Even as we moved towards the Gold region, I was inwardly panicking, as I wondered just what the heck I had been doing the day before.
I mean, seriously, that stuff I had told Erubetie?
I knew all that even before I met her, and I had told her no lie, but I never once planned to actually off myself for it!
I may have been low on self-esteem, but I didn't want to die!
Only, as soon as I had realized there was no way out, this cold, ruthless logic had taken precedence over any emotion I had about it.
It was like what I wanted for myself became unimportant in the face of inevitability, so much so that struggling seemed like a waste of energy.
Was this because of Erubetie's aura?
Fire energy made me more heated and passionate, making me act on emotion at the slightest spark.
Did water energy do the opposite? Did it suppress any strong emotion, leaving behind only cold logic in its place?
That was dangerous for me.
I had managed to keep myself safe until then by ignoring the part of me that logically knew I shouldn't be in this world.
I was always aware of the danger I represented, but my self-preservation instinct kept me from doing the most stupid thing in existence.
If my instincts could be overridden like that, however, there was no telling what I would no next time.
And Erubetie herself had been taken by surprise and reflexively let me go once, but I doubted the same thing would happen if we met again.
I absolutely needed to find a solution for this problem.
But I had no idea where to even start.
It's not like I would pass by a magic library or something, and even if I did, I had no magic of my own, so there was almost no chance I would be able to fix the issue myself.
I could have asked Alice for help, but that meant admitting to her my mental state was unstable.
I did not want to do that.
So, I was stuck.
I really was getting tired of feeling so damn helpless...
Seriously, from the start of this journey, I barely had any control over anything.
I was constantly under surveillance, both by friend and foe, making me have to lie to both.
I was getting stronger, but compared to the truly powerful, I still was nothing.
And what use was there in knowing the future if I couldn't even change anything or tell anyone about it?
And to top it all off, even my own damn mind wasn't safe from external influence, my thought process and emotions altered simply by proximity with some of the strongest, most dangerous people I had to ally myself with.
How I had not gone mad yet was beyond me.
Did it have to do with the strenghtening effect Light magic seemed to have on my soul?
If so, then it meant I wasn't even allowed madness, huh...?
Well, this was just an idle thought, there was no reason to assume that, especially seeing as the literal Goddess of Light was crazy as a fox.
Ironic, seeing as Tamamo was her enemy...
~– ~ – ~
"Hey, Alice... How do they decide who the Monster Lord is? Your mother was the Monster Lord too, right? So is it hereditary?" Luka suddenly questioned, as we were crossing a forest on the way to Grangold castle.
"...When the Monster Lord dies, the selection for the next begins. The first choice is indeed the previous Monster Lord's daughter. But the Monster Lord's strenght is the most important thing. It isn't a simple hereditary system, since that could put someone weak in power." Alice explained.
"That's true..." Luka acknowledged.
"So all the monsters wishing to become Monster Lord start to gather. And of course since they want to be Monster Lord, they're all very strong. They then battle against the previous Monster Lord's daughter in combat. The one that comes out on top is the new Monster Lord." Alice continued.
"That seems kind of troublesome... Isn't there a way to decide it peacefully?" Luka questioned.
"Only the strongest Monster can become the Monster Lord. There are a lot of monsters that live on their own, ignoring rules. Without the strenght to subdue them, they would constantly be rioting and causing trouble. But because of that selection method, it's known all over the world that she's the strongest, and unwise to rebel against." Alice concluded.
"I see..." Luka acknowldeged thoughtfully.
"But since the first Monster Lord, no other family has sat upon the throne besides my own. Do you know why?" Alice asked in a lecturing tone.
"...Why?" Luka repeated.
"My ancestors, my mother... We all are linked by blood to the original Monster Lord. Always striving to be the strongest, we devote ourselves to training. That's why we have never lost in combat to win the throne. To make sure we never shame our ancestors, we won't allow ourselves to sit anywhere but on the Monster Lord's throne!" Alice declared, puffing up in pride.
"So... You beat everyone in combat when you took the throne?" Luka questioned.
"When I took the throne... Something happened that has never happened before. Four challengers came forward to claim the Monster Lord's seat. So those four and I fought in a battle royale. For there to be five people powerful enough to lay claim to the Monster Lord's seat... It could be said that this is a golden age in monster history." Alice said solemnly.
"Could it be that those four...?" Luka trailed off in realization.
"Yes... They're currently the four Heavenly Knights. The unmatched Dragon swordswoman prodigy, Granberia. The proud and powerful Queen Succubus, Alma Elma. The one in charge of many of the past Monster Lord's educations, and rumored to be the strongest monster, Tamamo. The leader of the tens of thousands strong Slime race, Erubetie... And of course, me. As you can imagine, it was quite a fierce battle." Alice confirmed.
"So the five of you were in a battle royale... That sounds crazy." Luka said in awe.
"The first out was Alma Elma. After only a little while, she surrendered." Alice started.
"So Alma Elma was the weakest...?" Luka guessed.
"She had plenty of energy to continue if she wanted... But that girl always does whatever she wants, so I don't know what she was thinking. Next Erubetie and Tamamo smashed each other, knocking each other out. Neither of them are weaker than Granberia, but they couldn't keep up with the confusion of the fight." she continued.
"So basically, the four Heavenly Knights are more or less equal in ability?" Luka questioned.
"They have different affinities for different opponents and situation, but they are more or less equal in raw ability. At any rate, eventually it came down to single combat between Granberia and me. Her skills even brought me to my knees once... is what I want to say, but I don't have any knees." Alice smirked.
"Damn it! I was about to make that pun!" I quipped in outrage.
"You don't need to make any bad jokes..." Luka complained.
"I... I wasn't really trying to make a joke... Anyway, she tried to use her techniques more than once. But after I saw them once, they didn't work again, and I took victory over her." Alice concluded.
"So then it ended happily with you as the new Monster Lord?" Luka asked.
"The four of them acknowledged my ability and pledged allegiance as the four Heavenly Knights. Which is another purpose of the throne seletion battles... Beating the other powerful monsters fairly in combat gets rid of any grudges or later power struggles, granting a peaceful reign with low chance of rebellion... Most of the time." Alice elaborated.
"Hmm... It sounds like it isn't as crazy as I thought." Luka commented.
"It's what the first generation of my family decided. Their intelligence was deeper than the sea! It's genius!" Alice declared, puffing up pridefully again.
"I... I get it already..." Luka acquiesced, as a monster entered my range.
Alice and I hid in the vegetation.
Again, she followed me instead of just disappearing like usual.
Was she doing it on purpose?
Why?
The vegetation in front of Luka split apart, as a monster that looked like a praying mantis approached him.
"A human male... How rare. I'll capture you... And mate..." the Mantis Girl declared.
"Guh... A strong looking monster... Should I try Undine's power...?" Luka pondered, before calling on the spirit's power.
Suddenly, a blue energy surged through him, as the water in the atmosphere gathered around him, surrounding him in a thin, transparent veil.
"Th... This...! Will the wall of water stop the enemy's attack!?" Luka guessed excitedly.
"Heehee... Semen... Semen..." the Mantis Girl said, pushing her breasts on Luka's crotch, almost completely unbothered by the liquid.
"Ahhg!? What the heck is this!? It isn't useful at all!" Luka said, before rapidly switching to Gnome and Sylph together, the green and yellow power coursing through him.
"Heehee... Man... Rape..." the Mantis girl said, as she embraced Luka with her bladed arms.
"Heehee... Mating." she drawled, as she started lowering Luka's pants in preparation.
However Luka used Gnome's power to free himself before the worst could happen.
"Hee...! This is a human's power!?" the monster questioned in disbelief, before Luka started wailing on her with a Death Sword Chaos Star.
The Mantis Girl tried to retaliate, but Luka dodged every attempt, finishing the fight with a Thunder Thrust.
"Hee... Heehee..." the Mantis giggled madly, even as her body dissolved ito a normal praying mantis.
"...The power of water is making me feel kind of depressed." Luka said dejectedly.
"What are you talking about, you idiot? The way you're using your power is flawed. Unlike using the earth and the wind, the power of water reflects what's in your heart. The wind fills your movements, the earth fills your body, the water fills your heart, and fire fills your spirit." Alice recited.
"That's something Heinrich said, isn't it?" Luka guessed.
"Your spirit is still lacking. If you don't train both your spirit and swordarm, you can't call yourself a Hero." Alice declared.
"Train my spirit... It sounds hard, but I'll do my best!" Luka said resolutely, as we moved on.
Finally, we left the woods behind us, right as the sun started setting.
~– ~ – ~
"Whew... Finally out of the Great Forest of Noah." Luka sighed in relief.
At that moment, a dark presence rushed towards him, as Alice and I hid behind a couple of nearby trees.
The monster looked like a woman with pink skin and pointed ears, only, her legs were replaced with tentacles.
"Hehe... It's dangerous for cute little boys like you to be out here at this time. Scaaary girls will come up to you and wrap you in their tentacles, you know?" the Scylla said, licking her lips.
"Guh... Scylla..." Luka said, recognizing the monster's race.
"Hehe... I'll tease you with these tentacles. Don't you want to be squeezed really tightly? Or do you want me to stroke your penis with them?" the Scylla teased seductively, as Luka drew his sword and summoned his spirits, Wind and Earth energy flooding his body.
"Don't feel shy..." the Scylla said seductively, as she caressed Luka's crotch with her tentacles.
Luka immediately slashed at her, using his strongest technique.
"My tentacles will coil around you..." the monster said, as she wrapped her tentacles around him.
"Hehe... I caught you. Now I'm going to use my tentacles to play with you..." she drawled, even as Luka started struggling.
"How pitiful... Struggling like that. I'll caress your nipples with my tentacles..." the monster said, as her limbs stroke Luka's chest.
However, he quickly managed to free himself.
"To break free from my tentacles... But I'll just coil around you again." the monster simply said.
Luka slashed wildly again, dodging the monsters' attempt to reinitiate a grapple.
Finally, he depleted her energy with a Demon Decapitation.
"I... It can't be...!" the monster stammered, as she turned into an octopus.
"Whew... She was strong." Luka sighed in relief, as the octopus wriggled away, seemingly unbothered by the lack of water.
"...I'm starving. Let's make camp now." Alice declared with a bored tone.
"That's the first thing you say upon returning...?" Luka questioned in annoyance.
"To be fair, I'm hungry too. Come on, let's just set it up quickly." I encouraged, starting to prepare my camping equipment.
~– ~ – ~
After a delicious dinner, courtesy of our mad cooking wizard, it was time for training again.
"So that you can master the power of water, we're going to forge that pathetic heart of yours." Alice declared, as I started warming up.
"O... Ok... I'll do my best." Luka hesitantly nodded.
"Alright, hurry up and get into a meditation pose. Then empty your heart to nothing." Alice ordered.
"I don't want to attain enlightenment, I just want to get stronger..." Luka complained.
"You idiot, if you don't train your heart, you can't use the power of water! If you can't do that, you'll never be able to reach Heinrich's level!" Alice lambasted.
"I... In that case, I have to do it!" Luka shouted resolutely, as he sat on the ground with his legs crossed.
"Empty my heart to nothing... Basically, don't think of anything?" Luka asked for confirmation.
"Not quite... But close enough. Empty your heart, and entrust yourself to the flow all around you." Alice ordered, before Luka slowly closed his eyes.
Everything was silent for a few seconds, until Alice finally moved.
"Ha!" she yelled out, slapping Luka in the face.
"Uwa! What the hell are you doing!?" Luka roared indignantly, holding his reddening cheek.
"Why did you let that happen!?" Alice retorted angrily.
I was already laughing my ass off, earning myself a glare from Luka.
"Quit sulking you idiot. You should have been able to dodge that easiy if you had given your heart over to the flow." Alice ordered.
"...Somehow that excuse for slapping me seems awfully suspicious." Luka grumbled.
"If you don't believe in Heinrich's teachings. all the other Heroes are going to laugh at you." Alice mocked.
"Guh... Fine, I get it! All I have to do is make my heart one with the flow, right?" Luka said in exasperation.
"Good, that's the way. I'm going to slap you at some point, so you better dodge." Alice warned.
"I'm not liking this style of training..." Luka lamented.
"I am! It's hilarious to watch!" I quipped, earning myself another glare, before he closed his eyes again.
After a time, Alice slapped him again.
"Guha! Ahhg... Oww!" Luka lamented, as he writhed to the ground, having fallen over from the impact.
"What are you doing!? Dodge it!" Alice repeated.
"No, I could feel something! But I wasn't able to react to it... Alright, let's do it again!" Luka said resolutely.
"Oh, it seems like you're motivated now. Alright, I'll slap you again without holding back!" Alice said, as the training started again.
~– ~ – ~
Sometime later, Alice spoke up.
"...I think it's time to stop." she finally declared, as Luka's face was about as swollen as a baloon.
"No, just a little more..." Luka insisted through his bloated lips.
"Your concentration is already at your limit. If you keep going as you are, you won't accomplish anything. Let's end it here for now." Alice argued.
"J... Just a little more..." Luka repeated.
"If you can't put everything you have into your concentration, you won't be able to progress. But if you're so insistent... I'll teach you a new sword skill instead." Alice conceded.
"A... A new skill!?" Luka exclaimed, his eyes lighting up in excitement.
"After all your fights, you've gotten surprisingly skilled at using Sylph. As you are now, you should be able to apply the power of wind to your sword skills." Alice commented.
"To my sword skills?" Luka asked in confusion.
"Listen, this skill... While keeping the movement increase..." Alice said, as she started explaining the Lightning Sword Flash Skill to Luka.
After she was done explaining the basics of the technique, and Luka started his first attempts at practicing it, I spoke up.
"Hey, Alice. Can I ask you to teach me a new skill as well? Something stronger if you have it. Offensive or defensive, it's the same for me." I pleaded.
Alice's eyes widened for a moment, before she closed her eyes in thought.
"...Very well. I have a technique for you. You're proficient enough in the rest of your style that you could try to learn it. It's called Twisting Shadow. It's both an offensive and defensive technique, depending on how you use it. The basic theory behind this technique is to use centrifugal force to either disperse the energy behind an opponent's strike, or twisting their body causing great damage. It is said that masters of this technique could split swords in bent halves lenght-wise when blocking a thrust, or twist an opponent's body into mangled messes." Alice recounted.
"That sounds powerful... Could it also work on formless opponents?" I asked curiously.
"...Some may not take much damage from it, but it can serve to disperse them or manipulate their forms so that they become harmless." Alice elaborated.
"I see... Very well. I will use this responsibly, I promise." I assured sincerely.
"...Alright. The way this technique works..." Alice explained the skill's usage and method carefully.
It could be used with either arms or legs, as long as one was proficient enough, making it a very versatile and powerful technique.
I immediately started practicing the first step on a nearby tree, my strenght leaving a slight, but noticeable, twist in its bark, my Enrikan gloves protecting my hands from splinters and such.
As I kept practicing, I suddenly had an epiphany.
"Hey, Alice." I called out.
"Yes?" she answered.
"These techniques... They're not meant for monsters, are they?" I inferred.
There was too much attention to detail in their forms for such techniques to be usable by all but a handful of humanoid monsters, like Elves.
Seeing as Alice had never mentioned what type of monster used them, and the fact they obviously all belonged to the same style, with some techniques meant to be highly lethal or damaging, ordinary monsters wouldn't need such complicated skills.
They could just overwhelm their opponents with their unique bodily characteristics or magical power.
Alice was silent, for a few moments, looking at me in surprise.
Then she closed her eyes, sighing in resignation.
"...So you noticed. You're right. Those techniques were used by humans to kill monsters." she confessed.
"I see... Thank you." I said sincerely, bowing my head slightly.
"What...? Why are you thanking me? I lied to you. Shouldn't you be angry instead?" Alice asked in confusion.
"You entrusted such powerful techniques to me despite not knowing what I would do with them. You tried to protect me from the implications of their history, thinking I wouldn't want to learn or use them if I knew it. I don't care what the history behind a technique is, what matters is how it's used. But you obviously DO care. And still trusted me to do good with them. That means a lot to me." I declared gratefully.
"...I still lied to you, however. And obviously, I didn't need to, as you yourself admitted." she pointed out.
"I'd say I owe you for the techniques themselves, so we're even in my opinion." I shrugged.
I didn't mention I still owed her for my own lies.
"...I see. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to avoid such needless subterfuges in the future." Alice concluded.
"Eh, I'm kind of an irresponsible ass sometimes, you were right to be worried, don't be too bothered by it." I quipped dismissingly.
Alice simply turned away from me, observing Luka's training.
Of course, I also knew I had no right to judge others for hiding things from me...
"I got it! Like this?" Luka asked, as the wind accompanied his movements for an extremely fast thrust, his sword piercing straight through the tree he had been practicing on.
I looked at my own tree, and at the small twist I had made.
"Stupid swords and their useful grumblegrumblegrumble..." I muttered unintelligibly in slight envy.
I truly was jealous of how he could use his sword like that without worry.
I would have to be a lot more careful with my own techniques.
"Hmph... Well done. Basically, you use Thunder Thrust while infused with the power of the wind. Therefore it's called Lightning Sword Flash! This skill is much better than Thunder Thrust. In adition, if you have Sylph summoned, the power is further amplified. The Death God Girl Thanatos used this skill to sever the lives of hundreds of humans." Alice recounted.
"Urhg... Another skill with a horrifying past." Luka lamented, having missed the conversation I and Alice had earlier, as he was busy with his own training.
Finally, we concluded the night's training session and went to sleep.
~– ~ – ~
The next day, we continued our journey towards Grangold castle.
Along the way, a monster's presence approached, and Alice and I hid behind a rock.
"Her hair is made up of snakes... What a weird monster." Luka commented, looking at the Medusa in front of him.
"Don't say mean things to me.. Or else I'll use them to tease your penis..." the monster said in an offended tone.
"Ah... Sorry." Luka imediately apologised.
"It's too late to apologize... I'm going to turn you to stone..." the monster declared, as Luka summoned Sylph in preparation for the coming fight.
"I'll suck it like this!" the monster said, as she lowered Luka's pants and started licking him.
Luka quickly retreated, and used his new technique to inflict heavy damage.
"I'll turn you to stone!" the Medusa said, as her eyes started shining.
I hadn't been looking at the fight directly, using my aura sense instead, just in case.
Thankfully Luka was protected by a gust of wind that closed his eyes just in time.
I would praise Sylph a bit later.
"With the wind guiding my sword... Lightning Sword Flash!" Luka yelled, finishing the fight with another devastating thrust.
"Noooo..." the medusa, as she turned into a snake and slithered away.
"Whew, I managed to win somehow..." Luka sighed in relief.
"That technique of yours is really nice... I sort of wish I could have a sword like yours sometimes. Though I would probably just seal myself with it all the time..." I sighed.
"I'm sure you would be great with it! You're already so strong without weapons, you would be even better with one." Luka claimed.
"Nah, I doubt that, using my own body is way easier than learning weapons. Plus, I doubt Alice has another sword made of melted angels lying around." I pointed out.
"Angel Halo is quite unique indeed." Alice confirmed.
"What a shame..." Luka lamented, as we moved on towards the castle.
~– ~ – ~
"Is that Grangold castle? Grand Noah castle was already amazing, but this place is supposed to be even more advanced... To think I'll get to see humans and monsters living even closer together... I can't wait!" Luka pondered, overlooking our destination in excitement.
"Hmm, I wonder what they eat there... I can't wait!" Alice agreed.
"I'm just looking forward to sleeping in a real bed for once. We've been camping out for a while." I said wistfully.
Finally, we started approaching the castle, when suddenly, a gigantic monster blocked our path.
"WARNING. NO AUTHORITY TO PASS. RETURN." a huge, womanlike shape made of rocks covered in magic circles said.
Her aura felt completely artificial, her intelligence nonexistant.
"Wah... She's huge! What is she!?" Luka startled.
"Hmmm... I don't recognize this monster." Alice commented.
"A monster even the Monster Lord doesn't know...? It can't be... Is it another monster like the one in the Forest of Spirits?" Luka guesed.
"No, her nature feels entirely different. This one has the smell of magic around her." Alice disclaimed.
"Magic...? Do you mean she was artificially made?" Luka questioned.
"INTRUDERS REMAIN. BEGIN REMOVAL." the Golem Girl said mechanically, as she started lumbering towards us.
Luka pulled out his sword, as I assumed a fighting stance.
As Luka started summoning his spirits, I moved forward in a blur and punched the monster's arm from the side, cracking the stone slightly, before rapidly backing off.
"ATTACK METHOD A SELECTED." the Golem Girl droned, as she smashed her fists on Luka, who blocked them with Gnome's power.
Then he blurred forward, moving like the wind, performing a Death Sword Chaos Star.
I drew closer from behind, and decided to try my new technique.
The results were quite disappointing, as I barely even scratched the rocky monster's surface, immediately backing off before she could retaliate.
"CAPTURE ENEMY." the Golem Girl said, as her huge hands closed around Luka.
"CAPTURE SUCCESSFUL." she droned, as Luka started struggling.
"ENEMY RESISTING. ENEMY GENDER CONFIRMED. POWER POTENTIAL ANALYZING... CONFIRMED. VIABLE SOURCE." the Golem said, as a hole opened oh her lower body.
Instantly, I reacted to the danger.
I blurred forward, and punched the monster's arm with all my strenght, more cracks appearing on the stone, that soon broke apart under Luka's power.
"MISTERIOUS ENERGY. UNKNOWN." the monster droned, as Luka fell on the ground and started wailing on her again.
"REACTOR DAMAGED. SHUTDOWN INITIATED." the Golem Girl said mechanically, before falling on the ground unmoving.
"Whew... Thanks, Daniel. That was close." Luka sighed in relief.
"Don't mention it." I simply replied.
"Just what is this monster...?" Luka pondered, as soldiers started coming out of the castle.
"Everything's fine now, soldiers. I'm a Hero, and I defeated the monster threatening the castle." Luka assured.
The soldiers were silent for a moment, before they pointed their spears at us.
"I... I'm sorry... I'm really a fake Hero!" Luka confessed fearfully.
"Damn you, you monster! How dare you do that to Golem Girl!?" a soldier yelled.
"Don't get close! These two have some crazy strenght!" another warned.
"U... Uhm... I'm a human... Not a monster!" Luka disclaimed.
"I'd say the same, but it's not so clear-cut in my case..." I trailed off a bit uncomfortably.
"Cease your lies! There's no human that can defeat a Golem Girl!" a soldier yelled.
"Ah, no, well that was because I borrowed the power of the spirits..." Luka started.
"Arrest them!" one of them yellled, as the soldiers apprehended us.
"I'd just like to point out that we only fought in self defense. Regardless, we'll cooperate." I shrugged.
"Silence!" one of them ordered, as we were brought into town.
Well, at least we were in.
I idly wished I had a harmonica...
That would have been appropriate.