Chapter 17: El Paso (IV)

It happened again. The earth roared and the ground shook, bringing with it another catastrophe that she knew affected not only that area, but the whole world. She could feel it in her being, how that powerful earthquake was not something natural, how it was something else, something perverse that went against the established laws of the world. That frightened her, it generated an instinctive fear, but it was a fear overcome by her voracious curiosity.

The building was shaking violently, so much so that it even seemed as if it would collapse at any moment and crush those present. The humans around her screamed in panic and confusion, several hid under tables and next to supports while others ran in terror. Worse, that disturbance she felt began to affect the illusion spell she had used to adapt a human appearance, causing part of her true appearance to be glimpsed between small flashes of light.

Her human arms and hands were briefly replaced by long brown and gray wings, and her dark hair was replaced between flickers by a set of brown hair and feathers. For a few brief seconds she alternated her appearance as Anne, Grognak's supposed human sorceress companion, with her true mamono appearance. Luckily for her, the humans were too focused on the earthquake to notice her and her involuntary appearance alterations, but she knew better than to tempt fate. She had to find a hiding place as soon as possible, because if she didn't, someone would see her as her true self, and the tragedies of the past would only repeat themselves.

Still unsettled by the sudden change to which she was subjected by the strange disturbance caused by the earthquake, Sofiva moved carefully, moving away from the panicked crowd. She hugged that metallic sphere tightly against her chest, finding comfort in it. It was hard to explain, but for some reason she felt drawn to that strange metallic ball, as if a maternal instinct was awakened in her at the sight of it. At first she had to restrain herself because the creature seemed to be hostile against her, but now that it could not move on its own, and with Grognak's permission, she could allow herself to carry it around as if it were her own egg, something that brought her infinite joy.

"We will be fine," she whispered to the metallic sphere in a vain attempt to communicate.

It seemed to answer her with a series of strange, meaningless, screeching sounds. She could not understand the meaning, having to resort to Grognak to translate it for her, but that they at least had some sort of communication was enough for her.

With delicate steps she moved through the trembling building, trying to dodge both collapsed pieces of wood and panicked humans, approaching slowly but surely toward the exit.

"Hey, you!"

A male voice seemed to shout behind her, but before she had time to react she was suddenly pushed, forced to the ground. Sofiva found herself disoriented, taking a few seconds to realize that there was someone riding on top of her.

"What—"

"Do not move!" the male voice above her ordered.

She was puzzled, was he attacking her? Had a human managed to perceive her in her true form in the midst of the disaster and chose to attack her instead of getting to safety? Whatever the reason, it was a fact that she was immobilized and therefore in danger.

The disturbance caused by the earthquake rendered her unable to cast a spell; having her face forced against the ground rendered her unable to make eye contact and make use of her Evil Eyes, and to top it off her physical strength was pitiful, for with her wings she could barely deliver an efficient blow. Even if she did try to defend herself, the noise of the struggle would probably only attract the attention of other humans, not to mention that it would probably anger someone deranged enough to want to attack her in the middle of an earthquake, even worse if he had a weapon.

She was defenseless.

"Huh?"

The metallic creature again emitted that series of strange high-pitched shrieks, ones that to her lacked any meaning or logic, but which for some reason, in that very moment of desperation, she seemed to understand in a way.

"I should... turn you?" she asked in a whisper, receiving only silence from the metal ball.

With little time to think about whether or not she had understood correctly, she knew it was time to act. With the mind already cleared of doubts and guided by the desire for survival, Sofiva struggled to turn around far enough, facing her attacker as she placed the small metallic sphere in front of him.

ZAP

Everything in front of her seemed to suddenly light up as that powerful current of electricity burst forth, resembling a small concentrated bolt of lightning that had been fired at the attacker, who from the shock fell to the side in pain, rolling over in agony.

She had been saved, the spehere had saved her.

"He's my lil' buddy, but you can call him ED-E."

Grognak's words echoed in her mind, remembering the early days when they started traveling together as she asked about the strange floating metallic sphere that accompanied him. He had evaded her questions, giving only certain vague answers, the only certain response being the name of that sphere.

"Thank you, ED-E," she whispered to him as she hurried to get up from the floor.

ED-E seemed to respond with a new high-pitched squeak, which she still didn't fully understand, but was slowly getting used to.

"What is wrong with you?!" a female voice shouted.

Just as the earthquake was subsiding and the danger had been neutralized, a new shouting voice interjected. Sofiva hurried to try to find the source of that new shouting voice, fearing that perhaps that act had been visualized by someone else and that, therefore, her facade had been discovered. However, her search was suddenly interrupted when her vision was obstructed by a small figure glued to her face, one which kept kicking her cheeks with its little legs and pounding her forehead with its equally small fists.

Despite the initial panic at such a sudden occurrence, she only needed the use of one of her wings to push the angry little creature away from her face, keeping it in the air and getting a better view of it. There she could behold a small humanoid figure with insect wings, who was also wearing a small reddish dress and a small beret adorning her pink hair.

"A... fairy?"

The small pink-haired fairy moved fiercely and wildly, swiping at the air in an attempt to attack her.

"He saves you from being crushed to death and you thank him by electrocuting him?!" the little fairy roared.

Sofiva stared at her, puzzled by what the fairy was saying. Slowly, she turned her head so she could see behind her and, to her surprise, discovered that one of the wooden ceiling supports had fallen right where she had been before. If that man had not pushed her, she would probably have been crushed by that wood without even having time to react.

It appeared that she had made a big mistake.


"Granny, wait, let me have some of that venison!" Paula shouted, rising violently from the bed.

Saphirette nearly fell off the chair beside the bed from the shock of the musketeer's violent and abrupt awakening; it didn't help that she had spent the last few minutes nodding off, struggling not to fall asleep due to the hours she had spent watching over the unconscious blonde.

"If you take another bite I will punch you!" Paula threatened, still in a state of semi-consciousness in which she was throwing punches in the air at random.

"Miss Paula, stop it!" interjected Saphirette, quickly grabbing her by the shoulders. "I implore you, calm down!"

Paula's superior physical strength made it difficult for the delicate elementalist to even come close to holding her down, and instead she was tossed back and forth like a rag doll.

"If you pull that knife out you will regret it, granny!" Paula blurted out, still lost in what seemed to be the memory of a struggle for survival.

"S-somebody… h-help!" Saphirette spluttered as she continued to be shaken erratically by the blonde, now beginning to feel dizzy.

"Go ahead and bring Cousin Maria into this, I have enough for—"

POW

Paula's frantic, drowsy outburst was suddenly interrupted by an accurate pillow strike right in the face, sending her sprawling backwards onto the bed. The man responsible for this was a man Saphirette knew well and who, as always, had resorted to the most straightforward method.

"M-Mr. Grognak!" Saphirette exclaimed as she stood up somewhat shaken by the struggle. "W-was that really necessary?!"

"Hey, it worked," he replied as he shrugged, dropping the pillow back on the bed. "I was walking by nearby and heard you call for help, what else could I have done?"

"Not hitting her with a pillow would be the logical thing to do!"

Then there was a few brief seconds of silence, during which the man put his hand to his own chin, adopting a certain thoughtful pose.

"I think that would be the problem, Glassies. You and I have very different concepts when it comes to 'logic'."

Before that argument could go any further, a slight, continuous groaning caught the attention of the two, who turned their gazes to the now subdued musketeer.

"Ugh, my head," Paula groaned as she rose again, rubbing her eyes in annoyance.

Paula paused, clearing her mind for a moment so she could realize that she was no longer reliving a childhood memory in her dreams. Now she was awake, lying on a bed surrounded by people and with a horrible headache.

"W-what… What happened? Why am I in a bed? And why does my head hurt so much?" she asked as she put a hand to her forehead, realizing that she had a huge bandage around her head.

"First time?" asked the man.

She looked up and saw that the one speaking to her was none other than Grognak, the mysterious adventurer whom she had been tasked to find and escort back to Lescatie.

"Don't worry, gal, you get used to it the second or third time," he said accompanied by a soft chuckle.

"Mr. Grognak, please, this is no time for jokes," Saphirette chided him. "Miss Paula, are you all right? You have been unconscious for several hours, I was even beginning to fear that you would not wake up until tomorrow, or worse."

"I was unconscious? Why?" asked Paula, confused.

"Do you not remember? Part of the dining-room ceiling collapsed during the earthquake," Saphirette began to explain as she sat back in her chair. "Aunt Gertrud was about to be crushed, but you acted just in time and saved her, albeit at the cost of suffering the impact instead of her."

"I have to hand it to you, Blondie, you're made of steel. Anyone would die after being crushed like that, but you came out relatively unscathed," the man said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I have to say, there's nothing more attractive than a woman capable of surviving a falling ceiling."

"Oh, well, Mom always said I had a rock for a head," Paula said with a chuckle, flattered. "And no one was hurt? Is everyone okay?"

Saphirette did not answer the question, but instead directed a concerned glance at his companion, to which he responded with a slight nod of his head, indicating for her to speak.

"There were some injured, but no one died. I would say we were lucky, but..." Saphirette paused briefly before continuing, "Another woman disappeared. The daughter of the baker has been missing for several hours, so we fear she is another victim of kidnapping."

That news hit Paula harder than a mace, which was reflected in the expression of horror and indignation that now adorned her face.

"Another woman disappeared while I was asleep?!" she snapped. "Why did you not wake me up? I have to do something!"

"Hold it right there, cowgirl," the man interrupted, preventing her from being able to get up. "You won't get anywhere with that bandage on your head. You need rest, believe me, I know firsthand that these kinds of injuries take time to heal."

"But I must investigate or something!" Paula protested.

"And you think I've spent the last few hours scratching my ass or something?" he replied as he raised his left forearm, revealing a strange giant golden bracelet, which appeared to contain some sort of dark mirror on which appeared letters of an unknown language. "I've been talking to the victims' families, gathering some leads and seeing if I can find any traces left by the culprit. I couldn't find much today, so I guess I'll try my luck tomorrow."

The musketeer did not bother to conceal her surprise at that.

"Are you going to help me with the investigation?" she asked. "Why?

"I always find myself having to do shit for other people as soon as I get somewhere, it's just business as usual for me," he explained in a simple way. "And besides, the faster we solve this, the faster we can get to Lescatie. Although, of course, I won't do it for free."

With that said he got out of bed, stretching slightly before starting to walk towards the door.

"Let's see, what would be the price of my help in solving the case of a serial kidnapper?" he wondered aloud, playfully, as he walked. "Oh, I know."

He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. After that he turned to look at them, denoting a small, mischievous smile on his lips.

"I think a kiss from the two of you would be good for my fee."

Saphirette rose abruptly from the chair, causing it to fall to the floor by the abruptness with which he did so. Her face was flushed, noticeably affected by such a proposal.

"A k-kiss?! You c-cannot be—"

"A kiss? How easy! We have a deal, help me solve this case and the two of us will give you all the kisses you want," Paula declared cheerfully.

Saphirette quickly turned to look at the musketeer. "M-miss Paula! You cannot decide that for me!"

"Said and done, I'll take your word for it, Blondie. Rest for today and we'll resume the investigation tomorrow," he said as he walked through the door. He started to close it behind him, but before he did so he poked his head in and said, "Nighty night."

The door finally closed, leaving the innocently cheerful musketeer and the now overwhelmed elementalist alone.


The Courier closed the door behind him, leaving him alone in the hallway. Soon he could feel a vibration coming from his left forearm, having to lift it to check his Pip-Boy. There he could behold the digitized face of the AI, which did not bother to hide her frustration.

"I thought I ordered you to neutralize that savage and retrieve the weapon she possesses," the AI stated.

"And I thought I told you that no one bosses me around," replied the Courier. "It seems our relationship is starting out with several communication problems, huh?"

She did not respond, but merely stared at him, something to which he responded by mockingly returning her gaze.

"As a side issue, could you explain what happened earlier?" she asked as she flicked through the Pip-Boy's menus, focusing on a graph showing the physical health of the Courier. "For some reason you suffered a sudden and unexplained injury, which almost threatened to end your life. The device in which my consciousness takes refuge also suffered damage that I am even now trying to repair, so I demand to know the cause of it."

That was a question he would not know how to answer; his own body was still suffering some repercussions, and his mind was not yet clear enough to put his thoughts in order. Before the earthquake he had received damage, something that could only be described as his body being distorted and fragmented by external forces.

There was no clear explanation for it, and that was what worried him most.

"You care so much about me? You flatter me," he said as he winked at the screen in an attempt to ignore the question.

"I couldn't care less about your well-being," she immediately clarified. "I need you alive to help me find my Master, nothing more."

"Ah, yes, yes, I said I'd help you with that, didn't I?"

Soon the menu disappeared from the screen, with the AI's face being the only thing displayed on the screen. Her expression was anything but friendly.

"You'd better honor our agreement," she said. "That's the only reason you're still alive, and if you decide to break your word, you should be aware of the consequences. Know that I have not yet forgiven you for the damage you caused to my home and the Master's belongings."

The Courier merely smiled at the attempted threat.

"And you'd better remember that you're now nothing more than a rent-free virtual tenant living in my Pip-Boy," he countered. "And I haven't forgotten what you did to my lil' buddy either. The only reason I haven't reprogrammed you to become a mere virtual assistant with no conscience is because you are possibly my only ticket home, so I recommend you take it down a notch, gal."

The digital face of the AI on the screen frowned at that.

"Troglodyte," she insulted him as she turned off the screen, going into a suspended state.

"Electronic bitch," he rebutted the insult as he lowered his arm.

Once that charming conversation was over, the Courier went straight to the room that the owners had decided to give him temporarily. As he went along he could see that the corridors were in terrible condition, almost a miracle they weren't a pile of rubble. In a way, he felt nostalgic about it, for it reminded him of the interiors of various houses and buildings on his world, many of which were in such a dilapidated state that it hardly seemed like centuries had passed since the fall of the atomic bombs.

It didn't take him long to reach his room, but just as he was about to open the door, a strange sound from inside stopped him in his tracks.

"Huh?"

He pulled his hand away from the doorknob and began to listen. He realized that there was a male voice laughing softly and whispering inside the room. It was not a voice he recognized; there was an intruder inside the room.

Without much thought, the Courier pulled the Ranger Sequoia from its holster and prepared for what was likely to be a hostile encounter.

SLAM

The door of the room was violently kicked open by the Courier, who quickly entered the room pointing the gun. There he could see a hooded individual sitting on one of the beds, one who was startled at being taken by surprise. Without giving him time to react, the Courier pounced on him, wrapping his left hand around his neck while with the other he held the barrel of the revolver above his head.

"You have ten seconds to explain what you're doing here before I blow your head off," the Courier threatened. "And now it's eight seconds; hurry up or it'll be five before you know it."

"Grognak!" a female voice yelled. "Stop!"

The Courier looked up to find an altered Sofiva rushing towards him to pull him away from the stranger. Interestingly, she was not wearing her human costume, but was in her original winged mutant form, with large, leafy brown and gray wings in place of arms that now wrapped around him in an attempt to move him.

"He is not an enemy, he is a guest!" she explained.

That explanation made him raise an eyebrow of interest. Sofiva had proven to be extremely reserved when dealing with humans, so the fact that she not only invited one, but was also willing to show her true appearance, meant that this was something extraordinary.

"Is that true, pal?" asked the Courier without even putting his gun away.

The stranger gulped before responding. "Y-yes, I came here at Miss Sofiva's invitation!"

"Leave him alone, you brute!" echoed a small, squeaky voice.

The Courier felt something headed straight for his face, so he quickly let go of the man's neck and reached up to catch what was flying directly at him. He was surprised to feel something winged in his palm, and when he paid attention, he could see that he now held in his hand what could only be described as a miniature woman with insect wings.

"Let go of me so I can finish you!" the miniature woman roared.

He stared at her, then at the man he was still pointing the revolver at, then at Sofiva.

The Courier sighed. "Birdie, get me something to drink, I think I'm seriously going to need it."


"It is an honor to finally meet you, Mr. Grognak!" the man declared enthusiastically as he set down the tea cup.

Somehow, the situation managed to de-escalate and the group gathered around a small circular table. A small porcelain teapot stood in the center of the table, and each member had a cup to drink from, even the little pink fairy who, because of her size, was forced to sit at the table next to the cup that was barely smaller than she was.

After electrocuting him after mistaking him for an attacker, Sofiva decided to invite the man and the little fairy into the room for a friendly conversation. It was the first time in years that she had met a human who did not feel homicidal desires for mamono like her, not to mention that she had discovered he was a scholar equally driven by a thirst for knowledge. Except for the brief hostile moment on Grognak's part, the evening had been quite pleasant and enriching; it had been a long time since she had allowed herself to relax or even have a conversation with a fellow scholar..

"Oh yeah? Are you a fan of mine or something?" he replied as he contemplated the cup of tea, noticeably disappointed that it was not alcohol. He took a small sip and then lowered the cup back down to the small porcelain plate. "Because if that's the case, I guess I should apologize for almost blowing your brains out."

The scholar laughed. "I would not say to such an extent, but I have followed the stories about you with interest!"

"You should still apologize for almost killing him!" the little fairy protested.

The owl mage could hardly believe that a tragedy had not occurred. For a moment she thought she would have to resort to the technique she devised to keep Grognak from acting frantically, but surprisingly he was willing to behave calmly. Now she was sitting at the table, with ED-E on her lap, and quietly savoring an exquisite tea.

"And how did you hear about me? I don't think there are radios or anything like that around these parts for me to become famous so quickly," Grognak inquired.

"Oh, I have heard quite a bit about you from Runya Runya," the scholar replied casually.

Upon hearing that, Sofiva spat out her tea in surprise, startling everyone present.

"Runya Runya?!" she exclaimed, her nonchalant and serene expression was replaced by genuine surprise and disbelief.

"Jesus, Birdie, you almost spat in my face," Grognak complained about this unusual act on her part. "Who is this Muna Muna or whatever, is she some kind of celebrity or something?"

"Do you not know her, Mr. Grognak? She is one of the leaders of the Sabbaths, being one of the greatest researchers and scholars when it comes to magical knowledge," the scholar explained. "I am actually surprised you do not know that, especially since you are traveling with an owl mage".

Sofiva could feel a deep terror come over her. If what he said was true, then a member of the Sabbath had her attention fixed on them; worse, whoever knew about them was none other than the Sleepy Magical Archive herself, who although lacking the magical ability to present a direct threat, had such a handle on information that he could easily expose them to the Royal Demon Realm.

"How can you even know her? It is impossible for a mere human to personally know a baphomet," she demanded to know.

The man reacted mildly to what seemed like a rude reaction from the owl wizard, and merely chuckled softly before responding.

"I can understand your disbelief in this regard, but you could say that I am a lucky man. As we are both scholars with a passion for knowledge and discovery, Miss Runya Runya and I have formed a sort of little camaraderie," he explained as he bent down to look for something in his suitcase, and soon pulled out a small mirror which he placed on the table. "If you need proof of that, I think this gift from her can prove it."

It was a small dark mirror surrounded by a white and red heart-shaped frame. There was no doubt, it was a Projector Mirror, one that emanated a powerful magical energy that could only belong to a baphomet.

"I can also call her right now if you still do not believe my words," he offered as he held up the mirror.

"No!" Sofiva snapped up. "Grognak, be careful, this man may be dangerous!"

What she thought would be a simple friendly conversation to make amends for the misunderstanding of hours ago quickly turned into a tense confrontation. That man had direct contact with someone belonging to the High Command of the Royal Demon Realm; he could be an undercover agent, and she had made his job easier by inviting him into the room.

Now she had to think carefully about the next step to take, because if she made a mistake, they would be easy prey. Grognak was strong, of that there was no doubt, but even he would not be enough to be able to triumph against the Sabbath.

"I'm going to be honest with you Birdie, I'm getting tired of all this mystery and weird words, do you want me to kick this guy's ass yes or no?"

Sofiva turned as she heard that, watching as her companion began to rise from the chair. She wanted to say something to stop him, to try to explain the situation and why we had to be careful, but another voice interrupted her before she could say anything.

"If you touch him, I will smash your face in!" the little pink fairy threatened as she brandished a paintbrush like a weapon. "Come at me, you giant brute!"

"Whoa, calm down, there is no need to get aggressive!" said the man as he raised his hands in the air. "Perhaps it was the way I expressed myself, I apologize for that. I have not come here with bad intentions; despite what it may seem from my connection with Miss Runya Runya, I consider myself a neutral agent."

"Neutral?" asked Sofiva distrustfully.

"Indeed so, neutral," the scholar affirmed. "My first and foremost responsibility as a researcher is to document the true nature of this world and monsters, so despite my need to get close to all kinds of monsters, I will never allow myself to choose sides, as that would corrupt the essence of my research."

The way he spoke gave her a certain air of honesty, but she still couldn't be entirely sure she could trust someone with direct ties to the Royal Demon Realm.

"Truth is, I don't have the foggiest idea what you're talking about, fella. But you've pissed off my girl here, so you better prove to me soon that you won't be a threat to us," Grognak said as he leaned slightly over the table, just enough so that his shadow began to cover the hooded man. "Or else."

The scholar sank back in his chair as he saw the other leaning over. "I swear I am not, I can prove it to you any way you prefer!" he quickly defended himself. "Wait a minute... Did you say 'My girl'? Are you two a couple?"

"No, we are not," replied Sofiva in exasperation.

"In a way," answered Grognak.

She shot a disapproving glance at her human companion for that response, something he responded to with a playful smile and a wink.

"Amazing, this is the first time I have encountered an owl mage in a relationship, I must make a note of it!" the scholar mused as he bent down to search through his suitcase.

"Make another sudden move and you're dead, fella," Grognak threatened as he drew his firearm, pointing it directly at the scholar's face. "You still haven't shown us that you're someone we can trust, especially since you're apparently friends with that Puma Puma lady."

"Runya Runya," he corrected him.

"You are beginning to try my patience, pal. Now, you better—"

SMACK

The loud clatter of a paintbrush echoed in the room. Had it not been for Grognak anticipating the attack and raising his arm to defend himself, the blow from that brush would have ended up in his face. Holding the small improvised weapon was the fairy, who impressively for her size, delivered blow after blow to the man's arm, trying to cause enough damage to knock him back.

"Stand back, barbarian, stand back!" the fairy growled as she charged.

The situation soon spiraled out of control. Grognak was blocking the attacking fairy's strikes with his arm while still pointing the weapon at the scholar; the fairy was attacking frantically and aggressively, even flying back and forth in an attempt to distract him and deliver a blow to his face, making it difficult for the scholar to get close to her to calm her down, while having trouble moving without the weapon pointed directly at his face.

Sofiva tried to intervene, but could do nothing to help, instead simply blending into the chaos. Now the whole group was united in a melee of scuffling, pushing, shoving, hitting, and yelling.

Knock Knock

Everyone stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard those soft knocks on the door. Apparently, the noise they had caused had attracted someone's attention.

"Is e-everything all right?" asked a timid female voice on the other side of the door.

"We're fine, missy," Grognak quickly replied. "Just a little tense from life's hardships, no big deal."

"Are you s-sure?"

"As sure as the sky is blue and your face is beautiful, sweetheart," he assured. "Now go to sleep, it's going to be a big day tomorrow."

The voice on the other side of the door said nothing at that, simply letting out a small squeak-like sound before retreating.

They all stood still for a while longer, glancing at the door to make sure that no one would come in and find them in that situation; only when they could be completely sure that the person was gone, did they allow themselves to let out a sigh of relief in unison.

"Was that the daughter of the inn owner?" asked Sofiva in a whisper.

"Quite a cutie, eh?" said Grognak, ignoring the fairy who had taken advantage of his brief moment of distraction to mount his face and pinch one of his cheeks as hard as her small hands would allow. "Now, let's keep this simple and quiet to avoid havoc. Tell me, pal, what can you do to show us that you are not a threat to us?"

The scholar found it difficult to speak, for now he no longer had the firearm pointed at his head, but had that huge knife pressed against his neck.

"I-I can tell you all about me, my work, my goals and everything else, and you can determine the truthfulness of my words," he said as several beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. "I can even show you the draft of my most recent work, my masterpiece so to speak. In it you can see everything I have researched and verify my neutral stance."

That said, the scholar moved slowly and carefully to search for something in his suitcase, having difficulty doing so because he had to keep his head steady due to the knife threatening to slit his throat. The fairy was still trying to fiercely defend his human companion, now moving to ride on Grognak's hair and tugging at him while uttering insults and threats.

"H-here you go," he said as he nervously handed over a set of papers.

Both Sofiva and her human companion approached to look curiously at that set of papers. It was a large collection of texts that seemed to describe all kinds of mamono, making use of information that normally no human could possess. Accompanying those descriptions were illustrations of great artistic professionalism of the appearances of said mamono, the quality of the line being such that it didn't take much thought to realize that they had been drawn by the fairy who was now attacking Grognak's hair.

Among all the papers, there was one that caught her attention, so she proceeded to pick it up. There she could see that it was what would apparently be the title of the work once it was finished.

"Monster Girl Encyclopedia?" she read aloud quizzically.


"There is no need to continue with this, my dear," said the voice on the other side of the mirror, her tone being so exquisite and gentle that it delighted the soul just to hear it. "It is not safe to continue the mission after the earthquake. In addition, we have lost contact with Zarthir's group near your area, so we cannot be sure of the danger you may be exposed to, not to mention that we would not be able to send reinforcements in time should you need them."

"Do not worry, my Lady!" the succubus replied playfully. "We and our beloved will make sure to save this town from itself, nothing can go wrong when our cause is so just!"

A faint sigh was heard on the other side of the mirror.

"That was not what I meant, Rufina," the female voice clarified. "What I meant was—"

"Oh! I am late for the event. Bye-bye, Lady Druella!" interrupted the succubus as she put the mirror aside.

"Wait!"

The voice of the Fourth Princess was ignored, for the succubus soon hastened to accompany her companions into the circle that had formed in the dark cavern. They were all succubi like her, of different skin and hair colors; all united not only by their species, but also by their love for someone special.

"Please let me go!" the young brunette begged in the middle of the circle of succubi. "My father is just a baker, we do not have much money to be able to pay you, but we will give you whatever you need, just do not harm me!"

That spectacle only provoked a series of light laughter among the succubi, who saw it more as a tantrum than as a true act of desperation.

"We are not going to hurt you, silly!" a dark-haired succubus said as she bent down, gently caressing the captive's face. "Our beloved chose you for something special, so we are celebrating."

The villager stared at the dark-haired succubus, disbelief showing on her face.

"Marianne?" she said, astonished. "Marianne, is that you? What happened to you, you have been missing for more than a week!

The succubus didn't respond to that, she simply smiled as she walked away from the brunette. She, along with the other succubi, turned to watch as a new figure entered the circle, one larger than them. They all showed a slight blush on their faces as soon as they saw it, not bothering to hide their excitement.

The figure approached the defenseless villager, who instinctively backed away, seeking distance.

"Stay away, do not touch me!" she screamed. "Chief God, help me!"

The woman's screams were drowned out by the succubi's laughter. The depth of the caverns prevented any sound from escaping to the surface, and the echoes of screams and laughter faded into nothingness.

Soon silence reigned. Nothing could be heard, no screams or anything, just a deep and spectral silence, one that was soon broken by the laughter of a newly converted succubus.

That night one more joined the sisterhood.