Monster Girl Quest! (Monmusu Quest!) Two Sides to a Coin

by FrozenLightningRai

An AU of Monster Girl (Monmusu) Quest! where a second companion with a dark past works with Luka on his quest to the Monster Lord's Castle. With yet more dissenting viewpoints, how will Luka overcome all of the views which keep his dream of coexistence out of his reach? (Non-hentai version. Few OCs. Minimal non-canon/OC relationships. May rate to M later. Foul language.)

7. Demons

The Story so Far: After encountering one of the Four Heavenly Knights, Tamamo, in a treasure cover, Alice, Balthazar, and Luka set for Sentora. Along the sea route, they encounter yet another Heavenly Knight, Alma Elma. After a brief, handicapped fight, Balthazar succumbs to Lugalbanda, which easily pushes Alma Elma back. Just as they reach Port Natalia, they have a brief encounter with a known pirate, and later witness an attack by Ilias Kruez.

Finally arriving in San Ilia, trouble hounds the group left and right. Alice caused her fair share of chaos: namely destroying the Goddess Sword, followed by the appearance of Granberia, challenging Balthazar. Letting Luka test his skills, she is surprised in his increase in strength, but she finally gets tired, and challenges Balthazar once more. Demonstrating a variety of his slightly unsealed powers, he manages to catch a casually-fighting Granberia off-guard, and forces her into a technical submission. With clearance, they meet the king, and (accidentally) set fire to the library, the three now move to tackle the rumors of a haunted mansion, an odd request back in Port Natalia, and aim to find Slyph in the nearby Forest of Sprits.

"… Com-… -n… … u-…"

Groggily, Balthazar half-rolled over.

"We-… to go… up!"

Fresh consciousness blasted Balthazar as he woke from a nap. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around. A few people here and there walked around, but Alice and Luka were the only ones paying any attention to him. Alice stood, arms crossed, and darkly gazing out.

"Finally. I thought you might've died in your sleep." Luka teased.

He scoffed. "Please." Rolling his eyes, he stretched and stood up from his bench. "I guess you guys took a while dillydallying if I had time to take a nap."

"If I didn't stop him where he was, he'd be talking nonsense about ghosts by now." Alice shook her head.

A dark smile hooded Balthazar. "Not the ghost-type, are ya? I know some goo-" His musings were cut short by Alice's fist knocking him in the head. "Fine… Fine…"

"I didn't remember you being so annoying when you first woke up." She chided. "Anyways… I guess we're on our way to go to Sylph's."

Luka folded his arms. "Oh come on. You didn't waste that money for nothing, did you?"

"I told you, I bought it on a whim."

"What? Wasteful spending?" Balthazar perked up. "Why didn't you invite me?"

Alice sighed. "Because half of the conversations where about stupid things, like ghosts and zombies."

Luka nodded. "See, apparently there's this trouble going on in an abandoned mansion to the north here. We're taking a detour to see what's happening there." He ignored Alice's glare.

"I see." Balthazar nodded. "We're… How many weeks into this quest, and we've yet to hit any Elemental allies." He shook his head. "I totally could have made this trip in just a few days."

Luka grimaced. "And for some reason, I don't feel like doubting you."

"I can feel the doubt. It's in your core." He replied stoically.

"What's that even mean?" Luka complained.

"Oh, but… So, what's the deal with the mansion then, if that's where we're going?" He asked curiously.

Alice groaned. "You're encouraging him to take shortcuts."

Luka raised four fingers to Balthazar. "Well, there's been strange occurrences there..."

"… 'Strange occurences'." He laughed. "This feels like a bad rip-off of a haunted house." Pinching his nose, he motioned for Luka to continue as they began to set off.

"That, and no one yet has told the story the same. The rumors revolve around a dead girl, an execution ground, a graveyard, and to top it off, some strange sorcerer." Luka listed off. "What do you think's going on?"

"My opinion?" He scratched his head. "Replace 'strange sorcerer' with necromancer… Or rather, those are synonymous… Nope, I don't see anything wrong. Hey, let's just fuse them all into one big story!"

Luka hung his head. "So you actually are with Alice on this. Look, there's something happening up there. It won't hurt to find out what it is. Besides, if monsters are troubling humans, it's something that I have to deal with."

Balthazar simply turned and stared at Luka, smiling affectionately. "What I wouldn't give to just see the world and experience it in your head for a day."

"Don't encourage him already!" Alice yelled. "Just go to the Forest of Spirits and get Sylph already! It's so close!"

"Oh, speaking of detours… There's also that request from Meia." He nodded. "That one to those who didn't have a bias against monsters. There's a bunch a Hero has to do."

"I think the definition of Hero has been lost in translation within the last few months." Balthazar noted as the three reached the edge of Natalia. "When did Legendary Evil Slayers turn into 'gopher' boys?"

"It's not like you're really filling any particular role." Luka replied.

"True." He nodded. "But it's not like I'm really doing this for your benefit or anything."

Agitated, Luka stopped. "All right then. If I recall correctly, Meia's place is somewhere to our left… We should see what's going on there."

Alice glared at Balthazar. "Whoops. Did I cause that?" He asked nonchalantly.

She cleared her throat. "Come on, Luka. Wasn't the whole purpose of this journey to set out to defeat the Monster Lord?"

He shook his head. "My only purpose wasn't' just to head to the Monster Lord's Castle. I wanted humans and monsters to get along too."

"Fine. But…" As they neared their destination, Alice swiped a package of snacks from Luka. "I'm hungry, so I'll be taking these as condolences for this detour."

"H-hey… You guys went and got snacks?" Balthazar complained.

Grabbing a handful of crackers, she smiled. "Well, that's your own fault for taking a nap."

The banter was interrupted by a series of knocks. In their conversation, they had missed him finding the destination. The door was quickly opened, the inhabitant a light-purple haired mermaid. After a quick greeting, Meia let the group into her house.

"We're busy. This request better not be stupid." Alice stated, staring at the mermaid's bleak furniture, which Balthazar easily found himself at home on.

Luka shoved a batch of seaweed in Alice's face. "Can you just be quiet for a minute? Eat this… It'll probably taste good after a while…" Several seconds passed before she took his bait, and began to munch on the Aquarian plant. "So, Meia, what can we help you with?"

"Actually… I'm in love with a human." She smiled.

Immediately, Balthazar threw up his arms. "Nope! We're done here! No thank you."

Luka's eye twitched as he ignored him. "… So what, you're wanting me to play matchmaker or something? That's not really my forte."

Meia laughed. "No, no! We're already in a relationship! We've been living in this house for a while now. Right now, he's out sea fishing." She paused… "However, even though we deeply love each other… We aren't married." Luka looked at her questioningly. "It's because we can't perform the Marriage Trial dictated by marine law…"

"Marriage Trial?" Luka asked.

Meia nodded. "When a mermaid and a human get married, they have to offer a written pledge to the Queen at the temple of the seabed." She explained. "However, the monsters that have gathered in the area recently are too dangerous."

"Don't you have your own power?" Balthazar questioned.

She looked to the side. "I have some magic power, but it's my darling… He isn't too strong. We wouldn't be able to make it there safely."

Balthazar gave a small chuckle. "Give me an average human that can best a Goblin in an arm wrestling contest, and I'll give you a pot of gold. Of course the human's useless in this."

Luka sighed. "So in other words, you want me to go down there myself in your place to deliver this pledge."

She nodded solemnly. "Yes. I'm sorry for the troublesome request…" She fidgeted. "Could you please deliver this pledge to her in our stead?"

Luka took it, but looked at her in confusion. "Is someone else even allowed to deliver it in your place? It seems like a strange trial if the two people getting married don't even need to do it."

Balthazar shrugged. "Well, I could think of a few instances, but my humble opinion insists that these marriages are useless. It's in name only."

"And how many times have I ignored your humble opinions?" Luka snapped back.

"Ouch." He smirked, as he began to count on his fingers. "Lessee now…"

"That was rhetorical."

"Well, the law doesn't specifically say 'Those requesting the marriage have to deliver the pledge'." Meia insisted. "It doesn't say someone else can either… But it should be fine."

"Seven…" Balthazar counted. "Oh, 'should', the mermaid says. It should be fine."

At that moment, the door swung open as a young child walked in. "I'm home!" He announced.

Meia's eyes lit up. "Ah! Welcome home! We have guests!"

Luka was taken aback. "No way… Already, you've had a kid together?"

Meia shook her head and smiled. "No, no, this is my darling!" She exclaimed as the two hugged.

Balthazar rolled his eyes, his expression betraying amusement. "Hey Meia. So, who are they?" The boy asked.

"They're very admirable adventurers. I asked them to deliver our pledge of marriage to the Queen!" She explained.

The boy expressed his gratitude, but Luka tilted his head. "Hey, Meia…? Don't you think it'd be better if you waited for him to grow up a little more?"

Meia looked at Luka questioningly. "Eh? But my darling is turning twenty-five this year."

Out of all but Alice's hearing range, Balthazar snidely commented "Twenty-five years old? In what, fish-years?", which earned him a reprimanding stare.

"I used a little of my magic to stop his growth." She admitted. "It's because he's so cute like this!" After a little bantering with her future-husband, she returned her attention to Luka. "That's how it is. Please, go to the Queen at the bottom of the sea and deliver our pledge!"

"F-fine…" Luka gave up. "I'll do it."

"Doing more troublesome things…" Alice growled.

Suddenly, Balthazar sighed. "Am I the only one that sees a giant problem with this?" With nothing but stares, he pointed at his throat. "Last I checked, I haven't grown gills to breathe underwater. Something tells me that that just might dampen your plans."

Meia nodded. "I thought of that… Which is why the reward is this Ball of Guidace." She handed small crystal to Luka, despite his resistance. "Just stand at the beach and use it. You'll be able to go on the undersea road. It'll bring you directly to the temple."

"How convenient. No mazes or anything? Just a straightforward road?" Balthazar questioned. Meia nodded. "Gods, Heroes have it so easy these days. I remember how much I had to put on the grindstone before I took out a single Behemoth…" He complained.

"What was that?" Luka asked.

"N-nothing. Let's just get going."

Finally, the three left the house, and started back on the way out to the beach. As the three walked, Alice chided Luka.

"You sure like to be used by others." She stated. "There's no point in doing such a personal request as that."

"Don't say that, Alice. Isn't it great to break down racial barriers in the name of love?" Luka happily skipped forward.

"Wait, mister religious guy." Balthazar ordered. "That guy's gonna break Ilias' Law, ain't he? Since you believe in following said laws, what happens then?"

Luka cringed. "A weak point already…"

Balthazar smirked. "Weak!? Looks like I get another turn in! What happens since you're instigating it!?" Luka went silent. "Tch. Fine. Another round to me."

Luka sighed. "Alright, let's go. Destination: The Queen at the bottom of the sea!"

A couple of hours later, the group found themselves at the beach. Waves passed over and over as Luka stood dumbfounded with the crystal in hand. Several moments passed, and from the water's edge, a twin-tailed crab-girl walked forward, twin pincers tapping the ground in front of them.

"Since you're standing there looking so stupid…" She noted. "Mind giving me some of your life force?" Immediately taken aback, Luka drew Angel Halo. "You want to fight instead? Well, I could clean your body…" The scales on her lower body opened up, revealing a monstrously large mouth with bubbles foaming out of it. "Then I can eat you when I'm done!"

Luka sighed, but readied his blade. "Step in like lightning, and strike with the noise of thunder! Thunder Thrust!" He chanted, following the movements. His blade slid easily into the carapace of the crab-girl, but his attack was cut short as bubbles began to spew out from her lower demonic mouth. He jumped back, creating a spinning motion as he knocked one of her pincers away from hitting him. Keeping his speed constant, Luka moved in, a powerful strike blasting away the bubbles the crap girl had accumulated so far. "Not done… Yet!" Luka kept his assault ready, dealing yet another two critical blows. Twirling his blade, he leapt into the air, slamming down Angel Halo onto the crab-girls neck. Each time Luka's blade met the girl's flesh, the bubbles vanished, completely breaking the increasingly agitated girl's battle strategy. "I'll finish this without a single scratch!" He taunted, dealing the final blow directly to her stomach.

"I couldn't even… Attack… Once!?" She gasped, magical power gushing out in torrents out of her wounds. Quickly, she fell into her sealed form – a simple crab scuttling around on the sand.

Luka sighed. However, just as he thought it was over, the crab scuttled around his feet. "What's this?" He asked himself as she hovered near his feet. With surprising agility, the crab gained vengeance and pinched Luka's big toe before scuttling back into the ocean. "Damn!" He cursed, nursing his toe.

Alice had returned. "Having trouble, as per usual. If you can't blow off a monster like that with just a sneeze, you'll never be able to beat the Monster Lord."

Luka was about to reply when Balthazar cut him short. "Give him credit, though." He smirked. "I didn't think he had it in him, but he managed to win without being hit once."

"Idiot." Alice scoffed. "Though his ability to perform so many critical hits in that battle is indeed impressive, any other monster would have had no problem shrugging off those attacks at his level."

As the two bickered tactics with each other, Luka examined the Ball of Guidance crystal. Setting it towards the sea, it reflected light brightly for a moment before sending a ray of light out into the body of water.

"It creates a road of light to follow. Interesting." Alice noted.

Balthazar groaned. "In case we haven't noticed, our destination lies at the bottom of the sea. How's a light going to help us here?" He asked skeptically.

Alice rolled her eyes. "For living in Hellgondo for all that time, you truly are inept in the usage of magical artifacts."

Luka looked questioningly at Balthazar and Alice. "Lived in… Hellgondo?"

She shook her head. "Ignore that. Anyways, that light is a tunnel to the bottom of the sea. If we stick close to it, it's possible that we can follow it down into the sea's depths."

Luka timidly stepped into the beam of light, and instantly, the entire bean of light sunk underwater. Following the path until he was waist deep, he turned back around. "So we just have to stay on this road of light to reach the bottom here?" He asked as the three completely submerged.

"Huh." Balthazar swam next to Luka. "This thing lets us breathe underwater. Never would've guessed."

After a while, the sea's surface was noticeable far overhead. Although they were swimming, through some uncanny method Balthazar had found a way to cross his arms and keep floating next to the party.

"Is this tunnel safe? I hope it doesn't just suddenly vanish when we're so far underwater…" Luka worried. Balthazar also gave a questioning gaze to Alice as the three continued.

"As long as you keep holding that Ball of Guidance, it's no issue. While the bearer is in the sea, the light will never fade." Alice explained.

Balthazar smirked. "Don't' drop the Ball."

Luka frowned. "That's a terrible pun."

He shrugged. "Don't blame me for trying."

Annoyed by the idle chatter, Alice drifted ahead slightly. "Reaching the bottom of the sea on this road… The trail of a couple that wishes to marry… Knocking out every monster that challenges them to show their courage…" She murmured to herself.

"That's a pretty troublesome trial to have to perform just to get married." Luka noted. "Do other monsters have strange customs like this too?"

Alice nodded. "It's different depending on the type of monster. Some don't care at all who their partner is, and others have extremely detailed restrictions and requirements to fulfill." She explained.

Balthazar's eyebrows furrowed. "Sounds complicated." He thought aloud.

"My family requires two conditions to be met before they are allowed to be a partner." Alice exemplified. "First, the male has to be strong, as in, stronger than the female, strong. Secondly, the male must be willing to be married."

"Those are pretty harsh conditions, considering…" Luka wandered.

"Huh." Balthazar thought. "That means… Whoever would have been the male for the previous generation would have been stronger than the Monster Lord prior to you. Which only puts forth one kind of person I can think of."

Alice fell silent. "I don't know."

"Makes sense." He shrugged. "One can only go far one assumptions, as we've learned." He gave a wicked smile.

"Putting that aside, it looks like a fantasy world down here." Luka commented. Colorful fish and other marine life swirled around the light-tunnel as the three swam ever deeper. "It's beautiful… So many amazing mysteries of the deep…"

"Beautiful for now." Alice shook her head. "The deep sea is the monster's domain. They will attack you without mercy once you're noticed." Just as quickly as she said that, a shadow moved behind them. "See? Of course, as soon as I say something, it happens." Instantly, with a speed Luka had never witnessed before, Alice darted out of vision.

Behind them, several dozen jellyfish girls had appeared. A larger one, presumably the dominant jellyfish girl, drifted closer. "Humans this deep under the sea? How curious."

"I don't want to bother you guys…" Luka mediated, raising his arms to show his lack of hostility. "So please just keep swimming along."

"You look delicious. It's a pity that there's only two of you. I doubt you'll be able to sate our hunger." The leader licked her lips, motioning to the other girls. "Nevertheless, we aren't picky to let an appetizer by. Come on girls!"

"C-crap! There's so many!" Luka gasped. Balthazar pushed himself back near Luka, sword at the ready. "You're joining in too!?"

He nodded. "I'll take out the underlings if you focus on the leader. If I left you alone with them, you'd be gone in no time." He counted their adversaries. "twenty-three against one aren't good odds, but I'd like to vote myself at least worth twenty in this situation."

"Definitely not lacking in the self-confidence department…" Luka sighed. "Alright, let's do this!"

Balthazar dashed behind the leader, attempting all of the others behind her. "Oh? He's ignoring me? Very well, I'll deal with him later after I deal with you." The leader jellyfish girl smiled.

Luka, using the current with his own speed, darted forward, opening with his usual Thunder thrust. The attack landed nicely, making her recoil. Behind her, Balthazar was swarmed in tentacles, yet somehow able to deal his own attacks mixed with defending himself. As the fight drew on, Luka's attention to his situation escaped him, and his attacks failed, completely off-target and leaving him open.

"I'll just take advantage of this!" The girl announced, several tentacles wrapping around Luka. She made careful consideration in keeping the barbs from touching him, but crushed him nonetheless. Luka struggled for his freedom for several tense moments, where he was able to get a view of the battle behind them. When he finally broke free, he had to blink twice, for the vision was distorted by strange colors. "What the hell? Colors?"

The jellyfish girl looked at him in confusion. "But I never sent my poison in you yet…" Luka shook his head, and began to mediate, recovering from the grapple. "This barbed tentacle is special… Now you'll really see colors!" With surprising speed, the barb jabbed forward, dispensing a liquid in Luka. Stunned, he was victim to several more attacks before it faded off.

"Alpha Degauss!"

Both Luka and the leader jellyfish girl were knocked off their bearings, and a nearly high-inducing amount of colors blasted all around them. The next Luka noticed, he was above the jellyfish girl, and taking advantage of her stunned state, Luka dealt the final blow to her neck. The clear magical liquid distorted the image of her sealed into a small, regular jellyfish.

Luka shook his head and focused on the other battle taking place. The other jellyfish girls had recovered from the shock, and were assaulting Balthazar in a torrent of fast-paced tentacle jabs. Balthazar had nearly no time to attack back from the distance between him and his opponents.

Worried, he tried to swim closer to help Balthazar out, he was blocked by a multi-colored barrier preventing him from getting closer. "Balthazar! What the hell, I thought you could take them!" Luka yelled.

Balthazar simply grunted, shaving off attack after attack. Several of the jellyfish girls began to trace the flowing colors of the Chains of Hell, coiling around them and prostrating Balthazar into a vulnerable state. Both were shocked when the plan worked, but Balthazar was able to take advantage of this oddity faster.

"I never thought the chains would extend into reality that far… In that case…" He smirked. "Take this!" He roared, spinning around several times. Those who had grasped the Chains were sent flying into their companions as the momentum of the swinging chains blasted them off. Realizing their prey was now free, the outmost rings of jellyfish girls began their assault again. Countering, Balthazar spun around, crossing his arms in an 'x', letting the Chains of Hell do the work for him, parrying the blows from the jellyfish girls and slamming into others.

"Unbelievable…" Luka gasped.

"I'll take you all down!" Balthazar continued to roar, sending multiple chains in a cyclonic fury, smacking and knocking out several of his opponents, a torrent of bubbles beginning to form. "And now!" He paused bringing both of his wrists together before his floating katana. "I'll finish this!" The chains, forming even further far out, solidified around the jellyfish girls, ensnaring them in a massive chained trap. "I didn't think I'd suck up this much power so quickly but… Hell's Lightning!" He called out. The blade tapped his shackles causing a blazing white light to travel down the chains and throughout the water. Electrical currents shocked everything nearby, but quickly dissipated to a numbing sensation. The Chains of Hell faded away from the bodies of the jellyfish girls, and the barrier dissipated.

"Balthazar…" Luka sounded aghast as Balthazar dazedly swam back to Luka, leaving the bodies of the unconscious jellyfish girls behind. "What… Was that just now?"

Alice had appeared again, looking equally aghast. "Did you… Just use the Chains of Hell in a battle?"

"Eh… Something to that effect." Balthazar shrugged.

Luka swam around Balthazar. "You okay? You seem a little… Off."

"I don't think I'll be able to fight for a bit." He gasped, leading the way back to the depths. "I was saving my strength for a real battle, but if I didn't use that move there I might have lost. Anyways, let's keep going." He shrugged, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Well, it looks like that's done and over with. I'm still glad Angel Halo works underwater." Luka nodded.

"What sort of stupid things are you saying? Idiot. Of course it'd keep working underwater." Alice chided.

Suddenly, Luka jerked downwards. "What the…?" He looked down, realizing that a tentacle had grasped his right foot. "Something… Has my foot!"

Alice peered at the foot in mention. "Looks's like a Sea Anemone girl's tentacle." Luka was jerked down again. "I'll give you a hint on their behavior. The Sea Anemone girl drags its prey down to the bottom of the depths to suck out all of their prey's life force. Once you're caught, she won't stop until you're dead."

"O-oi! That isn't a hint!" Luka growled. However he was dragged down out of sight almost immediately.

"…" Alice looked at Balthazar, watching him as the tunnel of light descended.

Noticeably silent, Balthazar stared at Alice expectantly."…"

Alice waved her hand, a little bubble of air surrounded them. "I suppose that you probably wanted to breathe down here too…"

"No shit!" Balthazar complained. "Jeez, that idiot. He does realize that without that Ball of Guidance, normally we wouldn't have any air. I take it this is some sort of your magic?"

"I can't really control offensive water-typed magic well…" Alice admitted. "But if it's this much, it's sufficient enough to either regroup with Luka, or to at least scavenge the Ball of Guidance off his corpse down there."

"Have some sort of confidence in the guy." Balthazar sighed. "After all, I'm investing something in him."

"We'll see." Alice stated, leading the two down.

"Get off!" Luka roared, delivering a critical blow. The Sea Anemone girl's wounds finally caused her to let go of the bound Luka, allowing him to seal her. "Man, there're a lot of monsters down here." Luka looked around, and noticed his descending companions.

"Part of me is sort of glad that we didn't have to see you get your ass kicked." Balthazar teased.

"There's a lot of things to eat down here. I like it." Alice smiled, nibbling on a fish.

Luka sighed. "Anyways, we're on the seafloor at last." He looked up, seeing the darkness of the oppressive waters above. "Now where's this temple?" He peered around, finding a shadowy structure in the distance. "Over there! Let's go, guys!"

The swim took a while, but eventually the three made to the temple. Inside too was drowned in water, but the internal structure seemed as if many of the decorations were meant to be fountains.

"So this is the sea's temple, huh?" Balthazar commented, floating around with this arms crossed. "It doesn't look like much anymore."

"It looks like any other temple I've seen before… Save for being on the bottom of the ocean." Luka commented. The three waded around, exploring the temple. "What kind of monster is the Queen here?"

"I believe the Queen of the Southern Seas is from the Kraken family." Alice rubbed her chin. "I left the governance of this part of the ocean completely up to her." She said, eating a shellfish she picked up.

Balthazar sighed. "Jeez. You shouldn't eat just anything you pick up from the ground."

"I'm not a kid, I can eat what I want." Alice chided.

"Don't complain to me if you get sick from eating something strange…" Balthazar teased.

As the three continued down the path inside of the temple, an alluring light began to filter down on them. Cautiously, Luka slowed down, looking for the source.

"Is this… A lamp? No, that doesn't make sense…" Luka thought aloud.

"Hm hm… An interesting monster has appeared." Alice nodded.

"A monster?" Luka coughed. "Where…? Oh!" Luka jumped back, the appearance of a large Anglerfish girl.

"This is a monster who lives on the sea floor… It lures prey by the light on the top of her head." Alice explained. The Anglerfish girl slowly and dimly swam around, occasionally bumping into something along the way. "Whether her prey is human or monster, she'll absorb it through her skin and makes it her food."

"Human?" Balthazar questioned. "Like any humans actually come down here."

Alice looked at Balthazar in disbelief. "… You're a human, you realize."

"Granted…"

"Hey, why aren't you running away Alice?" Luka asked.

"Oh?" Alice shrugged. "Did I forget to mention? Since she lives at the bottom of the sea, she's blind. There's no reason to hide." Despite her words, she slowly began to walk away. "Oh, but I'll give you another hint. She locates her prey by temperature. If you want to fight her, you'll need to make your body temperature the same as the water."

"The hell kind of a hint is that!?" Luka complained. He growled, and watched his opponent. "I suppose you won't be fighting?" He asked Balthazar.

"That's a no-go." He waved sheepishly. "I've used up most of my power at the moment."

"So that means you would have helped out!?" Luka gasped.

Balthazar laughed in reply. "Pfftahaha! Of course not! It wouldn't be fun if I fought all your battles."

"Tch. Go figure. I guess it's all me." Luka sighed, drawing Angel Halo. "All right…" Since she's blind, I guess I won't have to worry about her going berserk and attacking me like the usual monster girls do… Luka thought, brandishing Angel Halo. He swiped his sword along her flesh, but instantly Angel Halo was caught in the gelatin-like substance. "Wah? It's like… Glue!" He struggled, pulling his sword out of the viscous membrane. He jumped back, watching the Anglerfish girl, but showed no sign of sudden hostility. "Take a… Supper attack!" He yelled, using the low-gravity conditions to propel himself over the monster, slashing down her back, causing massive amounts of oozing liquid to spill out. The monster girl continued to blindly float towards him, her face locked dead on his location. "I guess she's locked onto my temperature… But with that much magical power leaking out, one more blow should do the trick."

"Jeez, how naïve to rush in so blindly." Balthazar commented, making sure to keep his distance.

"What's that supposed to mean? I've won this!" Luka smirked confidently. Luka leapt forward, preparing to deal the final blow when with sudden speed, the Anglerfish girl appeared in front of him, the two colliding. Already, his lower half of his body was fused with his opponent, and vital seconds were ticking down. "Crap… I've got no choice…" He hugged the Anglerfish girl, keeping his face just out of her barely scale-covered chest, sword in hand. "This is awkward!" He yelled, impaling the Anglerfish from behind. With no notable reaction, she transformed into her sealed regular form, revealing the tip of Angel Halo mere centimeters from Luka's own chest.

"Any further, and you just might have down yourself in." Balthazar laughed.

Luka slowly sunk to the bottom, shaken. "Ilias… That was far too close for comfort." He murmured, watching the anglerfish drift away.

"Oh, you're finished now?" Alice asked, finally returning. "I scouted out ahead, and found the Queen's room."

Luka nodded. "That's awfully helpful. Thanks."

She simply rolled her eyes. "I'm tired of eating fish. Hurry up and finish this." She ordered.

Continuing for some ways, the three found themselves in a large hall, ending in a majestic auditorium. Centered in the auditorium was a large, regal monster. Her tentacles coiled around many of the pillars of the throne she sat on, some of them acting as makeshift clothes. Cautiously, Luka found only he and Balthazar had entered the room, even though the latter was hanging around the sides.

"You're the Queen of the Southern Seas, I presume?" Luka asked.

The kraken nodded. "Indeed I am. The Monster Lord entrusted upon me to rule over these seas. Now, humans, what business do you have here?"

"I am a Hero that-"

"Hero!?" The kraken gasped.

Taken aback, Luka tried to choose better words. "Er… Not quite. I'm actually a fake Hero…"

"Whether true or false, a Hero is a Hero." The krakren spat. "You must have come to steal the Orb in this temple! But I shall never hand it over!"

Balthazar sighed. "Uh… Look, lady." He made exaggerated movements to cross his arms. "I don't know what this Orb is, but I'm pretty certain that wa-"

"A human bound by the Chains of Hell?" The kraken's eyes narrowed even further. "What treachery is this? What spawn of Hero is this!?"

"Wait… Uh…" Balthazar looked confused. "I thought these damned Chains made monsters think I was on their side." He shook his head. "Hold on a second, don't just interru-"

"Silence, scum! If you want the orb, you will have to defeat me first!" The kraken shouted. "I will never hand the Orb over to bloodthirsty Heroes!"

"Uh… 'K…" Balthazar sighed. "I don't mind. Keep on interrupting me." He rolled his eyes.

Luka furrowed his head in his hand. "Don't make the situation worse! Look! I don't want this Orb, I have a pledge…!"

"Silence!" She ordered, all of her tentacles now spread into the air, swaying menacingly.

"Thunder Thrust!" Luka shouted, jabbing at the Queen. Barely dodging two of her tentacles, Luka looked back at Balthazar. "Seriously not going to help!? Fine… I'll take care of this myself!" He growled.

"Good luck!" He replied in a false sweet voice.

The fight continued at a fast pace, though the underwater conditions distorted Luka's normal battle style. While he was able to deal damage, now the Queen was able to strike back, dealing brutal blows to his body. Having to meditate for short amounts of time did not help his scenario either, leaving him open to more attacks.

"The Monster Lord entrusted this Orb to me. I won't let some Hero take it!" She shouted, mistaking a mediation period for a pause in the battle.

"I said I don't want it! I'm just here to deliver this pledge!" Luka shouted back, waving it to no effect.

"I'll just bind you and drain you of your life!" She yelled, tired of the 'conversation'. Her tentacles darted around Luka, ensnaring him on the spot. "And now… I'll take my time with this." Luka groaned, squirming as the kraken knocked him about. Finally using her own momentum against her, he freed himself on a particular rough blow, instantly recovering on the spot as she realized her prey escaped. "You don't know when to give up."

Luka staggered back. "Th-this power… It truly is nothing I've ever fought before."

"I'll force you to suffer the disgrace and humiliation of defeat." She taunted. "After that, I'll be sure to scold you for your actions."

"I won't go down so easily…" Luka gasped, the bruises on his body disappearing. "I've still got plenty of fight left in me!" He yelled, brandishing Angel Halo once again.

Balthazar nodded. "The kid's doing well so far." He watched as Luka took several hits, but retaliated with his own. "But he's being toyed with by her."

"You are indeed a Hero… One with some strength." The Queen praised after knocking Luka back to the ground. "But the Queen of the Southern Seas won't be defeated that easily." She raised her tentacles, all pointing at Luka. "Prepare yourself Hero… I'll finish you off with this one move. I'll attack with all of my tentacles at once."

Luka narrowed his eyes, drawing his sword close. One by one, he saw the movement of each tentacle try to impale him, but with each half-second, he side-stepped, revolved, pivoted, and danced around each one. As the tentacles returned to the Queen, Luka realized he had been holding his breath.

"So you managed to evade it. Then I shall use this move next." She stated. A large blue sigil appeared around her, encompassing her as lines and symbols began to draw themselves on the circle. "I can't believe I've been forced to use this move."

Luka stared at the glowing sigil. "What… What is this?" He edged away, shocked.

"Aqua Pentagram…" She explained "An absolute defense made out of water. With this, you will not be able to lay even a finger on me."

"I can't give up here! I… I'll just attack through it!" Luka charged forward, delivering blow after blow to the barrier to no effect.

"This isn't an ordinary barrier." The Queen stated. "There are only five users of this technique in the world. It manipulates time and space to completely nullify any physical attack." She explained. "It doesn't matter how powerful it is, this barrier can withstand anything!"

"There has to be a way around it!" Luka cried out in desperation.

Balthazar stepped forward. "Time and space…" He shook his head. "So in other words, unless something else also spans across time and space, nothing will be able to pierce that shield?" He asked.

The kraken's eyes narrowed. "There exists nothing that can exist for eternity!" She laughed after a moment. "Man's strength falters and steel rusts! Magic is only in existence as long as one can conjure it!"

Luka stepped back. "There has to be something you're planning." Luka said, creating distance between the kraken and himself. "I know you well enough to not come into a losing battle."

Balthazar smiled. "Well, it's a shot in the dark, but we'll see if I hit or miss!"

The Queen smiled. "I told you before, yet you still do not listen…" She giggled. "Why don't you…?" She looked questioningly at Balthazar, who had gripped the Chains of Hell.

"Caught wind on my plan yet?" Balthazar laughed, the Chains spawning longer and longer as he swung it around over his head. "Don't worry, I won't chain you down with the details!" He roared, swinging the chain at the barrier like a whip, creating a harsh grating noise. Intense blue, black, and red sparks scattered off of the barrier as its momentum dissipated.

"The Chains of Hell… You couldn't possibly be-!" The Queen staggered.

Balthazar pumped his fist. "Hell yeah! I'm going two-for-oh with the new Chain moves!" He cheered, slamming yet another Chain onto the barrier. More sparks careened off, coloring the air.

The kraken laughed nervously. "Heh… Of course. These are physical attacks!" She said, shaking her head. "I didn't have to fear anything if that's the case!"

Balthazar slammed yet more Chains into the barrier. "Yeah, yeah, don't get too cocky!" He smirked. "You seem to have forgotten a vital point of the Chains of Hell. Ya see, if you're bound to the Chains of Hell, you're bound for eternity." A dark aura grew around him as he laughed. "And Hell exists in a separate dimension, just like Heaven!" He roared, grasping several of the chains. "A weapon… That exists across time and space." He explained, letting his words sink in to the Queen.

"Oh man!" Luka cheered, raising his sword in the air. "You have some good ideas! … Sometimes… But this is definitely one of your best!"

"…Sinner…" She growled. "You'll find that the barrier is not as easy as you think it is to break!"

"I'll call your bluff!" Balthazar rolled his eyes, grasping clumps of chains. Ripples of light flowed down them, revealing that each chain Balthazar had slammed into the barrier had wrapped around it, ensnaring the Queen within her own barrier. "Let's see the extent of your power!" He yelled, pulling all of the chains together.

Immediately, an intensely loud grating noise filled the water, vibrating the very walls as the Chains of Hell pressured the impregnable barrier. After seconds of the noise, several cracks appeared in the walls causing even more brilliantly shining sparks to flow into the water. The chains faded, revealing the barrier still intact, but massively cracked.

"Did it…" Luka lowered Angel Halo. "It didn't work?"

"Hey." Balthazar finally drew his katana. "I said it was a shot in the dark, right?"

Sweat slid down Luka's cheek. "I… Suppose you did."

The kraken sighed. "I won't lie; you had me worried there for a moment." She admitted. In front of her, the cracks had begun to seal themselves at a rapid rate. "But it does appear as if you weren't able to destroy my barrier, as I had predicted." She smirked. "For such humiliation, I'll end this now." She announced, her Aqua Pentagram refreshed.

A shadow flickered in Balthazar's fringe vision. In an instant, a small flash filled his eyes, but he blinked it out. "That was… A vision technique?" He whispered to himself. "Wasn't that Alice's?" Beside him, Luka began to snore. "H-hey, what the!? Bad time to take a nap, buddy!" Balthazar growled.

Luka began to sway. "Wall? Break!" He muttered. A yellow aura began to glow around Angel Halo as he prepared an attack.

Balthazar lowered his katana. "Oh? This is the Sleeping Luka that I heard about on the ship…" He narrowed his eyes. "I thought this fight'd be harder, but I guess that vision technique from Alice was to knock him out…" He thought aloud.

Luka swung forward, a massive streak of light following his blade. As it made contact with the barrier, it shattered, allowing him to go even further, cutting into the Queen's body. The kraken gasped, clutching her wound. "What!?" She wailed. "M-my barrier! It' been completely devastated! That attack… Did it truly cut through time and space!? How!?" She swung out at Luka, but each strike of hers missed. "W-what!? He's moving differently… It's as if he's a completely different person!"

"Damn." Balthazar gave a round of applause mentally. "He's better than I expected asleep."

A brilliant light endowed Angel Halo, creating a current directly into the Queen. "Daystar!" The unconscious hero shouted in his sleep, cutting straight through the kraken. More magical liquid tainted the water, but he turned around, the blade still glowing white. "Rakshasa!" He moaned, delivering a torrent of blows to the Queen.

The Queen staggered backwards, the wounds ever increasing. "N-no! This can't be it!" She retreated, creating space between them. "I cannot be defeated here!"

Alice appeared in the background, her eyes flashing. "Stop!" She commanded. Luka instantly stopped, rubbing his eyes groggily.

"Ha!" Balthazar could not help but to give a quick laugh. "It's almost like you trained him like a dog." He snickered.

"Wha… What happened?" Luka asked.

Balthazar smirked. "I'd say you kicked some ass!" He nodded.

The two returned their attention to the Queen. "I cannot hand over the orb, even if it costs me my life." She paused. "Hm hm… Why are you going so far for-"

"We're not here for that goddamned Orb!" Balthazar yelled, blade pointed at the Queen. "Dammit! Orb this, Orb that… Just listen to the brat, and you might learn what's goin' on!"

"…" Luka sighed. "It's like I said from the beginning. I'm not after whatever strange Orb it is that you keep going on about."

"What? Then why are you here!?" The Queen asked.

Luka roughly took out the pledge, waving it in the Queen's face again. "This thing? The pledge!? I said I was bringing you a pledge of marriage! I came to deliver it in place of the couple getting married!"

The Queen regained her composure. "… Oh. Why didn't you say that earlier?"

Balthazar's sword hand twitched. "Alice? I'm about to pummel the living crap out of her."

Alice shook her head. "What a funny misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding my ass!" Balthazar raged. "All you had to do was just show yourself, but you insisted that Luka get his ass kicked!"

Alice frowned. "I helped though."

The Queen rubbed one of her healing cuts from the battle. "It seems I put you through some unnecessary trouble. I shall receive the pledge of marriage."

Balthazar picked his ear. "Damn fish sure heals fast." He observed, taking advantage of his third party aura.

"Now, Hero, whom is it that you're marrying? The silver-haired one?" She asked.

"Silver-haired one?" Balthazar coughed. "Wait, you don't mean…?" He burst laughing.

"N-no! I said I was delivering it for someone else!" Luka clarified.

Alice shook her head in annoyance. "Of course not me, you idiot."

The Queen nodded. "Of course. Perhaps…" She smiled darkly. "You're more daring, and had thought to breach the ground of forbidden love?"

Balthazar coughed again. "The hell? Forbidden… What!? Me!?" He raged. "Oh hell!"

"Look…" He gave the pledge to the Queen. "I was asked by a mermaid to deliver it to you. Take it."

The Queen rolled her eyes. "Deliver? Why didn't they themselves show up? Children these days…" She sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter. The law doesn't specifically say the people getting married have to bring it, I guess."

"But you owe us one for that 'unnecessary trouble' anyways." Balthazar commented. "Like hell this trip'd be a wasted effort."

"At any rate, the pledge has been delivered." She rolled up the scroll. "As Queen of the Southern Seas, I declare Meia and her husband: married." She announced. "Now, take this Pledge Ring. Wearing it on your finger, you will always remember the pledge of marriage to your partner."

Balthazar took a few steps back. "H-hey… You're really doing it without them here…"

The Queen continued. "No matter the difficulty, you must always support each other. Now, I shall give you the Queen's blessing."

Alice folded her arms in thought. "Hmph. I'll give them the Monster Lord's blessing too."

"Oh, I'll give them a Hero's blessing as well!" Luka piped in.

"You serious?" Balthazar sighed. "I don't even think I can count how many things are wrong with this picture." He muttered as the three continued their ritual.

After all was said and done, the Queen pulled Alice to the side as the three prepared to leave. "By the way… Are you possibly…?"

"I'm nobody important. I'm just a traveling gourmet who passed by on a whim." Alice nodded.

The Queen smiled enthusiastically. "Incredible! Coming to the bottom of the sea in search of food! Unfortunately… There's nothing too amazing to eat down here."

Sweat broke out on Balthazar's face. "… I'm not even going into this one..." He shook his head, leading the path out.

Alice folded her arms again. "Well, our business is done.. I don't want to spend any more time here, so I'm going back now."

"True… But do we really have to take the light tunnel going back?" Luka complained. "I mean, it was really troublesome coming down here."

The Queen smiled. "You don't need to return that way. As an apology for before, I shall send you to the surface."

"Seriously?" Balthazar turned around. "Hell, that'll save… What're you doing?" He squirmed as tentacles grabbed all three of them.

Luka paled. "You're not thinking of…"

"Let's see… Land was… In this direction! I think! I am delighted that humans and monsters are able to love each other. If there's anything else you need to discuss with me, please feel free to come visit again!" With a swift motion, all three were blasted at breakneck speed through the ocean.

In no time, all three broke the surface of the water. Luka landed on the beach the hardest, spinning out from momentum. Alice appeared to gracefully and simply land upright, and Balthazar resorted to cutting into the ground with his katana and feet to break his momentum.

Seemingly unfazed, Alice looked at the ocean. "What a funny Queen."

"I think 'funny' might not be the most suitable word here…" Balthazar sighed.

Luka brushed himself off. "Thanks for that, Alice. For helping out."

"I only put you to sleep." Alice scoffed. "And it was the last time. Because it was a misunderstanding I was hesitant to just leaving you there.."

"Tch." Balthazar rolled his eyes. "I still say you could have done a bit more. And where's my thanks!?" He pestered. "I did tons more than Alice did! I actually… Erm… Sort of fought at your side?"

Luka sighed. "Yeah, only at the very end." He shrugged. "Though, you had almost broke her barrier just using those Chains…" He noted. "How is it just now you're only using them, by the way?"

Balthazar shrugged. "Man, I dunno. I never knew I could hit people over the head with them?"

Sweat slid down Luka's cheek. "I guess that's the best answer I could have asked for." He grimaced. "Anyways, it looks like we're done here."

After the trip back, Luka was forced to recall all of the events that had transpired. Alice had taken a trip out to the docks, leaving Balthazar and Luka sitting with Meia at her house.

"And with that, I delivered the pledge to the Queen." Luka concluded. He pulled out the ring he had received from the Queen from his pocket, and presented it to Meia. "This is the Pledge Ring that she gave me."

Meia squirmed. "Thank you so much!" She smiled, fitting the ring on her finger.

Balthazar folded his arms. "You don't need to go through the process again." He scoffed. "Seems like she had no problem tying the knot without you there."

Meia nodded. "That's great! Now… I've gotta reward you somehow…"

Luka shook his head. "No, there's no need for anything like that!"

The mermaid refused. "But I'm just an ordinary citizen… I don't have much money, or an item that a Hero would find useful…" She thought.

An idea struck Balthazar. "True enough to that…" He said slowly. Luka glared at Balthazar, thinking him done speaking. "However, you're a monster."

Luka blushed. "What the hell are you getting at!?"

Meia licked her lips. "Oh my… I was just thinking about doing something like that."

Sweat dropped off of Balthazar's face. "… I've got no idea what you're getting at, but you're fairly powerful for a mermaid, aren't you?"

She tilted her head. "I… Guess I would be considered more powerful and have a better prowess over my magic… Why?"

Balthazar pulled out a black lustrous rock from his satchel. "I found this not too long ago in some pirate's treasure chest." He started. Meia raised her hand to grab it when he presented it. "I find it hard that a famous pirate would just pick up any old rock. I've heard rumors that the storms never challenged this pirate, and the wind always filled her sails."

The mermaid's eyes lit up. "Hey, I know that legend." She nodded. "Ah… But her name escapes me at the moment. You say you found this… At her cove!?"

"Yeah." He folded his arms. "So…?"

"You haven't really asked her to do anything." Luka shook his head in disbelief.

"Ah…" Balthazar stepped back. "Ehem. What I'm getting at is, what is this stone?"

Meia peered at the rock at all of its angles. "It's safe to say…" She paused, a dramatic tension filling the air. More time passed as she appeared to stare into some other world. "I don't know!" She smiled.

Balthazar and Luka nearly dropped over backwards. "It took you that long to say that!?" Balthazar sighed. "Fi-"

She shook her head. "It's curious though. I can feel something unfamiliar in this stone."

Balthazar nodded. "So it ain't just me." The mermaid gave a confused look. "I can feel something… Just a trace of whatever it is, though."

Meia gave the rock back to Balthazar. "Normally, I can feel the power of the Elemental of Water, Undine, whenever I use my magic." The mermaid explained. "And I know that there are three other Spirits, but this doesn't feel anything like Undine's power."

"Spirits, huh?" Luka looked up thoughtfully. "We are making our way to see the Wind Elemental, Slyph. I guess a lot of stuff comes down to the spirits."

Balthazar pocketed the rock. "Hm… Considering that… This might have something to do with the spirits." He rubbed his chin. "Yo, Luka." He tilted his head. "These spirits that Alice wants you to get… Do me a favor when you get Sylph's power and check out the rock for me."

Luka stared at Balthazar. "You called me by my name."

He closed his eyes. "Yeah, well, it turns out that you're not too bad. At least when you're asleep, anyways."

Luka smirked. "Come on, Alice gives me enough of that." He paused. "Yeah, I guess I can check out that rock when we get Sylph."

"Good." Balthazar headed for the door.

"W-wait!" Meia raised her voice. "Are you telling me… That's all you needed from me?"

Balthazar shrugged. "Meh. You made it clear to me that I wasn't going insane and feeling weird shit for no reason. Not to mention, we're in a hurry, so yeah. We're done."

Luka hesitantly stood up. "Well then… I guess…"

Meia waited by the door as the two left, obviously confused. "W-well… The next time you come to town, stop by here again. I want to give you a proper reward…"

The two shrugged. "Yeah, we'll see." Luka called.

The two wandered throughout Natalia, checking out random shops. Eventually, the two bumped into Alice, back in her human form. She looked the two of them over, eyeing them carefully. "You seem to be in a foul mood." She noted to Balthazar. Luka looked up, and noticed a face, distorted in a large frown.

"I'm… Thinking." He said, falling behind as Alice and Luka began their path out of town.

Luka rubbed his chin. "What kind of face is that to make when you're thinking?"

"It's a confused face!" He grumbled. "You never seen anyone think before?"

Alice sighed. "Normal people don't glare at everything when they're thinking."

Balthazar ignored them, keeping pace with the two as they reached the outskirts of the city. The leading duo turned to chatter as they walked. "With this, I've gotten a step closer to my ideal world. It's small, but I'm satisfied."

Alice nodded. "It's gladdening to see that the ties between monsters and humanity have not been completely severed."

Luka nodded. "Anyways, it's about time we keep heading north. We've accomplished our southern objectives… So now…" He said, pulling out his map. Balthazar hovered over their shoulders as Luka planned out the next leg of their journey. "Let's head to the haunted mansion, and clear that quickly." Alice, now shedding her human guise, stared bleakly at Luka. "Wh-what? Did I say something wrong…?" He asked, scratching his cheek.

Several hours later, the group found themselves outside of a large, rundown mansion just as sunset gave way to night. Shattered windows and faded lumber filled their vision as the three walked closer to the estate-sized dwelling.

"It's bigger than I thought." Luka observed. "There's also this really creepy atmosphere…"

Balthazar shivered. "This ain't a place we should be." He growled. "Feels like the air's thick with… Something. It's hard to breathe in."

Luka looked questioningly at him. "I don't know about that, but I guess I wouldn't want to tell a scary story about now… Either that, or it's the perfect mood for one!"

"Just shut up, moron." Alice glared. Luka eyed her. She was abnormally calm, but she exhibited a strange aura he couldn't quite pin down. Is there something in there that can make even the Monster Lord scared? He thought.

"Huh. There's a graveyard here." He pointed out to a plot of land, hundreds upon hundreds of tombstones and plaques covered the area.

"I already saw that!" Alice berated. "But even then, I didn't feel the need to mention it like an idiot. Why are you pointing out obvious things!? You don't understand a woman's heart at all!"

Luka backed away from her. "I hate to agree." Balthazar nodded. "About the whole mentioning unneeded things." He clarified. "I could smell the stale air tainted with death awhile back."

"You aren't helping the matter!" Alice chided.

Luka sighed. "Looks like that there really is a graveyard here."

Balthazar looked up. "Oh. You went out information hunting when I took that nap. You better have picked up some useful information."

Luka shrugged. "Yeah. Stories about a graveyard, a witch, and a dead girl's ghost was mentioned. Looks like the two latter were just added on…"

"You better check again." Balthazar glared at one of the higher windows. "Shit's not right if I'm not hallucinating that girl." The upper level of the house stood a girl, cloaked in black peered down at the window, and quickly vanished.

"Y-you're right!" Luka gasped. "Alice! Up there! Did you see that girl!?" He pointed. Alice screamed, and promptly managed to hid behind Luka's back. Luka thought for a few seconds, then put a tentative step forward. "Alice? By any chance… Are you scared of ghosts?"

With haste, she managed to regain some of her composure. "O-of course not! The only thing I'm scared of his hunger!" She declared.

Balthazar pulled out a strip of dried meat. "Here. You're not yourself when you're hungry." He said, waving the meat for Alice to eat. She glared at Balthazar, but swiped it from him and nibbled at it while Luka moved forward.

"I see. Then, let's go inside." Luka said.

Alice folded her arms, the meat clutched firmly in her hand. "I will not." She declared. "Have you forgotten what you set as a Hero to do? Why are you here wasting time playing around!?"

"Huh." Balthazar sniffed. "Not bad. She has a point."

Luka rolled his eyes. Alice's firm resolution gave way to her lower half of her body trembling out of her control. "The people of San Ilia are scared of this house. It's the role of a Hero to help the townspeople." He smirked. "Certainly you, the Monster Lord, aren't afraid of ghosts?"

Alice braved a poker face. "Of course I'm not. Don't be ridiculous." She smiled smugly."

Luka carried forward. "Then let's go."

Balthazar tapped his foot impatiently, already at the grand doors of the mansion. "Your little speeches are amusing, but you take up too much time." He sighed, leading the three inside.

The innards of the mansion were blandly colored, all of the decorations had lost their once-colorful appeal. All reds had faded to dull oranges, and the golds withered away to their paler forms. Unlit lamps stood by the corners of the main hallway, stairs to each side allowing access to the higher floor, and doors into new rooms now were barely visible. Overhead, the three were watched by a large chandelier, which had gathered web and dust in such amounts it was a miracle it had not fallen down.

"It's so creepy in here…" Luka shivered.

Alice said nothing, looking around as Luka and Balthazar stepped around in the audience hall. A shadow flickered past Luka's vision, but his quick reaction allowed him jump back in surprise. "What's that!?"

"A ghost!?" Alice screamed.

Balthazar snickered at her response. Alice glowered at Balthazar, however, he felt compelled to continue. "Mr. Ghosty Goo! Are you out there!?" He called out. Alice shook, her eyes had nearly rolled back. "Oh come on, Alice. Lighten up." He laughed.

Out of one of the walls a black shadow poured out, a white face and arms materializing in front of Luka, taking the form of a Ghost Girl. Alice glared at Balthazar, but shook her head knowingly. "Oh. It's just a Ghost Girl. I thought it might have been a ghost."

"… What's even the difference!?" Luka asked.

Alice pointed at the girl floating in front of him. "A Ghost Girl is born from a collection of souls mixing with magic power. It's much different than something unscientific like a normal ghost." She explained.

Balthazar tilted his head. "But the point remains… Now a collection of souls… Multiple souls that have taken form on this side doesn't set you off?"

Alice sighed. "Look, it's just a completely different subject entirely. Finish this quickly, Luka." She ordered, vanishing from his sighed.

"Human… Life force…" The Ghost girl moaned. "I'll absorb it all…"

Luka shook his head, drawing Angel Halo. She's… Practically incorporeal… Will I even be able to connect any blows to her? He thought, watching Balthazar drift to the sidelines of the battle. Luka stepped forward, swinging his blade through the ghost, initial surprise over making contact quickly fading. "Good. The attacks can connect." As expected of a sword make from melted angels. It's a good thing I have this thing. He smiled. N-no! Don't think that! This sword is too creepy to be happy about it's origins!

The ghost moaned, her hands groping the air. "I'll steal your entire life force…" Her dull eyes locked onto Luka's as she slashed her hands, now adorned with claws, at him. The attack barely drew blood, but Luka felt an immediate sense of weariness.

He shook his head. "I'll have to deal with this quickly!" He resolved, slamming the slow-moving ghost in the head with Angel Halo. However slow she seemed, her retaliation was quick, cutting Luka several times as he gained distance. The ghost grabbed him just as Luka dealt another blow, her disembodied hands multiplying and pinning him to the ground.

"Good…" She whispered, her chest growing close to Luka's face. "Just like this… Listen to my heartbeat…" She murmured. "Listen while I take your life…"

With an intense shake, Luka broke free and rolled over, creating a running start as he climbed the staircase. The ghost girl simply watched, drawing ever so closer to Luka as he gained a height advantage. "Demon Skull Beheading!" He shouted, jumping off the railing. His attack connected as he drove the ghost girl into the floor, slamming her with enough force that her magical power dissolved instantly, several small floating lights escaping off into the distance as the dust cleared.

Luka wiped of a bead of sweat. "Is it… Over?" He asked, cooling off. Huh. Normally, Alice'd be back be now. "Where'd she go?" Luka folded his arms. Well, she's the Monster Lord, so it's not like she'd be attacked. In addition, this place doesn't exactly seemed haunted, more like there's a monster infestation…

Balthazar shrugged. "I sort of stopped paying attention." He pointed at one of the books he had taken from San Ilia. "Just give me some sort of A-OK or something whenever you get done."

"You're really just reading while we're-? You know what?" Luka sighed. "I don't know why I'm surprised by that."

The two made their way towards one of the staircases. Now on the second floor, a curiosity perked Luka's attention. A small, ornate doll, completely out of place and time in the mansion. Without abandon, Luka strolled forward, leaning over the doll as he approached it. "Do you really have to investigate every little detail?" Balthazar sighed.

"There's a strange feeling I can't shake right now…" Luka retorted. He bent forward to pick it up when it moved on its own, floating in the air with the miniature oriental dress it was wearing flowing about in all directions. "What the!?"

"Big bro!" The doll cried. "Play with me."

Luka pulled Angel Halo off of his back as the doll's ominous aura grew. "You're a monster too, no doubt." He observed. He swung forward, but the doll floated out of the way. The doll flew around, latching onto him.

"Come on… Let's play!" She squealed, as the green tinge of Luka's life began to be drawn into the girl.

"That's not…" He grasped the doll, barely managing to throw her off. "That's not my idea of playing around." He used Angel Halo to straighten himself off. How? I feel as if she sucked up my strength when she touched me… "I'll have to finish this quickly."

"I don't want to!" The doll groaned. "I want to keep playing!" She complained.

This doll must have been possessed or something… It looks fragile, so if I can manage to deliver a blow, I might be able to seal it in one strike! Luka thought, watching the doll's movements carefully. She floated away from all of his strikes that he tried, even when he flailed his sword trying to catch her off guard. "This isn't working!" He growled as the doll playfully dodged each strike.

Balthazar flipped a page in his book behind them. "Seriously?" He coughed. "Play along with her." He snickered. "Get it?"

Luka rubbed his head. "That's not funny." He grunted. Wait… Play along…?

The doll tilted her head. "What's this? You want to play now big bro?" She asked happily as Luka lowered Angel Halo. "Yay!" She jumped on Luka.

"Caught ya." Luka whispered, clutching the doll. "I'll end this quickly." With one strike, he pierced the bound doll. A scream resounded in the air as the doll's possession ended. As the doll fell to the ground where it had been found, a small dim light escaped it and floated out of the house.

"Oh! You can take a hint." Balthazar noted, barely paying attention to Luka.

Luka ignored him as the two entered the center room on the upper floor. It held the same atmosphere as the rest of the mansion, but it seemed to have been once a family room. A fireplace stood unused for an indeterminable amount of time, but almost all the furniture had collapsed or was in a state of disrepair. Cowering in the center of the room was Alice, curled up into a ball and shivering as unknown demons haunted her mind.

Luka casually strolled up to Alice. "And what are you doing?" Luka peered at Alice, but she gave no response, only continuing to tremble. "Uh… Did something happen, Alice?" He asked.

A woman's voice emanated throughout the room. Alice, in a frenzy, jumped up screaming and began to slither around in circles. Several seconds of the spectacle passed until she tripped over some of the destroyed furniture, causing her to collapse into a bookcase and a chain reaction of falling décor broke out. The room, which had been in a state of disorder before, was even worse as wood splintered and portraits fell off the wall. In the chaos, a small picture of a girl tumbled by Balthazar's feet.

"Th-that girl… That girl. That girl!" Alice repeated, pointing at it. Balthazar sighed and picked it up, showing it to Luka as they looked at it.

"Do you know this girl?" Luka questioned. The girl bore no resemblance to any he knew, nor any he had met on his travels. It was of a refined woman in dress and parasol, but much older than the girl that they had spotted staring at them from the floor they were on. Is this the girl that died from the sickness I had heard about?

Alice screamed weakly and began to spin in circles as a shadow approached the doorway. A hand clutched at the frame of the door, but the rest of it followed. A girl, slightly decayed and walking around in clothes that were in the same state stumbled in. Alice again screamed, but as the girl stumbled forward, most of the fear had faded from Alice.

"Oh. It's just normal Zombie Girl." She noted. Without even a trace of hesitancy, Alice gave a powerful punch to the zombie's face, knocking her head off without much trouble. "Sheesh. Don't surprise me like that."

Balthazar snapped his book shut. "The hell does normal even mean? I think it's been taken out of context here…"

The ground shook as a large crack broke the heavy silence. Dust fell on the three as a hole opened up underneath Alice, sucking her up as she fell down below, with her screaming along the way.

A bead of sweat slid down Luka's face. "Uh…" He wasn't quite sure if he should feel pity on Alice or not. "Meh, she's the Monster Lord. She can run around like a lunatic as much as she wants."

Shambling footsteps broke the silence. Luka looked at Balthazar, who had made himself acquainted with the knocked-over bookshelf as a chair, and tensed. He looked towards the door just in time to find another zombie, this time the remnants of a female adventurer, walk in.

Luka took a step back. "Another one?" He asked aloud. This one's a human adventurer… And the one that Alice took care of was an elf? I guess that means that zombies can be made from either human or monster.

Finding her prey, the zombie shambled forward, but Luka was able to easily duck her movements. He swung back, but to no avail. As the zombie kept trying to grasp him, Luka continuously parried her attempts. Eventually, his back stepping led him to a wall, and despite his agility, the zombie girl managed to catch and throw him to the ground.

"Life… Cure…" She moaned.

Luka shoved the zombie off of him with little difficulty. "Just like any other monster I've come across…" He noted. "Anyways, she seems to be pretty weak, if not hardy."

"Of course." Balthazar cut in. "She's a zombie. No pain, no… Well, loss. Imagine, you'd be able to keep fighting if you didn't have to succumb to wounds."

Luka scratched his head. "Good point." He turned back to the zombie, who had been staring into space. Stepping forward, Luka pulled off several critical attacks in a row, ending the fight with a massive blow through her waist. A small light whisked out of the body as it separated into two halves on the floor.

"Brutal." Balthazar observed. "I know she was a zombie, but still."

Luka looked back in desperation. "Well, it's not like she was giving me much choice…"

He shrugged. "Didn't think you had it in you." He laughed. "Wonder if you'll fight that way with Alice in the future?"

Luka shivered. "That's not…"

More voices and footsteps began to accumulate. "Don't mind me, of course. It'd be rude to interrupt your partners." Balthazar teased as three more zombie girls entered the room. "Yeesh." He shivered. "I do not like me some zombie girls. Hurry up with this."

"H-hey, if you want to be done here, I don't see you fighting!" Luka retorted. But there's so many zombies… What the hell is going on in this house!?

Luka stepped forward, using his momentum to further the damage to one of the zombies. However, it did little as the two others began to try to pin him down. He slapped away their prying hands with Angel Halo, dealing damage as he kept them at bay. However, the torrent of grasping caught him, and the three quickly swarmed on top of him. The three began to claw at him, but all it succeeded in doing was covering him more in their bodies. His struggling failed as the three squirmed, until he found a hole in their sprawl.

"Damn…" He patted himself as he gained distance from the three, still trying to organize themselves upright. "They're stronger than the last one."

The three moaned incoherently at once, the effect slightly intimidating. Luka watched the three, and used the terrain of the room to his advantage. Leaping off a tilted wardrobe, Angel Halo cut cleanly through one of the zombie's bodies, allowing the soul trapped inside to escape.

"All right! One down!" Luka cheered as the two looked around bleakly.

"Again, dude. Brutal." Balthazar laughed on his bookshelf.

"I don't have time for that…" He shook his head.

Finally upright, the two locked back onto Luka. "Life… Force… Absorb…" They moaned.

"Sheesh… Ever with the taking of the life force…" Luka blushed slightly, a few particular moments returning to him. "Crap!" The distraction was enough for one of the two remaining zombie girls to pounce on him. The two immediately began to teeth over his body, pulling out strands of green ambivalent light. As he struggled, he found it easier to kick the two off, but he felt noticeably weaker than he did before he was pinned.

"Not… Enough…" One of the girls groaned, feebly trying to orientate herself.

Luka closed his eyes. "I'll take this opportunity to try to heal…" He thought aloud, feeling energized within several moments. The two had recovered again, just as Luka dealt a disorientating blow to one of their heads. Dazed, she could only look around as her ally continued to attack. Luka focused on the hostile zombie, withering her away until a light escaped from the beaten body. The final zombie seemed to have snapped out of the damage, and her focus returned, nonplussed by the loss of her allies. However, she quickly lost her attention again, staring at nothing in particular.

"Seriously?" He thought aloud. "Uh… Fine." Luke tapped a hanging bookcase with his blade, the shock enough to dislodge it on the wall and onto the zombie girl. Now pinned on her front, Luka dealt the final blow, stabbing her in the back. The now-familiar sight of a ball of light escaped the wound, traveling into the night.

"I said brutal before, right?" Balthazar continued. "Seriously. Where's this fighting style with normal monsters?"

Luka sighed. "This is an exception." He retorted.

"Wah! My experiments!" A girl's voice shrieked. The two turned to face the source, a small girl dressed in a black nurse's outfit and carrying a messenger's bag.

Luka jumped back. "You are…!?" He asked. However, before Luka could react, the girl instead yelped, and vanished in mere moments. The girl in the window earlier, perhaps? But she doesn't look like the girl in the photo, and called these zombies her experiments… Where does she fit in?

Balthazar stood. "Well, I think we've found something interesting." He dusted his outfit off, and rejoined Luka. "I guess we're chasing her now, huh?"

Luka nodded. "She couldn't have gotten far…" He said, taking off after her.

The two returned to the main hall of the old mansion. Taking the last few steps down, Luka drew his sword. In the center of the hall, a large, grotesque monster shambled around, a human-esque face looking down on the girl.

"Jeez…" She sighed. "What's with you two!? Why're you going crazy in my laboratory?"

"No! What's with you? What the hell are you doing in here?" Luka shook his head.

The monster turned around. It once would have been considered feminine, but the corpse had been resurrected and engorged. "Careful. This… Thing… Is nothing like the zombies you've fought before." Balthazar whispered.

The girl shrugged. "The name's Chrome. I'm a necromancer." She waved her hand at one of the few remaining windows that had not been boarded up from the inside. "This place was an execution ground, then a graveyard. Since there are so many corpses, it was a great place for my experiements."

"Experiments?" Luka asked, confused.

"I said I was a necromancer. I'm experimenting on the dead." Chrome repeated. "This girl was the daughter of a rich guy who owned this mansion long ago. She was a good specimen."

"Specimen?" Balthazar repeated, staring at the zombie. Putrid flesh clung to its limbs, but many wrappings helped keep the large zombie woman together. "No human could've possibly grown this size naturally. What have you done here?"

Chrome nodded. "You're right. These are the fruits of my research." She smiled devilishly, holding the bust of the zombie. "I want to reanimate the dead into something more powerful than normal monsters…"

Execution ground… Graveyard… Girl who died of sickness… Witch… So every rumor I had heard about was true. Luka through. "So you created those zombies from before too?"

Chrome giggled. "Of course. That stupid Ghost girl came in on her own accord, but those zombies were all my Proto-creations."

"And this thing is the Beta?" Balthazar asked, drawing his katana. "I'd hate to think that all your experiments contributed to was increasing the size of a dead human."

"Balthazar!? She's desecrating the dead!" Luka growled. "I can't let her get away with this!"

"Unfortunately, you're wrong. This girl here is would be an Alpha-stage project." She looked her over, tidying her bandages. "You see, the body isn't regenerating just right… But once I worked out a few flaws, I'll be ready to prepare a living human, and then actual monsters!"

"That's… Sickening…" Luka gasped.

"But before that, I'll make a nuisance like you into new experiments!" She laughed. "Go get him, Frederika!"

At her command, the massive zombie girl groaned and turned around, facing the two intruders, and a powerful aura began to spill out of her. "This girl… She is…" Luka began to recognize the zombie's face as the one from the picture he had found earlier.

"Aha! You've a good eye!" Chrome praised. "The body of the elegant rich girl who was so pure was excellent raw material to use for a milestone. You're going to see all of the work I've done so far!"

"That's unforgivable!" Luka roared. "Defiling a girl's body after her death and making it into a monster like that… Unacceptable!"

Balthazar sighed. "Settled down. You're being played for a sacramental fool."

"I don't care about your morals, or what you have to say. Get him Frederika!" Chrome commanded.

Frederika shambled closer slowly, giving Luka and Balthazar ample time to react. "Something this slow…" Luka grinned.

"Understood." Frederika groaned. Defying Luka's prediction, the girl swung at Luka with incredible speed, sending him flying backwards.

"Incredible." Balthazar commented unflinchingly. "What'd you do Luka, let your guard down?" He joked. His grin only lasted moments before he pointed his katana at Frederika. "Time to keep you busy, I guess."

Frederika slammed her fist down, narrowly missing Balthazar as he side-stepped the strike. The ground underneath cracked and moaned heavily under the unnatural force, but with elegance, Balthazar guided his blade through Frederika's wrist.

Luka stood back up from the background just in time to watch the zombie's wrist cleave off. He dashed back into the fray, cutting Frederika's body like lightning. Black blood flowed from the wounds, but abruptly stopped.

"You won't find my creation so difficult to kill, even if you cut off her appendages!" Chrome boasted. As if to affirm her claim, Frederika stilled as grotesque cracking resounded in the air, and the wounds began to regenerate.

"I'll be damned, she can heal herself too… Though at what cost?" Balthazar thought aloud. "I'll see what this experiment can do! Hellfire!" He shouted, flames licking his blade as he drove it into her stomach.

Luka shuddered. "She's innocent… I'm doing this to save her…" He reminded himself as the zombie shrieked in pain.

"Tell yourself whatever it takes to make you sleep well at night." His partner scoffed. "If you can't see the glimmer of life in her eyes yet, than you've got no place in thinking you can free her. Hellfire Alpha!" He withdrew his blade from Frederika's corpse, igniting it in the process. It continued to blaze as she shrieked, but she made no attempts to fight back as she tried to regenerate from the damage.

"Please…" A moan from the fire. "Kill me… Please… Kill… Me…" It repeated. "Please kill me…"

"That's!?" Luka yelled from shock.

The flames died down immediately, revealing the dark, burnt flesh. "I don't… Want… This… Kill me…" She emotionlessly pleaded.

"Frederika, what are you blabbering about? Use that move!" Chrome commanded. The zombie obeyed, raising a hand. "As you can see, Frederika here is a mismatch of all sorts of random body parts. That hand she's raising is that of an old blood-mage from ages ago that she's fused to her body."

"So she can use magic too…" Balthazar commented. "This thing truly should be destroyed."

Frederika's hand glowed in blue, red, and yellow as small sparks of those colors began to swarm. "Immoral… Trio…" Her mouth moved its own accord. Fire, water, and electricity sprayed over the two in large streams.

"Destruction Gale!" Balthazar jumped in front of Luka, swiping his blade in front of him. Powerful gusts diverted the currents of water and fire, and the electrical currents diffused on Balthazar's blade. The pools of water formed by the Trio instantly froze over in large jagged spikes as Balthazar regained his own space.

"What was that?" Luka asked, readying his blade.

"Unfortunately, that's one of my few remaining trump-cards I have right now." Balthazar scratched his head, staring bleakly at Frederika.

"Well now, that's a shame." Chrome pouted. "Just when I went through so much trouble for that artifact, it ends up being useless in her first fight. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to power through the magic-user first."

"No more… Please free me…." Frederika pleaded once more. "Please…!"

Luka closed his eyes. She was forced to wake from eternal slumber… But she cannot resist Chrome. This is her soul speaking to me… Slowly, Luka opened his eyes, and saw a faint glimmer of light in Frederika's eyes. She's still in there. I understand that I have to free her... Destroy this hideous body and set her free!

"How tenacious… Very well, Frederika, use your finishing move!" Chrome commanded. Frederika's body obeyed, and snatched Luka easily.

"Damn, she's still incredibly fast!" Luka grunted.

"Break free already!" Balthazar sighed, brandishing his sword until he held it in reverse.

Luka struggled intensely, but the tight grip of insane physical strength Frederika exhibited kept him in her grasp. "I… Can't…" He gasped. "S-she's… Crushing…"

"Gale Alpha!" Balthazar sighed swiping his blade down with both hands, sending a pale-green shockwave forward at Frederika. A Large cut opened up in her chest, severing one of the hands which held Luka in her grasp, and she was sent flying into the mansion's wall.

Chrome sighed. "When're you going to learn?" As if a display, she jumped over to Frederika's missing hand. "This type of damage is nothing to a zombie. Now Frederika, heal those wounds." On cue, bone fragments began to extend out, recreating her phalanges, and the putrid purplish-black flesh began to cover it. However, the wound on Frederika's chest stopped healing half-way as she moaned in agony. "Huh? Out of materials already?"

"Out of-" Balthazar gasped as Frederika grasped a zombie girl which had just entered the room. "She can't!"

Luka cringed, nearly vomiting as the smaller zombie was crushed in Frederika's hand, the flesh from the zombie melting away from the smaller zombie, and the bones soon followed.

"Ara ara…" Chrome giggled, looking back at her opponents. "So now you know why Frederika's so valuable." Frederika's body again regenerated, slowly growing in stature.

"That's… Sickening…" Luka staggered.

Balthazar grimaced. "How many souls are pent up in that body?" His katana began to glow green with the drifting currents around Frederika. "How many other bodies, no, people, are in that thing?"

"I dunno. I lost count after two-hundred and fifty." Chrome grinned. Balthazar frowned.

"Balthazar… Don't tell me you're eager to set her free all of a sudden too, now, are you?" Luka asked.

"Yeah, the thing sickens me to no end, I'll give you that." He breathed in deeply. "But abusing hundreds of souls just to make a single perfect soul? That's lower than even I can handle."

Chrome wagged her fingers. "Ah ah! Don't forget, at your level of power, there's nothing you can do! Frederika has access to hundreds upon hundreds of fellow zombies to keep on regenerating her body. And, don't forget, each time she absorbs her fellow zombies, her own body increases in power too!"

Luka rushed in, avoiding Frederika's smashing fist, cutting her several times. "Her body's becoming more resilient…" He commented as he withdrew.

"Then in order to defeat her, we simply have to deal so much damage to her at once that she won't be able to regenerate it all in time." Balthazar strategized.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Luka questioned. "Nothing so far has worked on her!"

Balthazar smiled, the green glow on his blade growing brighter. "This'll be enough to weaken her, but you'll have to deal the final blow to her body for me."

"The final blow…" Luka tilted his head as Frederika shambled towards the two. They avoided her smashing fists and swapping backhands, but none of Luka's counterblows effected Frederika for long.

His blade flashed green. "I said I was running low of trump cards, not that I was out."

Frederika's hand raised again, the tri-colored lights glowing as she readied her spell. "Immoral Trio…"

"I don't have much power to use it, so that's why you're getting the final blow. Something should reveal itself in Frederika's body. When I blow it away, break it." He swung his blade again. "Destruction Gale!" Again, the flames dissipated before the winds, the water froze on contact with the walls of the room, and the electrical streaks shorted out. The gusts of wind surrounded Frederika, still glowing. "Mu!" Immediately, Balthazar's blade flashed red, as the luminescent green breezes in the room spontaneously ignited, bathing the room in fire.

Luka shielded himself from the onslaught of flames and observed Balthazar long enough to see him collapse to his knees. He tore his vision away, watching the body of Frederika burn away into its chimeric, jagged skeleton. A black glimmer of some kind of metal reflected off of the flames, desperately eating away the bones to their pearly white cores. As the flames began to die down, Luka noticed that a small horde of zombies had gathered, but were still preoccupied by the staggering flames.

"I'll free you… All of you!" Luka roared as the flames parted by him. He leapt forward, Angel Halo shattering the metal crystal that had once been entombed in rotten flesh as he cut it. A small burst of energy pushed him back, landing him just ahead of Balthazar. Almost instantly, flames died out, leaving the standing skeleton of Frederika. It stood for a few seconds before bursting into dust, white lights scattering out of the dust in massive numbers as even the bone dust faded away.

Luka sighed, but recoiled when a single presence remained in front of him. Floating in place was the girl from the photo, the her soul returned to its former state. The beautiful girl smiled as she began to ascend. "Thank you." She whispered, turning into a ball of light.

A loud creak broke the new silence. "Crap… After all Frederika's damage, the floor's giving away!" Although, it gave way for Alice earlier… It's a miracle it didn't give way during our battle…

"Oh no! My laboratory!" Chrome squealed as the floor finally collapsed.

Falling a couple of floors, Luka dazedly orientated himself up and looked around. "What the…" He caught sight of Balthazar, who was lying on the ground, unmoving. "Not good… Balthtazar!" He tried to move over, but another piece of the now-ceiling fell down, separating the two. "I won't be able to get to Balthazar without making sure Chrome won't try to play a dirty trick…" He looked at his surroundings again. "It's like a catacomb in here…" He stared at the pillars and hundreds upon hundreds of coffins that lined the walls.

Coughing up dust, Chrome appeared, a look of rage etched on her face. "What the hell did you do!?" She screamed. "First you break Frederika, then the floor of my laboratory!" She shouted. "Argh! She was my ultimate masterpiece so far!"

Luka's eyes darkened. "A corpse isn't a toy. I won't forgive you for breaking the tranquil sleep of the dead." He growled.

Chrome puffed up. "You science hater! Corpses are just lifeless things!" She glowered at Luka. "If you're going to be like that, I'll be your opponent!" She began to hover in the air, a hacksaw floating to her hand from her messenger bag.

"You… Are going to fight!?" Luka asked, stunned by Chrome's fiery passion.

Chrome smiled, full of malice. "Did you think I was weaker than my zombies? I'll show you the power of a necromancer!" She warned, grabbing several candles as well.

Luka dashed forward, striking her like lightning, but the effect was diminished. Damn… I haven't been able to recover from my fight with Frederika…

"For a necromancer such as I, summoning the dead is no problem!" Chrome boasted, muttering a small incantation shortly after. From the floor, thousands of arms began to sprout, clawing out at Luka. Many of them scratched him, but Luka jumped onto an alter to avoid the mass of limbs. "Hmph… Smarter than you look."

Luka swung forward, his blade barely cutting Chrome. "I can't go back onto the floor… But I can't hit Chrome either…"

She giggled. "And you're just wasting time." She pointed at the mass of writhing hands. Most now had emerged to their elbows, but a few had begun to sprout heads. "I can play this game for awhile, and then you'll just be overrun by my zombies."

Luka grimaced. "Definitely not good." He looked around. "But I can still play your game!" Luka jumped off of the alter, using his speed with Thunder Thrust, and jumped from the side of pillar to pillar, dealing blows to Chrome before landing on another alter.

Chrome growled. "You! Don't get carried away!" She hissed, evoking another incantation. More and more of the zombies began to emerge now, most up to their chests. Their hands were barely clutching the edge of the platform Luka's battle strategy depended on, and time was growing short.

Luka jumped forward, but an arm from one of the masses caught him. He planted his foot against the face of the woman who had caught him, while resting the rest of his body on the altar. Chrome floated over him, lowering herself on him. "Oh don't worry." She said when Luka realized he had planted Angel Halo to steady himself. "I won't make this hurt at all… In fact, I'll make sure you like it!" She waved her hacksaw menacingly.

"Like hell!" Luka punched Chrome's chest, knocking her into the mass of zombies. Most of them seemed to not care, but some tried to help Chrome back onto her feet.

Chrome grimaced. "How dare you touch me like that!" She mock blushed. "You stupid virgin!"

Luka shook his head, taking advantage of Chrome's opening. "I'll make you atone!" Luka cried out, slamming Chrome into a pillar with Angel Halo.

"Damn you…" Chrome cursed, then quickly pushed a syringe into Luka's arm. "Aha! There we go!" Luka tensed and froze as Chrome smirked. "You can't do anything now. Now, let the fun begin!" She made a small incision on Luka's check with her hacksaw, and laughed when she drew blood. Luka's eyes briefly flickered with fear. "Oh come on, don't go limp on me now!" She taunted. She readied her hacksaw, preparing to make another cut.

"Now!" Luka swung the flat of Angel Halo against the back of Chrome's head, knocking her off guard just as the paralytic faded.

"Auu!" She moaned, clutching her head and rolling around. The zombies instantly burst into a purple smog, which dissipated quickly. "Y-you!" Small tears began to well up in her eyes. "I… I'll let you go with just that today!" She screamed as she darted off.

Luka watched her dart into the catacomb's darkness, then sighed as he quickly meditated. "Did she know she was that close to being sealed…?" Luka shook his head. "Wait! Don't go!" I can't let her run away without making her answer for her crimes just like that!

Luka ran into the darkness, but soon slowed. "Man…" He looked around. I guess she hid herself. Luka looked around in the dim light provided by the occasional torch. But not very well… He though, catching a shadow on one of the coffin-stuffed walls. "I found you, give up!" Luka said triumphantly. He peered around, but he couldn't believe his eyes.

Alice shivered in place, hiding behind the coffin. Apparently, she had been motionless and frozen in fear since she fell down. "I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry!" She shrieked. "An evil god, the first Monster Lord, I don't care! Just please help me!" She rambled. "I won't do bad things anymore! I won't bully the Kitsunes either! I won't pull on their ears! Or step on their tails! Or steal their fried tofu! Just please spare me!" She rattled over and over, shaking her head in terror.

…D-does she have a grudge against them or something? "Uh… Alice, the bad person is that girl…" Luka shook Alice's shoulder. "She's making zombies here. Didn't you see her run by here?"

With an unholy aura, Alice rose. Her eyes rolled, her body swayed, as if possessed by some unearthly spirit. "She's the bad one?" She repeated, a nearly black aura filling the aura around her. "Are you sure?"

Luka took a step back, surprised in Alice's change. "That girl made this house her laboratory."

Alice's head swiveled unnaturally to the darkness. "It's her fault… That I was like that…" She whispered. "I won't forgive her…" She muttered. "Get out here!" She roared, her eyes flashing with unholy light. One of the nearby coffins exploded, its lid flying and sticking to the ceiling, revealing a terrified Chrome. Alice slithered towards the unmoving girl, who seemed on the brink of breaking down in tears. Hovering over her for several seconds, she began a brutal assault of slapping with her tail.

Chrome coward, trying to protect herself. "Wh-who are you? Another Ghost-?"

Alice interrupted her with another bout of lashes with her tail. "It's… Your fault!"

The small girl began to break down in tears as Alice relentlessly slapped her with her tail. "Oi, calm down Alice! She's still just a girl…" Luka waved. Even though I was hitting her with a sword…

Alice finally returned to her senses. "Hmph. Just because a monster looks young, it doesn't mean they really are." She glared at Chrome. "She's a hundred years older than I."

Luka sighed. "You shouldn't hurt your elders than. Now Chrome, apologize to Alice."

Shamefaced, Chrome could barely meet Alice's eyes. "I… I… I'm sorry…" She breathed.

Luka took a moment to recover. "It's good to be devoted to something. But you can't treat corpses like toys." He scolded. "It's also very bad to create zombies like this. If you keep that up, the big mean snake lady will get angry again."

Chrome flinched, covering her head. "I'm sorry! I'll be good!"

Alice glowered at Chrome. "Good. If you understand… Then get the hell outta here!" She yelled.

The necromancer shuddered. "I will, I will!" She screamed, dashing away at her peak speed.

Alice sighed, looking around. "So she was the cause of all this crap in the mansion? The townspeople saw the zombies and must have thought they were ghosts…" She quickly regained her haughty disposition. "How stupid! Ghosts don't exist!"

Luka sweated. "Is that really what you believe…?"

"Oh…" Alice observed Luka. "Where did Balthazar go to?"

He cringed. "Crap! … Well, I sort of left him behind after we fell down here…"

"The one you refer to as Balthazar has awakened, and is currently sitting outside, and is awaiting your return." Frederika's voice resonated. Alice cringed, growing pale as Frederik's form appeared before the two. "Thank you, Heroes. My soul… No, all of our souls have been saved."

Another ghost appeared, this one of a man. "When we were turned into zombies, our souls were bound to this mansion… But now, we're free…"

Yet another ghost formed. "Even if I'm just a soul, I can finally return to the homeland I've missed so much…"

Many more ghosts were appearing, all showing gratitude. Frederika, accompanied by the other souls, began to drift away, no longer tethered by Chrome's presence.

"They can finally rest peacefully… Isn't that great, Alice?" Luka nodded. "Alice?" He asked again, looking at her. She had lost all of her color, and her eyes were rolling up. A mere moment later, she fainted. "A… Alice!?" Luka jumped back. Slowly, he pinched his nose, and picked up Alice, carrying her to the mansion's doors again.

Finally outside, Luka found Balthazar resting against a tree. "So you did make it outside."

Balthazar scoffed. "Yeah, it was roughly a bit after we fell down that I decided to just take a small nap."

Luka shook his head. "And here I was worried about you.." He looked up to the brightening sky. "I can't believe it's already morning… Man, she's heavy…" He groaned as he shifted Alice on his back. "Your turn."

Balthazar waved the idea. "Please. If she woke up to me carrying her, she'd probably try to strangle me."

A shuffling noise as brush was moved alerted the two. Walking from out of it, a woman with long auburn hair and eyes wearing formal wear under a lab coat approached them. She looked around, almost entirely ignoring them.

"Excuse me, do you have some business here?" Luka asked. "I don't think there are any ghosts left…"

"I see." The woman nodded. "So Chrome left?" She rolled her eyes, finally staring at Alice. "Tch. I came all the way out here to deliver her some new tech, too. Well, whatever. That stupid necromancer still pulled off something. To put the Monster Lord into such a state."

Luka's eyes widened. "Just who are you!?" The woman abruptly turned around, leaving without an answer. "H-hey! Don't just…" He stopped, as the woman had already walked out of sight.

"You know she's in league with Chrome." Balthazar commented. "What're you going to do?"

Luka closed his eyes. "We can't chase after her in this state. For now, we'll return to San Ilia."

Balthazar sighed. "You're one for detours…"

The three, after a while, eventually returned to the bustling city. However, even though the prior ordeal had vanished, a new uproar was causing chaos in the streets. Ghostly apparitions infested the streets, window shopping, chatting in the streets, and walking through walls.

"Well, come on." Alice had managed to stand on her own feet, but her eyes were closed. "Let's make some progress. We're leaving, and that's an order." She commanded as two ghostly children ran past her as they played.

"Fine, fine." Luka took several steps back from Alice, leaving Balthazar in the middle. "Stop looking at me with those creepy eyes."

"The only thing left to do here is to go to the Forest of Spirits." Balthazar commented.

Alice looked down at Luka as the three reached the outskirts of San Ilia. "That means you'll finally be making notable progress in your quest to defeat the Monster Lord."

"You sound so third-person whenever you say it like that." Luka complained.

She sighed. "Once we get Sylph's power, I don't see us returning here for a long time." She advised. "I hope you've finished all of your meaningless side quests…"