. "I want to do everything with you. Except vore. I get triggered by that."
"I'll scratch that off my to do list, then," she laughed, kissing him passionately, and more carefully.
A loud explosion interrupted their embrace. They shared a look. Marcellus had fortunately not removed any of his armor. He kissed Alice one last time and dashed out of their small room into the hallway of the small fort Black Alice had secreted the party to.
Heinrich was out as well, quickly pulling on his clothing. He and Black Alice had apparently been having a moment as well. Marcelllus fervently hoped they'd get to talk about it if Heinrich was in the mood to share.
"Do you think?" Heinrich asked.
"Let's pray it's a very large monster," Marcellus replied.
It wasn't a monster. Streaming down the hallway, their feet not even touching the ground, was the vanguard of an attacking angel strike force. There were at least twenty of them, led by an archangel.
"I am Adriel," the archangel declared. "Did you think you could hide from your goddess, disgraced hero?"
"I don't hide!" Heinrich said defensively.
"His girlfriend made him take the coward's way out," one of the soldier angels snickered.
"Only a fool wages a battle he can't win!" Marcellus exclaimed. "I took Heinrich away not out of cowardice, but to deny the goddess an unearned victory! You speak of cowardice, yet your goddess won't face us herself!"
"Our goddess could crush both of you with ease!" Adriel countered. "But she has more important things to do than sully herself in base combat! That's what she has us for!"
"Then I tell you that unless you have a Seraph with you, you won't be enough!" Heinrich exclaimed.
"If we are not enough, there are more," Adriel said menacingly. "Our numbers are limitless. And death shall not be a release for you, Heinrich! Ilias has vowed to build a prison for your soul right on this location! I hope you like this hiding place, disgraced hero, because you will spend eternity here! Alone!"
"Then come!" Heinrich challenged. "A true hero may die, but he is never truly defeated!"
Marcellus wasn't sure how much sense that made, but he did remember being that young. Some things just seemed to make sense when one was young and had more guts than brains.
The angels met Heinrich's challenge, drawing their holy weapons, which oddly enough were often things more suited to BDSM play than actual fighting. The platoon of angels surged forward at Adriel's command.
In the relatively narrow hallway, Marcellus and Heinrich fought side by side. Heinrich's Angel Halo, along with his proficiency with the spirits, enabled him to take a terrible toll on the attacking force. Angels dissipated with every swing of that strange sword. Marcellus, who never had the advantage of contracting with the spirits, or even the use of Angel Halo for that matter(he decided he'd have to discuss that with Alice one day, if he survived), relied on his technology and vast combat experience. His great sword contained arcane magics from countless worlds, all alien and none that the angels knew how to protect themselves from.
"Seven!" Heinrich yelled as Angel Halo sealed yet another angel.
"Please tell me we're not treating this as a competition!" Marcellus yelled back, as his blade cleaved an angel in half. "Four!"
"Slow, friend!" Heinrich laughed.
"We can't all contract with wind spirits!" Marcellus shouted back as he parried an attack and countered with a thrust, killing a fifth angel. Damn Ilias! Marcellus thought. She's sacrificing her weaker angels as if they didn't matter in the slightest to her. While Marcellus had little love for angels, he was sad that their loyalty led to them throwing their lives away so willingly.
Despite the fact that the angels were weak by angel standards, the two heroes did not escape unscathed. Heinrich, who wore no armor, had suffered a blow to the head from a mace, as well as a painful cut on his back from the business end of a whip. Marcellus' armor had withstood all strikes landed against him, but an angel with some mastery of holy magic had managed to burn him through a small crease in the armor of his sword arm, which was slowing him down. And he was already slower than his opponents. Nevertheless, all twenty angels were dead or sealed.
"Second platoon!" Adriel called. Twenty more angels filed into the hallway. "Attack!"
"Heinrich, I can get us out of here!" Marcellus said urgently.
"This is not your fight, Marcellus," Heinrich replied. "I know how this ends. But I'm done running. A hero does not run! I'll face my fate here!"
"Ah, fuck it then!" Marcellus said, a wolfish grin on his face. "Maybe I'll have better luck in my next life!"
Heinrich and Marcellus stood together as the next wave hit them. Further down the hall behind them, Morrigan, Alice XV, and Black Alice stood, watching fearfully.
"There's gotta be some way we can help!" Black Alice cried.
"We cannot harm them physically," Alice XV mused. "But perhaps some our spells will be effective. Do know any buffing spells?"
"Buffing spells?"
"Spells that enhance an ally in some way," Alice XV clarified.
"I might have a few, although they are already so strong I'm not sure it'll contribute much," Black Alice answered.
"I shall do what I can as well," Alice XV promised. "It appears that we are on our own. We are two Monster Lords, a legendary succubus, and two legendary heroes! If anyone can overcome these odds, it is we!"
I stared up at the impossibly tall spires of the Monster Lord's castle. I had the weirdest sense of déjà vu. Somehow, it felt as if I belonged there. Emma had gone invisible again, not wanting to be seen on the approach to the castle. Alice had walked silently with me, unresponsivle to my attempts at conversation. Finally, when we were less than a mile from the castle, she spoke.
"We go our separate ways here, Luka," Alice said to me. "No matter what happens from here, always remember that you are a hero and behave accordingly."
"I will, Alice, and I understand."
"I'm not sure that you do, but it can't be helped," she said sadly. "Just remember what we taught you and fight hard, but intelligently."
"I'll do my best!"
Alice nodded gravely and vanished. I stared again at the massive castle that seemed to be only steps ahead of me even though it was still a mile away. Why did it seem so familiar? Were we really in a time loop, as Alice theorized?
A few minutes later, I crossed the drawbridge, which was laid down as if it was a welcome mat, and entered the castle. There were no guards. I wondered if the Four Heavenly Knights had instructed the guards to not molest me so that they could face me themselves.
I strode confidently through the castle, as if I knew exactly where I was going. Somehow I knew that they'd be waiting for me in the main hall, and somehow I knew where the main hall was. I never lost my way, despite many winding corridors and many four way passages. I heard a few monsters rush to get out of my way. Yes, the Knights must have issued orders. Good, I thought. Time to settle the score with two of them in particular. Especially the succubus.
I arrived in the main hall, and as expected, the Four Heavenly Knights were there. Granberia, Alma Elma, Tamamo, and Erubetie. The latter I knew, even though I didn't remember meeting her. Alice said I had been unconscious when we met. I didn't remember much from the coliseum until my revival. It was hard to remember what was a dream and what I had actually seen and heard.
"You dare invade this sacred place?!" Erubetie exclaimed.
"You monsters know that when wronged, revenge is necessary," I said, even though revenge wasn't really on my mind. "Granberia attacked me without provocation, twice. And Alma Elma hurt me. Badly."
"The expression on your face didn't look like pain to me," Alma Elma giggled.
"Am I going to have to fight all four of you, even though this is only between me, Granberia, and Alma Elma?" I asked.
"If you had chosen to face them anywhere else, yes," Tamamo said gravely. "But to do it here…. It is our duty to stand against you."
"Well, that's good, actually," I said. "Because I'm not just here to get even. I want coexistence between humans and monsters. That means you all have to stop attacking humans."
"My, aren't you ambitious?" Alma Elma chuckled. "Well, if you defeat us, that would force us to see your point of view. Which of us do you want to fight first?"
"No!" Tamamo commanded, getting everyone's attention. "While normally I'd be fine with you settling a debt of honor here, the boy is too much of a threat to fool around with. We attack him all at once."
"What?!" Granberia exclaimed. "We didn't discuss that!"
"Luka is trying to rule us using the Monster Lord as his sock puppet!" Tamamo argued. "The only way to deal with a threat like him is to defeat him using all of our power from the start. We can argue over who gets to keep him as a slave afterwards!"
"Tamamo, I thought you said I was nice!" I protested. "Where is this coming from?"
"You've got game, I'll confess," Tamamo replied. "You had even me fooled, and I'm hard to fool. But I'm on to you now! This is the culmination of all of your diabolical plans! But you've bitten off more than you can chew with us!"
"I concur with Tamamo," Erubetie said. "Have you not all agreed that he is a serious threat to the welfare of monsters everywhere? Then we cannot play games with him!"
Granberia looked at the ground. She was clearly disappointed, but seemed to agree.
"I really wanted a chance to work him over as only I can," Alma Elma said. "But I have to agree. The threat he poses has to end here. We can discuss what to do with him when he's beaten."
"No killing, though!" Tamamo ordered.
"I don't understand," Erubetie stammered. "If he is such a grave threat, why not dispose of him in the most efficient manner possible?"
"Because! Because…." Tamamo replied. "Because it would destroy Alice. We're doing this for her welfare. Killing him goes too far. He needs to live, and become a slave to our bodies. Only that way will Alice see that he's not worthy of her."
"Now that's some reasoning I can get behind!" Alma Elma cheered.
"Then it is decided," Granberia said reluctantly. "We defeat him, but we do not kill him."
The Heavenly Knights seemed to have worked out their differences. Unfortunately for me, that meant I was in for a fight I wasn't prepared for. Four separate fights seemed daunting enough! All of them at once? Impossible! And why had I assumed they'd fight me one at a time? Alice hadn't told me they would.
I decided not to wait for them to get coordinated. Be aggressive, but be smart, I thought, as I summoned the spirits of wind and earth. Alas, my mind was too trouble to find a serene state, and I'd only gotten Salamander two days before. Fighting smart meant going with what I knew.
Judging Alma Elma the most dangerous, my initial attack was targeted at her. She was surprised that I struck first, but her reflexes were superb. She wasn't there when my sword struck. My momentum carried me right THROUGH Erubetie, who cursed as I passed through her body, powered by Sylph's wind.
"Had I been allowed to kill him that would have damaged him severely!" Erubetie exclaimed in frustration.
I ducked under Granberia's basic sword swing and retaliated with Thunder Thrust. Despite being slightly off balance and despite my speed, she managed to parry the thrust and counterattack with Demon Decapitation, which I barely dodged. Just in time to get slammed in the chest by a Tamamo tail.
I slid across the ground. I tried to kip up, but the next thing I saw was Alma Elma's crotch in my face. I lifted her off me and tossed her, but not before her tail had ripped my pants off. That was okay. I had long been used to the fact that my pants rarely survived the first moments of a battle.
Granberia struck at one flank while tendrils of Erubetie's slime hit me from the other flank and above me. I twisted out of the way of Granberia's swing, but failed to avoid Erubetie's slime, which caressed my head and one of my nipples. Surprisingly, having a slime stimulate your head feels pretty good. But it wasn't enough to take my attention off what I was doing, as I sliced through both tendrils, ducked under another Tamamo tail strike, and hit her solidly in the chest with Angel Halo.
"Ouch!" Tamamo said, staggering back. "Ugh, I can't believe I let you hurt me again!"
Again? When had I ever fought Tamamo? Had we clashed while I was unconscious somehow? But I had no time to contemplate, as Granberia was coming at me again, by far the most aggressive of the four Knights, relentless in her attacks. Fighting her alone was bad enough, but her coming after me with three other opponents to contend with was impossible! Yet somehow I parried every strike and landed a solid hit on her that knocked one of her shoulder plates off. That gave me a target to hit. But first I needed her out of my hair. I took advantage of her being off balance from my good hit to kick her in the stomach, which sent her skidding across the ground.
That gave me just enough time to flip out of the path of Tamamo's grasping tails trying to entangle me. But she hadn't needed to catch me. Erubetie had predicted my path of evasion and I blundered right into her. She grasped me tightly within her body, her slime furiously stimulating me everywhere. My shirt was dissolved, which meant that I was now completely naked.
With a roar, I used my earth power to break free and struck at her viciously with Angel Halo. The strike was so hard, with so much power behind it, that she briefly turned into a puddle before recovering her form, but she was out of sorts. Seeing a chance to eliminate an opponent from the fight, I prepared to strike again, this time with Lighting Sword Flash, a new move which I was sure would seal her.
I never got the chance. Too fast for me to see in time, an equally naked form tackled and pinned me. I felt myself enter the most dangerous vagina in the world. A vagina with an unbreakable bind.
"Got you!" Alma Elma said triumphantly. "There's no escape for you now! So just relax and let me make this good for you. Since I'm not edging you, it won't drive you insane this time."
She definitely wasn't edging me, pumping away furiously, which within seconds caused me to erupt inside her. Her insides stimulated me mercilessly through the orgasm, not with the intent to kill or break me, but simply to disable me. The stronger the orgasm, the more intense the critical ecstasy.
When I finished coming, she got off of me, satisfied with her handiwork.
"Good fight, Luka-boy," Alma Elma said. "But the outcome was never in doubt. You'd be hard pressed to defeat any one of us. Against all four at once, you never had a chance."
"Still, he fought with valor," Granberia said. "We will have to subdue him, but once he is compliant we should treat him well. He will live out his days as a favorite slave and playtoy."
"I have to admit, I like that outcome," Tamamo said with satisfaction. "He'll never know freedom again, but he'll also get to experience the finest pleasures all the days of his life."
I barely heard them discuss my fate. I was beyond dejected. My quest had ended in humiliating fashion. It was over.
"Luka!" I heard a voice say in my head.
"Emma?" I asked it. "You're here?"
"Of course I'm here!" Emma replied in my head. "It's my job to watch over you!"
"They were too much for me, Emma!" I whined. "I couldn't take them all on at once."
"Luka, you're not beaten yet!" Emma insisted. "I may not be an expert in the use of your power, but I have an idea of what I can do, and I've studied what you've done with it. You can still come back and beat these assholes!"
"What? That doesn't even make sense! How can you have studied my power? I just started using it for violent things yesterday!"
"I guess I have to cheat a little and tell you more than you should know," Emma replied. "But this is an emergency! Luka, why are you doing this!"
"I want coexistence-"
"Yeah, yeah, but why are you REALLY doing this?"
"For Alice," I said plainly. "I love Alice, and I want her to consider me worthy to be hers."
"And how's that working out for you?"
"Admittedly, not well."
"But it can work out," Emma said patiently. "Reach for your power. Think of Alice while you do it. Think of the life you want to have with her. That power can do just about anything you can imagine. And I know you can imagine something as simple as not being in critical ecstasy! I know you can imagine standing up! So stand up, Luka! Stand up for Alice!"
Yes. Yes! I won't fail! I'll do this for Alice! And coexistence! For the people of Ilias Village! For Emma! And even just a little bit, for the satisfaction of revenge. I reached for my power and willed myself to get back to my feet. I sprang up, my eyes glowing pure white. My power infused my sword, turning it white as well.
"Oh, come on!" Alma Elma whined. "That's the second time you've gotten up after I criticaled you! It's not fair!"
"And attacking me four on one is fair?" I countered.
"We shall have to kill him," Erubetie said. "It's the only way to stop him! Truly he is far more dangerous than any of us suspected!"
"No killing!" Tamamo insisted. "But we may have to beat him senseless ,or screw him senseless again in your case, Alma Elma. Think you can do that?"
"I am ready," Granberia said with determination. "For the beating part, of course."
"And I'll do the screwing part," Alma Elma agreed.
"Granberia and Alma Elma will be the primary attackers," Tamamo said. "Erubetie, you and I will provide support. I'll use my magic, you hit at a distance with your slime tendrils."
I smiled grimly, daring them to come at me. All four spirits were summoned, my power was burning inside me. I felt unbeatable.
Alma Elma came first, trying to take me down again with her wind power. She looked as if she was moving in slow motion. I give her credit, she wasn't coming at me in a predictable fashion. She was feinting with her pussy, but her true attack was going to be with her mouth. I stuck it right between her lips. Angel Halo, not my penis. My power backed up the strike. She was flung thirty feet away and hit the ground hard. She wasn't moving.
Granberia was coming at me, looking even slower. Painfully slow, in fact. Her front foot came forward. I recognized the footwork, despite never having seen it before as far as I could remember. It was Vaporizing Rebellion Sword, her ultimate technique. Uncounterable. Normally, uncounterable that is.
Each strike came slowly at me. I casually parried each and every strike. I wasn't even touched. Her face slowly contorted into an expression of amazement. The expression of amazement turned into one of pain as I ran her through with Angel Halo. My power burst inside of her chest from the sword. I yanked my sword out and she fell at my side.
Erubetie's slime tendrils had almost reached me. I cut at them with Angel Halo, then surged forward, executing Death Sword Chaos Star. She could no longer maintain her cohesion and she too, fell.
That left Tamamo. She was more clever. Seeing the danger, she scalded me with a fireball. Gnome saved my life as the fireball hit me flush, burning most of the hair off my body, but thankfully sparing the hair on my head. That brought me out of my enhanced state.
Tamamo attacked with all nine tails, punctuating her attacks with spels of various types. We dueled for several minutes, the fight now quite a bit fairer given that it was one on one, and I was back to using only Sylph and Gnome. But Tamamo seemed to be fighting awkwardly. Had I hurt her more than I had previously thought during the first phase of our battle? I knew I'd scored on her, but she hadn't seemed to be wounded too badly. Eventually it just came down to be overpowering her. After over a dozen clean hits, she fell to her knees.
"No more!" she pleaded. "You win! It's my loss!"
Suddenly a voice rang out in the great hall. "Congratulations, hero! You have overcome my Four Heavenly Knights. Now come, enter my throne room, and face your destiny!"
Alice! Eagerly, I ran down the hallway to the throne room, towards my happy ending.
Emma saw Tamamo's grimace transform into a smile as Luka left the great hall. Wait a minute, Emma thought. Is she…?
"I thought you Knights were supposed to be tough?!" Tamamo taunted the fallen Knights, who were just beginning to stir. "You just got your butts whipped by a puny human!"
"You!" Emma yelled, dropping her invisibility. "You set him up!"
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," the loli Tamamo said innocently. "Believe it or not, I fought as hard as I could. I didn't want it to come to this. I wanted to defeat him and see that he was treated well for the rest of his life. But these three idiots failed!"
A sword appeared at Tamamo's neck. It wasn't Emma's.
"You failed as well, imposter!" Granberia rasped, her sword an inch from Tamamo's neck. "Did you think we were fooled? Did you not know that we communicate with each other telepathically? The real Tamamo told us about you yesterday!"
"And yet you fought by my side, and even took my orders," Tamamo sneered.
"We didn't do it for you, but for our Monster Lord," Erubetie said, reforming and rising from the puddle she had been a moment before. "She ordered us to test the boy whom you slandered for your own nefarious purposes."
"What she's saying is," Alma Elma said, the last to get up. "For a moment, we had the same purpose. But I can see that we don't any longer."
"Okay, so first off," Tamamo growled. "I'm no imposter! I'm the real Tamamo. The Tamamo you know is just an inferior copy of a copy. You four have no idea who you really are, do you? You literally came into existence mere weeks ago!"
"That is yet another lie from you!" Granberia roared. "I remember my life! I remember the Monster Lord Succession Battle! Do not dare to call my memories false!"
"I'd explain it all to you, but you're too simple to understand it," Tamamo scoffed. "You're as dumb as you are weak."
"Weak?!" Granberia exclaimed in disbelief. "You lost to the boy as well!"
"You see, here's the thing," Tamamo said, beginning to grow, much to the three other Knights' astonishment. "I wasn't used to that stupid weak, sealed body and that held me back. If you want to see what the REAL Tamamo can do…."
Granberia sliced the sword across Tamamo's neck. The blade barely scratched her. Tamamo grabbed the blade and kicked Granberia in the chest, separating the dragonkin warrior from her sword for the first time in her life.
Emma reacted instantly, firing a blast of power at Tamamo. The blast staggered her. The other three Knights tried to capitalize. Alma Elma, the fastest, was on Tamamo first, fingering her and lightly nibbling her sensitive fox ears.
"Hee hee," Tamamo laughed. "That feels good! But not THAT good! You think you're hot stuff, queen succubus, but even the strongest succubus' sexual power is nothing compared to an Ancestor!"
Alma Elma shivered as she felt Tamamo's special tail massage her genitals. Her finger stopped moving inside Tamamo, so overwhelming was the pleasure of the special tail backed up by Tamamo's Ancestor magic. Alma Elma came in seconds. Tamamo roughly tossed her aside.
Erubetie was slow to react, but she reacted in deadly fashion, turning her acidity to maximum strength and lunging for Tamamo, seeking to dissolve her quickly. Tamaom casually turned and pointed a finger at Erubetie. The slime was instantly disincorporated by a disintegration spell. Her body splattered all over the great hall.
Granberia drew a knife from her boot and leapt at Tamamo. She was intercepted by a powerful tail and sent clear to the far wall fifty feet away, striking it with such force that stone rained down on her when she fell.
All this happened in less than ten seconds. Emma had just charged up another blast and cut loose on the Ancestor, staggering her again. She followed up, hitting her again and again with force blasts. But the blasts grew weaker as she continued, and Tamamo was only slight hurt by them. And then Emma was spent.
"Looks like these pathetic Knights aren't the only inferior copies," Tamamo laughed. "Your power isn't nearly what Luka's is."
"Good thing I've got more than just that!" Emma grunted angrily, drawing her sword and going directly at the fox. Tamamo laughed derisively and used Granberia's sword to defend herself. Emma fought hard, confusing the ancient fox with Elite techniques she hadn't seen before, even managing to hurt her. But it was an uneven fight. Tamamo had the strength and durability of a mountain. And you can't demolish a mountain with a mere sword. Emma could only wait for her power to recharge and hit her with it whenever she could. Tamamo retaliated with her own offensive magic, as well as her tails, teeth, and claws.
Okay, Emma, Emma thought. You're outmatched, but if there was ever a time to be a hero, it's now. Heroes overcome the odds!
Alma Elma and Granberia begain to stir. Erubetie's slime began to slide across the floor and down the walls, attempting to reform. They hadn't given up yet. Emma would not give up either.
"You can't be serious, Alice!" I pleaded. "Please, don't make me do this!"
"Luka," Alice said gently. "This is the only way. If you want coexistence, there has to be sacrifices. I am that sacrifice. When everyone heres that you killed the Monster Lord, the humans will respect you and the monsters will fear you. You'll be able to bring about peace."
"Alice, I can't do it without you! Alice, I love you!"
Alice did a double take at that. It wasn't as if we hadn't made clear our affection for one another, but I don't think she'd heard me say those words before, or if I had, not with that kind of emotion behind them. She hesitated, briefly. But she quickly recovered her focus.
"I know you do, Luka, and I love you as well," Alice said. "But I'm not the one for you, Luka. I know that now."
"Not the- what the hell do you mean?! After all we've been through together?!"
"Emma is the one you were meant to be with, Luka," she said firmly. "That connection you two had. The fact that you both have the same power. She said you gave it to her, Luka. Think about it. You don't remember anything. She knows you, though. And there was something between you two, something so intimate that you shared your power with her."
"Alice, no, it's not like that!"
"You have no idea what it's like!" Alice roared, her eyes turning dark. "You know nothing! All you know is what we've done these past few weeks. But that's not your whole life. The rest of your life is a mystery, and Emma knows a lot about that mystery. She said that all would be revealed to you after you've done what you must do. I bet she knew that this was my plan. So pick up your sword, Luka. And power up that alien power of yours. Fulfill your destiny, and strike me down. I know you can't bring about coexistence on your own. Emma will help you. She's the one for you, not me."
"Alice… no…"
"I'm done discussing this," Alice said firmly. "Now, we fight. I'll kill you if you don't fight me as hard as you can. I warn you, I won't go down easily. You must earn this. Otherwise it will mean nothing. It won't be believable to the people if someone who appears to be weak killed the Monster Lord. So show me your power, Luka! And then with Emma, show the world! Now… pick… up… your… sword!"
A blast of dark magic struck me flush, sending me into a world of pain. I didn't even pick up the sword. I called it to my hand, the way a jedi would a light saber. The battle was one.
Allison and Elias stared at the open castle entrance across the drawbridge.
"Do you think it's a trap?" Elias asked.
"Who knows?" Allison said impatiently. "You're not here to fight anyway. You're here to talk. So just go and talk."
"Are you coming too?"
"I might as well," Allison sighed. "I don't know whether the man I'm looking for is in there, or still behind me. But I won't find out unless I go with you."
"Well, I guess we should proc-"
A thunderous explosion from within the castle shook the ground beneath them. Smoke billowed from one of the spires.
"You know, I think that means the guy I'm looking for is here," Allison said.
"A battle!" Elias said excitedly.
"Yeah, looks like it," Allison agreed. "Be ready for anything."
"Gotcha!" Elias said, and stripped naked.
Allison stood there, aghast. "What the hell are you doing?!" she asked, alarmed. "How does taking your clothes off help you be ready!?"
"It's how I fight, my friend! Whatever dangers await us, I shall defeat them with my mighty shaft!"
"Then why do you carry that sword?" Allison asked, pointing to his dull sword, still in its scabbard.
"Honestly, I don't know," Elias admitted. "I'm sure I have a good reason, it's just never come to me. The darn thing's as dull as a butter knife."
Allison rolled her eyes as Elias ran across the drawbridge, stark naked, his penis leading the way more than a foot in front of him. Allison sighed and followed.
Inside the castle, Allison recognized the vampire butler, who was the first to intercept the uninvited hero. The vampire was so shocked at the charging naked hero that she hadn't attacked yet. Elias, however, was about to take the initiative. Allison screamed for him to stop.
"It's okay!" Allison yelled. "He's with me!"
"Monster Lord?" the butler asked, utterly confused. "But I thought you were in the throne room?"
"I'm heading back in that direction!" Allison answered. "Just stay safe! The battle's in there I assume?"
"They are still fighting in the Great Hall!" the vampire replied.
"Thanks!" Allison said, rushing ahead of Elias to keep him out of any fights. The monsters had received orders to not interfere with Luka's progress through the castle, but Elias was simply an invader. But since he seemingly had the Monster Lord with him, they let him pass.
Elias emerged into the Great Hall to witness an impressive melee. At the center of the melee was the nine-tailed fox he'd fed, the first memory he could remember. She was battling a dragonkin, their swords clashing, magic flying. A succubus had leaped into the fray, only to get batted away like an annoying gnat. Another dragon kin had reached for a new sword that was hanging on the wall and was staggering back into the fight. Elias gripped her arm to get her attention.
"I'm Elias! I'm a hero!" he yelled.
"Good for you!" Granberia replied impatiently. "Now let go of me, before I hurt you!"
"I want to help!" Elias insisted. "Who are the bad guys?"
"The bad guys?" Granberia stammered. Who was this idiot? "There's only one bad guy! The fox!"
"And she seemed kinda nice," Elias said.
"Elias, that fox is not nice!" Allison exclaimed. "Get her!"
"But…. He doesn't even have a weapon!" Granberia croaked. "At least grab a sword from the wall!"
"Believe me, Granberia, he doesn't need it," Allison assured her.
Granberia could only stare. What kind of a mad world had she woken up to this morning?!
Alma Elma was finished. She'd fought bravely, attacking Tamamo first with sexual techniques and getting dominated in her own area of expertise. Then she'd come at Tamamo with martial arts techniques. That had gone even worse. The succubus lay in a pool of her own blood. Emma prayed that she wouldn't try to fight anymore. Her next attempt to help might be her last.
Emma herself was running out of gas. The Ancestor was tireless, and Emma's inherited Luka power wasn't doing enough damage. If only she'd thought to call Ben! Together they might have had a chance! Where was Eden? But Eden couldn't direct the scrying pool automatically to whatever she wanted to see. She had to operate it manually, looking at the castle only if she intended to, and the castle had defensive magic which might prevent Eden from seeing inside.
With one last mighty blow from Granberia's stolen blade, Tamamo disarmed Emma while a tail nearly flattened her. Emma coughed up blood. I'm sorry, Ben, she thought. I should have saved enough magic to teleport myself out. I just couldn't run and keep my honor. I'm supposed to be protecting Luka and Alice. I hope you'll understand.
"You might think that my unwillingness to kill Luka extends to you," Tamamo said to her fallen opponent. "Unfortunately for you, it doesn't."
Tamamo raised Ares above her head to strike the death blow. Emma didn't close her eyes. She would face death like a true warrior.
But the blow never came. Tamamo froze in place, the sword dangling like Damocles' sword above her chest. Tamamo's eyes glazed over and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. The near godlike Ancestor fell over to her side. Standing there, triumphant, was a naked blonde man with rippling muscles and an enormous cock. Emma got to her feet. It took her a moment to process what she was seeing.
"Elias!" Emma shouted in realization.
"You know me?!" Elias exclaimed in surprise. "That's amaz- WAHH!!"
Elias was reacting to a gun pointed right at his face. Emma had drawn on him and without hesitation, pulled the trigger. Elias was quick, though, cowering and then running for his life. Emma staggered after him, firing again and again as he zigzagged, leaped, and rolled, hiding behind columns. Her clip expended, she cursed and continued to follow.
"I thought you said she was one of the good guys!?" Elias screamed back at Allison and Granberia.
"She is!" Granberia yelled. "Emma, why are you shooting at the man who saved your life?"
Emma didn't answer, instead picking up a sword and chasing Elias, slashing at him fruitlessly. She was too injured and he was too fast.
"Hold still, asshole!" Emma yelled. "I can't kill you if you keep jumping around like that!"
"Why would you do that?!" Elias yelled.
"You're not who you think you are!" Emma yelled back. "You need to let me kill you! It's the only way to save us!"
Emma's attack on Elias was interrupted by a fluffy tail grabbing her fron behind. "Not smart to turn your back on your opponent," Tamamo growled. "Did you really think a little poke was going to disable me for long? He just caught me by surprise, is all. Stay safe, delicious hero. I'll take care of this ingrate who tried to kill you."
"Are you sure the dragonkin is the good guy and the fox the bad guy?" Elias asked Allison and Granberia. "Because it really looks to me like it's the opposite."
"No, the fox is definitely the bad one!" Allison insisted. Granberia nodded and rejoined the fight.
Elias shrugged. Being a hero was getting more complicated all the time. He picked a sword from the wall and joined the fray. Allison watched, impressed. Turns out he's pretty fair as a fighter too, she thought. Tamamo's actually hard pressed now.
Indeed, Tamamo was being forced to retreat for the first time. Granberia had been waiting, not jumping immediately in before she could catch her breath as she had before. Now she was fighting alongside two other warriors, and together the three of them were finally starting to gain the advantage. At least until another combatant showed her face.
Sariela dropped her own invisibility spell. She extended her staff, pointing it at Granberia, and blasted her with a black miasma of vitriol. Granberia was now out of the fight for good, her armor nearly dissolved, her skin burned horribly.
"Thanks for the assist, partner!" Tamamo yelled back. "Now go and execute the plan! I can handle these two!"
"It's been an honor working with you, monster!" Sariela said, nodding and rushing down the hall to the throne room.
When Sariela arrived, she slammed into a barrier. This was not unexpected. She hadn't planned on actually entering the throne room. That was unnecessary, even counterproductive. All she needed to do was weave some subtle magic.
Inside, a battle raged, soundless to those outside the throne room. Alice was slinging all sorts of magic at Luka: fire, ice, dark magic. The dark magic was her favored tool, because it did little damage to Luka as long as he had Gnome summoned. But it caused great pain. Alice was trying to drive Luka crazy with pain and rage, so that he would kill her. But Sariela knew that it would not be enough. Alice would need some help. Sariela focused her black magic through the barrier. The barrier was strong, but it was merely Monster Lord class magic. With work, Sariela could have penetrated it and gotten into the throne room. But she didn't need to go that far. All she needed was a subtle spell.
Sariela was an expert on pain, despite having little experience with it. But she knew what made men cry out, and she had worked hard on finding ways of making them cry out as loudly as possible. Sariela weaved her spell to buff Alice's dark spells, especially her Monster Lord's Cruelty. Luka's screams as Alice's favored spell hit him intensified. Sariela smiled in satisfaction as he retaliated with a powerful bolt of his magic, which Alice barely dodged. Argh, Sariela thought. She's trying to die, yet she still fights hard. How irritating. No matter. She'll just keep hitting Luka with her now enhanced Monster Lord's Cruelty. Eventually, Luka will vaporize her. And have to live with that vision his entire life. Sariela chuckled in anticipation.
Allison watched from a safe distance as the three battled. She felt cowardly and helpless, but she was no idiot. She couldn't hope to even contribute against such a powerful foe. She'd only get in the way. That still didn't make it hurt any less. How could she ever be worthy of being the Monster Lord if all she could do was watch, too weak to make a difference?
Elias was human and completely naked, and yet he fought! Emma had given up on trying to kill Elias, deciding that he was more useful as an ally for the time being. Why the hell was she trying to kill Elias anyway? Allison wondered. It made no sense! Elias was trying to help her! In fact, he'd saved her life! And he was so handsome, with those beautiful blonde locks and that enormous cock and that face that looked like the face of….
The face of….
Oh, shit. Holy shit!
Allison sprang into action, rushing towards the melee.
Elias was just getting ready to strike a great blow for freedom and justice when he was grabbed from behind by a not at all fluffy tail. He was turned around and stared in horror at Allison's abdomen, which had opened into the most terrifying orifice he had ever seen, or at least could remember seeing. And yet it also looked strangely arousing, with all its writhing tongues, glistening with digestive fluids. Elias bet they'd feel more amazing than anything he had felt in his life. At least as far back as he could remember, which wasn't far.
No! I must not die! I have to save the day! With all his might, Elias broke free from Allison's tail bind. She cursed and chased him as he ran away.
"Has everyone here gone mad?!" Elias yelled. "Why does everyone but the supposed bad guy want to kill me?!"
"Come back here, you idiot!" Allison yelled, catching up to him rapidl ywith her superior speed. Her tail grabbed him again. She made sure to hold him more tightly this time as she slowed dragged him towards her lower mouth.
"Why are you doing this?! This makes no sense!" Elias screamed.
"It makes perfect sense, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you!" Allison yelled back. "It's very important that I eat you!"
"Can't this wait until I've saved the day?!" Elias begged.
"No! I have to eat you right now!" Allison yelled, straining to pull him towards her waiting lower mouth as he held on to a nearby column with a death grip.
"I strongly question your priorities!" Elias yelled.
Emma was in trouble. Allison had apparently figured out what Emma had figured out as soon as she'd seen Elias and was acting on that information. Emma wasn't sure how she knew, but the important thing was that she was making a move, and Emma needed to support her. Emma willed up as much power as she could muster and made a move of her own. She chose that moment to use an Elite technique she hadn't shown Tamamo. The blow hit solidly, actually making Tamamo whimper. Emma followed it up with a blast that put some distance between them. Taking advantage of her opportunity, she called out to Elias.
"Elias! You have to let her eat you!" Emma yelled.
"Why?! I don't understand any of this!" Elias yelled back, still holding onto the column with implausible strength.
"You have to die, Elias!" Allison grunted. "You can either die in my stomach, feeling amazing, or you can die from her sword!"
"How about I choose not dying?! At least until I've accomplished my mission!"
"You are about to fail your mission!" Allison hissed. "The only way we can win is if you die!"
"If you die, you'll become more powerful than you an possibly imagine," Emma said sincerely, channeling her Star Wars fandom. Ben would have been proud.
Elias hesitated, then let go of the column.
"I trust you," Elias said, looking directly into Allison's eyes.
"Sorry I can't take the time to make this as good as it could be," Allison said apologetically. And then she shoved Elias all the way in to her gaping lower mouth.
Almost all the way in, anyway. Tamamo had taken a chance and teleported a short distance indoors in order to get around Allison to her front. Tamamo reached out and grasped Elias' foot before Allison's mouth could close around him. Tamamo was much stronger than Allison. Allison struggled to hold him in with her tail, but Tamamo was steadily pulling him out.
"Hey, asshole!"
Tamamo looked up to stare directly into the barrel of a shotgun.
"You think that'll hurt m-?"
Emma shot her directly in the face. Tamamo was thrown back against a nearby column, her face a mess. Still the bullet hadn't even penetrated her skull. But it had bruised her up nicely, and bought Allison the second she needed to finish swallowing Elias. His foot disappeared into her abdomen.
"Magic bullet, you furry fucker!" Emma gloated.
"You're both dead!" Tamamo raged, her face blackened and bruised, but still with plenty of fight in her.
What ensued was a ridiculous three way chase around the great hall, as Tamamo chased Allison, all the while threatening to disembowel her to free Elias from her stomach. Emma was chasing Tamamo, slashing at her with her sword with all her might and firing harassing bolts of her magic at her, the best she could do at that point in the battle.
Allison, meanwhile, was staying just out of reach, frantically massaging her stomach, trying to rub the juices into Elias' body faster. Her lower mouth was the quickest way to digest a man. Her upper mouth, which led down to her normal stomach, took thirty minutes to kill her prey. Her lower mouth could do it much quicker.
"C'mon, digest, digest!" Allison cried frantically, rubbing her stomach fiercely. She felt Elias squirming in ecstasy inside her. Yep, definitely better than a sword to the gut, but why couldn't he die faster?!
Tamamo teleported again. Allison blundered right into her.
"This might hurt a little," Tamamo said evilly, flashing a claw.
Allison closed her eyes. She was no warrior. She didn't want to see the claw rip open her belly, didn't want to see half digested Elias fall out, along with her entrails. But then she noticed something.
Elias had stopped moving inside her.
A huge blast of holy energy erupted, filling the entire great hall and knocking everyone flat. Allison looked up weakly. It was nearly impossible to see through the bright glow. A beautiful figure, dressing in white, stood at the center of the holy storm, her hair flying about, her face showing pure righteous rage.
Tamamo tried to stand. Ilias leveled her with a sheet of holy flame. Tamamo cried out in agony and passed out from the pain.
"Fucking bitch cunt mother fucking fuckdoodle….!"
"Ilias!" Emma cried joyously, rushing to embrace the goddess.
"You're getting blood on my pure white robes!" Ilias protested.
"As if you can't clean them off with just a thought," Emma said, planting a bloody kiss on the goddess' cheek.
"Sure, I could…" Ilias said. "But I wash my clothes manually these days. I find that manual labor can be satisfying."
"There's another one here!" Alliison yelled, suddenly remembering. "An angel! They were talking about finishing a plan!"
"Luka!" Emma cried. "She means Luka!"
Ilias was already ahead of them, teleporting to the barrier. Sariela turned towards her in shock. Ilias simply snapped her fingers. Sariela's magic was dispelled at once.
"That's enough out of you!" Ilias said angrily. "Since you can't use your powers for good, I've taken them from you! You're mortal now! Micaela! Lucifina!"
The two teen Seraphs appeared in the hallway instantly in response to Ilias' summons.
"Take this disgraced angel away!" Ilias ordered. "I'll deal with her later!"
"NO!" Sariela raged. "I must witness my revenge! You can't deny me this!"
"I most certainly can," Ilias replied.
"No, no no no no…. You've failed, goddess! You're too late! See, Luka's defeated the Monster Lord! He's going to kill her!"
"Oh, is that what you think?" Ilias chuckled. "Don't take her away just yet. Release her. Sariela, come here. Let's watch your 'revenge" together."
Sariela rushed to the barrier, her focus entirely on Luka and Alice. Everyone's eyes turned to Luka and Alice, in fact.
Luka was standing over Alice, her body broken and bleeding on the ground. His eyes shown pure white. He was enraged, driven mad from pain and anguish. Alice looked up at him pleadingly. No one could hear anything that was said behind the barrier, but everyone could read her lips.
Finish it, Luka.
Luka's hand began to glow, so fiercely that it drained the glow from his eyes. All of his magic was being focused on that hand. Even from outside the barrier, everyone could sense the sheer power. There would be nothing left of Alice but atoms if he….
"Ilias…" Emma said.
"He's not going to do it," Ilias said confidently.
"He will! I buffed her dark magic!" Sariela said triumphantly. "he doesn't see his love lying there! He only sees his tormenter! His betrayer! I have won! You can never take that away from me! Not without risking all of creation!"
"Oh Sariela," Ilias sighed. "You know nothing about that man. I, on the other hand, know him better than anyone. He's not going to do it."
Luka extended his hand towards Alice, his face contorted in rage and madness. Alice closed her eyes.
"Ilias, please…" Allison pleaded.
"Shhhh…. It's going to be all right," Ilias said. "Trust Luka."
"But he's killed bef-" Emma argued.
"Trust…. Luka," Ilias said firmly.
Luka pointed his glowing fist at Alice for what seemed like an eternity. And then, as if his strings had been cut, the glow dissipated and he collapsed, weeping. Alice opened her eyes. At first, she was enraged. But whatever madness that had possessed her when she'd thought up her harebrained plan also dissipated. She crawled towards Luka and hugged him tightly, crying with him and telling him how sorry she was.
"No. NOOOO!!!!" Sariela screamed. "I'll kill him! I will not be denied!"
"You'll kill him?" Ilias asked, amused. "With what, your little ladylike hands? Micaela, Lucifina, you can take her now. And get the fox too. They've caused me a great deal of trouble."
"They will be awaiting you in heaven, goddess," Micaela vowed, roughly leading Sariela back down the hall.
"Now, if you two will excuse me," Ilias said, magically cleaning the blood off her robes. "It is time for my big moment."
Ilias took down Alice's barrier with a thought and strode confidently towards the bloodied and battered couple.
"Luka, oh brave Luka," she intoned, as Alice and Luka looked at her fearfully. "You have chosen…. Wisely."
Alice's jaw hit the floor.