The group arrived at Mithra Sealed Castle in the middle of the afternoon. Each member reacted differently upon entering. Morrigan was unusually cautious, while Alicetromeria was looking around like a tourist and Luka was completely indifferent. However, Ilias had stopped smiling blissfully and always kept her head turned toward the pedestals.
Is she reacting to something? I know that I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I really want her to get better soon.
Morrigan looked around the whole castle before checking each pedestal, muttering all the while to herself on a regular basis. She was sometimes smiling, sometimes scowling, but it was clear the succubus was concerned by the castle's status. After wandering for several minutes, she stopped in front of one in particular, and started making grand gestures as she was weaving a spell. After a while, several ethereal rings made of strange symbols spawned and formed an orb on the altar. They started spinning around, faster and faster, before disappearing in a small, anticlimatic plop.
The succubus groaned. "Yeah, I expected as much."
Luka raised an eyebrow, as if asking the succubus for explanations.
"This castle shouldn't be there, and not in this state. There are traces of residual magic related to its role as a sealing place, but it's very faint after that much time. As it is, its appearance is a side effect of the Great Disaster that happened 30 years ago."
"I already thought so, what about the weapons?"
"The weapons are here, but in another dimension. I can't say if it would be easier to go fetch them there, or get them to manifest here."
"Do you think they could actually have ended in Black Alice's possession? I mean she can probably create her own pocket dimension…"
Morrigan swore under her breath. "I REALLY hope not. Even an incompetent dumbass would be able to take on several queen class monsters without breaking a sweat with one of them. Anyway, the visit's over, let's get back on the road."
Alicetromeria pouted. "Awww, I really hoped there would have been something to entertain us in the castle!"
"Like what, an all-you-can-eat buffet?"
Alicetromeria pulled her Teddy Bear in front of her hat. "Well, if this is an important treasure, there probably was something or someone left to defend it from intruders, no? I would have done the same after all!"
"…Gotta check with my sisters on that one. But if there was one, it's likely linked to the weapons. Otherwise, you'd see dead bodies everywhere. So don't worry, we're alone, there's no trap, and you can get out of here as easily as you can get in."
Which is not the case with a succubus... And now I'm starting to get influenced by her perverted mentality. Great...
Ilias smugly declared. "Oh, trying to go for the hope spot torture I see. So basic. So unrefined."
Morrigan raised an eyebrow. "What?"
The small goddes chuckled. "Are you actually admitting your weakness in front of me? Of course, a weak, selfish succubus would never be able to notice the powerful presence of a mighty seraph until it is too late."
Luka sighed as he grabbed his sword. "Zion is the least restrained of the three. I'm pretty sure it's going to be her."
Morrigan materialized her own equipment. "And she's the one that hates succubi the most. This was bound to happen sooner or later. I wonder how she tracked us here."
Ilias sneered. "Are you in denial about your wanton use of debauched magic?"
The succubus froze. "Fuck. I didn't think that one through, did I?"
Luka weighted his sword. "Why didn't she already charge in?"
Morrigan made a few movements to warm up. "Because taking down that castle would multiply the spread of chaos by several orders of magnitude. Luckily, she's not that insane. She's only incredibly stubborn and hateful towards succubi."
Luka gauged the situation.
Three on one. Two warriors and a mage, plus a dead weight, and we have no healer and no ranger. She's going to attack us as soon as we step out of here, and I can't use the Pocket Castle in there nor I can use it when she attacks us. So the best way to manage this is… actually to keep on the offensive and hope Alicetromeria manages to keep casting those spells to force Zion to stay on the ground. If Morrigan's right, the seraph will mindlessly go for her, which will give us an advantage. I just hope Ilias will stay in the castle during the fight.
"Ilias, stay in the castle. Morrigan, keep Zion away from Alicetromeria. Alicetromeria, keep her under fire."
The succubus grinned. "Yeah, let's make sure she regrets messing with us."
"Dibs on her hot steaming body! Ufufufu…"
The two swordsmen made their through the castle's main hall while preparing buffs and magical enchantments. Any spells that could give them an edge in the upcoming fight was cast. Once they were sure they were as ready as they could be, the group finally stepped out of the castle. As soon as they exited the place, the party split up as a bolt of energy crashed right at the entrance. The next second Zion's mechanical fist was clashing against Morrigan's sword.
"Found you, you filthy whore! Your rampage end here!"
The succubus was forced on the defensive, as the angel kept striking repeatedly with her fist, forcing her to move back or dodge without having an opportunity to counter attack.
As Zion kept attacking relentlessly, Luka arrived from behind like a gust and wind and struck at her back. Her sense picked up just on time on the hero and she used her flagpole to try to deflect the blow. However, Luka's grip did not falter and his attack ended up connecting with the seraph's hand, making her recoil in surprise. Just as she moved back, a cold spark hit her as Alicetromeria already managed to cast a first spell.
Zion shouted in surprise. "What is it? Why is a hero of Ilias helping that fucking psychopathic womanchild of succubus?"
"Because she's my friend. And I protect those with me."
The seraph grinned. "I wanted to go easy on you for our first encounter, but I guess you're just begging for a good pounding!"
Brash, short tempered, loud mouthed, speech filled with double entendre… Is she that different from Morrigan?
Luka interrupted his reflexion as the seraph, now angrier than ever, started striking him with her fist at a blinding speed. The succubus exploited this moment of respite to start using her aura to cripple her opponent. The latter only let down a bloodcurling scream before focusing her attacks on the succubus, but Luka managed to strike her mechanical arm mid section. She swung her flagpole in his direction, but the hero managed to dodge her and left another gash in her normal arm in the process. Morrigan then pushed her attacks once again on Zion, forcing the latter to remain on the defensive.
It took her a few more blows to properly balance her attention between both opponents. On the occasion, she tried going for Alicetromeria, as the mage proved more than a nuisance each time her spells reached the fight. But each try was a failure, as the duo was holding her back or even wounded her as soon as she tried moving away, forcing her to focus on the closest threats.
As the fight started lasting, she was still holding back the two opponents. Feeling another opportunity, she launched a javelin of light at Alicetromeria. Luka turned toward the yoma mage to see the spear of light getting dissipated by a magic shield.
As he looked at the disguised monster lord, he noticed Ilias had come out of the castle to see the fight. She still had the same insane smirk, and looked completely ignorant of the dangers on the battlefield.
Damn it, of course, she wouldn't have listened!
He focused back on the fight, as Morrigan was still at risk of being overwhelmed by Zion if she kept fighting her without support. Another spark exploded near the seraph, forcing her to defend herself when she could have been able to push the succubus back. She attacked back with rapid fire punches, but the succubus managed to dodge all of them.
"Undine!"
Luka tried slicing Zion horizontally, but the seraph managed to block the attack with her flag pole. Morrigan realized Zion was starting to accumulate energy whenever she could, and might have been preparing a spell. She tried to move away to use her aura to drain her, but the seraph kept attacking her each time she tried to go for it, forcing her to remain on the defensive with her sword. Even in this situation, the angel still managed to keep her opponents at bay. Thankfully, the occasional spell cast by Alicetromeria prevented her from gaining any sort of advantage.
Suddenly, Zion rose up in the sky, forcing Luka to stick to using Sylph to keep up with the air fight. Even then, he had to keep moving to catch up. After the seraph exchanged several more blows with the succubus, she broke away and released her attack. A powerful orb of holy energy fell like a comet toward Alicetromeria and Ilias. Morrigan started moving toward the falling projectile to intercept it while Luka tried to hold back the seraph. However, in the process, her attempt made it explode mid sky, throwing her to the ground.
Zion heartily laughed at the result. While Luka was barely hurt thanks to the distance, Morrigan had difficulty getting up from the attack. Close to her, Alicetromeria was wavering a little, while Ilias had been knocked unconscious.
"HEY! You nearly killed Ilias! And you nearly wrecked the castle you insane bitch!"
"I don't care! I only obey the true one! Actually, I'll beat the crap out of this one once I'm done!"
"NO ANGEL SHALL HARM THE GODDESS! NO ONE SHALL!"
A bolt of pure, primal energy collided with Zion, destabilizing her. Luka looked at the source of the attack, and could see Eden surrounded by Micaela-chan and Lucifina-chan. He sighed in relief as he realized they came from the Pocket Castle to support him against Zion.
The victim of the attack looked at the newcomers. "Seriously? How low does an angel have to fall to start working with monsters?"
Eden angrily answered. "Not as low as one who decided to strike against the one divinity!" She then threw her spear at Zion with extreme strength. Her target nonchalantly dodged the attack, but soon found herself on the defensive as Micaela-chan started attacking. Zion managed to parry her attacks without breaking a sweet, but suddenly found herself destabilized as an attack violently hit her in the side. She launched her fist at its source, but only got hit once again in her valid arm.
Zion looked at Lucifina-chan and scowled. "I will kill you, you abomination."
"Yay! This is going to be so fun!"
"I can connect with the little angel, ufufufu…"
The trio jumped at Zion with their weapon drawn while Alicetromeria started casting spells after spells. From his position, it looked like the party was managing to hold back the second generation seraph, until the latter suddenly screamed in agony. He could see Morrigan moving her glowing hands from afar. In the blink of an eye, Zion had jumped on top of the succubus who was forced to defend herself against the relentless assault. She got surprised when the other angels jumped on her back to attack her.
Luka was relieved once more to see that all of them were focusing the same target without accidentally attacking each other. A few seconds later, Luka saw Sonya and Mephisto come his way. Sonya made a beeline straight to him and started healing his wounds.
"H-How?"
Mephisto smiled. "We found a way to see everything that happens around the Pocket Castle's location. I apologize for not arriving earlier, but convincing Eden was near impossible until this little bomb exploded. Truth be told, Zion's intervention and Morrigan's action couldn't have happened at a better time." She pulled out her wand and pointed it toward Zion. "Anyway, I believe a certain second generation Seraph needs to be properly disciplined." She proceeded to cast a salvo of magic bolts that were aimed straight at Zion while avoiding any other fighter.
Luka winced as a sharp bolt of pain ran through him. "Quit your whining, you'll be fine." Sonya pointed in the direction of the fight. "Get up. There are people that need our help."
She started casting spells to enhance her allies skills while Luka rushed up back in the middle of the fray. Zion was starting to lose ground and had to move back regularly to avoid getting surrounded by her enemies. As the time went on, she started failing parrying attacks, resulting in new gnashes in her uniform, on her mechanical fist or sometime in her flesh directly. She couldn't get the time to launch any of her more complex skills beyond her rapid fire fist attack. And even if she managed to temporarily incapacitate one of her opponent, the four others were still ganging up on her, and the priestess behind the fight always took the time to heal her victim who would gladly proceed to come back hungry for vengeance.
Most of all, her mind still had difficulty accepting that Eden was working with Morrigan and Lucifina. Even in a different world, this seemed unlikely. Her lapse in concentration cost her another wound as Micaela chan had hit her leg extremely violently. She had just pushed her back when she felt her body shaking in pleasure once more as Morrigan was using her aura to stimulate her. She launched an orb at the succubus, but her attack was cancelled by the combined effort of the two magi supporting the group from afar. Noticing that Lucifina-chan had adopted a defenseless posture for a reason, Zion rushed straight at her with her fist raised… And realized her mistake too late.
A ball of energy fell from the sky and hit the second generation seraph, allowing a spare second for her opponents to rally. As she saw the trio of seraph in front of her, the succubus and the hero on the side, and the other group supporting them from afar, she took the only decision she could. She started rising extremely fast to escape.
"Get back here you filth! I will fuck you until you die!"
Morrigan launched herself at the fleeing seraph, catching up on her despite her wounds. Her hands were starting to glow as she was preparing a spell to incapacitate the seraph.
"Divine reversion!"
A holy wave expanded from Zion and hit the succubus straight. The victim was thrown at great speed downward before crashing into the ground violently once again. As the wave dissipated, it was clear the seraph had fled. Right afterward, the angels took Ilias and disappeared as they went back inside the Pocket Castle. Luka sighed in relief and in exhaustion but soon find himself checking around in concern.
"Morrigan?"
Sonya shrugged as she was holding the unconscious succubus's head. "She'll live. She's definitively out of commission for a while though."
The youngest of the Lilith Sister was mumbling incoherently. Sonya turned around, startled, and looked straight at the mountains northwards. Mephisto noticed the reaction of the priestess
"Is there a problem?"
"I don't know what is it… but she's here… and she's there at the same time." Her eyes opened wide as she realized the implication. "This world's Morrigan is right north!"
The group prepared for another possible fight. Several minutes passed as the group remained tensed, waiting for the opponent to show up. Eventually, the group started relaxing as they felt her signature leave. Mephisto checked around once more as she put back her wand.
"I don't think that our actions will go unnoticed. We'll better have to be really careful from now on."
Luka nodded. He sat down on the ground and closed his eyes to summarize the situation in his head.
Eden will take care of Ilias, and the latter will come back on the road soon enough. Morrigan, however… I don't think she'll get to visit more of Ilias continent, which might be for the best. I just hope that even if it got her hurt pretty badly, she'll keep being helpful.
He opened his eyes again and looked at the aftermath of the battle. At least, the castle doesn't seem to have sustained further damages, but even in the midst of the wastelands, the scars from the battles are there for everybody to see… Speaking of which, Zion and the other Morrigan are definitely going to report what happened there to their own side. This means more attention from both world, and eventually from the Chaos Goddess herself.
Luka groaned. I definitively didn't need that. But even if Morrigan had held back and used her spells sparingly, our presence wouldn't have remained unnoticed for long. I just hoped that I would have time to learn more about the Angel World without being concerned about getting attacked by its inhabitants. At least, I'll be able to ask Ilias in a short time. I think.
"Are you alright? You look completely out of there."
Luka turned toward Sonya. His childhood friend sounded concerned about him. At this moment, he realized how hungry and tired he actually was.
"Yeah, I just need to take a break at the Pocket Castle. With a meal. And a shower. And at least ten hours of sleep."
Luka stepped in the castle with the remainder of the group. He'd have to revise his party's composition for the future. Would bringing lower profile party members avoid this kind of issue? No, raw power is what attracts attention in this world, and even my weakest allies could be a threat to any monster south of Hellgondo. So I'd better base the composition of my party around who is less likely to wreck havoc… Unless some people decide to force their way in my party: Eden will do everything to protect Ilias from now on. I should convince her to put some clothes on before we reach Pornof, otherwise that little vision from earlier may come to pass.
On that matter, should I bring more party members? Four is always good, we never blocked one another during fights or when walking. Being more numerous has its advantage, particularly in open areas, but in closed, confined spaces, that could prove an issue… This is getting really complicated, I wish it was like at the beginning where I didn't have the need to choose and had to make do with what was available.
He made his way silently to his room, not sparing a second thought for the monsters that were looking at him as he passed by. Eventually, he decided that this problem would be solved by the Luka of tomorrow.