Vermin Tide Quest


Chapter 19


As Luka and Alice went down to Illias Port with the Posiedons' Bell in tow, the Goddess of Light and Ruler of Heaven, along with Sigmar and Morr watched the two, the Imperial Gods apparently having shown some interest in Heaven for reasons they have not quite revealed to her. Alice had to alter her appearance a bit more, making her hair shorter and a brunette color, her eyes a royal purple along with an illusion that made her appear to wear actual clothes, as Luka scouted ahead after Alice revealed how she revealed herself to the Human family. Promestein was questioning the two Imperial Gods, curious about the Human warrior they were attacked by.

"So, what is the Human Warrior that committed suicide upon being defeated?" she asked, of the two she and her Seekers of Truth having been abuzz with activity with this new opportunity. One of them, named La Croix actively avoided the two newcomers whenever she could, and even now stayed near Illias taking her own notes from a distance. Morr was unable to figure out why, as he and Sigmar seemed able to read her thoughts as long as she resided in Heaven. In fact, something was off about it, as it was flowing with the Wind of Qhayish like their world did with Dhar. Neither one of them knew what to make of it, and thus knew only a few of the other Gods from the Elven or Dwarf pantheons would know. Morr turned to the red-headed Angel, who sported a number of bruises from her beating delivered by Gelt.

"That thing is a Norscan. They're a group of Humans that live in one the northern parts of our world, called Norsca, a land corrupted and twisted into part of the Chaos Wastes. It is a reign of land that could be compared to Hellgondo, except more inhospitable and dangerous, for the lands there are ever changing, the physical rules of the universe broken by the Warp and treated more like guidelines, where the people there are brutal and twisted into abominations like the one that came here. If you are thinking of actually delving into the Warp and learning about it, don't try to make friend with the denizens in it, in the end you'll only suffer a fate worse then death by their hands." he explained. "And should you not be fully healed already?"

"A Monster would be." Promestein grumbled under her breath, still annoyed about what had happened. "So, one of the things he, the Norscan screamed was a chant to the Blood God. Who is this deity in particular?" Morr and Sigmar both examined the Warp, and noticed there was no activity at the mention of Khorne within it, and felt as though the entire dimension was disruptive to them in some manner. As Luka got on the boat with Alice, Morr replied.

"The Blood God goes by many names, similar to his brothers, but their true name is Khorne. A God of War and hate, he seeks nothing more then constant slaughter, and drives one to a constant frenzy and utterly despises magic. He is the most worshiped by the Norscan populace, who constantly plague the Empire and its allies when they go and raze cities to the ground, slaughtering those within without discretion like the Monsters plague this world." the God of the Dead said. "Many a soul were damned by their hand, and this is but one of the four Leopold mentioned."

"If the Monsters resemble the followers of... them so much, why allow Leopold to help them with Nanabi?" La Croix asked, and shuddered when Sigmar and Morr both stared at her with an annoyed glance, the mask she wore hiding her embarrassed expression as she visibly shuddered. "Because consuming her soul is bad, and we just covered talking about that five minutes ago, got it."

After some time passed, Alice was teaching Luka about the Demon Beheading Technique, and during the the conversation, Luka turned to Alice. When he spoke up, the Lamia focused on the Human.

"Hey, Alice, do you know anything about your father?" he asked. Alice thought for a second, before shaking her head.

"No, I never even met the man. While I'm sure Mother had... not given him a choice in the matter, given her personality, she didn't kill him at least. Monster society in general only really cares about the Mother Monster and her daughters, while any fathers are generally disregarded." Morr visibly scowled, and he got up and walked away. As the Angels and Sigmar watched, Morr exited the room, though all present could feel the anger he had as he exited the room they were in. Eden then walked in, having nearly been hit by the door.

"Did I miss something?" she asked Illias. She merely shrugged her shoulders, and turned to Sigmar.

"He himself is a father. His daughters are Shallya, Imperial Goddess of Mercy and Health, and Myrmidia, Goddess of Strategic warfare as opposed to my following centered around zealous fury, born of Morr himself and his wife Verena, the Imperial Goddess of Knowledge and Justice." Illias stared blankly. As Promestein wrote down furiously to keep track, the Goddess spoke.

"Wait, you're saying the Gods of your world are related, as in they're a family?" It was Sigmars' turn now to look at her in confusion.

"Yes, why do you ask?" after a few seconds passed, he widen his eyes. "...do you have any family members?" Illias looked down, and visibly seemed perturbed.

"I have had Eden and Lucifina, and one other..." she admitted. "How much of the history of this world do you know?"

"Admittedly not much, as we never saw the creation of the first Monsters and Angels for example, but we do know of where the major events took place and those involved with them went over the course of the Great Monster Wars." Sigmar replied. "We assumed that you and Alice at least had partners at some point, since most of the Gods from my world do." Illias looked at Sigmar, as though he grew a second pair of eyes.

She didn't get a chance to speak however, as Alma Elma then started to create storms and whirlwinds to try and capsized the boat Luka and Alice were on. However, the Posiedons Bell prevented that, and so as soon as she realized this, the Queen of Succubi descended downwards to confront Luka.


**POV SHIFT**


Luka stared at the Succubus that appeared, his Witchsight activating subconsciously so that a black aura was flowing around her. Luka visibly shuddered, but refused to back down as he drew the Angel Halo sword. Alice looked at her, and muttered to herself.

"I see your the Human that mi'lord Alice has taken a liking to. You look delicious." she said while leering at Luka, who looked at Alice.

"You are the Monster Lord?!" he shouted in shock. Alice face palmed, and groaned.

"Yes Luka, I thought you picked up on that when I shouted that I was a descendent of the Dark Goddess herself." the Lamia replied, while Alma Elma stared blankly at the two, a vein bulging at her forehead at being ignored.

"Oh. Ok then." Luka said, before turning back to Alma Elma. The Succubus Queen and Heavenly Knight of the Wind looked at Alice.

"Lord Alice...According to thy orders, I'll exterminate this self-styled 'Hero' who's been attacking our kin. Shall I execute your orders of defense?" Alice shrugged her shoulders as she turned to Luka.

"Sorry Luka."

"Wait what?!"

"I don't give exceptions. Alma Elma, you are free to go ahead, as I'm only observing him, not protecting or giving him special treatment. Besides..." she then smiled, "...Luka could use the practice." both Luka and Alma Elma stared at the Monster Lord.

"I... guess that is a yes." The Succubus said, before looking at Luka. "It do be like that, Luka-boy. I'm not letting you through this area." Luka stared unamused.

What kind of nick-name is Luka-boy? I would have expected something more creative from a Succubus, especially when she is the current Queen of their kind. He thought as he brandished Angel Halo. While he was... disappointed in her naming, she was still an enemy, even if she is at the same level as Granberia. "I'll just have to pass by force!"


*BGM: ALMA ELMA BOSS THEME*


"Ufufu... then how do you want me to do you?" she asked. Luka paused.

"Uhh..."

"Do you want me to my hand? Oh wait, how about my mouth? Or maybe... I'll my tail huehuehue."

"What?"

"Tail it is then.~" Alma Elma said in a sing-songy tone, holding up the prehensile limb. Luka made a growling sound, causing Alma Elma to raise an eyebrow. Alice however had a look of concern, before Luka calmed down.

"Fine, fine, let's just get this over with. Just the tail right?" Luka asked, the quick change of emotion making the two Monsters glance at him weirdly.

"Right, no hands, feet, or magic." Alma Elma confirmed.

"Good." Luka then immediately rushed Alma Elma, stabbing her with Thunder Thrust. The Succubus tried to dodge it, but was struck full force by it.

"Gyah!" she screamed. Alice was shocked at the aggressiveness with which Luka struck. While the attack did more damage then normal, Alma Elma was far from down. She recovered quickly, and her tail then tried to latch onto Luka, shooting forwards as it opened up.

While it succeeded in catching his pants, he quickly slashed it as he peeled it off with his free hand, reacting too quickly as he let out a burst of Light energy. As Alma Elma and Luka stared at each other for a bit, he moved to look around on seeing the look the Monsters gave him. The source of their confusion was the fact that he suddenly was moving faster then normal Humans, enough so take when Alma had her tail spit it mucus at him, he actually dodged it.

"What the hell?" she muttered before he ran up and slashed her with Angel Halo. Unsurprisingly to Alice however, he only did a minimal amount of damage, although the sudden boosts of speed he was showing made the fight one of attrition between him and Alma Elma.

Luka stayed just outside of Alma Elmas' reach, forcing the two to circle around the deck. She ran forwards several steps, and then had her tail shoot out, only to pull it back as Luka swung in response. Upon retracting, she then spewed out some of her more of her tail mucus like a liquid projectile and got it on his crotch. Luka made a groaning sound, as he felt his body slightly heat up from the feeling. Luka then retaliated, slashing with Demon Decapitation. Alma reacted in shock, as the boy was giving her a hard time despite his still low strength and experience, which Alice noticed.

About half a hour had passed in this manner, and he was proving to still not be strong enough despite the progress he made in whittling down the Succubus Queens' magic and mediated to calm and suppress his urges while simultaneously healing some bruises he got from Alma Elmas' roughly handling him. and eventually started climbing the mast, shooting up it and then jumping off and letting out a roar as he descended.

Alma Elma then used her hands to catch it in mid-air, and cursed under her breath. Luka stared at her in confusion.


*BGM ENDS*


"What's going on?"

"You won, I just used my hands." Alma Elma said. "Ah well, guess you get to pass then. See ya later Luka-boy, my Lord." with that she flew off. After a few seconds passed, Luka laughed.

"Ha ha ha, I did! I beat one of the Heavenly Knights Alice!" he cried out. Alice then sighed and was about to speak. "I know I know, she was handicapped, but I still won though!" Alice paused, and decided to let him revel for a moment, smiling in the meanwhile. When Luka glanced and her and paused, she realized this and went back to being stoic.

"You do still have a long way off, such as acquiring the Four Spirits and their powers. Now that I mentioned it, what was that magic you used to speed up?" Luka blanked out. "The Light spell you used to accelerate your body and mind to keep up with Alma Elma?"

"What do you mean? I was moving normally, it was you and Alma Elma that were moving slower then everything else, though it was usually for a few seconds each time."

"...what?" Alice asked. "But you were channeling Light magic, and it was centered on you specifically. That means you were the only one affected Luka." Alice explained, holding a hand out as she did so towards him.

"Wait, I was using Holy Magic during the fight, and speeding up as a result? Humans can do that?"

"Not normally, no." Alice admitted, before she sighed. When she looked up, Luka noticed she had rings under her eyes. "We can talk about it later, when this won't just drag on, and I'm starting to grow tired suddenly." she said, before heading inside the ship. Luka, himself feeling fatigued, followed her in.


**POV SHIFT**


Illias, Eden, and several of the Seekers had watched the fight with interest, and the Goddess turned to Sigmar, who showed renewed interest in the Human when he started dashing about.

"Is this a type of mutation from being possessed by the Bloodletter from earlier Sigmar?" she asked. The Imperial War-God shook his head.

"No, and I suspect it has to do with his Angel-half." Sigmar replied. "If it was a Pink Horror like the one that Alice exorcised from her own body and mind, then maybe I would dismiss it as that, but using magic like how Luka did it is something that Khorne would've never granted Luka." Morr then walked into the room, calm and stoic as he was before leaving.

"What did I miss?"

"Luka beating Alma Elma. Illias and I were discussing a bit of Light magic he used to accelerate himself." Sigmar said, and Promesteins' eyes glanced at his hand which was resting under his chin. She noted one of his fingers tapped in a manner that suggested it was a code of some kind, and glanced at Illias while holding a notepad. While the Goddess did not show it as she sat down on her throne, she herself through placing a hand on her knee so that the fingers were facing inward on her thigh, instead of outward like a normal person. Morr then suddenly turned to her.

"Ah well, I missed quite a show then. As it stands though, Sigmar and I have business to attend to, so we must be off." as they then disappeared, La Croix and Promestein approached Illias.

"What do you think?" she asked of them. Promestein spoke up first.

"They knew more about what just happened then they let on. Sigmar tried to sneak a message of some kind to Morr, and he suddenly responded by having the two leave. While I am convinced they were telling the truth that these awoken abilities of Angel sight and speeding himself up had to do with being the son of Lucifina, they omitted something in the process." the red-headed scientist Angel replied. Illias nodded her head in response, both hands under her chin.

"So it seems. We'll need to keep an eye on them both, as they may perform the roles I have set for them in my plans, but they clearly have agendas of their own..."


**POV SHIFT**


As Tamano entered the now torch-lit camp of the Monster war-band as night began fell upon the world, she turned to the Kitsune that came with her, of which there were five of them, along with a pack of Were-Wolves. They all came with her, the news of the Imperials taking the Castle having wounded their pride as Monsters. The Nine-Tailed Fox sighed to herself, as they were more concerned about their prides then in Alice. Tamano thought back to her past, and how she learned a valuable lesson in it that costed her dearly. Ever since then, she had been subtlety using various false alias' and identities to work Yamatai Village into what it is now as a village that Humans and Monsters co-existed in. Every now and then however, she had to go back there to make sure certain contentions that arose were settled down, including helping hide away any Humans being hunted by the more... voracious members of her kind. One of the new arrivals she had recruited, a Leech named Neria spoke up.

"Oi, when are we going to lay low these filthy Humans?" she asked, causing Tamano to turn her head and glare at the Monster, who shuddered in fear.

"That attitude is what started this whole mess to begin with, Neria. I suggest you drop it." the Heavenly Knight said sharply, ears twitching before she looked away. However, when she was walking away, Neria and her sisters in arms began to whisper, thinking they were out of earshot.

"Geez, she is normally not this aggressive towards us going after Humans."

"Yeah, why is she still trying to defending them anyways?"

Damnit, because these Humans are more then capable of terrifying Alma Elma, which should give a hint as to why the ancient Humans weren't enslaved by my generation... Tamano thought bitterly, though she kept her mouth shut. The First Alice had her and her sisters perform many deeds, which Tamano had since regretted deeply, and she had to go into her own personal tent, where her new aide and right hand a Six-Tailed Kitsune named Feira with blue fur had already made a seat for her charge while she drank the last of a bowl of broth. In front of it, a desk was made where Tamano took care of the logistics on maintaining the growing camp. Feria had taken to dying her fur, hence her blue coloring, which was done today to look like stripes on her naturally red coat and brown tips. She was an oddity in that way, and despite that had been just as faithful as Nanabi was in helping Tamano in her duties. Although not as intellectual as her kin, Feria had been just as if not more so passionate in the ideas Tamano taught in Alice and her ancestors, as well as Nanabi...

"Mi' Liege, if so be... Tamano?" she asked as the Heavenly Knight passed by her, before suddenly gripping the desk by the edges, her grip on it hard enough to make it creak loudly as Feira stared. "That bad?"

"Yes Feria, my child. And I keep feeling things are going to get much worse..." Tamano said after she calmed down. "Has Granberia returned yet?"

"No, she hasn't." the Kitsune replied. "It has been at least six hours since she went on her mission, Knight Tamano. Should we-" Feria paused, noticing the Nine-Tailed Kitsune was holding onto her head. She was perturbed by this, then remembered that the Heavenly Knight had been growing more reclusive, and so sat down next to the Heavenly Knight of Earth. As the two Kitsune sat there like this, the flap of the tent was pushed aside and a Vampire poked her head in.

"Mi Lord, Alma Elma is here. The Hero has managed to bypass her." she said, then waited for a response.

"Let her in." Tamano said, at which point the Heavenly Knight of the Wind walked in. Feria then left, to make sure that there weren't any more intrusions.

"Hey Tammy!~" The Succubus Queen called out, then noticed Tamano. "Whoa, what happened? And where is Granberry?"

"Just give me a moment." Tamano replied. After calming down, she turned to Alma Elma. "Ok, so you were saying about the boy Alice has her eye on?"

"Well, he managed to beat me. Mostly because I handicapped myself to using only my tail." the Succubus Queen then proceeded to explain the details of the battle that took place. Tamano listened carefully, and found the fact that Luka was able to use what sounded like Angelic powers to be curious. The Nine-Tailed Kitsune concluded mentally that she would have to look into the historical records of the Great Monster War at some point, as she noted that it seemed familiar. Then, Erubetie appeared, and her look bespoke of being shaken by something.

"Betty? What happened?" Alma Elma asked, worry in her tone and face at seeing her friend.

"You know the Five that helped Alice and Luka at Happiness Village?" Erubetie asked. "I had a run in with them when they entered Undines' Spring, and apparently, when you put Human Wizards from the other world into Critical Ecstasy, they fucking explode." the Slime Queen said, emphasizing by making a fake explosion with her hands.

"Ohh my. How messy was it?" Alma asked with a sly face. Irritated, Erubetie slapped her with a tentacle. "Ow!"

"No, as in 'actual explosion' explosion." Tamono walked over to the Slime Queen, concern on her expression.

"How did you discover this?"

"I personally tried to kill them when they refused to leave. Their Fire Wizard was able to perform serious damage to my clone bodies, so I focused on her so the other four would have no way to fight back. When I caused her to climax and enter Critical Ecstasy however, she lost control of her powers, and next thing I knew I had to reform myself from near-death after a wall of fire shot out and vaporized most of my body and the clones in question. When I turned to the intruders, the Fire Wizards' body was covered in second and third degree burns, and the strangers tried to flee. However, Undine then attempted to finish them off by flooding that section of the Spring, only for a Human man to appear and pull them to safety. A man who Undine seemed convinced was a Druid." The Kitsune Knight twitched her ears at the last sentence, though the other two Knights did not notice this.

"Shit, and the Imperial Wizards are the main threat to any counterattack we make on the Castle." Elma said, suddenly serious to the implications, especially since Granberia is unaware of this.

"Correct, which was why I came here as fast as I could to report what had happened." Erubetie then noticed that the fourth member of the Heavenly Knights was missing. "What is Granberia?" after a few seconds passed, a horrid silence settled, as Tamano and Alma Elma looked at each other. The Kitsune was the first to step up and take charge.

"We got to go to the Castle now. Alice sent her to capture Gelt and the other two Imperial Wizards, as well as collect information on their forces." Erubetie cursed under her breath, as all three stood up. When they walked out, Feria was seen bowing along with several Succubi and Beastmen type Monsters.

"We couldn't help but over hear what was said. What do you wish for us to do now?" Feria asked.

"Stay here and guard the camp until we return. We'll handle this, and bringing a large number is more likely to attract the Imperials attentions." Tamano said, then pointed a finger at Alma Elma, who tried to sneak away. "That means you're coming with me and Erubetie Alma." The Succubus Queen groaned audibly, but reluctantly followed the Knights of Earth and Water. As they speed through the road to the castle, Tamano spoke up. "Now that you have calmed down, when you entered the mind of that Imperial soldier earlier, did you get any information about Balthasar Gelt?"

"Vaguely. Apparently he is some sort of adviser to an Emperor named Karl Franz, and is the head leader of an Imperial organization known as the Colleges of Magic." Alma Elma replied. "The Human in question didn't know much about them, but apparently the magic of the other world is considered a dangerous and volatile thing when in the wrong hands, which that one Wizard mentioned. As a result, the Colleges heavily control the use of Magic, and it is common for those using Magic and not a part of their ranks to be hunted down by another group called the Witch Hunters, sometimes even executed." She then visibly stopped, and shuddered as the others ran up to her. "One of the images I saw was a Human women caught doing such practices being tied to a bundle of oil-soaked wood and straw and then burned alive by one of these Witch Hunters. If the description of Victor Saltzpyre is correct, he is likely one of them." she finished, staring at Tamano and Erubetie as she sat on a rock. "I... I need some space." Alma Elma then stood up, and flew off to the side of road before she could be questioned further. Erubetie looked at Tamano, and seemed concerned.

"Witch Hunters? Normally, I would just pass this off as some group of Humans like Illias Kruz with bigger ambitions, but with what Alma Elma just described..."

"I know, these Humans have shown nothing but more reasons why we need to tread carefully, especially if they can defeat Monsters as strong as us." Tamano replied, before the two Monsters heard something like a cart. The Knights turned, and saw a cart with Balthasar Gelt on it, alongside him the Human in rags who wielded the Darkness Element was directing two horses made of darkness to pull the cart in one hand as he caressed his still bandaged arm. Two rows of Imperial soldiers with halberds were on either side of the cart. When they saw Granberias' unmistakeable shock of red hair, and her sword Aries sticking out on the back, Tamano and Erubeties eyes widen in shock and terror, as they could barely sense anything coming from her as the Humans stopped. Alma Elma returned, and then paled in fear upon hearing Gelt chuckle, turning to see the same sight herself.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Gelt asked smugly. "It seems I just found the rest of the Champions of the Monster Lord set to further complete my new collection of golden statues of the Heretic Goddess' Abominations..."


**POV SHIFT**


Several hours earlier, inside the Monster Lord Castle


Balthasar Gelt had gathered together his army commanders, the Priest of Morr, and the Grey Wizard Heram Wulfhardson, who was still nursing the broken arm he got from Alma Elma as Gelt learned her name to be. As they sat around a table, the Humans began to talk with each other about their plan, now that it was discovered that Gelt and Leopold had captured one of the Monsters' champions. This was discerned by how she was found in a painting with the Monster Lord sitting in a throne while her oddly small court of only four surrounded her with topics to discuss.

"What do we do now, since the Monsters are likely going to attack us before we can shore up our defenses in preparation for a siege." Gustavous Smith, Regiment Commander of one of the Handgunner units of the troops that came with Balthasar Gelt. The man had an bandage covering his left face, the result of his personal Handgun misfiring and hitting his cheek with the stock during the battle inside the castle when a small Fireball spell was lobbed at him and and missed.

"What defenses?" Karl Black, who was in charge of the Spearmen and Halberdiers Regiments. He was currently stretching his legs while sitting in a seat meant for a bigger creature then him. When the Monster that attacked on her own appeared, she bowled over Karl during her own stand against them, and Karl still held a black eye from the attack, as well as several cracked ribs. "We don't even have any of the Cannons, our food and water can only be replenished by raiding what is likely to be Monster-held territory, and half the men in this castle can barely stand, let alone fight because either they have been tortured by the beasts, or got smashed in by that demon in the skies." he ranted with a tone of dejection and defeat. While the Supreme Patriarch was not willing to just lay down and die, he knew that low morale and faith was just as deadly as any sword or cannon shot. As a result Gelt held up a hand, silencing the pessimistic State Trooper.

"We have several advantages the Monsters don't even realize we have over them however." the golden mask Wizard said. "One of them being we have captured one of their greatest swordswomen of their time yet."

"Only because she was dumb enough to point a giant-ass slab of metal at you my lord." Karl muttered, causing Gelt to narrow his eyes.

"Be that as it may, from what we know of the Monsters, they are used to being the top of the food chain, and have developed egos the size of the World's Edge Mountains. As a result, they are no doubt chafing from the fact us 'lowly' Humans kicked their asses in what is supposed to be one of their most strongly held fortresses yet, and while there is much we have yet to figure out about them, they know absolutely nothing about our situation. This can be discerned by the fact this Granberia was sent to try and acquire information on our numbers." Balthasar then showed a note book and pen that was found on the Dragon Knight before she was put in a cell. Currently, she was still held captive by the Soul Jar spell Leopold used on her, the Priest of Morr currently monitoring the bag she was contained in. The Imperial commanders all looked at Balthasar as he continued. "For now, we need time to hold out against the Monsters, and I have an idea to stall their continued preparations, as well as cause fear to spread into their ranks..."


Now


Gelt found himself staring at the other three champions, and had almost panicked upon seeing that they were here. However, he was able to calm himself down just as swiftly as they tensed up upon seeing their fellow Monster Granberia was on the cart.

"...now, what shall I do with you?" he asked, keeping up the appearance of this being planned. Shit, are they alone, or is this an ambush? Was more alone the lines of what he was really questioning himself, while the Grey Wizard Heram shuffled in place, ready to whisk himself, Gelt, and the Halberdiers away if everything got shot to the Warp and back. Even so, it seemed the Monsters weren't ready to call his bluff, as the one that attacked the castle on her own earlier was testament to.

"GRANBERRY!?" she screamed, as she started to move forwards, only to back up as Gelt channeled Chamon, causing the Wind of Metal to swirl around him. Upon closer notice of her attire and body, the Metal Wizard wondered if she was a Chaos Cultist of Slaanesh. "What did you do to her you bastard?!" she yelled, as her wing spread out preparing to take flight, making several of the Imperials back up. However, Balthasar was not having a repeat of what happened at the Monster Lord Castle.

"You will stay right the fuck there or or your friend here dies!" he barked while pointing a finger, causing her to freeze up in terror. Well, if she was one, he imagined that bastard Sigvald would be face-palming at how easily cowed she was. Her two companions rushed up to either side of her, while the Halberdiers formed a wall in front of the cart, the polearms forming a defensive semi-circle as the spikes at the top were pointed at the Monsters and the flanks of the cart. A bit further back, a formation of swordsmen and Handgunners were catching up, the swords ready to defend the rear while the Handgunners wrapped around the cart to cover all angles of approach. Balthasar let go of the Wind of Magic, allowing it to dissipate into the surroundings. "Your friend here made the mistake of attacking me and Leopold head on, and that is why she is my prisoner."

"Leopold helped you? But he was willing to help with-"

"Just because he is willing to bury your dead does not mean he is on your side. A Priest of Morrs' loyalty is to that of the God of the Dead, and the Empire of Mankind. Besides, given your apparent long life, you should be familiar with how loyalties between nations can change in an instant." the Supreme Patriarch interrupted. The semi-liquid one frowned, her one visible ruby eye tinged with hate, apparently trying to make the Imperials cower in fear.

"Bastard. You have a lot of gall to think you can get away with this, especially if you think Illias is going to save your wretched hide." she snarled, while Balthasar Gelt inspected his fingers. What few records he had to work with depicted this creature as some kind of amorphous mass, which dissolved its prey through whatever composition its body is made of, likely acids and some catalyst compounds. This one admittedly required the most calculations to Gelts' response, while Heram whispered to himself, preparing a Shadow Bolt.

"And you have a lot of gall to think I even have an iota of respect left for a Goddess that makes Stromfels look like a caring deity." he retorted, causing the Monsters to stare at him in shock at how openly this Human would criticize a deity as powerful as the one Illias claimed to be. "After I found that dungeon full of men and boys that suffered your tender mercies, I lost what little willingness to even put up a front of worshiping her." he then stared back at the Daemon and semi-liquid Monsters, who visibly grew apprehensive under the judgmental glare he gave them. The fox woman placed her self in between them and Balthasar Gelt. He noted that she seemed to considered long-lived even by the standards of the Monsters, having been around for at least the third, possibly second Monster Lord. Even so, the Supreme Patriarch was able to find that someone had taken considerable effort to hide her identity and erase anything that would likely trace her origins.

"Look, I know you are angry, but I'm sure we can settle this in a way that would be in the interest of both parties."

"Like what? I stay back and let your kind run amok pillaging and plundering my fellow Humans' works, and then lay down and surrender my dignity to the first of your beastly kin I run into?" the woman twitched her ears, and frowned lightly when he pointed a finger at her. "I have been going through this worlds accursed history, and I may not know your written tongue, a picture is worth a thousand words." at that point, the semi-liquid woman spoke up, her cerulean gelatinous body shifting as she made her arms cross over her chest.

"Oh, and just how badly did you butcher and misinterpret this worlds history?" she asked hauntingly, while the fox woman winced.

"Erubetie, don't." she said, turning her head as her fur bristled. Gelt merely scoffed at the Monster, and gave his reply.

"It goes a little something like this: this world was never made by the two Goddess' who reside over it, however they have created the many races which inhabited the world today. One of them, which is the Goddess of the realm known as Heaven goes by the name Illias, and to this today reigns over it as the self-proclaimed queen of this world, where Humanity believes she created them and the Monster races, who were her failed prototypes. However, it wasn't always this way, for while she did make Humans, had no hand in creating Monsters. That sin goes to her abomination of an opposite, whose name I have not, and will not bother to taint my mind with the knowledge of." already this caused the Monster called 'Erubetie' to raise an eyebrow, although she visibly ticked at how Gelt referred to her creator, while the fox woman bit her lip, worry and concern in her eyes as the man continued. "She began to take the local fauna and flora, and combined them with the Humans Illias created. Like Illias she failed any times, but not as many times as Illias did until the First Six Monsters were made from her efforts, doing so as though she was wielding and sculpting them from clay. However, they were flawed, requiring the essence of males to breed and feed upon. Instead of giving her creations husbands to live with and teach them restraint and form their own civilization like Illias did with Humanity however, the Abominable Goddess set her six creation loose upon the world, not once batting an eye as they murdered, raped, and tortured as they pleased." this got a reaction out of the Monsters, who began to grow agitated. However, one of the Imperials putting their pistol to Granberias' head was enough to placate them. "Overtime, the First Six began to berth their own daughters, and there was the occasional male Monster, but either the Goddess was blind to this fact, or never cared that her kind were stricken with this flaw, as it compelled the new Monsters to constantly seek out mates form the Human populace, as instead of fixing the flaw within her creations reproductive systems, the creator of the Monsters actively hunted down and slew those Human champions Illias made to stand and fight back, rather then lay down and die as was commanded of them. Illias herself eventually grew angry, as her people were turning away from her, and bending the knee to her opposite instead of her.

"So, she created the Angels, and declared a war of extermination against the Monsters, and obviously she was less then successful. However, both Goddess would come to a realization, along with their most trusted lieutenants that if the war went on, the world would be damaged irrevocably, so the Dark Goddess sealed herself and the First Six Monsters with her, on the condition that if the Monster population was lowered beyond a certain threshold, she would be unsealed. Illias to this day kept her hand away from punishing the Monsters, all while ignoring your actions to this day for that reason." at this, Balthasar was finally finished, leaving the Monsters who stared wide-eyed at him. "Now then, tell me, how accurate was I?"

"Well, you're not wrong... for a Human." the Erubetie murmured, putting up a false veneer of not being shocked or surprised by Gelt. The fox Monster seemed to look away, as though remembering something shameful, while the third fidgeted with her tail. "What are you planning to do with Granberia?"

"Ah yes, your friend here." Gelt said, get off of the cart as the State Trooper who put his pistol on the Monster in questions' head stepped back. As he stepped up onto the back, he began to explain what it was he brought her for. "As it stands, Leopold currently has her soul contained in a bag. Your friend here is not dead, yet, but now her life is in the palm of my hand." he then proceeded to gesture to a State Trooper that was sitting in the back, and the two men then carried the Monster and unceremoniously dropped her over the side, making the Monsters cringe. It was then that Heram showed the bag in question which was hidden in his robes, and pointed a knife at it. When the Heavenly Knights flinched, several of the soldiers tightened the grips they had on their weapons.

"This is the bag in question, as you no doubt confirmed though your version of the Sight it seems." the Grey Wizard said. "As long as you do what we say, Granberias' soul will be kept inside. Don't obey, or get uppity with us, well..." Heram then placed the knife on the bag, making the Heavenly Knights cry out.

"What kind of leverage do you think you have?!" the nine-tailed fox Monster yelled out. " You yourselves are aware that killing too many of our kind will release the Dark Goddess!" Balthasar wasn't quite sure, but she seemed genuinely shocked and terrified of the idea.

"Seems you find the idea of their release being at least a bad thing for the world at least, so there is that leverage." Heram stated. He then looked at Granberia, "and it seem you care for her life as well, so you three are personally involved. So, unless you want Granberia to be sent to Morr, you are going to listen to Balthasar." Gelt had to hand it to Heram, he was good at keeping himself calm and collected, as this the main crux of their plan, as two State Troopers carried the Dragon Knight of Fire by her arms to the other Monsters.

While releasing Granberias' soul will kill her, yes, there was a catch: the Soul Jar spell would only kill the Monster if her soul was allowed to be free if released outside of a 20 meter radius from her body. Until then, there was a chance that Granberia would make it back into her body before death can claim it. And so far, they had not figured out anything of the sort. When she was set on the ground, Gelt turned and lifted Aries, using Chamon subtlety on it to make it light enough for him to hold one handed without making it obvious that he was using magic to make the sword temporally lighter.

The Monsters stared in shock, with the fox and Daemon Monsters even developing beads of sweat as Balthasar walked up to Granberia, and released the enchantment he placed on the sword, causing a clunking sound as he dropped it next to the Dragon Knight, who set the creature down about 5 meters away from the bag. The State Troopers walked away with Gelt, and stared nervously out of the corner of their eyes, not letting the Knights see their faces lest they figure out there was more to what was going on. However, as Gelt looked at Heram, he paused upon noticing that the Wind of Ulgu was flowing behind the shadowmancer, and moving closer. The Grey Wizard noticed, and performed a Destroy Illusion spell as he jumped off. The front part of the cart was destroyed, as another Monster looking like Erubetie appeared and scattered the State Troopers formation before being blasted with a Shadow Bolt.

"Shit." it muttered, causing Balthasar to look at her, and his eyes widened in shock when the winged Knight took flight. Immediately the Daemon Knight rushed him, and the Supreme Patriarch reached into his robes.


*BGM: TOETIN SIE SIE FROM PUMPKIN SCISSORS*


"Hold the line!" he yelled while throwing down a chunk of gold, which turned into a shimmering golden cannon and blasted the Heavenly Knight away from him. The Fox dashed past him as he prepared to stab Granberia with the Staff of Voluns' butt end, dragging her body away before he brought down on her skull. When he looked at where the the blue liquid Monster was, he watched as a Handgunner shot at her. Not only did the bullet travel through the creatures body without doing any real harm, one of the State Troopers on the other side grabbed at his head and fell over dead.

The Warp be damned! Gelt cursed mentally as he blocked a follow up kick from the fox Monster with a Chamon-based magic shield. They were too coordinated. Either they were communicating through some form of enchantment, or I was the one that got baited into a trap. Heram fired another series of Shadow Bolts at Erubetie, keeping the Monster busy as she tried to grab the bag from him, ignoring the attempts to block her the State Troopers put up with their spear wall by sliding in between the gaps in their ranks. However, the Grey Wizard suddenly reached out and touched her face as she slid past the last row of Halberds, and the gelatin fluid that made up her body to suddenly froze and shimmered as gray tendrils of Ulgu wrapped around the creatures' 'head,' and the creature lost control of herself as its body splashed onto the ground, forming a pool of liquid as it drunkenly struggled to rebuild her previous form. While the State Troopers cleared out and began to search the skies for the Daemon Knight, the fox woman cried out.

"Alma, the bag!" she screamed, and Gelt turned just in time to see Heram getting impaled through the chest by the Daemon Knights' arm. As he dropped it, Alma immediately snatched it, or she would've done so if it didn't disappear, along with Heram himself. The Grey Wizard reappeared behind the fox Monster, who he then stabbed in the shoulder with a knife. Alma widened her eyes in shock at the scream the Beast-Man kin made in response, and the fluidic Monster began to redouble her efforts as Heram pulled the blade in his hand out and stabbed the Beast-Man again, this time in her lower back. She then retaliated against the Grey Wizard with an elbow to the stomach, and the shadowmancer fell forwards to the ground as she jumped away from Gelt, falling flat on her back as pain overwhelmed her, and she turned to see Heram fired another casting of Shadow Bolt at her as a rank of Handgunners formed a firing line to add their fire to the attack. The magic projectile struck the Monster in her arm as she cried out in pain, and the beast leaned over Granberia, shielding both herself and her companion from the hail of lead that followed by wrapping into a ball made from her tails and summoning a magic barrier as Gelt turned the Golden Cannon he summoned on her as well, only for Alma to fly down and save her before it could fire.

When Alma smashed it by dropping down hard and fast, the cannon exploded, sending the Wind of Metal in multiple directions. Alma herself was unscathed, and emerged from the dust that was kicked up heading towards Heram a second time, her tail opening up and flying towards him and Gelt. Guessing what she was doing, Bathasar took a stab at it with his sword, then feinted so he could so he instead pointed the sword, causing Alma to scream as she accidentally cut her tail on the blade, and the limb shot back before Gelt could perform a draw cut on it to make the sword bite deeper into it. When it retracted away, blood began to leak from between the flower like folds of flesh as the Daemon-Knight staggered while holding onto it. Balthasar raised his sword, and had Chamon pour out from the eyes and mouth of his mask to make it look like he was one of the chosen of the Imperial Gods about to strike her down with their vengeful wrath as Alma paled in terror and fear.

A shout from one of the State Troopers then showed that Erubetie had recovered from the mental attack Heram used on her, as Gelt was knocked over by one of the Reiklanders sailing through the air with a grunt. The Grey Wizard, now seeing he was being attacked by multiple Erubeties, then proceeded to create multiple clones of himself, each of which ran in different directions after they all showed they carried a copy of the bag containing Granberias' soul.

Erubetie and her clones scattered as well, and Heram appeared next to Gelt, who had just managed to push the Imperial soldier off of him. While the various duplicates were occupied trying to figure what was happening, the fox Monster recovered, and seemed to quickly realized that they were tricked, and began to channel her magic while Alma teleported a short distance away. When they all stopped and turned to the two Wizards, Heram spoke.

"I do believe discretion is the better part of valor." the Grey Wizard said. "I hid the bag just now, so let's leave before reinforcements arrive and we're drowning knee deep in the dead."

"Agreed." Gelt said. With that, he put a couple fingers in his mouth and whistled to draw all the Imperial Troopers he brought with him. After they huddled together into a formation, Wulfhardson proceeded to summon the Bridge of Shadow, which grabbed the Imperial force and sent hurtling away quickly just as the Knights were about to unleash a barrage of spells on the Humans, only to hit nothing but thin air...


*MUSIC ENDS*


**POV SHIFT**


"Damn it! They got away!" Erubetie screamed in anger, While Tamano inspected Alma Elmas' tail wound, the Succubus flinching in pain whenever it opened up. As the Kitsune examined it, she saw that there was a gash across the center of it, from which the bleeding had already stopped. Granberia was set down with her back against a tree, Aries laid across her lap while her opposite peer the Heavenly Knight of Water hung over her, the silent Slime Queen holding her breathe.

"This should heal on its own just fine without any scars. I'll get some medicine however, just in case." Tamano replied after helping Alma Elma clean off her tail, her own arm already regenerated. She then stared worryingly at Granberia, and then spoke to Erubetie. "Think there was more to their imprisoning her?"

"Definitely. That Wizard that was with Gelt tried to run off before attempting to release Granberia during the battle." the Slime Queen replied. "I missed most of the battle after he messed with my head with that attack. What in all happened?"

"Well, from what I could tell, the Wizard that was fighting alongside Balthasar seemed to specialize in illusions, and is a high-level one as one as well. I stabbed him through the chest, only to discover he managed to sneak up on Tamano somehow, which should be all but impossible considering the power of Gnome allows one to sense where people are." Alma said, before she began to rub her head. "Even remembering that much is difficult however, and I know for a fact Gelt and the other Imperials were not that distracting from my goal of saving Granberia. If I remember correctly, that Wizard was a Grey Wizard, and are generally known to have the ability to disrupt and disable the senses of those looking for them. Powers like that would be useful for assassination and reconnaissance." the Heavenly Knights then focused their attention on Granberia, and noticing she was still alive, but unconscious. "What do we do now?" Alma asked.

"Well, someones' got to take her back to the campsite, may as well be you." Tamano replied.

"Why me?"

"You didn't want to come with us to begin with." Alma Elma opened her mouth, then closed it. As she lifted up Granberia, Erubetie turned to Tamano.

"What about Granberias' soul?" she asked. Tamano held up the bag in question.

"Two can play at the kind of mind games the Grey Wizard was pulling. When he did that duplication spell, I was able to semi track the real one using the power of the Earth Spirit Gnome. While you and Alma Elma were busy going through the fake clones, he tried to hide it, likely in case he got caught."

"Hmph, that's what he gets for trying to pull a fast one." the Slime Queen retorted.

"Don't get cocky. Remember when I was checking their speech for any form of deception? From what I could sense, they were telling the truth when they said that Granberia will die if her soul is released, but Gelt left important details out. So we'll need to guard it closely, and try to prevent this from happening a second time."

"Seriously, are you going to defend them, especially after that tirade about how Alipheese the First and her daughters were abominations?" Erubetie growled. She visibly froze various parts of her body, forming them into spikes as cast a glare at Tamano.

"Betty, this is not the time to start fighting each other." the Kitsune said, trying to soothe Erubetie as she place a hand on her shoulder. However, the Slime Queen batted it away.

"Do not lecture me about making peace with the Humans, especially the Imperials. They have pushed well beyond the line, first by attacking us in our own homeland, threating Granberias' life and trying to use it like some kind of political pawn, and then finally having the gall to insult Dark Goddess Alice and the Ancestors!" Erubetie yelled. "I've spent my entire reign running from Humans polluting my kinds' home, and I will not run any longer from this golden masked freak!" she then continued down the road.

"Erubetie!" Tamano cried out.

"Betty, we have what we came for, let's just go!" Alma exclaimed. Tamano then reached out to the Succubus and pointed to the Monster Camp.

"Alma Elma, go to the camp, and get the army here, now. I'll try to get Erubetie to calm down."


**POV SHIFT**


As Balthasar poured over everything he could acquire about the fluidic Monsters, he was starting to panic. A post battle roll call had revealed that when the Monster named Erubetie slid her way through the spear wall to get at Wulfhardson, her body burned the Imperial soldiers flesh, as well as ate partway through the armor, leaving a number of deformed and mauled equipment and men in her wake.

That accursed wretch! He thought. One of the books showed one of those things dividing in two after it gained a significant amount of nutrition, and plenty of water, you idiot... wait, water. Gelt then looked out to the foyer and walked to the triage room. When he got there, he examined the wounds Erubetie inflicted on a soldiers, his plate armor which had pits and discoloration. Wounds that were similar to acid burns... Balthasar suddenly snapped his fingers, as an idea formed in his head on how to combat Monsters like Erubetie.

And it required alkaline chemicals...