Morrigan was training in the arena of the Pocket Castle against Izuna, the four tailed samurai. Both warriors were gauging each other, their sword held high. Suddenly, the succubus rushed at the kitsune with a stabbing charge. The fox barely managed to avoid it and struck at her opponent's extended arm, but her attack was parried by another blade that spawned from thin air. She jumped back as Morrigan sliced horizontally with the first sword, and tried striking directly at the head of the succubus. Her attack was blocked by the second sword, but she could feel her opponent's grip weaken temporarily. She imbued her sword with the earth element and pushed her assault further, twisting Morrigan's wrist. The succubus counter attacked by slashing vertically with her first sword, which Izuna barely dodged once again, and exploited the opening to slice horizontally at the succubus legs with her still imbued sword. The shock was strong enough to make Morrigan drop her sword. Izuna moved back to get some momentum, but suddenly shivered when a pleasant sensation ran through her whole body. The next second, Morrigan's blade sweeped her from her feet and was at her throat.

"Not bad!" The succubus held out a hand to the kitsune, which the latter graciously accepted. "But you should use every advantage available on the battlefield. Your enemy won't always hold back because of honor. You have talismans and an ally…" She pointed at the small spirit floating besides the duo. "Use them."

"I was too close to use my talismans and my kudagitsune isn't much of a fighter."

"That's right, but I still can support you." The spirit deflated. "But it takes a lot of energy to do anything…"

"Even taunting your opponent? Best way to get them mad and lose focus, trust me."

"Mmmh." Izuna pondered the situation. "This is definitively dishonorable, but I shall consider it should the need arise." The kitsune bowed. "I thank you for your lessons."

"You're welcome." Morrigan faced Izuna and wrapped an arm and a leg around her, all while grinning heavily. "Now about my payment… You know what I want, right?"

Izuna looked down, her expression hidden. "I am not the most called upon for that. You should consider adressing someone else."

The succubus pouted. "Aww, but I just helped you…"

"Even then…" The kitsune sighed. "Fine, I will have the other kitsunes support the decision to spend small medals for another Archangel Bra. And I shall make sure it ends in your possession."

Morrigan let go of Izuna. "Thank you! You see, you can please people a lot when you put some of you into it!"

The fox left, walking awkwardly. The succubus could feel her arousal peaking, and wondered how someone who pretended to be so honorable and straightforward was so dishonest with her feelings. If she wanted Pilate that badly, she should just jump him once and for all. Maybe with the extra boost she just gave her, the kitsune would finally give in to her desires and spread pleasure. Alone with her thoughts, the succubus made her way to her room. When she reached it, a voice suddenly resounded in her head.

"Sister?"

"Hey Lili-oh crap…" Morrigan grimaced. After the travel through time with the hero, those were no longer her sweet sisters. For them, she was likely just an intruder or a pretender, an anomaly to better eliminate fast.

"Wait, you're seriously going to- WAIT! Mphhh…" That voice was probably the other Morrigan.

"Shush, you, big sister is checking something… Yes, this is definitively Morrigan, although… Different. Somehow, there's a second one around and you're now weaker… Now, can you explain your presence to us? I think we have a lot to talk about."

The youngest of the Lilith Sister that accompanied Luka decided to tell them almost everything. From the moment she joined the hero to this moment, she told them about the fight with Sonya, the strange return in time started by the hero, the arrival of Ilias in the group, the sensation that something was amiss, the attack of Zion on Mithra castle and of the other Morrigan on Enrika… The only things she kept for herself was her various escapades that soured ever so slightly her relations with Luka and his friends, and her own role in the fight in Enrika. When she ended , she could feel her heart beating unusually fast, as her sisters were silently pondering the situation. Eventually, she could hear Lilith's voice once again.

"I see… This explains why the hero and his team were capable to wreck a seraph, then Morrigan. Not you! You!"

"Mpgnf!"

"Please stay silent. Or at least stop struggling." Astaroth sounded slightly annoyed.

Lilith sighed. "This is confusing, we're going to need tags for both of you. How about calling you Morriluka?"

"Certainly not!"

Lilith sighed. "Back to the matter at hand, it seems that the hero's group is going to be exceptionally strong and… Wait, time travel? You talked about time travel?"

"Yes…" Morrigan nodded, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"Then what happened last time between this moment and the moment you left us later? This will be as important as what you just said!"

Morrigan realized the opportunity and told them everything she remembered of their adventure together back then. She told them about Luddite village, Esta, Grangold, and Ilias temple. She also told them about the assassination of the Monster Lord by a wandering hero she initially forgot about.

"Thank you sister, you just gave us a huge advantage for the future!"

Morrigan felt her heart warm up at that moment. Astaroth had just called her her sister. She had no fear of being an intruder to her own family anymore, and felt more relaxed as her bond with her closest ones was not put in jeopardy any longer.

"Well, in that case, we're going to reconsider our plan. We already have a few ideas, but we'll wait to see if those will work. In the meantime, here's what you should do…"

Morrigan listened attentively and nodded repeatedly. Her grin widened by the second. As Lilith was done, she finally declared. "Oh yeah, don't worry, I'll do my best. Considering how much I'm progressing there, this will work just fine for Esta!"

"And me?" The other Morrigan sounded afraid about her own future.

"Oh, you will stay with us, we will see how we manage two Morrigans in due time, but a small soul transfer should solve everything." Lilith had taken her most reassuring tone.

"Don't hesitate to warn us if anything happen! But stay discreet. Nobody should know! See you!"

Morrigan felt relieved at the conversation that just happened. She happily rolled on her bed a few times. The only thing missing was a small hero to keep her company, and she would have been the happiest succubus in the universe. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. The succubus calmed herself: It was impossible that someone had listened to the chat. She opened the door to see a concerned Mephisto stepping in and suddenly started doubting it again.

"Morrigan."

"Mephisto."

The yoma walked straight to the succubus and looked at her in the eyes, intruding in her personal space and actually making both of them uncomfortable. "Did the Monster Lord use puppetry to make her ancestors fight for her?"

Morrigan recoiled with a grimace. "What? No! Why the fuck would she do that, that's beyond horrible!"

"Because someone did."

I hate my life.

Luka massaged his face as he awakened into a bed. Based on his surroundings, he had been saved by mermaids from Port Natalia, just like last time. There wasn't a sign of Sonya, but the Grand Noah queen was there, emitting a surprisingly disgraceful snore. The hero groaned as he got up, and stumbled around a little before being able to stand up correctly. The door leading outside his current room opened, revealing a mermaid.

"You're awake! We were starting to get worried. One of your companion got up a few hours ago." The mermaid looked awkwardly around. Luka had no doubt said companion was going to be Ilias, and that she was probably lecturing the mermaids on how they were a danger to her creations. He nodded and stepped in the mermaid's living room. His first sight was indeed the one of Ilias ranting to another mermaid who looked ashamed. He had no doubt they were more likely annoyed by the pretending small goddess than by their own action. When he entered, Ilias looked at him proudly, standing triumphant on top of her own chair.

"Luka! Just when I was telling those mermaids how lucky they were to be in the graceful presence of the one Goddess!" She stared haughtily at the mermaids. "Do you have anything to tell to those defilers?"

"Thank you for saving us. We really appreciate it."

Everyone else remained dumbfounded for a time, as Luka was making his way to a chair.

"Is there any way we can repay you?"

Both mermaids looked at each other. "Actually, you could make us a great service." Luka nodded, inviting the mermaids to tell more on the matter, even if he already knew what was happening.

"Some time ago, a few mermaids disappeared. It started with Meia. She said she wanted to go see Kraken at the Southern Sea Temple to get her blessing for a marriage, as tradition dictates. She never came back, and soon enough, several other mermaids as well as several fishermen disappeared." The mermaid looked at Luka with pleading eyes. "This city will die out if this continue! Please help us save Meia and all the others!"

Yep, Meia got brainwashed by Astaroth and got convinced that she was the southern sea queen and imprisoned every mermaid that came to the temple afterward. And then she turned every fisherman into little boys because she's a shotacon. I gotta ask Morrigan and Mephisto to know exactly how much comes from herself and how much comes from the brainwashing. I also gotta ask the mermaid queen Laura if this is a frequent problem with her kin…

Luka nodded and refrained from cringing. "Vey well. This is the least we could do to help you after you saved us."

"Great! Here's the Ball of Guidance." She handed over a blue small sphere, covered in flowing symbols. "You can access the Temple by using this on a certain point on the beach you will easily be able to identify. We are infinitely thankful for your help."

Ilias shook her head disapprovingly, but stood silent. In her current situation, she had almost no authority over Luka. Furthermore, every monster that they helped would be one less pawn for the Monster Lord.

"What are we in for?"

Luka looked at the doorway and saw the Grand Noah queen standing nobly with her whip at the ready. Ilias nonchalantly answered.

"The usual, our idiot hero has decided to help the local mermaids."

"Weird, I feel like I already heard that idiot hero expression from someone else…" Luka stared at Ilias for a few seconds before the small goddess got up, ashamed. "In any case, let's go." Luka stopped in the middle of the room when he realized somebody was amiss. "Wait. Where's Promestein?"

The mermaids looked at each other, then at Luka. "There were only three of you in the sea."

Luka sighed. The Grand Noah queen put a reassuring hand on the hero's shoulder. "Don't worry, she's probably busy inventing something."

Ilias rushed at the door. "This is exactly why me must hurry and find her now!"

Fortunately, the group's concern ended up mostly unjustified, as Promestein was found imprisoned with some of the disappeared mermaids. She didn't seem held back by her predicament, and was more than busy trying to convince the mermaids to give her blood samples for science, without much success. Luka had no difficulty beating some sense back into Meia, who confirmed them that Astaroth was the one responsible for her and Kraken's current predicament, showing the small squid that was the sealed queen of the southern seas. Once the situation was more or less resolved, the group started making its way toward San Ilia.

They reached the city that made for the heart of the faith in Ilias in the beginning of the afternoon. Everybody seemed particularly nonplussed with the grand city laying in front of them, save for Ilias who was glad to be in a town where she was worshipped and which was mostly monster-free.

"Aaah. Finally a town where I get acknowledged, and where I can get the love I am owed!"

Everybody refrained from talking about the still lingering presence of the Sylph festival and the not-so-secret use of makina by the church that was disapproved by the more fanatical followers of the goddess. Luka got invited to see the pope directly, just like last time, while the small angel was barely acknowledged. Ilias deflated in front of the hero who kept getting more recognition than her, and started mumbling about removing obstacles to the faith.

What came next was a speech Luka already heard before: The king needed an escort to protect him for a ritual in an isolated temple, filled with monsters. The hero refrained from spitting out the truth about knowing the pope was half mecha and needed to go there for maintenance.

Luka felt a tightening in his heart when the commander told him that getting mithril on Mt Amos would be a surefire way to show he could be strong enough to protect the king, all while acquiring better equipment. Ilias was more than eager to go there to see if she could communicate with heaven, but the only thing that was in Luka's mind was the image of a dying Micaela, killed by the otherworldly Gnosis.

Before anything else, the group went to the library to fetch the book "Four animists and their source". Upon seeing the group arrive to claim the book, the huge book like monster guarding it recoiled in fear and backed up in a corner. She told that she had expected to defend the book against casual thieves, not an elite group of warriors led by a hero. Ilias tried attacking her for practice, but everybody held her back as a fight was definitively not necessary. This idea only got reinforced when the first attack she considered was a fire spell. In the world's largest library.

Eventually, the group started climing Mt Amos, the mountain known as the closest point to Heaven. Luka was morose, thinking about what he would see at the top. Maybe he should have brought some reinforcement… He realized he probably thought this out loud, because the Noah Queen told him that Mephisto had planned something should Gnosis consider attacking them.

As they got closer, Luka was surprised by the lack of ominous aura emanating from the top. Eventually, as they progressed even further up, the hero started thinking that Gnosis was either missing or concealing herself. The former was more likely, as he remembered that the angels were not exactly fond of discretion, eager to convert to the faith in Ilias. When he finally reached the top of the mountain, he was greeted by the sight of nothing. The group looked around a little, but there was no sign of a fight or of an angel.

Am I that late or…

His train of thoughts was interrupted when he heard someone climbing behind them. After a while, the climber showed herself: It was a beautiful woman clad in a green outfit. She had stern blue eyes, complimented by voluptuous golden hair that fell behind her back like a waterfall. It was at this moment Luka realized how close looking Ilias was to her creation. When she started talking, her voice was both motherly and severe.

"I'm sorry, but you shouldn't stay here. Something dangerous is coming soon." The newcomer suddenly pointed at the small angel, who rushed behind the hero. "Wait, Ilias?"

The small angel whimpered. "It's Micaela! Luka, protect me!"

"Wait, you're Luka? Lucifina's son?"

Luka nodded.

"What are you doing here? You should…" She stopped herself, as she took a good look at her nephew, his entourage, and his equipment. "Where did you get that? How did you get that powerful?"

Suddenly, a booming crack echoed from the sky. A strange mechanical figure descended. She almost looked liked someone created an exoskeleton of an angel then gave up on her work midway.

The newcomer started talking in a mechanical, monotonous voice, attracting everyone's attention.

"First Seraph Micaela. For trying to step in the way of the Great Goddess Ilias plan, you shall be executed. As Gnosis, the third of the second generation seraph, this duty is mine."

Luka pulled out this sword and held it tightly, his expression contorted in anger. "Not. This. Time!"

"No, we don't think that is what happened. There's no hint that Ilias could have brainwashed Luka."

Nero was looking at a crystal ball laid on a small table while Neris was walking angrily around their small encampment. The crystal ball glowed for a small time before calming down again.

"He was extremely different from you at that same time. Right now, he's probably powerful enough to take on the Monster Lord. Furthermore, I saw him accompanied by the Elf Queen and the queen from Grand Noah, and Neris recognized another party member as being possibly Promestein. Albeit a younger version from her. Also…" Nero grimaced. "He might have already gotten closely acquainted with Alma Elma before the trip to Sentora." The young man turned toward his sister. "Did you see her?"

Neris snorted. "I recognize the scent of a powerful succubus when I smell one. Who else would he have had gotten it on with? One of those Lilith Sister?" She kept slashing repeatedly in the air with her sword, as if fighting an invisible enemy.

Nero turned back toward the ball and nodded. "She confirms it." A few minutes passed before the ball started glowing again. As it fell silent, Nero started tapping his chin with a finger, pondering the situation. "Mmmh. There was that place… Luddite Village I believe it was called. It doesn't exist back home since it formed because of the arrival and the widespread use of makinas by the church. Luka is bound to visit this place sooner or later. We will keep an active watch over there from now on."