When Luka woke up, the sun was already high in the sky and Alice wasn't on his side. He was surprised that she didn't wake him up when she got up herself, but then again maybe she wanted to let him have his rest after their little romp. The hero slowly got up, his mind already wandering on the uncomfortable reveals that had been brought to light those last days. He had no doubt that Tamamo was already making plans to prepare a welcoming committee for her sisters. And he had no doubt either that he would be one of its centerpieces.
He sighed as he sat on the side of the bed, only covered by the sheet. Maybe he should let the kitsune do the thinking and just see what her plan involved, although he already had a few ideas. He slowly dressed up, readying himself for adventures once more.
Once he reached downstairs, he was greeted by the sight of monsters looking at talismans on the wall with a certain curiosity. Upon noticing him, a vampire servant made his way to him and bowed.
"You are expected at the conference room, my lord. If you would please follow…"
Luka nodded, still surprised to be treated so formally by Alice's retainers even after so many months. After following the vampire for a few minutes, he arrived in a room where Alice and the Heavenly Knights were present, discussing more details about the Six Ancestors. The discussion seemed to be more active between Alma Elma and Granberia as Tamamo was holding her head between her hands, while Alice was eating a few pastries and Erubetie was trying to remain straight-faced.
"Tamamo told us! That succubus is a martial artist! So is the one you faced! I only want to train against those skills to be able to stand a chance against them!"
Alma Elma sighed. "Sorry Granberry, but I really don't want to. Besides, they'll just use pleasure spells since they know dragons are weak to those skills. They will use physical attacks as a last resort, not a first."
"Alma Elma is entirely right. If you're lucky, it will just end like one of your usual sparring matches."
"Ggh… And what do you know about that you sly fox? Did you spy on us?"
"Everybody in the castle did at least once!"
Granberia turned red-faced and remained silent, hoping that everyone's attention would turn toward someone else. Luckily, Luka arrived in the nick of time. Tamamo smirked.
"Good morning Luka, I hope Alice let you rest well last night."
The aforementioned lamia sighed. "Can we get started please? This is going to be a long day, and the sooner we get to it the better. And besides, I already had the surprise of seeing the walls of the castle covered in protection seals."
"Sorry, but we have to keep them blind." Tamamo nodded. "I'll make it short. I plan to organize a meeting with the world leaders in this castle as soon as possible to see what can be done to prepare them to the arrival of my dear sisters." The kitsune's tone turned cold as she finished her sentence. "Besides, keeping good relations with them won't hurt in the slightest. I'll contact them directly today."
"In the meantime, I suppose me and Luka will go through the world to grab him the Four Spirits to get back to training as soon as possible."
Tamamo grimaced. "Actually, only Luka will go around the world. You have to remain at the castle to deal with the usual grievances and adress any concerned monster who will show up after that attack. I have no doubt the rumors will have spread fast, and I want you to be here to show that it didn't change anything for you. And besides, I can't afford to have both of you die if you got attacked. It would mean the end."
"What?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I understand that having the Monster Lord on a travel just after recent troubles would be a bad move, since some monsters could think I abandoned them... But even one of your replacement could manage them! Besides, -no offense Luka- I think he will need someone else to protect him against Lilith should she decide to attack him!"
"I didn't forget her." The kitsune's ears flattened themselves preemptively. "That will be Alma Elma's job."
"WHAT ?!"
Even if she had prepared herself, Tamamo was temporarily deafened by the sudden exclamation from her partners. While Alma Elma herself recovered and was looking seductively at a dumbfounded Luka, Alice was still blabbering incoherent words while Granberia and Erubetie were simply aghast.
"Is this a joke, or is it an attempt to get back at me for bullying kitsunes back then?"
"I am serious, and I'm none too enthusiastic either."
"I…" Luka hesitated. "Don't know if it's a good idea for a multitude of reasons."
"Awww… Are Luka-boy and his wife afraid that I would eat the hero on the road?"
Alice answered in a panic. "…Actually yes I am!"
Alma Elma stretched her wings. "Well, in that case…"
A sudden gust of wind interrupted every conversation as a few papers flew around. When the chaos cleared, everybody could see Alma Elma kneeling in front of Alice.
"I, Alma Elma, solemnly swear I will protect the Monster Lord's husband with my life against any threat and make sure that he shall fall to no temptation, remaining faithful of body and mind to his wife."
"Huuuuuuh…"
Tamamo blinked a few times as she saw herself in Alma Elma's place, the Dark Goddess instead of Alice, and her fellow Ancestors instead of the other Heavenly Knights. She shook her head a few more times until the memories of that precise moment returned to their place in the back of her mind.
"Are you alright Tamamo?"
Alice was looking expectantly at her, wondering if the old fox wasn't losing it.
"I was just as surprised as you, I mean…" She started firmly fanning herself as she looked at Alma Elma. "That may be the first time I see you taking something so seriously! I'm not even sure Hainuwele had brought you to your senses like that!"
"Then it should be proof enough that I am serious." Alma Elma got up. "I know I skimmed unreasonably on my duty as Succubus Queen. I should have done something, anything to smooth things out during the creation of Succubus Village, but at that time I was just giving a Night Show Special at the colosseum. And it's only thanks to Alice's and Luka's intervention that things turned out so well. In hindsight, I feel I have responsibility for what happened too… Imagine how priests of Ilias would have enjoyed demonizing us further if every human was dead! They would have had a reason to slaughter succubi, and I'm not about to let a bunch of old hags who think too highly of themselves make the same mistake."
Alice was still dumbfounded by the unusual determination from the Succubus Queen. Still, if she was offering her actual support, it would be a shame to turn her down.
"Very well, I accept it."
"Yes!" Alma Elma was instantly at Luka's side. "We'll travel together, and we'll fight together, and we'll spend evenings around a campfire talking and f-"
"You'll use the Garuda Girl and you'll be back tomorrow at worst."
"Awwww…"
"I feel like we've made a terrible mistake."
Tamamo chuckled. "Well, if that's dealt with, you should start preparing. The sooner you leave, the more likely you'll be back by the end of the day. I'll take care of a few details with Alice, and we'll see you at the entrance of the castle in a minute."
After packing a few rations, Luka was checking his equipment once again and confirming that he still had some of Tamamo's seals on him when he saw the kitsune and Alice come near him. Even if she was adopting her usual haughty posture with her arms crossed under her chest, Luka could tell that the Monster Lord was quite concerned.
"Before you go, we're going to ask you to make two more stops. The first is at Succubus Village: I want both of you to ask Witch if she happen to have any book on succubus magic. The second is at Enrika."
"You want me to warn Micaela?"
Tamamo grimaced. "I don't think delivering the new myself is going to be a good idea for a number of reasons." She handed out a blue ribbon that seemed to brim with power to Luka. "This should convince her."
Luka pocketed the item and uncomfortably looked at Alice, who was trying to avoid his gaze. He sighed.
"Well… I guess I'll see you soon Alice."
"Mmh." She distractedly nodded as she still looked on the side.
Not knowing what to do, the hero distractedly nodded back. "We're going to leave then…"
"Mmh."
Luka started to climb up on the Garuda Girl when Alice called out to him.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Come here you idiot."
Not understanding her, Luka descended and got in front of Alice. "What is iiiiIIT?!"
In the blink of an eye, Alice was wrapped around him and hugging him tightly.
"You better come back safely." She whispered into his ear. "If there's a single problem, I'll skin alive the one who harmed you..."
"D'awww, that's cute to worry for him! But don't worry, he'll be only gone for one or two days anyway!"
"I know, it's just…" Alice slightly moved back, freeing Luka from her coils. "When was the last time we were separated for that long?"
"…I think that was the first time I marched on the castle. It's already been several months."
"What about the end of your adventures, when you beat Ilias and ended in a month-long coma?"
"Oh, yeah…" Luka chuckled nervously. "I guess that's true… But don't worry. I'll be back soon."
Luka climbed on the Garuda Girl where Alma Elma was still waiting and waved a final time at Alice before they took off once and for all. Even if it was only a short trip, the hero felt his heart sink at the idea of letting Alice behind for a moment. It was almost as if he was abandoning and betraying her.
The silence during the flight was heavy. The hero had come to expect to be teased by the naturally whimsical Succubus Queen, but Alma Elma remained curiously silent during the whole trip. Naturally, this ended up attracting the hero's attention.
"Are you alright, Alma Elma?"
"Mmh? Yes. Why?"
"Well, I'd imagine you'd be more… Your natural self, you know?"
"You mean like, awwww, don't worry about your wife missing, Luka-boy, I will be able to fulfill her role in her stead if you wish?" She punctuated her sentence with a giggle, and her voice became more serious. "It's just that I have a lot on my mind too…"
Luka didn't push any further. If she didn't say anything herself, there was no point making the ambiance even worse by asking her the wrong question by attempting to speak og a touchy subject. However, the hero remembered that she was skilled in martial arts, which seemed to be a sore point as her mother seemed to hate her for it. And she just learned that the Ancestor was indeed a martial artist as well… Maybe Tamamo or Alice would be able to pull more from her.
Time seemed to pass quite fast anyway as Succubus Village was already in sight. At first, nothing differentiated the settlement from any other hamlet. However, as he got closer, he could see that most of the female inhabitants were dressed in outfits that could more qualify as lingerie than as clothes, and had all either horns, wings, a tail and sometimes all three. The place was known as a haven for the sex demons, and men regularly flocked in and out to taste the pleasure the succubi safely provided in exchange for energy.
Of course, the hero himself wasn't interested in any of that. He didn't come here for that in the first place, he was now married, and the Succubus Queen was accompanying him, so he had no doubt that a single misplaced request would lead to unpleasant results for all parties involved.
He landed not far from the village and was instantly greeted by Witch. The disguised succubus was by far the most conservatively dressed of the lot, her red clothes covering most of her body even if she was still showing some cleavage. She was also wearing a pointy hat and square, frameless glasses that were amplifying her power. She familiarly greeted the arrivals.
"Oh hey, if it isn't the hero who saved this village twice and the Succubus Queen! Did you come to check on us so soon? We don't have any succubus activity to report." Witch looked up, reconsidering her words. "At least, nothing unusual."
"Actually…" Luka slid of the Garuda Girl. "I came here because Tamamo wanted to know if you had any books or information pertaining to ancient succubi spells. There are none in the library of the Monster Lord's Castle."
Surprise filtered from Witch's tone as she answered. "The book ended in the hands of a past Succubus Queen, who…" She looked at Alma Elma who was busy looking at the men around like one would be window shopping. Something apparently ticked in Witch's head. "Oh. Yes. That would make sense. Follow me."
Luka gestured for Alma to accompany him, but the latter just waved. "Sorry Luka, I'm a bit hungry and I'm sure you'll find me more bearable if I have my fill!" She ended her sentence on a giggle.
The hero just shrugged off his partner's behavior and accompanied Witch in the ritual room under the town hall, still a bit wary. On their way, they saw Succubus, the mayor of the village sensually licking her lips while looking at Luka, but a mean look from her friend stopped her before she could voice yet another lewd offer.
Witch opened a hidden side room, and Luka understood by the sheer amount of curios lying on shelves and other magic symbols on the ground that they were in the succubus's personal study. She proceeded to grab a large book from the shelf, and invited Luka to sit on a chair across her. The hero cautiously obliged, still ready to jump away should the succubus try anything.
Witch showed Luka the cover of the book. The hero didn't quite know what he expected, but he was a bit disappointed to only see a few cabalistic symbols and not something more scandalous. "I'll give you a small history about the book, first. You probably noticed as of now, but succubi aren't quite the most united race."
"I did."
"Even today, this village represent only slightly more than a tenth of the total population, and most succubi prefer living at large. Sure, they occasionally come by, get a fill and leave, but most don't remain stuck in place for too long. Most of us value freedom and pleasure over our own lives. Any constraint is disregarded." She sighed. "And those constraints include training and thriving in arts other than giving physical pleasure. The result is that when it comes to individual power, the race as a whole is barely a shadow of its former self. This book is basically a guide for succubi to train in martial arts and magical spells."
"About spells, I remember the Barrier of Babylon, that spell that nearly drained everyone when Eva attacked. It's also into that book?"
Witch grimaced. "Yes. It is, which brings me to my next point. I got the book from Eva's hands after she failed her assault on Succubus Village -thanks to you-, who herself got it from La Croix… Yes the Artiste family are succubi if you remember, and she herself got it from a queen hundreds of years ago as the latter was trying to get rid of it. I still don't know why she herself didn't want succubi to have access to the power to even thrive, but…" She sighed again. "Sorry, I'm ranting and I understand that you have an urgent duty. I wanted to use its content to help my fellow train to be able to stand to that succubus Alma warned us about, but they all seem pretty content and confident that nobody will attack the village."
She held out the book to the hero. "I only have one favor to ask, it's that you and the current Succubus Queen try to find out why this entire book got thrown away and led to our race regressing that badly. I asked Lilith&Lilim, and they have no idea either. Back in their time, succubi had nothing to envy to the more powerful yomas. And now... Our biggest achievement is an oversized brothel."
"We'll try." Luka grabbed the book, almost expecting the inert volume to come to life to bite him. "I can't guarantee anything though."
Maybe Tamamo will know more... Although she did ask me to get this book, so maybe not.
"I don't ask much. But if you could help me bring the whole race beyond the state of a bunch of lazy, egotistic nymphomaniacs, I would gladly appreciate it… Do you happen to need anything else?"
"Actually…" Luka scratched the back of his head. "I would kinda be interested if you read me my fortune. I don't usually believe in that kind of things, but you were more or less always right each time."
"Sure, remove your glove and let's get started."
Luka obliged and presented the palm of his hand to Witch, who frowned as she looked at it.
"Mmmh, you have attracted ambivalent attention. One everybody fears and desires at the same time."
Luka grimaced as an all too vivid picture of Minagi filled his mind again. "Unfortunately, I already guessed that one."
"And yet… The danger doesn't come from the direction you will expect… The first one is the most dangerous? Sorry, you'll be able to make more sense from it than me."
Luka gulped, slightly afraid. "And last… You are your own poison…" She looked up at him, fear apparent in her eyes. "You don't have suicidal thoughts, do you?"
Taken aback by the sudden question, Luka stuttered a bit. "N-no, nothing like that. I think that references my holy powers, which did burn me out once in the past after I used them too much."
"I see… Well, in that case, I'd advise you to be careful with them… The only prediction I don't fully understand is the second one."
"It's probably that the first of the Six Ancestors I will meet will be the biggest challenge? Or their leader who's the first and the strongest?"
"Probably. It could be either." Witch shrugged. "In any case, I wish you luck. Don't hesitate to come back if you need our help for anything…" She winked.
Luka got up and left the house alone, and wasn't accosted by the village chieftain for once as the latter was too busy doing actual administrative work. The image of the scandily clad sex fiend doing something serious and mundane was so out of place that the hero decided to walk faster to be sure he would be out of ear range before laughing.
He reached outside to see that Alma Elma was already on the Garuda Girl, impatiently waiting for him if her wagging tail was any indication.
"Awww, finally done? It took you longer than those three men..."
Not wanting more details, Luka interrupted her. "Yes, yes, I'm ready, let's get Salamander."
When the Garuda Girl took to the sky, Luka felt a certain relief in his body as he managed to escape the village unmolested.
"So what did you do with that cute little succubus Luka? Nothing untoward I hope? The Monster Lord wouldn't be happy to hear about it…"
"I only got a book used by succubi to train in the past, nothing special actually."
"Oh. I see." Alma Elma sounded disappointed, and the hero couldn't tell if it was because he didn't give her ammunitions to tease him or if instead it was because this book was bringing out bad memories.
Before he could ponder it much, the barren Grangold Volcano was in sight. It felt weird to go get Salamander first, but the hero didn't want to travel without one of the Four Spirits to support him a second longer than what he needed. He didn't know how the Fire Spirit would react to his sequence breaking, but he had other issues on his mind, and wanted to have her support as soon as possible.
The Garuda Girl landed in front of an opening that made for the entrance to the insides of the volcano itself, and Luka instantly jumped down.
"I'll wait you there, Luka-boy. That volcano seems uncomfortably hot, and I can tell that there's no unusual dweller inside."
"You can feel Lilith's presence?"
"I can… To a limited degree. I can tell when there are succubi close by, but I can't track her from afar."
"I see. Well, it's good to know."
Luka entered the cavern and was instantly assailed by the heat from the volcano itself. Even if it was his third visit, the assault felt as intense as usual. Salamander used to tell him that it was the first challenge of her teachings, but the hero wished that she had remained in Grangold instead.
His path was suddenly blocked by a large dragon girl. The same one that he encountered and beat the first time he visited the volcano. She didn't seem aggressive at first, barely minding her own business as she was lazying out on a mineral formation. However her mood instantly changed when she saw the hero.
"You… YOU!" Her figure contorted in rage as she pointed an accusing finger at Luka.
"Hang on! I just came here to see Salamander! Can't we discuss it normally?"
She blew a stream of fire that Luka narrowly dodged in a roll. He pulled out Angel Halo and charged his assailant. She attempted to slash at him with his claws, but he managed to jump over her and slash her large body. She attempted to whip him out with her tail, but the hero managed to dodge her attack once again, slashing at the limb.
"Stand still damn it! I want to teach you a lesson for sealing me!"
"Sorry…" Luka parried one of her clawed paws and counter-attacked, slashing at her torso. "But I have a request for Salamander…" He jumped back as she attempted to swallow him whole. "And I won't let you get in my way! Heavenly Demon Revival!" Luka jumped up and fell like a meteor on the dragon girl, his sword glowing as he cut her apart. His target disappeared in sparkles, leaving a large lizard behind in her wake.
"Mmh. It looked like you didn't lose your touch."
Luka looked up to see Salamander. The flame-covered Fire Spirit was flanked by a small dragonkin that the hero recognized as Papi, one of the Four Bandits that had changed career and was now a blacksmith in Iliasburg.
"I suppose you didn't came back here just to say hello."
"Actually… I need your powers."
Salamander frowned. "Huh. Strange. With Ilias down, I don't know what could warrant the need for my powers, and besides…" She looked proudly at the dragonkin. "I'm currently teaching advanced smiting skills to Papi. She's progressing pretty fast."
"Yeah! Gaaah! I can now craft high quality material like orichalcum!"
"The Six Ancestors will be back in five weeks."
"You are shitting me." Salamander was so dumbfounded that she answered reflexively, surprising Papi.
Luka shook his head negatively and pulled out Morrigan's ribbon, showing it to Salamander who took it in her hand.
"We had to deal with the Lilith Sisters back in the castle. Tamamo told that the Ancestors will be freed in a few weeks. I will need your power to stand up to them."
Salamander's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so Tamamo is the one who told you about it? Did she also tell you about her past?"
Luka sighed. "We already know. And she also told us she wasn't particularly proud of it."
"She did pretty much slaughter entire towns and ruined kingdoms while taking anything and anyone she wanted. And she was pretty proud of it at the time."
"And she changed, just like most angels once Ilias fell, and she hope the same will happen to the other Ancestors in the long run…"
Salamander looked suspiciously at Luka who had no difficulty bearing her gaze, but still felt the need to defend the kitsune. "Look… If she didn't come through, we wouldn't even know about the Six Ancestors. If she really wanted to exploit an opportunity with their return, she would have first and foremost kept the information for herself. I don't know exactly everything she did. I wasn't there to live it. But so far everything she ever did was helping us. And besides, I only came here to get stronger thanks to your power."
"By the way, why did you start with me? I'm more often than not the last one recruited."
"Because Lilith is still out there and I don't feel comfortable without any of you, so I made a beeline from the Monster Lord's Castle to get you as fast as possible."
"…Fine then." She smiled as she turned toward her pupil. "Pack up. It looks like you will get some practice with the Monster Lord's personal forge."
"YAY!" The Dragon pup ran away to ready her equipment.
Salamander turned back toward Luka. "I'll spare you the fight and will grant you my power." She held out a finger, and when Luka touched it, she disappeared. Her figure appeared in Luka's mind.
"It looks like you didn't get too rusty with fire skills… Although some practice definitively wouldn't hurt."
"Yeah… We still have a few weeks ahead of us."
"I'm ready!"
Papi showed up with a large bag that seemed to overflow with equipment under Luka's and Salamander's gentle gazes. It's only when he no longer felt the steaming heat from the volcano and had the Garuda Girl and Alma Elma in sight that Luka noticed the issue.
"Ok… So how are we supposed to proceed?"
"Aww! She's so cute!" Alma Elma completely ignored the return of the hero to smother Papi as she hugged her. Curiously, the dragonkin didn't even attempt to struggle as the succubus lifted her.
"Yeah, and she's coming with us, although I'm not sure how we should proceed… I mean, making the trip back to the castle to drop her off would take too much time, and bringing her with us would be risky."
"I could carry her back myself!"
"And what about her luggage?" Luka pointed at the large bag of equipment.
"Oh, well…" Alma tapped her chin with a hand. "Then she'll go with the Garuda Girl while I carry Luka to the spring!"
"Huuuh… I don't know if I would be fine alone in the Monster Lord's Castle…"
"And I won't be fine with you carrying me to Undine's Spring."
Luka was interrupted by Salamander who materialized, jaded. "She'll be fine on her own in a human town." She looked at her student. "We'll drop you at Grangold with enough money to get you a room and a few meals while we go search for my friends. We should be back by the end of the day or tomorrow at most."
"Okay!" Papi answered without hesitation.
After getting the guarantee that Papi would be fine in Grangold, the group was back on its way to Undine's Spring. The source of water was still polluted, with several slimes and humans around the place using different spells and skills to purify the water after one of Erubetie's own lieutenants betrayed her by throwing in magic mercury. Ironically, this very action had pushed the Queen Slime to review her judgment of humans, and brought her closer to them than any effort from them would have. Now, they were working to build a better future together.
Luka made the Garuda Girl descend as he identified Undine, the blue, mermaid-like slime being quite easy to notice amongst the crowd. His arrival attracted the attention of humans and monsters around her, but everybody returned to their work once it was clear it wasn't an attack.
As soon as his boots hit the ground, Undine approached him.
"Greetings Luka. Erubetie told me about the incident. Needless to say I'll join you."
Luka was surprised by the slime's reaction. "You're sure? I mean, you still have that purifying task at hand, and…"
"And my kin to take care of, but I remember enough about the Ancestors to tell you this: As long as you swear you will protect my fellow slimes, and I've known you for long enough to say that you consider it your mission to protect everyone, I will lend you my powers." She held out her hand to Luka.
"Very well then." The hero touched her finger, and she instantly disappeared. "You know, I can get behind the idea to not have to run through a trial every time I meet one of you."
"What did you expect? Unless a certain glorified lizard, I understand that fighting isn't always a priority."
"Hoy! What was that you gunk ball?"
"I only say that I don't hide my insecurities by hiding in a volcano under the pretense of challenging my pupils."
"Oh noooo, you only hid in your spring and fueled your hatred for humans with Erubetie during years!"
"That's! Huh…"
"I apologize to interrupt your conversation, but… Can we move on please? I really want to get back to get Gnome and Sylph and be ready to catch that succubus as soon as possible."
"Right, we'll deal with our issue later… It looks like you're currently too disturbed to use the flow correctly in a fight. Maybe a slightly bit later once you'll have cooled down."
"Thanks Undine."
"Also, I will make sure Sylph abstains from making jokes about the fact that Alma Elma is currently accompanying you."
"Thank you." Luka climbed back on the Garuda Girl, only destabilized by a groan from Salamander.
"Do we really have to get her next? Why not Gnome First?"
"Because Sylph is on the way while getting Gnome then coming back for Sylph would take more time."
"…I guess if you see it like that, you're right."
"Awww, poor Sylphy only wants your love…"
"Please Alma Elma, don't motivate her further once she's with us."
The succubus giggled, and Luka regretted for a single second the lost tranquility his mind used to have when he didn't have any of the Four Spirits to accompany him. It was the price for power, after all.
An undetermined amount of time later, Luka arrived in sight of the Forest of Spirits where Sylph resided. The hero was forced to dismount at the entrance, as dropping in the thick forest was simply not an option.
Alma Elma stretched herself as she jumped off the bird. "Mmh. Maybe I should borrow that good girl more. Flying by my own can be exhausting and annoying…" The Garuda Girl chirped happily as Alma Elma petted her.
Luka prepared to enter the thick forest when a realization hit him.
"Alma… Can you check on San Ilia please? If that Lilith comes from a time where she was at war with angels, maybe she'll try to target the ones living there."
"Awww… Are you trying to get rid of me?" Her tone became more serious. "I'm joking, I'm already on my way."
Alma instantly disappeared as Luka entered the forest, now only accompanied by the voices of the two spirits.
"Huh. It looks like she's really taking this seriously. I haven't seen her like that since… Actually, forget it. Did something happen?"
"She's concerned about her authority as Succubus Queen… And I think the Lilith Sisters dredged up bad memories of the past."
"It would make sense."
Luka progressed through the unusually silent forest, careful to not walk onto fairies that could hide amongst the flowers.
"Is it me, or it is unusually calm?"
"Mmh. The flow is disturbed, but I don't feel death or anything that would hint at a fight."
Eventually, as he reached the deepest parts of the forest, Luka started hearing a strange sound, as if a tempest was covering the cry of hundreds of shrill, little voices.
Eventually he arrived at the clearing where he met Sylph last time. Fairies were busy rushing a small tornado in the clearings to get kicked back and try again while a few broody elven archers were watching from the side. Confused about what to do, Luka rushed to the side of the closest forest dweller.
"What is happening?"
"They're training." Her voice was a jaded growl. She didn't even turn to look at Luka. Well, at least it looked like nothing serious.
Eventually, the storm stopped and revealed an exhausted fairy clad in green where the epicenter was.
"Huuuuu, this is getting hard."
"Sylph? What are you doing?"
The small fairy looked up at Luka and remained immobile for a few seconds before cheering loudly and jumping around.
"Yay! It's Luka! The hero is back! And Mandy and Deeny are here too!"
Luka could hear the two spirits accompanying him groan. The small fairy happily lunged at him to hug him, accidentally knocking the wind out of him. She jumped off him and hugged him again, nearly knocking Luka back this time.
"I'm happy to see you too Sylph, but… What were you doing exactly?"
"We're training!" She proudly put her fists on her hips as she flew in front of Luka's face. "The wind told me that you were coming back because there's danger coming soon! So I'm training to defend the world against it, just like you!"
"Well, that's why I'm here. I wanted to ask you to lend me your power to be ready…"
"Ha ha! I would, but I'm now crazy strong on my own, and I'm sure I can defend the world alone, like one of those mysterious wandering hero! And with all the other spirits, you'll be fine without me!" Sylph took her head in her hand. "Then again… I know they'll miss me if I'm not with them…"
"No we won't."
"Tell you what! You'll be my first challenge! If you beat me, I'll join you, and if I beat you…" Her expression became more malicious. "And if I beat you, you stay in this forest to play with us…"
"I'd say the biggest challenge is going to not make her cry."
"You're aiming too high here."
Luka looked around him, and it was clear the elves were thinking the same thing as the other spirits.
"Very well then…" Luka prepared himself, raising his sword in front of him.
"En garde! Here I come!"
Sylph started summoning a tornado that grew gradually bigger and bigger. It was soon the size of a human, and while it could toss apart fairies, it only made Luka's hair messier than usual.
"Oh, for the love of… Go for it. She'll cry either way."
Luka stepped through the tornado and slashed at Sylph with his sword. The sheer power was enough to throw her down and interrupt her spell. A second later, she started crying.
"Waaaaaah! Why are you so meaaaaaan Luka!"
Luka reflexively raised his hands as he suddenly felt ashamed for bullying Sylph. However, before he could say anything, Salamander materialized and raised her hand as she stepped forward.
"Okay Sylph, it's nice that you train to try to protect your friends on your own, but there are two issues with what you attempted to do: First, you would have needed a huge tornado to harm Luka. One big enough to damage the forest a lot, in fact. Would you have been happy with yourself if you destroyed trees?"
Sylph sniffled. "No…"
"So we made you a service. And second, do you think your opponents would have let you the time to build-up your attack?"
"Huuuh… No?"
"Good." Salamander's expression softened as she smiled gently. "So let's forget it and get back together to help Luka, just like old times."
"Okay…"Sylph held out her hand even as she was hunched over, half depressed. She disappeared into a small blink of light, and Luka felt another presence inside of him.
"Come on Sylph, sheer up! We're back on adventures and we'll fetch Gnomey!"
"Yay! Gnomey!" Luka could feel the small Wind Spirit happily jump. Well, at least she was back to her hyper-energetic self…
Luka left the forest without any surprise to see Alma Elma already waiting near the Garuda Girl. The succubus was balancing herself on a high branch, her legs swaying in the air.
"So you got Sylph without issue?"
Luka nodded.
"Hey, where is miss Monster Lord? Wasn't she married with Luka?"
"It's a complicated story, but Alma Elma is the one accompanying him instead right now."
"Ooh, is Luka turning Alice into a cuckoo?" *gargle, gargle*
"Thanks you Undine."
"You're welcome."
"Did you learn something in San Ilia?"
Alma Elma sighed. "Nothing. There's a rising movement of priests and citizens wanting the clergy of Ilias to return to its monster-hating roots, but there wasn't anything about someone being found sucked dry."
Luka frowned. "Damn… What about the angels? If they decide to jump in…"
"Most of them looked pretty confused about this. Only a very small minority follows the movement, and some of them were even turned away because they were accused of being disguised monsters."
Then again, considering that most of them attacked me the same way monsters did… I can't deny that one.
"I don't think the arrival of the Six Ancestors will make things any better…" He sighed. "Nevermind, I can't do anything about it for now, let's get Gnome."
A small hour later, Luka arrived in sight of the Safaru Ruins. While Gnome often came to the city of Sabasa to play with children or just to socialize in her strange way, she also appreciated the tranquility of the desert. While the place was clearer than the Forest of Spirits, Luka couldn't see the Earth Spirit from up there: her usual brown outfit hid her well amongst the dunes, whether it was intentional or not.
The Garuda Girl landed in the middle of the ruins, and as soon as Luka got off her back, he saw a familiar brown form looking at him with her green eyes.
"Yay! Gnomey's already here!"
"Sylph, please remain calm."
Gnome silently got closer to Luka, tilting her head in surprise when she realized he was already accompanied by all three of her fellow spirits.
"…"
"Hi Gnome. I… Need everyone's power because we're going to have to deal with the Six Ancestors soon."
Gnome jumped up in surprise, and Luka swore he felt the earth rumble when she landed.
"Yes, I'm serious. This is why I wanted to ask you to lend me your power."
"…"
Without a single word, Gnome instantly extended her hand toward Luka who took it. Just like the three other spirits, she disappeared into a small blink, and Luka could feel her reassuring presence.
"Yay! Guess who's back! It's Gnomey! Hya!"
Gnome punched Sylph once, making Undine and Salamander chuckle.
Luka returned back to the Garuda Girl, relieved to have gotten the Four Spirits once again without troubles. A few memories of the past hit him.
"You know, it's kinda funny when you think about it. It's the third time I searched for your powers. The first time took several months and I had to face epic challenges. The second took only a few weeks and I only had to seal a few angels, and this time it took me less than a day and only a few words." Luka chuckled. "Maybe next time you'll instantly teleport at the Monter Lord's Castle when I need you."
"Dream on, fake hero."
"I'm joking. And I really hope I won't have a reason to disturb you again after that."
Luka heard Salamander sigh. "I wish the same. Not that I don't like you, but each time a hero comes to grab our power it's because the world is about to blow up."
"Right… Let's go to Enrika. I still have to warn Micaela. Maybe I'll even make a small detour by Iliasville afterward."
"Is Luka-boy getting worried about his native village? Awww, how cute. Don't worry, I'm sure Tamamo made sure they were safe."
Luka shrugged. "I mostly want to see how they fare since the death of Ilias. The village's inhabitants were as pious as San Ilia's."
But actually, you are right. I have a bad feeling about this.
"Damn it… Not again…"
Lucia sighed as the content of her cauldron solidified into a thick paste once again. The blue-haired alchemist was trying to create a new medical balm from Promestein's notes, but couldn't quite get the preparation right. The angel scientist didn't have the time to perfect the mixture back then with the entire laboratory equipment available, and Lucia herself now only had limited technologies at hand to craft her new products, making it all the more difficult. A part of her regretted those days…
Then again, all those machines in Promestein's labs had only been used to harm humanity. She considered asking the Monster Lord or the king for the possibility to use them, but she wanted to wait for those scars to heal first. After all, she herself had been part of the "Seekers of Truth", the small scientific team of Promestein that used to support Ilias in her mad scheme to destroy the world. Even if people at large had accepted her and didn't even really punish her once she made her intent to atone clear, she still occasionally saw fear in the gaze of her interlocutors. She didn't want everyone to remember that she was skilled with the machines that were used by Promestein not so long ago to craft tools used to torture and kill humans.
Once the paste was cold, she checked the black, lumpy substance and groaned again. So much resource wasted… She looked at her equipment. An old cauldron, several shelves covered with jars containing unlabeled products, and rusty metallic tools. What her predecessor Lily was doing there amounted to small games before the Seekers of Truth came in to offer her a spot in their team, and going back to something so menial with primitive tools after having used precise machines was extremely frustrating. And besides, she also had to spend a lot of time maintaining the alchemical creations living in the village as well as the chimeras through the world.
"I can't continue working like that…"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door, firm, but somehow deafened.
"Who's there?"
"I'm Yao. I came here for a request for equipment."
Lucia raised an eyebrow. That name sounded familiar… She carefully opened the door to be greeted by the sight of an orange kitsune clad in a revealing kimono, with several large tails waving in her back.
"Greetings. I came here on order from my mistress Tamamo because we have a problem with a tough, pesky weed native to Hellgondo. Can I come in to discuss in more details?"
Lucia felt wary of her guest, but considered that if the Monster Lord or one of her Heavenly Knights really wanted to kill her, there was a large number of more effective ways that didn't involve pretending to be a customer showing up in broad daylight.
"Can you give me more details? Dealing with pesky weed is extremely vague."
"It's an old, resilient weed that was thought eradicated a long time ago, but apparently decided to pop up again for unknown reasons. We did use magic back in the day, but we also used an alchemical fire we personally crafted. However, most of our lab has been either dismantled or destroyed with time, and since you're an alchemist, we wondered if you had any recipe that could help us."
Lucia sighed. "I don't really know. I have a few recipes, but crafting anything with that equipment is tedious at best."
"I suppose we could use some equipment from Promestein's old laboratories then." Yao smiled deviously. "It's not like someone else is going to use it."
"Strange… I thought you would have been more reluctant to bring Promestein's old toys into play considering the stigma attached to them."
Yao shrugged. "We really need a good defoliant and can't risk those weeds spreading."
Lucia sighed. "Are the alraunes trying to destroy the world?"
"What do you mean?"
"The whole lab was initially declared forbidden once it was cleared by Luka, and you're willing to reopen it, which means there's a serious issue since otherwise you would have let it closed and not involved me. You didn't negotiate for anything, so it's likely an emergency. Given all that, I came to think that pesky weeds from Hellgondo can very well be a metaphor for plant-like monsters."
Yao chuckled. "You're quite perceptive."
"I worked for an angel that tried to destroy the world and double-crossed Ilias. That comes with the job."
"I won't beat around the bush then. What did exactly Promestein tell you about the Great Ancestor's seal?"
"We mostly saw details on its workings, not much about the seal itself, why?"
Yao hesitated for a minute. "Hah, to hell with it. I'm going to tell you a bit more of info about it, please don't spread it."
Lucia nodded. "Once again, I worked for Promestein. I can keep secrets."
"Good."
And so Yao gave out more information on the Six Ancestors, focusing on Kanon in particular. By the end of the kitsune's story, Lucia was wide-eyed, her mouth slightly opened in shock as she tried to discern if the kitsune told her any lies. When she could see none, she cleared her throat.
"Okay. Okay, okay okay. Let's get to the Biolabs and see what I can do there. Just… Swear me you won't use… Whatever I craft on anyone else but THEM!"
Yao nodded.
"Good..." She gulped loudly. "Good… I'll get started then. Please make sure you have a few guards to escort me there and I'll craft a few things that could prove useful… I hope."