Barely a few minutes had passed since the attack when Alma Elma came back, completely exhausted.

"I apologize. I lost track of her. I warned Succubus Village and came back here as fast as I could."

"You did a good Alma Elma." Alice winced in pain as Erubetie was finishing healing her. "And you too. Sincerely, thank you and good job for catching that one."

"You were lucky to catch me! Actually, you're lucky that you didn't became our slaves!" Still reduced to the state of a bat and stuck to a wall, Morrigan was using every occasion to spew venom.

"And you're even luckier to be still alive!" Alice slithered in front of Morrigan. "You attacked the most heavily fortified place in the world, populated by some of the most dangerous warriors of this era, crippled my guards, and attempted to kill me! Did you receive orders from Black Alice before she died?!"

"Pfft, as if we would obey a brat like her. No, we did decide that one on our own. And besides, there's only one person who could order us around!"

Alice crossed her arms under her chest as her tail kept shaking threateningly. "And might I know who that is? I feel like she would make for a good pincushion after those last days..."

"Pfwaahahaha! You're only a runt compared to her! She would wipe the floor with all of you! I mean, we waltzed into your castle like it was nothing, and you tell me those were the most dangerous monsters around! Actually, you know what? I'll be free in a minute, so I'll just lie back and enjoy seeing you scramble around to try to find more about her…"

"It's their mother, Minagi, the Ancestor of all succubi."

Alice turned back toward the entrance upon hearing Tamamo's voice. The kitsune looked absolutely furious, and was dragging a succubus across the floor by her hair. Her victim had her limbs restrained by seals, and also had one on her mouth and another one on her eyes. Only her nose was free. When Luka looked at the sealed bat, he could tell that she was quite shocked by what she was seeing.

"And while she wouldn't quite wipe the floor with you, you wouldn't fare well against her."

Alice prepared a scathing repartee, but her spirit left her when she saw that the kitsune was absolutely fuming. The sight reminded of a time when she herself deliberately wounded another annoying young kitsune in a game gone wrong. While she took a severe scolding and punishment at that time (that she understood and even appreciated in hindsight), it didn't compare in the slightest to the absolute fury she saw in Tamamo's eyes. She spared a single shred of sympathy for the succubus before wondering what she had done herself to deserve such a treatment from one of the most reasonable currently living monsters.

"Soooo… Can you explain who they are themselves please? And this Minagi?"

Tamamo dropped Astaroth without further ceremony. "The Lilith Sisters. They're the three most powerful succubi besides Minagi herself. She created them by selecting the most powerful human women she came across at that time more than millenia ago. As to whom Minagi herself is…" Tamamo's ears fluttered slightly. Every single person in the assembly was looking at her expectantly, hanging by every one of her words.

"There's no point beating around the bush I suppose. Go into the council room, I need to fetch a book first. I have a long lesson to give you all."

Alice sighed. "Please, tell me it's not a on Monster history."

"Sorry, but yes it is. And I apologize, it's one I already gave you a long time ago. But I want to be sure it will be fresh in your mind for the close future."

Alice groaned, which Tamamo promptly ignored as she continued walking through the hallway. "Don't forget to bring our two guests! And don't release the red one!"

Alice looked at the succubus lying on the ground. Tamamo hadn't done in the half measure with this one… She had seals all over her body, not just her limbs as she thought earlier. Out of curiosity, her hand neared the one on her mouth as she prepared to remove it before Luka's hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait, are you really going to do that after what Tamamo just said?"

"She told me enough about her seals by the past to know that she has just been exceedingly cautious there."

"But what if it's a trap and she attacks us with her voice?"

Alma Elma jumped in. "I don't think she can. I fought her, and it's the kind of martial artists that takes problems head on with every weapon she has at hand. If she could do something like that, I would know." She creaked her neck. "And besides, that would give me a reason to finish her off."

"In that case…" Alice ripped off the seal quickly, making the succubus groan in pain.

"FINALLY! I WILL FUCK YOU WEAKLINGS SO HARD, YOUR BRAINS WILL EXPLODE AND I'LL WEAR THAT DAMN FOX AS A FUR COAT, AND THEN I WILL BREAK ALL YOUR LIMBS, AND MAKE YOU FEAR THE POWER OF ANCIENT MONSTERS AND- HEY, mpfgn!"

"…It's better with the seal actually."

Luka shook his head. "I was kind of right. I regret it."

"She almost reminds me of the old grumblers that keep preaching the word of Ilias even today." Alma sighed. "They're annoying, and since they're baptized, they don't make good catches. Most of them die virgin. I wonder if it will be her case?"

"HMPH!"

"I think she really took offense to that one. Let's go see what Tamamo wants us for."

The three Heavenly Knights, the Monster Lord and the hero Luka were quite nervous as they waited for Tamamo. The only ones who remained unaffected by the heavy ambiance at first were the two sealed succubi, but the situation reversed when Tamamo came back with a large book in her arms and a few words for the duo.

"Small reminder. I was ordered personally by the Dark Goddess to watch over her bloodline, and guarantee its survival by any means necessary. I could legitimately kill you both, and I don't think she would do so much as bat an eye. Now, your odds of survival are directly proportional to your cooperation. Good? Good…"

Luka was slightly surprised by Tamamo's death threat, and when he looked at the kitsune's fellow Heavenly Knights, he could tell they were quite shocked as well. She sat at the table and opened her book in front of her.

"I don't want to bore everyone to death, so I'll make it short. Several millennia ago, Alipheese the First, the Dark Goddess -Yes, she's the direct great grandmother to Alice for those who care- created six powerful monsters to live with known as the Six Ancestors. Then a war with Ilias and her angels started. After several years of a world-wrecking conflict, the Dark Goddess, her Six Ancestors and the Lilith Sisters sealed themselves when Ilias threatened to destroy the worlds should they win the war, leaving their progeny alone to thrive." Tamamo glared at Morrigan, as if to challenge her to interrupt the small lesson.

"They had sealed themselves at the condition that Ilias wouldn't harm monsterkin any further. To have a solid guarantee rather than just the word of the Goddess, the seal was made to absorb dark energy from dead monsters. As this energy scatters over time, it can only shatter the seal should a lot of energy be simultaneously released, such as if a massive genocide of monsters happened."

"Like the one Ilias attempted to carry out? That ended well for her…"

Tamamo jumped in the doorway Alice opened. "She had Black Alice absorb the energy to prevent it. That is, until we killed the first, then the other, leading to the release of the energy created by the death of monsters for the last five hundred years."

She closed her eyes. "When you reported the signs of a powerful succubus activity and gave me more details, I recognized Minagi. I decided to check the seal." She glared at Astaroth. "And I got the confirmation that the seals were weakening in two ways. The first is that I got the opportunity to speak to the Dark Goddess herself, something that had only been possible more than five hundred years ago during the war started by Black Alice. The second… Astaroth attacked me to get sure the information wouldn't leave the cavern."

"I see… So this Minagi is responsible for the incidents with Spider Princess and that village." Alice sighed as she looked at the sealed Morrigan. "And then her daughters attacked us… Why?"

"Pfft. I dunno. It was Lilith's idea."

The assembly exchanged dumbfounded gazes as Alice pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alma Elma? You're the Succubus Queen. Can you please explain us why they would do something so... needless and stupid?"

"HEY! DON'T INSULT GNMPH!"

With an expert accuracy, Tamamo had thrown a seal on Morribat's mouth while Alma Elma shrugged.

"I don't know, I was as surprised as you. I mean, there are more differences between those three and the residents of Succubus Village than between dragons and kitsunes." She looked at Tamamo. "You told they lived during the Great War, right? Maybe it's just a cultural difference…"

Everybody turned toward the kitsune, who stared in the void for a minute before dragging Astaroth as close to her. "Let's get the explanation from the second one then… She better gives us one good reason, or I'll kill them both and feed their remains to their sister once we get her." One of her tail delicately rubbed the succubus' chin. "Are we clear? Goooood girl."

She wouldn't do anything like that… Would she?

She removed Astaroth's seal, and Luka was almost surprised by the lack of insults from the succubus, showing that she was taking Tamamo seriously herself.

"Do you even really need to ask? I'm surprised you couldn't realize it any sooner. We beat the Monster Lord and the hero, and everybody would have feared us. What better way to tell everyone that we're back in business than killing the last hero of Ilias? If I managed to take care of Tamamo in the meantime, you would have been completely in the dark about the return of the Six Ancestors. Not that you stand much of a chance anyway."

"And why would they even be hostile?" Alice looked at Tamamo. "I mean, Ilias is dead, the world pretty much gave up on her, and we're at peace with humans and angels. We won."

Tamamo grimaced. "I wished they saw things the same way. You remember how Ilias thought of herself above all and wanted the mind of every human to be focused on nothing but herself? Well… It's kinda the same with the ancestors, but you replace mind by body."

"That doesn't make… Oh, okay, I understand now. They will violate who they want, when they want, peace be damned. Did I get that right?"

Tamamo nodded. "And that's when they don't revel in cruelty by destroying a whole city through sheer manipulation. I wish I would tell you they had changed after a thousand years of being sealed away, but… Minagi's actions already confirmed us that at least one didn't, and the others are just as likely to pull out some of their old tricks... I think you'll understand more when I tell about each of them personally. Know thy enemy… Although I wish we won't need to fight them, the opposite would surprise me."

"If those three succubi indeed are one's lieutenants… Alright, I'll listen to that lesson again."

"Let me show you everyone." Tamamo proceeded to cast a spell to project the images from the book on the center of the table. The first they saw was a mix of a harpy and a lamia.

"The first of the Six Ancestors is Saja. She's the ancestor of avian and reptile-like races. I know it may sound strange, but yes, a harpy is indeed closer to a dragon than to a kitsune. She's completely loyal to the Dark Goddess, and was her main commander. She will definitively challenge us, just because she can. She will want to see how powerful the latest generations of monsters are, and if her skills still hold up to them. She's proud of them, so if we beat her she'll certainly obey us and won't be too much trouble. I also don't expect her to attack civilians… If she doesn't get too hungry that is."

"Haven't they just been sealed for a thousand of years?" Everybody looked at Luka with a surprised expression. "I mean, if you imprisoned someone and didn't feed him for a thousand of years… They would have actually starved."

"The seal does keep their organisms in a sort of stasis, but you're likely right when you say that they might just decide to go on a binge as soon as they're out."

"…Sorry."

"Please don't be. The second one-"

Luka fell from his chair when he attempted to jump back to escape the new projection, surprising everyone in the assembly.

"Sorry Luka, I should have warned you..."

Alice raised an eyebrow, expecting an explanation from Tamamo who continued while Luka took back his seat, still wary at the image of the succubus presented in front of him. "She's Minagi, the ancestor of succubi. You heard the Lilith Sisters talk about her, and she's indeed the one responsible for the recent troubles. Let's just say that she can't be bound by petty things such as laws and orders and treat anything as a suggestion. Nothing can get in her way when she wants to turn a city's population into a pile of dried-up bodies."

"And I thought Alma Elma was bad…"

"Hey! I'll have you know I control myself now and I clean afterward!" Her tone made her sound almost jealous of her ancestor.

"And your dear little hero already saw her apparently…"

"And I turned her down and sent her back to her realm. Don't think I won't do it again."

"How cute and innocent of you to think that you won't be WAIT! MPGHN!"

"Thank you for your intervention Astaroth we won't need you any further you're completing my point nicely now shut up. Anyway, she won't stop at anything to get what she wants, and she wants you." She pointed at Luka.

The hero sighed with his head in his hands. "I'm going to be used as bait to trap her, ain't I?"

Tamamo raised her hand before Alice could say anything. "That would be an awful, awful idea. We already saw angels try with one of theirs several times. In the best case, they only lost their bait."

"And besides, I don't approve." Alice crossed her arms under her chest.

Tamamo shook her head negatively as the image of an alraune appeared.

"Next ancestor… Kanon, the ancestor of all plants. You all remember the Canaan Sisters?"

"You mean the plant mercenaries that are currently sealed because they keep trying to eat every insect monsters? All too well…"

"She pretty much has their personality. She was in charge of defending any targeted areas with her plants, and let's just say she had a tendency to get carried away and sometimes targeted the wrong person, which would be attributed as a mistake… If she didn't enjoy dissolving her target during several days."

"A charming person."

"You have no idea… I still remember that she wasn't happy with being sealed away. She will definitively wreck the world if left unchecked." Tamamo sighed. "I'll be honest. I remember Minagi being sometimes troublesome, but her… She's on another level. She might be the most cruel monster to have existed bar Black Alice."

"You know, it's strange to hear that about an alraune after hearing repeatedly that their race was as a whole one of the most kind-hearted."

"I have no idea how the race settled down that much. I mean, even if you take into account the war in Plansect which, in the end, only involved a minority of monsters, they remain one of the most pacifistic races at large." Tamamo scratched her head awkwardly. "And I'm sorry, I didn't follow their development very closely since they mostly remained in their own little corner near the World Tree."

"Anyway, we're halfway through… I suppose the remaining ancestors don't fare much better?"

"I'll let you judge by yourself. Next one is Kanade, the ancestor of all slimes and colony-like monsters. She's…" Tamamo looked at Erubetie. The slime quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Hungry and even a bit careless. She's not half as cruel or malicious as Kanon, but I wouldn't exaggerate if I said she would go through more men in a single day than Succubus Village in a year. Her body requires lot of energy, and she pretty much try to sustain herself on anyone she comes across. However, she also cares a lot for her kin, so she's not that bad."

Erubetied nodded in agreement. "Mmh. We are indeed not so different then… I simply hope I will be able to call to her reason."

"I hope so. I really hope so. She's simply impossible to directly take down otherwise."

Luka shifted around, slightly concerned. "Wait, what do you mean exactly?"

"I mean that she can keep regenerating herself for as long as a single one of her cell exists somewhere. You know how slimes have regenerative abilities? Well, she's the greatest slime to have ever been, and her regenerative abilities match that. I can't recount half the time angels thought they had killed her but failed because one of her cell escaped and she regenerated from that. She has so much stamina I'm not even sure sealing her with brute force is possible."

Luka gulped loudly.

"Let's move on. The next one is Hiruko, ancestors of scyllas, sea monsters, and also of several land dwellers."

The representation of the young-looking girl fanned everyone's curiosity. Ignoring the gazes aimed at her subject, Tamamo continued.

"Don't let her appearance fool you, she's as dangerous as the other ones, has just the same sex drive, and is only slightly less voracious. The only one that could beat her skills when it comes to biological alteration is the Dark Goddess herself -and maybe that damn Promestein, but I'm not sure-. She acts childish and you know what they say, children can be cruel. Also…" Tamamo pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "She's extremely smart, but scattered at her best. She always duplicated her own body several times to multitask because she felt she was bored otherwise."

"So like Kanade, we will have to chase every last one of her copies if we have to fight her."

"On the plus side, her regeneration isn't quite as obscene. On to the last ancestor…"

As soon as the image of the nine-tailed kitsune appeared, everybody looked at Tamamo who sighed.

"I sincerely apologize for hiding you this information for so long. Even if Ilias knew by the end, she was too afraid to really act against me, thinking I would just lead whoever she sent after me into a trap and… She wasn't wrong." She looked at Alice who tried to avoid her gaze. "I'm not proud of everything I did, and as of today I feel sorry for keeping it from you until I personally came to blows with Ilias."

"I…" Alice hesitated. "As much as I would sometimes like to say otherwise, I simply owe you too much to be mad at you for that. If what you said about Ilias is right, and after what we've all seen we can confirm it is, you're the reason we're even here today. However, I want to know something, and I want to make it clear that I address you at the Monster Lord, not your adoptive daughter. What are you going to do now?"

Tamamo got up, adopting a solemn tone. "I thought it over several times in the past, and I had a discussion with the Dark Goddess very recently. I will keep on my duty of safeguarding the Monster Lord until I no longer can. However, I cannot step up personally against my sisters' desire for freedom when I kept running around the planet for so long while they were imprisonned. That would be hypocritical of me."

"You still told us about them."

Tamamo raised a hand. "Let me finish please. I said I won't personally fight them. However, I also estimate that preserving the life of the Monster Lord will be easier if the current peace between angels, humans and monsters is preserved. And to preserve this peace, the warriors loyal to the Monster Lord must be ready to face any threat, no matter its origin and its nature. As such, it is only logical that I make sure they are trained adequately."

"…That is quite the mental gymnastics you're doing to justify your position."

"I am only following the orders of the Dark Goddess herself with utmost diligence, and…" The kitsune sighed, and when she looked at them, Luka could see an indescriptable amount of sadness in her eyes. "I'll be honest with all of you. I want this peace to last as long as you do. I am tired of seeing those deaths, that suffering, of asking myself if I will wake up to see my children dead after having bled out, assassinated by a vengeful human... This current tranquility might not last forever, but I will make sure it persists for as long as possible."

"MPGHGMPHMPHPH! MPGHGNNNNNNN!"

Astaroth was madly struggling against her bindings, but they didn't even seem to move an inch. The succubus then not so gracefully fell on the ground while everyone was looking.

"I'll secure two cells for our guests to make sure they don't escape. In the meantime, I advise everyone to rest. The last two nights have been short, and, if my estimations are correct, those disasters will show up in slightly less than five weeks. I want to make plans to get sure everyone is ready to welcome them appropriately, but we better all be well-rested then. The next weeks won't be easy, and we still have one of the Lilith Sisters wandering around."

"Send a message to every human kingdom to warn them. I don't want them to think that this Lilith has anything to do with us."

Tamamo nodded while she left, carrying the two succubi behind her.

Luka suddenly felt heavily exhausted. After all, he was woken up in the middle of the night, and it was now the early hours of the morning.

Alice slithered by his side, her arms still crossed under her chest.

"Well that was… Informative."

Luka nodded and wallowed on his chair. The remaining Heavenly Knights all left, either to train, warn their own kin, or rest themselves, leaving only Alice and Luka in the small conference room.

"So… This is what you had been discussing with Tamamo? That Minagi violated you through a dream?"

Luka nodded uncomfortably.

"Look… I understand why you didn't want to talk with me about it. I mean, it's something pretty personal, and in hindsight, I felt bad for not being able to help you. And I want to make clear that I don't hold the incident or the fact that you hid it to me against you. You literally were controlled from afar, it's not like you chose to be assaulted after all…" She grabbed his hands and chuckled awkwardly. "Hurgh, sorry, it sounded better in my mind."

Luka smiled back before embracing Alice. "I understand what you mean Alice. We're here for each other now."

After a few minutes of hugging, Luka moved slightly back. "Actually, I'm feeling a bit peckish right now, I think I'm going to go cook myself breakfast this morning. Do you want something Alice?"

The lamia shrugged indifferently. "Mmh. I wouldn't mind actually if you have the time."

Luka looked as her tail. Its tip was wagging happily, even as she was maintaining her composure. She definitively needed more work to hide her emotion.

"Well, in that case… Let's get started."

"I can't fucking believe it. That should have been our glorious return. We should have been dominating the world, making humans line up for us. Instead we ended straight into the Monster Lord's jail."

Astaroth was angrily rambling on the floor of her cell. Tamamo had freed her from the seals, but her new accommodation was covered with talismans placed to drain her power and keep her weak enough from breaking out.

"Speak for yourself. At least you're still able to walk." The still sealed blue-haired succubus had been put into a cage in a small side room. The two succubi could still discuss by shouting across the otherwise-empty prison.

"Yeah, and I'm feeling HUNGRY. To think that there are men out there that don't know about us… To think most of them won't know our touch when we could currently be ravishing them… That makes me so ANGRY!"

"Well… I mean we could have just slipped through and binged on this world's inhabitants. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but it wasn't Lilith's brightest idea."

"Our plan was almost perfect. If only that succubus queen had been screwing in the arena instead of staying in the castle and following that kitsune, we would have taken them by surprise, killed them, and we would all be sucking dry men after men!"

A childish voice echoed through the hallway. "This is what you get for rushing in as soon as possible not correctly casing the place first."

Astaroth's eyes narrowed as she got closer to her completely impervious door cell. "Weeeell, if it isn't the little traitor… Happy with your little plan? How do you feel for screwing over your family?"

"A question first. Did you hear my conversation with the Dark Goddess in full?"

"Of course! Do you really think I would have moved in against you if I didn't see your reaction? Did you already forgot what I told you earlier?"

"…Then I apologize, I thought that you were smarter than that… Or did your brain obfuscate what we did say about maintaining my duty to defend the Monster Lord? Because I will be honest…" Tamamo grabbed the cage which contained Morrigan and started shaking it violently.

"Hey! HEY! STOP! PLEASE STOP! I'M GOING TO BE SICK!"

Tamamo kept the cage still at eye level, and glared at Morrigan. "I could tell what you did to the Monster Lord, and aside of your sisters and your mother, I don't think anyone will hold it against me if I turn you into a vulgar, bloody smear on the wall. It is only because you are still a close family member that I didn't turn you into one yet."

Astaroth scoffed. "Please, do you really think you will be allowed to execute us? We've seen the royal couple, and since they even tolerated angels even after they attempted to slaughter humanity, I'm sure they're too much of peace lovers to consider harming us or even letting you do it."

"The Monster Lord herself is furious, the usually all-loving hero has to be held back to not destroy the one that harmed his dear wife, and I'm certain the Dark Goddess won't be happy about hearing that her bloodline got threatened by a certain blue-haired calamity. And that's only if she didn't see it happen herself... Now, do you remember what happened the last time someone hurt her biological daughter?"

"Oooooh shhhhhhhhiiiiiiiit..." The bat fell on the floor of her cage. "I'm so fucking deaaaaaad."

"I'm going to be magnanimous though, so I will unseal you and give you the same accommodation as your sister right now."

"...Okay what's the catch?"

"The catch is that you will only have a small share of your power, and if you try anything, I will end you on the spot. However, should you behave properly and not like a brat as usual, I will even support you should the Dark Goddess decide to judge you."

"Okay, fine."

Tamamo grabbed a power stone and pulled the bat out of her cage. In a flash of light, Morrigan was unsealed and was standing tall with a smirk again. However, before she could even start stretching her limbs, the kitsune grabbed the ribbon that adorned her target's hair and unceremoniously shoved the succubus into the cell before locking the door in a loud metallic clang.

"Not cool Tamamo! You talk about protecting the Monster Lord, but you can be sure Minagi won't be happy about what you did to us either!"

Astaroth chuckled. "And I'm pretty sure you're unable to stand against her. You rusted. You went soft. You're now a shadow of your former self."

Tamamo smirked. "Actually… You are right, in which case I should sincerely thank you."

The kitsune could almost hear Astaroth raise an eyebrow. "What? Did you finally become senile and lost your mind?"

"If you didn't attack us and if you dear mother Minagi hadn't acted up, Alice would only take my word into account, and she would likely think I'm overblowing the issue or maybe even trying to trick her for personal reasons. When I taught her about you in the past, I could tell that she thought I was just making things up, and I think it would have been the same if I tried to warn her three days ago. However, thanks to your passably violent intervention and your mother's own actions, she's going to be wary of the Six Ancestors, and can use Grangold as well as that coastal village as so many proofs to rally humans behind her as well, all while convincing them that it's not just monster politics. Of course, I will be targeted by that wariness as well, but it's a small price I'm willing to pay if it means she won't be swayed by Kanon's honeyed words, Hiruko's faked innocence, or even your mother's promises of a world of pleasure. I'm also pretty sure you will be blamed just like me when this world will be able to stand up to them. So, once again, I thank you with my most sincere feelings. You were my strongest support to prepare the defense of this world. Even in my prime, I could only dream of having my plans go so well."

Both cells fell silent as their occupants took in the bombshell she just dropped.

"…In hindsight, I think we made a huge mistake."

"Yes you did. If you would actually take the time to consider what you just did and then stopped screwing a world that currently like us, I may consider treating you better. Until then, you're no better than renegades. Good night."

Tamamo left silently with her trophy, leaving the two succubi with nothing but their own thoughts.

At the end of the day, Luka was completely exhausted and was all too happy to lie down on the royal bed to finally get some sleep. His task however was made difficult by Alice who kept turning and tossing around, sighing each time she repositionned herself.

"Are you alright Alice?"

"I'm fine!" Her aggressive tone pushed Luka back for a moment, before she felt guilty for snapping at him.

"…Sorry. The last two days have been horrible, I thought we would finally be able to enjoy peace, yet we have to prepare for another series of fights, including one against a succubus who's currently on the loose." She sighed again. "I thought we would be freed from our duty to defend the world and finally be able to enjoy the pleasures it could offer without having to care for worse than a small skirmish with remainders of Black Alice's loyalists. I never expected that the Dark Goddess would be freed and that we would have to fight her lieutenants!"

"Me neither… And yet, I don't doubt what Tamamo said." He shivered reflexively as he remembered all too well his encounter with Minagi. "We already saw it. At least one of them is going to be a threat to humanity."

"Yes, and I'm also worried about Tamamo herself." Alice repositioned herself to face Luka. "I mean, I knew she already had quite a burden to carry between the guilt she still feels for the death of my mother, the responsibility she had in raising me while simultaneously reigning and taking care of the kitsunes… She's putting up a courageous facade, but I can tell deep down that she's deeply disturbed by the perspective of the return of her sisters."

"I can't blame her, considering how dangerous they seem to be…"

"This brings us to another problem. You remember how she looked when she talked about herself? It's clear she does regret what she did, and I don't think she'll feel better when her sisters will bring it back again and use it as an example of the time when she was at her apex."

"…I'm not too worried about that. She always supported us, even through the hardest time, and she always try to take the wisest decision. If we support her back and listen to her, I'm sure she will manage through."

"You may be right." Alice chuckled. "Sorry, it's just that I have a lot of my mind."

"You're the Monster Lord and have a lot of responsibilities too, it's normal. But we can't do anything right now, and we need to sleep. How about you think of more comforting things? Food, the night sky… Hey!"

Alice coiled around Luka with a salacious smirk on her face. "You're right. But thinking about food makes me hungry, and I don't feel like getting up to grab something at the kitchen, so you'll have to do… Consider it your punishment for hiding things from me."

Luka groaned, but he relaxed none the less in her embrace. After all, he did appreciate those moments as much as she did.