"Sooo… You're not actually mad?"
"No. I'm not mad. With the hindsight setting in, I am perfectly fine with what happened. And besides, I am the Monster Lord. It would be unbecoming of the Monster Lord to fall into such petty jealousy."
She's mad. She's completely mad.
Luka and Alice were on the Garuda girl, a large monstrous bird with the upper torso of a woman which had become their go-to as a mean of moving around the world. Alice could fly and teleport on her own, but she always preferred staying as close to Luka as possible, enjoying his company as they travelled together.
The lamia was extremely clingy around her new husband, always fearing that some other monsters would try to steal him, and their latest intervention hadn't reassured her in the slightest. A large part of her brain castigated herself for her bout of stupidity that had separated her from the hero. She should have known better than to leave him alone in a village attacked by a pack of succubi, and when she found him back a bit later affected by Critical Ecstasy thanks to a powerful succubus spell. She had felt powerless as her own magic skills were insufficient to stop the assault. Instead, she just fed on him to not waste the opportunity, and fill that grumble in her stomach that appeared after that dream of parfaits. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but guilt had taken hold of her when she had to carry a completely exhausted Luka back to the Garuda Girl.
Besides that, she had been quite surprised when an alarm informed the Heavenly Knights that Spider Pricess had been freed by someone earlier. The security measures were checked weekly, and they saw the scientific teams in charge of keeping sure that she would remain imprisoned themselves. Those men and women were informed, trained and knew the risks. And besides, they knew they could easily get better and safer company quite easily. They had no reason to free her, and yet, one of them apparently did so simply to sate his lust.
Then when that messenger arrived in the middle of the night to inform them that a village was attacked by a swarm of rogue succubi, Alice was absolutely dumbfounded. Since the fall of Ilias almost three months ago, there were only a few extremely minor frictions here and there, and only two of them needed the hero or one of the Heavenly Knight to sort out. Two attacks in the same night was definitively a first since the end of the war, and while it could be a mere coincidence, her instinct told her that there was something sinister behind… Maybe the reports from her knights would tell her more. In any case, the succubi were now in the care of their more civilized fellows from Succubus Village, who were now officially in charge of their re-education and punishment.
The sun was rising when they arrived in sight of the Monster Lord Castle. A few monsters were standing guard at the entrance, and bowed to welcome the return of their lord as the Garuda Girl landed. While Alice gracefully slithered off from her mount, Luka almost planted face-first as he slipped off, bringing everyone's attention to his condition.
"Are you sure you're alright? It looks like you didn't quite recover from that spell…"
Luka got up and smiled awkwardly. "I'm okay, I can walk on my own now… Although I could definitively use some rest tonight."
Alice pouted, but relented. Even if she enjoyed feasting on him, she certainly wouldn't want to harm him. "…Fine."
The guards opened the door to reveal Tamamo's childish form as she was fanning herself. She bowed in front of the return of the royal couple.
"Greetings, lord Alipheese. I suppose the omens were favorable to your triumph?"
Alice sighed in exasperation. "Spare me the flourished manners, Tamamo, and please report the situation in Grangold."
The kitsune chuckled before clapping her fan close. "The damages were minimal, only minor wounds caused by the frantic evacuation as the numerous failsafe kicked in and slowed her down. We checked and interrogated the man responsible, and everybody came to the conclusion that he was victim to an exterior influence."
"How sure are you?"
"I detected the faint trace of a spell and so did Alma when she personally interrogated him."
"Yes I diiiiid.~"
Every members of the trio sighed in exasperation as the aforementioned monster arrived. The purple haired Succubus Queen arrived while exaggeratingly swinging her hips as she licked her lips while staring at Luka. The two wings in her back were flapping happily as her tail rocked left and right.
"That poor, poor man was so feverish with lust, I almost thought he would explode right here and there when I arrived. I felt so sorry for him I offered to console him, but he felt so guilty over what happened that he refused, leaving me hanging…" She leaned closer in front of the group, showing off her large cleavage. Luka reflexively recoiled, making her chuckle.
"Come on… We live in the same house now… Don't tell me you're still afraid I will hurt you?"
"Actually…" Luka didn't feel comfortable with saying that his strange vision did involve Alma Elma taking him on the spot again and again until he died.
"Awww… Don't be like that… I'm sure you enjoy my presence…"
"Alma Elma. Stop tormenting my husband. Report." Alice's voice was a hammer that brought the succubus queen back down to reality.
She cleared her throat and readjusted herself. "He was victim to a high level succubus spell that directly affects the body, increasing his lust until the mind gives in. I can't give more details."
Alice's gaze switched to Tamamo who simply shrugged. "I can't tell more either. I considered contacting Witch from Succubus Village, since that type of magic isn't exactly my forte, but she was missing."
Alice nodded. "We needed her help to take care of a pack of rogue succubi that attacked a village… And you confirmed me that it was definitively not a coincidence."
"Mmh. I was quite surprised to see that you also had left in the middle of the night to take care of more troubles. What happened exactly?"
"Well…" Alice ground her teeth while glancing sideway, feeling slightly ashamed before finding an escape.
"…I think Luka would explain it better than me."
The hero jumped up, startled. "What? Why me?"
Tamamo raised an eyebrow and tilted her head while hiding her obvious smirk behind her fan.
"Because… Ah, screw it. A small village was attacked by a gang of succubi, and we arrived in the middle of their meal. We sealed most of them when we were both separated and caught in an illusion. I managed to break free after a few minutes, but Luka… Needed more time."
"Strange. To affect both of you, you would need a quite powerful spell… Can you give me more details?"
Luka and Alice both looked on the side, actively avoiding Tamamo's gaze. As she got closer, she gave more attention to the smell surrounding them and almost stepped back in surprise.
"…Ooookay, I will see that with each of you separately, and start with with Luka then." One of her tail grabbed the hero's wrist.
"Wait, wait!" The hero almost fell as Tamamo started pulling him. The next instant, they were blocked by Alice who was standing tall, her arms crossed under her chest while the tip of her tail was shaking threateningly like a rattlesnake's.
"Tamamo. We are both your superiors and adults now. I'm no longer a child. We just need some time to gather our bearings and restore ourselves before explaining what happened properly."
"Mmh? Oh, sure, I already had one of the cook prepare Ama-ama dangos for you. She trained in Iliasburg specifically for you, and from the smell, I think the first batch is going to be ready."
Alice suddenly rushed away from the party at a speed that could only be equaled by Alma Elma. Tamamo exploited the distraction to start moving a beleaguered Luka through the hallways of the castle by pulling him by the wrist.
"Wait… Please Tamamo… Slow down... I'll follow you."
The kitsune turned back toward Luka with a surprised expression, making him wonder if she actually remembered she was pulling him.
"Oh, sorry about that…"
They continued walking while Luka periodically massaged his hand, actually missing the soft sensation of the tail wrapping around his wrist. The hero still managed to remain focused enough to notice an anomaly.
"Are you alright, Tamamo?"
The kitsune distractedly answered. "Mmh? Yes, thank you, why?"
"Because we're currently in the training grounds in the west part of the castle… And your room is on the second floor in the east wing."
"Oh!" Tamamo chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, I was thinking about seeing Nanabi and Yao spar against each other. They still have a small feud going on."
The duo turned back, and on their way out, they could see Granberia pestering Alma Elma to spar against her.
"Come on! I've seen your martial arts attacks! I want you to use them against me in our next fight!"
Alma sighed. "Sorry Granberry, but I hate using those skills… They tend to dredge back bad memories."
"It is your duty as a warrior to overcome those to better yourself!"
"You're only saying that because you think you stand a chance against them."
The dragonkin turned red-faced. "No! I mean yes! I mean I want to train against new fighting styles! I want to be ready just in case!"
Luka couldn't hear the rest of the conversation as he followed Tamamo upstairs to her comfortable, oriental-styled room. When the kitsune closed her door, Luka had the hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Ok, should I be worried?"
"Huh? No, I only wanted to ask you more questions about that spell that had disturbed you and Alice that much, why?"
"Because you got rid of Alice by not-so-subtly tempting her with food, and you did a large detour through the training grounds to get rid of Alma Elma who was following us. Also, you put a seal on the door to not be disturbed."
Tamamo looked back at the door and noticed that she had indeed placed a seal to prevent noise from entering or escaping.
"Sorry, old reflex… It wouldn't happen if the Monster Lords and their partners weren't always so noisy."
Luka shifted uncomfortably, but relaxed, his hand slowly moving away from his sword.
"But you have a point. I had the feeling I couldn't get both Alice and you to speak if you were in each other's presence, and I wanted Alma Elma to leave us alone and not even attempt to eavesdrop so that you could actually feel fine to freely speak your mind. That tidbit about that spell piqued my attention." She invited him to sit near a small table, and finally relaxed herself when he obliged.
"Sooo… Could you tell me what exactly happened? Don't worry, no matter what happened, I'll make sure that it will stay between us."
The hero scratched his hair in confusion.
"Are… I mean, you're basically Alice's mother, so… Do you really thing you'll be able to keep it from her?"
Tamamo reassuringly took the hero's hand and smiled gently.
"Luka… Please, don't worry. When you and Alice saw me unsealed, it was the first time since the Great Monster War that someone saw my real identity. I couldn't afford to show myself before, or Ilias would have gotten me killed. I know it can be one of the strangest thing to say to reassure someone, but I'm very good at keeping secrets. So you can tell me everything, and I'll make sure that nobody else hears a word about it."
Luka nodded. "Well, in that case… I'll start by saying it was really... disturbing. Extremely realistic. I was… Assaulted repeatedly. By a pack of succubi, then by Erubetie, then by Alma Elma… I think I remember seeing Spider Princess too… It was a real repertory of monsters that I faced. It was…"
"…Traumatic."
Luka shook his head negatively. "It was nothing compared to Promestein's labs or some of Ilias' worst angels. I mean, if only you saw Cherub Wormiel..."
Tamamo grimaced while shivering. "I did see her in the past, Luka. I still remember her unfortunately. But please, continue. You'll feel better afterward."
The hero nodded. He seemed quite shaken when he counted the experience, but it wasn't quite the trauma she initially feared. She wasn't sure it was a good thing though.
"The only one that I didn't recognize was the last one. She presented herself as the one behind this mess and told she called herself Minagi." Luka was looking down as he tried remembering what had happened, missing the sight of Tamamo's tails straightening themselves as if they were electrified. "She said she wanted to trap me in a world of pleasure for an eternity."
The kitsune was ignoring Luka and trying to calm her own breathing. It might just have been a coincidence or a careless succubus who thought she could look cool just by taking the name of her Great Ancestor… Then again, she would have to be pretty powerful to cast a spell and trap both the hero that slew the Goddess of Light and the current Monster Lord.
"Mmh." She managed to steady her voice. "Can you describe her? We'll probably have to keep an eye out for her…"
When Luka closed his eyes, the picture of the succubus was all too vivid in his mind, as if she was waiting for him.
"She was tall, white, she had tattoos over all her body, long hair, black flat horns with white hair… Actually, I think they were half pinkish and half bluish if that makes sense. She also had three pair of wings in her back."
Tamamo sat herself back, as much to stabilize herself after taking in the new than to signal Luka that she didn't have any more questions. There was not a single doubt. Minagi was responsible for that assault, and the incident with Spider Princess might have just been a diversion to keep the kitsune and her fellow knights away. She would need to take a deeper look into that, but first…
"Tamamo?"
Luka was looking at her with worried eyes. It's only then that she realized that she had been lost in thoughts for a few minutes. She didn't feel comfortable lying to Luka after telling him that he could trust her but… Hiding a few things shouldn't be a problem.
"I'll try to see if I can learn anything about her, while trying to train you against such attacks. In the meantime…" She got up and checked the content of a small drawer. "I'll give you a few talismans that can be used to ward your mind against attacks like that in that case. Just keep them on you, they'll activate when they'll be needed."
"Thanks Tamamo." Luka carefully looked at the small sheets covered in strange symbols and placed them in one of his pockets.
"Well, if you don't have anything more you want to talk about, I'd like you to fetch Alice while I do some cleaning up." As she got up, the hero noticed an unusual stiffness in her movements. She gently but firmly shooed him out and closed the door just as he exited the room, slightly surprised. As he started walking away, he almost ran into Alma Elma.
"Oh hey, Luka-boy, did little Tamamo give you the cold shoulder?"
"Not exactly. She was actually pretty helpful."
She licked her lips. "You know, if you have some… problems, you can still come to see me."
"Thanks, but that won't be necessary."
Luka started walking at a brisker pace, not enthusiastic at the idea of staying a single second longer near the Succubus Queen. Maybe a little training session with Granberia or someone else would help him clear his mind once he had fetched Alice… Although considering how exhausted he still was, he felt like he would only be able to hold a candle to one of Tamamo's younger trainees. Eventually, once his task was done, he decided to laze in one of the castle's lounge after grabbing a book on the history of heroes from the monsters' perspective.
After a short time reading about how heroes were sometimes cruel or stupid, he did realize how much he changed during his adventures. He was not surprised to learn that several of them were little more than abusive idiots and bullies sanctioned by the church. While he initially felt that the title of "fake hero" Alice attributed him was an insult, it felt like a compliment after he learned more on the matter. Of course, the book might have been biased in favor of monsters, but he remembered hearing and seeing enough to confirm that it wasn't far from the truth.
Alice joined him almost half an hour later, slithering silently with her arms crossed under her chest as usual, and took a look at what seemed to passion Luka that much.
"Learning more about the failures of Ilias?"
Luka nodded. "I have difficulties believing I used to look up to people like that."
Alice scoffed. "You always looked up to the hero Heinrich. Your ancestor. A real hero."
"Still… I'm glad I ended differently."
The duo fell silent. Alice made her way to a large lounge chair across Luka and slithered around to have all her coils on the chair. She looked at the hero (who was now her husband and the father of her two future children, as her brain kept repeating her) with an inquisitive gaze until her patience fell apart.
"What happened between you and Tamamo?"
"She gave me a few protection talismans and offered to train me against this type of attacks in the future. And you?" Luka felt slightly uncomfortable not saying everything, but he had the feeling she would just punish him.
Alice frowned and sat down on a chair, pouting like a child. "…I got scolded for half an hour for failing to remember my training with her and running in headfirst after an obvious, vulgar bait."
Luka turned away to hide his smirk, which instantly vanished when Alice talked again.
"But you didn't answer my question. What happened between you and her?"
"What do you mean?"
Alice sighed. "I know her since I was a child. I became able to recognize her mood shifts, and I know that something startled her." Her eyes narrowed. "And I know enough about her to tell that she was fine when we came back, but that she wasn't when I entered her room. You startled her. What was it?"
Luka pondered for a moment if he should tell the full truth to Alice. On the one hand, he would feel better not hiding anything from his wife. On the other hand, she was afraid her jealousy would kick in and would prove dangerous. He also didn't want to stress her since she was now pregnant. Granted, she was a tough woman, but… Eventually, the hero settled on a half-truth once again.
"She thinks there might be a powerful succubus on the loose."
"…Anything else?"
"No. That's all."
Alice repositioned herself. "Mmh. Strange. If it's indeed the same succubus that caused us problem that pulled that little stunt in Grangold, we may have a new issue on our hand. I'm also going to have Alma Elma look onto that one as well. It's time for her to assume her duties as the Succubus Queen after all." She sighed. "I thought we would have been done after killing Ilias, but it looks like there's still someone -or something- wanting to screw the world."
Luka smiled softly. "It looks like this world still needs real heroes, after all."
Alice chuckled back. "Sure… I remember back then, when I was accompanying you as you fixed any trouble popping up with your sword. I miss those days when we were together on the road for your adventures... Those fights, those encounters, all those evenings by a campfire… Even if the world was threatened, I also have good memories from those times."
"…Alright, I got it, I'll cook your meal for this evening and see if I can teach the cooks a thing or two as well."
Luka saw Alice smile back happily. If anything, that simple action made his terrible day a lot better.
The following night, as everyone was asleep, Tamamo decided to discreetly sneak out of the castle. None of the guard would ask questions if she exited the place by the main entrance, but she still decided to make her way through one of the numerous secret passages. She wanted to check something by herself, and she wanted to be alone. It was a little too personal to bring anyone else, and she didn't want to alarm her fellows in the first place.
She had prepared an alarming amount of Taoist talismans, seals and other counterspells with her. There was theoretically no reason for her to come prepared for battle, but she was afraid that after being sealed for over a thousand years, her dear sisters could be a little aggressive or not fully up there. She was checking the content of her pouch again as she progressed through a dark, narrow hallway, her sandals not making a single sound even as they hit the ground. Eventually, she reached a door that led outside the castle, and ended close to a moat. She pushed the slab of rock back, and checked with her innate earth mastery to confirm that this exit was properly closed: She left once she confirmed that the door was invisible from outside.
The kitsune was nervously moving toward an area north of the Monster Lord's Castle with a brisk, nervous step. After several minutes, she arrived near the entrance of a cavern. She nervously checked around her one last time to confirm that nobody had followed her, and somehow missed the monster flying high above her.
When she entered the cavern for the first time for millennia, she was surprised by how little the place seemed to have changed. Not a single stone had moved around since the last time she entered the cavern, and not a single speck of dust was covering the floor. The place was still booming with the magic from the seals, but Tamamo could feel the dark energy flow through the cavern and weaken them. Before she could examine them further, however, a deep, otherworldly voice that sounded like an old man echoed.
"Whoooo dares disturb me in my slumber!" The kitsune jumped back in surprise. "All those who entered perished! And you shall be my next victim!"
Tamamo smirked. "Hey, Hiruko, how have you been doing?"
"Damn it!" The voice instantly turned into the one of a childish girl. "I thought you would have forgotten me and would let me have my fun…"
"No, I didn't. Even after millennia I didn't forget you or my other dear sisters." The kitsune realized that indeed, the seal was weakening if she could discuss with one of the other Ancestors right now. She even imagined Hiruko pouting with her arms crossed and her tentacles twirling around.
"Oh well… I'll check somewhere else for now, I think someone else want to talk to you."
Another voice echoed through the cavern. "Greetings, Tamamo No Mae. I'm glad to see you have come."
Tamamo reflexively kneeled while looking down. She simply couldn't struggle against that presence, not that she wanted to in the first place. Her respect for the Dark Goddess had remained intact, even after so many years, and she felt compelled to obey every one of her commands.
"Get up my loyal subject."
The kitsune got up, and desperately try to look around her to see her mother, but she could only hear her voice echoing.
"Our reunion is fortunate. I first and foremost wanted to thank you for your efforts. In spite of every actions made by the Goddess Ilias, and while there has been a few… regrettable cases, you successfully managed to keep my bloodline alive while monsterkin has been thriving all over the world."
"Thank you, my lord. I was only doing my duty."
"And I do appreciate your loyalty. I guess that you are here today because you desired to check on the seal following the death of Ilias…"
"Indeed. I felt the change operate, and wanted to examine the impact her death would have myself. I can confirm that the seal is weakening…"
The Dark Goddess chuckled. "It looks like that goddess actually granted us freedom with that sloppy plan of her… Accumulating all the dark energy released by the death of monsters for hundreds of years to try to get it for herself… How foolish. For trying to slaughter all of monsterkin, she freed us and paid the ultimate price."
"Yes!" Tamamo was as surprised to hear Kanon's voice as she was surprised by her rudeness. The alraune had just butted in the conversation between herself and Alipheese. "I can't wait to be back in this world, so that we go in all together and show them the power of the Dark Goddess and her Six Ancestors!"
"Mmh… I am afraid that shall not be here to accompany you at first. I can tell that the seal cast upon me is holding up more strongly and will need more time to collapse."
"Bah, we'll feast more for your sake! We'll put back the Six Ancestors at the center of this world! We'll make sure all of humanity fear us and will line up to die in ecstasy!"
Tamamo gulped and nodded with mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was glad that the imprisonment hadn't apparently changed her sisters' mind. On the other hand… She was afraid that her sisters' mind hadn't changed.
"I don't think going so far as to attack this world's inhabitants will be necessary…"
"Why not? We're only exercising our right as the strong over the weak! Nobody could stop us! And I do remember you enjoying feeding on humans just like us! In fact, you were one of the most active when it came to finding a partner. Did you go soft after so much time?"
Tamamo's eyes narrowed. "I didn't. After our victory over Ilias, I just came to the realization that this peace between humans and monsters is what mother always wanted. Isn't it?"
"True… And your sisters should be free to enjoy this as well freely after so much time and sate themselves once again after all."
The kitsune tried to keep herself steady, but felt her hope being utterly crushed with those words.
"…Very well. It would be hypocritical for me to ask them to restrain their actions after so much time. They shall be free to do as they please… And to reap the consequences of their own actions. I just wish to remind them that most humans will be willing to be their partners if they just ask, and that killing too many may compromise the peace the sixteenth Monster Lord created."
"Mmh." Kanon didn't seemed convinced in the slightest. She would definitively have to keep an eye on her…
"A fair judgment." Alipheese's voice echoed again. "I wouldn't restrain my children, and it is up to the current Monster Lord to command their respect and then to exercise her authority as she sees fit."
"And if she can't, then maybe it means it's time to change of Monster Lord." Kanon was already too smug to Tamamo's taste.
"That will be defined by the future… In the meantime, resume your duty of protecting my granddaughter. Even if I am still stuck beyond that veil, I want to see more of what the world will have to offer. Farewell."
"Farewell… Mother."
Once the cavern fell silent, Tamamo stumbled as she felt all energy leave her body. This didn't go quite as bad as she initially feared, but the news still felt like a cleaver falling down her neck. She had no doubt that her sisters would be all too enthusiast to reap men from the growing cities as a tithe. Such an event would spell the doom of the peace she had participated in creating… Sure, she enjoyed sowing chaos herself in her prime, but after the era of war started by Black Alice, she wanted nothing more than peace between both humans and monsters... And right now, the inhabitants of this time had no chance against a grouped attack of the infamous Six Ancestors. First, she had to see for how long the seals would still hold, then she would have to warn the others of this rising threat…
She was too shaken to notice the monster approaching. A lightning fast attack hit her straight in the throat before she could raise her defenses, and a spinning kick in the stomach knocked her across the cavern before she hit the wall on the side. She then fell down, her pouch slightly away and unable to do so much as crawl.
Tamamo looked up to see her aggressor, and was greeted by a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark. When the latter stepped out of the shadow, the kitsune easily recognized her: Long red hair surrounded by the horns of a ram, black stockings with leg guards and matching long gloves, and white panties that seemed to hold only thanks to magic, leaving the remainder of her body for all to see. Her small face was covered by a large frown, and her step was heavy, determined.
Astaroth. The second-born of the Lilith Sisters.
The succubus stepped closer and kicked Tamamo in the stomach again, throwing the kitsune further away from her pouch that had her talismans before whistling disapprovingly.
"Good evening, you sly fox. I wanted to talk with you. And in case you didn't quite get it, I'm really, really unhappy with you."