The ambiance in the meeting room of the Pocket Castle was tense thanks to the distrust between the members of the party, following the visit to the other world. It was clear for everybody that unsavory secrets had to be revealed for the group to get to trust one another and to have a chance to function. Without that, even with the power they had, they could get torn apart by any of the major player in the conflict.

Ilias and Eden were glaring at Luka who was giving them their money back, while Sonya looked confused on the side. The meeting was also joined by the royals coming from the human nations, as well as Mephisto, who had more or less ended up being the regent of the Pocket Castle as she was the most (if not the only one) willing to take care of the daily operations. Officially, they were to act as mediators as they were considered trustworthy by both sides (the irony didn't escape Mephisto), but in reality, they were ready to jump in should the situation turn into a conflict. Of course, the angels made their distaste of the monster known, but she was politely ignoring their glare whenever she could. After an intimidating silence, Ilias finally started speaking to the assembly.

"As your goddess, I am disappointed. You kept secrets from me and in a different context I would have smitten you and thrown your burning carcass in hell. Now tell me everything. Tartarus wasn't the first time you travelled into another dimension, was it?"

Luka sighed. Time to get everything on the table I guess. I don't know why I thought hiding something that obvious from her was a good idea from the start. Actually, would have I told her everything if she directly questionned me? She never did ask, after all.

"No, it wasn't. We already visited several worlds in the past."

"And that's where you recruited all your allies?"

Luka cringed. "That's… more complicated to explain. And it will sound completely crazy."

Ilias raised an eyebrow, but remained silent, which Luka took as an invitation to continue.

"The reality is, this is not the first time I did this adventure. I already did this adventure several times up until a certain point. This is when I gradually recruited everybody and acquired all this gear."

The small goddess eyed him warily. "And how did you even get the possibility to go back in time?"

"I just took an opportunity offered by Reaper in Hades."

"What?"

Luka looked at the other people around the table. He already had difficulties making them accept the existence of Hades and the Labyrinth of Chaos until some new equipment apparently randomly turned up at the castle and some party members unexplainably developed new skills. As insane as the explanation sounded, it was the only possibility, and the scientific corps of the castle corroborated it. He did it once again for the small goddess.

Ilias loudly exhaled. When she started talking again, anger was seeping in her voice. "Just to make it clear, you told me that you and only you could visit a parallel world, where someone who calls itself Reaper -like the incarnation of death, which is ridiculous should I add- offered you the possibility to go back at the beginning of your adventure, with everything you acquired in your past run, and the reason nobody can testify is because they can't see what happened there or their memories are too scrambled?"

Luka nodded.

"And you expect me to believe something so insane with only your word to back it up?"

The Grand Noah queen spoke up. "Actually there is some evidence in the armory. Some of the equipment Luka brought and carried around is definitively not native to this world. This is why everybody gave credence to his story, and with what happened, everybody considers that Luka has no reason to lie to us."

Ilias took a moment to think about those words. She had to recognize that the Artemis bow was in fact impossible to craft with the tools present in this world, so it would make sense. She then looked around the table. Everybody was nodding positively, even her prima follower Eden.

"Fine… Then if that's the case, you should be able to know everything that will happen, and yet, you were taken by surprise by Zion. Why?"

"Because I don't remember meeting her at Mithra Castle. I feel like things are happening in a way that never happened before…"

Ilias sighed. "So even now, you're far from omniscient. Well, I suppose I will still humor you for now in spite of your transgression and your association with one of the worst being that existed." She then looked at everyone around the table. "Still, I currently feel that with those thirty years you forgot too much about me, for considering that associating with such an abomination would be a good idea."

Luka looked at Ilias straight in the eyes. "Why don't you talk about yourself then? Me and Sonya heard you talking about a recreation plan, and you made it clear that this was carried in the other world. Considering the result, I have difficulties accepting this will be good for mankind."

Ilias tried keeping a poker face, but her childish body had a too great influence on her mind and she still ended up smiling awkwardly, a nervous bead of sweet running on her forehead.

"Is it that important right now?"

Luka nodded. "Yes. I want to know what your vision of the world is. I want to know why this world was destroyed." Luka raised a finger accusingly. "Actually I want to know what you even have one plan that include killing everyone!"

Ilias cast her gaze down. "This plan is only for the direst of emergency. It is for when the last hero has fallen to the Monster Lord's minions, and when humankind is done for because of monsters. This basically amount to mercy killing." She looked at Luka with a tear in her eye. "I won't let those whores play with my creations!"

"Ilias…" His expression gradually turned into a scowl. "The writings on the journal were those of the mayor. Me and Sonya recognized his writing. Considering what we saw, there's no way a monster was involved. Why are you still lying?"

The small goddess sighed. "I didn't lie. As I said, this plan was to be put in action should the last hero fall to monster's temptations. In that case, the world would have been all but done for and I would have been the only thing standing between humankind and the whorespawns of the one who calls herself the Dark Goddess." She spat the end of her sentence with a certain disdain.

Luka massaged his temples. "So let me get this straight. Should your hero have failed, your main plan was to commit a worldwide genocide on the basis that if you couldn't show you were the force leading humanity, it should just as well die… This is insane…"

"This would have been the only way to free the humans of the temptation of monsters!"

The ambiance was as tense as the room was silent. Ilias was looking around her. Luka was scowling at her while Sonya was looking frozen in fear. While the king from Grangold was impossible to decipher, she could feel a threatening aura coming from her. Meanwhile, Sara was somehow reminding the Goddess of Morrigan for a reason she couldn't clearly identify. The two other royals were still looking neutral, but she noticed the Grand Noah Queen was nervously juggling a small blade. Even Eden was showing a concerned expression. Eventually, the king from San Ilia stepped in.

"We do not know what happened beforehand in this world when the Goddess of Light located there. Maybe the situation was that dire. Furthermore, Ilias here cannot be blamed for the actions of one of her counterpart in another world."

Everybody nodded affirmatively. Ilias sighed in relief, as even if people were going to be more wary of her, she wouldn't be blamed for a possible future action.

"In that case, I think we can move on onto other matters at hand."

"Hang on a second."

The Grand Noah queen looked at Mephisto, who had kept her hands crossed in front of her mouth for the duration of the whole conversation. After a second, the yoma got up and checked every silent seal put in the room. She wanted to make sure that nobody would disturb the following discussion. Eventually, she sat back on her chair and sighed heavily.

"I want everyone to swear that what is coming next never, NEVER EVER, transpire from this room. This is going to be something that may haunt each of you for the rest of your days. Should you think this would prove a problem in any way, you are free to leave immediately. I am not one to order kings and queens and I apologize should you think I am overstepping my boundaries as a royal advisor, but I want to make it clear that what is coming next could end the world of the faith in Ilias. And while I admit trickery is a part of my usual strategy, I solemnly swear that I will say the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on my life and my academy."

Everybody looked awkwardly at each other, then at the Grand Noah queen who was more used to deal with the yoma.

"I have never seen you like that before. The issue better be as serious as you make it."

"Given my current predicament, I cannot afford to lose the goodwill and trust I acquired from each and every one of you."

Everybody remained sitting and nodded to signal they were ready.

"In that case, I will make it short." She started browsing in her book as she resumed speaking. "As only a few scholars know these days, the progenitors of the monster race, which are the Dark Goddess and the Six Ancestors -I know how you hate them no need to remind us right now- are currently sealed away in a pocket dimension blocked by a great seal specially made to feed on the power of the caster. So the more powerful the caster is, the stronger the seal. In that case, they're almost impossible to break, and only one of them was not fully effective thanks to a loophole abuse."

"That cunning fox…" Ilias sneered.

Mephisto ignored the interruption. "However, the seals were also equipped with a spell that siphons dark energy released in the world. Ah! There it is!" She showed a page covered in obscure runes and diagrams. "If the world is saturated with dark energy, which would happen if a lot of monsters are slaughtered, which would happen if you ran your recreation plan, they should be released." She closed the book and looked straight at Ilias. "And you can confirm that. The worst monsters that roam this world right now are barely a breeze to deal with for mankind compared to them."

Ilias nodded.

"In which case, may I ask how did you plan for it? You wouldn't be so stupid as risking the return of the Dark Goddess in the middle of your genocide, as she and her lieutenants would certainly come to the rescue of the monsters and risk turning the balance in their favor in the blink of an eye. So the only way to avoid that would be to prevent the dark energy to reach the seal, which only someone as powerful as the Monster Lord would be able to do, and since no angels can do it without exploding… I answered my own question, didn't I?"

Sonya was dumbfounded. "What? What do you mean?"

Mephisto glared at Ilias. "I will reformulate my new question. How did you get a Monster Lord to disappear unnoticed and to do this trick for you?"

The Grand Noah Queen sighed at her ex advisor. "She is not the one who directly put this plan into action."

Mephisto raised her hands and bowed in a conciliant gesture. "Of course, I am not accusing her personally, but I am certain that Ilias here already had this plan in her mind. Something like that takes time to put into place, and time was the one resource our little goddess could afford before this."

"Wait! You're seriously thinking that Ilias recruited a monster lord in one of her plan? She hates monsters more than anything!" It took Sonya a minute to realize she was the one talking.

Ilias awkwardly looked down and turned away.

Mephisto threw her arms in the air. "And here we are. The truth behind the actions of Ilias and her religion. The Goddess of Light used a Monster Lord to do a job she couldn't." The yoma teacher crossed her arms, her expression sour. "I'm torn between mocking you for needing a monster for your plan and scolding you for trying to be responsible for a genocide." She scowled. "You still didn't answer my question though."

Eden slammed her hands on the table. "Stop questioning the Goddess, for her plan is for the greater good of an ideal world! Besides, Black Alice is an abomination that held no loyalty to the Goddess of Light…"

Eden stopped herself, but it was too late.

Sara's hand was trembling. "Wait, the Monster Lord who accepted to do that was Black Alice herself? The psychopath who started one of the bloodiest war in history? The one killed by Heinrich?"

"And the one who is masquerading as Alicetromeria in the castle right now." The Grand Noah queen had somehow managed to get herself a glass of Noah wine without leaving the room. "As well as the one who became the Goddess of Chaos."

Sonya was massaging her temples. "Wait… How could a Monster Lord become a god? Even if they're powerful, there's no way she would spontaneously ascend!"

The Grangold king spoke. "A transformation on that level would require a large amount of energy. A godly amount of holy energy… And she held no loyalty to Ilias…"

The room fell silent as everyone considered the ramifications. Everybody's gaze slowly turned toward Ilias, until Mephisto shook her head. "No. There's no way it's possible. For the same reason angels can't take in dark energy."

"Neither is dimensional travel and yet…" The Grand Noah queen gestured toward Luka with her free hand. "Here we are. I won't even talk about the discoveries of makinas and the possibilities they offer."

The Pope started pondering the situation. "Maybe, but I don't know of any makinas capable of that. However, the scientific team in this castle has developed a more advanced knowledge skills than what our team did, and also has knowledge in several other domains. Asking them if it is possible to fuse holy energy in a monster or the opposite without causing chaosization would probably yield us an exploitable answer.

Mephisto grimaced. "I'm not sure giving this kind of idea to Promestein is a good plan, but…"

Ilias winced upon hearing the name. Mephisto noticed, as well as Luka who consequently decided to bang his head on the table repeatedly, no longer caring about decorum in the presence of the kings and queens of the human kingdoms.

She has a hand in it as well, doesn't she? And based on what I already heard from Ilias, in her world I somehow also had a hand as well in it. Thank you, parallel world me…

"Message clear. Keeping Promestein out of that one."

Sonya was holding her head between her hands. "Ok, so what should we do now?"

"We continue as is." Everybody looked at Luka. "I'm certain Ilias can change for the better. We already saw it happening with several people, including some of us. And I think the best way for that is for her to see how humans and monsters continued coexistence for the past thirty years changed the world for the better. Barring the current Monster Lord's plans of course, since she's influenced by another world."

"I was worried you lost that wide eyed idealist aspect of you in this world… For once, I'm glad I was wrong. Now, for our next travel…" Her sentence trailed off when she realized Luka was glaring at her. His aura reminded her of his mother on this fated day.

"Don't think you will go off that one easily. Concealing the truth about what I already did and knew was a bad decision, I admit. But I think having planned for a worldwide slaughter and, in an alternate case, being responsible for the ascension of the source of all our trouble break that by a wide margin."

Ilias gulped loudly. She turned toward Eden in hope of her support, but noticed that even her seraph was somehow intimated by Luka.

"In spite of everything that was told today, I will start by reaffirming my oath to protect you. You remain a valued resident of this castle, and as such I will devote my utmost effort to guarantee your safety." Ilias exhaled slowly, relieved. "However, from now on, I and I alone will decide the composition of my immediate party. And I will show you that you can depend on other ones than angels." He turned toward Mephisto. "I will still make sure that I will not take in the party members that could be the most needed for parallel operations, but otherwise, nobody has a word to say on the matter."

Ilias was trembling, but still managed to ask her question. "And what if I -hypothetically of course- refuse?"

"Then you are free to go. I will get sure that my party members will stay out of your way. I will get sure they also stay out of the way of anyone that looks for you. I will let the angels from the other world get you should they decided to exercice some form of vengeance by proxy upon you. I will not disturb the Lilith Sisters should they decide to play with you."

"…Fine, I accept your conditions then." The small goddess was terrified. It might have been only a short moment, but she saw a merciless Lucifina's gaze in her son. And given her situation, she was in no position to challenge him.

"Great. In that case, I suggest we all go take a rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

The assembly silently dispersed. When he reached his room, Luka fell on his bed like a rock.

Heurgh, this was a mistake. Still, I have a chance to soften Ilias with those travels. I hope she will follow the steps of Tamamo in that way, but this is going to take a while before she gets remotely nice… For the last party member, I think Mephisto herself could do nicely, or, barring that, one of the nicer monsters like the kitsunes or Alrauna. I don't remember having to deal with that mess last time…

Wait, how did it happen actually?

And the time before that?

Ilias was back in the chapel. She felt a sense of familiarity as she was now surrounded by followers, but also by some slight unease when she realized that a few of them were monsters. While most of them were quietly praying, Eden was furious.

"How dare they demand anything to the Goddess of Light? Do they not realize that this plan is for their own good? Do they think they know their need better than you do?"

Ilias haughtily looked at the seraph. "I noticed you did not step up to support me when it was time."

Eden looked down, ashamed. "The son of the Daystar is to be dreaded. Furthermore, he has garnered a lot of support from the human kingdoms."

"Are you saying he would be more loved than me?"

The seraph raised her arms defensively. "Of course not! I would never dare! Only those abominable monsters put him higher than you in their wicked heart." She then kneeled in front of Ilias. "But I just ask of you to show them how the only goddess should be respected! They have no right to demand anything."

"I thank you Eden, but I will keep accompanying the hero on the road. He's our best hope if we want to stand against monsters. I ask of you to tolerate them until we're able to stand on our own." She gestured her lieutenant to get up.

"But I ask of you to at least make him reconsider his demands! I should accompany you! Do you really think he would be able to protect me better than I would ever be able to?"

Ilias frowned. "I'm not sure. But I don't think your protection will be needed considering how little threatening the monsters around us are. Furthermore, he still offered me… adequate equipment, so I am confident I still have some goodwill from him to exploit. You may dispose."

Eden left her goddess alone. The latter silently went back to her room, her mind filled with trouble. She was feeling she was losing control over the situation. She still had a fair share of supporters in this world in spite of her apparent death thirty years ago.

She then realized what her real issue was. There were several threats that were out of her control. It was one, if not the first time since the Great War that she was threatened directly and by multiple opponents. When she fought Luka back in the other world, she had no doubt she was still in control until she fell. He was acting like her puppet. But now, for the first time, she felt that everything in the world was evading her grasp. If she wanted to get in control again, she'd have to get back her legitimate place. And if she wanted to get back her legitimate place, she would have to start from scratch. Eventually, she decided that following Luka on his adventure was the best decision. They both shared their part in starting on the wrong foot, and their relation could only get better from now on, so she definitively was better staying with him after all.

Besides, what did this world have to offer her beyond misery?

In spite of every effort deployed by Mephisto to conceal the room to prying eyes, a strange duo was observing the conversation happening in the Pocket Castle. Reaper and the White Rabbit were looking at a large scrying ball lying on a table. As the residents of the room were done talking, the ball gradually turned dark.

"That went better than expected…" The White Rabbit was sitting across a padded lounge chair that was equipped with arm rests.

"But that won't end well at all."

Reaper, standing tall, looked at the physical embodiment of time. Why did she bother creating herself a chair like that to use it this way? Even for something so trivial and mundane, she had difficulties apprehending the chaotic train of thoughts of the White Rabbit. Eventually, the latter completely wallowed with her head hanging upside down.

"We weren't the only one to notice the differences. The others are going to get a little more forward in their attempts to grab the hero for themselves." She looked at Reaper. "You think you can handle it?"

The avatar of death nodded. "This will not be an issue. I will do the usual procedure as needed."

"Soooo… We don't change anything for now?"

"No, for the moment we will do as usual. I shall resurrect Luka should the need arise, and you shall guide him and keep him on track as needed." Reaper turned toward the void. "The spread of chaosization is comparable to the last times. We have to know if this situation can continue without breaking."

"The world or Luka?"

The figure in black raised an eyebrow at the White Rabbit.

"You said without breaking but you didn't precise what would snap. So what is more likely to break first, the world or Luka?"