"Vaporizing Rebellion Sword!"

Granberia's sword danced in the middle of a large group of puppets, cutting apart one that looked like a giant wolf while several others suffered visible damage from her assault. Before she could prepare another attack, one of the humanoid dolls aimed a glowing arm shaped like a barrel in Granberia's direction. The dragonkin steadied herself against the upcoming attack, raising her sword in a parrying posture while tensing up. However, she felt a sense of dread filling her and instead jumped sideway at the last moment. A large blade tore the space where she was standing a second ago, courtesy of another androgynous doll with swords instead of arms. She didn't have time to relax, however, as the shooter kept her aim focused on her and finally released a beam of energy in her direction. Granberia managed to raise her sword just in time to block the attack, and she used the momentum of her blade to strike behind her. The mechanical creation intercepted the dragonkin's blade with her own weapon, but couldn't react when Granberia kicked her upward with all her power. The doll lifted off the ground, and her opponent slashed her flying body apart, making small gears and cogs fly in every direction. Granberia then dashed like a gust of wind at the shooting doll that was preparing another attack and cut its arm. The mechanical creation reacted by attempting to headbutt its assailant, but Granberia punched her back before finally cutting her apart. It's only then that the Heavenly Knight of Fire took a few seconds to assess the battle.

The first thing that rattled her was the complete lack of emotions from her opponents: she had already faced a few altered monsters in Kagetsumugi's tower a few weeks ago, but even if their faces showed no emotions back then, she could tell that they still experienced fear and hatred. The creations she was facing were purely mechanical, and, more problematically, completely devoid of bloodlust. This wasn't because they had mastered a Serene Mind through training, but only because they were technically not alive. Even that artificial chimera she had faced, Arc-en-Ciel, was alive, talking, and showed the ability to reflect on herself. Her current enemies were only mechanical contraptions created with a dictated purpose, itself only defined by the whim of their creator at the time. Facing those mechanical hordes was a fight she didn't enjoy in the slightest.

However, if those lifeless enemies made her uncomfortable, the only alive one shook her to the core. The sight of Luka being turned in a puppet made her stomach churn: even when he had been an opponent, she always had a measure of respect for the young man who kept training and better himself no matter the odds. And as a friend, she always appreciated facing him again in challenging spars. Fighting him like that, however, made her sick. He was not the warrior she faced, and, deep down, she felt a responsibility for letting him being turned into Kagetsumugi's plaything.

What happened? How did a weak puppeteer managed to get him on a whim without any of us none the wiser?

Ganberia focused back on the fight as another blade nearly tore her head off, only avoiding it at the last second. She answered in kind, and while the doll moved far enough to avoid the blade, the fire wave singed her enough to put her on fire. Granberia finished her opponent with a downward slash, crushing her in a metallic noise and an explosion of small cogs, gears and screws. She definitively couldn't afford to spare a second more to her thoughts, and attempted to calm herself to reach a serene mind while assessing the battlefield to assist whoever was in the direst straight.

Alma Elma was currently flying around a large group of enemies, using her speed to avoid any attack thrown in her direction while keeping the slower enemies at bay. Even better, the faster flying dolls isolated themselves as they tried to rush at her, and she periodically picked a few of them in an impressive display of hit-and-run tactics, tearing them apart in a storm of strikes before moving back to avoid getting overwhelmed by the large number of opponents. Granberia noticed that the succubus was fighting with an unusual efficiency of movements, not moving a single inch more than what she needed. Even from afar, she could tell that her friend was fully focused, determined to end this fight as fast as possible and uninterested in pleasing any potential audience. Granberia herself could only hope that the succubus wouldn't end up exhausted and caught by this seemingly endless horde.

Granberia interrupted her analysis when a doll threw her body at herself from behind. Before the dragonkin could react, her opponent exploded, knocking her on the ground. She gritted her teeth and painfully got up while trying to check around her, but her task was made difficult by the large cloud of dust that got kicked up by the explosion. Listening to her instinct, she rapidly turned around and swung her sword vertically, cleaving another humanoid doll in half. The explosion resulting from its destruction forced a grimacing Granberia back and further reduced her visibility. Summoning the power of the wind, the dragonkin swung her sword again to clear the fog. In the few seconds that had passed since that mechanical opponent that had attacked her, she got surrounded by a large number of identical contraptions.

Charge through them!

Obeying the whispering voice in her head, Granberia summoned a magical barrier and rammed through her opponents like a battering ram. Her shield held fast even as her enemies threw themselves at her to explode, and the moment she was out of the group, a large wave of slime swept them away and triggered them all. Her sword still held high, Granberia turned in Erubetie's direction and nodded as thanks.

The Queen Slime had multiplied herself several times and was using her copies like a general would use an army. Several of them were holding back as many dolls as they could in a blue corrosive swamp, while a few others that remained behind kept shooting hardened bullets of slime from their bodies, tearing apart components after components from them. For each of her copy that disappeared under a lightning bolt, another appeared from one of her bodies to support her fellows. For now, it looked like she would run out of enemies before she would run out of energy.

Remained…

Granberia charged a group of dolls that was trying to attack their last ally. The dolls fell under the assault of the dragonkin as she swept them like an avalanche of destruction, tearing all of them apart in record time. Once her sight was clear again, she grimaced: Kanade, the Ancestor of all slimes, was busy trying to keep Luka at bay. Or more exactly, she was dancing around his blade like a stream of water around an obstacle, avoiding the sickly green slashes made by a puppeteered Luka's weapon. The few waves of slimes she occasionally threw at the hero had no effect as they disintegrated into noxious goo as soon as they touched any part of him. Granberia grimaced. She didn't want to fight him in the slightest, but she had no choice. The easiest and most simple way to end this battle would be a lightning-fast thrust to his exposed head, but the idea of risking killing him was abominable. She felt her grip around her blade loosen ever so slightly in front of that enemy.

And yet, she couldn't afford to hesitate lest they lose this battle. If he escaped, then he could wreck untold havoc under Kagetsumugi's order and break the still budding peace between humans, monsters and angels.

Luckily, I learned a few spells now…

Granberia pointed her sword at him and focused as she felt energy crackle in her hands.

"Recede immundissimi spiritus!"

The controlled hero's sword instantly lost its uncanny glow, and Kanade seized the opportunity to pin him with a slime wave, careful to still leave his head free so that he could still breath. Luka's armor glowed a crimson red, and the hero got instantly surrounded by a wave of fire that freed him.

Damn it! It didn't work! He just summoned another spirit again! I can't keep dispelling them without risking losing too much energy!

The dragonkin steadied herself as the still unconscious hero turned his asleep expression toward her. Without a word, he charged her and rapidly slashed his blade at a speed that exceeded her own. She could only parry most of his attacks, and several strikes connected. She felt the blade bite in her side and in her shoulder a few times. The instant the assault stopped, she threw herself in the visible opening and hit her opponent's side with the flat of her blade with the hope to knock him out.

Granberia gritted her teeth as a comet spawned from nowhere and sent her flying back. She landed on her back, dropping her sword and ripping on the ground for several meters before finally stopping, her weapon on the ground in front of her. Luka charged at her before she could lift her sword, and she braced herself against the next attack as the hero raised his blade to finish her life.

His strike ended an inch away from her face. Granberia rolled sideways and jumped forward to grab her sword while Alma Elma was now targeted by the hero. As the two moved away in a storm of conflicting wind, Granberia, Erubetie and Kanade took a second to gather themselves while the two slimes used a few of their copies to keep other dolls at bay. When she started talking, the tone of the Slime Ancestor was surprisingly aggressive.

"That small puppeteer is more than a mere polluting nuisance… I asked Saja for help."

Granberia felt slightly wounded in her pride, but she accepted that they needed any help they could get: dealing with an army of dolls was one thing she could easily do, but fighting a controlled Luka as well was simply too much. The most they could do right now was making sure that all those automatons didn't start rampaging in the countryside. Fortunately, Kagetsumugi had chosen to do her dirty business in an isolated spot, and was more focused on the immediate threats. No innocent was in danger because of their fight for the moment.

In return, retreat was not an option.

The dragonkin slowly exhaled and cleared her mind again: her utmost priority right now was to hold fast. Whatever Kagetsumugi had planned to do with Luka was certainly blocked for as long as they kept fighting in this isolated place, and there was no shame for waiting for help when you were dealing with a hero that had already beaten everyone and who was himself supported by an army of dolls, was it?

Granberia briefly castigated herself for even considering letting her ego cloud her judgment and calmed down again. Surviving required all the effort available, it was certainly not the time to think she could be weak. As the puppet hero was further away, Granberia imbued her blade with the power of lightning again and returned on her path of destruction, annihilating puppet after puppet with the utmost precision. Eventually, Luka and Alma Elma returned, the succubus trying to dodge the hero's assault even as several small marks were covering her body and her cape was torn. As they approached, Granberia kept an eye on the fight in hope of finding any opportunity to end it.

As the hero was fully dedicated on bringing Alma Elma down, Granberia noticed that he was leaving a large opening in his upper body. Imbuing herself with all her might, she prepared her sword to slash Luka's neck…

…And found herself unable to deal the killing blow, her strike held back by her own will.

No… I can't risk killing him… And that damn Kagetsumugi knows that as well! She's using him as her puppet for this very reason! She knows we would never harm him after everything he's done! But if we can't find a way to incapacitate him without killing him soon, this fight will be lost!

Granberia cried in surprise as she felt a sharp pain in her side. She riposted with a powerful attack that broke apart the offending puppet in a rain of gears, and focused her spirit toward her wound. The large gash instantly disappeared. She slowly exhaled as she focused again on the battle waged all around her. Their assault had so far only made a small dent in the horde. At this rate, even her formidable endurance would crumble before the end, and she thanked Saja and Tamamo under her breath for teaching her basic magic skills.

In the meantime, Alma Elma was looking in disarray. Her pleasure skills had been useless, and while her martial art skills were effective in holding Luka back, she couldn't use them to stop the hero from attacking the party. Her wings were covered in lacerations, while a small drip of blood was present at the corner of her mouth.

A beam of energy announced the arrival of Saja as the Ancestor didn't lose a second before starting to destroy puppets. Granberia felt unusually relieved before the Ancestor suddenly stopped her carnage just as fast as she started it, staring in Luka's direction. To the dragonkin's surprise, she then opened a portal leading directly to the Monster Lord's Castle and flew in, leaving her allies dumbfounded. Kanade beheaded a doll that threatened Granberia from behind before joining the swordsman's side.

"This is why Tamamo was in charge of strategy. She took time to properly plan her actions and didn't rush in forgetting the most important element."

Before Granberia could ask the slime what she meant, Saja returned with her snakes holding something that she couldn't quite recognize at first. It's only when the yoma threw it in her direction that she recognized Angel Halo. The dragonkin grabbed the sword by its handle mid-air and rapidly gauged its weight: in spite of its disgusting appearance, the weapon was surprisingly well-balanced. She sheathed her large sword, and pointed Angel Halo in Luka's direction.

This time, I have no reason to hold back!

Granberia released a primordial roar and directly charged in Luka's direction. The dragonkin slashed a doll that got in her way upward in an attack that would have cut any opponent in two. Instead, the doll simply stopped moving and limply fell on the ground. A group of dolls trying to attack her from behind got simply annihilated as Saja released a magical breath that annihilated them. Granberia jumped into the sky before falling like a meteor toward Luka, her sword aimed straight at his neck. Without turning around, the hero blocked her attack while several other dolls took Alma Elma's focus. The dragonkin and Luka fully engaged themselves in their duel, creating a storm of sparks as they exchanged several blows each second. Granberia herself quickly tempered her initial rage with the determination to incapacitate the hero to free him from Kagetsumugi's handicraft, while her target kept fighting mechanically with the long experience he had acquired during his travel.

Periodically, a doll tried to interject in the fight only to get blasted by a spell from Saja who was supporting the two remaining Heavenly Knights and her sister against the horde of dolls, leaving leeway for the dragonkin in her fight. Granberia spared a single second to silently thank her friends and allies for covering her sides.

A sense of dread filled her as Luka stopped attacking without warning. She jumped back a distance away, Angel Halo still raised and ready to strike should he resume his assault or another doll jump in to attack her.

Daystar… Suffering his most powerful attack again would be disastrous. I can't afford to make such a blunder.

Once she was sure Luka's special counterattack wouldn't activate, she dashed at him like a lightning strike in an attempt to pierce through him with Angel Halo. The attack merely glanced on his armor, and she felt the reinforcement from Gnomaren's power around him. Luka riposted with a powerful cleave aimed at the dragonkin. Granberia dodged it in a roll, but took a hit from a doll as she rolled away. The attack barely grazed her, but before she could understand what happened, Luka jumped on top of her with a leaping attack. Granberia barely managed to raise her sword to parry the strike before it connected, sending a painful wave through her arm and her whole body as their blades locked.

Luckily, a pillar of slime hit him on the side and made him lose balance. Granberia exploited the opportunity to kick him away. As she laid down, exhausted, she felt a small splash of slime fall on her and heal her wounds. Even then, she felt her muscles scream in pain as she got up and needed to solidly camp herself on her two legs to remain standing. She quickly scanned around the battlefield in hope of finding Luka, and, to her surprise, he wasn't fighting Erubetie or Kanade after they helped her, but was instead engaged in a fight against Saja and supported by an unusual large doll.

Even amongst the colorful and original creations, this one stood out simply by the sheer amount of energy it was emitting. It was standing at ten foot tall, and while its androgynous build was humanoid, its whole structure was covered by thin intricate glowing curves looking like so many veins of precious jewels. Granberia recognized her surface as the same extremely rare meteoric metal her own sword was made of. Its head was even covered in more patterns that seemed to move and shift around to hypnotize any opponent, while a single gem in its front was glowing with a red energy. The only other inhuman features in its design were a strange, large bump in its back as well as the six arms that kept transforming in different weapons to attack its opponents. As Saja flew back to avoid them, six blades became six rods that launched salvos after salvos of energy at the flying Ancestor to force her down. Even as the latter riposted with her own barrage that kept spawning the occasional gash, it was clear she couldn't land any decisive blow.

Did that damn puppeteer really transfer her own soul in this golem? This is not living. It's just… being! And how did she get enough power to even endure the assault of an Ancestor?

Luka's whole body briefly glowed as he recovered his energy before the hero threw a sickly-green blade of energy in their direction. Granberia quickly raised a barrier to protect her two allies as they focused on taking another pack of smaller humanoid dolls. Even as the two slimes tore them apart in a destructive blue storm, the dragonkin was forced to defend herself against a spider-like mechanical creation that tried to wrap itself around her in an attempt to lock her limbs. With a rage-filled groan, Granberia tore the delicate legs of the spider in a metallic screech and kicked the remainder far away from her before it exploded.

The slime storm that was defending them against so many opponents turned sickly green and collapsed. Kanade looked venomously at Luka. Once again, they were at threat of being overwhelmed by sheer number. The only things that were preventing the dolls from utterly surrounding them was Alma Elma targeting the most dangerous opponents before they could get any advantage, and the numerous dolls that were redirected toward Saja. However, the Succubus Queen was now showing obvious signs of exhaustion as she was flying more slowly.

Before the dragonkin could ponder her next move, a projectile thrown by the large golem shattered the already fragilized barrier. Once again, Kanade, Erubetie and Granberia were surrounded by dolls from every direction, pinned into place as they were forced to defend themselves from every direction.

Damn it! If Luka use those poison attacks against Erubetie and Kanade again, we won't stand a chance!

Granberia parried another blade from a puppet and barely managed to block her before riposting. She brought down her blade on the doll's head, shredding it in another explosion of parts. She dodged another attack coming from behind her, but before she could destroy this new opponent, she felt a sharp pain in her side. Granberia yelped in pain as she threw her sword backward, destroying the first doll while Erubetie tore apart the second one with a slime wave. Another large tentacle strike from Kanade destroyed a wave of dolls, clearing some much needed breathing room. As she took a moment to recover, Granberia noticed something that had escaped her so far during the fight.

The least damaged mechanical parts were reassembling themselves to form more dolls.

Granberia was shortly dumbfounded by the display before steadying herself. That explained why the dolls they were facing were apparently numberless. A solid half of their enemies reassembled before charging them once again. Alma Elma landed close to her, panting in exhaustion.

"I don't think many partners ever left me exhausted…" She spat on the ground. "But they can't feel anything, so it doesn't count."

"I'm also starting to run out of energy." Kanade still splashed a small quantity of slime on a grateful Alma Elma, making most of the scars covering the Succubus Queen disappear. "I'm still spread too thin all over the world."

At least Saja is keeping that large doll away from us. Maybe once she's done with it…

When Granberia looked in the direction of the fight happening between the two titans, she needed a moment to process the spectacle in front of her: Saja had stopped her assault and was trying to circle the surprisingly agile large golem that was now using a shield to defend itself. Granberia became utterly mortified when she realized that the shield was Luka himself.

When she recovered from her shock, the dolls were already on top of them like a rain of bladed limbs. Granberia could barely defend herself against the onslaught as even Erubetie and Kanade were mostly focusing on defending themselves and a vulnerable Alma Elma: The succubus queen was now extremely sluggish and barely holding her own as she was struggling with a bear-like doll.

The now familiar sound of Daystar echoed behind her, followed by a loud crashing sound. Granberia couldn't afford thinking about the Ancestor as she was forced in her own fight. Saja was likely already up and fighting again. Granberia didn't react when she felt the power of the wind accumulating, but briefly lost focus when he also accumulated the power of earth. A blade found the way to her shoulder, drawing blood while Luka accumulated the power of water. She took the doll's blade with her free hand and broke it before kicking her opponent away.

"Steady yourself. I'll deviate it."

When Luka finally unleashed his quadruple giga, Granberia felt her whole body tingle at the large amount of energy released toward the ground. A large barrier appeared in the air right on top of Saja to stop the projectile. However, to Granberia's shock, the shield deployed by the Ancestor didn't hold as the attack exploded upon hitting it. The resulting explosion knocked a large number of dolls around, and Granberia was once more thankful for Kanade and Erubetie's presence as the two slimes deflected the energy wave with their own aqua barriers. Before Granberia could ponder whether Saja was dead or not, she felt Luka prepare another quadruple giga. She started running toward the fallen Ancestor's position, but several half-collapsed dolls stood up to intercept her.

Damn it! I need to reach her before he kills her off once for all!

"Get out of my way…"

Even as she shouted, Granberia felt pathetically weak. That fight had sapped more of her endurance than she thought, and even after having trained so much and the healing the slimes provided, she still only had so much energy to spend. She had barely progressed and felt her heart sink when the controlled Luka released another quadruple giga toward his target.

"No…"

Granberia felt powerless. She had trained to fight all her life. She had held her own against another Ancestor with Luka's support. She further trained afterward and was starting to learn how to use her latent magic abilities. And yet, it was still not enough. Her past failure against Luka and Arc-En-Ciel during the war against Ilias had only given her motivation to further train, but the perspective of seeing someone she failed to protect kill someone who had expressed a willingness to tutor her… That was too much.

A beam of light blocked the projectile in a ripping noise, almost blinding Granberia before the dragonkin felt all the redirected energy tear a peripheral mountain. She blinked several times to clear her sight, and when she could finally see shapes again, she noticed a familiar angel flying above ground.

"Micaela…?"

I have spent months training and guiding my nephew to fight against the Six Ancestors, and I ultimately have to defend an Ancestor against him.

I do not appreciate the irony.

The first seraph quickly rushed toward the downed Saja and released a healing spell on the down Ancestor. The latter groaned in pain as she got up, although it was obvious that her body wasn't the most wounded part of her right now.

"…Your assistance is appreciated, but I could have beaten them alone."

"I have no doubt about that." Micaela kept her eyes on the large golem as she continued in a monotone voice. "But I wanted to be here right now. I'll tell you why once we're done."

Saja raised an eyebrow, but didn't interject. Micaela didn't lose one more second and flew toward the Heavenly Knights and Kanade, releasing another welcome healing wave amongst a dumbfounded group. She looked at Angel Halo in Granberia's hands, and then at the dragonkin with all her authority.

"You free Luka. We take care of the rest."

The dragonkin nodded back with determination, and Micaela returned in the sky to assist Saja as the latter had already returned to try harassing the golem. The artificial creation was once again busy using Luka as a human shield, leaving the seraph a large opening by exposing its back. The seraph threw a blade of holy magic at one of its leg, spawning a large gash. The golem stumbled a bit and took several additional hits from Saja before recovering its stability and turning around in a surprisingly fast and smooth motion to face her with several of her arms turned into cannon. At the same time, Luka got repositioned on its back to face Saja, forcing the Ancestor to slow down her attacks once again.

As she avoided the beams of darkness shot by its cannons, Micaela appreciated the power of Kagetsumugi's creation by herself: this golem had nothing to envy to the most powerful monsters she had faced during the Great Monster War. And thanks to its hostage forbidding the use of more devastating skills, it could even hold its own against her and Saja.

Someone definitively helped her. There's no way she would have gathered so much resources and gotten that skilled at fighting without some assistance. I'll make sure to be here when they interrogate… what remains of her once we're done.

The seraph flew straight toward the doll's body, but before she could strike that opponent she was faced with the form of Luka. She modified her trajectory at the last second and instead slashed at its shoulder. The golem leaned back and emitted a dark energy wave, pushing Micaela back. The seraph took a quick look in Granberia's direction: the dragonkin was accumulating wind energy while the two slimes and Alma Elma were protecting her.

Micaela returned to her task of making sure that she fully shared the attention of the golem with Saja. The Ancestor was once again trying to attack the large artificial creation without harming Luka, forcing her to mostly dodge whatever attack her opponent could throw in her way. Micaela launched a small attack on the golem's back, and the golem answered in kind by somehow displacing Luka to protect its back while moving back to have its two opponents in front of it.

"Quadruple Giga!"

The moment Granberia shouted, both angel and yoma got out of the way. As the golem tried to protect itself against this attack, the blast hit Luka head-on. The hero flew off the golem's grip, his armor shattered in pieces. Micaela quickly flew into his direction, her ribbon extending and wrapping around the hero in a flash. The single feeling of his heartbeat filled her with an elation she didn't expect, even if his forces were extremely weak. Saja noticed as well, and rapidly opened a pocket dimension into which Micaela rapidly tossed the hero before the yoma closed it just as quickly.

The battlefield fell surprisingly calm for a moment, as only the clattering noise of another doll being reduced to pieces by Alma Elma echoed on the battlefield. The golem itself was immobile, tacitly confirming to everyone that it was indeed a creation inhabited by a consciousness who realized they were now absolutely done for.

The seraph glided away from Saja as the latter was looking at the golem, her eyes glowing with primal fury as she accumulated energy by the second. The Ancestor would be better left alone to take care of this one. She quickly flew toward the Heavenly Knights and Kanade as the latter group was clearing up the remaining dolls. As they were no longer at threat of losing bodies because of poison attacks, Kanade and Erubetie were now multiplying themselves in high numbers. The slimes quickly outnumbered the remaining artificial creations, and with Micaela and Alma Elma destroying any would-be escapee, the last dolls fell apart in shapeless piles of metallic clumps. The few ones that try reconstructing themselves again were either dissolved or torn apart in the blink of an eye.

The first seraph returned her attention to the battle between Saja and the golem. Both of them were immobile, but she could feel the Ancestor's aura completely surrounding the trembling golem as the air was buzzing with energy even as her eyes were glowing with raw power. The feeling alone was enough to keep her at bay, and the monsters around her were just as confused as her.

Then Saja's eyes stopped glowing. The same instant, the golem collapsed in large clumps of metal as its limbs fell apart. The only thing that kept floating was a smaller floating orb with a pair of arms ending with tens of small metallic claws on each side and a blue gem at its center. Before Micaela could further examine it, Saja had tackled this new opponent on the ground and was tearing its arms apart with raw magic. As she talked, each word was loaded with a power that buried her opponent slightly deeper.

"No. More. Trick! You will pay for all the harm you've done!"

Micaela abstained from commenting on Saja's remark as the yoma Ancestor threw the golem in another of her pocket dimensions. She had been right on the point. Kagetsumugi had indeed transferred her soul in a doll. How did she manage that even with the support of angels would require a more thorough investigation, and -she hoped- the Ancestor's cooperation.

She focused back on the more immediate issue at hand as Saja's scrutinizing gaze was fully focused on her. Micaela didn't lose another second answering the silent question.

"I felt your presence when you flew close by. I distractedly followed your movement when I felt that daystar signature from afar, I took a look with a spell and then…" Micaela sighed as she looked down in a mix of shame and exhaustion. "I could say that I decided to test the trust I have in my new lieutenants and come here, but in reality I just consider saving Luka more important than anything else. And I guess I'm also looking for an excuse to see if the worst elements under me will try acting against my order to put them back in line once for all."

And Ilias used to do the same. She initially imprisoned Promestein forever, killed Lucifina when the latter refused to bow down again to her and of course… she did try to kill Luka directly and indirectly more than anyone else once he stepped out of her perfect little plan.

I hope I won't ever have to go further than the first one.

"…I didn't think you would be so straightforward." Saja smirked. "Although taking into consideration what you said earlier, I guess that you're only answering their expectations to fill in the slot left by the Goddess Ilias."

Micaela answered with a chuckle of her own. If anything, she appreciated the Ancestor's repartee. Granberia politely cleared her throat as everyone was now looking at them.

"Can we… finally check on Luka?"

Micaela was surprised by how Granberia's voice was slightly trembling. While she had felt confident herself as she had felt his pulse ever so briefly, there was still that lingering doubt like a small voice in the back of her head repeating that her nephew was dead. Everybody held her breath when Saja once again opened a glowing portal, and time only seemed to resume when Luka's hovering form came out. He was still unconscious, his eyes closed and wrapped in Micaela's ribbon. The seraph felt her own heart beat again as she felt Luka's pulse through her ribbon.

"You share a mastery of binding ribbons as Minagi does, don't you?"

"He's very weak if that's what you're asking for."

"Mmh." Saja nodded. "And can you tell if…"

"-No other than his dear wife touched him inappropriately. I can assure you that."

"Then why are you looking so awkard- oooh…" Alma Elma grinned.

Micaela tried to hide her blush. She could assure everyone that not a single soul would have touched Luka beyond the Monster Lord for the past weeks. In fact, her scent was completely impregnating him and her ribbon as well, incidentally giving her information on her nephew's intimate life that she would have gladly passed on.

I think that I'll just create another binding ribbon and burn this one… I'd feel dirty just touching it again.

"Then why don't you just take it off from him?"

"His clothes got destroyed in the attack."

Micaela realized her gaffe just as the last word left her mouth. She slowly turned around to see Alma Elma drooling and panting like a dog. Granberia and Erubetie were both looking at her without hiding their contempt, and even Kanade was somehow looking more jaded than usual.

At least she still has her priorities straight…

"We will secure the tower while you bring Luka back." Granberia pointed at the structure that was standing ominously at a distance. "I have the feeling Kagetsumugi might have kept another trick in stock, and we should not leave anything up to chance. This includes you Alma."

The Succubus Queen whined but followed the group, leaving Micaela alone with Saja and Luka. The first seraph took a prolonged look at her nephew. She hoped that he wouldn't remember his actions while being mentally clear from any corruption, or, barring that, that Tamamo and his wife would be able to help him through.

Speaking off… Something's wrong.

"Where's Tamamo? I would have expected her to be the first to step in to save Luka."

"She's unwell." Saja looked down in shame. "The pressure of the events caught up to her, and after deliberation, Lilith decided to assist her with her own ailments."

Micaela frowned. "Lilith decided to help her? I'm… surprised."

"If it can reassure you, Tamamo had initially decided to step out of this one on her own. Lilith decided to look after her afterward. I came here because Kanade asked for my support."

Micaela looked at Saja with a measure of suspicion before sighing as tension left her. Even if she had barely talked with the yoma Ancestor since the latter was freed and even fought her, she knew that she was saying the truth. She knew herself that Tamamo had been on the edge for months no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Her absence at that critical moment was just a chain of poorly timed decisions, which she would undoubtedly confirm with the kitsune their next weekly meeting.

"My apologies, I'm just nervous after the last days. I feel that I still don't have a solid grasp on most of the angels under me, and the recent tricks played by your dear sisters and that little puppeteer didn't help either."

"I understand. Although I'm sure Tamamo will still gladly see eye to eye with you soon. She's-"

A cataclysmic explosion suddenly interrupted Saja. Micaela reflexively raised her sword as she placed herself between Luka and the source while a cloud of dust swallowed them. Before she could intercept the large debris flying in her direction, several beams of energy shattered the blocks into harmless rain of small pebbles. Micaela quickly dashed into the direction of the explosion as she felt Saja put back Luka in a pocket dimension where he could only be safer than them.

The first seraph cleared the dust with a powerful flap with her wings. The dust cleared only to reveal the battered bodies of Alma Elma and Granberia in the middle of a crater. The tail and wings of the succubus queen were completely shredded while her limbs were twisted at unnatural angles. The dragonkin was looking barely better and had lost several scales over her legs. There were no sign of either slimes. Micaela directly rushed to the side of the succubus and started pouring a large amount of energy to keep her alive while Saja was focusing all of her attention of Granberia. She felt dizzy simply by the effort she deployed to heal the succubus queen. It's only once the subject of her attention was stabilized and breathing again that her emotions resurfaced.

Her mouth opened agape in shock. She desperately looked around her in hope of seeing one or the other blue puddle that would confirm her Erubetie and Kanade survived. She started frantically looking around, turning one stone after the other while searching for the slime.

Come on, don't tell me they survived Ilias's tantrum, faced the most powerful monsters that ever walked the earth, and ultimately saved the hero that helped them deal with both simply to die like that! It's just… ridiculous!

"They will both live." Saja was displaying a large contempt at the ruins of the tower around her. "That was one last surprise from Kagetsumugi. One last attempt to kill any would-be opponent and deprive them of her resources. Such a trap cannot even be born from pragmatism. Only pure spite."

She would have been at her place in the Great War…

A weak whisper echoed. "I concur..."

Micaela stopped her search as she localized the voice coming from under Alma Elma. She carefully moved the succubus queen to see a small splat blue of slime. Erubetie's head emerged from the pool to the duo's relief.

"We heard a strange noise during our progression in the tower. Then Kanade tried to shield us with her body as explosions started all around us."

Micaela sat herself on the ground, still passably stunned by the events. She completely ignored the discussion between Erubetie's head and Saja as she passed over the crisis at hands.

Kanade's certainly doing fine. She was limited in this fight because she has copies of herself all over the world, and she already endured ten times worse during the Great War. It's fortunate, if she hadn't been there… Would that explosion have killed the Heavenly Knights? Wait, was it her plan all along, or was she aiming for someone else?

I never thought I could get concerned for the Ancestors. And yet… I hope Tamamo's doing fine with whatever issue she's currently dealing with, and I'm more than thankful to Saja and Kanade. And I feel I have a debt to Hiruko as well with her taking care of angels.

The Heavenly Knights are alive and well, Luka is alive and well, and we succeeded. Nobody got caught in the crossfire. Most people won't even know about what happened here today, and it might be for the best.

I won't cry victory yet though. Somehow, that damn little puppeteer has managed to always be one step ahead of us, and might have kept yet more nasty surprises in stock. Speaking of which, what just happened?

"…And nobody noticed anything unusual beyond a faint smell? No sign of magic?"

Erubetie's head had a strange movement that the seraph associated with a shrug attempt.

"No magic that could create an explosion at least. She did say that the feeling of Kagetsumugi's workshop was unusual, but Granberia had raised an anti-magic barrier and felt no reason to stop our progression."

"Strange… She would have been able to detect such a powerful spell before it would trigger."

"Then it may not be magic, but alchemy." Micaela got up and dusted her wings with a small flap. "Identical bombs had been used in the past in San Ilia and other cities. It might just have been the same."

"We have become quite acquainted with the smell of black powder, and it was not comparable." Erubetie's head frowned. "Although we did face comparable explosive dolls during the fight. The option is not out of question."

"I see…" Micaela looked around, worried. If Kagetsumugi had scattered other dolls like that around the world, then she could still spread terror from beyond the grave.

"In any case, I will take extreme precaution with that strange contraption that may be our puppeteer. For the sake of the Monster Lord, I will not be made a fool of again."

Micaela unconsciously took a step back from Saja as the latter's aura flared: even if she currently felt on her good side, she didn't want to take the risk of incurring the wrath of the Ancestor. Fortunately, Saja's mood eased slightly and a small smirk reappeared on her face before she bowed toward Micaela.

"I will bring everyone back to the Monster Lord's Castle. I thank you for your support. Were you ever told that you were pleasant to work with?"

Micaela raised an eyebrow in confusion. Eventually, she bade her farewell to the Ancestor before the latter teleported herself back to the Monster Lord's castle with the three Heavenly Knights.

The first seraph lifted herself in a cloud of dust and took one long look around: the already-gloom mountain range was now completely desolate. Even the few hardy bushes that were dotting the area had been reduced to ashes, and melted metallic ponds were doting the ground, separated by the occasional inactive doll. One of the mountains had even been reshaped by the attack she deviated.

That fight would have qualified as a skirmish in the old days… Ilias might have actually had a point when she said that our fights were destroying the world.

Enough dwelling on the past, let's move on the future. I really hope that I won't find a disaster waiting for me back home, those troubles worked me up more than I thought.

And yet, far away, several mechanical birds were released from seemingly random locations. Each of them had their own destination, but they all shared the same bird-like design. The same characteristics. The same burden. The same mindless, program carved in their metallic brains. They all took off and flew with a mechanical determination that could only be stopped by a deliberate outside effort.

One met its end at the edge of a forest bordering a wasteland as a vine swatted it down, tearing it apart before grabbing its cargo.

Another suddenly crashed on an invisible barrier, falling at the bottom of a stone with marked with a holy white symbol.

Most of them ended up delivering their cargo in various cities that were disrupted by their appearance, further reinforcing the confusion as they dropped their small package amid fleeing inhabitants before disappearing to destinations unknown.

The last of them ended in the middle of a thick forest, drifting toward a manor in front of which a disparate feminine group was discussing and investigating their environment with a mix of wariness and curiosity. The contraption didn't notice the attention its appearance had gathered, and ignored them to drop its package right on the manor's porch. It didn't react either when a pair of tentacles appeared from the ground and pulled it from the sky like a falling star, nor did it stop trying to fly away once surrounded by three inquisitive gazes. Its attempts only stopped when its assailant turned a strange key on its back.

The youngest-looking girl quickly took a look at the bird, then grabbed the package on the ground and examined it: it was a flat bronze square box, slightly bigger than her own hand and richly decorated. A more visible relief was pushed, and the box opened in two to reveal a shining disc inside. After careful debate and analysis with her colleagues, the girl came up with a sound analysis protocol to determine its content.

She shoved the whole disc in her mouth.