Luka's party made its way to Witch Hunt Village mostly unimpeded. From afar, the village looked like any other settlement that they had been visited, but inside, several women were wandering happily with some of their body parts replaced by tentacles, giving out an uncanny aura. Even worse, the air was thick with tension. Some people were eyeing one another suspiciously, as if waiting for an opportunity to jump at each other's throat. One of the villager explained to the group that the women living there were originally oppressed, but that a researcher named Lily gave them the power to rise against their despot by giving them the ability to summon tentacles. Most of the persecutors had been killed in the uprising, and Lily was named the new burgmeister by popular demand. She then considered that it was her duty to give everyone access to this power to be able to stand against their oppressor.

However, the hostilities didn't calm down after initial uprising, as Lucia, one of Lilith's closest friend and fellow researchers, had fallen into disagreement with her. She thought that if everyone had this power, it would grow unchecked and result in a bloodbath, eventually ending with the past victims acting no better than their tyrants. It was clear that the rising conflict in the village would only stop with the removal of one of the leaders.

Even if he had solved that one before, Luka decided to spend time thinking about it. The hero thought spending the night outside with his party, not far from the village to discuss the matter with Micaela could help them discern a better solution. When they started talking about what they saw, Ilias was the first to voice her opinion.

"We must prevent the spread of tentacle magic at all cost! Whoever we support, we must destroy this horrible research, and keep an eye on Lucia at all time! People should know their place and certainly never get access to the power to rise against their leader! It will destabilize the world!"

Micaela chuckled. "You're speaking from experience, I presume?"

"More than you can possibly imagine! I mean…"

Ilias looked at Micaela's eyes. The seraph was distractedly stirring a few embers in the campfire with a branch, with a small smile. "Nevermind." The small goddess turned toward Luka and Sonya. "What are your thoughts, you two?"

Sonya sighed as she looked at the fire while resting her head on both hands. "I don't know. It's a situation where there's no good answer. Some people are suffering under other's yoke. But… When they got their power, they straight up murdered their oppressors. Now they are going for those that oppose them. When will this end? Can it even stop?"

Luka followed suit. "I agree. I'm not sure there's a good choice… But I want to play it safe, and the less people there are running around with the power of tentacles, the less likely there will be another issue popping up randomly."

"If you say so." Luka froze up as Micaela started talking. "I don't think someone who comfortably lived her whole life in Heaven and then with a tightly knit community can help you on this particular matter."

The hero meekly nodded while Ilias stretched her wings. "Then it's decided! We will deal with Lily and then with Lucia!" The small goddess yawned. "A goddess has to rest to remain fresh. Good night everyone."

Ilias eventually moved away, followed closely by Sonya. The young priestess also seemed tired after the long trek through the desert. Only the young hero and the seraph were still awake outside, silently watching the fire.

"Luka, we need to talk about what was said and what happened in Grandeur."

Luka loudly gulped and slightly tamped himself, making him look even smaller than he was. "Look, it's true I've gotten close and personal with quite a few monsters." Micaela was looking at him straight in the eyes. Her expression was perfectly neutral. Luka couldn't see the smallest hint of anger or of disappointment, as if she was not judging him. An explosion of anger would have been more reassuring. "And yes, it includes Morrigan, and you know better than me how dangerous she actually is." She was still as unmoving as a statue. "And I remember doing it several times with her." The hero's voice started trembling. "Actually… that was so often that I cannot remember all of the times I let monsters have their way with me."

Eventually, the hero broke down in inelegant blubbering. "Please! I'm sorry! I will never do it again!"

Micaela closed her eyes. "You just confirmed everything I feared. First, I will not punish you because you slept with monsters, these days of mine were I punished sinners are long gone. And I apologize, I definitively should not have threatened you for doing so in the first place. I didn't think you were suffering so much from the pressure." She started tapping him gently on the back. "I wanted to know about why you incapacitated everyone at the theater after you got teased. That was… terrifying. That reminded me of your mother in her bad days. At first I thought you had somehow become like her in her prime, enthusiastic to spread destruction around. And after how you sassed me in the desert, I was fearing this entire world's hopes were now lying on the shoulder of someone like that. But then I started thinking back about what I heard from the other people back in the castle, and about how you seem to react each time I talk... I terrify you, don't I?"

Luka recoiled and raised his hands defensively. "No! Of course not!"

Micaela smiled warmly in an attempt to reassure her nephew, but unfortunately her attempt failed: Luka was clearly panicking and looked like he was about to run, which reminded her of when she dealt with sinners in the past.

"I'm not here to judge you. I softened out of that a long time ago. I'm just getting worried about you. I know how hard it can be when the fate on the world lies on your shoulders, particularly when you don't have hundreds of years of experience in dealing with an overbearing goddess."

Luka slowly exhaled, finally starting to calm down. "Yeah, I... feel like I could lose it. At first, it was simple. I travelled, found people in difficulty, I stepped in, beat down the offending party and everything came back together. I always walked around, found troubles to solve them, because that's what heroes do. But at the end..." He raised his head toward Micaela, his eyes slightly reddened. "I realized that I couldn't solve everything that way. People were relying more and more on me, and deep down, something keep telling me that I won't be able to help them at the end. I can only do so much, and I still feel the weight of my failure to protect places like Luddite Village."

"You know there's only one of you, right?" Luka raised a surprised eyebrow. "I mean two things, the first is that you can't be everywhere. Even if now you have a small army to support you, you will never be able to be here for everyone. But at the end of the day, if you stood up to protect someone and saved him, that's already better than staying here with your arms crossed as he dies."

"The second is that nothing good will happen if you end up dead. You won't be able to save people anymore, you won't get to reap the fruit of your labor, and in the end, all you have done might end up for nothing. So please try taking care of yourself more."

Luka reflected on the seraph's words. "I will, thanks auntie!"

Micaela's expression became more neutral. "On that matter, I have another question. A really personal one. I would understand if you told me it's getting uncomfortable."

The hero shook his head. "No, ask away."

"Do you have any actual leisure out of having sex with the other residents? Not that I would actually blame you for giving in to temptation -considering the company heroes always seem to attract- but in your case, it seems you don't even have any hobbies on the side. "

The hero opened his mouth, before sheepishly looking down. "I cook a little, but… there's so much pressure on me as people keep expecting the best meals, it's not exactly relaxing either. Sooo, yes."

The seraph chuckled darkly. "And here I arrive, doing everything but threatening to cut it should you continue to do that. Please forget I ever had a word on the matter. Just… don't let it control you."

Luka raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, letting it control me?" His face started to flush. "I mean, I know how monsters use it as a weapon because of the effects of critical ecstasy, but…"

"I mean getting completely addicted to the pleasure one of the monster can bring, and then follow her blindly as a semen slave that will lose its will to do everything, and eventually his life."

Luka looked at Micaela. It sounded like a lesson the seraph already repeated hundreds of times through her life... And something she never wanted to see happen again.

"This is going to be awkward, but to tell you the truth, the reason I directly threatened you was that when I saw you, you were carrying around Morrigan's smell. I will never be able to forget it. And when I saw your companions at the castle, I was worried you were completely under their enthrallment." She sighed. "And as it turned out, you're the one who enthralled them. Most of them are utterly loyal to you to the point of seeing you as a savior, and will follow you to the end of the world. But even then, I'm still afraid that one would lure you into a trap simply through sex. You do what they want in exchange for the pleasures they bring. Succubi in particular, are very good at that game, and so are kitsunes. I've seen too many heroes losing themselves to a monster, betraying their close ones for the promise of more pleasure. And eventually, their new master ended up tired of them and discarded them after having sucked them dry."

"Succubi and kitsunes…" Luka was finally starting to really calm down. "That would make sense why the Lilith Sisters were the ones chosen to come here, and why Tamamo No Mae is the one sent to manipulate the whole kingdom of Grangold." Micaela nodded.

"On the matter of the nine tails, I know she's also currently out there, and, like me, is wary of what her own side is doing. So I ask of you." She got up and kneeled solemnly before Luka. "Will you forgive your foolish aunt for needlessly threatening you, take me on your adventure to defend the world, and, if possible, spare a moment to visit the sly but wise fox that is Tamamo No Mae, currently residing in the fox shrine in Yamatai?"

Luka remained dumbfounded for a moment. Even after having recruited monster queens and even a few seraphim, he was surprised by Micaela's declaration. Maybe it was because she had become something of a parental figure in a very short lapse. Maybe it was because she was proving him that he had no actual reason to fear her. Or maybe it was because of something else. He couldn't even tell if he agreed, but the only think he remembered before going to be was Micaela thanking him, and saying she was lucky to have been found by him at the right time.

With the hindsight setting in, he felt surprised when he realized how easily he opened to her. Was it the power inherent to angels? He'd have to be more careful in the future. Although there were still a lot of questions he would like to ask the seraph.

The next day, Luka formally declared to Lily his intention to neutralize her. Clearing her manor proved slightly more difficult than it should have, as Ilias tried to check any chests and clay pots around, and had to be freed from a honey pot monster more than once. This earned her a word of caution from her first lieutenant the first time it happened, but got her laughed after she kept falling for it. When the group reached Lily and she started reciting her story, it took Luka some serious effort to not do some eye rolling. While he acknowledged that her story and the one of the villagers was tragic, it did not justify the wholesale slaughter of every last one of their opressor. Furthermore, the spread of tentacle magic could be a possible liability in the long run. They incapacitated her and confirmed with Lucia that she was going to keep an eye on the village's inhabitant, to be sure that none of the tragedy that befell it ever happened again.

The group then left a calmer Witch Hunt Village for the Safaru Ruins. Ilias insisted that they could skip recruiting Gnome in this world, but it was considered an important step to follow the true history, and Luka knew the White Rabbit would find a way to railroad them into getting her anyway. Micaela was unusually jumpy when they were in the ruins, her sword always drawn, ready for an ambush. Only a few monsters disturbed them, as their reputation had grown in the region by now, and they proved no stronger than the ones they already faced in the desert. From time to time, the group could see Gnome or her ghostly doll's shape from afar, observing them with curiosity. After a few hours of exploration, the group finally arrived in front of the Earth Spirit. They easily beat the unfortunate Earth Spirit down, and then, on Micaela's insistence, left the ruins even as the sun was starting to set down. They reached the small town of Saloon in the early parts of the night to enjoy its inn.

-Angel World, Esta-

Zion and Eden were looking at Gnosis, their anger growing by the second. The mechanical angel had been heavily damaged in a fight, and was moving spasmodically on the healing post they installed near the transition point. They were furious against those that dared hurt one of the apostles of Ilias. How did the son of Lucifina manage to attack her? How dare he stand in the way of the goddess? This was an affront that could not be forgiven.

Gnosis had recently come back after she was ordered to destroy the Micaela in the other world. The latter had become a fallen angel, and was no longer following the goddess. She had initially been given a chance to join them, but she had violently turned down the held out hand, and started being a new thorn in Ilias's side. It was only natural that she had to be exterminated before she could consider impeding the great salvation plan of the goddess. However, the damned hero Luka was already there when the two seraphim met atop Mt Amos, and, in a bout of madness, he had decided to support her. He had laid a crafty ambush with several of his goons equipped with makinas, and cowardly attacked the seraph when she tried bringing down righteous judgment.

Gnosis came back with much difficulty, and was now surrounded by a mix of healer and a few rare angels that had knowledge about makinas. While her status wasn't critical, she was still out of commission for a few days, lying on a bed linked with strange contraptions. The two other seraph remained silent in front of their wounded fellow, and had the greatest difficulty controlling themselves. Zion in particular also felt anger toward herself for not using her best skills against the hero's group to eliminate them as soon as she saw them with that murderous blue haried whore.

A small pillar of light formed briefly and disappeared, leaving behind a new angel standing in its place.

The newcomer was wearing rubber like stockings, and an "armor" that only concealed the most important bits and her arms. She was surrounded by several flying blades, circling menacingly around her like a reflection of her somber mood. Her mildly long hair were surrounding red eyes that were located above a forever frowning expression.

Zion and Eden kneeled. "Archangel Uriela. We did not expect you to come here."

"I am here because Micaela asked me to." She looked at the third seraph. "Get up you two, and tell me more about this hero. This is the second time he somehow gets in our way. This shall not stand."

Zion explained her the first encounter she had with them, as she chased a new version of Morrigan that was somehow with them near Mithra castle. The group had managed to push them back with the support of more fallen angels. Micaela had ordered them to proceed as planned, but then the damned hero interrupted Gnosis, resulting in the current situation. All the while, Uriela's frown deepened, while her weapons kept moving more erratically and threateningly than ever.

"I see. They want monsters to be unopposed. Then they will likely stop in Esta to try to destroy our connection to their world. We will deal with them then."

Eden's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing the archangel's decision. "We will?"

Uriela nodded. "We will."