The next morning, Luka and Alice silently left the castle to get to the cavern where the Dark Goddess was sealed. Even after all she said, Alice herself was concerned with the idea of meeting her original progenitor again after abandoning her for a few months, and what Tamamo told her hadn't reassured her in the slightest. She even started to regret having so thoroughly drained Luka, as while the hero displayed his usual enthusiasm, Alice could see his stiff movements lacking any grace. The Four Spirits were accompanying him, but even from there the lamia's senses picked on the fact that something was off with Salamander. She hoped that the Fire Spirit would still be able to provide support should everyone's worst fear prove right.

She would have appreciated Tamamo's support to guide her, but the kitsune was busy making sure that none of her dear sisters was aware of Alice's plan by keeping them busy. It's only then that she realized that she didn't ask her surrogate mother for more information about the Dark Goddess herself. The only things she remembered were past lessons, and her lack of interest at the time now made her memories of these fuzzy at best. Even her own encounter had been too short-lived to learn more.

Alice felt her chest compress when the entrance of the grotto appeared in front of her. When she looked at Luka, she could tell that her husband was now fairly nervous at well: his hands were periodically shaken by nervous spasms as if he was ready to pull his sword at any time. Both of them stopped right in front of the entrance, and looked at each other.

"So this is it…" Alice sighed. "I don't even know why she would step in to convince Minagi to release angels. For her, they were always either enemies or preys, nothing more and nothing less. I'm not even sure she sees them as sentient creatures. You could as well ask the rain to stop making people wet."

"I'm sure we can ask Undine to do something for that last one."

Alice chuckled. "That was a bad comparison then… Or maybe not, we'll see."

"Right." Luka nodded and smiled. When he looked at the entrance of the cavern again, the darkness uncomfortably reminded him of the gullet of several giant monsters that had attempted to swallow him in the past. For a moment, he actually hesitated to turn tail and come back later once he had fully recovered. Right afterward, he fustigated himself for his unusual cowardice and gathered all his determination.

"There's no point in waiting then..." Luka stepped forward firmly, and Alice soon followed. They progressed through the softly illuminated cavern without encountering anyone, and Luka felt his skin tingle as they reached the deepest part of the cavern.

"Alipheese? I've come to discuss important matters with you."

Luka nervously checked around him, expecting a monster to pop out from nowhere. Instead, there were no answers, not even a noise that acknowledged their presence.

"Is she dead?"

"I doubt it. Where are your usual sugary, hopelessly ingenuous comments?"

"At the entrance of this cavern, with my fighting spirit."

Alice sighed. The death of the Dark Goddess was the last thing she wished for at this precise moment, but there wasn't a single hint that she was alive either. The only thing she could feel was the magic of the seal, and when she examined it, she felt an unusual signature behind it. She tried remembering her mentor's lesson, and after a few minutes managed to come to a conclusion.

"Did she consolidate herself a pocket dimension?"

"What?"

"She apparently spent a lot of time and energy creating herself her own little world on the other side of the seal… Seal which is getting pretty weak by the way. With a little effort, we could both walk through back and forth with minimal efforts."

"Sooo… She's fine."

"Yes. Now I'm curious as to what she's doing on her side." Alice traced a few symbols with her hand, and a human-sized, shimmering portal opened.

"Good idea."

"…Now that you mention it, I realize how reckless we are: We are going to enter a dimension created by a goddess in a mix of boredom and possibly gone mad after one of her most loyal servants apparently turned on her."

"I didn't say anything like that!"

Alice smirked. "No, you only said that going in was a good idea."

Luka looked down, his face red in shame.

She looked at the open rift in front of her. "Still, stay close. I don't know what we will see on the other side, and I certainly don't want to get separated."

This time, the hero felt more determined to continue, and the duo stepped through the portal created by Alice to apparently end up in the same place. Luka nervously checked around as he felt a tingling sensation cover his skin: The cavern was perfectly identical to the one they just left.

"Mmhh…" I don't know why she would create a dimension like that right now…" Alice shivered. "Let's not linger. I don't know about you, but the faster I get out of here, the better."

Both Luka and Alice progressed slowly, warily looking at their surroundings in case the madness of the Dark Goddess would manifest under the form of an ambush. When they arrived at the entrance of the cavern, they were surprised by the sight of a heavy downpour.

"Wow… I don't think I've ever seen raining falling so much."

"Me neither, and particularly not on Hellgondo. I remember Tamamo telling me that it was related to the mountains and magic that increased pressure that made it harder to rain. If anything, it's the proof that we're no longer in the real Hellgondo… I'm not even sure we'll be able to cross that rain safely. It smells too much to just be water."

It's only when Alice told him that Luka notice: the rain had an acrid smell, and when he attempted to touch with the tip of his glove, he could see the cloth starting to fall apart.

"It's an acid." Alice raised a shield around her. "Stay close, you don't want to be outside on your own. The Monster Lord's Castle should be in that direction. Let's go."

Luka wasn't exactly confident as Alice slithered out of the cavern with him on his side. The shield Alice kept up was forming a dry area around them, and Luka could see its spherical form as water poured like a river around it. Still, he decided to trust his wife. As they moved southward, the rain started alleviating ever so slightly, and Luka gasped when they arrived in sight of what was likely the Monster Lord's Castle. The place was looking exactly as he originally imagined during his adventures, with black ominous towers piercing through the sky while huge gargoyles guarded their tips located behind high walls covered with spikes. As they got closer to the entrance, they were forced to pass around a huge pile of skulls, and only the knowledge that all he was seeing was an artificially created dimension brought him any comfort.

When they reached the main door, both Alice and Luka grimaced: The door was surrounded by lewd frescos depicting various acts between humans and different species of monsters, and the door itself was covered with a golden picture representing a human copulating with a non-descript succubus with their genitals connected where the lock was.

"I'm glad the next Monster Lords had better taste in decoration."

A disgusted Luka knocked at the door. After waiting for a small minute without an answer, he opened the door and invited Alice to get in. The lamia smirked as she passed in front of him.

"Not wanting to be the first one to take risk? You're making progress…"

Luka shrugged Alice's remark and followed inside. When the door closed, the duo was surrounded by complete darkness until Alice summoned a crystal that illuminated several hallways as well as abandoned wooden furniture.

"I don't recognize this castle at all, but I can feel the Dark Goddess from here."

Luka gulped loudly. "Me… Me too."

"Then put away your sword, idiot. We don't want to be seen as attackers."

Luka shamefully sheathed Angel Halo, even as he hadn't noticed that he had pulled out the sword to prepare for a fight. He could also tell that Alice herself wasn't more comfortable than he was. She was just better at hiding it.

Using the flow of dark, primal energy to orient themselves, the duo made their way through the eerily empty castle. Luka looked down to see that they were walking on a washed out carpet, while web-covered pillows were messily tucked in a corner.

"If it wasn't for the magic ahead, I would say that this castle is completely abandoned."

Luka simply nodded, still following Alice. The castle itself was silent as well, and after what felt too long for the hero, they finally arrived in sight of a large door that would undoubtedly lead them to the throne room. Luka's hand directly reached for one of the large handle, but Alice stopped him midway.

"Wait. At least, let's announce ourselves."

Alice knocked on the door, and, after once again making sure that nobody was waiting for them, she delicately pushed it open to enter this new room. The nature of the place itself was confirmed by the impressively large obsidian sitting at the other end of the room that seemed to stretch for longer than it was physically possible. Large, elaborately decorated black pillars that each represented one of the Six Ancestors were present on both sides of a thick carpet that, to the duo's lack of surprise, represented more monsters forcing themselves on humans and angels alike. Luka gasped when what he thought to be a large statue of a lamia wallowing in front of the throne stood up to look at them with an undecipherable indifferent expression. The power in her eyes was overwhelming, and Luka needed the power of Gnome to simply keep standing.

"Greetings. I didn't expect you to come again after so much time."

Alice humbly looked down. "Our apologies Alipheese, but we had our hands full taking care of the Ancestors and the damage they caused."

"I noticed that." Luka felt a pressure threatening to crush his brain when she directly looked at him. "I watched everything that happened since they got free, and I know why you came here today, Monster Lord and son of the Daystar. I watched your fights against my daughters even when they did their best to conceal it. I watched as you put them on trial and judged them for the crimes they committed, and I watched the… incident with Tamamo No Mae, as well as the discussion you all had with the First Seraph afterward."

Luka felt relieved when she turned her gaze down to look at the ground. "As you have guessed by now, I felt hurt when Tamamo No Mae misled me to believe that she was removing you from the seat of power for her own ambitions. But not as much as when she decided to confess and looked for support against her sisters from Micaela herself. I even felt betrayed. I thought that the Ancestor I had entrusted my lineage to had finally rejected me. I even hesitated to slay her on the spot."

Luka raised a finger as he prepared to talk, but Alice held him back as the Dark Goddess continued talking.

"Fortunately for everyone, I was too shocked to act. When my mind was clear, I remembered her words again and again. As hindsight settled in, I realize that I had completely failed her, and, by extension, you, not only as a leader, but as a mother as well and even as a goddess. I…"

For the first time, Alice could hear Alipheese's usual composed tone crack as the Dark Goddess looked down.

"I didn't want to restrain the Ancestors because I didn't want to be a tyrant bridling their power. I was even afraid of their reaction when I had ordered them to not attack you specifically, and I thought that their natural adaptability would help them fit in this new world. This is where I failed…"

Luka could even see what looked like a tear rolling of the Dark Goddess's cheek. "Only Tamamo learned to adapt to her environment thanks to harsh lessons learned during centuries of being sealed. Before that, they only learned to adapt their environment to themselves to get what they want. If it weren't for you, their first actions would have completely destroyed the relationship with humans and the new generations of monsters. I completely failed to raise them properly, and you ended up paying the price for my folly..."

"I didn't suffer much, considering the challenges unlucky humans or even my own husband endured."

"And yet, with the support of your Heavenly Knights you still managed to keep those relations steady and made the Ancestors submit. If I had been in your place, I would have killed them without a second thought… I've noticed what Minagi did. I've noticed how stubborn Kanon is. All of them damaged your work to build a world where everyone could live side by side, and they did it out of a mix of carelessness at best and maliciousness at worst. And even after all that, you still want to give them a chance… Why?"

Alice looked warmly at Luka. "Because I learned the value of giving people a chance, even if they stood against me."

"I see." Alipheese briefly looked at Luka. She then looked at Alice's round stomach. "You might be wiser than me in that regard." The Dark Goddess materialized a small brass crown in her hands. "This crown had been crafted when my daughters noticed the leader of human tribes always wore headgear to show their authority. While I do not believe a silly hat gives any authority to someone over their fellows, this should prove to them that I fully entrust you with leading them. In this world I am unfamiliar with, you will do a finer job than I may ever do."

Alice bowed and lowered herself while the Dark Goddess delicately placed the crown over her head under Luka's captivated gaze. The ceremony didn't even last more than a few seconds and happened without any fanfare, and yet, even after all his adventures, the hero felt that he had the privilege to assist to something beyond unique. Alice got up, and somehow, the crown always remained in place on her head.

"Now, I sincerely appreciated your company, but I understand that you have urgent duties to attend to. Please, take care of my daughters and make sure that monsters keep prospering for as long as you live."

"I will."

Alipheese looked at Luka again, and this time, the hero could see benevolence in her gaze.

"And you… I would never imagined that the son of someone as bloodthirsty as the Daystar would try to make peace with monsters lest marry one of my descendant. Please, keep taking care of her. You have my blessing, for how little it means."

"Thank you." Luka bowed, too confused as to what to do. "I hope we will meet again."

"Farewell."

Luka and Alice left the Dark Goddess, utterly stunned by how the events unwrapped. They didn't even notice that exiting the throne room directly led them to the cavern connected to their world.

"That was… Something."

"I don't think anybody imagined this encounter going any better. I didn't expect her to understand the grief the Ancestors were causing so soon."

"Me neither." Luka frowned. "I hoped that she would step in directly though."

"She's still sealed… Maybe Tamamo would be able to tell for how long exactly, but I can estimate that she won't be able to walk the world before a few more weeks at best… Oh, right, I should also contact Tamamo now." Alice brought a hand to her ear. "Tamamo, do you hear me?"

"Yes… I can even tell that you brought a little something with you. That should help us a bit."

"Good, at least this meeting will actually be useful. Now we just need to destabilize Minagi enough to make her cough up the issue."

"Ooooh, don't worry about that. I know how I will destabilize her... I know EXACTLY how I will stun her… I've prepared a new toy just for the occasion!"

Alice heard Tamamo chuckle. A cold, inhuman rattle going crescendo made even worse by the kitsune's naturally childish voice.

"…You're scaring me."

"Sorry about that. Take your time to relax! I will make sure that she will be ready by the time you arrive…"

Luka looked quizzically at Alice when the latter cut the communication with her mentor. The lamia made a few gestures with her hand, and an image of the kitsune preparing herself for a fight appeared.

"…I think we should hurry up before Tamamo kills her sister."

A fully unsealed Tamamo checked her equipment one last time as she progressed through the Monster Lord's Castle. She would have preferred leaving this body in a closet a bit longer and dealt with Minagi in her smaller form, but the memories of being completely overwhelmed by her sister's tricks the first time she had seen her were still leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. This time, she had prepared several spells and readied her full power to deal with her dear sister appropriately once and for all. She slightly altered her aura to appear like her sealed self to anyone's magical senses, and knocked on Minagi's door. Her sister needed a few seconds to answer, hinting at Tamamo that they had come to the correct conclusion.

"Come in." As usual, the succubus sounded passably bored.

Tamamo opened the door to be once again assailed by the intoxicating pheromones of her sister. Even her lieutenants would have their mind burned by desire if they stepped in this room, but she held her own, and was rewarded by a small gasp from Minagi who was lying on her bed face-first toward the door.

"Greetings, sister. I hope you're bringing news of the Monster Lord, I am starting to reach the end of my patience, and you know what I often do when this happens…"

"Oh? You're no longer satisfied by all those angels you keep in your pantry? I would have thought that they would have at least lasted you until the end of this year…"

Minagi raised an eyebrow, silently asking Tamamo what she meant. When she saw the kitsune gaze down on her, she released a long, drawn out sigh.

"Fine, you got me… Do you want some yourself? Although I'd advise seeing Endiel first, she would definitively be able to help you relax…"

"I actually came here to ask you to release them in our custody. They're no longer enemies to be violated."

"Why don't you tell them yourself?" Minagi repositioned herself, sitting in a more dignified way while she returned Tamamo her haughty look. "You might not know this, but when I found them, they were more than willing to rampage and slaughter monsters indiscriminately until they died themselves."

Tamamo's eyes narrowed. "I might not know this because you didn't tell us that you captured rogue angels."

Minagi sneered. "Rogue angels? Hearing you, people would think that they're angels who abandoned their goddess. Let me tell you, they're quite the opposite. I'm making everyone a service by… making them discover there is more to this world than just their sorry excuse of genocidal goddess."

"By brainwashing them?" Tamamo started fanning her face. "You're not so different from Ilias in that case… Did you at least tell the Monster Lord or anyone else for that matter?"

"No. And why would I? I'm the one who got those angels, and I have no reason to share everything I do, do I? I'm not sure they would appreciate every single detail of my escapades. And we both know they wouldn't approve in the first place."

"I don't either."

Minagi smirked. "And what are you going to do? You're not going to deprive one of your dear sisters of the freedom you got to enjoy during millennia while we were rotting in a prison of your own crafting?"

"There are several things wrong with what you just said, so I am going to make it simple since you're so hellbent on making everyone's life a living hell." Tamamo punctuated her sentence by clapping her fan close. "Release those angels so that we can take care of them ourselves."

Still smirking, Minagi brought a finger under her chin as she pretended to ponder her sister's demand. "Mmmh…"

"I don't think I've been clear enough. I'm challenging you for them." Tamamo smiled and an obvious self-satisfaction started to pierce through her voice. "Don't tell me you wouldn't dare to face your sister when she's been known to have grown soft?"

Minagi remained silent for a second, then her laugh echoed through the castle's hallways, surprising several servants in their activity.

"Aaah, that was good. I didn't laugh like that since… Well, since we were still at war with Ilias actually. But let us be real… What is in it for me?"

"You will be allowed to roam freely and do as you wish."

"Oooh… Are you even ready to throw in that little hero as well?"

"No. The Monster Lord and her husband are off-limit." Tamamo's strict tone cut down all negotiation, although her tone became more promising afterward. "But you would be free to play with everyone else."

"Mmmhmhmhmh… Very well then." Minagi smiled devilishly. "I have never used my craft to their full extent on one of my own sisters, not that I never considered it, but… you are begging me for it, and I shall oblige." The succubus stretched herself, sighing sensuously. "I suppose you prefer to fight in the arena. It would be a shame if that Monster Lord you love so much was to get mad at you for wrecking one of her room, wouldn't it?"

Tamamo silently turned her back and left Minagi's room. Once she was sure she was in the clear, the kitsune had to use magic to clear her mind and remove pheromones from her stay. Even before the fight, the succubus had tried to soften her target, just like she herself did in the past.

Of course, Minagi had arrived first in the arena, and was stretching herself in an obvious taunt.

"Finally, you're here… I brought some spectators, I hope you won't mind."

Tamamo looked up at the balcony Minagi indicated. Just as she expected, the other Ancestors were here. Tamamo frowned when she saw Kanon unsealed, but the mocking cruelty she had come to expect in the alraune's gaze was curiously missing. The kitsune focused back on her opponent in front of her. At least, her fellow Heavenly Knights weren't here to see her spat with her sister.

"But you know, if you're doing all that simply because you want to taste my skills to their full extent, you could have just asked instead…"

"I am not doing it for my leisure, but for the sake of others. Your actions are, once again, worsening an already delicate situation."

Minagi pouted. "And here I thought that my nagging sister lost her nagging tendencies to time… But you must have really gone soft if you are ready to put your life work on the line for angels." Minagi told the last word as if it was an insult.

"Stop stalling, start fighting."

In the blink of an eye, Minagi was right on top of Tamamo, surprising the kitsune with a punch in the temple. The succubus pushed her assault with a series of rapid kicks across her sister's stomach, knocking the wind out of her target before the latter riposted with a magical blast that Minagi managed to dodge in a heartbeat by flying away. The succubus didn't lose a second and resumed a physical assault directly, but she instantly jumped back when Tamamo swung one of her tail in her direction. She then dodged a large fireball that exploded in the roof of the arena. The kitsune steadied herself and recovered from the succubus assault, fustigating herself for letting Minagi surprise her so readily.

She didn't have time to rest, however, as Minagi summoned a powerful storm to destabilize her. Tamamo focused herself, and pulled out a talisman to cast a counter-spell. Before reaching her, the storm changed of nature and filled with elementally-imbued shards and charged back at Minagi. The succubus chuckled, and charged the tornado more, wrestling control back of the spell even as its mass kept increasing. Tamamo pushed back again appropriately, and when Minagi was sure that the kitsune's attention was fully dedicated in this tug of war, her body glowed and a wave of pleasure seized Tamamo's more sensitive regions. The kitsune became unable to channel energy for the shortest period of time, and the tornado seized her and tossed her around even as the spell wrecked the arena they were in, until she managed to use a talisman to dispel it. As she heavily fell on the ground, she heard Minagi chuckle.

"Did you become so feeble that a little pleasure is enough to make you lose focus? You used to actually be as debauched as I am…"

The kitsune used her tails as a spring to propel herself in the air and accumulated energy in her tails, and Minagi chuckled as she prepared to dodge the telegraphed attack her sister was preparing. The succubus was dumbfounded when instead of attempting to strike her, Tamamo released a beam of energy that she only narrowly avoided. She then attempted to charge the kitsune directly to caress her with a hand surrounded in her signature magic, but Tamamo violently swatted the offending limb with her fan, and used her weapon to slash at the succubus who flew away.

"Mmmh… Finally you start standing up for yourself… I was starting to get afraid I would be the only active one to do something after our little foreplay session earlier…"

Minagi then summoned a storm of piercing wind around the kitsune, which the latter dispelled before answering with a stalagmite that attempted to impale the succubus.

"Oooh, something so big just for me…"

Tamamo snarled and summoned several illusions of herself while creating an otherworldly mist. In a single flap of her wing, Minagi cleared all the illusions and the mist, only leaving one Tamamo visible.

"You're starting to be disappointing… The same old tricks-"

Minagi was interrupted when she felt a sudden burning wave engulf her from above, making her collapse in a pain-filled moan. Tamamo reappeared in front of the succubus, and the projection behind her returned to its mistress to be absorbed.

"You copied myself so much that you even talk more than I used to..." Tamamo looked at her apparently unconscious sister. "And the next words that come from your mouth better be I surrender, because I swear I am absolutely done with you."

As the unconscious Minagi didn't bat an eye, Tamamo stepped closer. In a swift motion, the succubus sprang to life and wrapped her long legs and her arms around Tamamo. She quickly drained the kitsune of her energy while overcharging her nervous system with pleasure, and the latter spent several seconds unable to move before finally managing to use her tails to grab her opponent and throw back her sister. Minagi landed on her feet, smiling, while Tamamo was trying to recover her breath even as she needed to use her tails to stabilize herself. Her initial contempt for the succubus was now replace with a rage that her dear sister had fanned.

"Oh, don't be like that because I pretended to be dead. We all did the same in the past against angels to get close and personal."

Tamamo bared her teeth as she used another healing seal to recover. Only one another remained, and her sister was now as fresh as a rose bathed in morning dew.

"I am not an angel. I am worse."

"Oh, I'm not sure about that, I will see how loudly you scream in a few minutes."

A barrier of rock raised from the ground to protect Tamamo even as Minagi once again attempted to use her aura at range to cripple her. However, the succubus could tell that her magic was still effective, and she tried getting closer even as her victim had surrounded herself with thick rock walls. The moment Minagi got close, Tamamo's bulwark exploded, projecting rock shards everywhere and slightly cutting the succubus. She exulted when she saw the visibly exhausted kitsune jump midair once again, her tails glowing with energy. She stopped her opponent dead in her track with a powerful gust of wind. Tamamo expanded her tails using magic to slam them where the succubus was, and the latter avoided the attack by simply stepping sideway, getting ever closer to the kitsune who prepared another attack. Minagi once again dodged Tamamo's tails by graciously sidestepping in front of her and prepared to finish off her target with a pleasure-imbued hand. As she was already enjoying the taste of victory, she noticed the magic in Tamamo's hand and made the smallest step back to avoid the kitsune's fan.

However, the succubus went wide-eyed when she noticed that Tamamo No Mae's weapon had been replaced by a humongous kanabo that caught her straight in her side, knocking the wind out of her. The attack propelled her straight in a wall, the violence of the impact forming a crater around her. Before she could recover, Tamamo had thrown her weapon across the arena to end up embedded in the succubus' sromach, further crippling her and immobilizing her. The kitsune then graciously jumped in the air in a somersault, imbuing her tails with energy before crashing down on the succubus like an avalanche. Once her assault was over, her face was barely an inch from Minagi, even as she was panting in a mix of rage and arousal.

"Do you yield now? Can I expect you to release those angels you have oh-so-much-fun tormenting? Or do I have to break every single one of your limbs to make my determination to stop you from violating everyone clear?!"

Minagi simply spat a small blood clot as an answer.

"Good." Tamamo No Mae pulled out a recovery seal from her dress, and applied it on her sister. "After what happened, I'm not sure you fully deserve that one…"

Minagi didn't answer as her most severe wounds healed. She pulled herself from her crater, stumbling in front of the kitsune and looking at her venomously while the other Ancestors came closer to the duo.

"I would have at least expected you to be gentler after what I told you… Those angels would have kept killing monsters simply because they think it would please their dead goddess. And I do remain the one who found out that working with angels was necessary to control holy energy to save them. What I did do benefit you, doesn't it?" She started grinning, even as she was still bent in two and holding her stomach in pain. "Or is it just because the pride of the legendary golden fox has been hurt at the idea that I outsmarted her several times those last weeks?"

Tamamo sneered and looked haughtily at the succubus as she started fanning herself. "I am not so much wounded by the fact that you managed to discover what I didn't than by the fact that you made every effort to only use it for personal gains. This era of self-serving is over." She clapped her fan close and looked more focused. "I would be a foolish hypocrite to deny that what you did have been beneficial for all of us. But by keeping everything to yourself, every single bit of goodwill you have shown to get a reduced sentence has been lost."

"Say the one that brought kingdoms to destruction and not so long ago nearly murdered the husband of the Monster Lord."

Tamamo's tails froze. "The first was in the past. And while I have my fair share of responsibilities, the second one was the result of a chain of errors. Last, I shall remind you that I've never been so crass as to abuse the trust you all placed in me. Even when I wallowed in hedonism with lovers who wouldn't see the sun rise, I made sure that the larger designs of the Dark Goddess remained intact."

"And who judged that? Who decided that those skeletons you keep accumulating in your closet simply disappeared?"

"The Monster Lord herself."

Minagi chuckled. "You know, by the end of the day I'm not sure either of you are the most fit to judge us… It looks like both of you do not understand the legacy of the Dark Goddess… Maybe I shall remind the Monster Lord directly myself."

"Then please feel free to share your grievances. I observed everything."

Minagi turned, surprised to see the hero and the Monster Lord enter the arena. Her smirk completely disappeared and she turned pale when she recognized the crown the latter was wearing.

"Her majesty the Monster Lord, the descendant of the Dark Goddess, Alipheese the XVIth!"

The next instant, the Six Ancestors were kneeling in a line. Alice slowly slithered toward them, her imperious gaze gauging the ensemble. Her eyes shortly stopped onto Kanon, and she could even see the alraune shiver briefly. She talked again in a commanding voice.

"I will not tell you that I understand every design and reason of my progenitor. She did, however, understand my own well enough to acknowledge my authority to lead everyone to a better future, and I intend to make sure we reach it through collaboration with the different species, including those that were our enemies in the past."

As none of the demi-goddesses apparently had anything to retort, Alice slithered closer and stopped in front of Tamamo, even as the kitsune's tails were frozen.

"Tamamo No Mae. You taught me that my words and my actions have consequences. I shall remind you that those lessons apply to yourself too. Since you are so forward in your desire to see those angels released no matter the cost, then you will be responsible for the reintegration of angels in society and bear the brunt of every aspect of this duty. You are free to do as you wish, but the blame of any exaction they commit will fall to you. Is it clear?"

"Yes, my lord."

I taught her well. I would have done that anyway, but she's showing that she won't play favorite and punish everyone that attempts to overstep her authority.

It still hurts surprisingly much though…

Alice continued and stopped in front of the succubus. This time, the lamia's expression turned severe as she bared her teeth.

"Minagi… it is as Tamamo No Mae said. For each of your action that has benefitted the community, you kept critical information from us. For each time you stepped up to help someone, you made the life of another a living hell. And for each time you showed that the Whore of Babylon had changed to fit in this world, you showed that you would wallow in your hedonistic nature twice at the first opportunity given, laws, authority and respect to your fellows be damned. This calls for a fitting sanction."

Alice made a short break, letting tension climb ever so slightly before resuming.

"Since you want so much to take care of angels, you will be charged with the duty of giving those that wish the markings that will save them from their own mortality while under watch. Should you overstep your mission to attempt to indulge yourself in the pleasure of the flesh, then you will be sealed once and for all. May I give you the task to endorse a role as her warden, Saja?"

"I serve the Monster Lord."

"Thank you for your loyalty. Minagi, you will then be charged with the responsibility to make your Chain of Pleasure project come to life. This include every aspect that you are less familiar with, such as the administrative ones. Then, based on your diligence, you will be given more freedom starting with Endiel's company."

Tamamo felt a wave of shame-filled satisfaction taking over her as Alice finished announcing the punishment.

Here is the freedom I got to appreciate for so long, dear sister. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did back then.

Even if the succubus apparently remained calm, she felt bile rise as she realized that she was finally cornered. This time and with Saja on her back, there was no way she would find wiggle room to escape the punishment the Monster Lord inflicted upon her. She had been thoroughly defeated.

"I accept my punishment."

"Good. Rejoice, for while you won't be able to indulge yourself at first, you won't have to hide from a pretend omniscient force either." Alice moved slightly away and stopped in front of Kanade. "Although there were a few minor lapses, you have done a great job clearing the pollution in Grand Noah and improving our relations with human society."

The slime Ancestor answered with her usual whispering voice. "What I do, I only do for the sake of making the life of my kin easier."

"Then by all mean continue your work. I speak for everybody when I say that we all appreciate it… Kanon, Hiruko. I will talk with you tomorrow afternoon. You are all dismissed."

Alice slithered away to return to Luka, and the royal couple left the Ancestors alone. Tamamo kept a neutral expression as she looked at Minagi, even if she felt satisfied with the resolution her pupil had come up with. As her other sisters scattered and teleported away, only the succubus and herself remained.

"Even the Dark Goddess acknowledged your Monster Lord. You must be ecstatic right now."

Tamamo sighed. "I would actually have been elated if you simply came to support us as soon as you were unsealed. I would have been happy if you didn't try to get your way at all cost even after surrendering. Right now, I'm only relieved that you're still given a chance to fit in this world that stepped up to take down that tyrannical excuse of a goddess that was Ilias and her cohorts."

Minagi looked down in a mix of shame and submission. "…I made those angels I captured addicted to the pleasures I can bring. I'll clean them and I will release them in your custody in a few days."

"Thank you."

"In the meantime… If you could at least please make sure I at least get the opportunity to discuss with my cute little daughters if only once… I'd appreciate it. I only had the opportunity to do some little work with Lilith, and even if they acted out of line… I miss them."

"I will pass the request… "

Even if it's going to be slightly complicated for now…

The instant Alice and Luka closed the door that led to their bedroom, the lamia collapsed on their bed like a wet noodle back first, staring at the ceiling wide-eyed while the crown on her rolled away.

"Those damn idiots… If I never have to do that ever again, it will be too soon…"

"Still…" Luka sat on a chair located in a corner. "These are days like this that reminds me that you are the Monster Lord and have responsibilities… I feel… bad for being unable to support you."

Alice groaned. "Luka, please, we already had that talk, your simple presence is enough of a support for me… and besides, I'm only doing my job after you showed up to them." She grabbed the crown the Dark Goddess gifted her. "Maybe this thing makes them listen to me, but they wouldn't even consider hearing me out if you hadn't stepped in and beaten them first. Why don't you relax and accept that it's up to the other people to handle it?"

Luka awkwardly massaged his neck. "Sorry, it's just… I wish I could step in again to make things easier."

"You already did in the past, and you nearly lost your life repeatedly those last weeks… Please, take a break and enjoy the tranquility now that you can afford to." Alice got up from her bed and affectionately coiled around her husband to snuggle. "Tomorrow will be a long day as well for both of us, so please relax."

Luka eventually gave in and the couple laid on the bed for a moment, simply appreciating each other's warmth in silence before Alice giggled.

"I wonder if Tamamo will forget my punishment after all that…"

"Maybe…"

Alice felt Luka gradually tense up, turning her personal body pillow in a rock slab.

"Is something wrong?"

"I hesitate to talk about it…"

"It's about that incident with Tamamo?"

Luka nodded. "More exactly, I was thinking about what that succubus soothsayer told me… The first is the most dangerous. At first I thought she was talking about what ended up being my first fight against the Ancestors with Kanon… Then I thought that maybe she was talking about Saja since she's the first Ancestor… But I realize now that Tamamo was the first Ancestor I encountered after all, so her fortune-telling was right."

An unimpressed Alice raised an eyebrow. "Technically, the first Ancestor you faced and learned about is Minagi…" She chuckled. "The only ones excluded are Kanade who you didn't face and Hiruko who's actually responsible for bringing your holy energy corrosion to critical level…" Alice suddenly started staring in the void. "Nevermind that, I can read your fortune too. Show me your hand."

Luka hesitatingly held out his hand forward and Alice seized it, frowning as she examined it.

"One tail can be enough to be your downfall…"

"Really?"

"Yes." Alice brought a finger to her chin. "Now let me think, who have at least one tail? Mmmmh…" Her own extremity happily wagged, the ribbon attached somehow remaining in place. "I have one, so do Granberia and Alma Elma, Tamamo has nine… of the Ancestors Minagi has one and so has Saja... And if we think more broadly I think you can count lamias, most beasts, succubi…"

"Stop there Alice, I got it, I am a gullible idiot for falling for that bait…"

"I wasn't actually going to say that for once, although you are one…"

Luka groaned pathetically.

"I'll just say that you fell for one of the oldest trick in the book. A few broad words that are bound to happen said in a mystical tone, and you make yourself look like a wise seer. How do you think some of Ilias clergymen remained in position for so long?"

Alice playfully flicked the tip of Luka's nose as the latter look down, ashamed. "So now that you can forget it, how about we relax again? We still have some work to do, but it doesn't mean we have to stop living..."