Monster Girl Quest! (Monmusu Quest!) Two Sides to a Coin

by FrozenLightningRai

An AU of Monster Girl (Monmusu) Quest! where a second companion with a dark past works with Luka on his quest to the Monster Lord's Castle. With yet more dissenting viewpoints, how will Luka overcome all of the views which keep his dream of coexistence out of his reach? (Non-hentai version. Few OCs. Minimal non-canon/OC relationships. May rate to M later. Foul language.)

3. Guidance

The Story so Far: Balthazar, a warrior bound to the Chains of Hell, despises Ilias. However, he joins Luka's quest to overcome the Monster Lord out of intrigue. Alice, the Monster Lord, joins the oblivious Luka in his quest of coexistence. Despite the difference in views in the unlikely team, they reach Iliasburg, where Granberia, one of the Four Heavenly Knights is laying siege to the town. Luka challenges her, but is easily overwhelmed. Balthazar takes over the fight, but forfeits, unable to defeat her after using his 'ultimate' technique. Alice shuts Granberia down, and leaves. After an argument of views with Alice, Balthazar seems intent on gaining even more power. Now they prepare to leave, to set out for Iliasport, but also to take care of business in Happiness Village and to end the annoyances of the Monster Bandits plaguing the mountain paths.

Eventually, night passed into morning. After a deep sleep, Balthazar awoke, the last to wake for the morning. His eyes fluttered open to Luka dressing. Groaning, he tried to roll off of the bed he had slept on, but it was far too plump for him to do such. He paused, realizing where he was. He tried to stretch, but immediately regretted. Grunting in pain, Luka finally realized that his bunking partner was awake.

"What's wrong?" He asked, noting the pain in Balthazar's voice.

Unmoving, he buried his face in the mattress. "I didn't move."

"I'm sorry?" Luka asked, not following the conversation.

Propping himself up, he glared. "I didn't move. At all. All night. I slept perfectly still." He groaned in displeasure. "I was afraid of something like this…"

Luka laughed, but tried to contain it. "No, wait… Was that thing last night… About this?"

Scoffing, Balthazar nodded. "Afraid so." He slowly got up, grunting and groaning as he set himself straight, smoothing out his cloths he acquired from Ilias Village that he had slept in.

Luka shook his head, grinning. "I don't believe it." Slipping his iron sword in his sash, he walked to the door. "Well, hurry up and get ready, Alice and I will be going out shopping for a couple of hours, but after that, we're going to prepare to go to Ilias Port." He explained. He walked out, in an odd mood.

Balthazar quickly adjusted himself. The emotions that had made him lose control the night before appeared to have washed away completely, and he felt back in control of his own mind. Giving himself a final pat-down, he grabbed his katana and placed it on his shoulder, leaving his sash empty on his waist.

He left as Sutherland Inn as well, after getting a good shove and supportive cheer from the owner. Grimly ignoring her, he set about the now busy town. Heroes, citizens, merchants, and soldiers walked about the city now, the appearance of Granberia apparently an afterthought, although Balthazar noticed that there seemed to be more guards out than before.

Having no gold at first, he elected to acquire some. Although not a thief, he deftly maneuvered through the crowds, slipping out of the collective mob consciousness. Like that, he was able to find moments of distress to pick from and profit out of, such as the movement of goods. Utilizing his abilities, he was able to quickly amass a small pile of gold, and started to eye the wares.

During his shopping, he stopped by a cloths merchant. Gathering new attire, he donned his new clothes, donating his old clothes for use of another. After paying a small amount of gold, he decided on a new outfit, slightly more colorful than his prior getup.

His sash was now blue and silver, matching the dark blue pants and steel boots he now wore. His shirt was a dark teal, which revealed the chest directly under his neck. However, over the shoulders, wrists, and stomach were silver plates of steel, protecting his most vital areas, over which a sturdy light gray vest was secured. Each piece of protective steel had an elegant border inscribed on each plate. He also picked up a bluish-silver cape with a white pauldron on his shoulder, which he wore over his left arm. He also hovered over a large silver hat, with rims far exceeding that of a regular hat's rims. A black and white feather protruded from one of the sides, but he decided that it would be foolish to buy. He wrapped a large steel belt diagonally across his chest, and donned white metal-plated gloves.

His new appearance caused many gasps of wonder as he waded through the crowds, but eventually he found several brooches to hold his coin in, hanging them from inside his vests pockets. Neatly organizing himself, he found a rarity in Iliasburg: a traveling merchant with knowledge of fine craftsmanships. The peddler was able to tune his pocket-watch he had been carrying in a pocket of cloths before, so he now let it hang loosely in a pocket in his vest.

Satisfied, he left the merchant's quarter to find his companions. During his meanderings, he caught wind of a dark rumor, and he partook on the chance to learn more. Three men, all older than him, two looking to be successful business men, and the last a profitable farmer were gathered, discussing gossip.

One of the business men, who dressed in a black suit and hat nodded to the other, wearing formal-looking dark brown cloths. "And so they say that they've been appearing out of nowhere."

The farmer crossed his arms. "And they've just decimated the village? What of the guard?"

"Hold, men." Balthazar approached the group, his appearance marking him out as suspicious to the group. "Worry not; I'm not affiliated with any savages. Who are these people you speak of?"

The first business man slowly shook his head. "There are rumors over the land of pirates, attacking the shores. Four villages have already been destroyed."

"Aye." The farmer nodded. "They don't take any loot, but they seem to be looking for something."

The second business man held his hand to his chin. "They carried odd-looking swords, the rumor goes." He thought. "Come to think of it, they use a different kind of bow than we do. Of course, there's no proof of that."

The first business man shrugged. "All the official reports claim that the village was attacked, the soldiers eliminated, their captains either taken hostage or missing. They say they find strange bolts of metal along the defense towers."

Balthazar raised his hand. "Bolts?"

The farmer nodded. "Aye. They look like featherless arrows. But there's so many… It's hard to believe they aren't weapons. But no one has a devil of a clue as to how they fly true without their feathers."

"Interesting. Any of you know more about these swords of theirs?" He asked.

The men shook their head. "The wounds are how we can tell. They're precise, thin, and deadly. They cut with no broadsword, that's for sure." The farmer stated.

"Very interesting. Pirates who don't take anything. No one knows of their location?"

"See, that's the problem." The second business man said. "Most pirates are keen to let the people know what's going on, and usually let people off with warnings, maybe a death here or there when they get what they want."

The first business man took over. "Only problem, is that nothing of note is missing. Now, we haven't heard news from Sentora in quite some time, as storms plague Ilias Port like no other these days."

"The weather might be a problem. I wonder if the pirates are based in Ilias? Balthazar suggested."

The farmer swayed in possibility. "Eeeh, maybe. No one has seen any rogue ships though. Like I said, they're just rumors. Of course, it's the odd because it was most likely a monster's work."

The businessmen nodded in unison. "I've never heard of pirates reaping along Ilias anyways. Not since it's so close to Ilias' Temple. They'd be nuts to attack." One of the business men said.

Balthazar gave a slight bow. "Thank you men. It's intriguing, and if I learn of anything, I'll come back. I follow a Hero, who's-"

"We know, lad! You're one of the three that saved Iliasburg after all!" The farmer smiled. "If you can make time, we'd like to know what's happening."

"It's not my choice." He apologized. "But I'll make mention of it when we arrive in Ilias Port. We may learn more there. Take care of yourselves men." He dropped his verbal adaptions, and as he continued down the paths, he resumed talking normally. "That's odd. Pirates. When I was a kid, I never heard of any active pirates. I thought that they were all disbanded…"

Alice had left before Luka did, but Luka followed his nose and came upon the predictable lamia, who was spending coin and coin again on delicacies offered by the food merchants. "Really Alice?" He teased.

Eating a piece of fish, she slowly stopped. However, she quickly resumed chewing and swallowed the morsel of fish. "It's not my fault. This is my breakfast, after all."

Luka stared at Alice in disbelief. "That's even more reason to eat something decent for breakfast!" He exclaimed.

The two continued, eyeing wares and buying foodstuffs, refilling their supplies as needed. Here and there, they encountered praise for saving the village. A lone prostitute even offered Luka a special service, but he quickly declined, slipping away from her while Alice shook her head and scoffed.

Making a detour, the two arrived at one of the churches in Iliasburg. Luka took his time and prayed, giving Alice ample material to poke holes at and tease. Defending himself to the last in their proverbial battle, the two take off again, before a sight caught them off guard.

"B-Balthazar?" Luka gasped in surprise. "Wh-Where did you get those clothes?"

Turning around from gossip in the town, Balthazar acknowledged them. "Ah? These clothes… Oh yes, I had already grown accustomed to these."

Luka pointed at everything, his eyes going over the outfit several times. "How much did that cost? Where did you get the money for that?"

Balthazar smiled devilishly, but lost his conversation-with-random-people accent. "Oh, I have my own ways of acquiring funds."

Luka held his hand to his head. "That's… Not the point." He looked exasperated. "H-how much did it cost?"

He looked confused. "What for?"

Luka shifted his eyes. "It's for the sake of our journey. If it's arms or armor, we'll take from a fund. Since you used your own gold…" He trailed off.

Balthazar smiled. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I have my own ways of doings things. Besides, I really only had those clothes from before… I found a cheap clothes and armor merchant, and gave myself a new look."

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "It's his money, let him use it as he wants."

"Alice… But…" Luka seemed resolute on his decision, but both of their stubborn views forced him to stand down. Then, Luka noticed a phenomenon. Balthazar was avoiding Alice's eyes, and there seemed to be some sort of padding of air between them. He opened his mouth to say something but refrained.

"Oh look. Another store I've wanted to visit. Looks like a larger store too." Balthazar distracted Luka by walking up to a weapons shop.

"A weapon shop?" Luka asked. He didn't question further, instead walking in with him. Alice entered as well, looking around with a disappointed look. "Wow." He sighed, looking at the impressive displays of weapons and armor.

"This is pathetic." Alice stated, observing the particular piece of armor Luka was admiring. It was bulky and had jagged spikes of metal on it. "You can't wear that. If you did, you wouldn't be able to move, and you'll probably be stripped of it and be made into food."

"Ah." Luka looked down, dejected. "That's true."

Balthazar was looking more interested in talking with the owner. He was describing something to the owner of the shop, but Luka wasn't able to determine what. "What about this shirt?" Alice asked, walking over to an embroidered shirt.

"Ah, young miss, good eye!" The owner said. Finalizing their conversation, the owner walked over to Alice. "That's a relatively decent shirt you've found. Embroidered and woven with strands of thin metal, it's lightweight, and quite useful for deflecting blunt and puncture attacks."

"It seems rather plain…" He murmured, eyeing Balthazar's bluish-silver attire. The shirt and vest itself was a light tan, but didn't have many notable features.

The owner nodded. "It is, a little. With a cape you can get a dramatic flair, but it's true. A lot of Heroes lately have been wanting rather… Expressive… Protection. But it was made by Enrika." When Luka gave him a confused look, he explained. "It's a small village to the south of us. They're isolated, but make great armor."

"You should get it." Alice suggested, eyeing the material closely.

Luka nodded. "Alright, if it's so highly suggested." He handed over the gold required, and put it in his pack, to fit later.

"Kid, come here." Balthazar motioned for Luka to come close.

Luka folded his arms. "What? Look, aren't we like, the same age? That's been bugging me for a while…"

Balthazar didn't seem to care. "I only call heroes Heroes when they deserve it, and I only call a warrior a warrior when they prove their skill. And you've yet earned enough skills for me to acknowledge your skill yet." He paused. "Aside from that long-winded explanation, Look here." He pointed at an arm cuff that extended down his forearm.

"A… gauntlet?"

"I figured as much. Look closely." He pressed a plate, which released a short, dagger-like blade from a hidden compartment in the brace. "Have you ever seen one of these before?"

"It's… No, I haven't." Luka admitted.

Balthazar looked at the blade, entranced. "I've only heard of them in legend."

"A stupid legend." Alice muttered. "If you're talking about the Assassins, you're an idiot." Luka looked at Alice, unaware of what was going on. "See, long ago, there was a group of mercenaries in the past, all of them quite gifted in assassinations. The leader used a weapon similar to this hidden blade here. The rest used poisons, bows, and daggers."

"Or so the story goes." The owner said. "It's not for sale, though. It's a trinket that's found its way into my shop. Besides, both of you use swords." He observed. "It's untraditional, but the only true wielder of this hidden blade is a master of archery, swordsmanship, and poisoncrafting. Or so I elected."

Balthazar shrugged. "Eh. I know. I wield a katana," Insufficiently, I might add. "So my techniques aren't very compatible. Luka, your swordsmanship is as sloppy as a green guard, so there's no point in having it other than decoration."

"Then before we find anything else to blow our money on, let's leave before we're broke!" Luka rushed, tearing even himself away from the weapons.

Setting a course for Happiness Village, under almost what seemed to be orders from Alice, the three made their way out to the city exit. However, an ominous figure appeared before them.

"Oh, my love! I knew it to be true; you can be no one other than him! The one and only Hero!" The figure exclaimed breathlessly. Light poured onto the figure, and even Balthazar flinched.

It was a lamia… Although it had the appearance unlike any other. From the waist up, the body and head of a snake blinked with its color-less eyelids. From her stomach and down, she had the appearance of a human woman, wearing rather short black shorts. Looking in dismay, Luka grasped his sword.

"I… I can't take it anymore." Luka muttered.

The lamia moaned. "Oh, my hero! Has my appearing before you alone forced you to swoon over me? Oh, it's like a dream come true, my courageous Hero!"

Luka shuddered. I wasn't able to be baptized… Balthazar and Alice torment me to no end with their berating comments… I even got my ass kicked by Granberia, who wasn't even trying… But this… "Pardon me, but can I kill you?" He smiled, his blade slowly being drawn.

Alice knocked Luka upside his head. "Idiot. I know how much you want to kill her, but you have to calm down. You're little dream about human-monster coexistence… Well, it involves this thing too." She spat at the lamia.

"Ah, perhaps you are annoyed because I have not introduced myself to you?" She twisted her head. Luka shivered. "My name is Amira. You have stolen my young maiden's heart when you so fiercely drove Master Granberia away from Iliasburg!"

"Stay away from me." Freak. "Alice, can't you make this thing leave like you did with Granberia?" Luka pleaded.

Alice looked at him irately. "You can't rely on me with all of your battles."

"I know, but…" He glared at Amira, tasting bile and grimacing.

Amira's head perked. Again, Luka shivered. Balthazar had significantly retreated, and almost appeared to be at one with the background. You're kidding me… WHY DOES HE FIT IN SO WELL? Luka thought to himself. "Anyways, I wanted to do more than profess my undying love for you… Even though I would go to hell and back to prove my love…" She paused. "I came to make a request."

Luka scowled. You want me to kill you? "What is it?"

"Recently there's been a small band of thieving monsters causing havoc. It's quite disturbing, as a monster myself, but it is also affecting the rest of the town." Amira noted. "Although my appearance has quite an impact, sadly, my attacks do not make them suffer as much." She thought, as if reluctant to have said that. "Could you go in my place, my love?"

"A band of thieves?" He asked aloud, dismissing Amira. "I haven't heard of any rumors amongst the people."

Alice sighed. "Are you sure it isn't some human scare tactic?"

Amira seemed to puff with pride. "Don't question my intelligence gathering. There's even a Vampire and a Dragon with them as well."

With this, Balthazar returned to the conversation. "A Vampire, you say."

"A Vampire!? Dragon!?" Luka exclaimed, aghast. In the monster world, those with high intelligence and power are known as demons. The ultimate form of such a demon is a Vampire… Geniuses, in matters of manipulation and strategy, extremely potent magic, and able to blend in human society. Luka shuddered. Dragons are incredibly power monsters, with nails sharper than any sword, scales more sturdy than any human wrought armor, and fire so intense to incinerate or melt any material. Luka began to rock, slightly. Those monsters could blink and finish me off.

Alice, however, seemed unfazed, her normal self. "That's odd. I've never heard of such high-class monsters so far south."

"Granberia was laying siege to the city though." Balthazar pointed it. "Although not a natural occurrence, one must still accept that." He said, trying to avoid as much contact with Alice as possible. Luka fathomed the strange incident, but put it aside for now.

Amira knelt to her knees, but fell over and landed on her back, her neck revolving so she could stay on level with Luka's perception. "Please, could you do something about it?" She pleaded.

This new level of bizarreness broke Luka. "Fine! Fine, I'll do something." He said, annoyed.

Alice waited for Luka to make some sort of retrieval. When silence broke out, she stared at Luka. "What, are you serious?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Luka nodded. "Of course. I can't allow monsters to be hurting humans if I want us to live in coexistence."

"Ah, just what I expected in the man I love! Oh, my heart… K-kyun!" She moaned.

Luka's hand traveled to his blade faster than humanly possible, drawing the sword. "I'll make you wear that heart as a hat." He paused, recollecting his emotions. "Where're the thieves' hideout?" He asked.

"Ah, it's to the west of us, actually, by the mountains." She pointed her head in the direction.

"Fine. Leave it to me." Luka said, turning his back on Amira.

She moaned, causing violent tremors to course through Luka as he refrained from using Demon Decapitation on her. "Just as I expected from the man I love. I'll be waiting for the good news!" She exclaimed, clumsily returning to her feet, and running off. Balthazar broke down laughing at the way she wavered and wobbled.

"… … …" After a long pause, Luka led the group forward. "This is a side trip that won't take us very long. Let's hurry so we can be on our way."

Walking along the path outside of the city, Alice addressed Luka. "Are we really going? As you are now, you'll stand no chance to either a Vampire or Dragon. In your own best interest, it's better if you faced them later as end-game common enemies." Alice suggested

"What the hell? Is this some sort of game?" Luka asked in exasperation.

"Then why go to certain defeat? You're not confusing bravery with stupidity, are you?" Alice asked.

"I'm not doing it to be brave…" Luka paused, placing a fist to his chest. "I'm doing it… To be a Hero!" He exclaimed, dramatically raising his voice and tapping his chest.

"A pseudo-Hero." Alice struck down. "Beside, why bother with detours?"

"I need combat experience if I'm going to be able to defeat the Monster Lord. These'll be useful for increasing my strength!" Luka explained.

"Like I said, at your level, a Dragon is going to be like a Superboss. You won't last a second." She said.

"I'll take my chances." Luka proclaimed, Iliasburg finally disappearing behind them.

After several minutes of walking, Alice resumed her monster form, sliding by Luka. "I've been noticing something… It seems as if you do not wish to kill your enemy, and therefore, your potential and ability is limited."

Luka nodded. "I suppose that's true. I may have been subconsciously holding back…"

Alice sighed. "Oh well. I suppose I can lend you this sword." She pulled out a gray, grotesque sword. It had eye-like gemstones, and all along the blade's dual edges were what seemed to be metal carvings of angels screaming and melted together. The tip of the blade was a ring of metal, which seemed to give off its own luminescence. "This is Angel Halo… The only sword of its kind. Use it instead of your regular sword from now on."

Luka shivered. "Uwah… No way. I don't want to use it. It's creepy."

Alice looked at Luka. "But it has the angels you love so much embedded in the blade itself." She traced the outline of one of the many wings that protruded from the blade.

"They look like they're being tortured." As if on cue, a mental scream seemed to emanate from the blade.

"Whatever, just take it." She thrust the blade in Luka's hand.

Balthazar chuckled. "Well. You have your own notable feature now." He teased. "Alice wears the skimpy clothing looking like an exotic woman, you have the blade smelted from angels, and I just have fancy clothes and a cape."

Luka shuddered as he placed Angel Halo across his back. "That's not funny." He heard a moan, real this time, come from the blade. Almost dropping it, he jumped. "Wh-what was that?"

"Well, it's to be expected. It was forged using the blood, bodies, and lives of six hundred and sixty six angels." She said practically.

"I hate how you mentioned that so matter-of-factly."

"Listen to me. Because that blade was forged with the angel's grudges, the blade is cursed." She said. "Whatever is cut by the blade has its magic drained, making their form difficult to maintain."

"What does that mean?" Luka asked, looking at the blade curiously.

"What it means is, if an enemy isn't in a natural form, when they are defeated they're revert back." Luka gave Balthazar a blank stare. "God dammit. You beat a monster; they'll turn into something harmless." He growled. "In other words, you can't kill anyone with that blade. I'm not sure what will happen to a human, but with a monster, they will be sealed."

"I still don't really get it." Luka said quietly.

Alice folded her arms. "Well, here's a chance to find out what we mean." She said, just before vanishing, as per usual.

The ground began to rumble, as if an earthquake began. Luka looked around, waiting for his opponent to show. Eventually, the ground before Luka cracked open, and a woman's armless upper torso appeared at the surface.

Luka looked at the woman's head, carefully avoiding his eyes. Then, more of the woman began to push up, but it quickly became rounded brown segments. The tail leaving the hole, the monster revealed her form as a giant Earthworm girl.

"Oh, a traveler? I'm so lucky. How about you give me some of your life force?" She suggested, her body wriggling.

Luka shuddered as he readied Angel Halo, then hesitated. "No matter how hard I strike, I can't kill her?" He asked aloud.

"Correct. Go all out to confirm it." He said, sitting back in the grass.

Luka nodded, holding his blade ready. Striking down, he managed to cut the Earthworm girl. He noted that her wound quickly sealed.

"Wh-what the… What is that sword?" The monster asked. "It's as if… My power is draining…" She scowled.

"It works!?" Luka gasped. However, he quickly took his battle stance again. If that's the case, then I really can defeat her without killing her.

Balthazar watched the battle unfold. His aura changed. It's almost as if… He's become more powerful knowing he can't kill now. How odd. The monster quickly coiled around Luka, using her long body to squeeze him, trying to collapse his lungs. The monster tightened even further, and Luka gasped. However, in quick burst of strength, he broke free from her grasp. Striking again, the wound sealed on the Earthworm girl, and she looked exhausted.

"My wound… My power… " She gasped.

I can do it now. I have the power I need to defeat my enemies! He thought excitedly. With new power coursing through his body, Luka lowered his blade parallel to neck, and rushed the Earthworm girl. "Demon Decapitation!" He jumped into the air, Angel Halo glimmering through the air.

She grabbed her throat, expecting to be beheaded, but the wound delivered by Angel Halo never cut her. Instead, she wailed as her accumulated magic dispersed from her neck and scars from Angel Halo, until she vanished. In her spot, a small earthworm dropped to the ground, rolling around.

Alice returned to the field of view. "Do you get it now?" She asked, staring at the sealed monster. "That monster was sealed into that. Completely unharmed… And totally harmless."

"I… Understand now." He said. The worm appeared to understand its place, and began to dig into the ground. "It's still kind of sad."

"It's a better fate than dying. Even like that, she won't die easily." Alice stated.

Balthazar scoffed. "Speak for yourself Alice." Alice looked at Balthazar, surprised. However, he continued. "To once have power, it leaves a bitter taste to lose it. If you defeat an enemy in that method you just used, if they are able to accumulate power again, they may hold a grudge against you and challenge you again, only stronger."

"I… See… How do I avoid that?" Luka asked.

Balthazar shrugged. "Killing them is the easiest-"

Luka shook his head. "No. I won't kill my enemy, no matter what."

"I didn't say you had to. I was simply telling you the easiest way to prevent a defeated opponent from challenging you again." His thoughts made him trail off. "But what you choose to do will shape your own path."

"What happens… Should I be forced to use it against a human?" Luka asked.

Alice thoughtfully paused. "Most likely… They'll turn into a child or dwarf. But it will seal them as well. Since Angel Halo is forged of angels, it'll take its true form when you face one."

"… Um… Why would I ever fight an angel?" Luka asked. "Anyways, thanks. With this, I don't have to hold back anymore."

Balthazar started walking off before them. "We're burning daylight. Let's go. I know we're happy you can fight now, but let's make on your way." Luka dragged himself forward, Alice following. "But you're still pretty bad at fighting."

Luka's pride deflated. "I… Know. But I'll get better."

"You better, Luka. You'll never defeat the Monster Lord at this rate." Alice agreed.

"Anyways, now that we're moving again, you decide where you're going, Luka." Balthazar said, falling back to Luka's left.

"Let's see…" He pulled out his map. "There's the bandit at the Irina Mountains…"

"We need to visit Happiness Village. I need to know what that honey tastes like." Alice ordered.

"Ever about the food. What happened to 'pointless detours'? If that's the cause, I want to go to that Enrika Village. Look at their armor." Luka said, pointing at the map. "But for now, let's go to the Irina Mountains, get that done and out of the way." He said.

"Really? You want to die that badly?" Alice asked.

Luka dismissed her. "I'll win or die trying."

Thus, the three began their way to the mountains. After a few hours of walking, they reached the base of the mountains, and Luka began his search.

Realizing a fatal error, Luka looked in horror at Alice. "Crap. How am I supposed to stop them if I have no idea where they are?"

"Searching this mountain range will take forever." She looked over the scenery. "You still want to do it?"

"Don't fret so much." Balthazar folded his arms, picking a direction and walking a bit.

"Why aren't you worried?" Luka asked.

Balthazar shrugged. "Well, for one, I have no quarrel with these bandits. Besides, if they're bandits, then they'll come after us to steal from us." He paused. A Vampire and a Dragon… Why would they set about to steal things from humans? As it is, a Vampire can easily blend into human society... This doesn't seem right. What's this game really revolving around?

Suddenly, a monster jumped out of the brush, startling Luka. A Goblin girl, wearing bone and scale armor, wielding a mace which was far too large for her, appeared.

"Hya ha! Give me all of yer money!" She demanded, mace waving around. Luka didn't respond. He looked around, and noticed that Alice had left, and that Balthazar had made himself comfortable on a nearby slab of rock. "Hey, you there! On the rock! Get off that and come down here! I want your money!"

"Luka… Take care of her already." He ordered, shooing the Goblin girl.

Luka hesitated. "But… She's just a girl…." He looked at the feisty girl, who pounded the ground with the butt of her mace. "Are… You one of the bandits?"

Her face lit up. "Ha hya~ Indeed, I am! I'm the Goblin Girl of the Four Bandits!" She exclaimed, proudly lifting her mace in the air.

"Four bandits… Huh? There's less than I thought there would be." Luka said. A Vampire, Dragon, and Goblin Girl? Why her? "But why…?" She must be stronger than she looks. Luka braced himself.

"Do ya get it now? How about you give me all yer money, and I promise not ta hurt ya, 'kay?" She said, extending her hand out.

Carefully drawing out Angel Hero, he brought it to his side. "Um… Actually, I'm a Hero… I'm here to stop the monster bandits."

The Goblin girl blushed. "Eh?" She looked him over. "Someone as weak as you? Ahahaha!"

Luka blushed as well. "Sh-shut up! You look weak too!"

Suddenly, the girl pointed at Angel Halo. "That sword… It looks so gross…" Luka looked at the blade as well. I… Agree. "Hm…" She paused, thinking. "What should I do? I want to play with the wielder, but the blade is so gross and intimidating…" Suddenly, with resolve, she slammed the butt of her mace into the ground. "Alright, bring it Hero! I, the Goblin Bandit of the Earth of the Four Bandits will be your opponent?"

"Adding 'of the Earth' this time!?" Huh. I wonder if it's just a coincidence, but are they mimicking the Four Heavenly Knights? Maybe she knows Earth element attacks. I'll have to be careful… Luka thought, bracing himself.

The girl pre-emptively stuck. "Eat this!" She yelled, scooping sand into the air by slamming her mace across the ground. "Sand Hurricane!" She swiped her mace into the air, the recoil throwing her back, but sending sand into Luka's eyes.

"C-crap… To use this kind of move…" He staggered, trying to wipe it off.

Her eyes lighting up, the Goblin girl readied her mace. "An opening!? Feel the wrath of the Earth!" She yelled, readying her giant mace. "Earth Crashing Goblin!" She drew her mace back, and slowly walked up to Luka.

"Oi, oi. That's so slow…" He berated, dodging the attack easily as she slammed her mace down. "An attack like that will never hit me." Earth Crashing Goblin has been defeated! … Well, okay. I only dodged it.

Frustration formed in the Goblin girl. "Ya! Ya, ya, ya!" She yelled out, swinging her mace. In reality, the mace appeared to be swinging her. As Luka braced himself for her next attack, she tripped over a rock, falling flat on her face. Yelping, she shuddered as she straightened herself out.

"Are you done?" Luka asked, looking down on the Goblin. Her eyes welling up with tears, she nodded. "Where's you hideout?"

She shamefully pointed at a couple crevices large enough to walk through a ways off in the mountains. "Over there…" She sniffled. "In that cave… B-but, there's three more!" Laughing she tries to create an intimidating aura. "There's a lamia, vampire, and even a dragon! There's no way you can win!" She boasts. Luka holds his sword out at the Goblin, but she takes off, fleeing from him.

Balthazar sighed. "Well, at least we know where to go."

Alice returned. "Vampire… Dragon… Lamia… It seems there are some powerful monsters here." Luka thought aloud.

"I told you to give up." Alice scolded, folding her arms. "Do you have a death wish?"

"I have no intentions on dying, but I can't let Iliasburg down on its time of need!" Luka proclaimed.

Alice sighed, but followed as Balthazar and Luka continued on their way to the cave that the Goblin girl had mentioned. Reaching it, he pondered over its ordinary appearance.

"Is there really a dragon here? I can't sense one…" She muttered.

Balthazar looked tense. "I can sense the vampire though. I know the presence all too well."

Alice looked at Balthazar in surprise. "So you can too? Huh. I guess it's like that then, isn't it?"

"Eyup."

She sighed. "Very well. I'll stay here. Luka, you can go in by yourself." She said.

Raising a hand, Balthazar shook his head. "Actually, I'm curious about the vampire. I want to take a closer look." He said.

She waved, dismissing them. "Whatever. I'll wait here. Finish this quickly, and come back."

"What are you saying? Such powerful monsters… This might take a while!" Luka complained.

Balthazar pushed Luka into the cave. "If he dies or gets made into a food slave, I'll let you know. Be back in a few." He said cheerfully, walking the Hero into the cave.

The two found themselves in a wide cavern-like tunnel. Balthazar stood side-by-side with Luka, his hand on his katana. "Listen, Luka. I won't do you many favors, but the least I can do is tell you some secrets of how to win." He started.

"Wait… Are you?" Luka asked slowly.

Balthazar nodded. "I am. I'm curious about the vampire, more than anything, but… It can't hurt to give you some hinters." He raised his index finger. "First rule about Vampires. Don't have direct contact with their eyes." He said, looking into Luka's. "If they do that, they can control you, and make your life hell, or simply feed off of you."

"Such power… From their eyes? Scary." Luka shuddered.

"That's the hard part. When fighting them, you can still see their eyes, even if not directly looking at them. You'll have to be able to not even see them when they use their mind control techniques." He stopped. "Alright, first rule of Lamias. Never let them bind you."

"What happens if one binds me anyways?" Luka wondered.

"Easy Make sure you have at least one arm free. If you don't, you're not exactly screwed, but it's difficult to remove yourself from one's grasp. Struggle as hard as you can. If you're able to, just attack them, and don't worry about being bound." He pulled out a small dagger. "Take this. Keep it accessible, so even if you're bound, you can injure them and hope it's enough to break free."

"But… It'll actually injure them." Luka muttered.

"I didn't say kill them with it, it's just a way to break free, as a last resort method." Balthazar barked. "Don't kill this, don't kill that. The world doesn't always work like that." He sighed, he had gotten off track. "Lastly, Dragons. They're incredibly hardy, and can take a ton of hits, even from someone like me. Your best bet… Well, don't piss it off. Most like to toy with their prey, so finish them quickly. Use your surroundings when fighting one, to counter their fire. Got all that?"

"Let's see… Don't look at a Vampire's eyes, break free from a Lamia's bind as quickly as possible, and use your surroundings when fighting a Dragon." Luka repeated.

"Now put it in motion."

"Oho? So you could sense me!" A mysterious voice called out. Balthazar leaned against a pillar of rock.

"Who's there?" Luka called.

Out of the shadows… A lamia appeared. Her appearance threw Luka back. She was… Young. A child. Wearing black ribbons and a ring to tie her outfit together, she slithered into the light. "So you've come. I'm the Lamia Bandit of the Water of the Four Bandits! Fufufufu!" She snickered. She's certainly got the bottom half of a snake… But she's tiny. And cute… Luka thought. "Don't you want me to coil your life force out?" She asked, smiling lewdly.

Luka looked at the young lamia girl, as if he was disappointed. "D'uh…"

She frantically yelled at Luka. "H-hey! Why do you look so disappointed? How can you look like that while facing me!?" She attacked while Luka was off guard from her scolding. She coiled around him, but Luka noticed that the binding was light, as if he was being gently hugged. "I'll squeeze you with my powerful tail!"

"Uhh…" Luka wasn't sure what was going on.

Balthazar snapped his fingers. "Remember what I told you, kid."

Luka snapped back into the fight, but seemed out of it. "But… I mean, do I really need to take her seriously?" He asked, picking her up and off of him. "Down we go." He said, setting her back on the ground.

The two stared at each other for several seconds. Quickly, tears began to well up in her eyes. After a few more seconds, she begins to cry without inhibition, and Luka dropped his sword to his side.

Sniffling, she looked at Luka desperately. "Wh-why didn't that work?" She cried. Luka patted her head, but she tried to knock his hand off of her head. "I'll remember this!" She screeched, running off to a darker part of the cave.

"Huh. I wonder why she said 'of Water' when she didn't even use any Water techniques." Luka thought aloud.

Balthazar looked around, his interest suddenly perked up as the two walked deeper into the cave. "They're not actual Heavenly Knights, so of course they're just mimicking them."

"Kukuku…" A dark laugh resonated throughout the cave. Luka immediately brought Angel Halo to his side. "You're pretty good to have defeated the Earth Goblin and Water Lamia." The girl's voice said.

Appearing out of darkness itself, the long-awaited for Vampire made her appearance… As a young blond, twin tailed girl wearing low-leg panties and a cloak which withheld her modesty. Small bats floated around her as she excitedly announced who she was. "I am the terror that flaps in the night… The Vampire Bandit of the Wind of the Four Bandits shall be your opponent now!" She paused, licking her lips. "And tonight… I shall feast upon you!"

"Um… Hey there… Come on…" Luka sighed, pulling out Angel Halo.

Letting her mantle float around her, she pointed at Luka. "Here I come! I'll suck out all of your energy!" She declared. Immediately, she transformed into a large cloud of bats, which rushed Luka. The bats, as they flew by, pricked him with small scratches, but overall, they were just minor irritations. He lost sight of the young vampire, and was caught by surprise when she jumped on his back. "Kukuku… You're not going anywhere now!" She taunted.

Luka roughly shook the vampire girl off of his back, and he turned to face his opponent. There, in surprise, Luka noted that tears were rolling down her cheek as she glared at Luka.

"Hey! What're you doing!?" She demanded, her tears being dammed up. She started to cry, and cursed at Luka. "Why are you being so mean?" She bawled. Luka apologized, and the vampire began to calm down. Readjusting, she started to force herself again. "I won't forgive you for that! If it's come to this… I'll show you my true power! Just wait a second, and I'll focus all of my magic!" She closed her eyes, concentrating. "When I'm done, just look at my eyes, okay?"

An instant red flag raised in Luka's mind. This is what Balthazar was talking about. He glanced at his companion, who was watching the fight closely. Wait, why's he watching so much? He paused when the vampire girl nodded.

"Now, look into my eyes!" She commanded. A bright light emitted from her eyes, but Luka turned his entire head to avoid the flash. "Hey! Why did you turn away?" She demanded.

Luka watched as Balthazar was struck by the light. "More importantly, what the hell Balthazar! Why didn't you take your own advice?"

However, Balthazar waved Luka off. "Don't get distracted."

The vampire girl glared at Balthazar. "Oh? You looked, I know you did!" She said, raising the volume of her voice. "Now, you there, restrain your friend."

"No."

"Kuku- what?" She gasped. She was taken aback by Balthazar's nonchalant behavior. Tears began to well up in her eyes again. "Maan! What's wrong with you guys!? Why're you being so mean to me?"

The vampire girl's will to fight dissipated, and she gave up, no longer fighting. "Oh by the way, you said 'of the Wind', but you didn't use a single Wind technique." Luka observed.

The vampire girl quivered. "I can't… We're only imitating the Four Heavenly Knights to get people to fear us…"

"Ah. It's like we thought." Balthazar commented. However, the vampire girl burst in a stream of tears, and fled. "Ah, wait, I needed to… Whatever."

Nodding, the two continued to a large antechamber in the mountain. There, a laugh echoed in the room. "Wahaha~ Good job on making it this far!" The final bandit, the dragon, jumps out. Just like Luka expected, instead of a fearsome and awe-inspiring enemy… It was a small girl, with purple scaled arms and what appeared to be scaled leggings and a tail. The dragon girl wore some sort of band across her chest, and leotard to protect her modesty. She had tiny purple wings, which matched her hair, and wore a golden hairband, probably loot from one of her attacks. "Gao! As the last of the four, this Dragon of Fire of the Four Bandits shall oppose you!" She paused, threatening sharpening her claws while bending over to the ground. "Coming so far into our hideout… You must be a true Hero!"

"Bad little thieves like you should be punished!" Luka exclaimed, drawing Angel Halo.

"Gao!" The dragon girl exclaimed, flames frothing at her mouth. Quickly, Luka shot behind a pillar as flames shot passed him.

She's a dragon… Which means of course she can use flames, why wouldn't she? Luka though, stepping back out as the heat dissipated. Quickly, he rushed the dragon girl, whacking his sword across her head.

She staggered back, stunned by the attack, but other than that, it did no harm. After muttering about how hard her head was, he took stance again… Yet… She began to tear up. Seriously? Is this how all of the fights are going to end? However, the girl recovered. Jumping onto Luka, she bit him, drawing blood. He threw her off of him, and looked to Balthazar, who was casually watching the fight. Why do these young girls keep going after me and not him? Luka complained.

He shook his head. "I'm going to finish this with my best shot!" He imagined a greatly distorted scene, where a dark-masked, manly warrior held a majestic sword to a large, lizard-form and winged dragon, which smoke bellowed from its mouth. The scene was a little different than his fantasy, but Luka's fighting spirit rose. "Demon Decapitation!" He yelled. Bringing his sword down dramatically on the young Dragon, she retaliates, extending a nailed arm to counter. The two attacks intercepted, but Luka's won the contest.

Falling to her hands and knees, she began to tear up. Luka returned Angel Halo to his back, and dusted himself. Alice slithered into the room, snidely looking around. "So the battle with the pseudo-Hero and the baby dragon has concluded." She said.

Luka glowered, but looked in surprise at what Alice was holding. Dropping them off one-by-one, she tossed the Vampire, Lamia, and Goblin to the ground. It was apparent already that Alice had already scolded the three of them.

"So, there were just the four of you?"

"Y-yeah." The dragon girl nodded. "We were all we could find…"

Luka folded his arms. "So, what do we do now?"

"You were the one who wanted to route the bandits. Sell them, violate them, kill them, or eat them." Alice suggested.

Immediately, the four broke down, crying for their lives. "Hey, let's violate them, then sell them off. I recall you having financial troubles… Or we can eat them for the road." He laughed maniacally, dramatically overselling his sarcasm. However, the four didn't recognize it, and they grouped together in fear, quivering and crying.

"Really, Balthazar? Totally unnecessary." Luka scolded.

Balthazar looked shocked. "Oi, oi, it's just a joke."

"Well, pseudo-Hero, what are you going to do? Making four little girls cry like this…" She urged.

Luka raised his arms in defense. "What? You made them cry!"

Alice pointed her tail at Balthazar. "He freaked them out…"

"Anyways…" Luka thought it over. "First, we'll go to Iliasburg so you can apologize to the people there, because you gave them a pretty big headache. Got that?" He asked.

The four bandits nodded, all agreeing while sniffling. "So you're going to pull them around town? What happens if the citizens decide to lynch them?" Alice asked.

The four looked at them in horror. "L-lynch?" The lamia stuttered.

"It's okay, I won't let them do that." He paused, grasping the handle of Angel Halo. "If anyone so much as eyes a pebble, I'll beat them down."

The dragon looked timidly at Luka. "Youre… Such a forgiving person…"

From there, the seven returned to Iliasburg. Once there, Luka gathered the four bandits to the plaza and the four started apologizing to anyone and everyone who passed by. 'Jeez, the bandits were just little things like this?' 'I saw them a few times, and I thought they might be kids… Guess it was true.' 'We have to punish the bad boss dragon.'

"Well, they were bad, but they promised to stop and are apologizing." Luka defended. Balthazar quickly stepped in between the two parties, a sudden aura of power condescendingly placing the rogue opinion in its place.

The owner from the Sutherland Inn stepped forward. "Well, it seems that they're sorry for what they've done, why don't we forgive them? They must have had it rough too."

The tool shop owner nodded. "They didn't really do too much. I guess we kindof overreacted because there was a dragon and vampire."

The Inn owner nodded. "Looks like that's that. Now, you can just put in an honest day's work, and we can call it even."

Eventually, the merchants and workers divided the girls up to help them out. The Goblin girl was picked for additional help for the warehouse, the Lamia took up help at Sutherland Inn, the Dragon Girl was decided to work at the forge for her fiery breath, and the Vampire went to one of the main merchants. Before dispersing, the dragon girl reached up to Luka. It seemed as if she really didn't trust Balthazar, for she took a good five feet of distance between them.

Pushing a solid red orb-shaped gem, she pushes her fingers together. "What is this?" Luka asked, looking mesmerized by the gemstone.

"… Some rich guys saw me at the hideout and ran, and this thing dropped out of their luggage. I think it's valuable, but…" She admitted. "It's for not killing us back there."

Balthazar snuck up behind the girl, and swiftly put his hand on her head. She was startled by the gesture, and began to shake. "Lighten up, kid." He said softly. "You have no enemies here." He patted her head, and she smiled as he folded his arms, looking at the afternoon sun.

"Is it alright to even have this?" Luka asked, rolling the orb in his hand. He put it into his pocket after hesitating. "Oh well. If I come across its real owner, I'll give it back."

Alice scowled. "For such a thing to be here. It's too dangerous... I don't want humans to misuse it. " She sighed. "But the blue and silver aren't here, so I guess there's no issue."

Luka looked in confusion. "Alice? You know what this thing is?"

"Of course. Just who do you think I am?" She asked. "But.. It's probably better that I don't tell you."

Preparing to set out to Happiness Village again, the three headed out of the plaza to begin to supply themselves for their trip to Happiness Village. "Be good little girls, won't you?" Luka pleaded.

The four nodded. Balthazar looked over the young vampire while the other two walked off to browse the wares one final time.

"Oi, little Vampire." He called out.

The vampire was timid, but walked up to him. "Y-yes?"

He folded his arms "What are you doing so far away from Hellgondo?" He asked.

She shifted her eyes. "Um… My mother thought I would be able to have a better life if I lived here."

Living clear down south as far as the continent of Ilias? "Do you know your mother?" He asked.

The Vampire shrugged. "S-sort of… Why?" She stuttered. "You didn't eat her too, did you?"

Balthazar knocked on her head. "I don't eat anyone. I was just giving you a hard time…" He trailed off. No way. I didn't think it could be the case… But… Could it be her daughter? That would mean… He paused. "I want to ask you a few questions…"

Luka and Alice continued on their way, unknowingly leaving Balthazar behind. "I seemed pretty Hero-like today, didn't I?"

"Idiot. What would you have done if she turned out to be an adult dragon?" She berated. "Did you want to die?"

"I didn't go to the fight to die… I went to fight because I want to carry out my dream."

"Martyr… Or… Idiot…" She sighed.

"Just as I expected!" Out of nowhere, Amira, the reverse-Lamia appeared, tongue flicking in and out of her mouth.

"Y-you're back…?" Luka asked in disbelief.

"Of course I'm back. I'm the surprise true heroine of this story, afterall. Ho ho ho~" She laughed.

Alice looked legitimately horrified and disgusted at the same time. "Since when did you become such an important character!? Get out of here…" She spat.

Amira chuckled. "Fufufu…"

"Stop changing your laughs! It's annoying!"

"Fine." Her snake-like mouth twisted, in what Luka could only believe would be a smile. "Anyways, you know, I'm only like this because some twisted magician cursed me to look like this. If I could get a Hero to kiss me, I could return to my human form, which was a princess…"

"That's too cliché!" Luka exclaimed.

Amira clicked her tongue. "Tch. Able to see right through it…" She paused, and thought. "Then there's nothing else I can do but to use my newfound magic power… Here I go!" Her body flailed grotesquely as she tried to pose. "Heart Splash~!"

… But nothing happened. She looked dejected. Just then, a light from Heaven itself descended, and collided into Amira, immediately blasting her off into the sky.

Luka and Alice simply stared in silence with blank expressions as Amira twinkled out of sight. "What… The hell… Was that?" Luka asked, trying to grasp the situation.

Alice, with no hesitation, started to walk forward. "Come on Luka, let's go. If you spend your time being stupid, you'll never reach the Monster Lord's castle."

"Y-yeah, I suppose your right." He agreed. Looking around, he noticed that Balthazar was nowhere in view. "Where's Balthazar?"

Alice shrugged. "We left him at the plaza. You want to pick him up or carry on without him?"

Luka looked down at Alice. "Come on, we can't just leave him. We're all traveling together, that'd be rude."

Alice appeared not to care. "It's not like he can't take care of himself. He knows where we're going…" Luka started to head to the plaza without her. "H-hey! Don't just walk off on me!" She exasperated.

Eventually, the three met back up, and set off to Happiness Village. Even though they had their fight the night before, she wasn't able to read the anti-Hero, rather, he became even more difficult to understand. His usual motives were easy enough to explain, but she wasn't able to predict much about him, unlike Luka.

"According to the Sutherland Inn owner, it appears that something is happening at the village." Luka explained. "Something big might be happening."

Alice nodded. "You're right. If something is happening, they might not be able to make Happiness Honey anymore." She licked her lips. "It would be disastrous if I couldn't have any more Ama-Ama Dangos."

"So, is that our destination? I wonder…" Balthazar thought aloud.

Luka looked curiously at Balthazar. "Do you know something?"

"Supposedly, there's a Harpy village that's not too far off. I wonder if they're somehow tied to these events."

Alice nodded. "That's actually the origin of the name of Happiness Village. It's due to that very same Harpy village that they got famous from."

"Relating the two, we can safely assume that might be a problem if the two aren't getting along." Balthazar focused on the rumors he heard earlier that day. "I just haven't recalled too many problems with Happiness Village."

A large Bee girl floated overhead. She didn't seem to pose much of an aggressive aura, but she swooped by the four, bumbling by and knocking into Luka before continuing on her way. The three had only two more encounters with monsters, both Bee girls who appeared and floated on by, not very interested in Luka or his group.

Within the hour, the three arrived at Happiness village, the sun not yet ready to set. It was a small village, rural and littered with beehives and small crops. Women were scattered around, and several Honey Bee girls floated about. A small boy helped a woman, most likely his mother, pull a wagon.

"It doesn't seem like anything bad is happening… Rather, it looks like there's even human-monster coexistence here." Luka said. A couple of Honey Bee girls floated off the ground and landed in front of Luka and Balthazar. Alice made no attempt to hide in her human form, but the Honey Bee girls likely wouldn't have been able to recognize her anyways.

The Honey Bee girls were similar to the Bee girls Luka Had encountered earlier. However, these were slightly smaller, with fuzzy cloths that revealed only their midriffs, and made them extremely puffy. They had wings, but no honeycomb tail like the Bee girl had, instead having an abdomen with a stinger and two extra arms. They curiously bumped into the newcomers, but after a while, they continued dozing or inspecting the honey farms.

"Are you blind, idiot?" Alice insulted, waving her hand at the village. "There are no men! How can you say nothing strange is happening?"

Luka looked over the town, noticing the phenomenon for himself. It's true. There are only women and Honey Bee girls who are here.

One of the nearby women finished inspecting a jar of honey that a Honey Bee girl had collected, and walked up to her guests. "Ah, travelers. You came out here all this way, but we don't have anything to entertain you with." She looked down. "And without any men to help us, we don't have much honey either."

"Why are there so little men?" Luka asked.

Just then, a scream filled the air. The boy Luka had noticed was the source. Running towards the boy, he took out Angel Halo as a pink haired harpy was hovering over the little boy.

"Stop! Let the boy go!" Luka commanded, brandishing Angel Halo.

The harpy looked at her challenger. "Oh? I've never seen you before in the village." As Balthazar casually strolled up and leaned against the side of the building, she continued. "Are you travelers?" She licked her lips and let go of the boy. "It's alright, I'll let him go. I have two more delicious treats to kidnap instead!" She said in delight.

Luka blocked the harpy from getting any closer to the boy, and raised his sword to defend him. "Run away, little boy. I got you covered." Kya… That was really Hero-like! He smiled.

The harpy chuckled. "Hehe… You're much nicer than that little boy. He didn't even want to go with me." She paused, looking over her challenger. "I'll take you back to the nest; maybe we can even have children together!" She squealed.

Luka growled. "I won't let you get away with kidnapping all of these people." He swore. "I'll make you regret it!" He lunged, but the harpy jumped into the air, avoiding his strike. "Oi! That's not fair!" He cursed.

"All's fair in love and war!" The harpy chuckled. "Besides, they're my own wings so it is fair."

"Eh… True…" Luka replied.

The harpy descended, whacking him with her wings. He was pushed back, but not too injured. His blade rose to his neck, and he rushed in, using Demon Decapitation, but the Harpy avoided that as well.

"Ehehe… It's time to finish this." She stated, coming back from the ground and landing on Luka directly. From Balthazar's position, he could clearly see the flaw in her mount. Luka saw his chance as well. With no real method to hold his arms down as well, he struck with Angel Halo.

Falling back, she looked at Luka. She cursed, but briefly holding her side, she retreated to the sky, flying away. "Whew. That was unique."

Balthazar nodded. "You have to be able to adapt in combat to hold your advantage." He began. "With a Harpy, you'll have to expect them to fly into the air when you attack. Wait for them to attack and counter it, or you can use the risky method like you did and let them mount you for an assured attack. Anyways, always watch your enemies. Some have open weaknesses, and some only reveal them in certain situations, like a harpy."

Alice walked forward, now that the match was over. "What's this? You're giving Luka combat advice?" She looked a mixture of both impression and confusion. The two had a mental exchange with just their eyes, but Luka was just able to notice it.

"As a matter of fact, I am." He responded. "It's the same reason you've been training with Luka at night. It'd be dull of Luka was defeated so quickly, so I'm giving him basic tactics."

"Basic? Almost all of the advice you've given me so far was pretty in-depth for each monster." Luka was surprised.

"It's also rather vague, and can be used for almost any monster encounter." Balthazar replied.

They were quickly surrounded by the villagers. 'What happened?' 'They were able to drive the harpy away? Wonderful!' Luka noticed there truly were no men in the village left at all.

The village elder, a shorter individual, and woman, walked forward, cane in hand. "To drive off a Harpy. Impressive." She looked at the four. "I'm the village elder's wife here. Since he's been kidnapped, I've been acting as the elder."

"Barricading yourself in a house while some harpy tries to make on her way with one of your villagers…" Alice scoffed. "Can you really call yourself a leader?" She paused, looking over the humans. The Honey Bee girls appeared to be unfazed, almost as if the Harpy incident never happened. "Not one of you did a thing. Those honeybees can be forgiven, since they have the collective intelligence of a doorknob, minus their queen, but as for you humans…"

The women shuffled their feet, unresponsive.

"What can we do?" The elder asked. "We're a weak people… Would you be able to help us with something, Hero?"

"Bah, dumping your problems on travelers. Get ready for it, Hero." She mused, warily.

The elder gave her a snarl, but continued. "As I'm sure you've noticed, but there are no men here. The harpies have been kidnapping them." Several of the women began to give examples of how many men were lost.

Luka tried to grab the reigns of the haywire explosion of comments. "What are they doing with them?" He questioned.

"We don't know precisely… They've never returned. Be it slaves, food, all we have are guesses." The elder admitted. "With no men, this village is doomed to be erased. Please…" She bowed. "Can't you route the harpies, and return peace to our village?" She pleased.

Alice cut the old lady with her words. "Why not just go do it yourselves?" She paused, waiting for an answer. "Isn't it right, though? What meaning will your peace have if it isn't achieved by your own hands? To rely on outsiders when you hide in your houses like cowards… Pathetic."

"So you say, but these villagers aren't suited for war." Luka reminded. Turning to the elder, he nodded. "Where are they taking them?"

"There's a Harpy establishment a little to the east of the town, in the forest." The elder informed.

Alice shook her head. "Well, isn't that great? The pseudo-Hero is so easy to influence… Just how many travelers have you sent to their deaths?"

"How many…? Aren't I the first?" Luka asked.

Balthazar shook his head. "You can't tell this is a practiced speech?"

One of the women spoke up. "There's been seven so far who have gone to try to defeat them, but none have returned."

Luka was blown away, for some odd reason. "Ah, see? They didn't mention that part to you." Alice frowned. "If you win, they'll be content. If you fail, you're just the next link in the cycle. Do you really want to help them?"

"We can't fight ourselves, though…"

"So what? You've sent seven others to their death, and yet you're going to send another!" She exclaimed. "Sure, the harpies are doing something bad, but you aren't doing any better."

"Take it easy, Alice. I'm still going." Luka tried to calm her down.

Alice sighed. "Is the praise by this pathetic lot of people so important that you'll risk your own death just to get it? You're going to end up killing yourself with that stupid wish, idiot."

"I just want to help protect these people; I don't really want to be praised." Luka replied.

Suddenly, one of the women spoke up. "I'll go too. My husband died early due to sickness, and my only son was stolen by them! If he's still alive, I'm sure he's waiting for someone to help him. As his mother, I have to go!" Everywhere more women began to cry out in succession to join Luka. After a few minutes, almost everyone had decided to go.

"Wait! Even if you band together, it's still too dangerous!" Luka exclaimed.

"With harpies, there's always going to be some leader. If you can defeat them, the underlings will splinter and cause chaos. That way, even weaklings such as those people can stand a chance." Alice said.

"That's still not an easy fight. You won't be able to defeat a Harpy Queen like you would a regular harpy. I hope you know what you're getting into, kid." Balthazar said.

"I can do it. I'll just defeat their leader!" Luka resolved.

"H-hey, did you just ignore me?" Balthazar staggered back.

"I'll give a signal for when you guys should attack. Until then, wait for me to take out the queen." Luka insisted.

Alice folded her arms. "Still you got stuck with the hardest part."

"Of course! I'm the Hero after all!" Luka said.

"Not a real one, though."

"Gah…" Her words cut Luka down.

Time passed. Plans were made, and information was exchanged of how to deal with harpies. With the information that harpies went to sleep at dusk, the plans were made to strike then. Alice decided to stay behind, forgoing what she called idiocy.

Eventually, the day gave itself away to the setting sun. The women prepared themselves for battle, but the Honey Bee girls continued floating along nonchalantly, as if nothing in the world could route them in their live.

'This is it. Just a bit further is the Harpies' village.'

Luka nodded. This is it. All I have to do is infiltrate the village, and find the Harpies' leader quickly. There are probably quite a few… Too many for me to deal with on my own. "Alright. I'll defeat their leader, then send the signal. If I end up failing, retreat." He ordered.

"Hey… Luka…" Alice had appeared, even though she said she was going to remain behind.

"Alice? What are you doing here?" Luka asked.

"Make sure you come back." Was all she said. "Don't lose in a place like this."

Luka nodded. "Of course. I won't lose here, I'm a Hero." Inwardly, Luka was in a state of shock. Did Hell just freeze over? Alice is encouraging me!? Although, it's a nice change from snide remarks.

Luka and Balthazar headed off into the village. After making quite some distance, Balthazar pulled Luka into a dense bush. "Listen. The Queen should be resting somewhere around the tallest tree in the area." He advised, looking around. "If you get too much attention and you're too close, she might attack you out of the blue. If you start up too many fights and let the noise carry, you're done here. But I'll help out, this time only, and start a distraction."

Luka's mouth dropped. What is it with people and being so… Uncharacteristically nice today? "Th-thanks… Man."

Balthazar nodded. "Come on. We can still get a decent push into the village."

"Before that, what will you use as your weapon?" Luka asked out of concern.

Balthazar shook his head. "Really? I was planning on fighting with my katana sheathed, so I didn't have to hear you nag all night." Again, Luka didn't know what to say. "Now, let's go."

The two set out to the village once more. All around were small houses built on top, around, and conjoining trees. A particularly large tree stood out in the distance. Balthazar froze, but eyed Luka. Almost telepathically, Luka knew that he'd have to take the battle alone.

"Ne, sis? Did you hear someone just now?"

"Come to think about it, yeah. It sounded like a human."

Luka sighed. "I knew he wasn't imagining things…" He said quietly. Dropping from the trees above him, two harpies landed on the ground, one slightly younger than the other. Luka quickly pulled Angel Halo from his back, and noticed that Balthazar had hidden behind a tree, carefully observing the trees for activity.

"Hey sis? I want to own this boy…" She pleaded.

Laughing, the older harpy patted the younger harpy's head. "Really? Then let's make him your first… First, we have to weaken him." She instructed, raising her wings out.

Luka followed suit, only attacking as soon as he was able to. However, like the harpy before, the two flew into the air.

"Wah! That surprised me!" The younger harpy exclaimed.

"Don't worry, as long as we can fly, he can't get us from here." The older harpy consoled.

Looks like I'll need to lure them down so I can attack them. Luka thought. The two harpies descended with speed at Luka, berating him with their wings, flying back after their assault ended. I can't let this last longer. Receiving so many attacks might put me in a disadvantage later…

Luka guarded himself, looking for holes in the harpies' defense. Almost immediately, the elder harpy descended, and locked Luka in her wings. "Alrighty, he's all yours, sis!" Forgoing defense, he struck the harpy with Angel Halo, and the elder harpy was pushed back, her magic almost drained with one critical attack.

"Kya!" The younger harpy rushed to her sister, trying to protect her with her life. "Don't kill my sister!" She pleaded.

Balthazar exited his hiding spot, and with his katana sheathed, he placed the protected blade under both of the unsuspecting harpy's throats. "Your life is not going to be taken, and we will not seal you. All we ask is that you do not attack us again, or alert any others." He commanded, returning his katana to his sash when the two frightfully nodded. "Let's go. We don't have time to waste." He ordered Luka, and the two continued to the Queen's tree.

Suddenly, Luka completely disregarded his prior stealth priority, and made a mad dash to the Queen's tree. Cursing, Balthazar wearily joined him.

"Do you need something from my house…?" A voice asked. Dropping in front of them, a regal and majestic harpy, wearing a white blouse and a white crown made an appearance.

Luka grasped Angel Halo. "Are you the leader of the harpies?" He asked. All around the three, harpies began to flutter down from the trees, surrounding them. Balthazar gripped his katana, but like he promised, did not unsheathe it, instead, he held the protected blade with sheath still fixed.

"Indeed I am. Did you have something you needed to discuss from me, or was there something you wanted from me?" The Queen asked. "I do have a fair guess."

"I want you to stop kidnapping the men from Happiness Village, and return them." Luka stated his demands. Around them, the harpies began to become restless. Balthazar took deep breaths, leaving his back to Luka. "If you keep this up, humans will not be able to live peacefully with monsters."

"You have that wrong, human boy. The situation is reverse as you would have it." She said. "We do this because we cannot live in peace with humans."

"What do you mean?" Luka asked.

The Harpy Queen stretched out her wings. "I have no need to explain myself to you, human boy. This is a critical matter of importance to us as well."

"I don't understand. But you leave me no choice…" Luka sighed, drawing Angel Halo.

Balthazar shook his head. "I knew it. You're too immature to know what's going on here."

The Queen stared at Balthazar. "To show me your back… And to claim you know what is occurring now… You are nigh on the edge of hypocrisy."

"Is that so? I guess I can be, from a certain perspective." He replied, his eyes focused on scanning the crowed of harpies. "But it was not my decision to engage you in battle. However, your underlings look quite restless, and I will defend myself if I must, and I will not allow them to assist you in your fight with Luka, since it has come this far."

"Then it comes down to force… I shall show you the power of a queen." She raised her wings. "This fight shall be between me and the younger boy in purple. The boy in white shall be off limits as well. I will not require assistance in this battle." The regal Queen announced. Balthazar slowly lowered his sheathed katana.

"Is that how it is?" He asked, still untrusting. "Then you'll have to keep your word as leader." He slowly placed his katana in his sash. "Don't do anything foolish, Luka. Watch her carefully, and attack whenever you are able."

Luka nodded. "Thanks. Anything else?"

"I bet she'll fight differently than a regular harpy. Keep on your toes; prod her defense before lunging for the kill." He advised. "Don't let her get the advantage."

Balthazar stepped back from the fight as the Queen's aura began to pervade the scene. "It is a major crime to point a sword at a Queen. No matter the reason, death is the punishment. Or worse…" She said, trailing off. "I shall see to your punishment personally."

Luka came in close to the Queen, slashing at her. As Angel Halo made contact, he jumped back, surprised at her lack of movement. 'Prod her defenses before lunging for the kill.' He was right. She fights differently. Luka thought.

"The Queen would never fight in such a sloppy and pathetic method." She poised her talons. "Submit to me." She attacked, but used her wings to slash at Luka. Buffeted, he fell back.

Using this distance, Luka dashed in, knowing she wouldn't fly away. His blade parallel with her neck, he slashed, Angel Halo's wound dissipating as more of the Queen's magical energy was sapped. "Demon Decapitation!" He yelled. It did some damage, but Luka was dismayed when it appeared that the battle was far from over.

The Queen attacked once more, buffeting her wings against her opponent. Recoiling, Luka struck back, but stopped mid-way when he noticed that the Queen's wings were extended, feathers coiling in the air, unmoving. "Come at me. You're too weak to even hurt me." Luka growled, but kept his blade steady. He wasn't going to fall for such an obvious trap. "Are you going to ignore my invitation? That's no good." She sarcastically pouted. As the tension between them grew, she relaxed her wings. "You're more careful than I thought."

The moment her wings relaxed Luka closed the distance, slashing with Angel Halo. It still did damage, but the battle was going to take much longer than he wanted to. If I'm to seal her… I probably won't be able to win at this rate! He dismayed. The Harpy Queen attacked once more, this time attacking with her talons, although they raked Luka's blade.

Luka directed his blade at the Queen's neck again, using Demon Decapitation once more. Luka noticed that she was beginning to grow weary from his attacks, but she still countered with another barrage of feathers. Luka was now growing tired from the fight himself, and the Queen extended her wings once more. Using this time to try to calm down, he took deep breaths as the Queen's wings remain extended. Noting that her invitations were not going to work, she dropped her wings. Luka attacked once more in the time-frame that presented itself.

"Shall we become… Acquainted and finish this?" The Harpy Queen leaned over Luka, pushing him down and binding him as she sat on him. "I'll steal your life force… Rejoice to have let a Queen take it."

Luka saw his opportunity. Attack whenever you are able… Don't let her get the advantage… Balthazar's voice echoed. "Take this!" Luka shouted, slicing the Queen's chest with his free arm. The Queen fell back in surprise. However, she was not yet reduced to a mortal blow, and faltered to the ground. "Now, here we go!" Luka tossed the flare into the sky. The harpies around were too stunned to react as the villagers from the village appeared, flanking the group of harpies.

As the villagers began to round the shocked harpies up, the Queen looked on in surprise. "I see. The other villagers have come to rescue them."

Balthazar unsheathed his sword. The air grew cold as even the villagers halted. "Stop." He commanded. The two factions froze.

Luka pointed his blade at the Queen. "Swear to me that you will return all of the men you kidnapped. If you won't…" He edged his sword close. "I'll have to finish this."

"Wait!" Several villagers begin to crowd the scene. The men that were captured were flooding out, attempting to protect the harpies.

Luka and Balthazar observed many reunions as the women and men of the village found each other. Apparently, throughout their time 'imprisoned' at the Harpy Village, there were several relationships formed, and several children were born.

'Mark! What happened to you?' 'M-mother… Let me introduce you to my wife, Piana. And this is our daughter, Pipi.' 'Grandma?'

'Father? What do you mean?' 'Ah… Well… What I'm saying is… Reina is your new stepmother…' 'Ni-nice to meet you.' The irony of the two being the same age became apparent.

'Uwoh! The traveler we sent a year ago!' 'Ah, about that…. I'm not a traveler anymore. I actually have seven children now.'

'It's like that. Will you stop attacking the harpies?' 'They are our wives and children, so please stop hurting them.' 'So this harpy… Is my granddaughter?' 'My stepmother is a harpy!?' 'That's right, the harpies are our family now.'

An elderly man stepped forward. Just then, the Chief's wife stepped forward. "You were still alive?" Apparently, the elderly man was once the Happiness Village Elder Chief.

"The harpies are our family, as well as the village women." He said. "We shouldn't allow our two families to hurt each other!"

'That's right! My mother's family is now Piana's family! Let's stop fighting!' 'That's right!'

The Harpy Queen stepped forward. "Since we harpies cannot be anything but female, we would be unable to continue to exist if we did not utilize human males. However, humans hate monsters, so we had little choice in the matter." She explained.

"But… You took every one of them…" Luka began.

Balthazar had heard enough. Yippidy-doo-da. This'll take a while for this to sort out. He looked back at the two groups. The two elders appeared to be arguing, as well as the rest of the two villages. "Why bother?" He sighed, as he walked up the stairs, utilizing his unique ability to separate himself from any crowd. While inside, he looked at the interior of the buildings.

Luka scratched his head. "What should we do?"

"How would I know?" Alice replied, looking at the scene as if it were a foreign movie she couldn't understand. Soon, shouts of joining the villages together broke out, and the disputes began to resolve themselves in favor of coexistence.

Later that night, Balthazar returned from a walk, observing the scene unfold from a tree branch. "Very well. We will no longer forcibly kidnap men from the Happiness Village anymore." The Queen swore.

The Chief's Wife nodded. "Hm. We will send men form our village to marry harpies. However, you must help us in beekeeping and farming in turn."

The Queen nodded. "That is more than acceptable."

The conflict finally seemed to resolve itself as a festival was prepared. Within the hour, human and harpy alike danced and sang, sunk in a drunken stupor. Balthazar sighed, disapproved, but he didn't keep his mind on it for long as he watched a bonfire light up.

One of the women came up and approached Luka and Alice. "This is all thanks to you, Hero. On behalf of Happiness Village, let me thank you."

Luka seemed to love the praise. "That's not necessary, it's something natural that any Hero would do!"

"If you want to show your appreciation..." Alice slowly suggested. "I happen to love sweet things."

The woman laughed. "Of course! We'll give you plenty of our Happiness Honey! However, we only really have one jar." She said, handing it to Alice, who gave it back to Luka. But will a human willingly marry a harpy?

"Alice, what do you think?"

"It's sweet~" She replied, answering of her own accord while licking some of the honey.

"If the harpies simply asked for this kind of situation, wouldn't this entire ordeal have been avoided?" Luka wondered.

Balthazar called down to Luka. "Don't be an idiot. Humans and Monsters are on unstable standings right now. Think about it. If this never happened and the harpies had asked for it, they'd be denied without question."

Alice continued. "To begin with, the men would have refused to be sent out anyways. Remember Ilias's commandments? Not to have sexual relations with a monster?"

"That… Makes Ilias sound bad." Luka defended. Overhead, Balthazar laughed loudly. "Shaddup!" But if they didn't, then they would have gone extinct. "Oh, that's not good. I can't think things that doubt Ilias." Again, Balthazar laughed, nearly losing his place on the branch.

"Well, it's true that the solution they came up with was rather coarse and flawed. Even the Queen wasn't too sure of its success." She said. "If she had no doubts about it, she would have easily defeated you for the sake of her people. She doubted herself, and restrained her full power."

The festival continued over the night. At some point, Luka, Alice, and several others fell asleep, either from the alcohol or from exhaustion, in Alice's case, the crash from a sugar high. The next morning, the newly united villages both gave the three their debts, and wished them safe journeys and good luck.

Just before the three left, the Harpy Queen blocked off the entrance. "I have just a couple more questions for you, though. You, the silver-haired woman, could you possibly be…?"

"I'm a traveling gourmet." Alice responded.

The Queen smiled. "Of course, then there's no need for me to inquire further, is there?" She turned her attention to Balthazar. "But you…" She reached out, and to Alice and Balthazar's surprise, grabbed one of the chains that cuffed his wrist. "How?"

Balthazar shrugged her off. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Alice stared at the Harpy Queen, who quietly and subtly nodded.

"Ah, pardon me. I seem to still be hallucinating from the alcohol." She apologized, but glared at the chains, in respect or confusion, Balthazar couldn't tell. Luka stood from the side, scratching his head in confusion over the whole ordeal.

Of course. He can't see the Chains of Hell. I'm not going to say anything unnecessary until he can see for his own. Balthazar thought. Saying their final farewells, the three headed off.

"Well, that takes care of that…" Luka sighed. "Now then… Let's take a quick detour to that Enrika village." Alice, resuming monster form, looked at her book. "How odd. It's not mentioned in my guide book. Perhaps a new delicacy can be discovered?"

"Of course It has to be about the food." Luka groaned