The next day, only a few persons were present for this assembly in the council room of the Pocket Castle. Most of the residents weren't even aware that the room was currently occupied by Micaela, Mephisto, the Grand Noah queen and Luka. The first seraph didn't want any information leaking from the room, and had even contracted a costly agreement with the yoma to ensure that the latter wouldn't even consider spreading the information. She didn't want to get surprised, but even then, the yoma shocked her when the reunion started.

"I am sorry to announce you that I am dead."

The remark made everybody raise an eyebrow, before they understood what the yoma meant.

"You mean this world's version of you is dead."

Mephisto shrugged. "If you want to be more accurate, yes."

Micaela slowly exhaled. "Please make it clear directly next time. As funny as the ambiguity can be, it is getting difficult to keep track of someone when there are several versions of them running around."

"I apologize." Mephisto cleared her throat. "But the point remains. My alternate self had contacted me, sent students to Grand Noah to get picked up, and the next thing I know the academy blows up." She raised a hand. "And before you ask, I secured this place against accidents, because I'm aware of the risks of having a lot of young students training in magic near highly volatile ingredients, and I certainly don't want either to suffer any risk. An explosion on that scale is the result of someone who knows exactly what she was doing. I already had a team check what happened, and they couldn't find out the reason amongst the magical debris. Until we learn more, the reason of her death will remain a mistery."

"Luka said that the Monster Lord apparently knew what the Lilith Sisters told him at the Ruins of Ilias Temple which didn't happen yet. This means she somehow learned about something that was going to happen, and this is getting really confusing…" The Grand Noah queen massaged her temples. "The point remains: someone told them everything that happened in one of Luka's past adventure, the plans he broke, and they react accordingly."

"We already talked about that with Ilias and Sphinx. She suspected Morrigan to be responsible but…"

"But it would be hard to accept it." Micaela glanced at her nephew. "The perspective of being betrayed by a close ally isn't an enjoyable one."

Luka's face reddened. The hero definitively preferred dealing with eldritch abominations rather than talking with her aunt about how he got biblically acquainted with one of her archenemies, no matter how much she seemed to take it in stride.

"None the less, she is the most likely culprit. She has the reasons, the knowledge and the connection to her family. Based on what we've seen so far, the only alternative would be someone who want us to think it's Morrigan to drive a wedge between us and her."

"The angels maybe?"

"I'm not sure… Correct me if I'm wrong, but the first major change happened at Mithra castle when Zion attacked?"

Everybody else nodded.

"So the angels were the first to react… But considering they attacked Ilias and then Eden reacted accordingly -which means with extreme violence-, it's unlikely one of the angel of the Pocket Castle would have given her said information willingly. But unwillingly?" Micaela looked at Mephisto as she ended her sentence.

"I see your point, and while we can do psychological and magical checks on each resident of the Pocket Castle, the probability that one of them got isolated, captured and had the time to spill the beans to an undetected traveler from the Angel World is almost non-existent."

Micaela closed her eyes. "I more than trust your judgment on that one. Furthermore I don't think they would give monsters anything that could possibly give them an edge against a third party, I know I wouldn't… Then it means the only remaining one who would be able to do this would be Black Alice, the Chaos Goddess."

Luka shook his head. "I can't explain exactly why… but I don't see her do this kind of stuff."

"Too much effort for not enough fun. It would be easier and funnier to send a monster to wreck a whole town. Our issue is too subtle for someone who started one of the bloodiest war simply because she was bored." Micaela looked at the three other council members. "She'd also intervene personally.

"Then we're back to square one… With what it implies." Luka ground his teeth.

Micaela sighed. "I have a plan to check if it's Morrigan. It's risky, but even if she gets suspicious, she shouldn't get outright hostile. Can we have three stealthy teams ready to support us should things go wrong while in Yamatai?"

The yoma smirked. "Easy as pie."

"Great, here's who I want on team three. I'll let you do the calls on the two others."

Mephisto raised an eyebrow. "You're sure you want those two? I mean sure, why not, but they're as unreliable as one can get."

"It's only a last resort. To get Morrigan checked, I will need her to come with us. Oh, I forgot to tell you, even if Tamamo isn't there, I still want to accompany you as well."

Luka remained silent for a minute, lost in thoughts. "You're sure about that? I don't want to take the risk of losing you."

Micaela took her most soothing voice. "Don't worry. I didn't make it this far to die just like that." She continued in a darker tone.

"But I know I will regret that decision."

"At least they get along well…"

Convincing Morrigan to accompany them to Yamatai hadn't proven too difficult. The succubus had been initially surprised when Micaela asked her to accompany them to the oriental village, but the seraph also said that she thought her presence would help smooth things out when they'd encounter her sister. The first seraph feared Morrigan would grow uncomfortable by the perspective of being accompanied by Lucifina-chan and herself, but the Daystar accidentally broke the ice by calling the succubus "a great wife for her son." The succubus exploded into laughter under the horrified gazes of Luka and Micaela.

The group was now making its way through the long tunnel leading to Yamatai. Lucifina-chan and Morrigan were walking in front side by side, while Luka and Micaela followed a few steps behind. Luka was used to see monsters scurry away as soon as they saw his group, but it was the first time he saw nobody, as if the duo in front of him was wearing a sign that said "if we see you, we'll kill you."

They were occasionally whispering to each others, gossiping like school girls for several minutes, only stopping in their discussions to glance at the duo behind them with a cat-like grin before turning back to chuckle. Luka couldn't understand any of the conversation, but each time he turned to look at Micaela, she was grimacing or was red faced, so it was probably for the best. Fortunately, without any fight to interrupt them, the trip only took them the better part of the morning before they arrived in sight of the village.

The strange party passed between the oriental style houses to directly go for the communal hall. While Luka discussed the matters that surrounded every shrine with the village chieftain, Morrigan and Lucifina wandered toward several young men that were lying on the ground, apparently exhausted. Morrigan checked their aura, a small expression of surprise appearing on her face.

"Huh. They look tired, but I can tell they hadn't gotten any for at least several months. What happened to them?"

A woman dressed in a kimono bowed before the succubus. "They were taken as partners by Yamata No Orochi for a whole year before coming back in that pathetic state."

"Pfffft… She needs a year to make them like that? Give me a night." She grinned at Luka. "You can support me on that one, right?"

"Am I going to get grandchildren soon then?"

A silence of lead fell. Luka, Micaela and Morrigan were throwing absolutely horrified wide eyed stares at the little seraph, who was still smiling innocently. After an all too long minute, the succubus cleared her throat and managed to come out with an answer.

"Later. Now is really not a good time."

Lucifina-chan started throwing a tantrum.

"I want babies, and I want them now! Start making them, please please please!"

Morrigan raised her hands defensively, confused in front of Lucifina-chan puppy eyes. In her back, she heard a long drawn sigh.

"Well, while you try to explain her the deal with succubi and children, we're going to go check the smith. See you soon!"

"Wait! Come back here! Don't leave me with your psycho little sister!" Morrigan desperately shouted at the seraph's back.

Micaela left the room, soon joined back by Luka. The duo walked the bare path leading to the shop before she started talking again.

"Your mother always had a really bad sense of humor."

Luka shivered. "I still remember the joke of the tomatoes and the stuffed turkey."

Micaela closed her eyes. "I beg of you, please don't say one more word!"

Luka stopped talking for a while.

"But… You really think she was joking?"

"She was… Probably."

A minute later, they were browsing through the smith's inventory. It was more absent-minded item checking, as nothing reached the ankle of the equipment they had available back in the Pocket Castle. Still, Micaela felt slightly reassured by the confirmation that the equipment they had back there was amongs the best in the world.

Luka was checking a plate when he started talking again. "To be honest, I half expected Morrigan to jump me when Lucifina-chan told her."

Micaela was checking a katana when she answered absent mindedly. "I didn't. The best way to get a succubus not to do something is to pressure her to do it."

"And the best way to get them to do something?"

"Make them think it will be as enjoyable for them as sex. That, or dangling a delicious prey in front of them. Both work just fine in my experience."

Luka distractedly nodded. A moment later, a horrible realization hit him.

"Wait, does that mean you did…"

Micaela sighed, and placed the blade back on its support. "I'm not proud of it either. But it was a time where I did everything Ilias told me without question. And we never managed to catch bigger than some rank and file succubi, the more powerful ones could escape faster than we could spring our trap."

Luka shrugged. "It's okay. It's in the past."

Micaela looked into her nephew's eyes, and could see a lack of light born from indifference that started worrying her. That total lack of empathy reminded her of herself in the past.

Before they could further discuss, a frowny Morrigan and a happy Lucifina entered the place. Apparently, they had found a compromise that involved the succubus signing a marriage contract as well as sharing Luka with whoever else Lucifina judged fitting as a wife. Micaela hesitated between laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation or blowing up at the duo for doing something so fundamentally wrong. She eventually decided it was better to remain silent and to move toward the aptly named Shrine Hill. Besides, it was where the restaurant was located, and Micaela didn't have to try some of Yamatai's famous exotic food for herself, something she intended to correct fast.

Luka felt surprisingly reassured to see Alice and her two companions eating in front of the restaurant, a sign of normalcy amongst the more insane than usual events. The feeling wasn't mutual, however, as the small Monster Lord recognized the disguised angel that threatened her, and the succubus had a shark smile upon seeing her. Before she could react, however, the succubus got behind her and grabbed her, shaking her like a puppy while cooing all the while.

"Awww, a cute little Monster Lord! What a poppet! Look at how cute she is!" She showed it at Micaela and Luka.

"Can I keep her?"

The duo answered at the same time. "No. Put her back."

The succubus pouted but relented, placing back the still-frozen Monster Lord on her seat. Micaela used a minor enhancement on her voice to break Alice's trance.

"Greetings, Alipheese the Sixteenth. What happens to bring you here?"

The spell was enough to pull Alice out of her paralysis and make her talk.

"I came to visit Tamamo. If there's one person that could, would have helped me in this situation, it's her, she's like a second mother to me." She sighed. "But she left, and instead there's only that damn succubus that doesn't do anything besides asking for more men as offering."

"As she should."

Everybody turned to Morrigan. "What?"

"Anyway, I'm now stuck here, and you…" She looked at Luka and his party. "Wait, who are you even? A succubus, a human…" She proceeded to sniff Luka, and started moving her nose toward uncomfortable places.

"Hey! Quit it Alice!" He grabbed her by the horn and pushed her back.

Alice groaned. "Don't treat me like your dog! I'm the Monster Lord!" She snarled as she turned away. "Damn this pathetic form, I should be able to ravish you and make you cry on the spot!"

Lucifina-chan stepped between them, her sword drawn. "Luka will only make children with people I want, and only miss succubus will go under him!"

"Yeah! Wait. No! I don't want to be at the bottom!" Morrigan sounded passably displeased.

"And who are you to decide that?"

The small seraph closed her eyes and happily answered. "His mother!"

Alice went wide eyed while Luka's shoulders slumped. Morrigan was starting to grin evilly, enjoying the show even if she was an actor as much as a victim.

"Lucifina-chan. I thought we already talked about it. People won't understand if you said you're my mother when you look younger than me."

She pointed a finger at Luka and took a scolding tone. "Don't talk back like that! I didn't raise you to disrespect your own mother! And you! You should take a lesson from me to raise your kids properly later. But first, give me children now!"

Morrigan threw her arms in air in exasperation. "We're just done talking about it! We said this'll be done after the adventure!"

Luka moaned in despair. "Now is not the time to talk about it!"

Alice recoiled in front of the growing chaos and saw Micaela's eyes for a split second. Those alone told her a message that made her instantly sympathize to the only apparent adult's plight: welcome to my hell.

Alice politely cleared her throat. "It's good to see you're well and good without that petty goddess to try to brainwash you. Farewell." She gestured with her head to make the two other monsters follow her. They left silently, unnoticed by the trio behind Micaela who was still in an argument over Luka's family life.

The seraph decided to command food at the restaurant. She definitively deserved it. That, and a large bottle of sake.

Micaela had the opportunity to enjoy her lunch show for a small hour, slowly taking time to savor the local food while the trio tried yet again to find an agreement on Luka's marriage and child making task. When the show started to go in circle, she reminded everyone that they would soon see Morrigan's sister, and that maybe she'd be able to help them. She didn't believe a word of it, of course, but it was the only way she found to get them moving on the hill.

The first shrine they reached was the cat shrine, which was filled to the brim with stray nekomatas and a desperate shrine maiden looking for the one that was the cat goddess.

"What did happen exactly last time?"

Luka awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Well, we checked them all to find the one that answered differently, and when we reported back… we had already lost her."

"Great." Micaela started making her way through the shrine, not sparing a glance at the cat girls starting to pack behind her. "Where do we start?"

"We check on each of them."

"Let's spread up, it will be faster. Wait, where are the two others?" Several other nekomatas had joined the ones following her.

"They wanted to check the warehouse. They said something about a murderous intent coming from there."

"Figures, can't count on them when we need it." Almost all cat girls present in the shrine were surrounding the seraph, who only now cared about her predicament. "Did anything like that happen last time?" The nekomatas started jumping on top of her while meowing.

"Yeah, but it was with foxes and that weird guy."

"What weird guy? Gah! Stop trying to rub yourself here!"

"Nero. Nobody told you about the twins?"

"I think someone actually did, my baaAAD!"

Trying to move away, she accidentally stumbled back on one of the nekomata and found herself rushed by the meowing pack. Only one nekomata was holding back, alone on the side. The shrine maiden moved toward it, examined her, and declared that it was indeed the cat goddess before bringing her back in the shrine, leaving the stray's victim and her nephew to fend for themselves against the unrelenting onslaught. The other half of the group finally reappeared a minute later.

"What's up guys? The little angel wanted to check what was the bloodlust coming from the warehouse and… hooo, it looks like someone is drowning in pussies."

"Please shut up and help me."

The next second, a large wave of water tossed Micaela and the nekomatas around. The cat girls scattered, while the disguised seraph found herself lying face first onto the ground.

"Oops. Sorry for making you wet." Morrigan sounded as sincere as a used cart salesman.

Micaela got up, dried herself with a spell, and sighed. "Thank you. Now on with the worst…"

"Oh, come on, like it's going to be that bad!"

The group made its way to the kitsune shrine. The first thing that struck the group was the look of the bodyguards and the shrine maiden standing at the entrance. They looked exhausted. It was clear it wasn't the result of any physical activity, but a lack of sleep that was likely related to the moans that kept coming from the shrine.

Micaela got to the samurai kitsune who barely looked up at the seraph.

"It's like that every day?"

"Twenty four hours a day. We currently have a problem with the exceptionally low productivity of men in Yamatai because of her."

"We'll see what we can do."

Micaela took a second to check her gloved hand. Both rings were in position, one ready to be removed, and the other a guarantee against the succubus should she decide to try to make the seraph her next meal. Astaroth wasn't as oriented toward this as her mother (or even some angels for that matter), but Micaela always thought that she herself didn't make it that far by being thoughtless. The seraph breathed in one last time before the group entered the shrine to deal with its inoccupant.

The red haired succubus had her tail wrapped around a young man when the party entered the shrine. In the blink of an eye, she was sitting on her knees while her partner was thrown into a pile with several other resting men.

Morrigan looked at the large pile, slightly impressed. "Geeze, you didn't lose time."

Astaroth chuckled. "Of course, but I wished you'd have told me you were coming, I'd have prepared a warmer welcome. Now what can I do for you, or… to… you…"

Her eyes scanned the group in disbelief. Her sister was accompanied by the hero, but also by someone she identified as the unpowered First Seraph, and a smaller girl who was pointing at her.

"Look, another great wife to make baby with!"

"It's his mother, please ignore her." Morrigan made a dismissive gesture to accompany her statement.

"Don't talk about your mother-in-law like that!" The small seraph tapped on the nose of the blue haired succubus.

"Hey, don't do that! If you say you're and adult, start acting like it."

Astaroth slowly raised her hands, completely taken aback by the chaos in front of her. They had to get in good terms with the hero's group, now was not a good time to lose patience and start throwing punches, as tempting as it was, even if the first seraph was there and… Was the small one Lucifina?

"Please." She swallowed nervously. "I have a lot of people waiting to ask for advices or eager to offer themselves to my touch, so would you kindly tell me what do you want so that my followers don't feel forgotten."

Luka sighed. "We just ask of you to limit your feeding on Yamatai's population, the village's productivity is starting to decrease because there are not enough people to harvest crops. Even if you don't kill them, they still are left unable to work."

"Then why don't they bring in more people?" The red haired succubus stretched, her wings flapping slightly. "I'm pretty sure those people would be eager to come get a taste of me too…"

Micaela stepped forward. She'd better act fast before anyone screwed this up. "This wouldn't solve anything, maybe the crops will be harvested, but they will end up being insufficient to feed the extra mouths."

Astaroth pondered the situation, her head resting on a fist. "Good point. Then what do you offer as a solution?"

The First seraph gestured for her nephew to hold back. "Rather than feeding on savorless junks of food, we offer you two of the Pocket Castle's warriors for a time."

Astaroth licked her lips lewdly while looking at Luka. "Mmmh, you make an interesting offer. I always knew angels wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice a few of their own for the sake of their greater good."

Morrigan stepped between her sister and the hero. "Back off, he's mine!" She corrected herself in front of her sister's glare. "I mean, he will be our, but for now, he's mine!"

Micaela haughtily chuckled. "Luka-boy isn't the only hero we have, after all." Her smooth tone had nothing to envy to the succubi she was dealing with. "There are several powerful men who dream of something better than what our mere population in the Pocket Castle can do."

Astaroth haughtily chuckled. "I can understand that." She proceeded to sigh suggestively. "You don't know what you miss, boy. It's a deal, then!" She held out a hand to the first seraph, who firmly shook it. The succubus tried to channel a pleasure spell through her hand, but it dissipated harmlessly, surprising the succubus. "A pleasure resistance ring? Where did you get this?"

"That's a secret." Micaela winked. "But I don't hold it against you. Enjoy your payment!"

Luka tried to raise a hand in objection, but got instantly grabbed by the arm by the First Seraph who was already stepping outside of the shrine. "Come on! We still have to do some work before the day's over!"

Morrigan lagged behind. "Wait! I want to talk with my sister! It's been soooo long since last time!"

"Huh? Oh sure, join us once you're done catching up." Micaela continued leaving the place at a brisk place, dragging both the heroes and her younger little sister with her.

Astaroth shrugged the seraph's behavior and turned toward her sister. "Sooo, what are the new Morriluka?"

"I already told you, please don't call me that again…"

They waited a few minutes, and it was sure that nobody was listening to them, Morrigan started talking with her sister. Not much had happened since their discussion after the disastrous exploration of the last Tartarus. Most of it involved shenanigans from angels and the fortunate departure of Ilias. Astaroth nodded occasionally, and only started talking again when her sister ended her tale.

"So it doesn't look like they suspect you yet… But the hero's choice in his party composition is quite strange, wouldn't you agree?"

"The first seraph's important in the hero's eyes, and with Tamamo out of the way, she's the biggest danger to us right now. The hero's no longer a pushover, and it looks like she's the only one who's still able to pressure him into doing anything."

"Mmmh… And she's always near Luka or several monsters, so eliminating her without aggravating a much needed Luka is impossible. However, our new plan for Esta is still a go." She sighed. "I remembered she was always cold and calculated, but I didn't expect her to give us two companions of Luka's little army for the sake of a few days of tranquility for Yamatai. Then again, angels never hesitated to sacrifice humans as soon as it seemed convenient."

"Yeah, it surprised me too!" Morrigan shook her head, "But then again… Oh the bitch, the fucking bitch…" The youngest of the Lilith Sisters started sniffing the air repeatedly. Her nose picked two scents she always recognized in the Pocket Castle, but she always had made effort to ignore their wearer.

"What is it sister?"

Morrigan ground her teeth in frustration. "I'll let you see by yourself, if I lag too much and get caught in it, that'll only worsen the situation." The blue haired succubus started waving at her sister as she left in a hurry. "Remember, no killing anyone!"

Astaroth focused her senses around her. She could sense two newcomers. Not warriors properly speaking, but still trained human males, a league above the villagers that she kept getting as an offering. She licked her lips in expectation.

The two men showed themselves. The first was only wearing panties, which didn't bode well on his mental state. The second was wearing a makina user vest and carrying a tea cup which smell her stomach churn when it reached her nostrils. Still, she managed to keep an ever so slightly trembling smile.

She giggled. "Please, come inside the shrine."

The two men eagerly entered.

"Please can I get your pan-."

In the blink of an eye, both men were laying unconscious on the ground while Astaroth had assumed a martial artist posture. Their vitals showed no signs of being threatened.

She snarled. Micaela had indeed fooled her while technically keeping her promises. She couldn't kick up a fuss, since taking it on the men would bring Luka's attention and if she attacked the village Tamamo might start something. She growled in frustration once again: She had initially considered her assignment to Yamatai to play the role of a Goddess an opportunity to laze around and feed, but it had turned boring extremely fast. Then upon hearing that Luka was coming there, she finally had the perspective to get some real action, but it disappeared as soon as the hero arrived with his familial issues.

"Fucking seraph. Fucking fox. Fuck that bullshit."

She brainwashed the men to give them nice memories of the encounter. If she wanted the farce to hold up, they had to remember a vivid, pleasant session no matter how humiliating it was. She attempted to play a little with them using her tail, but only felt dirtier in the process. Eventually, she wallowed on the pillow, slightly disgusted. One of the tired offering laying on the side called out.

"Please, goddess… Play with us."

Astaroth looked at the men, shook her head, and sighed once again at the sky. "Later." She snapped her fingers, ordering the shrine maiden to enter.

"Would you kindly fetch me a platter of sushi and udon? My stomach needs a more pleasant filling."

The maid bowed and started making her way out while the succubus focused on what just happened. She didn't even feel really hungry. She just felt the need to do something, anything that didn't involve sex for once after seeing some of the worst humanity had to offer. A realization hit her as she looked at the roof, and she started laughing slowly, progressively getting louder and louder.

"Congratulations, Micaela. I don't feel like touching a man for more than a week right now."

She exploded into full blown insane laughter, only calming down when the food finally arrived.

"I see. It's extremely clever, but… Why didn't you tell me anything?"

Micaela had explained her plan to the shocked hero as they made their way to the tanuki shrine. At first, he had been shocked by his aunt's decision to so casually sacrifice someone, but when she revealed everything, he felt hurt for another reason altogether.

"Because succubi are good at reading people, and, while Morrigan only has some moments, Astaroth is a REALLY good succubus. Anything but a lifetime of training or a genuine reaction would have tipped her off. Remind me by the way, we have to help you practice acting and disguising yourself. That could save your life later on."

"I'll help you!" Lucifina-chan somehow glided between both companions, her cheery face filling Luka's sight. "It's a mother's duty to get sure her son is well educated, after all!"

"Sure. Still, you should get a few lessons from the succubi and the kitsune. They could actually teach you actually useful skills in those domains."

Luka nodded as the cries of the kitsune that was standing in front of the tanuki shrine reached the group's ears. Micaela instantly smoothed her, and the kitsune explained that she challenged her tanuki friend to taunt Yamata No Orochi. Since then, there was no sign of the raccoon monster who was supposedly eaten alive. Of course, Luka knew that the cowardly tanuki was just hidden in a cave, shivering in terror. They gave their word to the kitsune that they were going to bring her back, and saw Morrigan climbing when they left the shrine.

"You bitch, you fucking bitch…" Morrigan was grinning, laughing nervously. "That was a dick move. A huge, fucking dick move. The kind that make everyone rage when they realize they've been fooled without being lied to. The kind that can start a war. The kind that that fucking kitsune would pull at her best."

"Language!"

"Shut up." The succubus turned toward Micaela, glaring at the seraph who kept a neutral expression for a minute. "Please teach me! If I am to keep Luka for myself, I will need every bit of wit to stand to my family! Between mother who will just seduce him, that damn snake who has the authority of the Dark Goddess herself, that man-eater with her pheromones and the three others that can pretend to be anyone else, I'll lose him in less than a weeeek!"

The succubus had apparently forgotten all her pride for a single moment and threw herself on her knees, taking Luka and his family aback.

"A bit later, I promise, we have other priorities right now."

Morrigan rose puppy eyes at the First seraph. "You swear? You actually swear?"

Micaela sighed. "Yes, but I expect some serious payment as well. And I'm not talking about men like you would, I'm talking about a guarantee that would involve all your family not getting anywhere in a hundred meter radius from me. And even then, before that…" She pointed to the top of the hill. "We have to deal with several fights, and we need Luka to do some by himself to have his legend grow, so that he'll be able to gather everyone's support when the time finally comes."

"Fiiiine. You win. Soooo, do we get started?"

"Yes." Micaela turned toward Luka. "What do we have to expect up there?"

"Last times, Neris had done most of the heavy lifting by the time I arrived, but… Nero was also present at the Fox Shrine, so I don't think she'll be here since he wasn't."

"Ok, so we'll have to deal with all of them ourselves. There's what, thirty, forty monsters from around Yamatai?"

"Pretty much. And Shirohebi herself. The red one, not the blue one."

"Let's ready up then. Strike to incapacitate, not to kill."

"Noooo…"

"Oooh, this will be fun!" Morrigan's hands were already glowing with her aura.

"Be wary of friendly fire, yes I remember the Crystal Mines Morrigan, please keep it silent, we got a bigger issue at hand, and stop grinning it's creepy. All set? Let's get started."

The group made way to the top of the hill, where a white lamia with blue eyes was busying herself by looking at the river with fear in her eyes. She turned to see the combat ready group and gauged them.

"Mmh. I suppose you came to put an end to my sister's actions? Please be careful, she gathered an army up there."

"Don't worry, we're ready." Each party member dramatically pulled out its sword.

"Well, in that case, I wish you the best."

The group moved toward the temple. A kejourou and a miko arachne were discussing at the gate, and turned toward the intruders while at the ready as soon as they noticed them. The kejourou extended her hair which got turn apart in the blink of an eye before Morrigan appeared right in front of her. The succubus struck her opponent down with the hilt of her sword, and casted a pleasure spell with her free hand that instantly incapacitated the arachne. She then turned toward the trio that was still calmly walking.

"Geeze, you're so slow. Maybe I should clear everything myself?"

"This isn't a contest you know."

"Ooh, disappointed that you didn't get first blood?"

"No." Micaela grabbed the door, and forcibly made it slide open. Several other monsters were waiting on the other side, and tried to jump at the group as the fight started in its earnest.

Luka imbued his sword with the power of lightning and swung wildly amongst the horde, paralyzing several monsters. "On the matter of being disappointed, not too frustrated that Tamamo wasn't here?" He punched a kappa that tried to tackle him from behind.

"Not really." Micaela emitted a blinding light and took her time to knock unconscious monster after monster with a well placed strike each time. "I prepared for that, and still have a few plans to be able to make way without her." A kejourou grabbed her wrist with her hair and pulled forward. The seraph used her momentum to punch the yokai down. "I'm more starting to get concerned about those twins I keep hearing about."

"Yeah, what's the deal with those guys?" A kappa and two miko arachnes were struggling in the air, surrounded by a pink aura and shaking with pleasure. "Powerful twins spawning out of nowhere to come to help you? How cliché is that?" She threw her victims against another group of opponents.

"Luka! Am I learning that you have frequentations mommy doesn't know about?" Lucifina-chan struck at a blinding speed with her sword, her moves so fast it looked like an unique attack that kept throwing several monsters around like straw dolls. "I must meet them at once!" She put her sword on her back and crossed her arms under her chest, pouting. A miko arachne tried to throw weaves around her, but got rewarded by a meteor that appeared from nowhere.

"So do I." The sentence was punctuated by a shrill scream of agony.

"Third!" The answer was almost covered by an ecstatic moan.

Luka raised his arms. "We were supposed to meet them there. I'll try to keep you to accompany me, but I have no idea if we'll even meet them again then." He looked up the stairs leading to the white sisters bedchambers, and saw a form retract in the shadow. "Shirohebi's up there."

"Dibs." Micaela reinforced her blade with the holy element and threw several blades of holy energy with her sword. A part of the floor collapsed with Shirohebi on top of it. Before she could move, Micaela was on top of her and punched her unconscious.

"Wow, didn't you say to be careful with the friendly fire? I don't want to be victim to-"

A large support beam fell at a supernatural speed toward the group. The object crashed with a loud sound and scattered a mix of dust and wood splinters across the room. Several coughs could be heard amongst the debris falling.

"Everybody's alright?"

"Morrigan's hurt!"

Micaela looked at the unconscious succubus, then at the pillar that had knocked her down. She didn't look wounded, only seriously stunned.

"That's a shame. This temple is beautiful, but Enrika's houses are sturdier. She won't be able to accompany us for a few hours."

Lucifina-chan crossed her arms and started pouting. "You did it on purpose! And she should have been able to dodge that if it didn't fall that fast!"

"Aww, come on, don't be like that." Micaela placed a reassuring hand on Lucifina-chan's shoulder while putting on her sweetest smile. "We can take a break at the Pocket Castle, and I'm sure we can get a good replacement at the same time for her while you go eat some cake..."

"Yay!"

Luka got as close as possible to his aunt and whispered.

"You planned this since the beginning, didn't you?"

"No. That's actually all improvisation. Actually, it's a bit of improvisation and a lot of luck." And also a lot of untold preparation."

Luka sighed. "Then please help me carry the victim of your improvisation."

Micaela grabbed the succubus and placed her over her shoulder, shivering at the contact of her smooth skin. Even with the pleasure ring, simply touching the succubus induced a nice feeling in her and better ignored urges.

The group started moving outside when Luka felt something wrong in the air. There was something large moving around the side of the building. He moved a few steps when Micaela called out the mysterious form.

"Nanabi? What are you doing here?"

The fox centaur was standing near a well, looking around distractedly.

"Mmmh? Oh, don't mind me, I was curious and wanted to check the top of the hill for the sake of nostalgia. I wanted to pretend I came to help you, but it was really unneeded, and I apologize for any inconvenience I could be responsible of." She proceeded to respectfully bow.

"Then could you help us carry her?"

"Of course."

Half an hour later, the group had brought Morrigan back to the Pocket Castle without being disturbed by Astaroth, who was still sulking while eating. Micaela told Mephisto to "take extra care of Morrigan since she was that helpful to her family."

Lucifina-chan got to enjoy cake, and, upon seeing Alma Elma, told that she was "the perfect wife for her son". That remark made the succubus queen giggle, and she was all too happy to accompany the party on their way. Her mood soured ever so slightly when they entered the cave leading to Yamata No Orochi. She whined a little to much to everyone's taste about the feeling of pressure of getting into a cave, but got mostly ignored.

They checked most of the cave, and the tanuki was unfortunately nowhere to be found. Luka and his party members carefully checked every corner of the cavern just in case she wandered around. They even checked Yamata No Orochi's Cave and saw the large, eight-headed dragon sleeping on the ground. Micaela noticed an item near it, and grabbed it carefully.

"Dragon sake…" Micaela sniffed the bottle and whistled. "Seventy degree, Alraune Peace Flower, Deep Ocean Coral… She's out at least for a day. That thing would knock out anybody cold!" She chuckled darkly. "Feel like repeating a legend? First you need to disguise yourself in drags, then you only need to behead her right now while she sleeps her alcohol, and then… I'm joking of course."

Luka just shrugged while Alma giggled.

"Barring that, Luka boy could position himself and-"

"NO!"

Alma Elma crossed her arms and pouted. "Spoilsport."

Micaela frowned. "If you think I'm a spoilsport, I wonder what you will think once you see what comes next!"

She led the group out of the cavern and near another part of the grotto. Micaela crossed her arms and pointed a finger at the waterfall. "Oooh, look at it, a waterfall. Maybe there's a treasure behind it! There are even conveniently placed platforms to jump on that lead right in front of it!"

With a surprising agility, she directly jumped on the platform just in front of the waterfall, and then entered the room obviously placed behind it. Lucifina-chan happily followed her. Luka prepared to take momentum to jump, but found himself instantly smothered by Alma Elma's generous chest and was swiped of the floor. He blinked in surprise, and when he reopened his eyes they already were in the cavern that was filled with open chests. Micaela was dramatically gesturing around her.

"Oooh, look, all the chests of Yamata No Orochi's treasure room are empty. It's certainly not related to the malicious, sleazy furball we're searching for…" Micaela closed her eyes. "Damn it."

Luka raised an eyebrow "…Are you actually alright, auntie?"

Micaela slowly breathed in and out a few times. "Okay, I'm relaxed, I think I'm ready." She pulled out her sword, imbued it with earth and struck an apparently random spot on the back wall of the cavern. A block lowered in front of the waterfall, plunging the room in the dark. A second later, several torches lit up, and a section of the wall on the side rose, revealing a large table covered by a tea set with several cups. The table was surrounded by several cushions, the one at the opposite occupied by a small, golden colored kitsune that was concealing her expression behind a fan.

"Malicious, sleazy furball?"